All-Snub Team: National League

With the introduction of the 2009 All-Star teams, the next step for fans is to complain about their favorite players not making the squad. Thus, we'll get a head start and go through each position in the National League.

The rosters, which will be complete once the fan vote for the final player in each league concludes, were announced during a selection show on TBS Sunday. Remember, this season baseball added yet another pitcher to the roster, in hopes that the game doesn't end in a tie like the 2002 debacle. The concern once again came to the forefront last season as the game went deep into extra innings and the pitching depth began to run out.

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Catcher: Chris Iannetta scares traditional fans due to his low (.233) batting average. Yet his OPS is over .800, which is stellar for a catcher.
Should be there over: Tough call, actually. With only two catchers on the roster, it's hard to justify adding Iannetta over either. Of course, I'm not sure it was necessary to add Orlando Hudson as a third second basemen instead of having three catchers.
Others playing well: Bengie Molina

First base: Because of the circumstances, he didn't get a strong look, but Joey Votto is an absolute beast. He's battled through depression to put up an OPS of nearly 1.000 in an otherwise pretty anemic lineup.
Should be there over: No one. The four deserving guys are there.
Others playing well: Derrek Lee, Lance Berkman and Todd Helton are also having good seasons, but this was a four-man elite tier. I'm glad Charlie Manuel selected the way he did, because it looked like Adrian Gonzalez might get screwed and -- sorry, Phillies fans -- he's definitely having a better season than Howard.

Second base: There was nothing egregious here, but Brandon Phillips is equally as deserving as ...
Should be there over: Orlando Hudson.
Others playing well: He hasn't played long enough yet -- the small sample size police will tell you that -- but Casey McGehee is really playing well right now for the Brewers.

Shortstop: Troy Tulowitzki was as integral as anyone to the Rockies' surge after they changed managers. His season totals, though, are a bit lacking. The two selections here were the correct ones.
Should be there over: None.
Others playing well: Ryan Theriot and Yunel Escobar are both playing well, but, again, the correct decisions were made. Oh, and I see the antiquated measure of batting average got Cristian Guzman put on the ballot for the final spot.

Third base: Pablo Sandoval didn't have a 30-game hitting streak. Otherwise, he's been a much better hitter than Ryan Zimmerman. Sure, he's not the defender Zim is, but he's been more than adequate at the hot corner, especially for someone learning the position on the fly.
Should be there over: Zimmerman.
Others playing well: Mark Reynolds, Chipper Jones

Outfield: Adam Dunn has a staggering .952 OPS. He's hit 22 home runs and driven home 59. His traditionally bad categories (strikeouts, batting average) aren't nearly as bad as usual. It would appear his defense has kept him off the team once again. Yet, somehow Mark Reynolds is on the final vote ballot instead. And you can't tell me Guzman is a better player. It's unreal how little respect Dunn gets from the general public.
Should be there over: Zimmerman, and then they could have picked a different backup 3B.
Others playing well: Shane Victorino, Jayson Werth, Carlos Lee, Matt Kemp, Michael Bourn, Aaron Rowand

Pitchers: Yovani Gallardo has a 2.75 ERA in 104 2/3 innings. He's struck out 114 batters -- and it just wasn't good enough. Johnny Cueto also got jobbed, as his 2.69 ERA in that ballpark is incredible. It's hard to figure how he's not more valuable than a few closers.
Should be there over: Ryan Franklin and Francisco Cordero. It's not that either is having a bad season, it's just that it's a lot tougher to do the job Gallardo and Cueto have than to get three outs before allowing three runs. There's no reason whatsoever to carry five closers. It's just terrible roster construction.
Others playing well: Chris Carpenter, Javier Vazquez, Adam Wainwright, Wandy Rodriguez, Jair Jurrjens, Aaron Cook, Trevor Hoffman, Brian Wilson, Huston Street