ALL- STARS -2011

I want to  send congrats to Brian Mccann on his 6th consecutive all star selection and first all star start. He is  very deserving. With the Braves weak offense the first part of the season Mccann has put the offensive load on  his back. He is on pace to set career highs in home runs and is hitting over .300. I truly admire him for the fact that catching is the hardest position in all off sports but also is even tougher in the humidity and hot temps in Atlanta summer. How he puts up such great numbers while playing in heat of Atlanta makes his stats even more amazing to me. Even though he has made all stars every year hes played I feel Brian Mccann is still one of the most underrated players in baseball.. When will people wake up and give him the credit he deserves- 6 all star selections, all star game mvp and good numbers every year.

 Congrats to Jair Jurrjens too. Last year he wasnt a contributor at all to this team- mostly due to injury and never being able to find a groove to get in. This year he has carried this pitching staff. With dissappointing years from Derrick Lowe and Tim Hudson- Jair has been a constant- posting the most wins ( 11) and lowest era (2.03) in mlb. His numbers are truly phenominal. This guy hasnt got any love from the media hes flown under the radar all season long. But as long as he keeps doing what hes doing Im sure he wont mind but hes  placing himself in the cy young contention..

 Every Braves fan knows how important Johnny Venters is to our team. He has come in during late innings and completely shut opponents down. Minus his bad outing vs Padres last  Sunday he has been unhittable.Its hard to think hes only in his second year in the majors and is already leaving batters shaking there head  after they face him. Have the Braves ever had a more dominant reliever? I am concerned that the Braves use him to much. They really need to save him for the stretch run. Its great to be able to run out there and know hes gonna put up zeros but we need him for August and September and October. Hes already pitched over 40 innings  this year- thats just too much work in the first half. Im glad that people around baseball recognize his great work and added him to all star team - hes most deserving... just ask the hitters who are facing him

 Chipper Jones is only hitting in the .250 which in ways can make you scratch your head as to his all star nod. Personally I dont think hes deserving but I respect the fact that hes playing on a bad leg. I  do realize that hes been hitting off the chats with runners on base and I do think that is all star mentioning. I think he gets this all star nod due to the fact that he may retire after the season. He is a good teammate, a good leader and well respected around baseball I think thats another reason why hes on the team this year- but from just looking at his numbers its my opinion there are others better served to be on the team. Id rather see Chipper take those days off and prepare for second half then be at the all star game- I hope he enjoys himself though. Hes been the face of the franchise since the early 90s. congrats to him

 I know some people feel Hanson and Kimbrel got snubbed and in a way I understand that. But Tommy  missed 2 weeks with injury but his numbers 9-4 and an era under 3.00 are more then deserving. Im sure hes dissappointed but he can use that motivation to continue to go strong in the second half. We need him to continue to do what hes doing. Kimbrel has 24 saves which is a NL record for a rookie and approaching the ML record during first half- but us Braves fans know hes been anything but lights out- Hes blown 5 saves and he will raise your blood pressure pitching in the 9th inning but most nights he gets the job done. I hope to see him cut down the walks and not put so much pressure on himself in the 9th. Though with that being said seeing that he leads all of baseball in strikouts among relievers and is tied for most saves I do think he should be on the all star team. Im glad that someone besides Mccann are being recognized for the good seasons there having. Its crazy to think even though our offense has been horrible the Braves have the second best record in baseball.