The Braves lose a series but buy some much-needed pitching
Tim Hudson's start Sunday: Six innings, five earned runs. Ouch. (AP photo by David Tulis)
The Braves lost a series to the team they’re chasing – although, having gone 27-29 over the past nine weeks, this constitutes the slowest chase since O.J. Simpson took off in the white Bronco — but might have found a way to hurry things along. A half-hour before they played the Nationals on Sunday, the Braves announced they’d signed Ben Sheets to a minor-league contract.
Don’t be misled by the language. “We didn’t sign him to be a minor-league player,” said Frank Wren, the general manager. “We want him to be one of our [big-league] pitchers, probably even a guy in the rotation.”
For “probably,” read “definitely.” The Braves signed Sheets, who since 2008 has won four big-league games and undergone two surgical procedures, because they’re desperate. They’ve hit better than they did a year ago, but they’ve pitched much worse.
Said Wren, speaking of his rotation: “We haven’t been as consistent as we’d like … We need more of [these starting pitchers] being a sure thing on a daily basis.”
Said Fredi Gonzalez, the manager: “We have matched up well [against the opponent's starting pitchers] at times, and at times we haven’t.”
Having witnessed a run of 14 division titles built on the innings eaten by stellar starting pitchers, we in Atlanta should know the drill. If we’d forgotten, these Nationals can serve as a case study. Washington’s everyday lineup isn’t as good as the Braves’, but it holds the National League’s best record because it has outpitched everybody.
Said Chipper Jones: “That team’s in first place for a reason. They’ve got lockdown starting pitching.”
The Nationals have 50 quality starts (six or more innings with three or fewer earned runs), which is third-best in the league. The Braves have 31, which is the second-worst. There’s your 4 1/2-game deficit.
Over the hot weekend the Braves actually hit the Nationals’ starters pretty well, driving All-Star Stephen Strasburg to dehydration after three innings Saturday and forcing Gio Gonzalez, another All-Star, to throw 114 pitches over five-plus innings Sunday. (An epic 14-pitch at-bat by the rookie Andrelton Simmons in the second inning all but ensured Gonzalez would weaken, which he did in the sixth.)
The Nationals didn’t manage a quality start in the series, but they won two of three because the Braves didn’t muster one, either. The home side trailed 4-0 after four innings Friday and 4-nil after one inning Sunday, and you cannot spot a good team — the Nationals’ bullpen is splendid, too — that many runs.
But that’s what the Braves have done too often: Fallen behind early, thereby lessening the effect of their own stout bullpen. (Though the Braves’ relief efforts have been mitigated by the wayward ways of Jonny Venters, who was bad again Sunday.)
Pitching-wise, the year began badly and got worse. Jair Jurrjens, an All-Star last season, lasted four starts before being shipped to Gwinnett, and the youngsters Mike Minor and Randall Delgado never found traction. Then Brandon Beachy, who was leading the National League in ERA, was lost to Tommy John surgery, all but forcing Wren to go shopping.
As encouraging as Jurrjens’ two recent big-league starts have been, as stout as Minor’s winning effort against Strasburg was, the hope that these five pitchers will coalesce into a playoff-caliber rotation has been reduced to a wish. By signing Sheets, the Braves got a guy that cost them nothing but money. If he pans out, Wren wins the Clark Howard Savvy Shopper Award of the month. But don’t think the Braves are done.
Said Fredi Gonzalez, the manager: “Frank and I have been talking for three or four days. If this [Sheets] works, we still have other pieces to go get another guy.”
The Braves have hoarded young pitchers — Minor, Delgado, Julio Teheran (who’s at Gwinnett) and Arodys Vizcaino — the past two seasons. Surely the plan is for Sheets to render either Minor or Delgado expendable, at least in the short term. Unless the rotation catches fire before the trading deadline at month’s end, the temptation will be great to swap a young arm for a proven one.
The Braves aren’t crazy about renting free-agents-to-be, but if an established starting pitcher — Zack Greinke of Milwaukee, say — could turn a middling season into something that extends beyond the 162nd game, it might be worth parting with Minor or Delgado. (For all their promise, it’s fair to say neither seems a Strasburg.)
The belief within this team is that it hasn’t played to capacity; without better starting pitching, it never will. Hiring Ben Sheets can’t hurt, but there’s more than one hole in this rotation.
By Mark Bradley
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138 comments Add your comment
Fats
July 1st, 2012
10:22 pm
Home field advantage still does not mean a wholle lot to FG and his team. Uggla is lookiing really bad lately and needs to go on R and R. He might need a break
Reality
July 1st, 2012
10:33 pm
Book it! The Braves will not make the playoffs again this year. Starting pitching is weak and lacks experience. Hitting is much too streaky. We are, at best, the third best team in our division.
Book it!
Bill
July 1st, 2012
10:55 pm
Get Zack and I’ll be happy.
Larry
July 1st, 2012
11:41 pm
Imagine this team with Terry Francona as their manager. Just he alone would have the Braves atop the division as their current manager, aka, Dirt for Brains, has easily cost this team 6-7 games from horrific managing. No way this team makes the playoffs with FG in the dugout.
duronimo
July 1st, 2012
11:56 pm
I don’t give a sheet anymore. It’s ben too hot anyway. Let’s trade for Ankiel and recycle him back to being a pitcher. Hoarding is a certified sickness even if it involves pitchers. Trade some of these projects. If Joe Johnson could pitch, I’m sure the Hawks would pay half his salary.
The Bravenator
July 2nd, 2012
12:00 am
Went to the Gwinnett Braves game last night. Wish I hadn’t. The Braves have nothing major league ready at AAA. Mostly retreads and career minor leaguers. No help there. FG wouldn’t know what to do with talent anyway. Clean house, write-off this season, don’t make any knee-jerk stupid trades, get rid of FG and FW, beg Liberty Cheapia for a few bucks and start over.
Bradley Curse
July 2nd, 2012
12:07 am
“We didn’t sign him to be a minor-league players,”
I had no idea the guy was studying up on it but I guess Wren has finally mastered “street talk” (though I think Bradley put the comma in the wrong spot, suppose to go like this: We didn’t sign him to be a minor-league, players)
Columbus
July 2nd, 2012
2:07 am
Look. the Braves have went this far with Minor and its about time for him to come around. Trade him now and it will be one of the BIGGEST mistakes in braves history. Not only is he going to be a 1 or 2 starter in a rotation, he is a lefty. It is far too SOON to give up on Delgado.
Do NOT rent a pitcher when for OUR YOUNG PITCHERS. Not when there is MUCH more money available for next year to BUY one.
Secondly, Jair is looking MUCH better. Maybe his knee and confidence are coming back. Also Minor looks to be getting better recently too. Take him out in the 6th inning first sign of trouble and ALL will be FINE. He seems to lose it 9 times out of 10 in the sixth. Get him out before any damage is done. Hudson should be fine. Do we need another starter? Yes. Should we trade Minor or Delgado? NO FREAKIN WAY!
Think Delgado, Minor, Beachy, Hudson, Jair. DONT FORGET MEDLIN for this year neither. LONG WAY TO GO….
DO NOT PANIC! I do not think Wren will.
Columbus
July 2nd, 2012
2:16 am
Think Delgado, Minor, Beachy, Hudson, Jair for next year. Minor WILL be very good next year. Delgado will be good, maybe very good. Jair has been and very well can be again. Beachy will not be back until the last couple months in 2013 but will be back. Hudson will be dependable as always. Nice rotation for next year if Jair is back strong. VERY nice. Minor is going to be very good and hes ALMOST there. Delgado is going to be very good too. hes got some more learning to go but it will happen. Do we give up one of those 2 for this year? Look at the next several years with the other 2 coming up and thing Smoltz, Glavine, Maddox, Avery all over again. Hudson will be stable until they all 4 are ready. Add in Beachy and that is a STRONG 5 man rotation starting in 2014.
Larry
July 2nd, 2012
3:19 am
Mark,
Why don’t you run a poll on Gonzalez:
1.) Retain Fredi through this and next season
2.) Retain Fredi through the end of this season.
3.) Terminate Fredi at the All Star Break and pursue Terry Francona or another manager
Want to bet me #3 gets the majority vote? Name the amount!
patience
July 2nd, 2012
3:30 am
I understand that most of the ppl on this blog have high expectations for the Bravos, as do I, but we still have a lot of season left. We’ve gotta remember that things are never as good or bad as they seem. If we get hot late in the season all of these rant will be null and void.
Leo...call Leo!!!
July 2nd, 2012
5:29 am
In the heyday, we’d bring in a guy like Sheets and he’d have a career year ( John Burkett, Chris Hammond, etc..) then move on to another team for a big contract only to fall back to their pre-Leo
performance.
Can Roger work the same magic? So far, no.
Leo...call Leo!!!
July 2nd, 2012
5:34 am
I wouldn’t give up on Minor or Delgado. Minor is half a season or so from being really good. Google
Tom Glavine’s 1989-1990 stats to see how he compared to Minor now. In ‘91, he wot he Cy.
Smootz was such a mess I the early 90’s the team hired a psychologist to help him work through his
problems.
Young pitchers take time. The Braves are NOT a World Series caliber team, if they’ll use a little patience with their young core of pitchers, they will be soon.
NickGranite
July 2nd, 2012
6:53 am
The Nats will be hard to catch because Zimmerman and now Morse are coming around after being out with injuries and…the braves do not have a good bridge team to the closer. The starters always seem to have a high pitch count by the time the 5th inning rolls around and unfortunately, one of those bridge innings has to be covered by Venters most of the time and he can now be deemed extremely unreliable.
NickGranite
July 2nd, 2012
6:59 am
With all due respect to the Glavine comparisons to Minor and Delgado early career struggles….and I see them often, it only works if you think Minor and Delgado will go on to win 305 games. I guess what I’m saying is a 305 game winner had a lot more going for him than just overcoming inexperience and a bad team early in his career.
Scott Brantley
July 2nd, 2012
7:00 am
Sheets will be to the staff what Troy Glaus was to the lineup–not much.
slydog
July 2nd, 2012
7:08 am
how far have the braves fallen where you have to depend on, much less even look at, the likes of Livan Hernandez and Ben Sheets. I never, ever, thought, the Braves would be in positions like this. Ben Sheets represents what so many unreliable pitchers in the Major Leagues do: Great stuff, but even greater inconsistency, and even more injuries. And the now the Braves are forced to waste their time and efforts on this underachiever. The would do better rotating all those ‘young arms’ they have been collecting like dolls around grandma’s house. What have you got to lose at this point?
GaryinBham
July 2nd, 2012
7:48 am
We’ve scored 53 runs in the last ten games, consistently at least 4 or more. I think the calls for offense upgrades are off base. he offense is fine. With good pitching, scoring 5.3 runs per game will win at a great rate. The bullpen faltering on the lefthand side and the weakness in starters is the whole ball of wax. Good column, I think you’re right. May be interesting that Cubbies are in town. I’ve wanted to bear through this year and let the young guys develop, and most of them have. J-Hey is hitting stride, Freddie’s our FB for a long time, we’ve got pieces in place. So it’s going to cost us to make a run for Chipper’s last hurrah. Interesting to see who it is, but a Dempster or Garza or Greinke would probably change enough Ls to W’s to squeak into the playoffs. Gotta do it. Whichever young arm we let go will probably no-hit us next year, but that’s the way it goes.
This is a pretty good team that can be really good. B-Mac needs the 4 days off to clear his head and rest his body. When he starts stroking a few to left field, he’ll be fine.
Steve
July 2nd, 2012
7:58 am
The Braves refuse to learn how to train pitchers.. At this point nothing can be done until the day after the end of the season.
The effort is there.
yep
July 2nd, 2012
8:42 am
hopefully this Sheets experiment goes well. definitely need to get one more arm though
Speedy Gonzalez
July 2nd, 2012
9:09 am
Our bench stinks, we have Ross end of story. We need a LF & a catcher & HAVE to resign Bourn, Simmons looks like a keeper & McCann is on the downhill slide, dont resign him & end up with a huge contract on a declining player see Chipper, let Ross start & bring up Bethancourt if your smart!
Blackberry Cobbler
July 2nd, 2012
9:16 am
The Braves had an opportunity this weekend to move much closer to 1st place.
Couldn’t do it, even playing at home.
This should tell us a lot.
And the answer is Ben Sheets? Come on man!!!!!!!!!
Kelly
July 2nd, 2012
9:22 am
Parting with Delgando or Minor for Greinke? Heck, deal both of ‘em. That would still be a good deal. However, Greinke is expensive and it’s doubtful they’ll make that move. Sheets is a bad gamble (not from a financial perspective, but from the perspective of hope that he’ll start). Of course, the mgmt. has seen him pitch. I haven’t. But thus far, the Braves are in a mess pitching and it’s gonna be hard to dig out.
WTF
July 2nd, 2012
9:31 am
Mediocre team adding mediocrity still nets mediocre. And Adding Sheets even isn’t ‘mediocre’ – he’s a questionable mediocre, old, twice operated on arm.
Depsparate? You bet. Desperation before the break bodes ill for any team, but the Braves have shown a tendency to run out of gas late so this is real trouble. Instead of renting players, how about moving some mediocre guys for some youngsters.
Trade McCann while you can. Trade Delgado for a prospect or 2 before his worth goes to zero. Johnny Venters? Trade him too. One trick ponies – even lefties – are expendable. Even Freeman isn’t a hold at any cost guy. Uggla, with his contract isn’t going anywhere, but Diaz, Hinske, etal may bring a youngster or 2 come end of July. No one in the present rotation should be ‘franchise’ so if a deal comes along to trade ANY of them, do it – but not for has-beens – youth!
The call ‘wait til next year’ is now!
double
July 2nd, 2012
9:35 am
Errors & Excuses.Most know we need pitching.I doubt one will be enough.I notice the Nats hit more than Braves,this is unusual and shows they have the pitching.This could be our year,if liberty would share just a little of the windfall,to get more quality pitching.
double
July 2nd, 2012
9:42 am
Hope Ben Sheets not has Ben
Don Sutton
July 2nd, 2012
9:45 am
Nice job signing Sheets since there is extremely low risk…nothing to lose. But Greinke sure would look good in a Braves uniform and I, for one, am growing weary of holding out hope for this group of young “studs” in our stable. Time has come to part with one (at least), get Greinke and sign him long-term, make sure the money is there for Bourne after the season to tie him up long-term, and upgrade the bench with someone more reliable.
63 year Braves Fan
July 2nd, 2012
9:47 am
Trade McCann now while he still has “some” value. Ross a better player right now. Find backup catcher.
DawgDad
July 2nd, 2012
9:55 am
Wren needs to set his sights on building a team that will win the Division; go find some more young players. Which of these players are likely to help the Braves win their next Division crown? Jones? [can't trade him]. Uggla? Bourn? McCann? Ross? Hinske? Wilson? [no trade value]. Hudson? Hanson? JJ? Durbin? There’s little chance of winning with this group unless Scott Boras suddenly retires.
It’s almost always a mistake to think your team is one or two players away from winning a championship. The Braves are an above average team that could hang in and compete for a wild card spot but most likely will fall short [again].
TallMarc
July 2nd, 2012
9:59 am
First let me state that I am a Nats fan and I beg to differ that the Nats starting line-up is not as good as the Braves starting line-up. The Braves are getting some decent production from Bourn and Prado but then the rest of the team has been streaky at best and that includes Freeman, Uggla, Jones & Heyward. In the past two weeks, two key cogs of the Nat offense have either returned to the line-up after injuries and rehab assignments (Morse & Zimmerman). The Nats have shown that having great pitching did carry the team for the first 50 or so games but since then the offense’s dynamic is completely different when you have a healthy Zimmerman and Morse batting 3rd and 4th. The Braves have a great lead-off hitter but that’s the only clear advantage I see from a statistical and objective viewpoint.
DawgDad
July 2nd, 2012
10:00 am
“Uggla, with his contract isn’t going anywhere” Well, he’s going to the All-Star game.
I give Uggla a lot of credit for showing up to play every day and playing hard. I just wish he could play well, consistently, and I’m sure he does, too. Personally, there are SEVEN other Braves position players who I’d judge more worthy of an all-star appearance. Seven. Count ‘em.
The Braves have GOT to stop throwing millions of dollars at players who aren’t going to help them win the Division.
DawgDad
July 2nd, 2012
10:04 am
TallMarc: Agreed for the moment, but the Braves COULD be better and I wouldn’t swap lineups at this point and give away the future of Simmons, Heyward, Freeman, and Prado.
PMC
July 2nd, 2012
10:09 am
They just signed Sheets, Ben freaking Sheets, and you included Grienke in the discussion?
We just bought a Geo Metro, and you’re talking about a Ferrari. Mark. Seriously? Zack Grienke is not walking through that door.
PMC
July 2nd, 2012
10:13 am
I don’t think they are desperate Mark. Not in the least. I think they know exactly what they are, and that’s why they bring in Ben Sheets.
At worst, Sheets should be a little more consistent than the rookies. They make a move so they can say they are trying.
They aren’t really. They didn’t in the offseason and they aren’t now. They were hoping they’d get lucky, they haven’t. So they are making average moves to stay in the hunt without doing anything to get above where they are really.
They are playing for the hope of winning a Wild Card, whether they want to say it or not is inconsequential, the moves they have made show it.
Dawgdad (The Original)
July 2nd, 2012
10:19 am
Javy Vasquez is sitting in Miami, I’m sure he could be persuaded to come back. Sheets, is not a bad project, he once owned the Braves and his number one is a curve ball, so he doesn’t have to throw 95 mph.
Sonny is right about Davy Johnson, but when the Braves were looking, I asked you Mark if you thought he was in consideration. Don’t know what problem he has, but your response was something to the effect that the Braves would not consider Johnson and no one in baseball probably would either. I guess the Nats didn’t get the memo, he is certainly head and shoulders about our Fredi.
1953dawg
July 2nd, 2012
10:20 am
Fire Wren and Fred and the braves problems will be solved. It’s Wren and his wonderful deals that have gotten the braves in this situation. Lowe, K.K, Hinske, Diaz,Wilson, Livan, the signing of Larry Jones to a 3 or 4 year extention, the signing of Hudson to a 3 year extention after surgery at 33 or whatever his age was. And last but certainly not least the hiring of Fred Flintstone. who has single handedly lost the braves at least 5 games this season already. Wren has tied up all of the braves budget with players that are either on other teams, out of baseball, or on the team and not contributing at all. That is about $45 million of the braves payroll, or half of the payroll that is dead weight, and a mindless manager. And people think this brilliant G.M. is going to be able to help this sinking ship. He is the reason it is sinking and he should go down with it, but he will make his usual excuses, and boneheaded trades or acquisitions. It’s a good thing he isn’t held accountable by the ownership, because he would be gone. But with no ownership, this clown will be allowed to continue to put a terrible product on the field. There are 2 many holes in this ship, and it is taking on water faster than poor Fred can handle. When you have the 15th worst pitching staff out of 16 teams in the N.L., and when you have the worst bench in the Majors, and when you have a #3 and #4 hitter batting .232 & .229 you aren’t going anywhere but down.
Dawgdad (The Original)
July 2nd, 2012
10:25 am
Mark, I for one don’t think the Nats regular lineup is worse than ours. Bryce Harper, Zimmerman, Desmond, seem pretty consistently productive and Laroche can carry a team when hot. Most of our guys except Bourne and Prado are extremely hit or miss streaky. The have a better bench that ours also.
Sonny Clusters
July 2nd, 2012
10:48 am
To the blogger that criticized our grammar . . . we was Honor Roll in school and we bet you wasn’t. Shaving a Clusters has always been hard work because we have a very heavy beard and our stubble can break a razor so we know something about chin hair and what looks good on a player and what looks like a Pontiac emblem growing on their chin. We think Chipper should never again have any chin hair while he is wearing the Braves uniform because it is just something else to get hurt during a game. Tweaking some chin hair could put him on the DL.
Don
July 2nd, 2012
10:53 am
What happened to all of you – and I do mean ALL OF YOU (almost all of you anyway) who called me an idiot and worse all winter for saying that the Braves would have pitching problems
Bucky Badger
July 2nd, 2012
11:01 am
Sonny is Funny:)!
Sonny Clusters
July 2nd, 2012
11:10 am
If Fredi Gonzalez fell in the woods, would there be a sound? If Fredi Gonzalez’ team needed a run and they were waiting for Fredi to somehow “lead” them, would there be a sound? If the division leaders was in town and you sat Uggla and Prado and Chipper for parts of a 3-game series would there be a sound from the fans that maybe you weren’t fielding the best team you could under the circumstances? Under those Oakleys are some problems and rose colored glasses aren’t going to hide the problems.
jek
July 2nd, 2012
11:11 am
This was all apparant at the end of the season last year.You cannot win wth minor league pitching.We know why nothing was done and the answer, as Mitt Romney would say, is to FIRE SOMEONE– actually everyone– Freddi- Frank and Liberty.
don
July 2nd, 2012
11:25 am
Good to see Matt harrison make the All-Star team. Do you suppose the Braves could use him. How about Scott Diamond of the Twins?
Hopefully the Braves have learned from past bonehead deals and won’t trade a bunch of top prospects to rent Greinke for a couple of months. If so, Greinke will take that “hometown discount” just like Teixeira did.
If Sheets doesn’t work out (highly likely), I’ll bet the Braves could give Larry McWilliams a try.
Brave Hokie
July 2nd, 2012
11:41 am
LOSER players
LOSER team
LOSER manager
LOSERVILLE!
scole
July 2nd, 2012
11:51 am
Sheets came to the majors as a college sensation, but has never been anything other than a 50/50 pitcher. The whole Braves rotation is filled with 50/50 ers, even Hudson is just a 50/50 thrower. No hoss in the rotation just wannabes. Hitters are the same way have a great game followed by several games they can’t buy a hit, swing hard and often, miss more than they hit. Only hope is the expanded playoff system, then they are 3 and done. Stick a fork in the whole team its done.
Caseyatthebat
July 2nd, 2012
11:51 am
Sonny Clusters. Your occasionally interesting comments are becoming somewhat less attractive due to your persistent, somewhat irrational criticism of Jones. Few athletes are able to play at this level and be effective. Yes, he’s injured often but he’s in the last year of a multi- year contract signed several years younger. Look at his stats, Sonny. They compare well with many. He’s still a very effective hitter and defender. More than many on this team, I would rather see him up in the clutch. How ’bout lightening up on one of the best men to ever play this game. We realize that you’ll probably criticize him when he goes into the hall of fame on the first ballot but the accolades he’s receiving from even American league teams in this final year will somewhat offset your opinion. Maybe you’re just a relative of one of his wives. Try to be happy thinking about the settlements they’ll get.
Fats
July 2nd, 2012
11:52 am
Move the home games to Gwinnett?? Would that fire em up? LOL Bones needs to start hitting a dm lot of homeruns. FG should let him go swimming everytime he hits a homerun. But he has to show up every game to start.
nashvillewill
July 2nd, 2012
11:59 am
I do not agree that the Braves hitting is “fine.” Poor situational hitting from everyone except Simmons (!) and Chipper; too many K’s from Uggla and Freeman and Heyward (until recently); poor BA from McCann and Uggla. I think most of this is correctable: Freeman shows promise, Prado and Heyward look ok for the most part. McCann and Uggla are the problems in the starting lineup and could be hidden better by batting them down in the order. (How do you justify batting third or fourth hitters who carry .230 averages and show no ability to move runners along?). The bench is atrocious and I suggest releasing/trading them all and starting over with trades, signings, or call-ups. It is sad when ones preference is to see the pitcher hit for himself – particularly Hudson, Delgado, and Jurrgens – than to PH Hinske, Diaz, Francisco, or Wilson. Plus, none of these guys bring any defensive help either.
The pitching problems are noted as well, particularly the dearth of quality starts and the demise of Venters. I am pretty sure Sheets will not help and no one at AAA looks like help either. Perhaps a trade involving young pitchers and McCann will be the eventual solution. I doubt any interest in Uggla and his outsized contract.
Michael G.
July 2nd, 2012
12:00 pm
“Frank and I have been talking for three or four days. If this [Sheets] works, we still have other pieces to go get another guy.”
There’s that word again…….IF. That simple word explains why this year’s Braves team will not be playing into October. Starting the season with at least 6 roster “ifs” was bad enough, but the organization continues to add questionable “talent” (if we can truly call it that). Livan experiment was a failure, and now adding a guy that hasn’t pitched since 2010? And management hopes this pans out?? I don’t need a crystal ball to see this, too, will not work. Some adage about chicken excrament and chicken salad comes to mind.
Jborodawg
July 2nd, 2012
12:08 pm
Bradley is spot on…it’s the pitching. Even with B Mac and Henske having off years batting; even with Chipper missing games; even with Uggs in a slump…it has been and still is the pitching. As Bradley points out, just compare the Nats and Braves team BA and runs scored; then compare the teams’ pitching records.
I agree with some that Uggs making the All Star game as opposed to Prado doesn’t make sense. All Star voting needs to be taken away from the fans; especially if the game decides home field advantage for the WS. If it’s just gonna be a popularity contest and an exhibition game, then do away with the home field decision part of it.