Did John Lackey Get Screwed?

John Lackey should be pissed off. He finally made the American League All-Star team, yet if you look at the box score, his name is nowhere to be found.

Of the 18 first time All-Stars, Lackey was one of four players to not see any action. The other three were Jose Valverde (Diamondbacks), Gil Meche (Royals) and Hideki Okajimi (Red Sox).

Okajimi was chosen as the last man in by the fans and as #32 of 32 really shouldn't see any action.

Meche has a losing record (5-6).

Valverde is 2nd in the National League with 26 saves, so maybe Tony LaRussa was saving him in case the NL came back.

But Lackey not pitching, I can't figure that out. He is one of three AL pitchers in the top ten in ERA, wins and strikeouts. Dan Haren is one and he started the game. Johan Santana was the other and he pitched one inning.

I checked Lackey's blog (link), but there was no post. Maybe he has learned from Kobe Bryant to cool off before spouting off.

What if Lackey never makes the All-Star team again? At 28 years old, we should hope (and expect) to see him there again, but it's not guaranteed.

Not to stray off subject but Tony LaRussa's "strategy" to save Albert Pujols for later in the game without telling him was ten times more egregious than Lackey not playing.

In any case, to substantiate my complaint, I checked the 2006 All-Star Game. In it there were 24 first-timers and six of them saw no action, so I guess my argument is losing steam.

Of the six who didn't play last year, two of them were on the team this year and played - Bobby Jenks (White Sox) and Jonathan Papelbon (Red Sox).

Francisco Liriano (Twins) is only 23 years old but is out for the season with elbow surgery. Despite his huge potential, he may never come back at full strength.

Chris Capuano (Brewers) is 28 years old and is 5-6 with a 4.78era in 2007.

Dan Uggla (Marlins) is only 27 years old and has hit 17 home runs and 52 rbi this season at second base. He should be back as an All-Star in the future if he can raise his batting average - .247 this year.

The most interesting player who was a first time All-Star last year and didn't get in the game is
Mark Redman. He made the AL team as a Royal and was signed by the Braves in the offseason. After going 0-4 with an 11.63 era, the Braves released the 33-year old on May 22nd. A week later he was signed to a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers and is now 2-4 with a 5.26 era for the Oklahoma (AAA) RedHawks.

I suppose it's not unprecedented to have first time players sit out, but as an Angel fan, I sure would've liked to see Lackey get a chance to pitch. I could only imagine the chorus of boos he would receive in San Francisco.

Screwed - no.

Disappointed - yes.

But, unlike Mark Redman, Big John has the talent to get back.

So as John Lackey keeps his emotions to himself, I know that somewhere manager Mike Scioscia is smiling.