Media Reacts To McCutch's Snub

Was McCutch snubbed? Hey, a good argument can be made for all the guys selected. So can one be made for Andrew McCutchen. His line is .294/12/45 with 51 runs scored and 15 stolen bases, a .393 OBP and .498 slugging percentage. McCutchen's WAR in 4.6; his UZR/150 is 6.9. That's a pretty complete player.

The national pundits (we suspect you already know what the local media think) have their own views, and they're unanimously pro-McCutch.

• David Schoenfield of ESPN's Sweet Spot blog writes "I figured he (McCutchen) was a lock for the team."
• Patrick McHugh of NESN posted "Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen boasts a .289 batting average, has 12 home runs and has driven in 43 runs on the season (before today's game). With such strong numbers it seemed a lock that the 24-year-old would be named to his first career All-Star Game."
• Keith Law of ESPN tweeted "What, McCutchen didn't make it? Did they pick the team with darts?"
• C. Trent Rosencrans of CBS's Eye on Baseball wrote in his piece "I still can't believe Andrew McCutchen's name wasn't on the All-Star list, he's the best all-around center fielder in the game."
• Anthony Witrado of The Sporting News noted "McCutchen has a higher average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and more steals than New York Mets right fielder Carlos Beltran, who was selected by manager Bruce Bochy. McCutchen is also having a better year than players’ selection Jay Bruce."
  
• Joe Lemire of Sports Illustrated's Five Cuts opined "Pirates centerfielder Andrew McCutchen is arguably the worst omission..."
  
• Mathhew Poulliot of NBC's Hardball Talk said "McCautchen (?), who is hitting .289/.390/.493 with 12 homers and 15 stolen bases and is the best player on one of the game’s biggest surprises, didn’t even make the Final Vote ballot for some bizarre reason."

It's gratifying at least to see that the national media has some idea of who McCutch is, even if the players and voters don't. We don't think the snub was meant to dis McCutchen; we think it's a by-product of the Pirates being a joke for so long that no one takes them, and by extension their roster, very seriously.

Hey, as we said before, there's a good argument to be made for every OF'er selected ahead of McCutch by performance or rep, or both. The players (except at contract time) and voting public aren't nearly as Sabermetrically inclined as the media and blogosphere are, so it's no surprise that they don't know the complete package that is Andrew McCutchen.

But McCutch belongs in the All-Star game. He made not have made it this year, but his time is coming, and quickly.

All Stars: Hanny In, McCutch Out

Well, Joel Hanrahan made the team, that was pretty much a no brainer. But McCutch didn't.

Hanny has all the credentials; overpowering heat, nasty slider, perfecto in the saves department and a 1.41 ERA.

A strong argument could be made for Andrew McCutchen. McCutch has been the man this year, the lone bright spot in a dismal Bucco attack. His line is .289/12/43 with a .390 OBP and .493 slugging percentage, 15 stolen bases and 48 runs scored. He's third in the league in WAR at 4.6, tucked between All-Stars Jose Reyes and Matt Kemp.

He lost out to Carlos Beltran (Mets), Jay Bruce (Reds), Matt Holliday (Cardinals), Hunter Pence (Astros) and Justin Upton (D-Backs). The Brewers Ryan Braun, the Cards Lance Berkman and LA's Matt Kemp were the elected OF'ers.

It's tough to knock any of those selections. It's also tough to say that McCutch doesn't have the credentials to play among that group, either. But hey, the Yankees' CC Sabathia was 11-4 with a 3.04 ERA; he's on the sidelines too. 

McCutch plays better D than any of the guys ahead of him, and has a higher WAR value. But leather and Sabermetrics don't count for much in popularity polls, and Andrew McCutchen, for better or worse, hasn't carved out a name for himself outside of his home base yet. So the result is disappointing, but hardly surprising. And it may be the publicity stirred by his omission does more to get his name out among the NL fans than any hitting streak.

The part that's especially galling is that McCutch didn't make the NL's extra man ballot, which consists of Todd Helton, Andre Ethier, Shane Victorino, Michael Morse, and Ian Kennedy. That's just downright disrespectful.

But that's what the Bucs are playing for this season, a little respect. And if this lights a fire under McCutch's fanny, well, we can't wait to see what the second half of the season has in store.