The good-bye All-Star celebration at Yankee Stadium will feature a decidedly Red Sox and Cubbie flair. Boston and Chicago will field seven all-stars apiece, the most for either league. Kevin Youkalis, Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez will be starting for the Red Sox and accompanied to the Bronx by Jonathan Papelbon, Jason Varitek and J.D. Drew. The Cubs will start Alfonso Soriano (who may not and should not play because of injury), Kosuke Fukudome (thank you, Japan) and Geovany Soto, while Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, Kerry Wood and Aramis Ramirez will be reserves. The Cubs catcher is the first even rookie to start for the NL behind the plate. No team in the National League has more than two representatives, while the Northsiders have seven.
The most impressive number coming from the All-Star roster release is that 25 newcomers will be playing in the Midsummer Classic, many of those as the sole representative of their terrible teams. Although, it's good to see guys like Nate McLouth and Ryan Ludwick, who are more than deserving of having a spot.
Here's your AL and NL rosters.
Which player absent from the initial lineups is most deserving of a final spot?
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