I was just listening to the Brewers get no-no'd by Justin Verlander and announcer Bob Uecker was talking about All-Star voting. Basically, he said the system isn't perfect, and he believes that the majority of votes go to the fans' home teams rather than to the most deserving players. I see his point, but can we really be surprised by the nature of the fan vote? Fans are fans because of numerous criteria other than, or in addition to, stats. For example, players with great smiles will get more of the chick vote, and guys who can really crush the ball will get a strong dude voter turnout. There's much more at play here than just performance stats, and so be it–the game belongs to the fans.

Obviously, Russell Martin's got a great smile and a crushing swing. Based on popularity or skills, there's no doubt in my mind that he should be a 2007 All-Star.

Now, can we round up some more votes for Prince Fielder? I'd love to see Pujols knocked out of contention for the 1B slot. 

Did I miss some recent news about Orlando Hudson? He's not even in the top 5 in 2B votes! That's just confusing.

American League:

• 1B – Lyle Overbay
• 2B – Aaron Hill
• SS – Orlando Cabrera
• 3B – Troy Glaus
• C – Ivan Rodriguez
• OF – Vladimir Guerrero, Vernon Wells, Alex Rios

I sponsor Overbay's BB-Ref page–he's my man at first! Hill has been a welcome offensive surprise for the Jays this year, so he's earned my vote. Cabrera has always been one of my favorites at short. Troy Glaus plays the hot corner well and has had a hot bat of late. I-Rod–that smile! What more can be said? An outfield of Vlad, Wells and Rios sounds pretty sick to me!

National League:

• 1B – Prince Fielder
• 2B – Orlando "O-Dog" Hudson
• SS – Omar Vizquel
• 3B – Ryan Zimmerman
• C – Russell Martin
• OF – Ryan Church, Geoff Jenkins, Carlos Beltran

Fielder is becoming a real monster! O-Dog, what a spark plug! We miss him in TO. Omar is not only a supreme baseball player, still making highlight reel plays on a daily basis, but he's also a renaissance man who paints, sings and plays the drums–my kind of guy! Zimmerman is a star in the making. Russell Martin is the obvious pick behind the plate: solid defensively and a masher. I'll probably get some cat calls for picking Church, but I do think he's a multi-tool player who can make a difference in a game. Jenkins has been on a tear, and Beltran is one of the finest all-round players to strut out onto the diamond.

Those are my picks! If you haven't voted yet, I encourage you to do so soon. Visit MLB.com and look for the Monster Online Ballot link, under the scoreboard at left. If I can influence your votes at all, I say: VOTE RUSSELL MARTIN!