All-Star voting has jumped the shark

A question and a note before starting tonight's post:

1) Has "jumped the shark" jumped the shark? It probably has, but how long ago? {Probably around 1998.}

2) The following post may be hypercritical coming from a guy who writes a blog that artificially links two unrelated baseball teams.

But here it goes:

Last night Christine told me that certain players have been linked in All-Star voting, such as Los Angeles-based Chone Figgins with Matt Kemp. Last year, fans voted for White Sox Jermaine Dye and former White Sox Aaron Rowand.

It seems that now everyone has to have a running mate, and today Bran-Torino was unveiled, linking Shane Victorino with the Tigers Brandon Inge. Now, these happen to be my choices for the final spots, but what do the Tigers and Phillies have in common? Nothing. Nada. Zip. This is getting stupid.

Especially because other than for a fleeting moment last night, Shane-O can't seem to get past Pablo Sandoval - who, truth be told, is having a better season. Christine will probably object {yes, I do}, but I will remind her that he's just living up to the lofty expectations she placed on him by picking him for Rookie of the Year. {He can be Rookie of the Year after the All-Star game, not during it.}

Tonight's games: All-Star Tim Wakefield has given up just one run in six innings and leads the A's 4-1 in the 7th behind home runs by David Ortiz and J.D. Drew. The Phillies Rodrigo Lopez' second straight solid performance ended after five innings because of a sore shoulder. The Phillies and Reds are tied 2-2 in the 7th.

Do you get the feeling that the asking price for Roy Halladay just went up?