July 1, 2009, at 2:06 am 
On Monday, I showed up to play for a new intramural softball team, but the captain failed epically in putting together a team, and with 4 men and 3 women, we were forced to forfeit. But not all was lost! The other team had 11 players, we split up into two teams of 9, and we just played ball for an hour. It was wonderful.
Anyway, my All-Star fantasy is that every MLB player shows up to some sandlot in the middle of nowhere (Is this heaven? No, it's Minnesota), two guys are chosen as captains of the AL and NL, they choose up 9 guys for each team and have at it. (While I like the DH for purposes of baseball-as-a-spectator sport, in this particular fantasy, pitchers hit and they pitch the whole game because they don't have to deal with pitching once every five days. Did I mention fantasy?)
Under these circumstances, this is who I would pick after a quick glance at the rosters, which is of course all you might have when you are picking sides on the playground:
| Pos | AL | NL |
| C: | Joe Mauer | Brian McCann |
| 1B: | Mark Teixeira | Albert Pujols |
| 2B: | Ian Kinsler | Chase Utley |
| 3B: | Alex Rodriguez* | Chipper Jones |
| SS: | Derek Jeter** | Hanley Ramirez |
| LF: | Ichiro | Manny*** |
| CF: | Grady Sizemore | Matt Kemp?^ |
| RF: | Nick Markakis | Ryan Braun^^ |
| P: | Roy Halladay^^^ | Tim Lincecum |
I think that'd be a hell of a ballgame.
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