Steve Cishek called it "ridiculous." Casey McGehee said it was "inexcusable."
Their beef? When the latest All-Star voting update was released on Monday, Giancarlo Stanton had slipped to fourth in voting among National League outfielders.
"I know that there are many talented, deserving outfielders in the National League," said Marlins infielder Ed Lucas. "But I do not think you can find three that are more deserving than him."
Yet Stanton trails Yasiel Puig, Andrew McCutchen and Carlos Gomez in the voting among NL outfielders even though, statisically, he's enjoying a much better season than those three. Stanton leads the league in homers and RBI, has a .303 average, and established a new single-season career high Monday night with his seventh stolen base.
In a head-to-head comparison, Stanton's WAR (wins against replacement) of 4.5 is not only tops among outfielders, it is significantly better than McCutchen (3.7), Gomez (2.9) or Puig (2.8). His OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) of .983 also leads all NL outfielders. McCutchen is a distant second with an OPS of .948.
"You can't ask him to do anything else," Lucas said.
Said manager Mike Redmond: "There's no way this guy shouldn't be a starter in an All-Star game."
Voting by fans continues online at MLB.com through July 3. But Stanton lost considerable ground relative to the other outfielders in the latest release. Puig, McCutchen and Gomez each has received more than 2,400,000 votes while Stanton sits at just over 2,130,000.
"That's a joke," McGehee said. "That's inexcusable. I don't know how he could not be in the starting lineup in the All-Star game with what he's done. Everyone probably has their own bias. But I think, objectively, I don't see how he could be kept out of the starting lineup."
There's a chance Stanton could still start, though not necessarily in the outfield.
Stanton figures to be the only Marlin on the N.L. squad, though many feel McGehee has a strong case with the season he's having. McGehee's .390 average with runners in scoring position leads the league. Stanton is solidly in the third baseman's corner for an All-Star nod.
"It should be by the numbers, not popularity or most fans of a team," said Stanton, adding that fellow Marlins outfielder Marcell Ozuna should also be considered. "I'm sure Ozuna and McGehee aren't even in the conversation. It's unbelievable. The fact that they're not even in the conversation is unbelievable."
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Adeiny Hechavarria thought he would be available to return to play Tuesday. Instead, the shortstop returned home to Miami, where he received a MRI that revealed a right triceps strain. The Marlins didn't know as of Tuesday afternoon whether he would be placed on the disabled list.
"We're just kind of waiting to try to give it a day," Redmond said. "We've given it a few days to see if it gets better to where he's able to play without putting him on the DL. We thought he was getting better, and yesterday he tried to throw and he still had some discomfort there."
Lucas started at shortstop again on Tuesday.
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