A.J. Pierzynski might make it seven, but considering the vitriol he
evokes, I imagine most non-Sox would want to do him a favor. I'm going
to guess he'll finish fourth, ahead of Ramon Hernandez but behind
Justin Verlander, Francisco Liriano and Travis Hafner.
Good thing I'm not a betting man. A.J.'s election on the "Final Man" ballot might make the most interesting behind-the-plate scenario since Pete Rose crashed into Ray Fosse in 1970.
Hats off to the marketing crew for the simple yet brilliant
"Punch A.J." campaign, and bigger ups for Sox fans for making it work, whether through legitimate or slighty sketchy means. This is impressive on two levels:
No. 1: This is the second straight year a White Sox has won the "Final Man" vote.
No. 2: It's the second straight year that the White Sox candidate was the least qualified.
Last year, Scott Podsednik had a pretty good Q rating with the impartial fan base, because 1) he was a fast guy, and 2) he's good-looking, which helps some people decide. Meanwhile, when Pierzynski was punched by Michael Barrett, 5 million people said the same thing and felt satisfied with themselves for being clever afterwards: "Well A.J. should've been punched out of principle."
I'm guessing it's all Sox fans -- or White Sox themselves -- putitng in those votes for Pierzynski. There may have been help from other parties. Perhaps Dodgers fans played a part. Their guy on the NL ballot, Nomar Garciaparra, got in, so maybe they voted for Pierzynski on the other side to upset Giants fans. That would also explain why Liriano, whom the Giants dealt to acquire A.J., was second.
At any rate, this is surely to upset the people who already felt the team had too many White Sox by adding a seventh. I don't feel much sympathy for those people, though. It's not just that the White Sox are enjoying the spoils for once, but getting mad at the eventual all-stars is like getting mad at some elderly guy you don't know because he's wearing a "World's Greatest Grandpa" shirt.