The Chronic Curmudgeon

SS: Jose Reyes, New York This one's a toss-up, and it was a tough choice between Reyes and Milwaukee's Bill Hall. But I'll go with Reyes as an on-base threat and the fastest player in the NL. He's batting .299 with 8 home runs, 39 RBI, 37 steals and 12 triples. Don't look now, but the Mets could have a legitimate stranglehold on the left side of the NL all-star infield for the rest of the decade. (Backups: Bill Hall, .274/17/41; Edgar Renteria, Atlanta -- god,I hate to give props to the decade's biggest slug of a Red Sox... what a forkin' bum! -- batting .313/9/35 with 9 steals)

C: Johnny Estrada, Arizona This position is where the fans messed up the worst. Paul freaking LoDuca???? Please. Playing anywhere but New York, LoDuca wouldn't have sniffed the underwear of the top three. However, it's a weak position in the NL and LoDuca was able to ride the tide of NY homers to the starting position. In reality, the best of a weak lot is probably Johnny Estrada, who's batting .318/6/45. (Backups: Mike Piazza, San Diego, .282/11/35; Michael Barrett, Chicago, .310/9/31)

OF: Matt Holliday, Colorado; Alfonso Soriano, Washington; Carlos Lee, Milwaukee. Of these three, the fans only picked one -- Soriano. And while I hate to vote for the SOB given the childish little "I don't wanna play outfield" stunt he pulled in spring training, I have to admit that at .274/26/55, Soriano belongs in this game. Holliday leads all NL outfielders with a .340 average; and while he benefits from playing in Coors Field, he's also hitting .315 away from home, with virtually half of his home runs coming on the road as well. As for Lee, how it is that a guy with 25 home runs and 70 RBI at the break can't break the starting all-star lineup... well, that's beyond me and indicative of how stupid the fans can be. (Backups: Jason Bay, Pittsburgh, .282/20/62; Carlos Beltran, New York, .283/24.65; Andruw Jones, Atlanta, .273/18/68) Yes, I know that I picked the same six as who made the squad. But the fans voted the wrong two into the starting lineup.

Starting Pitcher: Brad Penny, Los Angeles There's a lot of good pitchers in the NL this year, but Penny is combining wins, ERA and strikeouts very well, and I think is having the strongest season in the NL at 10-2, with a 2.92 ERA and 82 Ks. (Backups: Tom Glavine, NY, 11-2/3.43/78; Bronson Arroyo, CIncinnati, 9-5/2.79/95; Brandon Webb, Arizona, 9-3/2.72/97; Carlos Zambrano, Chicago, 7-3/3.33/118; Chris Young, San Diego, 7-4/3.13/95)

Relievers: Trevor Hoffman, San Diego Jason Isringhausen has more saves, but Izzy benefits from pitching for a team that wins a lot. Hoffman has 21 saves in San Diego, plus a microscopic 1.13 ERA and a WHIP under 1.00. Benefit of the doubt goes to the guy who's actually keeping runners off the bases and getting guys out. (Backups: Billy Wagner, New York, 16 saves/2.33 ERA/49 Ks; Brian Fuentes, Colorado, 16 saves/2.36 ERA/46 Ks; Tom Gordon, Philadelphia, 21 saves/2.23 ERA/45 Ks)