"Bran Torino" Wins Final Vote

Thanks to each team cross-promoting the other's nominee, Shane Victorino and Brandon Inge won the NL and AL All-Star Final Vote, respectively. They're probably not the best players of the five, but so what? Shane "The Flyin' Hawaiian" Victorino is a lot of fun to watch, and probably should have gone last year, so even though I voted for Pablo "Kung Fu Panda" Sandoval (best nickname in baseball right now) I'm not annoyed the way I have been in years passed. I know the ASG is about honoring excellence, but it's also about the pleasure of baseball for its own sake, a chance to put together a crowd-pleasing spectacle. It's part of the reason I hate the fact that the Game determines home-field advantage in the World Series: It introduces an unncessary competitive element to the atmosphere.

I'm disappointed Inge won, since that means the best 2B in the American League isn't in the ASG. Ah well, the "Bran Torino" coalition of the two was goofy, fun, and reasonably memorable--everything the All-Star Game should strive to be.