Manny Ramirez, who, in case you haven't heard - is currently out with a 50 games suspensions for a positive PED test, may still make it to the All-Star game as he ranks fourth among NL outfielders at the moment. His manager however, thinks he should not be an All-Star this year:

"No," Torre said when asked if he would like to see Ramirez in St. Louis on July 14. "I think if you asked Manny, he'd give you the same answer."

...

"I understand a lot of it is a popularity contest," Torre said. "To me, I think, the significance of the All-Star game is to reward players who had a good first half. We don't always do that because it's a popularity vote, for the most part.

"I think Manny's popularity is why he's gotten the votes. I think realistically, he didn't earn, other than from his reputation, to be, this year, in the All-Star game. It probably isn't the right thing for him to be in it this year."

...

Torre said he wanted to see deserving up-and-coming players such as Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria be recognized with All-Star bids.

While I also want to see Evan Longoria at the All-Star game, I don't see how this collides with Manny's election, given that they play at different positions AND in different leagues. Anyway, what kind of reaction is a statement like Torre's going to entail in this day and age? The exact opposite, of course.

So Binky, you’re all fed up with state of baseball?  You’ve had enough of the hypocrisy?  You wanna make a difference?  You wanna make a stand?  Huh?  Do ya?  Good.  Vote Manny!

Let's see how this one turns out. :)

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