Snubbed!

Mussina one of many All-Star snubs on our list

Michael Lazarus / Special to FOXSports.com

As hard as it may be to fathom that a New York Yankee who's a five-time All-Star can be underrated, it's apparent that Mike Mussina has turned the trick -- at least when it comes to this year's All-Star selection process.

If there's one player who should feel completely snubbed, it's Mussina, the second-ranked pitcher in our rankings this week and a mainstay for most of the season.

Ranked among the top 14 pitchers in baseball in all six of our categories (including wins and ERA), Mussina wasn't only left off the original roster – he wasn't even one of the five players added for the ballot for the final spot.

Granted some pitchers – like Mark Redman, Scott Kazmir and Barry Zito – are their teams' only representative so it's understandable why they were selected. But compare the raw numbers of Mussina and another All-Star pitcher. (Stats through Tuesday night's games):

Mike Mussina: 9-3, 3.17 ERA, 116.1 IP, 104 SO, 22 BB, 1.04 WHIP

Mark Buehrle: 9-5, 3.86 ERA, 116.2 IP, 51 SO, 28 BB, 1.31 WHIP

Of course, Buehrle plays for the same team as the AL All-Star manager. Perhaps this is payback for all the Yankees who made the game when Joe Torre managed (remember Mike Stanton in 2001)?

• The six statistics the rankings are based on:
  

ERA: The most common statistic to rate pitchers.
WHIP: Keeping batters from reaching base is of utmost importance.
Strikeouts/walk ratio: A big measuring stick for success.
Strikeouts/9 innings: Pitchers who strike out more batters tend to do better.
Opponents' slugging percentage: Limiting the home runs and extra-base hits.
Wins: Yes, wins aren't always "earned" but this is what the ultimate goal is

The 30 top pitchers in each category earn points (30 for first, 29 for second, and so on all the way down to 1 point for 30th place). Those with the most total points top our rankings.

Pitchers must have thrown enough innings to qualify for the ERA title (one inning per team games played) in every category except wins. Ties among wins are broken by number of losses. Rankings are through Tuesday night.


Rk Pitcher ERA WHIP K/BB K/9 SLG% Wins TOTAL
1. Johan Santana 28 30 29 27 21 14.5 149.5
2. Mike Mussina 20 28 26 19 22 17 132
3. Roy Halladay 23 27 25 NR 18 29.5 122.5
4. Pedro Martinez 9 29 23 30 27 NR 118
5. Curt Schilling 6 24 30 20 NR 27.5 107.5
6. Brandon Webb 29 20 28 NR 13 17 107
7. Jason Schmidt 30 23 NR 13 29 NR 95
8.Jeremy Bonderman 5 15 19 25 25 NR 89
9. Bronson Arroyo 27 21 14 1 14 11.5 88.5
10. Chris Young 21 26 1 21 19 NR 88

Next 10:
11. Jose Contreras (86)
12. Brad Penny (84)
13. Scott Kazmir (80.5)
14. John Lackey (79)
15. Justin Verlander (77.5)
16. Chris Carpenter (76)
17. Chris Capuano (74.5)
18. Jake Peavy (68)
19. Carlos Zambrano (6)
20. Aaron Harang (61.5).

Dropped out: Kenny Rogers (LW: 18).

*** Liriano is 2/3 of an inning away from taking over the No. 1 spot ***