FanHouse Robert Fick

The All-Star rosters have been announced, which means that the debate about who was snubbed has already begun. But let's take a second to examine the actual rosters, and divide the players into three categories: "The Shoe-Ins," "The All-Stars by Association" and "The Robert Fick Rulers."

As a Tigers fan, I have surprisingly fond memories of Robert Fick. He was the last player to hit a home run at Tiger Stadium, quick to throw down with opposing players and always good for a funny quote. But even I admit that he was one of the least deserving All-Star selections in recent memory when he was the token Tiger in 2002.

Back when the All-Star Game was nothing but a meaningless midsummer exhibition, getting a player from every team in the league made sense. But now that the game determines homefield advantage, it's unfair to contending teams to include token players when more deserving players could be included. (Ironically enough, you may remember that it was Fick who led to the change in the All-Star game's meaning -- the picture above is him returning to the dugout after scoring the tying run for the AL, which led to the game being called a stalemate and eventually Selig's rule change.)

So, after the jump, here are your 2007 All-Stars who have absolutely no business attending the game without having to pay for a ticket ...

The Washington Nationals are all about the reality television genre. Robert Fick and Dmitri Young, for example, are big fans of American Idol. And they're none too pleased with Wednesday night's results. Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post's DC Sports Bog got Fick's take on Idol vote, and on the current season in general:

"I just think it's the way she looks," he said of Melinda and her untimely exit. "Melinda was 29. I don't know. Melinda's the best singer, she is. But the way she looks, she doesn't look like the American Idol." Point being, he loves Idol. Been watching for years. I asked for his favorite contestant this season. "I liked Gina Glocksen the best," he said. "I thought she was good, and I thought she got screwed."

From the information I've obtained (which is my way of saying that I'll never admit that I watch even a little American Idol when in "reality", I'll watch a few songs between innings), half the finalists got screwed via "Sanjaya-mania", which basically means that not only did Gina get screwed, but the show has officially jumped the shark. Dmitri Young weighs in after the jump:

It looks like Ichiro Suzuki isn't the only hitter who might have aspirations of trying out this whole pitching thing later in his career: the Washington Post's Dan Steinberg witnessed Dmitri Young showing off his arm while playing catch with Robert Fick earlier this week. From the Sports Bog:

Robert Fick can chat amiably with reporters while playing catch with Dmitri Young, who was throwing his split-fingered pitch, which looks like a knuckleball and was repeatedly handcuffing Fick, who then challenged Fredberg beat guy Todd Jacobson that he couldn't catch the Dmitri pitch with $100 on the line. [Note to MLB moralists: he was joking. No bet was made.]

Jacobson, for the record, is a former WaPo colleague and, before that, a catcher at Seneca Valley high. Plus his dad used to throw him a knuckleball. He was not cowed by Fick's challenge.

"I can catch it," he said.

Jacobson stood behind Fick to get a better look at the pitch. Brian Schneider walked by. Fick challenged Schneider to catch Young. Schneider declined.

"See that?" Fick said. "That's our catcher saying 'I'm good'."

Honestly, Young would have been the last guy on the Nats that I would have figured had a good pitching arm -- I mean, with a nickname like "Da Meat Hook," you wouldn't expect handling the ball would be his forte. He does have one thing going for him, though: he certainly has a relief pitcher's physique.

It's easy to forget that baseball is played by real human beings with real problems outside of their day jobs. Nationals teammates Robert Fick and Dmitri Young know from real problems. For one day anyway, they could lose their problems in a sea of happy Nationals after their first win of the season.

Fick and Young perhaps were most boisterous. "Been through the thick of things" was how Young described his relationship with Fick. They are both 33, the oldest players in the clubhouse. They grew up in Southern California, Young a first-round pick out of Rio Mesa High in Oxnard, Fick down the road at Newbury Park.

They kept tabs on each other and eventually became teammates with the Detroit Tigers in 2002 before their own travails. Young's troubles last season are well documented -- charges of domestic abuse, problems with alcohol, a release by the Tigers and a diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes. Fick's struggles are more private. His mother, Gloria, is dying of lung cancer in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Late last week, he flew home for a brief visit. In a way, it made things harder.

"She's doing worse than ever," Fick said yesterday. He is considering another trip home on Monday's off day. "I'm not going to make any excuses. She's what keeps me going. She's my strength."

And you thought the prospect of losing 125 games was bad. Somehow, I think that Fick and Meat Hook will find a way to put those kind of problems in perspective. I'm sure that these old friends will find a way to lean on each other to get themselves through the tough times.

Good luck, men.

Previously on The Fanhouse:
Nats win! Nats win!
Dmitri Young Goes to Hell and Back