On Monday, the managers for both the NL and AL sides have announced their starting pitchers for Tuesday night's 2012 MLB All-Star Game in Kansas City.
Texas Rangers skipper Ron Washington decided on Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers to start for the AL. Verlander told MLB.com on Monday that he was honored to be named the starter:
"What an honor it is to start my first All-Star Game," Verlander said at an Arrowhead Stadium news conference on Monday. "I've been to a few in the past and some I haven't had the opportunity to pitch like last year and some I've pitched out of the bullpen. But this is something different, and I'm going to relish every moment and hopefully play a part in helping the American league win."
Despite the year that New York Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey has had this season, St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa decided on Matt Cain of the San Francisco Giants to be the NL starter on Tuesday night, explaining the logic behind his decision this way:
"I know Dickey's going to play," La Russa said. "I'm very aware of the first half he's had. The one edge that I thought made sense, we've got Buster [Posey] catching and Matt is equally legitimate as far as getting the honor. And then we're just going to play the game. I can't bet you Dickey will come out in the second or fourth, I just know he's going to pitch in the first half of the game."
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