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All-Star Voting: Utley Leads 2B Early

Chase Utley leads all National League second basemen in All-Star voting. His 675,596 votes ranks second among all NL players, behind Albert Pujols.

Where other Phillies are ranked:

First base: Ryan Howard is third behind Pujols and Prince Fielder.
Shortstop: Jimmy Rollins is third behind JJ Hardy and Hanley Ramirez.
Outfield: Raul Ibanez is sixth behind Ryan Braun, Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Beltran, Manny Ramirez and Mike Cameron. Shane Victorino and Jayson Werth are in 10th and 12th places, respectively.

Yes, if you see a trend, it’s that the Brewers are all over the list. Jason Kendall is second among catchers; Rickie Weeks is second among second basemen; Bill Hall is second among third basemen. At 27-18 the Brewers lead the NL Central, but there is no way Kendall, Hardy and Hall should be in the top five in their respective positions. Oh, and Corey Hart (.242, 4 HR, 18 RBI) is seventh among outfielders. And I find it hard to believe that, arguably, the best player in the National League this season is sixth in his position.

Tim Malcolm

Tim first found the Phillies as a little infant at Veteran’s Stadium, cheering on a Juan Samuel game-winning home run in his very first game. With the pinstripes in his blood, he witnessed Terry Mulholland’s 1990 no-hitter, “Steve Carlton Night” at the Vet, game three of the 1993 World Series, countless games during the charmed 2008 championship season and various road excursions. Since November 2007 Tim’s been writing about them daily at Phillies Nation, becoming one of the world’s most popular Phillies scribes. You can catch him on Twitter and Facebook, as well. When he’s not talking about the Phils he’s relaxing with a St. Bernardus ABT 12 or one of his many favored brews.