LA Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez will be finished with his 50-game suspension by the time MLB’s All-Star Game rolls into St. Louis in mid-July. Fans have taken notice, and the campaign to get Ramirez enough votes to start in the Midsummer Classic is already underway. But the Vote For Manny blog is not what it first seems to be; it’s actually a protest against the All-Star Game itself:

I do not want to see Manny in the All Star Game. Are we clear on this? I started the “Vote For Manny” site to illustrate the joke that the voting, the “this time it counts”/World Series home field advantage rule, the mandatory representation, the still-soft PED rules…has become. I want to see the best players selected, not the most popular. Ibanez is worthy and will have a spot on the team no matter what; his manager is managing the NL team.

Manny’s vote total currently places him fourth in the NL outfield voting, so I guess this thing could still happen (sadly, Lastings Milledge’s campaign seems to be preparing its concession speech). Personally, I don’t know anyone that wants to see a game featuring players they’ve never heard of, especially when that game is just a glorified exhibition game. If they want to dump a big pile of cash on the field for both teams to play for and have a real game, then fine, get the best first-half players (OMG Zach Grienke!). Otherwise, what’s the big deal?

|via Walkoff Walk|