Congratulations to Rafael Furcal and Hong-Chih Kuo for being added to the National League All-Star squad this weekend. Both were chosen as injury replacements by NL manager Charlie Manuel, with Raffy in for Jose Reyes and Kuo in for Jason Heyward.
Raffy's battled some injuries himself along with a short leave for the unfortunate death of his father this season. He doesn't quite have enough at-bats to qualify, but his .333 average would be tops in the league if he did. Throw in six homers, 35 RBIs, and 14 stolen bases, and he looks like the Raffy of old (or young if you think about it) again.
Kuo is not someone you would typically think of being an All-Star, but middle relievers have received their just due this season. Arthur Rhodes of the Reds and Evan Meek of the Pirates are on the NL squad, and Matt Thorton of the White Sox is on the AL squad. Obviously, managers are looking at the late-inning matchups as a reason to bring along this type of pitcher.
On the season, Kuo has been filthy. In 26 1/3 innings, he has a very low 1.03 ERA and a very high 36 strikeouts. Against lefties, he's been just plain unfair, as they are 0-30 against him. Wow.
Both players join starter Andre Ethier and Jonathan Broxton in Anaheim on Tuesday.
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