All-Star season means that fans throughout baseballdom take the time to examine the performances of players throughout the league, carefully voting for only the best, most exciting players to represent their teams.

OK, so for the most part people just pick guys they like or names they know. Sometimes the fans choose well (like voting in Albert Pujols over Sammy Sosa) or not so well (like voting in Hideki Matsui over quite a few deserving AL outfielders) but such is life with the fickle public. People (like me anyway) do tend to check out who's coming and going in baseball. There are quite a few former Blue Jays out there still playing and in many cases still playing quite well. Here are my picks for the Ex-Jays All Stars:

First, the rules: like the real All-Star teams, this team features at least one Ex-Jay from each team that has one on their current major-league roster. Former minor-leaguers count too. Amazingly, despite the Beane-Riccardi freight train between the two teams, there are no Oakland A's who qualify. Same goes for Texas, K.C., Minnesota, Tampa Bay, Montreal, Atlanta, Florida, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Arizona, and San Diego. With Toronto off our list (duh) this leaves us with 16 teams, the same number as the NL. To make sure this is some kind of All-Star team and not just a list of Ex-Jays, I've limited the roster to 25. Selections are based on current performances, not how they did as Jays.

The starting lineup:

1B: Fred McGriff (LA) By a nose over John Olerud. Both are having off-years, but with more homers in fewer at-bats and similar OBS (.748 for McGriff, .773 for Olerud). He gets the nod. As you will see below, this is also a bit of blatant manipulation to get one of my favourite players on the team.

2B: Jeff Kent (HOU) Over the last few years, he's been putting up great numbers while Alomar has struggled in New York.

SS: Alex Gonzalez (CHC) Makes the team for two reasons: 1) His knack for hitting walk-off home runs this year has made him a local hero, and 2) If I have to name Cesar Izturis to an All-Star team, I'll feel dirty inside.

3B: Tony Batista (BAL) Since the Jays traded him to Baltimore for... oh yes, nothing (thanks Gord), Batista has been a consistently good player.

C: Benito Santiago After a brief, forgettable stay in Toronto, Santiago has been among the better catchers in the NL.

OF Shawn Green (LA) He has had a rough first half, but he's still the best former Jay hitter around.

OF Jose Cruz Jr. (SF) OK, so he's a disgraced former Jay, but still he's had a very good first half with San Francisco. And unlike Mondesi, we're not paying him to do it.

OF Jay Gibbons (BAL) He was a rule V pick from Toronto's minor-league system in 2001, and has blossomed as a hitter ever since. He will likely be a real All-Star someday, especially if Baltimore is still bad in the coming years.

DH: Brad Fullmer (ANA) Molitor and Winfield are long retired, and Brad helped the Angels win the World Series.

Kent, McGriff, and Fullmer are all on the DL, so we need to replace them on our team. At 1B and 2B Olerud (SEA) and Roberto Alomar (CWS) are easy choices. At DH we can put Ruben Sierra (NYY) who was a Jay back when management stayed awake at night, trying to think of ways to keep Shawn Green from playing.

Reserves

Infield: Kevin Witt (DET), Chris Stynes (COL), Casey Blake (CLE)

Outfield: Raul Mondesi (NYY), Orlando Merced (HOU)

Catcher: Mike Matheny (StL)

Each of our infield reserves is a former Jays minor-leaguer, all three are the only eligible players on their teams, and all three are doing fairly well this year. Stynes, traded for David Cone in 1995, is putting up a respectable .837 OPS in the thin Denver air. Casey Blake was last weeks AL player of the week and may have earned a future on a rebuilding Cleveland team. Kevin Witt has been the second best hitter on the Tigers. Which is sort of like being the second toughest member of Menudo, but still. And he was drafted as a shortstop so we don't have to name Cesar Izturis to our team.

Mondesi is a contributor for the Yankees, while Merced, who came to Toronto along with Dan Plesac (and Carlos Garcia! Hooray!) had something of a career renaissance with Houston.

Matheny has been a valuable player for the Cardinals, despite the fact that he's still not much of a hitter. The pitchers love working with him, so he gets the nod. If only Pat Borders were in the majors...

Next, we have to select our pitching staff:

Starters: Woody Williams (StL), Esteban Loaiza (CWS), Roger Clemens (NYY), David Wells (NYY) Steve Trachsel (NYM)

Real-life All-Stars Williams and Loaiza make the grade, and the rest of the rotation comes from New York. Clemens and Wells are still going strong for the Yankees, while Steve Trachsel is 4-1 over his last 5 starts and gets the nod over the injured Al Leiter.

Relievers: Billy Koch (CWS), Dan Plesac (Phillies), Paul Quantrill (LA), Felix Heredia (CIN), Mike Timlin (BOS)

Quantrill is an easy choice as he has been great this year (1.54 ERA, 0.88 WHIP) and is a big part of a very good Dodgers bullpen. Pleasac has been his usual effective self and gets the nod over the inconsistent Jose Mesa, a Jays farmhand way back when. Billy Koch is giving ulcers to his third team in as many years but still makes the grade. Mike Timlin has been very good for Boston (3.42 ERA, 1.08 WHIP) and gets selected over occasional closer Brandon Lyon (4.31, 1.40). Felix Heredia has been suprisingly not-sucky this year (3.22 ERA, 1.23 WHIP) and since as the only Red this side of Luke Prokopec that just as well. He's better suited to our team than Mike Williams (PIT) is for the NL All-Stars.