R.A. Dickey tried to be professional about it, but the knuckleballing New York Mets ace could not hide his disappointment Monday after not being named the National League's starting pitcher in Tuesday night's All-Star Game. NL manager Tony La Russa chose San Francisco's Matt Cain instead.
"That might be one of my bigger disappointments, because I really felt like it would have been a neat thing for the Mets organization and the fan base," Dickey said of starting Tuesday's game. "Having shared so much of my story with them, I feel like that would have been a neat culmination or apex of that story.
"I'm not the boss. I don't necessarily have to agree with it, but I certainly have to respect it, and that's the way it is."
Dickey was, by most accounts and by the stats, the best pitcher in the National League the first half of the season. He is 12-1 with a 2.40 ERA, while Cain is 9-3, 2.62 and pitched a perfect game. La Russa said he was "very aware" of Dickey's accomplishments but still chose Cain. This the 37-year-old Dickey's first All-Star appearance. Cain, 27, will be in his third All-Star Game.