Ian Kennedy has had, by all means, an excellent season. I wrote in June that Kennedy was finally delivering on his immense potential and talent.
↵In 2011, Kennedy has a 8-3 record with a very respectable 3.38 ERA through 18 starts. He has 103 strikeouts in 122.1 innings, which means he averages about .84 strikeouts per inning. He is the best starting pitcher that the Diamondbacks have, and his numbers speak for themselves.
↵The real measure of an All-Star? Consistency. Kennedy has been a rock for Arizona, nearly always delivering a quality start when he toes the rubber. Outside of his rough performance against Oakland on July 3 (5.2 innings, 7 earned runs), Kennedy has been a true ace.
↵The All-Star Final Vote ends at 1:00 PM Pacific time on Thursday afternoon, giving us exactly 30 hours to rally Ian Kennedy past Shane Victorino and the rest of the National League candidates.
↵While Kennedy isn't doing too well in the voting category, it's not for a lack of effort from the organization:
↵↵↵In addition to partnering with the Rays in the alliance, the D-backs have made a big push in traditional and social media with the #VoteIanIn hashtag on Twitter and more. He appeared on ESPN's "First Take" Tuesday morning, and teammates have rallied support for him. CEO Derrick Hall said he has received "emails and calls from fans saying they have been working hard to get Ian support. It's really heartening to see how involved our fans are and how strongly they feel about this."
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AZ Snake Pit points out that it isn't crazy for the D-backs to only get one representative, but I think it would be completely fair for Arizona to have two during what has amounted to an impressive season thus far for both the team and their best starting pitcher.
↵If you want to support Kennedy in his pursuit of the final spot on the All-Star roster, you can vote at MLB.com. Go ahead, vote Kennedy in 2011.