All-Star ballots are out, and most fans are going to punch out the name of Albert Pujols under National League first basemen.
Maybe they shouldn't act so quickly. Consider Adrian Gonzalez.
Working in the middle of a lineup that offers minimal support -- in fact, both the Dodgers and Mets diligently pitched around him -- Gonzalez is off to an All-Star caliber start.
Wednesday afternoon in Colorado, Gonzalez powered his eighth and ninth homers of the season's first month. That is an all-time Padres record for the first month of the season.
Gonzalez is riding an 11-game hitting streak (16-for-38 with six homers and 11 RBIs) and has hit safely in 19 of the Padres' last 20 games. He has reached base in all 21 of the Padres' games.
Gonzalez is hitting .329 with a .488 on-base percentage. On Tuesday night, he also stole the first base of his major league career in his 558th game.
ROCKIES 7, PADRES 5: Chris Iannetta and Todd Helton hit the first two home runs allowed by Padres starter Kevin Correia this season, and Padres nemesis Aaron Cook ran his all-time record against San Diego to 12-4 despite giving up homers to Adrian Gonzalez and Henry Blanco. Gonzalez hit a second homer later against the Rockies bullpen.
