Joe Torre was criticized last year for naming seven of his own players to the All-Star team. This year the Yankees manager is being questioned for taking five shortstops.

Being an All-Star means a player was the best, not one of the best. Players are supposed to compete against other players at their position. At most, the top three should go, and the best should be the starter. If another player falls below the top two or three, he is not an All-Star.

My All-Star 'snub'

In 1982, I was hitting better than any other National League second baseman. But Manny Trillo won the fan vote, and Tommy Lasorda, who was managing the NL team, took Steve Sax over me. Because I was a 10-time All-Star and a future Hall of Famer, I thought I would at least be picked as a backup over a rookie. But Sax was Lasorda's guy. I wasn't happy at the time, but I didn't say anything publicly because somebody has to be left off the team. I never cried about it. My manager, Frank Robinson, said something to me because he knew I was having a better season than the other second basemen. Jokingly, I told Frank, "I'll get even with him (Lasorda)." And I did. On the last day of the season, I hit a three-run home run off Terry Forster to beat the Dodgers and keep them out of the playoffs. -- Joe Morgan

I view the All-Star selection process much like the Hall of Fame voting. When a player is eligible for the Hall, one question the voters will ask is, "Was he the dominant player at his position during his time?" All time, I am compared against Rogers Hornsby, Eddie Collins and Bill Mazeroski -- other second basemen -- not Willie Mays, Hank Aaron or Babe Ruth.

Deserving players are left out of the All-Star Game every year. It's like picking a league MVP. There are always several solid candidates, but a choice must be made. In the end the best player is selected.

The five shortstops are All-Star-caliber players, but not all five can be the best. As I wrote a week ago, Alex Rodriguez is the best, followed by Miguel Tejada and then either Nomar Garciaparra or Derek Jeter. The past four times Torre has been the All-Star manager, he has picked only three shortstops. I don't know why this year has to be any different.

If Alfonso Soriano is the only second baseman having an All-Star season, so what? That still doesn't justify Torre taking five shortstops. Soriano's backup could have been Adam Kennedy, who is hitting .299 and has helped the surprising Anaheim Angels contend for the AL West lead.

Taking five players at one position hurt the All-Star chances of players at other positions, most notably Jim Thome. He should have been included on Torre's original list of reserves. Thome, who leads the AL in home runs with 25, has been an All-Star three times in the past and still should be one.

I like that the fans are voting for the 30th man on each roster because the game is supposed to be for the fans. All 10 players included in the 30th man voting are All-Star worthy; in fact, I said on the air Sunday night that I could form a team from the 10 players and fare well against the starters for either league.

Andruw Jones and Johnny Damon were probably selected because they received strong support from their fans in Atlanta and Boston respectively. While Thome fell short in the AL 30th man vote, I still feel he would have been an All-Star if five shortstops hadn't been picked.

Raul is right for Yankees
I was surprised the Yankees traded for Raul Mondesi because they have taken over first place in the AL East and lead the league in runs scored. What more could they need?

Plus, he has never driven in 100 runs in a season and has struggled the last two seasons in Toronto. And the Yankees will be paying him the remaining $5.5 million he is owed this year and $7 million of the $13 million he will receive next year.

Yet Mondesi has a great arm in right field and adds both speed and power to the Yankees' lineup. George Steinbrenner has been unhappy with the Yankees' outfield play, other than Bernie Williams. And Mondesi, although he is hitting .224, has more home runs and RBIs than Shane Spencer and John Vander Wal combined.

Every time the Yankees get a player, people say it's about the money. It was -- for Toronto. The Blue Jays wanted to get rid of Mondesi and his salary and took almost nothing for him. Other teams with high payrolls could have dealt for Mondesi, especially with Toronto footing $6 million of his salary next season. Boston could have traded for Mondesi, but the Red Sox seem to be set on Thome, who makes $8 million a year and would be a better fit anyway.

Other teams may have shied away from Mondesi because he wouldn't have improved their team enough. The Yankees are not looking for him to be Jason Giambi. They just want Mondesi to be better than what they had in right field. Make no mistake: Mondesi will have some big games. He is a streaky player; if pitchers have to throw him fastballs, he will pound them.

The Blue Jays and the Dodgers expected superstar production from Mondesi, as they should from a $10-million-a-year player. But the Yankees have lower expectations, which should work to their benefit.

Riled about Reilly
Why does SI writer Rick Reilly think he has the right to ask Sammy Sosa or anyone else in America to take a steroid test? If Sosa says no, that doesn't mean he is guilty. It just means Reilly has no right to ask him. Sosa said he could get in trouble -- but with the players' union, not as a steroid user.

Reilly put Sosa in a no-win situation. If Reilly asked me to take a test, I would tell him to fly a kite too. I guess that means I'm not clean either -- because I won't take a test for Reilly. If Sosa took the test, Reilly told a Chicago writer it would be "a great PR idea" for Sosa and for baseball. I thought Reilly was supposed to be a writer, not a publicist.

Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan is a baseball analyst for ESPN and contributes a weekly column to ESPN.com.