ESPN.com senior writer Jayson Stark asked users for their opinions on how to improve the selection process of players for the All-Star Game. Here are selected thoughts:

Seems to me that if the Midsummer Classic will determine home-field advantage for the World Series, winning now becomes the ultimate goal rather than "showcasing" at least one player from every team. The words "All-Star" says it all, not "All-Team players." If a player is not deserving after the popular fan vote, then he shouldn"t be on the team period. We want to see the best players out on the diamond, so get off the "politically correct" wagon and get back to the base roots of America's pastime!

Jim Santoro
Daytona Beach, Fla.

I wish baseball would decide to make the All-Star Game either all exhibition or all serious instead of somewhere in between, as it is in its present format.

Mike Burrell
Cary, Ill.

	“	I would propose that the host team should have at least one representative. Other than that, all other slots should go to the most deserving players.”
		—  Michael Cross, Cincinnati

I say the best players in the game that year should be in the All-Star Game, regardless of position or team. These guys are supposed to be the best in the world, so if there is a conflict with not enough positions covered, why not give Alfonso Soriano an inning at shortstop or third base. Or if you are short a catcher, I know Carlos Delgado and Craig Biggio used to catch, let them put in an inning.

I don't need to see all of the Scott Coopers of the world playing in the All-Star Game. Put all of the players on a ballot, and let the players and fans have equal say in who goes, and regardless of position or team, send the best players.

Eric Schulthess
St. Cloud, Minn.

The goal of my suggestion is to free up some more roster spots for the manager to fill. I think that the managers actually do a great job of picking fairly, and I appreciate their role in designing the team.

In order to do that, I suggest that if the players' first choice is the same as the fans, then don't go to the players' second choice. For example, since the players and the fans' first choice for AL catcher was Jorge Posada (which it was), then he is the catcher on the roster, and no backup catcher is selected by the players. If, instead, the players had voted Ramon Hernandez No. 1, then he would be on the roster as well.

It makes no sense from anyone's perspective to have it that, if an overwhelming number of players vote for an All-Star and the fans agree, then the second-highest vote getter (who may get very few votes) should be on the roster.

However, when the players and fans do disagree and have different No. 1 picks for a position, this is a great way to have both perspectives represented.

I do think that there should be a player from every team. As an A's fan during the dry years, I did think we had some pretty good guys who tried really hard, and I did like to root for my one guy who happened to be lucky enough to go. Don't kick losing teams -- and their fans -- while they're down. Baseball players are such talented guys, and even those on losing teams should be honored. And their fans should be pleased, and not resentful or regretful, when they are watching the All-Star Game.

Lisa Feldman
Oakland, Calif.

Is it morally wrong to hope some NL pitcher tweaks an ankle or even just takes a dive so Dontrelle Willis can get on this team? Good to know that baseball won't cave in to the pressures of increased attendance and overwhelming fan support when All-Star teams are chosen. If Hideki Matsui makes this squad on the strength of voters who may very well never see an MLB game in person, surely the sensation surrounding Willis should have put him on the mound in the bottom of the first inning.

Jeff Zieger
Middletown, Conn.

	“	Eliminate any and all fan voting. Bring some objectivity and sanity back to the process and let the managers decide who plays.”
		—  Ron Czajkowski, Princeton, N.J.

Jayson Stark is 100 percent right about getting rid of the "every team needs an All-Star" rule. If this year's game goes extra innings and Dusty Baker has already used John Smoltz, do you think there's an Atlanta fan who wants to see Armando Benitez trying to close/win a game that might impact the Braves in the World Series? No way.

Adam Kenny
Parsippany, N.J.

Jayson Stark's idea on the way the All-Star teams should be picked is probably one of the smartest ideas I have ever heard. I'm a huge Mets fan, and pesonally I think Armando Benitez shouldn't be on the NL squad. Mets fans probably would like to see Dontrelle Willis over Benitez and Mike Williams. Any pitcher with an ERA over 6.00 shouldn't be an All-Star.

Brandon Coca
Boca Raton, Fla.

The current voting setup is just made to create stupid problems like this. The manager is stuck filling out the one-per-team requirements. Instead, don't have the players vote on players by position, have them vote on players by team. Put the top votegetter from each team in the game. If the team's in first place at a predetermined date before the All-Star break, put the top two in (or the top hitter and pitcher, leave that to the manager). Depending on how the fan voting works out, the manager has some room to work with to fill out the roster (worst case: the fans vote nine AL starters, none of which qualifies in player voting, leaving 28 roster spots filled, but more likely it'd be in the vicinity of 22-24 filled before the manager got a crack at it).

Bill Steger
Atlanta

The All-Star Game is for the fans, so I have no problem with every team having a representative. However, do you really think Devil Rays fans want to see Lance Carter over Rocco Baldelli? No. Give each ballpark a special ballot where they get to vote for one player on their team to be an All-Star. The top votegetter goes as that team's representative. If they are elected anyway, it doesn't complicate things. If they wouldn't have been elected by the fans nationwide or selected by players/managers, then there are a few extra spots on the roster.

Jeff Philson
Austin, Texas

	“	No. 1: Fire Bud Selig. The rest will then fall into place.”
		—  Dave Snyder, Columbus, Ohio

I'm still in favor of every team having one representative. Tweak something else. Jayson Stark's idea of a rookie representative looks good this year when there are deserving rookies. What about the years when that would mean a 6.00 ERA or a .225 batting average? Maybe a "no selection" entry on the roolie ballot would fix that.

Al Christensen
Madison, Wis.

Return All-Star balloting to the ballparks. Sure, it's cool to have voting on-line, but the people who deserve to vote are the ones who are paying to see the games. It's also too easy to vote thousands of times when it's done on-line.

Doug Flinn
Walnut Creek, Calif.

Although the "every team gets a player" rule seems to water down the game, I still like it. During the late '90s when the Twins were struggling, it was often the only chance for a Twins fan to feel proud of some of the players who actually got to be on a national stage. For me, seeing the lone representative of the Twins, whether it be Kirby Puckett, Chuck Knoblauch, Brad Radke, Ron Coomer, or Matt Lawton was the only reason I would watch the game. In general, I agree that it does make things difficult and water down the actual game. But for the fans of some of these teams, it's the only highlight of the year for their team.

Bryan Anderson
Minneapolis

If you want an "All-Star" game scrap all the voting an let the year-to-date statistics determine that years best players at every position. Some sort of weighted formula, combining offense and defense statistics would need to be devised but how hard can that be to come up with? Forget the "every team gets a body" concept, too. If you want the "stars" go by statistics, otherwise all you've got is a "most popular player" game, not an "All-Star" game.

Rick Kassel
Macedon, N.Y.