By Evan Drellich / MLB.com 06/27/10 8:00 PM ET LOS ANGELES -- Lobbying for All-Stars isn't something manager Joe Torre likes to do often, but he thinks reliever Hong-Chih Kuo could be the exception. "Kuo [as a setup man] would be the one nobody pays attention to," Torre said. "I may make a call on his behalf, I'm not sure if it would be frowned on because there's very little that's left on the manager [to choose] anymore. We just voted this weekend on the whole team." Left-handers are 0-for-25 with 12 strikeouts off Kuo, who recorded five outs for a hold Saturday in a 9-4 win over the Yankees after being brought in specifically to face a righty, Derek Jeter. Kuo struck out Jeter swinging. "You don't bring in too many left-handers to pitch to Derek Jeter," Torre said. Kuo, 2-1 with a 1.16 ERA, and closer Jonathan Broxton, 3-0 with 16 saves and a 0.83 ERA, have been almost equally as dominant, although Torre said he couldn't choose between the two for the All-Star Game. "I'll throw my hands up, say you can't make a bad choice," Torre said. "Brox has made it. To me, I always used to get a kick out of those guys making the club for the first time." This year would be Kuo's first All-Star selection. http://is.gd/d74HS ----- Playing like an All-Star By Tony Jackson ESPNLosAngeles.com While the Dodgers' Jonathan Broxton appears to be a lock for the National League All-Star team -- his 0.83 ERA ranks third among all big league relievers and first among NL closers -- he might not be the team's only reliever who deserves consideration. Although middle relievers rarely get strong consideration for the All-Star Game, Torre said that if NL manager Charlie Manuel were to ask him, he would strongly recommend Hong-Chih Kuo. The lefty, who struck out Derek Jeter with two men on in the sixth inning of Saturday's win over the Yankees and wound up retiring all five of the batters he faced, has a 1.16 ERA through 23 appearances, but he has actually pitched even better than that. Kuo has been scored upon in just two of his appearances, his past five inherited runners have failed to score, and left-handed batters are 0 for 25 against him for the season. "You're not going to bring in a lot of left-handers to pitch to Derek Jeter," Torre said. "When you look at some of his numbers, he has pitched beyond those numbers, but his numbers are still pretty impressive." Torre seemed to indicate he would stop short of proactively calling Manuel to recommend Kuo, especially now that All-Star managers have less discretion than they had in the past. http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/mlb/news/story?id=5334701 ----- Grand decision By CHAD JENNINGS ‧ GANNETT ‧ June 27, 2010 One day after pinch-hitting for Curtis Granderson against left-handed reliever Hong-Chih Kuo, Girardi started Granderson against Dodgers lefty Clayton Kershaw. "Kuo's numbers against left-handers are probably better than anyone in the major leagues, and I was going for the three-run homer," Girardi said. "I have no problem with him in there today. I've been pretty happy with his at-bats against left-handers." Granderson started the game hitting .203 against lefties this season. http://is.gd/d77Q8 --

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