Baseball's best converge on Anaheim this week for the annual All Star festivities at Angel Stadium.

Unfortunately for Canadian baseball fans the Canadian content in this year's Mid-Summer Classic was cut in half due to injury. Justin Morneau was voted as the starting first basemen for the AL, but after sustaining a concussion last week he'll be forced to sit out. That leaves Cincinnati's Joey Votto as the lone Canadian. Votto, who has put up MVP numbers for the Reds, nearly got an undeserved snub before landing the final spot in the NL roster through the Final Vote.

Blue Jays fans will see a few familiar faces, as three Toronto players, Vernon Wells, Jose Bautista, and John Buck, were named reserves for the AL.

The NL will try to end a horrendous losing streak at the All-Star Game. The AL has totally dominated the NL for over a decade. The AL is undefeated in the last 13 All-Star Games with the one blemish on their record being the 7-7 tie in 2002. The last time the NL won was back in 1996.

Last year in St. Louis the AL topped the NL 4-3 with Carl Crawford earning MVP honors. Crawford will get the chance to repeat as MVP as one of the outfield starters in the AL along with Josh Hamilton and Ichiro Suzuki. The AL infield this year includes Robinson Cano at second, Derek Jeter at short, Evan Longoria at third, Joe Mauer catching, and Morneau scratched at first. Vladimir Guerrero will get the start at DH.

The NL starters in the infield include Albert Pujols at first, Chase Utley at second, David Wright at third, Hanley Ramirez at short, and Yadier Molina behind the plate. Utley won't be playing due to an injury, and neither will rookie Jason Haywood who was voted in as a starting outfielder. The other two outfielders voted in were Ryan Braun and Andre Ethier.

Where the NL might have the edge is pitching. The NL will have five starters with ERAs under three, including Ubaldo Jimenez, Roy Halladay, Josh Johnson, Tim Hudson, and Adam Wainwright. Johnson leads them all with an ERA of 1.70. You can also add Tim Lincecum and Chris Carpenter to that list of pitchers.

The AL has some great arms as well, such as Cliff Lee, Jon Lester, David Price, and Justin Verlander, but they don't match the NL on paper.

The oddsmakers at Bodog.ca are giving the American League the edge in Tuesday's game as a -120 favorite. The NL is a +110 underdog, while the total was set at 8.5.

Before Tuesday night's All-Star game the Home Run Derby will be held Monday night. This year's lineup might be missing some of the big names like Pujols, Hamilton, and Howard, but there are still some solid sluggers.

The NL lineup includes Chris Young, Corey Hart, Hanley Ramirez, and Matt Holliday, while the AL is sending David Ortiz, Miguel Cabrera, Vernon Wells, and Nick Swisher. Cabrera has the most homers in the group with 22 on the season and he's also the Derby favorite at Bodog.ca at 11/4. Ortiz, who is the most experienced competitor having taken part in the Derby three times previously (2004, 2005, 2006), is next on the odds list at 3/1. The only others in the lineup with previous experience are Cabrera (2006) and Holliday (2007).