"The news is expected to come sometime this morning. James Shields, author of a major league-best six complete game wins and an American League-high three shutouts, is headed to his first All-Star Game.

It will be happy news for sure, as Shields continues his remarkable comeback from a poor 2010 season.

Shields, who takes seriously his role on the pitching staff and the legacy he is building during his 11 years in the organization — 11 years! — will look back on all the steps that led to this one, including the bad, which he calls "bumps in the road."

There was the right shoulder surgery that robbed him off his 2002 season, and the environment he found when he finally reached the big leagues. Let's just say the 2006 Tampa Bay rotation lacked the leadership and positive examples of hard work that Jeremy Hellickson found last year and Alex Cobb encountered last month.

There was also that perplexing spring of 2005 when Shields felt he was no longer wanted by a pitching-starved organization, a surprising development that added a little giddy-up to his desire to reach the big leagues.

It happened at the end of camp when the minor-league rosters were set. Shields was not among the starters headed to Double-A Montgomery, where he pitched the year before. Or to Triple-A Durham."