To be honest I figured Green got a throw-in vote or two because he was the most notable Jew in baseball. Guess I was wrong, at least in her case.
And on one point I fully agree with MikeT - these throwaway votes happen every year, and are inconsequential. If a guy will only likely be on the ballot one time (like Green or Julio Franco this year, or Eric Young and Bill Mueller last year, among many more examples) then what does it hurt to throw a guy a vote. The writers have relationships with guys and will give them a little nod to recognize their career.
I think it's much more egregious to leave off an obvious HOFer than to put one on who is obviously not going to make it.
Look, Sandy Alomar Jr got 6 votes. Clearly, he left a good impression with a number of writers, because nobody could argue he had a legitimate HOF career.