The All-Star Game

Carl Crawford saved the day for the American League, and I'm sure that there are some happy fans in Boston- as well as Johnathan Papelbon- because now the American League has homefield advantage.

As a Cardinals fan, I thought it was pretty cool to see all of the Cardinals greats like Lou Brock, Red Schoendist, Bob Gibson, Bruce Sutter, Ozzie Smith, and of course Stan Musial get highlighted this year. This was the first time in my life that I have seen an All-Star Game in St. Louis, and I hope the next one comes around a lot sooner.

To borrow a phrase from Ron Polk, I think the crowd put too much pressure on some guys to perform- namely Albert Pujols. I never really have believed that, and I still don't, but I definately think he was pressing. If he has one weakness, I would say that would be it- he sometimes presses on big time games.

While I have seen some All-Star Games that were more memorable, this edition was pretty good. One thing that stood out to me, and the President asked Tim McCarver this- and I thought it was a good question- was why does the American League win the All-Star Game every year?

I thought McCarver had some good answers. The most poignant being the American League is just better. I can buy that with the recent Interleague Play records. He did also say that he felt like the National League was catching up. But my thing about that is you also have National League teams winning the World Series four times in the last four years, and the games haven't been blowouts for the most part for the past couple of years. So, maybe it's just a statistical oddity. There have also been several long streaks by both leagues in the All-Star Game before, so maybe it has to do with a certain generation of players- Derek Jeter has never been on a losing team before in the All-Star Game. To me, I always know that whenever there is an All-Star Game, there is going to be someone who doesn't perform well. Tonight, it was Tim Lincecum and Heath Bell- both are first time All-Stars, well OK, this is Lincecum's first to actually play in. Maybe Manuel should have set up his pitching staff a little bit better- some of the more veteran players probably should have been moved back when the innings become more and more critical.

And this entry would not be complete without what I would change about the All-Star Game.

1. One of the biggest changes in recent All-Star history was the winner gets homefield in the World Series rule. I think Micheal Young had a good point- he got the game winning hit a couple of years ago, but otherwise his team had no bearing on the postseason, and he said something to the effect of he thought it was ridiculous that something that the Red Sox might do was determined by a guy on the Rangers. I concur. My solution- money talks. MVP gets 3 million. Everyone on the winning team gets 1 million. Losers get nothing- except maybe a t-shirt. Yes, I know that these players make millions already, but really, who among us wouldn't want more money?
2. Why is Roy Halladay wearing an unmarked batting helmet? Better yet, why is Roy Halladay batting period? OK, I know that this is a National League ballpark, but I don't think anyone would have a problem with a permanant DH in the All-Star Game. I'm sure the managers would be for it- it's hard enough to manage an All-Star roster without having to try to figure where all of the pinch-hitters for pitchers go. As a fan, I would be for it because I would rather watch Ryan Howard bat two-three times instead of Tim Lincecum once, or in this case someone like Carlos Pena instead of Roy Halladay. This also may help if a game goes into extra innings because then you could possibly throw a pitcher for a little bit longer than one inning, if the manager should choose to do so.

Overall, I thought the All-Star Game was a success- no one does an All-Star Game better than Major League Baseball- and I was happy to see Johnathan Papelbon do well- with some help from Carl Crawford. Brian McCann, the former M-Brave whose father also played for MSU, popped out once. And last but not least, congratulations to Carl Crawford for winning the MVP- well deserved.

Now it's off to the Pennant Races!