Midseason Classic

fanatic · Post by **fanatic** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 10:21 pm

Just thought I'd start something for anyone who's watching the Major League All-Star Game.

Gotta say I love watching it because it feels like a regular game of baseball- unlike the NBA, NFL and NHL All-Star games, where the flow (mostly due to the contact nature of the sports) is just too relaxed.

I also like the home field advantage factor for the WS. Just makes the game that much more compelling.

Great tribute to Clemente mid-game and some nice performances thus far (Brad Penny was throwing pure smoke for 2 innings).

Hopefully a good ending is in store for us.

fanatic · Post by **fanatic** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 11:08 pm

Since I'm chatting with myself....

That was AWESOME....A.L. scores 2 off Hoffman in the 9th. Nice to see my Blue Jay Glaus come up with a big hit as well.

Let's see if Rivera can close it.

Slumberland · Post by **Slumberland** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 11:23 pm

Sad about the A.L. winning, but that game definitely had some juice. Good stuff.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 11:33 pm

Slumberland wrote:Sad about the A.L. winning, but that game definitely had some juice.

So to speak.

Inuyasha · Post by **Inuyasha** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 11:34 pm

Game was pretty boring until the end. What was with the crowd, they were quiet all game.

The NL must feel like crap. Should have won the game. I dont like the winner of the asg gets home field in the ws anymore. I am tired of seeing the AL get home field. I liked it when they alternated yearly.

But the NL/AL difference is really no more except for the DH. I guess they should do it like the other sports now where the team with the best record should get home field in the WS.

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 12:02 am

Interleague play has made the All-Star game pointless.

fanatic · Post by **fanatic** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 12:07 am

Damn pessimists.

sfz_T-car · Post by **sfz_T-car** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 12:23 am

I was hoping for another tie to make Bud Selig look bad

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 12:31 am

I was happy wit the out come but the game needs one thing fixed really bad.....Stop with the everybody has to play crap...play it like a real game...

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 12:33 am

sfz_T-car wrote:I was hoping for another tie to make Bud Selig look bad

Like a big fat wide spotted one?

Zlax45 · Post by **Zlax45** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 12:47 am

sfz_T-car wrote:I was hoping for another tie to make Bud Selig look bad

The tie was needed because We are talkign about the safety of the teams seasons. I rather have Manny not play tonight and Paps not pitch and win the Division rather then them getting injured or aggrevating something.

This is Baseball Prospectus opinion about Manny's injury.

I won’t be seeing Manny Ramirez in Pittsburgh. The top vote getter is taking a disproportionate amount of heat for missing the game, even getting openly questioned on yesterday’s Fox telecast. Tim McCarver said the worst thing about his knee injury was “remembering which leg to limp with.” It’s easy to say that Ramirez is faking an injury, but almost as easy to actually check on the injury. Ramirez is suffering from a small tear in the medial meniscus of his right knee. It’s an injury he can play with, but one that can “grind,” a bone-on-bone situation that is unpredictable and painful. The decision was made a while ago by the Red Sox to keep Manny on the field as much as possible. One possible solution that’s been mentioned is using Ramirez at DH more often, moving Kevin Youkilis to LF and David Ortiz to 1B. There’s some defensive penalty to be paid, but it keeps the best bats in the lineup.

sfz_T-car · Post by **sfz_T-car** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 1:36 am

XXXIV wrote:
sfz_T-car wrote:I was hoping for another tie to make Bud Selig look bad
Like a big fat wide spotted one?

OK a draw then. One month of World Cup and this whole board turns into the Continental

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 9:11 am

sfz_T-car wrote:

OK a draw then. One month of World Cup and this whole board turns into the Continental

jLp vAkEr0 · Post by **jLp vAkEr0** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 9:22 am

Hoffman sucks.

Game 1 of the WS should have been in Shea stadium.

matthewk · Post by **matthewk** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 11:08 am

JRod wrote:Interleague play has made the All-Star game pointless.

Why is that?

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 11:11 am

matthewk wrote:
JRod wrote:Interleague play has made the All-Star game pointless.
Why is that?

I was wondering the same thing. The All-Star game is held to recognize players who are All-Stars and interleague play is held for teams from different leagues to play each other who previously didn't play each other. I'm stumped.

matthewk · Post by **matthewk** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 11:15 am

That was a great game. It really did feel like it had some meaning to it. Oh, and not everybody played (to whomever complained about it). Beltran played the entire game, which was a surprise.

I'm just ticked that I missed the inning where the AL took back the lead. I was puttng the kids to bed

The beginning wass even exciting. Seeing Penny throw major heat for 2 innings was impressive. Seeing Vlad take a chin-high fastball out was even more impressive.

I am all for giving home field to the team with the best record, but I'd want to see them do something with the ASG to make sure there is still incentive to win. How about giving the league that wins an extra home game for interleague play the following year? That way every team in the league would benefit, and it would be a big deal to a team to get an extra home game ($$$, of course).

lexbur · Post by **lexbur** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 11:40 am

Yeah, it was a great game last night. It was cool seeing the players get so in to it, standing at the top step of the dugout, playing with real intensity. I was half-expecting to see somebody get Ray Fosse'd out there.

The fact that the NL has lost the All Star Game and World Series so many years in a row, plus gotten whooped in interleague play this year, I think PRIDE was as much a motivating factor for the players to win last night, as much as winning home field advantage for the WS.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 1:15 pm

ScoopBrady wrote:
matthewk wrote:
JRod wrote:Interleague play has made the All-Star game pointless.
Why is that?
I was wondering the same thing. The All-Star game is held to recognize players who are All-Stars and interleague play is held for teams from different leagues to play each other who previously didn't play each other. I'm stumped.

Some of the luster has worn off since the inception of interleague play, so I agree with JRod. Back in the day (all of 10 years ago), you really wouldn't get to see all of the stars from the other league play that often. Sure, now we've got the MLB package on cable and we can watch everyone but a lot of times, the All-Star game was the only time we could see the stars from the opposite league play. By putting them all in one place, it really was fun to watch. Now, you've seen most of the guys in interleague play (or free agency but that's another topic for another time) so it's not that fascinating when they get on the field for a meaningless exhibition that all of the sudden counts for something (dumbest idea EVER, well, besides the DH anyway).

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 2:50 pm

dbdynsty25 wrote:
ScoopBrady wrote:
matthewk wrote: Why is that?
I was wondering the same thing. The All-Star game is held to recognize players who are All-Stars and interleague play is held for teams from different leagues to play each other who previously didn't play each other. I'm stumped.
Some of the luster has worn off since the inception of interleague play, so I agree with JRod. Back in the day (all of 10 years ago), you really wouldn't get to see all of the stars from the other league play that often. Sure, now we've got the MLB package on cable and we can watch everyone but a lot of times, the All-Star game was the only time we could see the stars from the opposite league play. By putting them all in one place, it really was fun to watch. Now, you've seen most of the guys in interleague play (or free agency but that's another topic for another time) so it's not that fascinating when they get on the field for a meaningless exhibition that all of the sudden counts for something (dumbest idea EVER, well, besides the DH anyway).

See, I would have never seen it from that point of view since I've lived in the Chicagoland area my whole life. I've always watched the Cubs and Sox so I've been able to watch the stars from both leagues. It makes sense outside of New York and Chicago.

icvu42 · Post by **icvu42** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 3:04 pm

I only watched a few innings of the game, but early in the evening, ESPN Classic reran highlights from previous years All-Star games. It really brought me back to my yourth seeing the stars from the early 80's...Pete Rose, Steve Garvey, Rickey Henderson, Regie Jackson.... I would have to say '78-'86 was my own "Golden Era of Baseball"

Rick