All Star Notes: Wrap Up

Amid the fantastic finish, record-breaking moments and overall pomp & pageantry surrounding the 78th annual All Star Game, I realized I forgot to go over a few items of note, like ARod getting thrown out by a country mile by Ken Griffey Jr, and he looked like a total pansy doing so.

It might have had something to do with all the margaritas & Heinekens.

Remember, my son is still away with the grandparents, so...

Before we roll into the second half of the season tomorrow night, let me put a cap on the 2007 Midsummer Classic, in words and pictures.

-Ichiro: Best Day Ever.
Forget the fact that he hit the first inside-the park home run in the history of the All Star Game, or that he became just the fourth leadoff hitter to win the MVP award, joining Bo Jackson, Joe Morgan and Willie Mays, or even that he seemed to find a new soul mate in his fellow English-challenged buddy Manny Ramirez.

More importantly for Ichiro, word leaked out before the game that the slim center fielder is about to sign a 5-year, $100 million dollar contract extension with the Mariners, a stat that really puts his ASG accomplishments into perspective now, doesn't it?

I mean what's better, making exhibition game history and joining the ranks of some of the games luminaries, or inking a deal that will pay you $20 million per season to hit .34o with 200+ hits and 70 RBIs?

He won't have to answer that question because he's about to do both within the span of a couple of days.

I'm sure the sudden retirement of Manager of the Year candidate Mike Hargrove, a longtime adversary of Suzuki's who was believed to be a major roadblock to his resigning with Seattle, had nothing to do with his decision to remain in the Pacific Northwest, right?

Let's just say life is good for the Mariners leadoff hitters for now and the foreseeable future.

-LaRussa game "strategy" angers his MVP first baseman
Ego maniacal manager Tony Asleep at the Wheel LaRussa has once again incurred the wrath of one of his players, but this time it's not a beat-up & slumping third baseman he's upset, but his stud perennial MVP candidate Albert Pujols.

Phat Albert was the only position player not to get into the game for for the National League even though he says he was loose and ready to go when the NL had the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth with a chance to win the game with one swing of the bat.

But after Orlando Hudson and Aaron Rowand hit instead of Pujols, one of the great young clutch hitters in the game, LaRussa reasoned that he was saving him for a potential extra-inning double switch/pinch hit situation, a rationalization that didn't sit too well with Albert.

"It's the All-Star Game. He can do what he wants. He does whatever he wants. If I wasn't expecting to play, I wouldn't have come up here," Pujols was quoted saying after the game.

Alrighty then. Sounds like the guy who is supposed to be such a managerial whiz once again is having trouble keeping his own star players happy.

By the way, his excuse is ridiculous. You don't play for the potential of extras when the man sitting on the bench can end the game with the flick of his wrists; he could have turned K-Rod into the next Brad Lidge, but his own skipper kept him glued to the pine.

Good luck in the second half, Tony. The Sox would love nothing more than to rub your smug mug in the St. Louie dirt once again, you pompous ass.

-Sox stars contribute a mix of good, and & inconclusive
The best news for Red Sox fans to come out of the game is that our first half pitching ace, Josh Beckett, who already has accumulated the most wins in the majors, earned the victory despite being snubbed to start by a bitter Smoky Jim Leyland.

Dan Haren, Leyland's choice to start, got touched for a run in the first inning to give the AL and early deficit, then Beckett came in in the third and fourth innings and weathered a fluke double by Jose Reyes (nice play, ARod) and a near-homer by Barry Bonds to hold the fort.

It turned out Beckett was the pitcher of record when Ichiro did his fluky bounce home run thing, and therefore the majors' winningest pitcher added an All Star victory to his already impressive first half resume.

As for the other five members of the Boston contingent, here's a brief rundown of how their night went:

• Big Papi: 0-2, reached on error, lined to RF; Ortiz may not have done much statistically this weekend, but he sure had fun with whatever else he did. From hitting baseballs at a blow up sneaker in McCovey Cove to handing the magic bat to Vlad Guerrero that he used to win the HR Derby, Big Papi had a good time and made the best of his All Star experience. No surprise there.


Papi chills on teammate Torii Hunter's back during the Derby

• Manny: 0-1, flied to RF in only plate appearance; just the fact that Manny made the trip, especially after suffering his annual mid season malady (this year: "intestinal issue") on Sunday in Detroit, is a minor miracle in itself. Throw in the stunning realization that Manny also had a good time while he was there, attending parties, joking with guys like Ichiro and Pujols, and doing this odd jig in the dugout during the game, just proves there is no end to the cultural phenomenon that is Manny Being Manny



Did anyone else catch this MBM moment? Check out the dude's face next to him. Classic.




• Mike Lowell: 1-1, singled and scored on Soriano's HR in the 8th; leave it to professional hitter Mike Lowell to come up with a big hit in his only AS at bat. Plus he made a couple of nice plays at third, and was on the field when the AL walked off as winners (although this high five with Posada kinda scares me)

You know he didn't want to, but he had to

• Jon Papelbon: 1IP, 1H, 2K; the Boston ace did his thing when called upon in the eighth instead of his usual 9th inning spot. One can't help but think if he were in for the 9th, that NL comeback wouldn't have happened, and then a Bosox pitcher could've had the win & the save. Damn you Leyland!

Paps heads to the dugout after doing his job in the 8th

• Hideki Okajima: DNP; I repeat, damn you Leyland! All those people spent all that time stuffing the on-line ballot box, and you don't reward them with letting the guy make an appearance? What a jackoff.
  Sorry, but this is the only shot I got of Oki--serving as a backdrop for a Pistol Pete report

In fact him and his buddy LaRussa both came off as jackoffs in the game. Between the great plays, memorable moments and thrilling conclusion, I think there's no question who the real heroes and goats of this game were: the players, and the managers.

Bring on the second half!

Read More......

78th All Star Game: AL wins 10th straight; Beckett gets the W

American 5, National 4
WP: Beckett
LP: Young

SV: F. Rodriguez

HRs: AL- Ichiro, V. Martinez, C. Crawford; NL-Soriano

Box Score

Shortly after Ichiro crossed home plate, the ball he bounced around AT&T Park was on its way to the Hall of Fame

Ichiro wins the MVP on the strength of his inside-the-park home run, the AL hangs on after a tense 9th inning, and Josh Beckett picks up the win in a thrilling edition of the Midsummer Classic

#1 STUNNER: Ichiro 3-3, 2R, 2BI, HR, MVP
Suzuki carved out three hits--including a history-making inside-the-park homerun in the fifth-- and drove in a pair of runs to rightfully earn the MVP award in his 8th All Star appearance.

PAN's FAUN: J.J. Putz 2/3IP, 2H, 2R, 1BB, 1K, 1HR
The Seattle closer, of whom AL manager Jim Leyland earlier said he would pitch him six innings if he could, almost blew the game for the AL with a horror-show 9th.

After recording two quick outs Putz gave up an infield single and then a homer to Alfonso Soriano that cut the score to 5-4; he followed that with a walk to J.J. Hardy, then he received a seat on the bench next to the manager who was slurping him a few innings earlier.

Say it with me now: "What a couple of putzes!"

RECAP:
Well that made up for the Home Run Derby.

On a night that hometown hero Barry Bonds was supposed to steal the show, along with the hearts of some fans across the country, a hitting machine of a different kind stepped in and turned the spotlight onto himself.

Ichiro Suzuki, the slight superstar who honed his skills in Japan and plays in the relative obscurity of the Pacific Northwest, unleashed his game on the rest of the world and dispayed what a dangerous, valuable--and soon to be exppensive--weapon he truly is.

The Mariners centerfielder had a historical night at the 78th Midsummer Classic, notching a record-tying three hits from the leadoff position and hitting the first indside-the-park home run in All Star game history en route to winning the MVP in what had to be one of the quickest votes ever.

Sox fans had reason to smile as well, and seeing as this is a Sox blog, I thought I'd better mention why. Josh Beckett (2IP, 1H, 2K) earned the win with two strong innings of work, Mike Lowell grabbed a base hit in his only at bat and rode home on Victor Martinez' 8th inning homer, and Jonathan Papelbon tossed a solid 8th inning (although he should've pitched the ninth--damn you Leyland!)

But not to be lost among all the stats and accolades is the fact that with its 10th consecutive win (not including the Selig Tie), the American League retains homefield advantage for the World Series, and not to be lost on RSN is that if the Sox just play...

...shit, I almost did it. Let me get back to the game.

Jake Peavy started for the NL and allowed Ichiro's first hit, a slap single to right, on his second pitch of the game. After Jeter grounded into a double play, Papi reached on a lazy error by Prince Fielder, but ARod grounded into a fielder's choice to end the inning.

In the bottom of the first Smoky Jim Leyland's decision to start ERA leader Dan Haren instead of Beckett came back to bite him immediately as Haren gave up a run just minutes after taking the mound.

Lightning-quick catalyst Jose Reyes (3-4, R), who also had three hits from the leadoff position along with Ichiro, led off with a single on the second ball he saw from Haren, then stole second on a 1-1 pitch to Bonds. Lightning.

After Carlos Beltran struk out swinging, Ken Griffey, Jr., another "old timer" who was feted this weekend along with Bonds, lined a single to center that scored Reyes with ease and the NL had a 1-0 lead before anone had even recovered from that horribe Nation Anthem (Chris Issac? Really?!)

Brad Penny pitched a 1-2-3 second for the Nationals, and Haren worked around a leadoff walk to Prince Fielder in the bottom of the frame before exiting the game for pinch hitter Manny Ramirez in the third.

Yes folks, not only was Manny at the Home Run Derby, not only was he at the All Star Game, but he actually made an appearnce in the game and had an official at bat.

Unfortunately he flied out to right on two pitches.

But hey, at least he made it!

Following Manny's at bat Ichiro blooped his second hit of the game into leftfield and Jeter followed with a single, and look who was coming up to bat--Mr. Clutch himself, Big Papi.

Unfortunately he lined out to right on four pitches to end the inning.

But hey, at least he helped Vlad Guerrero win the Derby. Okay, I'm reaching.

Beckett got a good dose of Reyes when the Mets speedster bounced a routine grounder to Alex Rodriguez at third, but the ball took a tricky hop off the lip of the infield grass and bounced away from ARod and in the blink of an eye Reyes was on second base with no outs.

Gulp.

And Bonds was up next.

Gulp. Fuck!

Beckett ran the count to 1-1 before making a mistake that Bonds nearly hit out of the park to the opposite field, but as he did a Sosa-like bunny hop out of the box, the ball drifted and landed in leftfielder Magglio Ordonez' glove, and a disappointed Bonds and his fans had to settle for a long, loud out instead of a historic memorable moment.

After getting Beltran to ground out, Beckett fanned Griffey (1-2, 2BI) on a nasty 1-2 slider and the AL escpaed the jam with the 1-run deficit intact.

The score would remain that way until Ichiro entered the history books in the fifth by striking a ball of the oddly angled rightfield wall and racing for the downs.

Brian Roberts drew a leadoff walk from Padres ace Chris Young (we remember him), then Young got Georgie Posada to fly out to center to bring Ichiro to the plate.

After two pickoff attempts by Young over to his brawling buddy Derek Lee at first, Ichiro smacked a low and away offering from the 6' 10" righty and drove it at the jutting bricks out in deep right.

As Griff tracked the ball, it took an unethical bounce at a right angle from the point of impact and headed straight back towrds the infield, and in the opposite direction of Junior.

It then became a race against Seattle Mariner time--the older, creakier, and surgically repaired Griffey against the younger, swifter and fast as a cheetah Suzuki-- to see who would make the bigger play.

Griffey would eloquently state after the game, "I tried to make a good throw to the cutoff man and hoped that he would fall down."

He didn't.

Ichiro raced around the bases and scored without hardly breaking a sweat, and even though he got fanned with a towel by his new BFF Manny in the dugout following the run, my buddy Butch & I noted that he didn't even appear winded after that stroll into the record books.

In the long and storied history of the Midsummer Classic, not one player had ever hit an inside the parker until now.

Which is what makes watching baseball great--the possiblilty of seening history being made at any given moment.

With a 2-1 lead in hand the AL pitchers set out to preserve the lead and the important homefield advantage for the Fall Classic, and when Carl Crawford of all people added a solo shot off Francisco Cordero in the 6th, and then Cleveand catcher Victor Matinez nailed a two-run shot in the 8th to make the score 5-2 Americans, it looked as if the win was in the bag.

Especially with guys like Okajima, Paps, Putz and K-Rod left in the pen.

Paps struts off the field after another terrific outing

Papelbon did his part when he got the call in the bottom of the 8th. After allowing a leadoff single to Lee, he set the next three batters down in short order, fanning Orlando Hudson and Aaron Rowand and getting former Sox prospect Freddy Sanchez to fly out to Ichiro to end the inning.

Well done. Now it was up to Leyland's personal favorite Putz to close the door.

Except Putz lost his edge after retiring Matt Holliday and Brian McCann to start the ninth. That's because ppinch hitter Dmitri Young hit a routine grounder to second that Roberst had in his glove but it bounced out, allowing Young to reach on a questionable hit and the inning to continue.

Unfortunately the next batter, Alfonso Soriano, made the AL pay for the mistake when he blasted a two-run shot to right to cut the lead to 5-4, and just like that the easy victory had turned into a nailbiter.

When Putz walked Hardy (there were so many Js out there I thought a band had roamed in from Haight/Ashbury), Leyland went with Rodriguez, and although K-Rod made things exciting with by walking Lee and O-Dog to load the bases, he got Rowand to fly out to right with a steaming Albert Pujols sitting on the bench, and the AL had its 10-game winning streak.

It was an exciting end to an exciting game, and one that had the best results for Red Sox nation.

A win for our starter, and the potential to host the first game of the World series at Fen...

There I go again.

Congrats, Beckett and the American League, and let's bring that advantage home to Boston, boys!

Read More......

All Star notes: Vlad wins HR Derby w/ a little help from Big Papi

Guerrero is going to owe his buddy a steak dinner after Papi assisted in his Derby win

With a bat handed to him by good buddy and fellow Dominican David Ortiz, Vlad Guerrero won the 2007 State Farm Home Run Derby.

Just in case anyone cares.

In a marathon mashathon that took over three hours to complete and contained approximately 4,732 horrible one-liners from Chris Berman, Guerrero clubbed 17 homers in the early rounds and then bested finalist Alex Rios 3-2 in the championship round to take home the coveted trophy.

The contest started out slowly, with the leaders after one round tallying just five homers, the fewest for a first round leader since 1995, but as the contest dragged on the remaining sluggers picked up the pace.

The biggest surprise may have been defending champ Ryan Howard getting eliminated in the first round after hitting a paltry two longballs; joining him on the bench were the two guys with the most homers at the break who were in the contest: Justin Morneau (24) and Prince Fielder (29).

I thought it was my duty to print this picture of Papi and Erin Andrews, just because...

As the shadows covered the field the players started to see the ball better, resulting in more shots being hit-and at greater distances-later in the event. Pujols and late addition Matt Holiday joined Vlad & Rios in the second round before the latter two advanced to the finals.

But the highlight of the night, other than Guerrero's gargantuan 503-ft. blast that nearly landed in the giant baseball mitt far beyond the centerfield wall, was when Big Papi gave a friendly assist to his good pal after Vlad started the contest with three straight misfires.

Carrying a large wooden case and a big grin, Ortiz strode to home plate, opened the box and pulled out a pristine wooden bat, a scene reminiscent of "The Natural", only instead of Robert Redford wowing some cute kid it was a couple of happy-go-lucky, hard swinging Dominicans pleasing a nation of adoring fans.

After smooching the lumber for good luck, Papi handed the stick to Guerrero, and Vlad immediately went on to homer on five of his next nine swings and cruise to the finals, where he outlasted a tired Rios.

The fact that Guerrero later admitted the bat was really his and that he and Ortiz "had it planned that if I wasn't doing well at the beginning, he was going to bring it out to me," didn't diminish the moment, one of the few genuinely entertaining parts of a long night of longballs.

Sox All Star closer Jonathan Papelbon takes in the Derby action

Glad that's finally over with. Now we can get to the real entertainment of the evening: the Celebrity/Legends All Star Softball Challenge.

Cause nothing beats watching Kenny Mayne and Jimmy Kimmell try and out-funny each other while a bunch of prima donnas and overweight former athletes try to avoid tearing any ligaments while playing on a miniaturized field.

Oh and you can best ESPN was pissed that the fading Derby pushed back the premiere of its mega-hyped miniseries, "The Bronx is Burning."

Glad they had to suffer as much as we did.

Read More......

All Star Notes: State Farm Home Run...(yawn)..Derby

We have a Manny sighting! Yes, that is actually Manny Ramirez, present & accounted for at the All Star festivities. Unless it's a body double he found on eBay.

The 2007 State Farm Dog & Pony Show, errr Home Run Derby kicks off in a few minutes, and boy let me tell you I can barely contain my excitement (insert sarcastic tone here.)

Here's this year's lineup: Justin Morneau, Albert Pujols, Alex Rios, Matt Holiday, Vlad Guerrero, Prince Fielder, Maggs Ordonez and defending champion Ryan Howard.

Talk about a mixed bag; Pujols, Vlad and Howard are great, but the others? Feh!

I'm not sure when the once immensly popular Derby lost its luster, but one thing is crystal clear regarding the prestige this event currently carries: it is now on par with the NBA Slam Dunk contest as the most overhyped, overblown, and overrated exhibition spectacles in all of sports.

Did it start to go downhill when we got wise to the fact that most of these guys are on steroids and/or launch the ball out of ballparks with such ease & regularity that it's no longer fun to see them try & kill themselves doing it?

Or was it when, like the Dunk Contest, the superstars started backing off from participating, leaving scrubs like Jason Bay, Hee Seop Choy, Bret Boone and Matt Holiday to partake in the contest formerly reserved for longball legends?

Maybe it just because like the dunk the homerun became so glamorized and immortalized as the biggest play in its respective sport that the backlash forced the two signature events focusing on these feats to jump the shark.

In any case I know I'll probably sit through another edition of it, subjecting myself to another year of nauseating Berman nicknames, awkward post-homer sideline chit chats, and god-awful uniforms while I try to pick out the next guy who is going to fuck up his swing so badly that he goes into a tailspin for the next year & a half.

A phenomenon I like to call Going Abreu.

Read More......

All Star notes: Haren, not Beckett, will start for AL

Haran will oppose Peavy in San Fran tomorrow night
Detroit Tigers manager Smokey Jim Leyland, fresh off his team's three-game ass reaming of the BoSox, delivered another blow to the already angry team: the All Star skipper selected Oakland's ERA king and talented young righty Dan Haren to start the Midsummer Classic over longtime frontrunner Josh Beckett.

Perhaps the Marlboro Man was swayed by the fact that the game is in San Fran, and Haren pitches across the Bay in Oakland. Or it could have been the simple fact that Haren leads the league in ERA at 2.30, a mark that is at least a full run better than Beckett (3.44) and C.C. Sabathia (3.58), and nearly half a run better than John Lackey (2.91) of Anaheim, the other candidates for the job.

Still something tells me that the bitter old smokestack that Leyland is just wanted to stick it Boston once more, shunning them like his team shunned the Sox this weekend and not wanting to bestow the honor on a pitcher he perceives could line up against him in a playoff series.

I know I'm reaching, but I'm bitter. First the sweep, and now the snub.

Well, at least he didn't pull a Torre and select his own fucking guy, Verlander.

Let's keep our fingers crossed that Beckett pitches two quality innings, Papi hits a homer, Oki gets a hold, Lowell makes a great play at third, Manny shows up, and Paps saves the game.

That'll show Leyland.

Unless of course the Tigers make it to the series again and our Sox have helped them get the homefield advantage needed to win.

Oh, Captain Cancer Stick also named his starting lineup. Here it is along with the NL list:

POS: AL/NL
1B: Papi/ Fielder
2B: Polanco/ Utley
3B: ARod/ Wright
SS: Jeter/ Reyes
C: Rodriguez/ Martin
RF: Vlad/ Griffey
CF: Ichiro/ Beltran
LF: Maggs/ Bonds
SP: Haren/ Peavy

Read More......