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Wednesday, July 15, 2009

And That Happened: All-Star Game Edition

I didn't really live blog and didn't even really keep too accurate a running diary. I mostly drank wine (like, a lot of wine) and cracked wise, occasionally remembering to write down my observations. And here they are:

  • If aliens came down from outer space and just looked at the starting lineups, they'd think it was the NL that owned the AL instead of vice-versa. Lots of depth behind the starters, sure, but I can't recall such a weak AL starting lineup in recent years.


  • A study in contrasts: Pujols predictably gets a big ovation during player introductions. Then Braun is announced and he's booed.


  • I really enjoyed all of the presidents talking during the everyday All-Stars thing. Am I nuts, or did Obama look like he's growing a little mustache? If so, +100 for him. George W. Bush looks more relaxed than he's been since his days as the Rangers' owner, which is totally understandable. Maybe it's because he's living with his dad now. At least I assume he is, because both him and H.W. Bush were speaking from the same room. Nice callback by Bush Sr. to the "points of light" thing, by the way. That's like a rapper sampling Young M.C. or something. Jimmy Carter is looking pretty spry. I think he's going to break Hoover's record for the most post-presidency years alive. Very underrated record, by the way.


  • Sheryl Crow did a good job on the anthem. Very businesslike. Almost makes up for the butchering she did of Dylan's "Mississippi" a couple of years ago.


  • My wife checks in for a few minutes during pregame stuff. She sees Lou Brock, Bob Gibson, Red Schoendienst, Bruce Sutter and Ozzie Smith in their red blazers and says "who are those guys, real estate agents?" Mrs. Shyster, ladies and gentleman, killing baseball buzzes since 1991.


  • I love me some Stan Musial, though I wish he wasn't in the golf cart. Reminds me of Ted Williams in the golf cart at the All-Star game in Boston several years back. The next time we thought of him after that was when he died and his son froze him in carbonite or whatever the hell it was. I'm a little sad now, realizing that we probably won't see Stan the Man in public again.


  • I LOVE that Obama came out in his White Sox jacket. Clinton would have conducted focus groups before deciding what to wear. Bush would have worn a bomber jacket or something. Obama is a fan, and no matter what your politics are, you have to respect that. As for his pitch: Eh, it was a lollipop job that made Tim Robbins in "Bull Durham" look like Roger Clemens, but at least it went over the plate. Unless Greg Maddux ever becomes president, I think George W. is going to hold the record for the sharpest Commander-in-Chief first pitch.


  • More Mrs. Shyster: "'Joe Buck?' Is that really his name? That sounds like a porn star's name or maybe a male prostitute. 'Midnight Cowboy II' starring Joe Buck as . . . Joe Buck." You're starting to see why I love this woman dearly.


  • Two pitches into the game and the uber-creative FOX graphics team has already kept us from seeing a pitch. Thanks, guys.


  • Lincecum plunks Jeter. It was an 81 MPH pitch. I want to believe it was intentional, but Timmy looks wild enough tonight where we can't be sure. Someone talk to Matt Cain and see if he really did have the leash on all day.


  • Pujols commits an error, and then the next play Lincecum fails to cover the bag. We may see Timmy and Albert fight here pretty soon. This could be hard for me, though, because I love both of those guys. I'm an underdog guy, so I suppose I have to root for Lincecum if they start raining blows down upon one another.


  • Obama in the broadcast booth is pretty sweet. First he hates on the Nationals, and then he says that "we're out of money." If nothing else you have to applaud him for his honesty. As all that's happening, Roy Halladay is roughed up.


  • Third inning, and Ryan Franklin is pitching. Really? If you're managing the NL is Ryan Franklin the second guy you have on the mound? Haven't the Cardinals fans had enough pandering over the past couple of days? OK, fine, he sets the AL down 1-2-3, so what do I know?


  • I blinked twice and missed the entire half inning pitched by Mark Buehrle. I really, really like that guy. I wish everyone pitched like him.


  • Based on the trailer, the "G.I. Joe" movie looks like the worst piece of excrement ever committed to celluloid. They could have done better by simply making a live-action version of that multi-part episode of the cartoon where Shipwreck wakes up with amnesia and is married with a family and everything. Don't look at me that way. You know which one I'm talking about.


  • Zack Greinke makes David Wright and Shane Victorino look really, really bad. Too bad his talents are being wasted in Kansas City.


  • I'm rally mad at Ichiro for fouling off the pitch on which Carl Crawford was trying to steal, because I wanted to see a Molina vs. Crawford showdown. Alas, I had to settle for Chase Utley's nice play in the hole throwing out Crawford at second.


  • Jumping to the sixth inning, I feel it's time to note, once again, that Adam Jones is the spitting image of Eric Davis. I wish I got more Orioles games where I am, because I think I'd enjoy the hell out of seeing him play every day. By the way, this game is humming right along. Just think: if it didn't take 50 minutes to get through the pregame show, we'd all be able to go to bed at a decent hour tonight.


  • Pujols finishes his night 0-3 with what will prove to be a costly error, but a couple of gems on defense as well. Go home and sleep now, Albert. You've been a fabulous host for two days, but the Cards need you healthy and rested for the second half.


  • AAAAARRGGH! Who in the hell is the scary bald guy in the suit, and why is there an ultra-up-close shot of him going to commercial? He will haunt my dreams for weeks.


  • Pujols being interviewed by Eric Karros:


    • Karros: So, does the best player in the game get butterflies?

    Pujols: I don't think I'm the best player in the game.

    Karros: Albert, we are men of action. Lies do not become us.

    OK, that's not really what Karros said, but he should have.

  • Sweet snag of a would-be home run by Carl Crawford off of Brad Hawpe. Methinks that may be important. Then Tejada nails the next pitch to the wall as well. Buck calls Papelbon "automatic" but he's kind of scary if you ask me, even if he is effective. Inning ends with Jason Werth striking out. Matt Kemp wouldn't have done that.


  • Heath Bell is just a ridiculous human being. He's just big and choppy and sloppy out there, like he's with the Gashouse Gorillas or something. Oh, and he gives up a triple to Curtis Granderson. Wait, let's not blame Bell for that. Let's blame Jason Werth, who failed to hit the cutoff man. If he had, Granderson possibly stops at second or gets gunned down at third. Again, I must ask if Matt Kemp would have done that.


  • Granderson goes on to score on the sac fly. 4-3 A.L. with Joe Nathan and Mariano Rivera waiting in the wings. Remember what I said about the A.L.'s depth? Nathan and Rivera > Heath Bell and whoever the hell is left in the N.L. bullpen, and that's gonna be huge.


  • Brian McCann fouls out, and thus endeth the Braves' contributions to the 2009 All-Star Game. Now we just wait until Tommy Hanson gets the start in 2010.


  • Ryan Howard finally gets in the game as a pinch hitter. Is it just me, or does Howard look thinner than he's been in some time? No matter, he gets a big ovation from The Best Fans In Baseball. Then he looks absolutely horrible swinging at garbage in the dirt from Joe Nathan.


  • We're in the ninth and Morneau flies out to center. Nice catch by Werth. I think Kemp would have caught it too, however.


  • Mariano Rivera is in by the way. You know what's coming and you can't do anything about it.


  • Upton grounds out . . .


  • Hawpe strikes out . . .


  • Tejada pops out . . . ballgame.


    • AL wins again, which is fairly depressing for an NL Fan like me. Still, when you see Mariano Rivera closing it out, you have to appreciate how the currents of history are flowing these days. In 50 years, people are going to think about the mid-90s to the late oughts as a time when giants named Rivera and Jeter roamed the Earth, and games like this one are going to form the chronicle. To have interlopers like Francisco Cordero and Brad Hawpe screw with that narrative simply won't do, and we as NL fans have to accept that.

    All in all a good game. Brisk. No silliness about everyone getting in the game. It felt like real baseball and looked like real baseball. I don't have any complaints. Good show Messers Manuel and Maddon. Crawford wins the MVP. He's as good a choice as any.

    Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go pass out somewhere.

    Posted by Craig Calcaterra at 12:13am

    Comments

    Brian said...

    I hate you for bringing up that episode of GI Joe.  It never sat right with me and always creeped me out.

    Posted 07/15  at  12:23 AM
    Ryan said...

    A few comments about your post…

    -Albert, we are men of action. Lies do not become us.  Nice.  Very nice.

    -You said methinks. People only say that when they have had too much wine to drink.

    -Matt Kemp would not have struck out.  He would not have gotten into the game either.  The guy is an overrated scrub who feasts on the pitching of the Padres and Rockies.

    -Jayson Werth knows where you live.

    Posted 07/15  at  12:26 AM
    Dan said...

    “Mariano Rivera is in by the way. You know what’s coming and you can’t do anything about it.”

    I don’t know why the NL fans just didn’t leave after the eighth inning. Mo proves, once again, why he is… Mo.

    Posted 07/15  at  12:36 AM
    Dr Paisley said...

    St. Derrick was not hit. The pitch hit the knob of his bat (not a euphemism, especially since Slappy Rodriguez was not involved). His 50’’ stagger was classic Yankee-begging.

    Posted 07/15  at  12:39 AM
    Michael Rawdon said...

    Fourth 1-run All-Star Game in a row.  What’s up with that?

    Posted 07/15  at  12:49 AM
    Alan said...

    I’d pay to read a live blog by your wife.

    That G.I. Joe movie is from the director of “The Mummy,” by the way. In case you weren’t already geeked enough.

    Posted 07/15  at  12:58 AM
    Nick Whitman said...

    I officially despise Joe Maddon now.  Tim Wakefield absolutely deserved a chance to pitch.  Of anyone there, I guarantee that it would have meant the most to him to get in the game.  That All-Star nod was essentially a lifetime achievement award for a guy who never complains or has a bad word for anybody and has never conducted himself with anything but class.

    It was Halladay’s sixth appearance.  Buerhle, papelbon and Nathan have four All-Star games under their belts.  Jackson, Hernandez and Greinke are all young and will be back if they keep up the excellent pitching. And Rivera has ten All-Star appearances and is apparently contractually bound to pitch the ninth.  I’m sure it was really special for him.

    Not even letting Wake pitch to even one batter was a scumbag move.

    Posted 07/15  at  01:08 AM
    Scarf said...

    Nick: I understand where you’re coming from (as I myself also wanted to see Wake pitch), but from a practical standpoint only Mauer out of the AL’s catchers has any experience catching the knuckler, and even that’s limited because RA Dickey is a fairly little-used reliever. Trusting a guy in Martinez who is still ailing with Wakefield might not have been the best thing to do.

    Posted 07/15  at  01:40 AM
    brian said...

    Howard did those Subway commercials with Jared….

    Posted 07/15  at  01:53 AM
    David said...

    “Lincecum plunks Jeter. It was an 81 MPH pitch. I want to believe it was intentional, but Timmy looks wild enough tonight where we can’t be sure. Someone talk to Matt Cain and see if he really did have the leash on all day.”

    What is going on?  Am I in ‘The Twilight Zone’?  The ball hit the bat.  Yet the announcers (predictably), ‘Prospectus’, and now THT all go along with this silliness.  I’ve seen that play happen numerous times and every single time it’s a foul ball. 

    It’s completely indisputable that the ball hit the bat.  It ricocheted solidly off the bad, the sound was clear, Jeter didn’t even feign injury, and it was clear on the replays. 

    What the hell is going on?  Why are umpires allowed to make up rules and why do the fans and media go along with this?  This is the first year I’ve ever, ever seen such wantonly defective umpiring in baseball.  If MLB wants to turn into the WWE, that’s fine.  They’re a business and “profit is the sovereign goal of business”, as famously stated by business guru Peter Drucker.  That’s fine.  But why the hell are the media and the fans going along with this?

    Posted 07/15  at  02:00 AM
    J.R. said...

    “Now we just wait until Tommy Hanson gets the start in 2010.”

    You’re right, you did drink a lot of wine.

    Posted 07/15  at  05:15 AM
    James said...

    Seriously. Who was the bald guy? He freaked me out.

    Posted 07/15  at  07:46 AM
    DGL said...

    The other reason I believe Wakefield didn’t pitch was that Maddon was saving him in case the game went into extra innings.  I mean, who better to have as your emergency long guy than a knuckleballer who could go out and throw 150 pitches on Tuesday, then go back out on Thursday and throw another 120 if he had to?

    Posted 07/15  at  08:00 AM
    Dave Studeman said...

    I agree 100% about Jeter’s supposed HBP. And how come no one has talked about Upton’s awful play on Granderson’s triple?  He totally misplayed that ball and the announcers only mentioned Werth missing the cutoff man.  Plus, if the ball had ricocheted in the other direction, we’re talking inside the park HR.

    Posted 07/15  at  08:31 AM
    David said...

    Dave Studeman:

    Thank you for your support on the flagrantly horrible ruling on the Jeter “Hit by pitch”.  (Frankly, it’s so obvious that there should be unanimous disgust, but I guess people just love the umpires, as the Men With Power, that they think that telling the truth about them is heretical.)

    I have to disagree with your critique of Upton’s misplay.  First off, it was heavily discussed in ESPN.  Secondly, it was a line drive to the warning track that would probably have been a hit 75% of the time under any circumstances.  Thirdly, as ESPN pointed out, Upton has NEVER played left field in his professional career.  Lastly, the centerfielder backed it up pretty darn well, and so Upton’s misplay might not have made any difference at all.

    Regardless, an outfielder not making a play on a line-drive to the warning track is not even close to as big a problem as is the increasingly suspicious umpiring in MLB.

    Posted 07/15  at  08:54 AM
    ElBonte said...

    That’s the first time I can remember seeing an IBB in an all-star game.  Although, I wouldn’t be surprised if Bonds was IBB’d once or twice as a pseudo-joke.

    I’m pretty sure I saw Victor Martinez look into the NL dugout like “You guys are really walking me in the All-Star game?”  I’m sure that was TLR’s influence on Manuel.

    Posted 07/15  at  08:54 AM
    mike in brooklyn said...

    The bald guy also seemed to be turning his head ever-so-slightly giving him an added feeling of being an animotronic security guard or something.  Quite freaky.  He also reminded me of the guy from The Prisoner who would say “Red ALert.  Red Alert” into the phone and then Rover would show up.

    And if I remember correctly, Howard got a big hand when introduced before the game too?  Doe anyone know why that is?  What’s the St Louis—Ryan howard connection?

    Posted 07/15  at  08:55 AM
    ElBonte said...

    mike in brooklyn:
    Howard was born in St. Louis and went to Missouri State University.

    Posted 07/15  at  08:59 AM
    Matt in Toledo said...

    The bald guy was a character from Fringe. In the show, he’s on the fringes (NPI) of all the freakish occurences. You know, like giving a guy the MVP for a defensive play. It was just Fox doing their usual self-promotion. I thought it was done better than usual, though. Obviously, it got people wondering and asking the question FOX wanted them asking.

    Posted 07/15  at  09:04 AM
    Dave Studeman said...

    Thanks, David.  Didn’t watch ESPN.  I was talking about the Fox commentators.

    Upton not having played left before is an excuse, but doesn’t change the fact that he misplayed it.  And Werth sort of had him backed up, but only because the ball happened to ricochet in his direction.  A few inches to the left and it would have hit the pole in such a way that it would have ricocheted into left, inside-the-park-HR.

    Posted 07/15  at  09:13 AM
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