I agree with your other points, but this one doesn’t really work. The only way the NL gets fewer games is if the series goes seven. If it goes 5 they actually get one more game. Since 1996 (when the AL dominance of the All-Star game began) there have been 3 7-game series (1997, 2001, and 2002) and 3 5-game series (2000, 2006, and 2008). The odds are probably actually in favor of a 5-game series.
I don’t know if they played the crowd noise on tv while the former Presidents were speaking, but when George W Bush was shown he got a cheer like Pujols was coming to bat. Very embarrassing right after all the Obama boo’s.
I didn’t mind him wearing his teams jacket. How many fans would wear another teams jacket? He is just lucky he doesn’t like the Cubs.
Yes. It’s mere politics that people (other than Cubs fans) booed the president last night. It was something more than political preference that caused fans to boo Bush when he threw out the pitch at Opening Day last season.
I have nothing further to say on the matter.
–Cliffy
Is there a rule in place that mandates the AL to have a greater number of the top 6 payrolls? Because that’s a weird one I hadn’t heard of.
Then why the fuck did Manuel select two Pirates (neither of whom played in the game)? When over half of your roster is hand-selected, the difference of two players isn’t a big deal.
Therein lies maybe the only valid argument the NL could make. Other than the fact that their pitching sucks.
I thought it was notable that none of the top 10 active home run leaders were at the game. The only one that has a real case based on this year is A-roid. Jeter and Rivera were making their 10th appearances each and Ichiro, his 9th. Pujols led the NL with making his 8th appearance. A lot of debuts or players making only their second or third appearances. It’s nice to see some fresh faces and I didn’t really miss the old time greats like Junior, the Big Unit, the Big Hurt, Manny, etc.
I agree, and a few usual suspects didn’t deserve to be there (ahem, David Wright.)
Wright’s batting .324, so he’s not exactly sucking, and is well-established as the best third baseman in the league. Why does he not deserve to be on the All-Star team?
I like David Wright, and i think he deserved to be there, but i would have liked to see big Pablo Sandoval in the game, even as a starter. His average is slightly higher than Wright’s, and he’s hitting for considerably more power.
Sure, he’s not exactly as good at playing 3B at Wright, and the fact that he’s played only about three quarters of his games this year at third (with some at 1B, and a few at C) probably worked against him. But he’s hitting better than any other NL third baseman this season, and would have been a good choice, IMO.
:rolleyes:
The Cubs and Mets (and sometimes Dodgers) spend money. They have a chance at getting into the WS. The Pirates, Reds, Marlins, D-Backs, Rockies, Padres, and Nationals do not. It’s unfair for the NL teams who do spend because the rules mandate that the small market NL teams drag them down. The Cubs can’t control what the rest of the NL does but they are expected to have their WS advantage determined by the other 15 NL teams? It’s a stupid system.
2 players are no big deal? Really? Do you even watch baseball? You don’t think Mark Reynolds or Johnny Cueto would have had an impact in the game? Maybe Pablo Sandoval or Yovani Gallardo or Chris Carpenter? “Hand selected” so long as it includes one of the scrubs on the Pirates and Nationals
The Marlins, D-Backs, Rockies and Padres have all been to the World Series within the last 10 years (with 2 rings to go with it). The Cubs and Mets (and sometimes Dodgers) - one total appearance.
Despite all the money the Cubs are spending, they had their one representative not get any playing time last night. If Crawford hadn’t stolen that hit, the NL would have won without the Cubs’ help. It’s the rare team that can’t scrape together at least one decent all star.
Hey - bitch to Charlie, he’s the one that selected **two **Pirates he never used. No one forced him to take the second player (Duke, I think, was a last minute addition - I’m sure Carpenter or Gallardo would have been the bees knees instead).
And can we ditch the “do you even watch baseball?” bullshit in these threads? I’ve played fantasy baseball with you for the last 7 years. It’s not like I’m trying to convince Elvis that it’s okay to count things here.
I never claimed that having All Stars led to WS success. That’s your implication and it’s irrelevant to the point. In those last 10 years who’s had better All Stars, the Cubs or Pirates? Or more relevant to the argument at hand, who was better: the Pirates All Stars or the 15th player on each AL team (probably the 3rd Red Sox or Yankee)?
And if the immortal Heath Bell had been sitting at home and Carpenter or Cueto had been pitching the 8th they might still be playing. If Zimmerman is sitting home in the bottom half maybe switch hitting Sandoval puts it away against Papelbon.
What did or didn’t happen isn’t the point. If you and I are picking teams and you have more freedom to pick your own players chances are you are going to win more games than I do.
Thank you for making my point for me. Charlie Manuel is an idiot (granted, an idiot with a impossible task of both trying to win a game and pleasing the fans at the same time) and whoever the NL rep in the WS is will pay the price. This makes sense how?
Omniscient, you have yet to reply to the fact that there actually is no “price” that gets paid, since the Series has to go to 7 games for it to matter. So your outrage on the subject is a bit misplaced, don’t you think?
Heath Bell has an ERA of 1.69 and is tied for the National League lead in saves. He’s striking out more than 10 guys per nine. He has not given up a home run all season. He’s been fucking awesome: better this year than Papelbon, K-Rod, and Mariano Rivera, to name a few, and certainly better in any meaningful sense than Johnny Cueto. If you don’t want Bell in the All-Star game, then your argument is really that you don’t want relief pitchers in the All-Star game, which is a different argument altogether.
I don’t get either of these examples:
Heath Bell: 3W-1L 1.69 ERA 23 SV 37.1IP 42K 15BB
He’s been probably the best closer in the NL this year. If anybody should have been replaced by Carp or Cueto or some other pitcher it’s Ryan Franklin (who pitched a scoreless inning) not Bell.
Zimmerman: .288/.354/.473 14HR 52RBI
Sandoval: .333/.385/.578 15HR 55RBI
Has Sandoval been better so far this year? Yes. But looking over their careers (including this year) it’s hard to say Sandoval is a more deserving All-Star than Zimmerman. And anyways, the most important AB in the late innings was Ryan Howard’s - and he struck out helplessly.
I just don’t get the outrage. The AL won again, yes. But IIRC they have now one the last 5 of the last 6 by 1 run apiece. If you want to figure out why that is, take a look at Nathan/Papelbon/Rivera. Payroll and the 1-per-team rule have nothing to do with it.
Perhaps I missed it on page 1, but how else would you propose allocating home field advantage? I think having the All-Star Game decide it is clunky, but it’s better than simply alternating, because it’s at least a decision made by playing baseball.
Giving the team with the better record the advantage makes no sense to me, because it’s not a sufficient measure of strength of the teams, as they play completely different teams. So the big fish in the smaller pond gets the nod over a team in the tougher circuit that really had to grind it out. The only alternative I can think of is allocating homefield advantage to the league that has the better interleague record that year. But it’s awfully diffuse, it doesn’t save the problem of the pennant champs’ advantage or disadvantage being mostly in the hands of other teams. And it would occasion all sorts of gnashing of teeth by those who don’t like interleague play.
–Cliffy
We could always expand the AL by a couple of teams. Put a team in Brooklyn or Jersey and one in, I dunno, Portland?
I’m all for that.
The AL should put major league teama in Baltimore and Kansas City first. 
Not to mention Zim’s vastly superior glove.
Elvis: Low blow. 
and Pittsburgh & Cleveland too, while they’re at it.
RickJay’s right though. Brooklyn, Jersey and Portland should have MLB teams. So should Memphis, Nashville, Charlotte, Sacramento & Salt Lake City, IMHO.
Memphis would be awfully small for a major league team, as would SLC and Nashville. Charlotte and Sacramento aren’t exactly huge, either.