Of course I read it. That’s my point, though. It’s not whether LaRussa made the right call or not. It’s the fact that he’s even thinking about how to win the game. That’s the travesty. He put the W ahead of the spectacle, in other words. I watch the ASG to see my favorite players battle it out individually, not to see who wins.
Try taking the win out of the equation. Pretend it doesn’t matter one iota…does LaRussa’s decision make sense? Not at all. He should have put Pujols in the game so that the fans could see him do what he does best. Now, I understand that it’s hard to get every player out there on the field. There’s 32 of them. That’s a lot to get through. But, c’mon, PUJOLS?!
It makes perfect sense. Like I mentioned, the previous season’s ASG ended in a tie because they ran out of players. THAT was a (easily avoided) travesty. Holding back Pujols - a player who at that time was still playing 1B/3B/OF - gives LaRussa the most flexible option out there to not completely embarrass the game (again).
Notice the complete lack of the word “win” in either of my posts.
Not really. The first All-Star game had all the position players play all nine innings. Also compare the 1958 and 1978 games to last night’s game. If you really want the game to matter, get rid of fan voting and mandatory representation, have the best players go all the way, and have the starting pitchers go three innings at least. Or you could just accept what fans and players have long known–it’s just a very fun exhibition game.
I heard that this morning. I don’t watch a lot of television in the summer - but I really don’t recall seeing any commercials at all for the All Star Game. Baseball itself is doing really well this year - there are great stories, dominating players, and attendance is up. Did FOX drop the ball?
That wasn’t how I interpreted it. The song was clearly sung by little kids, not the cast of Glee. I took it that Buck recognized that a) the bit was silly, and b) FOX has been shoving Glee down our throats all night, and put the two together to make a joke.
Maybe I’m way off… But I’m still not watching Glee so I guess it doesn’t matter.
Isn’t it the case that the previous ASG had to be called because they ran out of pitchers? Something that holding Pujols back does not help with?
Personally, I’ve never had any interest in the All Star Game so I can’t say it has waned. My only problem with attaching WS home field advantage is that now it creates a weird hybrid where the game is 80% exhibition, 5% serious, and 15% pretending it is serious. Personally, if I were attaching home field advantage to anything it would be, in descending order:
The league that wins more interleague games.
The WS team with the better regular season record.
Alternate years
Coin flip
Psychic octopus
The team willing to offer human sacrifice of the most valuable player.
…
I lost interest in the All-Star game a long time ago, mainly because the rosters are now way too big, and are filled with guys who don’t meet ANYBODY’S definition of “All-star.”
When I look at “All-Stars” and wonder “Who the hell are they,” something is wrong.