I sat down in front the the TV last night as not only a Milwaukee Brewers fan, but a baseball fan as well. It was the All-Star game and there is some enjoyment in watching the best of the best get together and play in a game that means something (homefield advantage in the World Series), especially when the Brewers sent an NL best 4 players to the game. While the NL lost AGAIN (10 straight years, if you count the infamous “tie” year), there were a lot of other things that bothered me about the game this year.
I’ll start off by looking at the Brewers’ performances, which overall were disappointing to me.
Ben Sheets: Pitched one inning, got two quick outs, then gave up two hits. I was worried for a second that Sheets was going to be the first NL pitcher to give up a run, but luckily he got out of it. No strikeouts, and giving everyone a slight scare gives him an average ranking in my book.
Grade: C
Prince Fielder: Out of anyone, I was really pulling for Fielder to have a good game. He did ok in the homerun contest the day before, but didn’t make it out of the first round. That’s fine. For the game, he fields for 4 (I think) innings and gets up to bat twice. In the field, he drops a routine throw from the 2nd baseman and gets an error. From the plate, a walk and a flyout to center. Eh. I know he’s young and it’s his first all-star game, but I was kind of bored with him.
Grade: C
Francisco Cordero: Coco’s line. 1 IP, 1 hit, 1 run, 1 earned (home) run, 9.00 ERA. Not good, Coco, not good. He at least got in the game, which is the only thing that saved him from getting an F.
Grade: D-
JJ Hardy: We’re going into the 9th inning and all hope looks to be lost that JJ was going to get into the game. There’s already 2 outs, and Dmitri Young needs to get on base to get JJ into the game. Would you believe that the big man took a walk and Soriano hits a dinger to make the game a close 5-4? So, my initial reaction was “cool, JJ gets in the game.” But, the more I thought about it, the more it could have been really bad. If JJ strikes out, or even simpler, doesn’t get on base, then he’s the goat for ruining the NL’s comeback. That’s a lot of pressure. So, even though JJ took a walk and didn’t get to show off his hitting, he did get on base and let someone else shut down the rally. I was going to give him an incomplete, but I think he’ll get a B, just for not letting anyone down.
Grade: B
And some other notes…
Broken bats: Did anyone else notice how many broken bats there were in the game? I stopped counting after 5. I’ve never seen anything like that. Anyone have any idea why so many were breaking?
Willie Mays: Ok, I know he’s one of the greatest baseball players of all time and he’s from San Francisco (wait, is he?). Anyway, I’m ok with a video tribute and him waving to the fans. But what was up with all the other crap? Making him walk from the outfield to the infield where he clearly looked winded/tired. Then, having all of the all-star players start walking behind him and watch him get into a pink cadillac. That was just weird. And long. And drawn out. And awkward to watch Barry Bonds try and hold his hand.
Barry Bonds: Speaking of Barry Bonds, can we stop asking him about the damn homerun record? I mean, he said in the homerun derby that he doesn’t even know what a commissioner does. WHO CARES ANYMORE!?!?
Start Time: I thought the game started at 7pm. Wrong. The game started at 8pm. There was an hour of pre-game crap. Why don’t they call it “pre-game festivities” on my DVR so that I don’t have to watch it if I don’t want to. Instead, I was glued to the TV because I wasn’t quite sure when the game was actually going to start.
Paula Cole’s God Bless America: I think she sang it great. But what was up with the announcer announcing her, then she had to wait an awkward 3-4 minutes while they set up her equipment. Wouldn’t you set her stuff up first THEN announce her?
Pujols snubbed: I read an article today that Pujols was a little ticked that he didn’t get into the game. I kind of agree with him. I don’t understand why Tony LaRussa, his OWN manager, wouldn’t take the opportunity to get him into the game in the 9th inning. Instead, he left in Aaron Rowand so he could fly out with the bases loaded. Why not take your chances and put in the NL MVP from 2005 and a guy you know can hit in clutch situations? Come on LaRussa… what’s up with that?
Mystery Brewers Person: Did anyone else see the mystery Brewers person in the NL dugout? It was someone wearing a Brewers hat and jacket, but it wasn’t one of the 4 all-stars. He looked too old to be a batboy. Was there another Brewers representative that I didn’t know about?
There were some good parts to the game too… it was cool to see Ichiro’s in-the-park homerun, it was cool to see the game was actually CLOSE at the end, and it was cool to see that people like Vlad and Junior actually have pretty good arms. But, overall, I obviously had a lot to complain about.
What did you think about the game?