I am going to make an attempt to live blog the MLB All-Star game. Mostly because I am sitting by myself and I feel the need to share my fantastic thoughts with someone since I am watching by myself. Heh.
First off, I hate Joe Buck and Tim McCarver very much. I think they are both very, very, very bad announcers. So there will probably be a lot of mean comments directed at them. Just to warn you.
I did love the pre-game interview with Willie Mays. It's neat to see guys like Ken Griffey Jr. and Derek Jeter get all giddy talking to their idol. He's a very gracious guy and a true great of the game. And the Simpson thing was funny. Calling Jeanie Zelasko a "NASCAR plaything" never stops being funny.
The introductions are always pretty boring. There was a huge bit of screw up trying to figure out who all the coaches from the Cardinals are. But I can't really blame the camera guys since there were like a million of them and they were all over the place. I do have to give big congrats to my Giants fans for booing John Lackey and Francisco Rodriguez. Old grudges never die. And of course the lovely booing for the Dodgers. At least all those guys looked amused by the whole thing. They knew it was coming.
Personally, I think that Barry (Bonds) looked pretty touched by the ovation he got. I was a little disappointed that he wasn't in the Home Run Derby, but he's old guys. Really old. And as a Giants fan, I'd rather he was healthy enough to finish the season instead of breaking a hip during an exhibition batting practice. But that's just me. But during the introduction, I think there might have been a tear or two held back. :P
I'd have liked to see Huey Lewis sing the National Anthem, but I think Chris Issac did a pretty good job. Nice tempo. Short and sweet and classic.
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Willie Mays is my dad's favorite baseball player and has been since he was old enough to follow the Giants. It's hard for people to really understand what he means to the Giants and how awesome it is for him to be a part of big Giants events today. Watching the tribute to him, I teared up a bit (and I know my mom was crying) cause he's just a special player. I've heard stories that he's a jerk in real life but I personally don't care. I appreciate what he means to the Giants (just like with Barry). To see him be so gracious to all of the guys who are in this All-Star game was really sweet. He signed the ball that he threw to Jose Reyes right on the field, taking his own sweet time. Hee. (Reyes kept the pen too.) He gave his jacket and jersey to Griffey and his other jacket to someone (maybe Jeter). I would have freaked out if I had caught one of the balls that Mays threw into the crowd on his way out in a pink Cadillac. Of course, if I had been sitting that close I would have been trying to catch with one arm since I would have had to sell one to sit that close.
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Eric Burns is in McCovey Cove in a kayak with his bulldog. That is a fantastic sentence to type.
I have to say that I truly enjoy seeing shots of places that I recognize during an All-Star game. The last time the game was in San Francisco I was 3. So this is pretty special for me. Ozzie Smith and Cal Ripkin Jr. gave the lineups for the teams. Cal felt that he needed to tell a personal feeling about almost all of the American League guys. Ozzie on the other hand was all business for the Nationals.
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First Pitch: 5.54
Ichiro starts the game with a hit. Cause we are all so surprised. I was surprised he didn't swing at the first pitch. Hee. I like the choice of Jake Peavy to start cause he is having a great year. But it's hard for me to cheer for him too much since his team is in my division. I do like that the fans are really into the game: booing a checked swing that was not called and big cheer for a 6-4-3 double play by Jeter. Sweet turn boys. Peavy is making some of these good hitters look silly on some pitches. But going full on David Ortiz is pretty dangerous. And it was sweet of Prince Fielder to drop the ball so Ortiz could get on with an error. Thanks dude. But God Bless David Wright for that awesome diving stop to force Ortiz out at second to end the top of the first.
(OK, I love that Spiderpig bit in the Simpsons Movie commercial. Seriously, it's so super cute.)
I like Danny Haren. I think he's a good guy, even if he plays for the A's. I am happy that he got the start. But I do think it's funny that both Bay Area teams only have one representative at the game. Reyes hits (the first pitch I think) up the middle for a base hit. Which gets the crowd to their feet for Barry (Bonds). Look as a Giants fan, I have often been disappointed with Barry in this position. Just saying. And of course he obliges by popping out into deeper-than-I-thought right field. Not moving the runner over. It kinda bails him out that Reyes steals second. I hope this kid steals 12 bases. Haren makes Carlos Beltran look pretty silly with a pretty filthy pitch getting him to strike out swinging. But Griffey makes me very happy by hitting one up the middle and Reyes uses his super wheels to score and the NL goes up 1-0. BTW, David Wright is super hot. Just for your info. Too bad he grounds to short and forces Griffey out at second. 1 run is a good start. But the NL may need 17 runs to make sure they can win.
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In the grand tradition of the All-Star game, Peavy is out after one inning and Dodger Brad Penny is out. Vald Guerrero won the battle with Penny last year by taking him deep. Penny wins this year by getting Vlad to shatter his bat swinging at a ball is his feet and grounding out to Reyes. Magglio Ordonez flys out to Griffey after only taking one pitch. Way to work the count dude. Reyes shows off his arm by throwing out Pudge Rodriguez on a ball hit deep into the hole at short. So deep in fact Pudge almose makes it to first. A catcher. Heh. And the AL goes down pretty quietly in the top of the 2nd.
Haren is still in even though Josh Beckett was warming up earlier. Price Fielder comes up and he looks like he wants to make up for the error he made in the 1st. And he does by drawing a walk. We get a chance to get to know Price and they mention for the thousandth time that he is Cecil Fielder's kid. Thanks guys. Russel Martin hits the ball very hard. Right at Alex Rodriguez. Aww thanks Joe Buck for talking about my used-to-be-favorite-Giant Jeff Kent. 2nd base is kind of a power position now. Unfortunately for Chase Utley that doesn't hold true now as he hits to into the huge part of the outfield where Ichiro catches it. Miguel Cabrera come in to pinch hit and strikes out swinging on a pretty good pitch. Joe Buck doesn't even mention this since he's too busy talking about the winning drought that the NL has been on. Poor Miguel. 1-0 NL after 2.
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So the plus to live blogging is I'm paying more attention to typing than I am to Joe Buck and Tim McCarver. Yay. Ben Sheets is the 3rd pitcher for the NL and he gets Placido Polanco to ground out to Reyes behind second. Joe tells me that Polanco might not bat again since he has been hurting. Just like Cabrera. Manny Ramirez pinch hits for Haren and flies out harmlessly into right. Ichiro comes up for the second time and hits a dying duck shot into short left between Bonds and Reyes. Sheets gets himself in trouble when Jeter hits the first pitch right up the middle. But David Ortize hits a ball hard into right thankfully right at Ken Griffey Jr. and the half inning is over. My favorite part of the game so far has been Buck and McCarver speculating that Ichiro might be the best free agent available next winter, only to be told by random announcer guy that he is close to signing a contract extension. Hee. Nice one guys.
Buck and co. talk AL manager Jim Leyland this inning and I'm only half paying attention since it's not like he is going to say anything interesting. Polanco comes out and Brian Roberts goes in to play second. Josh Beckett takes over for Haren and starts off well. But Alex Rodriguez has trouble with the spin on a ball down the line and easily goes to second. Bonds comes up just short of hitting it out to left as Magglio Ordonez catches the ball a few feet from the wall. David Wright moves the runner over to third by grounding out to second. But Beckett gets Griffey on a nasty pitch on the inside and the 3rd ends the same way the last 2 innings have, with the NL up 1-0
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Tony LaRussa is apparently not afraid of running out of pitchers as Cole Hamels comes out to replace Sheets. And Alfonso Sorriano Alex Rodriguez gets a base hit into left between short and 3rd and then promptly steals second. But Vlad grounds out to short and Jeter stays at second. And then Maggilo follows that by..doing the exact same thing. Bonds gets interviewed and he talks about how special it was to play at home, home run record, blah, blah. He does joke a little about the one that came close to going out and skirts around the question about A-Rod breaking the single season home run record. The NL gets a scare when Pudge Rodriguez get a hit into right field and Rodriguez heads for home. But Griffey makes a great throw and Russel Martin made an even better play to get Rodriguez at home. Seriously, the ball wasn't very deep and even with the throw up the line, Martin is
Beckett is still pitching and Justin Morneau comes in at first for David Ortiz. Wright gets some bad luck as he hits the ball off the mound and right to Brian Roberts who throws him out. Fielder hit the ball very hard...right at Ichiro. The announcer theme of the half inning is Barry Bonds and steriods and Hank Aaron and home run records and blah, blah, blah. What suprised me a bit was that the FOX guys sound kinda like Bonds apologists, or at least saying that he's probably not the only one using , just the one who's getting blamed. Russel Martin gets booed, which is kinda harsh since he did just save a run. But he is a Dodger and he stikes out swinging so I guess he deserved it. And the 4th ends the same way the last 3 did, with the NL up 1-0. All this not scoring is making me nervous.
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New inning and there is a new NL pitcher in Chris Young. Ironically, Derek Lee comes in at 1st for Fielder with Young. since these two "fought" during a game a few weeks ago. Young looks a little wild to begin, walking Brian Roberts on a pitch that was not close. Jorge Posada pinch hits and flies out to center. But then things go ugly for the NL as Ichiro hits a ball off the wall in right center. It takes a super weird bounce off the banner out there and gets so far away from Griffey that Ichiro circles the bases. That's right kids, an inside-the-park-home-run. The first one in All-Star history. Chris Young looks like he is going to throw up. Derek Jeter comes up next and flies into right center to give the NL a chance to breathe. And the half inning comes to a merciful end as Justin Morneau flies out to right and Griffey catches the ball this time.
There is some awesomeness as Buck and co. start to talk to Eric Burns, who has left his kayak for the safety of the boat. He talks a little about his dog and decides to show off by throwing the ball into the Cove for Bruin to get. But the dog turns the tables and goes the completely wrong way. As it turns out it's hard to get a swimming dog in a kayak. It's kinda funny to watch until you realize that a bulldog might get tried after swimming for a while. But we learn later that the dog is returned to the boat safely after some of the kayakers get him to the boat.
Now come the time I feared: wholesale defensive changes. CC Sabathia comes in to pitch, Carlos Guillen comes in at short, Carl Crawford in at Left, magical Torii Hunter in center field and Jorge Posada staying in to catch. While Buck and co. starts to talk to Tony LaRussa, Chase Utley grounds out to second. Alfonso Sorriano hits the ball really hard and Carl Crawford makes a really good play to get the out. Jose Reyes gets a hit into center but Torii Hunter makes a nice play to keep him to a single. And the inning ends harmlessly as Derek Lee grounds out to the pitcher. And this inning actually ends differently with the AL up 2-1 after 5.
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New inning = new NL pitcher, Francisco Cordero. Alex Rodriguez files out to left to start the inning well for the NL. There is a nice little love fest for PAC BELL PARK (I do not recognize the name change) which makes my heart happy. I love my ballpark, even is the wifi has people doing work during games. Vlad swings at another ball at his feet and flies out to right. Carl Crawford makes Cordero work with an 8 pitch at bat before he hits it out to right center. I might be mistaken but I think the fan reached out to bring that in. The half inning ends when Carlos Guillen gounds out to Chase Utley, who had to make a nice play to throw out Guillen. So far, I'm not really a fan of new pitcher new inning. Suddenly it is 3-1 AL. Grrr.
More changes as Justin Verlander comes in to pitch for the AL and Mike Lowell (Benito Santiago 80 years ago. Hee) comes in the play third. Carlos Beltran hits a ball that looks like it might have had a chance to go out. Instead it takes another odd bounce (which is more odd bounces than I am used to seeing) and Beltran ends up at third. Derek Jeter gets to talk about how awesome it was to meet Willie Mays which I think is cute. Griffey redeems himself (at least to me) and hits a sacrifice fly into right and Beltran's triple becomes a run. David Wright shatters his bat and gets abord. There have been a lot of shattered bats this night. Matt Holliday, my Home Run Derby pick, pinch hits for Francisco Cordero. He moves Wright over by grounding out to first on a hard hit ball. Russel Martin almost makes the Giants fans cheer for a Dodger by hitting a screamer down the right field line foul. Instead he pops up to second after saying the S-word very loudly on network TV. Hee. After 6, the score is 3-2 AL. Grrrrrrrr.
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More wholesale changes: Matt Holliday stays in to play right, Aaron Rowand comes in at center, Brian McCann takes over catching, Orlando Hudson is in at second, Freddie Sanchez is in at third and Takashi Saito is the new pitcher. Phew. That was a lot. There are a few jokes about poor Bruce Freming behind the plate who has to keep track of this all. Hudson gets some work as fellow second baseman Brian Roberts grounds out to start the inning. While Buck and co. babble on Posada hits a rocket to first that Derek Lee gets for the second out. Saito has a very quick scoreless inning as Torii Hunter flies out to short left.
Amusingly, Paula Cole (who?) comes out to sing God Bless America with a keyboard player. There are all kinds of struggles with setting up the keyboard and there are like 2 or 3 min of dead air. Funny. At least they don't try to fill it. She dedicates her song to the troops and it is actually a good song. Strangely there is no "Take Me Out To The Ballgame." Weird.
Johan Santana comes into pitch and Grady Sizemore (hot) is in right. Carlos Lee rips a few hard and foul but manages to strike out swinging. Despite looking menacing, Alfonso Sorriano strikes out looking on a pitch that looked suspiciously inside. Whatever. Santana has a short inning when Reyes grounds out to end the 7th. With only 2 innings left to play, the AL is still up 3-2. >.<
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Met (and former Astro) Billy Wagner comes in as the new NL pitcher. Surprise. Mike Lowell opens the inning with a single into center. And now it's time to meet.....David Ortiz, who came out of the game like 4 innings ago. Turns out he likes cooking. Which means he likes Fox show Hell's Kitchen. Sure guys. Freddie Sanchez looks for the games Gold Glove by making a fantastic play to catch a popup in foul territory in the bullpen. Just wow. Wagner gets to have the title of first NL guy to strike someone out when he gets Grady Sizemore swinging. A .t the point things look good for Wagner. Until he hangs a ball that Victor Martinez hits out to left to open up the game. At this point I am going to call the game for the AL. I have little to no confidence that the NL can score 4 in the last 2 innings. Call me pessimistic after 9 straight losses. >.<>>.<<>>>.<<<
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Jose Reyes finally gets to sit as J.J. Hardy comes in for him and Trevor Hoffmann comes in to pitch the 9th. Carlos Guillen grounds out to second as Hudson has to make a nice play to throw out Guillen. Brian Roberts grounds to Lee and he gets the pitcher involved by flipping the ball to Hoffmann for the out. There is a guy in a Pirates jersey and a dead pirate mask in the standing room only area. He totally distract Tim McCarver which doesn't sound much different than usual. Now comes the time when Buck and co. start to talk about who is left on the benches. Fun times. Posada makes people nervous by hitting the ball off the wall for a double, very close to being out. Torii Hunter then helps out by grounding out to third. The NL is going to need a miracle.
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Seattle closer J.J. Putz is in to try to close the game. I have very little faith in the NL hitters. They must be cursed or something. Case in point: Matt Holliday (my Home Run Derby pick) strikes out swinging to start the inning. I guess we just changed cities as Joe Buck said that we are now in San Diego. Tool. I have to say that if I had one guy that I wanted to be my last hope in a ball game, Dimitri Young would not be that guy. I know it's hard to pinch hit in the 9th and all, but dude looks silly. And Putz is super good. Ask the A's. But amazingly he hits the ball to the hole between first and second which Brian Roberts understandably has issues with. There was no throw which was the only way Young makes it to first. Alfonso Sorriano decides he's had enough of me doubting him and he hits the ball out to right to bring the NL within 1 run. Which puts the pressure on J.J. Hardy. It's J.J. vs. J.J. Hee. Joseph Jason P. vs. James Jerry H. And James Jerry wins the battle as he gets a walk to bring Derek Lee to the plate. Which is when Jim Leyland takes a walk to see Bruce Freming and bring Francisco Rodriguez in. HATE HATE HATE. This is the stress for Giants fans. And then Derek Lee tries to make my heart explode by drawing a walk. LaRussa decides not to put Albert Pujols in and leave Hudson into bat. I kinda understand this since you don't want to empty your bench in case of a tie. Which will not happen. And then my heart really explodes when Hudson draws another walk. And my hands start shaking. Damn them for making me think this might actually happen. And now all the pressure moves to Aaron Rowand. Watching Rodriguez pitch makes me hurt. He basically throws himself off the mound with the ball. But of course, Rowand flies out into right to end the game and crush my heart. Curse the NL for making me think that the might actually win. I am beginning to think that the Giants run scoring issues are the fault of the park. Maybe.
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Game was over 3 hours. Not a surprise. I'm also not surprised that Ichiro was the MVP. I love that he's dressed already wearing a skinny little yellow tie. His translator is working overtime to do the interview. And Jeanie Zelasko is such a tool. She's a horrible interviewer here. It's super ugly. And he's not likely to be a free agent you stupid bitch.
There's more from FOX. But I don't really care. Instead I leave you with very true words about the state of baseball today.
Bud Selig = Tool
Thank you and good night.
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