The Baseball Blog: July 13 Part I
http://www.atomicsportsmedia.com/articles/508/1/The-Baseball-Blog-July-13-Part-I.html
Steve Schaefer
Steve Schaefer is a 2006 graduate of the prestigious SI Newhouse School at Syracuse University. Shockingly, this did not result in his being asked to be the editor-in-chief of Sports Illustrated immediately after graduation, but Steve remains optimistic.
Click here to e-mail Steve.
Seriously, please do. You'd be the first.
Click here to e-mail Steve.
Seriously, please do. You'd be the first.
By Steve Schaefer
Published on 07/13/2006
He may have lost to Ryan Howard in the finals of the Home Run Derby, and the AL may have won home-field advantage in the Series, but the 2006 All-Star Game was David Wright's party and Steve Schaefer recaps it all in this edition of the blog.
A running diary of the first round of Monday’s Home Run Derby, a recap of an exceedingly boring All-Star Game with a redeeming finish, a look back at the first half that was, and a glance at the biggest questions heading into the second half…what doesn’t this week’s double-barrelled edition of the blog have? Let’s get going.
In the run-up to this year’s All-Star Festivities, many TV personalities and sportswriters were railing against the Home Run Derby. For a variety of reasons (Bobby Abreu’s homer slump after his 2005 Derby win, a lack of player interest), many argued that the contest has become obsolete. I decided to tune in and keep a running diary of the first round of this year’s event to see if the critics are right. The following are the highlights:
7:50 Thanks to a variety of factors (weeks of an unsuccessful job search, daily boredom, etc.) I’ve decided to keep a running diary of the 2006 Home Run Derby. Without further ado, let’s get things going.
Tonight’s contestants: Miguel Cabrera, David Wright, Lance Berkman, Ryan Howard for the NL. Miguel Tejada, Troy Glaus, Jermaine Dye, David Ortiz for the AL.
I’m just happy Jason Bay isn’t participating, since the pressure to perform in his home park would have made him the top candidate for the Bobby Abreu Award, given annually to the player who gives an amazing performance in the Derby and then proceeds to forget how to hit home runs almost immediately after the All-Star break. Through the first half, Abreu had hit exactly 14 home runs since bashing 41 homers in last year’s event, only 8 this season. The over/under on how many times announcers Chris Berman, Harold Reynolds, Bonnie Bernstein, Karl Ravech, Joe Morgan, and John Kruk mention this fact tonight is 10, place your bets early for the best odds, I’m betting the over.
7:55 The Derby is ‘scheduled’ to begin at 8:00 so I guess it’s time to make my pick. They say that Pittsburgh’s PNC Park favors left-handed sluggers, but only three candidates in the field are lefties, Howard, Ortiz, and Fat Elvis, so it’s still no guarantee that a lefty will win it. Regardless, I’m going to go with Ryan Howard as my pick. I think he’s got a lot of Mo Vaughn in him and I like picking the player who’s got the most awesome power I’ve seen in a while.
7:58 After a ridiculous opening montage that featured O.A.R’s classic ‘Crazy Game of Poker’ as the theme song, Baseball Tonight just concluded with the experts’ picks. Kruk picked Troy Glaus, arguing that the lefties would be drawn to the possibility of hitting the ball into the Allegheny River and overswing.
8:00 Big and Rich are performing the opening song…and Jonathan Papelbon seems to really be into it. I know he went to Missisppi State, but I’m wondering if there’s something more to this. Does Papelbon live in a trailer? Is his uncle also his brother? These are questions that need answering.
8:01 “If you want a little bang in your ying-yang.” I’m not sure what the hell that means but I had to include the lyric in the column. The lead singer of the band is wearing a hat that looks like he borrowed it from the illegitimate love-child of General Custer and the Mad Hatter.
8:03 The opener just ended and I’m already speechless. I can’t imagine anything topping country music performed in baseball jerseys by guys who look like their idea of hygiene is licking the excess beer off their hands after a spill.
8:07 Can someone explain to me the order they decided on? Tejada, Berkman, Cabrera, Glaus, Wright, Dye, Ortiz, Howard? It’s not alphabetical by first or last name, it’s not league by league, hell it’s not even by how many homers they have at the break. It’s not by All-Star appearances, career homers, team, or alternating AL/NL. What could it be, cup size? I’m baffled.
8:09 Joe Morgan just picked David Ortiz to win because he gets a lot of clutch hits for the Red Sox. Obviously clutch hitting translates to Home Run Derby success, which explains why Derek Jeter gets invited to the event every year. If Morgan’s pick isn’t a guarantee that Ortiz definitely won’t win, I don’t know what is.
8:10 Whoa, whoa, whoa. Major rule change. Home run totals now carry over from the 1st to the 2nd round, but not into the championship round. This is the biggest rule change since they added the DH in the AL. This might change the face of baseball for decades to come (I’m kidding of course, but the change does avoid guys with huge Round 1 totals from getting hosed because they’re tired in Round 2, a nice feature).
8:13 The CEO of Century 21 just caught Bill Mazeroski’s First Pitch on a knee without a mask on. Remember I said nothing could top Big and Rich. I was wrong. Maz just threw it high and outside and CEO Kunz made an awkward lunge at it and couldn’t come up with the ball. I’m betting it will be on youtube tomorrow.
8:15 For those of us unfamiliar with PNC Park, it’s a mere 456-feet to hit a ball over the rightfield fence into the Allegheny River, and we just learned that only Daryle Ward has reached it on a fly. Daryle Ward!?!? Are you kidding me, can we wheel Bonds into this park and let him take some hacks? I’m praying that someone puts one out there tonight.
8:17 Tejada just hit his first out as we’ve learned that the man throwing to him (Ramon Henderson) is the BP pitcher of choice for three different players tonight. I’ve got a suggestion, how about we make these guys pitch to each other? Or what if we just got Tim Wakefield out there throwing knucklers? Or players from the Little League World Series? Or athletes from other sports (if you believe the Gatorade commericals Peyton Manning is comfortable on the mound)? I’m just brainstorming here people. Derby ratings are down and I’m trying to be part of the solution.
8:20 The sound just briefly cut out on ESPN. I’m kind of glad for the break from Joe Morgan. I don’t know if I can listen to him for 3+ hours for the second night in a row after watching the entire 12-inning Cards-Astros game Sunday night.
8:23 Great spot by my girlfriend sitting next to me on the couch. I give you the following exchange that took place after a Tejada home run while I was typing the last paragraph:
(After replay of Tejada homer, camera pans to David Ortiz holding his child)
Berman: And there’s Big Papi, being a big papi.
Harold Reynolds: Well, uh, Tejada really crushed that one.
Print doesn’t do it justice, but if you heard it live I think you’re with me. Reynolds didn’t know what to say, to a less awkward degree it was like the studio guys after the Namath-Kolber incident.
8:29 Berkman just one-hopped one into the river and fans in kayaks went crazy over it, diving into the water and literally beating each other with oars trying to get it. Yes it looks just as cool as it sounds. Hard to believe that Daryle Ward is the only guy ever to do it on a fly. With Papi and Howard still to bat I’ve got to believe that’s not going to last.
8:32 Berkman and Tejada have two each. Not exactly huge first-round totals. Any chance their trying to avoid developing an excessive uppercut because their afraid of Abreu Syndrome? (And yes, I’ve copyrighted the term Abreu Syndrome).
8:38 Miguel Cabrera is getting into a groove and one of his homers was just snagged by an overweight lefty in a Pirates jersey rocking the best mullet I’ve seen since Shawn Michaels of the WWF during his days as part of the ‘Rockers’.
8:40 They just panned to a fan in the outfield with a ‘Hit It Here I Chug A Beer Sign.’ These are my people.
8:41 Harold Reynolds just said this about Cabrera, “He’s in a groove, but he’s got a little baby-face man.” God I love good old HR.
8:52 Troy Glaus’ line: 10 outs, 1 home run. Nice pick Kruker.
8:53 Now batting, my choice for 2005 NL half-season MVP who doesn’t play first base for the Cardinals…David Wright. And to make things better, he’s got Paul Lo Duca pitching to him. Now things are finally getting interesting. Reminds me of when the NBA tried to spice up the dunk contest by making each guy do one dunk involving a teammate. I like it.
8:55 Lo Duca’s stuff looks good, he’s moving the ball around, keeping Wright guessing. Only problem is that’s the exact opposite of what he’s supposd to be doing. And he actually just brushed back Wright after his 3rd homer. High drama. Didn’t anyone tell Lo Duca the idea is to give up home runs?
9:00 Apparently Lo Duca figured it out, Wright ended up with 16 in the first round and the only thing better was when he got muted for foul language after making outs on 3 separate occasions. Nothing’s better than good clean family fun. Highlights of the Wright at-bat: Boomer referencing Pittsburgh suburbs on each blast (“This one’s in Altoona”), and for those of you who don’t think the players take this stuff seriously, shots of Jermaine Dye warming up for his at-bat in the underground batting cage.
9:08 A.J. Pierzynski is on the Baseball Tonight set with his daughter on his lap and just said that his teammate Jermaine Dye has no chance of winning tonight. Any guesses what the A stands for?
9:12 Pierzynski just listed all the good pitchers in the AL Central. Nice touch, just not sure why he had to do it twice. He’s like Jimmy Two-Times from Goodfellas, gonna go get the papers, get the papers.
9:13 Interesting note, Big Papi flew to Pittsburgh with Pierzynski and Dye after the 19-inning Sox v. Sox marathon Sunday. And Kruk has already changed his pick more times than I can count. I think he might have just picked Sammy Sosa.
9:17 A Yale professor just explained to us the physics of hitting a ball out of PNC Park and into the Allegheny over the right-field wall. I’d appreciate it more if he wasn’t wearing a bolo tie and looking like he might die at any moment.
9:18 HR guaranteed that Papi would hit four balls into the river. He’s dead on since Ortiz has been launching them out there, leading to an outbreak of kayak on kayak violence that’s never been seen this side of the Rocky Mountains. Some guy just whacked a swimmer on the head with his oar, it’s like Water World out there.
9:22 After Papi’s third ball in the drink is snatched by a fan just out of the reach of another fan, Boomer drops this knowledge on us, “The crawlstroke beats the breastroke.”
9:25 Ortiz puts one over the Baseball Tonight set in right-center then hits one into the water on a fly for the first time all night.
9:33 According to Ryan Howard, his home run trot is, “the basic 1-2 step, no spins or breakdancing.” How boring, I for one an hoping Howard is going to give us some more flavor in the second half, maybe do the robot between second and third, or at least a somersault into home plate.
9:50 Mark Loretta, please sum up for us the tough-and-tumble AL East race: “It looks like the division winner is going to make the playoffs.” Now we all now that Mark meant the wildcard probably won’t come out of the East this year, but what he said came across just on TV just like it does in print. Not exactly the remarks of a rocket scientist. But hey, he’s having a good year.
9:55 With Howard’s 10th out, the first round’s in the books. Wright (16 homers), Ortiz (10), Cabrera (9), and Howard (8) make the cut with Jermaine Dye (7) getting the shaft after Howard hit four straight after being down to his final out.
That’s as far as my running diary went, a combination of boredom and Joe Morgan’s commentary totally derailing the whole idea.
The Derby continued of course, and what can I say about the tremendous performances by the 23-year-old Wright and the 26-year-old Howard. Wright shorted out a bit after his monster first-round, but that alone was impressive enough. Howard on the other hand seemed to get stronger as the contest wore on, putting more and more balls into the water in each round, and with his Derby-winning home run hitting a sign that gave a lucky fan 500 free flights. Perhaps the most impressive performance was from Phillies bullpen coach Ramon Henderson who pitched Abreu and Howard to wins in consecutive years.
As for the All-Star Game itself, there isn’t much to say. The first eight innings had a few moments (Brad Penny averaging 98-mph to strike out the side in the first, solo shots by Vlad Guerrero and then David Wright in his first All-Star at-bat, Vernon Wells throwing Soriano out at the plate), but the game was mostly a well-pitched one. Translation: boring.
Things heated up in the 9th though. NL pitchers had allowed only Guerrero’s home run and three other meaningless hits through 8 2/3. Then Konerko singled, Troy Glaus doubled, and down to his last strike Michael Young served a two-run triple into right off Trevor Hoffman. Enter Mariano Rivera. Thanks for coming out National League, make it nine straight All-Star wins for the AL and World Series home-field advantage yet again.
So much has been made of the AL’s dominance over the NL in All-Star Games and interleague play recently, but let’s keep things in perspective. Yes, it’s true that right now only the Mets and maybe the Cardinals could contend in the AL, but these things are cyclical, and the National League will rise again, mark my words.
A few things to take out of the 2006 All-Star Game…
The Young and the Restless
Remember the days when aging stars would always make the game based solely on reputation (see: Cal Ripken Jr.). Those days appear to be over, thanks to the abundance of young talent that we’ve seen this year. Reputation is no longer a tiebreaker for making the All-Star Game, just ask Billy Wagner. Having 24 first-time All-Stars is a great thing, and players like Wright, Howard, Jose Reyes, Matt Holliday, Jonathan Papelbon, Francisco Liriano, Bobby Jenks, and Joe Mauer should be making appearances for years to come.
How Do You Pitch to Vlad?
Guerrero hit a 98 MPH heater from Penny (who was throwing harder than I’ve ever seen him throw), over the right-field fence. The most impressive part was that the pitch was almost neck-high, a ball that no batter has any business making contact with, let alone hitting for a home run.
The Wright Stuff
David Wright shook off any soreness left over from the Derby to drill a homer off of Roy Hallday in his first at-bat, adding to the Met third baseman’s already growing legend. Expect to see him starting at third for the NL for years to come.
That’s it for Part I of the Midsummer Blog. In Part II I’ll hand out my midseason awards, recap the first half, and offer some questions and predictions for the rest of the 2006 season.
 |
He may have lost to Ryan Howard in the finals of the Home Run Derby, and the AL may have won home-field advantage in the Series, but the 2006 All-Star Game was David Wright's party and Steve Schaefer recaps it all in this edition of the blog.
|
A running diary of the first round of Monday’s Home Run Derby, a recap of an exceedingly boring All-Star Game with a redeeming finish, a look back at the first half that was, and a glance at the biggest questions heading into the second half…what doesn’t this week’s double-barrelled edition of the blog have? Let’s get going.
In the run-up to this year’s All-Star Festivities, many TV personalities and sportswriters were railing against the Home Run Derby. For a variety of reasons (Bobby Abreu’s homer slump after his 2005 Derby win, a lack of player interest), many argued that the contest has become obsolete. I decided to tune in and keep a running diary of the first round of this year’s event to see if the critics are right. The following are the highlights:
7:50 Thanks to a variety of factors (weeks of an unsuccessful job search, daily boredom, etc.) I’ve decided to keep a running diary of the 2006 Home Run Derby. Without further ado, let’s get things going.
Tonight’s contestants: Miguel Cabrera, David Wright, Lance Berkman, Ryan Howard for the NL. Miguel Tejada, Troy Glaus, Jermaine Dye, David Ortiz for the AL.
I’m just happy Jason Bay isn’t participating, since the pressure to perform in his home park would have made him the top candidate for the Bobby Abreu Award, given annually to the player who gives an amazing performance in the Derby and then proceeds to forget how to hit home runs almost immediately after the All-Star break. Through the first half, Abreu had hit exactly 14 home runs since bashing 41 homers in last year’s event, only 8 this season. The over/under on how many times announcers Chris Berman, Harold Reynolds, Bonnie Bernstein, Karl Ravech, Joe Morgan, and John Kruk mention this fact tonight is 10, place your bets early for the best odds, I’m betting the over.
7:55 The Derby is ‘scheduled’ to begin at 8:00 so I guess it’s time to make my pick. They say that Pittsburgh’s PNC Park favors left-handed sluggers, but only three candidates in the field are lefties, Howard, Ortiz, and Fat Elvis, so it’s still no guarantee that a lefty will win it. Regardless, I’m going to go with Ryan Howard as my pick. I think he’s got a lot of Mo Vaughn in him and I like picking the player who’s got the most awesome power I’ve seen in a while.
7:58 After a ridiculous opening montage that featured O.A.R’s classic ‘Crazy Game of Poker’ as the theme song, Baseball Tonight just concluded with the experts’ picks. Kruk picked Troy Glaus, arguing that the lefties would be drawn to the possibility of hitting the ball into the Allegheny River and overswing.
8:00 Big and Rich are performing the opening song…and Jonathan Papelbon seems to really be into it. I know he went to Missisppi State, but I’m wondering if there’s something more to this. Does Papelbon live in a trailer? Is his uncle also his brother? These are questions that need answering.
8:01 “If you want a little bang in your ying-yang.” I’m not sure what the hell that means but I had to include the lyric in the column. The lead singer of the band is wearing a hat that looks like he borrowed it from the illegitimate love-child of General Custer and the Mad Hatter.
8:03 The opener just ended and I’m already speechless. I can’t imagine anything topping country music performed in baseball jerseys by guys who look like their idea of hygiene is licking the excess beer off their hands after a spill.
8:07 Can someone explain to me the order they decided on? Tejada, Berkman, Cabrera, Glaus, Wright, Dye, Ortiz, Howard? It’s not alphabetical by first or last name, it’s not league by league, hell it’s not even by how many homers they have at the break. It’s not by All-Star appearances, career homers, team, or alternating AL/NL. What could it be, cup size? I’m baffled.
8:09 Joe Morgan just picked David Ortiz to win because he gets a lot of clutch hits for the Red Sox. Obviously clutch hitting translates to Home Run Derby success, which explains why Derek Jeter gets invited to the event every year. If Morgan’s pick isn’t a guarantee that Ortiz definitely won’t win, I don’t know what is.
8:10 Whoa, whoa, whoa. Major rule change. Home run totals now carry over from the 1st to the 2nd round, but not into the championship round. This is the biggest rule change since they added the DH in the AL. This might change the face of baseball for decades to come (I’m kidding of course, but the change does avoid guys with huge Round 1 totals from getting hosed because they’re tired in Round 2, a nice feature).
8:13 The CEO of Century 21 just caught Bill Mazeroski’s First Pitch on a knee without a mask on. Remember I said nothing could top Big and Rich. I was wrong. Maz just threw it high and outside and CEO Kunz made an awkward lunge at it and couldn’t come up with the ball. I’m betting it will be on youtube tomorrow.
8:15 For those of us unfamiliar with PNC Park, it’s a mere 456-feet to hit a ball over the rightfield fence into the Allegheny River, and we just learned that only Daryle Ward has reached it on a fly. Daryle Ward!?!? Are you kidding me, can we wheel Bonds into this park and let him take some hacks? I’m praying that someone puts one out there tonight.
8:17 Tejada just hit his first out as we’ve learned that the man throwing to him (Ramon Henderson) is the BP pitcher of choice for three different players tonight. I’ve got a suggestion, how about we make these guys pitch to each other? Or what if we just got Tim Wakefield out there throwing knucklers? Or players from the Little League World Series? Or athletes from other sports (if you believe the Gatorade commericals Peyton Manning is comfortable on the mound)? I’m just brainstorming here people. Derby ratings are down and I’m trying to be part of the solution.
8:20 The sound just briefly cut out on ESPN. I’m kind of glad for the break from Joe Morgan. I don’t know if I can listen to him for 3+ hours for the second night in a row after watching the entire 12-inning Cards-Astros game Sunday night.
8:23 Great spot by my girlfriend sitting next to me on the couch. I give you the following exchange that took place after a Tejada home run while I was typing the last paragraph:
(After replay of Tejada homer, camera pans to David Ortiz holding his child)
Berman: And there’s Big Papi, being a big papi.
Harold Reynolds: Well, uh, Tejada really crushed that one.
Print doesn’t do it justice, but if you heard it live I think you’re with me. Reynolds didn’t know what to say, to a less awkward degree it was like the studio guys after the Namath-Kolber incident.
8:29 Berkman just one-hopped one into the river and fans in kayaks went crazy over it, diving into the water and literally beating each other with oars trying to get it. Yes it looks just as cool as it sounds. Hard to believe that Daryle Ward is the only guy ever to do it on a fly. With Papi and Howard still to bat I’ve got to believe that’s not going to last.
8:32 Berkman and Tejada have two each. Not exactly huge first-round totals. Any chance their trying to avoid developing an excessive uppercut because their afraid of Abreu Syndrome? (And yes, I’ve copyrighted the term Abreu Syndrome).
8:38 Miguel Cabrera is getting into a groove and one of his homers was just snagged by an overweight lefty in a Pirates jersey rocking the best mullet I’ve seen since Shawn Michaels of the WWF during his days as part of the ‘Rockers’.
8:40 They just panned to a fan in the outfield with a ‘Hit It Here I Chug A Beer Sign.’ These are my people.
8:41 Harold Reynolds just said this about Cabrera, “He’s in a groove, but he’s got a little baby-face man.” God I love good old HR.
8:52 Troy Glaus’ line: 10 outs, 1 home run. Nice pick Kruker.
8:53 Now batting, my choice for 2005 NL half-season MVP who doesn’t play first base for the Cardinals…David Wright. And to make things better, he’s got Paul Lo Duca pitching to him. Now things are finally getting interesting. Reminds me of when the NBA tried to spice up the dunk contest by making each guy do one dunk involving a teammate. I like it.
8:55 Lo Duca’s stuff looks good, he’s moving the ball around, keeping Wright guessing. Only problem is that’s the exact opposite of what he’s supposd to be doing. And he actually just brushed back Wright after his 3rd homer. High drama. Didn’t anyone tell Lo Duca the idea is to give up home runs?
9:00 Apparently Lo Duca figured it out, Wright ended up with 16 in the first round and the only thing better was when he got muted for foul language after making outs on 3 separate occasions. Nothing’s better than good clean family fun. Highlights of the Wright at-bat: Boomer referencing Pittsburgh suburbs on each blast (“This one’s in Altoona”), and for those of you who don’t think the players take this stuff seriously, shots of Jermaine Dye warming up for his at-bat in the underground batting cage.
9:08 A.J. Pierzynski is on the Baseball Tonight set with his daughter on his lap and just said that his teammate Jermaine Dye has no chance of winning tonight. Any guesses what the A stands for?
9:12 Pierzynski just listed all the good pitchers in the AL Central. Nice touch, just not sure why he had to do it twice. He’s like Jimmy Two-Times from Goodfellas, gonna go get the papers, get the papers.
9:13 Interesting note, Big Papi flew to Pittsburgh with Pierzynski and Dye after the 19-inning Sox v. Sox marathon Sunday. And Kruk has already changed his pick more times than I can count. I think he might have just picked Sammy Sosa.
9:17 A Yale professor just explained to us the physics of hitting a ball out of PNC Park and into the Allegheny over the right-field wall. I’d appreciate it more if he wasn’t wearing a bolo tie and looking like he might die at any moment.
9:18 HR guaranteed that Papi would hit four balls into the river. He’s dead on since Ortiz has been launching them out there, leading to an outbreak of kayak on kayak violence that’s never been seen this side of the Rocky Mountains. Some guy just whacked a swimmer on the head with his oar, it’s like Water World out there.
9:22 After Papi’s third ball in the drink is snatched by a fan just out of the reach of another fan, Boomer drops this knowledge on us, “The crawlstroke beats the breastroke.”
9:25 Ortiz puts one over the Baseball Tonight set in right-center then hits one into the water on a fly for the first time all night.
9:33 According to Ryan Howard, his home run trot is, “the basic 1-2 step, no spins or breakdancing.” How boring, I for one an hoping Howard is going to give us some more flavor in the second half, maybe do the robot between second and third, or at least a somersault into home plate.
9:50 Mark Loretta, please sum up for us the tough-and-tumble AL East race: “It looks like the division winner is going to make the playoffs.” Now we all now that Mark meant the wildcard probably won’t come out of the East this year, but what he said came across just on TV just like it does in print. Not exactly the remarks of a rocket scientist. But hey, he’s having a good year.
9:55 With Howard’s 10th out, the first round’s in the books. Wright (16 homers), Ortiz (10), Cabrera (9), and Howard (8) make the cut with Jermaine Dye (7) getting the shaft after Howard hit four straight after being down to his final out.
That’s as far as my running diary went, a combination of boredom and Joe Morgan’s commentary totally derailing the whole idea.
 |
As for the All-Star Game itself, there isn’t much to say. The first eight innings had a few moments (Brad Penny averaging 98-mph to strike out the side in the first, solo shots by Vlad Guerrero and then David Wright in his first All-Star at-bat, Vernon Wells throwing Soriano out at the plate), but the game was mostly a well-pitched one. Translation: boring.
Things heated up in the 9th though. NL pitchers had allowed only Guerrero’s home run and three other meaningless hits through 8 2/3. Then Konerko singled, Troy Glaus doubled, and down to his last strike Michael Young served a two-run triple into right off Trevor Hoffman. Enter Mariano Rivera. Thanks for coming out National League, make it nine straight All-Star wins for the AL and World Series home-field advantage yet again.
So much has been made of the AL’s dominance over the NL in All-Star Games and interleague play recently, but let’s keep things in perspective. Yes, it’s true that right now only the Mets and maybe the Cardinals could contend in the AL, but these things are cyclical, and the National League will rise again, mark my words.
A few things to take out of the 2006 All-Star Game…
The Young and the Restless
Remember the days when aging stars would always make the game based solely on reputation (see: Cal Ripken Jr.). Those days appear to be over, thanks to the abundance of young talent that we’ve seen this year. Reputation is no longer a tiebreaker for making the All-Star Game, just ask Billy Wagner. Having 24 first-time All-Stars is a great thing, and players like Wright, Howard, Jose Reyes, Matt Holliday, Jonathan Papelbon, Francisco Liriano, Bobby Jenks, and Joe Mauer should be making appearances for years to come.
How Do You Pitch to Vlad?
Guerrero hit a 98 MPH heater from Penny (who was throwing harder than I’ve ever seen him throw), over the right-field fence. The most impressive part was that the pitch was almost neck-high, a ball that no batter has any business making contact with, let alone hitting for a home run.
The Wright Stuff
David Wright shook off any soreness left over from the Derby to drill a homer off of Roy Hallday in his first at-bat, adding to the Met third baseman’s already growing legend. Expect to see him starting at third for the NL for years to come.
That’s it for Part I of the Midsummer Blog. In Part II I’ll hand out my midseason awards, recap the first half, and offer some questions and predictions for the rest of the 2006 season.
You can reach Steve at steve.schaefer@atomicsportsmedia.com