How Far Did You Make It for the All Star Game?

[Redz]

Really an unbelievable game last night.  I was working til 9:30 and was a little bummed about missing all the fanfare at the beginning, plus all of the Sox starters.  It turns out I still got top watch 10 inning of All Star caliber baseball (Uggla aside).  It was a remarkably well played game (Uggla aside).  It was interesting to see the same guys in the lineup for almost a full nine inning in most cases.  There was a lot of unusual decision making forced on both managers.  There was the specter of another potential tie situation.  There were a bunch of plays at the plate.  Great intensity for an exhibition game.

There were a few calls by the umps that clearly displayed the differentiate the mindset of the officiating in MLB vs NBA.  So many times in the NBA it is clear the refs seem to want to control either the tempo or the game, and it has been theorized that based on the type of officiating they can affect the outcome.  Last night we saw several clear cut cases where the umps could have made life a lot less nerve racking for the Commish by either calling a guy safe, or being a little less liberal with the strike zone.  If anything the umps went the other direction on calls that could have benefited the game ending early.  I'm not sure where I'm going with this, except to say that MLB umps, and NBA refs are very different creatures.

[Redz]

By the way, I got to about 1 am, and new I had to get up early-ish this morning, but at that point I figured it was in for a penny, in for a pound.  The extra commercial series they added in after they came back from when they said "We'll be right back with the MVP announcement" really ticked me off.  They went to a set of adds, came back and gave a quick recap and showed us the Chevy hybrid thingy, then did another set of adds.  Pure torture.

[Roy Hobbs]

I saw the whole thing, start to finish.  Exciting stuff.  The baseball all-star game is clearly the best of the four major sports, and last night showed why.

(Now, if managers would just learn that there's nothing wrong with pitching, say, Roy Halladay more than one inning, in which he threw 9 pitches.)

[Bankshot]

I watched the whole game.  I turned the tv off as soon as the winning run crossed the plate.

[Redz]

I saw the whole thing, start to finish.  Exciting stuff.  The baseball all-star game is clearly the best of the four major sports, and last night showed why.

(Now, if managers would just learn that there's nothing wrong with pitching, say, Roy Halladay more than one inning, in which he threw 9 pitches.)

At this point they really ought to just start managing it more like a real game. Limit the rosters a bit more, and play the best players longer innings.  There have been enough instances now we're they've run out of players and made a crappy situation come up.  I'm sold that the game can be played at a high level if guys have a few innings to settle in.  Let some guys rot on the bench.

[Roy Hobbs]

I saw the whole thing, start to finish.  Exciting stuff.  The baseball all-star game is clearly the best of the four major sports, and last night showed why.

(Now, if managers would just learn that there's nothing wrong with pitching, say, Roy Halladay more than one inning, in which he threw 9 pitches.)

At this point they really ought to just start managing it more like a real game. Limit the rosters a bit more, and play the best players longer innings.  There have been enough instances now we're they've run out of players and made a crappy situation come up.  I'm sold that the game can be played at a high level if guys have a few innings to settle in.  Let some guys rot on the bench.

Exactly.  Francona used the typical "well, you have to get everybody in the game" excuse, but I don't buy that, especially with the pitchers.  There's nothing wrong with asking the starters to go 2-3 innings each.

[Big_Matt34]

I didnt work today so i stayed up to watch the whole thing. Tito looked so stressed out as the game went on so im glad it ended when it did without having Kazmir go back out.

Drewwwww

[Steve Weinman]

Watched from the 11th through the 13th....wished I had been watching all the way (it was as good as it can possibly get for All-Star, which I largely have trouble getting into at this point)...and then managed to pass out on the couch prior to the 14th and woke up in the same spot around 6 in the morn.

At this point, RH's "Great game" message to me confirmed that the game was indeed over.

Ah, the dangers of a recliner couch...

-sw

[RedsCeltics34]

Stayed up and watched the whole thing, including MVP announcement.

[klg05]

I watched all of it!  It was great seeing our guy (J.D. Drew) win the MVP at Yankee Stadium.  Bwahahahaha!  Especially after the way the Yankee fans treated the Red Sox Players!  Too bad that the stadium completely emptied out before he got the award.  

[Bankshot]

I watched all of it!  It was great seeing our guy (J.D. Drew) win the MVP at Yankee Stadium.  Bwahahahaha!  Especially after the way the Yankee fans treated the Red Sox Players!  Too bad that the stadium completely emptied out before he got the award. 

I was giddy when I heard JD won the MVP... and at Yankee Stadium. LOL

Yankee Fans.....

[Redz]

I watched all of it!  It was great seeing our guy (J.D. Drew) win the MVP at Yankee Stadium.  Bwahahahaha!  Especially after the way the Yankee fans treated the Red Sox Players!  Too bad that the stadium completely emptied out before he got the award. 

I was giddy when I heard JD won the MVP... and at Yankee Stadium. LOL

Yankee Fans.....

I really wanted to see Papelbon flick the bird to the Yankees crowd.  I'm glad he had better judgment than me.  That whole thing was just really stupid. 

Good luck chasing the Rays Yanks!

[bostonfan23]

whole thing.

Another tie would have been disaster for MLB.

[Redz]

whole thing.

Another tie would have been disaster for MLB.

I was really curious to see what would have happened.  The tie a few years ago was kind of a gutless solution, and now that they have the home field in World Series on the line they would have had to have done something.  I was wondering if they would have put a position player in at pitcher.

I still like the idea of having a Home Run derby along the lines of the NHL shootout.  Choose 5 guys, give them each one shot at a homer.

[Roy Hobbs]

whole thing.

Another tie would have been disaster for MLB.

I was really curious to see what would have happened.  The tie a few years ago was kind of a gutless solution, and now that they have the home field in World Series on the line they would have had to have done something.  I was wondering if they would have put a position player in at pitcher.

I still like the idea of having a Home Run derby along the lines of the NHL shootout.  Choose 5 guys, give them each one shot at a homer.

According to somebody on ESPN (I can't remember who; it could have been hurdle), MLB was asked at the time what would happen in the case of a tie, and the response was "the game will resolve itself".  I think that meant that it was being played until there was a winner, one way or the other.  That's the way I prefer it.  If you need to have a position player out there pitching underhand, you do it.