March 26, 2003
All-Star Game
Ron Rapoport of the Chicago Sun-Times notes the down-side of an All-Star game that confers home-field advantage for the World Series:
How could a revamped All-Star Game lead to problems? Say Joe Torre is managing the American League team and the Yankees have a series coming up with the Red Sox immediately afterward.
He leaves Pedro Martinez, who is scheduled to start against the Yankees in two days, in the game for three innings during which the National League betters tee off on him and he throws dozens of pitches. He sends Derek Lowe, who also will pitch in the upcoming series against his team, out for two tough innings. He leaves Ramiro Mendoza, who has excelled as Boston's new closer, in for the final three innings as the game goes into extra innings. Red Sox fans go ballistic. Selig orders an investigation. The All-Star Game once again becomes his own personal albatross.
Torre is too much of a gentleman ever to do such a thing, of course (although I have been thinking about Billy Martin in this context), but do we really want the All-Star Game to be viewed through this sort of prism?
He also compares Selig unfavorably to Paul Tagliabue.