A reader at Viva El Birdos did some research and concluded that Dan Uggla's performance Tuesday night was the worst ever for a position player.

David Steele didn't like what went on during the All-Star game because of the over-reaction to the 2002 tie:

And this, we're being reminded in the days afterward, was a "classic." Unlike that disgrace in 2002, when it didn't count, when no pitcher's season (and thus his team's) was potentially ruined by overwork in an exhibition game, when we didn't have to endure late-inning managerial strategizing, and when we went to bed at a decent hour. How did we ever live through that nightmare?

Just file this one away under Things In Sports We Were Convinced Had To Change, But Really Didn't. Right next to the college football bowl system. That, too, seemed archaic, until we got a look at the alternative (the Bowl Championship Series).

He seems very concerned with George Sherrill:

Let's hope, meanwhile, that Orioles closer George Sherrill's answer won't be, "I blew out my arm in the middle of the best season of my life." In which case, Dave Trembley might tell his grandkids, "That was the beginning of the end of my managerial career."

On second thought, All-Star ties just aren't that big a deal. So Bud, pal, chum, this thing you fixed a few years back, can you go ahead and unfix it?

Of course, Sherrill had a pretty easy 2 1/3 innings. He threw 25 pitches, a level he's reached or exceeded four times during the regular season. He wasn't exactly overworked.

Steele does make a good point about how the reaction to the tie might have been more driven by Selig's befuddlement than the actual result.

The All-Star pulled in better ratings this year:

The first nine innings of Tuesday night's 15-inning marathon on Fox drew a 9.3 fast national rating and 16 share, the network said Wednesday. That's up 11 percent from the 8.4/15 in 2007.

John Royal managed to get photos of 41 of the 42 statues placed around New York City for the All-Star game.

Update: Here's a gallery of all 42.

Peter Abraham gives Terry Francona his due:

Meanwhile, whether Yankee fans want to hear it or not, Francona deserves your acclaim. He took Jeter and A-Rod out of the game in the middle of innings so they could get applause from the crowd. He used Mo exactly right. He was respectful as he could be to the tradition and history of the Yankees. He helped make the game what it was for the home team.

"I can't say enough about how great Terry has been through this whole thing," Girardi said.

Not that this would ever happen, of course, but when the Red Sox come to the Bronx in August, fans should let Francona know they appreciate what he did.

Terry is a class act. He's at the top with the best managers of people in the game.

In case you think the players don't care about the All-Star game, I give you Justin Morneau:

"The starters had it easy," Morneau said. "Five innings, they were out of there. Every at-bat, it seemed like we had a chance to win the game late. It was pretty intense. Guys were snapping after making outs. You could tell guys wanted that game pretty bad."

Bud Selig would not talk about the possibility of a tie in Tuesday's All-Star game:

"It will not happen again," Selig said of a tie. "We've added players to the roster. We've done things. There have been a lot of questions about all that, but I really believe that the things that we did [helped]. I mean, if we hadn't done them, tonight there's no question there would have been a problem. But we did. And, look, it worked out.

"We were going to play the game to the end. That was the contingency, we were playing to the end."

Francona had a more realistic take on the subject:

"You can't expect a 15-, 16-inning All-Star Game. And if it does, there's nothing wrong with a tie in my mind. It's not like the Milwaukee game where you go [11] and it's a tie. I mean, if you go 16 innings and no one comes up and wins an All-Star Game, you can chalk it up to a tie and be pretty happy with a tie. It's not like it could have been prevented."

There should be a contingency in place. The team with the higher OBA in the game gets home field in case of a tie, or more total bases, or even just more hits. This doesn't need to be known to anyone. In fact, the right thing to do might be to come up with four tie breaking stats, and every year draw them in a random order and keep it secret so the players can't try to game a tie. They shouldn't play the game differently because they are tied in extra innings. However, some way of awarding home field based on the stats in the game needs to be worked out, even if it happens only once every forty years.

It was a long game to watch, but there were plenty of exciting moments. Good pitching, scoring threats, errors, a home run, stolen bases, close plays, the game had it all. Everyone got to play, I believe.

That's 11 wins and one tie for the AL in the last twelve games.

Update: Drew wins the MVP.

Lidge comes in for the bottom of the 15th and two of the first three batters single. That puts men on 1st and 2nd for Drew.

Update: Drew works the count 3-2. After fouling off a pitch, Drew takes a pitch in the dirt and the bases are loaded. So far this situation has resulted in forces at the plate for the AL.

Update: Michael Young hits a fly ball to medium right, but Corey Hart makes a poor throw and Justin Morneau scores from third. The AL wins 4-3, and once again the AL Champ will host four games of the World Series. This helps the Rays and Red Sox and hurts the Cubs if any of those teams make the final round.

The NL hits two long balls in the top of the fourteenth, but both are caught by J.D. Drew. The AL gets their sixth chance to walk off with a win.

Update: Webb starts the bottom of the fourteenth. He was not supposed to pitch this game. Given that it's now Wednesday, I guess he has two days rest.

Update: Webb strikes out two as he retires the side in order.

Update: Kazmir comes out to pitch the top of the fifteenth inning. He's the last pitcher for the AL, and since he pitched Sunday, he won't be able to last very long. Does the AL forfeit if they can't field a team?

The NL gets the leadoff man on, but that's it. It seems a lot of batters are reaching base, they just can't reach the plate.

Update: Another poor play by Uggla puts a runner on first with one out. Can the AL bring Drew around to score?

Update: Drew steals a base with two out.

Update: Doesn't matter as Quentin strikes out. To the fourteenth!

Carlos Guillen hits the first pitch of the bottom of the twelfth deep in leftfield, doubling off the wall. A few more feet and this game would be over.

Update: Sizemore pulls the ball and gets Guillen to third with one out.

Update: Longoria strikes out.

Update: Cook walks Morneau to pitch to Kinsler.

Update: Kinsler grounds out. Thirteen, anyone?

A walk and a sac bunt that's beaten out put the first two on for the NL in the 12th. Another bunt puts runners at second and third, and Tejada is walked to load the bases, bringing up Uggla, who hit into a DP last time up.

Update: Uggla strikes out.

Update: Sherrill comes in and strikes out Adrian Gonzalez to end the inning. Lots of clutch pitching in this game.

Soria gives up a single, but that's it as the NL fails to score in the eleventh. I wonder how long they can go before they run out of pitchers?

Update: Webb goes down to the bullpen. The AL has runners on first and second with one out. Kinsler also reached, but was thrown out stealing.

Update: Young singles up the middle, and Navarro tries to score. McLouth makes a perfect throw, and Martin makes a perfect block and tag. The ball came in right where Martin needed to make the tag.

Update: Guzman throws out Quentin to end the inning. The AL had three runners thrown out at the plate in the last two innings. Because Francona used up the bench early, he couldn't pinch run for Navarro.

A bad night for Uggla as he follows the double play with an error to put the winning run on first for the AL with none out.

Update: Quentin hits a hard ground right through Uggla's legs. I almost might not give Dan an error on that one because it was hit so hard. However, if it goes between your legs, it's always an error. He may end up the MVP for the AL. First and third, none out.

Update: The NL loads the bases intentionally, and gets a force at home for the first out.

Update: They get a second force at the plate. The AL gets one more chance this inning.

Update: Morneau hits a slow roller to Tejada. Miguel makes a nice throw to first for the third out. The AL blows a great opportunity to win the game.

Rivera pitches in the tenth. He starts the inning with a strikeout, but singles by Martin and Tejada put runners at first and third. He gets Uggla to ground into a double play, however, and the game goes to the bottom of the tenth still tied at three.

Ryan Dempster strikes out the side in the ninth, and we go to extra innings. Terry Francona used all his position players, so they're in for the duration. The NL may be limited in pitchers as Webb isn't supposed to pitch, and Lincecum is in the hospital. Is there another Selig Special on the way?

Update: Of course, if the game ends in a tie, who gets home field in the World Series?

Mariano Rivera comes on with a man on first and one out. He goes to a 3-2 count on Ludwick, and gets the strike'em out, throw'em out double play. The AL now gets the chance for the walk-off win.

With two out in the bottom of the eighth, Hurdle replaces Brian Wilson with Billy Wagner. Sizemore singles and gets the first meaningful steal of the night for the AL. Longoria follows with a ground rule double to tie the game. Without the steal, Grady only gets to third. Wagner gets the blown save, and we go to the ninth tied at three.

Miguel Tejada leads off with a single off Jonathan Papelbon, which makes the taunting of the Red Sox closer even worse. Miguel steals second and goes to third on an errant throw. Adrian Gonzalez hits a sacrifice fly to plate the run and give the lead back to the NL 3-2. That steal attempt worked to the NL's advantage.

Justin Morneau and J.D. Drew combine to tie the game at two. Morneau doubles leading off the bottom of the seventh. Then with two out, J.D. Drew, in his first All-Star at bat, homers to right to plate himself and Justin. Edinson Volquez is the first NL pitcher to get tagged for runs tonight.

Hurdle is conserving his pitchers. Haren just finished his second scoreless inning. The NL has used three hurlers so far. Francona had Lee pitch two innings, but everyone else went just one. If there's a tie, the NL is in better shape.

The AL is also running, stealing their fourth base in the sixth (they've also had one picked off). It's a nice demonstration of how stolen bases don't help much if the pitcher gets the hitters out.

Ramirez and Utley single leading off the sixth, putting runners on first and third. Lance Berkman takes Duchscherer to deep center to drive in Hanley with a sacrifice fly to put the National League up 2-0. Pujols singles to center, and Duchscherer is the first pitcher tonight who is not fooling anyone.

The AL put two runners on against Dan Haren in the bottom of the fifth. Ichiro strikes out. Jeter battles to 3-2, the third ball very close to a taken strike three. Derek grounds back to the box, however and the NL still leads 1-0.

Matt Holliday takes Ervin Santana the other way, homering to right in the top of the fifth to break the scoreless tie. The solo shot puts the NL up 1-0.

Carlos Zambrano pitches his second scoreless inning. Bradley reached on a Hanley Ramirez error, but Carlos picks him off first. Still no score.

Update: We have our first position substitution as Grady Sizemore goes into center and Hamilton replaces Manny Ramirez in left.

Albert Pujols hits a line drive hard off the wall at the foul line in right. Ichiro is right on it and throws Albert out at second. However, from the replay, it looked like Albert was safe. Roy Halladay throw the fourth shutout inning for the American League.

Correction: It was Pujols, not Belle.

Saunders and Zambrano pitch the third. Each allows a base runner, but there's still no score. This is shaping up like 1986.

Ben Sheets walks two, but retires the three Red Sox batters he faces, striking out Manny and Youkilis. Still no score after two.

Chipper Jones singles off Cliff Lee, but he strikes out his third batter of the game and walks off the field with two scoreless innings. The AL will go to the bullpen in the third.

Ben Sheets gives up a bad-hop single to Derek Jeter but strikes out Josh Hamilton and gets A-Rod to foul out to the catcher. The pitchers look like they are in control early.

Cliff Lee retires the side in order, striking out the first two batter in the first. Pitching to Hanley Ramirez and Chase Utley, Lee appeared to be using their power against them, getting them to swing hard at off-speed pitches.

They're doing a nice job this year of mixing in the starters with Hall of Famers at the various positions. They just introduced Brooks Robinson, Mike Schmidt, George Brett and Wade Boggs at third. Three of those four played for one team during their careers. Banks, Yount and Ripken did the same at short.

Update: That was quite good. Fox usually has too many bells and whistles, but that was very dignified.

Update: They drove Steinbrenner out to deliver balls to Berra, Ford, Jackson and Gossage who will throw out the first pitches. The four of them gave each gave George a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Steinbrenner didn't get out of the cart.

I like this idea for sprucing up the All-Star game:

Here's another way to liven up those late innings. There's little riveting about the winning league getting the home-field advantage in the World Series. Give the winning league's fans 10 percent off on all stadium food, beer and programs for the next month and you better believe there will be some serious fan energy off which the players will feed. Folk heroes, which the All-Star Game doesn't make anymore, could be born.

It might even increase attendance!

Before the final round of the home run derby starts, a fan gets to call a shot to try to win a car. Hamilton didn't get the ball out of the park, and now it's Morneau's turn to take his one swing.

Update: Morneau doesn't get it out of the park either. No car for a lucky fan. Morneau goes first, and the scores are reset to zero.

Update: Morneau hits five. That might hold up if Hamilton wore himself out in the first round.

Update: Hamilton is hitting line drives, and has just two in five outs.

Update: He's up to eight outs with just three home runs.

Update: The crowd came to their feet to help, but he makes the ninth out.

Update: Hamilton hits a grounder for the last out. Morneau wins the contest 5-3. Everyone is going to remember the shots in Hamilton's first round, however.

Congratulations to Justin Morneau for winning the marathon, not the sprint.

Lance Berkman hits six to bring his total to 14. That's half of Hamilton's first round.

Update: ESPN is interviewing Reggie Jackson. I thought he was banned from the network after he offended everyone in a Baseball Tonight production meeting before the 1997 World Series.

Update: Morneau just hit his 15th to knock Berkman out of the competition.

Update: Morneau finishes with 17.

Update: Braun hits some shots, but falls short. It will be Hamilton and Morneau in the finals. Hamilton is batting, and he's hit another four with two outs.

Josh Hamilton hits his first home run to the back of the bleachers in right-center. I'm actually more impressed with those shots than the upper deck jobs. His second is off the back of the wall there, even farther toward center. A fantastic shot.

Update: He hits another one even farther to center. That's two over 500 feet. He might end up hitting the MasterCard sign.

Update: He hits the ninth of the round. He's getting the most distance and the most homers.

Update: He hits 25. He didn't even hit that one well (at least compared to the others). It was a line drive just over the wall.

Update: He just hit his 17th to the back of the black. He came very close to teh MasterCard sign on that one. This is like watching McGwire at Fenway in 1999.

Update: He just tied Abreu's first round record. His 24th home run goes deep into the black seats in centerfield.

Update: He finishes with 28, 20 more than any other hitter tonight. Since the first two rounds are totaled, he might need to hit in the second round. Just an amazing performance. I love his 71 year old pitcher. Clay Counsil got quite a work out.

Ryan Braun made five outs before he started hitting home runs, but he's now at seven with one out to go. He's hit shots from right-center to the upper deck down the line. He finishes with seven and moves on to the second round. Josh Hamilton will need seven to advance, six puts him in a three-way tie for the fourth spot.

Justin Morneau is hitting monster shots. In addition to upper deck shots, he's hit two to the back of the alley in right center between the grandstand and the bleachers. He hits eight to move on in the competition.

Lance Berkman is putting balls in the upper deck. The way to hit home runs tonight appears to be to get a lot of loft.

Update: Lance ends up with eight to take the lead. That knocks Longoria out. Five went into the upper deck, and the last was just short of the black seats in centerfield. A young man leaned over and caught it.

Chase Utley moves into third with five home runs, most of them late in the sequence.

Mark Strittmatter is catching for the home run derby tonight. My good friend Jim Storer just called to let me know Mark used to play for the New Haven Ravens. At one point, he was called to the majors, the game was rained out, and Mark was sent back down. He did get a cup of coffee in the majors, but went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts. He's currently the bullpen coach for the Rockies.

Evan Longoria only hits three home runs, but two were down the line into the upper deck. One thing I like about tough home runs parks is the derby goes a lot quicker.

Grady Sizemore hits three of his first five out of the park, and none were cheap shots. The first was into the stands in the right-center alley, and the third was into the upper deck down the line.

Update Grady now has three into the upper deck.

Update: Sizemore finishes with six, all impressive shots.

Dan Uggla hits six home runs to start the home run derby. The balls he smacked went a long way. Most were down the line, rows back or in the upper deck. Not bad for a righty at Yankee Stadium. He hit one to center, but most he pulled down the line, which is what you want to do if you're a righty here.

The lineup analysis for the National League is here. The lineup Clint Hurdle constructed scores 7.428 runs per game. Wow. The best lineup has Chipper at the top of the order and scores 7.647 runs. It has the two Cubs at the bottom, except Soto bats eighth and Fukudome bats ninth. The worst lineup puts Braun in the leadoff spot and scores 7.049 runs per game. I wouldn't mind that every game.

The AL lineup pales in comparison. The lineup as constructed by Francona scores 6.359 runs per game. The best lineup has Terry's top two hitters, Ichiro and Jeter, at the bottom of the order with Jeter batting 8th and Ichiro 9th. Still, that lineup scored 6.639, way below the worst NL lineup. The worst lineup for the AL scores just 6.121 runs per game.

This is a very good sign for the NL gaining back home field advantage in the World Series. We'll see if it hold up, or if the NL folds like they did in interleague play.

The starting lineups for the All-Star Game are out. Both look pretty scary. The National League looks like it has more power. The only non-slugger in the lineup is Fukudome. The AL has a few, Ichiro, Jeter, Mauer and Pedroia, although all can certainly do a good job of getting on base. At first glance, I'd have to give an edge to the NL. I'll run them through the Lineup Analysis tool later and see how many runs they should score.

Ben Sheets gets the nod as the NL starter in the All-Star Game. It seems all the other great candidates pitched Sunday. Not that there is anything wrong with Sheets starting, but don't the other NL teams want to win home field advantage? Webb, Hamels and Lincecum all made starts on Sunday. If you want people to really think this one counts, then teams should treat it like it does.

Terry Francona named Cliff Lee the All-Star Game starting pitcher. Given that Justin Duchscherer pitched yesterday, it was a fairly easy choice.

I didn't buy into starting Mariano Rivera. He should pitch the end of the game, not the beginning. However, if Mussina had been picked for the team, I could see him getting the start in front of the home town fans, and for his career achievements.

With customization of jerseys, I wonder how many of these we'll see at the All-Star game?

Thanks to Pete Morisseau for the graphic and idea.

Mustaches for Giambi.

The Boston Globe lists the players up for election to the 32nd spot on the roster. I would suggest Longoria and Burrell, but Giambi is a perfectly good choice. If you are still upset about his steroid use, however, Longoria is a great alternative.

The All-Star teams were named this afternoon. On my radio how this week, I discussed who I though should be the starters.

I disagreed with the following positions.

NL Catcher -- Martin instead of Soto.
NL First Base -- Pujols instead of Berkman.
AL Second Base -- Kinsler instead of Pedroia.
NL Outfield -- Pat Burrell, Carlos Beltran, Ryan Ludwick.
AL Outfield -- Carlos Quentin, J.D. Drew.

I picked a leftfielder, centerfielder and rightfielder rather than just lump outfielders together. I don't really have a problem with Soto, Berkman or Pedroia. Manny and Soriano, however, just aren't having great years. I can see Ramirez getting a pass for his great career, but it looks like Cubs fans were stuffing the box for Soriano.

Update: I see the only one of my picks that didn't make the team at least as a reserve was Burrell.

The Mets firing Willie Randolph seems to have put his coaching the All-Star game in jeopardy. I'm sorry, Willie is a long time New York favorite. Put him in a Yankees uniform and let him coach. He's been treated poorly enough.

Update: Omar Minaya's press conference is coming up on ESPNews.

Cameron Martin wonders if Terry Francona will start Mike Mussina in the All-Star game:

Lately I'm reminded of the 1993 All-Star Game, because I wonder if Red Sox' manager Terry Francona would pick Mike Mussina (now 15 years removed from his hometown shutout) as the starting pitcher in next month's All-Star Game in the Bronx.

At this stage of the season, most people seem to think that Cleveland's Cliff Lee is going to start the game for the American League; it doesn't appear to be in question, though it should be. Lee became the AL's first 10-game winner yesterday, but really, he did most of his great work in April and May, when half the league is asleep at the wheel and guys named Cliff are able to sneak up on people. Granted, Lee has compiled some impressive numbers to date: 10-1 record, 2.52 ERA, 1.073 WHIP. But over his last five starts, he has a 6.04 ERA and has allowed 52 baserunners in 28.1 innings. The thing is, the Indians have gone 4-1 in those starts, so it makes it look like ole Cliff is just chugging along with his Cy Young season. In truth, he peaked about a month ago. Mike Mussina, on the other hand, has been red hot following a dismal start.

I have my doubts. I assume Dice-K will be healthy by then, and if Terry doesn't pick Lee, he'd go with one of his own. However:

Don't worry, Yankee Universe, I'm sure your boy Mussina will make the team. And I'm sure he'll see action at some point. After all, there's no way the American League manager would warm up the hometown hero but never put him into the game...

That would be just too cruel to happen twice.

Anaheim gets the 2010 All-Star Game. Will they do the fan fest at Disneyland?

There are only six games scheduled for tomorrow!

There's a free preview going on at Baseball Prospectus this week. My latest article on All-Star game ratings is up, plus you can enjoy all the fine writers and research featured on the site.

I'll be interested to see how this year's game turned out. It was a competitive contest which tend to rate higher. Bonds playing in the game generated some controversy, which can bring in viewers. Part of the rating is bringing in viewers, but a big part is holding viewers, and a good game helps the latter.

Update: All-Star ratings fell this year, although more people watched. I would have thought a well played, tight game would have attracted more viewers.

Albert Pujols wanted to play last night:

Albert Pujols was angry about being left on the All-Star bench and the St. Louis slugger took aim at the National League manager -- who just happened to be Tony La Russa of his own Cardinals.

"It's the All-Star game. He can do what he wants," Pujols said Tuesday night. "He does whatever he wants. If I wasn't expecting to play, I wouldn't have come up here."
Pujols, the NL MVP in 2005 and key to the Cardinals' win in the World Series last year, said La Russa didn't talk to him the entire game.

Pujols could only watch when Aaron Rowand flied out with the bases loaded to end the American League's 5-4 win.

"If he wants to get upset, he can get upset," La Russa said. "Whatever he wants to do, he can do. It's America. That wasn't the most important thing tonight."

Right. The important thing was winning, and a hit by Pujols ends the game. La Russa's strategy was set from the beginning however, and he stuck to it:

La Russa said he indeed was saving his star player in case the game went long.

"Once we lost (Miguel) Cabrera and (Freddy) Sanchez, he was the guy we were going to use to protect ourselves in case we kept playing because of Albert's versatility," La Russa said. "I think we had the right guy at bat."

Tony explained that early in evening. He probably should have told Albert. And he probably should have thrown the game plan out the window for that last at bat. La Russa had problems with Rolen at the end of last year, I wonder if he has problems with Albert going forward. I'm not sure that Tony can survive acrimony with the franchise player.

The All-Star game proved to be quite entertaining. Some nice plays, some nice ricochets, some power, some pitching and ninth inning drama. Ichiro and Reyes each picked up three hits from the leadoff spot. Ichro hit the first inside-the-park homer in All-Star history, and wins the All-Star MVP. The AL pitchers struck out nine batters to the NL's one. All in all, a fun evening of baseball.

The NL comes up in the bottom of the ninth trailing 5-2, and they'll face J.J. Putz.

Update: Putz strikes out Holliday to start the ninth.

Update: McCann pops out to shortstop. Dmitri Young pinch hits.

Update: Roberts can't handle a Dmitri Young grounder to the outfield and Young reaches with a single to keep the game alive.

Update: Soriano gets ahead in the count 3-1 and drives a pitch down the rightfield line for a two-run homer. The AL lead is down to one run, 5-4.

Update: Putz falls behind Hardy 3-1, then walks him to put the tying run on base. That's it for Putz as K-Rod comes on to try for the save.

Update: Rodriguez faces Derrek Lee.

Update: Lee works the count to 3-2, fouls off a pitch, then checks his swing on a pitch in the dirt. Men on first and second with two out for Orlando Hudson. Pujols is on the bench.

Update: Hudson walks on five pitches. The AL is turning into the 1986 Red Sox here. AL pitchers only issued one walk in the first eight innings, three here in the ninth. Rowand is up.

Update: Rowand flies out to Rios to end the game. The AL wins for the tenth time in eleven tries (one tie) and the World Series will start in the American League park once again.

Victor Martinez follows Sizemore's strikeout with a two run homer to give the American League some insurance with two out in the eighth. Billy Wagner gives up the long ball that makes the score 5-2 AL.

Through five innings, the NL pitchers have yet to strike out a batter. The AL, on the other hand, but down four with strikes. La Russa is using one pitcher per inning, so I guess he doesn't expect this game to go extra innings.

Update: Still no Ks for the NL as Crawford blasts one into the seats in right. He hits in above where Ichiro's ball ricocheted for the inside-the-parker. The AL leads 3-1 in the middle of the sixth.

Update: Beltran hits one off the wall in right and the carom carries the ball away from Guerrero and Carlos ends up with a triple leading off the sixth.

Update: Griffey drives in his second run of the game with a sacrifice fly. The AL leads 3-2. Wright singles to put the tying run on base with one out.

Update: Seven innings and still no strikeouts for the NL pitchers. Given the staff they're putting on the mound, that's pretty amazing.

Update: Santana shows how it's done, striking out Carlos Lee and Soriano in the bottom of the seventh. He's the first pitcher to retire Reyes as well as Jose grounds out to shortstop. Still 3-2 AL going to the eighth.

Update: Billy Wagner finally strikes out a batter. Grady Sizemore swings and misses with two out in the eighth.

Ichiro hits the wall in right for his third hit of the game. The ball bounces away from Griffey toward the line as Ken was headed toward center. Suzuki turns on the jets and records the first inside-the-park home run in All-Star game history. Roberts scores and the AL leads 2-1. Ichiro sure is celebrating his pending contract in a big way.

Alex Rodriguez singles and steals second to start the fourth. With two out and Alex still on second, Ivan Rodriguez singles to right. A-Rod tries to score on the I-Rod single, but Griffey makes a great throw and nails A-Rod trying to score.

E-Rod, O-Rod, U-Rod and sometimes Y-Rod could not be reached for comment.

Update: Will Carroll notes that Ron Washington was waving in A-Rod, one reason he was out by a mile.

Jose Reyes picks up his second hit, a double on a grounder than took a wicked hop past Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod was moving left, and the spin of the ball took it even farther left than Alex was moving. The leadoff hitters remain perfect on the night.

Ichiro picks up the second hit for the AL and for himself as he swings at a low outside pitch and pops it into short left for a single. Jeter follows with a grounder up the middle to put men on 1st and 2nd for Big Papi with two out in the third.

Update: Ortiz lines out to right. Ken Rosenthal just reported that Ichiro is close to signing a five year deal with Seattle for between $90 and $100 million dollars.

I thought Jeter was safe on the double play ball. Then Ortiz doesn't bust it down the line and he's safe on the error. If the ball hadn't rolled away from Fielder, he would have had plenty of time to pick it up and step on the bag.

Update: Both managers did a good job picking leadoff hitters as Ichiro and Reyes both single.

Update: Old school rules as Ken Griffey bounces one up the middle past Jeter to drive in Reyes, and the NL takes a 1-0 lead. The stolen base by Jose leads to a run.

I love the bull dog in the kayak!

Update: Chris Young is a head taller than Trevor Hoffman.

I liked the interview Jeter and Griffey did with Willie Mays. You don't see the catch where Mays crashes into Bobby Bonds often enough.

I don't think I've ever seen the teams lineup between the bases and second before. I wonder why they chose that configuration?

Update: Ah, they're marching out to center as part of a tribute to Willie Mays.

Update: This is very nice. As Willie walks between the column of players, they all fall in behind him until he reaches a pitching rubber in the outfield and throws out the first pitch to Jose Reyes.

I thought maybe as he walked between the columns the players would each hit him in the stomach with a baseball bat to show just how tough Willie is. :-)

Correction: It was Bonds, not McCovey.

Have you noticed there are very few players who were selected for the all-star game who opted out? The only two I see here are John Smoltz and Brian Fuentes, both injured. No one declined just so they can go home. That's very good.

Update: This was a real problem in 2000.

Jim Leyland gave his reason for making Haren the AL starting pitcher:

Leyland admitted his choice of Haren was dictated in part by geography.

"I would be lying if I said, if I felt that it wasn't a nice extra touch since he pitches right across the Bay here," Leyland said.

"And truthfully, if this game was in Cleveland, it would probably be (C.C.) Sabathia (12-3, 3.58) and if it was in Detroit it would be (Justin) Verlander (10-3, 3.14).

"So there was a little added incentive for me; when I picked Danny, I thought that would really create a nice touch."

Indeed. And with Dan leading the league in ERA, there's no controversy in the choice.

Alex Rios saves his worst for last, hitting just two home runs in the final round. This should be an easy win for Vlad, but we'll see.

Update: I have to say I like the "My Mother the Car" references. Of course, I'm probably the only person on earth who liked the show. :-)

Update: It took seven outs, but Vlad finally dumps the third home run into the leftfield stands. The big slugger also hit the longest home run of the night at 503 feet. Congrats to Vlad!

Justin Morneau starts the tournament with four home runs. AT&T was the toughest home run park in 2006, which may mean the contest may move along quickly this year.

Update: Matt Holliday is happy as he hits five to take the lead. He had one that landed just short of the Coke bottle.

Update: Ordonez hits just two. They should have put him in the doubles derby. :-)

Update: Pujols gets great arcs on his home runs.

Update: Albert finishes with four to tie for second. There's been a lot of low line drives hit for outs, as opposed to warning track home runs, although Pujols' last out was one of those.

Update: Alex Rios gets nice loft on his hits and ties Holliday for the lead with five home runs.

Update: Fielder hits them real high but not far enough and ends with three.

Update: A great moment, Vlad makes three outs in a row. Then Ortiz comes over, take Guerrero's bat and throws it away. He brings out a wooden case and pulls a special bat out. Vlad makes two more outs before launching his first home run.

Update: Vlad gets off to a slow start, with just one home run after six outs, but makes a late surge to tie Rios and Holliday with five.

Update: Ryan Howard hits just three as he fails to defend his title. The three fives move on to the second round. The two fours have five swings to decide the fourth participant.

Update: Pujols hits two out to Morneau's one to reach the next round. So the lineup is Pujols, Vlad, Holliday and Rios. Since no one hit a lot of homers in the first round, no one should be worn out.

Dan Haren and Jake Peavy get the nod as All-Star starting pitchers. Two very good choices here. Haren will be a home town favorite as he plays across the bay in Oakland. Haren leads the AL in ERA by almost 1/2 a run and post great strikeout, walk and home run numbers. Peavy ranks second to his teammate Chris Young in the NL ERA race, but given Peavy's strikeout and home run numbers, it's tough to argue he's not the best pitcher in the NL right now. As I've said before, these are two great lineups starting tonight, and I'd love to see a seven game series between these two teams.

From Home Run Derby, the Home Run Derby Drinking game! My favorite:

Finish your drink if there's any kind of a "You're With Me, Leather" sighting (T-Shirt, sign, etc)

Hideki Okajima's 0.88 ERA impresses the fans and gets the Red Sox reliever a spot on the All-Star team as he wins the voting for the 32nd man. I haven't heard who won the NL vote.

Appropriately, Mr. Irrelevant introduces Da Meat Hook All-Stars, players who made the team during the aughties simply because each team had to have one representative. This reminds me of the time Rich Gedman tried to get a better contract from the Red Sox, but was told he was an all-star by default. Maybe we should call this the Gedman all-stars.

This is cool. But it would be better if they had a back page you could also print out with stats and a fun fact.

The All-Star teams were announced this afternoon, with the big story Barry Bonds collecting enough votes to be the third starting outfielder. I guess he's not as despised as some people want us to believe. Feel free to argue selections in the comments, but I don't have a real problem with any of the voting.

Because the Braves game was delayed, the All-Star Selection show on TBS won't start until Florida and Atlanta are finished.

Who schedules that show for 4 PM anyway? Who's going to watch the All-Star selection show instead of the end of an early game, or the start of a late game? Seven PM makes much more sense.

It looks like fans are on the way to crowning Prince Fielder the all-star first baseman:

Milwaukee first baseman Prince Fielder, who leads the NL with 25 home runs, surpassed Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols in the recent tabulation of fan voting, released Monday. Fielder, 25 and aiming for his first All-Star invitation, surged to 899,997 votes, just ahead of Pujols' 876,849.

Voting starts so early now, it's tough for fans to get a real feel of how good players are, so I can see where previous performance is going to count a lot. However, it's tough to ignore 26 home runs at this point in the season.

The St. Louis Cardinals get to host the 2009 All-Star game. Amazingly, improvements need to be made to the new ballpark:

One of the conditions of getting the All-Star Game was making improvements to certain areas of Busch Stadium, specifically the press box. Those improvements have begun and are expected to be in place by opening day. An escalator has been added down the right-field line, and some standing room areas have been removed that led to obstructed views for some season-ticket holders. The Cardinals also have made what was temporary premium seating at field level in the playoffs into permanent seats and are adding women's restrooms.

You would think that a team would ask MLB about this when they are designing the stadium in the first place. St. Louis last hosted the event in 1966, so they are way overdue. The other interesting piece of news is that the 2008 venue hasn't been decided:

In 2005, Major League Baseball awarded the 2007 All-Star Game to San Francisco, setting the table for a National League team to get the 2009 game. The 2008 game is expected to be played at Yankee Stadium, in what may be the final year for that ballpark.

That doesn't make a lot of sense to me. The All-Star game now is a showcase for new ballparks. With New York installing two new stadiums in the near future, it seems the city will be seeing more than their share of All-Star games over the next decade. Either that, or the new Yankee Stadium won't be so new the next time the Bronx Bombers host.

I was remiss last night in not talking about Carlos Beltran's All-Star game. He played the whole game. He picked up two hits. He picked an unconventional moment to steal third, and it led to the go-ahead run. But mostly, with the game on the line in the ninth inning, his hustle kept hope alive. When Lopez bobbled the ball at third, I thought no big deal, it was a hard shot, Lopez has plenty of time to throw him out. My guess is a lot of players would have thought the same thing and not been running all out. But Beltran busted his butt down the line, almost injuring himself stretching for the bag as he barely beat the throw. While he wasn't MVP of the game he certainly was for the NL, and he reminded us that this game does matter to some players.

Fireworks over PNC.

Update: Michael Young wins the MVP award. He was an easy choice.

Rivera faces Freddy Sanchez to start the ninth. Lopez at third throws Freddy out. Two to go.

Update: Beltran is still in the game. Rivera gets ahead of him 1-2.

Update: Beltran reaches as Lopez bobbles a hot shot at third. I haven't heard if it's a hit or error. Ryan Howard is up.

Update: It's an error.

Update: Howard pulls the ball, grounding out to second but putting Beltran at second for Carlos Lee.

Update: Michael Young catches Lee's pop to give the AL it's 9th straight win! A great game, very well pitched, quick moving, and down to the wire. Once again, the AL will play games 1-2-6-7 of the World Series at home. Young joins his teammate Hank Blalock as a late inning All-Star hero.

Dye grounds back to Hoffman softly for the first out.

Update: Tejada also softly grounds back to the pitcher. It's up to Konerko.

Update: Konerko singles past Cabrera, who is guarding the line at third. Lopez runs and Glaus bats. Troy hits a ground rule double, costing the AL the tie. The have men on 2nd and 3rd with two outs.

Update: Michael Young bats. Hoffman gets ahead 0-2. Young triples into the right-center gap! The AL takes a 3-2 lead, one strike away from elimination!

Update: Mauer lines the ball into Hoffman's abdomen. He picks it up to throw out Joe and end the inning, one batter too late. Rivera is coming in to pitch the bottom of the ninth. Hoffman's blown just one save all year for the Padres.

B.J. Ryan gets the NL 1-2-3 in the 8th. Tevor Hoffman enters the game. Dye, Tejada and Konerko are scheduled to bat.

Gary Matthews singles with one out to bring Thome to plate. He grounds out to second as his bat shatters, but he puts Matthews in scoring position with two outs.

Update: Gordon gets out of the inning as Sizemore grounds out on a nice play by local hero Freddy Sanchez. The NL needs three outs to break the losing streak.

Johan Santana issues the first walk of the game to Lance Berkman after striking out Bay. I would not have expected Santana to give up the first base on balls. He comes back to get Wright to hit into a double play to end the inning. That's the third double play by the AL in the game.

Derrick Turnbow takes over for the National League in the sixth as the game goes to the closers for three innings.

Update: Paul Konerko singles. The AL gets the leadoff man on for the first time this game.

Update: The man on doesn't last long as Glaus hits into a double play.

Update: A fly to right means Turnbow faces just three batters in his time on the mound.

Beltran and Pujols hit the ball hard, but Scott Kazmir retires the side in order in the bottom of the six in his first all-star appearance. The game is moving along quickly. Maybe the youngsters will be able to stay up to see the end!

Brian Fuentes continues the domination of the NL pitching staff, picking up the team's fourth 1-2-3 inning of the game. They've kept Ichiro and Jeter off base, each going 0 for 3.

Vernon Wells picks up only the second AL hit of the night, a two out single off Arroyo.

Update: Loretta bids for the third hit, but Freddy Sanchez at short makes a leaping catch of his line drive for the third out.

They've stopped the game to give a life time achievement award to Roberto Clemente. Jason Bay singled to make the home town fans happy in the bottom of the fourth. I don't quite understand why they are doing this now. Shouldn't they wait for the fifth inning so the game's official?

Roberto's wife is accepting the award, escorted by Bill Mazeroski. The award is for his humanitarian work, which he died performing.

Update: It's the Historic Achievement Award.

Brandon Webb keeps the one-hitter going, getting one strikeout as he retires, Jeter, Ortiz and Rodriguez in the top of the fourth.

Roy Halladay in relief gets pinch hitter Matt Holliday to ground out for the first out of the bottom of the third. Soriano follows with a single and a steal.

Update: Soriano is not fast enough as Beltran singles to center and Vernon Wells makes a perfect throw to the plate to nail Alfonso. Beltran goes to second on the throw, then steals third. I-Rod's 0 for 2 throwing out runners.

As the booth in interviewing Garner about stealing third with two outs, Beltran scores on a wild pitch. The NL leads 2-1.

Update: Pujols strikes out to end the inning. The NL offense is doing much better than the AL so far, five hits to one, but lead just 2-1.

Roy Oswalt gets the American Leauge in order in the top of the third. Ichiro came close to a hit, but the liner didn't have enough top spin and stayed up for Jason Bay to catch.

David Wright takes a perfect uppercut swing on a pitch on the inside part of the plate and deposits it into the seats down the left field line to tie the game at one. I guess he's recovered from the first round of the Home Run Derby. :-)

Update: Utley singles, but Rogers gets the comebacker to start a double play and end the inning. It's all even after two.

Guerrero swings at a pitch up at his shoulers and a bit outside and blasts it out to right field for the first run in the game. He's one of the few players who can get away with swinging at bad balls like that.

Update: That's all they get, as Penny gets a ground, line and fly out in the innings. The AL leads 1-0.

Carlos Beltran gets the first hit of the game, a double down the left field line. Beltran with 19 doubles in the regular season is well on his way to passing his 34 from last year.

Update: Rogers strikes out Bay to end the inning with no damage. Not that it matters, but Rogers was more efficient, retiring the side on 14 pitches vs. 21 for Penny.

I thought Ichiro did a good job of working the count to 3-2, but he fouled off ball four, then swung and missed for the strikeout. Ichiro doesn't strike out much, but he walks even less.

Update: Jeter does the same thing. He works the count 3-2, fouls off ball four on a check swing, then swings and misses.

Update: Penny strikes out the side as he catches Ortiz looking on a nasty, low pitch. The NL is off to a good start in this game.

Roving reporter Jim Storer sends this view of PNC Park and surroundings from the upper deck.

Update: Release the balloons!

Update: The reserves lined up:

Update: The big flag!

And the fly over:

Dennis Whalen mails:

What would happen if the game ended in a tie? Who would get home field advantage no one seems to know.

I don't know, although I'm sure someone thought about a tie breaking system. MLB did a poor job of publishing tie-breakers before the WBC, so I'm not surprised the information is difficult to find. I also wouldn't be surprised if the tie breakers were the same. My guess is the first one is earned runs allowed.

Or maybe Bud flips a coin.

Update: Weather is also a factor. It may rain both tonight and tomorrow. I tried calling MLB to find out about tie breakers and a double rain out, but the people in the office are not able to answer those questions.

Just in case you wonder what a ballplayer does with $25 million a year, here's the answer:

A-Rod and the Yankees played in Tampa on Sunday, the day before the midseason break. Rodriguez fueled up his private plane for the trip to Pittsburgh and invited teammate Mariano Rivera and Kazmir along.

"That was a nice kickoff to All-Star week," Kazmir said Monday. "I'm kind of in awe right now with the different guys around us."

No partying on board the flight, though.

"We had a good talk, a good conversation about anything you can think of," said the wide-eyed Kazmir, a first-time All-Star. "To be on the same plane as superstars A-Rod and Mariano Rivera. ... Those guys are Hall of Famers."

Maybe post baseball, Rodriguez will start Air-Rod Airlines!

David Wright hits four in the last round. Ryan Howard hit more than that in both his rounds.

Update: Howard's first home run goes over the hitter's background in dead center.

Update: Howard's third home run of the round ends up bouncing into the drink. Number four just misses the BBTN set again. He has five outs to get one more.

Update: He doesn't need any of the outs. Number five goes onto the concourse behind right field. An impressive display of power by Philadelphia's Ryan Howard. A Phillies player wins the derby for the second year in a row.

Lots of fun as usual. Howard paced himself well and picks up a total of 23 dingers on the evening, with plenty of outs to spare.

Update: Jim Storer sends a picture of the celebratory fire works.

Update: Here's the celebration on the field.

David Wright hits just two home runs in the second round. That gives him 18 and sets the standard for the rest of the field.

Update: Ortiz hits three to bring his total to 13. The fatigue is showing in the second round. Both Cabrera and Howard have a good chance to move to the final.

Update: Cabrera hits six to move past Ortiz.

Update: Howard is off to a good start in the third round, hitting four home runs in his first four outs, almost hitting the Baseball Tonight booth. His fifth of the round bounces into the river.

Update: Howard hits one into the river to tie Cabrera. Two outs to go.

Update: Howard hits one to dead center to pass Miguel and move into the final round against David Wright. No fatigue factor here. He hits his third of the round near the BBTN to tie Wright. Two more gold balls gives him six on the night.

He ends with 18, tied with Wright. They'll reset the total to 0 for the final round.

Ryan Howard needed to hit four gold balls out (gold balls come into play when you have nine outs) to move past Dye into round two, and Howard does it. His eight homers in the round put him into fourth place. It's Wright, Ortiz, Cabrera and Howard in round two, and this year the first round homers carry over.

Ortiz hits one over the Baseball Tonight tent at the back of right-center field. He's hit some impressive shots in this round so far.

Update: Ortiz hits 10 home runs, including two gold balls. He put a number in the river, including one on the fly.

Jermaine Dye moves into third place in the home run derby with seven dingers.

David Wright is just pounding the ball in Pittsburgh. He's using the field from the left field line to center, and he's hitting them deep. He's at 13 with six outs.

Update: Wright ends up with 16, including a gold ball. He takes a big lead. He got the uppercut swing working, and the balls just flew out.

Troy Glaus hits just one home run. He's the first batter tonight not to hit a home run with the gold ball that wins money for charity.

The players are finding that PNC is a poor home run park.

Miguel Cabrera takes aim on the left field line and blasts nine in his round. Most of them were down the line, but even those weren't cheap. He takes a big lead in the first round.

Lance Berkman puts one in the river on the fly. It looked slightly foul but they gave him the home run.

Update: Berkman also gets three home runs to tie Tejada. The ones he hit were monster shots, but like Miguel he didn't get in a groove.

MIguel Tejada hits three homers in the first round of the home run derby. He never got in a groove. A number of his shots fell just short of the wall.

The Home Run Derby gets off to a bang. Picture by Jim Storer.

Francisco Liriano is going to replace Jose Contreras on the AL all-star roster. Too bad he can't start. And one of my favorites, David Eckstein, will back up Edgar Renteria due to Jose Reyes' injury.

If you asked me two weeks ago who would be the All-Star starting pitchers, I don't think I would have said Rogers and Penny. But basically due to rest. those two get the nod tomorrow night. I guess pushing down a camera man doesn't carry over to the next season:

It was this time a year ago Rogers was under intense scrutiny for knocking down a cameraman during a videotaped tirade.

Rogers, then with the Rangers, was charged with a misdemeanor in Texas after videotape of the June 29 incident showed him walking onto Ameriquest Field in Arlington and pushing a television camera to the ground. He agreed to attend an anger management class to avoid further punishment.

"It was very difficult," Rogers said. "I'd be lying if I said it wasn't hard, but I think I grew up with it and it made me a little better. ... Every challenge in my life that's come my way, I try to take advantage of anything I can learn from it and try to be better."

At least he says the right thing.

The batting orders are in the article as well, although I really wish Garner had flipped Renteria and Soriano. I can't argue much with the AL lineup. Here's how the Lineup Analysis Tool sees the AL lineup and the NL lineup. The best NL Lineup generates 6.6 runs per game, while the best AL lineup generates 6.0 runs per game. The lineups as constructed generate 6.3 runs for the NL and 5.6 for the AL. Not surprising, since there's a lot more power in the NL lineup.

Roving Baseball Musings reporter Jim Storer is in Pittsburgh for the All-Star festivities and sends this snapshot from yesterday's futures game.

Update: Jim reports the game was a blast.

Narf! Jose Reyes pinky is keeping him out of the All-Star game:

Reyes was injured Friday night when he slid headfirst into first base and cut his finger on Florida first baseman Mike Jacobs' spikes. The star shortstop needed seven stitches to close the wound, and consulted with Mets team doctor Straun Coleman before deciding Sunday to not play in the All-Star game.

Sliding into first base is never a good idea, and sliding head first proved to be particularly bad for Jose.

Nomar Garicaparra and A.J. Pierzynski capture the last two spots on the All-Star teams. I would have voted for Abreu and Liriano.

The Red Sox and the commissioner don't appear to be on the same page in regards to Manny Ramirez's knee.

Red Sox manager Terry Francona has indicated in several conversations over the last week with MLB officials that he would rather Ramírez not participate, citing a sore right knee.

...

Commissioner Bud Selig yesterday said the Sox hadn't officially contacted him regarding Ramírez's expected withdrawal.

``Nobody has officially called or talked to anybody," Selig said. ``The clubs know how I feel. This is a game that's very important to the sport. Fans have done a lot of voting. There's been a lot of effort, so I expect everybody to be as sensitive as they can to everybody. This is a time to do the right thing. It's a big honor, and I expect everybody who can be there to be there."

Manny Ramirez opts out of the All-Star game due to a bad knee. As usual Terry Francona take one for Ramirez:

Francona, as he often does, stepped up to take the bullet for Ramírez's expected withdrawal as far back as Sunday's All-Star Game roster announcement, saying, ``If somebody's going to take some heat I hope it's me. I asked him to not play . . . in the interests of our ball club."

Francona had to make that statement because Ramírez refuses to speak for himself. After the game, Ramírez twice silently declined to answer reporters' questions.

One thing is for certain, if Manny's knee is bothering him, it sure isn't reflected in his stats.

I just saw part of the NL starting lineup for the All-Star Game, and the only problem I have with the voters is Soriano. However, most of the voting was done before his slump hit. I think the NL could have done better.

Update: Bonds and Biggio were left off the team. That's too bad. When you have someone with that kind of career, he should be on the team. Dan Uggla, however, did make it.

Update: Joe Mauer got screwed. I'm sorry, as much as I like I-Rod, Mauer deserved to start. The Red Sox fans also showed their power, voting in Loretta over Cano at second and Ortiz over Giambi at first.

The AL starting staff doesn't look that strong to me. Santana is the obvious starter for the game, and I wouldn't be surprised to see the four closers used instead of some of the starters.

As Steve Phillips pointed out in the selection show, each side as only two catchers. In a game where the outcome matters, that's one too few. What happens if the backup enters in the sixth and the game goes extra-innings? I hope if someone drops out during the week another catcher is added to the squad.

You can vote for the final roster spot at MLB.com.

Update: I also think it's sad that long-time greats Bonds and Biggio were left off the teams. There should be some special dispensation for great stars to make an appearance at the game.

Here's my All-Star ballot, fell free to criticize or disagree. It's based mostly on stats up to this point in the season:

AL

Catcher: Mauer.

First base: Giambi. It was tough not to pick Ortiz, but David's not a first baseman.

Second base: Cano. I dislike voting for a player on the disabled list, but he's by far the best offensive second baseman in the AL this year. Iguchi should start in his place.

Third base: A-Rod. Lowell was my sentimental choice, but Alex's numbers are better.

Shortstop: Jeter. Tough to argue with his OBA.

Outfield: Manny Ramirez, Vernon Wells, Jermaine Dye. I went with power here. If I were actually building real team, I'd substitute Ichiro for one of the them.

NL

Catcher: Lo Duca. Michael Barrett is the best offensive catcher this year, but he loses lots of point for lack of playing time due to a ten game suspension. Lo Duca, among the better offensive catcher in the NL, has the most playing time.

First base: Pujols.

Second base: Dan Uggla. I almost voted for Kent, but I really kent stand the guy.

Third base: Miguel Cabrera. It's a tough choice among Rolen, Wright and Cabrera, but Miguel's having a great year for a bad team.

Shortstop: Edgar Renteria. I almost voted for Eckstein just because he's one of my favorite players and his OBA is really good, but Edgar's having the better year. Omar Vizquel is also a good choice. Reyes was on my radar. If he keeps playing like he is now he'll get the vote in 2007.

Outfield: Bay, Beltran, Abreu. Three guys with power and patience. I would have voted for Bonds if he played more. My guess is he'll be the DH.

Correction: I forgot the game was in Pittsburgh. No DH. I still wouldn't vote for Bonds this year. However, there's something to be said for voting in the all-time greats that are still around.

I haven't voted for the All-Star team yet, but I think I'm going to go pull the lever for Jason Bay.

Helped by a feverish campaign orchestrated by the team, Jason Bay is the leading vote-getter among NL outfielders for the July 11 game at PNC Park. Jack Wilson is second among shortstops, Jose Castillo is third among second basemen and Freddy Sanchez is fourth among third basemen -- even though all of Sanchez's 597,249 votes are write-ins.

The Pirates, with an NL-worst 26-52 record, have been running vote-for-the-Bucs ads during their televised games for several weeks. The drive designated to assure that Bay made the NL starting lineup was later expanded to include the other players.

Bay's ahead not just due to the ballot stuffing, but because fans around the country recognize he's one of the top outfielders in the game. For the Pirates to own an MVP quality player and not build a decent team around him is a shame. This is one instance where ballot stuffing is putting a deserving player in the game.

There is one mistake, I believe, in the article:

Still, considering that the small-market Pirates haven't had a player voted into the NL starting lineup since outfielder Andy Van Slyke in 1993, Bay is surprised by the persistence and tenacity of the Pirates fans. Each is allowed to vote online 25 times per day, and Bay acknowledges making a few clicks beside his own name.

It's my understanding that you can vote 25 times in total, since that's equal to attending 25 games and voting at each one.

Matt Resell at Unrestricted View doesn't like fans voting for the All-Star Game especially now that the game means something:

For years I've been complaining about letting fans vote on the All Star Game. Every year it's a popularity contest. Guys worthy of the honor get shafted and big names who have been hurt all year, ie Nomar Garciaparra, take their place instead. I understand that it's supposed to be an exhibition game for the fans, so why not let the fans decide who particpates. It makes sense. But when The Commish made the insane decision to actually base home field advantage for the World Series on the outcome, the term exhibition became a misnomer.

Bill James once quoted Robin Yount on this subject. Yount was asked who should vote for the team, the players or the fans. He said it depended on who the the game was for. Clearly, it's no longer just a game for the fans.

Matt wants to send a message by having people vote for Neifi Perez and Juan Castro:

How do we do this? Simple. The blogosphere is interconnected and has alot of readers. By getting the word out to all the blog readers to vote for a specific, drastically unworthy player into the All Star Game it should be absolutely clear to the league how bad of an idea it is to let fans vote for the participants of such a meaning full game.

Of course, all this shows is that someone can organize a campaign to get a particular player elected, and that's been going on for years.

Why not do something more constructive, like suggesting a better voting system? When you have a flawed voting system like the all-star ballot, you get flawed results. Change the system to something similar to the MVP ballots, where players are ranked. A consensus second choice is likely to be the best players, especially in a system where fans will vote for their home team players ahead of the best players. The best will often get the second place vote across all ballots, and win in the end.

Second, include the players. Let players vote for fellow league members (again, using a ranking system), and average those results 50/50 with the fan results. Then everyone has a voice, and the voting system corrects for cities with big attendance.

Alan Schwarz wonders why the AL is dominating the NL lately.

As Major League Baseball has blurred the lines between the American and National Leagues, opening interleague play and closing league offices, the once-fervid rivalry between the two circuits has become as cold as Warren Giles' gravestone. A few generations ago, suggesting one league was better than the other could get you beat up on the playground; today you'd get a disdainful "L" sign flashed at you and be altogether ignored.

Even fans who might care don't even realize the roll the American League is on at the moment. The White Sox and Red Sox have won the last eight straight World Series games. And the NL hasn't won an All-Star Game since fielding its vaunted Todd Worrell-Todd Hundley battery back in 1996.

Basing dominance on winning a bunch of games that don't count seems counter-intuitive to me. And sweeping the World Series says more about the quality of the team in the series than the quality of the league.

As Schwarz points out, interleague play is a draw:

In the 2,200 matchups since interleague play began in 1997, the National League has won 1,104 times, the American League 1,096. (Think about how even that is -- these guys have played almost 14 seasons' worth of games with records of 81.3 wins versus 80.7.) The AL did go 136-116 last year, but in the last three seasons combined it's almost a dead heat: NL 378 wins, AL 377.

There's no difference in talent between the NL and AL. The AL is just going through a lucky period in the All-Star game, just as the NL went through their lucky period in the 1960s and 1970s.

The AL closer cadre is doing it's best to make this game close. Wickman and Ryan have combined to allow two runs already. Rivera is now in to attempt to get the last out.

Update: Rivera blows away Ensberg on four pitches, striking him out on a swing.

The American League wins its eighth All-Star game in a row. I wonder how long this will go on before the NL starts complaining about not getting home field advantage in the World Series.

Kenny Rogers is warming up in the bullpen. He was roundly booed when he was announced in the pre-game ceremony. We'll see how the crowd acts now.

Update: The booing wasn't as bad as during pre-game, but he's not doing the job his counterparts did. Andruw Jones took him deep to put the NL on the scoreboard, a two-run shot to make the score 7-2.

Ichiro singles hits a pitch that's in on his hands for a single that drives in two to make the score 5-0. Typical Suzuki; bad process, good results. Again, La Russa's left his two best pitchers on the bench as the AL builds its lead. Not a great game by Tony so far.

Miguel Tejada puts the AL on the board with a monster home run off John Smoltz. That's what La Russa gets for leaving his two best pitchers on the bench. If you're not going to start Willis or Clemens, bring them in 2nd and 3rd.

The crowd observed a moment of silence for the victims in London, and a small brass ensemble played God Save the Queen.

Needless to say, Bobby Abreu is big news in Venezuela.

Bobby Abreu hits 11 home runs in the final round, 41 for the competition, each a record. It's going to be tough for Pudge to top that. I'm so glad Bobby had such a great night. Lots of people are now realizing just how good he is.

Update: Pudge Rodriguez hits five, and Abreu wins the competition. He started slowly in the last round, but adjusted his swing to start launching balls again. It was a long, slow competition but Bobby made it worth the wait.

Pudge Rodriguez, batting third in the second round slugs eight homers to take the lead and guarantee his appearance in the final round. He'll face Abreu or Ortiz.

Update: It will be Pudge and Abreu in the final. Man, this is taking longer than a Yankees-Orioles game.

Andruw Jones hits five homers. Two righties and two lefties in the semi-final round; Abreu, Ortiz, Lee and Rodriguez.

Ortiz has the second best home run round in derby history hitting 17 home runs. Andruw Jones is up next.

Mark Teixeira hits just one homer. Given that Canadian Jason Bay had none, at least the US won't finish last in this competition. So far, lefty righty doesn't matter much.

Jason Bay show why they prefer to play hockey in Canada, getting shutout in the home run derby. I'm really interested to see how this breaks down lefty-righty through the rest of the first round.

I've felt for a while that Bobby Abreu was an under appreciated ballplayer. Everyone is going to know who he is after this first round of the home run derby. He just broke the record for most home runs in a round with his 16th, and he still has three more outs. He's also hit the 2nd longest homer in the history of the competition.

His pitcher is giving him nice pitches that are sinking right into his uppercut swing. Bobby is also extremely good at waiting for his pitch. He knows what he can hit for a homer, and waits until he sees it. Then, he just crushes the ball. This at a stadium that very tough on homers.

He's now up to 21 with two outs to go.

Update: He ends up with 24, but doesn't hit a gold ball out.

It looks like ESPN is expecting a short home run derby. They're filling at the beginning with music rather than getting right to the action.

The All-Star starting pitchers and batting orders were announced today. Chris Carpenter gets the nod for the NL over Dontrelle Willis and Roger Clemens in not such a clear case of nepotism. Carpenter is 7-0 with a 1.69 ERA on the road. I find road records very useful, since they tend to remove park advantages or disadvantages. Unfortunately, Both Clemens and Willis are better on the road in ERA than Carpenter, so nepotism it is.

Both batting orders look good, although given Beltran's poor OBA this season, he might be better at the bottom of the order and Eckstein better at the top. You also have to marvel at any order that bats Vlad Guerrero sixth.

I believe it's going to be a very low scoring home run derby tonight. According to The Bill James Baseball Handbook 2005, Detroit was the 2nd most difficult park for home runs in the AL over the 2002-2004 period with a park index of 83. This year, it has a park index of 82. The 1997 Derby in Cleveland suffered from this. The rounds went very quickly because Jacobs is a tough home run park, and ESPN wound up having to fill a lot of time.

The park does favor lefties over righties. That gives an advantage to Ortiz, Abreu, Teixeira and Choi. If I had to bet on a player tonight, I'd pick Ortiz. He hits a lot of homers away from Fenway and he's a lefty. Personally, I'm rooting for Choi, just because I'd love to see him get the attention.

Enjoy!

Spudart at Thoughts Blog provides a bevy of charts to help you in the MLB All-Star Scoreboard Challenge 2005. And this chart of leaders in home runs on the road might help you with the Home Run Derby Challenge as well.

Scott Rolen will sit out the all-star break to rest his shoulder, moving Morgan Ensberg onto the team. Ensberg at the break is on double, home run and rbi away from tying his career highs in those categories.

Oswalt and Podsednik win the fan voting for the last All-Star slot.

You can vote for the final All-Star roster spots at MLB.com. I'm voting for Jeter and Oswalt.

The first round of rosters is out. Here's the AL players and the NL players. In looking at the AL starters, I'm most surprised by Mark Teixeira starting at first base; not that he doesn't deserve it, but usually there's such a battle in the AL between great first basemen. One of the big reasons for the fall off in offense this year is the lack of depth among American League first basemen.

I'm thrilled to see Bobby Abreu and David Eckstein make the All-Star team. It's good to see the fans finally recognize Abreu's accomplishments. And David, of course, shares my name and my height. It's good to see him back at the top of his game.

About the only starter I don't think should be there is Carlos Beltran He's just not having a very good year, and unlike Scott Rolen, his career hasn't been so great that you give him a pass.

Otherwise, the teams look very strong. Kenny Rogers was chosen to be on the pitching staff; I won't be surprised if something prevents him from going.

It case you didn't hear, the All-Star teams will be announced tonight at 7 PM on ESPN.

Derrek Lee and Albert Pujols each helped their team to victory last night with home runs. Pujols is having a Pujols year. Great batting average, great OBA and an excellent slugging percentage. Derrek Lee is putting up even better numbers. He's slugging in the .700's, over .100 points better than Pujols.

For whom do you vote when you fill out your all-star ballot? Do you vote for someone based on a great 1/2 season, or do you go for someone who is consistently great throughout his career? Derrek Lee's history shows him to be a good but not great hitter. Pujols is on the way to the Hall of Fame. I'm interested in your ideas on this. Who do you want to see in the all-star game; the all-time great or the one-season wonder?

The National League voting totals are out, and there's plenty to complain about in the NL voting. Most surprising isn't that Nomar Garciaparra is leading the voting for shortstop, but that Cesar Izturis isn't in the top 5! He's a wiz with the glove and has a .392 OBA. What's not to like?

In the outfiled, how are Cabrera and Abreu 5th and 6th? Yes, I like to see Griffey in the all-star game, but these two are outshining Ken in 2005 and should be getting more attention.

You can vote 25 times at MLB.com. Go help these players move up the list.

I just saw the latest results from the American League voting, and Tino Martinez is leading among AL first basemen. Tino is a nice guy and a slick fielding first baseman. He went on a great home run tear. But you might want to consider someone else, like Richie Sexson or Mark Teixeira for the position. The rest of the voting looks really good, but AL fans, you can do better than Tino at first.

I found this article quite amusing.

With San Francisco, Arizona, Cincinnati, Philadelphia and San Diego all playing in new or relatively new ballparks and St. Louis to follow in 2006, one NL city would have to wait until 2018 for an All-Star game should baseball stay with its traditional but no-longer mandatory rotation.

By contrast, only the refurbished Anaheim Angels ballpark and Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg won't have been All-Star sites among the newer AL parks, once Detroit stages the 2005 game.

"I don't believe that it [the rotation] is as important as it used to be," Selig said. "I think the important thing is to try to be fair. In a perfect world, you would alternate NL and AL, but it's more important to reward franchises, I think, that really need to have the game because of their venue. There are so many great new ballparks, and that's the nice part."

So Bud is determined to keep the All-Star as the determining factor in who gets home field in the World Series, but he's willing to give the NL last licks more often to showcase new ballparks. How much longer do we have to put up with this nonsense?

If the All-Star game counts to the leagues, then you have to give the leagues equal chance to bat last and use the DH. If the game doesn't count, I don't care. Give the All-Star game to the team with the newest stadium every year. But doesn't Bud see the inconsistency in wanting it both ways?

I guess Bud Selig said this before the actual game last night:

Speaking Tuesday at a meeting of the Baseball Writers Association of America, Bud Selig said he will push hard for an extension of the two-year "experiment" in which the winner of the All-Star Game gets homefield advantage for the World Series.

In fact, when asked if he was even interested in talking about the players' proposal to award home-field advantage in the Series to the team with the best regular-season record, Selig replied: "Not in my judgment."

The commissioner conceded that he's "always willing to talk." But he believes that adding postseason implications has restored the passion for "an All-Star Game that had lost its luster." And now he sees no reason to undo something that has helped ratings and generated attention.

"For years," Selig said, "we were accused of being a dinosaur that didn't care what our customers wanted. Well, we've done a lot of polling on this. And our fans like it. Our broadcast partners like it. Our sponsors like it. So what should we tell our customers -- that we don't care what they want? Those days are over in this sport."

The game last night reminded me of most all-star games of recent memory; get everybody in. Maybe because it was an early blow out; however, in these days of high offense, a five or six run lead is not insurrmountable. My guess is that if you take the poll today, the NL fans (especially those in St. Louis) would not be happy with the idea.

Again, there is a lack of creativity on the part of Selig. He sees only one way that is popular in polls, without thinking that there may be other ways to make the all star game interesting. For example, how about a winner take all game with a $30 million dollar purse? The team that wins gets to split the money; the team that loses gets nothing. That would get the competitive juices of the players flowing; you might get fewer opting out of attending, and the managers would definitely play to win. I'm sure other people could find other ways to attract attention to the game.

Lisa Gray attended the All-Star game last night and reports on the contest.

Not a great game, not a bad game. What was interesting is that both Torre and McKeon were managing as if it were an exhibition, as if neither expected that the NL could come back from the big deficit. I also wonder how many the AL has to win in a row before the NL teams want to go back to alternating home field in the WS by year.

This has been bothering me all year. I think CC Sabathia looks shabby on the mound. I appreciate the fashion statement, and I can live with the crooked hat. But the baggy uniform has to go. He looks sloppy on the mound.

Update: And he's pitching sloppily tonight. He's given up four hits and three runs this inning, and Bonds can bring them within one.

Update: Sabathia pitches to Bonds, and gets him to pop up. CC gets out of the inning, AL up 7-4.

Lisa Gray reports from the home run derby.

Tejada didn't have the muscle of Berkman, but he had the great swing. Miguel sets a HR Derby record with 15 dingers in one round. He started just putting them in the seats, but as the round went on, he started putting them over the left field wall into the street. An impressive performance.

Update: Berkman has no gas left for the last round and hits 4 HR. Tejada easily hits five to win the tournament. A great show.

Correction: Tejada had 15, not 16.

Berkman is just electrifying the Houston crowd. He hit three in a row totally out of the stadium. A few later, he added another. Pure power.

Update: That's five totally out, the last, 493 feet. And he's hitting right-handed vs. a right-handed pitcher.

Bonds didn't do as well in the second round of the HR Derby. As he left the field, he said he was tired. So by walking Bonds all the time, opposing managers are letting him rest. Make him swing at some good pitches, and wear him down!

Palmeiro knocks Sosa out of the HR derby.

Update: He's hit the most HR in the first round! Nothing like going out on top. :-)

Jim Thome was pulling everything. Three of his four HR were right down the lines. He hit a bunch that had the distance, but were foul.

Lance Berkman is hitting some shots onto the train tracks in left. Bonds was taking easy swings and hitting HR, Berkman appeared to be trying to muscle the ball. Bonds hit 8, Berkman 7. Blalock took the easy swing approach and hit 3.

I'm watching the HR Derby in High Definition, and it's fantastic. They have an incredible close-up of the batter, and you can really see the mechanics of the swing. Bonds is batting, and he's really locked in. He's hit two or three monster shots, high arcing shots that nearly hit the roof and laser line drives. Should be a fun broadcast.

Lisa Gray is on the scene in Houston reporting first hand from the All-Star festivities. She strikes out a virtual Barry Bonds three times and finds that the difference between major leaguers and minor leaguers is their ability to field. Watch her site for most posts during the break.

I've been thinking about why the All-Star game isn't that popular anymore, and I believe the reason is that we see these players all the time now. I have MLB extra innings, and can pretty much watch any game I want on any night. Shows like Baseball Tonight bring the best players into our houses each evening. Instead of reading about or hearing about the great players, everyone gets to see them nearly every day. Twenty years ago this wasn't true. NBC and ABC had a game of the week, but if someone was did not play in your home town, you saw them a few game a year or not at all. The All-Star game was a treat, because we got to see all these tremendous players in one spot.

Now, if there's a no-hitter or a possible 4-HR game, we are taken there live. Everyone got to see Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds break HR records. We get to see Randy Johnson set strikeout records and Roger Clemens win his 300th game. In other words, we've all seen these great players be great; the All-Star game is just another game.

I will be watching, however, and since I'm on vacation, I can stay up late and watch the end. :-) Enjoy.

Just watching the interview with A-Rod during the selection show. He was very diplomatic, but he seems very cool to the idea of having the all-star game decide home field in the world series.

Albert Pujols went from 4th in the outfield voting just recently to the top vote getter in the NL. Good for him, and a great job by the fans rallying to bring him up instead of Sosa.

The All Star team will be announced in a few minutes, and I'm just not excited by the whole thing. There will be the same old arguments there are every year; so-and-so deserved to go, why did they pick what's his name instead? The fans shouldn't vote, the players should vote. The managers shouldn't be allowed to stuff the team with their own players. Fine.

But of course, none of this has been part of the buildup to the game. The buildup has been, THE GAME FINALLY COUNTS! Well, frankly, I don't want it to count. I want the All Star game to be a meaningless exhibition where players wear different uniforms and you get to see Alex Rodriguez and Cal Ripken together in an infield; you get to see Randy Johnson pitch to Larry Walker; you get to see Reggie Jackson hit a massive HR. In other words, I want a bit of fun.

I sort of hope that the ratings go down this year. It will just show that Selig once again doesn't know what he's doing.

The MLBPA has approved a two-year trial in which the league winning the All Star game gets home field in the World Series. I agree with Kevin Brown:

"I disagree with it, completely and totally," said Los Angeles pitcher Kevin Brown a five-time All-Star. "I think it just takes away from the whole idea of what the All-Star game is about, which is letting the fans vote and letting it be an exhibition game. Now they're trying to make it into something that it never has been."

Once again, Bud Selig has gone for an easy solution, rather than a creative one, to solve a problem that is in fact rare. I still think a better solution to the All Star game tie problem is to pay a big bonus to the players on the winning team, and no money at all for the loser or a tie.

J Lentner makes an important point about the All-Star game:

The problem with most of these arguments is that they do not address how to bring back competition to the All Star game. People key in on other ways to decide home field for the World Series when that is not what the idea is trying to address. Certainly, it would be terrible for Mike Scoscia (Torre will not manage this year’s game but for some reason, people keep bringing up the Yankees) to abuse a rival’s all-star pitcher to gain an edge for the rest of the season. But back when players and managers cared about winning the All-Star game, this was not an issue.

Maybe this idea is not the best solution. But it at least addresses the problem. Somewhere in the past, people stopped caring about who wins the game and we all suffered for it. I believe that this goes further back than the Gaston/Mussina incident in Baltimore. At some point fans and managers decided that more than two innings for a pitcher was too many in an All-Star game. Why? There is no reason why Pedro or Zito can’t throw 45-60 pitches during the break.

I wish people criticizing the home field idea would come up with a better solution themselves. The All-Star game needs help. There is more drama in the homerun derby now, and that’s a shame.

One thing that might make the game more competitive is to pay the players for a win. The All-Star game proceeds used to go to the player pension fund, but that's not true any more.

Most importantly for the players, the All-Star Game has long financed their pension plan. When the plan was formed in 1947, the owners’ contributions were funded by the net proceeds of the All-Star Game, together with TV and radio revenue from the World Series. In 1954 MLB guaranteed that the pension plan would receive 60% of All-Star Game revenues, a figure which rose to 95% in 1963.

When the TV money grew too large, MLB severed the link between All-Star money and the pension fund. But the pension agreement still requires the owners to pay 1/7th of their annual contribution shortly after the game, and allows them to skip this payment if there’s no All-Star Game. Under the circumstances, it’s no coincidence that even the 1981 and 1994 labor disputes did not force cancellation of the All-Star Game.

So why not pay each person on the winning team $100,000, and nothing to the loser? If you give a competitive athlete something tangible to play for, my guess is that he will give his best. Give the manager a share, also. So for about $3,000,000 you can probably have a pretty competitive and even heated 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.