The NL will win it this year
NL All-Stars will shine brightest on Tuesday in St. Louis
With manager Charlie Manuel at the helm, the National League looks to break a 13-year drought in the All-Star Game on Tuesday night in St. Louis.
Let's forget for a while all that is wrong with the All-Star Game. The fact it "means something" now in the grand scheme of the majors is a bit of a joke, and if it is going to mean something then the guarantee of one player per team is archaic. There are always going to be deserving players left out no matter how much the rosters expand, up to 33 a side this year. And the broadcast with Joe Buck and Tim McCarver on FOX will once again be unbearable as they talk about just about everything but the game on the field and plug upcoming FOX telecasts ad nauseum.
Despite all of that, the Midseason Classic remains a great break in the season and still provides plenty of excitement for what is and always be nothing more than an exhibition game.
It's been plenty exciting for AL supporters in recent years. Over the past 13 All-Star Games, the American League owns a 12-0-1 with wins in all six contests since the infamous seven-all tie in Milwaukee back in 2002. That was the game that pushed Bud Selig and his merry band of numbskulls to giving the winning league home field advantage in the World Series.
Think about how much has changed since the National League last won an ASG. John Smoltz was the NL starter and winner in 1996, getting a 6-0 shutout of the AL rolling. Ken Caminiti and Mike Piazza hit the home runs; Mark Wohlers and Al Leiter combined in the ninth inning for the NL to finish the game off as manager Bobby Cox went through nine arms that July 9 evening at the old Vet in Philly.
By the way, that 1996 game was the only ASG in which there were no walks issued by either pitching staff. Thought you trivia geeks might enjoy that little tidbit.
It stands to reason that walks would be down in an All-Star Game, so the fact that has been the only one in the previous 79 contests is a bit odd. The pitching should be stronger when you assemble the best arms for one game, that's a given. With the lineups also beefed up, pitchers will be less likely to even pitch around a batter or two as they would in a regular lineup.
Pitching will once again be one reason why the NL is going to finally break their July drought with a win at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Tuesday night. Albert Pujols is the other reason.
In a game that will trot out one great arm after another, the one name that sits at the very top of the list is Tim Lincecum. The young ace of the Giants' staff is a very big reason why San Francisco has a legitimate shot at the postseason for the first time since 2004. Lincecum is third in the majors with a 2.33 ERA, tied for first in strikeouts with 149 and already a 10-game winner at the break.
Guiding the NL from the top step of the dugout on Tuesday will be Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, and if there's a weakness on his 13-arm staff it's the fact there are no lefthanded short arms in the group of relievers. So it will be interesting to see how Manuel mixes in the three southpaws he does have – New York's Johan Santana, Ted Lilly of the Cubs and Pittsburgh's Zach Duke who was named to replace Lincecum's San Fran teammate Matt Cain on the roster after Cain was struck by a liner in his last start.
The remaining starting arms for Manuel are Arizona's Dan Haren, LA's Chad Billingsley, Florida's Josh Johnson and Colorado's Jason Marquis. If I'm Manuel, I save Marquis for the possibility of extra innings, partly because he's the weakest arm of the bunch in my opinion and partly because he's a decent hitter if the NL bench ran dry in a long game.
Once the NL has the lead and we get to the sixth inning, Manuel has five quality closers to send to the hill to keep the AL at bay, including the all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman who is having a strong season closing things out for the Brewers. Ironically, Hoffman's replacement in San Diego, Heath Bell, also made the team as did Cincinnati's Francisco Cordero, the Mets' Francisco Rodriguez, and St. Louis' own Ryan Franklin. The only problem Manuel has is picking which guy gets the nod in the ninth. That's a nice problem to have.
Albert Pujols will be right at home in front of the Cardinals crowd and primed to put his talent on display. There isn't even any argument as to who the most feared hitter is today in the majors as Phat Albert is having a near MLB Triple Crown season to this point on the '09 slate. Atop the HR and RBI columns with 32 and 87 respectively, Pujols is sixth in the majors with a .337 batting average to go with No. 1 rankings in on-base and slugging (and obviously OPS).
Picking Pujols to be the game's MVP would seem an easy thing to do...if he didn't have Adrian Gonzalez (SD), Prince Fielder (MIL) and Ryan Howard (PHI) behind him on the 1B depth chart in this one. Here again, if I'm Manuel the decision would be to play Pujols the entire game, using the other three sluggers in pinch-hitting roles.
This will be the NL's season to finally break through and win the Midseason Classic in what should also cash those holding Under tickets. Final score: NL win 5-3.
With manager Charlie Manuel at the helm, the National League looks to break a 13-year drought in the All-Star Game on Tuesday night in St. Louis.
Let's forget for a while all that is wrong with the All-Star Game. The fact it "means something" now in the grand scheme of the majors is a bit of a joke, and if it is going to mean something then the guarantee of one player per team is archaic. There are always going to be deserving players left out no matter how much the rosters expand, up to 33 a side this year. And the broadcast with Joe Buck and Tim McCarver on FOX will once again be unbearable as they talk about just about everything but the game on the field and plug upcoming FOX telecasts ad nauseum.
Despite all of that, the Midseason Classic remains a great break in the season and still provides plenty of excitement for what is and always be nothing more than an exhibition game.
It's been plenty exciting for AL supporters in recent years. Over the past 13 All-Star Games, the American League owns a 12-0-1 with wins in all six contests since the infamous seven-all tie in Milwaukee back in 2002. That was the game that pushed Bud Selig and his merry band of numbskulls to giving the winning league home field advantage in the World Series.
Think about how much has changed since the National League last won an ASG. John Smoltz was the NL starter and winner in 1996, getting a 6-0 shutout of the AL rolling. Ken Caminiti and Mike Piazza hit the home runs; Mark Wohlers and Al Leiter combined in the ninth inning for the NL to finish the game off as manager Bobby Cox went through nine arms that July 9 evening at the old Vet in Philly.
By the way, that 1996 game was the only ASG in which there were no walks issued by either pitching staff. Thought you trivia geeks might enjoy that little tidbit.
It stands to reason that walks would be down in an All-Star Game, so the fact that has been the only one in the previous 79 contests is a bit odd. The pitching should be stronger when you assemble the best arms for one game, that's a given. With the lineups also beefed up, pitchers will be less likely to even pitch around a batter or two as they would in a regular lineup.
Pitching will once again be one reason why the NL is going to finally break their July drought with a win at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Tuesday night. Albert Pujols is the other reason.
In a game that will trot out one great arm after another, the one name that sits at the very top of the list is Tim Lincecum. The young ace of the Giants' staff is a very big reason why San Francisco has a legitimate shot at the postseason for the first time since 2004. Lincecum is third in the majors with a 2.33 ERA, tied for first in strikeouts with 149 and already a 10-game winner at the break.
Guiding the NL from the top step of the dugout on Tuesday will be Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, and if there's a weakness on his 13-arm staff it's the fact there are no lefthanded short arms in the group of relievers. So it will be interesting to see how Manuel mixes in the three southpaws he does have – New York's Johan Santana, Ted Lilly of the Cubs and Pittsburgh's Zach Duke who was named to replace Lincecum's San Fran teammate Matt Cain on the roster after Cain was struck by a liner in his last start.
The remaining starting arms for Manuel are Arizona's Dan Haren, LA's Chad Billingsley, Florida's Josh Johnson and Colorado's Jason Marquis. If I'm Manuel, I save Marquis for the possibility of extra innings, partly because he's the weakest arm of the bunch in my opinion and partly because he's a decent hitter if the NL bench ran dry in a long game.
Once the NL has the lead and we get to the sixth inning, Manuel has five quality closers to send to the hill to keep the AL at bay, including the all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman who is having a strong season closing things out for the Brewers. Ironically, Hoffman's replacement in San Diego, Heath Bell, also made the team as did Cincinnati's Francisco Cordero, the Mets' Francisco Rodriguez, and St. Louis' own Ryan Franklin. The only problem Manuel has is picking which guy gets the nod in the ninth. That's a nice problem to have.
Albert Pujols will be right at home in front of the Cardinals crowd and primed to put his talent on display. There isn't even any argument as to who the most feared hitter is today in the majors as Phat Albert is having a near MLB Triple Crown season to this point on the '09 slate. Atop the HR and RBI columns with 32 and 87 respectively, Pujols is sixth in the majors with a .337 batting average to go with No. 1 rankings in on-base and slugging (and obviously OPS).
Picking Pujols to be the game's MVP would seem an easy thing to do...if he didn't have Adrian Gonzalez (SD), Prince Fielder (MIL) and Ryan Howard (PHI) behind him on the 1B depth chart in this one. Here again, if I'm Manuel the decision would be to play Pujols the entire game, using the other three sluggers in pinch-hitting roles.
This will be the NL's season to finally break through and win the Midseason Classic in what should also cash those holding Under tickets. Final score: NL win 5-3.
