digg

Join DiggAbout

Discover the best of the web!
Learn more about Digg by taking the tour.

All-Star Classic Was Only 10 Minutes Short Of Disaster

sfgate.com — In its quest for balance between importance and entertainment at the All-Star Game,baseball struck a few pleasant chords Tuesday night.Then came the element it cannot afford: panic.This game was about 10 minutes from a third baseman (David Wright) pitching against an outfielder (J.D. Drew) with most of the real stars either benched or in limousines

Bury
show profanity settings
expand all
  • brjndr, on 07/19/2008, -1/+73Non-pitchers being forced to pitch would not have been a disaster, it would have been awesome.
    • Chalks777, on 07/19/2008, -2/+10it would have been madness.
      • felman87, on 07/20/2008, -5/+15No, it would have been SPARTAAAA!!!
      • mattwalton56, on 07/20/2008, -2/+19Madness? This is baseball.
      • bigbadgoat, on 07/20/2008, -1/+1Baseball == Madness?
      • teamgwho, on 07/20/2008, -0/+1Well we already have March Madness, what's wrong with July Madness?
    • themightyhlp, on 07/20/2008, -0/+12The floodgates would have opened and the final would have been something like AL 30 - NL 28. Provided MLB let the game go that long.
    • sabester24, on 07/20/2008, -1/+5It would of been cool if the game didn't matter. But it would suck for your team to lose home field advantage because David Wright gave up a homerun pitching.
      • bigbadgoat, on 07/20/2008, -0/+2If he could throw a strike, you mean
    • NachoBusiness, on 07/20/2008, -0/+2Having position players pitch in a game has supposedly caused serious injuries. Granted the case in point here was Jose Canseco, who screwed up his arm after insisting he be allowed to pitch an inning and ended up needing arm surgery. Still, if I were a position player I wouldn't want to pitch... you could lob it up there and your arm would be safe, but if you actually tried to get people out, you might get them out, but you might really mess up your arm.
    • SreyaNotfilc, on 07/21/2008, -0/+0Hey, if Mark Grace could've done it with his 55 mph screwball, David Wright should have no problem getting some of the batters to pop out. This would've been awesome if they could've made it last another inning or so. Getting a position pitcher to pitch is something that fans really enjoy seeing.
  • homah, on 07/20/2008, -13/+5Simple solution -- if the game is tied after nine innings, it goes to a homerun derby. Each team picks 5 players, 1 out each. Most homeruns wins.
    • Jrr6415sun, on 07/20/2008, -0/+17why would I want to watch another homerun derby. There was just one on the day before.
  • jaybol, on 07/20/2008, -0/+18just remembered Jose "Can You See" Canseco pitching...and blowing out his arm
  • kenrblan, on 07/20/2008, -0/+13Just wait until next year in St. Louis. We might get to see a regular fielder pitching against a relief pitcher from the American League. That would be truly bizarre. I can hear the call now... Rick Ankiel on the mound for the first time since 2005, Mariano Rivera steps into the box...

    I have a variation on the solution proposed by homah.... When a team runs out of pitchers, they have to start using the coaching staff, which would probably turn it into a homerun derby.
    • 8randon, on 07/20/2008, -0/+1. or selig can call a tie like he did in '02. why didn't the article mention this?
  • RegalGSX, on 07/20/2008, -7/+6I was really hoping for a NL win. The Cubbies play much better at home.
    • skin, on 07/20/2008, -7/+9How cute, you actually believe the Cubbies won't collapse again this year.
    • RegalGSX, on 07/20/2008, -3/+6True, it's easy to pick on the Cubs, but it's even easier to pick on a guy with a Wii avatar and Hitler's mustache.
  • RustySparks, on 07/20/2008, -0/+7i was there...great..to good..to WHO THE ***** ARE THESE PLAYERS..yankee stadium was like "hey world, we are living every moment as if it's our last..since it is"
  • cuevas4711, on 07/20/2008, -2/+2I wish it was not worth home field in the WS. The managers had to send out pitchers that they had promised to other managers not to use since they had pitched recently. It should be rewarded to the league with most wins during interleague play.
  • endustry, on 07/20/2008, -2/+7Just let random fans get into the action. I'd love to throw a heater into Manny Ramirez's nuts -- never mind trying to actually strike him out.
    • lordgibbon, on 07/20/2008, -0/+15But then imagine trying to run away from all of the Red Sox fans. They infinitely respawn.
  • sh0k, on 07/20/2008, -0/+9I think this article is trying to ...communicate...something...

    no, no. It's simply indecipherable.
  • dalnet22, on 07/20/2008, -0/+4Here's how you fix it. First, if a player is unavailable to pitch, then he is not allowed to be apart of the game, with an alternate being selected. Alfonso Soriano "could" have played, but he chose not to because of his recuperation. So, why can he be replaced, while Scott Kazmir and Brandon Webb get to sit in the bullpen as wasted roster spots? So, the first step is to field a team that is available to play. Second, take the World Series home field decision out of the game. Have home field decided by whichever World Series team had the best Interleague record. Next, make it so the All-Star game can not go into extra innings. This way, players can enjoy the game and not push themselves to the point of breaking down during the second half of the season. The game is an exhibition, and adding meaning has only hurt players over the years. Look at Brad Penny throwing 100mph a few years back - let's hope Kazmir and Webb are ok for the second half.
    • bigbadgoat, on 07/20/2008, -2/+1I might be slightly off here since I'm not the most avid baseball fan, but don't they play 164 games in a season?

      When a season consists of that many games, how the ***** is one game, where, get this, 99% of players don't even play half of it, going to push players to the point where they could break down over the next 80 or so games left in the season?

      Are you ***** kidding me?
  • morgrar, on 07/20/2008, -11/+5***** the RIAA.
    • oneredeye, on 07/20/2008, -0/+4What the hell! Who let you in here?!
  • rings035, on 07/20/2008, -0/+17Randomly placed landmines
    • oneredeye, on 07/20/2008, -0/+2"There's Marshall, settling under that ball." (EXPLOSION sound effect) "Holy *****"
  • heavyweightgeek, on 07/20/2008, -10/+1Being British I feel obliged to point out this is a girls sport
    • Butros, on 07/20/2008, -0/+2Just don't make us send Ted Williams over there again to save your asses...
  • mattlohkamp, on 07/20/2008, -3/+8Did anyone else see 'Star Wars' in the title, or was that just me?
    • petershultz, on 07/20/2008, -0/+2I was just about to post the same thing! I had to re-read the title a few times. I haven't even read the article lol.
      • proliance, on 07/20/2008, -0/+2Try not to be such a geek.
      • mattlohkamp, on 07/20/2008, -0/+1@proliance

        I don't know, that sounds boring.
    • TroyPatterson, on 07/21/2008, -0/+0My immediate reaction was what is this doing in Baseball?
  • charmaniac, on 07/20/2008, -0/+2Lets see, what could be more retarded than good players for a horrible team deciding whether their most hated rival within the same league has home field advantage? Oh, I don't know. How about running out of pitchers during the all-star game? Really, if you are going to force the players to decide the home field advantage in the world series based on an exhibition game, at least make sure you have enough pitchers.

    Bud Selig is a disgrace, and the owners should have removed him long ago.
  • LansingSterling, on 07/20/2008, -1/+4I was disappointed Ken Griffey Jr was not in the all star game.
  • damawa42, on 07/20/2008, -3/+2Okay I'm not American. I get the idea of Baseball, but I really don't see how you can "run out of pitchers"?
    If you can indeed run out of pitchers, then I don't see how the game was "10mins from disaster" --> the article didn't make sense, and doesn't quantify this "10 minute" thing.
    What was special and/or different about this game, that it was so crazy and warrant a rambling article like that?

    Also, given that a baseball is thrown through the air, hit in the air, and spends most of it's time in the air, how does a "home field advantage" come about? E.g. in soccer the home team can get used to the way the way the ball moves on the pitch, but in baseball, what is it? Simply energy of crowd support?
    • bigbadgoat, on 07/20/2008, -0/+3that and every ball park is shaped completely different, with fences made of different materials, which makes for unexpected bounces. Pitcher's mounds might not all be the same height. The grass could be natural or artificial, and different types of grass/turf will have different traction and the ball will bounce differently. The dirt on the field can have the same variation, and so on.

      There's a huge amount of familiarity and uniqueness associated with every ballpark.
    • teamgwho, on 07/20/2008, -0/+31) The shape of the outfield. In Boston you have the Green monster in left field but a really really REALLY short porch in right field. So what's a home run in one park is just another out in another.

      2) Fans boo or even taunt opposing players. I recall one game where the fans were teasing Darryl Strawberry with a chant of "Beat your wife, Darryl, beat your wife!"

      3) the temperature, humidity, and even how far above sea level can also be huge factors.

      4) finally there's the minutia such as artificial turf vs real grass, how well the infield is maintained and so on. I think one ground crew would put rocks in the dirt around second base when they faced a team which had a lot of base stealers on it.
    • davewashere, on 07/20/2008, -0/+1Since baseball is played without a timer, the 10 minute thing doesn't make much sense. The game would have been a disaster if it lasted 1 or 2 more innings. You can't re-enter pitchers in baseball, so you run out of them by using everyone available in the bullpen. This is more likely to happen in the All Star game because the managers are trying to give most of their pitchers a chance to play in the game in 9 innings. That's why you see them take the starter out after the second inning even though they may not have given up any runs or even any hits. The problem is created when the game is tied and goes more than 9 innings, because then they've got to pitch guys who might only usually pitch 1 inning in a game for multiple innings.
  • teamgwho, on 07/20/2008, -0/+1I didn't watch the game, but I think this would've been awesome. This occasionally happens in regular games, so why should the All Star game be any different? If the opposite scenario is awesome (think Roger McDowell and Jesse Orosco pitching and playing left field then switching in the 1986 NLCS vs Houston) then why wouldn't this. Certainly would've added some drama.
  • headband, on 07/20/2008, -0/+1they should have brought in the old timers from the pregame festivities...or better yet have a seperate old timers game...now that would be entertaining
  • p51d007, on 07/20/2008, -2/+1WHO CARES. professional major league baseball has sucked, since the free agency clause came about in the 70's. Now, you don't have a team, you have 9 individuals playing for $$$. Hey, I'm for a guy making a buck, but, with the inflated salaries of today, baseball has lost a lot of the magic it had in the 60's when I was a kid. Back then, it was the norm for a player to spend most of their career with one team. Now, it's unheard of.
  • HappyScrappy, on 07/20/2008, -0/+1This article is far overwraught over nothing. If either wants to give in instead of having a position player pitch, it wouldn't be difficult to arrange. Otherwise, play until someone wins.

    The statement that this is all done for the convenience of making it easier to set up hotels for the World Series is nonsense. The World Series dates may be picked months in advance, but the teams aren't picked until days in advance. What does it matter if you know the AL is going to host the first 2 games when you don't know which AL team it will be?

    It's also ridiculous he ridicules the system in use compared to the "sensible, best-record formats of other sports."

    Last I checked, only one major league sport in the US hosts a final where the team with the best record gets more games at home. That is the NHL. Baseball is next closest to that ideal with their system where the all-star game determines how many games are played at home. In every other major league sport in the US, the game(s) are played at a predetermined (presumably neutral) site. Most notably the NFL and NBA. But even the MLS Cup and Arena Football are held at predetermined sites.
    • mjferring, on 07/20/2008, -0/+3Obviously, you have no idea what you are talking about. The NBA Finals are not played on a predetermined site. The NBA does use the teams' record during the regular season to determine who gets home court advantage.
  • drew8872, on 07/20/2008, -2/+1If your looking for gifts or just want to go shopping look no farther our website has over 350,000 products to choose from and if you can't find what your looking for feel free to e-mail me anytime at sales@grosswholesale.com and we will try and get what you need I hope you will take the time to look around my website and please leave comments about what you like or dislike Thank You For Looking. http://www.grosswholesale.com
    GO TIGERS
  • leazarus, on 07/21/2008, -0/+1This story took entirely too long to make the front page.
  •  

    Login or register to add a comment

    Create a new account or login to join in the conversation on Digg. You'll also be able to Digg stories to help promote things you like.


© Digg Inc. 2008 — Content posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain.
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.