All-Star Game Summary:
Well, for a while it looked like another AL blowout with the junior circuit leading 7-0 after 6 innings. The NL did make it interesting by scoring 5 unanswered runs. AL manager Terry Francona was forced to go against Joe Torre’s wishes and bring in Mariano Rivera for the final out.
Miguel Tejada won the Ted Williams MVP award by virtue of his 2-run homerun in the second which broke it open for the AL.
So much for the media-fabricated story of LaRussa exacting revenge on Francona. Red Sox players were 4 for 8 in the game.
Media Matters:
Seems kind of strange to me that they would play the British national anthem but not the Canadian one.
Ok, they probably did (at least I hope they did… Toronto is still a major league team last I checked) but it wasn’t televised. The moment of silence was a classy move but I just didn’t understand the anthem thing. If they wanted to recognize the loss of human life, why not start with the Iraqi national anthem? Don’t get me started.
Ok, how many of you thought it was an awkward moment when Fox broadcaster Jeanne Zelasko was trying to (rudely?) interrupt broadcasting legend Ernie Harwell from talking too long during the pre-game interviews? And how many of you would much rather hear Harwell’s tidbits of baseball history than listen to Fox’s air-brushed video of Smokey Robinson? I know I would. Let the man talk. You might learn something, Jeanne.
Seems to me that the Fox Sports’ company line was to lighten up on Kenny Rogers. I’m not saying he should or shouldn’t have played in the game. It’s not my call. But it seemed the broadcasters were bending over backwards to give him the benefit of the doubt.
I just see a double standard when other players who have altercations with fans (usually who provoke the players) are being demonized and this guy plainly attacks two members of the press who don’t over-step their bounds and Kevin Kennedy acts all buddy-buddy with him. I’m just sayin’.
Mid-way through the game a banner with a URL on it was unfurled over a billboard at the stadium. Buck and McCarver brought attention to it but obviously didn’t know that .com meant it was probably a web address. They spent a minute or two trying to decipher what it could possibly mean. Do these guys spend any time in front of a computer?
I didn’t write down the url when watching the game. Did someone catch it? I’m curious what it was.
I agree with you on all the points you’ve made in this post.
1) A moment of silence might have been in order for the British people who lost their lives in the most recent terrorist attacks, but not their national anthem. The same number of innocent Iraqis lose their lives everyday as we attempt to free them. Also are we going to hear the Pakistani national anthem booming in ballparks after the train crash there? And how many different national anthems were played after the tsunami tragedy, moments of silence? Indeed.
2) Fox missed the boat and I’m sure Zelasko was instructed to cutoff Harwell. In this sound bite world we live in there just doesn’t seem to be room for Ernie Harwell’s wonderful recollections. It is a real shame because anyone who knows and appreciates baseball will tell you that this is a game which truly connects with the past through stories & memories of days gone by.
3) There does seem to be a double standard when it comes to Kenny Rogers. And I don’t know why. Certainly the same benefit of the doubt wasn’t extended in similar situations.
4) It is amazing that Buck & McCarver didn’t know what a .com was. But then again I’ve heard enough stupidity come out of each of their mouths to believe just about anything.
It’s unfortunate for Kenny Rogers that his anger management issues have surfaced right before the All Star game. Imagine if the Sheffield incident at Fenway happened when Rogers incident occurred. People would be wondering how appropriate it would be for Sheffield to attend the All Star game. It’s all a matter of timing.
Glad to the destitute Miguel Tejada get that brand new Corvette along with the MVP trophy. The poor guy probably has to park his 2005 Hummer H1 in the driveway now to make room in his 7-car garage. If I were him, I would give the car to Kenny Rogers so he can use it to pay his $50,000 fine.
I’ve always been unimpressed with Jeanne Zelasko. She would be a much better fit on The Best Damn Sports Show. Is carrying twins? Even maternity clothes look small on her right now.
Tim McCarver lasted FIVE BATTERS at my house.
In that span, 1) He called “Derrek Lee,” “Carlos Lee,” 2) He told some sappy story about Miguel Tejada not having enough to eat when he was 14 and not having his own glove until he was 19, 3) He waxed poetic about how heroic Kenny Rogers was to “face the music,” and 4) He practically gave David Eckstein a Gold Glove for his play in the hole on Damon. I said, “That’s enough.”
My answers: 1) Know the players if you’re working the game, 2) Try to stay away from “sappy stuff,” 3) Don’t let your worship of the athletes make you overlook bad behavior – If Kenny Rogers were on my team, I would have put him on waivers, not sent him to Detroit – and 4) Don’t lie to me about how good the players are. The fact is that David Eckstein would never SNIFF an All-Star appearance in the AL, where there are REAL shortstops. I like David, too. But his election says more about NL shortstops than it does about Eckstein. No wonder they always lose the game. Jeff Kent and Mike Piazza are in the same boat.