The 2008 Major League Baseball All-Star Game is, for the eighth straight year, being broadcast on Fox with Joe Buck doing play-by-play duties and the increasingly useless (or if you prefer, decreasingly useful) Tim McCarver doing color commentary. Overall, this is Joe Buck’s tenth and McCarver’s seventeenth turn at filling those respective roles for an All-Star Game broadcast (McCarver also served as a field reporter for the 1984 game). According to Wikipedia, the 1980 and 1982 All-Star Game broadcasts featured play-by-play from Al Michaels and Keith Jackson, with Howard Cosell and Don Drysdale doing color commentary. Somebody needs to show those broadcasts on ESPN Classic because that would have been a lineup guaranteed to produce its share of comedy, both intentional and unintentional.
The game is being played at Yankee Stadium for the first time since 1977, and much has been made of this because of 2008 being the Yankees’ final season to play at Yankee Stadium before they move into their new $1.3 billion stadium next year. I tried to keep a running diary as it went along, and just like most of my blogs, it went longer than I intended, but in this case it wasn’t my fault, since the game went 15 innings. All times listed for the entries are Central Time.
7:44 – The first of probably several TV spots for Fringe. Out of the blurbs thrown into the ad, I’m about 10x more encouraged by seeing “from the creator of Lost” than I am about something that’s “from the writers of Transformers“. But it does answer the question, “What has Joshua Jackson been up to lately?”
7:46 – Warming up: our American League starter, Cliff Lee of the Cleveland Indians.
7:47 – First pitch to leadoff hitter Hanley Ramirez of the Florida Marlins: a fouled off fastball for strike one. Here we go!
7:48 – Ramirez strikes out on an 85 mph slider for the game’s first out.
7:50 – Philadelphia’s Chase Utley strikes out looking for the second out.
7:51 – Out number three as Houston’s Lance Berkman flies out to last night’s Home Run Derby hero Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers.
7:52 – Is any non-Universal Studios employee excited about The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor? Me neither.
7:54 – NL starter Ben Sheets of Milwaukee gets the first out on a fly ball, now facing hometown hero Derek Jeter of the Yankees, with Josh Hamilton (who hopefully will be Ben Sheets’s teammate next season) on deck.
7:57 – Hamilton strikes out on three pitches, but Jeter steals 2nd base during the at-bat.
7:59 – New York Yankee third baseman and Madonna’s alleged new main squeeze Alex Rodriguez pops out to end the inning. Speaking of the Alex and Cynthia Rodriguez saga… Do you have any idea how hot it’s been lately? It’s so hot Cynthia Rodriguez left Lenny Kravitz and has now been seen hanging out with Ice Cube.
8:06 – Cliff Lee strikes out Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun to end the 2nd inning. Lee’s line for the night: 2 innings, 1 hit, 0 runs, and 3 strikeouts..
8:13 – Tim McCarver just said Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis got the best ovation of any Red Sox player so far. Not sure if he meant that sarcastically, as all I heard on the TV was some hearty booing. Sheets strikes him out to bring up Minnesota catcher Joe Mauer with two outs and Texas Ranger Milton Bradley on second base.
8:19 – After Mauer walks, Boston second baseman Dustin Pedroia comes up to bat. McCarver says, “there is no hotter hitter in baseball right now than Dustin Pedroia”, apparently forgetting about Texas second baseman Ian Kinsler, who goes into the All-Star break with a 25 game hitting streak (the best in the majors this year), during which time he has hit .425 with a .717 slugging percentage. Kinsler has been better than Pedroia in practically every offensive category and should by all rights be starting tonight, but the fans (read: Boston Red Sox fans) voted in Pedroia as the starter. Pedroia flies out to end the 2nd inning.
8:35 – I’ve never seen a single episode of The X Files all the way through, and I didn’t watch the first X Files movie when it came out 10 years ago, but The X Files: I Want To Believe actually looks interesting based on the trailers now in rotation.
8:37 – Boring game thus far. Three innings, no runs by either side, four hits between the two teams but non longer than a single. Toronto’s Roy Halladay now pitching for the American League. He’s another ace pitcher who would be perfect for the Rangers, though they’d have to give up an emperor’s ransom in prospects to even have a hope of trading for him.
8:53 – Colorado’s Matt Holiday homers off Anaheim’s Ervin Santana for the first run of the game to lead off the top of the 5th inning. 1-0 National League.
9:10 – Derek Jeter comes to bat with runners on 1st and 2nd and two outs, works the count full on Arizona pitcher Dan Haren, but grounds out harmlessly back to Haren, who throws to 1st to end the 5th inning.
9:28 – Josh Hamilton singles to lead off the bottom of the 6th inning. This gives Joe Buck yet another opportunity to spend two minutes talking about Hamilton’s comeback from drug addiction. Meanwhile, the score is 2-0 National League.
9:31 – Hamilton steals 2nd base for the American League’s fourth steal of the game. He is stranded at 2nd though, as Cleveland’s Grady Sizemore strikes out looking on a full count and Texas’ Milton Bradley flies out to center field to end the 6th inning. This game is actually kinda boring (I know, I said that an hour ago) but we’ve seen some All Star-quality pitching.
9:41 – Joshua Winslow Groban comes out during the 7th inning stretch to sing “God Bless America”. He does a good job, of course.
9:46 – Former Ranger and current Reds pitcher Edinson Volquez takes the mound for the NL in the 7th inning, allows a quick double to Joe Mauer, then gets an even quicker groundout from former teammate Ian Kinsler. Tampa Bay’s Dioner Navarro follows with a strikeout looking.
9:53 – Boston’s J.D. Drew homers into the right field seats to tie the score at 2-2. Anaheim’s Francisco Rodriguez is warming up to pitch the 8th inning. He’s on pace to break the all-time single season saves record (he has 38 already and the record is 57), but he was pretty shaky last week during the Angels series with the Rangers.
9:59 – Oops, instead Boston’s Jonathan Papelbon comes out to pitch the top of the 8th inning. He gets some jeers from the New York crowd for his saying earlier in the week that he wanted to be the game’s closer, and not hometown favorite Mariano Rivera. Papelbon gives up a leadoff single to Houston’s Miguel Tejada and receives chants of “overrated!” He responds by striking out Florida’s Dan Uggla.
10:02 – With former Ranger and current San Diego Padre Adrian Gonzalez at bat, Tejada steals 2nd base and advances to 3rd on an errant throw. Gonzalez hits a long fly ball for an out but Tejada tags up and scores on the play to give the National League a 3-2 lead.
10:04 – Papelbon strikes out New York Met David Wright to end the top of the 8th inning. Due up for the AL are White Sox Carlos Quentin and Joe Crede, followed by Cleveland’s Grady Sizemore.
10:19 – Tampa Bay’s Evan Longoria doubles off of New York Met Billy Wagner to drive in Sizemore and tie the game at 3. Up to that point, the two teams were hitting a combined 1-14 with runners in scoring position. Home Run Derby winner Justin Morneau of Minnesota comes up but grounds out to end the inning. We’re going to the 9th!
10:25 – Francisco Rodriguez walks the National League’s leadoff hitter in the top of the 9th inning. This is pretty typical of his recent 9th inning performances.
10:32 – The top of the 9th ends with Mariano Rivera striking out St. Louis Cardinal Ryan Ludwick and Cristian Guzman is thrown out while trying to steal 2nd base. Rivera relieved Rodriguez with one out in the inning to a huge hometown ovation.
10:35 – Texas Ranger Ian Kinsler leads off the bottom of the 9th inning.
10:37 – Kinsler strikes out on a breaking ball from Chicago Cubs reliever Ryan Dempster, yet another player who was formerly in the Rangers organization (they drafted him out of high school but later traded him to Florida while he was still in the minor leagues.)
10:40 – Dioner Navarro strikes out for the 2nd time, and we’re one out away from sending the game to extra innings.
10:42 – Dempster K’s J.D. Drew to strike out the side and send the game to the 10th inning, leaving Texas Ranger Michael Young, the hero of the 2006 All-Star Game, waiting on deck.
10:52 – Dodgers catcher Russell Martin works a long at-bat before singling past Ian Kinsler. Miguel Tejada singles up the middle to send Martin to 3rd base, putting two men on with only one out.
10:53 – Dan Uggla grounds into a double play to end the inning. Uggla has stranded three runners in his two at-bats. Due up in the bottom of the 10th: Michael Young, Carlos Quentin, and Carlos Guillen.
10:56 – Colorado Rockies pitcher Aaron Cook comes in to pitch for the National League. Young hits the first pitch he sees up the middle, where Dan Uggla promptly bungles it, allowing Young to reach safely.
10:57 – Quentin moves Young to 3rd base, and does himself reach 1st base on yet another error by Uggla, who is having a nightmare of an All-Star weekend, if such a thing is possible.
10:59 – Carlos Guillen is intentionally walked to load the bases for a potential force out at any base, and with no outs, Grady Sizemore is now up.
11:01 – Sizemore grounds to Uggla, who throws to home for the out, but Sizemore beats the throw to 1st base. One out, bases still loaded, and rookie Evan Longoria up.
11:03 – Longoria hits a perfect grounder to 3rd base, Cristian Guzman throws to home for the second out of the inning. Bases still loaded with 2 outs and our Home Run Derby champ Justin Morneau is up once again.
11:04 – Morneau hits a dribbler to shortstop Miguel Tejada, who scoops it and barely gets Morneau out at 1st base for the third out. That was an amazing pitching and fielding sequence by the National League
11:07 – We’re going to the 11th inning. Joakim Soria of the Kansas City Royals will pitch for the AL. He may be their last available pitcher so hopefully the game will end soon.
11:11 – I feel this is a good time to mention umpire Darrel Cousins has had a pretty big strike zone tonight. He just gave Soria two gift called strikes on consecutive low fastballs to Cristian Guzman that would probably have been called balls by any other umpire.
11:13 – Corey Hart flies out to end the inning, and we’re off to the bottom of the 11th inning. Due up: Ian Kinsler, Dioner Navarro, and J.D. Drew, the same trio Ryan Dempster struck out to send the game into extra innings.
11:16 – Kinsler gets a hit to lead off the inning.
11:18 – Kinsler tries to steal 2nd base and is called out on a phantom tag by Miguel Tejada. This is the second missed call tonight on a play at 2nd base; earlier Albert Pujols was called out trying to stretch a single into a double after Ichiro Suzuki made a great throw to second. Replays showed Pujols barely beat the tag but was called out.
11:21 – Michael Young is at bat with the winning run at second base (Dioner Navarro) and J.D. Drew on first base.
11:22 – Young hits a grounder up the middle and Navarro tries to score the winning run, but he’s gunned down on a perfect throw to the plate by Pittsburgh centerfielder Nate McLouth. Two out with two runners on base.
11:24 – Carlos Quentin grounds out to end the 11th inning. Ludwick, McLouth, and Martin (the latter two being responsible for that game-saving tag out at home plate) due up in the top of the 12th.
11:28 – After Ludwick walks, McLouth bunts and beats out Morneau’s throw to Ian Kinsler, who was covering first base. Two men on and no outs.
11:29 – Morneau fields a ball that would have gone foul had he not touched it. He gets Martin out at first base, but the other two runners advance.
11:31 – Tejada is intentionally walked to bring up the game’s official goat Dan Uggla with the bases loaded and one out.
11:32 – Uggla strikes out on a nasty curveball from Joakim Soria for the second out. Uggla’s line for the night: 2 fielding errors, 2 at bats ending with strikeouts, one double play hit into, and 6 runners stranded. Ex-Ranger Adrian Gonzalez is now up and Baltimore Oriole closer George Sherrill is coming in to pitch.
11:36 – Sherrill strikes out Gonzalez on three pitches to end the inning. Due up for the American League in the bottom of the 12th: Guillen, Sizemore, and Longoria, who are a combined 2-6 with one walk, one run, and one RBI thus far.
11:39 – Carlos Guillen doubles off the left field wall on the first pitch Aaron Cook throws him. Winning run on second base with no outs.
11:40 – Uggla nearly commits his third error, but recovers to throw out Sizemore, while Guillen advances to third base. One out.
11:43 – Longoria strikes out swinging on a sinking fastball inside. Morneau is intentionally walked to bring up Ian Kinsler with two outs and runners at 1st and 3rd base.
11:45 – Cristian Guzman makes yet another flawless play at 3rd base, fielding a Kinsler grounder and throwing him out at 1st to end the inning. This may be a good time to mention that Guzman has never played a position other than shortstop in his professional career.
11:49 – David Wright shatters hit bat on a bloop single to right-center field. Guzman is now up to bat. I’m calling it: Guzman will double to give the NL the lead.
11:51 – Okay, not quite. Guzman lays down a terrible bunt straight back to George Sherrill on the mound, and Wright is thrown out at 2nd base. Corey Hart is now up with Guzman at 1st base. I’m impressed with how Sherrill is pitching.
11:53 – Hart strikes out swinging on a high fastball. Ludwick is coming up to bat. I feel now is a good time to mention that tonight’s contest features no less than TEN current and former Texas Rangers players, Ludwick being one of them. (The others are current Rangers Young, Hamilton, Bradley, and Kinsler, and former Rangers Alex Rodriguez, Edinson Volquez, Adrian Gonzalez, Justin Duchscherer, and Ryan Dempster, and you can add to that Alfonso Soriano, who was voted to the team but was injured and not able to play.) Texas traded Ludwick to Cleveland five years ago this week, when he was only 31 games into his Rangers career. After a few very mediocre seasons with Cleveland and one year spent on Detroit’s AAA squad, he signed with St. Louis in 2007 and has hit 35 home runs and driven in 117 runs in 207 games over a season and a half. Ludwick popped out as I was typing this.
11:58 – Chicago Cubs pitcher Carlos Marmol is now in to face J.D. Drew after getting Navarro to ground out to begin the inning. Drew homered six innings ago to tie the game.
12:00 – After working a full count, Drew grounds to 2nd base, where, yes, Dan Uggla bobbles it for his third error of the night. Michael Young is up with one out.
12:03 – On a full count, Young strikes out looking and J.D. Drew, running on the pitch, steals 2nd base. Carlos Quentin is up with two outs and Drew representing the winning run. It’s a White Sox vs. Cubs matchup to possibly decide the All-Star Game!
12:05 – And… Quentin strikes out on an 83 mph offspeed pitch to send the game to a 14th inning. I need sleep soon, and it’s already 1am in New York. Just amazing pitching performances overall tonight. 16 strikeouts for the AL pitchers so far, 15 for the NL pitchers.
12:07 – McLouth gives the AL a scare with a long fly ball but it dies near the warning track in right field and is caught by Drew. Sherrill is still pitching and AL manager Terry Francona (Boston Red Sox) is desperate to avoid using Tampa Bay ace Scott Kazmir for pitching duty, as he started and threw over 100 pitches on Sunday, a fact Joe Buck has reminded us of about six times now.
12:11 – Sherrill finishes the inning unscathed. Guillen, Sizemore, and Longoria are due up. I’m calling it: the game ends this inning. Guillen is a pro, Sizemore (who is less than two months older than me) is one of the best young players in the game, and Longoria will make Tampa Bay proud.
12:18 – Arizona Diamondbacks ace Brandon Webb strikes out Longoria on a low curveball to end the 14th inning. He struck out Sizemore on an identical pitch just before that.
12:19 – They’re showing another one of those DirecTV ads with actors being plugged into scenes from past movie roles. In the past they’ve used William Shatner in a scene from a Star Trek movie, Charlie Sheen in Major League, Jessica Simpson in the Dukes of Hazard, and now we have Robert Patrick shilling for DirecTV by reprising his role as the T-1000 in a scene from Terminator 2: Judgement Day. It’s hard to believe that movie came out 17 years ago.
12:25 – Scott Kazmir is in the game. He gets the first two batters out, then walks David Wright. He looks just like you’d expect a guy to look if he was two days removed from throwing 104 pitches in a game.
12:26 – Kazmir gets Guzman to ground out to end the top of the 15th inning. I mentioned earlier that there are 10 players in the game tonight who are or were formerly part of the Texas Rangers organization. Kazmir should have been the eleventh member of that group, but the year he was drafted the Rangers management passed him up in favor of Drew Meyer, who six years later has 14 major league at-bats and a career .264 batting average in parts of seven minor league seasons. Kazmir would look really good in Rangers blue right now.
12:31 – After a Justin Morneau single, Kinsler is robbed by Ryan Ludwick on a hard hit ball to shallow left field.
12:33 – Navarro gets a base hit and advances Morneau to second base. Just before this I was about to type a sentence beginning with “the hapless Dioner Navarro”. Since I haven’t been right on any calls so far tonight, I’ll try reverse psychology and say J.D. Drew will choke with the winning run on second.
12:36 – Drew walks to load the bases with one out and Michael Young comes to the plate for his fifth at-bat of the game. Most of the position players currently in the game have played a full nine innings at this point.
12:37 – Young skies a fly ball to right field. Corey Hart catches it but it’s just deep enough for Morneau to tag up and beat Hart’s throw to the plate. GAME OVER!! Final score: American League 4, National League 3. J.D. Drew is awarded the game’s MVP award. Not awarded is Dan Uggla’s richly deserved Least Valuable Player award. He’ll do better though, he’s only 28 and was playing in his first All-Star Game (he was selected to the 2006 game but did not play). He’ll probably be playing in several more of these before his career is over.
Despite not having much offense, it was a great game in the end. See you guys next year at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. And with that, it’s 1:18 a.m. and I’m outta here!
