Here are my thoughts from the MLB All Star Game. I took some notes during the pre game and the game. I had to copy Bill Simmons a little by using what time each blog was written to add to the effect. The reason I didn’t post it live is because not everything I write is funny, interesting, or worth reading. So this way my thoughts have been edited.
Pregame Notes:
There are a lot of players being introduced. With all the injured players and replacements almost half the league is on the all star team.
I understand MLB and Fox’s social responsibility and wanting to be a part of the community but can we get rid of these community All Stars specials? These are awful. Maybe this is why ratings are so low. I think people just switched over to Losing It with Jillian.
(It turned out that this was the least watched MLB All Star Game ever).
Celebrity Part:
Remember when Julia Roberts was hot.
Remember when Han Solo didn’t have a mullet.
Selma Hayek = added bonus = ratings increase.
Charlize Theron was probably told this was a cricket all star game.
Matthew McConoughy has the best damn life ever. He’s just so happy all the time and he can have whatever woman he wants. I guess I would be too if I had his life. He’s so enthused about everything. He should give people eulogies for hire.
This is taking too long. Its 8:28 already. Let’s play some baseball.
They are still on this community thing. I don’t care about these people. I’m switching to The Office reruns.
Hold on there showing Selma again. She’s saying thank you. De Nada Selma. De effin nada. PS: I Love Her.
I paused it earlier so thank god I get to fast forward the DVR through the Glee song.
Finally let’s play some ball.
8:34 RIP George Steinbrenner. Maybe not the most loved man in Red Sox Country but $10 mil in 1973 for the Yankees, good buy.
8:35 Why didn’t Fox have a hot girl from Glee sing the national anthem?
8:36 Honestly I can’t stand military plane flyovers. Where is Bin Laden? Those 4 guys could have caught him right? The more the merrier. That’s one more bunker we could have looked in before they escaped. Plus who pays the pilot’s salary to fly over a stadium like that. I bet they get time and half for that too. The other thing is when your at the stadium it’s not even that cool. It’s over and then you realize you came here for a ball game and not an air show. I just don’t see what value it adds to anything.
8:37 Scotts commercial for great MLB parks. My favorite is Pac Bell or whatever it is called in SF.
8:38 Promo for new Fox show called Lone Star that looks like crap. How many times are we going to have to see that tonight?
8:42 How big is Joe Buck’s head? I’m not saying he’s cocky I just never noticed after all these years how gigantic his noggin is.
8:43 Enter Tim McCarver, here we go one liners.
Okay so I know I predicted AL 12-2 in my previous post but I’m changing my mind. I’m going NL because they have a better bench. They have McCann, Votto, Gonzalez, Phillips, Rolen, and Holliday. AL only has Arod and Hunter.
(I really did write that I didn’t just add it after the game)
8:45 I thought firestone tires killed people or something. Wasn’t that a story like 5 years ago? I still wouldn’t buy them, you just can’t recover from that, ever.
Lowell from wings on Direct TV commercials called it a t VEE! Emphasis on V.
8:46 Anyone else sick of Gordon Ramsey other than me? Do people really watch that show? Its people cooking! I’m an excellent griller but I don’t have a fan club.
8:47 Lineup again? Didn’t they already announce it? Look out for that NL third inning with Hart and Molina. If I’m an AL pitcher I’m begging to throw then.
The AL starting lineup is stacked.
8:50 Hanley Ramirez up.
Tim McC: “If NL wins this game Hanley will be a star.” Um Tim Hanley already is a star. He’s an All Star. It’s the name of the game you are watching right now. He’s batting leadoff and playing shortstop, and he was the runner up last night in the HR derby last night.
Martin Prado on deck, get remote ready.
8:59 A Colorado Rockie is starting the All Star game, man is the steroids era over or what?
9:00 Josh Hamilton should get introduced to Cocaine by Eric Clapton.
9:04 A lot of sharp commercials with Captain Sulu (George Takei from Star Trek)
9:05 Why do pitchers pitch 2 innings? Managers always talk about wanting to get all the players in the game. And teams are so concerned that pitchers will get injured at the All Star game. So why do they throw 2 innings? I never got that.
9:09 Boring so far. This game could use some steroids.
9:13 Vlad is a definite HOFer. No doubt.
9:15 Scott Boras is right behind home plate in a box under the stands. He’s not sitting down but he’s standing and leaning sideways. He probably charges people for seats in his box so he volunteers to stand so he can make more money.
9:20 Of course Girardi has Pettite pitch to the NL in the third inning against Hart and Molina. Would be nice if Hart went deep here. (He struck out)
9:23 Figures that Yadier gets the NL’s first hit with a .230 average.
9:24 Wow this is boring. I’m gonna see what Jim and Pam are up to.
9:34 Top of the 4th. Why isn’t this in 3D like HR derby? Ichiro taken out, there go Japanese ratings
9:37 Wow Cliff Lee pitched quick, told you he should have pitch a CG.
9:41 Hong Shoo Quo is warming up. Look out AL.
9:46 When did Verlander make the team? And who did he replace? These are the things we need to hear Joe Buck.
9:51 Andre Ethier at the plate. I picked him in like the 11th round in my fantasy league…just saying.
9:57 Tim McC: “Keep in mind the NL has 14 pitchers and the AL has 13, so that could come into play.” Really that is what he just said. God he’s terrible. Thank you Tim. Apparently the NL has one more pitcher than the AL. And that’s going to matter. One of those pitchers is going to pinch hit and win the game. No Tim, that’s not going to matter, you know what will matter, that the NL has only used 2 pitchers so far and the AL has used 4. Say something like that. Someone should write what he says for him. Like a ghost analyzer. I should do it.
9:58 George Takei and Lowell from wings again.
10:00 Takei twice in one break, and now he’s in the stands!!!
10:02 Hong Chu Quo probably wont keep the Asian audience watching.
10:06 ish I paused it to make a sandwich as my wife went to bed so the times my be off a little for a bit
10:08 ish Error on Kuo. That’s why he’s not an All Star. He’s not ready. AL just won. NL can’t score 2 runs no way.
10:09 ish Imagine if Ichiro wasn’t an all star and then cliff lee got traded as the only Seattle rep. What would MLB do?
10:16 John Buck is in the game. Must be brother of Joe, only explanation.
I wonder if these starting pitchers like Jon Lester enjoy coming in in the 6th inning and pitching 1 inning. I bet they don’t. I think it different after the 6th inning. It should just be relievers from now on. This is why starters should only go one inning and why I should be in charge of this event.
10:25 Cannot effen wait to see Inception. That movie looks awesome.
10:36 I wonder how ratings are? My guess is not good.
10:37 Why is NL bringing in Matt Capps a righty to face Big Papi. What use are Arthur Rhodes and Even Meek who are both lefties? This is why they made the team isn’t it? Possible HR here by Papi.
10:47 Ty Wiggington is in Ty Wiggington is in! Most viewers think this is the guy from Extreme Makeover Home Edition. AL stopper Matt Thornton to pitch. And the NL solution is Chris Young? Definite K here.
10:56 Brian McCann!!!!! Game over. AL has no bench.
11:01 Joe Buck just announced that the AL has Wiggington and Buck coming up next inning. See my other blog. I predicted this. AL is in serious trouble.
11:10 This game is interesting now with the NL having the lead. Ty Wig didn’t get to bat. Swisher pinch hit and K’ed.
11:12 Matt Holliday just made another bad play in a big game and a St. Louis pitcher is pitching. AL still has a shot with him in LF.
11:17 Look at who NL has coming up: Gonzo, Votto, Rolen.
11:24 Bottom of 8th, AL has Andrus and Bautista coming up this inning, look out.
11:41 Arod pinch hit? Can he hit for Buck and then a catcher re-enter or does there have to an injury?
11:49 NL wins on Big Papi’s slow legs and no Arod. Would have been good drama if he came up. AL and Fox should have agreed that ARod was coming up in bottom 9 no matter what. Joe and Tim McC would have announced it all night long. People would have stayed and watched. Plus why wasn’t Kate Hudson in the stands. That would increase ratings. I think she’s ugly but people would watch the game just to see the camera shots of her.
Good ending to game. But pretty boring overall.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Why I Should Pick the NL All Star Team
This post continues my blog on ‘Why I Should Select the MLB All Star Teams.’ This post looks at the National League.
The main point I am trying to make is that too many times the All Star reserves are players that nobody has heard of and no one wants to watch. So after the fifth inning people turn the game off. If I picked the teams I would ensure that interesting players were selected as reserves. They would also have to have good stats to be worthy of the All Star selection. But right now the NL team has Omar Infante, Martin Prado, and Michael Bourn on it. I mean try to sell that! I feel bad for the companies paying for ad spots right before the inning when those three players are coming up.
So here are my picks for the 2010 NL All Star team. Selections for batters are based on stats of (AVG HR RBI OPS) and my own opinion on how interesting the player is for viewers. Pitchers are selected by ERA, Wins, and Saves, and again my secret potential viewership formula. Stats are through July 7th.
Catcher: Brian McCann, Ivan Rodriguez
Okay let’s get rid of Yadier Molina. He is hitting .229. McCann is a good choice for the starter (267 10 34 830). Molina’s OPS is 614. If we divide that in two that’s an OBP and a SLG of 307 each. I had batter stats than those in T-Ball. My backup catcher is Pudge Rodriguez. He;s currently hitting .299 and more importantly people will watch him play. Plus can’t you just see him swinging in the dirt and connecting on a curveball and getting that game winning base hit to the opposite field right over the second baseman’s glove. I can.
First Base: Albert Pujols, Joey Votto, Ryan Howard, Adrian Gonzalez, Adam Dunn
Pujols is definitely the starter. And before you say why are there 5 first baseman remember the NL doesn’t have a DH. So Howard can be the starting DH and Adam Dunn can play the outfield if we need him to. But how can Joey Votto not be on this team already. His stats are (313 21 59 1006). He has the third highest OPS in all of baseball, and his stats are better than Pujols. He’s not an icon like Pujols and Howard yet but he’s well known and should be on this team. Dunn deserves a spot too. His stats are (.280 20 54 939). I’ll keep him on the bench until I need a pinch hit HR. Gonzalez is a solid choice and makes my team just like the real team and can play 1B right after Pujols’s shift.
Second Base: Brandon Phillips, Dan Uggla
Chase Utley would be my starter if he were healthy but Martin Prado? Really? Where is Dan Uggla? His stats are (285 16 49 863) Plus don’t you want to see him strike out four times again and make a costly error like last year. I know Tim McCarver does. Seriously how many times would McCarver bring that up? I say 10. You could play a drinking game on it and get seriously wasted. Phillips is a good choice and would start on my team. He’s well known and has good stats (307 12 30 855) and he has 10 steals.
Third Base: David Wright, Scott Rolen, Ryan Zimmerman
Another poor choice by MLB. Omar Infante? They should have just suited up Omar Vizquel and talked about the lost art of defense and run prevention and all that crap. I think Vizquel is on AL team but they wouldn’t mind the one day rental. Seriously though how can Ryan Zimmerman not be on this team? His stats are (296 16 47 917) while Infante’s are (307 1 22 706). Another high OPS pick by the NL! Look out for that inning when Jose Reyes is sitting on third base with one out as the tying run and Yadier Molina and Omar Infante come up. And how is Omar Infante a third baseman when the Braves have Chipper Jones? Something doesn’t make sense. Prado is their second baseman, Troy Glaus plays first base and Yunel Escobar is their shortstop. What position is Infante the 10th fielder like in softball?
Shortstop: Hanley Ramirez, Rafeal Furcal
Ramirez is my starter but I’ll take Furcal over Reyes and here is why. Reyes’s OBP is .320. His OPS is .735. Furcal’s numbers are .377 and .874. An .874 OBP for a non power hitting shortstop. Hanley Ramirez’s OPS is .865. Troy Tulowiski’s is .877. Furcal has the second highest OPS of all shortstops in the NL with over 200 at bats. Wow I am good. I should work for ESPN research or something. Seriously why can’t Jose Reyes just take a walk. He is faster than Usain Bolt, but he wont take a walk and then steal 2 bases. The guy probably swings at Intentional Walks.
Outfield: Andre Ethier, Matt Holliday, Ryan Braun, Andrew McCutchen, Jason Werth, Corey Hart, Chris Young
This position is harder than you’d think. There are just so many crappy teams in the NL right now. The one player reps almost have to all be outfielders. So that explains Chris Young. There is no other explanation for him and I am not going to waste further time talking about him or the Diamondbacks. My starters would be Etheir, Bruan, and Holliday. Jason Heyward just isn’t there yet. His average is .251, that’s not All Star material yet. My other reserves are Werth, McCutchen, and Hart. McCutchen is the Pirates rep and is also future star that is already well known. His stats are (294 7 24 812) and he has 20 steals, so hes good to use as a pinch runner. Werth’s stats are (279 13 48 883) and he has really good hair and facial hair. There should be a camera on him all the time. I’ll keep Corey Hart but I’m not a big fan of him. He does have good stats though at (285 19 61 908) and he has made the team once before. I got rid of Michael Bourn and Marlon Byrd because they are not that popular and I am representing their teams with relief pitchers. Michael Bourn should change his name to Jason and he will make the team every year.
Starting Pitchers: Josh Johnson, Adam Wainwright, Ubaldo Jiminez, Roy Halladay, Tim Hudson, Chris Carpenter
Pretty close to the real squad. I’ve got Tim Lincecum as my 35th man below so don’t worry he is on the team. I’m biased towards players with his first name. Gallardo is on the real DL now so he is off my team. I’m sorry but if you are on the DL you should not get recognition for being an All Star. I think the real team is up to like 70 players right now.
Relief Pitchers: Heath Bell, Brian Wilson, Francisco Rodriguez, Billy Wagner, Jonathan Broxton, Carlos Marmol, Matt Lindstrom
Wow looks at MLB’s NL relievers. Arhtur Rhodes and Evan Meek. That’s just awful. So lets say Jonathon Broxton gets a head cold the day of the game, who’s your NL closer NL? Matt Capps or Brian Wilson. Game over AL wins right there. AL is going to win be a lot anyway but at least my team has better relievers. Heath Bell took over for Gallardo on the real team, and I’ll add K-Rod, Wagner, Marmol, and Lindstrom. Marmol and Lindstrom take the spots of Bourn and Byrd because I like having relievers as I explained in the AL post. These relievers all have good stats just take my word for it. Sub 3.00 ERA’s and a lot of saves so far. And they are pretty well known which is good enough for a relief pitcher. Plus they are all better than Arthur Rhodes and Evan Meek. Really MLB?
Last Spot: Tim Lincecum. Only because I pulled Chris Carpenter’s name off the stats sheet before Tim. They both have 3.16 ERA’s as of today but C is before L in the alphabet. Both deserve to be there and you just can’t have an All Star game without Tim Lincecum. Special rule even if his ERA was twelve something. He should just pitch the whole game against Cliff Lee. That would be something I would stay up for.
So not too bad on the NL. It’s tougher because there are more teams but there is no DH so that helps. Players that really don’t deserve it are Chris Young and Matt Lindstrom, and maybe Carlos Marmol. I was almost going to add Alfonso Soriano but he has been too big of a bust the past few years to get an All Star spot.
Result: AL is gonna kick the NL’s ass.
So in summary here is who we are adding and deleting
Pudge for Molina
Uggla for Prado
Zimmerman for Infante
Furcal for Reyes
McCutchen for Bourn
Werth for Byrd
Marmol for Heyward
K-Rod for Meek
Wagner for Rhodes
Lindstrom for Capps
And here are my one team reps
ChiC: Marmol
Pitt: McCutchen
Hou: Lindstrom
Col: Jiminez
SF: Wilson
Az: Young
My Prediction: AL slugfest 12-2.
The main point I am trying to make is that too many times the All Star reserves are players that nobody has heard of and no one wants to watch. So after the fifth inning people turn the game off. If I picked the teams I would ensure that interesting players were selected as reserves. They would also have to have good stats to be worthy of the All Star selection. But right now the NL team has Omar Infante, Martin Prado, and Michael Bourn on it. I mean try to sell that! I feel bad for the companies paying for ad spots right before the inning when those three players are coming up.
So here are my picks for the 2010 NL All Star team. Selections for batters are based on stats of (AVG HR RBI OPS) and my own opinion on how interesting the player is for viewers. Pitchers are selected by ERA, Wins, and Saves, and again my secret potential viewership formula. Stats are through July 7th.
Catcher: Brian McCann, Ivan Rodriguez
Okay let’s get rid of Yadier Molina. He is hitting .229. McCann is a good choice for the starter (267 10 34 830). Molina’s OPS is 614. If we divide that in two that’s an OBP and a SLG of 307 each. I had batter stats than those in T-Ball. My backup catcher is Pudge Rodriguez. He;s currently hitting .299 and more importantly people will watch him play. Plus can’t you just see him swinging in the dirt and connecting on a curveball and getting that game winning base hit to the opposite field right over the second baseman’s glove. I can.
First Base: Albert Pujols, Joey Votto, Ryan Howard, Adrian Gonzalez, Adam Dunn
Pujols is definitely the starter. And before you say why are there 5 first baseman remember the NL doesn’t have a DH. So Howard can be the starting DH and Adam Dunn can play the outfield if we need him to. But how can Joey Votto not be on this team already. His stats are (313 21 59 1006). He has the third highest OPS in all of baseball, and his stats are better than Pujols. He’s not an icon like Pujols and Howard yet but he’s well known and should be on this team. Dunn deserves a spot too. His stats are (.280 20 54 939). I’ll keep him on the bench until I need a pinch hit HR. Gonzalez is a solid choice and makes my team just like the real team and can play 1B right after Pujols’s shift.
Second Base: Brandon Phillips, Dan Uggla
Chase Utley would be my starter if he were healthy but Martin Prado? Really? Where is Dan Uggla? His stats are (285 16 49 863) Plus don’t you want to see him strike out four times again and make a costly error like last year. I know Tim McCarver does. Seriously how many times would McCarver bring that up? I say 10. You could play a drinking game on it and get seriously wasted. Phillips is a good choice and would start on my team. He’s well known and has good stats (307 12 30 855) and he has 10 steals.
Third Base: David Wright, Scott Rolen, Ryan Zimmerman
Another poor choice by MLB. Omar Infante? They should have just suited up Omar Vizquel and talked about the lost art of defense and run prevention and all that crap. I think Vizquel is on AL team but they wouldn’t mind the one day rental. Seriously though how can Ryan Zimmerman not be on this team? His stats are (296 16 47 917) while Infante’s are (307 1 22 706). Another high OPS pick by the NL! Look out for that inning when Jose Reyes is sitting on third base with one out as the tying run and Yadier Molina and Omar Infante come up. And how is Omar Infante a third baseman when the Braves have Chipper Jones? Something doesn’t make sense. Prado is their second baseman, Troy Glaus plays first base and Yunel Escobar is their shortstop. What position is Infante the 10th fielder like in softball?
Shortstop: Hanley Ramirez, Rafeal Furcal
Ramirez is my starter but I’ll take Furcal over Reyes and here is why. Reyes’s OBP is .320. His OPS is .735. Furcal’s numbers are .377 and .874. An .874 OBP for a non power hitting shortstop. Hanley Ramirez’s OPS is .865. Troy Tulowiski’s is .877. Furcal has the second highest OPS of all shortstops in the NL with over 200 at bats. Wow I am good. I should work for ESPN research or something. Seriously why can’t Jose Reyes just take a walk. He is faster than Usain Bolt, but he wont take a walk and then steal 2 bases. The guy probably swings at Intentional Walks.
Outfield: Andre Ethier, Matt Holliday, Ryan Braun, Andrew McCutchen, Jason Werth, Corey Hart, Chris Young
This position is harder than you’d think. There are just so many crappy teams in the NL right now. The one player reps almost have to all be outfielders. So that explains Chris Young. There is no other explanation for him and I am not going to waste further time talking about him or the Diamondbacks. My starters would be Etheir, Bruan, and Holliday. Jason Heyward just isn’t there yet. His average is .251, that’s not All Star material yet. My other reserves are Werth, McCutchen, and Hart. McCutchen is the Pirates rep and is also future star that is already well known. His stats are (294 7 24 812) and he has 20 steals, so hes good to use as a pinch runner. Werth’s stats are (279 13 48 883) and he has really good hair and facial hair. There should be a camera on him all the time. I’ll keep Corey Hart but I’m not a big fan of him. He does have good stats though at (285 19 61 908) and he has made the team once before. I got rid of Michael Bourn and Marlon Byrd because they are not that popular and I am representing their teams with relief pitchers. Michael Bourn should change his name to Jason and he will make the team every year.
Starting Pitchers: Josh Johnson, Adam Wainwright, Ubaldo Jiminez, Roy Halladay, Tim Hudson, Chris Carpenter
Pretty close to the real squad. I’ve got Tim Lincecum as my 35th man below so don’t worry he is on the team. I’m biased towards players with his first name. Gallardo is on the real DL now so he is off my team. I’m sorry but if you are on the DL you should not get recognition for being an All Star. I think the real team is up to like 70 players right now.
Relief Pitchers: Heath Bell, Brian Wilson, Francisco Rodriguez, Billy Wagner, Jonathan Broxton, Carlos Marmol, Matt Lindstrom
Wow looks at MLB’s NL relievers. Arhtur Rhodes and Evan Meek. That’s just awful. So lets say Jonathon Broxton gets a head cold the day of the game, who’s your NL closer NL? Matt Capps or Brian Wilson. Game over AL wins right there. AL is going to win be a lot anyway but at least my team has better relievers. Heath Bell took over for Gallardo on the real team, and I’ll add K-Rod, Wagner, Marmol, and Lindstrom. Marmol and Lindstrom take the spots of Bourn and Byrd because I like having relievers as I explained in the AL post. These relievers all have good stats just take my word for it. Sub 3.00 ERA’s and a lot of saves so far. And they are pretty well known which is good enough for a relief pitcher. Plus they are all better than Arthur Rhodes and Evan Meek. Really MLB?
Last Spot: Tim Lincecum. Only because I pulled Chris Carpenter’s name off the stats sheet before Tim. They both have 3.16 ERA’s as of today but C is before L in the alphabet. Both deserve to be there and you just can’t have an All Star game without Tim Lincecum. Special rule even if his ERA was twelve something. He should just pitch the whole game against Cliff Lee. That would be something I would stay up for.
So not too bad on the NL. It’s tougher because there are more teams but there is no DH so that helps. Players that really don’t deserve it are Chris Young and Matt Lindstrom, and maybe Carlos Marmol. I was almost going to add Alfonso Soriano but he has been too big of a bust the past few years to get an All Star spot.
Result: AL is gonna kick the NL’s ass.
So in summary here is who we are adding and deleting
Pudge for Molina
Uggla for Prado
Zimmerman for Infante
Furcal for Reyes
McCutchen for Bourn
Werth for Byrd
Marmol for Heyward
K-Rod for Meek
Wagner for Rhodes
Lindstrom for Capps
And here are my one team reps
ChiC: Marmol
Pitt: McCutchen
Hou: Lindstrom
Col: Jiminez
SF: Wilson
Az: Young
My Prediction: AL slugfest 12-2.
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