All-Star Shellacking
The All-Star Game is looking to be another borefest this year, with the National League coming up far short in its attempts to win its first game since 1996.
To be sure, the senior circuit has better pitching, with Roger Clemens sporting an ERA under 2, and Dontrelle Willis at 2.04. But rest assured that if Clemens starts, Mike Piazza will again be telling the AL hitters what to expect, as revenge for the 2000 beaning. Nobody aside from Piazza himself will ever convince me that he didn’t do that last year, and that he won’t do it again.
The starting lineups, on the other hand, are another story completely. Only three NL starters are hitting above .300; only two AL starters are hitting BELOW .300, and they have 42 homers between them. There are six players on the AL bench that arguably are having better years than the NL starters: Ivan Rodriguez is hitting 30 points higher than Mike Piazza, Alfonso Soriano has five more homers than Jeff Kent, Michael Young is besting David Eckstein in pretty much every offensive category, Melvin Mora has more than double Scott Rolen’s RBI total , nearly triple his homers, and is hitting 50 points higher than Rolen. Garrett Anderson, Gary Sheffield, and Ichiro Suzuki are all having better years than Carlos Beltran and his .262 average. Even Jim Edmonds (.283) would have a hard time displacing one of those three.
The AL pitching isn’t so terrible either. Mark Buehrle, Roy Halladay, and Kenny “KO” Rogers all have ERAs under three, and Mariano Rivera has been his usual unhittable self.
With a matchup this seemingly lackluster, some genius at major league baseball decided that this year’s marketing campaign would compare baseball to the fast-paced action of pinball. Why? Because that’s sure to bring in the younger audience that baseball so desperately seeks? Because those Spiderman logos on the bases were so successful?
Get real. Pinball! Pinball was already obsolete when Bud Selig was a young’un. Most people under 30 have never seen a pinball machine. Pinball is about as up to date as the Princess phone, the Rubik’s cube, and tailfins. It’s not retro hip, it’s just old.
If baseball were paying attention to what’s going on, they’d compare Brian Roberts’ base-stealing ability with Grand Theft Auto. It would show video of Gary Sheffield getting into fights with fans. It would show J.D. Drew getting injured on a pitch he swung at.
Baseball is not about fireworks. The best games are the ones in which strategy, guts, and risk-taking win the game, not a bunch of bombs. Perhaps that’s too much to expect from a general public that prefers the mindless collisions of football or the tiresome repetitive scoring of basketball.
But pinball! Come on! Whoever made that decision must have been on steroids.
To be sure, the senior circuit has better pitching, with Roger Clemens sporting an ERA under 2, and Dontrelle Willis at 2.04. But rest assured that if Clemens starts, Mike Piazza will again be telling the AL hitters what to expect, as revenge for the 2000 beaning. Nobody aside from Piazza himself will ever convince me that he didn’t do that last year, and that he won’t do it again.
The starting lineups, on the other hand, are another story completely. Only three NL starters are hitting above .300; only two AL starters are hitting BELOW .300, and they have 42 homers between them. There are six players on the AL bench that arguably are having better years than the NL starters: Ivan Rodriguez is hitting 30 points higher than Mike Piazza, Alfonso Soriano has five more homers than Jeff Kent, Michael Young is besting David Eckstein in pretty much every offensive category, Melvin Mora has more than double Scott Rolen’s RBI total , nearly triple his homers, and is hitting 50 points higher than Rolen. Garrett Anderson, Gary Sheffield, and Ichiro Suzuki are all having better years than Carlos Beltran and his .262 average. Even Jim Edmonds (.283) would have a hard time displacing one of those three.
The AL pitching isn’t so terrible either. Mark Buehrle, Roy Halladay, and Kenny “KO” Rogers all have ERAs under three, and Mariano Rivera has been his usual unhittable self.
With a matchup this seemingly lackluster, some genius at major league baseball decided that this year’s marketing campaign would compare baseball to the fast-paced action of pinball. Why? Because that’s sure to bring in the younger audience that baseball so desperately seeks? Because those Spiderman logos on the bases were so successful?
Get real. Pinball! Pinball was already obsolete when Bud Selig was a young’un. Most people under 30 have never seen a pinball machine. Pinball is about as up to date as the Princess phone, the Rubik’s cube, and tailfins. It’s not retro hip, it’s just old.
If baseball were paying attention to what’s going on, they’d compare Brian Roberts’ base-stealing ability with Grand Theft Auto. It would show video of Gary Sheffield getting into fights with fans. It would show J.D. Drew getting injured on a pitch he swung at.
Baseball is not about fireworks. The best games are the ones in which strategy, guts, and risk-taking win the game, not a bunch of bombs. Perhaps that’s too much to expect from a general public that prefers the mindless collisions of football or the tiresome repetitive scoring of basketball.
But pinball! Come on! Whoever made that decision must have been on steroids.
posted by John Rosenthal @ 12:07 PM
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