MLB All Star Game

25 Thoughts and Observations on May

1. To call this season "'68 redux" may be doing it a disservice. After all, only one perfect game was thrown that year; we saw two this past month. I suppose A-Rod can't question Dallas Braden's credentials any more. As for Halladay, nothing he does surprises me. Every time he takes the mound, we're truly witnessing greatness.

2. His first name could be Bob or Tom, and America would still know Ubaldo Jimenez's name after the month he just had. He started May with an ERA of 0.79, and ends it at 0.78.

I like to do this thing every year called the MLB Non-Star team.

And it seems as if every year, my criteria and make-up for the team changes slightly.

There remains one constant, though.

Pick players who didn't make the All-Star team.

In this case, I'm picking players who didn't make my own All-Star team.

Each July we celebrate and commemorate baseball's greatest over three select nights, remembering the greats of America's national pastime. Those celebrated are not only today's All-Stars, but the stars of tomorrow, and the stars of yesteryear.

During this timespan, all cities across the nation send forth their best players to join together for one night only to compete in the All Star Game. Fans choose representatives as the players from each league join together in hopes of gaining the home field advantage in the World Series

The All-Star game arrives tomorrow, and tonight is the Home Run Derby. It’s a much-maligned three or four days without regular season games.

I’ve written an article about how exciting the All-Star break can be, and there are some points this year that I’d like to add.

Over the last two decades, the Major League Baseball All-Star Game has transitioned from being simply a game to being a multi-day extravaganza where the game itself is simply one component. For that reason, the game has at times seemed to be anti-climatic, but has still produced some great memories.

After the National League dominated the competition throughout the 1960s and 1970s, including a stretch of 19 victories in 20 games, the rolls have completely reversed in recent years.

A's fans like myself really appreciate Andrew Bailey.

The rookie righthander has emerged from obscurity to become one of the best relievers in baseball this season. Using a devastating cutter/curveball combo, Bailey has carved up the American League with a 2.67 FIP.

That said, Bailey's not the best reliever on the team. And the guy better than him doesn't get nearly as much recognition.

Michael Wuertz has been the best reliever on the A's.

I know Bailey's got the saves and the flashier ERA, but bear with me.

As I sat at my computer anxiously awaiting Charlie Manuel's decisions on this year's National League pitching staff, I wondered whether or not the Phillies' skipper thought Josh Johnson would make the team. 

Would Javier Vazquez sneak in?  Who would he choose as the last relief pitcher?  One wonder that I did not think I had to consider was whether or not Yovani Gallardo, Milwaukee's ace, would be on this year's team. 

Here are a few thoughts that I had during the All-Star selection:

[11:59]

 Waiting for the All-Star selection show to start, flipping between the epic Wimbledon battle and TBS.

[12:01]

Wow. Boomer got skinnier, not skinny, just less fat. But who cares about David Wells highlights? Get to the selecting. How does Ernie Johnson have a job? Oh yeah, Daddy.

[12:03]

In 1933 at the World's Fair in Chicago, an event was held at Comiskey Park. The best of the best from all across the American League and National League gathered for an unprecedented exhibition game...an All Star Game. 

The result was a sweeping success that it became part of the baseball season each year, scheduled for midsummer. 

The Midsummer Classic provided fans a unique opportunity to see the best and brightest from either league competing against one another, an opportunity that could only have taken place in the World Series.