by Steven Fernandez
Daily Lobo
The 2006 Major League Baseball All-Star game went down as one of the best All-Star games I have ever seen, and not just because the American League rallied to win 3-2.
Sure, I'm psyched that the Boston Red Sox will now have home-field advantage if and when they advance to the World Series - thanks to the outcome of Tuesday night's game. However, it also turned out to be a surprisingly exciting game both on and off the field. I have too many scattered thoughts to write a normal column, so here are five random thoughts after watching the game.
5 - In Monday night's Home Run Derby, which was also quite a show, there was one glaring hole: Albert Pujols was somehow not involved. How could this have happened? The same guy who leads the National League with 29 home runs didn't participate, really? Because of that omission, we never got to hear Chris Berman yell, "Back, back, back, gone! A deep shot by Albert Winnie the Pujols!" Was anyone else deeply hurt this moment didn't happen?
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4 - If my hopes of the Red Sox winning the World Series this season come true, how ironic would it be that New York Yankee closer Mariano Rivera was the pitcher to shut the door on the National League? George Steinbrenner would either spontaneously combust or overpay for a Red Sox player by about $30 million next season.
3 - Speaking of the Red Sox, how cool is David Ortiz? I even know a few Yankee fans who have a hard time rooting against him. He leads the majors with 31 home runs and absolutely crushed some pitches in the derby, and you know he isn't using steroids to do it. Sure, he probably eats an elk or two before every inning to beef up, but at least it's not HGH. It's a good thing Ortiz found a career as a baseball player, otherwise he might be somewhere wiping out populations of wild animals.
2 - Sports announcers can be just plain aggravating at times. During the broadcast, Fox's Tim Carver decided to butcher the name of National League pitcher Brian Fuentes. After co-worker Joe Buck introduced Fuentes, Carver called him "Fuente" about 17 times in two minutes. Who decides to just take a letter out of someone's name? Did Carver somehow feel smarter by pronouncing his name differently? I was so mad at Carver that I took a swing at my television. Unfortunately, the television won, and I've been typing this whole column solely with my left hand.
1 - After blowing a lead in the top of the ninth with two outs, the National League is officially owned by the American League. The National League has now failed to win an All-Star game for six years, and it has lost six of the last nine World Series. Why don't they just give up and realize they need to add the designated hitter to the lineup like the American League? Sure, it's somewhat humorous to watch the National League. Pitchers hit a home run once every seven years, and then happily skip around the bases before sprinting to the dugout and jumping up and down on the bench Tom Cruise-style - but that's about the only upside. The National League just sucks, period. Stop playing boring baseball, add the DH and join the rest of the big boys, please.
