Before the All Star Game, I wrote a list of eight things I'd like to see at the game. Let's see how many of my wishes came true.
1. A Bobby Murcer tribute. I think this is a given. He passed away just three days before the ASG, and considering it's being played at the place he called home for so long, it'd be blasphemous if they don't give him some sort of tribute.
In the eleventh, Buck and McCarver touched on it. I didn't see any sort of tribute on behalf of the Yankees, so I was extremely disappointed. And the fact that it took extra innings to get even a conversation among the broadcasters is awful.
(UPDATE: I later found out that they did mention Murcer during the second inning. Don't know why Buck and McCarver took so long to mention it, though.)
What if the game had ended in regulation? Come on, he was a long-time Yankee, and the game is at the Stadium. Not even a mention? For all I know, there was something on the big screen before the game, but I had hoped for a brief mention during the pre-game ceremonies.
2. A shower of boos for every Red Sox player, especially Jason Varitek. I'm positive the hometown crowd will not give these guys a warm welcome, but Jason Varitek deserves the most resounding jeers of all. He does not deserve to be anywhere near the ASG, and I hope he'd be booed no matter where the game was played.
First of all, I'd like to mention that I was lambasted on Bleacher Report for suggesting this. But I stand by it. It's baseball, a game for fans. Players in their rivals' stadium should be booed.
That said, when the players were initially announced, the jeers were pretty weak. But Papelbon got blasted when he came in, and got it even worse when he allowed the go-ahead run. This was well-deserved, as he had slighted Mariano Rivera before the game. And Varitek got it good, too. I guess I got this one, but I'm really not surprised.
3. A home plate collision featuring AL catcher Dioner Navarro. I'd love to see Team Sunshine skipper Joe Maddon whine and moan about this latest "attempted murder." If only Akinori Iwamura was playing second so Maddon could complain that the NLers are morally corrupt psychopaths picking on the little guy.
Sort of. In the eleventh, Navarro was involved in a mini-collision... except he was the one running. This came after a B.S. caught stealing call that, if called correctly, would have won the game for the AL. And then Navarro, the winning run, got gunned down at the plate. Not the collision I had hoped for. (And for the record, I never said I wanted Navarro hurt. I just wanted to see Maddon's reaction to a hard slide.)
4. A dumbass move by Manny Ramirez, resulting in dangerous objects flying forth from the bleachers. In other words, Manny being pummeled.
Well, I didn't honestly expect the bleacher creatures to attack Manny. But I would have loved to see their reaction after a typical Manny move. Too bad he didn't do one.
4 comments Last one added 11 months ago — Leave a Comment
Matt Breen 11 months ago
Was the Red Sox All Star game or what? Wow go Red Sox.
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FenWest 11 months ago
Regarding Papelbon: Oh come now. That go ahead run made it in because of Navarro's throwing error, and Papelbon /did not/ disrespect Rivera at any time. He said that, being a competetive guy, of course he wanted to close, but that he understood and agreed that Rivera ought to. He also referred to Rivera the Godfather of Closers, and made clear his respect fro the man. And for this he gets blasted in the tabloids, booed like no tomorrow during the game, and his pregnant wife gets death threats on the red carpet? Thanks for that one, New York.
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greyhound1954 11 months ago
Aaron Cook should have been named MVP, even though the NL lost. His Houdini act bailed out Dan Uggla, and I'm sure the entire viewing audience expected the game to end in that half inning.
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Jersey 11 months ago
I actually told my friend that if the NL won, Cook should get it, even though when I said that, Cook was already out of the game. He was really impressive. Thing is, Drew was also very good, and it's very hard to give the MVP to a member of the losing team.
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