Wizards of Aaaahs: St. Louis Icons Ease Pain of Another NL All-Star Defeat

Eight beautiful Clydesdales powerfully paraded around the field that was supposed to be draped in St. Louis Cardinals red carpet. It was a grand opening of dignity and honor, reminiscent of the man of the hour that was to take the field before any of the other Major League Baseball All-Stars Tuesday evening.

No, President Barack Obama wasn’t the guy the crowd was looking for as he accepted a baseball from Stan Musial, trotted out to the Busch Stadium mound to cameras flashing and fans hollering, and lobbed the ceremonial first pitch toward the plate.

It was the guy who caught the ball that was supposed to have the first, and last, laugh.

Mr. President graced the rubber, his hometown Chicago White Sox jacket zipped closed with stealth Kevlar strapped snuggly underneath, and threw the pitch to a crouching Albert Pujols (a pitch the TV audience didn’t get to see until innings later thanks to the Fox camera work), who scooped it up and jogged to meet the President for a hug, glove in one hand, cap in the other.

If St. Louis had to vote on one thing to happen in this All-Star Game, it most certainly would have been to see Pujols knock one out of the park and put on a great display before collecting his MVP award.

One 0-for-3 night later, it didn’t happen.

But that doesn’t mean that the Cardinals weren’t well represented; it was just another legend’s legacy that was celebrated. Ozzie “The Wizard” Smith was part of the pre-game ceremonies as he joined other Cardinals greats on the field, donning a fiery red blazer that officially stands as the only thing brighter than his playing career.

Smith collected 2,460 hits during his career, but it was the brilliance with his glove at shortstop that led him to baseball’s Hall Of Fame. A Gold Glove winner for 13 consecutive seasons and a 15-time All-Star, Ozzie should be impressed by this year’s batch of All-Stars, because great glove work is what we got.

While most All-Star games typically hit a rut in the middle innings and tend to drag on, this show gave us the opposite, as the American League won its 13th consecutive All-Star Game by beating the National League 4-3 in a swift two hours and 31 minutes.

The AL got on the board quickly by dropping two on reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum in the top of the first inning, with one of the runs scoring on a Pujols error. Lincecum, making the first All-Star Game appearance of his career, didn’t overpower the way many of us thought he would in his brief two innings.

“To be honest with you, I was feeling a lot of nerves out there, first All-Star Game, just a lot to take in,” said Lincecum.

Pujols’ botched groundball in the first did not overshadow the rest of his night in the field, as he made two outstanding diving grabs on groundballs hit by Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira, both of which clearly remind us why he’s the best player in the game today. Combine the defense with the offense, and the total package is historic and unparalleled. You felt that by watching him represent Major League Baseball on this night.

“It was great. You put it all together, hosting the All-Star Game here in the place that you play with the fans and everybody, and a special presence by the president,” said Pujols. “It was almost getting to the point where I got a little bit emotional.”

That was only the beginning. Toronto’s Aaron Hill scooped up a couple of hot shots at second base while playing behind teammate and AL starter Roy Halladay, who allowed two earned runs in two innings. Tampa Bay’s Jason Bartlett showed off his soft hands at shortstop.

Texas’ Michael Young, filling in at third base for the injured Evan Longoria, gracefully dug out a smashing one-hopper hit by Pujols in his first at-bat. Jayson Werth of the Phillies made a stellar grab in center field, as he tracked down Justin Morneau’s drive off of the Mets’ Francisco Rodriguez to record the final out of the top of the ninth.

But the best was saved for the acrobatic Carl Crawford. With the score tied at 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Colorado’s Brad Hawpe sent a Jonathan Papelbon fastball sailing high towards the left field fence. Crawford, a man known for speed and highlight reels, drifted back onto the warning track, found the fence, and leapt up to pick the ball off of the top of the fence, allowing Papelbon to exhale.

“It was definitely probably the best catch I ever made,” said Crawford, who also went 1-for-3 and was named the MVP. “I didn’t think it was going to carry that far, but it carried, and I just had to find the wall, make the adjustment, and make the play on it.”

After Detroit’s Curtis Granderson tripled in the top of the eighth and Baltimore’s Adam Jones drove a Heath Bell fastball to right to score Granderson on a sacrifice fly and give the AL a 4-3 lead, Joe Maddon’s club relied on two of the best to close it down.

First was Joe Nathan of the Minnesota Twins, who recorded two quick outs before walking Adrian Gonzalez and allowing a single to Orlando Hudson, setting up the at-bat of the night. Hudson stole second to put runners on second and third with Ryan Howard at the plate. But after pounding Howard inside with fastballs, Nathan broke off a filthy slider in the dirt and got Howard chasing to end the inning.

It was another 1-2-3 ninth inning for Mariano Rivera and another record. With the save, Rivera passed Dennis Eckersley as the all-time All-Star Game saves leader with four. It doesn’t quite have the same ring as 500 career saves or a sub-1.00 career postseason ERA, but it's a record nonetheless.

That was the kind of night it was in St. Louis. Thousands of fans packed the ballpark to see Albert Pujols’ bat, and what they got treated to was his glove. Millions of viewers tuned in to see if Pujols could launch a hanging breaking ball into the red-drenched seats, and what we got was a dose of power fastballs and quick outs.

This All-Star Game might not have had the same historic meaning as last year’s did in the final year of the old Yankee Stadium, but we didn’t have anything less to celebrate. For years, we have been spoon-fed power displays that could rival any Fourth of July fireworks show. It was fun, it was entertaining, but it wasn’t how baseball was meant to be played.

This game right here in Busch Stadium, this night right here in St. Louis, represented the return of baseball to its original roots. Pitching, defense, and timely hitting wins ball games. The Bash Bros. don’t win the close ones. Tough bullpens do.

That is what we got on baseball’s summer stage.

So as the game is moved away from the detriment of steroids and scandal, we got the chance to applaud the game’s alpha dog in Pujols, a guy who marvels in performance but wins with his words.

He recently took a public stand against his tainted era and invited the game and its fans to hang their hearts on him. In this time of transition, the All-Star Game gave us a sneak peek of the style of game we will come to know and love.

And even if he was meant to remain invisible in the background of Pujols’ parade, The Wizard would be proud on both counts.

You can reach Teddy Mitrosilis at [e-mail].