Pitch Hand Was Way Strong

In what was essentially the exact opposite of the Home Run Derby the night before, the National League topped the American League by a score of 3-1, in the 2010 All-Star Game. However, if you take away one enormously clutch double (by Brian McCann in the seventh inning with two outs and the bases loaded), the A.L. wins a nail biter, 1-0. If you also take away a lazy fly ball out by Robinson Cano in the fifth inning, we might still be watching baseball right now.

Ubaldo Jimenez and Josh Johnson made most of the A.L. lineup look silly, while Elvis Andrus made himself look silly, in what might have been the most "rookie-est" of base running blunders in All-Star Game history (seen below). Since the National League doesn't have nearly the the amount of big hitters as the American League, one can only wonder: is it a coincidence that the N.L. won what was such a low scoring game? A defense heavy game clearly favors the National League Players, and in the lowest scoring All-Star Game since 1990, the N.L. seemed to dominant for most of the game. The previous thirteen years (when the American League had gone 12-0-1), scoring average just over 9.5 runs per game. It seems obvious that the more scoring that takes place, the more of a chance the A.L. seems to have.

I hate second guessing a manger, especially when he is the regular manager of my team, but why wasn't Alex Rodriguez running for David Ortiz in the ninth inning? I know there might have been some position issues, but it could have been figured out. So what if A-Rod has to play first base for an inning or two, there wasn't any guarantee that there would have had to be extra innings even if Alex had scored. Remember, this is an event that has seen Rodriguez himself insist that Cal Ripken Jr. play shortstop for an inning, once they were already out on the field, and John Kruk bat against Randy Johnson with his batting helmet on backwards. Interesting and unusual things are supposed to happen, this is the All-Star Game. Regardless, when it comes down to it: I think the fans would rather see (and pay to see!) a high scoring game, not a collaborative pitchers duel. No wonder it was the lowest television ratings ever for an All-Star Game.