NOW that's an All-Star Game. The "purists" no doubt hated it. Perfect game to
remind us it’s about funAll those runs scored, you know. No time to sit back and contemplate the greater sociological meaning of the game and all that other stuff phony baloney literary types like to wax about so eloquently.
I have to believe most baseball fans just sat back and enjoyed the ride. Lots of hittin' and runnin' and spittin' and funnin'.
And isn't that what the game is supposed to be about anyway?
I mean, really, who wants to draw parallels between baseball and the non-life of some sophisticated goomba sitting next to you at the park with a necktie on. There oughtta be a law. Wear a tie, you don't get in. At the very least, you should be allowed to "accidentally" get a little mustard on the guy's starched white shirt.
Huh? Maybe a little sauerkraut, too, just for fun?
Yeah, last night's game had it all. The biggest home run is hit buy a guy who hasn't even cracked double-figures in four-baggers during a year when even Bob Uecker could be "on pace to hit six."
Mark McGwire? Roger Clemens has been getting him out working that fastball in on the hands early in the count and then keeping it away, away, away for years. It was a beautiful thing to watch. See ya!
Barry Bonds jacks a three-run homer. Junior Griffey gets a couple of hits, drives in a run and muffs a routine single into an extra base for Chipper Jones. Cal Ripken gets in the act, driving in a couple runs with a key double. Devon White goes 3-for-3 and the Diamondbacks are batting 1.000 as a team. The American League, scoffed at for years for playing too much base-to-base ball, steals five bases. The NL swipes a donut.
And to top it all off, Paul O'Neill throws a strike from left field to home plate to nail Fernando Viña, who was trying to score from second on a single by White.
Poor Viña never had a chance. He was cabbage the minute third base coach Rich Donnelly waved him in instead of holding him at third. Had Viña been held Andres Galarraga would have come up with the bases loaded and nobody out.
It wasn't as bad as when Moose Stubbing waved home Bobby Grich during the playoffs a few years back, but it was close. Let's hope Donnelly doesn't end up reffing WAC basketball games next year. But I digress.
The NL, instead, gets runners at first and second with one out. Galarraga grounds into a double play and the inning is over.
And so is the game, pretty much.
Have you caught all the recent references to baseball's "renaissance?"
There sure has been a lot of talk about the reasons behind it. The chase by three players to break Roger Maris' single-season home run record gets a lot of the credit from many corners.
More decency by the players is another explanation.
Both of those are legitimate reasons, but most important is that baseball is just plain fun.
At most parks, you can still get in for about the price of a movie ticket. You might not get to sit right down by the field during the game, but if you show up early enough you can watch batting practice from the suit seats. Believe me, seeing Mark McGwire or Ken Griffey Jr. take BP is worth the price of admission.
The games are a blast. Teams are scoring runs like crazy and young studs like Kerry Wood are whiffing guys right and left.
The three-division set-up and wild-card spots have let more teams in on the fun and the leagues are actually playing games against each other during the regular season.
It's enough to make a purist cringe.
Ain't it great?
