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Photo by Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER It's the NL vs. the AL tonight in the Midsummer Classic from Chase Field. |
The NL, which finally snapped a string of 13 consecutive non-winning seasons last summer, will be going for its second straight victory. That would ensure home-field advantage for the World Series (not the representatives of the Padres, Astros, Cubs and Marlins care at all about that right now).
One new wrinkle to the game this season: The DH is being used in a National League park. Though there remains tons of support for traditional NL rules during the regular season (and even the postseason), there doesn't seem to be much reason for pitchers to hit in the All-Star Game.
I'm posting this early because I've got several events to attend this morning/afternoon, including Commissioner Bud Selig's annual session with the Baseball Writers' Association of America. I'll have a posting on that later today, and I'll have live updates throughout the game this evening right here...
2011 MLB ALL-STAR GAME
Where: Chase Field
Gametime: 8:20 p.m.
TV: Fox
Radio: ESPN-980 AM, XM 176
Weather: Dome (Outside: Mostly sunny, 101 degrees)
STARTING LINEUPS7:30 p.m. -- I've bumped this post back up to the top of the homepage, but please feel free to continue the discussion about Bud Selig's comments today on that posting, which you can now find right below this one.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
CF Curtis Granderson, NYY
SS Asdrubal Cabrera, Cle
1B Adrian Gonzalez, Bos
RF Jose Bautista, Tor
LF Josh Hamilton, Tex
3B Adrian Beltre, Tex
DH David Ortiz, Bos
2B Robinson Cano, NYY
C Alex Avila, Det
(P Jared Weaver, LAA)
NATIONAL LEAGUE
2B Rickie Weeks, Mil
DH Carlos Beltran, NYM
CF Matt Kemp, LAD
1B Prince Fielder, Mil
C Brian McCann, Atl
RF Lance Berkman, StL
LF Matt Holliday, StL
SS Troy Tulowitzki, Col
3B Scott Rolen, Cin
(P Roy Halladay, Phi)
8:13 p.m. -- I know it takes forever, but to me there's still nothing cooler than the introduction of the All-Star players. Everyone gets their moment in the sun. Also love that everyone wears their regular uniforms, not a special All-Star jersey.
8:31 p.m. -- Some touching moments during the pregame ceremonies, none more so than the family of Christina Taylor Green, the young girl killed during the shooting in Tucson earlier this year. Green, of course, was the granddaughter of longtime manager Dallas Green, and the entire family is well-known in the baseball world. They didn't show this on TV, but the ceremonial first pitches were thrown by longtime announcer Joe Garagiola (who still calls a few Diamondbacks games) and Daniel Hernandez (the congressional intern who is credited with helping save Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' life during that shooting). Very nice moments.
8:38 p.m. -- And now, at last, let's Play Ball! Curtis Granderson swings at Roy Halladay's first-pitch fastball and grounds out to first base, amid a flurry of lightbulb flashes.
8:41 p.m. -- Well, that didn't take long. Halladay dispatched of the American Leaguers in all of nine pitches, getting a pair of groundballs to first and striking out Asdrubal Cabrera.
8:48 p.m. -- And Jered Weaver chimes in with his own scoreless first inning, though he did issue a two-out walk to Matt Kemp. He also uncorked a very Clippard-esque changeup to strike out Carlos Beltran. Seventy-six mph, at the letters, and Beltran swung right through it. We've seen Tyler do that a few times. Scoreless here after one.
8:55 p.m. -- Another 1-2-3 inning for Halladay, who's work is probably done. Faced six total batters in two innings, retiring all six and striking out one. Threw 14 of his 19 pitches for strikes.
8:57 p.m. -- Wow, we've got an All-Star Game injury! Josh Beckett tried to warm up to pitch the bottom of the second, but he departed after experiencing soreness in his knee. David Robertson will pitch instead, and he'll be allowed as much time as he needs to warm up.
9:05 p.m. -- Interesting bottom of the second there. After Robertson was warm, Brian McCann launched a foul ball just shy of the right-field pole, only to have Jose Bautista make a spectacular, sliding catch, slamming into the wall as he did it. After Lance Berkman singled, he surprisingly took off for second base on a called third strike to Matt Holliday. Berkman actually beat the throw to second, but his awkward slide left him off the base for a split-second and Robinson Cano kept the tag on to complete a strange, inning-ending double play.
9:13 p.m. -- And a 1-2-3 inning from Cliff Lee, all three outs on groundballs. Anyone surprised by this?
9:20 p.m. -- World, meet Michael Pineda. Good luck hitting THAT. Wow, is the Mariners' big, rookie right-hander a handful, or what? Just mowed down Troy Tulowitzki, Scott Rolen and Rickie Weeks, striking out the last two. It's scoreless through three. Why do I have a feeling this could be a recurring theme all night?
9:26 p.m. -- Or maybe not. Adrian Gonzalez, picking up right where he left off in the Home Run Derby last night, crushes an 0-1 pitch from Lee into the pool area behind the right-center field fence. The AL takes a 1-0 lead. And as I type that, Tyler Clippard has begun warming in the NL bullpen.
9:29 p.m. -- And here comes Clippard to face Adrian Beltre with two on and two out in the fourth. Of course he HAD to come in with runners on base!
9:34 p.m. -- Well that was eventful. Clippard got ahead of Beltre, but then served up a sharp single to left on the 0-2 fastball. Thankfully, Hunter Pence (who just entered in left) fired a bullet to the plate to nail Bautista. So, technically, I guess Clippard is credited with stranding two runners?
9:41 p.m. -- And now -- as only he could -- Clippard is in line to "vulture" the win. Prince Fielder crushes a three-run homer off left C.J. Wilson, putting the NL up 3-1. Long way to go, obviously, but Clip is now the pitcher of record. And remember who won last year's All-Star Game? Yep, Matt Capps.
9:52 p.m. -- Clayton Kershaw pitches the fifth inning for the NL and retires the side, with two more groundouts to first (what's with all those tonight?). NL maintains its 3-1 lead heading to the bottom of the fifth.
10:24 p.m. -- So, I just spent the last 20 minutes standing outside the NL clubhouse after an announcement was made in the press box that Clippard would be available for interviews. Except after that long wait, we were told he wouldn't be available until the game is over. So, I'm catching up on the game now. It's currently 4-1 NL after six innings, thanks to a fifth-inning RBI single from Andre Ethier.
10:39 p.m. -- The AL threatens to cut into the lead in the top of the seventh, putting two men on with two outs. But Braves reliever Craig Kimbrel enters to replace teammate Jair Jurrjens and gets Howie Kendrick to ground out. We've reached the seventh-inning stretch, the NL still leading 4-1 and Tyler Clippard still in line for the win.
10:54 p.m. -- Make it 5-1 NL after Pence advances two bases on Matt Wieters' passed ball -- oh, those Baltimore Orioles -- and then scores on Pablo Sandoval's ground-rule double to left. We are six outs away from a second straight National League victory and a second straight Nationals pitcher earning the win.
11:01 p.m. -- Whoa, Heath Bell sprints in from the bullpen and then does a pop-up slide into the mound! Todd Coffey: Your move. Let's see you top that!
11:12 p.m. -- Hmm, interesting ... Joel Hanrahan will start the ninth inning for the NL. Bruce Bochy had indicated his own Brian Wilson would be the guy. Either he's 1) giving Wilson a rest, 2) planning to bring him in after Hanrahan records an out or two, or 3) fully expecting Hanrahan to blow this and need bailing out. So we go to the ninth, the NL up 5-1 as NatsTown and Tyler Clippard await with baited breath.
11:13 p.m. -- OK, Wilson has picked up a ball, so he'll be the one to actually finish this game.
11:28 p.m. -- Ballgame. The National League wins its second straight All-Star game, 5-1 over the American League. And for the second straight year, a Nats reliever gets the win after facing only one batter. Matt Capps in 2010. Tyler Clippard in 2011. How about that?
118 comments:
Mark, I hope that you get $18 mill. salary worth of media interaction with Bud The Spud!
Kick Bud in the nuts for us.
Ask Bud if he is sure he chose the right owner for the Nationals. In addition, ask him why Mark Cuban wouldn't be good for baseball?
This is one of the worst lineups the NL has posted in years. For the AL, Cano bats 8th. Yikes!
I wouldn't be too surprised if it's a 12-2 blowout.
I can't get too excited about it. I heard Bochy on ESPN Radio say the NL's starters should get them through the 7th inning. He said he thought some pitchers may not get an appearance.
I'd like to see Clip throw about 5 pitches (after all, he'll be pumped and overthrow a high fastball), go 3-2 on Bautista, and strike him out on a change. One batter. That's enough work. We need him for the 2nd half.
When I was a kid I so enjoyed the all star game. Now its just three nights the Nats don't play and the answer to a cool trivia question...
What are the only two nights of the year that a NFL, MLB, NBA or NHL players aren't playing? The night before and after the all star game (and that fact may or not be correct!)
There's nothing in sports dumber than the the NFL Pro Bowl, but the MLB All-Star game comes close. (this year's motto, "let's invite everyone!". There's one All-Star for every 9 MLB roster spots).
Tim, yeah, the scenario you painted for Clippard would be great. But I'm not wasting 4.5 hours in front of the TV hoping to see it.
Hey; I'm just enjoying the break from the 1 run games.
You could always set the DVR, Sunderland, but I hear you. :-)
Me too Gumpy in Sunderland.
Jus' want to see Clip do his thing for whatever short assignment that he has. I'll take a Nats' game any time!
Home Run Derby is every day batting practice by any other name.
I did watch a very old clip, a few months ago, of Mantle and Killebrew going one on one over a 9 inning style affair. The Fat Kid won, and hit them higher and farther. Mantle was gracious enough to say that he was always in awe about Killebrew hitting HRs farther than he did.
Last year when Ryan Zimmerman didn't make it I chalked it up to a snub for a bad team being lucky to have 1 player (Matt Capps). This year the Nats have a good team like Pittsburgh and the Pirates get 3 guys and the Nats get just 1.
Certainly I take Jordan Zimmermann over Correia and as a homer I take Michael Morse over Andrew McCutchen and on Bochy's roster I take Danny Espinosa over Pablo Sandoval.
The Nats players got screwed this year worse than any other.
So I watch in protest tonight!
Next year our whole pitching staff will go!! And Zimm and Morse and Espi....
Why in the world is Bochy starting Beltran at DH? I'd use McCutchen and bat him first. He's the most dynamic offensive player in baseball right now (maybe tied with Jose Reyes).
Is anyone else scoring the game, or just me?
Speaking of Nats (well, P-Nats) baseball, got an email saying that Wang will have another rehab start tomorrow night in Woodbridge. I've got other plans but thought I'd post it in case somebody else might be free to go and interested. Also, it's evidently going to be Harry Potter night. Woop de woo. (Yeah, sorry, but I didn't read any of them.)
Sam, no, and I don't try to score Spring Training games, either. Too many switcheroos for my humble scorecard. :-)
Sam - I would go crazy trying to score it not to mention my Bob Carpenter Book really doesn't have that many spaces.
I realize we all want our hometown boys represented but I still believe we are better off having our guys resting than going through the flying, pr garbage, and then the actual game.
I am already getting excited about us winning two of the three away series we face starting Thursday.
Go Nats
I will most likely watch the game and hope NL wins. I can't stand AL teams and fans, except few people. I hope NL thoroughly beats AL so AL fans can shut up about how NL is inferior to AL which is clearly not the case.
NL lineup looks weak in comparison, but I am hoping NL pitching can make up for that.
NL Wins, we will see the most HRs in over twenty years.
Sam, I'm pretty sure you're not alone. They pay somebody to do that right at the park, I think.
and with all due respect to Mr. GrumpyTivo, this is one game featuring the best baseball players in the world. I don't miss these if I can.
anchovies--check.
pepperoni--check.
extra can of diet Barq'd--check.
phone in the other room--check.
Play ball.
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/not-about-jordan-zimmermann-innings-limits/
The National League is going to win because Barry Larkin says they have momentum from last year's win.
Really makes you wonder.
P. Cole said...
"Kick Bud in the nuts for us."
He doesn't have any.
I'm thinking Michael Cuddyer doesn't have a future in broadcasting.
Brian Wilson, OTOH, would be strictly cable.
Tonight we root for Roy as well as Fielder and co. Let's go NL.
I would like to see RZimm/Espi/Stras/
JZimnn/Ramos/Harper /Storen at an All Star game. And what would be really great is if Werth got in there as well!!!!
Yes, I know, I am a total homer with rose colored glasses
MicheleS, no Beast Morse?
I can't believe I am missing this game. Only relying on Mark Z's super skills now.
Joe Buck sounds like he swallowed some hot peppers and the commercialization is so obvious with the Taco Bell zingers and pics of stars of Fox shows.
gonat, now that you mention it, I did notice he sounded kind of hoarse on the pregame intro.
Commercial? Yeah, but when was it not?
I don't think *that one* is going to left, Tim...
HR, AGonz, off Lee.
1-0, Seniors.
Difficult chance, my grandmother's paisley shawl!! E-3 and circus music for Prince, all the way.
I don't care what game it is, I love seeing Lee get lit up -- OH and LOOK who's coming in...
Let's go Clip!
Get him Clip!
Hey BUCK pay attention !!!!
And Hunter Pence guns out Bautista! Wow!
Can the NL score a few, take the lead, and put Clip in position for a patented Vulture Win?
Man we get no respect at all Buck just rambled all over Clips appearance ....I thought he was going to read his laundry list .....the Nats get NO respect at all
This is a simple game. You catch the ball (cue clip of Bautista) ... you hit the ball (cue Gonzalez) ... you throw the ball (cue Pence).
You got that?
Attaboy, Clip!
Way to strand those inherited runners!
(Ha!)
That's probably the lamest way to record an out in an ASG but I will take it.
TClip!!!!! Way to strand those runners, sort of!
I'm guessing that the beer in Justin Timberlake's hand (by the sounds of his interview) wasn't his first....
CLIP HAS THE WIN !!!!!!!!
"So, technically, I guess Clippard is credited with stranding two runners?"
Not sure, since he did put one of them on, he wasn't inherited. Wasn't a Fielder's Choice (Fielder's choice would have been to have the second baseman get over and catch that popup.)
OH BUT THERE HE GOES! Prince, I take it all back!
Lame? An out at the plate is arguably the most exciting play in baseball!
That HR makes Clip the winning pitcher (if it stands, of course...)
Tyler Clippard with the win to follow up on Matt Capps.....
TimDZ, my thought exactly, although he was funny.
And I think Granderson might have had a shot at that if he'd jumped...
Anon 9:42, I meant as a pitcher in an All Star game, you would want to leave a better impression than getting saved by another teammate's perfect throw. Capps last year got the win by striking out Ortiz. Clippard is easily capable of doing better than that. Anyways, glad he got out of it and NL is winning right now.
Oh and I agree on play at the plate being one of the most exciting plays. I saw one in person when Seattle had a runner on 2nd in top of the ninth against Orioles with only one out remaining in a one run game. Of course Ichiro lined a base hit to LF but runner got thrown out at the plate. That is probably the best game I have ever been to in my life.
I like the way Bochy managing right now.
"Long way to go, obviously, but Clip is now the pitcher of record. And remember who won last year's All-Star Game? Yep, Matt Capps."
I told you we had momentum!
I love him, but if Clipp ends up with the win, it reinforces all that stuff I said in the Home Run Derby thread. It would be nice for him to get the "win," but it doesn't tell you how he did.
Is the Joe Buck-Tim McCarver team the most boring, low-key pair on TV? Joe sounds either like he's hung over or would rather be somewhere else.
By the way...
Nationals Prospects offers an educated guess on Peacock's replacement at AA Harrisburg. They suggest the Nats will remove Oliver Perez from the temporarily inactive list.
In six starts with Harrisburg Perez has a 2.48 ERA with 25 strikeouts and 5 walks.
Randy Tomlin turns oafs into fishes.
(Premature but...) Clip could be the winning pitcher with an opponents' batting average against of 1.000!
@Bzl.--Yeah, right?
Hey, Gonat, in case we needed more examples of why wins and losses don't necessary tell you much about a pitcher . . . let us present Tyler Clippard's performance tonight. (giving up a hit to every batter he faced ;-), and currently the winning pitcher of record)
You like throws? I got throws for you:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwKcCLTlFLs
The best throw I have seen on video is Ichiro throwing out Terrence Long
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQnV1hX-k7s
I can see this ten times every single day and not get tired of it. That truly was a laser beam.
NL is doing pretty well right now. Would have liked another inning from Kershaw so Jurrjens could be saved for 7th. Might have been a matchup decision.
I swear, listening to Joe Buck actually makes me drowsy. And he makes Tim McCarver sound like he's drinking Mountain Dew.
What is wrong with Joe Buck. He sounds like he is giving a eulogy at a funeral. Depressing.
Sec 3, I found one link where they barely show what happened.
http://soxanddawgs.com/harold-reynolds-finally-admits-he-was-out.html
You are kidding me? AL is down to one position player and it's only the 7th inning? We didn't have enough players??? Ha.
Clipp in line for the win? Great!
I have a favorite catch-and-throw story.
World Series, Vic Wertz coming up, so the Giants bring in the lefty, Don Liddle. Wertz hits the ball about 455 feet, Mays makes the famous catch, the Giants bring in the righty, and Liddle goes to the bench, tosses his glove down and says, "Well, I got my guy."
Thanks, FS, I thought that was a little too long to put folks through, but it may be the only one out there.
Wow. Hunter Pence makes it from first to third on a passed ball by Wieters.
It looks like the NL is here to play, and the AL, not so much.
Not sure which former player I was listening to this afternoon but he predicted the NL as winners based on the pitching matchups(he was more upset about the number of All-Stars who pitched on Sunday) and it looks like he was right on. He mentioned the great relief pitchers and Bochy has Venters and Wilson left for the last two innings. Should be great when the Nationals have home field this year!! (ha,ha)
How about that Oriole representative Matt Wieters? runner goes from 1st to 3rd on his passed ball!
"Catchers are used to hitting against pitchers, not catching them."
That's pretty bad, even for McCarver.
Dave, it did go off the umps knee/shinguard, but he didn't seem to be in any hurry to find it, did he?
I mean, first to third? Pence wasn't even running fast.
All I can figure is, he heard the sound and thought it was fouled off, but then, there was no swing, so...
I got nothin.
I agree with Dave. I mean Ron has used only 3 innings from SP and rest of them have been relievers who are not even best at what they do. That last Sunday hurt AL's chances a lot. Imagine an inning each from Justin, Felix, CC, and Haren instead of all these Ron has put out there. That would have made the game very close right now. Instead, NL is winning 5-1. No complaints here.
Well, he's never caught this pitcher before, you know?
The wisdom of Guru Tim McCarver.
First pitch out, that's how you redeem yourself in AL.
It's been hard for me to get jazzed by this ASG.
At the age of 8, I was spoiled for all time by the Reggie-goes-light tower All Star game played 40 years ago tomorrow.
How does 24 future Hall of Famers grab you:
Bench, McCovey, Aaron, Mays, Stargell, Carlton, Jenkins, Marichal, Seaver, Brock, Clemente, Carew, Brooks, Aparicio, Frank, Yaz, Palmer, Killebrew, Reggie, Kaline, Sparky, Alston, Weaver and ump Doug Harvey.
Geez, I get chills thinking about the non-HOFers in that game: Vida, Oliva, Santo, Hondo. My God, what a show.
Eventually, we'll have a 25th Hall of Famer from that memorable game -- the 3rd baseman who had the best year of anyone in 1971.
Who was it who hit .363 with 237 base hits and 137 RBIs in 1971?
Yup. Joe Torre.
And Heath Bell runs in, slides (sorta) behind the mound, tears up a big divot, gets dirty. I bet FP loves this guy.
Hasn't Coffey trademarked that sprint?
Do you think Coffey was watching Heath Bell enter?? The slide was super and he was timed in 10.2 which crushes Todd. This was way back in the game but did they really not give Fielder and error on that pop-up? Can't believe how bad McCarver is in that he immediately called it a hit and his comments on Wieters play were also ridiculous.
Maybe so, Drew. But there's some 8 year old kid watching tonight who's gonna complain about the players he watches in the 2050 ASG.
WOW Drew8, that is pretty awesome. Would love to see a game like that when I go to ASG anytime.
NL is 3 outs away, but most likely it will be Wilson and his .238 AVG and 1.42 WHIP. This will be a tough win I fear.
@sjm38, that bloop-shoulda-been-foul was where I started watching. I could not believe they didn't call that an error. It was in Prince's glove and fell out.
Back then, I thought both teams were phoning it in. Maybe Bochy had a talk with his guys since that rather lackadaisical moment.
Hanrahan warming up? (According to @mischatter on Twitter.)
Good news, IMHO.
Should Clip get the win, he would be the 2nd Washington pitcher to get an All-Star win without getting a batter out.
Dean Stone of the Senators did it first in 1954. He entered the game with 2 outs in the 8th, AL trailing, to face Duke Snider; but, Red Schoendienst tried to steal home and Stone threw him out! The AL rallied in the bottom of the 8th and Virgil Trucks saved it in the 9th.
a four run lead with Wilson, Hanrahan, Lincecum, and who am I forgetting? out there. Don't think so.
Looks like Boche doesn't mean to tire his guys out.
Hanrahan in. Hit 97 on the radar gun. Where was that fastball when he was here?
"as NatsTown and Tyler Clippard await with baited breath."
Is that an anchovy joke?
Uh-oh. E-6 on the Cub. Bad omen?
Joe Buck is just electric tonight.
Not.
That was the problem, NatsLady--there was no telling where it was.
Thanks Dave. Forgot about Joel.
Sec 3, I have hard time believing that half of these guys will be in HoF. I sometimes doubt even Ortiz's admission to HoF.
Castro is so annoying. Here I am waiting to go no MLB's site and rub this win in AL fans' faces.
Drew8, oafs into fishes was nice.
Oof, Starlin! Desi doesn't make that mistake, and no one even talked about him playing tonight. And now Hanrahan is playing like his old Nats self.
I got teary seeing Clip on the mound.
Holy crap. Joel is trying to close this one out just like in the olden days in Washington.
Time for a pitcher switch, Bruce.
Sheesh -- is this Little League?????
Bochy is not messing around. In comes Wilson. Can Joe Buck be any more boring? He continues to try and sell us on "Moneyball" on just about every play, even when the NL is throwing the ball around like the 2009 Nationals.
Cubs are truly terrible if THAT is their best player!
And the announcer says, without a hint of sarcasm, that Castro "needs to work on his defense"...
Okay, Blackbeard. One out to go.
Everyone focuses on Wilson's beard but the little pony tail in the back is also unique. Did not realize his stats were that bad this year but he still looks pretty good.
And Clipp wins it!!!!!!!!!!
All right. Home-field advantage at Nats Park for the Series this year.
Do we have to trade Clip now?
I agree Dave, I will be loving that 7th game vs the Red Sox.
Strasburg vs. Lester
Does Hanrahan get a hold for that?
Let's hope Storen comes in next ASG to earn the save. Remember NL manager to always include a Nationals reliever in your roster and have him pitch to one batter. Oh and good thing Castro got that error out of his system before Konerko's groundout.
Go NL Go!!! Even with AL's missing pitchers, game only becomes close, not an automatic loss for NL. Take that AL and beefy hitters.
Trade Clip? Who would want him? They're batting 1000 against him. (Actually, I got a real chill that when Bochy was in trouble he called on Clippard).
Do you think that the Nationals will ever have more then one player in the ASG
Beantown: people will start screaming at me here but this is actually a great time to trade Clippard. With the way relief pitchers vary from year to year (exception is Marino Rivera) he is at peak value. Reasons not to are we have control for a couple more years and he is not expensive right now. He also might prove to be consistant since he was a starter early in his career. Not sure Rizzo will do this but I am betting he will get more offers for Clippard in the next few weeks than any other National.
Bear in mind that trading Clip would break my heart.
WOW I just came to know that Dwight Gooden was 19 years old when he made to his first ASG. Unbelievable!
Listening to Ron praise NL pitching endlessly.
more THAN one. THAN.
than than than.
With an A
sjm, I hear you, but you don't trade FROM your team, you trade TO it -- it's about getting what you need, not getting rid of what you have.
Bait them with Clippard and hook them on Coffey.
Whatsanattau
What is whatsanattu
Redundant
Prediction;: Rizzo will trade a relief pitcher to get some help in CF or sure fielding SS with some pop
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