The King And His Court

That's respect right there.  And it was a perfect moment of universal respect for maybe the only professional athlete walking the planet who deserves it.  8th inning or 9th, Mo's entrance and the standing ovation he got from everybody in the park was a great ASG moment and one of what should be a few more very fitting cherries on top of his career sundae.

P.S.- It still should have been in the 9th.

(Photos courtesy of the AP)

Worst ASG Ever? Worst ASG Ever

I don't know about y'all, but I thought the All-Star Game sucked a big one last night.  To start things off, I burned the ever-loving shit out of my hand right before the National Anthem and spent the bulk of the next hour running it under cold water and walking around cursing myself.  During one of the few times that I did stop to watch the game, I had the pleasure of watching Robinson Cano see all of 2 pitches before leaving the game after taking a Matt Harvey fastball off the knee.  Luckily Robbie was alright and it sounds like he's going to play on Friday, but still.  I wanted to see the guy hit and turn a gnarly double play while spitting sunflower seeds, not limping off with trainers tending to him.

And then Jim Leyland.  Jim, Jim, Jim.  Sweet, stupid old Jim.  Nothing like being able to tell my grandkids about the time I got to see the greatest closer in the history of baseball come in to his final All-Star Game to a stadium-wide standing ovation (players included) and set up for Joe Nathan in the 8th inning.  Seriously Leyland, you had 2 jobs to do last night.  Win the game and close it out with Mo if you had the chance.  You couldn't have set yourself up any better for that chance with the way you managed those first 7 innings, and then you went and blew it.

And don't give me the stuff about "well if the NL scores a lot of runs in the 8th then Mo won't get a chance to pitch in the 9th."  There was an entire bullpen full of All Stars out there.  I'm pretty sure Leyland could have started the 8th with Nathan, had 2 more guys on standby if things got hairy, and had Mo warming as the emergency option.  That would have been fitting and it would have made sense.  Don't get me wrong, it was a great moment when Mo came out last night; one I'll definitely remember.  It just didn't feel right having it come with him playing second fiddle to Joe Nathan.  Worst All-Star Game ever.

Cano & Rivera The Unsurprising (And Only Deserving) Yankee All Star Selections

The All Star Game rosters were announced last night and the 2 Yankee representatives were Robinson Cano and Mariano Rivera.  2 reps is a low number for the Yankees, but in this season of offensive decline in their everyday lineup it was the right call.

Checking On The Yankees' All Star Game Chances

The 2012 Major League Baseball All Star Game is a little over 3 weeks away, and there's already been a few rounds of ballot updates that have been released showing where players stand in the fan voting.  The Yankees are well represented in the top 5 at almost every position, and in some cases are leading the charge.  But how many Yankees realistically have a chance at making the ASG roster for the American League?  Quickly, and simply, let's take a quick look.