2009 All-Star Game

[Lauren T.]

Go Baby!


Speaking of, has anyone seen any pictures from the red carpet parade today? I'm dying to see what Mac (and Mrs. Mac) are wearing, considering the choices in previous years. :D

[Dreamscape]

...baseball players have a red carpet parade?

I'm...so confused.

[Lauren T.]

It's a real thing. Here are some pics from last year. (http://mikemccann.blogspot.com/2008/07/red-carpet-parade.html)

ETA: This one's from '06 (http://www.velcroblog.com/images/braves07/heapallstarcar.jpg), if I recall correctly, and this is with his now-wife in '07 (http://www.velcroblog.com/images/braves07/heapgfallstar.jpg), I think. :D He wore the same shirt two years in a row. (Don't look at the file directory -- I know the owner of those pics and the first one is misplaced.)

[bravos4evr]

That picture makes his wife look like she's his mom!

[Hobbes]

Regardless of your political beliefs, who boos the President when he throws out the first pitch?

[Lauren T.]

Regardless of your political beliefs, who boos the President when he throws out the first pitch?
Cubs fans. ;)

[Hobbes]

There you go Lauren. Fatboy gave the NL the lead. ;)

[Lauren T.]

There you go Lauren. Fatboy gave the NL the lead. ;)
http://s3.amazonaws.com/twitter_production/profile_images/97604929/love-heart_normal.jpg

[Chris_Moderato]

Regardless of your political beliefs, who boos the President when he throws out the first pitch?

Yeah, I always felt embarrassed when they booed Bush too. It just shows a fundamental lack of class and it's obnoxious.

[Hobbes]

That was the craziest Taco Bell commercial I've ever seen. :confused:

[sdp]

McCann > Molina

Charlie Manuel is a douche.

[Murphys#1Fan]

Hey...did you see that. McCann's in the ondeck circle. Love to see him break the tie. :thumbsup:

[Murphys#1Fan]

Inning over. Hopefully he'll leadoff the 8th.

[Hobbes]

I don't know why there are players' kids in the dugout. One of the AL players actually had his kid with him when he was on the field for team introductions.

This family stuff is going too far.

[Lauren T.]

"Look at me! I'm clearly a family man! Don't believe what you read on the internet!!"

[Dreamscape]

Domino's...you can't trash talk with pizza. Please stop. It hurts me.

[Hobbes]

Just who you want up with 2 out and RISP - Strikeout Howard.

[Murphys#1Fan]

Should have had McCann up to bat against Nathan instead of Howard. McCann can turn anyone's fastball around.

[Dreamscape]

You have Howard 1-2...yeah, you care if you walk him.

[Murphys#1Fan]

Ryan Howard...worthless!!!:thumbsdown:

[Hobbes]

I hate Charlie Manuel.

[Chris_Moderato]

Man, when the hell is the NL gonna pull it's head out of it's ass? It's been 13 years now? That's pathetic.

[Murphys#1Fan]

You have Howard 1-2...yeah, you care if you walk him.


Please tell me we don't get Buck and McCarver for the World Series again. Please tell me no!!!:(

[Hobbes]

Carl Crawford's catch was sponsored by two different companies.

[Murphys#1Fan]

Looks like yet another All Star Game where McCann doesn't get an AB.

[Dreamscape]

A Phillie saving a Met after a Brave had called great pitches.

[Dreamscape]

Looks like yet another All Star Game where McCann doesn't get an AB.
You missed his popup?

[Murphys#1Fan]

You missed his popup?

Dadgum...I must have missed it.

[Hobbes]

I hate the AS game.

[Dreamscape]

Rivera really is the one Yankee I just can't hate. I think there are few players I'd pay to see more than him.

[Murphys#1Fan]

I hate the AS game.


Yeah...kind of like watching a Braves baseball game isn't it?

[Hobbes]

You think Bud would see how unfair it is to have the AL get home-field advantage year after year. But no, just because we had a tie one year he had to overreact.

[Hobbes]

Is it just me, or was the corporate sponsorship even more over-the-top than usual in this game?

[Andy G.]

Rivera really is the one Yankee I just can't hate. I think there are few players I'd pay to see more than him.
I like him too. The way he pitches is just impressive. You know exactly what he's going to do, but he's so accurate, and his cutter is so good, there's not a thing you can do about it.

[luvdembravos]

Regardless of your political beliefs, who boos the President when he throws out the first pitch?

Tuesday night is my softball night so I only saw the last 2 innings. But Obama actually got booed? Oh my! Did he cry?:p

[Wahoo]

I like him too. The way he pitches is just impressive. You know exactly what he's going to do, but he's so accurate, and his cutter is so good, there's not a thing you can do about it.

Except if you play for the Red Sox.

[Andy G.]

Tuesday night is my softball night so I only saw the last 2 innings. But Obama actually got booed? Oh my! Did he cry?:p
He didn't get booed heavily, and I thought that most of the booing was a result of him wearing a White Sox jacket. Cubs fans that were at the game are going to boo you for that, and a some Cardinal fans will boo just because it's a Chicago team, even if it's not the rival Cubs.

Did anybody see the pitch? Stupid Fox held the camera on Obama even after the threw the ball. You couldn't see if he got it over the plate or not.

[Hobbes]

Tuesday night is my softball night so I only saw the last 2 innings. But Obama actually got booed? Oh my! Did he cry?:p

No, there was just a small undercurrent of boos amongst the cheering, but it was enough to be noticeable. I'm of the belief that folks should have respect for the office, even if they dislike the man.

Did anybody see the pitch? Stupid Fox held the camera on Obama even after the threw the ball. You couldn't see if he got it over the plate or not.
It was poor camera work, but if you looked carefully, you could see that he got it just past the plate. Pujols had to reach forward a bit to catch it, but it did clear the plate and it was nice and straight.

[ChopTime]

Completely pissed off at Charlie Manuel. I mean, what the hell... everyone else got subbed in during like the 5th and 6th innings... but Yadier Molina played into the 8th. Brian McCann played the 9th inning. That was it. That's almost an insult. Brian deserved to be the starter, but at least he could have played him more than 1 inning and given him only 1 AB. I mean for crying out loud, McCann is the better hitter of the two, and Molina got 3 ABs!

[Hobbes]

Completely pissed off at Charlie Manuel. I mean, what the hell... everyone else got subbed in during like the 5th and 6th innings... but Yadier Molina played into the 8th. Brian McCann played the 9th inning. That was it. That's almost an insult. Brian deserved to be the starter, but at least he could have played him more than 1 inning and given him only 1 AB. I mean for crying out loud, McCann is the better hitter of the two, and Molina got 3 ABs!
He had to keep the St. Louis fans happy. :rolleyes:

At least McCann should have been hitting in Ryan Howard's place. With 2 outs and RISP you needed somebody who wasn't going to strike out. Brian had a much better chance of putting the ball in play than Ryan "Strikeout" Howard.

[Hillbilly]

My random thoughts about/surrounding the ASG:

-Albert Pujols: He has officially been sworn in as Master of the Universe.
-Sara Evans: Her music is crappy, but she is not. She was stellar...and her rendition of God Bless America was great, too.
-It's all about the Roosevelts, Bay-Bay. :thumbsdown:
-Derek Jeter: The pitch hit the knob of the bat.
-Charlie Manuel: You tried to set up your boy, the hometown native, for a fairy-tale moment as the game MVP but he failed. No home field advantage for you.

[Lauren T.]

-Sara Evans: Her music is crappy, but she is not. She was stellar...and her rendition of God Bless America was great, too.
I had to mute after she said "Uh-meeer-eee-kuh". *shudder*

[Dreamscape]

I didn't mute.

I decided to watch wrestling at that point to get the aggression out of my system.

[Hobbes]

I had to mute after she said "Uh-meeer-eee-kuh". *shudder*
It started out pretty shaky, but it did improve as she went along. I've never heard of her, but I gather she is a country music artist. It seemed to me like she was trying to "country it up".

[Hillbilly]

It started out pretty shaky, but it did improve as she went along. I've never heard of her, but I gather she is a country music artist. It seemed to me like she was trying to "country it up".


She is what's falsely labled as a country music artist these days. In other words, she plays comtemporary pop crap that gets aired on CMT. "Country ain't country no more" as far as music is concerned. She's still an eye-catcher, though, and I have no problem with a southern accent.

[ChopTime]

He had to keep the St. Louis fans happy. :rolleyes:



You would think if that were the case, he wouldn't have taken Pujols out in the 6th inning. But he did. I guess Molina was just too damned awesome to take out of the game.

[Hobbes]

You would think if that were the case, he wouldn't have taken Pujols out in the 6th inning. But he did. I guess Molina was just too damned awesome to take out of the game.
Well he had a ton of first basemen on the bench, so he couldn't leave Pujols in for too long. In his mind, leaving Molina in was probably compensation to the fans for having to remove Pujols.

[Dreamscape]

Pujols and Hanley Ramirez were the only players to get three at-bats. Molina got two and was pinch hit for his third. Just happened to occur in the 8th inning. I'm not too worried about the innings because frankly, Molina is a better defender behind the plate and much more likely to throw out a potential runner.

[Middle Man]

I had to mute after she said "Uh-meeer-eee-kuh". *shudder*

It started out pretty shaky, but it did improve as she went along. I've never heard of her, but I gather she is a country music artist. It seemed to me like she was trying to "country it up".

Yeah, I'm with Lauren T. - made me cringe. Keep it simple, make it quick. Thanks goodness it was only one verse. Sheryl Crow was better.

[Hobbes]

Yeah, I'm with Lauren T. - made me cringe. Keep it simple, make it quick. Thanks goodness it was only one verse. Sheryl Crow was better.

I wasn't impressed with Crow either. She's got a great voice, but it wasn't displayed well during that rendition.

Of course, the anthem is notoriously difficult to sing.

[Murphys#1Fan]

I'm of the belief that folks should have respect for the office, even if they dislike the man.

Funny you say that. I said the exact same thing about our previous President and everyone laughed at me.

[Dreamscape]

I don't remember anyone saying it was cool to boo the president when he was throwing out the first pitch.

[Murphys#1Fan]

I don't remember anyone saying it was cool to boo the president when he was throwing out the first pitch.

Oh...I understand now. Respect at a baseball game is one thing. Respect in any other setting is certainly another...as long as you voted for him. I'll try to remember that one next time.

[Dreamscape]

Wow, that was dramatical.

[Hobbes]

Oh...I understand now. Respect at a baseball game is one thing. Respect in any other setting is certainly another...as long as you voted for him. I'll try to remember that one next time.
It's not just respect at a baseball game, but in any public setting. I advocated the same when Bush was in office. That doesn't mean the President isn't fair game for criticism in print or even on internet discussion forums.

[luvdembravos]

I remember many around here (not you) who were ecstatic when the Iraqi journalist threw his shoe at Bush. The press had a field day with that one but it made me angry that someone would disrespect our president like that. It disappointed me even more that many Americans didn't seem to care.

[Dreamscape]

Funny that I don't remember anyone around here being ecstatic. Though, it did serve to bring Austin Powers up. I'm not sure what we would have done about that Iraqi journalist. My thoughts were "wow, Bush has pretty good reflexes."

Nevertheless, it's unfortunate that we couldn't perserve the old boards for just this reason. I do believe our particular slants are impacting things too much.

[Middle Man]

Can we please get back on topic?

I agree that Sheryl Crow wasn't a show stopper, but there's only so much you can do (or ought to do) with the national anthem. Her range is very impressive compared to most folks who give it a try. I'll give her an A-. The country girl, I'll give a C-.

[Hillbilly]

Can we please get back on topic?

I agree that Sheryl Crow wasn't a show stopper, but there's only so much you can do (or ought to do) with the national anthem. Her range is very impressive compared to most folks who give it a try. I'll give her an A-. The country girl, I'll give a C-.


O.K. fair enough. As a peace offering, I give you Danielle Peck. Again, not a fan of her pop/country music, or the fact that she dated Josh Beckett, but there's something about her that catches my attention...

[ChopTime]

Can we please get back on topic?

I agree that Sheryl Crow wasn't a show stopper, but there's only so much you can do (or ought to do) with the national anthem. Her range is very impressive compared to most folks who give it a try. I'll give her an A-. The country girl, I'll give a C-.



What are you talking about? I hate country music, but Sara Evans did a fantastic job. If there's one thing I can't stand its the artists who get up their and try to put their own personal touch on it. Evans got up and sang the song like it was supposed to be sung.

[Middle Man]

What are you talking about? I hate country music, but Sara Evans did a fantastic job. If there's one thing I can't stand its the artists who get up their and try to put their own personal touch on it. Evans got up and sang the song like it was supposed to be sung.

Well, i guess it's a subjective sort of thing. I went back and re-listened, and I'll raise her grade to a solid C, but no higher. I agree with you about not liking a lot of the personal touches. Sara sang with nice enthusiasm, but there were too many personal touches for my taste - too many one-syllable words that are sung as if they have three syllables, etc. As I say, it's a subjective thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUzT18Y3YsQ