Last night was the All-Star Game in case you didn’t know. Of course you knew. I don’t always watch the game, and I didn’t watch all of it last night either. My wife went to yoga and so I caught a few innings. The game moves a bit too slow with all the circus activities and extended television breaks and pitching changes, etc. It’s nice for some fans, but not my thing. Mostly it’s there to give a baseball fix when there is none otherwise.
How many All-Stars?
It’s a crowded roster and not everyone gets to play that’s selected. That was disappointing as a kid, but now it doesn’t matter to me. Sort of like how these cards don’t get to be seen individually. I spent some of my tax return money at COMC and this is a tiny portion of what I got. These are from a specially marked factory set, I believe.
Stamps = different
Here are a few more. These were all pretty cheap and easily under $1 each, so I loaded up. But enough about these loose tie-ins. How did the three Cubs representatives do during the actual game?
He’s been dominant at times
This was Jon Lester’s fifth selection to the All-Star game, his second as a member of the Cubs. He didn’t pitch this year, because he started the Sunday before the game. Here’s how he fared the other times:
2010 – He pitched the 5th inning, faced 3, got all out with no strikeouts or walks. – NL won 3-1
2011 – didn’t pitch – NL won 5-1
2014 – He pitched the 2nd inning, gave up 3 hits, 2 earned runs, no strikeouts. – AL still won 5-3
2016 – His first selection as a Cub, he pitched to start the 7th, faced 4 batters, got 2 outs and then turned it over to Melancon. He allowed no hits, 1 walk, and still has not struck out a batter in an All-Star game. – NL lost – 4-2
So, before this year, the team he played for was 1-3.
Strange that Future of the Franchise isn’t that crazy now
Javier Baez led-off the batting for the NL squad, and he managed a base hit on the first pitch (a single – normally he goes for extra base hits). After that, Javy ground out on his second AB in the third inning and hit a fly out in the 5th. 1-3 isn’t bad at all.
SP pulled from a blaster, but with a dinged corner
Willson Contreras was batting 9th in the order. He also swung at the first pitch, but he one-upped Baez and hit a solo home run to start the 3rd inning. His only other AB was a ground out in the 5th.
Overall, the NL lost to the AL for the sixth consecutive year 8-6 in the 10th inning. It sounds like it was an exciting game, but I didn’t see most of it as usual. Time will tell if I end up regretting that decision, but probably not. I am ready for a few exciting games that affect the standings, though!
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