All Star Game

I did not get to watch the All Star Game this year because I have no cable. But, thanks to ESPN Radio online I was able to listen.
It was a very good game, I thought. Maybe more than good since the National League won! My favorite team is in the NL so I have always rooted for them.
I was a little disappointed in Andrew McCutchen's at bat. A power hitter like him and he hits it back to the pitcher? Poor man. I'm sure it was simply nervousness, first time as an All-Star and all. But, I am also certain it will not be his last All Star game.
My team has done very well this year, finishing the first half of the season only one game out of first place and with a winning record. Whoo-hoo! Could this be the season the Bic's finally put it all together and make the playoffs? Fans are hoping. The nicest thing I have seen about this season is not only the players that are getting it done, but also the fans.
Living in California about the only time I get to see anything about Pittsburgh is when they play the Dodgers. So normally I am looking at video clips online and I see the stands are fairly empty which saddens me. This year however when I look at clips I see the stands are very full of fans and this makes me joyful.
Love them or hate them your team needs to be supported. More so for the Pirates I think because they are what MLB considers a small market. Too bad Pittsburgh citizens do not support baseball the same way they support football and hockey.
Maybe this is the Pirate's year! I am praying the front office folks do not start trading players away like every other year. How the heck you gonna win a playoff berth that way? Pay attention Pirates owners. Your stands are filling up again. Don't screw it up by trading away pieces of a team that may have finally solved your puzzle!

Ah, Spring

It's finally Spring. Okay, not on the calendar but for baseball. Spring Training has started and the players, like the fans, are happy to get back into the game.
I was just surfing through the channels hoping to catch the Angels game but, alas, it wasn't there. Instead I watched a show about Old Time baseball, Baseball's Golden Age. This is a great show! They have all these clips from old home movies, many of them taken by the ball players. What a collection!
The part of this show that really got to me was about the All Star game. This was a true joy when I was a kid as you got to see the players that normally you'd never see because they didn't play in your league or their team never made it to the World Series. Guys that you secretly rooted for. For me that would be guys like the great Mickey Mantle of the dreaded New York Yankees. Players that you knew were great even if they played for teams you didn't like.
The other nice thing about the game back then was that you took great pride when one of your team members was there. I, like any Pirates fan, knew Roberto Clemente was fantastic. Imagine the sell of pride to see him at an All Star game. There he was, hanging out with other greats like Willie Mays and Hank Aaron. What a combination of talent!
It's kind of funny to look at things back then. Players actually played the entire game then. They weren't there just for an inning or two only to be replaced by someone else the way they are today. They were there to play and to compete. Foremost of all they were there to win! The game was important to them. Sure, the players today all say they are proud to be there, heck, who wouldn't be happy to be recognized by the fans? But, somehow, it just isn't the same.
It is time for Spring Training, so get out your mitt. Sit at home and watch your favorite team get ready for the season and cheer them on. Watch with excitement as they use some of the "kids" who won't make the roster this year but surely will make it to the Bigs sometime soon. And if the team isn't on today, try to catch up with a great show like Baseball's Golden Age. it's on Fox Sports network. I hope they show it wherever you live.
Now, pass me some popcorn and soda.

Another Slam?

When you are a Pirates fan, you really need to have tough skin. Seems like the Pittsburgh Pirates are always the team to talk trash about. I reported a while ago about ESPN's coverage of things and they seem more than willing to continue their ways.
Today, while watching a show about the All Star baseball game, they were discussing the pros and cons of having the winner of this exhibition game get home field advantage for the World Series. One of the experts said that he wondered if a player like Freddie Sanchez of the Pirates was going to be in the dugout all excited about the National League winning so that they could have home field advantage.
Excuse me? Are you snidly implying that the Pirates are out of the race with half a season to go? True, we are in last place. True, we are 9 games behind the first place team. But, stranger things have happened in baseball. The Pirates could go on a winning streak and have a shot at the playoffs. Don't count out a team halfway through the season, unless, of course, you are the idiots in the front office who are busy thinking of who to trade away so that, at the end of the year they can wonder why we didn't do well but we sure are building "towards a brighter future".
Give me a break. If you must have maligned a team, why not the Washington Nationals, the worst team in both leagues!