Another All-Star Game, another win for the Junior Circuit.
Not since Mark McGwire was still playing in Oakland has the National League won a Midsummer Classic, as the older league finished 0-for-the decade, with only a tie in 2002 keeping the AL from making it a clean sweep.
San Francisco's Tim Lincecum struggled at the outset, allowing a lead-off single to Ichiro, and hitting Derek Jeter with a pitch, with latter scoring on an error by hometown hero Albert Pujos. After a single by Jason Bay, a groundball out by Josh Hamilton scored Joe Mauer, as 67M sets an All-Star Game record by using three players whose first name begins with "J" in a single sentence.
The National League broke through with three runs off of AL starter Roy Halladay in the second, courtesy of four consecutive two-out hits, the last a ground-rule by double by last night's Home Run Derby winner, Prince Fielder.
Joe Mauer made sure Fielder would not be walking away with the MVP trophy, too, as he tied the game with a two-out, two-bagger in the fifth.
The AL forged ahead in the 8th on a sac fly by Adam Jones to score Curtis Granderson who had tripled with one out.
After having 18 consecutive batters go down, the Senior Circuit rallied in the 8th, putting two men on with two out. But Joe Nathan struck out Ryan Howard, and that was that.
Mariano Rivera came on in the ninth, and shut 'em down 1-2-3, with former "A" Miguel Tejada making the final out.
Tampa Bay's Carl Crawford, who made a homerun denying catch in the seventh, took home the Ted Williams MVP award.
0 recs | 56 comments
Sure things
The Sun rising in the east, me with at least one double bogey per round,Bobby Crosby screwing up,the Raiders firing their coach,Bob Geren being pleased with the way the A’s played in a loss and the American League winning the All Star game
sirbed - July 14, 2009
Only one double bogey?
You are obviously a much more accomplished golfer than me!
DeJay - July 15, 2009
When Granderson hit the triple, it suddenly occurred to me
how cool it would be if the A’s acquired him, and then added players named Grabraden and Gramazzaro.
Nico - July 14, 2009
We don't have any Ndersons on the team
Flashfire - July 14, 2009
Brett Anderson?
Rated-R Superstar - July 14, 2009
Nico got it, you didn't ;-)
Flashfire - July 14, 2009
I never get it.
Rated-R Superstar - July 14, 2009
I don't understand.
Nico - July 14, 2009
Yes, Flashfire, but the chances of
finding someone with the last name starting with Grb or Grm are about as slim as finding someone named Grcahill.
Nico - July 14, 2009
I can change my name to
grainman or grabman
Trainman - July 14, 2009
Good Idea Nico!!
I see Ray Ratto rips the A"s in the Chronicle.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/14/SPMV18OH4A.DTL
Let’s hope our second half goes better than the first.
Young pitchers progress and hitters who cannot hit start hitting.
All I ask for the second half is that we beat the slegnA. That is my WS. Just beat the slegnA. Take them out at the plate if need be but beat those bastards down.
Trainman - July 14, 2009
that was truly brutal
coffee roaster - July 14, 2009
Just read Ratto
He’s upbeat like always. Actually I was wondering if he reads AN as he’s making remarks many have been making for awhile on the boards. It did make think of one thing though has anyone ever seen John Fisher? Does he exist?
sirbed - July 14, 2009
I like "The a's have made an annoying and self-destructive virtue of being bland" etc
part
Trainman - July 14, 2009
A's baseball 09
come catch the bland and bad fever!
sirbed - July 14, 2009
and Graoutman
Trainman - July 14, 2009
I think he actually worked on my bathroom floor recently
Nico - July 14, 2009
How did he do?
Trainman - July 14, 2009
Oh just grout.
Nico - July 14, 2009
but his attitude...the guy's a total caulk!
Kallus - July 14, 2009
Could have been Weurtz?
mikev - July 14, 2009
Sorry if this was mentioned.
Did anyone catch Bob Costas’ interview with the President? He was asked who his favorite players were growing up, and he replied that when he first started to focus on the game, he liked the 70’s A’s, Vida and Reggie, etc.
67MARQUEZ - July 14, 2009
Any chance the 2009 team can apply for a bailout?
Nico - July 14, 2009
I think the A's qualify
as major rebuilding is in order
sirbed - July 14, 2009
no but there should be plenty of Bailey outs.
67MARQUEZ - July 14, 2009
Zing!
Nico - July 14, 2009
rim shot! oh
sirbed - July 14, 2009
QOTM
SwisherThresher - July 14, 2009
Obama does seem like he's a big sports fan
so I’m not surprised he’d now about the swingin’ A’s
sirbed - July 14, 2009
Obama first pitch.
Did anyone else notice Fox’s horrible coverage of the first pitch. They didn’t show the first pitch AT ALL. You didn’t SEE the pitch until he went into the booth in the 2nd and they showed a replay.
fansince1980 - July 14, 2009
Fox??? Horrible coverage???????
But at least they ignored the game to show a dugout interview with Roy Halliday that had no sound.
Nico - July 14, 2009
ESPN should have the game.
Rated-R Superstar - July 14, 2009
I mean the AL team is already an orgasmic hybrid of Yankees and Red Sox
Nico - July 14, 2009
The only problem with ESPN getting the All Star game
is more Joe Morgan but they couldn’t do worse then Fox does.
sirbed - July 14, 2009
Commentators aside, their coverage is by far the best.
Rated-R Superstar - July 14, 2009
No doubt
as much as the WWL can tick me off from time to time they are the gold standard for sports coverage.
sirbed - July 14, 2009
As for the NFL and Fox, I like it better than the NFL on CBS and that’s because I just like Fox’s commentators better.
Rated-R Superstar - July 14, 2009
I like the Fox pregame because it doesn't take itself
seriously but since I watch every Raider game I end up with a lot of CBS since they do the AFC
sirbed - July 14, 2009
Yeah, that’s what happens. It doesn’t help that we usually get one of the two worst teams on CBS.
As far as the pregame stuff goes, I just stick to ESPN. I love Chris Berman.
Rated-R Superstar - July 14, 2009
I grew up
with Berman and I still enjoy him but I’m not too fond of the other guys they have with him on the pregame show. As far as the CBS announcers since the Raiders have stunk it up of late they tend to get the worst CBS teams.
sirbed - July 14, 2009
I miss Berman and Jackson doing the highlights together. They were an unbeatable duo.
Rated-R Superstar - July 14, 2009
Erm... Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann, thx.
mikev - July 14, 2009
Also miss that combo, too.
FormerHuntsvilleStar - July 15, 2009
I'm not big on Berman for baseball...
…particularly the home run derby, but I do miss the old NFL Primetime. Just Berman, TJ and highlights.
FormerHuntsvilleStar - July 15, 2009
yeah, I never realyl understood why they stopped doing it.
Leopold Bloom - July 15, 2009
Fox coverage of the thrown pitch was odd....
to say the least. So much so that I can’t help but wonder if it was done at the insistence of the Secret Service. It certainly didn’t make for good TV, so one would assume there was another reason for the obscured television angles.
alox - July 14, 2009
democrat president on fox...
just sayin…
jlanning17 - July 15, 2009
Eh, editorials
are one thing. Business is business, a lesson which the Washington Post is figuring out the hard way. I tend to view this through the POTUS security lens. I’ve seen how they work, and it’s impressive, if not a little frightening.
alox - July 15, 2009
I think the cameraman on the field was surprised
It seemed to me Obama walked up to the mound and didn’t take any time before he threw the ball, and the cameraman wasn’t ready…
FormerHuntsvilleStar - July 15, 2009
Obama often gets horrible coverge on Fox
sirbed - July 14, 2009
That was a
goodgreat one.Rated-R Superstar - July 14, 2009
Some A's fans enjoy the AS game by reminiscing about all the former A's on the squads
Me? I prefer to get my vicarious jollies by pretending actual All-Stars are A’s all-stars who never were.
Bobby Crosby was once picked to win the AL MVP. That didn’t happen, and neither did the all-star game. But at least we can pretend with Aaron Hill
Now tell me, Is this guy Crosby’s doppleganger or what?
A’s fans often lament that Eric Chavez was never selected to the mid-summer classic.
But who needs Chavey when we have Adrian?
Hey, Chavey! Watch the back/shoulder/back Chavey!
smokelanda - July 14, 2009
Crosby’s what, again?
Rated-R Superstar - July 14, 2009
Crosby's doppleganger
is Matt Holliday:
I’ve thought this from the first photo I saw of Matt after the trade in the offseason.
Philip Christy - July 15, 2009
Doppleganger: the ghostly double of a living person, a sinister form of bilocation.
It’s German – there are a couple books/movies with it as the title
smokelanda - July 14, 2009
If you're going to have three All-Stars whose first name start with the same letter
there’s zero surprise that the letter would be “J”. Bill James reckoned that the all-Jim is the best same name team you could make.
Read all about it
GoA's - July 14, 2009
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