The All Star Game has come and gone, and while the game itself was quick, the whole thing sort of left me looking for a little bit more. Normally, I get into the entire All Star mode and enjoy the Home Run Derby and the All Star Game, but it wasn't like that this year.
The Home Run Derby this year definitely fell flat. Without Ryan Howard or Albert Pujols in the finals, I wasn't interested in seeing Nelson Cruz take on Prince Fielder. Plus, the whole event took longer than the actual All Star Game did! Other Home Run Derbys have been memorable, but this one didn't have anything. There was no spectacle, no player standing out over everyone, and did I mention it took three hours? That has to be fixed...no one wants to watch batting practice for three hours.
Then, there was the All Star Game itself. While the game was quick, it was lacking something, too. That was probably because the five Phillies who were there didn't exactly light up the scoreboard. The five of them went a combined 1-8, and Ryan Howard struck out with two on in the bottom of the eighth inning. At least Shane Victorino singled and scored in the second inning, because not a lot happened after that. It wasn't the worst All Star Game, but it certainly wasn't one of the better ones, either. Carl Crawford looked good and played some great defense, but when that's the one highlight, and the winning run scores on a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning, there isn't too much excitement there.
The Phillies did make some news of their own yesterday night, as they announced they had signed Pedro Martinez to a one year contract, then put him right on the 15 day disabled list with a shoulder strain. While I'm not thrilled with this news, at least the Phillies got him for cheap, and he'll be an upgrade over Antonio Bastardo and Rodrigo Lopez when he's ready to go. I'm not expecting him to set the world on fire with his pitching like he did in Boston, but a few quality starts to hold down the back of the rotation would be lovely. Besides, the Phils are still trying to go after Roy Halladay, so we'll see how that works out.
I'll be posting my midseason review later on today, so until then, Go Phillies!
ESPN: Phillies sign Pedro Martinez
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