King for a lifetime, fool for a... lifetime...

Let me preface this by saying that I don't watch All-Star games. I think they're pointless and of no consequence (I don't care that baseball mangled an exhibition game to the point where it determines HOMEFIELD ADVANTAGE IN THE WORLD SERIES because the very idea is just plain stupid). However, on my drive to work this morning, I had All-Star game promos jammed down my gulliver. Caught that the starting pitchers for today's contest are Kenny Rogers (AL) v Brad Penny (NL). Really? Really? Kenny Rogers and Brad Penny?? I admit that I haven't been following baseball too closely this season and that I am aware both of these guys had a good first half, but... really? Rogers and Penny? The guy who assaulted a cameraman during a practice on the field because the cameraman was, you know, doing his job vs the guy who bet a batboy that he couldn't chug a gallon of milk right before game time. The batboy, needless to say, threw up all over himself and was unfortunately fired from the team. These are your All-Star game starting pitchers? Huh. Okay. I guess we've been spoiled over the years with guys like Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling, Pedro Martinez, Roger Clemens, Greg Maddux, Roy Halladay, John Smoltz, Roy Oswalt, Barry Zito, etc, etc, etc. You know? All-Star caliber pitchers as opposed to journeymen like Rogers and Penny. But I guess I'm just being silly.

Oh, which reminds me, not that it wasn't unattractive before, but how boring is the Homerun Derby, now? Household names Ryan Howard and David Wright went toe-to-toe, last night. I know Howard is a star, but hardly one of the renowned names in baseball. He carries just a smidgen more clout than Bobby Abreau (last year's winner). Don't tell me that they're the best, either. If fans were interested in "the best" then they would've voted Joe Mauer as a starter over Jason Varitek. They didn't. But David Wright? "Name talent" like that evokes the days of Brent Barry and Desmond Mason winning NBA Slam Dunk contests. Which is to say, I could give two grapes.