American League sleepwalks to 4-3 win in 15 innings

July 15. Yankee Stadium. It was an All-Star Game unlike any other. That, of course, is because the first 78 All-Star Games actually ended. Ah, but not this one. It couldn't. It wouldn't. It almost didn't.

Midnight came and went. One o' frigging clock in the morning came and went. Yet the All-Star madness went on and on, defying the odds, defying the baseball gods, defying every clock on every wall. "I just know I looked up and it said 1:40 in the morning, and it was the 15th inning," said Twins first baseman Justin Morneau. "I never ever expected to come here and experience that."

J.D. Drew wondered whether he'd be pitching soon. Clint Hurdle sounded out David Wright about his mound prowess. It was the 15th inning of the final All-Star game at Yankee Stadium, and the bullpens were empty. As goodbyes go, this was a long, long one. "It was just crazy how it seemed like it lasted forever," Texas second baseman Ian Kinsler said. "It was the last year for Yankee Stadium, the last All-Star game, and it's kind of fitting that it seemed like it lasted forever."

Not quite. Justin Morneau slid home just in time on Michael Young's sacrifice fly in the 15th inning, giving the American League a 4-3 victory that extended its unbeaten streak to 12. In a game that began at dusk Tuesday and ended at 1:37 a.m. Wednesday morning, the grand old ballpark was half-empty when Young stopped a 4-hour, 50-minute marathon on the 453rd pitch. Given the ticket prices — $525-$725 in the lower deck, $150 in the bleachers — fans deserved something extra. They got it.

Many of the 49 Hall of Famers honored during pregame pageantry likely were in bed by the final out. For Boston's Terry Francona, the AL manager, this took on the stress of a game that counts in the standings. "I told Jim Leyland, `I'll quit cursing, I'll quit chewing,'" he said, referring to the Detroit manager who was part of his coaching staff. "I lied."

The NL was given a pregame pep talk by Hall of Famer Ernie Banks, whose motto is: "Let's play two!" And they nearly did, matching the NL's 2-1 win at Anaheim in 1967 for the longest All-Star game. Winner Scott Kazmir and loser Brad Lidge were the last available pitchers. Some started to worry this would replicate 2002's 7-7, 11-inning tie in Milwaukee, which caused the commissioner's office to expand the rosters

The words of Jonathan Papelbon; Paps being Paps

Confidence is a key element in a relief pitcher's mental make-up. And Boston' Jonathan Papelbon and the Yankees' Mariano Rivera, two of the game's best closers, don't lack for it.

Consider Papelbon, who on Monday suggested -- before toning down his comments -- that he should pitch the ninth in Tuesday night's All-Star Game rather than Rivera, even though the game is at Yankee Stadium. "We've both earned that right; us, by winning the World Series and having the opportunity of having our manager there and our team being represented, and Mariano by what he's done for this role, we're in Yankee Stadium and blah, blah, blah," Papelbon said. "It's not that easy. Everybody thinks it's a cut and dry answer, but it's not."

"If I was managing the team, I would close," Papelbon said. "I'm not managing the team, so it don't matter." But Rivera feels the same way about taking the mound for the ninth. "It's definitely tough, but we're here in Yankee Stadium. I think I should get the shot," Rivera said. "I definitely would love to. Knowing [Red Sox manager] Terry Francona, I have a feeling he'll put me there if we have the opportunity to close the game."

Francona, who is managing the AL thanks to Boston's 2007 World Series triumph, was mum when asked who would pitch the ninth. "Out of the spirit of the game and competition, and having a little bit of fun, we're not going to announce the rest of our rotation yet," Francona said.

In additional comments on Monday, Papelbon lessened the suspense, saying Rivera should get the nod. "I'm making a statement right now, saying I don't want it, I want [Rivera] to have it. I said all that earlier, but that's the way I feel about it," Papelbon said. "This is what I think, of course I want to close the game out. I wouldn't be Jonathan Papelbon if I didn't want to close the game out," he said. "But at the same time, there's also things within this game I have to understand and people have to understand. It doesn't always work out that way.
"I feel I owe a lot to this game and that's one of the things I owe to this game, to let an elder statesman go ahead of me."

2008 Home Run Derby

The field for Monday's All-Star Home Run Derby (8 p.m. ET, ESPN) at Yankee Stadium is complete. Minnesota Twins first baseman Justin Morneau was named as the eighth and final competitor for the derby Sunday.

Morneau is one of four American League players in the derby, joining the Indians' Grady Sizemore, the Rays' Evan Longoria and the Rangers' Josh Hamilton. The NL side is represented by the Phillies' Chase Utley, the Marlins' Dan Uggla the Astros' Lance Berkman and the Brewers' Ryan Braun.

Looks like virtually all of the 'big bats' have passed on this event. It would have been nice to see such sluggers as Ryan Howard, Big Papi (injured), ARod, Manny, Adam (swing and miss or hit a home run) Dunn, Jason Giambi...... really wanted to see somebody pick up some mileage with their blasts. Well... I guess you never know.

More All-Star game trivia

In 1945, with severe wartime travel restrictions in effect, the All-Star Game scheduled to be played at Boston's Fenway Park was deferred until the next season. There were two All-Star Games played each season from 1959 to 1962. The second game was added to raise money for the players' pension funds, as well as other causes. The experiment was abandoned on the grounds that having two games watered down the appeal of the event.

At Fenway Park in Boston on July 31, 1961, the first All-Star Game tie in history occurred when the game was stopped after the 9th inning due to rain. The only other rain-shortened game had been in 1952, but it had a winner.

The 1967 game lasted 15 innings, the longest MLB All-Star Game in innings as of 2007. The middle portion of the 1981 season, including the scheduled All-Star break, had been erased due to the players' strike. To promote the resumption of the season, the game (in Cleveland) was moved from its original July date to Sunday night, August 9. Second half regular-season play began the next afternoon with a game in Wrigley Field in Chicago. The 1981 game is the only MLB All-Star Game to be played on a weekend.

The 2002 All-Star Game, held in Milwaukee, ended in controversy in the 11th inning, when both teams ran out of substitute players available to pitch in relief. At that point, Commissioner Bud Selig, coincidentally a Milwaukee native and former owner of the Brewers, declared the game to end in a tie. The crowd booed and the media were highly critical of this unsatisfying conclusion.
To provide additional incentive for victory, Major League Baseball reached an agreement with the players union to award home-field advantage for the World Series to the league that won the All-Star Game, for 2003 to 2004. Since then, the agreement was extended twice, in 2005 and 2006. Previously, home field advantage in the World Series alternated between the two leagues each year.

Did you know that.....

In 1957, fans of the Cincinnati Reds stuffed the ballot box and elected 7 Reds players to start in the All-Star Game. They were:

Johnny Temple, 2B
Roy McMillan, SS
Don Hoak, 3B
Ed Bailey, C
Frank Robinson, LF
Gus Bell, CF
Wally Post, RF

The only non-Red elected to start for the National League was St. Louis Cardinals' first baseman Stan Musial. While the Reds were known to be a great offensive team with many outstanding position players, most baseball observers agreed that they did not deserve seven starters in the All-Star Game. An investigation showed that over half of the ballots cast came from Cincinnati. The Cincinnati Enquirer had printed up pre-marked ballots and distributed them with the Sunday newspaper to make it easy for Reds fans to vote often. There were even stories of bars in Cincinnati not serving alcohol to customers until they filled out a ballot.

1999 All-Star Game Tribute to Ted Williams

Wednesday July 14, 1999 Players flocked to greet legend Williams before first pitch. BOSTON (AP) -- There was a baseball love-in on the mound, the stars of the night and the stars of the century swamping Ted Williams, gazing at him in awe, reaching over each other to shake his hand.

He rode out in a golf cart from center field at the All-Star game after they'd all been introduced -- Aaron and Mays, Feller and Musial from summers past, McGwire and Sosa, Ripken and Griffey from Tuesday night's lineup. Players watched as the adoring crowd stood and cheered him, the roar almost as loud as the jets that buzzed Fenway Park after the national anthem. And they watched Williams respond by waving his cap, a gesture he never made as a player, even after he homered in his final game. Williams was often booed by Fenway fans during his playing days, but he's now more popular than ever.

"Hell, I haven't had a base hit in 30 years, and I'm a better hitter now than I've ever been in my life," Williams said. The 80-year-old Williams waved all the way down the right field line as the golf cart proceeded toward the mound. He rose gingerly from the cart -- two strokes and a broken hip in recent years make it hard for him to walk. And then he took the ball to throw out the ceremonial first pitch to Carlton Fisk. "Where is he?" Williams asked. His vision, once the best in the game, has suffered, too, and he can't see well outside a narrow range.

"I got you," Gwynn said. Williams joked a bit, then tossed a soft pitch to Fisk, inside but all the way to the plate. Fisk jogged to the mound to hug him. While Williams was in the cart, young and old surrounded him, reached out to touch him, shake his hand. It was a huge huddle on the mound, no one wanting to leave, no one caring much if the game was delayed. "Where's Sammy?" Williams bellowed, calling for Sosa, then shaking his hand.

"He wanted to talk baseball with everybody out there," McGwire said, adding that a lot of players got choked up. Larry Walker of the Rockies was one of them. "Tears were coming out of Ted's eyes. I had to turn away because tears were coming out my eyes, too." The game was running late, but no one wanted this moment to end. "It was kind of funny," Boston shortstop Nomar Garciaparra said. "When the announcer asked everybody to go back to the dugout, everybody said no. It didn't matter. What time was the first pitch? Nobody cared." Said Rafael Palmeiro: "That's the chance of a lifetime. The game can wait." McGwire and all the others lingered on the mound with Williams a few more minutes.

Finally, Williams was helped back into the cart, and the crowd roared again until he made his way to his box seat along the first base line with commissioner Bud Selig. "Wasn't it great!" Williams said. "I can only describe it as great. It didn't surprise me all that much because I know how these fans are here in Boston. They love this game as much as any players and Boston's lucky to have the faithful Red Sox fans. They're the best."

Red Sox Players losing ground in All-Star Voting

Get your Ya-Ya's out, people!!

The Red Sox haven't exactly lost their grip. But as indicated by the latest weekly voting update, announced Monday afternoon, they have lost two significant edges, and their hold on a couple of other positions is looser. At catcher, Minnesota's Joe Mauer culminated a furious charge of several weeks by finally overtaking Boston's Jason Varitek. A 323,000-vote week catapulted Mauer into a 44,775 lead over the Red Sox veteran.

Meanwhile, Derek Jeter zipped past David Ortiz to grab the lead in overall votes. The Yankees captain attracted more than 424,000 votes last week to jump his total to 1,988,251, giving him a slim lead of fewer than 6,000 over the Boston designated hitter. Ortiz extended his lead at DH to more than 750,000 votes over the Yankees' Hideki Matsui, and while three of Big Papi's teammates also maintained their position leads, they are shrinking.

At first base, Kevin Youkilis' edge over Mauer's teammate, Justin Morneau, is down to fewer than 270,000. At second base, Texas' Ian Kinsler made up more than 50,000 votes on Dustin Pedroia to creep within 166,000. And among the outfield leaders, No. 1 Manny Ramirez continues to lead the Rangers' Josh Hamilton, but his cushion is down to less than 126,000 votes

Five Red Sox Lead 2008 All-Star Balloting!!

With this years event being held in 'old' Yankee Stadium, it would seem only fitting that five Red Sox players are leading the balloting in their positions. Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, Manny Ramirez, Jason Varitek and David Ortiz are all among the leaders at their positions. There's a couple Yankees leading, but I forgot their names.With Terry Francona being the Junior Circuits' manager, he probably won't select very many Sox alternates and Pitchers. However, whatever the case be, I am sure that the SPANKEES will cry foul and Lady Alex will smack Terry with his purse. Papelbon could make it and Okay-geema is a possiblity. We could have a starting pitcher or two....Dice-K, Beckett if he turns things around and shows consistency the next few weeks.Wish they had 30 positions available because every team must still be represented with at least One 'all star'.