The All-Star Game

It's great to know that I can leave the Cubs for two weeks and come back to find everything's almost exactly the way I left it.  Sure, the Cubs have swapped in one has-been starting pitcher (Ramon Ortiz) for another (Doug Davis), but they still can't win more than two straight games and still have the second worst record in the major leagues as we hit the All-Star Break.

As for the All-Star Game itself, at least the Cubs' pity only representative in the game is the one who's most worth watching.  But even the presence of Starlin Castro on the National League's roster isn't enough to compel me to tune in tonight.  The whole "this time it counts" novelty has run its course, and not just for me.  TV ratings for the All-Star Game have steadily dropped since the infamous 2002 tie game, to the point where last year's Game was the least-watched midsummer "classic" ever.  While many people may attribute that to Fox Sports's taking over coverage of the game and to "Buck-McCarver Fatigue" in general, I think another culprit helps explain the declining interest in the All-Star Game - interleague play.


It used to be that, aside from the World Series, the All-Star Game was the only time you could see American League vs. National League match-ups.  It made moments like Cubs 3B Bill Madlock's game-winning hit off Sox closer Goose Gossage in the 1975 All-Star Game special.  But now, I don't need to see the All-Star Game to watch Cubs and Sox players face each other, because over the last 14 years they've met 84 times.  And unlike the All-Star Game, those games actually matter in the regular-season standings, not just to the teams that have a chance to reach the World Series.  It's a shame that the All-Star Game is no longer appointment TV for me, because it's the best All-Star game among the four major sports (at the very least, it's the only one where the game is played the same way as it is during the regular season).   But there's really nothing there now that I can't see during regular-season play.

In any event, I'll be sure to enjoy the three-day break from game action - if nothing else, I get to see three consecutive days go by without a Cubs loss.  As for the second half of the season, I'm looking forward to that Cubs hot streak, which should be starting any day now (no, really, it should), and also trying to guess which veterans will receive their "get out of jail free" cards and be sent packing at the trade deadline.