July 15, 2004: MLB
All-Star Mockery Revisited Again
By Ahchie
The annual mid-summer classic, known as Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game took place at the home of the Houston Astros and has left this fan more than a little uncomfortable. While there were some moments to enjoy, there were far too many disturbing events that unfolded.
First
the good. Seeing Roger Clemens get bombed was a treat. The man is a selfish
ballplayer and has never been able to pitch good when it really counts and
the pressure is at its ultimate. Seeing Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz go yard
was the highlight of the on field action. And being able to see George Bush,
Sr. sitting next to Barbara and eating a hot dog in the background behind
home plate during the game was somehow very cool.
The rest was a series of troublesome moments that taken individually would probably be no big deal, but taken together as a whole left a cheap and dirty feeling. It started with the opening Blues Brothers sequence where ballplayers who love to look at themselves in the mirror participated in a lengthy and uninteresting montage. It was not offensive, it was just not inspiring and not in the least entertaining.
Soon came the ridiculously easy million dollar challenge where some poor slob only had to throw five balls through a giant hole at home plate within 30 seconds to win a million dollars. Despite the ease of the task, the guy chosen used 29 of those 30 seconds to accomplish the deed. All this while strikeout king Nolan Ryan stood by giving him words of encouragement as he would throw one a mile high, followed by one into the giant hole. Nolan Ryan’s role seemed very undignified for a man of his stature. Bud Selig seems to be willing to subject legends to demeaning tasks while the network promotes every product or movie it can. The contest should have been more of a challenge, perhaps bringing out another slob to bat. If the guy pitching can get a strike out, he gets a million. If the batter hits a homer, he gets a million. Any other hit or form of out or walk yields no prize.
Even player introductions seemed overdone, with the players emerging from the common folk in the stands to walk across the top of the dugout down to the field. Not sure I can say what is really wrong with it, other than it seemed odd and over the top. Speaking of player introductions, how many years are we going to allow Joe Torre to fill the reserves with his players? Eight Yankees on the team is a bit much. I know Torre had nothing to do with Giambi getting on the team because the witless fans in New York put him in, but Giambi had no business being there with his parasites, bum knees, and pathetic .241 batting average.
Taking things to another level of disgrace was American Idol winner Fantasia’s imitation of Nell Carter singing the National Anthem. They look alike, sound alike, and neither is what I would consider a pop icon worthy of adoration from the masses. She sings with emotion, but that voice is just too much Nell.
Then
we had the ceremonial first pitch, otherwise known as the Muhammad Ali Love
Fest. Ali is done, and has been for some time. He was always voted as one
the best athletes despite the fact that he only “played” around
50 times in his career and lost several of those times. The BMTG will take
somebody who takes care of business every day. Ali is revered more for his
celebrity than his ability, while he should be remembered more for his anti-America
stance and kissing up to Saddam Hussein. The BMTG agrees 100% with pitching
legend Bob Feller’s stance on Ali’s participation.
Whatever the politically correct establishment might try to tell you, Muhammad
Ali is not an American hero. While Ali was doing his shadowboxing, someone
should have walked up to him and decked him.
This is all before the game even started. More pre-game nonsense was the cheap promotion for I Robot, where again we have Fox forcing something that just doesn’t work. Then to look at the field and see the giant lettering painted outside the baselines, “THIS ONE COUNTS.” The giant phrase was repeated on the dugout walls and even larger on the outfield fence. Ever heard of overkill? True baseball fans are intelligent and do not need to be told the significance of a game, or lack thereof. Why do we want another reminder of the 2002 All Star travesty?
At some point during the pre-game we had the following irritating exchange between Jeanne Zelasko and Kevin Kennedy:
ZELASKO: We hope Mike Piazza is busy right now because we really can not ignore this intriguing factor -- (interrupted by Kennedy)
KENNEDY: Ohhhhhh! Let’s get past it -- (interrupted by Zelasko)
ZELASKO: -- it’s Mike against Roger -- (interrupted by Kennedy)
KENNEDY: The old bean ball -- (interrupted by Zelasko)
ZELASKO: I agree with you, let’s go -- (interrupted by Kennedy)
KENNEDY: -- incident four years ago. Hey, they’re teammates tonight, both guys wanna move past it. I caught up with them just the other day…
We are then subjected to interviews with both players regarding the past “incidents.”
If everyone wants to move past it, why are they still talking about it? Zelasko introduced the topic and Kennedy shot her down, causing Zelasko to suddenly change her stance. The whole sequence was cheap and nasty.
Eventually
Fox found time to actually start the game and kick the Clemens Love Fest into
full gear. Despite what Major League Baseball may think, people in general
don’t care much about Clemens. He is not loved and adored by even a
significant percentage of baseball fans. Most fans would rather he just go
away. Even after Clemens got rocked, we had to sit through Bud Selig struggle
to read through Clemens accomplishments while he got some made up award just
because. What was the purpose of interrupting the game? Did they have to bring
the game to a screeching halt because they thought the endless pre-game went
so well? Seeing Selig stumble through his reading off an index card reminded
me of when he did the same thing for Cal Ripkin, except Ripkin genuinely deserved
the recognition he was getting despite the fact Selig was stumbling over RBI
totals. Whenever Bud is speaking, you know he is going to make a glaring mistake
and not even know it.
Worse than all of the above was the terrible execution of the computer-generated ads that were placed on the wall behind home plate. When the batter was shown close up, all that could be seen was the plain green wall, free of the clutter of ads. On the standard view, however, that benign green wall turned ugly with brightly colored ads that dominated the screen. The players’ and the umpire’s outlines became fuzzy whenever they were in front of the ads, which unfortunately was 99% of the time. I have seen these ads before and it is just the way things are that we have to put up with them, but they have never stood out like this. It is absolutely unacceptable when a computer generated ad is interfering with the video integrity and ends up erasing or blurring out the edges of the actual participants.
I didn’t much care either for the computer animated “Scooter” who explained various pitches to the eager, drooling fans. Perhaps the intention was to capture the attention of kids watching the game, but I imagine most of the kids watching had fallen asleep by then, especially on the East Coast. If you have to explain what a slider is, at least have one of the current all stars talk about how they throw theirs and what they hope to accomplish with it.
The final disturbing element of this year’s all-star game was the “Pudge loves Yanni” bit. It was meant to be funny, but it was just plain irritating. It was overdone and Fox didn’t know when to stop as they continued to go back to it time and again.
The bottom line is that each one of these miscues by Fox and Major League Baseball taken alone may be no big deal (except for the blurred players in front of the computer ads, which was a major blunder that was never fixed throughout the entire game). Taken together, however, it ended up being a production that was way overdone. It seemed like Fox has lost sight of what is important – the game itself. It is good to have some cool graphics. It is good to have some pre-game ceremony. It is good to try and have some fun. But it is not good to just throw anything out there just because someone thought it might be neat.
Ahchie’s fatherly advice to Fox and Major League Baseball: Have some purpose for what you do and don’t sacrifice the game in the process. The game can stand by itself as it has for more than a hundred years – it does not need all the fluff. Keep it simple and you won’t go wrong.
Feller
Jabs Ali: Hall of Famer Knocks Boxer's Character
By Steve Buckley, Boston Herald
HOUSTON - Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller reacted angrily last night at former
boxing great Muhammad Ali being involved in opening ceremonies at Major League
Baseball's 75th All-Star Game.
"A man who turned his back on his country shouldn't be honored this way,"
Feller said.
Feller, 85, won 266 games during his career, all with the Cleveland Indians,
but lost nearly four seasons in his prime while serving with the U.S. Navy
in World War II. Feller received eight battle stars.
"I object very strongly to Muhammad Ali being here to throw out the first
pitch, and you can print that," Feller said. "This is a man who
changed his name and changed his religion so he wouldn't have to serve his
country, and, to me, that's disgusting."
Ali, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, actually assisted in the throwing
of the first pitch, bringing baseballs out to the mound.
He walked onto the field with his son, Asaad, and waited on the mound as a
boy and a girl threw the ceremonial first pitches. Ali threw a series of playful
punches at the boy, 12-year-old Jacob Hobbs of Houston. The sellout crowd
of 41,886 at Minute Maid Park roared with approval.
Born Cassius Clay in 1942, Ali changed his name after converting to the Muslim
faith. He fought four times at the since-deserted Astrodome, beating Cleveland
Williams in 1966, Ernie Terrell in 1967, and Jimmy Ellis and Buster Mathis
in 1971.
But Ali became known for much more than being a terrific heavyweight champion
in April 1967, when he moved his legal residence to Houston to fight induction
into the military at the downtown U.S. Armed Forces Examining and Entrance
Station.
In response to Ali's resistance to the draft, a federal jury indicted him
for violating the Universal Military Training and Service Act. He was convicted
in Houston on June 20, 1967, and was sentenced to five years in prison and
a $10,000 fine.
Ali never went to prison as his case went through appeals, but he was stripped
of his titles and forced to stop boxing for more than three years. The U.S.
Supreme Court overturned his conviction in 1971. Ali returned to the ring
shortly thereafter.
Ali, 62, has been viewed throughout the world as a goodwill ambassador. The
United Nations has appointed him as a "messenger of peace," and
he continues to make public appearances at events promoting world peace and
racial harmony.
At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Ali lit the torch at the opening ceremonies.
"I protest his being here," Feller said. "I don't like the
message he sends out, and (Major League Baseball) shouldn't have invited him."
Baseball commissioner Bud Selig dismissed such criticism. "Muhammad Ali
is one of the sports legends of our generation," Selig said before the
game. "I don't think that that's valid criticism."
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