This will be the fourth time the All-Star Game winner will be given home-field advantage in the World Series. Cool, I have no problem with that.
What I do have a problem with, is if this game means so much, why are the fans still picking the staring teams? This game has always been for the fans, picked by the fans, and I'm very cool with that, but has MLB not looked at the last 20 years and how The AL has dominated the mid-summer classic? The AL has fared 15-4-1, to be exact.
The NL has not won a game since the last time the All-Star game was played in Pittsburgh 10 years ago. Yes, it is quite a run for the AL, but this game counts, right? So once again, if there is to be so much meaning on this game, why are the fans picking the teams? Why are there still players from every team still represented? Are you kidding me, why should a team that is already 20 games back at the break, get to have a player on a team that decides who gets home field advantage in the World Series?
You can't have your cake and eat it too. If you make changes to the game, you better make changes to the process and give the fans a game with meaning, because the other sports sure as hell don't.
But maybe let all the AL managers pick the team, and all the NL managers try and stop the dominance of the AL by picking their squad, but please Mr. Commissioner, quit telling us what the fans want or need, the fans are much smarter than you think.
The fans want a great baseball game, but they don't have run the game as well. That's your job.
When guys like Hafner and Liriano (both of whom have had insanely good years), get snubbed in favor of A.J., you have a major problem on your hands.
Nothing against Paul Lo Duca, but he clearly does not make this team if he doesn't play in New York. McCann should easily be starting for the N.L. over him and I can think of at least two other N.L. catchers that should be a reserve over Lo Duca this year.
It would be a shame to take the vote away from fans, but some sort of baseball awareness test should have to be issued or something...LOL.
Can you name off the top 10 players in batting average? If not, go check out a stat page so you can answer it and you may find your hometown fave has no business going over at least a half a dozen other guys.
But seriously, please just put the best guys there or do away with the World Series homefield advantage.
Whether its an automatic bid for several of the league's top statistical leaders with the "leftover" spots available for fan voting, and then make it a 50/50 fan/manager split; or a drastically smaller selection field with only the top few players at each position put on the ballot for the fans to choose from, please change something MLB!
THIS IS TRUE. THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE AFTER THAT #### SELIG STARTED THIS. THE ALL STAR GAME SHOULD NOT DETERMINE WHO GETS HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE. THAT SHOULD GO TO THE TEAM WITH THE BEST RECORD.
Mr. Dibble, I'm afraid I don't understand your point. Yes, the American League has won a very healthy majority of the last twenty All-Star games (70%, in fact), but I fail to see what that has to do with your point that the fans should not be allowed to pick the starters for their teams. What on earth would be gained by having the commissioner or his representatives or the managers themselves pick the teams themselves without mandate from the fans? Not to dwell on recent controversy, but if this year is any indication, they'd make concessions in the favor of hometown favorites (See: Sanchez, Freddy; and Bay, Jason) or managerial favorites (See: Thome, Jim; Buerhle, Mark; Pierzynski, A.J... and that's just the AL), at the expense of players more talented or with more "star power." They're good guys and good performers, but there's uniformly a superior player at every above-stated position.
Are the fans unqualified to vote? Sometimes it seems that way. Does it this year? Hey, if Hafner's off the squad, then maybe, just maybe baseball fans need to re-evaluate themselves and their voting practices. Does that rule about every team needing a representative in the All-Star game need to get pulled? Oh yeah. Big time. But that's another story.
It's not the fans' fault the AL has dominated over the NL in recent memory (to wit: of the last 20 years, only seven national league teams have emerged victorious in the World Series, so it's not just the All-Star games in which they fall flat. That's a 37% winning percentage, or in other words, about as good as the Cubs.)
Sorry Dibs your view just doesn't cut the mustard. The fans pick both teams. So its as fair as your gonna get. It's not like there is a conspiracy in the U.S. to let the A.L. Win every World Series.
It's not the fans or the players or the managers that made a laughingstock of the All-Star game- it's interleague play.
It used to be that this was the one chance in a year that most of these players had to show their legaue was better than the other, but since interleague play was added, that argument is already made, therefore this game became meaningless to the players. It's so simple to see, and never said by any of the "media" that it boggles the imaginaion.
And the thought that the players would select better than the fans, is of course, ridiculous. The players and coaches do things like give Rafael Palmeiro Gold Gloves for playing 17 games at 1st base, and don't even get me started on Jeter's Gold Glove.
Oh yeah, I used to watch the All-Star game solely to see Ryne Sandberg and maybe Andre Dawson get an at-bat or 3. If there were no Cubs I wouldn't watch. Maybe alienating 1/4th of the viewing public is a good idea to you, but it's not a good idea to Fox or to 25% of the population.
Ah, let the All-Star game run in the whacko manner that it does, but the home field advantage for the World Series should not depend on it. The All-Star votine process is a popularity contest and there is never any rhyme or reason in that kind of voting. Often the best get left behind. Look at the guy who won the American Idol thing this year. I cringe everytime that Ford commercial comes on.
I say instead of letting the All-Star game determine home field advantage, how about letting the total won-loss record in interleague play of one league against the other be the determining factor for home field advantage? Then the competition for home field advantage might help brighten up every interleague game all season long. And the fans goofy voting for the All-Star game has no effect.
Just another comment by a bone-headed ex-neverwasjock trying to create more distance between the fans and the players. As if there wasn't a big enough gap, with the players barely able to pry themselves from the bench during warm-ups to sign for the fans, now "Bone Head" wants to take the last thing we have that allows us, as fans, to feel like we are still a part of the game. And rest assured, if it wasn't for us, "Bone Head" wouldn't have a job on TBDSS, with the lack of talant he has, as all the rest of the players. Oh, sure, they would be playing baseball, but for about $1,200.00 a month. Keep it up "Bone Head".
the managers should never ever pick their own all star position players. Hey, just because a team is way crappy, that doesnt mean that there aren't any talented players. And yes, I do think a good player on a crappy team deserves the right to fight for his league to get home field advantage.
hey , let the fans keep the vote. but allow the mangers to have a little more descresion in picking the players , like make them not pick their own , hey ifin you want a real change how bout, playin" national league rules in american league parks and vise-versa for inter- league play. this will give american league fans and national league fans a look at the others product
Ya got to be kidding me. Take the vote out of the fans hands is the WORST thing that could happen. Selig was a complete #### to link the All Star game to the World Series in the first place and I think that is where the change needs to be made. All my life I have heard people complain about the fans and the way they vote and it is unfortunate that some damn good players get left off, but we seem to forget this specific game is supposed to be the love of the game---that point always gets forgotten.
I could care less who wins the game. Do I watch? no, haven't since the strike and I'm just warming back up to the game. Do you want to further alienate me and others just coming back?
You want a solution; lets' take it from something that works. Expand the roster to a 40 man roster and make All Star Game an All Star Week, a three game series just like in the regular season. That way we might actually get a chance to see the elite players and the home town/manager pets get more than 1 AB or pitch a 1/3 inning. Take away the ASG/WS connection and let the players play. Think what you could have in some of those pitching duals that could be created. This also solves the "Hafner dilemma" because the AL could afford to carry more than one DH and face it, some of those DH’s are folks that can only hit or guys in the decline of their career, but those are some of the folks we want to see. I would have loved to see more of Kaline, Killabrew, or Carew, just for the excitement they brought to the game. .
Now that’s something I would really come back for.
Greetings, Rob, from a fan in Music City that still has a couple of your cards made during your tenure with the Sounds!
The All Star Game has lost a lot of its luster, and I think that it did when both leagues came in under the MLB umbrella. Many younger fans do not remember the time when, theoretically, there were two different leagues, with two different presidents, and two different styles of play. I loved the All Star era of Garvey, Schmidt, Rose, Bench, Carew, Yaz and others, who didn't opt out of the game becuase they wanted three days off in midseason, but played for the honor AND the competiton.
So what, if anything, can be done to breathe new life back into it?
a.)Keep fan voting, BUT try a format similar to the NFL's Pro Bowl roster, where fans votes figure as a prominent part of the selection, but also the performance numbers and rankings factor in also. I can not see players having a selection, I CAN see managers and coaches voting anonymously for players. Figure all three factors together, and have 2 teams of players actually deserving to be chosen for the team.
b.)Play the All Star Game at season's end.
Play the World Series, then a post season All Star game, with truly deserving players, without EVERY team being represented.
c.)Play the game in a warm weather area for late October or early November.
This is not the first time that Rob Dibble has bashed "the fans". Did "the fans" decide that a player from every team had to be picked for the All Star game? Are "the fans" responsible for the AL having such a great winning record over the last 20 years? If you look back further, the NL had an equally impressive run... Don't "the fans" ultimately pay the wonderful salaries of "the players"? It seems to me that the best players usually end up in the game. Too bad "the fans" can't pick someone more visionary and less "short-sighted" to comment on the game as Rob Dibble is...
Being a life long baseball fan, I understand the importance of giving the fans a say in who should be on the ballot. Conversly, with all that is riding on the game, should'nt the managers with the best records, and therefore the best chance of being in the World Series, have the last say???
Last edited by bbyersusn on July 10th at 10:00 AM.
Dibble are you an idoit? First off the last time the National League won was not ten years ago in Pittsburgh, it was ten years ago in Philidelphia! The National League won in Pittsburgh in 1994 (12 YEARS AGO)!!!!! So either get your facts right or stick to what your good at, which is being a dumb jock! Second, the game is for the fans and they should continue to pick the starters for the All*Star Game. Im sure your opinion would change if David Ortiz played for the Royals or the Pirates and still had the same numbers he has with the Red Sox. Finally the All*Star Game is not the "All*Stars from the Contenders Game," its the MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL, (meaning all teams, good or bad) All*Star Game.
Dibbs, I couldn't agree with you more. I think your idea to put the rosters in the hands of all the NL/AL managers hands is a good idea. I guess we can only pray that the commish will get the hint for '07.
Ron, you ar right about the fans. Let's do away with the on-line voting it skews the vote. Also, let's have the old fashion "have fun game " Screw home field ad. These guys play a long season and should look forward to a sandlot game.
I agree that the teams should be picked by the managers and the other players.
This game was meant to honor the ALL STARS. The managers and players are the best judges of that not the fans.
You also need to check your history. When I was growing up and could watch my Tiger play, it was the Managers and Players who did the picking not the fans.
The fans picking the teams is a "new" wrinkle for Baseball.
Okay Mr. Dibble, if that is indeed your real name, I'll give up my right to vote on All-Star Starters as long as I can vote on which Baseball Analysts should get sacked.
Are fans really that bad at picking 8 starters? Note that:
NL Starters went 6 for 21, a .286 batting avg, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 SB
NL Reserves went 0 for 9, (that's a .000 average Rob), 1 BB
Heck, we could have collectively set the lineups, sang our National Anthem better than any American Idol, and we would have definitely held Soriano at third.
Statistically speaking, Brian McCann should have started in place of Paul Lo Duca. However Lo Duca did have the qualifications to be an All-Star this season so he would have gotten his 2 at-bats regardless. You would be hard pressed (and just flat out mean) to try to justify not starting hometown favorite, Jason Bay. His numbers favor very comparably to the other 3 reservist outfielders.
Cleveland DH/1B Travis Hafner who is leading the American league in OPS, SLG, BB, and is Top 10 in BA, R, HR, RBI, and OBP was noticeably absent from this weekend although his production far surpassed 1B Paul Konerko’s numbers. Who dropped the ball on this one? Not the fans… Apparently Ozzie Guillen, who selected his own first baseman for the All-Star Game, needs to take a statistics class (after his sensitivity classes are over of course).
There is simply no correlation between fan voting and one league's dominance over the other.
However, the main issue is not with the fans nor is this even an issue about home field in the W
It's me, your best friend out in Long Beach. Quick Question. How come you guys never let Salley talk? I mean he was a nasty boy too wasn't he? Anyhow, keep up the good work and see if you can find out who the white guy that sits next to Salley is will you? My friend Jamie says it's Tom Arnold with a face lift, latex eye surgery (or whatever it's called) and bleached hair club for men. Hope he's wrong cause jeez you'd hate to think Tom spent all his money to end up looking like that, right?
Last edited by dustylaker on July 15th at 8:30 PM.
As much as I try to joke around on these boards (blogs my butt, they're boards. Blogs would be interactive and God knows you guys at Best Damn are not interactive with us AT ALL. Like you're so busy, I bet most the time you don't even write your own words. Probably dictate them.) We're priced out of seeing anything but a game or two a year nowdays in person and the "stars" are so inaccessible it just irked me no end to pay 250.00 for good seats for a foster child's birthday and he couldn't even get close enough to get a single autograph of anyone he ever heard of. You obviously still don't care about us fans Rob cause you never once personally responded to anyone's posts. Sure you were a great relief pitcher but what are you now? A still young RETIRED millionaire BECAUSE OF THE FANS. You can save every game of a season and you'd still be making 50,000 a year if not for the FANS MONEY. WE make YOU. And NOW you want to take away the ONLY thing we fans still control over the game of Baseball. When is the last time you actually had to pay for parking, tickets and food for a family of 4 Rob? NEVER? Certainly not at today's prices. The All Star Game is nothing more than a showcase of who the FANS feel should be there. It shouldn't have ANY more meaning than that. And You Rob are out of line and owe the fans an apology.
Last edited by dustylaker on July 17th at 10:43 PM.
The more I think about it Mr. Dibble the angrier I get. Not only are you a pompeous has been that lobbies for "relievers to be in the hall of fame". Some are. Guys who carried their whole team as the PRIMARY closer. You did what? 7 years most of which you rotated closer duties with two other guys? Little self serving there aren't you? I wouldn't vote for you for the hall of fame and there a lot of relievers I would. Next: You say to Selig "don't think you know what the fans want" and then turn right around and declare that YOU know what the fans want and that is for the vote for all stars to be taken from them. I have a better idea. The team with the best season record gets home field advantage in the series. Like in every other sport. Let the fans pick 3 players for every position except pitcher. 24 for NL, 24 for AL. Each player can play only 3 innings. In case of injury or extra innings, a player may re-enter the game but no player can play more than 3 consecutive innings. THE "STARS" ARE THOSE THE FANS SAY ARE THE STARS. Don't like who we pick? Tough. Let fans pick 3 pitchers from a starting nominees and 2 from reliever list. No pitcher can pitch more than two innings. Then if the HR leader, the AVG leader, the RBI leader are not picked they are added to roster. Same for ERA, Win and Save leaders. If there are still gaps for those 6 spots let the managers pick. A FANS GAME WITH THE FANS STARS JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT. IF WE SAY YOU'RE A STAR LET'S SEE YOUR STUFF. THAT'S WHAT AN ALL STAR GAME SHOULD BE.
Last edited by dustylaker on July 18th at 2:19 AM.
And just to #### off pompeous jerks like you Mr Dibble who seem to think you can speak for "the fans" I suggest to Mr Selig and the Owners of the teams that you should call the All Star Game "The MLB Fan Appreciation All Star Game". And for once give something back to the FANS. But wait. According to Mr Dibble we fans are supposed to shell out and shell out and shell out and be happy spending our lifetimes waiting for that ONE championship most fans get in a lifetime (Yankee fans notwithstanding).
Rob Dibble was named a full-time co-host of BEST DAMN SPORTS SHOW PERIOD in April 2005. The outspoken, all-star reliever is a perfect fit for the most irreverent sports show on television.
Dibble, who is best known as one of the Reds' hard throwing "Nasty Boys," along with Norm Charlton and Randy Myers, won a World Series with the Reds in 1990.
