Off day

Nothing more depressing than the newspaper during the all star break. I happen to like box scores and one over a three day period is weak. And it's one that doesn't even matter. Yawn.

I am here in the Twin Cities (no, not where the Buss's live -- different twins) -- and will watch the game tonight from the comfort of a hotel room.

Saw ESPN last night doing some recap stuff on the home run derby (yawn again) and the upcoming game. I have one thing to say about that. WHOEVER DECIDED THAT ERIC YOUNG SHOULD SPEAK PUBLICLY NEEDS TO BE FIRED. What a moron! And he has a great voice, too. The lollipop guild must really miss him.

After ten minutes of listening to them discuss whether or not Josh Hamilton should have used a different strategy to try to win the home run derby, it dawned on me that I didn't give a shit.

I did hear that Clint Hurdle said his "strategy" for the All Star game is not to take Albert Pujols out of the lineup. He'll DH all game. More at bats for Albert. That's it. That's the strategy. Brilliant.

I hope that Cliff Lee is out of the game before Fukudome bats. He can't hit lefties anyway, and Lee will make him look real bad.

I hope it doesn't come down to Marmol having to save the game, either.

All this talk about the eight Cub all stars. Let's take a look.

1. Soriano. Injured. Really doesn't deserve the spot.
2. Wood. Injured. Debatable whether or not he's deserving. Too many give backs for me.
3. Dempster. Probably deserving, but can't pitch because he went almost 7 innings two days ago.
4. Zambrano. Deserving.
5. Ramirez. Maybe he deserves it, although he's not having his best year.
6. Marmol. Come on. No way. Should be on a minor league "get your head out of your ass" stint. (See Rich Hill)
7. Fukudome. Hitting about .280 with little power. Looks real bad against lefties. He's in because he's Japanese. Face it. Chicago fans like the head bands.
8. Soto. Deserving. I don't know if he deserves to start -- there are still some pretty good Molina's in the league...but whatever. He's had a nice half, especially for a rookie.

Theriot and DLee probably deserve to be there more than some of the others.

The all star game should be like the pro bowl. Played at the end of the year by the players who have the best seasons. Don't let the fans vote. Fans are idiots. Make it statistical.

Whatever. Go NL. If we make it that far, it'd be nice to have home field.

JS