2009 MLB All-Star Festivities Lack Excitement

I've been to All-Star Week before, and had a blast doing it.  I go into these breaks every year wanting them to be fun and interesting.  The city of St. Louis seemed to do a fantastic job of putting on the show this year, so no knock on them.

But this year's events were so... meh... that I couldn't get excited over them.

To me, Sunday's Futures Game was the most interesting of the big 3 events.  It featured almost all of the top prospects in baseball and some dynamic performances.

But Monday's Home Run Derby was a snoozefest.  Almost all of that is due to how ESPN chooses to cover the game, with only slight criticism pointed at the rules.  It gets a little tedious watching these guys take 6 or 7 straight pitches before deciding to swing.  Old school home run derby had an umpire behind the plate calling strikes, so you had to swing at strikes.  It kept it crisp.

Instead, we had these 10-minute swinging sessions that were drawn out.  And that only spells doom when you have Joe Morgan and Chris Berman behind the mike, two people who just won't shut up.  And until we got near the end, they really weren't to interested in actually talking about the hitter, or why they chose their BP pitcher.  Good stuff like that was throw aside for the ever-important interview with broadcaster Joe Buck.  Albert Pujols gave an interesting interview, but did it really need to take up all of Prince Fielder's turn? A Brewers fan would rightfully be pissed.

Not too sure why Brandon Inge was in the derby (yeah he has 21 HR at the break but he isn't a typical HR hitter).  It lacked star power on the AL side, with the likes of Nelson Cruz and Inge.

The game on Tuesday night was a really good game.  No question about that.  I just wish there weren't so many players involved.  Being subbed into and out of the lineup so often makes it nearly impossible for most players to even develop an All-Star legacy.  Amazingly, the game went quickly.  And the drama about whether the National League would ever win another game was fun.  But with so many substitutions, it's nearly impossible to create an MVP.  And Carl Crawford, who did have an amazing catch to rob Brad Hawpe of a home run, was the winner.  Sure it was a big play.  But it was one pitch.  One play.  Back in the day, players used to play 8-9 innings.  I'd rather see rosters reduced.

If you ever have the money and inclination to go to the All-Star events, I highly recommend it.  It's a blast being there.  But the television audience is missing so much of the fun and excitement.

(Photo: Getty Images)

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Chase Parker believes in the East Coast bias, stretching triples into doubles, and considers Tommy Boy to be the greatest athlete of our generation.

Unless otherwise stated, no particular sexual orientation of anyone depicted is implied or should be presumed.