Rex Hudler

Sorry Michelle and Jason, but you are way off here....... The players SHOULD want to be honored to play in this game. It SHOULD mean something to them. Do they have a legal obligation to play? No But you have to be kidding me thinking that a guy wanting an extra 3 days off rather than playing in a showcase that is 70 years old is okay. Family illness, I understand. But just not playing because someone doesn't want to or they are not legally obligated, is ridiculous. The players very much DO owe themselves and the game of baseball the courtesy of not being so damned selfish. Guys like Curt Flood fought in court to get them the money they make now. The players in the past were on year to year contracts and often got decreases if their numbers went down at all. Now, players want guaranteed contracts for MILLIONS of dollars. HELL YES, they owe the game, they owe the players from the past who made this game what it is today, and they owe themselves to do the right thing.

..........it should be up to the players if they want to represent their team or not.....cant dis on a guy for wanting a few days off reguardless of the reason. That's exactly why this event sucks. The players don't give a s***. It used to be a freakin HONOR to be selected to play in the game and a source of needed extra bonus money. Now we all know extra cash is not an issue. If a few extra days off are more important, then you are talking about what is severely wrong with this game!

Hyatt charges $32/day for valet parking and $18/day for self parking. Hilton on State and Grand charges $34/day for valet and $20/day for self parking. The question was asked "Is charging for parking standard in downtown Chicago?" The answer was "Anywhere and everywhere you go" Is that not enough???

Hey Jason, can I make a suggestion? Can you print the city and state the players are from? I can figure out most of the colleges, but have no idea where the high schools are unless you mention it in the write up (which you sometimes do). Just a thought. And thanks for doing all of this.

How is it Selig's fault that the A's decided he shouldn't play??

There have been a lot of things that have made the game mean less. I think the first thing is interleague play. Used to be, these players only played in the WS, and there was a sense of hatred between the 2 leagues. Now that they play each other a lot, the anger doesn't build up -- it's time-released. Also, with players moving around as much as they do, there's no sense of "I'm an American Leaguer". It's "I'm a baseball player" now. Plus, they make so much damned money now that a lot of things mean less to them -- AS game included. Without a doubt my most memorable AS game moment was Cal's HR in his final AS appearance. It was simply amazing and a great sports moment. All good points.... Add to it, the 1993 All-Star game in Baltimore where Mike Mussina never got to pitch. There was a fan and media uproar about the hometown guy not getting to play. After that, the managers started managing differently. They started trying to appease the players by making sure they followed "Little League" rules (everybody gets to play). Once they did that, the starters began playing fewer innings, pitchers rarely went two innings (or God forbid the starter go three like they used to), etc. With that, players knew they would be out of the game in the 3rd inning so many of them made travel plans and were out of town before the game even ended. MLB is trying to do what they should do and that is have a directive in how the game and player's innings are managed. They are doing so by the "winning team's league gets home field advantage" which is not necessary at all. All they needed to do is direct the managers to handle the game within certain guidelines and tell the players to expect it. I do believe that the players play hard while they are in the game, however.

This, coming from the girl who swore up and down that there was NO way JM would be fired this year??

Nothing major......

valet parking yes they charge.. but regular self parking if your a patron at the hotel they dont charge.. .most of them dont anyhow its all included in the room rate.......... Trust me, Michelle, they do charge for self parking as well. They do it in every large city in the country. Anywhere parking is at a premium you will be charged. If you just had parking added into your bill fine, but don't be naive to think that the charge wasn't there. It is not included in your room rate, but is charged additionally.

WTF? I've NEVER heard of a hotel charging their GUESTS parking. That is insane, and I would never stay at a place that was tacky enough to do that. No 4-star or better hotel -- well, any respectable one at least -- would pull that kind of lowlife tactic. When is the last time you stayed at a hotel downtown in a large city?? Any hotel will charge you for parking in large cities. I am not talking Days Inn's here, but Westins, Hiltons, Sheratons, etc. I have paid for parking in Chicago, Atlanta, Indianapolis and Detroit, off the top of my head.

I can tell you aren't a visitor to your own city. Downtown hotels charge $15 - $20 a day for parking if they have a garage. If not, then you are stuck looking for parking on your own. That $15-$20 is not included in the room rate they charge. If someone is a visitor, they aren't going to know where cheap parking places are in the city. Plus they aren't going to be used to dealing with the traffic mess, which are even worse when you are trying to find your way. The easiest, less complicated way to travel is the public transportation for a visitor staying downtown. Yes, there are lots of places they can walk to (which is also part of the experience), but at some point, a bus, train or cab will be necessary. It would be wise to watch the hours you are riding on the El, but if you are going to USCF and back then you would be fine. The red line stops are usually not more than a few blocks from most downtown hotels.

You're such a wuss... Riding public transportation is part of the experience of visiting a big city. And you know damned good and well if they are staying downtown, he wans't no business of renting a car and driving all over the place. Parking would eat him alive. Hell, they'll charge him $20 a day to park that rental car.

One other thing for both kystevie and bighurt......... go to Chicago Transit Authority and buy a Visitor's Pass. You won't have to worry about having money to pay all the tolls every time you ride a bus or the train. Chicago on $5 a day. Or less: You can enjoy unlimited rides on all CTA buses and trains with our 1, 2, 3, or 5-day Visitor Passes. Your pass activates the first time you use it and is good for the number of consecutive days shown on the front of the pass. CTA's Visitor Passes make getting to Chicago's top attractions quick, easy and a lot cheaper than cab rides or parking fees.

Sorry, Mr. Ritz-f***ing-Carlton!

Not in the situation I described. If I knew there was a tatse test and I was looking for a difference, then sure, I could probably pick out something different as well. Hell, I think they are all so damned close, I drink whatever my mind things of first. If I had to rank them in order of preference I would go Michelob Light, Coors Light, Bud Light and then Miller Lite. But I can drink Bud, Busch Light, Old Style, or whatever. If it is within that family of domestic beers, I'll drink whatever.

We'll just have to add "Mr. On-Top-Of-Things" to your "Mr. Negativity" title, MSF. Will two titles work for you??

You have a point, but the fascination for speed can be summed up easily. First off, not every pitcher actually throws 94-95 like is always reported. Most Major League pitchers throw in the 90-92 range. But the bottom line is, the harder a guy throws, the more margin for error he has. There aren't many Moyer's or Maddux' around that throw with the precision they do, so teams look for guys that can throw harder to so that they have more margin for error. A guy still has to learn to pitch, however and will never be able to rely on speed his whole career, but it is helpful in the learning process. That, and a guy who throws 95-98 with command, ends up being absolutely dominant. Those guys are more fun for most fans to watch than boring command guys who carve up teams with groundballs. I personally, can see the beauty in both.

First off, when he was sent to Birmingham, he had to be taken off Winston-Salem's roster and added to Birmingham's. My understanding is that it was just for a spot start, as was Yofu's in AAA, but my hope is that something will change and they will be kept. I'll see if I can dig up anything specific today. I believe they are both ready for the next level.

Did you gasp because you thought it was a fastball or because you just like the # 69? It is quite obvious that the gun used for TV was faster than those at the ballparks.

Crowd looked decent enough to me. The Futures Game has never sold out, as far as I know. This was my 3rd one. Crowd seemed bigger then last years, IMO. And those that were there were into it. The Celeb game was fun, too. Some really funny moments with Bo. Standing O's to most of the players. Classy crowd there. I'm sure tomorrow there will be some assholes booing. dont have to worry about assholes being there steff.. they cant afford to go....... MLB sure rakes it in, don't they? Exactly and if I hear ONE more person blaming the Sox and JR for s*** they don't like about this game I'm going to slap them, too. I'm sure the hosting team does quite well when hosting an All-Star game, and the Sox will make out well. But in All-Star Games, Playoffs and the World Series, MLB is in charge. They set ticket prices and they control the revenues. I would think those revenues are split amongst the clubs somehow, but MLB is the lead dog here.

ill watch... and no i cant recall more than one design cut in the grass at a time......well not since the last time we hosted the all star game.... My understanding is that Roger Bossard never varies his design cut like other teams do. So anything is different from the normal striping. true, he does not vary the cut in the grass.....im sure hes having a b**** fit right about now... .. hes very protective of his field and particular about how it looks........ I'm sure he knew that MLB would provide a design for him, so he has prepped himself for it. I do know that he is very good. Just kinda vanilla compared to some of the newer groundskeepers these days. Farmer and Rooney said it was the first time ever that he has done something different. MLB comes in and gives them the design they want cut. Or at least, that is what happened in Milwaukee last year.

And I enjoyed the Old Style

I like some of the old uniforms........ I just didn't particularly like those.

Not a biggie...... she's just talking about actually coming down here earlier in the year.. I was talking about something unrelated, so no big issue here..... Sorry

Neither could the 2000 White Sox.