As much as I love baseball (and have since 1982), I have never liked the All-Star Game. That it remains a popularity contest is just part of the reasoning, but now we already know who has home-field advantage in the 2006 World Series: Ho-hum; the American League.
I can remember Commissioner Bud Selig mentioning that All-Star Games would be more in the forefront with the saying "This time it counts". I thought he was originally out to fix the roster sizes after that disastrous tie game a few years back. What did that problem have to do with who gets home-field advantage? That was not the problem.
The game has been a fix since the fans regained the vote in 1970. Prior to that, what was wrong with managers, coaches and players voting on who they liked best? I was not alive at that time, but I am under assumption that fans were in an uproar, and I guess it's true that you do what the fans want. But the way the fans pick the starters is just out of control.
In the last ten games, the National League has not won once. Suppose they are in the midst of a record-smashing 20+ game losing streak. Does this mean that for at least ten consecutive years, the AL will have the Series advantage? Is that really fair to the fans of the National League style? I have to laugh when, in the same press conference, Selig talked about parity around the league being the goal. Parity means being fair, sir! (And don't even talk about parity; betcha those darned Atlanta Braves will come back & win that damn NL East for a 15th consecutive year!)
Commissioner Selig has been a success on some baseball issues; an utter failure in others. The All-Star game has had his fingerprints on it for some time now, and it's about time they're wiped out with Windex soon.
