“The only thing I think about with that situation is it would’ve been nice for him to be here, so that everybody could cheer [him for getting his 3,000th hit],’’ Konerko said Monday. “Not any other reason. I look at it like this was his opportunity to get that if he wanted it, that he was owed.
“I think everyone should let it slide. I mean, give him a break. The guy has been doing it for a long time, doing a lot of All-Star Games, doing World Baseball Classics, representing the game awesome his entire career. Maybe this should be the one time where everyone should be giving him the free pass with him doing everything for everybody all the time. Maybe he’s earned the right to just be a normal guy over the All-Star break.’’
OK, so what about the other 15 All-Stars who withdrew or were ineligible to play because they pitched Sunday?
That’s why the entire All-Star format was on trial again the day before the game. It’s not like the game doesn’t mean anything. But even with home-field advantage on the line for the two World Series teams, eligibility rules and last-second injuries proved to be higher priorities.
Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester, who’s on the 15-day disabled list, thought that making the break five days would help eliminate the Sunday eligibility problem for the starting pitchers.
“Yeah, any way you can get these guys to pitch would be good,’’ Lester said. “You’re basically taking a week off in the middle of the season, and I think there’s good and bad about it. You can look at it both ways with that. I would love it as a player just because it’s a grind. And if you had five days off with a few workouts in there, oh, man, that would be great. At the same time, the games are tough to simulate.’’
Absent from the American League team are Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Justin Verlander, Alex Rodriguez, Felix Hernandez and CC Sabathia. The National League team is without Ryan Braun, Matt Cain, Chipper Jones and Jose Reyes.
Heck, the Cubs’ Aramis Ramirez reportedly flat-out turned down an All-Star invitation. Then again, home-field advantage for the World Series is not a problem the Cubs have to worry about.
“Obviously, anything can be improved,’’ Twins All-Star Michael Cuddyer said about the process. “If you look at it, I don’t know how because you don’t want to take too many games off in the middle of the season. If you put it at the end of the season, I don’t know what that would do. People a lot smarter than me can figure that out, but I definitely think it’s something that can be explored.’’
What no player would bite on, however, was the idea that this year’s game is somehow cheapened because of all the replacements.
“It shouldn’t,’’ Konerko said. “I mean, I can understand the fans’ point of view. They voted some of those guys in and wanted to see them play. Listen, when it’s a midseason game and not an end-of-the-year game, you guys are with us every day, you know the schedule, you know what’s going on. It’s tough. You have to understand every year it’s going to happen. And then some of these pitchers, these ace guys, the way the rotation works out, because of rainouts or whatever, they end up throwing on that Sunday.
‘‘You just have to deal with it and move on. That means the fans, too.’’
Still, Jeter did go 5-for-5 Saturday in picking up his 3,000th hit, and he looked just fine doing so.
“Selfishly speaking, sure, you want all those guys here, but you also understand the demands on those guys,’’ Cuddyer said. “Not everyone is feeling great, and that’s fine. It doesn’t take anything away from being here, being selected for the All-Star Game. I’m thrilled to be here.’’
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