Thoughts on the Derby

Just a quick gripe from yours truly about last nights Home Run Derby. Did anyone else feel like something was missing? Like, I don't know, drama.

Yes the first round did have some interesting things happen. The three way tie between Carlos Pena, Joe Mauer(Matt Wieters in 2 years) and Albert Pujols was exciting. The announcers wanted to name it the bop off or something else silly, you know how Chris Berman can get. Why not "The Blast Off"? Would they be sued by NASA? Anyway back to the story at hand. Who honestly wasn't pulling for Pujols? Neville Flynn (Samuel L Jackson from Snakes on a Plane) was quoted as saying, "Not me." Fictional characters aside it was awesome to see a stadium erupt and support their team's best player. Without Pujols in the next round however I can't be so sure they would be too supportive of the leftovers. Since no one was really hitting tape measure shots a la Josh Hamilton last year.

I am not saying I need someone to hit 25 homers in a round to be entertained. It would be nice but it is not necessary. What I needed was the thought that someone was going to challenge Prince Fielder or Nelson Cruz after the first round last night. Both players finished the first round with 11 homers and due to the new rules of them carrying over to the second round, it was near impossible for Pujols or Ryan Howard to come close. Pujols finished with 11, hitting 6 in the second round. His longest being 488 feet to left. Howard hit 8 in the second round finishing with 15. Nothing could compare to the shots Fielder was hitting to deep center and right center. The longest being a 503 foot blast that echoed through the stadium. Not to say that Nelson Cruz wasn't nearly impressive. He was demolishing signs in left and reaching the upper of the upper decks. The homers just didn't measure up to what Fielder was doing. With 5 outs remaining in the second round I had the feeling that no one could stop Fielder, not even the stadium could contain him. He got on a roll and really never looked back. All of his homers you could tell were going to be moon shots/bombs when you heard the crack of his bat. Also an interesting stat, he was the most passionate about the game. How many times did you hear him drop the old standard of, "Oh $h!t!" 5? 10? A bakers dozen? Well since its Fielder I guess it should be a dozen carrots, he is a vegan after all.

Speaking of no meat, thanks for wasting 15 minutes of my life Brandon Inge. The Tigers 3rd baseman was shutout in the derby which is the first time in awhile that I can remember this happening. So what he is 90 pounds soaking wet. No excuses, you hit two in an actual game the day before. I in no means think I can hit a homer like 51% of egotistical fans who voted on ESPN's Sportsnation that they could do this with an aluminum bat. No. Not me! I might be able to finally hit them out at the little league field I used to play at. Even that might be pushing it.

So was I not entertained? I was but I feel like something was missing. It's like chicken from the grill that is just an ingredient away from being amazing. The derby was just an iota of something away from being great. Maybe Hamilton and Bobby Abreu have ruined it for me. Without 525+ foot shots I may not be entertained. I guess like most ladies, size matters. Chicks do dig the long ball and apparently I dig the longest of longballs. Congrats Prince on the title, its a shame that this wasn't one of those memorable derbys from years past.

Personally a favorite of mine has nothing to do with the amount of homeruns that were hit. It was Frank Thomas back in Three Rivers Stadium. He didn't win the event but his upper deck shots were very memorable. Hitting 520+ foot blasts that no one could touch. Ken Griffey Jr hitting the warehouse at Camden Yards, Cal Ripken setting a then record 12 homers in a round at the Skydome, Mark "I don't want to talk about the past" McGwire putting on a show at Fenway, Abreu crushing the world when the contestants were representing their respective countries (he rocked 27 in a round) and of course Hamilton from last year. Disagree if you want but you know I am right. Something was missing last night. Perhaps it was a little garlic.