I went to Dodger stadium to cover Chivas USA's Claudio Suarez throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. I needed quotes for my SuperClasico preview, plus I thought a pic of Nomar and Claudio would look good on the blog. I didn't intend to stay for the game, but it turns out that I parked in the wrong spot. Basically, I was blocked in by other parked cars and I couldn't leave until the game ended.
Normally, I'd enjoy a nice baseball game, but these days, the Olympic soccer schedule, the start of my teaching cycle, and other responsibilities have me running ragged. Some of you might have noticed that I haven't been posting as much. Well, that's why.
At the game, I was rooting for the Dodgers (of course), but especially because I didn't want the game to go into extra innings. The Dodgers seemed to be complying, scoring six runs in the third inning, much to the dismay of Scott French, who was also at the match. Scott is a die-hard San Francisco Giants fan. He roots against the Dodgers as a default.
There's a certain rhythm to a baseball game that I appreciated more as a child, I think. I liked the rituals, the "Play Ball" call, the crack of a bat. I thought garlic fries were the best invention ever.
I still like baseball, but I have to admit, after years of covering soccer games, it does seem slow. Players stand around a lot. Vin Scully is a great saving grace, though.
Scott passes by, reads a bit of what I'm writing and proceeds to argue that the Galaxy went downhill after firing Sigi Schmid. Considering how well Sigi is doing with Columbus this year, that's a valid point. But that's also two GM's and coaches ago.
We also agreed that someone needs to act fast and give Alexi Lalas a job - in television. He's actually quite an incisive and well-spoken commentator. Scott, however, admits he doesn't mind Marcelo Balboa on the microphone.
I wonder if Mia Hamm is here with the twins. Scott scoffs at the notion. He points out that Nomar isn't playing, and that Mia has small kids. I wonder if Mia's not here because her sleep schedule is screwed up by watching Olympic soccer. But perhaps she has Tivo and no burning desire or assignment to see the games live.
Tommy Lasorda just stopped by. I'm somehow not shocked to see him in the media dining area during the time they bring out the Dodger dogs. Tommy knows the servers by name and he greets them as he cuts the line to grab a dog (no bun). They smile and wave as he passes. However, they come out from behind the counter, giddy with excitement, when Suarez stops by for a quick bite. What's especially cute is when the ladies want to take a picture with El Emperador, but not while they have their aprons on. Suarez is patient and he waits for them to pull off their serving aprons and pose beside him. After that first picture, he's held up for a while as other workers press forward, wanting pictures.
Hey, it's the 7th inning stretch. "Take me out to see soccer, I want to see players running, shots on goal and saves near the post, for it's one, two, Lalas and Ruud are out - at the Galaxy!"
It's the 9th inning now and the Dodgers are still ahead, though the Phillies have cut into the lead. I'm just hoping it wraps up soon. Three and out, please!
The Dodgers have blown leads lately, but they end up holding on to this one and yay! I can go home.
Oh, and Vin jumps into the elevator and stands next to me. He's nice to everyone and says hi even to those he doesn't know, like me. He's taller than I'd expected. Covering soccer, it's usually the other way around.
When you compare all-star games, it's clear that the MLS All-Star game is not one watched too closely by the mainstream sports media.
Nothing new, really. The next time the MLS All-Star game leads highlight shows will be the first time, probably. The mainstream media gives all kinds of coverage to other All-Star games, notably the Major League Baseball one which was played on Tuesday in New York.
The MLB one, of course, is laced with history and is part of the fabric of this country's sporting history; I get that. And I'm not suggesting that the MLS one should be on par with the MLB one.
But I will say this: ours won't last nearly five hours.
Funny how, as I'm typing this, I'm listening to The Raconteurs and the singer is wailing about how his "interest is starting to wane" and that he's "bored to tears." Yeah, I used to look forward to the MLB game but about a decade or so ago I started to lose interest as well.
It's always strikes me odd when soccer is slammed as boring but the same people will rave about a low-scoring baseball game. Tuesday's All-Star game was a 4-3 final won by the American League, who ended the snoozefest by winning it in the bottom of the 15th inning. From innings 9 through 14 there were exactly zero runs scored. I'm sure most of America was on the edge of their seats during that time.
I can't imagine the All-Star game was as dramatic as Chivas-Houston. I'm probably biased, okay, well I am, but still tell me how the drama in the All-Star game was higher than the SuperLiga game last night. Probably the only drama with the baseball game was whether it was going to reach five hours or not.
The official time for the match was 4:50. That's a lot of time to invest in something. What can you do in four hours and 50 minutes? Well...
> Watch both SuperLiga games tonight and have time to go to your local Panera Bread afterward. And don't forget to take your laptop and read Sideline Views.
> Watch one SuperLiga game and then go play soccer for several hours at your local park.
> Sin City roadie, anyone? (for those of us here in SoCal, anyway)
> Fly from LA to Chicago. With a layover in Salt Lake.
> How about running a marathon? Or for those of us who aren't quite up to running that much, how about a half-marathon? You could probably walk a good portion of a half-marathon in four hours and 50 minutes.
> Watch a replay of the Galaxy-Revs MLS Cup '05 final. Twice.
I've always felt that soccer players were superior athletes. It's one thing to kick a ball with accuracy and know the game and all that, but the amount of running and fitness levels soccer players need to compete at the professional level is insane. Watch one training session and you will know just how hard soccer players work.I suppose that's one of the reasons why I've soured on baseball in recent years. There are a lot of issues that plague the sport, including steroids and overpaid players and all that. Or maybe I've soured on it because the Dodgers have fucking sucked for years. But baseball players in athletic terms just don't compare to soccer players. They don't. Some (many?) probably do, but overall soccer is a much more demanding sport than baseball. Yes, it's hard to throw a ball 60 feet, 6 inches and it's even harder to hit it. But the ability to throw and hit isn't necessarily based on a person's athletic prowess.Anyway, I was reminded of the fragility of some baseball players by a recent pair of injuries. On Monday, Red Sox pitcher Bartolo Colon hurt his back swinging a bat and was placed on the 15-day disabled list. Over the weekend, Yankees pitcher Ching-Mien Wang partially tore a ligament in his foot running the bases.Maybe those are freak injuries that have little to do with the player's fitness levels (although Colon's gut probably contributed to his injury). But I suppose it just serves to remind me of just how fit soccer players have to be in order to compete at the highest level.
