"(Closer Mariano) Rivera pitched (Saturday), he's not pitching in the game; (SS Derek) Jeter played, he's not playing in the game," Maddon said. "There's plenty of examples. It really points out the fact that the regular season is a lot more important than this game, which certainly is appropriate."
Joe Maddon, St. Petersburg Times, July 11
The Tampa Bay Rays manager was quoted by Times sportswriter Mark Topkin on Sunday, explaining why Rays ace David Price, who pitched on Saturday in Yankee Stadium and appeared to be fine when he left the game, and is scheduled to start at the end of the all-star break this Friday night against the Boston Red Sox, now has a case of "turf toe" that will preclude him from pitching in Phoenix at the all-star game Tuesday night.
And the Rays skipper is correct: The U.S. sports world's man of the moment, Derek Jeter, who had a great weekend series against the Rays in Yankee Stadium, somehow needs some rest for his 37-year-old bones and won't be able to play in the All-Star Game either — despite the fact that he received 4,536,386 votes, enough to make him the starter for this year's affair. Yankees relief ace Mariano Rivera, who also pitched this weekend, has begged off the team.
This begs the question: Since when did baseball's All-Star Game, dubbed the midsummer classic eons ago, all of a sudden become MLB's version of the Pro Bowl, a meaningless game that all sorts of football players find reasons to get out of participating in?
This article appears in Jul 7-13, 2011.