Ex-Phillies Outshine Current Phillies in the All-Star Game
Rolen and Byrd celebrating.
The All-Star game was exciting and Brian McCann’s huge 7th inning hit helped the National League win it’s first game since 1996.
The win didn’t have that much to do with current Phillies though. Ryan Howard and Roy Halladay were the only to participants from Philly and they didn’t contribute much to the outcome of the game.
Howard started as the DH but went 0-2 with one strikeout. He wasn’t the only NL starter to go hitless- Pujols, Furcal, Prado, Phillips, Gonzalez, Votto, Braun, and 4 others did as well.
Halladay made his appearance in the middle of the game and went 2/3 of an inning. He didn’t let in a run but gave up 2 hits. It was nothing spectacular but pitchers don’t get the chance to stand out in a game where 9-10 of the league’s best enter the game.
For me, the players that really stood out were the ex-Phillies that made a huge impact on the game.
The first was Scott Rolen. He batted .500 and scored a run on McCann’s big hit. His baserunning very nice too. After getting on first base, he got from first to third on a weak hit ball and put the NL in position to make something happen.
Marlon Byrd shined as well. He walked and ended up scoring with Rolen on McCann’s game winning hit. He also had the defensive play of the game in the 9th. A perfect throw from the outfield to second base got Big Papi out and significantly hurt the AL’s chances at a comeback.
The Phillies only had two representatives from the current roster but 3 other NL All-Stars (Rolen, Byrd and Michael Bourn) started their careers in Philly and are now excelling in other cities.
On a side note: While the Phillies players didn’t shine, the coaching staff did. Manuel managed the game almost perfectly and motivated the guys with a nice pregame pep-talk. I guess this win makes him the best NL All-Star manager in 14 years.
