First of all, I thought the All-Star game was terrific. It had the feel of a very interesting game. Most baseball games really take off once the teams reach the seventh inning, then the wheels start turning and the tension of a baseball game takes hold.

Obviously, this game was played with the idea of getting most of the players into the game. It worked out where the relievers actually were the ones who determined the outcome of the game. Just like during the season.

Hank Blalock simply crushed the ball Eric Gagne threw, another loss for Gagne in a non save situation, something that plagued him against the Giants earlier in the season too.

The players were scrutinized more carefully than ever before in an all star game. There was no room for frivolity. I don’t buy the fact that they were not aware of the consequence of the game, however trivial they would like to make that seem.

The fans took the action more seriously, and the way the players approached the game was clear to me. The atmosphere in the park was electric at the end of the seventh inning, you just had the feeling that this game wasn’t over.

One thing, in a “real” game I think Dusty would have brought in a lefty to face Blalock, but then again Smoltz was out there and available.

Or how about Dontrelle Willis in relief, now I would have enjoyed seeing Willis face Blalock, that would have been an all star moment.

Click below for more on the game and the second half!The home run hitting contest was cool. Albert Pujols, Garret Anderson, and Jason Giambi have locked in swings which are perfect for hitting the ball into the seats. Pujols is one unbelievable power hitter. Once he grows up as a major league hitter he will be another Sosa-McGwire type.

Even though the home run derby is a carnival event all the way, watching Giambi and Pujols square off, turned out to be a good baseball confontation.

So what happened with Barry Zito?

He pitched an excellent game Sunday, throwing 106 pitches. He said he felt fine after the game, he talked with Ken Macha before leaving the park, who said it would be prudent if he didn’t pitch on Tuesday.

The GM then jumped on Macha’s suggestion a few minutes later, and called MLB for some reason. MLB then saw Oakland’s hesitancy to allow Zito to be used in the game, as an opportunity to get Roger Clemens in to the game.

Nobody told Zito, not even in the team meeting that morning, and Zito went out to meet the public.

While sittng in the interview area, Mychael Urban, MLB writer told Zito he was out of the game.

Zito was clearly shocked.

So, nothing wrong with Barry, just another poor communication between the A’s, MLB, and the player. Zito is a class kid with a wonderful family. Barry just needs to have his mind squarely on pitching and he will be fine, but at his age sometimes that is easier said than done.

All this simply to get Clemens on the roster for Fox Television. What a waste of time.

The Twins are in a whole lot of trouble. Not only do they play the A’s and the Mariners six games right out of the box, but the manager may be on the hot seat too.

Writers told me that the Ron Gardenhire may be in trouble because he can’t stem the dissatisfaction on the team.

The pitchers are bickering, the hitters aren’t hitting and there is turmoil on the team. Gardenhire doesn’t have a firm hold on this group right now. He did tell me that he saw some ray of hope after the Angels swept the Twins this past weekend. Talk about looking for a silver lining somewhere.

The AL Central is being watched very carefully this week. Can KC hold on? Is KC for real?

In Chicago, if Jerry Manuel isn’t out as of yet, he will be any minute. The Sox’ 3-7 road trip was the last straw for the Sox manager.

The word is if the Sox don’t beat up on Detroit starting Thursday, that will be all for Manuel, who really has lost control of the situation, the death knell for any big league manager.

Chicago can win the division, not many people believe in KC, but the temptation to trade Carlos Lee and Bartolo Colon is very strong and is likely to happen.

That is where the Red Sox come in. Boston is desperate for one more pitcher and they want Colon.

Meanwhile KC faces the Mariners and the A’s this week, so this race may tighten again very quickly. If KC opens up any more of a lead, Manuel goes quickly, because Chicago wants to give the new man a chance to salvage the season.

Names such as Jim Fregosi, Terry Francona, and Wally backman are being thrown around. The situation is critical in Chicago, so stay tuned.

It’s my feeling the A’s will go to Toronto for help. Aaron Harang is already back in the minors so he can pitch for the scouts. Kelvim Escobar and Shannon Stewart seem to have Oakland written all over them. The A’s were close to getting Escobar last summer before the righty had numbness in his pitching hand.

Rich Harden threw one inning in the Futures Game and was all over the place. His fastball never got over 92 MPH and his change up, once touched 82, otherwise everything he threw was between 90 and 84, not a good spread. He threw 24 pitches in the one inning and believe me it was beginning to get ugly before he got out of trouble. I guess he is the guy for monday in KC, but who knows? The A’s seem divided on what to do with him.

The Cubs are in need of some more hitting. Jose Hernandez has no hope, striking out over 105 times in 300 or so at bats. They may go after Kenny Lofton and Aramis Ramirez because they still think they can win the Central.

Sammy Sosa is the only legit bat they have going, so even with Wood and Prior it isn’t enough. Shawn Estes is going to try to develop a change up to go with his curve and fastball. Estes still has a big league arm. If I was the A’s I would give him to Rick Peterson for one season to see what he could do with him. I think they would get along just fine, two deep thinkers. He would be worth the gamble next season.

Armando Benitez will be a Yankee very soon. Jason Anderson will be a Met along with a couple of prospects. The Questec umpiring system is killing Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux, two pitchers who love to live off the plate.

With the fear of being downgraded for a missed call, the umps simply won’t call a ball on the edge of the plate. They would rather err on the side of caution and call those pitches balls, thus keeping the dreaded “wrong calls” off their resumes.

Say good bye to finesse pitchers who live on the edge of the strike zone.

Take the names off the box score and the look at the job the first four hitters are doing for the Giants. Forget it’s Marquis Grisson hitting third, JT Snow second. With Bonds fourth and Durham leading off, the first four are very good. It’s just hard to believe Grissom is going to hit like this in the third spot all year, but I like JT Snow and as well as Scott Hatteberg hits for Oakland in the clutch, I’d still rather see Oakland pursue Snow next season. He’s a damn good number two hitter.

Chicago did everything right hosting the all star game. It sure would be nice to see the game in the Bay Area again.

70 games or so to go, now this is the part of the season that makes baseball special. You better win something or you won’t be in the post season, different from every other major sport which opens up the playoffs to 60% of their leagues members.