The Full Count: Home Run Derby report

1. Pennsylvania Power: The Phillies can’t seem to win a ballgame, but they sure have power. Last night Ryan Howard became the second consecutive Phillie to win the Home Run Derby, joining teammate Bobby Abreu, who won it last year. Full Count scribe Jackson Govatos was there to take it all in. Howard came in as one of the favorites but was on the brink of elimination in the first round. He only had 4 dingers with 9 outs left, and he needed 7 to join Jermaine Dye. But then Howard’s power stroke kicked in, and he crushed 4 homeruns to get to the second round.

But even then he was still a long shot to win it all. With the new rule that homeruns carry over from round 1, Howard found himself in last place before the round even started. David Wright actually had twice Howard’s total at 16. Also, David Ortiz was looking good after crushing 10 in the first round. Ortiz quickly became a favorite at PNC Park, as flashbulbs were going off like crazy during his at-bat, and he slugged multiple balls into the Allegheny River. The fourth competitor is the second round was Florida’s Miguel Cabrera, who came into the Derby with the lowest home-run total of all competitors. But in the first round he slugged 9, launching balls into the right field stands and earning a standing ovation from the crowd.

Every second-round slugger’s total dropped off from round 1. Expect
for Howard, who electrified the crowd by slamming 10 homeruns. It was announced that Howard had the longest average total of 442 feet, and it sure felt like it. He hit balls on the fly into the river, over the ESPN tent deep in right-center, and halfway up the batter’s eye in this round. Meanwhile, David Wright’s total dropped to just two in this round, as he kept swinging on top of the ball. However, his combined total of 18 was enough to tie Howard and make it to the finals. The other competitors, Ortiz and Cabrera, were eliminated with two-round totals of 15 and 13, respectively.

Now it was time for the finals, which started more than two hours after the Derby began. Wright was up first, and he showed signs of the power that had led him to the second-best single-round total ever in the first round. Wright smacked some big flys early, but then dwindled and only put up four for the round. Anyone could then tell you that Howard, whose power was increasing as the competition wore on, would come out the champion. And he did, crushing some of the longest shots of the night. one of his hits went completely over the batter’s eye, another landed in the water, and another over the ESPN tent again. Then he had a total of four dingers with 5 outs left to play with. Howard wasted no time getting the victory, crushing a ball and electrifying the crowd. As a further exclamation point, his last shot hit the “Hit it Here” sign in right, winning one lucky fan 500 free flights. Howard is the champ, and if he participates the next few years opponents will be hard-pressed to take his title.

2. Line me up: The batting orders for the All Star game were announced yesterday. There are few surprises as far as the batting orders go. The AL will lead off Ichiro as usual, and will have a tough Ortiz-Rodriduez-Guererro 3-4-5. The NL will bat Alfonso Soriano first, and will feature hometown hero Jason Bay as the cleanup hitter. The full lineups are available here.

3. Durability over merit: The starting pitchers for the All Star game were finally announced yesterday after weeks of speculation. The starters this year were mainly based on which pitcher had had the most rest instead of which was most deserving. Brad Penny of the Dodgers and Kenny Rogers of the Tigers will be the starters. Rogers will be in the spotlight, exactly the opposite of where he was last year at this time after his cameraman-pushing incident. Penny has gotten some negative press this year because of his tirade after being taken out with 4.2 innings pitched against Atlanta on Memorial Day. Either way, both are decent choices that have performed well this year.

4. Justice is finally served: Now we can finally stop listening to people complaining over the non-selection of Francisco Liriano for the game. Liriano, who has a 1.83 ERA this year for the Twins, will replace White Sox stud Jose Contreras on the AL roster. Contreras pitched Sunday and Ozzie evidently doesn’t want him to pitch again Tuesday. On the NL roster, Cardinals shortstop David Eckstein replaces injured Jose Reyes of the Mets.

5. Break amendment: By the way, does anyone think that the All Star break should be extended? For those players who go to the game and participate in the Home Run Derby, the break is only one day. We think that a day should be added so the Futures game can be Monday, the Derby on Tuesday, the game on Wednesday, and an off day on Thursday. This would also give pitchers who pitch on Sunday an extended break before the game.