By Ethen Lieser
As usual, Yankees manager Joe Torre showcased his New York nepotism and Beantown hatred when he selected lefty Andy Pettitte and his 9-4 record to the American League All-Star squad. That spot could have belonged to Red Sox pitcher Hideo Nomo, the National League All-Star game starter in 1995, who has rekindled his vicious splitter after four mediocre seasons. The 6-foot-2 right-hander is 8-4 with a 3.97 ERA this year. While Boston has the fourth best record in the A.L. and is only 1 1/2 games behind the Yankees, Torre did not select one Red Sox pitcher or reserve for his squad. Only fan-voted starter Manny Ramirez will represent the Red Sox. Torre, meanwhile, picked Jorge Posada, Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Roger Clemens, Mariano Rivera, Pettitte and Mike Stanton. In the fan voting, no Yankees players were selected, democratically pointing to the fact: We are sick of them Yankees! … Relief pitcher Kazuhiro Sasaki was one of eight Mariners represented in the All-Star game. Sasaki has 39 strikeouts in 37 2/3 innings to go along with his major league-high 29 saves … Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Chan Ho Park made his first All-Star game appearance … Need some power? On July 1 against the Rangers, Ichiro Suzuki blasted a pinch hit two-run homer, his fourth of the season, in the ninth inning off of reliever Jeff Zimmerman to tie the game at seven. Mariner teammate Al Martin singled in the winning runs in the 10th inning. Later in the week, Suzuki pounded his fifth home run … Ninth seeded doubles team of Japan’s Ai Sugiyama and Belgium’s Kim Clijsters made a valiant effort in Wimbledon’s doubles final, but was ousted by Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs, the No.1 seed … Si Re Pak took home $150,000 when she finished 15-under 269 to win the Jamie Farr Kroger Classic, a tournament she has won twice before, in 1998 and 1999. Pak birdied the final two holes to win by two strokes over Maria Hjorth … When the International Olympic Committee opened its meeting on Monday, Beijing was considered to be one of the favorites to host the 2008 Summer Olympics. Eight years ago, Beijing lost by two votes to Sydney in the election for the 2000 Olympics. Toronto and Paris are the other frontrunners but are still distant long shots compared to Beijing. Seems like many IOC members believe the time has come to take the Olympics to the world’s most populous country.
Reach Ethen Lieser at elieser@asianweek.com. |
