The headline says it all. I hate the All-Star Break. And as a Phillies fan in 2011, I hate it even more.
In a normal year, the All-Star Break is a pain in the ass. First and foremost, it means no baseball for three or four days. Sure, there's the home run derby and the game itself, but they're meaningless exhibitions that do nothing for me. Despite Bud Selig's proclamation that the game "counts," the game is boring, as a collection of stars, kinda-stars, and the inevitable one or two no-stars shuttle on and off the field approximating something that might resemble an entity that someone from some culture not familiar with the game might think was sort of a baseball game. And anyway, we all know the outcome will be that the American League will win.
But in this year, the game and the break are even worse. The Phillies are hot. They've had the best record in baseball for almost the entire season. (More on that later in the week.) They have a dominant pitching staff. Their games may not be the high scoring blowouts of years past (yesterday and Tuesday excepted), but they're mostly incredibly enjoyable and satisfying games to watch.
And, they usually happen everyday. On a normal day this season, I wake up enjoying the victory from the day before knowing that I have a really good chance of watching or following another one today. Or, if the team blew one the night before, the next day will have a Halladay or Lee or Hamels or even Worley pitching, so I know the chances are good they won't blow another.
Part of the rhythm of my life is set by the game of baseball. But for these four days, when there's no real baseball, that rhythm is thrown off completely. And I detest that.