THE "IDIOTS" REVERSE THE CURSE
The All Star Game Break

July 12, 2004 ... No game scheduled ... Tonight's Home Run Derby is a perfect entree to the All Star Game.  Before the 20th annual Derby, MLB gathered all 14 living members of the 500 home run club.  The front row of seated sluggers featured Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, Willie Mays, Frank Robinson, Mark McGwire, Harmon Killebrew, and Willie McCovey. In the back row sat Sammy Sosa, Mike Schmidt, Rafael Palmeiro, Reggie Jackson, Ernie Banks, Eddie Murray, and Ken Griffey Jr. The six deceased members of the 500 Club are Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx, Mel Ott, Eddie Mathews, Mickey Mantle, and Ted Williams.

Red Sox slugger David Ortiz, despite the exuberant support of teammate Manny Ramirez, failed to advance past the first round, going deep just three times. Ortiz reacted to that defeat by coaching eventual winner Miguel Tejada of the Baltimore Orioles.  Ortiz was having too much fun last night to get mad. Even if his day started with the discovery that his luggage had never made it here from Boston, apparently, he said, having been mixed up with the bags going to Anaheim, where the Sox open the second half of the season.

Pedro Martinez's agent, Fernando Cuza, said there are no negotiations going on between the Red Sox and Martinez, apparently reaffirming the fact that talks will not resume until after the season. At that time, the Red Sox will have a 15-day window of exclusivity to negotiate with Martinez before he would have the right to talk contract with all clubs as a free agent.

July 13, 2004 ... The All Star Game ... Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz transformed the night into a celebration of Red Sox stars, becoming the first Sox teammates to hit home runs in an All-Star Game, won by the American League for the seventh straight time (excluding ties), 9-4.

Roger Clemens, three weeks shy of his 42d birthday, suffered through the longest first inning any All-Star pitcher ever has had to endure, giving up six runs, the most ever allowed in a first inning, as the AL Stars hit for the cycle - two home runs, a double, triple, and a single in one full turn through the lineup.

Ramirez hit the first home run off Clemens, a two-run drive into the left-field seats on an 0-2 pitch, giving the AL a 3-0 lead. It was the first All-Star homer for Ramirez, and came after a double by leadoff man Ichiro Suzuki of the Mariners and triple by Detroit's Pudge Rodriguez.

Alfonso Soriano, like Ramirez and Ortiz from the Dominican Republic, hit a three-run home run off Clemens, following a two-out error by another hometown Star, Astros second baseman Jeff Kent, and Derek Jeter's single. Soriano, who was the chip the Yankees used to acquire Alex Rodriguez from Texas in the winter's most celebrated trade, was named the game's Most Valuable Player. The win will give the American League the home-field advantage for the World Series, making it 2 for 2 since Major League Baseball decided to use the All-Star Game to determine who gets the extra game in October.