Posted by Brian Joseph on Tuesday, July 7, 2009 at 12:33 am

There’s no such thing as bad publicity, ask Major League Baseball.

No, this isn’t about PEDs or Manny Ramirez. I’ll leave that talk to those who feel like dealing with PETA for equine abuse. Instead, I’m talking about the All-Star Game.

Back in 2002, the All-Star Game ended in a tie. The dreaded outcome to the exhibition once treated as a grudge match between the two leagues that never played now too closely resembled the Pro Bowl and NBA and NHL All-Star Games in intensity and something needed to be done.

Enter “This Time It Counts!”

In an attempt to keep the artificial intensity of the All-Star Game as fresh as ever, Major League Baseball decided that the league winning the All-Star Game would earn home field advantage in the upcoming World Series.

Since then, the All-Star managers haven’t changed their philosophies much as most rosters are depleted by the ninth inning and, as last year proved, the excitement of extra innings was tempered by the national announcers fear of injury for the fragile superstars involved or worse… the teams running out of players!

So, the annual midsummer classic now is typically a sounding board for writers (both Internet bloggers and print journalists) who feel the need to tell us how the fans are dopes for their selections, too many players make the roster, not every team should be represented, etc., etc., etc.

(Coincidentally, BDD’s Matthew Whipps did just that as I was prepping this post… imagine that!)

Everyone has their own personal gripe with the All-Star Game. Personally, I don’t mind that the fans decide the starters. Heck, it is only a quarter of the actual roster that is decided by the people who matter in an exhibition such as this and the voting starts in early May so really it’s not just about this year anyway. The game might count but it is for the fans so we really need to get over that gripe (even though we won’t!).

I am always amazed by how middle relievers and set-up men never make the roster even though the number one fear is that starting pitchers will get overused or misused. However, that’s not what this post is about.

What I can’t get over is the uproar that the “This Time It Counts” tagline causes. Especially since the league winning the All-Star Game hasn’t really had home field advantage since the rule change in 2003.

Well, technically the American League has earned home field advantage in every season but a closer look shows that the way things have played out, home field advantage has never really mattered.

Well, that’s not true either. The Cardinals and Phillies took advantage of the TV and travel friendley two-three-two format to actually steal home field advantage away from the American League in 2006 and 2008. The rest of the World Series where home field advantage went to the AL as a result of an All-Star win either went four or six games with home field split two or three games apiece.

Since the “This Time It Counts” rule change, the National League has never had home field advantage but has actually hosted 15 World Series games compared to 13 World Series games for the American League representatives. This time it counts… really?

The problem with such a snap analysis such as this is that using only six seasons of data is really too small of a sample size for the results to matter. Some would point out that such an argument makes it more imperative than ever to fix the All-Star Game before it does any real damage. In the last 40 years, 13 of those World Series match-ups were decided in seven games so eventually it will have an impact (although eight have ended in five games which has a reverse home field advantage effect).

However, in a sport often defined by its uniqueness — leagues with conflicting rules, no salary cap, varying ballparks to name a few — the “This Time It Counts” is just one more way the sport of Major League Baseball tried to fix a problem that wasn’t really a problem and the ultra-critical segment of the fan base continues to overreact to it.

Instead, let’s just enjoy 66 of the best 80 players in Major League Baseball and watch the most entertaining exhibition put forth by any major sport and stop focusing on what is wrong. Because the worst thing that could happen is that the “This Time It Counts” debacle could actually come into play… and then we’re stuck enjoying a World Series Game Seven. Woe is me!