Kingdom

The downside:

They're adding yet another open spot on the roster, so there can be even more players. Look, no matter how much we expand the rosters, there's always going to be a snub. Or snubs. But there's always going to be players we completely disagree with being there, whether the fans voted an undeserving player in or Joe Torre is picking his mop up reliever. It's always going to happen.


The upside:

They're again letting an additional player to re-enter the game if someone is injured and there's no other position players or pitchers. I believe they altered this last season to let catchers re-enter the game. I'm all for this, in the extreme case we go into extra innings. We have had two highly memorable extra inning games in the past decade, it's a plausible concern as managers still try to get as many people in as humanly possible.


The it makes sense but no one will like it:

We'll have Designated Hitters every game, regardless of the park. Not many are high on the DH, but then again, the DH is going to be chosen by the manager. I like this move because we don't need the pitchers out there going against the best of that given season and risk a Chien Mien Wang injury on the base paths. Now I do realize we seem to have a bigger pool of NL pitchers that are not an embarrassment at the plate. And some extend to the AL. Before right now, Livan Hernandez made for a better pinch hitter than a starting pitcher. This is playing it safe, and when they play in an NL park, we'll get to see a 9th slugger chosen by the manager. For example, Pujols is the starting 1B, so let's make Prince Fielder out DH. This has the potential for more excitement.


No one will ever be happy:

MLB will continuously tinker with the all-star game. But not everyone is going to agree with the changes, the format, or the game. Many will prefer the home run derby and skip the actual game. I know I have never personally agreed with the game every season, but I typically don't let it bother my intention to see the game. I think baseball fans just have to accept whatever Major League Baseball does year to year, cause you know, unfortunately the all-star game matters. Whether we agree or not.