Stan Hochman: Rules changes we'd like to see for the All-Star Game

IF THE OUTCOME of baseball's All-Star Game is going to determine the homefield advantage in the World Series, changes must be made. Not tomorrow, not today, but yesterday! Maybe the day before yesterday.

The All-Star format is looking more and more like a company-picnic softball game without the keg in the winner's clubhouse afterward. That's rule change No. 11, the keg in the winner's clubhouse.

You cannot shackle the manager's wrists by insisting that his team must include a player from every league team. What's the point? Will skimpy attendance in Cleveland get skimpier if no one from the Indians makes it to the Big Charade?

Maybe if no one from Arizona makes it, ownership will try harder to find a worthy player or two. Won't that serve the best interests of baseball? That's rule change numero uno.

Give the voting back to the fans, that's rule change No. 2. By newspaper ballot only. I know, I know, that's where problems started when Cincy fans stuffed the ballot boxes, back when Wally Post was stronger than most.

But here's a chance to rescue a struggling industry (newspapers) and help the Postal Service's bottom line. No facsimiles, no hand-drawn copies, no more than three ballots in an envelope. Shazam, more newspapers sold, more stamps licked, more civic pride on the line.

One exception to the rule. Anyone buying an overpriced ticket to the overhyped game gets 10 ballots to fill out, postage-free. The Angels have a legitimate beef this year, with the game played in Anaheim, and only one of their players chosen.

You detect sarcasm here? Yo, take Atlanta's Omar Infante. Please, take Omar Infante. That's what Charlie Manuel did, when Major League Baseball told him to include a utility man on his roster, someone who could play several positions and come in and out of the game more than once. What's next, a short centerfielder? Bobby Del Greco, he was a short centerfielder and would have been an ideal choice.

They're already committed to using the designated hitter regardless of where the game is played. How fair is that? Rule change No. 5, no DH when the game is played in a National League city, until both leagues are playing by the same rules in the regular season.

Let the American League manager earn his swag by making a decision to pinch-hit for a pitcher. No more swag, that's rule change 6. Instead, a winner-take-all pot. Every player puts up 10 percent of his All-Star bonus (figure that adds up to $150,000) and Bodog matches it. Winning team gets the pot and divides it up based on percentage contributed.

You think Cincy's Joey Votto got hosed when Manuel picked Ryan Howard as his second first baseman? OK, change the rule to limit the manager to three, count 'em, three position players from his own team. Pick more and he has to play a man short.

When the game is in an American League city, let the opposing manager pick the DH for the other team, for the first six innings.

Institute a pitch count. Pitcher can only pitch three innings or throw 60 pitches, whichever comes first. And, the Brad Lidge rule: If a reliever warms up twice, he must come into the game or be scratched.

That's it, and if you remembered Wally Post and Bobby Del Greco, you also remember when the National League dominated the Midsummer Classic. Back when Pete Rose would glance around the clubhouse at Willie Mays and Hank Aaron and Frank Robinson and Bob Gibson and say, "We're gonna win because we've got more brothers."

But that's grist for a whole different column. *

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