Real baseball resumes on Friday, unless for some inexplicable reason you count the All-Star Game, in which case, it resumes tonight.

How should we feel about the All-Star Game? On the one hand, knowing that it is a meaningless exhibition game allows us to tune out and step away from baseball for a few days. On the other hand, it is not the NFL Pro-Bowl, which means if the All-Star Game just so happens to be on, it is undeniably fun to watch.

Last night, when I met a friend for drinks, the All-Star legends and celebrity softball game was on, and I won't lie, I couldn't stop watching. It was embarrassing. Ozzie Smith! "I used to hate him," I said, wistfully. "Oooh, the Hawk," I whispered in hushed tones as Andre Dawson came to bat. There was Jennie Finch, everyone's favorite softball pitcher; Nelly, everyone's favorite Honey Nut Cheerios spokesman; and that bald food guy, Anthony Bourdain's favorite second fiddle. Also, the ageless Rickey Henderson hit a home run. It was great.

The actual All-Star Game is on tonight, July 15, and the San Francisco Giants have sent three players to represent our humble corner: Madison Bumgarner, Hunter Pence, and Tim Hudson. If some "moran" hadn't written the most ill-conceived and poorly-timed column in the history of idiocy, there would have been, without question, nine Giants starting for the National League. As it stands, however, three Giants will do. The Bums, by the way, have four All-Stars. It burns.

The All-Star Game has always been the unofficial halfway marker of the season. Looking back at the first-half of the Giants' season, well … it was not bad! I mean, sure the past five weeks did actually happen, but even so, the Giants are in 2nd Place in the NL West by only a single, solitary game. Only three teams in the NL have a better record than the Giants. And if we want to have fun with small, arbitrary sample sizes, over the last nine games, the Giants went 5-4. They haven't lost three in a row in over a week! That's something, right?

Oh, who cares. It's the All-Star break. Let's get back to fretting on Friday, when the games count. Yes, I know All-Star games have "mattered" ever since the home-field advantage in the World Series began to stupidly depend on the winner, but no, the All-Star game does not count. Stop trying to make it count, Bud! It's a silly game that creates fun match-ups between the NL and AL (though so much less fun since inter-league play began).

Also, some shortstop from New York will be playing in his last All-Star Game and it's supposed to be a really big deal. Ask any New Yorker, they'll tell you.

Season To-Date: 52-43 (.547), 2nd Place in the NL West (1 game back)

Last Week
Mon: at Oakland (lost)
Tue: at Oakland (lost)
Wed: v. the A's (WON)
Thu: v. the A's (lost)
Fri: v. the D'backs (WON)
Sat: v. the D'backs (lost)
Sun: v. the D'backs (WON)

This Week
Mon: none
Tue: All-Star Game
Wed: none
Thu: none
Fri: at Miami
Sat: at Miami
Sun at Miami