Russell Martin went 0 for 3, not hitting a ball out of the infield, but he did get to tag A-Rod trying to score from second on a two-out single in the fourth inning. Penny and Saito pitched a perfect inning apiece, Penny needing just seven pitches to do it. Now, they all get to relax for a couple of days before getting back to the business of trying to catch the Padres. … You didn’t really think Aaron Rowand was going to come through there, did you? Silly believers. The N.L. was NEVER going to win this game. It might never win ANY All-Star Game, from now until the end of time. The rough timeline is this: ’60s, ’70s and early ’80s, the N.L. was far superior, won almost EVERY All-Star Game and about half the World Series, culminating in four straight Series wins from 1979-82. Beginning in 1983, the A.L. began to reverse the trend, finally winning an All-Star Game (even though it wouldn’t win another one until 1986) and starting a stretch of three straight World Series wins (the N.L. hasn’t won even TWO straight Series since then). By the early ’90s, the A.L. clearly was the better league and had begun to dominate. A decade later, it was like the A.L. was on a different level entirely, and the N.L. was just a sad imitation. And now … well, now it’s like the major leagues versus Double-A. Another decade, and the gap will widen further. … So what is the reason for this chasm? Two things, in my humble opinion. First, it’s the DH, which from the moment it was adopted in 1973 was always destined to eventually lead to A.L. domination. It has evolved to the point that almost EVERY A.L. team has a full-time DH who is a legit, middle-of-the-order power threat. And while that might not explain how the A.L. wins All-Star Games where the DH isn’t used, it does speak to an overall philosophy of building lineups with more power. The other reason is that N.L. clubs just scout differently. They just don’t put the same premium, in scouting and drafting, on offense. A.L. clubs are built around OFFENSE. Strangely enough, it is because of that, I believe, that they also tend to have superior pitching, because you have to be a superior pitcher to even survive in that league. … It all adds up to frustration for N.L. fans like myself, and frustration eventually gives way to resignation, and resignation gives way to a belief that this is never going to end. … I might not blog for the next couple of days. Thanks to the schedule makers, who did me the EXTREME favor of having the Dodgers open the second half in the same city where the All-Star Game is held, but had them not doing so until Friday, I have the next two days to do nothing but relax in one of the greatest cities on earth. I got a rental car, so I’m not sure what I’m going to do. Might go up to Napa. Might go to Sonoma. Might go to Santa Cruz. Might just walk around the city. Might do nothing but sit in my hotel room and watch TV. But whatever I do, it’s not going to involve so much as thinking about baseball. Hey, we all need a mental break once in a while, don’t we?