Charlie Manuel manages NL to All-Star victory

Leave it to the genius of Charlie Manuel to finally break the stranglehold the American League has had on the All-Star Game. Okay, so Manuel really didn't have that much to do with it and probably over-managed the game if anything, but he is the skipper behind the first National League win in the All-Star Game since 1996. While it wasn't a particularly thrilling game, the NL did win 3-1 and therefore have earned the home field advantage in the World Series.

As for the rest of the Phillies at the game, neither Ryan Howard nor Roy Halladay did anything of note. Howard started the game at DH and ended up 0 for 2 with a strikeout and a groundout. Given that both of his at-bats were against lefties, including one against former Phillie Cliff Lee, you couldn't really expect much from Howard. As for Halladay, he pitched 2/3rds of an inning and gave up a pair of hits before being pulled out of the game by Manuel. He only threw 17 pitches but that was plenty in a game that means almost nothing.

As a Phillies fan, I have always rooted for the NL in the All-Star Game and I am therefore thankful that the American League's long winning streak is finally over. While I also think that making the game count for something is beyond stupid, it's nice to know that the Phillies will get home field advantage if they get to their third straight World Series.

(Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)