All Star Red Carpet Parade

Living in New York City has its advantages. The pizza is good, you can buy beer 24/7, you have random celebrity sightings every few weeks or so (like the time Timothy Busfield was bombed and almost walked into me near Columbus Circle) and there are two baseball teams in town that have strong fan support, attract and can afford big name athletes and, occasionally, provide a great stage for some really great events.

This summer's All Star game at Yankee Stadium was one of the best examples of this New York routine.

Putting the game aside, which I deemed too pricey to attend in person, I happen to work on Sixth Avenue so the red carpet parade last Tuesday afternoon passed right in front of my building. And what kind of Padres blogger would I be if I didn't take the elevator down 43 flights, head outside, snap a few photos and make a few in-person observations. So that's exactly what I did.

The photo of Bud Black above is my favorite of the few I took. I think it sums up his outlook nicely. I'm not sure if Bud is all that great a manager, but he sure seems like a nice guy.

Here are some other obervations from the afternoon:

- All the players and coaches, including a bunch of Hall of Famers, came by sitting in the back of pick-up trucks. Most were with family members, a few notable loners were Reggie Jackson, Joe Mauer and Bud Black.

- Papi had a big crew with him, including what I'm sure were two bodyguards sitting on the back edge of the truck, each with one leg hanging over the side. They were laughing and hanging out but both were jacked.

- Eckersley was the only person I saw who was standing up in his truck. Looked like he just got out of the tanning bed before the parade.

- Youkilis had maybe the hottest wife of anyone.

- Milton Bradley was with a very pretty Asian woman - maybe Thai or Filipino - and both were holding little kids.

- Jetes was in a suit and riding with his mom and dad. He was sitting low in his truck and was all closed up, raising his arms only slightly to wave. Looked like he had the flu. He was the only guy I saw with two policeman walking alongside his truck.

- People kept yelling at Halladay to "come to New York, these parades happen every week," and at Kazmir, "Scott, come back, please come back."

- Ripken has a very attractive daughter.

- First all the HOFers went, then all the AL All Stars, then came Clint Hurdle to start the NLers, and then, between Hurdle and the rest of the NLers was Papelbon. Only Papelbon could mess that up. He was also smiling and showing off his WS ring amid a chorus of boos.

- Buddy Black seemed real friendly. He was smiling and waving and, as he passed by Radio City Music Hall and saw people sitting up on top of the sign he said, "Hey, that's a good seat up there."

- As Wright approached, a female usher from Radio City came sprinting by me and said, "Excuse me, I have to see my husband." Wright was sitting with three dudes who looked about his age and had the same gelled up hairstyle. It was like a scene from Entourage.

- Varitek was riding along with his mouth open just staring off into the distance. He had his daughter with him and she looked like she'd just been crying.

- Hanley was probably the biggest overall pimp, with a gray pinstripe suit, no tie, wraparound black sunglasses and a bling bling watch.

- Some of the players shared a truck with other players. For example, Ian Kinsler rode with Michael Young, Carlos Quentin with Joe Crede, etc. Another combo was Ernie Banks riding with Kosuke Fukudome. This surprised me. Fook's been in the bigs 3 months and they let him ride with Mr. Cub?

- A-Gon came by with his wife, Mrs. A-Gon. She looked sparkling. He was also the only person I saw with a video camera. I think I'm definitely in his video snapping a photo of him and his wife.

And here are a few more photos: