ST. LOUIS -- The last time the National League won an All-Star Game, Tony La Russa was in his first season as manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, Jerry Maguire was a box-office hit, and the dance craze Macarena was making the rounds.
The NL will try to snap its dreadful slump against its American League counterparts when the 80th annual All-Star Game is played at 7 p.m. today at Busch Stadium. The National League last won July 9, 1996, a 6-0 decision at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.
Since then, the AL has won every game, the exception being in 2002 when the teams tied 7-7 at Miller Park in Milwaukee.
"I think every year, there's pressure to win," said Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols, who will bat third in manager Charlie Manuel's NL lineup. "Every year, people bring it: 'When is this please going to stop? The American League has owned you guys.' Until you stop that, they're going to keep talking about it."
Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Freddy Sanchez desperately wants to see the NL's misfortune end.
"You want to be part of that team that finally breaks the streak, that finally helps the NL win," the NL batting champion in 2006. "You want to be on that team that says, 'Yeah, we were the NL team that finally beat the American League team.'"
Boston left fielder Jason Bay, the AL leader in RBIs with 72, can't understand his league's dominance in the All-Star Game. Bay played for the Pirates until last season when he was dealt to Boston.
"In a perfect world, you would assume or you would think that if you played it 100 times, it would be pretty close to 50-50," Bay said. "I don't think there's a noticeable difference either way in the quality of the players. I think that's pretty much a wash. Each team has very good players. So I honestly can't give you a good reason."
Catcher Yadier Molina and closer Ryan Franklin are the other Cardinals on the NL team. Molina will bat eighth.
"I don't see a reason" for the AL's dominance, Molina said. "This year is going to be different. We have a good team and we're going to do our best to win and stop the streak."
Manuel's lineup is: Hanley Ramirez, SS; Chase Utley, 2B; Pujols, 1B; Ryan Braun, RF; Raul Ibanez, LF; David Wright, 3B; Shane Victorino, CF; Molina, C; Tim Lincecum, P.
"We've got a great team," said Manuel, the Philadelphia Phillies manager. "Making out my lineup, in some ways it was hard, in some ways it was very easy. I don't see how I can go wrong, really."
Lincecum (10-2, 2.33 ERA), the San Francisco right-hander in just his third season in the major leagues, has an NL-high 149 strikeouts.
Lincecum, a free-spirited 25-year-old who won the National League Cy Young Award last season, is an All-Star for the second time in his three-year career. But Lincecum promises he would be having fun even if he weren't in St. Louis.
"I think I would be up in Seattle right now, trying to enjoy some sun," he said. "That's what's going on with me."
AL manager Joe Maddon, of the Tampa Bay Rays, will send this lineup against the NL: Ichiro Suzuki, RF; Derek Jeter, SS; Joe Mauer, C; Mark Teixeira, 1B; Bay, LF; Josh Hamilton, CF; Evan Longoria, 3B; Aaron Hill, 2B; Roy Halladay, P.
Toronto right-hander Halladay (10-3, 2.85 ERA) will start even as his name is being bandied about in trade talks.
"It's not disappointing," Halladay said of his situation. "It definitely adds a little more stress to it and makes things more interesting, but I've never been disappointed in anything (the Blue Jays) have ever done. They've always been forthright with me, so I can't use that word 'disappointed.'
"I think I'm understanding. I know that sometimes these things come up and you have to deal with them. But I'm not disappointed, and mainly because they've been so good to me and they've always treated me the right way."
It's the sixth All-Star Game honor for Halladay, but his first start.
"It's another highlight moment for me in my career," Halladay said. "Every year you go in, you're honored to be with the group of guys you're around. When you do get the chance to be the first one out, it's special. It's something that doesn't happen very often."
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