Baseball took a break this week for its All-Star festivities, marking roughly the halfway point in the 2017 season. The Oakland A’s were hardly a factor in the proceedings, with just one player coming off the American League’s bench in Yonder Alonso. The next-closest connection they had to the event was their head athletic trainer, Nick Paparesta, who was part of the AL’s coaching staff. (Update: Entire AL pitching staff goes on DL with shoulder soreness.)
It’s a bummer seeing your team more or less absent from the Midsummer Classic, but that’s the way it goes when you’re in last place.