The Home Run Derby has come and gone, and the spectacle has continued to decline into a Slam Dunk Contest and little more. There is no money in it anymore and it isn't very thrilling these days.

 

It is basically becoming irrelevant.

 

With that being said, it makes sense for the younger guys to participate in the Derby. There is still a benefit for the young guys to give it a shot -- look at Josh Smith in the dunk contest. It catapulted him to success, and a great showing in the Derby can do the same for a young ballplayer.

 

It is a tough call though, because too often, the players who participate don't reel in the fans because they don't have any star power. Even one of the biggest names last night (Miguel Cabrera) just doesn't move the meter for me.

 

As you know, David Ortiz took home the trophy last night. Speaking of Ortiz, has anyone had a more up-and-down season in 2010 than Big Papi?

 

Before the month of May, Ortiz was batting a pitiful .143 with one homer and four RBIs. Since then, Papi has hit 17 longballs and knocked in 53 runs while raising his batting average to .263.

 

It seems like he's up now. We'll see if that "Home Run Derby curse" messes with that swing he seems to have corrected.

 

And doesn't it seem like Ortiz has changed as a person since he tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs? He used to be such a happy, likeable guy before he got busted; now he seems a little bit less jolly.

 

And he's not the only big-name aging hitter that suddenly looks so much older than he used to. Take Derrick Lee of the Cubs for example -- these guys look their age all of a sudden. In the year of the pitcher, where the numbers have gone in the right direction for pitchers and in the wrong direction for hitters, the young arms are making the old hitters look ancient.

 

Even the old guy, Jamie Moyer, looks younger than Ortiz and Lee at times.

 

Is the Derby about to go the way of the Slam Dunk Contest and become a sideshow to an All-Star Game that few people seem to care about at all?