A fan of Jack: First-year Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu, a coach for the American League squad, described his relationship with general manager Jack Zduriencik as "phenomenal."

"I respect him so much," Wakamatsu said of Zduriencik, who was the Brewers' scouting director before heading to Seattle. "I went through just about every level there was to get to my position on the field, and I think it was the same thing with Jack. He sat in everybody's seat, so he has great respect what people do.

"He's got a calm to him. He respects the dynamics of our relationship. we communicate just about on everything. we have a friendship and a trust. I couldn't ask for more. he has the respect of everybody I've ever talked to him who has crossed paths with him."

The Commish: Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig met with baseball writers Tuesday afternoon and declared that the game is doing well despite the economy.

"I think we're really having a remarkable year in many ways," Selig said. "The Dow Jones is off 41.4 percent since its high, and that's affected everybody's lives, it's been very pervasive. Unemployment is between nine and 10 percent now, which is really horrifying to think about.

"I had set a goal that we would hit 40 million [in attendance] by the All-Star break. We were 400,000 below that. So we really came remarkably close. Attendance is down about 5 percent, which is, I think, amazing. Everybody I talk to in American industry is just stunned at that ...

"Now, if you take the two New York ballparks with less capacity, we're probably down about 3.8 to 4 percent. So I think this may be in a sense our greatest season.

"It really is a testament to this sport. I'm proud of the last seven or eight years in terms of the economics. The sport has never been this popular. Yet 10 or 15 years ago, everybody was feeling sorry for baseball. 'Ah, it's boring, it's dull, it's past its time.' It's been declared moribund for six decades by many people. Well, these numbers keep adding up.

"I make no predictions about what will happen in the second half, but the popularity of this sport comes through in a more meaningful way this year than I have ever seen it."

Selig also talked about Manny Ramirez, saying that he was surprised at the positive reaction the Dodgers slugger received in the wake of his return from a 50-game suspension.

"You always come back to: 'Fans want their team to win'," Selig said.

Selig said that he would like suspended players to serve all of their suspensions rather than playing in the minor leagues before the term was over.

"I think that's something we may have to address in the next labor negotiations," Selig said.

Selig bristled at recent stories that implied that the union engaged in collusion durig the offseason.

"That's fine. They're entitled to their opinion," Selig said Tuesday at a meeting of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. "Given the world we live in and what's happened in the last 18 months, I think this is one sport where I can't even fathom that anybody could think that.

"Player compensation hasn't gone down. We have many clubs struggling, and even those that have done remarkably well, remember, are very aggressive in their marketing and their discounting," he said.

"Some of us, let me be as blunt as I can be, have to live in the real world, not in some make-believe little scenario that doesn't exist. And I mean that very, very sincerely," Selig said. "They can say whatever they want to say. I wouldn't even waste my time reacting to that."

Larry King Lounge: The official attendance Tuesday was 46,760 ... Oakland's Andrew Bailey was the only rookie on either roster ... There were 16 foreign-born players on the rosters, including six from the Dominican Republic, four from Venezuela, two from Canada, one from Panama, Japan, Puerto Rico and Germany ... Yankees closer Mariano Rivera made his 10th all-star appearance. Former Milwaukee Braves standout Warren Spahn was selected for 17 games, which stands as the record for pitchers ... Missouri native Sheryl Crow visited players and coaches on the field before the game and sang the national anthem ... Sara Evans performed "God Bless America" during the seventh-inning stretch ... In the least surprising announcement of the week, San Diego State pitcher Stephen Strasburg won the Golden Spikes Award as the top college player in the country. The junior standout was drafted by Washington with the first overall pick in the draft ... Brewers second baseman Rickie Weeks won the award in 2003 ... The 2010 All-Star Game will be held in Anaheim. The '11 game is slated for Phoenix. Though it's not official yet, Kansas City likely will host in 2012 ... Tuesday marked the first All-Star Game in St. Louis since 1966. The longest current drought is Kansas City (36 years) ... Tuesday was the 80th All-Star Game. Baseball held two per year from 1959-'62. There was no game in 1945, due to World War II travel restrictions ... The official scorers for the game included Gary Mueller, the scorer at Busch Stadium, Joe Ostermeier, the chairman of the BBWAA St. Louis chapter and David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the BBWAA President.