Ubaldo Jimenez and David Price picked to start All-Star game

By Gerard Wright

ANAHEIM, California (Reuters) - National League manager Charlie Manuel gestured to his right: "He's what I call a horse."

With that, Ubaldo Jimenez was introduced as the National League starting pitcher for Tuesday's Major League Baseball All-Star game against the American League.

Jimenez is 15-1 with the Colorado Rockies this season, including a no-hitter against the Atlanta Braves in April.

Opposing Jimenez will be another first-time All-Star starter, David Price, of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Price is 24, Jimenez is 26. Both represent the next wave of baseball pitching talent, as American League manager Joe Girardi acknowledged.

"It's the time of the pitcher right now," said Girardi, the manager of the world champion New York Yankees.

"It's incredible. You see so many young kids that are pitching at such a high level. It just seems that we have a ton of them in our division."

Manuel, the manager of the Philadelphia Phillies agreed. "I think young pitching is where Major League Baseball is at today," he said.

At stake in the 81st All Star Game is home-field advantage in the World Series.

The American League is unbeaten since 1996 and the prize makes for a delicate balancing act for the managers, between showcasing the talent of their players and trying to win.

Manuel's forecast is a game that starts as a show and ends as a contest.

"At the start of the game, we will do things," he said. "If a guy is fast and he wants to run, more than likely we'll turn him loose."

Later in the game, Manual said, was the time to "drop some signs in and start doing situation things that we consider is going to win the game."

Girardi's players, too, will have to adapt to the game, rather than it accommodating their abilities. Some may not be accustomed to bunting, but "whatever it takes, we will do and we are going to try to win this game."

Lineups:

American League

1. Ichiro Suzuki

2. Derek Jeter

3. Miguel Cabrera

4. Josh Hamilton

5. Vladimir Guerrero

6. Evan Longoria

7. Joe Mauer

8. Robinson Cano

9. Carl Crawford

Starting Pitcher: David Price