Three Up, Three Down: The All-Star Game didn't count and it was awesome

Robinson Cano was the big hero at Marlins Park on Tuesday night during this year's All-Star Game. His right field dinger in the top of the 10th inning put the American League ahead for good and gave them their fifth-straight victory over the National League. Everybody went home happy after watching the pure spectacle of seeing baseball's best and brightest show off their stuff, and it was definitely entertaining to watch.

The best part of the entire game was knowing that none of this counted for anything. In case you may have missed it – and considering how quiet they were about announcing it, you probably did – MLB actually did away with the clause that gave home field advantage to the league that won the All-Star Game. So this time it didn't count and the All-Star Game is better for it. Let the exhibition be an exhibition so we can all have fun and the players can do stuff like take mid-game Instagram photos. Hooray for consequence-free baseball!

Down: Welcome to the dead period of American sports

Well, I'm sure that the players, coaches, and managers are thrilled with the extra free time that they've gotten this week. It's always nice to get your rest in and while some "hot" teams may claim that the break brings a halt to their momentum, surely they won't complain about a little bit of down time to rest and recuperate during the middle of the season.

With that being said, this is the worst time of the season for baseball fans and sports fans in general. Not only do we have to go four days without seeing a baseball game of consequence, we also have to go a while without sports in general. Unless you're a fan of the Gold Cup or NBA's Summer League, this is like having to walk through a desert with no water. Baseball can't come back soon enough!

Up: Aaron Judge made Marlins Park look very small 

In an earlier edition of Three Up, Three Down, I expressed plenty of excitement about Giancarlo Stanton defending his Home Run Derby title in his home stadium. So much for that – he ended up getting knocked out of the first round. However, the fans at Marlins Park still got a treat because Aaron Judge put on a beautiful show of his frightening power.

While most of the other competitors in the Home Run Derby were busy pulling the ball and maybe poking it over center field, it was actually scary seeing the ease with which Aaron Judge was not only crushing dingers, but going the opposite way as well. It's difficult to say that a high-profile New York Yankees player really needed the spotlight of the All-Star festivities, but Judge absolutely smashed his way into the minds of both casual fans and hardcore fans with his efforts on Monday night.

Down: Please just admit that the ball is juiced

Speaking of home runs, I'm sure you've noticed that there have been a ton of dingers leaving MLB ballparks across America and one city in Canada this year. It's been a banner year for home runs, but it would be naive to say that this is just because the hitters are getting better and the pitchers are getting worse. All signs are pointing towards a juiced ball – unless you're looking at signs planted by MLB themselves.

Commissioner Rob Manfred recently sent out a memo to all of the teams that was a very weak denial that they were juicing the balls, and during a press conference in Miami, Manfred claimed that he was "certain" that the balls weren't juiced. Again, there's not too much evidence to support this theory, and the league would be better off admitting that the ball is juiced. Even if it isn't, they would still benefit from at least providing concrete evidence instead of just making claims. Just give us the truth, we won't judge you!

Up: The Brewers are still on top and still fighting 

Don't look now, but the Milwaukee Brewers will be returning to action at the top of the NL Central. When you consider the fact that expectations for this supposedly rebuilding team were very low, it's very nice to see this team hang around as long as they have. Normally you see teams get hot in April and early-May before fading away in the Summer heat, but the Brewers are still hanging around.

They've proven that they aren't just riding the wave of Eric Thames' return from Korea. They've shown that they can hang with some of the best teams in the league, and players like Corey Knebel, Jimmy Nelson, Travis Shaw, and Domingo Santana (just to name a few) have stepped up to help make sure that the Brewers aren't just a flash in the pan. They could still fade as the season progresses, but they've definitely done themselves plenty of justice so far this year.

Down: Can Jose Quintana help save the Cubs' rotation? 

Meanwhile, the Cubs' season hit its nadir on the cusp of the All-Star break when Jon Lester spent the first inning of Sunday afternoon's game against the Pirates getting utterly lambasted. As a matter of fact, he didn't even make it out of the first inning – Pittsburgh chased him from the game after he gave up 10 runs. Yes, the same Jon Lester who only gave up seven runs during all of September 2016 gave up 10 runs in one inning alone.

There is a silver lining for Cubs fans, though. The team actually pulled off an extremely rare cross-town trade when they shipped four prospects to the White Sox in exchange for Jose Quintana. Quintana's 2017 resume may not be super impressive, but he's turned it on since June and he could very well be the salve for the Cubs' pitching woes. They better hope that this works out, because the defending World Series champions will have a lot of work ahead if they want to even have a prayer of actually defending their title this year.