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Pitchers are awarded All-Star appearances based on merit. Things can get tricky when managers and front office officials direct how many innings that pitcher can throw in an All-Star Game.

Chris Sale faces that exact dilemma come Tuesday night in the 83rd All-Star Game.

White Sox officials said Saturday that if Sale does make an appearance in Kansas City’s Midsummer Classic, it will not be for more than one inning.

Here’s White Sox manager Robin Ventura on Sale’s situation with the All-Star Game:

“Yeah, he won’t be starting that game — unless he goes one, which is unlikely,” said Ventura Saturday morning. “It’s an inning. It’s going to be an inning. It won’t be more. He knows it, everybody knows it.”

Well, what does Sale have to say about it? It should be something along the lines of:

“I mean, it would be something that would be great. But at the same time, I’m not going to sit here and complain about still being a part of the All-Star Game but not starting it.”

He should feel humbled that he is going to pitch in an All-Star Game.

However, throwing more than one inning won’t kill him down the road the rest of the season.

Roy Halladay threw two innings in last year’s All-Star Game and he came back in the second half with an 8-3 record and a 2.19 ERA.

On the AL side, no pitcher threw more than an inning last year and it looks like that’s going to be the case with Ron Washington as manager once again.

Chris Sale not only deserves to start Tuesday, but he also has the right to throw more than three outs.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

You’ve heard of a pitcher intentionally walking a pitcher for strategy purposes—so how about a team asking its pitcher to intentionally balk to end a long extra inning game?

Todd Steverson, who is a hitting instructor inside the Oakland A’s organization, has been suspended by Minor League Baseball for intentionally asking his pitcher to balk. This advanced two runners into scoring position to end the longest game in the California League this season. 

This was with the Stockton Ports and, as a result, Steverson has been banned from the Stockton dugout for the next year. The Ports are a High-A affiliate of the A’s.

League President Charlie Blaney was clearly displeased toward Steverson’s decision.

“While Stockton interim manager Todd Steverson’s intent was to protect his players from injury in the 17th and 18th innings of the Stockton vs. Modesto game on June 23, 2012, he made an error in judgment by instructing his pitcher to advance three base runners via intentional balk for the purpose of expediting the end of the game,” Blaney said in a statement.”

Steverson was the interim manager on June 23 while everyday skipper Webster Garrison was on vacation. Minor League managers need a break every so often, right?

The game lasted over five hours against the Modesto Nuts and went 18 innings. Modesto scored in the 18th inning, thanks to a Helder Velazquez single that ended the marathon. Velazquez went 3-for-7 on the night.

Josh Whitaker was the pitcher who was told to commit the balks. As a matter of fact, he had three separate balks—two in the 17th and the final one in the 18th that set up the final score.

The Ports are 4-8 in the second half of the Cal League.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Billy Hamilton is on fire—fittingly, he plays for the Bakersfield Blaze, High-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. Hamilton has reached a feat that would even catch Rickey Henderson’s attention. No, really.

In Monday night’s game against Lake Elsinore, Hamilton stole his 100th base of the season.

On July 2nd.

The Blaze played its 78th game on Monday. Going into the night, Hamilton had 98 steals. Nothing was going to stop him, and, over the spring and summer, nobody has had the ability to.

This kid is lightning-fast. He could run down the whole California coast as fast as it takes Mo Vaughn to go from the batter’s box to first base.

Hamilton clearly leads all of professional baseball in steals. The league he plays in is the California League. In the Cal League, the next two closest stolen base leaders combine to have 88 steals.

The top four in the steals department in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League add up to 103 steals.

In the majors, the top four in steals—Dee Gordon, Tony Campana, Michael Bourn and Mike Trout—combine for a total of 98 steals. A kid in Single-A has 100, mind you.

Like most people who will read this, not many know who Billy Hamilton is.

Well, let’s check it out.

Hamilton is currently hitting .327, going into Tuesday with 104 hits, 74 runs, 29 RBI, 17 doubles, nine triples and even has the power to hit a home run—one, in fact. He also has 142 total bases.

No one is talking about his power, though.

It’s his speed.

To no one’s surprise, right-handed pitchers don’t like this kid. Hamilton has 75 of his 100 stolen bases on righties.

Before the Cal League All-Star Break, Hamilton had 80 steals.

In the month of June, he stole a base 38 times.

If you’re wondering how many times he was caught stealing, he has been. No one is perfect. Hamilton has been thrown out on attempted steals 21 times. Not too shabby, though.

Vince Coleman has the professional record with 145, and Hamilton is on pace to fly by that record.

As for Henderson, when he broke the MLB record in 1983, he stole his 73rd base in the 78th game for the Oakland A’s.

Most experts don’t think either record could be broken, but Billy Hamilton could prove them wrong even before they blink an eye.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com