Detroit ? Derrek Lee knows the All-Star game has a whole new look this year.

Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Ken Griffey Jr. are nowhere to be seen. Derek Jeter and Jason Giambi aren’t around, either.

Instead, there’s a whole bunch of new kids on the block for tonight’s game at Comerica Park. There are Lee and Brian Roberts, who lead their leagues in batting average. And there are Chris Carpenter and Mark Buehrle, the starting pitchers.

Thirteen of the 20 players in the lineup never have started an All-Star game before, including seven in the American League.

“It could be the next wave,” Lee said before Monday’s workout. “It has to happen at some point. Guys can’t play forever.”

Of course, there are some exceptions. Roger Clemens, a month shy of his 43rd birthday, was picked for the 11th time. He played in his first All-Star game in 1986, when Lee was just 10.

Chicago Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee, left, chats with Milwaukee's Carlos Lee during batting practice. They were taking their hacks Monday in preparation for tonight's 2005 All-Star game at Comerica Park in Detroit.

And then there’s 40-year-old Kenny Rogers, who received the most attention at the All-Star media availability, held at the hotel in suburban Dearborn where the players are staying. He was suspended July 1 for 20 games and fined $50,000 for an outburst that sent a television cameraman to the hospital and prompted a police investigation. Because the players’ association appealed, Rogers can’t be penalized until after a hearing and a decision by commissioner Bud Selig.

He spent 45 minutes answering and avoiding questions.

“I figured everyone would be at this table. I’m sure the rest of the guys love this, because they don’t have to worry about it,” he said. “I’ll take whatever shots people give me, and at the end, I’ll still be standing.”

So is Tiger Stadium, about two miles away. The site of the famous 1971 All-Star game, where Reggie Jackson hit the light tower, is shuttered these days, with no determination made on what the future will hold for the corner of Michigan and Trumbull.

Comerica Park, which replaced hitter-friendly Tiger Stadium in 2000, is one of the few pitchers’ parks to open in the bandbox era.

Atlanta pitcher John Smoltz returns an autographed ball to a fan during batting practice for the All-Star game. Smoltz signed for fans Monday at Comerica Park in Detroit.

NL manager Tony La Russa looked forward to seeing how the young studs would do.

“I think the first-timers are some of the most fun for either squad,” he said after taking an overnight flight from San Francisco. “These guys are not going to be cool and ‘What’s the big deal?'”

Atlanta’s John Smoltz, a Detroit native, recalled his first All-Star trip, to Anaheim in 1989.

“I was so fish-out-of-water,” he said. “I didn’t know if I was coming or going.”

La Russa’s Cardinals have four players in the starting lineup for the 76th All-Star game, with Carpenter joining center fielder Jim Edmonds, shortstop David Eckstein and designated hitter Albert Pujols – it would have been five if third baseman Scott Rolen hadn’t pulled out because of a sore right shoulder.

Boston, which swept St. Louis in the World Series, also has four starters: left fielder Manny Ramirez, center fielder Johnny Damon, designated hitter David Ortiz and catcher Jason Varitek.

No team had placed that many players in the starting lineup since the 1976 Cincinnati Reds had five, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Texas pitcher Kenny Rogers, left, and New York Yankees outfielder Gary Sheffield watch the Home Run Derby on Monday in Detroit.

Terry Francona earned the right to manage the AL team because he led Boston to its first World Series title since 1918.

“After 86 years of passion, frustration, fanatical fans and a lot of genuine love for their team, I’m very excited and honored,” he said.

Damon compared the Red Sox to the Harlem Globetrotters, saying they had become as much celebrity entertainers as ballplayers.

“People stop and stare,” he said. “They ask, ‘Did you see the Red Sox walking down the street?'”

For the third straight season, the league that wins the All-Star game gets home-field advantage in the World Series. The AL has won the last seven All-Star games played to a decision, and the Red Sox started their Series sweep last year with two wins at Fenway Park.

“I think that if we had started the series in St. Louis, maybe we would have lost in five,” La Russa joked.