How quickly the euphoria fades. After Friday night’s game I was floating, ready for Sunday’s rematch of Braves vs. Giants.
I was all set to watch the game Sunday. However, when I flicked over to TBS, the game wasn’t on yet. The usual TV programming was. So, I allowed my son to watch the next installment of one of his favorite shows. Next thing I know, more than an hour has passed.
I flick over and the game was finally on — and nearly over! But, from the way things went, I switched over just in time. A home run is made tying the game at 1-1. After that, it was all down hill.
Perhaps it was the constant “mix-up” of players on the field as one announcer said coaches had called the constant switching around of players to counter changes in San Francisco’s line up. All I can say is, as a strategy, it stinks.
They seemed to be more focused on the pitching, which wasn’t awful, when they should have made sure there was someone in the field who could run and catch balls. I think my cat could have done a better job than the guys did in the 8th and 9th innings Sunday. I’ve seen kids in t-ball distracted by clouds and butterflies that were more attentive and seemed to have their heads in the game better than our fielders!
I didn’t see ESPN last night, but 10-1 that several of the errors ended up on the reel of screw ups for the week. There was one guy, who three times had issues catching balls right at him. Was he afraid of the ball or just in awe of it? I don’t know, but fielding was definitely an issue.
I think this is where Braves coaches and management went wrong. Focus more on the problems than the things that don’t need fixing. Let the relief pitchers and closers hang in there and do their jobs. Pull the bobble heads in center and short if they can’t do their job, fielding the ball and when needed getting it back on the diamond to stop runners from scoring.
Getting ahead, then not holding the other team off was inexcusable. These are minor league errors that very well might cost Atlanta the division title and chance to advance. I speculate that the guy was played much too early in the day. Not only do these guys not seem to warm up until late in the game, but they also don’t seem to do as well early in the day either. Maybe they’re a bunch of night owls. Hopefully, they went home and got caught up on sleep Sunday night.
Don’t get me wrong, the Braves will always be me boys, but I’m not one to excuse poor choices by players or by managerial staff, and yes that means Bobby Cox and his coaches and their focus on pitcher matches instead of concentrating on the entire team, including the guys who can’t catch.
As must as I was beaming at my guys performance Friday night, Sunday I was fuming. They let me and other fans across the country down. They’ve got another chance tonight to best the Giants. Let’s home the guys who finally showed up half-way through Friday night’s game are the guys who step onto the field tonight.
And how about the Rangers? Pitching issues. Maybe if we picked from the players who weren’t totally horrible over the weekend and paired the two teams, we could form one good team who could not only pitch but also field and hit? Just a thought.
Honestly, I’d love to see my guys and Texas go head-to-head at the end of the month in a World Series face-off. But, at the rate they’re going, I’m not holding my breath.
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