I was so glad the Braves beat the Nats Saturday on Fox. Since the Fox announcers usually use the Friday game for talking points, it was sweet that the Braves snatched that game away from Washington as well. Fox announcer / ex-Dodger Eric Karros made some interesting points during the Saturday game, but went out of his way to label Strasburg's performance "dominant"…since the Nats were only losing 2-1 AND the runs were unearned. Strasburg was even given credit for making a good pitch to the rookie Gattis. The White Bear was given little credit for homering off a doubly-difficult Strasburg pitch (fast and high). Karros made much of Strasburg wanting to pitch deeper into games, but did not connect that to how his high Saturday pitch count once again forced him from the game. Hudson pitched into the eighth, as I recall. Hudson also out-hit the 2012 Silver Slugger Award-winner.
Fortunately I was able to watch most all of the Washington series. I too had a bad feeling about the Friday night game, but was delighted with the comeback. Fredi said he was playing for the tie because of Washington's fragile bullpen. Nice to see Kimbrel back in dominant form.
No, the Nationals haven't proved anything yet. One problem they'll have in the postseason is Ryan Zimmerman's arm. The ball tends to find people in crucial situations, and Zimmerman is an accident waiting to happen. Adam LaRoche may have hurt himself trying to catch Zimmerman's wayward throw in Sunday's game.
Love how so many Braves fans have taken to hating the uber-talented media-darling Harper. Bryce got lucky Saturday, easily throwing out Uggla at the plate because the left-fielder was playing so far in, with the pitcher batting. With BJ on deck, Uggla should've been held up at third. And with everyone fawning over Harper's all-out hustle, nothing was mentioned about his slow trot after grounding back to Hudson. When Bryce crosses home plate after a home run, why does he signal the crowd with the hook'em Horns sign? As they used to say on Seinfeld, that was Chipper's move. Harper may be the real deal, but I'm tired of hearing about him. At least Subway signed Mike Trout, and not Harper. And what's the deal with Harper's bad haircut? The balding Evan Gattis looks better.
Good stories Sunday by Joe and Chip, when defensive replacement Reed Johnson stuck his spikes into the wire fence making that great catch. Joe likened it to the career-shortening catch by young Bobby Valentine. Chip voiced what I was thinking: Braves fans may remember the name Brian Asselstein, who was hurt when his spikes got caught in the wire fence at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.
Most of Saturday's game was played before Master's coverage began. Sunday's broadcasts over-lapped more, but thanks to the Braves offensive explosion, I didn't mind changing over to the golf tournament. Even then I made a point of flipping back to catch the Gattis at-bats. If Gattis isn't Roy Hobbs, perhaps he is like another name from baseball's past. With all the different jobs Gattis has held in the past, perhaps he works for the CIA. Perhaps he is the next baseball spy, like Moe Berg.
If power rankings change every week, why are these experts afraid to rank the Braves over the Nationals? Washington my have the best team in the long run, but with Atlanta sweeping three straight series without McCann, Freeman, Beachy, and Venters, how can you not rank them first?
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