Bad Guys Good Guys

QUESTION: Which offense was ranked higher: the 1995 World Champion Braves or the 2014 Braves?

ANSWER: The 1995 Braves offense was ranked 26th, and this year’s offense is ranked 22nd.

ARod may be helping my fantasy team, but perhaps I should dump him because of his steroid use. A book is coming out saying that for years Rodriquez received an exemption from MLB to take certain banned drugs, which were usually only needed to recover from the effects of steroid use. This went back at least to when he played for the Rangers. I always liked ARod even when most others didn’t, but I am finally coming around to the majority opinion.

ARod makes me wonder if an elite athlete can take in all that money and accolades yet still remain humble and somewhat normal. There are scores of athletes like ARod, like Lance Armstrong, Marion Jones, Tiger Woods, Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco, etc. But there are still good guys who have remained unspoiled. Perhaps Derek Jeter and Albert Pujols are two of them. Brian McCann. Tim Hudson. Mariano Rivera. Hopefully Mike Trout can remain a good guy as well. Nobody’s perfect. Greg Maddux is said to be somewhat profane in the dugout and clubhouse, but he does a good job of keeping that from the public.

I dislike Yasiel Puig because of the way he plays the game. A few days ago he nonchalantly caught a high deep fly in centerfield and took his time preparing to return the ball to the infield. Then he realized that big, slow Albert Pujols had tagged from first and was lumbering toward second. Not surprisingly, Puig’s throw was late and off the mark, and Pujols easily advanced into scoring position. Supposedly Puig continues to rub his teammates and manager the wrong way (and many other people in baseball). Guys like Puig seem to flame out faster than the Jeters and Trouts. My son Will also dislikes Puig.

Braves: No shame in losing to those three Dodger aces in LA. Not exactly a bunch of contact hitters, except for LaStella. Simmons makes contact and doesn’t strike out, but he’s hitting a lot of groundouts. Not a smart play for him to bunt with Gattis on third. Gattis’ average continues to rise. BJ is an automatic out. Justin is streaky. Johnson doesn’t take enough walks.

Tuesday they faced the best pitcher in the AL, and people were upset the Braves’ bats didn’t improve. They faced another good pitcher Wednesday. BJ was dropped in the order, which is good. At least Uggla admitted he was playing lousy and didn’t deserve to play. Don’t know for sure, but it seems like BJ doesn’t feel the same way. Even hitting .210 - over 30 points higher than last year - BJ has the lowest average for any regular position player in baseball.

Monday night Matthew and I ate at Moes and checked out Old Navy and Kohls. Will and I worked up a sweat working on bikes. We’ll give a little one away and get new tire tubes for Anna’s. Switched a tire from the Schwinn to the Cannondale so Matthew can have a sweeter ride. Will made a batch of salsa. Tuesday he observed MC’s dad perform surgery in Cartersville.

Tuesday: another slow night at home. Went to Ruby Tuesday for lunch Wednesday. Nice to have birthday club deals. Ceil returns home from Charleston today. Her dad continues to have good days and bad days, with little improvement.

Because my company’s computer system is located in Chicago, when I go on the internet all the advertisements and maps show up oriented for a Chicago resident. This week I keep seeing ads for the upcoming Chicago Sky/Atlanta Dream basketball game.