World Series: Braves Take Game One

Nice the Braves get off to a fast start. The Astros are good, so hopefully the Atlanta bats will remain hot. I still say the problem with the Braves trotting out the same four relievers night after night in a seven game series will breed familiarity. People don’t want batters facing the starting pitcher a third or fourth time through the order, but they face the same relief pitcher night after night.

With Morton out it looks like the Braves will require another bullpen game at some point. Kyle Wright is already on the roster, and may get a start. Minter pitched a long 2.2 innings last night, making me think they’ll save him to start a bullpen game, like he did last year in the playoffs.

Back around 1990 I suffered a similar injury as Morton, playing for my company softball team. They put me at second base for an inning in a late April game, and a batter promptly blasted a worm-burner across the hard dirt clay infield right at me. I didn’t get my glove down in time, and the ball slammed into my bare shin. I heard a crack, but stayed in the game. In the dugout after the inning my shin swelled up like the proverbial softball. The next morning I was having outpatient abdominal surgery, and I had to refrain from exercise for a month afterwards – giving my cracked shin time to heal as well. I resumed running in June, and was able to complete the Peachtree Road Race just two months after the injury.

Article: an interesting first-hand account by Joc Pederson. He’s had some big hits, but had a baserunning error last night that didn’t hurt them much. Joc appears to be the odd outfielder out next year unless the NL adopts the DH, which is a likely occurrence.

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.theplayerstribune.com/posts/joc-pederson-atlanta-braves-mlb-baseball__;!!AE29DT8V!C39DAZn5CvYYCLI7agnX6nDiotBsxRpsWm6fn7Kr9946gZHSy_Xd4PtDBxe0JlkFvb4$

But youngsters Christian Pache and Drew Waters are knocking at the door. Rosario’s stock could not be skyrocketing at a better time. He’ll be able to demand a much higher salary in free agency this off-season. Unfortunately the owners have already cancelled the offseason winter meetings in anticipation of a lockout. Not good when trying to reassemble a strong contender for next year.

The “experts” on the Fox pregame acted as if were a done deal that free agents Freeman and Altuve would be changing teams. Not so fast. They were just trying to be sensational. Not 30 seconds into the pregame show David Ortiz was professing his love for the Astros, then Frank Thomas gushed over Dusty Baker. The host tried to steer the conversation back toward the Braves, but the interview with the injured Astro starter went far longer than the Riley interview. Good story by Smoltz about bouncing a wild warmup pitch off Snitker’s knee.Charlie Morton is the last active player to have played for the Richmond Braves. Dusty played in Richmond, and Snitker coached there. I’d heard them before, but nice to hear again how Aaron took young Dusty under his wing, and how Hank hired Snit to coach, and how they’d played racquetball together.

Nice that Snitker and GM Alex Anthropolos visited Bobby Cox on Sunday. Supposedly Chipper quietly helped out a family in need. Kris Dimino reported that for every negative story about a Braves player’s performance, there are ten behind-the -scenes feel-good stories that don’t get reported, Speaking of, good to see Luke Jackson rebound with a strong performance last night. Wish he didn’t wear his emotions on his sleeves as much, but that’s what makes him who he is. After the NLCS he told Channel 5 how his faith in Jesus keeps him from getting down, along with his wife and child.

Around ten last night Uni Watch’s Paul Lukas complained about five hour World Series games, when in fact game one lasted just over four hours. Tuesday he wrote extensively about the Astros, but only mentioned “Atlanta” once, in a section of his blog edited by someone else.

I took Winnie outside a little later than usual last night, and stumbled upon five deer in our front yard, including three youngsters. After some initial barking, I was about to get Winnie to sit and watch quietly, in wonder. When we went back inside she ran to the window to see if she could see them.

AARON JUDGE  [B-R Bio] broke Mark McGwire’s major league record for home runs by a rookie, but lost it two years later. Judge hit 52 home runs in 2017 for the Yankees. In 2019 the Met’s Pete Alonso hit 53 in his rookie campaign. Judge still holds that record, but just for his league. Alonso now holds the record for MLB rookies, but Judge’s AL record of 52 looks good. In a scant five-season period Judge managed to amass thirty-one postseason hits. He has played in at least 1 postseason game in every one of his 5 full seasons.

Denison: Harvard University reported "the global pandemic has deepened an epidemic of loneliness in America." The National Institute of Mental Health estimates 31 percent of US adults experience an anxiety disorder some time in their life. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in America, affecting 40 million adults ages 18 & older. Research shows attending religious services provide a wide range of health benefits: (1) medical workers who attended religious services were 29% less likely to become depressed, 50% less likely to divorce, and 5 times less likely to commit suicide. (2).Regular service attendance helps shield children from depression, substance abuse, and premature sexual activity. (3) People who attend church as children are more likely to grow up happy, to be forgiving, to have a sense of mission and purpose, and to volunteer. (4) "Deaths by suicide, drug overdose, or alcohol are reduced 68% for women and 33% for men who regularly attend religious services. Luke's Gospel portrays Jesus praying to his Father at his baptism, in private, before choosing his disciples, at his transfiguration, and in Gethsemane. He was transparently honest about his need for his Father's help: "I can do nothing on my own". Then he extended this to his followers: "Apart from me you can do nothing".