Braves News:
Wood Dominates as Braves Take Down Nats
12 strikeouts, five hits, one run, and the win was enough to cap off one of the best outings of Alex Wood's young career, as the Braves take down the Nationals, 3-1. Justin Upton added in a solo home run (the 100th hit of his career, 500th RBI) while Heyward and Gattis also added an RBI each.
Harper Drags Foot Through Braves Logo
Baseball is one of those sports where respect, tradition, and maturity are held to incredibly high standards. So naturally, when when of these values is crossed (like it was Saturday night when Bryce Harper dragged his foot through the Braves logo behind home plate) chaos erupts. Fans are angry, and the fans that aren't angry are angry at those who are. Harper, naturally, said it wasn't on purpose, and didn't even think about the action when going up to bat:
"That’s the last thing on my mind when I’m walking up to the plate. I really had no idea," Harper said. "When [a team staffer] came up to me, I had no clue that I did anything. Seriously, that’s the last thing on my mind going to face Harang or Kimbrel or somebody like that. I had no idea why that was such a big deal. Of course, that’s the last thing on my mind."
What are your thoughts?
Digging Deeper Into RISP Failure
it's always fun to look at why teams are struggling, so this weeks topic is the inability to do much with runners in scorers position. The guys at Tomahawk Take took a deeper look into the problems, and it confirms that when the Braves are down in games, they're even less likely to score runs.
This is sort of an obvious thing to say, but it does need to be said, especially for the Braves. The Braves ranke 13th in runs scored in the National League, and have turned into a power-less team. Guys like Gattis and Johnson don't walk, La Stella has very little power, and B.J. Upton is disappointing in almost all offensive areas. Things like that, and more, need to change for Atlanta to have much more extended success.
MLB News:
Baseball Needs to Stop Killing Fun
The title pretty much explains itself, but it's becoming more and more evident everyday that guys (or teams) with extraordinary personalities are becoming vilified in today's MLB. Whether it's a player celebrating after a home run, or the Dodgers having a bubble-machine in the dugout, anything of the sorts tends to be frowned upon by baseball. Players have personalities, and baseball is trying to hide that, and it needs to stop.
Are the Royals a Serious Threat to Detroit?
Yes. Yes they are. Lead by guys like James Shields and an impressive bullpen, they come into Sunday just a game behind the Tigers in the AL Central. What's even scarier (for Detroit, mostly) is that they have the easiest remaining schedule of all AL Wild Card contenders, with their remaining foes holding a .485 winning percentage. Once the laughing stock of the league, could the Royals be looking to make a run in the playoffs?