I'm going to offer a positive scouting report after the team's loss to the Dodgers' Sunday night. Remember, as always, these are my personal observations, not endorsed or pre-approved by our coaches, Bud Selig, or anyone else.
There are times in this age group when an obviously superior team crushes an inferior opponent through sheer talent and will. While it is clear the Dodgers are superior right now, that is NOT what happened Sunday night.
The Dodgers were efficient in making the Braves pay for many mistakes. Only one ball was hit out of the park. With better defense and baserunning by the Braves, that could have been a 5-1 game, and I don't think any of us would have felt bad about that.
The Braves did not put enough hits together, but that is nothing to be ashamed about this early in the season against a high-class opponent. (You will sometimes see 2-1 and 1-0 games in this league.) More swings and warmer weather will improve the hitting.
Defense can be improved, too. That's why we have practice. It's much better to get this kind of game out of the way earlier in the season, when there is practice time to work on fielding.
It's tempting for a player to get demoralized in such a game, so I want to single out a couple of guys for sustained, passionate effort throughout the night.
As a fielder and pitcher, Jason battled throughout the game, getting to every ball he could and making excellent throws. You could see the fire in his eyes, even when we were down big.
Evan, too, particularly when he's at 1B, makes it a point of pride to catch everything. When he was not able to handle a difficult throw in one play, he got upset, but I could see it was the right kind of upset - he expects to catch everything.
A few other notes. Again, blame me for the observations and omissions, no one else:
Pitching: Connor was effective pitching against a strong opponent. He struck out 5 in three innings, a long stretch of work. He could have gotten out of the first inning without giving up any runs, but an error kept the Dodgers at bat. Connor did what pitchers do when they get bad breaks -- he didn't moan or point fingers, he simply went back to work.
Hitting: Chris had a booming double and a single. Ryan and Anthony had singles. Nick walked twice. (He's walked 4 times in 3 games this year. Either the hair or the glare must intimidate other teams.) Jack also drew a walk.
Fielding: Scott made a nice pickup at second, firing to Tyler at first to end the second inning. In addition to his other fine plays, Jason, while pitching with the bases loaded, grabbed a grounder and fired to the sure-handed Anthony at home to force the runner.
Jim Higgins
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