Before we get rolling, we had a request from Kyle J.
“Jay, I love your 5@10 but I enjoy your questions like Which Way Wednesday, T or F and the others more than the Rushmores. Have you ever thought about doing more of those questions. Thanks for the 5@10 – I read it every morning.”
Hey, we discussed the idea of fewer Rushmores a few months back. The poll was overwhelming to keep the Rushmore, but as always, the floor is open for discussion.
But in terms of questions, I can incorporate more Multiple Choice questions on Mondays, and will continue to encourage more of a two-way exchange on T or F Tuesday.
Today, we’ll try something new and have a Which Way Wednesday in each block. Deal? Deal.
Braves gonna be brave
So, Marlins, want to wake that sleeping dog again?
Ronald Acuña Jr., who has fried more fish than Morton’s, homered in his lead-off at-bat in Game 1 against Miami Tuesday.
Because Miami gonna Miami, they plunked Acuña in his next at-bat. It’s the fifth time Miami has hit the young Braves superstar, including the purposeful pegged Acuña last year when he was riding a streak of five straight games leading off with a homer.
Lots to unpack from that one scene in Atlanta’s 9-5 Game 1, so let’s start peeling the layer.
First, Acuña answered the HBP in the best possible way. Yes, his frustrations and anger were clear. And understandable. But dude got on first, slide that oven mitt over his sliding hand, and burned up the base paths and scored from first on what looked to be a rather routine single to left that the Marlins left fielder lolly-gagged toward.
He was fired up, and it fired up the Braves bats, too.
(Which way Wednesday, part I: Which movie quote about a baseball bat is best? “Hats for bats, keep bats warm Gracias” from Pedro Cerrano in Major League; “When the bat meets that ball you can feel that ball just give and you know it is going to go a long way. Dang, if you don’t feel like your going to live forever,” Buck Weaver in Eight Men Out; “Pick me out a winner, Bobby,” Roy Hobbs in The Natural.)
That was the best team answer and most impactful payback Acuña could generate.
Second, Acuña’s skill set is off the charts. Off. The. Charts.
He has defensive skills that are Andruw Jonesian. He has Garry Sheffield bat speed, even if his swing is long enough that it will be susceptible to 0-for-18 stretches but resilient enough to drop 10-for-20s with five lead-off homers. His arm is not Dave Parker’s but whose is. He runs the bases like a mix between Willie Wilson and Tim Raines, with the grace and precision of the former and the purpose and power of the latter. (Side question: Was there any doubt Acuña was scoring as soon as he put his foot on second base yesterday afternoon? Not in my mind.)
If Acuña stays healthy, he’s a sure-fire Hall of Famer, and there are not a lot of dudes you can say that about 300 games into their careers. But this one is clear.
Finally, this is the latest line of the unwritten BS in the game. And it’s time for an overhaul. Period.
And it’s in baseball’s best interest to do it sooner rather than later, because when Donny Ballgame and Brian McCann and the old guard are hitting players who watch a homer or celebrate after a great play or what have you, it hurts the game in a slew of ways.
What happens if that 97-mph heater hit Acuña in the ribs or on the wrist and broke a bone and cost the sport its most exciting young player for the remainder of the postseason?
That’s one. Here’s two, in a practical matter: How in the world is it ‘proper’ or old-school for the Marlins to peg a guy, then both sides get warned and there is no retaliation, never mind no chance for Max Fried or Chris Martin to pitch inside because if one gets away just a touch, they get bounced?
And finally, be a man. If you can’t get Acuña out, walk him rather than peg him. And, it’s put perfectly in this social media exchange:
From Acuña: “They have to hit me, because they don’t get me out” with several emojis.
Among the replies, came from hard-throwing Reds pitcher and emotional crock pot Trevor Bauer: “This is the direction the game is going, and needs to go to survive. Don’t like getting shown up? Get better or get out. This league ain’t waiting around for you.”
Amen Trevor, and keep being you Ronald, because you are the most entertaining and must-watch young players since Ken Griffey Jr.
Uh oh
Another positive Corona test for the Patriots – this one All Pro cornerback Stephon Gilmore – on Wednesday.
Two more positive tests in Titans Landia. One with the Raiders, and that one may have come from some dude going to some wild and crazy event.
This should not be a shock. We are trying to find ways to operate and live and work with a highly infectious virus circulating among us. (Paschall asked this to Wells earlier this week, but it fits here on Which Way Wednesday: Which disease movie is the best, Outbreak or Contagion?)
But the tentacles of this thing have to be reviewed and the safe space of Sunday sports fandom with NFL swirling and our fantasy teams humming and our bets winning and losing faces a very real threat.
The Titans closed their facility again, this after PPD-ing last weekend’s game with the Steelers. All told Tennessee is north of 20 in terms of cases, and considering the incubation period and how many folks are asymptomatic, man it’s hard to see them playing this week too, no?
And potentially worse, is the Gilmore situation considering the Pats already knew of Cam Newton’s infection and still played – without Newton – against the Chiefs on Monday night. Gilmore played in that game because he tested negative earlier that day.
Did he have it then but still tested negative? Hard to know, but you have to believe this:
If Gilmore had it, and considering that playing defense in the NFL is 100 percent the opposite of socially distanced, then there will be a tribe of Chiefs who will have it sooner rather than latter, no?
Here’s hoping that the NFL office is seriously looking at all options, including saying, “Hey we’re about to shut down for 10 days, bunker up and make sure everyone follows the protocols. If you do not follow the protocols, then you’re out for the year. We will push everything back one week, and wipe out the bye week before the Super Bowl.”
Again, no one wants that, but I do know that the most normal I feel as a life-long sports fan is Sunday afternoon, and it’s not even close.