The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

The Good:

If you watched the game last night, you'll know most everything was good. Primarily Lowe was flat out nasty. Next time you see him on the mound, check out how every pitch moves at the tail end, no wonder noone hits him. And I don't mean your average sinker-ball movement, this ball goes in, tails back, drops straight down... he can do anything with a baseball. It was purely Maddux-esce.

More good. Francouer's swing was spot on when he drove a first-pitch inside fastball over the left field wall. An inning earlier, Buffalo Wild Wings errupted when McCann parked one in the second deck of the right field porch that rivaled the shots Josh Hamilton was taking in making a mockery of the 2008 home run derby.

Finally, Schafer was as good as advertised. His first major league at-bat resulted in taking Brett Meyers over the 409 mark in centerfield on a pitch that was a bit low and away, not the power zone pitch that McCann and Francouer got. He followed with single up the middle in his second at bat and an intentional pass in his third.

Not related to on the field action, it was great to hear Don Sutton back on the radio! Welcome back curly.

All in a all, a great night for Braves fans.

The BAD:

ESPN commentary. I despise Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN for the same reason I hate Sunday Night Football, the commentary is down-right terrible. From September to January I'm constantly pleading for someone to shove a turducken in Madden's fat throat just to keep him from talking. Likewise if they'd put Joe Morgan in a comfy chair in the corner of Cooperstown to celebrate this fantastic career as a player it would keep him from tarnishing this reputation by opening his mouth. And finally Jon Miller has lost it. I'm not sure if he just doesn't do the requisite homework or just doesn't care, but his meaningless comments and confusing player names causes me to mute the TV in favor of an un-synchronized radio broadcast!

The UGLY:

Somehow Gonzo got out of it with only a small tarnish on Lowe's stellar night. The right handers in the line up ate him up, but he ended striking out Ryan Howard and the new lefty bat of Raul Ibanez. In the end we got the W, but I'm not sure I can take a season of that type 9th inning.

I need to learn how to capture and insert video clips. Meanwhile check out www.braves.com.