Braves 6, Astros 1
W:Venters (4-3)
L:Norris (5-9)
In one of my lines of work I get to see the lead stories and runthrough of the weekend news from some Atlanta station, I don’t know which one it is. Every night it’s like watching the apocalypse – fire destroying houses and buildings, children getting run over, massive wrecks, random murders, daylight armed robberies, gang shootings – it’s hell on Earth and it’s the lead on every single broadcast I see. It’s like Atlanta never stopped burning.
Maybe it’s that gunshy atmosphere. Maybe it’s the FourLoko and meth. Maybe it’s just the turmoil of two different cultures colliding in some tectonic kaleidoscopic earthquake that gives those cracker idiots the belief that there is no stupid there, it’s all on The Outside. That might go some distance in explaining why their scoreboard displayed “You can’t spell Disastrous without Astro” during the game Sunday. Classless and ignorant is the face they show the world, and apologies couldn’t even begin to address it.
Perhaps you’d like to join me in sending a message to the Braves and to MLB that we don’t appreciate the lack of professionalism on display at the game today. The email address for the Braves is [email protected]. I’m also going to send a happy missive to our Gentle Protectors at MLB, specifically the Commissioner. You can join in too at:
The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball
Allan H. (Bud) Selig, Commissioner
Address: 245 Park Avenue, 31st Floor
City: New York, State: NY Zip Code: 10167
Slack-jawed yokels.
I never did like the Braves. I liked Eddie Mathews enough, Warren Spahn seemed great. I didn’t doubt Hank Aaron’s talent, but I never had any fan connection to the franchise. That lack of feeling went out the window when the Sniveling Women changed the way umpires called games, tarnishing the game, and it absolutely went to hell when they became the arrogant also-rans who were in direct contention with the Astros. Hordes of thousands of redneck fans who descended upon the Astrodome to see them play, their only trips to the ballpark despite living in Houston. This always filled me revulsion. And don’t get me started on the Alkie stroke .
We didn’t expect Houston to score much today, even against Kris Medlen, a reliever trying to convert to part-time starter because of injuries on the Atlanta staff. They didn’t disappoint, although there were a couple of occasions where less-familiar observers might think runs were in the offing. With runners in scoring position in the sixth, Downs was called on to strike out and then Martinez to ground out weakly. In the eighth two more were stranded when Brett Wallace did his part by fanning.
Norris pitched better than we had a right to expect, holding the Braves to one run through five before flipping a wild pitch with two out and the bases loaded to give up the lead run. A subsequent two-run single to the wet noodle of Paul Janish’s war club and the game was lost.
The latest excursion into the Land of the Losses has come to an end, and the Home Nine will be back in Houston to host the Nats. At least losing to them will give the Braves a jab in the ribs, one the Astros couldn’t deliver on the field this weekend.