I was in attendance at the game and all I can say is that if Major League Baseball wants to attract the next generation of fans, they will burn this tape immediately. This wasn't like watching paint dry. It was like watching already dried paint.
Anyway, my synopsis.
(1) I think Harrell was rushed to the maternity ward after six innings because he was in heavy labor when on the mound. He threw more pitches in six innings than Santana threw in 9. I don't know if Harrell's stuff is lacking, but he's a nibbler.
(2) Nice catch by Jace Peterson although he's a bit shaky in LF. He's a great athlete that's playing baseball.
(3) Aybar just goofs around all the time. Maybe the losing has gotten to him, but his body language on the field is so lackadaisical it's beyond me why he's still in a Braves' uniform. He makes Yunel Escobar seem like Pete Rose by comparison.
(4) Twins and Braves are totally opposite right now. Twins have some young players with pretty big potential that simply don't know how to play the game. Braves have a set of guys who know how to play, but simply can't do it physically anymore.
(5) Ervin Santana pitched a whale of a game. He and Teheran are suffering the same fate this year.
(6) If it was coming from the dugout, Paul Molitor should get canned. The ill-fated double steal ran the Twins out of a fairly strong situation (two on, one out, heart of the order coming up).
(7) Cabrera hit 102 and had a good inning. Suzuki got onto a fastball for a double, but Cabrera's off-speed stuff had the Twins out of whack.
(8) I didn't have a choice seat, but it looked like the home plate ump was all over the place. Lots of called-thirds with the hitter giving the ump a look.
(9) If the Braves were auditioning pitchers, they all passed. I can't believe anyone would give up much for Harrell, but Withrow looked really solid and Johnson had a nice inning.
