Jun 19, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves Chris Johnson (23) slides safely into second base ahead of the tag by New York Mets shortstop Wilmer Flores (4) on a fielding error in the fourth inning of their game at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Atlanta Braves…what can ya say?
Well, they try. They really do. I don’t think that’s been questioned often, and it’s also the main reason why so many have been openly frustrated with Chris Johnson‘s lack of hustle in the 3rd game of the Rockies series, and Andrelton Simmons‘ mannerisms throughout most of the last 4-5 games. But it happened, both of them. Count it! (Pardon my Andruw Jones reference there).
And it’s been fun to watch. This team is far more entertaining than last year, purely for that reason listed above. They try. Baseball isn’t a sport that requires a whole lot of outward emotion, therefore it’s a bit hard to decipher whether a player is actually trying or really calling it in. Last year’s team was so stinkin’ talented, but it seemed on almost a nightly basis that lack of hustle or “team” ball was questioned on every Braves media outlet known. This team looks like they like playing, and that is fun to watch. There’s no one chasing individual statistics, there’s energy in the fist-bumps, and seem to be a fairly cohesive crew.
And it would have been a great fairy tale to talk about the second coming of the Miracle Braves, and there have been so many times when they have made us believe that maybe…just maybe. What a feeling to have about a team that almost everyone wrote off. To tell you the truth, I’ve loved rooting for these guys this year as they have, in a sense, revitalized my fandom that was dying every loaf or swing-n-miss of Melvin Upton’s, every audible F-bomb of Justin Upton‘s, or even (I’ll say some Hail Mary’s after this) Jason Heyward‘s ritual of rolling over on pitches – rolling them toward 2nd base.
Next: The Path to Despair