Atlanta Braves: 3 takeaways from a bad Game 1 against the Cardinals
Maybe it’s a Cardinals playoff curse? Maybe it’s 1st game jitters? Maybe it’s playing on Thursdays? Whatever the reason, the Atlanta Braves immediately have their backs to the wall as Friday night looms.
When the historians compile the rich histories of Atlanta Braves or St. Louis Cardinals baseball, they might simply skip over this game, as it truly had little artistic value to relish.
There were a couple of slick fielding plays, true, but there were also bungled catches, horrid base-running, and even the umpires were questioned on occasion… but then that’s always the case.
When we noted 5 early keys that would be helpful for beating the Cardinals, the very 1st point noted was that they wouldn’t be giving away any runs.
So naturally, they gave away a run in the very first inning on Thursday… and then 2 more in the sixth. Both times, these gave the Atlanta Braves the lead.
Unfortunately, Atlanta was in a gift-giving mood of their own.
Overall it was a game that resembled a disaster movie… an innocent calm with the heroes of the story functioning well in their own utopian existence. Then something happened to put matters ‘off script’ and careening toward a date with the apocalypse.
The 9th inning comeback attempt could have been an epic and fitting finish for this movie… but it wasn’t completed.
First: a word about Ronald Acuna Jr.: it’s pretty obvious from the post-game interviews that his teammates are more than a bit frustrated at this habit – and that’s what it is – of admiring his work at the plate before running hard.
That behavior has got to be fixed internally. I don’t know what it’s going to take to get through this kid’s immensely talented skull and body that he needs to stop this nonsense, but it’s got to be done.
His antics may not have cost the Braves this game outright, but it sure would have been much more interesting to see it played without this sideshow.
Kid: it’s not about you. It’s about the team. Play for the team and you’ll get what’s yours.
The full game recap can be reviewed here, but this is about looking forward… and noting that there is now very little margin for error. Going into St. Louis and being down by a 0-2 game count is not a winning option… and yet that is now a very real possibility.
Here’s the takeaways: