baseball

I think maybe I've figured out why I'm not as excited about baseball right now. It happened last night as I was watching the best game of the year. Late in the game, score tied 1-1, bases loaded and two outs. Edgar Renteria is up. Now last year, you just knew he would pull thru in this situation. I don't have the numbers but it just seems like the case. On top of him being "Mr. Clutch," he had also made a couple of bad plays in the field. He has to get a hit, right? Isn't that the way it happens in baseball? One minute the goat, the next you are a hero? I made the statement, "I would be shocked if Renteria doesn't come thru here." I wanted to believe. They flashed some stat on the screen how Renteria was batting .125 against the pitcher. Edgar is having a slow start and my mind was telling me he has almost no chance of getting a hit. My heart was saying there's no way he can fail. Studies have been done by people smarter than I that show there is no such thing as a clutch hitter. My problem I think is I've got too much head knowledge in the game now as far as stats go and it has taken away my love of the actual game. I spend the whole game frustrated at La Russa or Tino Martinez or Cody McKay or Craig Paquette because player X has a platoon advantage in this situation and pitcher Y has shown that he can face righties too so why not leave him in instead of saying, "C'mon get this sucker out!" "Hit a homerun!" I'm going to try not to criticize as much basically because of the following quote:

“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” - Teddy Roosevelt

BTW, Renteria grounded out.

Go Cardinals!