The season is a week old and some things have already jumped out at me about the 2010 Braves.
They looked awesome on opening day against Carlos Zambrano and the Cubs. There was so much excitement going on in The Ted with about 50,000 plus Braves fans going crazy. Everybody was hitting, Lowe was good enough, and Jason Heyward announced his arrival in Major League Baseball. Hitting a home run with his first major league swing was something I will always remember. I was watching it on my iPhone in a parking lot in Minnesota with my wife. We both were freaking out and couldn't believe what we had seen. He went into a mini-slump and people started talking as if he was the next Alex Gordon. I was pleased to see him break out of it and hit two more home runs during the week.
Chipper suffered his first injury of the season when he strained his right side during batting practice in San Francisco. When he tried to test it during batting practice the following day, he suffered back spasms. It's really hard to see my favorite player so old and brittle. I'm just hoping he gives the Braves 130 games this year. Even with Chipper's age and injuries, it's a totally different lineup when he's in there. When he's on the shelf, there is less excitement in the whole lineup. He sets the tone with his at bats. I'm hoping Chipper is going to be able to avoid the Disabled List early in the season and get off to a good start.
I have to say. Troy Glaus is starting to annoy me as a Braves fan. HIs at bats are filled with tempertantrums and bad swings. I had to watch him hit a pop up, take the time to throw his bat on the ground like a baby, and then half-jog to first base. I hope that the coaching staff or Chipper pull Troy aside and let him know this isn't how the Braves play baseball. I don't care how frustrating a slump can be, acting lazy and showing that kind of frustration is unacceptable. If he doesn't turn it around and start acting like a real ballplayer, I'm going to officially start regretting this trade, and openly hating Troy Glaus the baseball player.
Hopefully the Braves turn it around in week 2 and get on the winning path.
