Yesterday was especially frustrating.  Kawakami came in with a 1-4 record and with a 6.41 ERA.  Charlie loaded up the lineup with lefties, figuring we should be able to make quick work of him, and we ended up doing nothing.  It amazes me how we really don’t hit a guy until we’ve seen him a few times and  almost never the first time. 

I’m not blaming Manuel for doing it, but his strategy of loading up the lineup with lefties, plus using Dobbs to pinch hit for Myers in the bottom of the 6th,  came back to bite us at the end of the game.  Bobby Cox used O’Flaherty in the 7th and Gonzales in the 8th to get through all the lefties, which meant that we had nothing left but righties to pinch hit against Soriano.  Amazingly, Cairo actually got a hit, but Werth was overmatched on 3 pitches after sitting all day. 

I wasn’t thrilled to see Taschner in there, either.  The reasoning: 

Manuel said he put Taschner in the game because Taschner had past success against several of the five lefties in the Braves’ lineup.
“I figured, well, if he’s the guy that’s had success, he’s the guy that we’ll put on them,” Manuel said.
On the plus side, I wore my cap the correct way so I don’t have any line on my forehead.  Not that I would have gotten one anyway since we were in the shade all day yesterday.  I wish we weren’t though because it was really windy and the sun would have felt good.

I’ll take a record of 15-14 at this point, considering how poorly ALL of our pitching has been so far. This offense can rake, but we need the pitching staff to step up and win games when we can’t score.

Pete, I hear you about the sun on Saturday. I was at the game as well, and tailgated for a bout 2 hours before hand. Of course I figured that I’d be ok to take my shirt off and get my first tan of the summer. I guess one coating of spray on SPF-35 wasn’t enough. I can barely sleep and actually had to take off from work today it is so bad.

How is it sitting up there anyway?  I bought a six-pack of games this season and I was kind of bummed to find out that we’ll be sitting in the 400 section for every game. 

I always get tickets for either left or left-center field.  Easy in and out  from the left field gate and, more importantly, you’re very close to Ashburn Alley.  It isn’t such a big deal now, but when my kids were younger it was a lot more convenient, as you’re much closer to the bathrooms, the concessions, and the souvenir shop.

Anyway, I can think of two positives for sitting in the 400 section.  First, I will be able to see the video board and the view of center city beyond the outfield throughout the game.  Second, and even more important considering that Myers is pitching on Sunday, I won’t be putting myself or my family in harm’s way.  The way Myers is surrendering home runs, anyone sitting in the outfield is at risk for serious injury.