Most teams will have their grounds crew water the infield heavier than normal to neutralize a fast visiting player. Maybe the Braves shouldn’t have made it so obvious by making the area around first base a mudslide.
But that’s the kind of gamesmanship the Braves have been known for, going back to when they scheduled a doubleheader the day after a rainout knowing that the Mets were short on defatigued pitching. Hey, nothing wrong with it. But the Braves’ waterslide, designed to stop Jose Reyes (it didn’t), might have been misused. Maybe they should have attempted to water http://metstradamusblog.com/Tim Byrdak’s mustache.
For it was Byrdak who was the difference, striking out Brian McCann with two runners on in the seventh up by two runs by somehow summoning a 91 mph fastball from the heavens, and then striking out righty Diory Hernandez to end the inning and help preserve a 4-3 Mets win in Atlanta. Am I the only one who notices that Byrdak’s greatest successes come while he is sporting the Fu Manchu mustache? Seriously … I want to see that mustache grow to Village Person status. It adds 3 miles per hour by sheer intimidation and/or confusion. It’s the game within the game.
But the Mets need to be careful going forward. The Braves have already tried rescheduling tactics and quicksand simulation. And my crack staff has revealed that the Braves have more tricks up their sleeve. In fact, they’re hearing that Fredi Gonzalez is getting ready to sell compromising pictures of R.A. Dickey to TMZ in advance of Thursday’s start:
You know, watering the bases and taking advantage of a tired pitching staff is one thing, but now the Braves have gone too far.
*If you haven’t figured out that this lousy photoshop isn’t a real picture, there’s no hope for you.
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