Being away on vacation most of the week I've only loosely kept up w/ baseball so needless to say I was a little surprised last night when I tuned in to watch the Braves take on the Brewers and I saw Alex Gonzalez in the line up. I thought to myself, now who is that - only seeing the back of his jersey in the crowded dug out at first. Then I heard Ernie Johnson say he was playing short stop and after that I was able to piece the puzzle together - the Braves shipped Escobar off to Canada.
At first I was really surprised and disappointed. Then I started to remember all the half hearted plays he made last year in addition to this year. Then I looked at his stats (which I rarely do for any player) and compared them to Alex's career numbers and this seasons numbers. After doing so all I could do was grin. Then Alex doubled in his 2nd at bat as a Brave and the smile on my face only grew.
I liked Escobar. I liked his defensive capabilities and occasionally his offensive capabilities. I didn't like his immature attitude he displayed at times. Don't get me wrong, I wish him all the best in Canada with the Jays, but I'm not all that sad he's gone. I believe the addition of Alex Gonzalez to the Braves is an excellent fit and I'm positive he'll help anchor the infield. Assuming Chipper can stay healthy and Prado and Glaus can continue in their performance in the 2nd half of the season I'd say the chances of the Braves making the post season are very very good. There is still a lot of baseball to play so I'm not putting the cart before the horse just yet...but I'm excited about the Braves play on field and their chances.
Here's hope Topps will include Gonzalez in a Braves uniform in their Update & Highlights set later this year...
No comments:
Post a Comment