Last night the Cats performed marvelously. Although they got a ton of hits and only four runs - they fielded the ball well and ultimately won. For once in my life I was sympathetic with the umpires - they have to stand out in the cold for the whole game - and did I mention it was cold.
Today was an 11:35 game - Jackie Robinson day in baseball - when all the players in the majors wear #42 in honor of Robinson. From the box score at Raley Field the Cats stunk the place up. What is great about the team now is their relatively good fielding. Their hitting could improve. But we've also seen a couple of good pitchers (even great pitchers). A couple of years ago the team began to jell in June.
Our returning skipper has exhibited two traits early in the season that are curious. The first is a very conservative base running style. He coaches third base and will often hold a runner when it seems almost obvious that if he took him home he would have a high percentage chance of scoring. The second is the tendency to fill up first base by pitching to a batter so that he can get more action in the fielding. In a couple of instances - especially in Sunday's game - I thought he made the wrong call. As one of my seatmates commented - Tony D was playing the odds - but I calculated the odds a bit differently. But then that may be a good reason why I am not the skipper.
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