Empyreal Environs

Mitch Williams used as many words as Vin Scully does when broadcasting a game. The problem is, Williams’s play-by-play man Thom Brennaman also spoke as much as Scully. The Fox B team didn’t let the action on the field speak for itself but attempted to explain or elaborate on every pitch, swing, and twitch.

One particular habit Williams has is calling or guessing what the pitcher will throw by the signs the catcher puts down. A more adroit analyst like Jerry Remy will only use this occasionally to show how a pitcher is setting up a hitter and does so in a manner that increases the appreciation and enjoyment of the interchange. At one point Williams did this so often it leached entertainment out of the action because it was about showing off rather than complementing the game.

Lost in the verbiage was Franklin Morales’s second superb start. The southpaw went 6 innings, struck out 8 and only allowed 3 runs. The second run came in the fifth inning when Jason Heyward bunted for a single. Morales rushed his throw to first and missed Adrian Gonzalez, allowing Heyward to take second. Heyward advanced on a foul ball out to Gonzalez and scored on Michael Bourn’s single to left. Cue the ongoing argument for counting pitchers’ fielding errors against their ERA.

While David Ortiz has cooled at the plate other players have stepped up their offensive contributions. Dustin Pedroia has shaken off the rust with a 3-for-4 showing with a base on balls and two runs batted in. Daniel Nava has acclimated well to the leadoff spot and added to his team’s lead with a two-run single right in the seventh.

Adrian Gonzalez has shown signs of life of late. He went 2-for-5 and tied the game in the first with a single to right. The first baseman had two footraces against Bourn. He lost the dash to the bag in the third but Morales was spared from Bourn’s dancing at first when Martin Prado grounded into a double play. With the final out at stake, however, Gonzalez beat Bourn to first.

The next chapter to the epic of Will Middlebrooks was written. The third baseman hit the middle of the left field wall, deep enough to plate Gonzalez for the go-ahead run in the first. He tacked on a solo shot in the third to an area where most of his souvenir shots have landed: the Monster seats.

Game 71: June 23, 2012
Atlanta Braves 38-33	4	L: Randall Delgado (4-8)
		2B: Chipper Jones (5), Andrelton Simmons (4)
Boston Red Sox 37-34	8	W: Franklin Morales (1-1) H: Scott Atchison (4), Andrew Miller (10)
		2B: Will Middlebrooks (10), Dustin Pedroia (18), Mike Aviles (18), Cody Ross – 2 (12) HR: Middlebrooks (9)