-It is tough watch Cubs baseball these days. I watched a few innings of Sunday's matchup with the Braves. Edwin Jackson started and looked a lot like the High School starter I saw the day before. More like the one that lost 17-1. They are a Minor League team in Major League uniforms. By the way, Chicago Cubs have the third highest ticket prices in the Majors. Enjoy your season in Wrigley.
It has reached an extreme. The Cubs do not have to win to fill Wrigley Field. The Cubs have a couple of good players in the minors, (Kris Bryant, for one) but they don't seem to be filling out with lots of good players the way the Red Sox did. The owner is more interested in Jumbotrons and maximizing revenue. Proves the game is not the attraction.
-I've watched around a dozen High School Varsity baseball games this spring and I've reached a couple of conclusions. First, the basics of the game are being sacrificed for competition. The number of errors is much greater than I expected. Travel baseball, the path to playing time at the varsity level, over competes and under practices. Second, offensively, I've seen a fair amount of swinging away, little hit and run, or small ball. Is it a case of more poor fundamentals?
-I have also watched a couple of high school softball games. I'm surprised how well I've been teaching the girls I coach. It surprises me how many players tend to stand and watch the game while on the field. I don't let my players watch: the statement I use is, "We don't watch softball, we play it."
I also can't believe the level of outfield play is poor also. I have made a point of emphasis to bring outfield play to a higher level. I'm designating practice time to improve the level of outfield play. We are working on bunting. We are trying to make a more solid set of fundamentals. If I could get them to use two hands on catching the ball, either on the ground or in the air, I might actually sleep at night.
So...am I off base?
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