True Elation 4 or Oh, Me of Little Faith
At the end of three, with the score Padres 10 D’Backs 1 and Eric Byrnes having just made the last out to go 0-2, I shut down the computer and went to the gym. I know I said I would work, but I decided to work out instead.
When I got back, the MLB.com scoreboard said that the game had ended SD 14-Ari 10, a score more suited to a game between the Chargers and the Cardinals than the Padres and the Diamondbacks. So I went to the Gameday screen with the fervent wish that Byrnesie had something to do with those 10 runs.
Did he and HOW! The D’Backs scored 8 runs in the 6th inning and guess who started the fireworks (again): Eric Byrnes with a single. He got over to third in station-to-station fashion then was driven in by a Conor Jackson double. Then Byrnesie came up to bat again in the 6th and homered with Craig Counsell aboard. Both hits came off reliever Scott Cassidy, a righty. Remember that he singled and homered off Peavy, got a couple of hits against Maddux and went 3-5 against righties on Opening Day. Has Byrnesie debunked the propaganda that he can’t hit righties, or what??? This is the second day in a row that he has homered and the 3rd day in the last 5 that he has homered.
Byrnesie went 2-5 with 2RBI and 2 R. The productive night pushed his batting average to .324.
Byrnesie also K’d twice. His K/BB ratio is now over two.
This is another example of true elation without a team win, but losing will happen when you spot the opposition nine runs and your name is not "New York Yankees."
Besides, the D’backs won the series and are 5 out of 6 this season against the Padres. The bottom line for me is that Eric Byrnes just had his third consecutive multi-hit day, he’s homered twice in two days, and as of this morning he was in a 4-way tie for 6th place on the NL doubles list. I will sleep well tonight.
Kéllia "Vote Eric Byrnes for the All-Star Team" Ramares
Oakland, CA
mlblogsbyrnesblog
Poor Kellia, you will never get any work done if Eric keeps up this hair-on-fire play. But if your poverty is the sacrifice that needs to be made to keep him going, so be it. Joking, of course.
Once again the commentators made much of the fire and enthusiasm Byrnes brings to the team. He absolutely could not keep the smile off of his face after he hit that homerun. I absolutely love the enthusiasm, and that’s my answer to the question, “Why Eric Byrnes?”
Byrnes, Baby, Byrnes!
“Poor Kellia, you will never get any work done if Eric keeps up this hair-on-fire play.”
It’s a good thing I have a part-time job with scheduled hours to which I report faithfully. (And as for hair-on-fire play, I think those curly blond locks are just starting to singe around the ends.
)
“But if your poverty is the sacrifice that needs to be made to keep him going, so be it. Joking, of course.”
Hey, whatever it takes! I want to see him make the All-Star team! Actually, it means that maybe I need to work in the morning rather than trying to go to the gym or doing chores. I have a tendency to work at night since I’m an Evening News tech anyway. Too bad we don’t do a noon newscast, I’d be trying to switch to that.
“Once again the commentators made much of the fire and enthusiasm Byrnes brings to the team.”
Actually, I wish they would cut that out and talk about how he’s tearing the cover off the ball!
“He absolutely could not keep the smile off of his face after he hit that homerun.”
I know. He doesn’t want to show up the pitcher, but that the same time he must be thinking about showing up everyone who didn’t believe in him. Like Macha, Perlozzo, BoMel. I hope that we have seen the last of Byrnesie batting 8th!
Matt of Diamondhacks thinks Byrnesie should bat 5. That would emphasize his power. I like that.