The Catawampus Edition Of Ball Atlanta
The what? Things askew, inconsistent, made by the imperfect hand of man, in other words, my take this week on Ga.'s Name Image Likeness Bill, the Braves and Hawks.
I’m dumbfounded. The conservative Republicans in the Georgia state legislature passed a bill that redistributes wealth earned by college athletes. A bunch of commies is what they are.
Catawampus, indeed.
I know, I don’t give out many trophies in this space to politicians. So you expect some derision, but this is on another level.
First, the Georgia legislature did the right thing by allowing college athletes the basic economic rights of Americans with the passage of 617. Gov. Brian Kemp enthusiastically signed it.
But are you kidding? Wealth distribution from the Gods of Individual Accountability?
The bill, which takes affect July 1, will allow college athletes to make money from endorsements and even their social media accounts. But a stipulation says schools can elect for 75 percent of the money an athlete earns to be pooled into an escrow account and shared with the other athletes on campus.
The athletic departments at the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, and Georgia State rejected Kemp’s bill. They had the option to follow it and they said, “No way.”
Kemp said by signing the bill he was doing his part to help his alma mater win a national title. Not by a long shot. Imagine this scenario. The University of Florida and Kemp’s Georgia Bulldogs would be battling to recruit a high school star and the Gators would pull out their trump card: Bill 617.
“Look at this kid. If you make $6,000 one Sunday signing autographs, you can keep just 25 percent, but the other 75 percent gets shared with the Georgia tennis players. Here, with the Gators, you keep what you earn.”
Now can you see why the Georgia schools rejected that part of 617?
In addition, the athletes could not get their money until a year after they graduate, or leave school. And how about this for the Republican model of individual accountability: the athletes have to take a financial literacy course. Georgia is suddenly the Nanny state.
This financial accountability clause smacks of the Republican measures in some states in years past to require welfare recipients to pass a drug test. It didn’t apply to people claiming unemployment generally, just food stamps or housing assistance, and it was aimed at Black folks. Never mind that most people on food stamps in the U.S. are white.
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I took this term “Catawampus” from the fine film by my friend Hal Jacobs and his wife Alicia on the extraordinary work of artist Michael Murrell. Check out the trailer. (http://www.hjacobscreative.com/blog/2021/2/9/art-and-catawampus).
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More Catawampus in Sports…
The cumulative batting average in the big leagues this season is .234.
That is the lowest BA…ever. It is lower than the .237 of the 1968 season when guys like Bob Gibson were throwing off a 15-inch tall mound, which led Major League Baseball to reduce mound height to today’s 10-inches.
The batting average is lower than the .239 average of 1888 when the ball was mush.
What’s Catawampus about this?
The Braves are hitting .227, which is below the league average while leading the Majors in home runs (56). I know, it is chilly out there and offense typically lags at the start of the season, but still… .227!
Atlanta was a club that absolutely raked in 2020, finishing second in home runs, batting average, and runs scored. The Braves are 18-20 because they are struggling at the plate…like a lot of teams.
So…
…it is absolutely time to outlaw the shift where infielders mass on one side of the field because a data geek has determined where the hitter is likely to hit the ball.
What’s more MLB has to toss out this new and contrived baseball. Pitchers are keeping quiet, but the seams are up, which provides for better grip. FanGraphs says spin rate is the highest measured in the game since such data was kept. Add the raised seams for grip and the sticky substance the pitchers use to enhance grip and there has been no worse time—ever—to be a big league hitter.
The good news in all of this is the young third baseman Austin Riley, a slugger, adjusting his approach. He is laying off pitches or hitting the other way. I asked manager Brian Snitker about it during spring training. It was early still, but Snitker said it was not evident Riley was evolving. It’s evident now. Riley is batting .289, second on the team only to Ronald Acuna, Jr., who is at .302 and rapidly descending.
Riley has just three home runs and you typically need more slugging out of a corner infielder, but let’s see where his don’t-do-too-much approach takes him as the weather warms up.
The Braves have already lost six one-run games in 2021. In 2020, they lost six one-run games for the season. The bullpen is wobbly, no doubt. The Braves are 24th in the bigs in bullpen ERA.
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I don’t want to watch Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks in the playoffs until I have to. I just don’t. You don’t either. So the Hawks climbing to No. 4 or No. 5 in the Eastern Conference playoffs and avoiding No. 3 Milwaukee in the first round is ok by me.
How is this Catawampus? Antetokounmpo’s play is inconsistent with fair basketball because when he dribbles he puts his hand under the basketball enough times to get an advantage on the defender, like a 6-foot-11 guy needs another advantage. I saw the ball actually stick on his hip with one move against the Hawks and there was no whistle for traveling.
You will also see Antetokounmpo bowl over defenders on his way to the basket. It’s why I was never a fan of LeBron James and his arm bars and lowered shoulders on the drive. If the Hawks play the Bucks in the playoffs, Solomon Hill will start on Giannis and try and cut off his drives. If Hill does his job, Giannis will go to posting up the 6-foot-6 Hill, which will make it easier to help on defense. That’s what you want. Cover the guy with bodies.
So what about the Hawks’ chances in the playoffs? The 3-ball is a fearsome weapon and the Hawks are all the way up to 11th in 3-point field goal percentage (.373) with the explosion of Bogdan Bogdanovic.
But what also helps the Hawks is their 3-point field goal defense. They are third in the NBA (.350). They are aggressive on the ball at the 3-line because center Clint Capela has been a defensive force with the highest blocks per game (2.0) of his career. With their 6-foot-10 guy patrolling the glass, the Hawks can press on defense and afford a drive by.
They will give up 2s in the mid-range games as opponents pull up to avoid Capela. That’s ok because the Hawks will hit 3s.
Capela should get votes for All-Defensive Team and Nate McMillan should not only get votes for Coach of the Year, he should finish in the top two with Quin Snyder of the Jazz (51-20). McMillan replaced Lloyd Pierce as coach when the Hawks were 14-20.
The Hawks are 40-31 and fourth in the East and could have home court advantage for round one of the playoffs. The Knicks (39-31) have to lose one of their remaining two games because they own the tie-breaker with Atlanta. They play Charlotte (33-37) and Boston, which is without the injured Jaylen Brown, who was having a career season.
The Hawks are assured fifth place because if they win Sunday night against woeful Houston and finish 41-31, Atlanta wins the tie-breaker with Miami. So no Giannis, just a taut series with the defensive Knicks. That will be more fun to watch, for sure.
Catawampus.
Askew, awry, crooked, inconsistent.
see the hand at work
So use this word “catawampus” in a sentence, or two.
The Braves are having one catawampus of a season. The Hawks have had one catawampus of a season.
The Braves’ ace is Huscar Ynoa. The club, a favorite to win the National League East, has not been above .500. Freddie Freeman is hitting .220.
The Braves lead the Majors in home runs with 51. They are 18th in bating average .230.
.230!
Stop right there. The cumulative batting average in the big leagues is just .234.