Spring is here and the blooming azaleas and sounds of cracking bats at Turner Field make my pen feel alive again after an ugly winter …
• Have you ever noticed that the announcers (especially Jim Nantz) who handle the Masters on CBS never say anything negative about the players or tournament? It’s almost as if Masters’ chairman Billy Payne has a dump switch, allowing him to cut off the audio if he hears something he doesn’t like. While the Masters is one of the best sporting events in the world, the broadcast would be so much better if the CBS announcers could take their muzzles off. This goes back to 1995 when analyst Gary McCord wasn’t invited back after he said the 17th green at Augusta National was so fast that it seemed to be “bikini-waxed” while “body-bags’’ were located behind the green for players who missed their approach shots.
I would love to see how controversial analyst Johnny Miller of NBC would handle himself at the Masters? I don’t know if he could make it through the first hole. But the Masters has always had a stranglehold on CBS and remains very guarded about what the network can do and, more importantly, what it can’t do.
And can someone on the air one day please ask Tiger Woods a tough question? The fact is, he was supposed to win this, a 2-to-1 favorite over the rest of the field (which was 5-to-2 together), but couldn’t hit a putt. I don’t know why everyone is so scared of Tiger. Ask him the tough question. Tiger is perhaps the toughest athlete in sports, and I’m sure he can handle a reporter doing his job.
Interestingly, the print media is very careful about what they write about the Masters, worried that they also might not be invited back. It is a fantastic event and I enjoyed my experiences there when I was working at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. But it is still just a game, and while this event may be the only one out there that hasn’t been touched over the years by the ever-changing world we live in, nothing in sports is that sacred. Again, at the end of the day, no matter how pristine the setting and great the event is, it’s just a game. It’s not life and death; although, I was quite surprised our new president didn’t make an appearance. He seems to be everywhere these days except Washington.
• After three straight seasons of what I consider rather boring teams, it’s exciting to see the Braves get off to a good start. It’s also great to see all the new faces, especially rookie center fielder Jordan Schafer. What has impressed me more than his strong offensive statistics is what he did Saturday night when he ran out a routine grounder and beat Washington pitcher John Lannan to the first-base bag. In this case, Jordan’s suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs may have been a blessing. Not that he wasn’t headed for the majors anyway, but the 90-day suspension humbled him and, instead of coming to spring a cocky 22-year-old, he kept his head down and worked his tail off to make the major league team. I also applaud manager Bobby Cox for not putting Schafer into the leadoff hole, instead taking some pressure off him and batting him eighth. While this team is not going to overpower anyone offensively, it appears they have the ability to produce runs with strong batting averages, especially if leadoff hitter Kelly Johnson can continue his hot start. I also like the rotation and what we have seen from all the newbies, including No. 1 starter Derek Lowe, who has 10 strikeouts in 11 innings as well as an 0.82 ERA (through Monday) and Kenshin Kawakami, who started off a little slow in his first start Saturday night but came back and lasted six innings for the victory.
With the Marlins off to a good start, the rest of the division looks very good, giving the East four possible playoff-caliber teams in Florida, the Phillies, Mets and Braves. And speaking of the East, after starting the season off 0-6, I wonder how former Braves boss and current Washington Nationals president Stan Kasten is doing. The few hairs he had on his head when he left Atlanta have to be gone, as his team has won only 43 percent of their games (284-369 through Monday) since moving to the capital city.
• The Hawks open up the playoffs this weekend and there is no reason to think they won’t take the first-round matchup with Miami. That would set up a second-round meeting with Cleveland and Lebron James. Actually, if that happens, the series could be similar to the one last year when the Hawks took Boston to seven games, winning all three in Atlanta. The Cavs are an amazing 39-1 at home, their only loss (101-91) coming to the Lakers on Feb. 8, while the Hawks are 30-10 at Philips, including a 97-92 win over Cleveland on Dec. 13 and an 88-87 loss to them at Philips on March 1. I think the Hawks match up well with the Cavs and while it may be a little early to be looking at it, the series would dominate the Atlanta sports scene for more than a week.
• I was on the radio Sunday and two of my co-hosts, Scott Janovitz and Fletcher Proctor (and I am sure Bulldog Nation), were talking about how poorly Georgia’s offense looked in its spring game last Saturday, which was televised by ESPN. Are you kidding me? It’s a spring game. I played in a spring game when I was at Alabama and they are nothing more than a glorified scrimmage. First of all, Georgia had a large number of players missing and, secondly, spring practice is nothing more than a chance to work on plays, techniques, etc. Get a life guys; there has to be something better to do on a beautiful spring Saturday. If you are going to be a couch potato, then at least watch the Masters.
Rosenberg can be reached at 404-256-1572 or ijrosenberg@scoreatl.com. He can be heard every Sunday on 790 The Zone from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. for Score Atlanta Sports Sunday. “The Official Visit,” Atlanta’s only high school recruiting show, follows from 1-3. You can listen online every Sunday by checking out breaking news on Scoreatl.com.
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