I will admit: I didn’t watch much of this game. I was at my son’s baseball tournament all day and have to go off of vibes and highlights. But there was something at the tournament that struck me as similar to what happened with Zack Wheeler.
The opposing coach was doing a little smack talk about my son’s team, talking about how bad they were. There was some disrespect exuding from that dugout all day, talking about everything from the pitcher to the kids at bat to the umpire’s friendly only one way strike zone. It’s a bit of a stretch, but it reminded me of the disrespect that Wheeler was feeling from not being selected to the All-Star Game. He was reportedly asked to participate, but declined, not wanting to be a fifth choice for anyone. Since that slight last week, Wheeler has taken it out on the competition. Today’s six innings of scoreless ball meant his two games he pitched this week were both scoreless and dominant. Ten more strikeouts today raised that total, zero runs allowed meant his ERA went in the opposite direction.
The offense got all they needed from J.T. Realmuto’s bases clearing double, a rare case of his delivering at the plate for the team.
But back to Wheeler.
I’m completely here for his not wanting to go back to Philadelphia for the game Tuesday. MLB screwed up with not letting him represent his team in his city, no matter how much they want to try and make it right. They should have done it the first time rather than waiting around to try and fix things on the fly. They need to get their act together with this All-Star Game.
Oh, my son’s team? They won that game and eventually the tournament.
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