The Sadducees were a first century C. E. Judean religious philosophical movement. As such, they were sometimes proposing contradictory approaches to those of Yeshua of Nazareth. One specific issue was that the Sadducees did not believe that “in the last days” there would be a bodily resurrection. Many modern Christian pundits have said “that is why they were sad, you see.” I reached the point about 2 weeks ago that the 2025 Braves were firmly in the tomb and would not “rise again.”

No, after 5 losses the dead cat can’t even bounce. He is so rotten he will just “splat.” This crowd is mostly an old crowd, so we just have to relearn endurance and unbased optimism as experienced through most of the 70’s and 80’s. Do I want to practice endurance and unbased optimism. NO!!! Do I have any way to invert the paradigm of death and destruction? NO!!!

At least, for one night, far away in a minor league ballpark, we got a chance “to push the sun back up in the sky and give us one more day of summer.” [Vin Scully, as himself, “For Love of the Game” based on the book by Michael Shaara. And, if you never watched this chick flick masquerading as a baseball movie, I highly recommend it. If nothing else, the chance to hear Scully “one more time.”]. Ronald Acuna, Jr. deserves this team about like “Bad Henry” Aaron deserved the late 60’s early 70’s Braves. How can such excellence exist mired in the pit of slime and stench? But, he did his thing and came to bat and made a game 1 to 0. But lo, in the west, our little band played on. Matt Olson singled, Austin Riley doubled, and our “Little Ray of Sunshine, 2025”, Drake Baldwin, stepped up. A few minutes later it was 4 to 0. Even bad teams usually win if they get up 4 to 0 in a game.

Then Bryce Elder did his part to help create a “W.” If Elder is the 5th most important starting pitcher you are counting on, that is not so bad. Sometimes he is mediocre, sometimes he is bad, and every once and a while, he is actually pretty good. But a team that has 2 more starting pitchers WORSE than that??? Horrors!!! As Mick Dundee said about his chances of exiting the dive bar successfully with his crocodile vest on, Elder was “better than average.” 7 and 2 / 3rds, 8 K’s, 1 BB, 2 extra base hits (both doubles). Those kinds of outings work pretty well, particularly when you start off up 4.

Well, The Braves put 2 more up in inning 2. Olson singled and Riley homered. 6 to 0. Acuna hit another in 4 to make it 7 to 0. The A’s got one off of Elder in the 5th and 6th, but the Braves added one in the 6th and 7th. Hibernation Mode? Whoever heard of such a thing? (all of us, actually)

Hopefully tfloyd has experienced some Western U.S. grandeur on his journeys. I volunteered to “pinch hit” with no Monday game. I used to have an old senior pastor who “pinch hit” every once and a while and who almost always said, “I am a substitute. Do you know what a substitute is? It’s what you get when you don’t get what you want.”