-=> Quoting Ed Grinnell to Stephen Frazier <=-
 EG> Stephen was hit by a Randy Johnson fastball for uttering:
 SF> and they don't earn millions to do it. The reason the Braves are so bad
 SF> at fundamentals is because they have no one teaching it to them. Stephen
 EG> Look, I like Lonnie but to blame the Braves for his problems is
 EG> pointing the finger in the wrong place (Just as blaming them for
 EG> Butler's base-running stupidity is wrong). He was a bad baserunner and
 EG> that's even when he was with St. Louis, a team that could hardly be
 EG> accused of not teaching fundamentals.
Which might be one of the reasons he left St Louie. I'm only saying that if 
the boss is focused enough on that sort of thing, a player will either do it 
or he wouldn't play for a guy like Billy Martin, Dick Williams, Sparky 
Anderson, or Tommy LaSorda. Maybe even Tony LaRussa.
 EG> The Braves have one of the best minor league organizations when it
 EG> comes to fundamentals (Something that John Smoltz pointed out in an
 EG> article this week in Baseball Weekly).
Minor leagues ain't where they got Lonnie, and it must not be the place that 
taught David Justice, Mark Lemke (the Alfonse-Gaston combo of the NL), Ryan 
(Now, where's that @#*&^ strike zone) Klesko, or that Javy (I know the ball 
should bounce that way, but where is it) Lopez. And certainly there's nothing 
to brag about when you consider the Braves seem to give up more two 0-2 hits 
than any team in the league, use the squeeze or hit and run every Easter, or 
when only about three people on the entire team can successfully complete a 
sac bunt or move a runner from second with less than two outs.
I've seen high school teams that execute fundamentals better.
Stephen
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