Hampton: “Mistakes Will Be Made”

I don’t normally turn to the Braves’ official site when I want brutal honesty, so I was surprised to find this article about Hampton there. It’s pretty discouraging, but I appreciate Hampton being candid and realistic . . . I guess. It also kind of sounds like he’s embracing mediocrity, but maybe he knows something we don’t.

What the hell is this thing?

Some examples of Hampton’s general outlook:

– “There will be some bumps in the road.”
– “It’s not going to be smooth sailing from here on out.”
– “I think [the team is] reasonable in their expectations.”
– “On those days that I’m feeling great, I’m going to have to pull back and not overdo it.”
– “It’s just nice to have the opportunity.”
– “I’ve never really thought about the bullpen being good or bad.”

Okay, so his honesty kind of faded there toward the end. But I suppose it’s good to be cautious after a bad injury, and none of his warnings about things to come seem unreasonable or defeatist. It’s just kind of depressing to hear him preparing us for the worst.

On the other hand, this image from an article about the start of spring training made me feel strangely optimistic:

Tim Hudson, who is looking to bounce back from a mediocre 2006 season, took advantage of Wednesday’s sunny skies by playing catch with some of his younger teammates.

Huddy playing catch with the youngsters! Surely a sign of good things to come.