John Webb Pitches Complete Game (and a Complaint)

I don’t have the most positive view of our local newspaper, the Pensacola News Journal, but I normally show this by not reading it. I get local news from other sources, and national news from some of the national internet sources. I do check specific stories on a fairly regular basis and often have my attitude reinforced.

Such was the result of checking the News-Journal for reports of the July 14 game between the Pensacola Pelicans and the El Paso Diablos. Now note that I admit to being biased, since my stepson was pitching.

But consider this from the Pelican’s own site, under the headline Pels Win Behind Webb’s Gem:

Pelican’s starter, John Webb would go the distance as the Pensacola Pelicans (4-10) defeated the El Paso Diablos (7-6) by a score of 4-1. Webb pitched nine strong innings allowing only one run on three hits while striking out six in the first nine inning complete game by a Pelicans pitcher this season.

So what about the News-Journal? I can’t find their online story. Occasionally I know they don’t link from the sports page, but I’ve checked that along with the Pelicans page, and there’s nothing there. I discovered one problem in finding it in search, however, when I read the print story. They don’t mention pitching. It appears that the first complete game of the season by a Pelicans pitcher is not important, and that somehow the win was done entirely by offense.

Not only that, they don’t mention defense, which included a number of exceptional plays that helped John keep it down to one run. One catch by center fielder at the wall certainly prevented at least a triple. John himself was part of three plays that were unusual for a pitcher including a double play.

To be honest, it doesn’t sound like any sort of bias to me. Rather, I think the story must have been written by someone who didn’t really care about the game or take the time to think out a decent story that covered the major facts. Listing the hits and who made them does not a story make.

End of complaint, I’m sure you’ll be glad to hear.

It was a great game to watch, especially for the parents of one of the players. The team seemed excited and energized. Even though they lost last night in the next game, I think there is some new crispness in their defensive play. Hopefully they will be able to improve their hitting with runners in scoring position. They’re making a lot of good hits and doing some good base running, but it’s just not coming up at the right time to make the runs.

They’re up against the Diablos again tonight, and I look forward to a great game.