It’s been a long time coming. And it barely made it, hitting the top of the wall in left field and bouncing in the good direction. But there it was in the fifth inning, Eric Byrnes’ first grand slam. And it came off of Tom Glavine, of all people. Only the second grand slam the future Hall of Famer has given up in his long and illustrious career. It changed the score from 3-2 Braves to 6-3 Diamondbacks, and the Snakes never looked back. The final score was 9-3, giving Micah Owings his 6th W of the year.

True Elation? More than that really. But if I call it something else, it will ruin my numbering system. More than redemption for the pop-up with the bases loaded in his previous at-bat and the 5 LOB on the day. Two homers in 3 days! Maybe he is coming out of his slump. Or maybe there is something extra he reaches back for every time people start asking again if he should be on the DL.

Eric Byrnes has been on a very steep roller coaster ride this year. And he’s still got a long way to go to get the batting average back into respectable territory. It will be interesting to see what happens now with the bases loaded. He finally cleared them. Now he should approach a sacks-full situation in a different way. It has often looked like he was trying to be too careful, trying not to make an out, instead of trying to get a hit. Or he was being desperate, swinging at anything, like the junk off the plate that Glavine threw him the time before. This time Glavine threw it in Byrnesie’s wheelhouse and Byrnesie sent it out. And I hope that any and all anxiety and self-doubt he’s had with the bases loaded in the past went with it. Of course, not every time up with the bases loaded will have this glorious result. But now, Byrnesie knows he can do it because he HAS done it. And I look forward to him doing it again.

Four beautiful RBI. The game-winner.  (And let’s not forget two walks after the grand slam, one of which resulted in his second run scored. He needs better plate discipline to get out of the slump, and walks are indicative of better discipline).

Beyond True Elation. A new level of achievement for Eric Byrnes.

Congratulations!

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