Ron Wolfley: Justin Upton’s responsibility

In football you receive a penalty.
In baseball you make an error.
In media you get Ron Wolfley blogging.

Being the man sucks buttermilk. It’s a no-win situation. You either do your job congruent to your ability and people say that’s what you’re paid to do or you don’t and people blame you for the woes of the world. Fair? No. Reality? Yes.

Fair or not, greatness doesn’t hide from responsibility. Justin Upton needs to take responsibility for playing great baseball…or not. And this is Upton’s final hurdle before he crosses the finish line in the solitary race of personal potential.

Justin Upton continues to talk about team and their failure to produce runs. He continues to include his teammates when speaking of hitting with runners in scoring position. He said just last week that you couldn’t expect him to “get a hit all the time with runners in scoring position.”

And he’s right, but Justin Upton needs to lead this team. Being a leader means doing on the diamond. And it also means taking heat for your teammates. Being a team guy is a great approach to life and baseball but protecting your teammates when times are tough is penultimate to performance.

...And this team will go as their weakest link goes. And that’s where Justin Upton’s greatness needs to show up; he needs to carry this team in producing runs. It’s his responsibility…

And maybe that responsibility starts with a ground ball to the hole that turns into an infield hit and drives in a run.