The Horror that is the Bucks

When I coached Babe Ruth baseball my team always had one or two players who had no business playing baseball. They couldn't hit, they couldn't field, they didn't really even understand the rules. Yet, quite often numerical circumstances forced me to pencil them in the lineup. So I did. And so, when these particular players were in the field, I prayed the ball came nowhere near them. When they were at the plate, I prayed for a walk or a mild bean ball.

And when they failed, which they always did, I didn't get too upset... I expected it. They were trying their best... they simply weren't any good.

But then one day one of these unfortunate players, while "playing" rightfield, had a routine flyball miss his glove and bounce off his face. Off his face!

Well, that was more than I could take. I took the player out of the game. To most everyone's shock, I played the rest of the game with only eight men (the centerfielder and leftfielder split the difference and covered the entire outfield).

How does all this relate to the Bucks? If you caught any of last night's game, you will know. I had the same sensation watching the Bucks get plastered by the Clippers that I had when that ball bounced off that kid's teeth.

The Bucks, at the moment, are bad. I get that. No team can lose four key players and not experience a severe dropoff. That's cool. But what they can't be is bumbling. And last night they bumbled. That's not cool. That I won't accept. Each and every Bucks player is making a ridiculous amount of money to play in the Association and represent the franchise. Each and every one of them is presumably among the very best basketball players on Earth, aren't they? Therefore, what I saw last night I cannot accept. They have to do better than that or they might as well not even bother.