Sure sounds like Braves are mad at the wrong guy for Austin Riley’s injury

The Atlanta Braves just can't catch a break this season. It seems like every other day there's another meaningful Braves player landing on the injured list for a big chunk of the season. It started with Spencer Strider losing his season to a UCL tear and it's spiraled from there.

The latest victim in the cursed 2024 Atlanta Braves season is Austin Riley. This week, Riley was struck on the hand with a 97 MPH sinker that caused him to leave the game after the inning. Following some imaging, it was revealed that Riley had broken his hand and he was set to miss the next six to eight weeks as he recovered.

It's a very similar injury to what sidelined Mookie Betts for a big chunk of the season.

Understandably, the Braves were mad about this. Instead of just being mad, there were members of the organization that wanted to point the finger at the Angels rather than at the baseball gods.

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Braves pointing finger in wrong direction following Austin Riley injury

Braves beat writer David O'Brien recently made a post on X/Twitter following the news that Riley would miss significant time. Here's what he said:

"After Travis d’Arnaud & Austin Riley were hit in hand/wrist on consecutive days by up-and-in pitches at Anaheim, one prominent staffer said, speaking for many in MLB who’ve had similar issues w/ command-challenged pitchers, 'Baseball needs to take care of that.'"

O'Brien also responded to another Braves fans post by saying, "Hitting guys with back-foot sliders is entirely different than hitting them with fastballs up and in."

It seems as though both the prominent Braves staffer that O'Brien mentioned and O'Brien himself are directing their anger at the Los Angeles Angels.

But it was a first inning fastball that got away from the pitcher. There was no intent behind the pitch. Pitching inside is a part of the game and sometimes, pitchers will miss their spot. It happens. It's baseball.

Plus, the manager of the Angels is Ron Washington, the highly respected former Braves coaching legend. There is absolutely no way that Washington would allow his pitchers to have any intent behind throwing fastballs at Atlanta's stars.

Pitching inside is a part of baseball. With the rise in velocity, these dangerous hit by pitches will happen. Pointing the finger at the Angels isn't the right move in this situation. It's just an unfortunate event that comes with crushing consequences.