After Alfonso Soriano's Dropped Catch, We Wonder about the State of Fundamentals

Maybe it's because my Dad was a high school coach, but the fundamentals of the game of baseball were instilled in me at an early age.  "Swing level," or "eyes on the ball," or "use two hands on pop flies" were common phrases I heard when learning the game.

After watching one of the stupidest, most idiotic sports bloopers shows recently—oh, wait, it was the Cubs game Sunday afternoon—I remembered just how important fundamentals are in winning a ball game. 

Now, I might take some heat for this, but I'll go with it anyway.  On Sunday afternoon, the Cubs are beating Pittsburgh 5-4 in the bottom of the ninth.  Two outs, Carlos Marmol on the hill, when the 'should be' third out is popped to deep left field.  Alfonso Soriano drifts back, seemingly gets an eye on the ball, and d'oh, loses it in the sun and duffs it off his glove.  E7, Pittsburgh ties it, extra innings, and eventually it's a 6-5 loss for the Cubs. 

Now I know most of the time, players catch the ball with just the glove hand and the sun is not a factor.  But what happened to blocking the sun with your glove and squeezing with two hands upon catching the ball?  Are these not fundamentals, the very basics of fielding? 

It just blows my mind that a professional baseball player, one who makes millions being the best at what he does, still won't block the sun with his glove and use two hands to catch the ball.

Some might say, "Well, he had his shades flipped down!"  And I'll say back, "Well, put a hat and sunglasses and try to stare at the sun and catch a baseball!"

Some might also say, "Give the guy a break, everyone makes errors!"  And again I'll reply, "Errors happen when players forget the fundamentals!"

It just bothers that when I watch highlights on TV and I see these fundamental errors still happening at the professional level.  Soriano isn't alone; I'll give him a break.  Even the best defensive player makes errors, but dropping flyballs shouldn't be among them. 

I'm not talking line drives or dropping a ball after sprawling out attempting to make a fantastic play; I'm talking about the fundamentals that we all practiced in Little League or in the backyard with our dads.  Fortunately for Soriano, he usually seems to outhit his mistakes on the field, but not today. 

Maybe I'm just a classic Cubs fan that dies with my team, but c'mon, guys.  Let's get back to basics.  It's the end of May.  And oh yeah, this is Major League Baseball.