It has made the routine ground ball an oxymoron and the hard hopper a health hazard. It exerted a profound influence on Monday's 10-4 Opening Day victory by the visiting Atlanta Braves and caused Reds infielders to carry themselves like men who had just negotiated a mine field. It takes you out of how you play. It needs to get better. Eventually, it will.
New grass needs time to grow and thicken before it can be counted on to slow speeding bullets.
The pertinent question posed by Monday's game was whether the Reds can avoid shell shock in the interim. Right now, it's treacherous. As the field dried during Monday's game, it played progressively quicker. Boone noticed his spikes weren't breaking the soil. With the Reds trailing 5-4, the Braves broke open the game thanks to a ground ball that initially appeared unthreatening.