Braves Report

I lay this loss squarely at the feet off Bobby. Those of you who visit the Forum know well that I am one of Bobby’s staunchest defenders, but in this case, I am at a loss. How in the world could Acosta been left in that long? It was a bad idea on so many different levels, four walks in 2 innings, we need our closer not to be exhausted, he had already throw too many pitches. It was just a horrible decision. But, I guess the choice was someone else from the pen and that is not good either. Oh, and we cannot forget, this is ANOTHER one run loss.

The bats were disappointing, again. I am becoming very tired of this team’s pathetic efforts behind the plate. This team needs to realize that runs can be scored without hitting the ball over the fence. It’s like we have a team of Andruws this year. In the 12th, Frenchy took two GIANT swings, then suddenly was facing an 0 - 2 count. He had to “swing defensively” which led to an easy ground out. It’s really only Chipper who doesn’t swing for the fences every at bat, and he’s hitting .410 and leads the team in home runs. Escobar raised his average back above .300 with a two hit game. Tex chipped in with two of his own. The offensive “hero” of the day was Kotsay, with three hits. He also drove in what should have been the winning run.

The pitching, right up till the end, was outstanding. Jurrjens gave us the best outing of his career. He was brilliant, seven innings, two hits, 1 run. All that in only 84 pitches. Boyer was next, he was effective, 1.2 innings, only one hit. Ring, faced one batter and hit him. Not so good. Bennett faced one batter to get the Braves out of a jam. I have already covered Acosta, but he went two innings, gave up five walks, two hits, and two runs. Carlyle threw one pitch and ended the game.

EDIT: **No game tomorrow, Friday’s game (if anyone still cares), 7:35 PM. Not nationally televised.

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What can you say? When it rains, it pours. The Braves can’t catch a break. We can’t win the close ones, we can’t keep the close ones close. Who could have known when the season started exactly how devastated by injuries this team would be? Glavine, Smoltz, Hampton have all spent time on the DL. That’s 3/5 of the starting rotation. Chuck James missed most of spring training. We lost Soriano and Moylan, closer and setup man. Chipper and Escobar rush back from injuries because the team needed them. Sprinkle in a lead off hitter who is approaching Andruw type numbers. It is not a recipe for success.

Once again, Glavine gives us a solid outing. Once again, he (and we) have nothing to show for it. Glavine commented before the game he was a little worried about rust. He certainly didn’t show any. He only allowed a couple of solo shots. That, should, be enough for a win. Boyer was the disappointment of the night. He BARELY got one batter out, and 4 earned runs were charged to him. Campy allowed one hit, which allowed two of Boyer’s runs to score. After that one hit, he was the Campy we have come to expect.

Not a lot going on at the plate. Our #1 & #2 batters were a combined one for nine. It is a shame they failed to get on, since Chipper had two hits, one a home run. Tex had a double. Is it time to admit that KJ just isn’t a lead off hitter? Do we really have a better choice?

Tomorrow’s game 4:35 PM. Not nationally televised.

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I figured I would switch it up today. Instead of boring, old athletes, I’m going to enlighten you on the different stadiums the Braves played in (even though the “Braves” did not play in all of them). Every Braves fan knows that Turner Field is the Home of the Braves today, and more knowledgeable fans know that Fulton County Stadium was the stadium before that. Before scrolling down, go ahead and guess the name of the stadium before that. If you got it, I’m thoroughly impressed. Well, as promised, here are the stadiums of the Braves.

Turner Field (1997-Present)

Turner Field, named after then-owner Ted Turner, is the current Home of the Braves, but it wasn’t always that way. In 1996, it was the home to the Summer Olympics when they were held in Atlanta. Later, the field was converted into a baseball-only stadium, and baseball was played on it in the next spring. The field surface is called Prescription Athletic Turf and is the best natural grass available. Located next to where Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium used to be, Turner Field saw the last half of the magic division streak that was begun in AFC.

Fun Fact- The turf for the stadium is grown just beyond center field in the gap between the stands.

Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium (1966-1996)

AFC was built in 1964-1965 to accommodate the move that the Braves franchise was making as they moved from Milwaukee to Atlanta. It took only twenty months to build, and it held 2,000 more people than Turner Field currently holds. The last game played there was a tragic one as the Braves lost Game 5 of the World Series to Yankees ending the chance to be back-to-back champions. The dimensions of the stadium were quite standard, but the fence stood a good ten feet off the ground. One of the most important events in baseball history occurred at this stadium as on April 8, 1974, Hank Aaron hit his 715^th homerun. AFC is now the parking lot for the current stadium. How things can change.

Fun Fact- A fire broke out in the press box before the July 20, 1993 game. This was the night Fred McGriff joined the team, and an announcer said that the Braves would “catch fire” after this. The rest my friends is history.

Milwaukee County Stadium (1953-1965)

The answer to the trivia question is … Milwaukee County Stadium. Built to house the team moving from Boston, Milwaukee County Stadium was the first stadium built with public funds only, starting a trend that hasn’t ended. In only the 13^th game of the season, the Braves passed the previous season’s attendance of 281,278 people, and it would finish the season with a then-NL record 1,826,397 fans coming to the ballpark. Patients of the Veterans Hospital could watch the games from their rooms beyond right field until bleachers were built. After the World Series victory in 1957, fans came out in declining fashion, which caused the move to Atlanta.

Fun Fact- Milwaukee County Stadium was the first baseball stadium with lights.

Braves Field (1915-1952)

Oh, how original. Even with its lack of imagination for a name, Braves Field was considered to be the “last word in major league parks” by then-NL President John Tener. It was the largest stadium in America at that point, and its dimensions weren’t any smaller. Ty Cobb said that no one would be able to hit the ball out of the ballpark, and it wasn’t until 1928 that someone hit one over the left field fence. Bigger than Fenway Park, the Red Sox used Braves Field for their World Series in 1915 and 1916 and on Sundays from 1929-1932.

Fun Fact- Because of the fresh coat of green paint just applied before the first game ever at Braves Field, about 5,000 fans had green spots on their clothes, and the Braves had to pay $6,000 for cleaning fees.

South End Grounds (1871-1914)

The longest-tenured park of the Braves, the South End Grounds was also the first. While here, the Braves were called the Boston Red Stockings, Beaneaters, and finally, the Braves. In 1894, the stadium was destroyed by “The Great Roxbury Fire”, and the team had to play at the Congress Street Grounds while the stadium was rebuilt. The new stadium was smaller because it had been underinsured, and there was no money left to build the stadium any bigger.

Fun Fact- Their original “Red Stockings” nickname lives on in three ways: in the Boston Red Sox, in the Cincinnatti Reds, and in the perennial red trim that the Braves wear in their uniforms.

No Chipper, no Escobar, no Huddy and now no Smoltz. If there are 4 pieces we need four us to be successful, it would be those four. Hopefully tomorrow’s off day will give our walking wounded enough rest to get back in the game, because Prado and Lillibridge just aren’t the same as Chipper and Escobar. Signs are good Chipper will be back soon, Escobar may be a little longer. As far as starters go, hopefully Hampton will be able to give us some innings soon and Glavine is on his way back.

Smoltz just didn’t have it today. Watching him pitch was painful. Every inning his arm slot just dropped lower and lower, then his fastballs got slower and balls started leaving the yard. He only managed four innings, giving up seven hits, four runs and two home runs. So, again today the pen was called on to go more innings than they should have. Buddy did a nice job in his inning, only allowing a hit. Ohman had a rough outing, four hits and two runs in two innings. Resop pitched the last inning, striking out two.

The bats largely didn’t show today, at least not early in the game. Tex had two more hits, both doubles, a run scored and an RBI. His average is slowly creeping up. He’s up to .265 now. Frenchy also had two hits, one a double. Kotsay had two singles. And for the bad news, we left 14 runners on.

Tomorrow is an off day, Tuesday’s game, 7:10 PM. Not nationally televised.

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Today didn’t go as the Braves hoped. Chipper sidelined with back spasms. Escobar’s finger still giving him trouble. Lillibridge as an emergency call up. Huddy unimpressive. None of these things really indicated that we were going to have a good day.

Huddy endured another rough outing. He was great the first two innings, but in the third the Mets just teed off on him. He says it isn’t physical, but he doesn’t know what the cause is. Anyway, he went 3 innings, gave up four runs on seven hits. The pen was outstanding tonight, they picked up the remaining 5 innings without allowing another run. Carlyle went 1.1 innings, one hit. In came Ring to get the lefty, he did. Bennett was once again called on for a relief roll. He was stellar, 1.1 innings only 1 hit. Campy ended it, going 2 innings, no hits, one walk.

It’s really a shame the bats couldn’t pick it up after our relievers did such an outstanding job keeping us in the game. They came close, but came up short, giving us another one run loss (who didn’t see that coming?). It was something of a AAA lineup, Prado, Blanco & Lillibridge all starting. The only Brave to manage more than one hit was Prado with 2. Tex and Frenchy each had a double.

Tomorrow’s game, 1:10 PM. Not nationally televised.

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