June 23, 2008
(Picture: Yahoo! Sports)
Sheets pretty much owned us today. He had all his pitches working, as he got deeper into the game, he got better. We had our chance to score early, but we blew it and Sheets made sure we didn’t get another.
Somehow I knew, with all the accolades, the article on braves.com, the article in AJC that Jojo was going to have a bad outing. And he did, he did in a big way. Jojo only managed to give us 2.1 innings. Along the way he gave up six hits, including three doubles in a row and two walks. Four runs were plated. Carlyle was brought in, he gave the Braves bats every chance to get back into it. He went four innings, only allowed two hits, striking out four, while holding them scoreless. Ring pitched to one batter, got him out with one pitch. Bennett went two scoreless innings, only allowing a hit.
If it weren’t for KJ, we’d have no hits at all. OK, I’m exaggerating a little, but just a little. KJ had two hits. No one else managed more than one.
Braves lose 1 - 4.
Tomorrow’s game, 7:10. Not nationally televised.
We’re almost halfway through the season, and we’re piddling around .500 with just 38 wins. We’ve had good stretches and bad stretches, but it’s sent us to no destination good or bad, just to .500 and sort of an afterthought in the race. The team has been inconsistent, at times looking like there’s real potential lying underneath, and looking like a AAA team at others. It’s time to give up on the Braves for the year, and I’m about to tell you why.
Players don’t make the playoffs; teams make the playoffs. Right now, Atlanta is being carried by its third baseman. When your 3B is not just your MVP but the guy who is single handedly keeping you in the race, you’re going to find yourself in trouble down the road.
Why can’t we develop a young power hitter with some selectivity at the plate? Instead, the kid with worlds of talent just winds up swinging at too many bad pitches and just concentrates on hitting homers. It’s frustrating to watch a potential MVP out there hacking like that, making enough contact to stay in the lineup but not enough to really make himself the great player he’s capable of becoming.
The bullpen still hasn’t really come together. Our primary lefty for the year has been very good, and our long reliever/spot starter has been a great go-to guy, but what else is there? Our closer was fine until he got hurt. The guy we thought would be our primary set-up man wound up unable to contribute like we’d hoped. Our main righty out of the pen has been solid overall, but he’s blown some big games. We’ve got an inexperienced flamethrower with plenty of potential, but a lack of true command.
The rotation right now has only one veteran, and he’s played well. We’ve also seen a pretty solid young pitcher really turn the corner and become a starter we can rely on. We’ve got a young lefty in the rotation that has an ERA hovering around 4.00, and while you’d like to think he could improve and be a big pitcher for us in the postseason, you can’t help but remember the horrible season he had as a rookie the year before. Elsewhere in the rotation, we’ve got a very promising youngster who has been plagued with wild inconsistency throughout his minor league and major league career. The 24 year old righty has a ton of potential, but will he ever be able to be the pitcher to match his pure stuff?
More than just the internal team problems are the problems within the division. We’re looking up at a team in 1st place with two of the best sluggers in baseball. Their rotation features one of the best pitchers in the game under the age of 25, and a nice mix of veterans and pitchers still in their prime. To make matters worse, we’re not even their biggest worry right now because we’re not even the team sitting in second place.
Let’s face it, folks. This isn’t happening. This just isn’t gonna be our year.
- July 4, 1991
June 22, 2008
(Picture: Yahoo! Sports)
This was a breeze of a game for the Braves. Huddy coasted to his first inter-league win. The bats got it done. Tex (at least for the day) broke out of his dull drums. Really the only thing that didn’t go well was Gonzo’s second outing. But, by that point the Braves had opened up such a lead, it really didn’t matter.
The middle of the order was on fire today, but it wasn’t (exactly) the middle of the order we are used to seeing. Norton played for a sitting Frenchy. McCann has just been torrid for the last month and a half. Today was not exception. He had two hits, one a home run, two runs scored and an RBI. Norton also with two hits and a run. Tex (finally) did what we hoped he would. He was three for four with [i][b][u]three home runs[/u][/b][/i]. That got him four RBI and three runs scored. Blanco flourished in the lead off spot with two hits and one driven in.
Huddy has been unimpressive in his past inter-league starts, in fact I don’t think he had a single win. Today Huddy was near his best. He pitched seven innings and was in total control for all of it. He occasionally had control issues, giving up four walk. But, with only four hits in seven innings, he didn’t allow any runs to cross. Ohman, back in after a horrible outing, was perfect. Gonzo struggled a little bit, gave up two earned runs.
Braves win 8 - 3.
Tomorrow’s game 7:10 PM. Not nationally televised.
(Picture: Yahoo! Sports)
So, going into the bottom of the ninth, a friend showed up to watch a movie. She saw the game was on and said, “I guess you want to see the end of it?” I told her no, I knew how it was going to end, the Braves had more one run losses than any team in baseball, and were down by one at the moment. So, we went ahead and watched the movie. Once it was over, I check Yahoo sports, only to find out we had won by one! That’s what I get for not watching (and I didn’t even care for the movie).
Another Braves starter gets a good start squandered by the bats (and, in this case, defense). Jurrjens gave up zero earned runs through 6, but thanks to two errors in the first by Infante and a bobble in the outfield by Frenchy, three runs crossed. After all that first inning drama, Jurrjens was amazing. The next five innings, he didn’t give up a run and limited the Mariners to only three hits. He also struck out four. Acosta was unimpressive, he went two innings, giving up a run on two hits and two walks. Boyer pitched the ninth for the win, perfectly.
In the end, the bats got it done, and that’s all that matters (I guess). I just wish they could have gotten it done sooner. With Chipper and Escobar out, the lineup had a little different look. Infante, playing shortstop, led off, he made up for his two errors with three hits and a run scored. Norton, in left, had two hits, and was the winning run. McCann also had a good night with two hits, including the game winner. Gotay played third, one hit (a home run), one run, and one driven in.
Braves take it late, 5 - 4.
Today’s game, 1:35 PM. Not nationally televised.
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June 21, 2008
(Picture: Yahoo! Sports)
This was a really bad game. First, Campy gives us a good outing, his line score may not show it, but the pen let most of his runs in. Then, the pen, as a whole, was ineffective. The bats didn’t show up. Escobar had to leave the game early hurt. And if all that wasn’t bad enough, the only productive hitter in the lineup, Chipper, was also taken out early because he was hurt…. and he is out for another two to three games. On the bright side, no one died.
Campy pitched a solid six innings. After that, things got a little shaky. He only managed to get one out in the seventh, and put a mess of runners on. In the end, he pitched, 6.1 innings, gave up eight hits, four runs, and walked two. Bennett relieved Campy, and let 2 runs score before he was gone. His line was an unimpressive .2 innings, two hits and no runs (no runs charged to him at least). Ohman had his worst outing of the season. He only managed to get two batters out, while allowing five runs, on three hits and two walks. Carlyle got one out to end the inning. Ring allowed one unearned run.
Not a whole lot going on behind the plate. Infante had a couple of hits, so did Gotay. But, three GIDP for the team, pretty much ruined any chance of driving in runs.
Braves lose big, 2 - 10.
Today’s game 7:10 pm. Not nationally televised.
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