Braves Report

There seems to be one constant in this universe. No, it’s not the sun, time, other stars, or even black holes. It’s the Braves losing one-run games on the road. I can’t even begin to fathom how they’ve lost this many in a row, not winning one since last season, but I think it’s getting past the point of coincidence and towards the reality of absurdity. A walk-off win from the Nationals just further confused me about this team, especially when they looked like they were going to make a run at a come-from-behind win. Instead, they lost their second game this season by walking in the winning run.

So, how did the Braves lose this game? Well, Reyes continued his rough stretch over his past 11 starts. He only lasted 4 innings, while giving up 8 hits, 4 runs, 2 walks, and striking out 2. My favorite bullpen pitcher, Buddy Carlyle, relieved him, and pitched an unimpressive inning: 3 runs, 3 hits, a walk, and 2 strikeouts. Bennett pitched 2 innings and gave up a run. Ohman gave up a hit and recorded an out, and Tavarez followed with an inning and 2/3rds while giving up a hit and a walk. He also recorded a strikeout, and although his line doesn’t reflect it, he really looked good out there. Nunez pitched the 10th, gave up 3 walks, recorded a strikeout, and ultimately walked in the winning run. Pitching was responsible for costing this team the game.

The offense provided some power that we rarely see nowadays. They pounded out 14 hits and pushed 8 runs across the plate. The most notable hit of the day came on a solo home run from Chipper in the 7th inning. It was his 20th shot of the season, which marks the 14th consecutive season beginning his rookie year that he’s hit at least 20 homers. What does this mean? Well, the only other player in Major League history to do this was Hall of Famer/former-Braves’ third baseman Eddie Matthews. Not bad company to be in at all. So, congratulations, Chipper. You’ve had one hell of a career, and it’s been a privilege to watch you play.

Chipper also doubled in a run, raising his average to .359. After that, McCann doubled him in, who was then doubled in by Infante. Lots of doubles. Prado, who went 3-for-5 on the night with 2 RBIs and a homer, singled in Infante. Let me say, I haven’t been the biggest Martin Prado fan, but he is hitting damn well right now. His batting average is up to .343, and he should be expecting some serious playing time with the way his bat has been. Other notables are McCann’s line drive home run in the 5th. Blanco also doubled in a run in the 8th. Anderson and KJ each had two hits. A good night for the offense, but the pitching just couldn’t support them.

Braves lose in extras, 9 – 8.

Tomorrow’s game, 1:35 PM, on Sports South.

There’s nothing quite like watching your favorite team play against the worst team in baseball and get their brains beat in. The Braves opened the series against the Nationals on Friday night in disappointing fashion, putting their season record against them at 4-8.

Campillo started this game and wasn’t what we’ve come to expect of him. He provided a short outing, only 3.2 innings, giving up 8 hits, 5 runs, and 3 walks, while striking out 3. Buddy relieved him in the 4th inning, and got a ground out from the only batter he faced. Elmer Dessens, making his debut for the Braves, pitched an inning and 2/3rds, while giving up 2 runs. Boyer followed, and he gave up a hit and recorded a strikeout. Nunez pitched the last two innings, and he was perfect with a strikeout. At the end of the day, 7 runs were given up, which was just too great of a deficit for the offense to overcome.

The offense only provided 3 runs, which came mostly from a pinch-hit home run by Norton. His two run shot was followed by an RBI double from Prado. Other than that, McCann had a pair of hits, and the rest of the offense was pretty tame. Not enough, as always seems to be the case, against a team that they’ve had few problems against in the past. But, such is this season.

Braves lose, 7 – 3.

Thursday night’s rubber match against the Marlins provided some hope for this team, in that it showed that they haven’t completely given up. Marking their first series win in about 3 weeks, this was one game that this Braves fan didn’t mind watching.

Charlie Morton was given the ball to start, and he was decently good. 6 innings, 4 hits, 3 strikeouts, 2 earned runs and walks, and a partridge in a pear tree. Tavarez pitched the 7th, where he gave up a walk and struck out the side. Bennett followed with an inning of his own. His only blemish was a walk. Gonzo pitched the 9th for the save, which he obtained by striking out the side. Solid effort, pitching staff.

The offense provided enough runs in this game for the win, which is unusual because whenever the pitching staff does well, the bats are often nowhere to be found. McCann didn’t want this to be the case, and he led the offensive charge with a 3-run homer. Prado had an RBI single and two hits. Chipper also had two hits, raising his average to .359. Anderson, Brandon Jones, and Francoeur each had a hit. Not too much on the offensive end, but enough.

Braves win, 4 – 2.

With the announcement last week that Major League Baseball and the umpires agreed on implementing an ‘Instant Replay’ system for questionable home run calls in every ballpark, more information has surfaced about when this system will start being used. Today is that day, according to ESPN, and it is generating mixed feelings. The reason for choosing this particular Thursday is so that it will not disrupt any series currently being played. Why they’re starting it at the end of the season, however, is a bit more confusing, and adds to the somewhat amount of controversy about it.

Baseball purists believe that this decision will open the floodgates to all future actions and change the game as we know it by eliminating the human error factor. As for me, I’m not so sure. For one, that seems like the ‘slippery slope’ argument, and that just isn’t the case. The umpires’ union is too strong to let its workers be replaced by a QuesTec-type system, and I expect Hell to freeze over before a machine is calling balls and strikes instead of a human being. Rather, I think people need to realize that this will be an aid for the umpires.

As pointed out on this week’s House of Braves Talk podcast, they’re implementing this change to get calls right. Specifically, the ones that really alter a game. Immediately as a Braves fan, one relevant situation that comes to mind is a game a few years ago against the Nationals, where Henry Blanco hit a home run just over the base of the left field wall against the Nationals. Frank Robinson came out to argue that the ball was foul, the call was overturned, Bobby came out and argued some more, was probably ejected, and the incorrect call ended up being the difference maker in the game. Had this system been around those years ago, they wouldn’t have botched the call and cost the Braves the game. The point being, umpires shouldn’t cause a team to lose, especially when the call isn’t subjective, like on a home run.

That said, critics have pointed out that this might extend the length of already long ballgames. While this is probably true, what is another 4 minutes added to one in every 300 games? Honestly, I can’t even really see this system being used much. Apart from maybe 3 or 4 times a year, how often are home runs really called into question? As long as MLB doesn’t go overboard with this, which I don’t think it will, hardly anybody will notice it. Proof of this is that they are starting to use the system on an arbitrary Thursday at the end of August. Personally, I believe they should have waited until the start of the new season, but I doubt that the system will cause a noticeable difference in the way the game is played. Other sports, particularly football, which has a much more extensive replay system, have been using this technology for years without changing the face of those games. Frankly, if this Instant Replay can make the game more fair, I don’t see any reason why MLB shouldn’t go ahead with it.

[Image: Yahoo! Sports]

I watched this game…. So we lost. Of course, we also lose the games I don’t watch, so not really a surprise. Our ever more punchless lineup continues to be…well, punchless.

Hampton gave us another good outing. In fact, he gave us his longest outing since his return, eight innings, while limiting the Fish to three runs. Most nights that would be enough for a win, but not when the offense only pushes across one run. Boyer pitched the ninth, giving up a home run.

We traded away another productive hitter today, and didn’t get much hitting tonight. We only managed four hits, and half of them were by Frenchy. KJ did have a triple, while Prado drove in the only run.

Braves lose 1 – 4.

Tomorrow’s game, 7:10 PM.