Loading ...Tigers Fell Braves 9-6
Written by Colin on March 7, 2008 – 4:29 pmThe Braves lost to the Detroit Tigers today 9-6, in a game that saw doubt cast on Mike Hampton’s healthy return. Hampton left after pitching 1 1/3 innings today after he apparently slightly strained his right groin. Acosta, Ohman, and Campillo combined to give up six earned runs, and 2 errors by Chipper and Escobar contributed to the other three unearned runs. Matt DeSalvo pitched two perfect innings – he continues to impress.
Despite the error, Yunel Escobar continued his strong offensive start by going 2-3 and scoring a run. He’s now batting .526 in the preseason – so those of you who say he won’t match Edgar Renteria’s offensive output may need to reconsider. He’s looking mighty strong.
Offensively Chipper is doing well also – He was 2 for 2 with 2 RBIs and a run scored. Over at PhilliesFlow, Erik wrote that he doesn’t think Chipper/Yunel will be the most potent SS/3B combo in the East, and I think he’s wrong. Wright and Reyes are good, but Yunel is legit. Earlier today I likened Yunel replacing Edgar Renteria to Chipper replacing Terry Pendleton back in the day – it was a seamless transition.
So back on the horse tomorrow again for a set of split squad games – one against the Reds and another against the Astros. We’re playing the Astros’ split squad, but the full Reds team – which is probably a bit more of a fair matchup against our split squad. Look for Buddy Carlyle and Jo-Jo Reyes to make the starts for the Braves tomorrow.
In other news, Soriano and Moylan are feeling good – Soriano pitched a 32 pitch bullpen session and Moylan is resting for precautionary reasons so he can stay healthy all season. That bodes well for our bullpen.
Tags: Chipper Jones, Matt DeSalvo, Mike Hampton, Peter Moylan, Preseason, Rafael Soriano, Will Ohman, Yunel Escobar
Posted in Game Analysis | 3 Comments »
By egrissom on Mar 8, 2008 | Reply
You may be right about Chipper/Yunel outhitting Wright and Reyes this year. I do think people have forgotten just how good Renteria was for the Braves last season, though. Among the shortstops in either league that got at least 400 plate appearances, his OPS while playing short (.860) was third best.
By Jonathan on Mar 9, 2008 | Reply
There’s no doubting that Renteria was an amazing resource to the Braves and I know we were all a little shocked to see him go. But there’s a reason that it wasn’t too hard of a call for the front office. I read in an interview a couple days ago the statement: “the presence and talent of Yunel is what made Edgar expendable” and I have to agree with that. I don’t know if he’ll put up stronger numbers than Renteria, but I at least think he will hold his own and be quite comparable.
By Jonathan on Feb 2, 2009 | Reply
There's no doubting that Renteria was an amazing resource to the Braves and I know we were all a little shocked to see him go. But there's a reason that it wasn't too hard of a call for the front office. I read in an interview a couple days ago the statement: "the presence and talent of Yunel is what made Edgar expendable" and I have to agree with that. I don't know if he'll put up stronger numbers than Renteria, but I at least think he will hold his own and be quite comparable.