Braves Beat Mets In Opener

I hate to be the guy who says it, but we’re all thinking it: Finally, the Braves benefitted from every at-bat Jeff Francoeur had.

Don’t get me wrong – I like the guy – but I am glad he’s not hacking away for our team as we’re trying to take a crucial series from the Mets. This first few series after the All-Star Break are important. This one, particularly so. After a polite and well-deserved ovation, Francoeur hit into a double play on the first pitch – vintage Francoeur. There’s a microcosm of his career with the Braves – we love him, but he hacks and gets out. He went 0-4 on the night.

The real story is Chipper’s continued dominance of the Mets – he poked a go-ahead RBI single through the infield to give the Braves a lead they wouldn’t give back. Lowe pitched an excellent game, the bullpen was great, and the Braves took home the first game of the series.

Now it’s time to do it again – we need to take this series!

Braves Down Yanks In Game 1

Tommy Hanson improved his record to 3-0 since being called up to the bigs and the Braves recorded their second shutout in a row tonight against the visiting New York Yankees.

Braves vs. Yankees - 06/23/2009

Sparked by a 3-run third inning with a 2-RBI double from Garret Anderson and a solo home run from Brian McCann in the 8th, the Braves shut down the Yankees 4-0, issuing only 4 hits.

The game wasn’t without tense moments however, with Tommy Hanson and Peter Moylan both working out of some jams with runners in scoring position.  Let’s hope this is a good sign for the Braves when the Yankees series continues tomorrow and we can put together a much-needed win streak.

Lowe Outduels Santana, Braves Win

This is why we signed Derek Lowe.

While the Braves’ offense faced Johan Santana, Lowe went to the mound in the brand new Citi Field to ensure the Mets continued the trend of offering Santana little or no run support. Santana, for his part, was very good – he held the Braves to seven hits and two unearned runs in 6 1/3 innings. But the Braves’ offense backed Lowe’s great start with enough productivity to take advantage of the Mets’ errors. What was a tie game turned into an 8-3 win for the Braves – and Lowe improved to 5-1 on the year.

Santana has had some bad luck against the Braves. Despite being arguably the best pitcher in baseball, he’s 0-4 against the Braves in six starts (Braves have won 5 out of 6). The Mets are paying Santana a LOT of money and though he’s been effective, he’s not walking off with the win against the Bravos. After yesterday’s outing, Santana’s ERA is a ridiculous 0.78, by the way. Interesting tidbit: The Braves are the only team in baseball Santana has faced without winning.

This is why Derek Lowe is the ace of the staff – he’s a big game pitcher. “I love facing guys like that – especially Santana,” Lowe said, “He’s going to beat you more than you beat him. But it’s fun to pitch in those games, when every pitch could be the game.”

Interestingly enough, Lowe offered some high praise after the game for Jair Jurrjens. “We have our best pitcher going tomorrow,” Lowe said – referring to the young Curacao native. I’ll also point out that New York’s beloved “Larrrry” was sitting out of last night’s game.

Star of the road trip: The Braves are 5-1 on this 8 game road trip so far, and you have to pin a lot of it on Casey Kotchman, who has 10 RBI in the past 5 games. Kotchman is hitting the ball well and showing us why the Braves thought he’d be a good fit at first base.

DLowe, Braves Fall To Marlins

Derek Lowe didn’t start the night off in a good way. Two walks, two pitches in the dirt (one wild pitch), and one run given up before the Braves came up to bat. Fortunately, Kelly Johnson led off with a triple and scored in the bottom of the first. Similarly, when Lowe gave up 3 runs in the top of the 5th, the Braves answered with three.

But let’s be honest, if your bullpen gives up six runs (5 in the 9th inning), chances are you’re sunk, no matter what happened in the first five innings. Rafael Soriano and Eric O’Flaherty were the only good spots for the Braves – Soriano pitched a perfect 8th inning and O’Flaherty struck out his only charge. Peter Moylan struggled (needed to get that ERA back above 20.00), Blaine Boyer couldn’t find the plate (seriously – he had no clue where it was) and Jorge Campillo had to come in and close the game out in the bottom of the 9th. If we were the Yankees, we’d have sent in Nick Swisher to pitch at that point.

In the end, we lost 10-4. Not even close. The bullpen’s gotta work these jitters out – last year I got so sick of one run games – this year I am going to get mad even faster if we continue to give up six runs every time our bullpen shows up. An ERA of 7.00 from our bullpen is hardly anywhere near acceptable.

Oh, and by the way – if you’re heading out to the game – grab a few layers. It gets downright COLD at night with the wind blowing.

Braves Fall To Fish, Glavine Considering Retirement

Javier Vazquez struck out 12 last night against the Marlins in six innings of work. He gave up three runs in those six innings and the Braves bullpen surrendured two in the eighth to spot the Marlins a 5 spot. Chris Volstad shut the Braves down and gave up only a solo homer to Kelly Johnson. Braves went down 5-1. Garret Anderson dropped not one but TWO foul balls and was charged with two errors. I’m a bit worried about Anderson – if he can’t catch routine fly balls maybe he needs a little more time to rest his leg. Diaz should play tonight, so that’ll be good for Anderson to take a seat for a game.

Glavine’s MRI came back to reveal an inflamed rotator cuff. And yes, it may be about time to stick a fork in him – he may be done. The Braves are reporting that Glavine is frustrated with the rehab process and is considering retirement. Frankly, if we’re paying him this year, I don’t want him to give up and retire in a couple weeks. I want him to fight back as long as he can. I’m torn on this – I really don’t WANT Glavine back in anything but fully effective as a starter (with his historic first inning woes, I don’t want him in a relief role).

I’m not really sure what I want to happen with Glavine – I don’t want him back unhealthy and I don’t want him stuck in rehab forever – I really wish we just hadn’t signed him when we did. Couldn’t we have spent that money towards Smoltzie? I’m just bitter about the whole thing. Why sign Glav when we don’t know he’ll pitch? I’m not just an armchair GM, I’m a bitter armchair GM. What are your thoughts on the situation?

The Issues From The Nats Series

Fans at Turner Field definitely got their money’s worth this weekend during the Braves 2009 opening series versus the Washington Nationals. From torrential downpours, hail and extra innings to watching our favorites hit in run after run, the Braves definitely left many of us feeling a little better after a topsy-turvy off-season. However, I don’t want to talk about Frenchie’s two triples, or Kelly Johnson’s home run, or a standard Chipper Jones RBI or two. These are things that should be expected from the names that front the Braves organization. After all, constructive criticism is what facilitates positive change – so let’s look at where we fell short.

First point of discussion: should the Braves have expected to sweep the Nationals? Or is it more a taste of what is to come for the remainder of the season? Are we just getting warmed up, or are we the type of team that just squeaks on by? Or did we more than squeak by?

Second point: should we keep our lineup the way that it is? During games, I do regular score-keeping. I scored the Friday and Saturday games and noticed that at a certain point in the batting order, we tend to leave runners on base. Francoeur did a wonderful job today showing us what we used to love about him – two triples, but let’s look at the big picture. Yes, he hit that homer in Philadelphia, but Frenchy’s OBP is only 0.269, and on Saturday, he was 0-4 with a walk.

Matt Diaz is more impressive than we’re giving him credit for. He’s not turning out incredible stats, but keep your eyes on him. He has a higher on base percentage than Francoeur, and has dropped some of those extra pounds so is showing a lot more speed. Jordan Schafer is living up to his hype and was beyond impressive on Saturday night in my book. Anyone complaining about his strikeouts better not claim that makes him inferior to his predecessor, Andruw Jones, or less of a young attribute than Jeff Francoeur. So far, the Braves’ weak spots are not what anyone would have expected. Statistically speaking, Francoeur, McCann, and Kotchman are where we see those LOB stats add up, with the lowest on-base percentages. Do we break that up, move it around, keep it, change it? Or is it too early to tell?

As an armchair GM, what changes would you propose? Would you change the lineup? Where are we falling short? What should we be noticing but aren’t praising?

The Good News and the Bad News From Philly

Well, that sucked, didn’t it?! Sure, the Braves achieved their goal of winning the series in Philly. Still… that Wednesday loss stings. Badly. It was punch to the gut. No… that’s not strong enough. It was a kick to the groin. With a size-15 steel-toed boot.

This was a disgusting loss. Sickening. It was all I could do not to throw the remote through the living room window. Part of me feels that Blaine Boyer and Jorge Campillo should take turns beating the #$@%^ out of each other just to make peace with the universe after that pathetic display. (Moylan must be forgiven, under the circumstances. It was, after all, his very first appearance since undergoing Tommy John surgery).

That’s the bad news.

But despite the physical illness all Braves fans no doubt share after Wednesday’s bullpen meltdown, there is good news to report after this opening series. A LOT of good news, actually.

Here are some things Braves fans can take away from this opening series in Phili:

• Derek Lowe looks like he’s up for the challenge of being the new Atlanta “Ace”.
• Jair Jurrjens was very good in his start, and Javier Vazquez was solid against a tough lineup in a hitter’s park. 
• Though he got off to shaky start, Mike Gonzalez settled in and closed the door in game one. He then breezed his way through hitters in game two. And Rafeal Soriano was excellent in his first appearance of the season on Tuesday. Back end of the pen looks solid. 
• Brian McCann appears to be locked in, and could be headed toward a big season. 
• Chipper Jones looks like he’s ready to make good on his promise to hit a few more into the seats this year (that is, when he’s in the lineup). 
• How about that KID?!! There’s a long way to go, but Jordan Schafer has given us reason to think he might turn out to be a legitimate Rookie of the Year Award candidate. 
• Yunel Escobar (who may have been robbed of a homerun on Tuesday) is showing some nice pop in his bat early. 
• Jeff Francoeur’s game-one homer, and solid RBI single up the middle on Wednesday provide further evidence that he’s back on track. 

The Braves’ offensive depth and balance was on display, proving that there are no coffee breaks in this lineup for opposing pitchers. Every single member of this lineup is a quality, professional hitter – with at least moderate power – who can hurt you. I’m not sure there’s another lineup in the league that can say the same.

And oh yeah… I suppose it is good news that the Braves did, after all, win the series on the road, even if they did throw away a sweep that was all but in their pocket.

And there’s more good news for the Braves… in the form of bad news for the Phillies. It is quite clear that the defending champs have starting pitching problems. There is a lack of depth in the Philadelphia rotation that will go from apparent to neon-lights if Cole Hamels misses any more time this season.

But the Phils aren’t alone. There is also some doubt surrounding the depth and quality of the New York Mets’ rotation, after Johan Santana. Doubts that Mets’ #2 starter, Mike Pelfrey, did nothing to alleviate Wednesday night with a lackluster performance in Cincinnati.

There are no perfect teams in the NL East. Each team has potential problems areas. Many expected offense to be a weak link in Atlanta’s game. But after getting a live look at this Braves lineup; after seeing the kinds of swings Jeff Francoeur is putting on the ball; after seeing the kind of talent (offensive and defensive) they now have roaming Center Field; and after seeing the depth and balance of this lineup… I’m not buying the notion that Atlanta is offensively challenged. I think this lineup is going to be a strength for the Braves. And decidedly so.

The offense looks good. The back end of the bullpen looks good. And unlike their two most talked about division rivals, the Braves appear rich – or at least reasonably well off – when it comes to starting pitching. That leaves middle-relief as the only apparent pothole on the post-season highway.

My point is this: If the Braves do indeed have a middle-relief problem… then they have a better problem than the one potentially facing the Mets and/or Phillies.

A middle-relief sized crack in the hull is a helluva lot easier to repair than a starting pitching sized gorge. And the Braves certainly have the trading chips, should they find it necessary to bolster the middle of their ‘pen. Also, it should be noted that, in addition to the Mets’ starting pitching challenges, they too have unanswered questions where their middle-relief is concerned. 

In short, despite a game-three finish that drove me into a frenzied fit of profanity reminiscent of the furnace-fighting scene in A Christmas Story, I’ve seen enough to earnestly say… “I like the Braves chances this year.”

How about you? Good news? Bad news? Whaddya think of this team after watching them play the champs up in Philly?

Braves Baseball Is Back!

It’s far too late for me to write a game recap (forgive me, I was in Phoenix last night watching the game from a crappy hotel room) – but I do want to throw together some thoughts I had last night during the game. Please feel free to add your own, argue with mine, or just sit there and read this complacently before moving on to another website.

Derek Lowe Is Solid

He’s not going to wow us every night with heaters – he’s not the typical power pitcher ace most people think of – but he’s a very solid, methodical pitcher who is going to give us quality start after quality start. And when he’s on – like he was last night – he can be very, very good.

Francoeur Will Be Back

You saw Francoeur’s line drive home run last night – he’s going to hit the ball hard night after night this year. Once he gets more used to his stance, we’ll see more power forthcoming – but I’ll take the Francoeur we saw last night. That said, he needs to work on his throw from the right field corner to third. He’s got a reputation to keep.

Jordan Schafer Is Fast

Did you see how fast he cleared the bases after his homerun? What about when he almost ran over Kelly Johnson who was taking a couple steps back to field a fly ball in short right center? The guy has legs. What a night for his first game – a single, an intentional walk and finally a strikeout that made him look silly. I think we’ll see some good stuff from Jordan this year – I’m certainly looking forward to it.

The Braves Looked Good

Lowe pitched well. Schafer showed us a little bit of what he can do. Francoeur looks good. But let’s not forget Chipper – who did what Chipper does – stroking balls comfortably the other way. Yunel almost knocked a homer of his own. Kotchman showed us some defense. McCann crushed a ball that almost landed in another state. Gonzo came out of the bullpen with (a little too much) energy – but once he gets that under control he’ll be the dominant closer he is. When all was said and done, Lowe had an 8 inning, two-hit performance and the Braves beat the Phillies 4-1.

For the first time this season, New York Mets fans cheered for the Braves. And when the Mets played today, Braves fans cheered for the Reds. It’s baseball season, folks. It’s back, and so are the Braves. Now we just have to prove that to the rest of the baseball.

Young Bats Produce, Braves Fall

The Braves kicked off the Grapefruit League season this afternoon with a 5-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers.  Jair Jurrjens made the start for the Braves and allowed 2 earned runs in 2 innings of work on 4 hits.  He escaped potential further damage by getting Carlos Guillen to ground into a double-play to end the first inning.  Not the greatest start for Jurrjens, but it’s still early in the preseason and not much to worry about at this point.  Reyes, O’Flaherty and Perez each allowed an earned run while Acosta and Marek both tacked on an inning of scoreless work.

Trailing 3-0 in the top of the fifth, the Braves proceeded to put 3 unearned runs on the board to tie up the game.  Future first baseman prospect, Freddie Freeman, brought two runs in with a two-out single and Brian McCann also added an RBI in the inning, plating Jordan Schafer.  Jordan also cracked the board later in the game with a leadoff home run in the top of the seventh.

Everyone anxious to see Jeff Francoeur at the plate today will still have to wait to see some performance out of him.  Jeff went 0-for-4, but it’s only the first game.  Most will say you can’t count on much that happened today to be telling as to how the season will go.  These early Spring Training games are where we really should be looking toward the young guys and seeing what they can do.

The Braves open up their home Grapefruit League season at Wide World of Sports tomorrow against the Astros at 1:05pm EST.  Jorge Campillo will take the hill for the Braves, making his campaign for a long relief spot in the bullpen.  Catch the game on ESPN.  So one Spring Training game closer to the season, what’s the good news of the day?

Big Win For Braves

The Braves finally pulled out a marathon game with a one-run win last night.  After 17 innings of ball with the Houston Astros, Mark Teixeira hit a single off the left-field wall with the bases loaded to push across Gregor Blanco as the winning run.  It was the longest game in Turner Field history.

Here are some notes:

• Charlie Morton gave up a grand slam, but got a no-decision despite giving up six runs in six innings in a little bit of a rough outing.  He’s looking promising as a young pitcher in the organization, though.
• Six Braves relievers pitched 11 innings of scoreless baseball.  Bravo!
• Yunel Escobar made an amazing diving grab in the 15th.
• Two injuries occurred that led to DL time – Manny Acosta and Omar Infante tweaked their hamstrings running the bases and will see DL time.
• The Braves also placed Jeff Bennett on the 15 day DL after he partially dislocated his shoudler yesterday in the Braves’ 6-1 loss.
• The Braves expect to recall two pitchers and one utility player to fill out the rosters.
• Sources say the Brewers have traded for C.C. Sabathia in exchange for minor leaguers.  This should make for some interesting central division baseball.

Braves 7, Astros 6.  Good to see the Braves hang in there like that and show some character.  Maybe good things are coming down the chute for the Braves.  Next up – long road trip!  We’ll be around more now that it’s not July 4 weekend.

Jurrjens Masterful, Braves Tank Jays

Jair Jurrjens held the Blue Jays scoreless through eight innings and held them to three hits as he continued his dominant streak as of late.  Jurrjens has pitched 23 and 2/3rds innings of baseball with no earned runs – dating back to June 5 (Seattle scored 3 runs but they were all unearned).  Jurrjens continues to show maturity and composure beyond his years as the Braves got out to a great start to their road trip with a 4-0 victory over the Jays.

Mark Teixeira is absolutely on fire right now – he opened up the game with a two run home run before Jurrjens even went out to the mound the first time.  He added another RBI in the third inning as he knocked Gregor Blanco in on a double.  Blanco added an RBI of his own in the seventh.

Jeff Francoeur continues to struggle – striking out to end the top of the 8th and leaving two men on base.  He was 0-4.  We’ll hope Frenchy an pull through here soon.  Good to see some solid defense on the Braves tonight – Jones laid out for a nice grab in left field, and Mark Teixeira made a couple nice plays at first.

Mike Gonzalez came on to close the game out in the ninth – and he looked good.  Working quickly, Gonzalez retired the side and the Braves walked away from Toronto with a win.  Jurrjens got the win and is now 8-3 on the season. 4-0 Braves.

Let’s hope we can build on it tomorrow!

Defense Spoils Morton’s Home Debut

Sometimes the final score doesn’t reflect the pitcher’s performance at all.Such was the case last night at Turner Field. Despite perfect baseball weather last night, the Braves early defensive errors (resulting in at least 2 unearned runs), doomed the home team.

You know you have sloppy fielding when the pitcher loses the game, and his ERA drops.

Raise your hand if you had a fielding error last night?

(Yunnel Escobar raises hand)
(Omar Infante raises hand)
(Jeff Francoeur raises both hands)

Hey, Brandon Jones, I’m looking at you! What’s up with running in on a fly ball and letting it go over your head—for the second time this year? How that wasn’t called an error, I do not know.

And Escobar, we love your passion, but we need you in the line-up more than we need you in the clubhouse taking a shower.

Then in the 9th, for a short moment in time, 30,000+ fans were unified as the Braves started to rally. Quickly, runners were on. Then Francoeur, hitting .243, gets out. Not to pile on Jeffrey like much of the Atlanta media, but this was really the nail in the coffin for the game.

But, with the tying runner on third, with two outs, to a screaming, raucous crowd, a lone batter walked to the plate. It was…….Corky Miller. With my hands over my eyes, I peeked through my fingers at the scoreboard and noted his .103 batting average. Would the last position player on the bench be hero or goat? Let’s just say that, upon leaving the field, he would have felt just fine in a barnyard.

However, there were some bright spots. Out of the lineup for several days due to an aggravated quad, Chipper Jones took to the plate, looking as if he owned it. On the second pitch, with the grace of a black belt, punched an easy single into left centerfield. He goes to first, a pinch runner comes in, and he strolls back to the dugout. Honestly, he makes it look easy.

And it’s always fun to see Tex get hot. With a homer and a double, he seems to be finding a groove.

It’s official; I’m on the Charlie Morton bandwagon. I like what I see in this kid. This should have been another “X” in the “W” column for him.

Sorry, Charlie.