Braves Drop Exhibition To Tribe

March 28, 2008 – 11:57 pm

It was great to go back to Turner Field and watch baseball.  Though the crowd was light, the evening was perfect - the sunset and great weather combined with seeing the Braves made it a great evening.  Unfortunately, the Braves dropped the game 7-1 to the Indians behind a bad fourth inning outing by Blaine Boyer.

Jair Jurrjens got the start, giving up two runs in over three innings of work.  However, one of those runs should be charged to Boyer, who did not look good at all in the fourth after he came in.  Some other quick observations:

  • Yunel made some great plays defensively, including a nice leaping catch.  I’m excited to see him play a full season.
  • Kotsay made a diving grab in the outfield that scared me a little bit - he seemed to catch his arm a little bit but he came up fine.
  • I was impressed by Kotsay on the basepaths.  He stayed alert and stole second when the catcher simply dropped the ball.  Caught everyone off guard.  It resulted in Atlanta’s only run of the day.
  • We had a “Andruw would have gotten that” moment tonight - but it was later in the game and I think Gregor Blanco was in center, not Kotsay.  So we won’t pop that counter yet.  At least not until the regular season.
  • Chipper still won’t run out infield ground balls.
  • Fernando Nunez looked good today.  Never heard of him before today, but he looked good.
  • Acosta looks good - he’ll be an important part of our bullpen this season.
  • The Kelly Johnson / Yunel Escobar double play duo this season will be fun to watch.  They’re getting in the groove and should be really smooth here soon.

Next up, Hampton starts against the Indians at 1:10 tomorrow.  The Braves will have their 25-man roster done tomorrow at some point too.  They have to have it set before Sunday’s game against the Nationals.


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Ridgway Flounders, Braves Fall

March 25, 2008 – 7:02 am

The Braves will likely want to forget this one.  Despite a strong start by Buddy Carlyle (1 run in four innings work), the Braves fell 8-0 to the Indians.  Not only did the offense never get off the ground, but Jeff Ridgway (the left-hander acquired from Tampa Bay in exchange for Willy Aybar) gave up six runs (four earned) in just one inning.

Ridgway didn’t just give up six runs - he walked two, balked home a run, had a throwing error to first base, and four hits.  If I had to guess, I don’t think Ridgway will start the season in Atlanta, unless we trade away one of our other lefties.  This outing was not something the Braves wanted to see just before the season started.

Carlyle is looking for that long relief spot and put on a good show - pitching four strong innings, giving up only one run, walking two, and striking out three.  We’ll see whether or not Bennett or Carlyle gets this job heading into spring.

As for the Braves at the plate?  We didn’t get started until Chipper hit a double in the 7th inning.  Jake Westbrook of the Indians is one mean pitcher.  Other than that, there’s nothing to report.

Apparently there are trade rumors out there regarding one or more of our out-of-options players.  We’ll keep you updated on the goings on as we hear more about it.


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Drese Sinks Braves vs. Tribe

March 22, 2008 – 7:05 pm

For most of the day Friday, the Braves pitching staff looked solid.  Using a strong start by Jeff Bennett (in substitution for John Smoltz) and two hitless innings from Blaine Boyer to finish the game, the Braves allowed only 4 hits and 0 runs in 8 innings of work.  Unfortunately for the Braves, all 9 innings count.

That other inning of work for th Braves went to Ryan Drese who struggled to find control for his entire outing.  Facing 11 batters in his one inning, Drese issued 6 walks, 1 hit and 6 earned runs, creating the 6-4 loss for the Braves.  At one point, Drese issued 5 consecutive walks, certainly cementing his place in the minor leagues to start the season.

In a game of few highlights for the Braves, Jeff Francoeur looks to have bounced back from being beaned in the face early in the week, going 2-3 and scoring a run.  As we enter the last week of the preseason, it’s good to see everyone getting into regular season form.


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Braves One-Hit Indians

March 5, 2008 – 3:56 pm

In today’s Grapefruit League matchup against the Indians, 7 Braves pitchers combined to issue a no-hitter through 26 batters.  The Braves’ Colter Bean issued two walks in the bottom of the 9th and then gave up a two-out RBI double to Cleveland shortstop Danny Sandoval.  Bean retired the next batter, giving the Braves a 4-1 victory.

Jair Jurrjens took the start for the Braves today, throwing 3 hitless innings, striking out two.  Bennett, Ridgway, Ring, Bueno and Cuevas each followed up with a hitless inning of their own.

From the plate, Mark Teixeira hit 2-3 with 2 RBIs and his first homerun of the Grapefruit League season.  Yunel Escobar continued his strong batting of the preseaon, scoring once and ending the day with his batting average at .462.

The Braves improved their preseason record to 5-2, looking strong as we head into March with a little under a month less until the start of the regular season.  The Braves next face off in a two-game matchup against the power-pitching Detroit Tigers before split-squad play this weekend.


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