Braves Beat Rox, Mets Fire Willie

The Braves came out strong behind Jair Jurrjens and 7 2/3rds innings of one-run ball to beat the Rockies last night 7-1.  Chipper went 2-4 and started the scoring in the fifth with two RBIs.   Jurrjens’ extra five days of rest due to his sprained ankle seem to be paying immediate dividends – “I got my changeup back,” Jurrjens said.  The extra rest helped a blister heal.

Up in Queens, the Queens have fired longtime sucky manager Willie Randolph.  I don’t mean that in he was their manager for long, but that he has sucked for most of his time as Mets manager.

Jerry Manuel will replace him as interim head coach.  The Mets also cleaned out some of their other manager positions.  For more info, check out our buddy Andrew’s site over at TheRopolitans.

The Braves are finally up to 10 road wins, taking three out of the last four on the road.  Do you think they’ve turned a corner?  With the starting pitching looking great its last time around, will they continue their improvement?

And as Mike Hampton heads down to the Gulf Coast League for a couple rehab starts, will he ever pitch in Atlanta this season?

Today’s Game Snowed Out

The final game of the Braves vs. Rockies series scheduled for today has been canceled on account of snow.  The snowfall from the storm moving across the central US has rendered Coors Field unusable for today’s baseball game.  This could be a blessing for the Braves, who have struggled to find their offensive and pitching rhythm against the Rockies in the first three games of the series.  The day off also comes as a break for Tim Hudson, who was scheduled to start today despite having the flu.

The game has been rescheduled for June 16th, which was slated to be an off-day for both teams.  Hopefully at that point, the Braves will have a little better idea of how to have some offensive production.

Braves Drop Third Straight

The Braves offense found its stride a little bit last night, scoring 6 runs on 13 hits.  Unfortunately, on the same number of hits, the Rockies scored 12.  After coming off of two solid wins against the Mets at home, the Braves have extended their road record on the season to 0-4 and overall to 3-6.

Chuck James was activated from the disabled list to make the start in place of the injured Mike Hampton and was feeling a bit under the weather.  His first time through the Rockies’ lineup went pretty smoothly, but the second time around he just got beat up on, giving up 6 runs in the third inning.  James left the game after the third having given up 6 runs on 5 hits, as well as striking out 5 and hitting 3 batters.  Hopefully this was just a rough start for him being sick and coming off of the disabled list and he can regroup as we head further into the season.

The offense put together a slightly better outing, but still ran into a few problems.  Two double plays and a lack of clutch hitting took away a number of the run threats that we had during the game.   Brian McCann was 3-4 with 3 RBI, including a two-run home run in the top of the 8th inning.

For the Rockies,  a pair of three-run home runs from Torrealba and Spilborghs didn’t help the Braves’ cause any in trying to snag a victory.  Chris Resop came in to pitch the last two innings for the Braves and looked awful.  5 runs on 5 hits in two innings is not something you want to see out of a pitcher in your bullpen.

The Braves and Rockies face off this afternoon in the last game of the four-game series. as the Braves try to avoid the sweep.  The Braves once again have an under the weather pitcher in Tim Hudson, who has been fighting the flu this week.  Hudson will face off against Jeff Francis for the Rockies at 3:05pm EST.

Braves Try To Stop Skid

The Braves (3-5) are looking to stop a two-game slide against the Colorado Rockies (3-5) in tonight’s matchup.  Coming off of two one-run losses so far in the series, the Braves need to get the offense going if they hope break the streak of losses.  The Braves streaky offense has only managed 9 hits in the last two games.

Chuck James comes off of the disabled list tonight to make the start in the place of the injured Mike Hampton.  James faces off against former-Brave Mark Redman.  Redman left halfway through last season for the Rockies.  He didn’t find much success in a Braves uniform and we can only hope he has the same struggles tonight.

Braves Fall To Rockies Once Again

Without even writing it, I’m sure everyone could guess how many runs the Braves lost by in last night’s outing. That’s right.  One run.  For the fifth time out of five losses this season, the Braves lost a one-run game.  This time, again, to the Rockies, with a final score of 4-3, in a second consecutive game where the Braves struggled to find an offensive rhythm.

The game got off to a similar start to the one from Monday night.  Kelly Johnson and Yunel Escobar got on base and Chipper Jones drove in a run with a single to get the Braves out to an early 1-0 lead.  After that, however, the bats fell flat once again.  The only sign of life for the Braves’ offense outside of that was a 2-run home run that Mark Kotsay drove a little over 400 feet to right-center.  That brought the score to 4-3 and ended the offensive output for the night.

Clutch hitting is still a weak point of the Braves.  We hit well when we’re not pressured and have decent leads, but when the game’s on the line, we just can’t seem to get the bats going.  Bobby Cox said it best after the game when he said that we have a great team and we’ve been in every game.  We just need the one-run matchups to start falling our way.  0-5 in one-run games after only 8 games in the season isn’t the way you want to get started off.

From the mound, Jurrjens had a solid outing, pitching through 7 innings.  He gave up 4 runs on 9 hits while striking out 3.  His 2 walks for the night were both intentional passes.  Manny Acosta pitched the 8th inning for the Braves and looked a little unsettled allowing a hit and a walk before striking out two to get out of the inning.  Jurrjens earned his first loss on the season, bringing his record to 1-1.

The Braves face off against the Rockies again tonight in the third game of this four-game series.  Chuck James is slated to make his first start of the season for the Braves against former Brave Mark Redman.  Hopefully Redman will give up as many runs against us tonight as he did when pitching for us last season.  We’ll also be looking for the offense to break out of the slump that has only produced 9 hits through the last two games.

Braves Look For Redemption In Colorado

After falling in a 2-1 heart-breaker last night, the Braves (3-4) are looking forward to finding a win against the Rockies (2-5) at Coors Field in Colorado.  Tom Glavine saw an excellent outing slip away at the hands of one wrong pitch from Blaine Boyer last night; hopefully the same fate does not await Jair Jurrjens tonight.

The Braves were held to three hits in last night’s matchup, two of which were in the first inning.  If they’re to win tonight, they’ll need to put up better numbers against Ubaldo Jiminez.  Jurrjens (1-0, 3.38) is looking to gain his second win of the season in the cold Colorado air.  Tonight’s game looks to be a little warmer with temperatures in the mid-50s.

The keys for the Braves tonight are to get the bats going early and often to keep the momentum going in our favor.  We’ve demonstrated with our 4 one-run losses this season that clutch hitting is not the Braves’ specialty.  To gain a win, we’ll also need the bullpen to come in strong and support the outing for Jurrjens.

Another One-Run Loss For The Braves

Last night’s 2-1 loss to the Rockies marks the Braves’ 4th loss of the season.  Likewise, it also marks the Braves’ 4th one-run loss of the season.  For the second time so far in 2008, one bad pitch by a member of the bullpen has been the turning point in a game to a loss.  In this game, it was an 8th inning pitch that Blaine Boyer hung out over the plate to Matt Holliday, arguably, at some points, one of the best hitters in the NL.  This pitch became a two-run home run and the only real offense for the Rockies.

The Braves’ offense looked good in the first inning.  Yunel Escobar singled and scored on a double that Chipper Jones hit into the gap.  Those two quick hits got the Braves on the board with a 1-0 lead in the first.  Unfortunately, that was about all the offense amounted to for the night.  They managed only 1 more hit for the rest of the evening.  However, that one-run lead held until Matt Holliday sent one into the seats.

It’s sad to see a gem of pitching by Tom Glavine go wasted.  Tommy pitched 6.1 innings amassing the following: 3 H, 0 R, 3 K, 3 BB.  Either way, it’s great to see him back in a Braves uniform. Boyer’s untimely home run pitch gained him his second loss of the season.  It was a quick, cold game (2:05, ~38 degrees) that resulted in another loss for the Braves.  It was a combination of lack of offense and our bullpen that cost us this game.  We need to get a few of these one-run games going the way of the Braves or it’s going to be a long, heartbreaking season.

The Braves’ record now stands a 3-4 while the Rockies are 2-5.  Hopefully we’ll see a little more offensive punch out of the Braves tonight as Jair Jurrjens faces off against Ubaldo Jiminez at 8:35pm EST.

Cold, Rain To Open Colorado Series

Looks to be a cold, possibly wet, night in Denver as the Braves (3-3) open up their series against the Rockies (1-5).  We’ll get a better idea of the conditions for the game once TV coverage starts, but The Weather Channel is showing gametime temperatures from 37-42 degrees and intermittent rain/snow.  Wind chills look to be around 30-32 degrees.  With conditions like these, it appears to be a good idea that Smoltz changed his first start to be in Atlanta yesterday instead of tonight.

Because of that change, Tom Glavine (0-0, 1.80) will take the start for the Braves against Aaron Cook (0-1, 6.00) for the Rockies.  Glavine has had some past success at Coors Field, as the only pitcher to throw more than one shutout in the stadium. Unfortunately for the Braves, the last one of those was more than 10 years ago in 1997.  For the Rockies, Aaron Cook’s looking to put in a better performance than his first start, where he gave up 6 runs in 6 innings of work.

The Rockies’ bats have looked a little flat thus far this season, but we know that the offense is capable of producing big numbers.  It’s only a matter of time before they break out of their slump.  The Braves offense appears in mid-season form, but still has a lot of up-and-down streaky moments.  Is tonight the night for the Rockies’ offense to shine? Or will the Braves keep the strong pitching and offensive numbers going to make it three in a row?

Braves Take First Trip Out West

The Braves will be taking a trip out to Colorado to play a 4 game set against the Rockies this week. The Rockies are off to a 1-5 start so far this year, but after seeing them break all kinds of winning streak records on their way to the World Series last year we all know they are easily capable of sweeping the whole series if the Braves aren’t careful.

Projected Starters:
Monday: Tom Glavine (0-0, 1.80, LHP) vs. Aaron Cook (0-1, 6.00, RHP)
Taking the mound tonight for the Braves will be Tom Glavine, who graciously agreed to not pitch yesterday’s game so Smoltz could avoid the cold, thin mountain air. Glavine has had some past success at Coors, being the only pitcher to have more than one shutout at Coors Field. Unfortunately for the Braves, the last one of those was more than 10 years ago in 1997. Glavine will be facing off against Aaron Cook, who’s looking to put in a better performance than his first start in which he gave up 6 runs in 6 innings of work.

Tuesday: Jair Jurrjens (1-0, 3.38, RHP) vs. Ubaldo Jiminez (0-1, 5.40, RHP)
Jurrjens looks to continue the momentum from spring training and his first start against the Pirates to secure another win. Hopefully he’ll be able to settle in and get the needed run support from the offense. Jiminez is looking to find a little more control during this matchup after walking 5 in 5 innings in his last outing. He gave up 3 runs in 5 innings of work so he’s looking to keep the ball a little more over the plate while giving up fewer hits to the powerful, though streaky, Braves offense.

Wednesday: Chuck James (0-0, -.–, LHP) vs. Mark Redman (0-1, 6.35, LHP)
Chuck James is making his first start of the season, coming off of the disabled list. He’ll face off against journeyman and former Braves pitcher, Mark Redman. The Rockies are the 8th team that Redman has pitched for in the past 10 seasons. Redman has struggled to find consistency throughout his career and his first start of the season was no different, giving up 5 runs and 9 hits in 5.2 innings of work.

Thursday: Tim Hudson (1-0, 3.46, RHP) vs. Jeff Francis (0-1, 7.11, LHP)
Tim Hudson has looked strong thus far in the season and is looking for his second win. He had a no decision in the season opener against the Nationals and will hopefully get the needed run support in this outing. Jeff Francis is looking to bounce back from a miserable first outing of the season where he gave up 12 hits and 5 runs in 6.1 innings. If the Braves can duplicate that kind of offense against them, I look to see an easy win for Hudson.

Offensive Matchup:
As far as offense is concerned, there should be plenty to go around. The Rockies are currently last in the NL in runs scored, but don’t expect that trend to continue for much longer. These two teams last year combined for over 1600 runs and it’s only a matter of time before the Rockies join the Braves near the top of the runs scored category. I’d also look for Matt Holiday to break out of his 4 for 22 start, as he is far too good of a hitter to keep that pace up for long. This should be a very exciting and nerve racking series to watch. The Braves bullpen hasn’t exactly been a shining star, and we already know that no lead is safe in Coors Field.

Prediction:
The Braves have the advantage in both offense and pitching heading into this series. 3-1 or 4-0, Braves.

2008 NL West Preview, Part I

The time comes as spring training continues to develop that we dig into the other divisions in the National League, and today we’re looking at the NL West. 2007 saw the Colorado Rockies win not only the wild card but the NL Championship. Though the Diamondbacks took the division title, both the Rockies and the San Diego Padres were within striking distance down to the last couple of games. The West was definitely the strongest division last year, but what is in store for this year?

Arizona Diamondbacks – The Diamondbacks won the division by the skin of their teeth last year (though they held the best record in the NL), and we can expect them to make a run for it once again this year. They have some great talent on the team in Orlando Hudson and Stephen Drew. They also have enthusiasm (Eric Byrnes), veteran leadership (Randy Johnson), and the ace of the rotation (Brandon Webb). Oh, and they added Oakland’s Dan Haren. They’ll be a very dangerous team, once again expected to finish first in the division.

Colorado Rockies - The Rockies came out last year with a confidence in themselves and took it all the way through the playoffs. They possess one of the strongest offenses in all of the National League – if not the strongest. They play a mile high, which helps a bit, but they’re just good. Their pitching staff was top 10 across the league in ERA, Batting Average Against, OPS, Saves, WHIP, and Quality Starts, so they’re not shabby and have outdone the Coors’ pitching staffs of yesteryear. This year expect to see more of their potent offense playing really good baseball. Holliday, Tulowitzki, and Helton will be sure of that. Their pitching staff led by Jeff Francis, and filled out by Aaron Cook, Ubaldo Jimenez, and Hirsch/Morales will probably produce about the same results as last year, barring any unfortunate injuries. I think the Rockies will compete for second with the Padres in this division in 2008.

San Diego Padres – The Padres barely missed out on the playoffs last year, but we’ll see where they land this year. Once again led by a very strong pitching staff consisting of ace Jake Peavy and Chris Young, veteran magician Greg Maddux, and filled out by Randy Wolf and Mark Prior. Their offense features Brian Giles, Khalil Greene, and Adrian Gonzalez – and there’s nothing super special about it. But that’s OK – their pitching staff is easily arguably the best in the NL. These guys are the opposite of the Rockies – if they struggle, it’ll be their offense.

Part II will come soon, so check back for the Dodgers (who have made all kinds of changes) and the Bonds-less Giants. Til then, enjoy the spring training ball.