First Round of Cuts

Written by Colin on March 12, 2008 – 10:16 pm

The Braves cut six players from their spring roster Wednesday in their first round of cuts.  The six players included five pitchers and catcher J.C. Boscan.  Charlie Morton was optioned to Class AAA Richmond, along with Zach Schreiber and Phil Stockman.  Matt DeSalvo was re-assigned to Richmond.  Jairo Cuevas was optioned to Class AA in Mississippi, and J.C. Boscan was re-assigned to Mississippi.

Morton pitched three innings this spring and gave up 4 runs (only one earned) on 5 hits.  Cox likes Morton - said he thinks Morton “is going to be a good pitcher.”  Quite frankly, we’re a little surprised that Morton was cut this quickly - he looked good this spring.  Matt DeSalvo also looked good this spring, but after pitching 6.1 innings and giving up 5 runs and walking 6, he was clearly not ready for the big time in Atlanta.

Stockman had a strong showing, pitching 2 innings and striking out 3 while giving up no runs.  Schreiber pitched 5 innings in 3 outings - he gave up 2 earned runs and walked 3 as well as striking out three.

DeSalvo and Morton will contribute to a strong Richmond rotation that will help AAA hopefully return to the AAA championship.  We’ll probably also see Chuck James, Jeff Bennett, and possibly Jo-Jo Reyes end up on the Richmond rotation.

I’m sure that we’ll see Morton and Schreiber back in the big leagues before too long - they both have talent and a future in front of them.  For now though, they need a bit more development.

Tags: Charlie Morton, Matt DeSalvo, Preseason, Zach Schreiber
Posted in Roster Moves | 136Commentshttp://www.bravesblast.com/2008/03/12/first-round-of-cuts/First+Round+of+Cuts2008-03-13+02%3A16%3A06Colin

Tigers Fell Braves 9-6

Written by Colin on March 7, 2008 – 4:29 pm

The 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 | 126Commentshttp://www.bravesblast.com/2008/03/07/tigers-fell-braves-9-6/Tigers+Fell+Braves+9-62008-03-07+21%3A29%3A13Colin

Braves Fall to Mets in 10

Written by Jonathan on March 3, 2008 – 5:54 pm

It’s painful to write, but the Braves lost to the Mets in 10 innings earlier today.  Atlanta rallied and tied the game 2-2 in the 8th, but New York scored in the bottom of the 10th to take it.  Some quick highlights from the game:

• Charlie Morton and Blaine Boyer both looked strong, each pitching two innings.  They each gave up one hit and struck out one.  Morton walked two, but neither pitcher gave up a run.
• Jo-Jo Reyes gave up 2 hits (both in the first inning), allowing Angel Pagan to score on a Ramon Castro stand-up triple.
• Jordan Schafer had two hits and scored a run (off of a Matt Diaz single) to put the Braves on the scoreboard in the 4th inning.  He also hit a sacrifice fly in the 8th to tie the game at 2 runs a piece.  Schafer’s now batting .444 in the preseason.
• Mets starting pitcher, Mike Pelfrey pitched 3 scoreless innings to start the game, allowing only 2 hits.
• Matt DeSalvo pitched hitless 8th and 9th innings for the Braves to allow the game to go into extra innings.

So there you have it.  Not a powerful offensive showing by either team, but a good chance to look through the pitching staff to see what we have coming down the pipeline.  A hard-fought game into extra innings, despite being a loss, lets us know that baseball season is truly on its way.

Tags: Blaine Boyer, Charlie Morton, Jordan Schafer, Matt DeSalvo, Matt Diaz, Mike Pelfrey, New York Mets, Preseason
Posted in Game Analysis | 115Commentshttp://www.bravesblast.com/2008/03/03/braves-fall-to-mets-in-10/Braves+Fall+to+Mets+in+102008-03-03+22%3A54%3A58Jonathan