ajc.com | Braves | Braves drub Brewers 9-1

Kevin Millwood had another strong outing, striking out seven in 6 2/3 innings. He also had two hits. The offensive stars were Matt Franco, with three doubles, and Keith Lockhart, with three hits, including a double and a triple. As you can see, Bobby still doesn’t have any consistent group playing first and second; I don’t know if we’re back to the strict platoon or not. Chipper had two hits, one of them a home run, and perhaps he’s found his power stroke. All in all, it was a pretty successful game, even though it was against the Brewers. Vinny Castilla was 0-4 with a strikeout and is now hitting .233.

But he’s not leaving the lineup anytime soon, as the Braves didn’t make a move before the trading deadline. I just don’t get it, myself, unless they’re convinced there will be a strike. John Scheurholz said in an interview that he didn’t think that the Braves had any holes; this story shows him with a particularly clueless obsession with “chemistry” and all those other things that don’t actually help the team win. The Braves are in the middle of the pack in the NL in runs scored. (Currently ninth, but there are a number of teams packed between about eighth and twelfth.) Does that sound like a team with no holes?

Albie Lopez didn’t pitch today, because the Braves only led by eight runs and he only pitches when they’re up by ten or more. Why is he on the roster?

(UPDATE: Here is the ESPN/AP story, for consistency’s sake. I couldn’t get into it earlier.)