ESPN.com – MLB – Recap – Braves at Dodgers – 08/24/2002

Castilla wasn’t alone, of course. Rafael Furcal was 0-5, as well. And Gary Sheffield, despite a good offensive day, made a key misplay leading to a Dodgers rally. But Castilla not only went 0-5, he stranded seven baserunners, committed an error that led to two unearned runs, and grounded into a double play to end the game. I put it to you that if he were being paid by the Dodgers he couldn’t have hurt the Braves’ cause more. That the Braves’ leadership continues to insist that this waste of protein is a valuable ballplayer calls into question not only their baseball judgment but their very sanity.

Tom Glavine got the loss, 4-3. The Braves fell behind early (Shawn Green is evil, by the way — he just kills us) but came back to lead 3-2 before Sheffield’s misplay of a fly ball opened the floodgates. The Braves played without Andruw again (he is resting his shoulder for now — he will probably play through the injury but will need surgery in the offseason) and the outfield just isn’t the same without him.

At least Mike Remlinger is back from the DL. Kevin Gryboski was sent to AAA. Assuming there’s no strike (really, a week off would be great right now, but I don’t think there will be a strike), he’ll probably be back Sept. 3 when he’s eligible.

The Braves will try to salvage one win in the series with Damian Moss going tomorrow night. Then they head to Pittsburgh, which I guess is good news.

ESPN.com – MLB – Recap – Braves at Dodgers – 08/23/2002

I think this is officially a slump. The Braves lost 4-3 to the Dodgers. At least it wasn’t a depressing loss, at least until the end. Greg Maddux gave up three runs in the first but then settled down and was basically Greg Maddux, and the Braves came back to tie. The game stayed tied to the bottom of the ninth, when Darren Holmes completely unraveled.

Holmes walked the leadoff runner, then intentionally walked Shawn Green after a stolen base. He had one out when he tried to pick off the baserunner at second and threw the ball into centerfield rather than throw a 3-2 pitch allowing each runner to move up 90 feet. And then Bobby, brilliantly, had him walk the batter to load the bases and then brought in Kevin Gryboski. Who promptly hit the next batter to force in a run. Line for the inning: 1/3 IP, 0 H, 3 BB (2 IBB), 1 HBP, 1 R. I don’t know who should be most ashamed of that, but I say Bobby.

Andruw Jones didn’t play, resting his shoulder. The Braves collectively didn’t hit much, getting only five hits, two walks. Without Andruw, the offense relies even more heavily on Sheffield and Chipper, and they were both 0-4.