You know I’m a great admirer of Bobby’s. But I honestly have no clue what he was doing in the sixth inning of today’s game, and it may have cost the Braves the game, the series, and the season.
John Thomson started, but faced only two batters and a couple of pitches to the third before leaving with that muscle injury. Byrd came in, and got lucky when a hard grounder hit a baserunner. He gave up a two-run homer in the third to Beltran, but was okay until the fifth, and the score was tied at 2. My feeling is that when you have an emergency pitcher going, any time from the fifth on in you have to be prepared to give him the quick hook. Byrd got two outs in the fifth, but one was a drive that Thomas made a great play on near the track. Byrd then gave up a walk, a double, and a single to make it 4-2, and Gryboski finished the inning. I’m certainly not a fan of Gryboski, but Bobby should have had him ready sooner, and certainly had Byrd out after the double that gave the Astros the lead.
Then the sixth. Alfonseca, who as I’ve said has been the Braves’ best reliever and had been perfect in the series, allowed a single and a walk. But the Astros had a runner gunned down at the plate on a fielder’s choice to Furcal, and it was still 4-2, still a ballgame, with two out. And Bobby brought in Tom Martin to face Berkman. Berkman’s worse from the right side, but he doesn’t usually get to face guys like Martin. Single, 5-2. And then Bobby leaves Martin in to face Kent, who walks, and Ensberg, who doubles in two to make it 7-2, effectively ending the game and forcing the Braves into a situation where they need to beat Clemens and Oswalt just to extend the season. Reitsma finally comes in and ends the inning, only to allow an insurance run in the seventh.
Andruw had a great day, 3-4 with a double and a homer (a three-run job to make the game a little closer at the end and force Lidge to pitch) and two runs scored. He’s been great all series, and is now hitting .500, but the guys at the front — Giles, Drew, and Chipper — haven’t been holding up their end. Chipper did walk and score in front of Andruw, but is hitless for the series. Estrada hit a solo homer for the only run that didn’t involve Andruw.
It all lies in the shaky hands of Russ Ortiz and the hope that Clemens will be ineffective on three day’s rest. That’s a lot to ask for. 80 percent chance of an Astros series victory, most likely outcome Astros in four.
I agree that Russ is questionable. I saw him pitch his last start from the terrace level at Turner Field and his performance was weak. However, he has had a few days to think things over and hopefully he has his head together now. I feel confident that he will come out and blow the Astros away tomorrow. Somebody has to step up from the pitching corpse besides Smoltz (although Hampton had a great game) and Ortiz is a good candidate.
Also, I think Giles, C. Jones, and Drew need to head out to the ol’ sweat lodge and get the impurities out of their system. I know they’re trying but trying isn’t good enough (as Giles noted recently). I feel good about tomorrow. I really do. It will be delicious when the Astros see their hopes die in Atlanta although it would be better in front of the Houston crowd.
I’ve noticed that Cox has a tendency to do some strange things during the post season. I still think about Charlie LeBrandt and the 1993 World Series.
Go Braves!!!
Correction, I meant the 1992 World Series:
“Things continued to look grim for Atlanta as Charlie Leibrandt surrendered a single to Roberto Alomar in the eleventh, moving White (who had been hit) to second with “batman” Dave Winfield stepping up to the plate. The versatile utility infielder / designated hitter followed with a sharply hit grounder down the left-field line that went for a two run double and the Toronto lead.”
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/ws/yr1992ws.shtml
“It will be delicious when the Astros see their hopes die in Atlanta although it would be better in front of the Houston crowd.”
Now that’s optimism, especially since (1)the Braves have a struggling pitcher going against a Hall of Famer, (2) if they win that, they have to beat a 20 game winner; (3) they have lost their last six million elimination games in Atlanta; (4) the playoffs is where the middle of the Braves order goes to dies (it apparently wouldn’t matter if they had Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig), and (5) the Astros have all the confidence in the world.
I wish I could share your optimism. These guys just don’t seem to show up for the playoffs; I suspect that after all these failures it is impossible to relax and that they press. When a team has accumulated so many playoff failures, the weight of those failures become an albotross; playoff experience actually hurts because it’s all bad.
If they are going to lose, I almost hope they lose tomorrow rather than losing another Game 5 in Atlanta.
As good as Thomas’s play was for the second out of that inning, his play on the double was _horrible_. He played the carom terribly. With Houston sending hte runner, Thomas had to run a loooooong way to pick up the ball when he was too close to the wall and it bounced back over his head. If he fields that cleanly he’d have had a great shot to throw out the runner and end the inning. It’s too bad, because I thought Byrd pitched a lot better than his linescore.
I am sick of the sight of Giles, Drew and Chipper. Chipper I can more or less forgive for the injury (though if it’s this bad he shouldn’t be playing); but Giles and especially Drew are just pissing me off. Paul Byrd had a better PA on his single that anything Drew has been showing. His swings have been terrible and his plate judgment abysmal.
Martin is just not a good reliever. He wasn’t good for LA against lefties and he hasn’t been good for ATL.
Overall I’m mad as hell. Furcal’s hitting .400, Andruw .500, and the heart of our lineup is flailing like pitchers, squandering the opportunities the other guys are giving them.
Another correction (I should get this stuff straight before I post), I was present for Russ’s start against the Marlins when we won the division. He went 2 1/3, I think.
I know I’m way too optimistic but I have to believe that the Braves will pull through. I think the Astros are punks and the Braves *are* capable of some great stuff. Anyone remember the 1996 NLCS when the Braves were down 3-1 to St. Louis and they came back and won 3 straight games which put them in the World Series against the Yankees? We lost the WS but that NLCS was incredible.
Colin, I couldn’t agree with you more. The only silver lining I see is that the Marlins were in a similar situation last year, one game from elemination with two to play and having to face Wood and Prior in these two games. We all know what happened. As bad as the Braves looked in ALL of the three games, they still have a chance.
(Only 10 percent chance though, because we’re not blessed with their luck. Oh, and the Marlins had a true leader in Pudge, who could hit and DID hit.)
Another silver lining: Roger C’s last 4 appearances on three days rest:
Date Opp IP H R ER PC Dec.
08/15/93 TOR 3.2 9 6 6 087 L
08/31/93 TEX 6.2 9 6 6 108 L
07/18/01 DET 5.2 9 5 5 106 W
04/11/02 TOR 5.0 8 6 5 109 L
All we have to do is keep them to 4-5 runs. Russ, please make sure there’s nobody on when you serve one up.
Well, look at the bright side: only six men left on base.
Mac, while I am not a great admirer of Cox also, I think we should definitely blame the players rather than the manager for what happened in the fifth and the sixth innings. For the fifth inning, remember everything happened after two outs. With the way Bryd was throwing until that point, you have to think that Bryd can finish off the inning.
You can pretty much say the same thing about Martin for the sixth inning. In addition, if you think about it, who do we have in the bullpen left at that point? Reistma, who we don’t have much confidence either; Cruz, who is the only sensible long relieve option if we need extra innings; and Smoltz, who will not pitch on the road unless it is a save situation.
I mean, seriously, as bad as Martin is, he may not be good enough to get Berkman or Kent, but he SHOULD AT LEAST GET ENSBERG!!! I mean, geez, the guy is a major league pitcher who once strikeouted Bonds. Being a manager, I think it’s sensible that he trusts his players.
As most of the guys have noted, the blames go to Marcus, Drew, Chipper, Base12 and Martin. How on earth can you win if your 2-3-4 hitters don’t hit? I know they put a lot of pressure on themselves, but who doesn’t? Why is Estrada is hitting well? Why is even Andruw having such a great series? I would just hope Giles, Drew and Chipper stop their talk in the media because I definitely don’t feel sorry for them.
In fact, I hope Cox will play around his batter order. I think the following lineup will jump start something:
Furcal
Drew
Chipper
Andruw
Estrada
LaRouche
Giles
Thomas
I think it’s quits an interesting lineup. What do you guys think?
Look on the bright side – Cox may make some questionable moves, but he’s not in the same ballpark of stupidity as Ron f###ing Gardenhire. How he managed that 8th inning today should get his ass fired, regardless of anything else he’s managed to accomplish.
The game sucked, but jeez did Andruw hit that ball hard in the 8th. Has it landed yet? That sucker was easily 450 feet if it was an inch… I didn’t even see it hit anywhere, although I assume it landed up around the railroad tracks.
Bobby should have stuck with Alfonseca.
The thing that bothers me most is the look in the players’ faces. They look like a beaten team. Ortiz will have to pitch a gem to pull them out of their funk on Sunday.
Brian,
I don’t understand why you think the Astros are “punks.” They are a hell of a team. They have a solid lineup up and down, they have dominant starting pitching and they have risen to the occasion. In fact, if you had asked people before the season, the Astros would certainly have been ranked above the Braves. If anything, it’s the Braves who are punks; they beat up on bad teams during the season and shrink during the playoffs.
What happened in 1996 is irrelevant. That Braves team was much better,the Cardinals weren’t that good and LaRussa made some serious mistakes with his rotation that gave the Braves an opening.
One problem seems to me is that Cox’s philosophy of keeping an even keel is great during the regular season, but doesn’t seem to work during the playoffs when other teams elevate their games. The Braves always seem stuck in neutral.
One problem seems to me is that Cox’s philosophy of keeping an even keel is great during the regular season, but doesn’t seem to work during the playoffs when other teams elevate their games. The Braves always seem stuck in neutral.
First, I agree that the Astros are not “punks”–I don’t even know what that means. But I reject the notion that because that Cox’s management style somehow adversely affects the team’s performance. I’m all for criticizing his in-game tactical decisions, but the idea that other teams are “elevating their games”, and therefore implying that the Braves are somehow trying less hard…well, I just don’t see it.
To me, it’s a matter of focus, not by the players, but by the fans and media. Because these games mean more, we parse them out more and pay greater attention to nuance than we do during the regular season. And the media goes way overboard in attributing wins and losses or individual playmaking to some nebulous personal characteristic or another–they aren’t psychoanalysts, people, they’re frigging sportswriters.
Jeter tries conspicuously hard? Well, so did Rex Hudler, but he was no great player. Chipper Jones appears impassive? OK, but who was ever more impassive than Koufax? I just don’t think it’s useful to try to divine how badly someone wants to win from the expression on his face, from where he sits in the dugout, or even from the results. You win some, you lose some.
Self-editing…
But I reject the notion that Cox’s management style somehow adversely affects the team’s performance.
There, that’s better.
First of all, I don’t really think that the Astros are punks. I said that to inspire a little spirit in those who have already notched the Braves a loss in today’s game. I brought up the 1996 team for the same reason. I think one is hard pressed to say a team from one year is better or worse than a team from another year if they both make the post-season — subjective argument that can’t take in to account the so-called “intangibles” that make every team different (the things the statistics can’t tell us). Plus, the Braves *are* still under the same leadership. The point is that anything is possible and the 1996 NLCS is one such example. I thought that was plain. Of course, I am assuming that you all think that the Braves have a very good team even if they don’t belt home runs out of the ballpark every two seconds like last year.
I can dig it — I think I called the Tennessee Vols punks just yesterday…..