ESPN.com – MLB – Recap – Athletics at Braves
So damned typical. Braves get an early lead, and blow it. A reliever completely self-destructs. Oh, and it rained. It’s the season in a nutshell.
Tied in the sixth, Blaine Boyer made his major league debut. He wasn’t very impressive, allowing a run on two hits, and Andruw saved two more runs with a diving catch. But they were in the game. And then Adam Bernero had the worst inning of any Braves reliever this year, and that’s saying something. Six runs on five hits and a walk, capped with a three-run homer. He also allowed another homer and a double. It was atrocious and got away from the team so fast that even if Bobby had been aggressive with the bullpen it probably wouldn’t have done a lot of good.
Horacio Ramirez wasn’t very good either, allowing four runs on five hits and walking four. ERAs of the five pitchers the Braves used today: 5.20, 9.00, 5.40, 2.45 (Gryboski, who only allows inherited runs), 6.75 (Kolb, who was probably the best of the five today).
Andruw hit another two-run homer, which tied the game at 4 at the time. No Brave had multiple hits, but Julio had a hit and two walks. Marte had his second hit and scored a run.
Now off to Texas. This is awful. I can’t imagine how many runs the bullpen will allow in Arlington. Hudson will start the opener, and Jorge Sosa apparently will start the second game. Of course. He’s one of the only effective relievers they have, so they pull him just to make sure that Reitsma’s all alone out there.
I was listening to the post-game radio show, and Lemke said that Vasquez was on his way up. I didn’t hear enough to know if he was making some prediction or if it had really happened. I guess that’s a logical thing to do when McCann goes back down since Sosa is starting Tuesday.
Odd move… it’s Pena going down, not McCann.
http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/braves/0605/13bravesmoves.html
Not that McCann hasn’t been great while Pena has been far less than that. But I figured McCann would go back down so he could play. I’m not sure I agree with this decision, but we’ll see how it goes.
I’m hoping that the Braves will surprise us and send Pena back down instead of McCann.
Also, I’d like it noted that I said just yesterday not to worry about Bobby giving Colon a vote of confidence….
/wrenches shoulder patting self on back
Since Pena seems absolutely unable to throw anyone out, or hit, I think they really didn’t have any choice. This also probably means that Eddie is actually feeling better and will be off the DL soon.
I wouldn’t be so sure the Braves don’t put Eddie on the extended DL so that Estrada and McCann can play.
I’m not even sure what the rules are on Eddie’s situation (where he came off the DL but didn’t play) and I’m not confident in Estrada’s ability to play yet. As it is, if they had to make a choice it’s probably the right one, but they can’t have McCann sit.
Yeah, I suppose that would make some sense… if it’s a short-term thing. Maybe they’re looking to ease Estrada back in. He did get rocked pretty good. I just hope they let the kid play. It will be very frustrating if he just rides the bench.
Just to add to the fun, this is from the “Atlanta Organization Report” on the ESPN wire page:
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To make room for Boyer, Atlanta optioned RHP Roman Colon to Mississippi. The righthander will make a few starts for Mississippi before going to Richmond, where he will be groomed to possibly take over the closer role in Atlanta.
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Um, well, ok. I’m rooting for the kid to come back, but that’s a pretty ambitious statement. I’m not sure who made that up.
You know, catcher is probably the only position at which a prospect might receive sufficient work. He’ll at least catch every fifth day and pinch hit a lot with double-switches. Plus, he’ll be catching side sessions and get some good advice.
I think Steve Phillips must have written that. He also said that John Smoltz mjut have ‘wondered allowed’ why he was removed from being closer…clearly, Phillips knows ZERO about Smoltz who hated closing and loves being a starter.
As for McCann, I hope he gets to become the full time starting in Atlanta and Estrada the back-up…McCann is the real deal.
On the radio yesterday, Pete Van Wieren observed that none of the pitchers had shaken off McCann, so, evidently, he knows how to call a game. Estrada’s bat was starting to come around before he got clocked, so maybe we’ll see more of McCann behind the plate until Bobby and company are absolutely sure Estrada can go full-time.
I think mainly they want to have McCann available with some DH games looming.
Wow Alex, that is a bold statement. You must be some judge of talent.
I’m pretty sure Eddie has to stay on the DL for 15 days, since the transaction on the MLB site doesn’t mention it being a retroactive move. My point is that if the Braves think Eddie will be back in another 10 days or so, it won’t hurt McCann to be on the bench in Atlanta instead of starting in AAA.
Typical: the one game they win is the game I don’t see. This is horrible. I’ve run out of intelligent things to say about our situation.
Boyer is definitely the worst of the rookies thus far. He should have given up at least 3 runs were it not for Andruw’s diving catch and Marcus’s excellent stop. Send him back down. We have enough of these people.
Has anyone noticed that Furcal looks much better from the right side of the plate? His walk and bunt single were both from that side. It must be the shoulder. Maybe he should stop switch-hitting for awhile. When he got back on the left side, he looked horrendous. Just a thought.
I’m going on vacation to China for 3 weeks tomorrow as my graduation present. Maybe things will have improved by then. As far as I know, there’s no easy way to get baseball scores in China, so maybe if I leave everything completely alone it will get better! See you guys in July.
Addition: I have never been so happy to see anyone leave Atlanta as I am about Eric Chavez. One-man gang.
Where were you when Keith Lockhart finally left? 😉
There have always been great hopes for Chavez in Oakland. The A’s can’t get a good read on his play against us, unfortunately.
Just rechecked the box score, Horacio walked 4 not 1. He was pretty darn bad today. It’s pretty much guaranteed that he will give up at least one home run when he pitches. The Braves are in serious trouble right now with their pitching. If Ramirez can’t luck his way out of the first innings there’s no way the bullpen can hold the game. JS needs to make a pitching move soon. I’d look for a decent prospect to be moved shortly.
Yeah, Boyer is much worse than Kelly Johnson, who is hitting .033. Let’s go easy on Boyer, he’s making his first appearance.
It’s amazing that Montreal is the team in the lead right now. Philly is playing better baseball, but the Marlins have the team to run away with this division and they are playing every bit as bad as the Braves. It’s like Philly last year. If the Marlins don’t make a serious move before the All-Star break, the Braves will take over when they get some of their players back, imho. I don’t think Philly has the players they need, and let’s hope they don’t get them in July. You know Montreal will fade when the other teams start playing better. They’re doing it with smoke and mirrors right now.
Andruw hit a ball that was right around his neck for the dinger. Its good and bad when he does that. Good that he hit the homer bad because he’ll start flailing at high heat for another month.
Did anyone want to throw a brick through the TV when Joe Simpson and Chip Carey (whom I’m starting to dislike very much) started talking about Money Ball again. The horse is in the can with Alpo on the label guys. Joe you don’t like it because you
a. haven’t read the book (which is obvious)
b. wouldn’t understand it if you had.
Off the soap box now.
Horacio’s luck has officially ended now. That the Braves aren’t a team that values statistical analysis AT ALL is evident. They could have sold high on this guy like they have with some other pitchers but they were fooled by the Won/loss record too.
I know that Kelly Johnson only has 2 hits but he does do other things to get on base unlike Jordan and one of these days those balls are going to start falling. I agree with Bobby’s decision not to play McCann and Johnson against a premium left hander like Zito but I’d like him to give Johnson at least a weeks worth of games to see if some of that contact he’s making will fall. The same with Betemit and Marte. Bobby please play your best 8 and see where the chips fall. Sometimes it takes someone a few consecutive at bats to get going.
Hey jenny,
Enjoy the trip, you earned it. Congratulations. And I’m sure you can find an internet cafe to check up on how the games are going.