ESPN.com – MLB – Box Score – Reds at Braves
Tim Hudson wasn’t sharp, but Bobby didn’t use the firm of Kolb & Brower when he went to the bullpen, so this time the Braves didn’t give up a big lead.
This time, it was 7-0 after four. Chipper hit a solo homer in the first, and Hudson kept pitching around hits to keep it 1-0. In the fourth, the Braves broke through for six runs, the big blow being Hudson’s triple to score two when Griffey tried another one of those sliding catches he can’t make and which half the time wind up with him needing limb reattachment surgery. Andruw and Langerhans had doubles in the inning.
But in the fifth, Hudson gave back three of the runs, allowing a three-run homer by Kearns (who wore him out, going 3-4 only because Marcus made a spectacular catch of a soft liner over his shoulder) and then allowing a double before getting out of it. After Griffey hit a solo homer with one out in the seventh, Bobby went to the pen — but this time, it was Foster. Foster struck out both men he faced.
For some reason, Reitsma is the setup man. I don’t get it. Anyway, he got an out, then allowed a single, then a forceout. But Langerhans misplayed a liner into a double, second and third, two out, and Farnsworth came in to get the last out. He walked Griffey on four pitches in the ninth but Langerhans this time made a great play on a line drive to save a double and end the game.
Chipper had a double and a walk to go with his homer. Julio had a couple of hits… Hudson struck out seven and didn’t walk any, so that’s a plus. The homers, not so much, or the 12 hits.
The Phillies beat the Natspos and the Marlins beat the Mets. Forget about the teams that lost; now eight and seven and a half games out respectively they’re pretty much out of the division race. Luke Hudson is scheduled against Sosa tomorrow night. Sosa’s on short rest and isn’t a workhorse anyway, so the bullpen is likely to come into play again. Speaking of bullpens, the Braves have gotten into the opponents’ bullpen early all week and Andruw’s homer is all they have to show for it. I don’t like it at all.
Hopefully, and this is mostly wishful thinking, Reitsma’s only the setup man because Boyer pitched the last couple of days, and Reitsma’s the next best option. Boyer’s pitched too well to not be given a critical role.
With two RH batters to start the eighth, it was going to be either Reitsma or Boyer, and Boyer had pitched in the last two games. It’s important not to give up on Reitsma — he has enough history of success that we shouldn’t bury him in an unimportant role.
Hudson was off again on again, sometimes missing his spots badly and sometimes looking brilliant. But he did a good job of damage control and keeping us in the ballgame, which is what good pitchers do.
I thought Reitsma pitched very well. It seems his pitches were well located with good movement on them. And the two “hits” he gave up were bad luck hits – one blooper and one that Langerhans should have caught.
And…is it just me or did Farnsworth have two balls that were right over the plate called for balls in 9th?
I thought Reitsma pitched very well.
He pitched the same as he always does. Threw the ball over the plate and prayed. Two balls were caught, two balls weren’t, nobody swung and missed, and he had to be bailed out. Sure Hans could have caught the sinking liner, but Furcal made a fine play deep in the hole to start the inning so it’s not like his defense totally betrayed him.
He did get two outs without blowing the game, so I guess that’s success.
Langerhans is well on his way to becoming a fan favorite. The hustle double, the diving catch to end the game, well done Ryan. Hope we see you out there tomorrow. You’ve earned it.
Reitsma, this season:
62.2 IP
2 HR
According to nyb, that’s called throwing the ball over the plate and praying.
He must be praying to the right gods, then.
Yeah, no kidding. Anyone who says Rietsma just throws the ball over the plate and prays must have been in a coma most of the season. As usual anyone who has a few recent bad outings is painted as terrible player (like the constant cries of “OMG WHY IS FURCAL STILL LEADING OFF” that has finally been silenced), reactionism runs rampant ’round these parts.
All right. I just stayed up an hour later than I meant to because first of all the AZ-Utah game ran an hour late and then they didn’t show the Braves highlights until the very last minute of SportsCenter. And even then, it was just the Griffey HR, with no mention of how any of the other runs were scored. I hate ESPN. I can’t stay up and watch BBTN, but if those catches by Marcus and Langerhans aren’t Web Gems then there’s something wrong with the system.
It’s September 3. Might we be seeing Marcus’s first year in the majors without a trip to the disabled list?
Okay, I finally saw a replay of Marcus’s catch (I only caught the last half of the replay on TV; what a time to get a drink) and all I can say is, he may be getting a call from the Washington Redskins, because they sorely need a halfway decent wide receiver.
Damn, what a grab.
Jordan got hurt again last night.
He needs to rack it up.
Grst, what happened to Furcal earlier this year was that he was hitting .220 and posting a below .300 OBP. He was playing hurt. So, what’s the point of keeping him at the top of the order? With the way he is playing now, of course there is no complaining on him.
Reitsma has never been as bad as people think. I just think some have high standard on him because he stepped into that “closer” role. Reitsma is Reitsma, he will never be great, and he will never be a strikeout pitcher, but he is a good reliever. The announcers of FSN Ohio are saying he is battling some kind of leg problems, but I never heard anything like this from anywhere else. Of course, this doesn’t prevent me from supporting the idea of using Boyer as setup man. I think Bobby should use Reitsma and Foster as the seventh inning bridging gap between the starting pitchers to Boyer and Farnsworth, but I think Bobby will keep using Reitsma as the setup man because of his so call “experience”.
When Langerhans made that catch to end the game tonight, I was thinking if Langerhans or Charles Thomas the better leftfielder…maybe Chuckie T has better speed and Langerhans has stronger arm, but they are both way better than KJ in my opinion.
I like the fact that Hudson is striking more people out recently and not walking as many batters as he was earlier this year. Those are good signs.
Kolb and Brower…I wish they are not on the final playoff roster. I know Brower will not be, but I hope Bobby is wise enough to keep Kolb away as well…
I think Reitsma must be hurt. His K-rate is nearly half of what it was before the All-Star break. However, he is still getting dinked to death, so I’d rather have him on the field than most of the relief corps. Thank goodness they picked up Farnsworth.
Jordan’s hurt? What the heck has he been doing for the past two months on those rehab assignments? Yeah right. It’s nice of the Braves to save face for him.
Reitsma is the setup man because Farnsworth is the closer for the rest of the year. He is a dynamite pitcher.
The Farnsworth has the potential (that is, if the Braves make the playoffs, and, even more so, if they advance, and how) to be one of the BIG unsung trades of the year. It got noticed (by us, obviously, but I mean the talking heads/print types), but mostly as a “minor” type deal. If he pitches lights out & provides quality end-of-the-game pitching (which he obviously has the potential to do), I think you’ll see a lot more people noting him as a key to the Braves hopes (both in regular season & post-season).
Not to make too much of a inning-a-night pitcher… :-)
The last few outings, Farnsworth has been pretty much toying with the batters with his fastballs and sliders. You can see those hitters looked so hopeless at the plate. Actually, Casey’s flyball last night was the hardest hit ball against Farnsworth in a long while.
Good point, Jonathan. He was already pretty good, and if Cox/Mazzone improve him even MORE, he could be a dominant closer. Think about if Hoffman or Isringhausen or Rivera was picked up at the deadline. The talking heads would have noticed that.
Brad, most of us aren’t concerned about Farnsworth as the closer. It’s Reitsma, who’s (depending on whom you ask) either pretty good or hellspawn, over Boyer that raises eyebrows. Boyer’s done nothing but pitch really, really well since being called up. Most fans would like to see him in the 8th instead of in the 6th or 7th.
The Braves are in a real pennant race with the Phillies and the Marlins. They are going to have to play very hard for the next month to win this thing. No one is lying down for us…. I follow the criticisms of some of Cox’s player usage patterns, and I admit that I often have the same reactions. Still, I can’t help but be impressed how he manages for the long-haul. He understands that he has to make due with what he has, and seems to be a master at convincing these guys that they can do what he needs them to do, even when the statistics (not to mention our eyes) say different….
There was some great defense last night…. Marcus’s great catch; the catch Langerehans made to end the game, and at least three strong plays by Furcal, who is hitting and fielding like an all-star plus….
why is sosa pitching today on short rest. i hope this doesnt mean everyone of our starters will be on short rest. i hope they start davies tomorrow so smoltz, ramirez, hudson, and thomson get their regular rest. any word?
HR is pitching tomorrow on short rest. Smoltz is pitching Tuesday on normal rest. Don’t know about the rest.