ESPN.com – MLB – Box Score – Mets at Braves
This is unbelievably depressing. The Braves have now lost five games in a row, mostly with good pitching. Tonight, John Thomson made one mistake, allowing an opposite-field homer to Paul Lo Duca in the sixth, and finally got a decision because the Braves couldn’t score at all.
We can complain about Bobby loading the lineup with righthanders after watching that fail against Glavine for a decade, but Brian Jordan had two of the team’s five hits, and the other two against Glavine were by Renteria and another of the platoon guys, Diaz. The Braves’ only real scoring chance was erased when the other platoon guy, Pratt, had a soft liner taken down by Floyd in left.
Remlinger had a nice outing, coming in with two on and nobody out in the eighth and striking out two, then getting a pop fly to Chipper. See, that’s how you do it, Reitsma.
This horribly depressing sequence continues tomorrow. Can we put it all together, please?
Mac, that homerun was pulled by LoDuca to the leftfield seats. Nothing major. Just want to let you know.
Mac, after you added “I miss Leo” to the site’s title, the pitching is fixed. Can you add something like “I hate TP” or similar in that nature to fix the offense?
The braves need to fire Terry Pendleton .We have not hit anything in a long time.If you don’t want to fire him then make a trade for someone that can hit
Yeah, I think it’s about time for Chipper, Andruw, Jordan, Pratt, Smoltz or whoever to provide some veteran boot-up-the-ass inspiration, and also, in the cases of Chipper and Andruw, start hitting themselves. It’s still just the end of April, but we need to get going.
The Braves have changed a lot of hitting coaches in the past 15 years. Changing the hitting coach will not change a damn thing about this offense.
How can you fire terry pendleton now if you didn’t give him a raise during the first couple of weeks of the year? It’s not his fault everyone is not hitting at the same time.
i would say to switch up the lineup, but i’m not sure what options we have. possibly dropping rent to 5th and moving langer up to the 2 spot, though langer isn’t hitting right now. i do know that batting black holes in the 5 and 6 holes is utterly ridiculous.
i don’t know. i just don’t know.
I wrote in the past we should acquire a big bat, like a J.D. Drew, in the offseason. A right-handed power house to back-up or platoon with LaRoche instead of Jordan.
Well, JS almost traded Thomson to the Pirates for Craig Wilson…he asked for a bullpen arm in the deal as well. So, JS knows all along what the team’s needs are…he just can’t solve it with the resources he has.
Could someone tell me where Kelly Johnson is???
Johnson is hurt, with some question as to whether he’ll return at all this year. He can’t throw the ball at this point.
From atlantabraves.com:
Kelly Johnson hasn’t been able to play since March 15, and the 24-year-old outfielder is worried that he may need season-ending surgery on his ailing right elbow.
“I just don’t want this to be something that lingers into next year,” said Johnson, whose elbow only bothers him when he’s throwing.
Johnson was given permission to throw from a distance of 120 feet on Friday. But it may be another week before he’s allowed to begin throwing with maximum effort.
If Johnson, who hit .241 in 87 at-bats last year, is able to throw to bases from the outfield without discomfort, he’ll likely begin a Minor League rehab assignment in two weeks.
[i]Could someone tell me where Kelly Johnson is??? [/i]
Hurt. I think I read he just got cleared to throw a ball from 120 ft? Anyway, his elbow is still bothering him and the longer it does, the more likely that he’ll need surgery to fix it.
Thanks for the update ‘Rissa. Hopefully he can get back soon. If we throw him in the leadoff spot and drop Marcus to 5th maybe that picks the offense up.
If KJ is able to go can Diaz play 1st??? Does Diaz have options left to go down or would Jordan be released???
The Braves definitely have some problems, but there is still no need to panic. What concerns me is that we don’t have a lot of “trade material”. Who in their right mind would want LaRoche, Ramirez or Jordan? Since we called up so many from the minors last year, we don’t have many that we can trade that are currently in the minors. We definitely don’t need to get rid of Salty or Andrus.
Any suggestion on a feasible trade? Betimit is our only real trade prospect, but with the way Orr looks and Tony Pena (what a joke), we don’t have any backups if one of our regulars goes down again – which will most likely happen. JS has his work cut out for him.
the braves always go through this cycle in april, but somehow this feels very different. giles is not a true leadoff, we have no #5 hitter (at leastnoone who has been tried there), our closer sucks ass, and the team looks FLAT!!! yes, i panic, but yes i am very reactional (if that is even a word). i would like to say i see a big change soon, but i think this will be a long frustrating season no matter the outcome.
I say, Get the slump out of the way early. We have the Mets right where we want them.
The Braves have been in every game thus far in the season, often battling back from a three- or four-run defecit. Giles isn’t hitting for average, but he has been drawing walks. He’s hit the ball hard lately (though right at someone), which is a sign that he’s coming around. Renteria and Chipper haven’t been back in the line-up for all that long after stints on the DL, so they’re still fine-tuning their swings. Patience.
Our old friend Michael Tucker has just signed a minor league deal with the Mets. I am pretty sure we will see him sometimes later this year.
I hope this works, KC, because I’m running out of ideas.
you know I would probably rather see Remlinger at the end of a game instead of Reitsma. I dont know how successful he would be, but right now he seems to be able to get people out. When is McBride going to be ready?
Good game. I have to say it feels so good taking the series in Atlanta. Some payback ya know what I mean? But really what a good pitching game. Some times a low scoring game can be just as fun to watch. Anyway I hope next game is turns out like this one, And I mean that in every way :)Big ass game coming up. I know you dont want to be swept at home. But believe you me, I would pee my pants and jump for joy if it turns out that way . But honestly i feel a great game coming up next!!!
Cheers
Dan
You know, there is some precedence for a Braves Journal Jinx: last year, when I bookmarked this page, it read “Braves Journal (Trade Furcal!).” Right around that time, Furcal went on a serious tear…
As for the mistake in the recap… I for some reason (when watching the game) had reversed Lo Duca into a lefthanded hitter, even though I know full well he isn’t.
You know we’re in trouble when we need Kelly Johnson to be our saving grace. I like his approach, but he’s not going to save our offense, and expecting him to is putting way too much pressure on him. We need to make a move for a bat, that’s the only way this offense is going to improve.