ESPN.com – MLB – Box Score – Nationals at Braves
This horrifying nightmare continues, and frankly I don’t see why it won’t go on longer. The Braves have been awful in every phase of the game during this homestand.
The game was scoreless to the sixth. With two out and nobody on, Smoltz gave up back-to-back doubles followed by a homer to make it 3-0. Yeah, maybe Andruw should have had a play on one of them, but it’s back-to-back doubles followed by a homer; not good.
The Braves got one back in the sixth, LaRoche singling home Chipper, but that was it. Then Pete Orr hit a pinch-hit homer to cut the lead to one, but that’s obviously not something you can rely upon. Marcus almost tied it but his drive hit the wall and bounced off for a triple, and he was stranded at third.
Then McBride, who has been pitching really well, loaded the bases on an infield single and two walks (one intentional). Yates came on to give up a two-run double to essentially end the game.
The Braves head to Houston, which is actually a relief. I’m not sure it matters where they play right now, but losing eight of ten at home is embarrassing.
So..while the Braves are at their lowest point during this 15 year run…Tom Glavine is the first in the Majors to get 9 wins. Glavine ofcourse pitching for the rival Mets. How akward and sad is that..
pretty sad….
Going back to the draft yesterday, I know that later-round picks don’t come with much fanfare, but I felt obliged to give a report on the Braves’ 28th round pick (850 overall), Adam Milligan, an OF from Hardin County High School in Savannah, TN. I graduated from Hardin County, and Adam is one of my kid sister’s best friends in the world. He is about 6’3, 210, and plays mostly outfield. He is right handed, but bats lefty (not switch) and he has a lot of power. He wasn’t playing on the best team this year, but he hit .447 with 8 homers, 37 RBIs and 15 stolen bases this year. He was also a top 3 finalist for Tennessee Mr. Football, losing to a kid from Melrose High that is going to play for Miami. He was a dual threat QB in high school as well as a kick returner, and he set lots of records on the football field. He had originally signed with Austin Peay to play football, but he backed out on that and signed with Walters State Junior College (who just won the Juco World Series). He will be a draft-and-follow I am sure, but I just wanted to give some background on a kid I know. He is a really great guy, definitely one of the “good makeup” type players the Braves love. He had a really high GPA and actually wants to go to law school eventually. Last week, he was one of 25 kids the Braves invited down to Turner Field for a visit. I know that probably doesn’t mean a lot to anyone else, but I was just excited for the guy and wanted to give ya’ll some background on a pick you might not have heard of otherwise.
That’s great to know Tennessee Brave. I appreciate this kind of personal insight / information on the Braves draft picks.
Mac, I can’t see how this nightmare is going to end either. The offense and defense are both inconsistent, the starting rotation lacks depth (unless HoRam has indeed vastly improved), and the bullpen obviously sucks.
To be honest, the defense of Furcal has been greatly missed by the pitching staff. There have been far too many weak infield hits between Chipper and Edgar which would easily been outs if Furcal was at shortstop instead.
Oh, I forgot the ending…those damn Dodgers.
You can’t stop the juggernaut that is Nationals baseball.
As bad and frustrating as this is, the division-leading Mets have only won 6 more games than the almost-unbearable-to-watch Braves. I don’t know. It just seems like they should be running away with this thing. Not that we’re in great position to take the East but this thing is by no means over. A key trade or a spark from somewhere (possibly Betemit) and we could still make it a race. The NL East just isn’t that strong.
We have many flags hanging in left field. Those alone should tell us that JS and company are working overtime to figure this thing out.
Here’s hoping they do. And do so quickly.
Matt, does “crash davis” mean anything to you, other than its obvious connotation? Shot in the dark…..if not, feel free to ignore.
Mac, is that the first time you ever wrote the word Nationals? That was my first thought when I saw the recap. You know we’re playing bad when…
A shot of blind optimism:
Once again, the time has come to kick ass, starting with the ‘Stros.
We do need a spark. Bring up Thorman and get rid of Brian Jordan. I feel we need to trade for a leadoff hitter/speedster. Then move Marcus down to the 6th spot. Frenchy needs to hit 7 or 8 until he can learn to make a productive out or stop swinging at his shoestrings.
Petite has an over 6.0 ERA, so maybe…
But he’ll probably pitch seven shut-out innings.
I feel that we will win tonight, which is a good thing. If we can, we are assured a game on the Phillies or over the Nationals. The Mets won’t win this division.
And no, this is NOT the low point. That happened in 2004.
Tennessee Brave,
Thanks for the comment on Adam Milligan. It’s always nice to have a little personal knowledge of Braves’ players or draft choices. Especially such positive aspects. Good luck to Adam.
As KC noted, the defense, or lack thereof, from the left side of the infield has hurt the team this year. I was very enthusiastic about getting Renteria as a replacement for Furcal, but I don’t remember him having this much difficulty defensively before. I know about all the errors last year in Boston, but I’m not talking about errors. Imean balls he should get to but doesn’t, or balls he just gets to and has trouble handling them or making the throw.
Just the opposite is true offensively though, he’s been awesome with the bat. Now if Marcus coudl just get on base ahead of him, and Chipper could get rolling, then we’d be in much better shape.
I agree that 2004 was worse. I made that trip down to Baltimore that year when we were 34-39 & never considered the games crucial because I was convinced that the jig was up at that point. The Sunday game was nice, but never woulda thought we’d crawl out of the muck like we did. This is an awful 10-game stretch; let’s hope that’s all it is.
Although our run-production totals have been respectable, nobody is exactly carrying us with the big hits like Andruw did last year. McCann had a good run, but we need some people to step up right now.
I know I sound like a third-rate high-school football coach when I say this, but…hopefully, the very sight of Enron Field (or Greedhead Park or Fanta Stadium whatever they’re calling it this month) will trigger the bad taste from last year. No give-up here, but I need to see a series on which I can build some faith.
As badly as our team has played this yeaqr, I am amazed that we’re not 15 games back. Just goes to show that the NL East is having an off year.
OK, so my strategy of not watching didn’t work out. I think I’ll try to watch tonight and see Reitsma get smoked by Morgan Ensberg for a walk off homer.
Maybe if I watch more games Bobby and JS will finally give up on the idea of Reitsma as closer?
Mac, your Cormier’s wife Maddux and Williamson rumor got posted to . I’m honestly a little surprised, but OK…
probably a way to put more range on the left side is to upgrade 3rd. betemit to 3rd and chipper to first. get it done. a giles, renteria, chip, druw, mccann, betemit, diaz, francoeur lineup sounds very tough. then we trade laroche, orr, reitsma and everyone else who sucks for a starter. then, we put sosa in his natural position: closer. then we release jordan. then, we stop sucking.
Ryan C, That sounds like a plan. I so wish someone who counts actually read that and can make it happen. I think Sosa as closer will do a lot to stabilize the bullpen and the lineup you listed should be able to do lots of damage once they relax and start hitting. I really think everyone on the team feels the suckiness and this is making them press too hard…. which is increasing the suckiness. Something needs to break this cycle and your plan sounds like just the thing.
Only problem with that plan is the fact that Braves fans and the organization aren’t the only ones who understand that all those guys suck. I don’t know what major league ball club would take a package of LaRoche, Orr, Reitsma for free–let alone a reliable starter.
one can dream hoboken. maybe we can package laroche and orr, pick up a little unwanted salary from another team, and just flat out release reitsma.