ESPN.com – MLB – Box Score – Braves at Padres
You know, the Braves even make blowouts nervewracking. They took a 1-0 lead on McCann’s second-inning homer, only to let the Padres tie it in the third. Then in the fourth, they erupted for six runs against Jake Peavy, the big blow a two-run homer by Chipper, running his streak of games with an extra-base hit to a record-tying fourteen.
But Chuck James didn’t pitch very effectively, even though he ran his record to 4-0. He only went five, allowing all five Padres runs, including four in the fifth. He only allowed seven baserunners (six hits and a walk) and struck out three, threw 78 pitches, 59 strikes, and allowed one homer; the Padres just bunched their hits.
The middle relief was as usual disturbing, though they managed to not allow any runs. Paronto got out of a sixth-inning jam with a double play. Barry gave up a double in 2/3 of an inning, but McCann McBride came in to get Giles (representing the tying run). Yates allowed a hit but did get two strikeouts. During all this, the Padres hit a bunch of balls to the deepest part of the ballpark, homers almost anywhere else in the majors.
The Braves stretched it from 7-5 to 10-5 with a rally in the eighth, McCann’s bases-loaded single scoring two of the runs. Ray came in to pitch the ninth for an “Atlanta Save”. (Any time a pitcher finishes a win, I will now credit him with an Atlanta Save, because this bullpen has shown an ability to lose huge leads in the ninth inning.) There was no Kim Jong-Il sighting.
Chipper finished the day 3-3 with two walks, three RBI, and two runs scored. Renteria was 3-4. Both managers, as well as Jeff Francoeur, were ejected by a power-mad umpiring crew that will be first up against the wall when the revolution comes; Bobby is now only one ejection short of Leo Durocher for second all-time. Skip wonders if they’ll stop the game for a ceremony when/if Bobby passes John McGraw for first all-time. I certainly hope so.
The Braves head to St. Louis to meet up with the other hottest team in the league. It now appears that instead of making a call-up they’ll start Hudson in the second game of that series.
“McCann came in to get Giles…”
No comment.
Look, I don’t type this stuff with my brain; after nearly 600 recaps my fingers are on autopilot, and they’d rather type “McCann”. I fixed it.
I know. It was no big deal.
Good to see the sweep….now it’s on to St. Louis!!
Don’t you just wish we could strike June from the record books?
Cubs 5, Mets 1 – Bottom 4
If that score holds, all of a sudden we’re 11 GB, percentage points ahead of the Phillies for 2nd in the NL East. With 9 games against the Mets.. you know kids, it may not be over yet..
I BELIEVE!!
I didn’t see the game. What brought on all the ejections – and was it a clear-cut case of bad umpiring being compounded by unnecessary ejections?
What is it now? 10 of 13? I hope JS recognizes this for what it is: that the Braves have the talent to win, but winning consistently can only happen IF they add some arms to the pen. I hope he does NOT take this to mean the team can win despite the bullpen, or that the bullpen is good enough for the team to win. All that said, if the going rate for decent-to-mediocre relievers is the price the Reds just paid, perhaps there isn’t much to be done.
I beleive too Wryn…The Met’s pitchers are very old and they are hoping that Glavine and Pedro will be enough but it won’t. They can go out and trade for another starter(most likely Livan Hernandez)but he would only go for young talent. I think that the Mets will collapse, it is obvious that they don’t know how to play with such a huge lead in the divison because they have not been playing very good as of late. Their outfield is also in question. Cliff Floyd is bad defensively and injured alot. Xavier Nady is only hitting .259. Even Carlos Delgado is hitting .248.
Just some pitchers on the trade block.
Who knows maybe we can get Greg Maddux, the Cubs are shopping him.
Joe Borowski is cheap availible and has been solid all year.
Bob Wickman is availible but he is expensive but I think we could get him for Thomson and and maybe a prospect.(CLE needs starting pitching.
Oh please. You play with a huge lead in July the same way you play in any other situation – by trying to win baseball games. Do you think the Mets are going to the ballpark confused as to what to do?
Notwithstanding that the Mets have been playing fine lately. They’re 7-5 (before today) in July. Not much to draw from that.
It’d be great for the Braves to make a run, provided they don’t give up any young talent to do so, but I see no reason to expect a big Mets collapse.
Their starting pitching is horrible. All of their starters ERA is either close to or over 4.00.(Glavine-3.56, Pedro-3.45,El Duque-5.12,Trachsel-4.57, Maine-4.76.
Mets just hit a grand slam. They now lead 6-5 and the cubbies ar efalling apart.
are falling*
The Mets just hit a GS to take the lead 6-5 over the Cubs in the 6th. Here’s what I don’t understand, and I’m blaming Dusty Baker because all managers do it. Your starter has loaded the bases, it’s the middle innings, and you have a decision to make, leave him in or take him out. Now, sometimes you make the right decision and sometimes you don’t, but they always go out and pull the guy right after he gives up the Grand Slam. It’s like OK, I made a mistake leaving him in, NOW let me go get him. Well, if you were unsure he could get out of the inning, why didn’t you pull him two batters ago? Oh, and in the time it took me to type this, it’s 7-5 Mets.
The Mets have had better starting pitching this season than the Braves, at least if you’re judging by ERA. They’re 7th in the NL with a 4.46 ERA while the Braves are 9th with a 4.62 ERA. And what is more, the Mets have arguably the best bullpen in the National League; the Braves are among the three worst. If the Braves are going to make a run, they’re gonna need to hit like they did this weekend – where they yielded 20 runs but still won all three games.
A sweep…I’d never thought I’d see one again.. (where we win that is)
10 out of our last 13 feels really good. Let’s hope we can keep it up against St. Lou..
Certainly those aren’t good ERAs, but I’m aware of these numbers. I think you’re kidding yourself if you don’t think that the Mets are going to make a move this month for pitching help.
Regardless, I don’t see why the current ERAs of Mets’ starters, under which the Mets have built a huge lead, should convince anyone that these guys will collapse. The Braves will have to earn it if they’re to challenge for the division.
St.Louis now has won 7 straight it should be an interesting series.
According to Yahoo…
“The Braves scored 36 runs — a Petco record — ”
If we only had some pitching aside from Smoltz to go along with this…
I know they will make a deal, if you noticed I said that I think that they might get Livan Hernandez. I also know that it will be very difficult for the Braves to win the division. But I still feel the Mets are no longer a lock for the East.
Damn. Eleven runs in the 6th inning for the Mess. Never underestimate the power of the Cubs to fall apart.
Balls are sailing out of Wrigley like a Little League field. Neither one of those salamis was hit very hard.
salamis?
Wow, two grad slams (salamis) in one inning. The Cubs have to fire Baker soon, right? Then again, why isn’t Jim Hendry being held responsible for the Cubs? I think Baker sucks too, but that GM is pitiful. Let’s just hope ours wakes up soon.
Not even our pen gives up 2 slams in one inning..
WOW… Richmond lost tonight 23-11 …no errors in the game by either team! …tough night on the pitchers
only because the bases keep emptying before they can load them up.
Good point Krug…
Mendez, the catcher starting at DH, pitched at the end of the Richmond game. Will Startup relieved, and sucked less than the others (6 H, 1 BB, 3 R in 3.1 IP).
Syracuse had a 10-run inning in the 8th, a 3-HR, 7-run 4th, and a 5-run 1st.
Yep, the future’s in good hands.
The Richmond team is taking pitching advice from the big club…
Well, the entire Richmond bullpen is with the Atlanta team. So, we can’t expect too much from the Richmond kids. Gotta thank JS for the mess.
For that matter, most of their best players are in Atlanta — well, on a plane between San Diego and St. Louis. Francoeur really shouldn’t be up yet, McCann probably is supposed to be in AAA too, James as well. Davies and Johnson are on the DL. It’s no surprise that Richmond sucks. It’s more disturbing that Mississippi does.
I knew Richmond was bad, but that is wretched. I mean, allowing 5 runs in an inning (the 1st) is bad, allowing 7 (the 4th) is unacceptable, and allowing 10 (the 8th) is just well… laughable? Or a cry for help.
Of course, the Braves need to get the big league pitching under control before they can do anything about Triple A. (or should they get the Triple A pitching under control so they can help the big team… oh, never mind)
um, wouldn’t Mississippi be sucking because all of their players are already sucking in Richmond? You get the feeling with all of this sucking there’s bound to be some sort of vortex soon.
Local news report: Reitsma to see Dr. Andrews tomorrow for an examination to find if TJ surgery is required.
Oh no, which Horacio will show up tomorrow. Its another battle w/ a washed up pitcher.
The Braves will begin a three-game series against the Cardinals on Monday at 7:05 p.m. ET at Busch Stadium. Horacio Ramirez (4-3, 4.65) will oppose Jeff Weaver (3-10, 6.29).
Cards have wopn 7 straight and we have won 5. Chip neads to keep his streak alive and hopefully we can take this series. A 8-2 or 7-3 road trip wil be great.
The good news is that is as far as the vortex goes- Myrtle Beach is winning its division in the second half and Rome won its division in the first half.
Just back from a weekend business trip to D.C.
Helluva good weekend–caught some good music, did some family stuff, & was treated to a rare West Coast sweep.
I watched the Friday night game up until the point that Langerhans popped out with 2 on in the 8th. I was running late for the nightclub & I had to bail. Click. Imagine my surprise to see that final score. I’m not sure how you’re supposed to feel after a game like that. Relief? Creeping fear of re-living the experience?
Well, a sweep is a sweep, I guess, so we might as well win the next series, too. Hope it’s hot in St. Louis & the Bravos keep swinging those sticks—I’m sure we’ll need it. I know how shaky the staff/pen is, but when’s the last time Atlanta scored 36 runs in a 3-game series? That’s just off the hook.
PS – If we’re talking revolution & candidates for the wall, I nominate anything & everything that has to do with ESPN. Their crime against humanity? The 2 hours of self-congratulation known as the ESPYs.
Are all of us so numb to this stuff that no level of useless/pointless corporate branding doesn’t make us wanna reach for a bucket of bleach? Guess not, they wouldn’t show it if people didn’t watch it.
Speaking of the ESPYs, WTF was up with that “Ricky Bobby” clip and why did it get more time than the piece on the Hurricane Katrina basketball players? How nauseating to run a glorified movie promo in the middle of that.
Oh, forgot to mention…
Went to the Drive-By Truckers show at the 9:30 Club in D.C. on Saturday night. The show was really memorable (a 2-hour/45-min set & they were in fine form), but other than the music itself, I must say that I’ve never seen so much Atlanta Braves gear at a music event (outside of Georgia, that is). Hats, T-shirts, jerseys—seemed like half the crowd was representin’.
And if they weren’t rocking Braves gear, it was gear from an SEC school. I think the only one I didn’t see represented was Florida (which suited me just fine). But what are the chances of seeing an Ole Miss hat & an MSU T-shirt in the same place so far from Mississippi? I dunno, I thought it was kind weird.
But everybody got along great & it was one of funnest rock shows I’ve been to in a while. Being in a crowd with so many of “my people” didn’t hurt either.
Jenny,
All I gotta say is that when you’re watching ESPN, you’re just being sold stuff. They don’t care about sports; they only care about getting you into one of their crappy ESPN Zone so they can sell you some chicken wings. Or sell you a mobile-phone service. Sports are just the vehicle.
ESPN is so brazen about it that I try to get my information from other places. If we’re gonna do capitalism, I’ll do it with someone else.
I think I got thrown out of ESPN Zone once. It was in Times Square. I think we walked in during Happy Hour or something, and we were all underage. Whatever it was, we spent about 10 seconds in there.
I am also friends with the only people I know of ever to get thrown out of a Hooters. I didn’t even know that was possible, but apparently they tossed a pitcher of ice water on the manager and were asked to vacate the premises. I guess if anything is going to get you thrown out of a “restaurant” (not sure Hooters qualifies), that would.
I once entertained my sister’s family at the ESPN Zone in Times Square. She has daughters & I figured the games might be fun for them. Of course, the meal was like going to Bennigan’s or TGIFridays. A completely unremarkable fried-food fiesta. The girls had fun, but we went to Little Italy the next night.
Never been to a Hooters in my life. I suspect the food is similar to “the Zone,” but I also suspect that’s not why folks go there. The one in Manhattan is in the same area where there are a lotta Mob-owned strip joints. Coincidence?
“Atlanta will not, however, use the two pitchers who have been performing best recently – ace John Smoltz (7-4, 3.41) and rookie Chuck James (4-0, 3.72). For Wednesday’s start, the Braves are expected to call up a pitcher, reportedly Jason Sheill or Lance Cormier.”
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/E10F9B93383A83AA862571AE00144FFB?OpenDocument
Please use Sheill, please use Sheill…..
Man Sheill really came back from oblivion. Savannah boy done good.
Ubub, i saw the Truckers on tour last week w Randolph and the Crowes and they got shafted with only 30-40 to play….sounded good though. Still, it was at a big arena and most of the crowd hadnt showed yet so it certainly wasnt the kind of show theyre best at…didnt compare to the one other time i saw ’em which was at a place that held under 1,000 and had great acoustics
Life without ESPN is almost possible (actual sporting events excepted) — honest and true, it’s been years since I watched an episode of SportsCenter, Baseball Tonight, or NFL Countdown, and I don’t miss any of it. I’m basically down to PTI and the last ten minutes of College GameDay (when they make their picks). Not to say that those other shows are completely useless, but the experience is assumable at this point — I became very cognizant that I was wasting my time every time I watched one of them. If you’ve ever quit smoking, quitting SportsCenter is a breeze.
Has anyone noticed that Chuck James has been pitching progressively worse with each start? Basically, he has one very good outing, one pretty good one and the others mediocre or worse. He’s 4-0 because of the offense. (Although I guess Joe Morgan would say “he knows how to win.”) This team just has to get some better pitching, both starting and relief. Smoltz is like a breath of fresh air–he actually is not afraid to throw strikes unlike the bullpen (except for Ray). The problem JS faces now is that, it’s clear the Braves aren’t likely to make a real run without help at least in the bullpen (unless they keep scoring 10 runs a game), yet, the market for middle relief is scarce and expensive (old supply and demand economics again). If he doesn’t make a deal and the Braves don’t make it, fans will excoriate him for not trying hard enough; yet, if he makes a Reds-like deal, fans will attack him for giving away too much. And, I’m skeptical about making big moves for middle relief, even someone like Linebrink. Middle relief pitchers are notoriously inconsistent. Linebrink bounced around from team to team so there’s no guarantee that he would be the same pitcher with the Braves that he has been with the Padres. All I’m saying is that we should have some sympathy for JS because he is in a tough situation.
As for the Cubs, I didn’t think Dusty did anything wrong. Marshallwas really hurt by bad defense (Todd Walker shouldn’t be allowed to carry a glove)and the wind blowing out in Wrigley Field. None of the balls was really hammered. Dusty may be a bad manager as people say, but I think the front office has to take some responsibility for having Todd Walker at second base. (And, by the way, those who are so eager to trade Giles and install Betemit at second should ponder the result of having poor defense in the middle infield.)
I know SOMEONE who stool a from Hooters once. I like College Gameday, but only to hear about SEC Teams. They usually have good reporters on location. Sports Center is a joke. NFL Countdown is ok, but no what it use to be. I like ESPN’s NFL coverage. They have guys who know what they are talking about, usually, unlike baseball. But in general the whole network has gone from broadcating sports to selling the ESPN name. Why would you want a phone that kept ringing to let you know a score?
I just get online to check scores. If I want highlights of any of my teams I now I will have to wait 45 minuets into Sports Center to see them. I think I will write this on my Sporting News Blog today
Marc you are right on about the Cubs. Dusty should get the axe for two reasons though:
1) He is terrible with pitchers. Prior and Wood are going to have their carrers cut short , mainly because of Baker.
2) He has lost the confidence of his team.
The front office has made too many panic moves and overpaid for too many players. They have a great hitter (Lee) and nice supporting hitter (Rameriez) but that is it. No one else in that line up can do anything. Thier pitching is weak. It is just a mess.
Marc, you cant seriously say we should feel sorry for JS can you? He is the man who got us into this mess! He just assumes the bullpen will come together without ANY significant offseason moves and all the while he sets up and signs his book at Turner Field while we piss away the month of June with his players he went out and got. Im not buying it.
What is he going to do Matt; glue his phone to his ear? I am sure he is trying and is looking anywhere he can to find some help. It isn’t like he doesn’t want to make a deal, but he isn’t goign to over pay for a rent-a-pitcher. So the man signs a book he wrote. He doesn’t have to call GMs 24 hours a day! What do you want from the man, to go to Brian Cashman, put a gun to his head and say, “Rivera for Langerhans! NOW!” Come on. I get tired of people on here acting like they know what moves the team should make. Maybe the Padres don’t want to make a Linebrink for Betemitt move anymore. Maybe they are asking for Andruw for Linebrink. We aren’t there, we don’t know. It is fun to speculate on who we should get, but getting pissed because we can’t get someone is silly. There aren’t a lot a good pitchers to be had and we aren’t the only team looking for some pen help.
The team really needs starting pitching more than relieving. They have one good starting pitcher (Smoltz), 3 question marks (James, Ramirez, Hudson), and a black hole of infinite suckitude (Thompson, Sosa, Cormier). If Bobby didn’t have to bring in Villareal and Barry in the 6th inning or earlier 4 out of 5 days because the starter implodes, the bullpen would be much more rested and effective.
Marc,
I agree that JS is in a tough situation—not so much because he should worry about what we think (he shouldn’t), but because he must weigh the immediate future of the team against 11+ weeks of baseball.
That said, I suspect he’ll make at least one deal for relief. It may not be earth-shattering on the surface, but getting some new blood seems necessary to me. Even though the pen has been somewhat better than the disastrous June, we know what we have.
I recall the the ’96 Yanks were having similar trouble in mid-season & they acquired Graeme Lloyd & David Weathers—2 pitchers who didn’t scare anyone. Of course, without those 2 they don’t finish the season the way they did.
Maybe a different “lightning-in-a-bottle” approach is worth attempting because the bottle we already have has a Pepsi sticker on it & it’s filled with Mentos.
Matt,
I didn’t say feel sorry for JS–he makes too much money for that. All I’m saying is that he is in a difficult situation right now–it’s really a Hobson’s choice. I suspect he will make some deal, but it won’t be that significant. I don’t think he is going to trade the farm for what is really an outside shot at the playoffs. As for the offseason, it’s pretty clear he didn’t have the resources to go after Billy Wagner and Farnsworth left on his own accord. What moves were there to make? It wasn’t unreasonable to expect that some of these guys–McBride for example, would improve or that Devine might be able to make a contribution. My bigger concern is that the Braves don’t seem to have guys in the system that can help.
Ububba – I saw the Truckers in Milwaukee a month ago; the show was great. I did notice some UGA gear, which was nice, yet not too much. Milwaukee is their kind of town. That said, they played a theatre, which had great sound, but they’re definitely more of a bar band.
Baker is also pretty bad with the in-game management stuff. He makes Bobby’s over-managing look American League. As others have mentioned, he overuses pitchers. But the worst of all is that he is supposed to be the great motivator, club-house leader, and he clearly is not doing that in Chicago. That team needs a makeover in the clubhouse, in the front office, and on the field. Of course, those fans will support whatever product management puts on the field… so perhaps they’re not in a big hurry to deal with it. But major changes are needed in Chicago.
I don’t think JS should overpay for a reliever either. I’m one of the few here, probably, who actually thinks there is almost as big a need for starting pitching as there is for relief pitching. Hudson and Thomson have been horrendous while James and Ramirez have been inconsistent, leaving Smoltz as the only guy on the entire staff with whom I’d be comfortable starting a playoff game. Of course, the playoffs are still a long shot – and any other year they’d probably be out of reach. But this is not any other year in the NL: 85 wins might get someone to October.
How about this for an off the wall idea. Trade for Mad Dog Maddux and make him our closer? He’s not afraid to throw strike, brings a veteran presence to the pen, and might even be the Second Coming of Smoltz to the pen.
Actually I know that’s silly, and if we did get a starter via trade we’d keep him starting because after Smoltz, the rest of the guys are not impressing anyone.
Personally, I’m just hoping Devine is able to come back before the season is over. They apper to be using him as a starter now, which mistifies me, but whatever. Perhaps if he can regain some confidence, he (along with whomever we trade for) can provide the necessary spark to make the pen decent.
they’re probably starting devine just to get him more innings. i seriously doubt they plan on making him a starter long-term.
Put me on the side that’s concerned the league is figuring out Chuck James. He’s been sliding downhill ever since that first stellar outing.
Like I’ve said before, I’d rather not go after Linebrink. His HR rate is way up this year, and it would go up even more outside of Petco.
Anybody else starting to get a little nibble at the back of their brains about Villareal? He’s looked more like his WBC self the past few weeks than his April/May, vulture win self.
David is right, Devine was just starting so he could get in some extra innings and build arm strength.
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/sports/baseball/15045118.htm
He looked good, but then again if he’s healthy and throwing right he should look good against the Carolina league. I’d love to see him reach his potential and help out Atlanta, but I think that’s gonna require plenty more minor league work. If he keeps going good, we should get to see him move up soon. I’d love to see him pitch well for Richmond and gain some seasoning and confidence.
We’ve already tried to rush Devine to the majors…twice. I don’t think he should get anywhere near Atlanta again until he has at least a year in the minors. What happened last time didn’t work, and I don’t know how many experiences like that he can handle before he completely loses his confidence.
I dont think we see Devine again until maybe ’08
I am wondering if Startup will get called up soon
Send down Sosa, I guarantee he has absolutely no value to us or anyone else.
I’ll go dumb and throw out a trade proposal:
Royals trade:
Jeremy Affeldt
Mike MacDougal
David DeJesus
Braves trade:
Ryan Langerhauns
Adam LaRoche or Scotty Thorman (prefer LaRoche, Kansas boy)
Bryan Pena
Matt Harrison or someone like that.
Problem(s) with this:
We will be trading with Dayton Moore….the same guy in charge of this farm system. If anyone knows it just as well as Scheurholz, if not better, its this man. So, there is a greater chance of us getting swindelled in this deal. I just threw out names, not saying any of those guys should/would/ be traded.
Reasons I’d like this trade:
DeJesus can play left and has “experience” leading off. He doesn’t steal, but neither does Langerhauns, the guy he’d basically replace, and could be given the green light more in Atlanta. Batting .293 this year with a .359 OBP and has a 33/23 strike out to walk ratio.
Affeldt is a wildcard in this one. He can start. He can relieve. His arm is solid and lefties are batting only .197 against him. He has been done in by the Royals offense/defense.
That’s the good, the BAD…yeah, its BAD. His walks/K’s are horrible, and most of his other stat indicators are pretty bad as well. I believe he is a free agent after this season or will be arbitration eligible, either way, he’s a big gamble. Could substitute in Elmer Dessens here or someone else like that. Royals bullpen is just as bad as ours though.
Mac “the ninth”: The new “closer” for us and a guy who was pretty decent last year for the Royals. 70.1 innings, 72 K’s, with only 24 walks. Has pitched well since returning from the DL and considering the other “closer” options (Scott Williamson), this one actually seems like a better fit.
Other trade:
Sosa and a case of Beer to Chicago Cubbies for Phil Nevin.
Beer to Dusty after the bomb yesterday. I’d platoon Nevin with hopefully Scott Thorman at first if we were able to trade LaRoche to KC. The Royals though would then have to find a home for Mike Sweeney, so who knows.
I don’t think we need a bat. Pitching is where we need to go
I’d love to get DeJesus (who is actually hitting .309/.395/.464) but I don’t think that the Royals would go for that.
Anyone think LaRussa gives his pitchers the green light to hit our batters again. I bet Frenchy gets thrown at 1st…
Smitty, I don’t think Startup is ready to move up yet. He’s not pitching that well for Richmond. 18 2/3 innings and his ERA is 5.79 and his WHIP is nearly 2. The good news is that he’s still striking guys out (15) though not at the same rate as he was in AA. He needs some time.
Thanks so much for reminding us, csg. No, I don’t think Frenchy will be thrown at first– I think Chipper’s gonna have to duck and cover at least once tonight- but LaRussa has certainly made his strategy clear. Yes, he’s going to have his pitchers throw at our hitters until we make it clear that strategy is counterproductive.
So would I Mac. I looked up his stats on MLB, go figure. Another arm I was thinking of instead of Affledt was Andy Sisco. But, I highly doubt that Moore would move him. I think Affledt still has good enough stuff to contribute on this team and shut down opposing lefties in the later innings (Delgado, Howard, Utley, Nick Johnson), etc., when we finish out the year in divisional races.
Agreed, Jay. Shiell’s the most ready to come up, but Cormier’s the guy who never unpacks his bags.
Honestly, who would the Royals have interest in that the Braves would be “willing” to trade? Startup? Harrison? Beau Jones?
I bet Moore, would take Betemit and might give us something in return. Dont know how good the trade would be for us. We either have to move Giles or Betemit. I prefer Giles, but Betemit might have more value just because of $$$$…
The Royals would have no real use for Betemit. He’s really a third baseman — long-term, that’s the position that he’ll play — and the Royals already have a logjam there. Details. As a utility player his value is much lower.
what’s the deal w/ Wayne Franklin. Doesnt he have MLB experience, his #’s look very good for Richmond. Would he be more valuable than Sosa in our pen.
BTW, playoff odds report:
Ten percent is way better than I thought. It must be that second order runs allowed stuff. Why can’t he just Monte Carlo with normal expected winning percentage?
We need to go 12-6 over the next 18, that’ll put us a 55-55. Frenchy said 60-60 but we have to do better if we have a realistic shot. We wont be picking up any McGriff’s this year.
DJ Gallo with some nice words for us in predicting how the NL East will end up..
“2. Atlanta Braves: Atlanta’s streak of 14 consecutive division titles is all but over, but the Braves still have a chance to get knocked out of the playoffs by way of the wild card. It might be a long shot, sure, but it’s hard to ever count out the Braves. (Unless, as previously stated, it’s the playoffs.)”
Mac,
I know it is a long shot, but if we do come back and win the division will you post that Troll Danny Kolb’s e-mail so we can send him warm wishes?
JoeyT, to establish those expected winning percentages, you need to determine what level of run-scoring and run-allowing the team is likely to have from here on out. If the Braves are scoring more or fewer runs than expected, given their offensive production (walks, singles, homers, etc.), then it make sense to determine what their level of run-scoring should be. Ditto runs allowed. That’s what the second-order projections do. (BP uses third-order record, which also corrects for schedule.)
The Braves’ first order record (just based on Pythag projection and actual RS/RA) is 46.5-45.5. The second order projection penalizes the Braves for allowing fewer runs and scoring more than expeccted given the components of offense, mostly allowing fewer. (Scary, isn’t it?) The third order schedule adjustment doesn’t change much.
I agree that the Braves starting pitching isn’t all that good, but the bullpen is the ultimate problem. But the problem is there isn’t much out there that wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg. I think it might make sense to beef up the offense and try to bash our way into the playoffs because it’s obvious the Braves aren’t going to be winning too many 3-2 games.