ESPN.com – MLB – Box Score – Braves at Nationals
That was the worst yet. A two-hit complete-game shutout by Pedro Astacio. Considering the degree of difficulty, that’s probably worse than the Randy Johnson perfect game.
It was a perfect game until Francoeur hit a bloop single with two out in the fifth. LaRoche had a single in the seventh. That’s it. In their defense, Andruw did not play and Renteria was limited to pinch-hitting, the best-hitting centerfielder in the league replaced by the increasingly fifth-outfielderish Ryan Langerhans and the intensely pathetic L’il Tony Pena.
Lance Cormier did not, actually, pitch all that badly. He gave up a run in the second that was mostly on infield singles. He could have gotten out of the third without any runs with good defense and one run with any defense at all, but Marcus made a throwing error on an infield single and Pena simply whiffed on a groundball. The run in the fifth on a double was his fault and McBride finished that inning. Ray, Yates, and Barry finished up without damage.
I’m disgusted.
I guess I’m glad I didn’t get to see this one on tv….
Lil’ Pena’s average is down to 0.53. Wow…just..Wow.
Thank God I don’t get Turner South. I’d have thrown something through my TV. 2 hit by Pedro Astacio! Waves of nausea now afflicting me.
Season’s been over but now I guess everyone for himself. Established vets try to pump up the individual stats. Scrubs fight to make an impression.
I’m really starting to wonder if I could have a higher average than Tony Pena, Jr.
That little wiggly dance Astacio did before every pitch must have been some kind of voodoo curse on our hitters.
Braves suck, the sky north of my house is blistering with lightning, see you tommorrow, hopefully…..
Has anyone else completed their Pre-draft rankings?
At least Cincinnati is losing. 4-0 bottom of the 5th with 1 out.
Well see everyone in a little bit.
No Jay..haven’t completed them yet. Might aswell go do it now….
Once again, a classic case of this year’s Braves team unable to sustain momentum. Just when you think there may be one of those rumored hot streaks after a couple wins and then this happens.
Though the offense is hailed by some analysts, I maintain that the hitting is largely inconsistent. The stats are masked by some inflated outputs and is generally a frustrating thing to watch on a nightly basis. Giles back at the leadoff spot doesn’t help either.
And again, the pitching staff continues to doom us. Even if Cormier had decent stuff tonight, the rotation is stacked to fail as it stands now.
The Mets got pounded by the Phillies again and the Reds are losing. Well, at least something good happened.
stupid move to bench andruw and edgar in the same night when lance cormier is pitching. i know he didnt pitch badly, but the 3 combined ingredients was a recipe for disaster. did anyone really expect to win this game? STUPID!
At least Smoltz didn’t start. I’d hate for him to pitch eight or nine innings of one-run baseball and get the lose because the Braves were shut down by Pedro Astacio.
Why be disgusted? The team sucks. It has sucked all season, save three weeks in July. Its season is over. It is what it is.
And it makes perfect sense to bench the offensive guys in the same game as they start Cormier. under both scenarios you’re likely to lose, so combine all into one loss instead of spreading it into two.
Cormier up. and with that who was sent down ?
Thorman was sent down…
So what could potentially be worse than watching this on TV?
Watching it live? Yep. I was there.
Having great seats, right next to RF? Yep. Me.
So, an observation about Francoeur… does he suffer from ADD? Every Braves player (even Giles) concentrates as soon as the pitcher starts his motion. They bend their knees and look toward the batter, just as every kid is taugh in Little League.
Francoeur just stands there. Upright. Looking around. Fidgeting. Making me nervous. So… maybe he has ADD and he just can’t concentrate?
Get the kid some Ritalin and let’s see how he swings that bat! 🙂
Having watched Soriano play, he also puts on an act in the outfield. Always talking to fans, carrying on during AB’s, etc.
Wryn, everyone on here,
go sign up for football
League ID: 468603
Password: Braves
Draft is Thursday at 7:30
Just joined the Yahoo fantasy league. Named the team after our favorite player, in both sports- Another Overrated #7.
Really, that score says it all. Did the Braves even know there was a game tonight?
“Thorman was sent down…”
In other news Lando has firebombed John Schuerholz’s house.
Where is Alex R.? Wasn’t he at the game?
Hey zerotres, I was also at the game tonight. As soon as I saw the lineup, I knew we were going to lose, I was just happy it finished in two hours so I could beat the traffic. Oh, and Pena is a disgrace.
Well so far we have 6 teams.
Smitty, it looks like it will be me and you in week 1.
Who is Cold Beer Hello?
Ok, I just registered for the football league. I’m Cold Beer Hello, natch. BTW, I suck at fantasy football and I know it, so feel free to make fun of me.
Hate that Thor got sent down. I guess he’ll get more AB’s down there, though.
Cool now we have 7.
I am sooooo glad I didn’t go tonight and chose tomorrow instead.
Does anyone watch the Colbert Report?
He just blew up a condom. HAHAHA
i had to work instead of going (there were free tix in my firm available; sigh). finished at 9:30 and there were folks on the metro headed home from the game at the same time. 2 hours flat, according to the guy in the seat next to mine. glad i didn’t go now.
Well I guess I am going to bed…goodnight Ladies and Gents.
This has to be rock bottom right? How could it get worse than this one?
Robert, the AJC says that Brian Jordan will be activated when rosters expand. That’s how it can get worse.
Askia- The Metro ride was depressing. Hundreds of joyful Nats fans. And me, sulking in a corner.
PS: I can understand Soriano being hyperactive in the outfield, since it probably bores him after being an infielder. Francoeur… he’s been an outfielder all his life, right? He was making me SOOOOO nervous with his constant fidgeting, looking at the scoreboard, at the fans, at his shoes, at Langerhans, at Giles… jeez man, stay still and get your head in the game!!! o_O
I can’t sleep….Anyone watching the Cubs/Astros game…It’s in the top of the 15th 6-6 2 outs.
Jay I just flipped over there. Now I can’t stop watching.
I’m bored……
The good thing about having Ryan Dempster is he is a converted starter. So he can go very deep if he has to.
Tennessee why don’t you join the fantasy football league…if your into it.
Jeez this is a very good game.
The Cubs only have 1 available player left…Rich Hill, who was supposed to start tomorrow.
I wonder if Bud Selig will step in and call it a tie.
Jay I would join, but I am already in one, and that is really one more than I have time to mess with.
Oh, ok…
What’s the record for most innings?
I think this one has some potential.
Wasn’t there some old-time game that went like, 32 innings?
Holy Crap, I just noticed something….we are the oldest team in baseball…First year 1871.
http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/history/mlb_history_teams.jsp
HAHAHA we’re older than the National league.
Us-1871
NL-1876
Onto the 18th.
Do you think they want to go home. 1st and 3rd no outs.
Come on cubbies!!!
Is that their version of the rally caps or are they asking for some change?
Well I am going to lay in bed and finish this game off. Good night all…
Went to the Yanks-O’s game in The Bronx. Looks like I missed a miserable outing. Can’t say I’m bummed that I didn’t see this one.
I did, however, get the latest installment of the ongoing A-Rod psychodrama. That’s what’s keeping me interested in Yankee games this year.
Some of my friends think he’s just a choker who can’t handle New York. Others think he has daddy/identity issues. Some think that he simply shrivels in the presence of Jeter. In actuality, all may be true because the guy is an absolute basket case these days. Watching him play 3rd, especially, is watching a guy who’s thinking way too much & not reacting like a ballplayer. He’s looking more & more mechanical as the year goes on.
If he wasn’t such an unlikeable, yet overpaid guy to begin with, it would be sad. But, if you feel sorry for that guy, you probably felt sorry for John D. Rockefeller, too.
I gotta admit: The whole thing is kinda fascinating.
I guess the rest of the offense was jealous of Andruw’s and Edgar’s night off so they decided to take the night off too.
I feel sorry for A-Rod. Money isn’t everything; I don’t think pity should be reserved only for those who aren’t millionaires.
Ya know, Tony Pena Jr’s BA is down to .053.
Skip: “Tony Pena is batting .053 … .053”
Joe: “BINGO!”
Skip: “Nope, too low for even that.”
And he made an error that led to 2 runs. We might have to give him his own doghouse next to Jeff’s.
Yeah, Pena Sucks.
Wryn, Skip and Joe are awesome. That cracks me up, but Pena Sr. says his son can hit at this level. He sucked in the minors so he has to be good in the majors????? .053 – why dont he just try to bunt everytime up. I think he could beat out 1 out of every 10!!!!
Time to give Prado a chance maybe?
O.K. guys, I’ve joined the yahoo league. “Old School Emmitt”
I still need to prerank my players because I may be joining the draft a little later than 6:30. Anyway…
Smitty, did you ever write the Braves Obit?
Yayy…we got 8 people now
We still have room for 8 more, everyone is welcome!
go sign up for football
League ID: 468603
Password: Braves
Draft is Thursday at 7:30
That is a Yahoo League.
No I am going to wait on the Obit for after this road trip. If they don’t win five or six games on it, then the season is over for me and I will write them off.
I would rather have Prado than Pena. Heck, I’d even smile upon us settling for Yunel Escobar, Wes Timmons, or (GASP!) the joke of the minor leagues, Jonathan Schuerholz (OK, maybe i’d rather have Pena than JS jr. But the point is…Pena is pathetic!
I dont know JS Jr. cant be any worse than .053 Pena…. .053, hell lets call up some of the pitchers at Richmond, they can bat that high!
Mac, the recent dog house posting sums it all up. Not one, but all deserve to be there.
JS jr’s BA is below the Mendoza line…in the MINOR leagues!! Pena at least was above .200 in Richmond. I’d rather have him. But here’s what would make me mad: JS claiming his son can hit major league pitching. If that happens then I’m going to sell my TV.
I still think he needs to bunt in every AB. He did hit one hard the other day, too bad it was a soft liner to the 2nd baseman. I think thats the only one he’s hit in the air so far.
Boboy gave up on the game when he took Giles out for Pete Orr.
he should have topped it off and let Pratt get the start.
we are doomed!
Coming off of an impressive start against the Mets, left-hander Billy Traber will oppose Smoltz in his first start against Atlanta. Traber has faced just one Brave in his entire career, giving up one hit in three at bats to Atlanta outfielder Brian Jordan — currently on the 60-day DL.
new pitchers kill us, he’ll look like Pedro. Here’s to Smoltzie pitching another gem
Yeah, and since we wanted to give Andruw a day off, why didn’t we just put Smoltz in centerfield?
Soriano was placed on waivers yesterday.
Maybe Smoltz will hit a dinger and go nine. We can win 1-0!
Pudge played second!?
watch Pena hit 3 dingers tonight, oh wait….sorry I just had to put this on here. .053!!!!!!!
How come the Tigers can win when they move an all-star, possible Hall of Fame catcher to second base…but we can’t win when we move a bullpen pitcher to the Rotation?
It’s my fault. I have been to six Braves games at RFK and the Bravos have a total of 14 runs. Obviously, I intimidate the Braves hitters.
It was actually worse even than the statistics. They only hit two balls reasonably hard all night. I have never seen such a performance–either it was the pitching performance of a lifetime or the worst hitting performance ever. But, that happens sometimes; he was on fire–at one point, Astacio had thrown 18 strikes and 2 balls. The problem is not this one game–it’s that they got to the point where games like this are deadly.
Answer: We must embarass ourselves
our saviors this year
http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/stats/sortable_player_stats.jsp?c_id=atl§ion1=1§ion2=1§ion3=1&statSet1=null&statSet2=1&statSet3=null&statType=2&timeFrame=1&timeSubFrame=2006&baseballScope=null&prevPage2=1&readBoxes=true&subScope=teamCode&teamPosCode=atl&box12=XXXX433578atlX&box16=XXXX425126atlX&box17=XXXX435258atlX&box20=XXXX134000atlX&compare.x=21&compare.y=3
Just joined the football league. Pepperoni Pizza 2k6.
The Rangers were going to move Pudge to second. In fact I think he played a few games in spring trainning there. He may have played a few regular season games too.
Damn, I miss Mike Hampton!
I like our philosophy though, when a pitcher is dealing we try to get every batter to swing at the 1st pitch. This allows their starter to stay in the game longer, hopefully 9 IP and under 100 pitches, and we get to leave the park early and go to bed early. Why should we try and get to their bullpen it makes no sense?
Good thinng Maddux isn’t pitching against us. He could have a complete game w/ only 45 pitches or so.
the last time we shut out a team was May 1st!
I agree csg. All season it seems we ahve been more aggressive at the plate, which I don’t think is a bad thing. However, at times, we are too aggressive. Our bats aren’t what is killing us, it is all the injuries in the pitching staff. I think we have trotted out all of the starters from Richmond.
Yahoo league has six spots left:
League ID: 468603
Password: Braves
Draft is Thursday at 7:30
this is sad. We have two highlights on the Braves website for yesterdays game.
1) Chipper eats up a grounder
2) Pena’s error scores two
Pena made a highlight for us, YAY!
According to ESPN, it was Pudge’s first career appearance at second. Echoing Smitty, the Rangers did want to move Pudge to second to preserve him. I don’t know why he didn’t. I remember talking about that in sixth grade (shows how young I am and how old Pudge is now), and it seemed like a good idea to me…
You know, I thought that was a pretty clever post title but nobody mentioned it. Sigh.
we scrimmaged the Nats last night
its just not our year, the hits keep on coming. Well, at least not last night
Jordan nears return
Brian Jordan’s broken clavicle has healed and the veteran is scheduled to begin a minor-league rehab assignment next week, with a likely return after Sept. 1.
The 39-year-old outfielder hasn’t played in two months.
Pudge claims he played 2B and 3B in Little League and has taken ground balls in the infield (probably for his 1B work).
I think it’s rather interesting. I wonder if Bmac or Salty will eventually move positions.
Basically every top-hitting postwar catcher has played at least a season’s worth games at other positions, but usually at a corner position. Bench played 195 games at third, 145 at first, and 111 in the outfield. Yogi played 260 games in the outfield. Fisk had the DH, but he still played 41 games in the outfield and 27 at first. Carter played 137 in the outfield and 76 at first. Simmons had over 200 games at DH but also played 195 at first and 29 at third (mostly for the Braves).
McCann is to slow to play anyting but 1st and catcher. I don’t think he will move
Yates earned himself 5 more 7th inning appearances w/ last night’s performance
Why are we not going with a four man rotation? It should be Smotlz, Hudson, James, (pray for rain/ Richmond’s finest)
Someone said that Salty is planning on moving to 1st. I don’t remember who it was though.
Who is “Free Jay Cutler”?
Well we now have 10.
Oh, ok I think it’s Stu.
I wonder how much we will have to spend this off-season?
$317.25
LOL!!!!
$310 now, we just offered $7.25 to JS Jr. Here’s to our 2007 Starting 2nd baseman.
I will work for the rest of the money, that should cover my rent!
Here is a list of players that will be Free Agents after this season.
http://www.mlb4u.com/freeagency.php
here’s the number of Free Agents that we will acquire – 0…We’ll probably try and get Sammy Sosa to come to ATL for a hometown discount!
DeRosa’s coming back to play LF
For us:
Bob Wickman
John Thomson
John Smoltz(option)
Todd Pratt
Brian Jordan
That looks like thats it. Must Re-Sign Wickamania and Smoltzie.
Smoltz’s option shouldn’t even be a question mark, he’s definitely back. I wish we could redo his contract again and have him until 2010, my guess is he retires after 07.
Thomson is definitely gone and will not be offered arbitration. Pratt… Who knows. Jordan will certainly be re-signed to another minor league deal, will beat up on batting practice fastballs on spring training again and make the team, hitting .176 through May when he goes on the DL with, I dunno, fallen arches or something, only to be activated in September again. Repeat until Armageddon.
I am assuming that Smoltz’s option will be picked up but they might sign him to a 2-3 year extension instead.
I was sitting in the upper level behind the Braves dugout last night. Brian Jordan was watching from the dugout railing; when Biles came out of the game, Jordan gave him a high five. That must be why Bobby keeps him around, for his leadership.
Seriously, does anyone know how much money will we have this offseason.
Hey Smitty,
Walker Texas Ranger is on USA.
A roundhouse kick to the face from Chuck Norris would be pretty welcome right now..
DAMN! I am not at home, so I can’t watch.
Is it the one where someone messes with that DA chick in some way and Walker has to kick their asses? In the end everyone learns that lesson about life?
Most likely.
Jeez their predictions are worse than Mac’s. 🙂
(This was last off season.)
http://www.mlb4u.com/top50.php
I just found this.
Trading Rules:
http://www.mlb4u.com/wiki/index.php/Trading_Rules
Waiver Rules:
http://www.mlb4u.com/wiki/index.php/Waivers
Sox are apparently willing to deal Freddy Garcia if they get an established reliever and young pitching prospect in return. They also seem to be open to dealing Javier Vazquez if absolutely needed.
Depending on if we re-sign Giles or not, it might not be a bad idea to think about wheeling and dealing some of our infield prospects for one of them, although it may take a bit more to get Vazquez. However I don’t know if we can offer the Sox what they want because we don’t have any relievers that other teams would want!
I post this offer once again.
ATL- Freddy Garcia
CWS- Danys Baez
Kevin Grunderson(A)
Kevin Grunderson’s number are
2-0 1.54 11.2 IP 8 H 2 R 1 BB 10 K
I am just throwing Kevin Grunderson out there because he is young(21) and his number are pretty good.
Hows about the overall about-face that Kenny Williams has pulled with instead of trying to have each of their pitches turn in quality starts, resulting in TONS of innings from their SPs, it’s like he’s now trying to sacrifice pitching to pound teams into submission. I suppose that’s one way to go…
Looking at Scott Boras’ FAs this summer, it’s a pretty interesting list: Bruce Chen, Eric Gagne (what’s he gonna do? I suppose sell used cars…), Jose Hernandez, Travis Lee, Greg Maddux, Chan Ho Park, Scott Schoeneweis, Gary Sheffield, Ron Villone, Jeff Weaver, Bernie Williams, Barry Zito, and…. drum roll please… Dan freakin’ Kolb. I swear I can’t find any rhyme or reason as to the type of player that chooses Scott Boras.
Rob are you into fantasy football?
If you are you should join our league.
Reds- Scott Schoeneweis
Blue Jays- PTBNL
http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060816&content_id=1612752&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
we will probably end up w/ Jeff Weaver and Juan Pierre this offseason….I might cry
what was the contract off the Dodgers gave Weaver that he declined?
Reds got another reliever, this time its Shoeneweis
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5878706
Why the hell isn’t Martin Prado up?
Mississippi Braves
.278 AVG 1 HR 15 RBI 14 BB 35 K 2 SB .330 OBP .352 SLG
Richmond Braves
.300 AVG 2 HR 20 RBI 10 BB 23 K 2 SB .332 OBP .394 SLG
Tony Pena Jr.
Richmond Braves
.282 AVG 1 HR 23 RBI 12 BB 56 K 12 SB .312 OBP .359 SLG
Jay10, Tony Pena Jr is best friends w/ JS Jr. Its the only thing I can think of.
csg, you need to be in the yahoo football league
League ID: 468603
Password: Braves
Draft is Thursday at 7:30
I think we need to reunite TP jr and little JS
Ryan O’Malley of the Cubs is pitching a gem against the Astros.
7.0 IP 4 H 0 R 6 BB 2 K
He is a rookie just called up to make his MLB debut.
Smitty, I’m already in two leagues. I was going to let others who aren’t in a league join. If it hasnt filled up by the end of the day, then I’ll probably chime in.
Astacio?