ESPN.com – MLB – Box Score – Braves at Mets
Miserable Braves Loss Type 1.1(a): “Just Plain Embarrassing.”
So, after making a pitcher who came in with an ERA over six look like an All-Star, the Braves’ encore was making a pitcher who came in with an ERA over seven look like a Hall of Famer. Five hit by Oliver Perez, who hasn’t looked like even a AAA pitcher since 2004? This is definitely worse than the Randy Johnson perfect game. It’s worth at least two Randy Johnson perfect games.
The Braves had five hits and one walk. One of the hits was for extra bases — by Todd Pratt, of all people. Renteria singled and stole second; this was the only other baserunner to get that far until Francoeur walked in the ninth to move Marcus, who had singled (one of his two hits) to second.
Davies didn’t look all that bad through five. He allowed two runs in the first, but kept the Mets off the board otherwise until he fell apart in the sixth, allowing four runs. I’m trying to be positive here… Oh, and he had five strikeouts. Devine was okay, I guess. Barry pitched a seven-pitch scoreless ninth.
Oh, I have nothing. Do not listen the next clip if you value your sanity. This is purely a comment on what I think of the current, Chipper-less Braves lineup after today’s debacle.
Days like today leave one with only questions.
Why are we here? Why do we care so much about a team that’s just waiting to collect their last two paychecks of the season? Why did someone apparently give Frenchy The Pictures so he could bat third?
Anibal Sanchez just pitched the first no-hitter since 2004!!!!!
Thats great, I know its the Marlins but I don’t care!!!
Anibal Sanchez just pitched a no-hitter against the Diamondbacks.
The Red Sox fans must be going ballistic.
And Brian, I like to think of it as a support group. I know that if I didn’t have you guys I would have gone seriously nuts by now.
Yahoo survival football
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PW:10252916
I wasn’t sure if that clip was going to be “Memories” or “Send in the Clowns”. You can see Penny Marhsall crying at the end.
I was watching that Marlins game…but I had to leave in the eight inning…
YOU LEFT DURING A NO-HITTER??? Are you from LA or something?
We suck.
I guess that I will have to start pulling for the Marlins to win the Wild Card. Let s face it we are completely out of it and have been since June. St Louis and the Phillies dont have the pitching the Marlins do and I would love to see a team w/ a $15-20 mil team salary make the playoffs.
I think I would like to see this because it might give ESPN something to talk about besides the Yanks and the Mets. Fla. has the best record in baseball since their horendous start and it would be mighty hard to fire the manager if this happens. It would make things very interesting.
I thought the clip was going to be “You Don’t Send Me Flowers Anymore.” In a weird way, that could’ve worked, too.
Well, Chipper basically said it early in the year: After 14 years of relative grace, this is some whopper of a karmic payback.
I can do without the humiliation that days like this bring. But truthfully, my mind has been numbed since June. It’s all realization & no rationalization: This team ain’t no good & hasn’t been for awhile. So sense in getting upset about it.
Reasons? We got all winter for that talk. Right now, I’m gonna pop a Stella & read my Bob Dylan book until I can catch the no-hitter highlights.
Still gonna catch the Philly game at Turner Field next week & I’m actually looking forward to it.
I think we offically rolled over today
That’s what I’m thinking, Smitty. Today was the day that the team looked at the standings and realized it for themselves…season over. Then they went out and played with a distinct lack of purpose. I’ve seen it happen to teams before. Here’s the part where we go 8 and 15 to end the season, if we’re lucky. Oh well, there’s really no sense in any mad charge.
Bobby and JS ought to see it for what it is and give the young guys a chance to fight for jobs. Shut Smoltz, Giles, Chipper, Andruw and Edgar down. Call Lerew back (if it’s possible). Let Prado see if he’s anything but Orr without the speed. See if Langy’s offensive is too awful to make up for his defense (or call Gregor B.(sic?) up). Let ‘lil Tony show his dad that he can’t, in fact, hit in the majors. And go ahead and let Brian Jordan play. Give him every inning down the stretch if only to show him that it’s past time so that he doesn’t come back in the Spring and take a roster spot (on the 40 as well) from someone who might actually be able to help. It won’t be pretty, but then since June began, we haven’t had many moments either.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. All that’s left is my project. lol That’ll keep me busy during the off-season.
The Braves’ NL East elimination number sits at 4 right now. So this weekend or early next week, they’ll be officially eliminated from the division race.
I think I’m going to watch some of the “Better times…” clips that Mac posted.
Great to see a no-hitter was thrown, so now we can stop hearing about that last one. And, you know what, for some strange reason, I’ve always been a mini Marlins fan at heart. I, of course, never wanted them to beat the Braves, either in a game or in the standings, but every time I count them out they find ways to win, and that, to me, is really cool. This year is a perfect example. I mean, what is their payroll? It’s a scandal that they owner would let it be that much lower than everyone else’s’, but they’re sure making a statement. So, I agree it would be great to see them in the playoffs. They’d more than be the underdogs (how many fans have actually shown up to watch them play this year, anyway? Their stadium would be full of more bandwagon fans than has ever been seen before) and I don’t think they’d go very far (despite what history tells us). Nothing against the Padres or anyone else, but I will root for the Marlins if they win the Wild Card.
And, the most encouraging thing about this is that since they’re mimicking the Braves of last year by winning with alot of rookies, then we already know we have nothing to fear from them next year when we start a new streak. Right?
The Marlins are one of the best stories in baseball (and so are the Red Sux–and I hate the Yanks) and it would be great to see them win the wild card.
I hope that the silver lining for us is that JS will FINALLY realize that we are not a WC contender. We do not need to trade for more players for the stretch run, but the sooner plans can be made for 2007 the better.
Sadly, it is probably too much to even hope for .500….
I like the Marlins players, but I hate to see their owner rewarded—but that goes for a lotta owners, too, I guess.
I’d root for them if they made it, but I’m kinda rooting for the Phillies in the WC right now because I think they can get lucky for a series or two. I like Utley & Howard, plus my Pa. cousins would have something to talk about at Thanksgiving (beside the freakin’ Eagles).
Truthfully, as long as the Mets don’t win their last game, I’m fine with just about anything.
Loria and MLB probably does not want the Marlins to win the wild card. It would reduce his negotiating position with Miami for a new stadium, since he blew up the team in order to argue that he needed a big new stadium and the cash flows it would produce to compete. If his $15mm payroll shows up in October, it screws up the whole plan.
I don’t want to see the Marlins win the wild card because I can just see new
Braves ownership looking at that and thinking, “If it works for them, why not for us?” While I wouldn’t mind see a few veterans such as Hudson traded away, I don’t want to have my team do a firesale. Plus I just don’t want to see more NL East teams in the playoffs other than the Braves.
I don’t think that we are any danger of a firesale (I am not sure who would take Hampton–even if he was offered), but the Braves need to face reality about the NL East. The fact of the matter is that the Braves are on track to finish 4th (this is not yet inevitable) this year and as unlikely (and unseemly) as it might be it could again be their fate in 2007. The simple truth of the matter is that the division has become stronger and at least the Marlins are a young team which might get better.
I’m not so sure how great the division really is. The Mets have an ancient and injury prone rotation. The Phillies have been winning with smoke and mirrors. And the Marlins are very young. If the Braves are healthier next year, have a reliable closer from day 1, and Hudson and Hampton put together solid years, the Braves will have as good a chance as any team in the division.
Sure–the Braves may well have as good a chance as any team in the division. I certainly expect the Braves to make some improvements and they will probably not have the injuries in 2007 that they did in 2006.
But don’t expect the Mets to be passive in the offseason and the Phillies may well make improvements. And, yes, as a “very young” team the Marlins could get even better.
Lest we all forget the Marlins are nothing special. One game over .500. They’d have been dead a long time ago in the AL. So would the Braves.
Regardless of who wins the wildcard (Padres most likely), I just hope they beat the Mets. Or the Dodgers do. I want the Mets’ “dream season” over in the first round.
According to Trollboy, the Mets have already won the NL. I guess it’s been so long since the Mets won anything that he doesn’t know about the playoffs.
I will actually be rooting for the Mets, because of family reasons. Though this has an extra positive, because if the Mets lose I can still taunt Mets fans.
I don’t think the Braves should “pack it in.” I think they should try to finish .500; after all, people have paid money to see these games–they aren’t spring training games. They probably should shut down Chipper and rest Andruw quite a bit, but it’s not like they are the Giants with an ancient team. They are still young and they need to understand that there is no such thing as a meaningless game. I doubt that they have much chance to finish .500, but they should try.
The Braves could contend next year, but the world has changed. They are now a mid-market team in a division with a team that has its own network. It’s going to be increasingly difficult for the Braves to match the Mets’ resources, especially since it seems unlikely that the new owners will care much about the team other than the tax benefits.
I’m with ububba: I don’t care what happens as long as the Mets don’t win the World Series.
Mac,
He’s still trying to post comments? Why? Doesn’t he know that only you can see them? What a sad life he must lead.
I am pulling for the Dodgers. It is like pulling for the Braves West
This comment posted in the ESPN story: “Joe Girardi became the first man since Jeff Torborg to both catch and manage a no-hitter.”
While the Braves continue to founder, the inaugural member of the Permanent Doghouse manages to make the news. I hate Jeff Torborg. I hate the Baseball Year of 2006.
Agreed, Historically the month of September is hard for me because I want to concentrate on the beginning of football season and the MLB postseason race(s). Not so much this year. This season was an ugly one, especially since June.
It seems like yesterday really broke the team’s spirit from reading Smoltz’s and Bobby’s comments in the AJC today. I hope the team can recover enough to put up a good showing against the dreadful Cubs.
sigh…
Go Dodgers, I guess.
Trollboy should also note that I don’t read what he says. I just look at the IP address, know it’s him, and delete it.
Dodgers are pretty interesting, not exactly good, but interesting. I suppose I’d root for the 2 Western teams in the first round, if it happened that way. The LaRussa-era Cards are annual non-faves, too.
I have forgiven the Twins (except Hrbek) for 1991 and will root for them in the AL. Remember when we had a pitching staff like that?
Yesterday, I had a conversation with a Yankee fan who blew off the notion of the Twins in the first round. “We always beat them,” he said.
And I replied, “This may not the same team trotting out Brad Radke in Game 2, especially if Liriano comes back strong. If you face Santana & a healthy Liriano in a 5-game series, you may not be able to say that anymore.”
That said, I stand by my opinion that the White Sox will win the WC & the winner of the CWS-NYY ALDS series will win it all.
I think the Tigers are going to heat up again. THe Angles could be a tough out too.
RegaMets have an ancient and injury prone rotation.
Mac…how do you know what he’s saying about the Mets having already won the NL if you don’t read what he says?
Because in his last attempted comment he changed his user name to “NL Champion NYMETS” or something like that.
Silly Troll
Regarding the comment above that the Mets have an ancient and injury prone rotation, while that’s true this year, I’m not so sure that necessarily portends a poor rotation in future years. I actually think Minaya has done a pretty good job of restocking their farm system with credible arms. Maine looks like he could be a front of the rotation guy and they have Pelfry and Humber coming up behind him. Soler has shown flashes of quality, and who knows what they’ll wind up with in Oliver Perez. If they pick up a frontline guy like Zito in the offseason, their rotation next year could be decent and a lot younger looking than this year.
I’d just point out the poor track record of the last 2 Oakland pitchers to switch to the NL. Not saying it would definitely happen with Zito too, but there’s no slam dunk that the Mets signing him would be a big help to their rotation. Plus they will still be depending heavily on Pedro and Glavine (seems a certainty one or the other side will pick up his option). And as we’ve seen with Davies, Ramirez, etc., you can’t really tell what you’ll get from young starters until after a few years have passed.
Well, I lurked around some of the Mets blogs, and they are enjoying the Braves Division run demise (hasn’t happened yet and they are pretty giddy). Also that NY Daily News (I live in Princeton NJ) article made Smoltz sound a little bitter for not picking up his contract option for 07. JS will pick it up, right? Braves will be back in contention next year, right? Somebody give me an amen, yesterday was tough on the Braves.
Our team can’t win for losing. Even when we do our very best to fall out of the wild card by continually losing, we still can’t speed up the elimination process.
And…on the mets NL champion topic…It’s time we all start preparing like we did for Y2K because the ESPN’s of the world are going to be starting the “Subway Series” chants from the rooftops. It all makes me want to vomit.
If anyone still wants to join Survival Fotball at yahoo, football season starts tonight 😀
ID:14733
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Dimitri Young just got released by the Tigers…..he would be a nice piece for next year off the bench or 4th of type.
too many personal problems, I’ll pass on Young. I have a couple of wishes for next year though.
1. Our players to stay healthy and perform to their capabilities
2. Our RF learn to take a freakin pitch and learn that it is okay to walk every once in a while!
3. Our 3B play in more than 120 games
With all the doom and gloom about the Braves, they really aren’t THAT bad. Since June, they have played on an 87 win pace (92 until losing the DH). They certainly aren’t a real good team, but they aren’t bereft of talent either. I would rather be the Braves than the Giants. June killed the Braves but, clearly, if they had had someone like Wickman earlier, they would be easily above .500 and contending for the WC. I’m normally not a wild-eyed optimist and it’s pretty clear that the Braves pitching is in bad shape generally, but part of the problem is that we have been spoiled by their dominance over the years. Almost every team has down years (the Yankees are a different story because of their resources); the amazing thing is that the Braves went 15 years without one. So while I think the years of dominance are over, probably for good, the Braves aren’t ready to become the Cubs. The key issues for the future, it seems to me, is whether Hudson can become a top-flight pitcher again (doubtful), whether Davies and James can be the backbone of the staff (possibly), whether the bullpen can improve (likely), and whether Francoeur is really going to become a good player. The Braves are also going to have to think about third base because they can’t count on Chipper for 150 games again. I’m afraid they will regret the Betemit trade. While all of these issues are problematic, let’s remember that the Tigers lost 119 games three years ago and now have the best record (at least temporarily) in the majors.
Marc,
Thanks for the reality check.
Marc,
Very good stuff, very good!!!
Hi, I need a life.
“I’d just point out the poor track record of the last 2 Oakland pitchers to switch to the NL.”
What the Braves and Cards don’t have that the Mets do is Rick Peterson, the pitching coach who helped put these guys on the map.
A reunion could make a big difference.
That would be Rick “I Can Fix Victor Zambrano In Ten Minutes And Scott Kazmir Is Three Years Away” Peterson.
Oh great, now we need to fumigate the place again.
Also, starting a Pro Football pick ’em group at Yahoo:
The Pete Orr Fan Club. (Group number 56532)
Password is peteorr
Uses spread but no confidence points.
One silly statement in Rick Peterson’s career doesn’t negate his ability as a pitching coach. You know those 2 pitchers who swept the Braves yesterday were throw aways from the Reds and Pirates. Read Dave William’s and Oliver Perez’s comments on Peterson. How about Mota from the Indians who couldn’t get either of us out before he came to the Mets? How about Aaron Heilman becoming a premier relief pitcher. Darren Oliver and Pedro Feliciano were cast offs and are now very effecrive relief pitchers. Check all their numbers. They all credit Peterson. Not every pitcher is going to work out, but his track record speaks for itself. Your response Mac was beneath you.
I’m in Brain
Nah, it’s not beneath me. It’s silly and sarcastic, which is how I express existential despair.
Peterson has had his moments, but the Mets’ staff before this season hasn’t been all that great when you consider the combination of their ballpark and how much money they’ve spent.
im in brian
Um, bravenewworld, I noticed that you’re only going by what these Mets pitchers did against the Braves. Against everyone else, Oliver Perez has been awful. Guillermo Mota has pitched 9 innings as a Met, and was terrific in LA from 2002-04, so he’s demonstrated pitching ability before. Heilman’s 3.89 ERA in Shea is barely above average, not a premier relief pitcher (although compared to our relievers, that sure looks premier). Only Feliciano and Oliver are real success stories, and both have been above average major league pitchers in the recent past.
Scott Kazmir will be considerably more valuable than all those guys combined, going forward.
The truth is the Mets have made mistakes, but spending a ton of money on pitching was not one of them. Yes, they spent on Pedro and Glavine but other than that, the staff is former losers, castoffs and homegrown pitchers. Steve Trachsel makes $2.5M…not much for a #5 pitcher. Benson was a mediocre pitcher who still remains one under the tutelage of Leo Mazzone. So maybe he’s just a mediocre pitcher. El Duque came in a trade for Jorge Julio….who had value because Peterson worked with him. He was worthless when he came to the Mets and was used strictly for mop up work while working with Rick. John Maine was a throw in in that trade… now are #4. Baltimore had given up on him. Omar ( and Rick) seem to see value where most of us don’t….there wasn’t a Mets fan at the start of the season who wasn’t cursing Omar for Jose valentin and Endy Chavez, both of whom the entire fan base would have DFA’d given our choice.
Look, believe me I understand your feelings. As a Mets fan, you know darn well I’ve been there plenty. But it’s not a fluke that the Mets are where they are. The management has set this team up for years to come…..locking up Wright, Reyes, Beltran and drafting and acquiring good young pitchers. The truth is as the Mets have learned the hard way, it’s not the money. It’s how it’s spent. The Mets finally have a management team in place that appears to know what they’re doing. No one is saying that the Mets will win it all this year ( except a few obnoxious people) but for the first time in years that light at the end of the tunnel is NOT an oncoming train! I expect that the Mets will be around for years so we can have some fun intelligent debate. I look forward to it. Hope you do too!
Sorry guys, I guess I’m too new to Braves Journal…can somebody please tell me the troll boy story?
He’s a douchebag Met fan with the IQ of a retarded squid who only shows up when the Mets beat the Braves. Contributes nothing to the conversation, just antagonizes people like a 12-year-old might.
There’s a Mets fan who most normally posts as NY METS but has been known to hide his identity under other names, including posting as a fake Braves fan. He basically behaves like an ass and has nothing better to do than to come here and taunt — going back to before the season when he had nothing to taunt about. I at least twice have allowed him back for “one last chance” when he promised to be on his best behavior but he quickly started acting the ass again and got re-banned.
Or what UBubba said.
I don’t allow unregistered comments from AOL addresses any more because of him.
ick, Sounds like he belongs in the doghouse with torborg
Brian J…I wasn’t implying that Peterson could spin gold from hay. But as you know, pitchers lose their way. Maybe it’s something as simple as an arm angle or moving left or right on the mound or whatever. The point is their previous pitching coaches didn’t /couldn’t see it and threw them to the waste pile. Don’t tell me Mota was great in 2002-04……look at his numbers this year and tell me what he was in Cleveland this year. Oliver Perez was great in 2004 and fell apart. Can he come back to his potential? Who knows….only time will tell. Heilman’s arm angle was corrected after the All Star game. Tell me his numbers from the end of July through now, That’s my point. John Maine was once a prize of the Orioles and then cast aside. Why can he now pitch well for the Mets but couldn’t for the Orioles? All of these guys made it to the majors….no one is denying that. It just looks like from my perspective that Peterson has been successful helping some of these guys more often than not….I don’t feel for a moment he’s a miracle worker, just a really good pitching coach. The Mets bullpen is the 2nd or 3rd best in the majors with no flashy names or high priced talent on it other than Wagner.
And Dank Lob.
Brian J,
can’t find the group…help please
Steelers – Dolphins…
WWOOO… I’ll be sweating in places i never knew I could.
The immortal Charlie Batch against the appallingly rusty Daunte Culpepper. I can’t wait.
This year I had the incredibly disturbing experience of meeting what I believe to be the only living Tommy Maddox devotee on the planet. She’ll probably be really upset tonight.
Daunte didn’t look very rusty in his last preseason game….but yeah, it wouldn’t surprise me if he was.
Either way…i’ll be bleeding before the night is over, one way or the other.
Beedee, try this link
http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/pickem/56532
And that should get you to the pick ’em league. You should be able to register from there.
1914 Update:
Boston Braves 68-53 (–)
NY Giants 68-53 (–)
Chicago Cubs 68-59 (3 GB)
St. Louis Cardinals 67-62 (5)
Pittsburgh Pirates 57-66 (12)
Philadelphia Phillies 56-65 (12)
Cincinnati Reds 56-69 (14)
Brooklyn Robins 55-68 (14)
Today’s Games:
Giants 010 030 000 – 4 11 1 LP- Matthewson
Braves 100 100 012 – 5 12 1 WP- Rudolph
Giants 000 104 041 – 10 14 2 WP- Tesreau
Braves 000 000 100 – 1 4 4 LP- Tyler
Over 73,000 fans- a one-day record at the time- jammed Fenway Park to watch the co-leaders settle nothing in eighteen innings of play. Johnny Evers won the first game with a two-out single in the bottom of the 9th, but the second game saw the Braves fail on every level, as they did yesterday.
Twenty-two of the twenty-four major league teams played doubleheaders this Labor Day: only the Federal League’s Kansas City Packers and St. Louis Terriers had the day off. The Phillies, Cubs, Indians, and Brooklyn Tip-Tops (FL) swept their twin bills. The FL’s Whales won the first game of theirs againt Indianapolis and had the second game called while tied, on account of darkness.
Just to clarify, that 73,000 fans number was for two separate admissions.
Jenny, Tommy Maddox can say until his dying day that he did something no one had ever done before or will ever do again- he was the XFL’s MVP. I actually liked the XFL; I think the NFL needs actual minor leagues instead of having them as appenadges of universities.
@75
I think the AFL and NFL Europe are the minor leagues of football.
So who wants to speculate on why Dmitri Young was released? I smell something fishy.
Young sure wasn’t hitting – 250/ 293/ 407 isn’t getting it done as a DH.
Well, Another Overrated #7 is on the board, which is nice.
250/ 293/ 407 isn’t getting it done as a DH.
However, it’s just great from a right fielder!
@79
Wow, you’re dense. Brian J. already did that taunt, or are you too stupid to see that?
Anyway…
Young was a somewhat productive player not too long ago, and it wouldn’t surprise me if someone picked him up and he was somewhat productive for them. There would be no reason for a team that already has Dmitri Young Lite (Ward) to be that team, especially since they’re done.
Is that Barbara Streisand? Why???? NO!!!!!
I stopped watching the Braves games, too depressing.
Ronnie Brown had a horrible game. Those 2 TDs make up for little considering that was it scoring wise for Miami except for that Mare FG.
Davey, look the Braves are losing, so are the Dolphins.
I’ll Fed-Ex you some Jack Daniels to keep you sane.
I was going to send you a Jeff Francouer signed baseball, but apparently Delta already took care of that…
So when does the trade Andruw debate begin? Or has it already? I say deal him and we can use is 12 mill plus for a a couple of arms and whatever else we can get. Re-sign Wickman until Devine is all the way back, he has shown some promise finally.
Andruw isn’t part of the problem, so why trade him? He has veto rights anyway as a 10-5 player, so I doubt he’d agree to a trade since he has stated repeatedly he wants to stay in Atlanta.
Well, at least the Steelers won. Maybe I’ll be a football fan this month.
Mail me whatever Bobby drinks when he writes those line-up cards 4-Seam…
Brian J,
thanx for the link, i guess i’ll start with a bit down . maybe i can pull a worst to first run in the finest brave’s tradition…i’ve got the basement the work out.
Mac
i’ve had “Rain” stuck in my head since you posted that video.
For Dawg people out there:
http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/uga/stories/2006/09/08/0909russell.html
Thanks, Erk.