ESPN.com – MLB – Box Score – Mets at Braves
This Oliver Perez thing is getting ridiculous. Seven innings, four hits, five strikeouts. The Braves actually had a chance to get some runs in the third, but with runners second and third, one out, Chipper lined out, and with the bases loaded, two out, Diaz popped up on an 0-2 count. That’s pretty much the only chance the Braves had.
Chuck James was a little better than he’d been, but not much. Again, he’s having trouble the second time through the order after pitching well the first time through, and he’s throwing a ton of pitches. He allowed a run in the third, which he probably shouldn’t have, one in the fourth, and one in the fifth, and didn’t get through the inning. He’d already thrown 122 pitches when he was pulled with two out. More and more, he’s looking like a reliever.
It doesn’t help when Bobby decides to cripple his lineup. The horrible Martin Prado played second and led off, and the odiferous Chris Woodward, who may actually be the Antichrist, played first base and batted eighth. You aren’t going to win a lot of games with three automatic outs in the lineup. No, that’s not fair — James had a hit, so it was only two automatic outs. I think I might be able to get Prado and Woodward out. As usual, it’s really all Andruw’s fault.
The Braves did get good bullpen work; Paronto finished the fifth, Moylan pitched two more great innings, Villareal loaded the bases on a walk and two HBP but got out of it with help from two strikeouts (I guess that’s what they mean by “effectively wild”) and Kali was great again with two Ks of his own.
Why Prado and Woodward get playing time is beyond me…
As is our inability to hit Oliver Drysdale
I’m not sure what the stat is, but I feel that everytime Woodward starts, the Braves lose.
When I see him in the lineup, I just assume Bobby is giving up.
So why is Orr hated more than Woodward? KJ, I feel sorry for you. You have to sit and watch this crap when you put in all that hard work
To be fair, I guess Bobby wanted to give another look with tonight’s lineup as the past lineups against Perez were weak. However, I would have preffered Salty at first, McCann catching and Andruw hitting 5th (Diaz 7th).
Anyway, lets try to nail down Thursday’s game with Smoltzie.
Our bullpen was the lone bright spot. Moylan and Yates look like they’re developing into solid contributors.
Hey! Smoltz tomorrow!
This should make us feel better…
Against Lefties
KJ .328
Thor .208
Wood .241 before tonight
Prad . does it really matter
#4 – yep your right, except Prado shouldnt have been in there
If we win tomorrow, we’re 6-3 against the Mets and only 1.5 games out. I’ll take it.
We do gotta pick it up a little, though. Our schedule from here to the All-Star break is brutal.
I came very close to posting before the game saying something like,”Lay off of Cox, his incredibly stupid lineup most likely won’t cost us the game”. I’m really glad I didn’t, because that would have been incredibly stupid of me.
Woodward was horrible – 3 K’s, and Prado cost us a run with pathetic defense and a few popups of his own. Salty was great, but I still like our chances with KJ, Salty (1b) and McCann a LOT better. This was one of the worst jobs of fielding a lineup that Cox has ever done. The only bright spot is that this may help Cox decide that Woodward is completely useless a little sooner. I actually like the idea of giving reserves a chance to start sporadically, but starting two that shouldn’t be on our roster at the same time?????
Mac, maybe a contest to see who can correctly guess when Woodward will be released would be fun. Put me down for June 3, but I’m hoping it will be May 24.
I’m hoping Woodward gets released May 23rd…
Perez was throwing garbage too. How he managed to get outs with one pitch is beyond me.
I don’t really mind to have one of Woodward and Prado in the lineup, but both in the same line up?! That’s too much for me to take.
That’s not exactly true robbroad4th. Perez pitched well tonight with the help of Bobby.
If….. If posters on here missed today’s game, I would recommend Mac’s recap. Hey,,,,I could grasp the game situation the moment I saw your recap. good summary, babe.
I know opinions on Cormier (the Lance version) are divided, but he looked good tonight (albeit in AA).
5 IP, 4 H, 0 BB, 0 R, 4 K
We’ll see how he does in his AAA start.
I don’t see why the Mets don’t pitch Perez three straight games against us. Really, I think it would work.
Woodward won’t be released — he plays too many positions. Just gotta hope he does something half-decent offensively over the course of the season.
I’m assuming that, with Glavine and Moyer starting the next two games against us, Bobby went with the righty lineup against the one true sidewinding lefty.
2007 LHH vs. Perez, Glavine, Moyer
Perez — .222/.282/.250
Glavine — .354/.436/.604
Moyer — .289/.326/.553
I hope you are right sansho1, I certainly wish to see McCann, KJ, and Thorman back to the lineup tomorrow night.
obviously prado is trying to be showcased right now (talk about your all-time major backfires), and i cant even grasp why woodward gets a start at 1st. the lineup looked ridiculous tonight, and we get a ridiculous outcome. kj should not be out of the lineup……ever. he is capable of playing 162 games and should. tonight, i hate bobby cox. tomorrow will be a different story.
Perez did fair tonight, but he was on the ropes several times and was very hittable. Fortunately for the Mets, Woodward and Prado were placed strategically so they could strikeout or popup at very inopportune times.
Perez couldnt locate his change-up. He had only one pitch against us. Andruw and Woodward were both caught looking at Wagners fastballs. Our bench is sad! So much for the article on the Braves site saying that Druw is seeing the ball better.
Time to trade for a decent bat off the bench and good for Cormier tonight…
Woodward is an egg sucking met. no bones about it. If Bobby wants to have a righty at first and give kelly a day off, why not let Willie play left and put Diaz at first. Willie could lead off and prado’s automatic out would be at the bottom. Not to mention, having a guy like Willie with speed can be a huge asset against an infamous head case like O. Perez. There is no excuse for Woodward ever dressing out again.
I could see Willie at 2nd while leaving Diaz in LF. I can also see us sitting Thor, but only to allow Salty to play there. Salty and McCann need to be in the lineup. Bobby says he did this because the Braves will face 4 lefties in the next 5 games. Here’s to hoping we never see this lineup again.
Resting the boys: Wednesday marked the first of four times in a five-game span that the Braves will face a left-handed starting pitcher. But the fact that Kelly Johnson, Brian McCann and Scott Thorman weren’t in the lineup against Mets southpaw Oliver Perez wasn’t an indication of things to come.
“I’ve got all the confidence in Mac and Johnson and Thorman [against lefties],” Cox said. “It doesn’t really stop them at all.”
Johnson has actually hit .328 against left-handers and .250 against right-handers this season. But he’s hitting just .228 in May, and for the second time in three games, he found the right-handed hitting Martin Prado serving as the starting second baseman.
Chris Woodward made his first start of the season at first base in place of Thorman, and McCann got a rest while Jarrod Saltalamacchia assumed Wednesday night’s catching duties.
I see “Mac” and I think of myself, of course. I couldn’t really do much worse than Woodward.
I’m with brule, totally missed the game and I’m glad all I saw was the recap. Just reading about it reminds me too much of Brian Jordan and that makes me mad :o)
The only thing I can figure is Bobby does it occasionally to remind the seat warmers that they are actually way better that the guys he is running out there and somehow that motivates them to play above their abilities.
Gonzo got his third MRI today. Someone is going to have to call House, M.D. to figure out the medical mystery that is Mike “Seriously, I Feel Fine” Gonzales. The Braves could use his lefty arm, although the pen has been surprisingly strong as of late.
And I need him back on my MLB ’07 Roster.
I knew it would happen when Prado was called up. You tempt Bobby Cox, he’ll do it. His lefty-vs.-righty match-up fetish is just too strong. Starting Prado after all Kelly Johnson had done, just because “it’s a tough lefty” is just criminal. Was it a “tough lefty” when Johnson hit a leadoff homerun against Tom Glavine? Was it a “tough lefty” when Johnson hit that three run, game-winning triple off of David Wells?
Kelly Johnson’s batting average against left-handers is higher than against right-handers. But just like with Mike Remlinger, Bobby Cox ignores the facts. No more of this crap. Stop hurting Kelly Johnson’s development and hurting the team’s chances to get a future nobody like Prado get playing time. He couldn’t even get the glove thing right, and that’s suppose to be the only thing he is good at.
The Braves have to trade Martin Prado or Bobby Cox and his stupid obsession will continue to hurt this team. NO SECOND BASE PLATOONS!
KJ went 0-4 with 4Ks the last time he faced Perez. There are lefties and then there are lefties — Perez is a hard-throwing, sidearm lefty, while Glavine and Wells are soft-tossing lefties. It’s just different.
I would figure that the more my hitters see a pitcher the better they would hit against him. Especially if they are a rival or a potential post-season opponent. Better chance of catching lighting in a bottle with my main guys in my mind. That’s why it all seems so silly to me. Anyone got any data?
While I vehemently disagree with playing Woodward and Prado in the same game I do see what sansho1 says. Perez’s arm action can cause the toughest of lefty hitters to freeze.
KJ’s one at bat against OP is a case in point. Set up by a couple of side armed breaking balls, he watched a waist high outside corner fastball for a backwards K.
Unless we are having an in season audition for Prado to eventually replace Woodward or Orr, I don’t see the point in having yet another light hitting infielder in the bigs.
Morning. And no, last night’s game doesn’t look any better. Glad to know another Brave’s picked up a nickname:
Ladies and Gentlemen, Chris “White Flag” Woodward. If you see him in the lineup, start thinking about tomorrow’s game. Starting him should grant ticket holders a raincheck.
If you missed seeing Perez on the ropes, give credit to Willie Randolph for leaving the dugout himself to look O. Drysdale in the eye and tell him exactly where he stood and exactly what he needed to do. It was dramatic and Perez delivered. Damn him.
Perez had also clipped two batters on the below the knees and Lerew sent him a message pitch on his next at bat. Would’ve looked like country hardball to all concerned, but Vulture’s wildness made him plunk two Mets later. It was ugly. I don’t think we’ve seen the last of it.
But the other relievers were excellent. Kali could throw a ball through a car wash and have it come out dry.
Like so many times before, C’mon Smoltz!
Go Braves!
Is it wrong to hope something bad happens to Oliver Perez? I hate that guy! I wonder if Cox just knew there was no way we were going to beat him, and decided to rest everyone for today’s game.
“But the other relievers were excellent. Kali could throw a ball through a car wash and have it come out dry.”
Lolz…
Looks like Bobby didn’t expect to win last night after all.
“I have to play those guys on the bench,” Cox said before the game. “Tonight is absolutely a perfect night to do it.”
Say what you will, but Kelly Johnson could have done no worse than Prado’s predictable 0-for-whatever showing last night. Johnson may have matched it against the hard throwing left-handed Oliver Perez, but he wouldn’t have done worse.
all said last night’s game wasn’t that disappointing. James gave a very reasonable performance, we had a weak line-up and the guys just played flat. surely they’ll come to life with smoltzy on the mound…it’s not like their facing a future HOF’r 😉
one day i will proofread, i promise
I have decided that Keith Lockhart has decided to make a secret come back. He learned to hit right handed and changed his name to Martin Prado. Then he went down to AAA and found a copy of “the pictures” and got called up. Does this theroy hold any water?
Mac, espn boxscore says that Chuckie threw 84 pitches. Where did you find the 122 number?
I think we should plug Wickman in in more of these losing contests just to make sure whatever was wrong with him is okay now and keep him sharp.
I haven’t heard it mentioned yet, but if healthy and effective I think he could be the trading piece we’ll have to part with to bring back a SP to carry us into the playoffs. Our bullpen is strong enough, as they showed during Wickman’s DL time. Plus, getting rid of Wickman’s contract can help us afford a better SP.
Make sense to anybody else?
I’d be shocked if Bob “The Body” Wickman doesnt have a no trade clause. I think he had one in Cleveland that he waived, but only for Atlanta. I doubt he plans to go anywhere.
i think it would be dangerous to trade off wickman. one reason the bullpen has done well is that there are plenty of strong arms to carry the load. the season is long and we’re gonna need all those guys in the pen, especially bob “butterbean” wickman.
Beedee’s right. The strength of this bullpen is depth, not health. Gonzalez’ elbow is tender, and Soriano has a history of arm problems.
Also, Wickman’s contract is just for this year. Getting rid of his contract won’t help us acquire a new SP.
Yeah lets weaken our bullpen some more. If we want a solid starter then we have to move Salty.
I just got my tickets, i am going to take care of this game in person.
show’em the old 5 seam knuckler smitty!
I will be handing Smoltz his Gatoraide and bounting his brow. Don’t worry, he is going to dominate!
So not to let the nightmare linger, but I show the combined Perez/Bergmann stats against us this year as follows: 5 GS, 4-0, 34.2 IP, 21 H, 4 ER, 7 BB, 38 K. A full quarter of our losses right there. Amazing.
is it that everyone else has figured out Perez, or that he’s just on it when he faces the braves?
I think it is a big mental boost to Perez to think he owns us. Look at what the Red Sox have done to Rivera. They go out there now when he comes in the game and just know they are going to get to him. Combined with our agressiveness at the plate for someone who tends to lack control and you have a good recipe for success there. He hits 2 guys last night and the best we can do is 2 walks? Go Smoltzie!
#39- Perez threw 122 pitches, James only threw 84 in 4 2/3
I don’t have a problem with KJ sitting down against a guy who struck him out 4 times last go-round.
It’s just a drag that, aside from Salty (it appears), we don’t have any good righthanded bats to replace the regular lefty bats. The Woodwards & Prados of the world just don’t inspire confidence. And, of course, our big righty bench/platoon acquisition was DOA. He gave us nothing & now he’s history.
It’s a bit of a problem, perhaps not a critical problem, but something I’m sure JS will try to address at the trade deadline.
Last Night’s Game in the Bronx:
It was a one-sided affair early (Schilling got shelled), so the Sox fans endured 9 innings of abuse.
A few fights & ejections, but nothing more than the usual anti-social behavior on both sides. (I heard there was a real donnybrook in the bathroom during Monday’s game.) It’s gotten to the point where I rarely look up from my scorebook when another scrap breaks out a few sections away. Just don’t get any beer on me, guys, OK?
Oh, and Farnsworth sucks. He’s bad every time out & I think he’s now officially replaced Mientkiewicz as the new Yankee whipping boy. Doesn’t bother me a bit.
farnsworth is dead to me…it serves the yankees right
Jason Stark on the most overrated centerfielder: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2880979
The next time we see Glavine he will probably have #300. He is sitting at 295.
Stark has two players in his “Ten Most Overrated Players in Baseball Today,” With Andruw at #3 and Wickman at #9.
It’s well researched, but it’s also pretty irrelevant. Jones and Wickman are still big money players. It’s not rocket science to see that Andruw’s ability has declined in the last few years, but at the same time, on his MVP run he was the Braves savior. The media is fickle.
Soriano was gods gift to baseball and now he’s on the most overrated list.
Anybody who watched Andruw play every day in ’05 knows that he deserved to finish second in the NL MVP voting. Hard to imagine the Braves finishing on top without Andruw’s contribution that year.
J.D. Drew # 2 on the list…
Jason Stark appears to have written a book with a short shelf life. Probably needs to create controversy by attacking folks, and get attention. Andruw’s agent Boras must be seething. I wonder if he would have changed the focus if Andruw had gotten off to a hot start.
I bet we could get Ervin Santana real cheap, he’s fallen apart. Would you rather have him or Escobar? Both have had injury problems…
boras is probably arranging stark’s death as we speak
I bet we see Andruw back in the 4 spot tonight. He’s always hit Glavine pretty well. My predicted lineup
Johnson
Renteria
Jones
Jones
Francouer
McCann
Salty
Diaz
Smoltz
If Woodward and Prado play again, I’m going after Bobby
Here’s my line up:
Prado
Lockhart
Castilla
Camineti
Eddie Perez
Keith Mitchell
Andruw
Jordan
Smoltz
Jason Stark is a walking testicle. You couldn’t pay me to read that guy’s slop.
Get all those big right handed bats in there. It mean more to be right handed against a lefty than it does to be able to hit. Hell Bobby, I am right handed, but I think KJ is a better hitter than I am.
Glavine’s splits:
vs. LHB: .354/.436/.604
vs. RHB: .226/.289/.373
It’s too bad Bobby doesn’t read stat sheets.
Unpopular, I know, but I agree with Jayson Stark. I don’t think he’s going to get hot enough for the rest of the year to replace the strain he’s been on our offense the first quarter of the season, and with his big, unjustified payday coming, I won’t lose sleep if we were to deal him.
Now, if he gets hot again, I will enjoy it, but I can’t bring myself to think he’s the player he’s being compared to: Vernon Wells.
Also, I was just looking at Carl Pavano’s stats and… wow. This guy has been paid $40M to give the Yankees 111 innings of 4.77 ERA baseball. In 2005, he made 17 stats. In 2006, he gave nothing. Two starts this season and none next season, and he gave them 19 starts over 4 years. Absolutely amazing. He really only had one good season before that huge contract too. I guess you can afford this when you’re the Yankees…
With the year Torri Hunter is having, Andruw won’t even be the best centerfield option on the market in the offseason.
I have to say, looking at his list, the only two people I would have some disagreement on are the last two: Wickman and Jeff Suppan.
I absolutely agree with Barry Zito as the most overrated player in baseball today. If you look at his numbers, his last few years have mirrored Hudson’s last few years (coming into this year, anyway), and yet everyone acknowledged that Hudson was losing it while nobody seemed willing to do that with Zito. We’re talking about a guy who had two great years and sense then has done nothing.
As far as the disagreements though, surely there’s a more overrated closer in the game today than Wickman, and while I agree that Jeff Suppan isn’t all that great, I’m not sure he’s too highly regarded in the first place, so to call him overrated may be a little bit of a stretch.