ESPN.com – MLB – Box Score – Phillies at Braves
Well, that was no fun. Kyle Davies gave up four runs in the first, then after seeming to settle down collapsed in the fifth. By the time the inning was over, the game was too, the score 11-1 after McBride and Moylan threw gasoline on the fire. I don’t blame them too much — McBride, for one, threw two innings yesterday. If there is any doubt, Carlyle really should move ahead of Davies in the pecking order, but the Braves are getting to the stage where they have to make a move to shore up the rotation.
The game was not as close as the final score, as the Braves added four runs in the ninth to make it slightly more respectable. Chipper is still not playing. The best signs were Andruw perhaps breaking out of his slump, homering and walking before leaving the game after things were out of hand, though of course it’s all his fault, and Saltalamacchia’s first career homer.
The following people need to be demoted or released: Davies, Paronto, Woodward, Orr.
So much for the “only 1.5 games back!”
4.5 seems like a lot with the way the Mets are playing.
Davies should not be demoted. Give me a break Mac. What’s a better option bringing back Redman ? Should we get rid of Hudson too since he had a couple of bad starts ?
Davies’ previous 3 starts were very good. I wouldn’t give up on him quite yet especially since there isn’t anybody better to replace him. Paranto, Woodword, and Orr, yes.
Wow, I missed Salty’s first homer…damn.
When/if Cormier comes back I’d rather give the spot to Carlyle for now.
I was starting to get a little confidence in Davies, but it still looks like he needs some more seasoning in AAA. On antoher note, Paronto is close to reaching the Reitsmanian level (above 9) with his ERA.
IMO, maybe there are some good things that can be taken from the loss. Sometimes a blowout like this where the team at least doesn’t give up, can help a team turn it around. I agree that Paronto, Woodward and Orr would better help the Braves by “helping” another team.
The Phillies will probably go through another terrible stretch, but they may have more talent top to bottom than the Mets. I’m still looking for the Mets’ starting pitching to come back to earth and as Mac pointed out, the Phils can play some pretty good defense.
It so often comes down to the starting pitcher. Cole Hamels looked like an elite player; Davies put the ball up there on a tee in the first inning.
For an organization that prides itself on starting pitching, the Braves sure are struggling.
Happy Memorial Day tomorrow!
The winning streak starts here.
Go Braves!
Spending a month or two in AAA ain’t going to change one thing with Davies. Why do people keep talking about “more developing”?
Then we might as well cut him, because what he’s doing isn’t working.
word. we need to toss the dead weight and get another pitcher. davies needs direction and i’m finally going to say that roger mcdowell is not up to snuff. all of our pitchers minus smoltz need some help, and this guy isn’t the answer.
i hate to see where this team is after june if we can’t get chipper back in the line up and our starters don’t settle down.
JS, HELP!
Davies shouldn’t be expunged, but it’s probably time to at least take a look-see at Harrison (and jettison Paronto to make room for him).
And Langerhans just hit a GRAND SLAM for Washington against St. Louis. Good grief.
sometimes I hate my gut feelings. I said yesterday that we would get swept and after the 1st inning today there was no way for us to get back in the game. I’m ready to see if Salty can handle 1st. He needs to play everyday and Thorman can be our big bat off the bench. I really think McDowell isnt getting the job done. No one has progressed under him, injuries might be the main problem however. Either way our staff isnt going to get us to the playoffs the way it is. Problem is – Salty is our only moveable piece
Davies is the fourth starter, I think it’s a little unrealistic to think he’s going to pitch like he did against the Mets every time out. He should have won his last four starts and there’s going to be a stinker in there once and a while as there is with any young pitcher. This is his only start this year where I would consider him to have pitched exceptionally terribly and I don’t think it’s time to give up on the kid.
I just don’t see any better options out there. Who says Matt Harrison is going to be any better ??? Are the Byung Hyun-Kim’s of the world on the trading market going to be any better ??? I think the Braves are just going to have to let Davies, Cormier and Carlyle pitch and hopefully it will sort itself out. It’s not like the Braves have the money anymore to just pluck the Denny Neagles of the world from the crappy teams like the Pirates.
As beedee said, I haven’t seen much improvement/development from any of the young pitchers, either starters or relievers since McDowell has come aboard. Isn’t that the general idea of a pitching coach is to bring along your young pitchers ??
To add insult to injury…well kind of…Ryan Langerhans hit a grandslam today.
IF we can stay competitive, I think there will be alot of trade options once we get closer to the trade deadline. I think we have alot of tradeable chips that could get us a #3 type starter…which is really what we need. We dont have to get another #1 type, although it would be nice.
I’m not ready to give up, we’ve had a crappy stretch, seen it before, and I’m sure we’ll see it again…
As of today, the Bravos are actually farther back than they were last year (4.5 games vs. 3.5 games).
Davies just can’t pitch against the Phillies. Check his ERA against them; it’s not real good. Look for him to have a solid outing in his next game since it won’t be the Phillies.
It looks to me like Andruw has made an adjustment in his stance. He seems to be about a foot less wide in his stance and I think this is giving him a little more stability during his swing. He seemed not to be falling over so much today and I don’t think his back ankle touched the ground once today on any of his swings. Maybe he has finally decided to change something to get his bat going or maybe he decided to listen to Pendelton. Either way it looks like he might be ready to un-slump.
Neither Davies nor Andruw concern me that much. It was only a matter of time until Andruw realized Chipper’s out and that the script says he needs to carry the load.
My biggest concern right now is Hudson. Is it his mechanics that’s causing him to revert to his 2006 self? If so, it’s troubling, because he obviously couldn’t make the right adjustments until the offseason. He’s gotta go back to what fixed things in the winter, and fast.
52 innings from Chuck James is worrisome too…watching his WHIP jump after 30 pitches–and the same for his ERA after about 50 pitches–makes one think if he needs to spend more time conditioning himself and less time installing windows.
Dont want to push panic button but things need to be changed a bit. Depends on what JS plan is, if he is planning on winning tihs year with Andruw and an older Smoltz with probably his last great year, then he HAS to make a move. This is why. SMoltz is your #1 and throws like it, he is lights out and will be a warrior all season as a stopper and winning a ton of games, heck he could be a candidate for the Cy YOung come June if he keeps it up. Hudson is your legit #2 guy but he goes in and out of funks. Then you have crap. I knwo Chuckie James has flashed brilliance, but seriously he is a #4 or 5 guy and a great 4 or 5 guy at least for another year or two as he gets fine tuned. Demoting Davies does nothing, since this is about as good as he is gonna get. they need to make a move to get a legitimate #1 if they dont they should seriously get rid of Andruw now, because they wont spring for him, and w could get young pitching. But if we want to contend, they need a new starter. Otherwise the division will be out of hand by All Star Break, like a ten game lead and its over, then we are fighting for our lives in the Wild Card, we need to make a move now rather than wait
O.K. went to my first Braves game in a few years (seeing as I live in southern indiana) and get to see this gem. The only higlights were the Salty homer and an awesome catch by andruw in centerfield robbing the Phillies of another homerun. The rest of the game was a drag. Davies was aweful, but he is no redman. The braves need to wake up and we need Chipper back as well. The lineup looks aweful without him.
Yeah, that catch by Andruw was pretty sweet. We haven’t seen as much crazy catches from Andruw the past 2 years, but that one was awesome. If that was Andy Van Slyke at the plate, I would have thought it was Otis Nixon. OK not really…
I was on the phone with someone at the time, and totally sounded like an idiot when I cheered really loudly for him.
I just hope Salty isn’t put in any deal. I’d teach him 1st base and try to move Thorman instead.
When Chipper isn’t in the lineup, Harris should lead off and KJ moved to 3rd.
As much as we need another starter…it would really suck if Salty was traded.
I really like that kid. With Salty, BMac, Jeffrey, KJ and Thor..we have a great young core.
Move Thor to left, put Salty at first.
But yeah..our rotation still has more holes than Julian Tavarez’s face
That Betemit trade is going to haunt us. With Aybar in rehab and Baez gone I sure miss Betemit’s bat when Chipper isn’t in the lineup or as a spark off the bench. Prado/Woodward/Orr are all the same player.
No matter which one of them is in the game we should just refer to them as Woodworrdo — because you nailed it, they are all the same level of suckitude.
what about
Prawoodorr
Oorrdwardrado?
Woodorrdo?
Suck?
Good names–but I just want them all to go away….
i said this last thread but i think it got kicked under the blacnket a bit, but the most “overrated” centerfielder in the game is on pace for about 470 putouts this year. that is the most for him (and i bet the rest of the majors without really researching it) since 99 when he had 488.
Davey, your Salty at 1B, Thor to LF… is that what you’d like to see soon or next year?
Thorman right now would be a downgrade in LF, both Willie and Diaz are out hitting him, and Willie’s defense is obviously better than Diaz and Thorman. I don’t know if anybody noticed, but Diaz has only 20 or so ABs less than Thor and is hitting .349 compared to Thor’s .246.
I’d be all forgetting Salty some time over at 1B, as Thorman has been slumping lately.
Sorry if I sound anti-Thor. I just don’t see a lot I like from him. I like his intensity and hustle, but that big swing everybody raves about is big and SLOW.
Pradorrwood works for me.
The only one I’m really passionate about eliminating right now is Orr- we need a backup SS (but we don’t need him playing first base, EVER) so Woodward can stay, and Prado’s a better hitter than Orr. But there’s not room on a good team’s roster for a 4th second baseman.
Orr is a cancer.
Orr sucks, but he is not that potent…
I don’t understand Mac’s sneering at anyone that suggests Andruw is less than the greatest player of his generation. Is Andruw exempt from any and all criticism? The guy has been hitting under.220 for the first fifty games of the season. It’s not all his fault, but some of it is. I’m not going to get into an argument about how good Andruw is, but I don’t think it’s unfair to give him at least some responsibility for the problems the Braves are having.
It’s hard to judge a team when they are playing real badly just as it is hard to judge them when they are playing well. The Braves certainly aren’t as bad as they have been playing. But it’s pretty clear that the Mets are better and maybe the Phillies too. This organization simply cannot develop pitching–if James, Davies and Lerew are examples of what the farm system is producing, the Braves are in a lot of trouble. The Braves spend so much time gloating about their farm system that no one notices that they haven’t developed a top-flight pitcher in years. I don’t see the point in sending Davies down–at this point, he has been around long enough that getting minor leaguers out isn’t going to do him much good. I can’t see cutting him because he at least has thrown a couple dominant performances and has shown some flashes. Chuck James has had maybe two or three quality starts all year and has shown nothing but mediocrity. I suspect Hudson will be a decent number two, but not really a Smoltz-type ace. Smoltz is so much better than the rest of the staff, it’s scary.
Marc, every time the Braves are losing, someone will blame Andruw. That’s always been the case. There was a game earlier this year when he had two hits and drove in one of the team’s two or three runs, they lost, and he got blamed for that.
Mac–that is a fair reply about Andruw, but Marc does raise a very significant (and different issue in his posst: the Braves’ inability to produce quality starting pitchers. Now, this is hard to do, but it has been awhile since we produced a Millwood or Schmidt.
In addition, the amount of quality arms which have come to a bad end in the Braves’ system seems unsually high. To cite one example, the 2003 draft was loaded with quality arms and the Braves will be luck to see either two of them (Reyes and Harrison)become successful starters.
I accept the basic proposition that these things are hard to measure (I challenged Sickels to really a study a farm system to no avail) but the sad truth is that the results are beginning to speak for themselves….