ESPN.com – MLB – Box Score – Braves at Brewers
I thought we were going to lose this one. Leading 2-1 with the bases loaded and nobody out in the seventh, Prado struck out, KJ popped up on the infield, and Diaz lined out. I figure, that’s the chance to break it open, the game is lost because we’re an inning away from Soriano and Yates is back to being garbage. But the Braves got lucky. The now officially dejuvenated Kali was awful as I predicted, giving up a hit and a walk before getting an out on a sac bunt. But the go-ahead single was caught in the air by Thorman, and Bobby brought in Soriano who finished the inning with a strikeout and cruised through the eighth. Wickman handled the bottom of the order easily for the save.
Chuck James had his strongest start in a long time, going six and allowing one run on a solo homer. He struck out a career-high eight men, walked only one, and 66 of his 93 pitches were strikes. All in all, it was the best we could hope for. He also had a hit in a three-single fifth inning to give the Braves a 2-0 lead. Andruw, back in the cleanup spot opened the scoring with a homer (to the opposite field!) in the fourth, breaking up a no-hitter.
The Braves had seven hits, nobody with more than one. Still no Chipper; Woodward (who sucks, stinks, bites, etc.) played third, actually had a hit and scored the second run.
Let’s hope Smoltzie keeps it going tomorrow
Smoltz is on a big roll these days.
And let’s score some runs.
I was at the game today and could not believe when I saw Prado come up to bat with the bases loaded and nobody out. I told the Brewers fan what to expect and he was surprised when it happened. All in all the Braves played well with James keeping the Brewers aggressiveness off balance all day.
Where in the h*** is Chipper?!?
According to the Richmond website, Lance Cormier went 6.2 scoreless innings. He had only four hits and four strikeouts and was relieved in the 7th inning. This is acutally giving us something to look forward to with the way the bottom end of the rotation has been inconsistent lately. Although, Chuckie James did great today.
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Box Score for Richmond game.*
Not sure what happened to the link there.
And that one didn’t work either. Try this one more time.
http://www.rbraves.com/stats/teams/index.html?autoload=boxscore&gid=2007_05_28_ricaaa_rocaaa_1&sportcode=aaa
Go Braves! This was a testy one. Just when I start to sweat a little we get a dominant performance from a starter. Holla!
Great Performance from Chuckie, we needed it because Capuano always seems to pitch well against us. Hopefully Sheets blister still hurts tomorrow and we miss him. Good win…
I don’t know if this was already mentioned on the last thread, but Marte was just optioned to AAA. Renteria may not be the greatest defensive shortstop, but I’m still amazed we got him and money for Marte.
Bases loaded nobody out and B Cox pinch hits prado over Salty. What is he thinking? How does happen
I’m confused
He used Prado because he thought Yost would yank Capuano for a righty, then he could come back with Harris, or Orr (who at least rarely strikes out and is hard to double up). But Yost stuck with his guy.
How does that happen?
i figured Salty switch hits so why not go with him
Announcers on ESPN Radio were making big deal of fact that Whitman has 10 walks and 10 Ks and rarely threw strikes. Weren’t abouts half the walks in games just before DL?
You’re right — he walked 6 in the 1 2/3 innings before going on the DL.
He is also large, and contains multitudes.
The ESPN people are unfamiliar with the phenomenon of “small sample size”. Among other things.
I think they’re unfamiliar with the concept of “good baseball commentary”. :p
Bobby wont use Salty because he’s our only option if McCann gets hurt. Bring back Pena and dump Orr. Let Salty play
File under: Some teams are REALLY desperate
The Texas Rangers signed pitcher Mark Redman on Monday, and the 2006 AL All-Star will start this week for Triple-A Oklahoma.
Mark Redman pollutes the term “All-Star.”
I wish people would quit calling him an All-Star for exactly the reason Kyle B. just said: it devalues the term “All-Star.” I mean, if they’re trying to make even more of a mockery out of the All-Star game, they should keep calling people like Mark Redman and Mike Williams “All-Stars.”
Craig Wilson to the White Sox
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/
And to further bring sunshine to this wonderful day, the Yankees are now 13.5 games back. Just typing it puts a big smile on my face!
Well, it IS a fact that Mark Redman was a 2006 AL All-Star, in the same vein that Steve Ontiveros was an All-Star in 1995.
Everyone knows why these guys were named to the all-star team—each team gets someone.
Today’s game was very encouraging in that Chuck was about as dominant as he’s ever been. There were negatives (Frenchy’s 4-pitch/4-AB day, etc.), but at this point a win is a win.
Too bad we don’t play the Mets 162 times.
I really think Francoeur is trying this year to break the single-season record for most first pitch outs made.
Hard to root for Roger Clemens, isn’t it?
Its certainly not hard to root against him….
Redman may well lower the calibre of the term All-Star, but the MLB All Star game is already pretty low. The game’s primary value has now become the unofficial marker for the half way point of summer.
Otherwise, a nice win for the Braves and it would be great to see Smoltz continue is hot streak….
If you are curious, Baseball-Reference is reporting the percent of first pitches swinging for all players. Here is Frenchy’s page. Just click on Pitch Data Summary. So far he’s swinging at 48% of first pitches and 57% of all pitches.
Anybody else think Thorman should be sent down to Richmond (or traded for a #3 starting pitching) and Salty should be given a shot at playing 1b every day? Then next year Thorman could be the LF with Harris/Diaz in CF.
Ron,
Nothing against Thorman but i don’t think we could get even a #4 or #5 starter for him. The pitching market is outrageous, and Thor doesn’t have the perceived upside that teams see with Salty.
DOB’s latest blog hints that the braves are trying to figure out if they’re gonna keep Thor or move Salty to first.
http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/braves/entries/2007/05/28/its_only_may_bu.html
Either way it would be nice to go ahead and trade some of these guys while their value is still high. The farm is stacked @ SS so maybe we could package one of those guys with thorman and a young pitcher.
either way we need Thormans bat off the bench. Move Salty to 1st and let Thorman platoon and be our big bat off the bench. I still think Pena needs to be called back up and replace Orr. All of our PH besides Harris are left handed. It also keeps us from letting Salty PH early in the game because no one can back up McCann. We cant lose Thormans bat, esp looking at our bench
Does anyone think that Davies and James main problem is they rely on their fastball to much. James did a great job yesterday getting ahead with changeups and staying with that pitch to get his K’s. His one and only run came when he had a 1-2 count on Fielder and he tried throwing that 88 mph fastball past him.
Davies on the other hand has had a hard time locating his fastball early in the count and sticks with it when he’s behind. Every hard hit ball against him is off his fastball. He does have a good curve and a decent slider, in which people arent going to hit those out of the park. His belt high fastball gets him in too much trouble.
The Braves were lucky as hell to win this game. Basically, Hardy put the Brewers ahead except that the ball went straight to Thorman. (Although, to be fair to Yates, the hit he gave up was an infield hit–he wasn’t as bad, IMO, as Mac indicates). Then in the 9th, Wickman hung a slider that the batter should have hit nine miles but he popped it up and Diaz made a nice catch. Not to mention, of course, leaving the bases loaded and none out. And, by the way, that inning shows that Chip Carey knows absolutely nothing about baseball. He kept imploring Thorman to bunt and move the runners up. But, given the fact that Bobby was not likely to use Salty in the situation (for fear of running out of catchers), why would you set something up for Prado to deliver a sac fly. Even if he had made contact, with his lack of power and McCann on third, it’s not likely Prade would hit a fly ball deep enough to score the run. I assume that Bobby thought that with the infield in, Prado could sneak a ball through, but, as usual, the lack of hitters off the bench (except for Salty) came back to haunt them–or could have.
But the most amazing display of simple old-age baseball strategy was in the first–Johnson on first, your hottest hitter, Diaz, up and Bobby BUNTS!? As it turned out, it was a low-scoring game, but there was no way you could have expected one run to win that game. I just thought that was bizaare strategy that might have made sense in 1975 but not today.
I’m developing a theory that pitchers who throw high in the strike zone are more effective during day games. And by “developing a theory”, I of course mean mentioning it once and seeing if anyone else agrees with me.
sansho1,
At least in places like Milwaukee where it is apparently impossible to see during the day. It’s interesting that the announcers mentioned the fact that Chuck James was more effective the first time throught the order–which has been obvious in his recent games–and that he needed to adjust. I didn’t see much adjusting–he seemed to keep throwing the same pitches–so I would tend to agree with sansho that he benefitted from pitching in the day against a struggling team. Let’s see how he does next time out.
Thanks, Marc — I now deem the theory “conventional wisdom”. 🙂
sanho1
Re: #36
Good thought! Who would you put in that catagory?
I always think of Jim Palmer because he described himself that way in a book.
But who else?
He’s most often compared to Sid Fernandez. El Sid had a 3.63 daytime ERA vs 3.24 at night, so that doesn’t work. Palmer was 2.68 daytime vs 2.94 at night.
I suppose I could have looked at Chuckie’s own lifetime splits before saying anything:
Day 5.29
Night 3.14
Errr….never mind.
I am beginning to worry about Chipper. Bruised hands should heal quicker than this. (Particularly with cortisone. That is great stuff).
I am wondering if they have looked with high contrast MRI’s and CATs to look for navicular bone fractures. Those are the little buggers that really messed up Bob Horner and knocked out Jeff Bagwell for extended periods after HBP’s.
#34, it’s more that Davies doesn’t have good control over his fastball and it doesn’t have much movement. A straight fastball mistakenly thrown over the middle of the plate gets crushed.
I bet we see Salty at first sometime this week. If he can handel catching the ball over there he will get a shot. I would like to see Thor come off the bench. Maybe we can get a guy who is a solid defender at first and put him in late in games. However, someone is going to have to get traded for a starting pitcher and/or a lefty in the pen.
Not having Chipper is super-bummer. I just hope that Andruw has really awakened.
Going to dinner with a big Met fan tonight. His email to me: “My Mets just can’t beat the Braves. You’re like Dracula—you can’t be killed.”
I corrected him: “No, we’re like Jason—lotsa sequels.”
cliff,
i wouldn’t be surprised if chipper fractured a bone in his rist and trying to play through it. the only way to treat it is to immobilize the rist and let is try to heal, but that could take several months.
Visions of 1983.
You know, I see nothing wrong with the following concept:
McCann catches 4 games, takes one day off.
Salty catches the day-off game, plays 1B the rest of the time.
You can carry a “third catcher” for emergencies, doubleheaders, or whatever.
I’m pretty sure Diaz’s bunt attempt in the first inning was of his own design—it sure looked like he was bunting for a hit.
Yeah, Chipper’s absence is hurting the Braves and, almost equally importantly, my fantasy team.
ububba,
… Aha. So Horner is what you’re referring to. I was thinking that you were referring to the Braves making a panic trade. Who knows, that could happen too.
Stu,
@48
If that’s true, it’s a pretty dumb play.
#1. It is really sad that Bobby Cox ruined what was going to be a great season by McCann by having him bunt…McCann has not been the same sense.
#2. Reading Chipper’s comments about his injury gives me the impression that the Braves might as well put him on the 60 day DL. What a wimp. One thing you can’t say about Andruw, he is not made of glass like his counterpart.
#3. Salty has to play everyday. I like Thorman and if Chipper were healthy, we could leave him in the 8th hole, but that’s not the case. We need the switch hitting threat of Salty. And with Chipper out why can’t Harris play and third and leave Diaz in left field? I agree with others who say release Orr and bring Pena back up. It’s not like Orr is Julio Franco.
#4. I agree while Chipper is out, let Harris lead off and bat Johnson third. Also Francouer probably needs a day off, and he is not ready for the clean-up spot yet. Not smart enough a hitter.
I really wish you all would lay of Chipper, anyone who has had a cortisone shot knows how painful it is, and how its not a sure fire remedy for the pain.
However, if he is legit hurt, DL him, and put someone on the roster than can play…maybe one of the SS studs in the minors….wouldnt be a bad way to showcase them for a trade…
Crazy trade rumors going around. Here are two I got from http://www.prosportsdaily.com/forums/showthread.php?t=107004
It is said ESPN is the source, for what ESPN is worth…
The Colorado Rockies get RP Joey Devine and SP Matt Harrison OR SP Jo-Jo Reyes
The Atlanta Braves get 1B Todd Helton and $35M
The Chicago WhiteSox get CF Andruw Jones
The Atlanta Braves get SP Mark Buehrle and $4M
The only question is what happens to Salty and how fast can we make these moves?
Chipper is a wimp? That’s the silliest comment I have ever seen. The guy has played through more injuries than anyone on the team, but if you are a baseball player and your hands are hurt,you can’t play. I guess Mike Gonzalez is a wimp because what’s a little torn ligament in your elbow. And, of course, Mickey Mantle was a real wimp because look at how many games he missed.
i don’t want to see todd helton in a brave’s uniform…ever.
Maybe Chipper is a wimp was too strong, but Marc look at how many games he has missed over the past few years and you definitely can’t say he is durable or for that matter dependable, let’s say like Andruw Jones. And at the age of 35 his HOF credentials are becoming more and more on the negative side. Oh and Chipper is not the only one who plays through injuries…hell I’m pretty sure Edgar, Francouer, etc. have been hurt over the past couple of years. McCann is not hurting? Get real.
The thought of getting Helton should be the least of the Braves worries. With the problems in the rotation, it seems crazy to me.
After Frenchy’s performance at the plate yesterday, this is for him:
For the video above, the shot of the guy placing his cup in his jock seems unnecessary.
Maybe Chipper is a wimp was too strong, but Marc look at how many games he has missed over the past few years and you definitely can’t say he is durable or for that matter dependable, let’s say like Andruw Jones.
Chipper’s great and all that but there is no denying he is ridiculously brittle at this point. It’s almost comical how anytime anything unusual happens to him on the field he breaks or strains something. He should play the games in bubble wrap. And it absolutely makes me appreciate Andruw more.
It’s just a good thing that Chipper picked baseball and not one of the other sports where bumps and falls are a regular part of the game. He would have been done five years ago.
But, Tony, if you remember, for years, Chipper played consistently through injuries that would have sidelined most players? Now he is unwilling to do so? That makes no sense. The fact is, sports injuries are serendipitous–some you can play through and others you can’t. Chipper’s injuries have been the type that you simply cannot play through because you cannot perform what you need to do on a baseball field. Other injuries may hurt, but do not restrict baseball movements. If you are a hitter and your hands are hurt, you can’t hit–simple as that. The fact that McCann is hurting and still playing says nothing about Chipper because it depends on the type of injury. And maybe McCann playing wasn’t such a good idea–it has obviously affected his performance. I give Andruw kudos for playing every day, but at 30 you could have said the same about Chipper. Who knows what will happen when Andruw gets older.
Chipper’s injuries are certainly frustrating and I agree they are hurting his HOF chances but I think it’s grossly unfair, given his track record, to imply that he is malingering.
JS would never trade for Helton. They don’t have the money. There are already too many first basemen on the team (Thorman and Salty). And the biggest need is not another bat, it is a starting pitcher. Helton is not in the picture, at all.
I don’t get why everybody is so against acquiring Helton. Is it just that you want Salty to play 1B? Helton’s a much more sure thing, and if they’re going to chip in $35MM, the Braves would be stupid not to do that.
I would hope we could get more for Andruw than Mark Buehrle, though.
If there was any way Chipper could play, he would. He can’t even make it through a round of bp right now. It would be dumb for him to play and risk making it worse plus he wouldn’t contribute anything on offense. The Braves can get the same results by continuing to play Woodward at third while letting Chipper sit to get better with the difference being a healthy Chipper in a week or two.
Andruw can veto a trade and has said he plans to play out the year as a Braves. His bat will come around soon I bet. There’s no reason to trade him now. The Braves should have done it last July when they could have gotten some real value for him.
It’s hard to see why the White Sox would want to make that trade anyway with Thome just returning. They should have enough offense to compete for at least a wild card without adding Andruw. They aren’t going anywhere if they trade one of their top starters for a hitter who will be a free agent at year’s end and is unlikely to accept an extension before testing the free agent market.
stu,
he’s old and is coming to a pitchers park. i could see things working better for him in cinci or houston.
we aren’t going to get anything for andruw unless he ok’s it, and even with global warming chi-town isn’t a preferred destination.
when did they start playing JS jr. at 3B? i wonder if this is another way for him to sneak up to the bigs?
#51,
I thought McCann said he opted to bunt on his own and that no one told him, too. I could be wrong.
The announcers said they talked to him yesterday before the game and McCann said his finger was all but 100%, he’s just gotten used to swinging differently because of his finger. Who know though?
Todd Helton’s career road splits:
.296/.395/.508
That’d be just fine with me.
I agree that neither of these trades are likely. The Braves need a deal with the magnitude of the McGriff trade to get a quality starter. Unfortunately, it will not be as easy as it was to trade for Fred McGriff (Donnie Elliott, Melvin Nieves and VInce Moore)as it might cost Salty, Harrison and Escobar (Lillibridge’s value has declined since the season started) therefore the price is probably prohibitive.
I think that JS will resist this option (understandably) for as long as he can. We are likely to see Bobby go with the ‘hot hand’ for the back end of the rotation. After Buddy Carlyle should be Trey Hodges–with some luck Lance Cormier will soon be ready….
I don’t see those deals happening either.
I think the Helton deal looks enticing, but the Yanks seem to be salivating over Helton, too. I’d have no problem having him at The Ted, but the money’s gotta be right.
Buehrle-for-Andruw would be a swap for 2 FA-eligible guys. Andruw is 30 & makes $14 M. Buehrle is 28 & makes $9.5 M. Both seem poised to cash in big-time for ’08.
I’d see the value in Buehrle, but who the hell knows if we can sign him?
He’s 99-67 with a career 3.83 ERA in the AL. He’s pitched a ton of innings over the past 6 years (221, 239, 230, 245, 236+23 post season, 204).
A workhorse in his prime? Or an overused LHP ready to break down?
I think the Yankees need to look at their pitching staff. Their offense is fine
The trade just seems too big to happen during the season. I could conceivably see something like that happening in the off-season, but, of course, Andrew will be a free agent. Why the hell should he waive his no-trade rights to change leages for half a season to a team that’s in no better position than the Braves?
I do think the Braves need a bat as well as a pitcher but this deal just seems to be something cooked up by a fantasy junkie.
Trades like the McGriff trade don’t happen anymore because the wildcard has made it possible for even small market teams to make the playoffs. At the time, big market teams (which the Braves were) could essentially rape teams looking to dump payroll, which is what JS did to the Padres.
There is a difference between playing hurt and playing injured as Whitman proved with his bad back. Six walks in less than two inning is stastically signoficant in showing that Whitman would have hurt team by playing “hurt” rather than going on DL. Since the back is so important in pitching a bad back is an injury.
Helton is not what the Braves need. Especially another left handed bat. Like someone said earlier he is old, and frankly he really doesn’t scare anyone outside of Coors field. As far as starting pitching goes, who doesn’t need starting pitching? What we really need if for Hudson to be a solid number #2. We are not going to find an Orlando Hernandez or anyone like that. I think we are stuck with what we have.
Pedro, Glavine, Perez, Hernander, Maine vs. Smoltz, Hudson, James, Davies, Cormier (hopefully)
Not sure how the finances of these work, but, if we got $35 mil in the Helton deal, does that offset his pay or does that get applied to the rest of our payroll?
Paul…who is this Whitman guy and when did he pitch for us?? 😉
csg,
They’re not scoring runs, really. And the Yanks’ offense at 1B is putrid. Mienkiewicz is the worst offensive starter they’ve had since Tony Womack.
Yesterday was clearly a game (like the game Wednesday) that the Braves don’t win last year. In his chat on ESPN, someone suggested that close wins are a result of a good bullpen and luck; Neyer says it is luck first and then the bullpen. The Braves were clearly lucky yesterday and you can argue, I think, that they have been lucky in a lot of the close games they have won this year (for example, late home runs against the Phillies). This implies that the Braves might not be as good as their record, although I hate to think that. I believe, however, that a good bullpen can cover a lot of flaws, at least in the short run, and I think we have seen that with the Braves this year.
Wasn’t Whitman a switch-hitter?