ESPN – Braves vs. Marlins Box Score, June 29 2007 – MLB
It wasn’t that close. The Braves had fourteen hits and walked ten times, and were able to score their 12 runs without a homer. Big games were from Chipper, Francoeur, and KJ. Chipper was 2-3 with three walks, scored once, and drove in four, three on a capping bases-loaded triple in the eighth. Jeff was 4-5 with an RBI and scored three runs. Johnson was 3-4 with two walks, scored three times and drove in one.
Chuck James took a two-hit shutout to the sixth before allowing a solo homer, and finished with 6 2/3 innings pitched (a long outing for him) four hits, three walks, and five strikeouts. He also had a pair of hits, one of them an RBI double, and later scored. Kali had no real trouble in an inning and a third, but Fredo allowed two runs in the ninth to make it look more respectable.
Brian McCann had a rough day, 0-6 with four strikeouts. If everyone else is getting on that has to be frustrating. Even Andruw had a hit and a walk and briefly got to the Mendoza Line, though he’s back to .199 now.
All right, who are these guys in Brave’s uniforms, and what did they do with the old team?
Nothing like a pair of good, old fashioned beat downs to brighten a teams future. What a difference a week makes.
Yeah, and what a difference the NL makes.
No kidding.
Johnson > Escobar
Good to see KJ get some hits. Perhaps he’s breaking out of his slump somewhat?
Dan,
Don’t forget Escobar had 4 hits in the previous game.
KJ had a long winter with all the work that he did on being a second baseman. I actually like the idea of Bobby giving more rest to KJ before the summer heat comes. KJ, being a kid, of course doesn’t like being sit, but I like what Bobby is doing. Otherwise, KJ will slump very bad by the time August and September come.
One the one hand, the Mets swept the DH. On the other hand, we gained 1 1/2 games on the Phillies.
kc, that makes sense. Also, I think the past week might be Cox reminding KJ that, all due respect to the hard work he’s put in, he isn’t yet entitled to the everyday 2B and leadoff jobs. Who knows, if we’d ever had a viable alternative to Francoeur, he might have done the same there. Can’t be afraid to play the youngsters, but you can’t be afraid to bench them, either.
Once again, I blow off the game (this time for a flick) and once again we score 2 touchdowns.
A trend? Yeah, I’ll say: We’ve played consecutive NL Least teams.
BTW, “SiCKO” was terrific. Highly recommend.
sansho, I actually like the idea of having KJ batting seventh if Harris continues to hit well. I mean, that’s much better than Thorman batting seventh and Harris batting eighth, right?!
At the end of the game, I had kinda quit paying attention since we were beating them so bad, and I didn’t even realize that Escobar was playing short in the bottom of the ninth. When he fielded the ground ball that ended the game, I thought I was seeing Renteria…until he threw. I know it has been said before, but Escobar has a rifle for an arm. That ball was moving.
Ububba, what movie? How was it?
Why did Josh Johnson get the loss last night? Had his bullpen held on and his team still scored three, he wouldn’t have gotten the win. Is it because his team was losing if he left, and never had the lead after that?
In other news, it’s a TBS sighting tonight! Hopefully this winning and offense the Braves have shown for the past couple of games will continue now that I can actually watch them.
You got it, ‘Rissa. The Marlins were down when he left and never took the lead.
As for KJ, if it’s Escobar they’re playing instead of him, I don’t really mind a platoon situation or whatever (well, my fantasy team minds… but that’s another story. ^_^). Get Escobar 150+ ABs the rest of the way, let him spell Chipper, KJ, and Renty like once a week each or something. If he and Salty keep hitting like they’re doing now, the future looks bright indeed.
Rissa, yep. If the pitcher is pulled when losing and the game never gets tied or their team never takes the lead, the starter will get the loss. However if the game becomes tied at any point the starter has a no decision.
As lons as our platoons are producing I dont mind them. However if one of them becomes like Mondesi, Jordan, or Pratt then I’ll complain. We had to do something and I would say keep it up its working and we’ll ride the platoons as long as we can
Rissa,
If a starting pitcher leaves a game and his team is losing, he can never get the win and will get the loss unless his team ties or goes ahead at some point.
The pitcher could pitch 7 innings and allow one run and leave trailing 1-0. He gets the loss if his team never goes ahead or ties, even if the final score ends up 11-10.
I think the rule as it stands stinks, but I don’t think it will be changed anytime soon.
I guess something had to be done… but if someone had to be platooned, doesn’t Francoeur’s .350 SLG this month, at a key hitting position no less, warrant more attention than KJ’s slump? I mean, even against lefties, KJ is still the better hitter than Escobar. Last year the Braves stuck with Francoeur through what was basically an atrocious year at the plate. This year he’s improved his plate discipline, but perhaps not enough to warrant 650 at-bats. Yet.
Whatever, it’s 4 in a row.
It’s worse than that, Adam; the improvement in Frenchy’s plate discipline has been pretty marginal, and it’s been more than canceled out by a drop in power. Frenchy has no business starting at this point, against lefties or righties (his platoon split has been quite small this year).
Brian J.
Then we have a pretty sorry outfield situation. Not much we can do about it, though.
Hey, look on the bright side, his OPS isn’t below 100 yet. 😛
Well glad to see they proved me wrong. I was expecting a shutout after our last offensive explosion.
Frenchy’s line
.331 .426 .288
Quite a bit better than McCann’s
.310 .426 .262
But I don’t see you calling for him to be platooned.
Obsurd.
Yeah, but McCann is a catcher, Frenchy plays in rightfield.
Well, McCann has an excuse. He was injured.
The point is that Francoeur only has a singles stroke right now, and that keeps his slugging average as lean as lean can be.
@23
you are unflappable man. 😉 frenchy is lucky to have you.
yes his line has been better over the past 10 games and let’s hope it continues. b-mac needs go talk to his dad about his swing again and try to heal up.
let’s keep the streak alive.
GO BRAVES!
McCann is swinging the bat a whole lot better over the past few games, I wont complain about Francouer when he’s 7 for his last 8. Yep he’s lost power but he’s also hitting .288 with 50 RBI’s. Yep he’s frustrating, but also putting up decent numbers. I think if he would just get his pitch selection just a bit better we would see more power. He still has a tendency to swing at pitches outside the zone. I think watching Andruw has hurt him. He doesnt want to try and pull everything anymore. While thats giving him more singles to center and RF, he’s lost his power to LF. It’ll come back. I also think he does deserve/need a day off every once in a while, but he needs to be the regular RF.
Stark says Kenny Williams was asking for a ton for Mark Buehrle before extension talks picked up: two of each team’s best three prospects.
So does this mean he wants Salty/Escobar/and either Reyes or Harrison. I think I would laugh at him, I dont see any trade for a White Sox starter for us
Francouer last All star break
.260 281 447
Now
.288 331 426
which is better? what do you prefer? He did have 16 Hrs at the break last year, I really dont know
+28 batting points
+51 ob points
-21 slugging points
Looks pretty simple to me.
He might need a day off but saying he shouldn’t be starting, as someone said earlier, is just silly.
AAR,
I saw “SiCKO,” the new Michael Moore documentary. It’s about US healthcare system.
It’ll make you laugh, cry & boil with anger. Two thumbs up!
lol ububba, you should be a critic. That was a classic one-liner.
I don’t usually plug myself, but I write about movies and pop culture at the Huffington Post.
I’d love to hear what you guys think.
AAR,
Good work. I’m a regular HuffPo Reader, but I rarely read all of it—there’s just so much.
Read the Nancy Drew piece & that subject has really intrigued me, too. I have nieces & I’m so glad they don’t own the “Paris Hilton Starter Kit” either. (Their momma’s raisin’ ’em right.)
AAR–I enjoyed your piece on Chow Yun Fat as I think you put him into an intersting context. My wife is a Hong Kong film buff and she had a similar take on Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon….