ESPN – Braves vs. Dodgers Box Score, July 2 2007 – MLB
Unpleasant. The Braves actually led 1-0 entering the fifth, after Renteria drove in Thorman in the third, only to have things rapidly collapse. Furcal doubled and scored in the fifth to tie it. In the sixth, the Braves chased Derek Lowe and had the bases loaded, one out, but KJ struck out and Saltalamacchia (hitting for Thorman) had what looked like an RBI single stolen by Jeff Kent to end the inning.
In the bottom of the sixth, Smoltz got the first two and then struck out the third, only to have the pitch get away from McCann (it was called a wild pitch) and the runner reach. The next man hit a homer to make it 3-1. The Braves had another chance at runs die in the seventh as Chipper hit into a first-and-third, one out, double play. Then Yates and Moylan, who have been so strong as middle relievers, got pummelled for five runs in the seventh to put it away. Renteria doubled in a run in the ninth after things were done for.
I’m sorry you had to get up to write this recap!
I’m not sure this team is worth waking up early for anymore.
It is sad that Andruw has to stay in the lineup…BECAUSE HE IS THE ONLY LEGITIMATE POWER THREAT besides Chipper. What happen to this team power? This is unbelievable.
McCann…Damn I’m starting to worry. His offense and defense plainly put…sucks!
Francouer and Chipper are singles hitter and only Chipper is a good one.
KJ…what the hell is he? Obviously he is not a .300 hitter. So will he hit homers? Be an RBI guy? At least we know Escobar…well will not start that again.
Thor…Triple A?
Bullpen…worn out
Smoltz probably should be on the DL
Andruw Jones…Randy Wolf is the perfect time for you to do something…you have been completely shit this whole year…either perform or be benched. Hell Burrell is seeing a lot more pine in Philly.
Thanks for the Obit this morning Tony. 🙂
Anyway I’m glad I went to bed after the top of the 7th. I don’t know if I could have got any rest after seeing what happened. Smoltz got hosed on the wild pitch/McCann’s goof. He gets tagged with 2 earned runs after that because of the homer. That was a deflating couple of plays.
Also, I am amazed by the lack of power in this lineup. I don’t get the feeling that Andruw is gonna turn it around any time soon. That kind of stuck when I saw him fake a bunt on sunday. He’s the friggin cleanup hitter. That is a joke. He seems to have no confidence whatsoever and even when he hits something hard it doesn’t look right.
The team is basically mediocre and has been for two years. It lacks power, pitching and, for the most part, speed. Blaming Andruw for everything is unfair because lots of winning teams are able to survive a key player having a bad season. The Braves can’t because there is no one to pick him up and, unlike the 90s, the pitching can’t compensate. (Although I remain convinced that the pitching would be ok if the offense could put some runs up.)
I know there is still a long way to go and the Braves are lucky that they are in such a terrible division, but it’s hard for me to be optimistic. Complaining about this player or that misses the point because the team overall just isn’t that good-43-40 and 3 games under since the 7-1 start pretty much defines mediocre. And I don’t sense any dynamism on the team–it doesn’t seem like a dangerous team waiting to break out.
No problem Josh…ha ha
Seriously, if you are Bobby Cox…what do u do? Such a young team with so many mediocre parts. Due to the lack of power, I would suggest Salty in the lineup everyday. Hell we need to see if this guy is for real. Thorman has had enough time.
so we had a bad game, we’ve got 6 more out west and they almost always throw us for a loop.
sure the braves are not much to write home about, but they’re what we’re stuck with this season.
come along for the big win!, because inside every stink’n mets fan there is a braves fan fighting to get out.
i need the braves…atleast until football season
chin up buckaroos!
Free Salty, Bench Andrew or auction him off. I don’t want him next year even if he does start hitting some more bombs. Get Tori Hunter at the end of the season.
Andruw’s season hasn’t been sub-par; it’s been downright awful.
Consider this: the opposite of this year for Andruw (a “good” version, so to speak) would basically make Andruw a .320 hitter with 30 HRs going into the AS break. He’d basically be the top hitter in the game. But we don’t have the “good” version, we have the “bad” version, and it’s grounding into double plays from our cleanup spot.
Also, it seems pretty clear that Chipper isn’t well either. He’s hit a TON of singles since coming back, but the power isn’t there at all. And eventually, not all of those looping line drives the opposite way are going to fall in for base hits, and at that point, the teams offense will, once again, be Edgar Renteria.
My god. The entire team is in a slump, and Edgar is carrying us.
Still, lets try to split this series with the Dodgers and win one going into the AS break. I don’t see why Randy Wolf is intimidating to anyone; he was god-awful during all of June.
One more thing and then I will try to get back to work…but why is your number 5 hitter laying down a sacrifice bunt? I mean he is your number 5 hitter for a reason….That’s just me though.
@10: Because he hits like a 7 year old with bad vision.
Don’t be ridiculous, JDM.
It’s not a bad play in those circumstances — lefty hitter against lefty reliever. And it was a beautiful bunt. I would have considered hitting Escobar for KJ — I think the world of KJ, but it was a game situation, for all it was just the sixth inning.
Beat me to it.
I didn’t think it was a bad play at the time, but, yes, the idea of Escobar did cross my mind.
jd, our #5 hitter last night was mccann (who sacrificed chipper and andruw over ti 2nd and 3rd). i hope you were referring to someone else with that statement.
the power is temporarily gone for now, but for a team with 6-7 potential 25-30+ hr guys(druw, chipper, mccann, thorman,salty, frenchy,kj?), you cant say the braves have no power. guys, remember that we just won 4 in a row. hopefully changes will come soon.
yea if u gonna let Salty hit against the lefty…why not let Escobar get at it. By the way, this left had an ERA of 4.41?? Hmmmm
JD and Tony,
You guys are a joke! Your comments truly show what a clown you guys really are.
Tony as far as your comments:
McCann-Obviously the players know something more then you because they voted Brian into the allstar game on players vote. Then agian what do they know compaired to you.
Francoeur and Chipper are singles hitters? I’d love for you to show me someone with knowledge of the game that would agree with you.
Your love fest for Escobar is downright scary. KJ has had a great past week. He is 6 for his last 12 (4 game stretch) for .500 batting average. Thats not good enough for you? Will he hit homers??? He’s on pace for 16 which is pretty good for a 2B, what about Escobar, will he? He hit 1, thats right 1, in AA last year, how many does he have this year, oh yeah thats right 1!
Players who could be on the DL: Smoltz, Chipper, McCann but they bust their ass and do the best they can.
Jd, McCann is hitting .333 in his past 7 games. The same average he hit last year when i’m sure you had a man crush on him. Give it up.
You can say what you want but idiotic comments like you have posted today just show how stupid and immature you really are.
It’s starting to be great entertainment actually, dance monkey dance.
Actually Ryan…it was five in a row. We are not talking about potential…we are talking about reality. And the Braves have not shown any consistent power since the beginning of the season. You can’t argue that…
Tony, we need power, perhaps we should put Escobar in, he can give us power right??
That seems to be your solution to every issue this team has, hell can he pitch too?
Tony, what consistency are you looking for? They won five straight, then lost two. So as of the last week, they’re 5-2. Do you want them to win 10, lose 1, win 10, lose 1? Do you want win 1, lose 1, win 1, lose 1? What’s consistency in your mind? Seriously, tell me how you would say a major league baseball team can show consistency? Not EVER give up more than 5 runs, and NEVER score less than 6?
I just traded Markakis for Andruw Jones in my roto league. Hopefully this is the spark Druw needs.
LOL, i think it’s a done deal Hate King
Uhh, Frenchy has been a singles hitter lately. Look at his slugging %. He has made strides at the plate discipline wise and it has cost him homers and doubles.
Chipper has also been relegated to a singles hitter with his palm injuries this month.
I’m not saying they will always be this way, but right now that is how they are performing.
Rob Cope,
Exactly, I just don’t get this guy. He must have some mental issues. Every loss this kid just rails on players and how the braves suck, world coming to end, put in escobar, etc. He has no credibility and for a couple weeks now i’ve ignored him. I’m getting sick of him so I view him as my entertainment.
Speaking of him I haven’t seen a post in about ten minutes, wheres my dancing monkey at?
POWER, WE MUST HAVE POOOOWWWEEERRRR!!!!
JoshQ,
That I can agree with. But I guarantee you that no team in baseball would pitch to them as if they are singles hitters. I would also say it’s a good bet to assume they will not be “singles hitters” all year.
Tony, did you see his post, see what it’s like to actually post in an intellectual way?
Heh, I feel so bad for posting the way I did now. *laughs*
McCann-Obviously the players know something more then you because they voted Brian into the allstar game on players vote. Then agian what do they know compaired to you.
Yeah they players did a bang up job with their selections. Signed, Brian Fuentes -end sarcasm-
McCann is on the team because he is the tallest midget behind the only true star NL catcher Russell Martin. Martin went 4-5 with 2 RBI, McCann 0-3 with 2 K and the latest of his key defensive blunders.
Watching this team live is a lot tougher than on TV, their lack of fundamentals just jumps out at you. Always waiting for the other shoe to drop.
I hated the sac bunt at the time and obviously still do. First, the chances of McCann executing the play are not that great to begin with. He dirt slow and could easily bunt into a DP. But he manage to move the runners over, so the next problem is that once you do that you have pretty much put the inning in the lap of Kelly Johnson since they are obviously going to walk Francoeur. Johnson hasn’t hit a thing since April, doesn’t hit lefties, and well you saw what happened. Couldn’t have been more predictable.
artist,
let’s not get so personal. sure he was ranting on not making sense but you’re starting to get ugly, and that takes away from your argument.
Robert,
I thought McCann was on the team because there is no other “good” catcher in the NL besides Russell Martin.
I see now that even McCann isn’t able to escape criticism of his disappearing power, though. Trade him? Ha. Even if that was a good idea, no one would take that backloaded contract of his. XP Ha ha ha ha.
Sam,
No one would take his contract? His contract is cheap! I’ll tell you what take a look at Jason Varitek’s contract and the numbers he has put up in his career and tell me that McCann isn’t a great value.
He’s due to make a lot of money in a few years. If he doesn’t gain back his power… well…
Sam,
I know what his contract is and he’s still a good bargin. Plus, his power has been better lately. He’s never going to hit 30 homers, 15-25 is about what your going to get.
Yeah, I know. I was just poking around.
Calling Chipper a singles hitter. Pssh, he’s injured for God’s sake.
I got ya, I know comments like that regarding Chipper is a joke. I guess i’m just annoyed with some of the fans on this board.
That’s the reason I usually don’t go around here after losses because I can’t deal with all the doom and gloom.
Artist,
I’m not going to address you b/c you are obviously an ass to get personal with me on a sports blog you piece of shit. Dumb bastard. Don’t call my name, you are too ignorant to have that honor. The artist formerly known as Dickhead….BITCH.
Rob,
Like Josh said and I’ve said previously, Chipper and Francouer two of your power threats…just have been gloried singles hitters lately. Hopefully it will come around, but for Frenchy it has been quite a long time now. And with Andruw forgetting how to do anything, it is magnified.
Artist,
I too have noticed Tony’s lack of intelligence in his posting, and he also made the cardinal sin of agreeing with Joe Morgan in one of his posts. The posts on this journal are becoming a reflection of the Braves season. A few bright spots, a few consistent posters, and then a whole hosts of dissapointments.
Tony,
Your great, I laughed big time on that one! The entertainment never ends!
Justin,
If you have been dissapointed in his posts previously check out his last one, it’s classic!
I am kinda hoping that Tony is either 15 or mentally challenged. Because any adult to act that way has serious issues!
Huh?
Justin,
You show a lack of intelligence by saying everything a hall of famer, multiple world champion, mvp baseball player doesn’t know anything about baseball. Give me a break. Joe Morgan knows more about baseball than you know about…well probably anything…lol
Artist…
You should be embarassed..getting personal with me on a sports blog? Get real guy. Get some pussy or something. I have people in my office laughing at your comments.
I was talking about Andruw, I didn’t watch the game. I was asleep. Work starts early, I was just assuming Andruw attempted to bunt again. Which is ridiculous considering his last attempt.
Sorry Unknown, way to be an ahole though.
I hope I’m one of those consistent posters.
JD,
I don’t think i was being an ass to you. I was really referring my joke comments to Tony. I can see your point about AJ and that was kinda funny. My bad.
Tony,
I should be embarassed, did you see your last post to me? Get some pussy? For one i’m married, two who says things like that?
McDonalds doesn’t count as an office by the way.
Well I’m sure I’m not a “consistent” poster. But either way, I won’t lose sleep over it.
Since I didn’t see the game, and obviously “put my foot in my mouth” (thanks for being so kind to point that out unknown), would you be so inclined to explain the McCann bunting situation?
It obviously wasn’t an attempt to get a hit, as he is as slow as sin.
No problem, I’ll be sure I see what I am talking about before I say something. (See the “Yankee’s Article” post from a couple days back, where I also spoke too soon, I get a little excited from time to time.)
I fell a sleep by that point, but from what I understand runners on 1st and 2nd, no outs and they bring in a lefty. Brian lays a “beautiful” bunt as Mac described it to move runners over. Runners at 2nd and 3rd with one out.
Heres the playbyplay from espn.com:
C Jones singled to left.
A Jones singled to center, C Jones to second.
J Beimel relieved D Lowe.
B McCann sacrificed to third, C Jones to third, A Jones to second.
J Francoeur intentionally walked.
K Johnson struck out swinging.
J Saltalamacchia hit for S Thorman.
J Saltalamacchia grounded out to second.
Artist,
Oh you are married!!! No wonder you are so uptight. You ain’t getting any…lol. I will leave you alone, just don’t get personal with me. Disagree with what I have to say, but for you to say “I don’t like this guy” is dumb. Now you are being ridiculous…McDonalds?
@43
ken, that was a Full Metal Jacket reference
Ah, I don’t really have a problem with a bunt in that situation. Especially considering our lack of power (with the ironic exception of McCann), small ball was probably a good idea.
I just jumped to conclusions, considering Andruw was 1 for 4, with 2 SO’s. I think he needs to get his vision checked, some lasek surgery from TLC maybe in order.
Lack of power? Who the Braves?
Yes
You got upset like that and used that language because I said “I don’t like this guy”? Well the way you are acting I can’t imagine you have a job outside of ten bucks an hour. The agian you can say whatever you want on a messnage board, i’m sure i’ll believe it. Wink
I find it funny that you have such strong comments about people you don’t even know. On top of that when they “suck” they are still ten times better at it then you would be.
Well, none of us can be that important considering we are chatting on a message board during working hours.
Though, I doubt McD’s has computers for employees. My assumption would be that we make anywhere from 13-30/hr, or have no job whatsoever.
I feel like I’m in the lunchroom in Middle School again……
Okay, take it outside.
Artist,
Shut the hell up and go f..k your wife. Geez. By the way, here in DC I don’t think they have jobs that pay less than $12 an hour….not quite sure, you might want to look into that.
JDMaker,
I was being sarcastic, b/c other people don’t believe there is a lack of power.
Tony,
Another great comment, it keeps getting better and better! Man this monkey keeps on dancing.
JD,
“My assumption would be that we make anywhere from 13-30/hr, or have no job whatsoever.”
I wouldn’t agree with that at all.
I was being sarcastic as well. But I respect your difference in opinion.
Unknown,
I’m a paid intern in a litigation department of a medium-large corporation, which explains my ability to chat it up. I just assumed, that most higher paying jobs, i.e. greater than 60k require a little more attention.
If you make more than that, I commend and am envious of you. I apologize for any disrespect.
Artist,
I would love to tell you what I do…but let me put it to you like this. Have you ever heard of K Street in Washington, DC? If you haven’t…well nevermind. Back to baseball. That Escobar sure did look good on Sunday…didn’t he?
JD,
We have a family business with a couple locations that does pretty well. It explains my ability to talk on this thing while I work.
Tony,
I do know what K Street is and with your attitude and use of language on this board I can only assume you are a secretary or intern.
Escobar did look good on Sunday, keeps raising his trade value.
Heres my issue with this Escobar thing. You refered to KJ as never going to hit .300 and then asked if he was going to hit for power and rbi’s. My response to that is he’s hitting .280 and on pace for 16 homers and 80 rbi’s. Those are great numbers from your 2B. He also seems to have a great eye at the plate.
So far Escobar has not shown he can do that over a period of time. We know he has no power and has decent speed. He looks like a decent contact hitter with a lot of excitement for the game. I’m not so sure I would take that over what KJ has shown so far. Thats my issue with it.
guys, people come to this blog because it is a refreshing way to pass the day. most blogs end up sounding like the way this one has today (mlbtraderumors.com), and they are barely readable. please, for the sake of the blog, drop it. btw, i learned on my first week of posting here that insulting someone’s baseball knowledge is fine, but dont get personal.
Lets all hug it out.
I say no more KJ-Yunel. That topic was unbearable last week. Everyone had their own opinion of who was better, and I’m still not convinced of which side was right.
I don’t know if I can handle much more KJ/Escobar talk myself.
Ryan,
You hit it right on the head. I stay away from political blogs b/c that’s what I deal with every single day. But to come back to my desk and see that someone who I don’t even know has attacked me personally about BASEBALL, was a little too much.
I’m not going to get into the KJ v. Escobar again, that was little ridiculous the other day. Let’s just say some they both have their ups and downs…
Me thinks “The artist formerly known as Unknown” & “Tony” are one and the same: a lone Mets fan trying to stir up trash on a Braves blog.
Ok, i’m done with this but seriously Tony, what I said really wasn’t that bad, especially if you compare it to your comments back to me. Lets just drop it but quit crying about it.
Stapler,
Now I think Tony and I will agree that would be really pathetic.
Anybody need a punch in the nose ?
They’re different people.
Who are you talking about Mac ?
You guys better watch it because Alex R is going to get pissed off !!!
Hey I was looking at the vote totals for the All-start game. Bonds overcame a huge deficit to get the starting nod.
I’m kinda starting to think that maybe the vote total was rigged by mlb so LaRussa wouldn’t have to be put in the hot seat. This way Bonds is in the game in San Fran and its the “fans” decision.
I just don’t think Bonds, of all people, gets that kind of support nationally.
Anyone else have a view?
Ethan,
I thought the same thing the other day when I saw that!
Well everyone in Richmond hates Bonds (at least that I have talked to).
Maybe ARod will demand a recount and we’ll have to relive the hanging chad controversy all over again.
It just makes sense. This way everyone is off the hook.
Still, Bud’s not going to be able to weasel his way out of what to do when Bonds breaks the record. I’m really interested to see how they are going to approach it.
Bud will weasel is way out of it just the way Bonds weaseled around getting in trouble for taking steroids.
Can’t we all just get along?
Hahah, you know things are bad when you hear me say that.
Tony,
Joe Morgan’s shortcomings have been well documented, so I don’t need to go into detail. Yes, he was a fantastic player, a Hall of Famer even, but that does not mean he has a great knowledge of baseball.
Stapler….you’re kidding right? Mercy.
Justin,
Give Joe some credit…I don’t think ESPN, NBC, and ABC would have hired him if he didn’t have a great knowledge of the game. Ask Skip Carrey, he worked with Joe for a few games. He may not be the most ..better not say that. He makes some good points, although he does hate the braves.
Y’all play nice.
Headed to Yankee Stadium tonight. Wang vs. Silva.
Haven’t been to a game since the Yanks began their most recent slide, so I’m curious to see how the natives are taking things. With no work tomorrow & more than a few people lathered up, it could get ugly if the Yanks fall behind like they did vs. Oakland this weekend.
Ububba…have fun with that one.
Going over to RFK to watch Zambrano strike out about 23 Nationals lata tonite.
I keep hearing people talk about the confusion behind Bonds being voted in, and I don’t understand it. The last time I checked he is still leading baseball in OPS. Why shouldn’t he have been voted in?
Also, who else deserves it from the Giants?
@88 He is the San Francisco Giants….he built At&t Park, like Griffey Jr. built Safeco
Bonds deserves to be on the team but whether he deserves to start is another issue. I assume that the push came from San Francisco; with the other votes fragmented, it’s not impossible that the Giants'”get out the vote” campaign worked for Bonds. I seriously doubt that he would have gotten that much late support from outside the Bay Area.
As for Morgan, baseball isn’t rocket science. I take seriously anything he says specifically about actually playing the game, e.g., how to turn a double play, hitting mechanics, etc., because he clearly knows that. I wouldn’t think to question that. But his discussions on strategy and his theories don’t make sense and you don’t need to be a player to understand that aspect of the game. It’s like saying that if you are a fighter pilot, you must know how to design the plane.
As for being hired, the networks hire people that they think will appeal to the audience but they hire lousy announcers all the time.
Since no one knows when Bonds will actually hit 756, how can you expect Bud to be at the game? Bowie Kuhn wasn’t at the game when Hank broke the record and there was some controversy about that, but, for all he knew, it might have taken two weeks to hit the home run. Presumably, he does have other stuff to do. Something like Ripken’s record, you knew when that was going to happen.
any voting system that allows one to vote up to 25 times for a player is a little strange.
No one else overcame the deficit that Bonds did to start, and it’s not even close. I just don’t think he could overcome the gap, especially with the way he is portrayed outside San Fran. Plus, it’s not like there is any oversight on the voting procedures. As beedee stated, (91) the system almost seems intentionally ambiguous. Put it this way, if they wanted to rig it, could they do it?
As for Selig, I haven’t heard if there is a celebration planned when Bonds breaks the record. Historically, for something of that magnitude, (think Cal Ripken) there would be a lot of pomp. The circumstances of this event will force Bud to either embrace Bonds and everything he represents, or reject it. He really can’t skirt the issue, even if he is not personally in attendance. I’m interested to see how it plays out
I stayed out of the name calling earlier, but I just wanted to say that I highly doubt that Smoltz took the wild pitch/passed ball personally or held it over McCann’s head. This is the same pitcher who had the bullpen blow six straight games for him last year.
McCann would be his personal catcher even if they pulled him from being full time. Smoltz chose McCann to be his catcher from the start, and one pitch is not going to disregard a few seasons worth of play.
On MLB 07: The Show, Artificial Intelligence Matt Vasgersian’s favorite pun on a passed ball is: “And McCANN McCAN’T hold on to it!”
It ran through my head last night. A.I. Vasgersian must be destroyed.
as much as i don’t care for bonds i don’t hold him or other players entirely responsible for the mess that has occurred with this and other records. the player, their union, and everyone else in baseball contributed to these tainted stats. i feel bad for hank and the other guys who achieved their stats the right way.
bud has no right to say their will be no celebration for bonds, he’s just as dirty by providing a lax system that allowed it’s atheletes to use. Also JC and other economist have made very compelling arguments as to expansion having more of an effect on records than performance enhancing drugs. the whole dilution of the tallent pool, especially in pitching.
bonds would have very well passed hank even with out drugs. i think he looked around at these guys in the league that had half the ability he had saw them basically matching his numbers. he took to compete and maintain his place …to keep his job.
i do not support sport fraud of any kind, but we are only fooling ourselves by thinking the athletes are the only ones in the wrong.
Beedee,
I agree with you. I dislike Bonds for being a general asshole much more than I do for the steroids, which probably added a handful of homeruns, at most, to his total. But, in fairness, I’m not sure economists can speak authoritatively to the effect of steroids on performance, although, in general, they believe that economic analysis can pretty much explain everything, including why Julia Roberts married Lyle Lovett. I think the jury is still out on the effect of steroids, but I would rather hear from scientists rather than economists before I conclude they had no effect. And, in any event, my issue with steroids is not their effect on records–who really cares and we know that a lot of the old timers that “did it clean” would probably have used steroids if they were available. But the issue is the affect on young athletes and the pressure it puts on them to take steroids.
Certainly, everyone in baseball had a hand, but before we shove Bud under the bus, I think it’s only fair to examine the role of the union. Does anyone think that, if Bud had raised the issue of steroids, say in 2001 (even if he wanted to) that the union would have done anything but laugh at him. I’m sympathetic to much of what the baseball players union has done, but, let’s face, it has pretty much run baseball for years and there was no way that Don Fehr was going to accept steroid testing until Congress forced his hand.
LOL, a handful of homeruns? Wow you guys are stupid.
The jury is still out on the effects of steroids? Are you f’ing retarded? Wow, willfully blind and if you aren’t a bonds lover I don’t know who is.
I’m speechless. I can’t even respond to that amount of stupidity. It’s impossible.
AHAHA, you got me! I thought you were actually serious. That was a good one 🙂