ESPN – Braves vs. Reds Box Score, August 23 2007 – MLB
Hey, look! Another game in which the Braves rallied from way behind only to lose the game in extra innings on a homer! You don’t see that every day, unless you’re us.
The Braves took a 1-0 lead in the first when Chipper doubled home Harris after Bobby had KJ bunt. That was a constant refrain — the Braves playing for one run in a park where anyone can hit a homer. It’s more than usually stupid.
In the second inning, Carlyle gave up five runs, three on a Hamilton homer. The Braves rallied back to tie, Teixeira with a solo shot in the fourth, Chipper with a three-run homer in the fifth. They fell behind 6-5, but took the lead 7-6 in the seventh, Chipper doubling home Harris again and Teixeira following with a single. But then Moylan gave up a homer to tie it in the bottom of the inning.
It stayed that way until the 12th, the Braves blowing several chances, largely because they kept trying to bunt and couldn’t. Adam Dunn did not bunt. He hit a two-run shot into Kentucky to end it.
Bobby was ejected in the second, TP in the sixth. Lucky bastards didn’t have to watch the rest of this debacle.
I wanted to say this yesterday, but I can’t resist anymore…the baseball god just hates us.
Power was out at my house until the 11th–glad I missed most of this mess. At the time of the Tex trade I thought the Braves had about a 1/3 chance of making the playoffs. I’ve now revised that down to 10%. Being only 3 back in the WC race isn’t the problem–it’s the awful pitching. On second thought, 10% is probably optimistic …
does this finally get Wickman out of the closer’s role???? it might be the best thing
he hasnt pitched since he almost blew Smoltz’s 4 run lead 5 games ago, Im expecting to hear something about a players meeting within the next day or so
There is not just one god of baseball. There is an entire pantheon of baseball deities. That is all for today. Winning streak to start tomorrow against the god(s) forsaken Cardinals.
did we outhit them in every game?
There’s a big difference between playing to win and playing not to lose. Bunting at this ballpark is playing not to lose.
I was astonished that Willie had to bunt with 2 strikes on him. I’m sure he was real pleased about that call.
Im saying we are down to 2-3% chance of getting to the playoffs, just time to face reality and understand that we just cant pitch. Thanks Chuckie, Hampton, Carlyle, Cormier, Redman, Davies, Reyes, Villareal, Soriano, Blob, Lerew, Bobby, Andruw, Woodward, Thorman, Wilson, Colyer, Pendleton, Orr, Boyer, McDowell, and Kevin Barry to all suck it up this year and not do their job.
Im olny giving credit to McCann, Frenchy, Chippa, Tex, Smoltz, Hudson, Acosta, Ascanio, Diaz, Harris, KJ, Yunel, and Renteria for doing what they get paid to do
KJ, Carlyle, and Harris all missed bunt opportunites tonight, none were successful. If your players dont practice this, and you know they dont, why try it in game situations?
KJ, Carlyle, Yunel, and Harris all had failed bunt attempts tonight. If you dont practice this, and you know they dont, why try it in game situations.
I hope these guys remember what it was like to watch the playoffs on TV last year
sorry my internet sucks, double post there with minor corrections
csg–Instead of phrasing it that folks haven’t done their job, I’d phrase it that having most of those players (Redman, Orr, Woodward, …) is a team without sufficient talent to make the playoffs. Although most of those guys are mediocre or worse, I wouldn’t impugn their professionalism.
I’d probably also make a couple of other distinctions. Andruw, Thorman, and Wickman have been major disappointments; Cox seems to be in a fog. James, however, had a good run May to July before coming unglued in August. The Braves probably got more than they had any right to expect out of Carlyle; unfortunately he’s come back to earth in his last few starts.
either way
I wonder what kind of effect this will have on Liberty Media. They have to see this as increasing payroll for the same production. Losing is Losing and if you can do it cheaper, why not.
Breaking news: Vick wont admit to killing dogs or gambling!!
does that not affect his plea deal?
I feel like the parent who isn’t mad anymore, just extremely disappointed.
I know they are better than this. The Braves lineup is extremely good. But when you put the ball club on the shoulders of two pitchers, what more do you want? The games the 3 and 5 guys pitched, the Braves gave up 8 and 9 runs respectively to a lowly NL central team.
The Cards are hot right now. This might get worse.
it wont get any better, St Louis is playing good ball
Marbury on Vick –
“I think it’s tough that we build Michael Vick up and then we break him down. I think he’s one of the superb athletes, and he’s a good human being. I just think that he fell into a bad situation.”
…He fell into a bad situation of funding and hosting an illegal dog fighting enterprise. Just fell right into it.
I might even be willing to resort to talking about Michael Vick to avoid thinking about our efforts against the Reds this year.
who gets sent down if Dotel proves healthy, its got to be Acosta I guess, I would rather just keep Dotel on the DL until the rosters expand
If he won’t admit to gambling and killing the dogs, what is he admiting?
Maybe it’s like a Kobe Bryant plea, where he pretty much says, “I understand how it looks like I was involved in dogfighting, and for that I am sorry.”
I rarely post on here, but read bravesjournal a lot. But this year has been too tough and the last few weeks in particulat too heartbreaking for me not to get my rant out.
I’m a 22-year-old braves fan living in kentucky. Not just a fan, a disciple. I grew up on TBS. I’ve paid for MLBTV the last two years as the great thing that was Braves on TBS has rolled to an end. I made the drive to Cincinnati monday night and sat through rain just to watch Hudson pitch. Every playoff series loss (of which there were WAY too many in the past decade) left its own seperate scar on my heart. When the braves lose I can’t even watch Baseball Tonight that day because the replay makes me sick. When they win, I watch sportscenter multiple times just to see the same highlights. I’ve slept well knowing that (for the most part) the braves teams I worshiped were among the classiest in pro sports. You never felt guilty about rooting for Chipper or Smoltz or McCann. I chalked last year up to bad bullpens, bad luck, and one of the better Mets teams money could buy. Streak, shmeak. All things must pass and all the division titles never really replaced WS wins anyway.
But I had hope for this season. I guess I should have put more thought into the impact that no Mike Hampton (even an 80% hampton beats a 120% Mike Redman) would have on the pitching staff. But I was in Florida at the time I got the news that he was done. I was right in the middle of a glorious week-long spring training trip. No time to contemplate bad news. Maybe I should have know when Gonzalez went down the effect it would have on the bullpen. Maybe I was right about chuck james and that he really is just sort of a tease. Maybe I knew deep down all along that it always has been pitching always will be pitching will never stop being about pitching and that no matter what I tried to tell myself all the mark texieras in the world wont change that a bit. I’ve poured over the stats. I’ve tried to rationalize tough losses and tell myself that luck evens out over the course of a long season. Tried to hope that maybe, just maybe, Buddy Carlyle would turn into John Burkett redux. Hoped that maybe Wickman really wasn’t that bad and that he was just playing jokes on me every time he walked a batter or failed to put one away with 2 strikes. Until very recently I truely believed that andruw was DUE! He’s bound to go on a tear and pick the whole team up on his shoulders and carry it into the playoffs, right?
I even experienced renewed excitement at the all-star break when I looked at the 2nd half schedule and saw great opportunity. Let’s play solid against the mets and phillies, mop the floor with the likes of the reds and giants who aren’t really any good anyway. The we’ll be right back in the hunt.
But somewhere it all went wrong. Or it was just going the same wrong direction it always had been and i just now woke up. But here it is late august and I feel that it’s over. I know they’re not too far out. What, 3,4 games now? I’m too sick to look. But what good signs of hope do i have? The clubhose isn’t the problem. I have inside info that even assures me that. Is it really just a matter of not getting a few clutch plays? Is there such a thing or have the odds just gone against us?
So here i am. In some sort of sadistic limbo. Far too many games left to just look to next year (and even if i did, what the hell can they do to get a starter? And for that matter, how many more innings left on smoltzie’s arm?) but still no real reason to get very excited about the last 5 or six weeks. Will my only reason for watching october be (once again) to root against the mets and yankees? Maybe it’s just overreaction and it’s only a game. Maybe I have unrealistic emotional ties to a “team” that is nothing but a logo and players who I’ve never met. Maybe I’m not a braves fan. Maybe I’m just a consumer of the Braves brand. If all the players left, would I still blindly root for that script “A” and live and die with every game?
I don’t even know how to end this except that this sucks and it’s more fun to win.
7.5 runs per game in the series and we get one win. Goodnight, playoffs. I just hope we finish above .500.
We’re sucking now, but we still have time to get it together. Hard to have confidence now, but it’s happened before.
I can always count on ububba to put things into perspective.
The best teams lose 1/3 of their games. That’s 53 losses per year. If you let one, or two, or three in a row get you down and you love the game, you’re setting yourself up for decades of disappointment.
#27, this is 5 out of 7 not 2 or 3 in a row.
We’re done.
If we’re so “done,” why do you guys continue to watch the games and post so much? If my team was as doomed as they’re made out to be, I don’t know if I’d keep spending so much time reading, watching, and posting. I’m with ububba here; there’s some time left.
We keep watching because we’re fans, and because it’s fun to see Tex and Chipper hit homeruns and Smoltzie and Timmeh strike people out. And because we hope we’re wrong and the team will suddenly reel off 6 wins in a row and get back in it.
I have to laugh at all the arguments on ESPN about whether its the Yankees or Red Sox who are “America’s team.” There’s some new article that argues the Red Sox are the new America’s team based on.. road attendance. Newsflash: the Yankees and Red Sox have high road attendance not because they are America’s teams but because everybody in America outside New England hates them both and wants to see them lose!
Braves 30
Reds 25
The difference is of course the Reds did the important thing, and won 3 of 4 against us. It is just indicative of the last two seasons. I am just diappointed at this point.
If you only win 2 out of every 5 games, then you play .400 ball and don’t make the playoffs. Pretty simple math.
Good teams beat the weak teams. I guess we aren’t a good team. The Reds aren’t all that weak. They throw out a pretty formidable lineup. But if we can’t beat them with 7 runs then…….
I haven’t given up hope but it is waning. The hell of it is if we do make the playoffs we have the necessary ingredients to make a run. Oh well its the journey not the destination that gets you to truly mangle a cliche.
“I feel like the parent who isn’t mad anymore, just extremely disappointed.”
This is EXACTLY how I feel. Last night was the first night of the season where I was totally emotionless. I didn’t get upset when Wickman dropped the ball at first. I didn’t get mad when Dunn’s ball left the yard. I was totally numb. I watched it land in the seats, and I flipped over to the Food Network.
Another game that I avoided like the plague last night. I decided I would rather go by the grocery store and then watch anything else on tv. I just knew it would ruin my evening. What a shock!!!
who gets sent down if Dotel proves healthy
Definitely putting the cart before the horse.
I haven’t given up hope but it is waning.
This is where I am, too. The math says we’re still in this thing—still very much in this thing, actually—but this team has just given so little reason for optimism lately.
Remember when Willie made that catch against the Mets, completing the series win at Shea and making us 8-4 on the season against them? Remember how excited you were at that point? Seems like a long time ago.
As expected doom and gloom, sky is falling today. Just a few house cleaning items.
Kyle B. the Reds are a fairly good offensive team, they have hit more homeruns as a team than anyone this year, and they play in a not so big stadium. So to give up 8 and 9 runs to them, is not as shocking as you make it out to be.
MikeM, welcome to the board. Hope your future posts, are not as lengthy, and have a few more breaks in them.
To everyone else cheer up, at least we aren’t Royals fans.
Rob, I passed a stationary place in Washington called “Copenhaver’s” that was apparently established in 1896. (The company, if not that individual location.) Is that your family?
I can’t bring myself to utter any pronouncements about this season, because right now I’m feeling more like Marc Schneider than Ububba. So I need to hear Ububba’s optimism or else I’ll just keep suffering like MikeM.
Really what can you say…I’m speechless.
Now we go to St. Louis where John Smoltz cannot get David Eckstein out. No one in the bullpen can get Albert Pujols out.
That damn fat ass Wickman…PLEASE NO MORE POT-BELLIED CLOSERS!!
What a luxury it is to have a closer like Mo Rivera…
Bobby has done the worse job in recent memory of managing the bullpen…
Fucking Reds….unbelievable, but damn I called it.
Justin Parker,
I loved MikeM’s post.
I hope your future posts don’t have superfluous commas.
Agreed Stu. That was uncalled for and I hope MikeM posts again.
I thought MikeM made a great post, but I can’t say I liked it — it hit WAY too close to home and made me feel even worse about the team.
Why can’t they just go on a winning streak? When Crime Dog hit homers, they friggin’ won the games!
can you really even get mad at these types of games anymore. I quit watching the 9th and 10th innings because The Office came on. You just knew the Braves would lose that game. Win 2 lose 3, win 2 lose 3 – .500 ball club at best
these arent exact numbers, but we get the idea
against .500+ teams we have a .586 win%
against .500- teams .510%
AL teams .246%
and there you go
162 days a year minus west coast night games, the Braves add value to my life. I remember when a .500 season was pie-in-the-sky. This year is great compared to those good old days.
It’s hard to win championships with two dependable starters and chopped liver, but lightning does strike.
What was the Cardinals’ record this time last year?
Take heart, o ye of little faith.
MikeM, welcome….Try not to take to heart what any of these guys say, its just opinions anyways.
I have to say I knew a walkoff homer was coming once it went into extra innings. I just thought Yates would give it up not Wickman. For once Tyler got out of his own mess. Moylan is showing distressing signs of Bobby Cox Overuse Syndrome. Not good. I’m still hoping Shuerholz can find another starter before September but I’m not sure even that would be enough at this point.
The Braves may not make the playoffs, but they can crush the LaRussa-led Cardinals’ hopes with Smoltz and Hudson.
(Really a team two games under .500 competing in late August is sad.)
Coop, the Cards are a good example of what can happen with a mediocre ball team. We are better than last year’s Cards, its time to show that. We have to start beating these sub .500 teams at home and away. I really think the whole Cards series is a fluke
We had two guys struck out to end innings and the ump didnt give us either call. The pitcher gets two RBI’s on a fluke hit to beat us. Tex is called out to end a game on a ball in the RH’s batters box. Chipper hits a ball that hits the top edge of the wall and stays in the park for a single. Frenchy hits a foul ball that missed the foul pole by an inch or two. It goes on and on, just a bad luck series. Start over tonight…
Dunn vs. Wickman, 2006: 1-0, homerun (walkoff grandslam)
Dunn vs. Wickman, 2007: 1-0, homerun (walkoff two-run homerun)
I don’t see why taking a realistic assessment of the team is “doom and gloom.” It’s been a .500 team all year; it’s not as if they have been playing great ball and just hit a slump. The pitching staff is extremely weak other than the top two and the hitting is still sporadic. If you want to be blindly optimistic, that’s ok, but don’t criticize others for not being so. As for giving up, no one is giving up but the reality is, this isn’t a good team. I find it rather amusing to hear people saying that this team is built to do well in the playoffs if they get there? Why, because they have two good pitchers and some good hitters (who by the way got shut down by the Reds’ bullpen)? To say the team is better than their record is ridiculous–you are what your record is and the Braves are .500.
How much does it take for people to recognize the Braves aren’t a good team? They are two games under .500 for the last 120 games and exactly .500 for the last 290 games. JS talked about last year being a “bump in the road.” Well, it’s turning into an abyss. And, you know, the anguish indicates that people care about the team. To complain about “doom and gloom” when the team can’t even beat the last place team is like Dennis Kucinich talking about what he will do when he is elected president.
At the risk of really being a “doom and gloomer” I’m not all that optimistic about next year either. Where is the pitching coming from? It sure isn’t coming from within an organization that hasn’t produced a top-flight pitcher in ten years. Oh yeah, I forgot Adam Wainwright. I want someone to tell me that this team has some direction because I don’t see it at this point. I apologize again for being a doom and gloom guy. I will take some comfort in not being a Royals fan.
Firstly, I welcomed MikeM to the board, and stated that I hoped his posts in the future were shorter, with more breaks, you know not one long paragraph. I don’t know how that was insulting, or even telling him not to post anymore. This country has gotten way too sensitive.
csg,
There have been a lot of “bad luck” series this year.
The Braves’ offense will be there in 2008. Mike Gonzalez will be back. Soriano and Moylan will be solid. I imagine either Dotel or Mahay (but not both) will be back.
Schuerholz is clearly in “win-now” mode, and 2008 is Cox’s last year and maybe his as well. All this team really needs is starting pitching to really compete. The Braves just need one top-notch starter and I think they’re set with Smoltz, Hudson, “the new guy”, James and Hampton in 2008.
I like the way 2008 is shaping up. 2009 and beyond is a different story.
Marc, yes wayyy too many!
The Braves just need one top-notch starter and I think they’re set
Where does this starter come from? Renteria? I thought we’d established that he alone can’t even bring a #3 in return.
Marc,
I get your point, but I don’t think the last 290 games is a relevant measuring stick at all. Let’s stick to this season—there’s plenty of demonstrated mediocrity for you to use right here.
That’s for Schuerholz to figure out. He has he ways.
I think Marc hit it on the head with the problem, and that is the lack of high level pitching to help carry us through. There is no one in Richmond that can replace Carlyle/Reyes/James right now so were stuck with them.
*He has his ways.
He traded away all his ways for Teixeira, Mahay and Dotel.
There are always free agents, though the list for free agent starters this offseason doesn’t look too good.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2007/03/2008_mlb_free_a.html
We do not need another top notch pitcher. We need three MLB pitchers. Do you guys realize that we have 3 AAAA pitchers in our rotation. This is pathetic!
Yeah, that’s my point. I’d be okay with Silva, but he’ll probably cost $10MM per season. Glavine? Schilling? Don’t think we can afford the guys worth paying for.
Jake,
If we could add just one legit MLB #3 starter to our rotation, I think most problems would go away. James would be a good 4, and either Cormier or Carlyle would be fine as a 5.
That list isn’t all bad… you got to look deeper; a guy like Jason Jennings, who has been hurt all year and been terrible, may be had a discount. And the Braves may be able to sign one of the older guys to a one or two-year deal once they jettison Jones’ and, perhaps, Renteria’s contracts from the books.
Carlyle is not a major league starting pitcher. The Braves have gotten all they will get out of him… I wouldn’t bet on him being back next year. And Jake, I would argue the Braves have three AAA pitchers in their rotation right now. And I’m not even sure Reyes is ready for AAA yet.
The Braves could have Andruw Jones (13.5M), Renteria (9M for 2008) and Wickman’s (6.5M) contracts all off the books.
Smoltz (8M to 14M) and Hudson (6M to 13M) are due big pay increases though. And I think the Braves, unless he gets hurt again and the insurance picks the Braves up, are on the hook for all of Hampton’s 14 million in 2008.
Stu,
I think Silva is probably the best of the bunch. I know he does not have the name recognition of the others, but he has been successful throughout his carrer. He is still young and fairly durable. I would rather sign him than any of those other guys.
Adam M,
You may be right about Buddy, but I’m not giving up on him as a capable 5th starter just yet.
As for the contracts, again, most of Andruw’s salary will be tied up in raises for Smoltz and Hudson. Then there are the arbitration increases. Wickman won’t be back, so that’s $6MM. If we trade Renteria, that’s another $6MM. I’d like to try to extend Teix before next season, though I have no idea how realistic that is.
Kenny,
I agree that Silva is the best of that bunch, but is he worth $10MM per? I guess that depends on what our new-look budget is like.
Actually, if we can’t extend Teixeira, I’d probably prefer that we make a hard run at Schilling, who might be had on a one-year contract. If next year’s the year we’re going for it, let’s go for it.
Schilling is an idiot and at his age i’d say he’s about done.
Carlyle has been fine for a #5. At times he’s even pitched like a #4. It’s hard to win though when your rotation consists of 2 #1s, a #3 who can only pitch 5 innings and is now on the DL, and a bunch of #5s including a minor leaguer who is not ready for primetime.
Jake,
Schilling is Smoltz’s age. And he’s put up a 106 ERA+ this year. His Ks are down and his WHIP is up, but I still think he’d be better for 2008 than any other starter we could get.
We just need to score 14 when someone else besides hudson and smoltz are pitching.
Mac how about a hope meter?
The red light is on for our hope meter. Somebody go out to the hope station and fill up a gallon so we can get this car started again.
Yes, hope is near empty at this moment. But two wins in a row with Smoltz and Hudson pitching and we’ll all be singing Kumbayah my Lord.
But you know what really sucks about this situation, this season, this team, this league is that WE ARE STILL IN IT. Unbelievably we are still in it. Last season…. easy. Shutdown to casual looking in mode, look at indiividual stats stop giving a crap about baseball. But this dang thing is like the classic teaser chick we all knew in high school (apologies to the ladies on this blog) Give me just enough hope to keep on flirting. But you just knew that your heart was going to be broken.
Nah we know better than that. It’ll take those wins plus 2/3 from the Marlins to jumpstart the hope car.
watch us lose the Smoltz and Hudson matchups 2-1 or 3-2. We’ll lose the Reyes, Cormier, and Carlyle starts 10-9 or 12-10 or something like that
The other thing that really sucks is that outside of our 3 thru 5 starters and the fact that our bullpen has picked a hell of a time to crumble, this is a pretty good team. The good stuff:
LF Harris/Diaz – good, who would have thunk it?
RF Francouer – major progress on his biggest weakness
3B Chipper – can you think of any futher HOFer that is more overlooked? What a player.
SS Renteria – Andy Who? Another player.
2B Johnson/Escobar – KJ is a player no doubt, Escobar is the future SS. Edgar is trade bait in the off season.
1B Texieria – if it comes to choosing him or Andruw, sign this guy. A stud bat.
C – McCann second half is hitting like the McCann the team signed long term.
Smoltz – he’s John Smoltz, nuff said
Hudson – sorry I doubted you Timmy
Soriano – good for long enough to be considered part of the good stuff. When he was going good he was dominant. Probably over used.
Moylan – Glad Bobby has continued to use him in high leverage situations. He is faltering now but like Rafael he has been more good than bad.
Oscar – A reach but he has been good but then again he’s been bad too.
Schuerholz – Kudos to the man for trying his ass off to improve this team.
Cox – No matter what you think of his game managing skills, his players never give up and thats the main job of a manager.
I would do the bad but I would be yelled at for a long post because the bad would be one long long post.
Go Braves!
WE ARE STILL IN IT. Unbelievably we are still in it. Last season…. easy. Shutdown to casual looking in mode, look at indiividual stats stop giving a crap about baseball.
We are still technically in it, but it’s clear that this team does not get and will not get the kind of consistent pitching it would take to make run at the wild card. I’ve moved into casual observer mode. I still turn the game on out of habit, but I’m only really watching when Andruw is up or there is a tight situation. And I’m much more surprised when things go well than when they go poorly.
There was about a day and a half window there were I was really, truly optimistic. It came after the Tex trade and before the ‘DP ball to Edgar that turned into losing Edgar for the year and an impossible loss to the Astros’ game.
I still have hope but I don’t have optimism. I need to see a sustained run of excellent play from this team to start believing they are more than their record says they are.
Here is our problem:
WE FUCKING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SUCK!
Wow I went long winded there. Except for Smitty we are all pretty much saying the same thing.
Glass half empty:
We suck just enough to snuff out hope.
Glass half full:
Just a few breaks and we are back in it even though overall our pitching sucks.
Delusioned:
We can make a 6 game run, sweep the Mets and Phils and win the division.
I detest the 6-division setup & the Wild Card. However, here’s what can happen to a team that merely limps into the post-season. A little history of a recent mediocre team that managed to win the World Series.
On this date one year ago, St. Louis had lost its third consecutive game, making the Cards 66-60. They immediately won 6 of their next 7. After 16 games of .500 mode (8-8), they promptly lost 7 in a row, making them 80-77. They won 3 of their last 5 to finish the month (incl. one October game) at 12-17 and their season record at 83-79.
Sound familiar? Looking back, it’s even more amazing how they ended up winning anything because that’s some brutal baseball. (I can imagine what the Cards daily blogs must’ve read like.) Of course, their playoff berth was more function of their geography than anything else.
If the Braves are going to pull it together, they’ve gotta be the “best second-place team” in the whole NL, not the best team in a crappy division.
Faith? Dunno. But the reality is that stranger things have happened than the Braves winning the WC.
Not faith… objective analysis. I just wish this rendition of the Braves would hurry up and either contend or cave. That in a nutshell is the thing that is driving me personally crazy.
Even if the Braves did pull off a miracle and make the playoffs, they’d still be facing a situation where they’d basically HAVE TO win every game Smoltz and Hudson pitched and hope that Soriano and Wickman didn’t blow a lot of late leads. Now if they somehow made the NLCS and faced the Mets, then they could well make it to the World Series (but their record in interleague play doesn’t inspire confidence they could win it all).
The correlation to the Cardinals is all fine and good but the Braves are their own squad — a squad with Carlyle, Cormier and Reyes in the starting rotation, and a squad with a very unreliable back-end of the bullpen. Sorry, but that’s the reality of the situation.
I still don’t know why JS didn’t go after even a Trachsel type.
Frankly, if the Braves made the playoffs, I think we should all be happy and not worry about how well they do. I think it’s sort of laughable that you can talk about a team that is four games over .500 near the end of August in terms of the World Series (and even winning it all). Not that it’s not possible, just that it’s sort of pathetic that the NL is that bad (and that the playoff set up has created a situation where bad teams can actually think about winning the World Series). I just can’t really fathom that. Really, I would rather the Braves play well and miss the playoffs than play like this and somehow back in because of the bad play by others.
You know, Dontrelle might be available in a trade from Florida. Its not like the Marlins won’t trade within the division or anything…..that just seems like the best way the Braves can improve the pitching staff, and that’s through a trade. I’m not saying Dontrelle fixes our problems, hell, he may cause more, but I think a trade for an established starter is the way to go this offseason…..fact is, who do you trade??
Wow you know things are bleak when the best that a smart poster like ububba can come up with is to play the Cardinals card.
This is equivalent to having a plan to win a golf tournament that is centered around making an eagle on 18.
I still have hope (kinda).
All we need is to slip in with a mediocre record a la the Cardinals last year. And don’t act like it’s impossible. 87-90 wins could take the wild card. And we can still do that. Maybe….
See, I think we have an excellent playoff team. We have a very potent offense and the best 1-2 in the NL. Well, outside of San Diego, anyways. Sure, 3-5 are crap right now, but Chucky will be a decent starter in the playoffs, and we won’t have to start a 5th guy like ever. We CAN win a 5-game series and then we’re just one series away from the WS. Woooo.
So let’s focus on the playoffs and how great our team is for them.
The regular season is just a crap shoot, anyways.
I am as dismayed as anyone, but I can give you five good reasons for hope:
1) Winning series-Taking 2 of 3 will produce 88 wins. I’d take my chances with that record for the WC. I admit I haven’t seen the team play like that lately, but if they can’t meet this goal, they’re out. And will deserve it.
2) The remaining schedule holds no surprises. It consists of division teams (who our scouts know) and common rivals like the Astros (who always seem to be up our butts when we need a strong finish.)
3) This team can rake. Give’em a fair chance. The line-up is versatile and the platoons have added depth. Just let them hit instead of bunting!
4) Everybody in the league knows who in the Braves’ bullpen can get batters out and who can’t. Use them according to their results, not their assigned roles. If it takes planning to use the Vulture early in 3 games a week to get us to the 7th holding the other team under 4 runs, do that. The back-end of the rotation can no longer be depended on for much. Do something else, Bobby.
5) If a manager can be in a slump, then he can come out of one. But he does have to be on the bench. Bobby has been arguing for balls and strikes since the Big 3 era. He’ll always lose. All of the moaning about umpires begins to sound deperate after awhile.
But it may be that this team needs Bobby to make decisions late more than any other he’s managed. I’d like to think our manager is one big advantage we have over other wild card contenders.
Stick it up LaRussa’s wazoo, Braves!
@94,
I agree that Bobby can’t afford to be thrown out. Some of the late moves Cadahia pulled made Bobby’s in game skills look spectacular.
E.G., when Willie Harris didn’t get a bunt down on three pitches (1 was a ball) why in the hell do you keep the bunt on. Willie hitting there is a 300 hitter and he won’t get doubled up. Let him swing.
@92
Are we talking an eagle on a par 4 or 5 or a hole in one on a par 3?
Most 18s are Par 4.
Ok then, so are we talking a drivable par 4 then? Not necessarily John Daly range but maybe Tiger Woods range? Either way, draining an eagle for the win is about as @\/\/3$0/\/\3 as it gets so that’s what I want to see.
I despise the Cardinals. I save up all the animosity I have towards every other sports franchise in existence and exact it on St. Louis. It’s ridiculous and irrational but I don’t really care. I hate the Cardinals more than a grown man should really hate anything other than death. We’ve got to win this series or I may throw in the towel.