ESPN – Braves vs. Nationals Box Score, September 15 2007 – MLB
The good news for Lance Cormier is that he only allowed three hits. The bad news is that he did that in only two innings, that two of the hits were homers, that he walked four without a strikeout, and allowed five runs, getting pulled with nobody out in the third trailing 5-3 after the Braves had scored three in the top of the inning to dig out of his first hole. Buddy Carlyle came in and did yeoman work, only to hurt his elbow (a hyperextention, they say) meaning that Cormier’s going to get more starts anyway. It doesn’t really matter.
They only got one more run, on a Corky Miller solo homer (!) and as usual left a bunch of runners on base. (I would be more sarcastic but I’m just filled with love right now.) Mahay, pitching his second inning after pitching yesterday, gave up two runs in the eighth to give the Nats breathing room. The Braves got the first two on and loaded the bases with one out in the ninth, but Chipper grounded into a double play to end it. I’m surprised he didn’t bunt. (There’s the sarcasm!)
My comments on Auburn’s situation are in the last comment of the previous thread: I’ll copy and paste.
No no no, Tuberville shouldn’t be fired.
It’s not like Tuberville goes out there and tells the team to commit five turnovers in consecutive losses.
This is a really young football team. Every touchdown scored by Auburn through three weeks has been by either a freshman or a sophomore. Auburn is absolutely terrible in the senior class, a direct carryover from Jet-gate.
Kodi Burns looked alright today. Time to rally around him for the next four years. It makes us more dangerous. Remember, this is an Auburn team that lost four starting linemen, the top RB in Irons, the top WR in Taylor, and the heir apparent at tailback is out with academic problems in Lester.
Are we a dynamite football team this year? No, not really.
Has Tuberville made bone-headed decisions? Yes.
Will some of the staff have to be overturned? Yes, I think Borges is gone at season’s end.
But Tuberville’s not under fire. That’s silly.
Worst case scenario is Auburn goes about 4-8 and loses to Bama. So what? It costs Bama about $4 million/season to be top dog, while Auburn uses other athletic funds to go build a new coliseum and enhance giving. Auburn’s only a school that gets 22% of funding from the state anyway, so there’s not a huge bounty to begin with..
War Eagle!
FWIW, Alabama doesn’t get any more from the state. I’ve seen the budget.
I don’t think Tuberville should be fired; he’s the best coach that Auburn is going to get. The problem is that (as I’ve said before) Auburn has to be better than Alabama to compete, because of the advantages of being the state school, and the larger fan base. Tuberville’s been better than his counterparts (save maybe Franchione) but that’s no longer the case.
This may come as a surprise, but I don’t hate Auburn, and I don’t actually root against them at all times. I hate Tennessee. Auburn is kind of like the little brother — you make fun of him, but he’s family. Tennessee is the guy across town who whacked your father. (Florida is the slutty but hot chick who just moved into the neighborhood.)
Listening on the radio, Saban was genuinely pissed after the game. Celebrate now, boys, it’s going to be a hard week in practice.
Oh, and DJ Hall is the man. Why didn’t he go pro?
I really don’t know; a lot of us thought he might have to because of eligibility concerns, but I guess he pulled it together. Wouldn’t it be something if Ozzie Newsome drafted him for the Ravens? They could use a receiver.
Another Bama note… I was attacking Wilson much of the night (I was talking to Alex on the phone and said, when I got off, that I was about to get a rifle and head down to the stadium to pick him off), but he really came through. And I’ve been attacking Matt Caddell for three years now for dropping passes, but he was huge tonight when Hall was out of commission. So maybe there’s hope for Cormier yet. But don’t bet on it.
Well, this might have been the Braves’ season distilled into one game- lousy starting pitcher, decent bullpen work, and a near-total inability to get the big hit at the right time.
On a happier note, congratulations to the 2007 International League Champion Richmond Braves!
Unrelated: Soccer makes you stupid.
I knew it!
Mac,
That was a fantastic win for Bama I was so excited. McFadden was an absolute beast in that game, and I really felt J.P. stepped up at the end of the game. All that said the rush defense and especially the front line was not good.
One thing you are right about is J.P., he has a tendency to stare down his receiver too much.
Losing Darren Mustin hurt. Before he went out, he made a number of good tackles, and he’s the team’s most experienced linebacker. But I think that the main problem is that the defense was on the field almost constantly for about 20 minutes of game time, because of the quick TD off the punt return, followed by the two turnovers. Alabama’s backup linemen are not very good, and the starters were bushed.
I’m with Mac on the Bama/ Auburn stuff. I actually probably like Auburn more than Mac, but may dislike Tennessee more also. I will say that Fulmer has been pressured into cleaning up the program a little lately.
Tubby may have messed up by playing Kodi Burns. I think Cox is adequate, but his supporting cast is letting him down and he’s lost his confidence. A full blown QB controversy could hurt Auburn in the long run.
As far as Bama goes, that was a great win. Wilson has not looked good all year, but his confidence had to get a boost after the final drive. I’ve been trying to remember the last time Bama won on a last minute drive like that. I’m thinking Stallings was the coach and it was against Ole Miss, but I’m not sure.
Well, the Cotton Bowl, but that was in a tie game. In a win or lose situation, and not counting overtimes, I can’t remember either.
The SEC is looking a bit different than what it looked like at the beginning of the season. Great win for Bama, and a great win for Kentucky. Congratulations to both of them. For what it’s worth, I predicted Kentucky doing a bit better against Louisville, but I could have never predicted they’d actually win.
There was that one in 2003. Oh, wait..
Realistically, I know there’s one since them, but 1996 Iron Bowl on the Kitchens to Riddle pass?
Right on the Cotton Bowl reference. Mustin has played really well all season, but having someone like Prince Hall as the backup helps. Their line absolutely dominated Bama.
I didn’t get to see too much of the Auburn game, but I don’t see how anyone can still defend Cox. There is either a problem of the personel around him or his own inability to fit into the scheme; either way you look at it Auburn has to go in a different direction.
I think somone’s head has to roll for the MSU loss. I thought the same thing when Alabama lost last year.
I agree on the hatred of the “Fat Man” from Tennessee.
The Braves Journal is now a college football site. A sign of the times.
*shrugs* I was so wrong about Georgia Tech. They lost 24-10. That doesn’t look so bad, but Tech scored their points in the fourth. Whoever said that if Choice was held in check, he was right. *shrugs* I figured that, but you know. Anyway, Tashard also left with a hamstring injury, but I have no idea of how bad it is. If it’s bad, then Johnathan Dwyer’s going to get a LOT more playing time.
I am not going to lie, I love the Braves and will always root for them, but it is tough to have anything to say at this time of year that has not been said.
Maybe I have missed it somewhere. Mac, you don’t like the sport of soccer?
I am actually quoted in a book for not liking soccer.
Agreed about the Braves. The frustrating thing is that I can think of at least 10 or 20 games that we shouldn’t have lost and only a few that we shouldn’t have won, but did. If we just win 2 or 3 of those “shouldn’t have lost games” or if our hitters actually decide to try to hit against the Mets during the last 2 series, we are in the thick of things. I know – should have, could have, would have – but this season has been beyond frustrating.
Oh well, I hope to actually see the Braves in person for the 1st time this year tomorrow. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy the Bama win.
The Braves, meanwhile, are 5-10 in extra innings and 16-24 in one-run games, and that’s why they’re not going to make the playoffs.
Exactly Mac! Maybe Cox needs to install his own version of the fourth quarter program during the offseason. It seems to be working for Saban. It may look a little funny holding up 9 fingers and chanting “9th inning’s ours” though.
Mac, that’s hilarious!
A Great win for Bama! What a treat and McFadden should be a very solid candidate for the Heisman–if he stays healthy.
I am just happy that I was able to get up and see the 4th quarter–but last night the ESPN Coverage was MSU-Pitt, while Fox covered UNC-Virginia. I was so disgusted hearing about the Big Ten and the Big East (even from a repentant Kirk Herbstreet)with the lack of quality football that I opted for Chelsea-Blackburn (sorry Mac) and I was quite happy with the scoreless draw!
One final comment: Go VANDY! The Commodores also a nice win….
The Braves Journal is now a college football site. A sign of the times.
Not at all. It’s just the Braves are so depressing people want to talk about other things. If they were tied for first in the division, hardly anyone would be mentioning college football I think.
People will be here in the dreaded-offseason talking about trade rumors, signing and all that I’m sure.
True enough–but at least we have the Richmond Braves, who behind Kevin Barry won the Governors Cup:
http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070915&content_id=303243&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp
Well, I’d say it was more of a combo of Barry, Stockman, Smith and Devine. Everyone of them had at least one walk, although Barry did have eight strikeouts.
I wonder when that Bricktown Showdown is?
Whoops. Man, I paid attention to that game, and I got the pitchers wrong! Oy!
It was Barry for the first five, Stockman for 1 1/3. He got into walk trouble, and Dan Smith bailed him out. Next was Buddy Hernandez and THEN Devine. They struck out a total of fourteen Bulls. They weren’t really challenged in Game 5.
I really like the fact that Brandon Jones, Lillibridge, Stockman, and Devine are all participating in this playoff. All four will be part of the team next season and this playoff experience will only help them and the team.
Yes, I do prefer trading Yunel over Lillibridge. Based on my understanding, Lillibridge actually has more power and much better speed. He also plays better defense than Yunel. I don’t believe the Braves have any intention to move Lillibridge to centerfield.
I am not sold on Lillibridge, even though he has shown improvement during the course of the season. He has struck out 119 times–which is pretty scary for someone who ideally might be #2 hitter. Still, the fact that he got better may well be more important than the total number of Ks. It will be interesting to see if the trend continues in the AFL.
http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?n=Brent%20Lillibridge&pos=&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=452121
Not that I am a big fan of MLB Trade Rumors, but the site just posed an interesting proposal on trading Thorman or Kaaihue for DeJesus. I believe if we can flip either one plus couple of bullpen arms like Yates and Villarreal for DeJesus or Crisp, that would be great.
Stephen, I do agree with you on Lillibridge’s struckout issue, but I am not completely sold on Yunel either. Either way, I think it’s just personal preference and both of them will be great trading chips for winter.
Seeing what HoRo is doing for the M’s this season, maybe we should give some credit to Roger…
One more college football note… I am enjoying the hell out of “Notre Dame, worst team in the country,” and I hope you are too.
Mac–Absolutely!! Notre Dame v. Michigan….its a shame somebody had to win and I am glad that ND got humilated once again….
That 10-year extension ND gave Weis doesn’t look so swell now.
I’m not really sold on Lillibridge either. I’m more inclined to side with Escobar based on his major league success. I can’t see the Braves moving Lillibridge to CF either…
But as someone said, one of them will be a good trade chip, depending on what we do with Edgar.