ESPN – Brewers vs. Braves Box Score, September 20 2007 – MLB
All hail our new savior, Jeff Bennett! Who needs a new third starter, when this new ace has come out of obscurity to save us! All hail Bennett!
Okay, now that I’ve gotten that out of my system, he pitched well, going 5 2/3 and striking out eight, and didn’t walk anyone until Fielder in the sixth, and if you’re going to walk a guy that’s the guy to walk. He allowed six hits, one a solo homer. It was against a team for which he used to pitch; I don’t know if that means anything. I don’t think Jeff Bennett is an answer any more than Buddy Carlyle was, but I guess he’s earned a chance to prove me wrong.
Acosta finished the sixth with a strikeout, then went all Kolbous on us in the seventh and started throwing more balls than strikes. Bobby let him work out of it anyway and he was “effectively wild”, I guess. I wouldn’t try to repeat the experience. Mahay walked a guy in the seventh, Yates had a perfect eighth, and Soriano — foolishly appealing a suspension which will not be overturned but which will cost him the first four games of next year if he doesn’t withdraw the appeal — saved it.
Chipper had a big night, 3-4. He singled and scored in the first, and singled in two in the second. The Braves left only five men on base (thanks in part to two double plays and a runner thrown out at third) but three of them were in the first two innings… Renteria, meanwhile, had a rough night, 0-3 with one of the GIDP; he was also the runner thrown out at third in the second. Chipper sits at .342, leading the league; Renteria is at .336. Holliday is halfway between them at .339.
Soriano’s hearing is next week in Philadelphia so even if it isn’t reduced or overturned, he won’t miss any games next year.
Mets are blowing it. Tie game 7-7 in the 9th.
Marlins have a runner on 3rd with 2 outs.
Phillies phail to phlop, phorcing across phour runs in the (phour plus phour)th inning phor a 7-6 win.
On the bright side, at least the Met’s bullpen continues to suck. 7-7 in the bottom of the 9th.
Beautiful. Amazing. I feel like this is August and we’re watching the Braves. Thanks for showing your true self, Jorge. I recognize you now.
Damn. I think the Mets are still going to win this game. They needed to win it there.
Chipper Jones’ stats are in just about every way a little bit better than Wright’s (better batting average, OBP, slugging percentage, OPS, fieling percentage and a lot less errors at third base).
Chipper > Wright.
Chipper for MVP!
Except that Wright has played in 25 more games. That’s a fairly major deal.
Mets have gone down in the top of the 10th, still 7-7.
C’mon, Marlins. Break their hearts.
Hearts broken.
Fish win.
Howie Rose: “A devastating loss for the New York Mets!”
Done! Thank you, Dan Uggla! 4.5 GB!
whoohoo!!
I think the Mets are trying to make this last week interesting. They’re so generous. Ahh, the dreams of winning out . . .
Marlins win! Marlins win!
Not to get too far ahead of myself, but I just looked to try to find the sites for tiebreakers involving the Braves… and they weren’t included in any of the coin flip scenarios. Wonder if they’ll call Schuerholz tomorrow.
I think it’s hilarious.
All this Mets-Marlins talk has gotten in the way of praising our club for a great 5 game winning streak. They’re taking care of business and that’s all you can ask of them right now. I’ve already given up hope for the playoffs and it’s made watching the team much more enjoyable. The pressure is off and they’re playing loose. We still can’t bunt though. We might need to get some help there from somebody.
Braves go 8-1.
Mets go 4-6.
Phils go 5-4.
Voila. Three-way tie for first.
OK, time to crack another Beck’s.
I didn’t know Beck’s contained LSD.
I’m trying not to get my hopes up too much…
BUT WOULDN’T THAT BE FREAKING AWESOME?
You say 25 more games is a big deal, but I bet Beckett wins the cy over Sabathia despite Sabathia’s pitching like 50 innings more, which, to a pitcher, is more considerable than 25 games is to a hitter.
Personally, I think the MVP will come down to Fielder and Howard.
What about Bonds for MVP? He did set the all time HOUR record and currently leads MLB in OPS.
I hope Chipepr gets some recognition in the MVP vote. Should be between him, Utley/Rollins , Holliday and Fielder
OK, I’m peaking now, but as I see it:
A-Rod, AL MVP
Fielder, NL MVP
Beckett, AL Cy Young
Peavy, NL Cy Young
ANd btw, I bet if Beckett wins the Cy over Sabathia, you will see 3-4 MSM articles saying Sabathia lost the vote cos he was black
I think it’s down to Fielder, Holliday and Wright. I would think it’s just a Fielder and Holliday race for NL MVP if Wright played for a non-NY team.
Bonds has probably been, yet again, the best player in the NL. However, he’s on a losing team, and MVPs from losing teams are rare.
Sabathia: 234 IP, 138 ERA+
Beckett: 188.2 IP, 142 ERA+
Under no circumstance does Josh Beckett deserve the Cy Young over Sabathia. It’s not even debatable who the better pitcher has been.
Red Sox: 30 national TV appearances
Indians: 12 national TV appearances
(from http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/television)
Beckett wins.
Who didn’t know that Bonds’ HOUR record was another way of saying Bonds’ HR record?
Thank you, Blackberry.
Of course Beckett will win. Sabathia is clearly more deserving, and it’s not close.
My predictions:
AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez
AL Cy Young: C.C. Sabathia
AL Manager of the year: Joe Torre
AL ROY: Dustin Pedroia
NL MVP: Price Fielder
NL Cy Young: Jake Peavy
NL Manager of the year: Lou Piniella
NL ROY: Ryan Braun
JoeyT is right. It’s probably Howard or Fielder. It all depends on who makes the playoffs. If the Rockies sneak in, Holliday tops the list. But Coors is going to hurt him. Howard has struck out almost 200 times, but his #s are ridiculous.
That’s funny about Bonds.
If you want to talk about well-rounded #s, Hanley Ramirez is about as balanced as they come. .333 Average, 28 homers, 74 RBIs for a leadoff guy, 50 SBs, 200 hits and 44 doubles. That’s stout. He’s had the best season in the NL, but he plays for a stinker. Man, that Beckett trade really worked out for both clubs.
In the minds of the voters, Beckett and Sabathia are close. Similar records (19 wins vs 18 wins), almost identical ERAs. Sabathia has him with way more innings, which goes a long way in my book.
But if Beckett wins 20, Sabathia doesn’t & they maintain very close ERAs, I’m afraid history tells us Beckett will get the nod.
Why not Fausto Carmona, who leads the AL in ERA and has 17 wins?
How about some trivia?
maybe someone can help me.
About a year ago, I was looking up minor league stats and came across a guy that hit for good power, but struckout over 200 times in one season. Then the years before and after that it was like 178 and 196 or SOMETHING close to that. This was fairly recently, liek the last 10 years or so.
For the life of me, I can’t remember who this guy is. it’s going to bug me forever if I don’t figure out who this guy is.
Anybody got a clue?
P.S. I know for sure it’s not Troy Glaus, Adam Dunn, or Russell Branyan. The guy I’m looking for never made the majors.
Well, baseball-reference seems to have a problem with their 1999 stats, but, besides that year, the only time any hitter has exceeded 200 strikeouts in the last ten years is Robert Stratton in 2001. He also hit 30 HR that year, mostly in AA.
http://minors.baseball-reference.com/players.cgi?pid=14088
JoeyT, you’re the man.
That’s him, I can sleep a little easier tonight, esspecially knowing that the Mets lost a heartbreaker and the Metsblog is about to collectively commit suicide.
203 k’s in 490 AB in 2001, that’s the stat I remember.
Also, at some point in his Minor League career, Virgil Trucks struck out something like 417 hitters in the Texas League sometime in the late 30’s, I think. But I’ve only found a few really obscure articles about it, what with how loose they were with stats in the minors back in those days it could be far more or far less.
Ah, I love stats and trivia.
P.S. I’m happy for a 5 game wining streak, too bad it (almost) doesn’t matter anymore.
After seeing him pitch against Atlanta, I love Carmona, who’s 17-8 with a 3.07.
But his ERA isn’t dramatically better than Beckett (19-6, 3.20) or Sabathia (18-7, 3.19) and he’s a couple wins off the pace.
Of course, like Brandon Webb in the NL last year, the AL Cy Young could be determined by everyone’s last start.
Also: Boy, you should hear WFAN in NYC right now. It’s the Met Suicide Hotline. They are raking Willie over the coals.
Howard might be a worse choice this year than Morneau was last year. He might be the fourth most valuable player on his own town.
town=team. cripes
@39
As well they should, ububba, the Mets should have had the division locked by now, if they were as good as everyone thought they were.
It just seems more and more like last year was just a fluke, and the Mets are finally after nearly 2 years showing thier true colors. The magic doesn’t last forever, as we found out last year. Shit, the Mets are so tuned into losing right now, we even have a shadow of a chance, which, if the Mets we’re anywhere as good as everybody thinks they are, shouldn’t happen. Shit, they’re starting to act like US.
Alls I got to say is welcome back to reality, assholes.
PLUS, they have !!! Jorge Sosa !!! in crucial games trying to win a pennent race.
That’s just hilarious.
So finally when it’s too late this team steps up its level of play and wins 5 in a row. Doesn’t this just point to that Bobby was failing at motivating the team from May to August?
This team with Smoltz and Hudson pitching 4 games in each playoff round, Moylan, Mahay, and Soriano anchoring the bullpen, and the line up full of .300 hitters could have gone far if they had made the playoffs. What a waste.
I don’t buy that the Braves could have gone far in the playoffs. The fact is, when they needed to win tough games, they couldn’t do it, even with Smoltz and Hudson. I don’t see how that would have changed in the playoffs against better teams. As for the lineup of .300 hitters, it hasn’t translated into any kind of offensive consistency.
As for not motivating the team, what does that mean? Is Bobby supposed to go out and give a Knute Rockne pep talk and that’s going to make the Braves play better? This is baseball, not football. If anything, the Braves were too motivated; they were trying to hard and played intense. I blame Bobby to some extent for not getting the team to be more relaxed, but if the players need to be motivated, you have a lot more serious problems than the manager.
The last few games have shown what a difference decent pitching makes. It’s as simple as that; it’s not motivation or stuff like that.
Getting my tickets today:
Going to Gainesville next week for Auburn/Florida;
Going to Athens in November for The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry (Where We Don’t Play For Some Stupid Log Like Every Two Big Ten Schools)
Brings the list of SEC stadiums I’ve seen a game at to 9:
Jordan-Hare Stadium (Auburn)
Bryant-Denny Stadium (Tuscaloosa)
Davis Wade Stadium (Starkville)
Vaught-Hemingway Stadium (Oxford)
Tiger Stadium (Baton Rouge)
Neyland Stadium (Knoxville)
Williams-Brice Stadium (Columbia)
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (Gainesville)
Sanford Stadium (Athens)
I would rank them, but you have to have separate rankings – “most hospitable places” “easiest to find a ticket at” “loudest stadiums” etc.
I’m hoping that Utley wins the MVP this year, then gets moved to left field so they can make room for Iguchi at second base. Then he starts having persistent hamstring problems and plays about 120 games a year for the rest of his career, raking when he’s healthy, but missing more than a game a week on average.
Or is that unkind of me?
If there was a “hardest stadiums to get around in once you’re inside” list, Williams-Brice would win hands down.
Sorry, back to baseball.
It took a 5 game winning streak to peak my interest in this team again after a month absence. I still believe. Let’s win the whole fucking thing!
mac–
c’mon. you should know why soriano is appealing this. it’s the classic managerial/pitcher suspension ploy. appeal it just long enough to get your guy in line for some rest, then drop the appeal and suspend the player 4 games and the result is negligible (especially with SP). soriano pitched (if memory serves) mon, tues, wed, and thurs. i bet he goes tonight as well. then he’ll decide to “drop the appeal” and “miss” 4 games (sat and sun that he’d normally miss on rest anyway.
I still believe.
I’m thankful that I’m not there yet. I’ll be very upset if I do get there, though, because there is no freaking way this team is making the playoffs, and I’d be in for the sort of Jacob-Hester-style emotional wreckage that I’ve distanced myself from by giving up on the season a few weeks ago.
http://www.sportsclubstats.com/MLB/National/East/Braves.html
I’d like to see the team continue to play well. That’s what I believe in. Anything is possible. Just try to keep winning.
Believe? I’m not drunk enough for that.
Also, here’s An interesting new steroid study by a Tufts physicist. The result: Steroids help bat speed. Steroids can increase HR totals by 50-percent.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070920/hl_nm/steroid_dc
Wryn,
I saw a game at Williams-Brice once & I agree that it’s not one of my faves.
It was a noon start in early September, blazing hot. It was the Joe Morrison era & everyone was wearing all-black. So you’d see these drunk guys walking around in those black, polyester coaches slacks, black Gamecock shirts, with black Carolina ballcaps.
The stadium is like a big frying pan with no shade, so there were dozens of people (all clad in black) passing out. EMTs were running all over the place, tending to victims of the sun.
To review: If you get drunk & dehydrate yourself in the morning, then wear black polyester in the blazing, hot South Carolina sun, there’s a very good chance you may not hear the game’s final gun.
Also, here’s Elton John’s visit with JS, Phil Niekro & the Lemmer.
http://www.accessatlanta.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/accessatlanta/peachbuzz/entries/2007/09/20/braves_elton_ta.html
If there was a “hardest stadiums to get around in once you’re inside” list, Williams-Brice would win hands down.
You’ve clearly never been to the Rose Bowl. Before you get in you’d better eat, drink, pee, kiss your loved ones, because once your in you are not getting out until the game is over.
Also, here’s An interesting new steroid study by a Tufts physicist.
There is some dubious stuff in that study (as there is in nearly all studies) but the most interesting thing is the material on how just a small difference muscle mass can lead to a dramatic increase in home runs.
It’s kind of a tough read for the ‘steriods don’t help you play baseball’ crowd.
@ 57 and 54,
The reason that there can be (not IS) such a dramatic impact in HR rates is that all yu have to do is hit just hard enough to get over the fence. Basically, sub warning track flies go out which changes the percentage of “all fly balls” that become Home Runs.
Thin about what would happen to HR rates if the fences came in 15 feet all the way around.
Robert,
I have no idea about the study’s methodology and, despite a couple of physics classes, I’m certainly no physicist.
But, from my view, his results would seem to confirm what I’ve always suspected, based on what I’ve seen with my own eyes.
From the Mets game last night: As it turns out, Billy Wagner was unavailable with back spasms. They didn’t know he was unavailable until he got up in the bullpen & said he couldn’t go. That’s why it was all-Sosa.
No tears from me, but that’s just a bad break for the Mets.
A “bad” break for the Mets is a blessing and prayers answered to everyone else, me in particular (or maybe only me but whatever).
I have absolutly no love or sympathy for the Mets or thier fans whatsoever, not even in the context of simply enjoying baseball for the game’s sake. If they choke like I think they will, to me, that’ll be just about as good as us making it to the NLCS or something as far as bare satisfaction. I mean we were what like 10 games out a few weeks ago or something, and now we’re actually still in it, even though it’s not probable, there’s still a chance we could go on a long winning streak and pull off an upset by shitting on the Phillies AND the Mets.
But the horrible thing is, if we beat the Philles, we’re actually helping the Mets. but since the Mets are determined to lose in everyway possible, and pull quads and have back spasms and pitch Jorge Sosa, I’m not worried that our “help” will actually help. Either way, we’re breaking somebodys heart. Phillies or the Mets, they’re all the same to me. They’re just assholes who share the division with us.
To expound on something I said up there, we DID have our chance to show up the Mets (like we had all year before) in our last two series and we went 1-5.
It could have been way different if we even split those games, or went 4-2, or…5-1.
SO, I’m not excusing our suckage, it’s just weird what’s going on in the NL East right now.
Despite all indications to the contrary, I still don’t think the Mets are going to fully blow the division.
And I can’t equate Braves success with Mets misery. As long as the Mets don’t win their last game, I really don’t care who wins (if it’s not ATL).
But what if the Mets drop 2 of next three games, the Braves and Phils win all three? Freakish, but possible. We’d be 3 games behind the 1st place Phils and playing them for the division? All we can do is keep winning.
That being said, I think if we lose even one game against the beermakers, our season and any thought of a comeback is officially over.
Winning 8/9 vs. Mil, Pha & Hou looks less than likely. And, at this point, I’m not sure if stranger things have ever happened.
When I’m in Houston this weekend, the only thing I expect to be rooting for is a Chipper batting title.
Alright, Dawg people. Here’s one for you:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=schlabach_mark&id=3029287