ESPN – Braves vs. Phillies Box Score, September 26 2007 – MLB
Well, so much for the hopeople.
The Phillies took a 1-0 lead in the first on an RBI single by Howard. In the third, they got three runs, thanks in large part to a throwing error by Chipper that allowed a run to score and extended the inning. Teixeira cut it to 4-2 with a homer in the fourth, but that was as close as they’d get. The Phillies got one more run in the seventh on a solo homer.
Hudson was charged with just two earned runs, but wasn’t really too effective, allowing eight hits in six-plus innings. He did strike out five. Ring, Moylan, and Dotel finished up with no harm done.
Chipper was 1-4 (scoring in front of Teixeira’s homer) and is at .339, maintaining a one-point lead on Holliday. Utley was 1-3 and is at .334, one point ahead of Renteria, who was also 1-4.
Sort of a typical Hudson-Braves game. Pitched ok but not great, hurt by an error that he could have pitched around. The Braves “great” offense gets shut down by a Kyle Lohse.
It wasn’t all his fault tonight, obviously, but Hudson has been pretty mediocre the last five or six starts other than the shutout of the Nats. Seems like he pitches best when he gets a lot of run support. His season has been generally good, but pretty up and down–great start, struggled for a while, won 9 straight, and then struggled again. I don’t know what to make of Hudson except to say he’s no John Smoltz.
Anyway, I’m half hoping the Phillies knock the Mets out. I’m going to go read Mets Blog–should be fun.
I want to see the Mets complete their collapse.
TBS snubs Skip Caray for the playoffs and says:
TBS responded to Caray’s comments with a prepared statement by spokesman Jeff Pomeroy: “TBS has put together four telecast teams that we feel will best serve our national baseball audience. … We appreciate Skip’s abilities as a play-by-play announcer and look forward to his [Braves] calls for us next year on Peachtree TV, but we decided to go in another direction as we look to brand our new MLB-on-TBS playoff package.”
I say–brank this a$$@#$%. Skip’s one of the best and deserves better.
sheesh–brand not brank–a little too worked up on that post I guess 🙂
Wow, last nite was quite the let down. However, I have hope for next year. Our bullpen should be sound, our offense wont change much, I really dont think we will miss AJ at the plate, but I know we will miss him in the field. That being said, if we dont solidify the starting rotation, we’ll be right back in this boat again next year…..
I didn’t really have hope, and I can’t be upset about last night. I have just enjoyed seeing some good baseball for 2 weeks from this team after many months of mediocrity.
I’m rooting for the Phils to win the east and the Rockies the wild card. That would I think produce a Phillies-Rockies first round series which could set all time offense records for a playoff series.
Latest from Mets Blog:
“Now we have YANKEE fans, PHILLY fans, Nationals fans, braves fans.. ALL of them arer going to make the mets fans their bitches..”
I love this.
Can someone please explain to me why Chase Utley was allowed to run out of the baseline, falling down onto the infield grass, into order to avoid the tag by Chipper? Did the rules change and you’re now allowed to avoid tags by leaving the baseline? This wasn’t argued or discussed by any talking heads that I could hear, and I don’t get it.
Ron–I’m with you on Philly and Colorado. Philly b/c all the teeth gnashing out of NY about the Mets should be fun to watch. The Rocks have been crummy for several years so, like the Brewers who’ll be at home, I think it’s good for the competitiveness of baseball.
Matt, I think Chipper has to make an efffort to tag him or it doesnt matter if he’s in the baseline or not. If Chipper had made that attempt Utley would be out no question. Didnt see the play, but this is what Chipper said after the game
#2 – ME too!!!
My understanding of the rules is that you don’t have to run a straight line to the base. You can extend the baseline out so long as you are still taking a straight line to the base. At least, this is what I have seen in the past. Based on that, I don’t think Utley was out of the basepath.
Figures the Braves lose a pitching matchup there is no way they should lose.
Going into last night’s game, the starting lineup for the Braves was hitting .411 against Lohse.
Predictions: Braves miss the playoffs (duh), Chipper loses the batting title, Chipper doesn’t get the Gold Glove.
Basically a disaster.
Parish, and thats why we are where we are. We always let these types of pitchers beat us. It happens sometimes, but it seems like it happens alot to us. Oh well, we should have played better in May June July and August
It looked to me like Chipper obstructed Utley to about the same degree as Utley ran out of the baseline, so it was a good no call. Maybe Chipper would have had an easier play tagging out Chase, but really he should have just made a good throw and the rest would have been academic. But errors are part of baseball and it’s up to the pitcher to pitch around them and the offense to score more than 2 runs against a nobody.
“…but we decided to go in another direction as we look to brand our new MLB-on-TBS playoff package.”
Because it worked so well back in 2003…..
Santana to the DODGERS? Aw crap. Did anyone see this?
http://cbs2.com/sports/local_story_269110730.html
That sounds like something the suddenly “all-in” Schuerholz would want to get in on. Does the farm system have enough talent left for a huge trade?
I wouldn’t get too worked up about rumors at this point. The season hasn’t even ended yet. It’s just another make-work story.
How ironic is this–the Braves won’t make the playoffs but at this point, the Mets would kill for the Braves pitching staff, especially Smoltz and Hudson. No way the Braves pitching would have blown all these games to the Nats. Even Kyle Davies might have been an upgrade.
Re Skip: I can understand TBS not going with Skip on the playoffs because, frankly, he comes across like a sick man. But I can’t really understand Dick Stockton, who has been a solid announcer (he called the Carlton Fisk home run) but is getting up there and, as Skip pointed out, does little baseball these days. Does it sound like TBS is trying to run Skip off?
Chipper ran into the basepath with the ball in his glove, with the intent to tag Utley. The basepath was simultaneously vacated by Utley, who arrived about a half-second later. Utley ended up all the way in the grass, with no part of his body in the dirt. The only reason Chipper threw the ball is that he was unable to tag Utley. If Chipper is directly between the bases and he can’t reach Utley, how can Utley be in the basepath? Watch the replay.
That sounds like something the suddenly “all-in” Schuerholz would want to get in on. Does the farm system have enough talent left for a huge trade?
We have neither a Matt Kemp nor a Clayton Kershaw to offer.
But the Braves have…..Gregor Blanco!???
You got me there.
Hey, maybe when the Dodgers get Santana, we can get him from them by including Blanco, who looks like a reasonable Juan Pierre approximation. Which they apparently value greatly.
Lillibridge, Thorman, Reyes, and some well thought of A player for Santana if he agrees to sign an extension? I’m sure Shuerholz could find enough players to trade to make it happen if Santana goes on the trade market. My only question is whether Santana would agree to an extension rather than waiting to become a free agent when he surely could become the highest paid pitcher ever. I don’t know if Liberty would give Shuerholz enough leeway to offer Santana a big enough extension to make it happen.
I think the Twins would only trade Santana for a team’s top prospect(s) and they would have to be really top prospects. None of the guys that Ron mentioned seems to really fit that bill. Plus, if the Twins traded Santana, they would want hitting because they have a lot of young pitching. (Their young pitchers I think are more highly regarded than Jo Jo.)And they are going to be looking for guys that are major league ready, not some A-ball player. I can’t see Lillibridge, Thorman, or anyone else in the Braves organization really even passing the laugh test. It would take someone on the order of Salty at the least to get Santana.
As the article mentions, they’re looking for a replacement for Torii Hunter. Matt Kemp is just that. We don’t have anything like Matt Kemp. Unless you consider Brandon Jones to be that. Which I don’t. But even if he is, we can’t include one of the top minor league arms in all of baseball in the deal, because we don’t have one of the top minor league arms in all of baseball.
I think the Braves’ only real shot would be to trade major leagues. The Twins need help in the middle infield so maybe Kelly Johnson might be enticing (obviously not one-for-one). But if the Dodgers are willing to trade their top hitting prospect, I don’t see how the Braves could trump that.
Marc, your message is precisely why some of us were not that enthusiastic about the trade for Tex.
One has to imagine that a similar monster package of prospects would have been necessary to net Santana. The Braves chose to spend that package on Tex, leaving nothing comparable for the likes of Johan, even though a case can be made that the Braves need pitching more than hitting.
I would rather have Kemp and Billingsley over the deal headlined by Salty. The Twins have Mauer, which makes Salty less intriguing to them, though I have heard some Twins are tired of Mauer not playing when hurt.
Parish,
You make a good point but in fairness, there was no reason to anticipate that Santana would be on the market (and, in fact, we don’t really know that he is). At the time, the Braves had a significant need at first base and there was no real pitching available that was worth Salty. I had thought that they should wait and try to package Salty in the offseason but I can certainly understand the Braves desire to make a move now–and everyone would have been all over JS if he had not made some move. I still think Tex was the best available player to get for Salty at the time. Plus, even if the Braves could get Santana, he is likely to be at least as hard to resign as Tex. He has no connection to Atlanta at all.
If the Twins trade Santana they should also trade Nathan and not fool around with a partial rebuilding job. Mauer, Morneau, Kemp, and Cuddyer is a good middle of the order. The rotation would look like Liriano, Kershaw, Baker, Slowey, and Garza. This should be their goal for the new stadium. Nathan would also net the Twins two good prospects.
I disagree.
There was reason to anticipate Santana would be on the market (the Twins should trade him) in the final year of his contract, but even so, one must expect that the Tex package would have been sufficient to pry a top of the rotation starter away from some non-contender. We knew how weak the 2008 FA pitching crop would be. We needed those prospects for a trade for pitching, but instead overspent for Tex.
Obviously, it’s specualtion to assume that a #1 or #2 pitcher could be had at mid-season ’07. It is hard to imagine that a team not expecting to contend in the next year or two could resist half of the Braves’ top ten prospects for a pitcher that would not make much difference to them. I believe the price on Tex kept escalating. When it was finalized, it became a package worthy of a top pitcher.
Kershaw *the top pitching prospect in baseball*
Kemp
more prospects
there is no way we could even come close to matching this offer and we shouldnt even try. Santana will be the first 22-25 million dollar pitcher, we have no chance
Again, the twins dont need a catcher and would therefore not be interested in Salty. With Santana and Hunter off the books, they can resign both Mauer, Cuddyer, and Morneau to big extensions. I agree we need a pitcher more than offense, but we dont have the pieces to get Santana from the Twins
Kyle Lohse looked pretty awesome last night—let’s try to sign him.
If this Kershaw kid is as good as they say, I’ve never heard of him, then with Liriano and Kershaw they would have a start to a very solid rotation
mlb rumors says that Alou to the Braves next year makes sense, ummmm..
I wanted Alou several years ago. Not now.
hope JS doesnt read this and think we’ll be fine with what we’ve got for next year
Entering Wednesday night’s game against the Phillies, the Braves owned a National League-best 3.67 ERA in September. While winning nine of their previous 11 games, the Braves have put themselves one victory away from securing their first winning month since April.
I think I dreamed last night that Michael Cuddyer was on the Braves.
Not as good as when I dreamt that Andruw was hosting Saturday Night Live, but more plausible.
I dreamed last night that my boss played for the Braves. He’s 60 years old, but he actually provided an upgrade at the plate over Andruw.
All I got left is to wear my bright-red Nationals T-shirt today.
At this point, it’s just a “wish-misery-on-my-enemy” trip.
Could you imagine having Cuddyer and Frenchy in our outfield? No one would take an extra base, ever
i dreamed that they traded chipper and frenchy to the natspos for robert fick and langerhans.
The more I think about it, I’m having a hard time seeing the Braves paying Santana what he would ask for to sign an extension if they traded for him especially while Hampton is still on the payroll. Maybe if they developed a multi team deal that moved Renteria at the same time it could work financially, but those kind of deals are very difficult to pull off.
If the TWins get some hitting, they don’t need to rebuild even if they trade Santana. They could still have a very solid rotation. The Central is very winnable; Cleveland and Detroit are good teams, but it’s not like competing with the Yankee and Red Sox payrolls. Rob Neyer thinks they should trade both Santana and Nathan, but I would keep Nathan because I think the Twins can be very competitive right away.
Ron, we would have to move all contracts that belonged to Renteria, Wickman, and Andruw to make room for Santana. Then we wouldnt have any funds to pay for the increases to Smoltz, Hudson, and Tex’s contract.
Walter Johnson will rise from the grave & play a banjo before the Braves get Johan Santana.
I agree. Santana is going to kill someone’s payroll but it’s not going to be the Braves. It’s not worth discussing.
Will Sabathia’s free agent money rival Santana’s? Or will Sabathia take a cut and stay with Cleveland?
I don’t see Carmona repeating this year again, so they’ll need to if they want to compete. But I have to believe he could get at least a deal like Zambrano got. He’s a better pitcher, for sure. But if he wanted I think he could demand money that would rival what Santana could get.
“He’s a better pitcher,f or sure” was my opinion compared to Zambrano, not Santana.
I agree with ububba. I still want to know why other teams can develop Johan Santana, CC Sabbathia, Cole Hamels, etc. and the best we can do is Chuck James.
How early in the draft were those guys selected?
How does everyone feel about signing Livan Hernandez? Despite his mediocre career statistics, especially over the last two seasons, he has been a durable and reliable pitcher. I know it would be nice to wrangle an ace starter, but with a decent bullpen and an excellent offense it would do wonders to acquire a solid third starter.
The Met fans’ whinefest is getting deafening up here. They need some Lithium, but quick.
My deli owner friend on the corner (my only fellow Braves fan in the neighborhood) has a bunch of Met peeps working for him. He was laughing when I went in there.
“You should hear them,” he said. “Between my guys and the customers, it doesn’t stop. They moan to me, but…they’re telling it to the wrong guy!”
Then he complimented me on my Nationals T-shirt.
Does anyone have link for a site to check player contracts?
Livian Hernandez is done; he has nothing left. No more stopgaps like that. He would not be a reliable third starter. If the Braves can’t do better than Livian Hernandez, they might as well go with what they have.
http://www.mlbcontracts.blogspot.com
“Then he complimented me on my Nationals T-shirt.”
Priceless, ububba.
I think a 33 year old Livan Hernandez at 5-8 Million a year would be a better fit behind Hudson and Smoltz than Chuck (I don’t know Barry Bonds from Rey Ordonez) James.
On what are you basing that opinion? Because it can’t be performance.