ESPN – Braves vs. Marlins – Box Score – April 15, 2008
Abhorrent.
The Braves just sucked tonight. The exceptions are the 1-2-3 hitters, and starter Jair Jurrjens, who was stuck with a loss despite pitching six strong innings, allowing two runs on four hits, striking out five. But the Braves were held to six hits — two each by KJ and Chipper, one by Escobar, and only one (by Diaz) by anyone in the bottom two-thirds of the order. They drew no walks, and had no extra-base hits.
Then the bullpen got involved. Resop and Ring got through the seventh, somehow, but Ring loaded the bases after getting the leadoff hitter in the eighth. Carlyle came in to get one batter, and did, and then Bobby for some ungodly reason brought in the horrifying Ohman. Two bases-loaded walks later, it was 4-0. And Ohman didn’t even get charged for a run! Great work, Will!
I’ve got to go throw things at the wall now.
this team’s going to put it together, right? just need some reassurance.
http://www.bamafever.com/Details.cfm?ProdID=109&category
Oh dear God..
Glad I missed this one.
The doghouse is back! We need a pretty big one right now Mac.
Which of these teams isn’t trying to win this year? I forget.
When will Teixiera take a baseball bat to the plate?
Ohman is horrible. Horrible.
Anyone else ready for Tex to wake up? How about a walk? Something? Anything? I know he’s a slow starter but the three hitters before him are ALWAYS on base begging to be driven in.
Bad news from Peanut:
“An MRI taken in Atlanta on Monday led the Braves to be concerned about Moylan’s elbow. But before making a determination about his future, they have asked the right-handed reliever to get a second opinion from noted surgeon Dr. James Andrews.
Moylan will make the often ill-fated trip to Birmingham, Ala., on Wednesday to visit Andrews, who will likely be able to provide more specifics about the injury and whether the Braves will be able to count on the Australian right-hander again any time in the near future.”
Good news from Peanut is that Glavine was feeling much better today.
why is just a pitcher in the doghouse, Im blaming our feast or famine offense on our problems. we’ve lost to crappy teams due to the fact that our team isnt scoring runs when needed. its freakin Scott Olsen and our team made him look like Santana
No, we scored on Santana.
I’m pretty sure he’ll get better, but our current #4 hitter is looking a lot like our previous #4 hitter.
Everyone just calm down. The corporate Braves will be fine. It’s just April. Not too high, not too low. You guys know the deal…just keep on treading water.
Tread water right into an 80-82 season.
I’m STILL waiting to start enjoying the ride.
Get used to it. This is what we’ve done the last, oh, 400 games or so. No reason to think it’s changing any time soon.
I have not joined in the “Free Phil Stockman” campaign yet, but if Moylan’s injury turns out to be a serious one, Stockman may be our only hope for an impact reliever without a trade. Ohman seems to be morphing into Gryboski. Resop going through an inning without a run is miraculous. I’ve had some confidence in Ring, but maybe that’s an illusion.
Forgetting about our bullpen, I don’t think we’ll win very many games with Tex, Frenchy, Mac, Diaz and Kotsay going a combined 1 for 18.
Another Tommy John for Braves’ pitcher? If there is one thing about Leo, the guy is excellent in keeping pitchers healthy…why our pitchers break down so easily nowadays?
And Gonzo won’t be back til June. We’re in a bit of trouble if Moylan’s gone for the year, eh?
“Another Tommy John for Braves’ pitcher? If there is one thing about Leo, the guy is excellent in keeping pitchers healthy…why our pitchers break down so easily nowadays?”
I am not so sure the injury bug strikes randomly.
why our pitchers break down so easily nowadays?
For starters, we’ve played 13 games, and Bobby has already made 50 pitching changes.
he’s trying to keep his old legs moving so they dont lock up on him
And Wryn, let’s be careful before we start linking crazy things…
http://www.cbssportsstore.com/sm-champions-again-auburn-tigers-1957-national-champions-t-shirt–pi-2191709.html
http://cgi.ebay.com/2004-AUBURN-TIGERS-NATIONAL-CHAMPIONSHIP-RING-10K_W0QQitemZ110213005261QQihZ001QQcategoryZ24548QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Of course, we have to remember how Bobby destroyed Moylan’s arm last season.
There’s a good story about how Holmes acquired the bat he used to break Hornsby’s consecutive-game hitting streak.
Tommy Holmes Obituary
Can’t say I’m sad that I missed this one.
Went to a Belgian restaurant in Chelsea tonight. Had steak tartare & a bellyful of Leffe brew. Unlike many watching this game, I’m guessing, I didn’t leave disappointed.
Sounds like ol’ Jair was alright, but zero runs will do you in every time.
ububba,
That’s funny, because I just got back from seeing In Bruges, a noirish comedy starring Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, and Ralph Fiennes. It’s a hilarious movie, and the shots of Bruges are pretty good too. No high-octane beer, however.
http://tinyurl.com/44pec5
Man, all these pitching injuries… again. Sigh. Another long losing season coming.
Good morning.. um
An MRI on Moylan’s sore right elbow showed irregularities that could indicate a serious injury and he’ll visit Dr. James Andrews later this week, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports
Very bad things. Dammit.
So, we’ve played five teams so far this season: the Marlins, Nationals, Mets, Rockies and Pirates.
Guess which of these five teams is the only one NOT to have beaten us?
Yeah, Mets fans, I am talking to you. (which of course would also mean my brother and dad).
How embarrassing is that? I mean, we SUCK.
For the record, since I am usually someone who likes to go out on a limb, but I was one of the few on here who HATED Will Ohman prior to his arrival and thought he would suck.
If you go back and see Cubs fans and stories on him last year, you’d see Cubs fans were happy to see him go. Now, with Moylan out, who does Phil Stockman have to kill to get up to Atlanta?
I would also like to point out that despite a slew of pitching injuries, it still appears management has lot enough confidence in Chuck James that they aren’t letting him anywhere near the majors again for now.
http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/braves/stories/2008/04/15/carlyle_0416.html?imw=Y
Of course, the most amazing amazing and humorous thing I read in this article is they actually BELIEVE Mike Hampton will be ready in 2-3 weeks.
Somewhere, Mac is filming his next video…
Going back to the Ohman thing, I find it rather ironic that one of the few trades Frank ‘The Tank’ Wren was complimented on was getting Ohman & Infante. That was a winner, Frank.
(the good news is I guess we didn’t give up much in return).
But as Cary said on Sunday at the Nats park, wouldn’t be bad to still have Tyler Yates, who’s off to a good start with Pittsburgh. Cary, I should have stuck with my original opinion…you are right. The best part? The guy we dumped Yates for…Chris Resop.
Cox was asked if he’s found himself in recent days asking, what else could go wrong? “No, can’t have anything else,” he said, implying everything that could go wrong with the pitching, has. “Good thing we had that [improved] depth.”
That sounds a little sarcastic.
Well, to be fair, how much worse would we be if we didn’t have the depth we had? If we had the pitching depth we had last year, I think we would be in even worse shape.
Here’s me being positive: we’ll get Glavine back hopefully soon. Jair is pitching pretty well. Smoltz and Huddy are business as usual. Chuck James will hopefully be a decent 5th starter. Carlyle and Bennett are just stop-gaps right now. Carlyle won’t get the starts he got last year.
Teixera will wake up. We know that. The offense will be just fine. Even Kotsay isn’t as bad as some thought he’d be.
That’s all I got…
Dunno if this was posted, but Mets fan dies after falling over railing at Shea. That’s just really sad. I don’t care what team you cheer for.
Rob,
It’s very sad and sounds exactly like what happened during the first season of the Nationals…someone died that way @ RFK.
It was alcohol related; I wouldn’t be surprised if this was also alcohol related.
Braves record in the last 337 games: 168-169.
Sort of the epitome of mediocrity I’m afraid to say. It’s getting hard to maintain the myth that this is a top-tier team.
For years the Braves pitchers were almost preternaturally healthy, except for Smoltz in one year. Maybe Mazzone gets some credit for that but he certainly didn’t have the same effect on the Orioles’ staff. I think the Braves had a lot of good fortune in the 90s and they are having a lot of bad fortune now.
The starting pitching has been plenty good enough to win. Obviously, the bullpen has been a real problem but, even there, they could have won some of these games with a few more runs. I’m not going to beat a dead horse about my feelings about the offense but it’s pretty much the same story as last year–score lots of runs in blow outs but struggle to score at all in other games. It’s not all Teixera, who will certainly come around. No team is going to have all the hitters going well at once; guys have to pick up the slack and they are somehow going to have to improve against lefties and, in general, have better at bats. IMO, there are too many free swingers on this team.
The fortunate thing is that all three contenders in the division have similar problems.
Glad I missed this one. I liked the Ohman trade when it went down, but he does appear to be terrible. And why was he even brought in?
Moylan – sigh
Why couldn’t it happen to Resop?
One could argue he has been way overused.
Come on, Stu, you know he was brought in to face a lefty, who was promptly removed for a righty. (I believe: Hermida replaced by Helms, but I may be getting mixed up.)
I think it was actually Luis Gonzalez, not Hermida.
I still blame Pendleton. Our offense has been unable to make adjustments ever since….. we hired Pendleton?
Alex,
There was no mention of alcohol being involved, and they usually throw in that little nugget of info. It seemed like he just fell.
I actually really liked In Bruges, and Leffe is terrific stuff. I went to my favorite bar last night, pulled myself a chair, had a few beers and a lot of fries, and felt my stomach slowly turn.
By the way, this just in from Damien Ohman: “When you lose guys of that caliber, you absolutely feel some sort of pressure to pick up the slack. But I think with the pieces we have, that we can do it. I don’t think it’s going to be an issue.”
I’m glad he’s confident about the team. I’d be a lot happier about his confidence, of course, if he weren’t terrible at baseball.
* felt my stomach slowly turn as I watched the game on MLB Extra Innings, one of the many reasons this is my favorite bar.
I’m so disappointed that all our good bullpen arms are the injured ones and the crappy ones are still healthy and ruining our games. Moylan Gonzo and Soriano out really wrecks our plans
i’m just glad i spent the evening at a really top-notch college game. (Florida State beat the Gators 4-2)……………i’m not a big fan of statistics that didnt appear on the back of my baseball cards, but i think we need a new one for this bullpen….BD (blown defecit) for when they make a bad situation worse.
Afficionados of all things Belgian might want to visit Brasserie Beck in DC. The place has a huge selection of Belgian beer (alas, I had an early meeting the next day so my sampling was sparse); I didn’t try the food so caveat emptor.
KJ +81
YEsc +153
CJ +169
Tex +68
JFra +107
BMac +143
MKot +79
MDiaz +53
So.. we have 3 all stars, 1 average, 4 black holes, and the pitcher. We suck. Of course.. Tex is going to hit better… but Yunel is going to hit worse.
Man.. look at the ops+ of our outfielders… Sure that Schaefer kid look like an idiot right now.
Frank, I haven’t had the food at Brasserie Beck, but I can testify that the Belgian frites — served with 3 different dipping sauces — are sensational. They’re $7, however, and the beers are mostly around $10 a pop, so it’s not a place to go if you’re on a financial diet.
I wonder what team can have three GREAT bullpen arms, lose them all, and still be successful. I hope we’re one.
Hopefully, we won’t have lost them all for the season.
I think we need to try Phil Stockman and we need him to be great.
We may even have to hope for excellence at the Major League level from Kris Medlen this year.
At this rate, we may even have to hope for excellence at the Major League level from Julio Teheran this year.
AAR–indeed, Brasserie Beck has ballpark pricing but it’s not a ballpark.
http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/hawks/stories/2008/04/15/woodsonbald_0416.html
Yup, Woodson shaving his head is clearly going to make the difference now; the Hawks should have no problem whatsoever with the 65 win Celitcs.
ugh, this is frustrating. Its like this team has been on a constant loop since for the last 300 games or so….kick the living crap out of someone and then loose 3 in a row by one run. I think we should staff our pen with every rubber arm in the league, and then it wont matter if Bobby mis-uses them!
And the best part is Teixeira hitting Andruw-like in the 4th spot.
So far, by my estimation, here are the “bright” spots:
1. Jair Jurggjens – we have a legitimate quality young starter.
2. Smoltz and Hudson have continued to be Smoltz and Hudson.
3. Yunel Escobar.
4. The rest of the division is rather suspect.
5. We’re 2-0 against the Mets.
Interesting tid-bit:
Entering Tuesday, the only homer that Braves starters had surrendered in 62 2/3 innings came on April 9, when Colorado’s Yorvit Torrealba took Chuck James deep.
#52, well maybe the extra hair was what was holding him back from using his roster sanely and now he will suddenly stop expecting Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby to play 46 minutes a game and playing Marvin Williams at all. If that works, then we can try to get Bobby Cox to shave his head so he won’t burn out the rest of the bullpen.
And the best part is Teixeira hitting Andruw-like in the 4th spot.
Andruw had a couple of knocks last night, look out Tex here he comes….
Any interest in an innings eater like Dave Bush? He may be expendable…..
I don’t care if Ohman walks every batter he faces for the rest of the year and Infante misses the entire season after straining both pecs; it wouldn’t change my original support for the trade. I find Frank Wren to be, thus far, a woefully incompetent GM, but I’ll still defend that one.
He traded a young reliever who probably still needs more time in the minors (and has a history of back problems) for two solid pieces for the major league roster. Ohman and Infante will never be stars, but their prior stats indicated that they would be at least adequate in the roles the Braves need them to fill.
Citing the distaste of Cubs fans for Ohman is a complete non sequitur. Of course they hate him; he was terrible at Wrigley. The fickle support of a fan base usually has little to do with a player’s overall performance. Rather, fans tend to remember pivotal moments and judge players accordingly. It’s tough to recall a hold in the seventh inning, but I can tell you exactly when Chris Reitsma gave up a grand slam to David Eckstein with a two run Braves lead in the ninth. I’m not trying to sell Reitsma’s incredibly lacking performance short; he gave us many more such moments, but I remember that one especially vividly.
It’s human nature, I guess. You can still find Mets fans who love Chris Woodward and Yankees fans who’ll cheer Jim Leyritz.
Anyone know who the PTBNL was in the Langerhans deal? Its not listed on baseball reference.
Alex,
You forgot the hot start Chipper is off to. He is hitting like .620 with runners on base.
Ugh for everything in this offense except Chipper…That was hard to watch.
Can the Braves please extend Chipper already?
Also, I’m glad to see the doghouse back. We really could have used it last season with the way the bottom-half of the starting rotation was pitching.
Smitty, you’re 100% right; but I didn’t mention Chipper probably because mr. reliable is doing what we’ve grown accustomed to – like Smoltzie.
Chipper & Smoltz are prime examples of guys who go out there and do their jobs well, no matter how much everyone is lacking or slacking.
I think you could say the same for Escobar, who really really needs a nickname.
Can we all think of a nickname for Yunel? How about Yunel “Danger” Escobar?
Did anyone else notice the group of fans in the cheap seats at turner last week holding up the “Yunel’s Cartel” sign?
Can we all think of a nickname for Yunel?
Yesco didn’t take? Yutility was fun until he outgrew it.
Yunel Me Al.
Big Yunit?
I think “Comandante” would be suitable.
Yunel “Pablo” Escobar.
I mean, if we’re all gonna hop on board Pablo’s cartel, it’s the only logical choice.
Maybe Adrian Grenier can play him in the Braves movie. he he.
(Chris Resop will be played by Turtle or Drama).
If we’re going to do something asinine and “Berman-esque” then we could do:
Yu-nel “Carter” Escobar.
(in hommage to the late great 80’s sitcom actress, Nell Carter?).
Or:
Yunel “me and Dupree” Escobar!
Hommage to Billy Crystal:
Yunel “look Maaaaavelous” Escobar.
Running “Yunel Escobar” through an anagram generator yielded some interesting possibilities:
Cruel Soybean? Secular Ebony? Cereal Buns, Yo!
To borrow a line from Stu, ‘Cruel Soybean’ will officially be a future fantasy baseball or football team name of mine.
That’s absolutely fantastic, basil.
“Cruel Soybean” is very good, especially when Yunel mashes the opposition’s pitching. Then again, the name would be just as appropriate if he made a defensive error.
Schuerholz wouldn’t have traded for Ohman.
“Yutility” was great, and I’m sorry, but I love “Yunel’s Cartel.”
I’m sure that a Cuban ex-pat wouldn’t wanna be associated with a dead Columbian drug lord, but it’s just, y’know, a joke.
Yeah, but ububba, I could see “Pablo” shirts (with pics of Yunel in his Braves cap, holding a bat) becoming a hot seller with the younger set.
Yunel Escobar is dead to Stu. Long live Secular Ebony!
Sometimes you feel like a nut…
Sometimes Yunel
I knew this would be a bad game because in my memory Scott Olsen gave the Braves alot of trouble last year. Checking baseball reference, I found that he actually was pretty bad against us last year, except for April 25 when he went 8 innings, struck out 10 and allowed only 3 runs. I was probably thinking of Rich Hill, who really did kill us last year. Hopefully this was Olsen’s one good outing and the rest of the year will be like 2007.
With no Braves on TBS this year, I tried to start following the Nationals, but it didn’t take. The Braves are the only sports team I’ve followed consistently my whole life, so even if I can’t watch I’ll still be keeping up with Mac’s recaps. Probably sign up for MLB radio too, which isn’t a bad deal.
Scott Olsen = The NEW Jason Bergmann.
Waht about Cabaña, for Escobar?
What about “Brazo,” because he has a strong arm?
My nickname for Chris Resop:
“The Trojan Horse”.
Since he may in fact be a Met or Philly ‘rebel spy’.
I’ll stick with “Radar Gun”, because that’s the only reason he’s employed as anything but a shoe salesman.
The biggest issue I have with Bobby isn’t his bullpen usage – it has to do with how he plays smallball. Although Bobby is doing more to not rely on the longball as of late, it still isn’t enough. Last night marked the second time in the last three games that I saw a great opportunity for a hit and run. Escobar at the plate and KJ at first. Last night with a 1-0 game, it would have tied it up with KJ at third and Chipper at the plate with nobody out. Tell me why this wouldn’t have been a good idea. KJ runs well and Escobar can put wood on just about anything.
Didn’t see the game, so I don’t know which inning you are discussing, but a hit & run can certainly work with those guys.
Of course, the downside is that you can run yourself out of an inning with Chipper and/or Tex due up.
I still like Cabaña
how bout, Mr. Kruger? eh? eh? I like the looks of that.
no one likes escargot? “it’s kind of ugly looking, yet, also a pleasant surprise”.
I think we found our new poll question, Mac!
I smell a repeat of last year. Kind of a, well, cowardly persona.
Score 10 runs when things are easy and can’t score one when you need it. Hate to say it, but, yep, cowardly …
Cowardly ain’t the right word.
Inept?
Disinterested.
New thread.