ESPN – Braves vs. Marlins – Box Score – September 01, 2008
What did we do to deserve this?
Mike Hampton (whom nobody wanted at the postseason eligibility deadline, imagine that) pitched pretty well, allowing three runs in six innings for the minimal quality start. The big blow was a two-out two-run homer in the first inning. Is it my imagination, or have there been a whole lot of two-out multi-run homers this year?
Anyway, the Braves rallied back from 3-1 down with two runs in the fifth, then started leaving baserunners on in droves; they outhit the Marlins 11-6. The walks killed. Gonzalez walked them loaded in the ninth then gave up the winning run on a weak sac fly (I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how Brandon Jones couldn’t get a better throw on that). The Marlins didn’t walk anyone.
This is such a bad ballclub that I’m running out of adjectives and printable expletives. Slugging first baseman Martin Prado was 0-5, but the new savior is Josh Anderson, who had three hits.
I guess Gonzalez needs to go too? Or maybe he needs to not be so wild in a non-save situation.
You can’t really blame Gonzo; since the Braves only have save chances once a week he hardly pitches.
Came here for the game thread, only to learn that we had already lost. Saves me three hours of frustration.
Brandon Jones couldnt break a window from 50 feet. maybe they should make him a pitcher.
Ron E,
I understand that, but it’s still pretty pathetic.
pathetic is getting beat by a pop-up.
Another 1-run road loss. How many is that in a row now? The Braves have not just broken the record–they continue to shatter it. And it appears that Chipper will lose another batting title this year because of an end of season slump while the other guy soars. Is there anything positive about this team?
This team? No.
Got a football game in a couple hours, though.
with all due respect( i love the guy)……….screw Chipper and his batting title!!!…………….i want to see him swinging to do some real damage instead of trying to dink the ball in front of the outfielders.
Mac, here’s the answer to your question:
Through yesterday, the Braves had given up 119 homers this year; 36 of them came with 2 outs. Of those 36, 15 were solo shots. 9 came with one man on, 10 came with 2 men on, and 2 were grand slams.
Also, barry? This shouldn’t come as a surprise to you, but Chipper isn’t the problem. He’s not just dinking the ball. He had a double and a homer as recently as Saturday. He’s slugging .569 and has an ISO of .210. He’s the reason we don’t have the worst record in baseball. If you’re gonna blame someone, don’t blame Chipper.
alex, i’m not blaming Chipper for anything, but its hard to deny that his power has pretty much disappeared………….even Rod Carew hit an occasional homer.
His power has “disappeared” because of his elbow problem AND because he’s not trying to hit home runs anymore.
I’d hardly consider someone slugging .569 suffered from “disappeared” power. We’d be so lucky to have another guy putting up his numbers. Psh.
Oh, and Chipper currently has the highest OPS+ of his career. And he’s rocking his third highest OPS of his career, which is good for 3rd in the NL in OPS. Yeah, you’re right. Get him out of here.
Of course, I meant to say that “disappeared” is a relative term. He has such a high SLG% because when he’s playing, he’s pretty much hitting.
On the list of things wrong with this team, Chipper isn’t even close to being on it. Don’t blame Chipper because everyone but him and McCann have been a disappointment on offense. Sheesh.
I haven’t been posting much lately, but I’ll come out of the shadows to defend Chipper.
Are we 100% certain that there is NO team that he would agree to be traded to? If we’re not, lets try.
too funny……….cant you guys read??……hey sam……..he’s not trying to hit home runs anymore? why the hell not??……….because hes protecting his batting average??………….and i went way out of my way to say i’m not blaming him for anything. i’d just rather see him look pissed off when he swings the bat.
Maybe I should have said “looking to make good contact”. If he gets ahold of something he’s looking for, he does. That doesn’t mean his power is disappearing.
it really doesnt matter. this team would still suck if Chipper was running away with the triple crown………………just thought i’d stir the gumbo a little.
Too many chefs stirring the pot, apparently…
This UCLA QB seems like he’s auditioning for a job with the Gamecocks.
And Crompton isn’t exactly Peyton Manning out there either.
So who is everyone pulling for the rest of the season? (Assuming you’re not entirely giving up on the sport for 2008.)
Me, I’m for the Brewers, because of the old franchise ties, because of Yost (and couldn’t we use him back next year?), and because they’re set up to play the NL East winner in the Wild Card round.
I’d pull for the Rays on the other side but I still can’t quite take them seriously.
A Tampa-Milwaukee WS would suit me just fine. The World Series nobody watches.
Nightmare series: An ’86 replay.
At this point, I’m mostly rooting against folks.
Woo, that UCLA QB is awful…
i’m all for the Rays crushing the Cubs in the WS. theres no sweeter sight than watching yuppies cry.
#24
Not only should you take them seriously, the Rays are going to win that division and if Longoria can come back, they may go to the World Series.
If you want to blame Chipper for something, blame him as being the reason why the Braves will not get the number one pick in next year’s draft.
dont worry…….they’ll still get the first pick from Fulton county.
Wow…this team is really bad. Poor McCann and Prado. Is this the talent that will surround them in the next few years? Awful…I guess steroid boy is the savior.
Prado?! I consider him a backup. If he is a big part of this organization’s future, then the future sucks pretty bad.
Let’s see Tampa win a post-season game before we hand them the trophy.
UT-UCLA is quite a Blunder Bowl tonight.
If Longoria can come back? He’s coming back in, like, 4 games.
Gotta pull for the brew crew. They became a team of interest that I’ll even cheer for when it has nothing to do with the Braves since I moved into the area a few years ago.
Watching UT vs. UCLA.
Why do I feel like I’m watching the Braves?
As bad as this game was in the first half, and it was brutal, it’s become a buncha fun in the 4th quarter & now OT.
And good night folks. We hoped you enjoyed tonight’s demonstration of why SEC teams play eight home games and schedule the heck out of the MAC, Sunbelt, and Division 1-AA, aka “Why the SEC doesn’t come west”.
UCLA is on thier third string QB and even if they weren’t, will struggle to finish in the top half of the Pac-10. I’m just saying.
I assume Tennessee is being fined by the league for scheduling these trips out west.
The only thing that game demonstrated is that Tennessee coughed up a game to a lesser team.
And they’re not the only school headed west this year…
The end of the Richmond Braves:
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080901&content_id=453202&vkey=news_l117&fext=.jsp&sid=l117
Thorman’s comment at the end is pretty good.
Seriously, when I think about players like Wes Timmons and Carl Loadenthal and then recall Corky going back to Atlanta, it is hard not to get angry. These players are probably nothing more than triple A types who have busted their asses over the last 4 years to get to Atlanta. If Corky can get a cup of coffee, I don’t see why these players can’t….
How many one run road games have we lost in a row, now?
This is amazing. I’m kind of rooting for this streak now.
Yeah, Stephen, i am pretty irritated at the September callups.
We don’t have much to get excited about the rest of the year. Can we at least see a few kids play? Or a loyal organizational guy like Timmons get a cup of coffee?
How did the Vols blow that? That team wasn’t ready to play a football game
And they’re not the only school headed west this year…
Yup, for the first time in my lifetime. And if it doesn’t go well, it will probably be the last time in my lifetime.
But good for the Dogs. The Vols and Dogs are definately the bravest of that cowardly group, although that’s sort of a tallest midget thing.
@40
29 in a row now.
“Cowardly,” for not playing…Stanford?
We’ll leave that apparently tall task to you guys.
Thanks, Sam. Why couldn’t that be a win count?
How many Pac 10 teams come to the Southeast to play the SEC?
@43, give it up, Robert. Eight of 12 SEC teams (by my count) have played PAC 10 teams in the last several years as well taking on members of several other BCS conferences. This is done at the same time as playing typically 3 top 10 SEC teams and 2 or 3 other top 25 SEC teams PER YEAR.
SEC teams are not missing out on anything regarding schedule difficulty. Stick to finding some consistent success beyond USC (lucky that the NCAA doesn’t have a boner for you, eh?). Oregon is promising. The rest are crap as often as worthwhile in the PAC 10.
So there’s my response to the lamest bait ever.
Stephen, Thorman’s comment is indeed very funny. In respect of the call up, it speaks volume on the quality of our AAA team and Wren’s refusal to rush prospects to the major…even if it’s for September callup…
A cup of coffee is not much of a callup–though it means a great deal to the player involved. As we discussed yesterday, Wren has shown some real restraint, but I think that players like Timmons and Diory Hernandez should get their coffee.
I also think that Todd Redmond should come up from AA…
Tennessee sucks.
By my recollection, five of the of the six SEC traditional powers (Florida is the exception) have played a regular season game against a Pac 10 team in the last decade.
A) Loved Thorman’s comment as well.
B) http://tinyurl.com/6pplhx and http://tinyurl.com/6hoaar for the defense against the accusations of “this team doesn’t have heart”… course it may apply to others… but Gonzo certainly isn’t complacent about that loss.
C) In the last couple months Chipper’s slugging has been in the .450 range… which isn’t horrible, just not the .600 and .700 range he was in back in April and May. I don’t think he’s protecting his batting average though, he’s trying to protect his elbow so he can still PLAY.
EDIT:
D) Also loved (in a tragic way) this bit from Yahoo sports
“Cowardly,” for not playing…Stanford?
We’ll leave that apparently tall task to you guys.
Yes! I love it.
Robert believes that Oregon State > Florida. That’s the only way his incessant whining about SEC schedules makes any sense.
Chipper’s career slugging percentage is .547, which he is currently above. He hasn’t hit 30 homers since 2004; he hasn’t hit more than 30 since 2001, when he hit 38. He’s not a big-time home run guy any more. But he’s not a punch-and-judy hitter; he’s slugging .569. That’ll do.
Yeah, what AAR said.
@43/48, that said, I enjoy Robert’s contributions and don’t wish to start something up beyond college football talk.
I actually think 2007 Oregon (who beat USC, everyone seems to forget) was as good as anyone out there last year before QB Dennis Dixon got hurt at the end of the season. Had they played Ohio State, the Ducks would be defending National Champions and that would be a feather in the ole PAC 10 cap.
But it didn’t happen. (An LSU-Oregon matchup wasn’t a possibility in the final week because OSU was locked-in to one spot, but personally, I believe it would have been a helluva game.. with LSU prevailing, still.)
I’ll even say that, to me, the PAC 10 does the best job of negotiating out of conference matchups with other BCS conferences. But the end result is that a PAC 10 schedule fortified by a strong out of conference slate merely approaches and sometimes matches and SEC schedule. So I don’t see the basis for criticism.
http://shop.mlb.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3063165&cp=1485908.1820827.1820831
One of these things is not like the other, one of these things does not belong (and I’m not talking about the guy who got traded to the Angels).
Draft pick update:
The Braves currently stand to pick 6th in the upcoming draft and have certainly secured a top ten pick. It would take the Braves gaining (losing?) five games on the field to fall out of the top ten. They could conceivably climb as high as the number three pick with an utter collapse, but most likely will pick between four and eight.
@57
Objectivity has no place in college football discussions! 😉
Roger Ebert tears Jay Mariotti a new one. Highly enjoyable:
http://tinyurl.com/6gpcg3
Gotta love that pic of Mariotti.
nice. Liked the pic and the ripping.
SEC teams are not missing out on anything regarding schedule difficulty. Stick to finding some consistent success beyond USC (lucky that the NCAA doesn’t have a boner for you, eh?). Oregon is promising. The rest are crap as often as worthwhile in the PAC 10.
See your mistake is thinking consistent success is a good thing. If the same few teams always win, that’s bad. In the last ten seasons, nine of the ten Pac-10 teams have won at least a share of the title (Arizona is in a dry spell). In the SEC you can go back 20 years and not find anybody except the Top 6. What does that mean? It means that half the conference isn’t truly competitive. Which makes the standard SEC talking point (and the standard “why the SEC schedules so many cupcakes” cop-out) about the week in and week out grind of the conference schedule so laughable. Half the teams are never at the level of the best teams, and a few of the teams that are at the elite level don’t even play each other. I mean Miss St lost to La Tech and Arkansas got taken to the wire by Western Illinois. We are supposed to be impressed with the weekly conference schedule grind? There have been just as many unbeaten SEC champs in the last twenty years as Pac-10 champs, just to preemptively shoot down another talking point.
Obviously Lion’s Den here, I’m going to get killed, but just some perspective.
USC wins every year. How is that a symptom of depth?
That’s sort of true lately – although they’ve been co-champs three of the six years, with three different teams – but never been true over the long haul. All ten teams have the resources to win the title if they got the right coach and circumstances, that’s already been shown. That will never be true of the SEC.
Even Washington State had things working for a while until Alabama came along a screwed everything up for them. SC will fall once the NFL finally provides the right opportunity for Pete Carroll.
Every team can win when USC is down. USC is, by far, the most important team in Pac 10 (or Pac 8 or Pac 6) history. They’ve dominated that conference even more than Alabama dominated the SEC or Texas the late, unlamented SWC. Washington is the only other Pac 10 team that’s been a national title contender. Four different SEC teams have won national championships in the last twenty years — a stretch that also includes Auburn twice going undefeated and not winning the title.
I’ll add that outside the big six, Arkansas and MSU have also made it to Atlanta.
And VU is 1-0!
But, let’s address the other point.
How could USC’s players, coaches, managers, and everybody else in the athletic department not know that Reggie Bush’s family changed addresses during his career? And if they LOOKED AT the address, from what I know of the L. A. basin, I believe they would have immediately recognized “expensive neighborhood.” Then, after being involved in recruiting Reggie they should have gone “hmmm?”
If anybody in SEC had that floating around, believe me, the NCAA would already have drawn and quartered the institution.
Robert, that isn’t “institutional control.” It is an implausible attempt at “plausible deniability.”
Since we weren’t really a national championship contender anyway, that game last night shouldn’t wind up mattering very much unless we let it. But boy did that ever suck. How’s about working on moving Crompton out of the pocket during the bye week, guys? Perhaps even throw in a QB draw and a handoff/keep option or two? I thought he was, like, supposed to be mobile. Perhaps switching the UCLA and UAB games in our schedule wasn’t such a good idea, after all.
I don’t understand why Clawson didn’t just run it down UCLA’s throat last night. The running game was there all night if they wanted it—he tried to get cute.
FWIW: Maddux tied The Juic…err… Rocket on the wins list.
Hopefully the Dodgers can win another game for him this year.
Pujols has the BA lead… and I fear he’s going to get walked more often this month and that will keep his average high… and Chipper won’t get walked nearly at that level so he’ll have to “earn” the title.
(yes this is me trying to steer things back to baseball :D)
Good luck, Charles. For people who follow both the Braves and college football, there’s really no contest as to which is more interesting/worth discussing right now.
I agree with Roger Ebert about a lot of things. I agree with him about Jay Mariotti.
I’m hoping for the “watch a train wreck” factor to help my cause :D. I haven’t the tiniest bit of interesting football of any kind, so I’m trying to preserve baseball discussion for as long as possible.
This train wrecked a while back. You’re appealing to the months-later forensic report factor.
Charles, there would be so much more to talk about if we had any interesting September callups.
I am just not that excited to see how well Elmer Dessens does his next time out.
“Game” thread is up.