ESPN – Rockies vs. Braves – Box Score – September 10, 2008
The win rule? Still stupid. Jamie Parr went out there and went six scoreless innings, giving up five hits and not walking anyone while striking out five. I still have zero confidence in his long-term potential, or even his medium-term potential, but he pitched very well. He gets diddly for it, because after leaving with a 4-0 lead he got to see the bullpen let the Rockies tie it up in about 27 seconds. Boyer, who is hopeless and very much needs to be shut down and possibly sealed in an hyperbaric chamber, allowed a homer, a walk, and a second hit. Ohman got one guy but allowed a hit to load the bases, and Bennett pulled off the Triple Grybo, allowing everyone he inherited to score.
And then, he got rewarded with a win as well as seeing his ERA go down, because the Braves put up five runs in the bottom of the seventh. KJ hit his second solo homer of the game (the first gave the Braves a first-inning lead) and Chipper followed with a solo homer of his own. The Braves added three more runs, and Tavarez and Julio finished up.
Chipper was 3-4 with a walk, while McCann was 3-5, doubling twice… Oh, and blowing the lead got Livan Hernandez off the hook for a loss. That sucks, too. I am bitter.
I love it. Chipper is now at .363 and back ahead of Pujols in the batting race, assuming Pujols remains at 1-3 tonight and .360 overall. Silver lining.
Chipper seems to be back to his old power swing. Joe mentioned something about Chipper’s frustration with all the topspin he’s been putting on the ball — I think that’s been a function of a swing that’s all hands. He’s getting his hips through his swing now, and is starting to crush the ball. I think we may be entering one of those streaks where C. Jones is the best hitter in baseball for a while. I like those times.
Wow. The rare triple-Grybo.
Well, not all that rare on this team.
Is anybody watching Rays-Red Sox?
Yep. That guy asleep on the last row of the bleachers was pure comedy.
Papi with the successful sac bunt, wow.
Here we go, Rays.
This is an epic battle to end this series.
And Willy Aybar walks.
Good thing we gave the Rays Chase Fontaine so we could talk them in to taking him.
Chipper also has a shot at the OBP title, though I think he’s still a couple points behind Pujols.
Hey, we found a team we can beat.
And “sneaky quick”? I vote Alejandro Pena.
Chipper (16 games to go) – .363
Pujols (17 games to go) – .362
It’s going to be a hum-dinger, that’s for sure.
Mac,
Pujols had a .467-.460 lead before tonight, so Chipper reaching base 4 of 5 and Pujols reaching 2 of 4 would close that gap a little.
The red sox / rays game is in the 14th inning on ESPN. For those of you who care about that division 😛
Whoa, Carlos Pena!
That’s what I’m talkin’ about.
And the fans are heading for the exits. Good job Rays.
3-run homer for Pena in the 14th.
Oh, of course, Catz. EVERYONE in the country cares about that division. That’s why ESPN puts them on all the time! 😀
Yeah. They should change the name to “Wednesday Night Redsox”.
Guess it ain’t over yet.
The late hook could kill the Rays here. Know how that is, I guess.
Percival didn’t have it. Now bases loaded for the Sox with no one out in the bottom of the 14th.
Mac, you’ve got to have a little more than a 0% chance for Parr dont you?
By David O’Brien
September 10, 2008 9:25 PM | Link to this
If they hadn’t blown that lead, Parr would be 6-0 with a 0.76 ERA in his past six starts, minors and majors.
I can’t all the hate for the Aybar trade. The Braves were clearly never going to get anything out of him and couldn’t send him down. He had a near zero trade value, so to get a lefty arm the gave up a low level, low ceiling prospect as well. Its not the end of this franchise. Get over it already.
He’s a righthanded fly ball pitcher who doesn’t throw hard or have a great breaking pitch. I’m not saying it’s impossible that he’ll be good long term. I’m skeptical is all.
I hope that this post goes through–for some reason I could not post yesterday.
Anyway, Chipper winning a batting crown could be a silver lining….
I know that Parr has not been heralded and does not have as much velocity as we would like, but 12 scoreless innings at the beginning of a career (even if it is September) has to deserve some notice.
If Parr becomes another and healthy Chuck James, then he would be a useful #5–which is more than the Braves have right now….
Apparently Ohman is not even a Type B player, so the Braves will not get a draft pick (even a low one) when he signs elsewhere….
Stephen, the problem with the Braves is that the team has too many #5 type on arms in the rotation. Just like the offense has too many role players.
KC–Given that we need at least 3 starters, I am happy if we can get a #5 who would cost next to nothing and help fill out the rotation.
That said, it would be nice to see the Braves get or develop some power arms. Three of the best: Timms, Rasmus and Teheran have yet to demontrate very much. It is too early to write any one of these pitchers off (especially Teheran), but it does remind me that power arms are hard to come by. I think that is one of the reasons why I hated to see Feliz leave….
I want Chipper to win the batting crown so he will have another thing to go on his resume for the Hall of Fame voters. It seems they have gotten really picky in the last 5 or 10 years.
Here’s a question: Who do you think is the most recent HOF inductee whom you would describe as “inner circle”? Here’s the list:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/hof.shtml
My answer? Mike Schmidt all the way back in 1995.
I’d say Carlton Fisk and George Brett both qualify as “inner circle,” and Wade Boggs and Ozzie Smith are damn close.
I would say Nolan Ryan would have to be on my list as being “inner circle.” As far as eliciting pure fear at the plate while putting up great stats, Ryan and Randy Johnson would qualify as being in that select group and I’d eat my hat if Johnson doesn’t get 98% of the vote.
Today’s warm fuzzy thought:
We have as many wins as the Orioles, and three more than the KC Royals….
I fell asleep around the 11th inning of the Red Sox-Rays and woke up in the 14th with the Rays ahead 4-1 and the Sox with the bases loaded, no outs. I thought, oh shit, there it goes–the Sox will win it and Red Sox Nation will go berserk. Instead, the Rays hold on and sends Red Sox Nation home unhappy questioning whether the Red Sox really do have a divine right to win. I love it.
@2,
Sansho, wouldn’t that perhaps be a function of Chipper not being fully healthy? I suspect he has not been since he started having problems with his legs and it might have prevented him from using his hips effectively.
And Bobby says he is coming back. I’m sort of disappointed but then I read the moronic comments on DOB’s blog from the nitwit fans. He deserves better than invective from a bunch of bitter drunks with sixth grade educations.
What do you mean by “inner circle” sansho?
I know that Parr has not been heralded and does not have as much velocity as we would like, but 12 scoreless innings at the beginning of a career (even if it is September) has to deserve some notice.
Even as one of the only fans of Kyle Davies in the history of Braves Journal, honesty compels me to report that Boog-n-Joe said last night that Davies was the last Braves pitcher to throw 12 scoreless to start his career.
At least Brett, Ryan, Gwynn, and Ripken if by inner circle you mean that any arguments against are laughable. Probably Boggs too, but then I start to rationalize and that leads down the slippery slope. Those first four at least though are solid.
I’m looking forward to seeing Tampa in the playoffs this year. If they hold onto that division, the Red Sox-Angels matchup would also be pretty cool.
Re: Bobby
Put me down as a tiny bit surprised that Bobby says he’s returning. I’m not sure it matters much who’s at the helm next year, but he’s certainly earned his victory lap if he wants one.
Marc,
Politics aside, very few outlets in this world can make you lose your faith in humanity quite like an AJC site forum.
Bobby says we need to rebuild the rotation – preferably with some power pitchers.
It sure would be devine if we hadn’t gotten rid of so many of them.
About the time Wren and Schuerholz said, “No mas”, Drayton McLain said, “Nuts!”
And look at the difference. The Astros may not make the playoffs, but they sure are making a determined run.
And who looks better positioned for next year?
Pun intended, hankonly?
I wonder if Bobby Cox will be “sneaky fast” when he does his victory lap. I have no idea what that means, but I don’t think Cox does either in relation to Jamie Parr or any other pitcher for that matter.
Sneaky fast could mean they sneak out of the game early, 4th or 5th inning.
ububba,
No kidding about the AJC sites. 😉
It’s wait and see time for next season, I suppose.
Is Hank really saying that we should’ve traded AWAY prospects once Hudson went down?
Houston is the perfect example of what the Braves SHOULD NOT have been doing at the deadline.
And Houston is the example of what the Braves did do at last year’s deadline. Admittedly, it was more of a stretch for the ‘Stros this year.
We could not get what we needed to hope to be competitive last year (starting pitching), but we traded anyway for Tex. While it was nice to get the added offense, we may have perpetuated our pitching problems. Losing Matt Harrison and Neftali Feliz may cost the Braves some time when it comes to rebuilding the rotation.
So the real question regarding Houston is not “did they make it more interesting this year,” but rather “where will they be next year relative to where they could have been?”
I’m glad Cox is back next year. I think he’s good and takes a lot of unfair blame. It’s not his fault this team won’t ditch Francoeur and it is not his choice whether or not Francoeur is in the majors or the minors.
The only coach I think I’d like to see gone is Terry Pendleton. Every time I have heard him speak he says things like “I’m telling so-and-so to be more aggressive” and “I told him that you’re not up here to walk” and things like that. Maybe some team will give him that oft-rumored coaching job this offseason so the Braves won’t have to fire him.
TP talks about aggression, but I don’t think he actually does anything about it. The Braves are second in the NL in walks! It’s the strongest point on the team. The weakest point is the lack of power.
Cox shouldn’t take the blame for Francoeur. He also shouldn’t take the blame for most of the injuries, but I hold him at least partially responsible for the following:
– A horrendous record in 1 run games over the last 2 years (part of this is luck, but some of this has to do with poor managerial strategy and motivation.)
– Horrible bullpen management including underusing guys like Devine and Stockman when they’re on the team and overusing Boyer and others.
– Unfounded loyalty to guys like Corky Miller and Gotay. And yes, Cox does make out the lineup, he could choose to let Francoeur sit more and he may have some pull in sending him to the minors (ya’ think?)
– Bad strategy as witnessed by over-reliance on bunting, among other things.
I’ve usually been on Cox’s side, but I think it’s time for him to go. In his defense, he doesn’t have a lot to work with after all the injuries, but I think a fresh face would be best to build for the future starting next year.
td, Cox has in the past platooned better players than Francoeur, sometimes for years (Klesko). It’s Bobby’s fault that he keeps putting Jeff out there to fail night after night. I suspect Bobby had a lot of say in bringing Jeff back to Atlanta after 3 days in AA too.
Ron – that’s part of my point in the second to last bullet. There are many reasons that the team has been bad, but it starts at the top and I don’t think that part will get better.
That’s hilarious that Pendleton talks about “aggression” and yet the Braves are at the top of the NL in walks. Taking walks is like contracting the plague to some people. It’s weird.
What do you mean by “inner circle” sansho?
That is the question, isn’t it? To me, an inner circle guy had to have been among the top two or three players (or pitchers) in his league for an extended period of time, and/or be considered by at least some people as the best ever at his position. I just don’t see that for Ripken, Gwynn, Boggs, or Ozzie. Or Fisk. Brett and Ryan I could see including. That’s just me, though. YMMV
Ryan was never one of the top three pitchers in the league. Most of his career, he might have been top ten. He doesn’t compare to Ripken, who won two MVPs, or Yount, who did as well. Also, the game thread is up.