Colorado Rockies vs. Atlanta Braves – Box Score – May 21, 2009 – ESPN
Well, that didn’t go well.
Kris Medlen looked pretty good through three; he allowed one run with a two-out rally in the first inning. He didn’t retire anyone in the fourth inning. He allowed a hit, threw a wild pitch, walked the next two, then hit the pitcher to force in a run. It looked to me like he was overthrowing; the ball tended to be up and in on righthanded hitters. McCann says that Medlen complained that he couldn’t grip the ball properly, and Bobby said his velocity was off in the fourth inning. At any event, he completely lost the strike zone and Bobby pulled him.
Unfortunately, he pulled him for Klinger Parr, who got the first two… then gave up a grand slam. It really didn’t matter, because the offense never showed up and they could just as easily have lost 2-0. The Braves had just four hits — two by Francoeur, who still sucks — and never got a runner past second. After the fourth, they didn’t have a single baserunner, and Chipper left the game after banging a bunion on his right big toe. Parr gave up the other three runs, but like I said, it really didn’t matter. They were never in it.
This team needs a true shake-up.
Send Jeffy somewhere, get rid of some other dead wood(all the OF’ers) and make something happen. It is awful to watch this team go through the motions like they did last night.
Maybe he really was having some grip problems, because he was nowhere NEAR the zone in the 4th inning. He was lucky to have only hit one batter, because he threw 2 or 3 other pitches that were very close, and he threw 2 or 3 others that could have been wild pitches without some help from McCann. Something funny was going on.
we thought the offense looked lifeless last night, wait till Roy gets on the mound tonight and Chipper is absent
At least Cook gave my fantasy team his best outing of the year.
I can find a silver lining in most anything, even Franceour.
So much for showcasing Medlen.
At least Francouer silenced his critics last night.
I guess we can look forward to Aaron Cook going into the Hall of Fame five years after he retires.
So now, we have a middle of the road National League team playing the AL East leaders after having split with two of the worst teams in the NL and after Toronto was swept in Boston and with Halladay starting tonigth against KK. Even with Lowe and JJ pitching Saturday and Sunday, I will be glad to get one game. Do you think Toronto’s pitchers are looking forward to only having to face five hitters?
Mediocrity, thy name is Braves.
@2
yeah, I think “wild pitch” is a huge understatement. I have never seen a pitcher miss by that much. Even Ankiel at his worst was not THAT off, I think.
The only comparison to Medlen’s pitches last night was the Cincinnati mayor who almost hit the umpire who was standing 30 feet away from home plate.
Too bad for Medlen, but I think he will get it together the next time out.
Toronto has the 3rd best record in baseball so this may be another frustrating weekend….
“At least Francouer silenced his critics last night.”
how? by hitting two singles and letting a ball hit off his glove and then hit the top of the wall and go over for a grand slam?
#5–I am sure with our lineup pitchers through MLB are happy to come to Atlanta….
speaking of Medlen/CIN mayor comparison..
I had not seen the video of the Cincinnati mayor in a long time….
the reaction from Eric Davis is hilarious. I have never seen such disbelief!
edit: oh yeah and Francoeur silencing his critics? that’s like an alcoholic dad who is late on child support showing up on a random day and treating his kid to dollar cheeseburgers at McDonalds and promptly vanishing into obscurity for another 3 years
How bad was the Tex trade? Harrison, in his last five starts, is 4-1 with an ERA under three and five walks in a span of 35 innings. Sigh…
Let’s make a bet: do the Braves win 80, 81, or 82 games this year?
@8,
csg,
That was a poor attempt at humor.
@8 I read the original statement as sarcastic.
@11,
82, but I think it depends on how they do against the AL this year. With Toronto, Baltimore, Yankees, and Red Sox (twice), it’s a brutal schedule, especially considering how the Braves have fared against the AL in recent years. They could get buried.
Just to throw this out there. I’m not sure I’d do it, but I’d at least consider it:
The ChiSox were willing to pick up Peavy’s contract and give out prospects…what if we offered them a trade of Derek Lowe and Frenchy’s corpse for Dye and a reliever, say Matt Thornton.
ChiSox get their pitcher and since the Braves propaganda machine is still spewing Frenchy BS nonstop, maybe they could be suckered?
You could bring up Hanson and have a rotation of
JJ, Javy, Hanson, Kawakami, and one of Morton/Medlen/Campillo/Glavine
Anyway, just throwing it out there. Plus, it would actually probably save us 5 MM for another move midseason as well
#12-13 I thought it was sarcasm at 1st also, but just needed to make sure
I would not trade Lowe right now, just my opinion, I do understand that we could. If Hanson came up and struggled , which he may, then our rotation would be awful again
Id rather just move KK to the pen. I dont expect anything good from Medlen, Campillo, Glavine, Morton camp. Im ready to see this rotation
Lowe, Huddy, JJ, Vasquez, Hanson
If we trade for Dye it is to win now, but trading Lowe gives that up.
I would rather have Lowe than Dye, but I would trade Medlen for Dye to win this year.
I know. I’d rather just give up a few prospects as well. However, as multiple people have pointed out, with the stellar attendance numbers, we’re probably up against payroll.
That being the case, this just seemed like dealing from a position of strength (starting pitching) and improving two areas of weakness (Right Field and bullpen depth) in a payroll neutral manner
You don’t fix an attendance problem by not trying to compete. If this team started actually scoring runs and winning home games, the attendance would increase.
I’m not sure why people are so enamored with the idea of trading for a guy in his mid-30s who is a good but not great hitter. I realize we need offense but trading Lowe just weakens the pitching without necessarily strengthening the offense enough to make a difference. People seem to assume that Hanson is going to come up and start dominating but that’s far from certain. I realize you are going to have to give up something significant to get a real bat but if you are going to trade pitching, I would rather go for someone with less mileage on them. Admittedly, I don’t know who that would be.
I have been trying to find a good trade partner for us, it sure as hell is tough.
I’m not trying to fix attendance. The only reason I mention it is that it’s ancillary to the possibility of adding payroll. That being said, the team cannot consistently score runs with this offense.
I don’t know if Tommy Hanson can equal the production of Derek Lowe; however, IMO, he’s got a much better chance than Frenchy does of equaling Dye.
EDIT: @21 I see your point, but in trading Lowe, wouldn’t you also just be trading a guy in his mid-30s who is a good but not great pitcher?
Actually, Ethan is on to something, although it sure sounded strange.
However, I thought ML rules either (1) prevented a trade in first free agent year or (2) made contract vodable at end of year by player. That makes a deal a little squirrely.
However, I believe at the money that Lowe is more likely to earn his keep under his contract than Peavy.
However, we should get the whole 4 player package if the Chi Sox were willing to do that with SD.
Right now, IF Dye can be had, unless somebody else wants him bad, he should be had either (1) for little talent or (2) with Chi Sox eating most of salary. IF we moved Lowe, we can handle the salary within budget.
However, is there a re-think on who needs pitching that has something closer to what we need? By that I mean one (1) credible (with potential for more) pre free agent, some what ML proven, outfielder? Maybe Cleveland? Maybe Cardinals (although their guys with lots of pre arb years left only leaves Rasmus, if he is right handed, fitting the parameters).
If we take Dye back, and if Chi Sox got Lowe (and if they iether get the whole contract or don’t care if Lowe can walk) then what should the rest of the deal look like?
Francoeur to Chi Sox. i kind of ran into it the other day and posted it, but I really think Ozzie might be able to reach him. ozzie damn sure wouldn’t “pussy foot” around. And, they need outfielders. From their side, they view Frenchy like a waiver wire claim at ML minimum.
We get back, the two good pitchers they put out to Padres and 2 more players, BUT we take preferably Beckham, but in the alternative Flowers, as one other guy.
And on Dye and his performance.
My view on Dye is that he is more “one year ML average / next year superduperstar” in his performance. A lot of that is nagging injuries from time to time. But he is good for 250 / 350 / 500 in a bad year (as good as Francoeur in his best possible year) and probably even at this age Dye can go 300/ 420 / 600 in a really good year.
@23,
That’s true, but if you start trading free agents in the middle of their first year, why would anyone want to sign with the Braves in the future? It seems to me that would send a bad signal to other free agents.
I think I would rather trade for Willingham (stopgap/pretty good, woldn’t cost much) or LaPorta (higher player cost, but better near and long term solution) than Dye. If we are going to start trading some chips, let’s try to look down the road a little.
I’d prefer Swisher to everyone else mentioned, but I can’t believe, even with Nady coming back, the Yanks would want to deal him.
Agreed Spike.
I think the reason to do Dye is either (1) straight up for little talent or (2) little cost for a little more talent.
However, a lot of the younger guys aren’t goingto be made avaiable. Even thought Nats have too many, they have a bunch of ill fitting pieces. If they aren’t playing Willingham yet, then they ought to deal him for a half decent pitcher, straight up.
Cardinals have the most outfield depth (well, if the injury bug has let up). Ankiel, Ludwick, Schumacher (I know they have him at 2nd, but, come on) Rasmus, Duncan (maybe some more?) Out of those, Ankiel is intriguing (well, actually Ludwick is most intriguing, but they won’t move him for anything we would give up). Ankiel can play right against right handers and center against lefthanders to give Schaffer some time off. And Frenchy against lefthanders isn’t quite so bad (career OPS is decent there).
Bleh….3-3 on this homestand so far, and in those 3 losses the team looked HORRIBLE.
After 40 games the team is .500, and there’s no getting around that. It’s a mediocre team as currently constructed. However, after 40 games it is pretty clear the weakness is the offense, specifically the outfield. Will anything be done to change it? I can’t answer that, but if not no one should harbor any illusions of much changing in the W-L percentage.
Yes, we are medicre, but we are also heading toward the right direction. There is a reason why we are picking seventh in this year’s draft!
Since we can’t fix the offense without compromising either this year’s pitching or the promise of better days to come, the best thing to do might be to ride it out as is. This team has a bright future.
Maybe we can’t “fix” the offense, but we can improve it without doing either, right? That might be enough to stay in the playoff race in this division.
I don’t know, isn’t asking Hanson to replace Lowe a lot to ask of the kid?
Agreed doubly with Stu,
On Swisher. The failure to put in for him if there was any likelihood of White Sox dealing him for the mediocre drivel they got was folly.
I believe that we can eventually match up with somebody on a fair deal either for “Upper Minors almost elite pitching for low arb year hitting” or “upper minors good shot at bullpen for arb year pretty decent hitting.”
There are too many teams with massive pitching holes.
On Medlen,
That was truly bizarre. By the first 3 innings I thought he looked like a potential John Thompson to maybe as high as Blanton kind of pitcher.
In the 4th he showed the worst control I have seen at ML level since Ankiel unwound at Turner field 8 or so years ago. The 2 wild pitches were obvious from the center field camera when the ball was 3 feet from his hand. They were 5 feet off the plate. The inside misses were missing 12 to 18 inches. And, I think, at one point he had 8 of 9 pitches missing the zone by 10 or more inches.
If the real Medlen is the early inning version, we can live with that. I sure hope he hasn’t become the 4th inning version.
Some addition by subtraction (or benching, or platooning) would help at least a little. Just use what’s there a little better and riding it out as is might be a little more palatable.
I don’t know, isn’t asking Hanson to replace Lowe a lot to ask of the kid?
Was this a response to me? I was saying the offense could be improved without sacrificing current pitching (Lowe) OR future promise (top-top prospects). By targeting a guy like Willingham, for example.
what would the Padres want for Scott Hairston from the Padres? Morton could really do well at that field
Morton would be too much for Hairston.
Lots of talk about Dye. He is ok I guess but if we are talking about leveraging our young pitching then we’ll have to hang close for a couple of more weeks to see if anyone with better players starts looking to the future. Right now the teams that are clearly out of it don’t have a hitter we would want or they are untouchable (see the Orioles).
edit: by hang close I mean NOT having an implosion that puts us 10 games out before the All Star Break. I think with our top 3 starters that is possible.
Hairston is posting a .338/.398/.579/.978 line. he’s playing over his head right now, but can handle all 3 OF positions
Law is on Hack in his ESPN chat again today:
Tomm, MS: Keith, Would Jeff Francoeur be on any major league roster if he wasn’t a local kid in Atlanta?
Keith Law: (1:16 PM ET ) No. Did anyone see the piece that indicated that Atlanta is looking at trading him? When you have an old car, and the alternator is dead, the battery is corroded, the undercarriage is rusted through so your left foot drags the pavement while you drive, the front windshield is shattered and the back windshield is gone, the starter makes a horrible noise when you turn the key, the car gets 4 mpg when it runs at all, and there’s only one working headlight, it’s probably too freaking late to try to sell it, don’t you think? You could probably leave it on the curb with the keys in the ignition and a sign that says “TAKE ME” on the dash and still find it parked there the next morning.
@44,
But how does Law feel about Frenchy? 🙂
Francoeur needs shock therapy. I know it’s barbaric, but so are his ABs.
Free Matt Diaz!!!
Free Brandon Jones!!!!!
edit: Marc I know you were being sarcastic with your post about the two hits but the sad part about it is that the Braves will truly believe it.
mhr–Thanks thats a pretty good quote–even if it is a harsh analogy.
I think that Frenchy will be around for awhile….
@47,
Johnny,
Unfortunately, you are right!
At the very least we could platoon LF and RF. Bobby loves platoons. Go ahead and do it.
Brandon Jones is hitting .320 with a .400 OBP. His slugging % is .400 too, but cat’s on pace for 40 doubles in 500 AB’s.
I’d easily take him over Frenchy or ACHE.
Francoeur delenda est.
(Can’t be repeated enough).
Chipper probably out for the whole TOR series with a foot injury.
I know it won’t go away but I hate interleague play. Ok so no one would have dreamed that Toronto would be this good but BOTH Boston and New York? That sucks.
Ethan
At the very least a Jones/Diaz platoon would give you some pop, better defense and a little more energy in LF. ACHE looks like an over the hill singles hitter at this point who is just doing enough to collect a paycheck. I’m not sure what purpose it serves having him play.
RF is a little thornier, b/c as much as I dislike Frenchy, I don’t see a replacement without going outside the organization. Hopefully we find a warm body to substitute out there.
Booby says he has fifteen more years in him. Save us all.
“Had both knees replaced (for a second time) last winter,” said Cox. “I’m ready to go another 15 years.”
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/9597626/Cox-just-keeps-going-with-Braves
Bobby just turned 68 yesterday. Might be grotesque, but honestly, he’ll be lucky to be alive in 15 years.
Game thread.
Bobby may not realize it, but this may well be his last year….