Atlanta Braves vs. San Francisco Giants – Box Score – April 09, 2010 – ESPN.
Ugh. The Braves had this one. They led 3-0 heading into the seventh and 4-2 heading into the ninth, outhit the Giants 11-8 and outwalked them 9-1, and lost in thirteen when McCann threw the ball away trying to catch a basestealer with two out (he said he was interfered with, and at any rate something hit him) and the batter got an infield single that obviously wouldn’t have scored a run from second.
The Braves took the lead in the third on singles by Glaus and Diaz to score Melky and Prado, and Matt drove in Prado again in the fifth. Tim Hudson was dominant through the first six, but gave up a single and a double to the first two batters in the seventh, and they scored on consecutive groundouts. He only struck out two on the day, but didn’t walk anyone and was getting a ton of ground balls. Saito breezed through the eighth, but Wagner didn’t have it today, allowing a two-run homer by Edgar Renteria to tie it.
The game went on and on and the Braves simply didn’t capitalize on numerous scoring opportunities. O’Flaherty and Moylan pitched an inning apiece, both getting out of mini-jams, and Medlen got out of a major one (a leadoff double) in the twelfth. But he got the loss on the “unearned” run, caused by the umpire’s apparent error.
Ugh indeed.
Are there people who keep stats on umpires? Just wondering.
Prado was 3 for 4 with three walks. That is all.
terrible game, and our offense somehow looks worse than last years
SEASON OVER!!!1
It’s eerily similar to the start we had last season…we started 2-0, with 2 great wins to open the season IN Philly, including an opening game home run from a rookie outfielder (same as this year) then lost the next two, including one in excruciating fashion like today.
Am I crazy or are the first 4 games identical?
Rough, ugly game. Gotta get a win tomorrow because with Lincecum throwing Sunday…well, we just need the win tomorrow.
If you didn’t get us JJ, I would have hated you much more Edgar.
Alex R, I still think this team is much better than the one we started last year. Whether they play like one is another story.
I will say this…Kawakami does surprisingly well when facing other teams aces.
Damn, Jason had a tough game again, but at least he got his first walk!
Reminder Game of 2006-09, Version I
From the last thread re: LF’er if the Braves got rid of that circus they’re currently in line to employ for the position next year.
I looked at it closer today, actually, and the Braves simply aren’t going to have enough money to pursue a big time free agent unless they move a high salary guy or Chipper retires or they get a ton of insurance money or something. They’re going to have to cut a few arbitration eligibles just to maintain the status quo, at this point. I’m not a huge enough Jayson Werth fan to want to pursue him on the open market in the first place, but looking at payroll, he’s probably out of the equation, anyway.
So, if you’re going to have to trade for one, first I’d offer any player on the 40 man roster not named “Jason Heyward” to the A’s for Michael Taylor. When they say no, Hunter Pence, Josh Willingham, Ryan Ludwick, Carlos Quentin, and Ryan Braun would be near the top of my list of targets.
It is early but I am not impressed. Mediocre lineup, Billy can’t lose these games. Blaming the umps is pointless. The braves had every opportunity to win and one bad call didn’t decide the game. I know it’s silly to say this now but this just does not have the feel of a playoff team. Every team has some bad losses but the braves make a habit of it. They will be lucky to avoid a sweep.
We’re doomed! DOOOOOOOOOOOOOMED!!!!!!!
Well there goes my prediction that we’d go 161-1 this season. Up 4-2? First blown save. Lordy I sure hope we don’t have that high wire act we had last season.
again its only 4 gamee
IS LACROSSE SEASON HERE YET?!?!?!?!?
Danger Will Robinson!
is it safe to say that Javy Vasquez isnt a good AL pitcher
Edgar Renteria…his range suffers…but not his clutch hitting.
@14 I agree with Mac, we are completely DOOMED!!!
Tex is 0 for 16 to start off this season, he is completely doomed as well!!!
Frenchy should also be a HOFer after these four games.
Even if last night’s game was a bit of fiasco, there is no need to panic….
On a positive note, the Rome Braves swept a doubleheader and only gave up 3 hits in 14 innings. Teheran was dominant and Ryan Weber pitched really well.
I will say again (since we were talking about it a couple of weeks ago) Ryan Weber is one to watch–he may well be the steal of the Braves’ 2010 draft class. If he continues to pitch like he did last night, he won’t be flying under the radar much longer….
Francoeur had 2 home runs for the good guys today; I bet you losers are totaly regretting getting rid of him! Have fun with Jayson Haywort!
NY METS redux?
23, enjoy it while it lasts. A person who would rather have Frenchy than J-Hey deserves to be a Mets fan, I guess.
Nevertheless, the Braves’ inability to win a close game has become a tradition at this point, especially on the road. We’re not DOOOOOMED after four games obviously (and WHO exactly said we are?), but losing close games in late innings is a very frustrating experience, especially when it happens again and again.
Yeah, ten days at Gwinnett would have killed the Braves.
Dammit – good management decisions are good management decisions and that was a terrible one.
I agree, but all is not lost – hopefully he continues to struggle and they send him down for a couple weeks in may. It would have the same effect.
I’m more concerned about the lack of power that again plagues–and will continue to plague–this lineup. It’s incredibly early, of course, but our outfield may yet again prove to be too weak to get this team over the hump. Nobody is predicting doom. All I see here is a typical reaction from folks coming back down to earth after the spring training love affair.
On a positive note — Hudson looked really good.
Huddy and Prado have looked very good and for the rest of them – not so much. I can almost guarantee you that we will have a worse 4 game stretch that this one throughout the rest of the season
30,
Brian McCann? He’s looked very good, too.
yes and McCann. Most of the pitchers also.
Braves shouldve spread out those 16 runs a little more. Heyward is going to have to cut down on his swing, seems like he’ll struggle for a while with outside pitches and breaking balls unless he can start hitting some shots to LF
If Wagner doesn’t throw a frisbee to Renteria, the Braves are now 3-1. There’s no reason to panic or even be all that concerned yet.
I choose to blame Alpaca farming.
I remember once a few years back when Wagner was with the Mets, he closed a game and Chip Caray said: “Billy Wagner, the alpaca farmer, just sent the Braves al-packin!”
I died so much on the inside at that moment.
23,
There’s no way this comment is real. Even Mets fans aren’t that stupid or naive.
@31, And Matty D. looks good in his few appearances.
Guys, if Heyward indeed becomes a “must keep” player, it really doesn’t matter whether we control him for one more year or not. The Braves will have and will hand out the money needed to keep him for long term since Chipper’s and Lowe’s salary will come off in three years.
With the way arbitration is working, we wouldn’t save much money by having his right for one more year unless we keep him down all the way until June which would delay his arbitration clock. Otherwise, keeping him down in the minor for ten days means very little since the Braves will tie him up like what they did with Mac. So why not just go ahead and let him starting in the big league if the team doesn’t want to keep him down until June?
Speaking of which, who is Heyward’s agent?
#17 Rob, I watched 4 girl’s LAX games this week and will watch 6 next. One of the reasons I don’t bother buying the mlb package for TV.
#37 You said what I’ve been saying but way better.
My daughter has decided to attend Northwestern. At least for now.
There are no “must win” games at this point in the season, but we really needed to win yesterday to win the series. I like our chances tonight, but KK vs Lincecum on Sunday doesn’t look too promising. KK has been a giant killer in the past, but it’s a little concerning this early in the season.
It looks like Gonzo had another rough night in Baltimore. Tough start to his season.
37,
This:
With the way arbitration is working, we wouldn’t save much money by having his right for one more year unless we keep him down all the way until June which would delay his arbitration clock. Otherwise, keeping him down in the minor for ten days means very little since the Braves will tie him up like what they did with Mac
Is completely untrue. Under his current contract he makes:
2010 – Min
2011 – Min
2012 – Min
2013 – Arb1
2014 – Arb2
2015 – Arb3
If the Braves had held him down for 13 days, this is what his contract would’ve looked like:
2010 – Min
2011 – Min
2012 – Min
2013 – Arb1
2014 – Arb2
2015 – Arb3
2016 – Arb4
And if they’d held him down two months, here’s what it looks like:
2010 – Min
2011 – Min
2012 – Min
2013 – Min
2014 – Arb1
2015 – Arb2
2016 – Arb3
So, the savings by keeping him down for 13 days = Market Rate for his services in 2016 minus Arb3 rate in 2016. This is not at all a negligible sum of money, somewhere between $2 and $6 million.
(This is over simplistic, but) The savings over the 13 days on the farm contract the Braves accrue by keeping him down for 2 months = his 2013 Arb1 salary. This is not a negligible sum of money, either, and roughly equivalent to what the organization gains by holding him down for 13 days.
This holds true even if the Braves sign him to a long term extension. The extension’s framework is going to roughly mirror the contract he had, in this case, the first one I listed. Instead of paying him 80% (and I made that number up) of market rate in 2016, they’ll have to pay full (or close to it) market rate, whether the Braves lock him up or not.
kc –
It costs less to buy out an arb year than an FA year. No matter how you slice it, keeping Heyward up for the whole year is going to cost the team millions. Whether it’s worth it or not is debatable, but the additional cost is not.
/or what PWH said
42,
I prefer your concise response.
Keith Grunewald is Heyward’s agent. Grunewald represents John Smoltz and Mark DeRosa, among others.
http://doooooooooooooooomed.ytmnd.com/
McLouth cf
Prado 2b
McCann c
Glaus 1b
Escobar ss
Heyward rf
Diaz lf
Infante 3b
Lowe p
after such a phenomenal performance at 3rd, why would prado be back at 2nd? does bobby just plug the lineup in and not think?
btw, i like that mclouth is back at the top. hopefully bobby has realized that melky is not a leadoff hitter (not saying that mclouth is either). by the end of the year, i hope bobby reads deeply into the stats and sees that a mclouth/diaz leadoff platoon would work out very nicely.
That line up is incorrect, Prado is at 3B and Infante at 2B.
Game thread.