Atlanta Braves vs. Arizona Diamondbacks – Box Score – May 18, 2011 – ESPN.

1. No matter how well the back of your bullpen is pitching, if you keep playing close games, you are eventually going to lose some.

2. If you keep playing for one run, that’s all you’re going to get, which means that all of your wins will be close games.

3. Eventually, your bullpen will break down from overuse.

The Braves led 4-3 going to the bottom of the eleventh after Diory Hernandez drove in Dan Uggla with the go-ahead run, which I realize is a ridiculous phrase but actually happened. Craig Kimbrel was in to pitch; he had yesterday off but that was after three days in a row. He got the first out but then allowed a single, followed by an infield single to — where else — second. Kelly Johnson singled in the tying run, with the runner from first going to third. Fredi, rather than play for the double play, brought the infield in because that’s the most managerey thing he could do. Uggla fielded the ball and threw home too late (it was called a hit, who knows) and the game was over.

Julio Teheran had started and only gotten through four innings, again. He allowed a titanic first-inning homer to Justin Upton, then three singles in the fourth (the key one to the pitcher with two out) to make it 2-0, and didn’t have any easy innings, and only struck out one against two walks and six hits. Let’s just say he needs a bit more seasoning.

The Braves cut it to 2-1 in the sixth, when Jason Heyward singled, Chipper Jones doubled, and Brian McCann hit a sac fly, but Chipper got himself thrown out at third trying to advance on a long fly to left. Uggla reached on a walk and Freddie Freeman singled, only to have Uggla thrown out at third by the left fielder, the second man that inning. How often do you see an outfielder get two assists in an inning?

The Braves took the lead in the seventh, when Brooks Conrad doubled in Nate McLouth, going to third on the throw home, and scored on a Martin Prado sac fly. This led Fredi Gonzalez, in what can only be described as a cry for help, to bring in Scott Proctor to pitch. He normally uses Eric O’Flaherty in the seventh (see flowchart), or he could have used Cory Gearrin, who however was sent down for Teheran because they just have to have two bad 34-year-old righthanded relievers named Scott. Proctor intended to tie the game up with a homer, but only allowed a walk, followed by a sacrifice (“An indispensible guide for all managers who want to bring back the teens!” — Kirk Gibson, on Fred Clarke’s Managing the Deadball Way) and then, following on the night’s theme of things you don’t see every day, a two-base wild pitch.

The Braves did nothing from the eighth to the tenth, going down in order every time, while O’Flaherty — who wound up pitching anyway — and Jonny Venters did their thing. Then it was Kimbrel, and sigh. At least if Venters or O’Flaherty was made the closer it might limit their workload a little.