San Diego Padres vs. Atlanta Braves – Box Score – May 31, 2011 – ESPN.
That’s just what you deserve if you allow the Padres to score five runs. They have a terrible offense, as bad as there’s been in the last 15 years or so, but there are the five runs. Mike Minor was charged with three of them in six-plus innings to take the loss, but it wasn’t really all his fault
On the other hand, he did give up eight hits and walk three. That’s a lot for the Padres — see above on awful offense. They took the lead in the third on a Chase Headley double. But Freddie Freeman, who had three hits on the night, countered with a two-run double in the fourth to give the Braves the lead. It didn’t last long, as the first two reached in the fifth, and the tying run scored on a double play.
Minor was over ninety pitches when he went out to start the seventh, and walked the leadoff man. A clearly irritated Fredi Gonzalez got off his duff and pulled him for Cory Gearrin, and a few seconds later it was 5-2; Gearrin got one out before three straight singles. By the time Fredi was roused to get George Sherrill in the game, things were bleak.
Chipper Jones cut it to 5-3 in the seventh, singling in Diory Hernandez, but Brian McCann struck out looking against a LOOGY; strike three looked like a ball, but whatever. Chipper singled home Jordan Schafer with two out in the ninth, but McCann popped up on a 2-1 pitch to end it.
and i think the mariners of last year have more of a claim to the worst offense of last 15 years than the padres do
Okay, no “first”. I have my limits, and “first” is one of them.
alright
If Fredi will allow Gearrin to give up 4 straight hard hits and not move a muscle, why cant LISP get a few useful innings?
#2 – thank you…Im glad thats a rule for this place
How else can we know who posted first?
it looks like the deficit will go back to 2.5
Our current lineup is putrid. No power anywhere except for BMac. Please let’s get Heyward back healthy before Chipper takes his yearly sabbatical.
It was dumb not starting Uggla today. Period
Mac, are you and Chip communicating via Twitter? Worlds colliding!
Yeah I don’t see how benching Uggla is going to help him. He just has to work through it. We’re pot-committed, so you have to play him every day. If he hits .180 all year then we’re gonna finish 20 games out anyway, so might as well play him and hope for the best. Odds are good that he’ll eventually find his stroke.
If guys like Conrad/Mather/Hinske/Hicks/Schafe/Diory see significant playing time (hell tomorrow 3 of them will probably start) then we won’t even sniff the playoffs. A shame really, since this pitching staff is certainly good enough to make some noise.
bottom line, we have no shot at the division title. Let’s focus on the wild card. I was impressed with the last PA for Schafer, but overall it was a disappointing, horrible game for him.
Fredi et Parrish delenda est.
It has returned.
I didn’t see the game, or get to listen to the second half of it. How did Fredi show his irritation about the leadoff walk–was he just pissed at Minor? I haven’t seen him so much as move a facial muscle this year, so that caught my attention.
The Braves are going to have nights, enough of them to make the difference between having a good year and a mediocre year, where they will need to score 4-8 runs to win–even with their pitching staff. And they just can’t do that on a regular or even semi-regular basis right now.
Better get ready for the sweep. If you wanna win anything, you’ve got to beat teams like that at home.
I had a bad feeling about this game after the first inning, when the Braves stranded runners on second and third, with Zombie Chipper being unable to score from first on a double.
The only upside right now is Freddie Freeman, who looks confident and relaxed. He could grow into something.
Cue the Matt Young feel-good stories!
.105/.190/.105 (!!)
Yeah, I was pretty disappointed with Chipper not being able to score. It looked like he was hurt, and I was thinking he should have been pulled or something.
Then he drives in two. :-/
Let’s just get Heyward healthy and Uggla not being horrible.
Cory Gearrin was atrocious. That’s pretty much the story.
You’re in my prayers, Mac.
Go Braves!
Sigh. We beat a good team like the Reds then let this crap team take two. Egads.
Actually I thought sitting Uggla was a good idea. The guy is pressing so hard he’ll never start hitting until he relaxes.
Wow, looking back at these old threads is a trip. I remember this one from five years ago, mostly because it’s right before The Streak. Considering his historic run, it seems silly to think we sat Uggla because he was cold, but his first two months as a Brave were really bad. lol. That Gonzalez guy was still manager, and Jurrjens was in one of his brief stretches of uninjured brilliance.
I can’t believe we were starting Jordan Schafer. His line with the Royals this year is hilarious. His third-orders on BP EliteStat are even better.
Dammit, now I’m going to be paranoid about encountering time travelers all day. I’ve always suspected the girl at our Wendy’s drive-through.
I hope this “The Streak” won’t be one of historic futility and wasted promise, but at least maybe Emma will follow Schafer over to a Royals blog.
Every year is different, I know, but it was Memorial Day last year when the Braves indicated that they might be something special. This year at the same time, it’s dreadfully obvious to me how utterly mediocre this team is. The pitching is great, but everything other component is so anemic that it all adds up to crushing averageness. I for one am not holding my breath on a turn-around.
But now what? It’s not like I’m interested in the NBA finals . . .
[Commences maniacal, power-crazed laughter.]
Joey, what is the future like in 2016? Were humans able to hold off the robot hordes? Or is our species an enslaved underclass, kept around only as playthings, forced to engage in sports to satisfy the mechanized whims of our metal overlords?
How much sense does this make?
“Young was hitting .273 in 34 games for Gwinnett, with six doubles, one triple and nine RBIs. He’s hit .306 (11-for-36) in his past 10 games. Gwinnett outfielder Stefan Gartrell had an even hotter bat – he has hit .353 (12-for-34) with 11 RBIs in his past 10 games – but unlike Young, he was not on the Braves’ 40-man roster.”
Are we really that concerned about losing Matt Young? Neither one are going to make a difference.
Best wishes on the recovery from your procedure, Mac.
I think we should DL Uggla and let him go rehab and work through his issues and bring him back in a few weeks. I would imagine a Conrad/Diory/Hicks platoon could go 4-54 just as easy.
Uggla hitting .180 is still a bigger threat in our lineup over those three guys. Pitchers still respect him and he’ll give some protection to whoever he is following in the order.
From what I have seen, pitchers don’t “respect” him at all. They throw him something outside or something that breaks, and not only does Uggla swing at all of those, he misses all of those! The only time he doesn’t swing is on the third pitch of his at-bat (after going 0-2 of course), a habit the pitchers have also figured out and throw him something right down the middle.
Having said that, I still agree he should be kept in the lineup. He won’t get better on the bench.
Uggla – .178/.246/.322
Brooks – .156/.300/.281
Hicks – .100/.182/.100
Diory – .267/.267/.267
I guess is doesnt matter.
Protection is a myth.
Ladies…
Okay, I’m headed out. I may be able to check in later tonight; if not, I’ll probably see you Friday night.
Why not give Uggla a a few days off and then let him go down to AAA to work on his timing?
UMM, because then we’d be stuck with Brooks Conrad?
@32
Of course, in baseball, a myth is as good as a milestone.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ycn-8080640
On that last one, he meant to write “early September”, I’m sure.
@37
For a “milestones” article, that was pretty sparse. It’s cool, though, that Matt Stairs has the all-time franchises played for record. I like it when somebody wrings every last possible bit of baseball out of his career. Evidence — four times this year Stairs has appeared as a PH, walked, and been immediately replaced by a PR (which twice has been Jason Marquis). Nice work if you can get it!
35 — He’s out of options.
Yes but he could still accept the assignment, if he really wanted to straighten out his swing.
@39,
Not if he is on a rehab assignment
He’s out of options, but do you think any team wants his contract right now? If someone is willing to take the contract off our hands, would we let them? I don’t know if being out of options is really constraining in this case.
My thought is he might benefit from a few days off and some time to work on his mechanics. It is obvious that this isn’t something he can just fix in batting practice. His timing is off and it has been two months and he hasn’t found it. A DL stint and time to work on this stuff at AAA for however many rehab games he is allowed might fix his problems.
We could always put Prado at second and let Mather play left. At this point I am willing to go without Uggla for a short time and try to fix him.
I agree with you Smitty, in the abstract. I just don’t think the Braves try it, and I don’t think Uggla would go along with it.
Also on a side-note, I’m excited to read about Medlen’s progress. That’s going to be a nice boost to what’s going to be an overworked staff, come August.
There’s no excuse and no need for sympathy for an “overworked staff” when you have a $7 million dollar pitcher languishing in Mississippi because of some petty vendetta, that could at least be serving as a needed RHRP. Oh well. That ship has sailed (with a crateful of skunks).
In my opinion.
Kawakami has made 2 starts, thrown 10 2/3 innings, and allowed 9 earned.
A 7.59 ERA. In AA.
Just a fact.
And what has any of this got to do with Medlen coming back?
Kawakami blows
If the staff is overworked then maybe we could let The Lisp pitch in a few more high-leverage situations. I don’t get why he is behind Cherylbrink in the pecking order. Seems like he’s got decent stuff and changes speeds well.