Eleven runs? To the Padres? That’s embarrassing. Needing tons of sleep as I do, I missed much of this, and I am glad.
Derek Lowe was in “minimize damage” mode, allowing a single run in the second, then getting out of a jam with only one run scoring in the third. But you can’t do that all night. After two quick outs in the sixth, it was double, infield single, walk, single, single, and George Sherrill in in a 5-0 game.
The Braves cut it to 5-2 in the seventh on a Freddie Freeman homer, but that was as close as they’d get. Fredi brought in Jairo Acensio, who may want to think about changing his name again. Three of the six runs he allowed were “unearned” due to a Dan Uggla throwing error, but he did lots to give up the runs — four hits, one of each type, and two walks. The Lisp came in to mop up, far too late to do anything.
Asencio was trying to make sure that the Braves pen doesnt hold that lowest ERA spot for very long.
I’m actually kind of grateful to Jairo. If not for his six runs, we might have had to use some of our actual relievers. An 11-2 game is an off day for Everyday Jonny.
Johnny has now had two off days in a row. He better not ask for another day before the Allstar break.
@3, As punishment I say we make him start tomorrow’s game.
That just turned into a disaster very quickly.
Still, the lineup wasn’t doing a whole lot outside of Heward, and before the HR, Freddie didn’t exactly look sharp. What’s lost in the Ascencio debacle is that Staffer shut the Braves down completely.
Freeman looked pretty miffed that his foul ball missed Uggla. I think we should demote him to AA as punishment for not doing his job.
What a frustrating game to watch… the Braves never seemed that they were in it. That said, the double to right and infield single which was the beginning of the end in the 6th both should have been outs. If either of those plays are made, the game probably looks completely different (and the Braves would have been forced to find some other way to lose).
Straw poll..
Brian McCann for Ryan Braun, would you do it?
I wouldn’t. But it would be a fair trade.
Would there be a point? You’re pretty much trading players of relatively equal value for the sake of trading them, aren’t you? I sincerely doubt David Ross’ numbers would project well as a full-time starting catcher. You’re closing one hole to open up another bigger one, since an All-Star outfielder should be infinitely easier to find than an All-Star catcher.
So no, I’ll just keep our guy, thank you.
10,
It’s not a realistic trade. It’s not meant to be. Another way of posing the question is, who would you want to start a team with (disregarding contract situations): Ryan Braun; or, Brian McCann?
9,
I was very surprised by how similar they’ve been through their careers. Braun has played a season’s less worth of games (while being 3 months older), but they’ve both been elite. That being said, it seems that most people consider Braun to be a franchise cornerstone, a player you can build around; but, the same people would say that McCann can only be the third or fourth best player on a playoff-bound team.
What makes you say that, desert? My impression is that they’re both viewed as franchise cornerstone-type players.
In the Fangraphs franchise player draft, Braun was picked at #10 (which I thought was an overdraft), and McCann was picked at #26. I decided to pick Cano over McCann with the 24th pick in the draft, which may have been a mistake, but in any case, McCann was perceived as one of the 26 most valuable properties in baseball over the next decade, and I imagine that there was a lot less space between #10 and #26 than there was between #1 and #10.
I think most people see them as roughly similar. For me, personally, I’d rather have McCann, since he’s an up-the-middle player. But it’s awfully hard to find anyone who can hit as well as Braun anywhere on the diamond, so I understand why others might pick him.
IIRC, last year McCann was the second best player on a playoff-bound team (after Hudson).
I look at consistently overperforming pitchers, a minimal injury history, and consistent offensive output, and I find it hard to choose anyone with roughly the same age and service time over him as a cornerstone.
14,
I’ll argue that he was just slightly less valuable than Heyward last year, and a little more than Hudson.
15,
I think ‘anyone’ would be a bit of a stretch. I wouldn’t mind Evan Longoria or Dustin Pedroia, among others. But McCann is certainly up there.
13,
Yes, I agree with you. But I would say that the Fangraphs crowd is much more knowledgeable about these sort of things. I would argue that the consensus among the general population still is that Braun is a much more valuable property than McCann. For instance I’ll compare the Fangraphs franchise draft with ESPN’s Franchise Draft, where McCann wasn’t even selected (although catchers Buster Posey, Wilson Ramos, Joe Mauer, and Carlos Santana were). Among individuals with little knowledge of advanced metrics (which would be most of baseball’s fans, media, and to a certain degree, front offices, comprising most of baseball), I would say that Braun is much more highly valued.
Value going forward is a different question than value already booked. Braun comes out ahead in WAR from 2007-2011, but I still could be convinced that McCann has been as much a “cornerstone” as Braun (edit: in fact, since you can stick just about anyone in left field if they hit well enough, but almost nobody at catcher who wasn’t brought up that way, I’d give the definite edge to McCann). But Mac has enough mileage that he’s likely passed the halfway point of his tenure as an elite player, so if the draft was today Braun would be the easy pick.
I just took a 1/4in spade bit to the forehead. Bled like a mother, but after cleaning it up I think it was just a pretty good scratch.
Stings pretty good and I had to shave a patch out of my hair though.
Go Braves.
@18, Yikes! Glad you missed your eyes.
I’ve done a lot of unsafe things in a wood shop, but drilling towards my face has never been one of them. Congrats on your creativity. And on not getting lobotomized.
Well I was holding a 2×4 up against a 4×4 post that someone else was drilling through from the other side with an extra long bit. I thought I was out of the way of it, but apparently not.
It’s all good though. Live and learn, etc.
I’m very glad you’re ok, Downeaster, keep your face away from drill bits from now on.
Take it from me: clean that thing out thoroughly and keep it that way. Infections are not fun.
Those DIY trepanations can be a bitch, from what I’ve read.
Is anyone watching the Phillies game? Hamels looks like he lost a fight with his razor.
Hey url – Jimbo Malthus is coming through town with his new act – curious what your opinion is.
There’s this about Larry Parrish at the AJC:
http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-braves-blog/2011/06/25/fredi-g-no-discussions-about-hitting-coach-change/?cxntfid=blogs_atlanta_braves_blog
Fredi says there’s no discussions about Parrish being fired. He then goes on to say: “If [a coach] does the things I said – be there on time, you’re organized, you’re detailed, you’re there for the players – then the other stuff is really on the players,” Gonzalez said.”
There’s absolutely nothing in his comments about instruction or competence. Based on his description, my punctuality, organization skills and ability to deal with others well makes me qualified to be a major league hitting coach. Thank God accountability is not an issue!
Hey, that’s not a leadoff double, so maybe we’ll knock him in!
YES!!!!!! Way to go, Jason and Chipper!
Chipper missed a sign right? Because there’s no WAY anyone with an inkling of mental capacity would have him steal.
Good Lord. That was such a stupid time to steal — in front of our best hitter — that I can’t imagine that Chipper stole that on his own. Which means that Fredi just called one of the worst stolen base attempts we’ve had all week.
Whoever said that Fredi had an inkling of mental capacity?
Well, thanks to the discussion we had over the last few days, I think we know exactly who on this board is kind enough to believe that MRSA has a shred of mental capacity. Sadly, I cannot say I’m one of them.
Yo spike@26, hadn’t heard about that project, thanks for the tip. Always great to have something new to listen to. It’s an interesting mid-career shift, for sure. The songwriting seems to have held up. I’m sure they are much better live than on record. Although you’d still cut that guitar player 🙂
Go Braves!
Huzzah!
Aha!!!! Luck!
@27 So Larry Parrish is surely going to be fired, right?
NATE!!!
Schafer coming into tonight is hitting .222/.300/.296. It’s time to flip him and McLouth.
Usually, when an article comes out about how someone isn’t going to be fired, that means they’re going to be fired. So I’m hopeful.
Hey, alright! I’m glad that happened. Jair’s been having a little bit of trouble finding strikes.
A’s up on the Phils 4-1 in the 9th.
Glad to see it, but Oakland’s gotta do something about those road unis. They look like they’re in an extended spring training.
Edit: Jeez Freddie, where were you going?
Good Lord… Freeman got picked off by a right-handed pitcher. Mosely has a good move, but still. Freddie isn’t going to steal. He didn’t need to be far off the base.
That’s two baserunners caught between first and second in the first four innings.
What the HELL is happening to this strike zone?
Just turned on the game(s). There has been more scoring in the first half of the Gold Cup final than the first half of the Braves game. Sads.
You know the debate about Jurrjens being lucky or good? Tonight he’s been lucky.
Jurrjens has been lucky, but he’s also been squeezed.
And remember, as Americans we don’t care about soccer. Winning this game is just about messing with Mexico.
I love that teams still walk McCann to get to Freeman. Thanks for the free baserunner.
I was about to make a joke about a Chip Caray and Brian Jordan duo being more tolerable than the SD announcers, but that just ain’t true.
Still, the SD announcers are pretty annoying. As are their fans.
You know, if someone asked me, “Which Major League baseball team is sponsored by a bail bonds outfit?” I would have guessed the Marlins.
Credit Uggla with working a great 9-pitch walk. I have tried to give up on hoping he will come around, but at least I can appreciate an individual moment of not sucking.
Has anybody noticed on Braves radio this season the sound of someone clearing their throat in the background? It’s pretty annoying, usually once every inning or so. Tonight it’s pretty constant, several times a half-inning and it sounds like the guy is in agony. It’s driving me a little nuts.
No, the Marlins have sports gambling website ads behind the hitter. And casino ads, though that’s not as bad. I still can’t believe they do that.
I don’t have Braves Radio on tonight, but I listen to it a lot, and I don’t remember any let me clear my throat action.
But bail bonds? “Many of our fans are petty criminals and their relatives!”
John, I don’t believe I’ve noticed that either… maybe it’s a weird thing with the radio affiliate you’re listening on?
I’ve noticed that coughing guy. Kind of gross. Three games ago there was some guy laughing his ass off and yelling “dude” during the whole broadcast. I actually like it. Doesn’t make it sound so sterile
He just did it. Sounds like Gollum
I’ve noticed the throat clearing thing. It’s been going on for weeks, if not months.
Oh, no, the Proctologist is warming up.
Oh, good, Scott Proctor is warming up. I was getting worried we might win.
Jurrjens is so clutch. He’s like Jeter, except he pitches and speaks Dutch.
@49 When I saw that ad I automatically thought of “Chico’s Bail Bonds” from the Bad News Bears.
Man, I’m old.
Boy, am I glad to see O’Failurety. It’s good to have him back.
I wonder who will pitch the eighth?
We’re ahead by four runs, it would be nice to think that either Venters or Kimbrel would be able to get a night off. Apparently Venters has already been warming up.
I am available to work the eighth. I pitched seven innings last night but my arm is pretty fresh.
For once, I really want to see Proctor. A five run lead is Proctor Time.
I would also be cool with the guy with many names who sucked last night.
But, no, it’s the best reliever in baseball. With a five run lead. I hate you, Braves Manager.
So angry right now. So angry.
10-1.
So glad we used Venters to preserve this lead. This could have gone either way.
Bring Kimbrel in for the save, surely.
Calling it. This is a false spring for Uggla, who is finished. The sooner he takes his act to the Long Island Ducks, the better off we’ll all be.
Venters was already up, guys. It was a 3-1 game. That’s exactly when you want Venters. As long as he’s up, he should pitch.
I like runs. And I like seeing a compact swing from Uggla.
That guy chanting Uggla’s batting average is even funnier now.
173!
177!
180!
Chip Caray looks like hell. What’s going on CHIP!?
Recapped!