You just don’t expect Jonny Venters to give up four runs in the eighth inning, especially not to the Padres. The Braves had been living in luck all game, getting out of jam after jam, but their premier escape artist had no luck at all. He walked the leadoff man, then the next batter hit a terrible swinging bunt Venters was unable to field in time to throw to first. A free out sacrifice followed, which Fredi topped with a free baserunner intentional walk. Then things got really weird.
The next batter bunt popped out to Venters, but he didn’t get David Ross’ direction to throw to first in time and all the runners were safe. The next batter hit the ball off of Venters, it took a screwy angle, and AAG couldn’t get anyone, tying the game at 1. Two singles later it was 4-1 and Scott Proctor had to finish the game.
The Braves didn’t really deserve to win; as I said, they’d been lucky all game, and they could easily have been down several runs. They had only two hits, a double by McLouth in the third, and another double by Schafer, scoring Hinske from first due to an error, in the eighth.
Tim Hudson went just six, scattering six hits and three walks. Eric O’Flaherty allowed a hit and a walk in the seventh, and had to be bailed out by Scott Linebrink. It was just weird.
According to Fredi it’s not cool to blame Larry Parrish for destroying the offense. But he hasn’t said anything about not blaming Larry Parrish for destroying the bullpen.
Perhaps it’s upon those grounds that he will be fired.
Bedard, Pineda, Hernandez = a long series
I love Venters, but he did lollygag on the infield single that Maybin hit. Just sayin.
Got a great arm. But I’d venture to say at this point, he’ll never win a Gold Glove as a pitcher.
#2, the Nats managed a sweep.
*obligatory comment about Fredi ruining Venters’ arm, Dusty Baker, Kerry Wood, blah blah blah*
First of all, we really didn’t deserve to win this game anyway, as you said. Secondly, if Venters hadn’t stopped for a freaking beer between fielding the ball and throwing it to first, he’d have been out of the mess entirely unscathed.
Just a weird inning. The Padres hit one ball relatively hard—the 2-run single.
Of course, Venters didn’t field his position very well at all—from the Maybin tapper to the bunt to the comebacker that went right off his glove, tying the game. He snags that one & he’s out of the inning with nothing on the scoreboard.
To tell you how good Venters has been this year, he more than doubled his ERA in 2/3 of an inning.
6 – to add on to your last throught, his era doubled, and it is still only 1.29.
The braves have got to hit. Two hits in a game with a rookie LH starter just won’t do it.
Has Prado’s estimated date of return been updated?
Coop @8,
Not sure if this is “updated” to you, but over the weekend they said “likely to play in a few ML games before All Star Break” (on or before 7/11).
On the other subject, the lack of enthusiasm here seems epic. The monumental futility of this offense is almost incomprehensible.
Wren, get a damn right handed bat without negative platoon splits that can play somewhere we have an offensive sink hole and give up any asset on a “Sabremetrically equal” basis. We dont’need sacred cows (or sacred Teherans or sacred Jurrjens or any other sacred person). This system has essentially no right handed impact bats (really very few decent position prospects generally) that are anywwhre near ML level.
I’ve got a question for someone who follows prospects closely. (Stephen in the UAE perhaps.)
A few years ago, before Vizcaino was acquired, and before Dimasther Delgado’s off-field injury (car accident?) wasn’t Dimasther Delgado considered a better prospect than Randall Delgado?
Am I remembering that correctly? And was it a car accident? Is it conceivable that Dimasther starts climbing our prospect lists again?
Thank you, Cliff. Re Prado’s few games, ML = minor league?
Oh my god, looking for Dimasther Delgado, I found old Cole Rohrbough write-ups.
I had completely forgotten him. 61 IP of 0.86 WHIP and 14 k/9 in the low minors. Then the elbow…
Is he still around? I can’t find that he’s pitched at all this year.
He’s in Lynchburg
http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=delgad001dim
Thanks, spike, for that Colbert-White link a few threads back. Hilarious stuff.
Because I’m old and bored, here is a rehashed update of a post I made at some point in the past, but with a few more specifics.
I am the omnipotent commissioner of baseball. Hear me and obey. This I do decree:
There will be a fixed salary ceiling and a fixed salary floor. Teams cannot spend less than $75 million per year or more than $300 million (2012 dollars). Teams will pay a 10 per cent luxury tax for every dollar over $200 million. This money will be used to promote baseball in inner-cities and third country environments. Teams paying less than $75 million will be put up for sale. Mark Cuban may compete to buy any of the latter type clubs. If he makes the best offer, he wins.
The designated hitter will be phased out by 2014. Team rosters will be expanded to 26 players to compensate for loss of employment of aging DH types.
There will be two leagues. Both leagues will consist of two eight-team divisions. Each team will play 154 games against the other teams in its division. There will be no inter-division or interleague play. The top two teams in each division will be eligible for the league playoffs.
The winner of the eastern division of each league will play a best of seven 2-3-2 game format series against the second place finisher in the western division, and the western division winner will play a best of seven 2-3-2 game series against the second place finisher in the eastern division. The winner of those two series will play a best of seven 2-3-2 game format series for the league championship. The team with the better regular season record will have home field advantage. The league champions will play a best of seven 2-3-2 game format series for the “World Series” championship.
Teams in the NL East will be the Braves, the Phillies, the Mets, the Pirates, the Reds, the Nationals, the Marlins and the Rays.
The NL West will consist of the Cubs, the Cardinals, the Astros, the Padres, the Dodgers, the Giants, the Diamondbacks and the Rockies.
The AL East will contain the Yankees, the Red Sox, the White Sox, the Blue jays, the Tigers, the Indians, the Orioles and either the Charlotte Queens or Orlando Mice.
The AL West will be composed of the A’s, the Mariners, the Angels, the Twins, the Royals, the Rangers, and two of the Las Vegas Card Sharks, San Antonio River Walkers, the Sacramento Governators, or the Mexico City Federales.
So let it be written; so let it be done.
I like a lot of it. Can it be decreed that the 26th roster spot not be allocated to a ninth member of the bullpen?
I just want someone to fix the Dodgers.
I still want to beat them regularly, but something’s been lost out there. Some say it started with the Piazza trade.
Or soon, it will be “Free Vin Scully!
For some reason, I’ve collected a number of Mariners fans as friends. Even though interleague play is an unquestionable evil, I kind of look forward to this series when it comes up every few years.
So decreed, Sansho1.
Will either team score more than 2 runs in a game during this series? I take that back, Lowe is pitching. Both teams are brutal to watch, but the pitching should be good.
Beachy vs Bedard, Braves win 2-1
Hanson vs Pineda, Braves win 2-0
Lowe vs Hernandez, Braves lose 3-0
Both teams with 4 runs scored in the whole series, should be exciting…Right?
I like a lot of your proposal, but playing the same eight teams for 154 games would suck…a lot. Also, I just don’t get the total aversion to interleague play, other than a “that’s not how it was when I grew up, therefore it’s bad” thing. It certainly needs to be normalized more than it is now, so that at least everyone in a division is playing the same interleague teams, but probably so that everyone plays every team in the other league once. Once you do that, I fail to see how interleague play is this great scourge upon the game. In fact, I think it actually improves the game. At the very least, it’s better than playing the same eight teams over and over again for 154 games just in the name of making the playoffs between teams who haven’t played before. It really doesn’t matter that much whether or not the teams have played before.
And by the way, interleague play is not what ruined the All-Star Game, and scuttling it would not bring the All-Star Game “back to what it once was.” What ruined the All-Star Game was the players becoming multimillionaires and beginning to not give a shit, and that would’ve happened regardless of interleague play.
But now that I’ve torn that to shreds, I do like pretty much everything about the rest of your proposal, except for the 154 games thing, which I don’t really care about one way or the other. Though I do suspect that a lot of the support for that is also coming from traditionalists trying to fix the schedule and put it back the way it used to be for no reason other than that’s what they grew up with, there are certainly actual arguments for doing it.
Interleague play sucks.
Wow, you know what? I’m convinced now.
Glad you perceived that my intention behind those three words was to convince you.
That is a compelling argument, isn’t it? (smile)
Seriously, I like a whole lot of Commissioner Coop’s proposal.
I’d reduce rather than increase the total number of teams, however (though the Charlotte Queens simply must exist at some point in time). Does seven teams per division work?
Though omnipotent, I am not unreasonable. Incorporating Nick and Justhank’suggestions, I now decree:
Each league has six teams. Each team plays the other teams in its division 20 times, ten times at home and ten away. (100 games)
Each team plays each team in the other division of its league four times, twice at home and twice away. (24 games)
Each team plays each team in the other league twice, one year at the AL park and the next year at the NL park. (24)
Teams in each division play the same teams the same number of times, although on off years one team may have home team advantage against teams in the other league. However, each team will play the same number of games against the teams in the other leagues.
This produces a 148 game schedule and allows for three rounds of best of seven playoffs.
I am merciful but just, so do not even think about trying to get me to relent on the DH.
Oh, no. Totally with you on the DH…heh.
Then there’s the matter of owners having their clubs playing fewer games & taking in less money at the gate & on TV.
Owners don’t give money back—just look at the NBA & NFL right now.
Would baseball work without the profit motive?
Perhaps I should be First People’s Commissar of Baseball and redistribute baseball’s wealth: from each according to his ability, to the Braves according to our need.
Essentially, the very first baseball teams — like, in the 1840s — worked without the profit motive; there’s a reason we still call them “clubs.” They were generally collections of rich young gentlemen who had lots of money, didn’t need to work, and so they spent a lot of time drinking and a little bit of time playing ball.
The profit motive came in the moment these clubs started hiring semipro ringers to help them beat other teams. Once baseball talent received a market valuation, salaries began to rise, and a century and a half later they’ve showed no signs of stopping.
Sandlot baseball is still free of the profit motive. But no one would advocate that as a replacement for the national pastime. There just aren’t enough seats.
If it is putting butts in seats and bringing in new fans, the you have to keep it.
If you are referring to interleague play, I am unsure that it does either of those things to some larger extent than the other games do.
Regardless of whose else’s butt goes where, my butt would watch sponsors’ ads more often if games were played before my bedtime.
That’s one reason for playing only within your division, even if it only matters to us senior citizens.
McCann’s lead up to 800,000 in latest All-Star update. Should be enough for him to get his first (voted) start. Chipper 1.2 mill back of Polanco. No one else anywhere close.
I’d like some kind of expansion draft where the Braves select a player from each team.
I hate the AllStar voting. Its comical that Polanco is leading at 3B, much less by 1.2m votes.
Chipper – .261/.348/.431
Headley – .298/.393/.401
Both should easily be higher than Polanco and his .289/.343/.367 line.
Coop @11,
Major League. Supposed to be on 25 man and playing before All Star Break.
You guys see this?
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Troy-Tulowitzki-swings-once-connects-twice-for-;_ylt=ApFTKwjfJxy6anb65zDzLRc5nYcB?urn=mlb-wp10795
Pretty cool.
That kind of blows my mind.
Alright, Sporcle Saber-heads, here’s a great way to kill 12 minutes. Have at it:
http://www.sporcle.com/games/DJC83/mlbbats9s
#35
I did that once playing softball. Felt really odd.
I do it with chips out of deep rough with some frequency.
Stu, that doesnt help your golf score.
You tell them that you hit it twice and count it as two strokes, right? Because I totally do…
@37, pretty awesome. I got the whole first team and all but 2B on the second team in the first seven minutes. I then spent five minutes guessing second basemen.
While brainstorming second basemen, not only did I miss the second team, but I also missed the 7th and 8th team. So, if you have any questions about historic second basemen, ask someone else.
One thing neat about laying them out is that you can see how close the best catchers in history are. If you look at 1st vs 12th, there are pretty big gaps everywhere but catcher.
Did a game thread.