The Braves are so hot now that they’re coming from multiple runs down to win easily. Okay, so it was just two runs, but that’s multiple. And just about everyone is hitting, and someone woke up both Dan Uggla and Jason Heyward. Suddenly, the Phillies do not look uncatchable. Guess who’s up now?
The Rockies got a run in the first on a walk and a Jason Giambi double; Giambi drove in another run with a fielder’s choice in the third, before Chipper turned a GIDP to get out of a fairly major jam. And in the bottom of the inning, the Braves exploded.
Schafer led off with a double. AAG drove him in with a single to make it 2-1. Chipper singled, and then Freddie Freeman hit his fourth homer of the series to make it 4-2. Uggla doubled, and Heyward singled him in, and it was 5-2. The Braves got another run on a solo homer from Heyward in the fifth. He had doubled earlier in the game, so just missed the cycle by a triple, and ended the eighth on deck. Oh, well.
Tim Hudson cruised through the middle innings, got one out in the eighth, issued a walk, and was pulled for Eric O’Flaherty, who was ineffective. Single, walk to load the bases, a popup, then a wild pitch to make it 6-3, then another walk, so Fredi had to go to Venters. Who struck out Ty Wigginton to end the threat. Kimbrel got two popups and a strikeout for the save.
Alright, Braves Journal fantasy players, whom would you choose between Jake Westbrook and Randy Wells for the rest of the season? Wins, Ks, and ERA are the relevant stat categories.
Hall of Fame manager Dick Williams passed away today.
A Dick Williams story: An old UGA pal of mine was a stringer for an Atlanta radio station one summer in the early ’80s.
He’d only been on the job a short while & he was still finding his way around a major-league clubhouse.
He was covering a Braves/Padres game at AFC Stadium, back when Dick Williams was the San Diego skipper. He needed a quote or two on the game, so he stuck his head in the visiting manager’s office and sheepishly asked, “Do you mind if I ask you a few questions about today’s game?”
To which Williams replied, “No, not as long as you don’t mind seeing an old man nekkid!“
Ha, who called for the 4 game sweep? That’d be me.
The Braves, of course, don’t play many four-game series against the Rockies. The last time they swept one was 1883, when they were in the same division.
Really? THAT long ago?
That wasn’t the only time someone saw Dick Williams nekkid.
From a Serafini Says blog post in 2007:
In 1993, the Rockies went 0-13 against us. The franchise was winless against the Braves until June 13, 1994.
It helps when Tulo and CarGo are on the bench. Maybe the Phillies will rest Ryan Howard and the Loathsome One for us as well.
Watching MLB Network, it is not difficult to see why Jerry Manuel failed at managing.
@1 – I always just go with the K’s and figure the rest will follow.
#7
And we needed every one of those wins to take the NL West that year.
I should probably say, figure I’ve slightly improved the odds of the rest following.
@1
The Cards will compete while the Cubs will probably sell, or at least try. The only real edge looks to be wins, so I’d go with Westbrook. The Cubs already lose too much and it will probably get worse.
Braves have a lotta sweeps this year:
3 games, @SF, April 22-24
4 games, Mil, May 2-5
2 games, Hou, May 16-17
2 games, @Pit, May 24-25
3 games, @Fla, June 7-9
3 games, Tor, June 20-22
3 games, @Sea, June 27-29
4 games, Col, July 4-7
Only been swept once:
2 games, @Ariz, May 18-19
If JS can bat close to .250, Uggla and Heyward hit and Freeman is for real we should be more than fine when the Prado returns. Best team ERA in league why over pay for anything?
@14 No more of those easy AL teams to beat up on. Medlin & the Aussie in the dress will return
Geez, Blackman broke his left ankle. Bad news.
1 – Are those two really all you have to choose between? I guess go with Westbrook for the wins–both guys are pretty similar–but it seems crazy that there aren’t any other choices.
The NL East is really good this year, so the Braves’ schedule will become much more difficult once they start playing those teams again en masse. Both the Mets and the Nats are surprisingly competitive, though I suspect the former’s luck may have run out this week.
I, too, believe that the Mets’ magic will run out, but it’s to their credit that they haven’t lost since Reyes got hurt. Only 4 games, but still… not bad.
18—It’s a very deep NL-only league. After those two, the next-best option is Zach Duke or Rodrigo Lopez (!). I’m generally of the follow-the-Ks persuasion, like Rusty, but Wells has been so very bad…
Trying to broker a deal for Mat Latos or Bud Norris, in which case I won’t need Wells or Westbrook — unless Nicasio gets the boot.
I mean, my best starter has probably been Jon Niese — this league is brutal.
How nice would it be to win three more before the break?
Anyone else think Freeman looks like Hans Klopek from “The Burbs”?
http://www.jonathanrosenbaum.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/theburbs.jpg
The Rockies signed Joe Mather and sent him to AAA.
ububba- great Dickie Williams story.
But what is a “stringer”?
Rockies sign Mather and send him to AAA to make sammiches, sling hot dogs, and shorten his swing.
Glad Mather still has a job in baseball. And gladder still that it isn’t with the Braves.
@25, a stringer is a local guy that a newspaper pays by the piece. In baseball, it can also be a guy who collects stats for a minor league game and is paid by the game. They’re called stringers because they’re strung along and not given a full-time job.
Obviously, 1993. Look, I’m seriously ill here.
Yankees lose. If the Braves can somehow sweep the Phillies, they’ll have the best record in all of baseball going into the All Star break.
Calling O’Flaherty “ineffective” today was a bit unfair. He had an obvious third strike called a ball today (the pitcher, the batter and announcers all called it a strike, sadly the ump didn’t) and then had a passed-ball tag out at home called safe when he had the ball kicked out of his glove. He just had some bad luck today.
Hey I got a Les Paul today!
oh, go Braves.
As great as it was to see everyone hit… Why does Fredi think Braves relievers are incapable of pitching more than 3 outs at a go?
@Mac, I liked 1883 better.
Hang in there.
A 4-game sweep is pretty good, but a Gibson Les Paul is monumental.
@32 Because he learned that from Bobby.
@14 and 34 Sweeps are critical. The difference between a sweep and a series win is so significant (same goes for being swept and series loss).
How much does it suck, that Vance Worley is filling in so brilliantly for Oswalt?! Phillies will be hard to catch, but the Wild Card should be ours.
@kc, I’d go so far as to say that it’s just as important as taking 2 games out of a 3 game series versus losing 2 of 3.
Did anyone see this? How horrible.
http://tinyurl.com/5t57zf2
Do any other of you vintage Braves Journal posters remember Eddie Yost? He played third base for the Washington Senators in their first incarnation.
If I remember correctly, a sorry bet on the best of days, they called him “the walking man.” Wonder if he has any grandsons who play?
You’re right about his nickname. He’s 1/3 of the Walking Eddies, along with Joost and Stanky. (Collins, Mathews, and Murray walked a lot, too, but brought other things to the table. The Walking Eddies are probably all in the top 10 of percentage of offensive contribution attributable to walks.)
@34 Thanks, ububba.
I liked Dick William’s book, “No More Mr. Nice Guy” as much as any baseball book I’ve read. And it may be all baloney.
But there’s something interesting about a guy who could get along with Gary Templeton when Whitey couldn’t or Reggie when Billy couldn’t.
Lord knows, they had to change the rules about managers visiting the mound because of Dick Williams.
And a new Les Paul is an event, spike. Rock on!
Not to rain on anyone’s parade here, but facing Lee, Hamels, and Halladay this weekend makes the odds of getting swept a lot better than of sweeping. I’ll be satisfied with 1 out of 3–anything else is gravy.
Werth, Dunn & Crawford are all getting more money than the Uggla and are producing less. As OFs and a DH more offensive production is expected from them. If Uggla has turned it around Happy Days are here again.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110707&content_id=21544470&vkey=news_atl&c_id=atl&partnerId=rss_atl
Ill be surprised if either team pulls off a sweep this weekend. Its a well balanced matchup and the Braves seem to be swinging the bats better right now. Braves have had success against Lee and Hamels in the past.
45 — Which is incredible considering their struggles with non-descript lefties.
Yeah, Braves have hit Cliff Lee at a .342 clip. He’s 1-3 with a 6.15ERA 1.59WHIP. Hamels is 10-6 3.83ERA 1.23WHIP. Halladay just isnt human.
Just because Im bored, #’s vs Halladay
Schafer – .000/.000/.000
AAG – .250/.273/.300
Chipper – .500/.500/1.300
BMAC – .353/.389/.471
Freeman – .500/.400/1.250
Uggla – .409/.435/.909
Heyward – .000/.167/.000
Nate – .071/.071/.071
Some small samples with Heyward, Freeman, and Schafer though. And yes, those are slg%’s.
Halladay reminds me of Seaver in some ways. Just a true horse.
They’d both give you a run or two but that was it. Your pitcher had to throw a shutout to beat them.
Oh, and ububba’s and AAR’s Dick Williams stories are hilarious. I was unaware of his, er, proclivities.
Mike Trout just got called up. My goodness.
Gosh, the only other player I can remember who was that young was A-Rod.
Wow, thats surprising. I guess Bryce Harper will be next. Granted Trout has incredible numbers everywhere.
2009 – .352/.419/.486
2010 – .341/.428/.490 56SB
2011 – .324/.415/.534 290AB 12-2B 11-3B 9HR 28SB
Justin Upton came up at 19, too.
How old was Andruw when he was called up?
19
Both Uptons came up at 19. Edgar Renteria had 471 PAs in his age-19 season.
Can Hamels pitch in the ASG if he starts on Sunday? Who could replace him?
Hope it is not Hanson
@56 – Wasn’t Renteria’s age “19” season probably more like his age 22 season?
@47- Just observational analysis, but I’ve always hypothesized it’s because Lee and Hamels don’t really walk people. Vs. lefties, the Braves seem a more hacktastic bunch, and thus would do better when the pitcher is consistently in the strike zone.
Victorino just got placed on the DL.
Hope we’re hacktastically lucky tonight & we find some holes.
Also, we may have to get fantastically lucky with the weather. Looks like gametime T-storms tonight in Philly.
In the category of “I must have too much time on my hands and need to get out of my hammock more”: I was comparing Chipper’s RBI to others through yesterday’s games when I found myself getting caught up (again) in the internal (and eternal) questioning of how “RBI” stands for “Runs Batted In”, yet no one usually says the plural form of R when more than one RBI is scored and instead of saying 3 R’sBI, they say RBI’s for plural. Question, do you think we could convince Chip to start using the plural R’s and be the first on radio to say in his effusive way, “Arse Be I”?
Who goes to the ASG in Victorino’s place? McCutchen?
Apr 8-10, 1-2
May 6-8, 2-1
May 13-15, 2-1
Overall against PHL to date: 5-4
I’m not sure they have to hope for “hacktastic” luck or “fantastically lucky” weather. They’re as good as the Phillies this year.
@64 Success after carryimg Braves to another sweep & first place? j/k
Since he was voted in on the Final Vote thing, would they not just take whoever finished second in that?
#65 – I hear ya, but you have to admit that it seems like we are going into this series as underdogs.
Going into any series with the Phillies and their rotation is hard times. It’s sort of what other teams felt going up against Maddux/Glavine/Smoltz back in the day. You can be utterly shut down by any of them on any given day. But on the other hand, the Braves have more or less an equal rotation so far, a better bullpen and the offenses aren’t that far apart.
A sweep is wishcasting. But there’s no reason Atlanta should cower into a corner just because they’re playing the mighty Phils. The Braves have played them even so far this year, and the Braves are a little hotter going into the series to boot.
I don’t know that I’d call it wish casting – the Braves are certainly capable of winning three in a row against any team in the game. Unlikely, to be sure, but it wouldn’t be that much of an upset.
Its probably just me, but Id rather see the Braves face the BIG 3 of the Phils over the Nats and the likes of Lannan, Gorzelanny, Livan.
Any guesses if Dan Ross will start one of the games this weekend?
As Christina Kahrl’s legal counsel, I must ask that you cease and desist using the word “wishcasting” immediately.
Wish casting might be a little harsh. It could certainly happen. But if the Braves go in and take 2 out of 3, that’s a good result. If the Braves go in and take 1 out of 3, that’s a bad result. It seemed like we were hinting that just not getting swept would be a win, and I don’t think that’s true.
73—LOL.
McCutchen deserves Victorino’s spot, but then, he also deserved the spot of virtually everyone who was selected over him and didn’t get it.
Ross played yesterday so that McCann could play 3 against Phils, I think.
When you are already sitting in a playoff spot, not getting swept is simply one way to avoid losing 3 games in the standings to the club behind you in 3 quick days.
It’s not any kind of outright win, but it avoids a worst-case scenario & it shaves days off the calendar. It’s simply the advantage of being a division or Wild-Card leader. Teams looking up in the standings have no such luxury.
Besides, these guys have obviously never played a gold top.
Can you not post links of any kind anymore?
Mine keep getting marked as spam or something
Seems like these two teams are so evenly matched right now. Phils have the edge with SP, but the Braves have it in the bullpen and probably the offense also.
@76 – so why did Chipper play yesterday? I will be very suprised if he starts all 3 games against the Phillies.
Chipper usually misses some of the aces, but he’s always hit these three well. He had better start these three and he is starting tonight.
Schafer
AAG
Chipper
BMac
Freeman
Uggla
Heyward
Nate
Beachy
BTW, Ethier is replacing Victorino in the ASG.
Jeter is skipping the ASG.
Now the AL might actually have a good SS in his place. Jeter sucks.
Jeter does suck and should take himself out of the ASG. Andrus, Peralta, Hardy, Yunel, and Cabrera are all better options.
Philly is suppose to get hammered with bad weather tonight. Probably wont play.
http://www.weather.com/weather/hourbyhour/graph/USPA1276
Try posting at the Website line as LUN Link Under Name
I recently posted an article from mlb.com
A-Rod and Rivera are also withdrawing from the ASG, per @Yankees on Twitter.
ASG is a joke and even the players dont care about it.
Jeter pulled out, too.
A few years ago, wasn’t there a stink about Steinbrenner telling his guy not to play in the All-Star game? Or am I confusing it with his stink about not wanting his guys in the WBC?
#88
It was WBC.
Jeter’s never going to be the guy he was less than 2 years ago when he hit .334 & helped win another WS.
But he’s a legacy pick for the ASG, just like Mays, Aaron & some others were in their later, dramatically less productive years. As long as fans vote for the starters, this is gonna happen.
IMO, it’s not a big deal at all when future Hall of Famers get a little credit for their careers at the ASG. To me, an entire career of excellence often outweighs a great half-season.
If you get voted in and pull yourself out for reasons other than family emergency or health, you should be suspended for ten games.
Peanut says the Braves are leaning towards leaving Schafer in CF and moving McLouth to the bench when Prado returns.
Derek Lowe for Josh Reddick. Do you do it?
@91, I don’t think there’s enough defense to make up for the offensive gap, but it sounds like something Fredi would do.
@91 Would it make a difference who the pitcher was and whether game was in a band box like the Reds or Phils stadium? Doubtful McLouth will play here next year.
I don’t put too much stock in that decision, as it too would be subject to change based on performance. Neither player owns the position.
I think this time next month we will have a new center fielder and it won’t matter.
I don’t see how this game could possibly happen tonight. It looks brutal ’til about midnight. I’d bet on a doubleheader tomorrow.
I wonder if we should give Prado some time in center field during his rehab assignment. It wouldn’t hurt to see if he could handle it.
A Scenario: Everyone not named Alex Gonzalez or Jordan Schafer begins to perform closer to expected levels & it won’t break our hearts that those 2 guys remain in the lineup for their defense.
Of course, batting them at the top of the lineup is another conversation, although I’d suspect Prado would probably replace AAG, at the very least.
Local FOX 5 Sports says it looks like the game is going to happen – can anyone confirm that?
All,
Mac’s internet is out; he says he’ll recap tomorrow if this game is played.
They should replay some old games during delays. Like 80’s 90’s. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfYb6dmzeF0&NR=1
#99: Prado better bump AAG down to the back end of the lineup! I’ll take either of McLouth or Schafer at #1.
Game will be played September 22. Good night all
Schafer (.631 OPS) and Gonzalez (sub-.300 OBP) are performing as expected. This is who they are.
Maybe we can skip Lowe’s start this time then.
Wishful thinking, probably will skip Beachy instead.
Sorry, I take that back
DOB says 8:35 start
they should make a Jeff Blauser “IYOW” or a Denny Neagle. It gets boring watching these over and over
@109: At least the Francoeur one is out of their rotation.
How about a Chief Nokahoma “IYOW?” I would also nominate Bob Wickman, Nick Esasky, Mike Hampton…ooh, or maybe Lonnie Smith.
#92 – Id move Lowe just to know his salary is gone. So, yes.
That was anticlimactic.
Tarp going back on the field again
So, wet field.. who thinks Schafer shortens to bunt at the first pitch tonight?
If they play tonight, I think it benefits us. Therefore, I think the Phillies pull the plug.
Three innings of Halladay, then a rainout… wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.
per DOB…
Braves pitcher Kris Medlen has suffered a second setback in his recovery from elbow construction surgery and has been temporarily shut down to rest his elbow. The Braves don’t believe the setback is serious, but Medlen will visit orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham on Monday to be sure.
@118,
That is Braves code for Tommy John time.
i’d say that the more looks we get against the philly rotation in the regular season, the better. let’s figure them out before October.
He just had Tommy John.
I wish someone would create a YouTube video called Alex Gonzalez vs. Roy Halladay.
Man does anyone see this whale of a man behind home on the right side? He has got to have a gravitational pull.
“He just had Tommy John.”
One could have said that about Mike Hampton in 2007 too.
@124
And that was the code they used
Freddie’s still got it.
Nice job, Fredward.
Man, Freddie is just on fire.
So far, the doctor is not in tonight. Make him pay.
Too bad Uggla couldn’t get Freeman to third.
Both starters are all out of wack. The balk comes back to hurt.
No chance Schafer was out there.
7 pitch inning, nice work boys
If Jordan hadn’t looked he would have been called safe.
Man, Im really gonna miss Chipper one day
FINISH THEM FREDDIE!
I think McCann might have made it.
Damn. Guess that is why he gets the big bucks. Time for Uggla to pop up
Holy crap, luck.
Nice job Daniel….thanks for the help Mr Valdez
Lucky break there.
Wow, that was cray
Ohio State is back to being winless against the SEC.
I vote we walk Ruiz from now on.
why in the hell do the Braves throw inside fastballs to Ruiz?
ruiz is bonds against atl
Checkers match tonight.
Ruiz, before tonight, had an OPS 108 points higher than his average against the Braves. It’ll be higher now…
Wow, that was a fail by BIH.
Beachy looking very serious. We can do this.
Good approach to Ruiz.
I gotta start picking up Ruiz before he plays the Braves. He’s like the Cody Ross of catchers.
Good work Beachy.
Halladay is very good.
Beachy’s night is finished.
Come on Hinske!
it’s the right move, but i hate to see beachy out so early.
now if there was a time for the Tired Triple Threat (o’flaherty, venters, kimbrel) to be endorsed by everyone on this board for 7,8,9, i’d say it’s a tie game in philly, 2.5 games back.
Hopefully EOF has sorted out whatever was bothering him yesterday.
As a matter of fact, unless we get a run here, I’d be tempted to use EOF for a second inning.
Looks like Halladay can’t “win” against us tonight. nice.
The guy sitting in the first row behind the right-handed batter’s box with the blue shirt has a fantastic mustache.
Well I’m back to hating AAG.
well of course we’ll get a run here. That was implied. 😉 do ya think now that Freeman, Uggla and Heyward look a little better, we can get Gonzalez out of the 2 slot? or is it his until Prado returns?
You guys realize we’re going to have a really good offense in the second half if those guys wake up, right?
Would it be safe in saying that upgrading SS wouldnt be that difficult right now.
AAG
June – .176/.219
July – .160/.192
@164 – I support a move for J.J. Hardy.
And yet he’s been moved up in the lineup… because, well, just because.
Hate the shift.
I’m starting to hate Ruiz at a Victorino-like level.
For an inning in which nobody hit the ball more than 50 feet, that was rather tense.
Mr. Valdez, you’ve just been Ventilated.
Surprise, Uggla is a failure.
Guess it will be Linebrink in the 9th.
I don’t think I can watch Linebrink pitch in the bottom of the 9th in this ballpark. I’m not saying there’s much of another option, just that I can’t watch.
linebrink
ruiz’s HR is a double in every other park in america
My favorite Dick Williams moment was in the ’72 World Series against the Reds. Johnny Bench had just hit a long foul ball against Rollie Fingers, Williams ran out of the dugout and pointed towards first base to walk him. I think (and I’m going just on a 39 year old memory) that it made the count 2-2. Fingers then threw ball 3, with the count full Tenace sat back down, and Fingers blew it past him for strike 3. I remember that Tony Kubek on NBC called exactly what Williams/Fingers would do. The next day Sparky Anderson called it a bush league play, much like he would complain about the Braves pitching Jim Bouton (and beating the Reds) in a late ’70’s pennant race.
End well, this will not.
Get through this inning and we got the advantage.
Suck it, Rollins.
NICE PITCHOUT CALL!
that was money
Well thanks Jimmy.
I’m not sure I can remember a base stealer being out by more.
C’mon Linestink…
In before Sam H.
where the hell was that last one?
Nice work there Linebrink. Douche.
Was going to predict earlier that the Braves lose in extra innings with George Sherill on the mound; but maybe it won’t get quite that far.
That’s two pitches right across the plate that’ve been called balls. (Well, one was called a strike on appeal because Rollins checked his swing.) Common, ump!
Might as well leave Sherrill out there for Howard and Ibanez next inning.
I guess they’re gonna pinch hit.
Well, hopefully we end this soon. I fear if we get to a point where we’re using Proctor it will be one Scott too many.
Hopefully we score in the 10th, because if not we’re looking at Proctology.
190 — Sherrill is due up 3rd this inning.
Not that i don’t like Indianapolis, but sometimes i wish i still lived in range of braves telecasts (or tbs) and didn’t have to rely on this perverse combination of yahoo fantasy baseball’s MLB GameCast and refreshing the comments pages here. a bizarre way to ‘follow’ a game.
Aaaand Heyward looks like crap again. 🙁
Nice scouting work on Perez.
I’d actually kinda like to see Sherrill hit for himself here. Proctor is more or less a guaranteed loss.
Edit: I mean, George can strike out on 3 straight just as well as our awesome professional hitters, right?
And now we don’t have any lefties left in the pen. I also would have liked to see Sherrill hit for himself there.
Wow, that was terrible.
Embarrassing.
Striking out the side in 9 pitches? That’s awful.
Three strikeouts on nine pitches? Did it look as bad as GameDay makes it look?
Craptacular.
Is it too much to ask for Gearrin?
202 — It was worse.
Worst half inning I’ve seen all year. Just absolutely nothing coming from those guys.
202: Worse. Swung at some really bad pitches for no apparent reason. Once again, advance scouting on a new pitcher completely fails.
Worst. Half inning. Ever.
Striking out the side on 9 pitches? Halladay didn’t even do that.
In that inning the Braves saw 5 pitches in the zone and swung at none of them, and saw 4 pitches outside the zone and swung at all of them.
Ah, “Scotty” Proctor. Ballgame?
Nobody does that. It only happens a couple of times a year in the entire major leagues.
Well, congrats, Phils. Hopefully we can still get the series win.
Here comes the Howard HR.
Oh God…
Proctor. Guess I should brush my teeth…
Well, think of this this way: if Proctologist does his usual routine, it can accurately be said that he is the only man keeping the Braves from an 11-game winning streak.
So, we sent down the Lisp because we never use him in order to call up Gearrin and never use him.
@202
Heyward took the worst swing I can remember seeing at a ball so far in the RH batters box that it was practically in the on deck circle for strike three.
He should be demoted for that swing alone.
I mean, just walk him. Don’t throw him that fastball, Scott.
WOW
Whew
Thanks Fredi, we all knew how that was going to end.
Well, it took an extra batter than I thought. Goodnight all–maybe one day our management will learn.
That was inevitable.
Or that.
Can we please DFA this joker, yet?
I’m talking about Fredi.
Scott “DFA” Proctor at it again.
Noticing a pattern yet, Fredi? I think even Pavlov’s dogs would have picked up on the Proctor-homer connection by now.
That is on you, Frediot!
And thus ends another glove treatment from the proctologist.
Suck Proctor.
Scott Sucktor.
Proctor has to go. But since his ERA is only 4.24 the Braves won’t dump him.
Perfect timing! Just finished brushing.
Pattern recognition failure strikes again! Does Fredi think it’s just luck that Proctor’s pitching whenever we allow a late-inning home run?
He does nothing well. And yet.
keep walking, Proctor
Why? Just, why? Whole ballpark knew what was going to happen as soon as the assman took the mound.
WHO didnt see that coming? The LISP could do much better
where was kimbrel? i hate that move. sudden-death vs. your rivals on the road, you gotta use one of your best relievers before you go three-deep into the JV squad.
How many more times does this have to happen before he is gone?
There are no words. The only thing that will soothe this pain would be to read the words, “Scott Proctor designated for assignment” tomorrow morning.
To say nothing of the fact that he burned through his LOOGY for a worthless pinch hitter with two lefties up next.
Unfortunately we wont hear that, we’ll get “he is the guy we wanted there.”
Time to keep drinking
That’s three HR in 6 1/3 innings from the Proctologist in his last nine outings. And three losses (compared to three for all other Braves pitchers combined).
Have to tip your cap… they beat us while we had a far superior reliever sitting in the pen.
Two of them. And several in Gwinnett. And Mississippi. And…
The Braves’ last two losses (Orioles, Phillies) can both be traced back to Scott Proctor.
And since Fredi only understands ERA, that’s an 8.53 average in Proctologist’s last nine appearances.
It takes a sincere, committed effort to be responsible for half of a team’s losses in a three-week span while pitching only 6 1/3 innings. If a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, then we are screwed.
Taken from the Talking Chop comments:
“You can’t see a Proctologist without getting a hand up your ass.”
Some Proctologist jokes to lighten the mood…
Proctologist: A doctor who puts in a hard day at the orifice.
A proctologist is the rare profession in which the M.D. starts out at the bottom and stays there.
A proctologist pulls out a thermometer from his shirt pocket. He looks at it and says, “Shit, some asshole has my pen.”
Just got back from the game. Bummer to see the loss but it was a great game with some good baseball played by both teams. A-Gon looked absolutely hapless and Heyward’s last at-bat was horrific.
Good thing we saved Kimbrel for the save opp!
Fredi: “You feel really comfortable with Scotty Proctor in that situation to handle those guys.”
Speak for yourself there, pal.
@254, That just confirms what we all know: Fredi is a moron and Proctor won’t be DFA’d any time soon.
Looking forward to see Moylan and Medlen coming back. By then, Fredi will understand what real relievers mean. He is used to the low quality Marlins style relief pitching.
254, I read that statement too and I could not believe my eyes. How dumb can a human being possibly be? The whole stadium knew what was going to happen, except for the one man who was in charge.
Proctor delenda est.
Fredi never admits fault. With Bobby, you knew he was backing his player, that he wouldn’t throw him under the bus for performance alone. With Fredi, you see a man perversely unable to take responsibility for himself. He has chided, undermined, and criticized certain players before, so it can’t be that in principle he always says a nice thing. He just defends a player when also defending his decision to use that player.
Proctor has now given up 3 HR in the past three weeks, all resulting directly in losses. If Fredi was comfortable with him in that spot, then he is an idiot. Full stop.
I bet Proctor gets DFA’d soon and we see JJ Hoover in the bullpen.
Frankly, I’d rather see J Edgar Hoover in the bullpen.
Just woke up, was something wrong with Kimbrel?
Oh and 261- nice.
I would normally chalk it up to coachspeak, except for the examples of him not sticking up for players…
Fredi: “You feel really comfortable with Scotty Proctor in that situation to handle those guys.”
Time for Wren to intervene if Gonzalez won’t see the light.
Was hoping the “Proctor DFA’d” story would already exist this morning.
Proctor is very bad, and should be cut. But there was no reason to use Kimbrel on the road, in extra innings, until you had the lead. You had to get six or more outs either way.
Chipper DLed, Brandon Hicks activated. This is not a net positive for the active roster.
@265, forgive me, but I have to disagree, ESPECIALLY on the road. If the bad guys score you lose. Saving Kimbrel for some lead that you may never get the chance to defend is a fool’s errand. You can’t save your closer on the road, or you will get beat with your 5th best reliever on the mound, which is what happened.
#266-Ouch. That sucks.
#267-Yep.
@266, I sincerely hopes this stimulates a Ryan Ludwick trade in the near future.
@265 – Well, it turns out we didn’t have to get 6 more outs. Because there never was an 11th inning, an 11th inning in which we might have scored 6 runs. We’ll never know.
You want to use our worst pitcher in a situation where 1 run ends the game, and our best pitcher in a situation where it takes 2 (or more) to end the game. I would do it the other way around.
Sam H: LEAVE FREDI ALONE!
267 — Exactly.
You have it backwards. You use your best reliever (Kimbrel) at home, where you need to get three outs and score a run to win. You hold him back on the road, where you have to get three outs, score a run, and then get three more outs.
If you want to complain about having Proctor on the roster, or using Proctor ahead of Gearrin, I won’t argue. I honestly think Proctor is done – his fastball is straight and gets crushed – but complaining about not using (an already overused Kimbrel) in that situation is mistaken. It’s part of the “everything Fredi does is wrong” school of thought.
Unless you intended to run Kimbrel out there for a two inning save, which he’s never done, you hold him until you get a lead. Maybe it should have been Gearrin (or Christhian Martinez) instead of Proctor, but you don’t use Kimbrel until you need to end the game, which you can’t do on the road until you get a lead.
@270 – No, they still had to get six outs to win the game. That they only got one of those necessary six outs doesn’t change the fact that they had to get six (and a run in between) to win once it went to extras.
But I don’t get a chance to get the second three unless I get the first three. The cost of failure to attain that is far too high to not use my best guy.
So Chipper is using the All-Star break to get the surgery then, I guess?
The conventional wisdom is to hold your closer on the road until you get the lead. Whether you agree with it is one thing, but don’t hold it against Fredi personally because Bobby and every manager do the same thing.
Seriously guys, I am starting to see people blaming Fredi on things that Bobby loves doing. Either people never quite understand how Bobby managed or there is negative bias on Fredi…or there are more Bobby haters out there among you all than I thought.
@276 That should be the plan all along. He has just been holding it back until Prado comes back.
Hunter Pence, please.
Recapped.