Nats 5, Braves 2

Washington Nationals vs. Atlanta Braves – Box Score – July 16, 2011 – ESPN.

Tommy Hanson should have been in the All-Star Game, but you couldn’t prove it by the way he pitched tonight. In the second, he had a full-fledged Episode, allowing three runs on a single, two doubles, and two walks; it easily could have been worse. The big blow was the single, a dribbler up the middle by opposing starter John Lannan. In the sixth, Hanson gave up a two-run homer to Wilson Ramos, who had been in the middle of the trouble in the second, and this more or less put the game away.

It wasn’t like the Braves were putting much offense up there, not in the sense of putting hits and walks together. Their only runs came in the bottom of the second, a two-run homer by Alex Gonzalez, scoring Dan Uggla, who had earlier walked. They blew several chances to get one run before the Ramos homer with things like Jordan Schafer getting thrown out at third on a ground ball fielder’s choice, and Hanson bunting into a double play. The Braves did put together a couple of singles in the sixth, but that was it; they didn’t get a runner on the rest of the night.

146 thoughts on “Nats 5, Braves 2”

  2. SportSouth sucks for not showing us the man who ran onto the field wearing a wedding dress.

  3. No channel shows the fans on the field anymore. We didnt even get to see Diaz trip that fan last year.

  5. TV producers want to act all high-and-mighty when all anyone wants to do is watch the guy and laugh.

    @4: That’s f***ing golden.

  6. #1 – Fredi should’ve pulled the trigger earlier…like in the 5th when Jordan was on 1st with no outs

    #2 – I loved the Chipper segments during the telecast. For a thirtysomething like me, he can seem like a wise old man at times. He’s going to make a great manager someday.

    #3 – Maybe I hate the Natties more than any other NL team. And that’s pretty tough: cause I fucking hate the Fish, pretty much hate the Phils, dislike the Mets, etc and so on.

    #4 – Ron Gant has money. Why a lime green shirt, Ron? Damn. YOu have some money. Dress like it man.

  7. @5, the problem is that if you show the guys running on the field, more people will run on the field to be seen. You’ll get internet startups paying guys to run around, activists trying to raise awareness, and games will stop a lot more frequently. If you don’t show them, the incentive to stop a game like that is reduced. What the TV producers want more than anything else is a shorter game.

  8. @7
    Capitalism is a beautiful thing. I say let it all happen…and show it on TV.

    Hell, in many Braves years, it could be the most entertaining portion of the game.

  9. “Hell, in many Braves years, it could be the most entertaining portion of the game.”

    Certainly with the 2008 team.

  10. #4
    I’m sorry, that’s hysterical. Was listening to the Braves game at Coors Field when that happened. From Sutton’s reaction, you would’ve thought the guy was robbing a bank.

    A few observations on baseball in Denver:
    *OK, I got the regulation arena-baseball game. Basically, Greinke & Chacin were good; then they opened the bullpen door & it got a little crazy.

    *Nyjer Morgan is a really funny guy to watch, very demonstrative, very rah-rah, can lay down great bunts like nobody’s business and, of course, fast as hell.

    But he has the worst OF arm of anyone I can remember. He actually got 2 assists tonight, mainly because everyone was running on him & he got it to the cut-off man in decent shape.

    This is how bad his arm is: From first base, Colorado’s Mark Ellis tagged up on a relatively deep fly ball to Morgan in CF. A dumb move, really (esp. with Tulo on deck), but Morgan had to throw it to the 2B who came out to short CF, then wheeled & threw to the SS, cutting down Ellis at second. I’ve never seen that.

    *It was only one game, of course, but I found the Rockies fans to be a tad unsophisticated. (And what’s with the “Let’s get tacos!” chant when CarGo steps to the plate.)

    Eg.—There was a close play at the plate that didn’t go their way. Ianetta & Tracy got tossed & after that, everyone in the stands started behaving like bad Little League dads. They booed every call the umps made as if there was a conspiracy against the Colorado Rockies, and I mean plays where there wasn’t really any debate. It was stupid.

    Milwaukee hung on and won 8-7, and the crowd (46,000+) stuck around to boo as Milwaukee glad-handed each other on the field. Weird, and kinda bush.

    *Maybe only I would think of this, but I wondered how many other brands of beers they sold in a stadium called Coors Field. Answer: Plenty.

    However… if you buy a draft beer of a Coors or Coors Lite, you get a 16-ounce cup. For a different beer and the same $7 price? Only 12-ounces. Sneaky beer fascists.

    *I got lucky & sat about 14 rows behind home plate. Fun to watch Greinke’s lollipop curve freeze Tulo for strike 3, and K-Rod had it working tonight. His bender was really bending.

    The Brew Crew has got some beasts on that team. And Rickie Weeks, who belted the game-winning HR (with 2 outs in the 9th off Street), looks like an NFL halfback up close. Cory Hart is enormous & gawky as hell, kinda like Ted Hendricks (“The Mad Stork” from the NFL). Their closer Axford looks like a Big Sky power forward. And Prince Fielder… no words, really. That’s just a lotta lotta uniform.

  11. @10,

    I also heard they only serve the other beers cold, while the Coors brands are Super Cold. At that point, why even sell anything else?

  12. @10, Great recap, ububba. I’ll hit Mile High one of these days.

    I’m going to cross two stadiums off my list this weekend as I continue my intermittent tour of all the baseball stadiums: Los Angeles and Arizona. Any recommendations for food (at the park and around it) or things to do before the game if time allows?

  13. If you hate the Nats that bad, you may be in for some tough years. They have the makings of a pretty scary team.

  14. Rob,
    I ate at the Phoenix stadium—whatever it was called in 1998, the BOB, I think—but I’ve never actually seen a game there. (It was a Chili’s or Bennigan’s or something in centerfield.) Lotta stuff around the ballpark in Phoenix, actually.

    LA? The hipster-ish Silverlake area isn’t far from Dodger Stadium (there are some cool cafes there) and Echo Park is really close with a few decent bars, but there’s not much immediately around Dodger Stadium, not like there are in a lotta ballparks. It’s mostly a big parking lot with this weird circular driveway.

    And it’s true: Entrance & exit in that place is no joke—takes awhile. Give yourself as much time as you can to get there. But leaving the joint, you’re pretty much at the mercy of the crowd if you wanna stick around for the whole game.

    That said, I find Dodger Stadium an underrated experience. I really dig the place. Lemme know if you see any T-shirts from this site: http://www.frankrupt.com. And get the Dodger Dog.

    Hopefully, I’ll catch Tigers/Twins next weekend at Target Field in Minneapolis. That’ll be 2 new stadiums for me in 2 weeks.

    BTW, the Metrodome (as any Braves fan worth his/her tomahawk will attest) was a complete joke. That white roof made it damn-near impossible to see any pop-ups and the place felt like you were watching a game in your living room. And that baggie in RF—yuck.

    Met a guy from Minnesota the other night at this music festival & got to talking baseball. He was going on and on about how much he loved the new park. I asked him if he’d ever been to the Metrodome for baseball.

    His answer: “Oh yeah, when I was 8 years old, I went to Game 6 of the 1991 World Series—it was awesome! It was the game where…”

    My reply: “Yeah, I know… I think we’re finished talking.”

  17. DOB seems to think there might be something to the Lowe/ Tigers thing. I would think we would get little for him, but it would open up some payroll to go after a solid bat.

  18. @17,

    No, we need payroll flexibility. Moving Lowe would allow us to go after a RH center fielder. I think there are more available CF out there than corner guys. Plus, who sits if we go out and get a left fielder?

  19. After acquiring Ordonez, the Braves could go balls to the wall for Beltran (something like Hoover and Schafer).

  20. I think Beltran and Ubaldo are going to cost a lot in terms of prospects.

    Wonder if we could get Carlos Gonzalez, he can play center

  21. 20 – Cargo just got a huge deal. I’m pretty sure the Rockies aren’t moving him.

    Still, moving Lowe would be amazing.

  22. I’d send Lowe to the Tigers for a hot dog and a Ford Focus.

    On the other hand, I think back to that gritty start in the playoffs last year in Game 4 vs the Giants. THAT is what we’re paying for.

    He’s no John Smoltz in the playoffs, but at 5-7 and a sub-3.50 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP, he ain’t that bad.

    But does he still have it in him at this point?

    Don’t know.

  24. Lowe seems like a really emotional guy to me and I think the arrest and the streak of winless starts threw him off. He looked great early this years and I’ll always remember him fondly after that game in the playoffs. That said, if he can be dealt, do it.

  25. I’d rather get Mike Adams than an OF upgrade. Our offense can really only improve. Our bullpen is likely to break down. Let’s reinforce the pen. Adams plus Moylan would be a huge upgrade and likely keep Venters and Kimbrels’ arms attached

  26. Schafer 8, Prado 5, McCann 2, Freeman 3, Uggla 4, Gonzalez 6, McLouth 7, Ramierez 9, Jurrjens 1

  30. What’s wrong with Heyward now? Does he really need an off-day after nearly a week off?

  32. Lowe for Maggliomakes too much sense for both sides. If this deal were to get done today…

    Lowe would be owed 6.3 million for the rest of the year
    Magglio would be owed 4.2 million for the rest of the year

  34. I’m so hot that I’m starting to get physically ill. Summer!

    Only a Derek Lowe trade will cheer me up.

  36. Werth is rocking the Justin Timberlake/Andy Sandberg “D*ck in a Box” look. What a douche.

  42. @40, Runs are more important than OBP apparently. As long as you score a lot of runs, your OBP can be .0 for all he cares…

  43. Of course, the fact that you cannot possibly score a run without getting on base eludes Our Man Chip.

  46. It seems Dan Uggla’s good swing precludes him from throwing a baseball accurately

  49. #31 – Ububba, he is injury prone. But it takes $15m off the books for next year. Magglio is still better than Wilkin.

  55. So… can we officially stop pretending that Jurrjens is the best pitcher in the NL (or the best pitcher on the Braves)?

  58. strikezone is ridiculous and JJ is getting wilder as it goes.

    Wow, lucky play at 3rd.

  59. the McCartney concert was fantastic…he looks great for 69 years old. he hit all the notes and played every instrument on the stage except for the drums. he was very engaging with the crowd, even joked at one point “Who is this Derek Jeter fella? Someone said he’s got more hits than me!” His band was excellent, and Billy Joel even came out and sang “all my lovin” during the 1st encore…all in all, a great night.

  62. In play, run(s). Whatever happened to our pitching during the break, it’s not good.

  65. Glad to see Jurrjens is intent on proving all of his detractors right. This is pathetic.

  66. @57 – Seriously? Hanson is clearly the best starter on the Braves. Hudson and JJ are pretty similar pitchers; I could go either way on which one is better, but would probably say Huddy. It’s too early to say exactly what we’ll get from Beachy, but if he can keep up his high-K, low-BB ways he’s a potential top of the rotation guy too (better than JJ).

  69. If the question is who would you rather have for the rest of the season, JJ or Hanson, that’s not even a question at all. Hanson every time.

  73. And for the record I like Hanson. I’m not saying he’s not a good pitcher. I just prefer JJ.

  75. Yeah Joe’s right. Gotta play for one run when you are down 4 at home. Its the smart play.

  76. @72 – Hanson’s statistically superior to Jurrjens in pretty much every way. Hanson’s ERA / FIP / xFIP marks are better, his K/9 is far higher and his BB/9 is lower. I am sure there are plenty of people who “trust Jurrjens more” or what have you. That said, I don’t see any argument that Jurrjens is as good a pitcher as Hanson.

    EDIT: BEST CATCHER IN BASEBALL! Let’s not argue about who’s better amongst our great pitchers, and just enjoy the BMac goodness.

  86. @70 – At this rate, Venters and Kimbrel may lock down a Braves win! What a comeback.

  89. Why did McLouth pinch-hit for Ramirez?

    EDIT: Never mind; I am easily confused. I (a) forgot that Wilkin was in right and (b) miscounted re: the batting order.

  98. Oh well…at least I have the “Breaking Bad” season premiere to look forward to.

  103. Wow, I didn’t know Brooks Conrad organized the US women’s soccer team defense.

  112. I kind of expected Wilkin, who’s looking like a decent hitter, to tie it up. Yay for early.

  113. Go Nate!

    The Braves have stolen three bases today. That has the be a record post Otis Nixon

  116. Whew. 8-8. Does Kimbrel hit? If not, who pitches in extras? The top four relievers are burned.

  141. At first, I was happy. And then, I was totally bummed. But then, I was ecstatic. Then I was pissed off. After that, though, I was confused. Finally, I was satisfied.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *