Braves 7, Marlins 1

Florida Marlins vs. Atlanta Braves – Box Score – September 13, 2011 – ESPN.

The Braves broke a nine-game losing streak against teams that aren’t the Mets. They still didn’t hit well with runners on base, but on the two occasions they got a hit, it was a three-run homer. That’ll work.

It started off like a lot of these games have recently, with the Braves stranding a lot of runners. The Marlins had a second-and-third, one-out situation in the fifth and they cashed in, when Emilio Bonifacio — who is rapidly approaching Victorinian levels of being annoying — singled one home, but they held up the second runner and Mike Minor pitched his way out of it. Minor wound up going 5 2/3, striking out five, allowing just four hits but also walking four.

Finally, in the sixth, the Braves got the big blow they’ve been missing for over a week now. After Dan Uggla walked and Matt Diaz singled, Brian McCann hit a homer over the center field wall to make it 3-1. And then, in the seventh, after Chipper Jones singled and Freddie Freeman walked, Uggla hit a three-run homer to make it 6-1. The last run came on a Michael Bourn sac fly in the ninth.

Peter Moylan pitched a third of an inning, got a strikeout, and wound up with the win. Eric O’Flaherty pitched a perfect seventh — of course. Arodys Vizcaino started the eighth; he got two outs but allowed two singles, and Jonny Venters finished the inning. Scott Linebrink pitched the ninth, because when he gets in trouble you have enough time to get Craig Kimbrel loose. Linebrink actually pitched well, allowing just a swinging-bunt hit and capping things with a strikeout. Go figure.

130 thoughts on “Braves 7, Marlins 1”

  1. Here’s a vote for Fredi deciding there’s no need for a closed door meeting and then changing his mind at the last minute every day from here on out!

  2. While nobody has been paying much attention, Arizona has tied Milwaukee for the number two seed in the NL playoffs and the right to play the wild card in the first round, if it is the Braves. Do we care one way or the other?

  8. I think we’ve got a better shot at the D’Backs, and that the Brewers have a small shot (call it 20%) of knocking the Phils out in the first round, which would be amazing. So, go snakes.

  9. Went to the Phillies/Astros game last night. There is something very inspiring about watching the worst team in baseball beat the Phillies like a rented mule.

  10. I’ll take the D-backs. The Brewers scare me.

    Just took a look at BRef. Ole Chipper is having himself a nice second half. I’m glad he is sticking around for another season.

  11. John R. Says:

    “Jim Powell was talking about this thing on Facebook at the Baseball Hall page. You can cast a single vote every day in the month of September for your favorite broadcaster to make the Frick Award short list.

    I voted for Ernie Johnson and will do so every day until this thing runs out. ”

    Thanks, John. Agree 100%. Just for the Bob Watson home run if nothing else.

  12. The Brewers have a much greater than 20% shot at beating the Phils. The Nats would have like a 20% shot at beating the Phils in a 5-game series. The Brewers are probably somewhere around 35-40%.

  13. Any team in the playoffs can win it, it’s a crapshoot and any team can be ‘hot’ or ‘cold’ at the right time. The Brewers can absolutely beat the Phillies, and their odds are much better than 20%.

  14. Question: Considering the quality of Worley, does the gap between the Phillies and the rest of the NL narrow during the playoffs? The Phillies have roughly the same quality of rotation as during the season while other teams are able to shed at least a crummy fifth starter and maybe a fourth starter.

    Look at this team. It’s looking like Jurrjens won’t be back for the playoffs, but there’s a solid chance Hanson will. Dropping Lowe and Minor off the end of a rotation helps a lot more than dropping just Worley.

  15. No one is really mentioning it because most of us have been lost in the Braves’ downward spiral, but Mike Minor has been very effective for quite a while. I’m glad we didn’t give him up in a trade.

  17. Yeah, Minor’s great. It sucks that he’ll be back in AAA next year.

    I know it’s been said, but:

    Hudson-Hanson-Jurrjens-Beachy-Lowe
    Medlen-Minor-Teheran-Delgado-Vizcaino

    The International League will be destroyed next year.

  18. @17

    I have a feeling JJ and Lowe will be gone. Plus, I could seeing us trading Prado too.

    Plus, you can never have too much pitching

  19. I doubt Prado gets traded. He’s Chipper insurance. I wouldn’t mind finding a platoon partner for him if he continues to struggle next year, though.

  20. I agree on JJ. Disagree on Lowe and Prado. Lowe is untradeable. Why would the Braves trade their LF/3B at his lowest value?

  21. If you don’t have a shortstop, are short a corner outfielder, and have five #3 starters in AAA, you have too much pitching.

    Who would want Prado, Lowe, or JJ right now? Prado would be sell-low, which never works out well. Lowe has negative value. JJ has such an injury history that he’s not going to be tradable until a few starts into next season.

    The only possible option is that we throw in cash or a prospect with Lowe, and the Braves haven’t ever really played that way. Whatever package we offer that includes Lowe would probably be worth more without him.

    The only guys who can really be moved in the offseason are Minor and Vizcaino.

  22. I think Lowe, entering the last year of his contract and good for 180-200 IPs, is more tradeable than folks here realize. It may just be a salary dump, but rest assured that it can be done.

  23. The Braves are gonig ot have to eat some of Lowe’s contract, but he is moveable.

    If JJ’s knee is healthy, the club will look to move him.

    The Braves will sign someone to be a stop gap/platoon with Pastornicky. And they will give Pastornicky every chance to prove he can play in the spring.

    The JJ/Lowe move will be for some bench help or a LF>

  26. Thanks, John. Agree 100%. Just for the Bob Watson home run if nothing else.

    Hey, are you talking about that Bob Watson home run? The one against Steve Howe in the bottom of the ninth? That was the very first baseball game that sent me running around the house screaming my head off in joy, so I missed most of Ernie’s call! :p

    May I get back up on a soapbox that I’ve been on here before? Thank you. I think it is shameful that MLB doesn’t have an archive of these classic moments in history, let alone complete and unabridged games. Think how easy it would be to get a list of great moments from fans of the teams and make sure they’re enshrined for posterity. I’d love to go watch that inning against the Dodgers unfold like i did when I was 11 years old. Like I said after Ernie passed away, the only part of the legacy of his life that could be found was two crappy quality video clips on YouTube. That is shameful!

  27. It may just be a salary dump, but rest assured that it can be done.

    Then why couldn’t it be done last year?

  29. I’ll always hold a grudge against Milo Hamilton for having it written into his contract that he had to be at the mic when Aaron was chasing down Ruth’s HR record. Ernie was robbed!

  30. @27 There is a difference between $30m and $15m. I don’t think either JJ or Prado is going anywhere. I think it’s likely that Delgado will be traded.

  31. I predict Lowe’s gonna be gone. That makes room for Minor, the likely candidate depending on how he finished up the year and does in spring training. We need a lefty in the rotation, and Minor’s it.

    Mayhaps next year Prado turns into our super-sub, spotting Chipper, Uggla and Heyward regularly enough. He really can’t be our left-fielder unless he returns to his previous .307-BA with doubles form. Even that puts us at a relative disadvantage to other teams, but it’s workable. But what we’ve gotten this year doesn’t lead to winning. I think it’s just a down year for him, though. He’ll bounce back.

  33. Offseason wish list:

    1. Short stop Gonzalez not brought back.
    2. Obtain a real left fielder.

    And that’s it. Not picky.

  35. Hmmm.

    Let’s not worry so much about where Lowe/Prado/Delgado/JJ will play next year until the end of this year, shall we?

    Kthnxbye!

    (I mean, I’ve already thrown gibberish and banter out there, what’s a little LOLspeak between friends? And Emma?)

  46. “I’ll always hold a grudge against Milo Hamilton for having it written into his contract that he had to be at the mic when Aaron was chasing down Ruth’s HR record. Ernie was robbed!”

    Are you serious? Is that true? Wow!

  50. I had not heard that Medlen was being prepped for possible postseason bullpen action…that would be awesome.

  52. I’d be satisfied with keeping the bulk of this team together for 2012, with the exception of 2 SP:
    1. Signing Gonzalez to a 1-year deal (if he’d take it)
    2. Grooming Pastornicky to take over in 2012, or calling him up midseason.
    3. Trading Lowe for a salary dump
    4. Trading Jurrjens for a LH bullpen arm and a future 3b.
    5. Trying to lock in some young players.
    6. Filling bullpen holes from within.
    7. Re-signing Omar Infante.

    Goodbye, Hello…
    1. Replacing Linebrink with Medlen.
    2. Replacing Lowe with Teheran.
    3. Replacing Jurrjens with Minor.
    4. Replacing Moylan with Vizcaino.
    5. Replacing Sherrill with acquired lefty.

  54. I’m fascinated by the this argument I keep hearing from the announcers that Prado is making good contact but hitting the ball right at fielders.

    Prado LD% in 2011: 14.9%
    Prado LD% Career: 19.1%

    I guess you see what you want to see. Prado has just been bad this season, and it’s largely due to the fact that he’s making such poor contact.

  56. I haven’t gotten to see them all, but it seems AGON’s at-bats have improved since his one-game benching. Is that accurate?

  57. Gonzalez is hitting .412 over the past seven days (7-for-17 with four doubles.)

    His recent surge has sent his season OBP surging from the .250s to .266.

  60. Regarding trading Lowe, I think it might be more reasonable to try to target a similarly-overpriced bat in a one-for-one swap. Say, Vernon Wells, assuming his contract expires next year as well.

    OTOH, I’m fine with starting Prado in LF again next year. I think he’ll bounce back. The one place the Braves can really improve hitting-wise is at SS, but short of signing Jose Reyes, I don’t see that happening.

  61. So, I guess AAG is getting… hot?

    #45
    No safer place in the world than River Avenue & 161st Street immediately after a Yankees game—it’s an NYPD convention.

    Believe me, the drunk-ass, suburban Yankee fans are more liable to do something stupid than are the locals.

  62. Vernon Wells has the worst contract in baseball. He’s owed $74 million over the next three seasons.

    In other news, Vernon Wells has a -0.3 fWAR this year.

  64. Just make sure you’ve still got your wallet in your pocket, ububba.

    Yankees Stadium in the Bronx. They take all the money in your wallet on the way in, then they take your wallet on the way out!

  66. The Braves are going to lose to a team with a 3-4 punch of Omar Infante and Greg Dobbs.

    And what’s with all the between-innings ads on Gameday, now? That’s pretty new, right?

    65—Yes, easily.

  67. I had not heard that Medlen was being prepped for possible postseason bullpen action…that would be awesome.

    Hadn’t heard that either. Isn’t that kind of risky? He’d need some sort of in-season action before I would ever grant him a postseason roster slot. But that’s just me. I’m satisfied with our bullpen this side of ol’ Rusty – especially when you can push one or more of your starters down there.

    The Braves are going to lose to a team with a 3-4 punch of Omar Infante and Greg Dobbs.

    When the Braves put a bunch of smooth, round, O-shaped numbers up on the board, it’s not all that outlandish a concept.

  68. Tom @ 27, (option (b) to Stu’s very good answer.

    Also, one reason Lowe couldn’t be moved last offseason was that the young pitchers weren’t nearly as proven. Last year they thought Minor could handle 5 and maybe Beachy was almost that good. They expected Teheran to be really good but wanted him to spend most of the year at AAA and did not expect him to be any better this year than Minor or Beachy. They were hoping Viz could hold up starting and were not expecting Delgado to provide better than 3 or 4 starter work at or after mid season.

    So, a 4 to 4.5 FIP pitcher who could give you 5 to 6 innings every 5 days (Lowe) was worth a lot.

  69. When the Braves put a bunch of smooth, round, O-shaped numbers up on the board, it’s not all that outlandish a concept.

    O RLY?

  75. 55: I wouldn’t give Chip grief over that. I wish we still had Omar. You root for certain players and it had to be a gut punch to get shipped off to a crappy team after doing so well with the Braves. Then he had a horrible start to his season, calling into question whether his recent success was just a fluke. But he’s really bounced back and is hitting the ball really well. So I’m proud of the guy, too, and under the right circumstances I’d love to see him back in a Braves uni next year.

  76. I’m just proud that the Braves got Nolasco’s pitch count to 50 before the 5th inning ended. Getting him to 100 before he completes the shutout would bring tears of joy to these eyes.

  77. Ugh. Jason.

    The Braves optimist in me – which is always stronger than the Braves cynic no matter how I might come across otherwise – says both he and Prado will bounce back next year. (Well, Prado will bounce back. It might be more appropriate to say Heyward will reassert himself.)

    But I really think one of our problems with our offense is that we thought we’d see a progression from Heyward in his OPS numbers. And we haven’t. We’ve seen a huge regression. And we don’t have the offensive makeup to replace those numbers. I think that’s why we’ve seen so many one-run games and a paucity of blowouts in our favor. It makes me look back at the trade deadline and cast wishful thinking towards a Matt Kemp acquisition.

  78. Let’s give a hand to C-Mart! That was some good pitching there.

    UPDATE: Go Brooksie! If there’s anything a pinch-hitter wants to do against a guy who’s given up only 2 hits it’s swing at the first pitch!

  81. Cards up on the Pirates again. Braves down to the Fins again.

    Okay, score some runs in the next 20 minutes before I have to go back to work plz.

  83. Damn, Freddie. He and McCann have really swung under some balls today. Ouch.

    What we really need is a solo homerun in the 9th to send us into extras after we’ve burnt up O’Ventbrel!

    Of course, I’m being snarky but with this team, the odds of that actually happening are almost 1 in 6, I think.

  87. 85- Dear JoeyT

    U can haz hit. U can not has runs, unless Prado has sum.

    Kthxbai,

    BMac

    PS Prado has runs! Yay!

  91. I guess the 15 failed sacrifices for Prado earlier this year (week?) were all just practice for this moment. Kudos, Fredi.

  92. For the record, that was a safety squeeze there.

    I’m just happy Fredi sent Uggla on the 3-2 pitch to McCann.

    C’mon, let’s win this.

  108. Coming into today’s game, A-Gon’s numbers since we picked up Jack Wilson: .371/.400/.514.

    Of course, those are much higher after today’s game. Maybe he’ll be this year’s Derek Lowe. God willing…

  111. This may have been discussed, but what is the logical explanation for not beefing up the bullpen with September 1 callups from AAA? I think the 40 man roster could be an issue, but it would seem that a couple of those guys who are already on the 40 man would be useful (Gearin, etc.). Is this purely a dollars and cents play by Liberty? Or maybe the front office views these guys as paper tigers whose AAA success wouldn’t translate? Is Hoover on the 40 man roster?

  114. OK, Alex, if you keep hitting like the last 3 games, I’ll be willing to extend your contract for a year or two…

    :)

  115. There’s a win. I’ll take it! Magic number down to 9. Hopefully the Cards will do their part later today.

    Re: 111:

    We actually have an eight-man bullpen right now, and when/if Sherrill comes back it’ll be nine. It only seems like we don’t have a lot because we’re constantly using them in close games. Gearrin’s a head scratcher, although a minor one. His line in Atlanta really stunk, but I don’t think he did all that bad. He had two phenomenally crappy outings in Philly and Colorado that really cast a bad light on all the other good outings he had. His numbers at Gwinnett aren’t that bad either. I don’t see why he isn’t up, but maybe there is a good reason why.

    We could really use another lefty to complement O’Venters. I really think Minor’s going to stick on the playoff roster as a starter or reliever. We could use him in the pen, at the very least.

  116. Cardinals escape a Pirates’ threat in the bottom of the seventh inning thanks to something called a “Rzepczynski”.

  119. The Braves have been winning these ridiculous games all year. They either are destined for greatness or will completely fold in the playoffs.

  121. @117

    He might be right, generally speaking (he obviously needs a little rest here and there). Venters came out of the hurricane break not pitching very well, and everyone assumed it was because he was overworked and injured. But he’s started getting more work recently, and is pitching much better.

  124. I think the difference between folding and otherwise not winning the WS is pretty overstated.

    Like every other team, the Braves will either win the World Series, or they won’t.

  126. @124 I don’t think you can overstate the difference between the Braves playoff performance in 1991 and 2000.

  127. Meh. What made 1991 so much better, IMO, was the worst-to-first thing, not the fact that they almost won… but still didn’t. I may well be in the minority, but there’s not a lot of feel-good difference to me between best loser and 7th-best loser.

    And, anyway, the point I was really trying to get at is that I don’t buy Marc’s narrative. This is a pretty good team that, with a little luck, can make a postseason run.

  128. If we can just go 6-6, the Cards would have to go 11-2 to tie and 12-1 to win the wildcard. Oh, and they’re heading to Philly for 4 games starting Friday.

  129. I wasn’t trying to make an analytical point, guys. I was being somewhat facetious in saying this team can drive you nuts and saying maybe they are a team of destiny.

    @127,

    Stu,

    I completely disagree, especially with respect to 1991. Losing in the 7th game of the WS is much better (to me) than losing in the first round of the playoffs. I agree they are a pretty good team–and not much more. But pretty good teams have won the World Series.

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