Nats 4, Braves 1

Atlanta Braves vs. Washington Nationals – Box Score – September 24, 2011 – ESPN.

If you don’t score, you won’t win. It’s pretty simple, really.

The Nats scored a run in the second after Brandon Beachy walked two and then allowed a single. They got three in the fourth in an inning in which he walked two and threw two wild pitches, the last run coming on a hit by the pitcher. Not his day, though it’s not like he was Derek Lowe or something.

The Braves’ lone run came on a Freddie Freeman homer leading off the fifth. The next three men grounded out. That was the kind of game it was. The Braves got two on with one out in the eighth, but Michael Bourn got himself thrown out trying to steal, so Martin Prado‘s fly ball, which would have at least scored Brooks Conrad, was just out three.

Also, the Cards came from behind to win. Ick, this season.

95 thoughts on “Nats 4, Braves 1”

  2. it doesn’t matter how they got it. They have 4 games left, 1 against the Cubs and 3 against the Astros. We have 4 left, 1 against a surging Nats team and 3 against a Phillies team that is due for wins

  5. The Braves really look like they belong and want to keep any momentum, don’t they? When was the last time they won three in a row, or even two? Feels like it has been a while.

    They’re just going to get laughed out of the NLDS if they make it.

  8. It doesn’t matter how many Beachy strikes out. He leaves everything in the middle of the plate, so of course he is going to strike ppl out. Then when he tries to hit corners he doesnt come close.

  9. Another disappointing loss. I thought they would win after winning yesterday and the Cards having two bad losses, but this is just not a good team anymore. I’m sure Wren will write it off to injuries. They probably aren’t even the fifth best team in the NL any more.

  14. @12

    And Beachy hitting a wall too. Throw in Lowe and that is 4/5 of the rotation useless. You have to figure that the Cards probably have another loss and we have another Hudson start, so that is two probable wins. We would need to find one more win and one more Cards loss.

    So go Minor!

  15. dude 14, it’s not going to happen dude. Hudson is probably going up against Halladay in the last game if we have to win it

  17. I just wrote a script to hide iloveemmastone’s posts, and it’s kind of neat to reload the page, see #12 and #14 next to each other, and know that I just missed another garbage post.

  22. Also, if anyone is still interested, Mizzou’s got a majority of the board of curators on board w/the SEC move. If the Big XII pushes at all, Mizzou will bolt, but right now Mizzou’s got leverage so Texas the Big XII is playing nice, and we’re listening. I’d put it at about 75% Mizzou is SEC #14 within the next month or so regardless.

    I guess it’ll be good. No offense to anyone, but dealing with Texas can be excruciating, and it’ll be nice to get away from that. My only real concern is that it’s a looong way from Columbia, Missouri to Columbia, South Carolina. Football is one thing, but for all the other sports it’s going to be a huge pain.

  25. I have a dilemma: The Panthers play the Jags at 1 tomorrow. I can watch that on my TV while I watch the Braves on MLB.tv. But how will I watch the Cards game??? Oh yeah, my iPod touch has the MLB.tv app, maybe I can use that.

  26. I’m not a big fan of adding Mizzu, but I can’t think of a better option that will come/be allowed to join.

  28. So he’s still cursing and still posting “first” even though he’s already been banned. Then the ban was lifted and was warned to walk a thin line which he obviously has not.

    Edit: I loathe Bama but that punt return was a thing of beauty.

  32. @30 what are you talking about? I have to approve comments… Also, we have a baseball crisis on our hands and we’re talking about…. Missouri????

  35. @22

    Blaming Texas for the breakup of the Big 12 maybe the mainstream media’s read of the situation and a convenient narrative for lazy writers and ignorant fans, but it has nothing to do with the facts.

    Regarding tier 3 television rights and income from those rights, texas made less money from those rights than 6 other schools in the Big 12 since the beginning of the 2004 season. That’s right. 7th in the conference for those rights. Texas didn’t ask the 6 schools ahead of them to share that money.

    But when Texas pursues their own deal to optimize their Tier 3 rights, and gets blown out of the water by a 300 million dollar offer from espn–an offer that is as much of a surprise to the administration as it is to everybody else– then everybody wants to rewrite the rules so Texas has to share what is rightfully theirs.

    But don’t let the facts get in the way of the popular story of big bad evil Texas screwing everybody else.

    The fact is missouri started this whole realignment process by announcing to the media that they wanted to join the big ten a year and a half ago. That’s what got the ball rolling. Missouri was, rightfully so, pursuing what they believed was in their own best interest. Only when Texas does it, everybody cries foul.

  38. NO doubt the Braves miss JJ and Hanson a lot. But they hit; if you score 0 and 1 run in two of the last three games, you are probably going to lose regardless of who is pitching.

    I’m sad more than I am angry. Other teams surprised and came on strong at the end, but the Braves, like last year, just seemed to, like old soldiers, slowly fade away. Even if they make it, I can’t get excited about the playoffs because I don’t think they are a playoff team. And, yes, I know anything can happen once you get in.

  39. Smitty, I think there are several reasons.

    My take is the school would prefer to stay in the big 12 if they can get OU and Missouri to stay. That way they could find out what the true value of the LHN is before they start horse trading with various conferences or see if they can hold the big 12 together.

    Beyond that, I think texas thinks that the big ten and the PAC 12 are better cultural fits than the sec would be. In addition, let’s face it, it’s easier to get to the nat champ game through the big ten or PAC 12 than it is through the sec.

  41. @35

    Major media? Are you kidding? ESPN hasn’t even touched the story…which isn’t surprising considering the nature of their relationship that you so easily dismiss. It was definitely the reason that Texas/OU to the PAC-12 fell through.

    And the issue wasn’t the money…it was the programming. It doesn’t take a genius to see the advantage gained when the Longhorn Network broadcasts Texas high school football games of high profile recruits. You’re damn right the rest of the conference called foul, and with good reason. It’s just the latest example of being trampled under Bevo’s hoof that started when the conference offices moved from Kansas City to Dallas. The conference is Texas-centric, and if you can’t see it you’re the only one.

    As far as Mizzou and the Big 10, no one affiliated with the University said a word other to support the Big 12, and I defy anyone to show any evidence to the contrary. The sound bites came from Missouri’s idiot governor. No one else.

  42. Once again, we have a MAJOR catastrophe on our hands and we’re talking about Missouri (a team in the same state as the hated Cardinals) football?

  45. Emma’s right, we should only be talking about the baseball crisis because that will do something to help things. The baseball crisis and what number our current post is in the order of all posts. I’ll start: we’re doomed! 45th!

  47. I saw him dancin’ there by the record machine. I knew he must have been about seventeen.

    The dude was posting “first,” and ever’ third word he cursed.

    And I knew it wouldn’t be long ’til he was banned, yeah banned, singin’

    I love Emma Stone, so put another dime in the jukebox baby; I love Emma Stone, so come and take your time and dance with me!

  49. Fact: Texas did not take a position on high school football games being broadcast on the network. An espn producer made comments to that effect on June 3rd or thereabouts. An espn talking head–not Texas. That didn’t become an issue until a&m announced they wanted to go the sec in July and used that as a convenient excuse.

    Regardless, the NCAA ruled that high school games were not going to be able to be broadcast on the network so that’s that. End of story.

    I’m not saying espn doesn’t have a vested interest in tilting the facts. I agree that they are borderline evil. I just don’t agree that Texas is the evil empire that everybody is making them out to be. Texas was acting in their best interest, just like every other school in the big 12 has done whether it be Nebraska, Missouri, Baylor or the aggies.

    As far as recruiting going forward, I doubt Texas will suffer a great deal. Mack brown has his faults but recruiting is not one of them. Although Texas is concerned about the long history of the sec and their recruiting tactics.

  50. Sorry to derail the thread. I’m just tired of the misinformation campaign regardoing Texas.. If anyone is interested about the whole story i invite them to read the blog barkingcarnival.com and read the realignment story there. I’ll cease and desist.

    Sorry again.

    Go Braves!

  54. I kinda don’t care anymore. I don’t see us going anywhere in the playoffs with this SP anyway.

  57. @51

    Thanks Smitty. My parents are actually alums of Tennessee and i spent many a glorious day in my youth at Neyland Stadium rooting for the Vols (sorry Mac–I love this blog–don’t want to piss you off).

  58. “No, you were just being obnoxious with a zero-content comment. Don’t do it again.”

    “LOL! 46th”

    Oh please, oh please, oh please…

  59. As Ethan knows, ever since the Big 8 became the Big 12, Texas has pretty much done whatever the hell they want to, especially to the members who founded the Big 8. They always put up with it over the years for the TV money, but once Texas cut everybody else out of the TV money, that was the final straw, it’s really that simple.

  60. Kris Medlen was activated from the 60-day DL. Matt Young was designated for assignment to clear a roster spot for him. Wonder if we’ll see him pitch in tomorrow’s game…

  63. Last season, the Braves were terrible in April. This year, it’s September. This seems worse. Our pitching injuries this year seem to be more significant than our offensive injuries last year.

  64. I’m going to push back against the “pitching injuries” meme. Maybe I’m wrong, but in my reading the facts don’t support pitching injuries as the main problem for our malaise entering the playoffs.

    We lost Tommy Hanson on August 6th, Jair Jurrjens on August 30th.

    In Hanson’s last 5 starts, we were 2-3, and he pitched poorly in just about all of them.

    In JJ’s last 4 starts, we were 1-3 and he pitched lousy in all of them. (This included that 6.1 innings of “shutout ball” that saw him give up 8 hits and 5 walks with only 1 K.)

    Now, it could be said that it was the onset of their injuries that led to those bad individual performances, but that doesn’t mean the team was unduly hurt during the stretches in which they were pitching badly. The Braves went 17-9 in August, so the only games we were losing were predominantly the ones Hanson and Jurrjens were pitching.

    But that just means their replacements have been more than adequate.

    The Braves have been 6-2 in Mike Minor’s 8 starts since August 7th. We’re 4-1 in Randall Delgado’s 5 starts since August 16th, in which batters have hit .185 against him and he’s compiled a 2.08 ERA. And we also won Julio Teheran’s sole start in September, a 5-1 game against the Mets where he pitched effectively.

    What’s really been happening is that the healthy guys have been underperforming. Both Hudson and Beachy have been inconsistent, and Derek Lowe has been terrible. And the offense has just been awful.

    Those are the reasons our September has been lackluster. A healthy Jurrjens and Hanson surely would have improved our ability to post more wins, but it’s not the injured players that are the problem, it’s the healthy ones.

  65. @58 – I kind of goaded him into that last one. I apologize.

    Agreed that the team inspires less confidence this September than last. I think this is a natural result of relying on so many more rookies who are venturing into new total innings territory this time of year. Next year will probably be much better – other than pastornicky, I’m not sure who else would be a rookie callup (not counting the pitchers since they’ve all gotten a fair amount of ML experience now).

  66. The Braves were, I believe, 13-15 last September. Looks like it will be worse this year.

    I agree with John above. Hudson has pitched one good game in a month. Lowe has been generally awful. But the offense has been dreadful.

    As for blaming Carlos Marmol, I don’t blame other teams for not doing the Braves’ job.

  67. @64 I’d agree that pitching injuries aren’t to blame, but I don’t think pitching in general is the biggest part of the problem. Really crappy luck with runners in scoring position combined with McCann and Prado hitting way below their abilities are the main culprits – not terrible since any of those things is liable to reverse suddenly and unexpectedly.

  68. I’ve been following Braves Journal since 1999. Have I made some stupid points? Yes. Have I learned a lot from the folks on here to correct my old belief(s), for example, that wins are a great way to measure a pitcher’s worth? Absolutely. Have I been vindicated in some of my predictions, like Andy Marte’s flameout? Definitely. Will I leave if Emma is allowed to continue his infantile posting and asinine behavior after being warned multiple times? I’m pretty close to walking, yes. I only say this to put my loyalty and my decision in context.

  69. @64: John, I agree. Last season was incredibly frustrating because of the key injuries that derailed the season. But this season it’s not injuries, but rather overall poor play. If you had told me in April that not only will Chipper still be playing in September 2011, but he’ll be hitting .300, I would have bet that we would be World Series bound. Of course, like Macbeth and the weird sisters, the kicker is always in what the prediction leaves out. Yes, Chipper is playing well, but everyone else is struggling.

    I was actually OK with Bourn trying to steal second today, just because I was sure that Prado was going to hit into a double play there. I have zero confidence in anybody not named Jones at the plate right now.

  70. Oh, and while I’ve given up on the Braves season, I keep checking in on Braves Journal because of a race that is much more thrilling than the playoffs–when will Emma be banned? It’s like a roller coaster ride! Just when I think he’ll get the axe, he calms down a bit, the tension lets up, and then boom! he comes right back with another ban-worthy comment. What will it finally be that does him in? I can’t wait to find out!

  73. Now watch the Braves catch fire and win the World Series! Terrible day for Braves baseball but a great day to be on Braves Journal. Thanks for keeping the respect of the followers.

  74. How were we winning games when we had Jordan Schafer in the outfield and Uggla was hitting .180? That seems like a lifetime ago.

  76. @74 Great starting pitching.

    All five starters were much, much better in the first half. The team kept winning as the pitching declined–first Hanson and Jurrjens fell off/got hurt; then Hudson, Beachy, and Lowe all started to struggle as well–because the hitting picked up the slack. Over the past month, however, the hitting has reverted to crap while the pitching has yet to recover. And what’s left is a mediocre team, if that.

  77. @53

    Yes, my Tigers haven’t looked bad. But defense is questionable. And Clemson historically (at least since early ’90s) have not dealt with success very successfully.

    One last thing: Dabo, please quit conducting interviews with ESPN at the end of games like you’ve just won the MNC.

  80. I think tomorrow is the key day of the season. The Braves really need to be up 3. The Phillies struggling makes it more likely that they will play hard. If the lead is one going into Monday, with St. Louis playing Houston, I think the Cards win it without a playoff.

    At least we know that we will have old pro Derek Lowe pitching against the Phillies. That should inspire confidence.

  81. How about “Easy Lover”?

    I want to remove Lowe from his start against the Phillies, but we just can’t. He might really be one of our four or even three best healthy starters now. We really need to keep him ready to pitch Game 3 or 4, and that means running him out there.

    And good call, Mac.

  82. If the lead is one going into Monday, with St. Louis playing Houston, I think the Cards win it without a playoff.

    In other words, you think the Cards will sweep the Astros and the Phillies will sweep us?

  84. And it’s officially over in Arizona- the Giants are eliminated. Sic transit gloria mundi.

    Not that one, John; too reminiscent of the hits that rain down against him when he’s having an Episode. And the Cards would avoid a playoff if they lose once or if we win only once.

  86. If we’re one game up going into the last three, we win only one, and the Cards sweep, then the Cards finish one game ahead of us. No playoff. Similarly, if they win two and we get swept, they finish one game ahead of us.

  89. You know, I would like to meet Adam Lawson in real life. Kinda like the same way I’d like to meet Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Stephen Colbert… I mean, it has to be a facade, right? It can’t possibly be real… can it? I’m incredibly interested.

  93. Don’t like the matchup in St. Louis: Jackson vs. Wells. That should be a W for the Cards. Minor and the offense better be hot today. I don’t think we can take more than on game from the Phillies (they are due for some wins) so an absolutely must-win game today.

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