Atlanta Braves vs. Colorado Rockies – Box Score – May 04, 2012 – ESPN.
Coors Field Baseball lives. This time, it was the home team punished by the ridiculous park, taking a a 5-0 in the first and winding up losing in extras. I hate that place.
My personal rule is to hold nothing that happens there against the pitcher. So I don’t hold the first inning against Tim Hudson, but it was ugly. He gave up a double and two walks to load the bases, then three singles to allow five runs.
The Braves chipped away in the third, when Freddie Freeman hit a two-run homer to score Chipper Jones. They then rallied to take the lead in the fifth. Chipper singled in Michael Bourn, followed by a Freeman single. After they advanced on a wild pitch, Brian McCann tied the game with a single. Later in the inning, Uggla replaced McCann on a fielder’s choice, Jason Heyward singled, and Eric Hinske doubled in Uggla. It was a bit diappointing that Heyward couldn’t score, as the Rockies got out of the inning without further damage.
They then tied it in the bottom of the inning with a homer, but Chipper followed in the sixth with a homer of his own to make it 7-6. Hudson gave up a run to tie it in the bottom of the inning and gave way to the bullpen, which did pretty well.
And then we had four straight shutout innings. Go figure. In the eleventh, Tyler Pastornicky (pinch-hitting for Chad “High Leverage” Durbin) singled, and Eric Hinske hit a homer to make it 9-7. Not safe. Craig Kimbrel gave up a walk and a single, then a run scored on a fielder’s choice. He got out of it with groundouts to get the save.
I was going to be pissed if we lost this one, because we got robbed of a few runs. The ground-rule double by Bourne was unlucky because Jack Wilson would have scored easily, and Freeman probably would’ve scored on Uggla’s double if Cuddyer hadn’t got an extremely lucky bounce and thrown Freeman out at 2nd.
Has anyone said “Durbin knows how to win”?
Last night in DC, Joe West was under the weather so the crew had to go without a 3b umpire. Boy oh boy did it make a difference. The Phillies lost 4-3 but scored their 4th run twice in the 7th inning if the right calls would have been made at 3rd.
Omar Infante’s line this year:
7 doubles 2 triples 5HR
.325/.357/.650/1.007
@4 The wonders of small sample size
#5: I’d take that small sample size over 5 weeks of a season!
@6 Career OPS of .718
I am glad Aubrey Huff seems to be doing better. Anxiety disorders can be hell.
Right, but what’s your point? He’s on a great streak for a sustained period of time, the kind of streak that can carry a team. Good for him!
So, I didn’t see it in the last thread, but for those scoring at home, Fredi had two pretty homer moves, which for me, underscore his inability to plan ahead effectively.
In the 7th, tied 7-7, Hinske got on to lead off. Jack Wilson was allowed to swing away, and he grounded out, swapping 1st base with Hinske. Huddy was then asked to bunt, with one out(!) failed, followed by the Bourn ground rule double, and those two runners were stranded.
Then Huddy didn’t even come out to pitch the eighth.
A little foresight might have led our dim leader to have Wilson, who is actually a good bunter, bunt, and have Francisco, Diaz, Pastornicky, Ross or even a sick Prado hit for Hudson.
Then you’d have a good bunter do the bunting, and actual hitter do the hitting.
But instead a .138 hitter got to hit, and a pitcher got to bunt, both of whom failed.
Then the double switch, weakening the defense AND offense by sending Diaz in for Heyward, just so you could get O’Flaherty to pitch in a second inning.
So he shoe-horned a bad defender, who happens to be a platoon hitter, into the second spot in the next inning, thus hurting his defense for the remainder of the game, and negating any matchup possibilities with his best “lefty masher” by letting Tracy know when he’s coming, and thus, giving Tracy matchup control.
All the while, he still had Venters and Medlen, along with Martinez, available to start the 9th.
Then, he used Durbin ahead of Venters, Martinez and Hernandez in the 10th. I can only assume the thinking was, don’t burn a multi-inning-capable reliever because the pitchers spot was due up first (which was Fredi’s own stupid fault. So Martinez and Hernandez were out. And he could only have chosen Durbin over Venters, because the bottom of the Rockies order was due up, and he was saving Venters to pitch the next inning if we didn’t score.
My phone corrected “boner moves” to “boner moves”
Also, I know Medlen wasn’t available for the 9th, as he pitched the eighth..
I miss the edit function….
Hinske’s comment on ajc.com:
“We’re swinging the bats well as a team. Even when we’re losing we’re getting that pitcher’s pitch count up, trying to get in the bullpen, and guys are having good team at-bats. That’s what [Greg] Walker preaches and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
Good to see the change in approach from last year. It is what Wren said they needed to improve on right after the season. He got the right guys in Greg Walker & co., it seems.
80 at bats is short period. Reversion to norm highly likely.
My phone corrected “boner moves” to “boner moves”
http://www.redshirt.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/batman6.jpg
Yeah, so my phone didn’t know “boner,” so it changed it to “homer.” So now that I taught it “boner,” it changes “homer.”
Neat.
Great recap. Chipper partying like it’s 1999, going .300/.358/.567.
I won’t harp on this if people won’t keep talking about it, but here’s something for musicians. Yes, I know the chords probably aren’t named accurately, but if you know basic major and minor chords, you’ll hopefully get the picture:
If I (d#) fell in love with you
And you (D) promised to be true
And (C#) help me (a#) understand
‘Cause I’ve (d#) been in love before
And I (D) found that love was more
Than (e!) just holding (A!!!) hands
How does one write something like that? The only answer I can come up with is: by the grace of god.
Plus, already, they were starting to mirror their increasing compositional sophistication ever so subtly in their lyrics as well, shedding the skin of one of their first American smashes with that last line.
What a band.
Not sure if this got mentioned, but apparently Delgado’s tipping his pitches:
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=16779#commentMessage
Fredi’s idiocy was overshadowed when Jim Tracy intentionally walked Jack Wilson. Fredi can’t do anything dumber than that.
Mhmm, Moyer pitching against the Braves a day after a slugfest. I smell a no-no.
A Rockies fan tells me Tracy apparently sits more regulars on Sunday than Fredi could ever dream of.
Adam R’s contribution @17 is just one more reason why this blog is the best place on Earth – virtual or otherwise.
Tonight’s game is the free MLB.tv one, for those of you, like me, who need it.
I know it has been said here a lot, but it bears repeating: About time to start sucking like you’re supposed to, Natspos.
The Beatles were great. These days, I find myself listening to their earlier material more than their later material. I find it a lot more fresh and a lot less leaden down with the weight of their immortal legacy. I burned out on them a long time ago and just haven’t been able to get back into them. Some of their songs that used to entertain me now sound obnoxious to me.
That said, Paul McCartney is probably the most organically perfect bass player of all time. For someone who fills his music up with a lot of working parts, he never overplays on bass. It always seems to fit perfectly into his arrangements. And the fact that he can sing so fluidly while playing is truly breathtaking to me.
Re: Braves – Tonight’s game is also featured on the MLB Channel, which I’ll be watching on the big screen. These moments are rare for me.
#24: I’ve seen it mentioned before, but why is it that the Nats are suggested to be not as good as they’ve been playing?
Also, Jamie Moyer had just completed his first year of major league ball when Mike Minor was born. Weirdness.
#26-
I think the concept is, you say “OK time to go back to the old Nationals” in a very shaky voice because it is not clear at all that this team is, in fact, going to do so. More of a plea than an expectation.
I’m certainly hoping the Nationals aren’t as good as they are now, but they seem to be built to win. I’m interested to hear why people think they’re not going to be very good.
Got onto the internet. So far as I can follow the game, it will have to be online, as I am in Virginia. (I’ve never been to Virginia before.)
Prado is sitting for the second day in a row with “flu-like symptoms”. Must have been a heck of a party.
#27: Ahhh, okay. I can see that.
@29
Hope Hinske gets the start. He is on fire.
Lineup against the lefty Moyer:
Bourn cf
Jones 3b
Freeman 1b
McCann c
Uggla 2b
Diaz lf
Heyward rf
Pastornicky ss
Minor p
Prado is available to play, but will have to come off the bench.
One thing about the Nats is that their pitching staff is young and they might not hold up. The biggest thing is an old Marlins problem, not enough good players. They have some who are very good, but they’re playing Rick Ankiel and Adam LaRoche regularly. (LaRoche is playing out of his mind, and Ankiel has been one of their best players but will that last?) Obviously, their offense is problematical. They actually need Harper to play well. The pitching has carried them — which carries us back to its youth.
Early May, I would rather Phils lose now than Natpos
No pitching staff can realistically surrender less than three runs a game for an entire season. The Nats’ offense has been pretty underwhelming so far. They’re hoping to win like the 2010 Giants, but such teams usually play out more like the 2011-12 version.
The game is also on MLB Cable channel with Atlanta likely blacked out.
@17, Change that D#m to an Ebm and the A#m to a Bbm (I know they are the same chords, but for theory purposes…) and that composition starts to make more harmonic sense. Especially considering the Gm and F#m that show up later. A fun puzzle for the ears and brain, fer sure. Just amazing.
Y’all talkin’ bout them college chords.
Freddie meant to do that. Honest Injun.
Freddie has been a defensive disaster so far in this series.
Guys, Mac is without internet, and I can only watch an inning or two of this one, so there probably won’t be a recap after this one. Sorry!
Goodness Minor.
Dammit, Mike…
No worries, y’all. I’ll start the recap, 4-0 Rockies.
@41 – Don’t worry about it.
Remember that week where our starting pitching was awesome?
But heck, 4 is nothing.
@38, I know, I couldn’t help myself. Western music theory is a cruel master. Probably why I love the noise.
I like both kinds – Country and Western. 🙂
Way to go, Atlanta.
I still hate Coors Field.
Stu, I think we can safely say that we don’t want this one recapped, even if it isn’t too hard for you to do it.
Oh my god.
Which of you messed with the Rockies’ gloves? Because you did a fine job.
A run!
I feel like I’m watching a Little League game.
What the hell happened to Minor? I did not expect him to look bad two starts in a row.
Apparently this team now enjoys large, early game deficits. At least we’ve proven capable of coming back from them.
Some nice defense from the Braves there in the third.
#57 – Its Colorado and no stats should be counted in this ballpark. All 6 runs have been scored with 2 outs. Why is Prado sitting again?
@60 True. Apparently he’s got some sort of bug.
Lineup from Braves 1st game against Moyer.
May 23, 1987
Dion James – CF
Ken Oberkfell – 2B
Gerald Perry – 1B
Dale Murphy – RF
Ken Griffey Sr – LF
Greg Nettles – 3B
Ozzie Virgil – C
Andres Thomas – SS
Rick Mahler – P
Nevermind, just saw where Prado has the flu.
Way to go Chipper!
Woooo!!! Chipping away.
We should have won that game, but Gene Garber got smoked for a two-run homer by the Hawk in the 9th inning (remember when his 49 home runs seemed an impossibly high number?). As per the Braves’ custom, they hung around for a while before Jim Acker gave up an RBI double to Jim Mumphrey in the 16th inning.
Couple now, couple later.
Thanks, Mike. I was almost optimistic there for a second.
Ugh.
MATTY!
Diaz, bringing hope to Braves fans.
JASON!
JASON! Nice catch in the bullpen.
This is why we chop, y’all.
CHIPPER!! Hope is returning! (Now we’re really screwed.)
CHIPPER!!!!!
Chipper breaks another bat….typical…guy already costs $15 million a year and now he’s costing even more… {/tad]
This place is so crazy. Go Braves.
WOOOOOOOO!
It’s hard to put into words just how stupid Coors Field is.
I have a borrowed laptop I have gotten to work. Hopefully I’ll be able to use it and get it working in the morning. For now, good night, and let the rally continue.
@81 Sleep well, Mac! Enjoy Virginia.
Nice to have Matt Diaz circa 2009 on the team.
Holy Toledo.
As in, that ball Heyward hit…
Minor’s ERA is 5.97 after tonight.
Holy smokes, that was into the wind and over the foul pole.
he killed that one
hang ’em another one
hang him another one
edit!
I think that was probably a home run but based on the sole piece of video from the broadcast, I don’t see how the umps could have overturned the initial call of foul.
It looked like it passed straight over the foul pole, but if that was the only angle they had it was impossible to say for sure.
Man, such a shame to see that called foul.
Yea, fully agreed with 91/92.
agreed.
The pitcher’s rattled, though. Get to him before they relieve him.
I miss the old TBS camera crew.
Wow, that pickoff is going to make Sportscenter.
Ouch, that ball Tyler hit bounced off of someone and all the way up and hit the facing of the upper deck.
Play stoppage to tend to a fan? That’s new to me, but I don’t disapprove.
This, my friends, is why you should never sit behind first or third base.
They stopped play in that game in Texas when the fan fell out of the upper deck.
I don’t like the idea from an aesthetics standpoint, but maybe it’s time to extend the nets around more of the field.
102 — Agreed.
Players coming off the field – that’s not good.
They’re mentioning your idea on air, Bethany.
(Players back out)
No one is safe from Rogers!
Did Chip just say that the go ahead run scored on Pastornicky’s ground out? Is he watching the game?
(My wife’s watching something on netflix, so I don’t have enough bandwidth to use Nexdef and overlay the radio guys. Ugh.)
It looked to me like the ball just hit the top deck. It would have to hit someone pretty hard to change trajectory like that.
108 — It looked too low off the bat to hit the upper deck off the fly.
Interesting that Fredi had Prado pinch hit over Hinske, but I think it’s the right move since Brothers would just have come in one batter earlier. As many at-bats as you could get against Rogers was a positive.
WOOO!
Nowhere near the strike zone.
Chipper has been 140 feet of hell tonight.
This Chipper fellow might be good someday.
I know you all like to make fun of me…but another broken bat by Chipper….costs associated with him keep going up and up…I’d say ‘give me a break’ but this isn’t funny… {/tad}
I actually lol’d at that one from Chip.
The year of the sac fly!
Freddie is the new Mr. Swings at Everything.
116 – yeah, have to hand it to him on that one.
Chipper has zoomed past Jake Beckley for 39th on the all-time RBI list. 3 more RBI and he displaces Al Kaline, Harmon Killebrew, and Rogers Hornsby on the list. (I know, I know, those are some overrated hitters.)
Also, Chipper’s in the Top 10 NL leaders in RBI despite playing part time. It’s as if he’s a great player…
Chad “The Dominator” Durbin.
Chip Caray said something funny? Evidence, please?
Distburbin’ Durbin’s looking a little rusty.
@122
He said something along the lines of “He ain’t heavy, he’s my Brothers”.
Ok, Durbin. Just one run given up in the stupid ballpark counts as a victory.
Ugh, my feed cut to ‘commercial break in progress’ before the replay – was he still on the bag on that one?
Gattis hit another HR.
Rain delay. Blergh.
@126 He on the bag.
And we’re the last game of the night. The radar seems to show that there shouldn’t be much more to this storm, but it sure isn’t moving away quickly.
Game is back, it seems.
Fatvan gets a nice double play grounder out of Helton.
Way to chug it out, Martin!
I’m almost not completely revolted by Livan right now. Now can we have at least one game this series that makes sense?
I’m almost not completely revolted by Livan right now. Now can we have at least one game this series that makes sense?
Sorry abot the double post. Congrats on your first save, Livan. Now go away.
First career save. Congratulations, Livan.
I’m going to the game tomorrow- last chance to see Chipper in person. Hopefully he’ll start. If anyone else is hoing and wants to grab a beer I’m down.
‘Going’ I meant. I’m not planning on hoing and if you are please stay away from me.
Mac,
Welcome to Virginia! Though I hope your trip here is short and your out of here soon and healthy. But if the Braves want to continue winning as long as your here, I can’t complain about that. Only promise to get the rest of us out of this state when you leave.
@ 114. Nah, he grounds in too many double plays. He’ll never make it.
Chipper:
http://mlb.mlb.com/cutfour/article.jsp?content_id=30475214
@142
That is great
Got my internet back this morning, the recap is up after all.