Atlanta Braves vs. Miami Marlins – Box Score – June 07, 2012 – ESPN.
The Braves don’t seem to think that the new park in Miami is a pitchers’ park. Apparently, they think it’s a home run haven; all but one run in last night’s game was scored via the longball.
Mike Minor was — say it with me — “effectively wild” through five innings. Though he walked five (and struck out four) and threw only 55 strikes in 103 pitches, the only run he allowed was on a solo homer by Jose Reyes in the fifth. It’s not something that you’re going to be able to do every fifth day and I see nothing that reassures me about Minor going forward, but a win’s a win.
In the sixth, Martin Prado flipped the scoreboard with a two-run homer, also scoring Michael Bourn. Fredi brought in Chad Durbin, of course, who allowed a hit but nothing else in the sixth. Jason Heyward hit a solo homer in the seventh to make it 4-1, and Jonny Venters allowed just a walk in the seventh.
The one run that didn’t come on a homer came in the eighth. Andrelton Simmons, who has been a huge improvement, walked leading off. Jose Constanza struck out, but Bourn and Prado produced back-to-back singles to make it 4-1. Eric O’Flaherty almost let the Marlins back in it, allowing a leadoff homer in the eighth to Giancarlo Stanton and then a double, but followed with a foulout and two strikeouts.
In the ninth, Heyward homered to make it 5-2, and Michael Bourn hit a three-run shot to make it 8-2. Bourn already has a career high in homers with six. Cristhian Martinez had two hits allowed but two strikeouts in the ninth.
Sidebar:
I have two extra tickets to the Braves @ Yankees for Tuesday 19th.
If any of the denizens here are in New York and want them for face value. I work downtown and live in Brooklyn, so preferably a way to meet up that’s convenient for those.
You can write me off-list at TheBourbonCowboy@hotmail.com
-Nevin
Last year he had players who weren’t hitting.
This is crazy! In 5 games, Andrelton Simmons is tied for 3rd in the NL in defensive runs saved with +4. That’s remarkable. I’m not sure how many SS in the league could have made one out on last night’s double play, much less gotten enough on the throw to get 2.
Got to give a +1 to ryan c @3. That was a play only elite Ozzie-level shortstops make. REALLY GOOD shortstops get one out on that play at second.
(And the Right Reverend Pastornickys of the world watch that ball go zinging into leftfield.)
Not that I’m bitter about that or anything….
Anybody want to bet that over the next 6 weeks we see Everday Jonny ‘regress’ back toward his last two years as he becomes less fearful about grounders hit to the left side of the infield?
Andrelton’s defense reminds me of Andruw’s defense.
Venters and Hudson should see notable “improvements” with Simmons in the field. Not sure about ground ball rates for Beachy, Delgado or Hanson. Minor is a fly ball pitcher, right?
The pop up that Andelton caught was really hard, but he made it look really easy.
I think our pitchers will like having him around.
Minor is a fly ball pitcher, right?
I lol’ed. Nicely done.
@4 MLB Quick Pitch called it the best DP you will see all year.
Someone said we got offense from just 4 players last night. CJ & FF will be back soon.
@10, obviously they haven’t seen Brooklyn Lee in Mission Asspossible.
@10 Except the turn at second. Uggla rushed it not realizing how much time he had.
I went to the game again last night. My friends and girlfriend aren’t really baseball fans, let alone Braves fans, so they were really just cheering for the stupid Marlin carnival thing in center to light up. All in all it’s a really nice park with a cool view of the skyline. I imagine it’s even better in April when they can have the roof open.
@11, Beating Johnson and Buerhle with our second string line-up and our worst two starters is quite a feat. I was proud of our boys.
If you’re interested in my ramblings…
http://playdeeper.blogspot.com/2012/06/smell-glove.html
Spike, that’s the best laugh I’ve had all day. Thank you.
That’s a pretty fair post sam. As Crash David would say, ground balls are democratic!
NPR’s Car Talk rides off into the sunset.
http://tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?news=734796
Heard John Manuel w/an interesting tidbit today regarding the Braves and the draft:
(Paraphrasing) In the new system, if a team doesn’t sign a player in the top 10 rounds of the draft, they lose that allocated “slot” amount from the overall amount of their team’s draft pool. This was apparently the Braves motivation in drafting Steven Schils (a crappy DII senior closer) in the 9th Round. They can sign him for $5K and allocate the remainder of his $125K slot in their overall pool (which can be used for bonuses over 100K for picks after the 10th round…aka 12th round pick Connor Lien) to other picks; however, if they had taken a better player in the 9th Round and hadn’t signed him, their pool would’ve been reduced by the 125K of that pick’s slot.
The draft has definitely turned into a different type of dance.
My main takeaway from that was that you better be damn sure you sign anyone you draft in the top ten rounds…
Yep. Right now, the key to the draft is, undoubtedly, figuring out exactly what it will take to sign each kid before you take them. Clearly, the Braves did this with Black, when they saw him in a private workout and also seem to have talked pretty specific dollars.
The thing is, the teams are not completely without leverage. The maximum dollars that a team can pay a guy, whether he’s a high pick or an over-slot lower pick, is much smaller than in previous years. So if a guy holds out and threatens to re-enter the pool in a year, he isn’t necessarily increasing his potential payday very much. Plus, he’s exposing himself to a year’s worth of injury risk, which will cause him to lose a great deal of money.
So a team can plausibly say, “Look, here’s the money we can afford to pay you. Take it or leave it. If you leave it, then the odds are, you’re not going to get a whole lot more next year. And you might not be able to get anywhere close to that much. Your call, kid.”
@22, that is exactly the point of the thing. It’s a back door salary cap on entry talent by the league. If I had a baseball playing kid, I’d encourage them to emigrate to Venezuala or someplace not subject to the draft so they could negotiate their services in a free market.
It’s always puzzled me that people celebrate the workings of the free market, even to the point of ignoring its imperfections, but then condemn it when athletes make a lot of money and blame Scott Boras for high ticket prices. And are willing to tolerate a wealth transfer to already billionaire owners in the name of “fiscal responsibility.” It’s ok for Bill Gates to make billions, but how dare some young athlete expect to get paid.
@19
That’s the worst news I’ve heard today, and the timing belt on my 99 Mitsubishi Eclipse (i.e. interference engine) broke this morning.
Uh, so does this count towards the Fullmer Cup (w hot pic goodness)?
http://onlineathens.com/breaking-news/2012-06-08/uga-professor-charged-prostitution
@24 Two different beasts. Baseball is itself a singular product, and its value as a whole is no more maximized by treating it as a functioning market than an individual corporations might be (you don’t see Marketing and HR bidding against each other for talent, for instance).
Though I should add that I don’t think anyone here has taken the view that “how dare some young athlete expect to get paid,” just that it might not be in the best interest of the team or the sport that the rules be written in such a way (a key point which ought to make clear just how baseball is not a free market) where the incentives are skewed too far in a one direction or another.
I think that the problem is — and I’m sorry because I know this comes perilously close to the no-politics line — the age-old problem of how to balance equality of opportunity with relative competitive balance.
No one wants to return to the first half of the 20th century, where poorer teams like the Washington Senators, Philadelphia Athletics and St. Louis Browns routinely sold off their best players to richer teams, and played losing seasons year after year to half-filled stadia before finally either moving to a different city or simply folding. A rich team like the New York Yankees could simply afford to purchase another team’s best players, saving that team from insolvency while maintaining its reign.
Obviously, the problem wasn’t just that the other teams were poor; they were also probably run by nincompoops. But there is a point at which wealth inequality leads to a clearly suboptimal outcome on the field, and fans are benefited by measures that promote relative parity.
The draft rules are of a piece with baseball’s other soft-cap measures like the luxury tax. That doesn’t mean that they’re a good thing — this year’s draft was pretty screwy, and it remains to be seen whether it will stay that way in the years to come — but appears to be part of a long-term strategy that Bud Selig has pursued in the sport.
Evidently the Braves are one of 4 teams aggressively pursuing Jorge Soler. I’m guessing the Braves have made a bid, but not the 20 million+ bid that it’ll take to get the gay.
Contrary to my previous message, I do not know Soler’s sexual preference. Must have been Freudian because A and U aren’t anywhere close to each other. I have been hanging around with my lesbian friends today so that might be it.
If you take 20 mil to Midtown you will be able to get the gay.
NTTAWWT
“I’m guessing the Braves have made a bid, but not the 20 million+ bid that it’ll take to get the gay.”
Who knew?
Hell, the UGA prof just wanted $60.
Hey guys, Ryan C. says Jorge Soler is gay! Did you guys hear that?!
Ryan C. misses the edit function.
#Braves lineup vs. Blue Jays (No Freeman): Bourn 8, Prado 5, McCann 2, Uggla 4, Heyward 9, Hinske 3, Simmons 6, Beachy 1, Constanza 7
So we’re playing against Kyle Drabek, almost exactly 14 years since the last time we faced his old man. That make anyone else feel old?
The Braves’ website has the stream of the Smoltz ceremony tonight.
Chipper RBI single in first AB. Can he come back now Fredi?
Brett Lawrie. Yuck.
Nice job Prado!
Defensive positioning!
Yunel is hitting like he was his last year with us.
Drabek has problems with walks, so hopefully we’ll be patient tonight.
Way to go, Fredi.
That was ugly.
WTF?
WTH Beachy.
Brandon seem to struggling a bit with his control tonight.
Jeff Foxworthy, ladies and gentlemen. Ugh. Now we know where Smoltz gets his “jokes” from.
Nuke Laloosh called, he wants his pitches back, Brandon!
Someone refill my peanuts and beer.
NOW.
I have peanuts and 2 buck chuck, that help?
GOOOOOOOOOOOO… awww stopped.
The call of Bourn’ triple on the radio is why I like the Jim as a PBP guy.
GOOD STOP
As Jim pointed out on the radio, you do *not* run your starting pitcher into a likely play/collision at home plate. Not on June 8, at least.
I know you don’t want to risk the pitcher, but you gotta go there.
Why? It’s the bottom of the third against a guy with a mediocre ERA, and you’re offense has been clicking the last three or four games.
Keith Law is at the Braves game tonight.
@keithlaw
Now we have five-year-old kids dancing on top of the dugout to “I’m Sexy And I Know It.” #inappropriate #barves
I don’t disagree with holding him, but I’m not sure we’re getting any here.
Now he can trot home casually.
I love being wrong!
I’ll admit, it is much better to see Beachy walking to the dugout, though.
Drabek thinks he is Russ Ortiz.
KJ looks the same, Esco looks a LOT bigger than I remember.
@68 I think it might just be the cut of the uniform.
Beachy at 75 pitches through four innings, so he’s unlikely to go more than six at most. Let’s get some more runs for the bullpen.
Very well could be. I was chalking it up to him getting his “man muscles.”
BEACHY!
So Beachy is our new best pitcher/pinch-hitter.
70- True, and Brandon’s figured that if he wants the job done right, he’ll have to do it himself.
Dear Lord
This has to be Fredi screwing w/us:
Unbelievable
Durbin must have a set of pictures unparalleled in the history of baseball.
There’s one team (Phillies) not over .500 in the east divisions, sure would be nice to play someone else in interleague play on a competitive level.
76- I doubt that; remember, Belliard was in Atlanta for *eight* seasons because of his Pictures.
Well, if Durbin blows a couple of games that opinion will change. More likely the Braves will trade for a RH reliever at the deadline.
Well, there goes a hard day’s work.
Oof.
Joey Bats.
Alright, Freddie. The control’s gone. Hook.
Beachy has been walking a lot more guys lately.
Hello, Chad. Well, we can still win this series tomorrow and Sunday.
Here comes the Grybos.
Chad Durbin hasn’t given up an earned run since May 7.
I’m worried Beachy might be hurt.
Dan, your dread is Chad’s command. At least he only gave up ONE Grybo, and thanks for giving us the out, Yunel. May your tips be ever frosted.
All in all not bad for Durbin. I fully expected both inherited runners to score.
Durbin did his job. The both of those runs are rightly owned by Beachy.
Can’t really blame Durbin for giving up a bunt and a groundball to short. He’s been doing his job well lately, and I got no problem with him getting more usage because of it.
Ok offense, runs please.
Sam’s not wrong here. It’s fascinating that Durbin is where he’s making his stand in the war to get us all to respect authority. But he’s not wrong here.
UGGLA AND JASON!!!!
JASON!
Uggla runs with every ounce of his body.
I don’t know that I’m demanding you “respect authority” per se. I’m just saying that perhaps the white hot hatred of all things Chad Durbin might be rooted in a set of assumptions that haven’t held sway in reality since late April or so.
Chad Durbin is not particularly good. But he’s doing his job, which is be the guy that keeps the damage to a minimum so the offense can get back into it or we can get from the short-start to the bid penis boys at the back of the pen.
Also, Jason go boom.
Big. Even I have no idea what a “bid penis” is. Even in Midtown.
Squeeze?
You’d think someone near the Braves dugout has been heckling Diaz tonight.
Ross is scratched. Mind = blown.
Did Fredi really just blow David Ross like that?
He has Boscan as catcher insurance.
Balk!!!!
Wow.
Sam, is there something you’re trying to tell us?
Um, yay?
The fake throw to third and Simmons fell for it. LOL!
David Ross vs RHP in 2012: .188/.235/.250 (485 OPS)
I guess he stepped towards home before the fake throw.
Well, I guess that’s a run. Somehow.
It might be that he started to turn around before his left foot came down.
In Durbin’s last 22 appearances before tonight, he’s had a 2.76 ERA and allowed 1 of 15 inherited runners to score. If he starts sucking again, bust him back down to mopup duty. But he’s a relatively hot hand right now.
Ump called the balk. That’s all that matters. If it was close enough to call I can’t hold it against Simmons so much.
Don’t call Durbin a “hot hand.” Fredi will hear that and make him the closer.
Constanza’s hand temperature is falling drastically.
Constanza’s tenure in Atlanta is exactly the length of time it takes Chipper to get back from Rome.
Hey, Good Jonny.
BOURN! Woo!
mumblemumblemumblesinkerballersneedtoworknotrestmumblemumblemumble
Hey, let’s bunt with our best hitter!
No one asked Prado to bunt.
He showed bunt for the first 3 pitches.
Yes, he did. No one asked Prado to bunt.
Dan’s having a very boring game.
OBP baseball; very effective; very boring.
Okay, best I can come up with on the balk so far, is maybe rule 8.05(a) – Comment (quoted below). I can’t tell if Beck swung his foot enough to qualify (I don’t think he did, but he took a high step, and I don’t have a good angle on the replay).
8.05
If there is a runner, or runners, it is a balk when —
(a) The pitcher, while touching his plate, makes any motion naturally associated with his pitch and fails to make such delivery;
Rule 8.05(a) Comment: If a lefthanded or righthanded pitcher swings his free foot past the back edge of the pitchers rubber, he is required to pitch to the batter except to throw to second base on a pick-off-play.
Francisco is so bad.
@117
Starting RF, IMO.
Just kidding.
Juan Francisco, ladies and gentlemen. Juan Francisco.
Francisco is Spanish for Francoeur.
Ah, never mind. I think this might be it:
(j) The pitcher, after coming to a legal pitching position, removes one hand from the ball other than in an actual pitch, or in throwing to a base;
Not really looking like the long-term answer at third, Juan. You do have to take a pitch every now and then.
Not another J.F. that can’t hit.
133 — Looks like the 2013 3b is Prado.
Prado at 3B and Gattis or Soler in LF?
“Constanza’s tenure in Atlanta is exactly the length of time it takes Chipper to get back from Rome.”
Guess which genius manager has Chipper Jones in Rome instead of at third base here tonight?
The manager who knows a 40 year old man who’s been gimpy for years needs to get his legs back?
136 — Or someone not currently in the organization.
Frack.
@137 It’s my understanding that it was Chipper’s agent that suggested he rehab.
Holy crap, Prado!
Remember when we used to make fun of Prado’s defense? Hard to do that these days.
That was not an easy hop either.
“@137 It’s my understanding that it was Chipper’s agent that suggested he rehab.”
It’s clear from the interviews that Chipper didn’t want to go to the minors, and lobbied hard not to, but Fredi forced him.
@144 Alright, still not sure it’s the wrong decision.
I like Kimbrel pitching here- our best reliever at a critical moment. Our Fredi really is learning. Sometimes.
146 — Don’t get too excited; it’s a home game.
He was out!
What a joke.
Wow that was a bad call.
He was out…but nearly impossible for the umpire to see that. It was so close.
Enough is enough of the shitty umpiring. It’s time for real replay.
Whew.
Come on Braves, let’s blow this thing and go home.
Good enough, Craig. Now let’s win it here and now!
Good sticks coming up, let’s get this.
MARTIN! Someone bring the man home!
Alright, Nitram!
Ugh.
Was fully expecting Joey Bats to take Lisp deep.
Good pitching!
Ah, the dreaded ‘players remaining’ graphic….
And the equally dreaded Jack Wilson plate appearance.
I’ll take it.
wow!
Um, thanks! We’ll take it! Many thumbs up!
Wha happen?
“AND THE BRAVES HAVE WON ITTTTTTTT”
Wilson bunted JH to second, he stole 3rd and scored on overthrow
Heyward stole third, they threw the ball away and he scored.
Good running, Jason!
Steal of third, throw goes awry, Heyward takes home.
So, there’s an example of why you hustle!
SB – J Heyward (10, 4th base off F Cordero/J Arencibia).
Yahoo! says he stole 4th base. They seem pretty reliable, no offense guys.
Arincebia should have held onto the ball.
Yeah, once he double pumped he had no chance. It was an awful throw.
@173: Yeah, it was Calvinball rules out there tonight. That’s why we got the balk, and why the tag at second was called ‘safe’. You see, the Jays runner had used the safe word, and we forgot to kick a field goal before the next timeout.
I. Love. Heyward.
More rambling, if you care. I’m not at my standard posting limit for the year at ye olde blog.
http://playdeeper.blogspot.com/2012/06/speaking-of-glove.html
Mariners working on a combined no hitter against the Dodgers.
Old pal Kevin Millwood started, but left after 6 with a sore groin.
Even more amazingly than Millwood pitching six no-hit innings in 2012, Chone Figgins just actually got a hit.
One out to go…
Wow..
Couple of Braves ties there.. Millwood, obviously. But also the Braves Mercker/Wholers/Pena combined no-hitter in 91. But also, I think Mercker’s 94 no-hitter was the last time the Dodgers had been no hit.
And to think, I was in Seattle today and could have stayed for the game. Millwood’s second no-hitter ties the Houston record from 2003 for most pitchers involved. Good stuff. Billy Wagner was involved in the first one (Braves ties) and, of course, Millwood today.
I didn’t see if anyone posted Jurrjens line tonight, so here it is: 6 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 4 K. All six hits were singles, and, keep in mind, Pastornicky is now his shortstop.
Didn’t watch the game tonight but Chip’s call on the winning play is atrocious.
185 — I especially was amused at the “Here comes Howard!” part.
Got to take my son to the game last night. It was great to see the Smoltz ceremony. He’s 9 and a budding baseball fan, so I was glad he got a glimpse at what Smoltz has meant to Bravesnation.
What a game though. We were 0-for-12 with RISP, but scored on a walk, a balk and an E2. It felt almost like Heyward willed us that win, but maybe it was just Blue Jay ineptitude.
I still can’t believe there were 13 teams in 2007 (including the Marlins) which could have drafted both Heyward and Stanton.
Greetings from Baltimore…
Caught the end of last night’s win. If the other club’s giving, we gotta be taking. And rack ’em up—we have a tough schedule ahead of us this month.
Met some fans from Peoria, Ill., in a pub called Quigley’s (across the street from the Babe Ruth Museum), who were on a 9-day baseball-stadium trek (Chi, Cle, NY, Bos, DC, Bal, Pit). Half liked the Cards, the others liked the Cubs, but one guy was a Braves fan. He grew up watching Maddux, Glavine & Smoltz.
He asked me, “Why don’t they show the games on TBS anymore?”
Me: “I have a feeling I’ll meeting fewer people like you in the future.”
Went to Camden Yards later for a particularly messy O’s/Phils game. And yes, easily 60% of the joint was rooting for the visitors—the Funnel-Cake Nation was in full-effect.
ububba,
The Babe Ruth Museum is solid if you get some free time
Recapped.