So, honestly, do you want a recap of that game? Really? Okay. Fine.
Julio Teheran pitched pretty damned well. His only rough patch was the third inning, which never should have happened at all. He gave up a single, then Gerado Parra popped out to the infield, but no one thought “huh, I should catch that.” So instead, it was a “double.” Then some person whose parents actually named him “Didi Gregorius,” intentionally I suppose, singled in two runs.
And that was it. Luis Avilan pitched a perfect seventh and Anthony Varvaro got through the eighth with only a single to Paul Goldschmidt, and that was all of it.
The problem being, of course, that some child named Patrick Corbin, who is two years younger than Guns ‘n Roses’ Appetite for Destruction by the way, did essentially the same thing for the D-Backs. Only he was gritty and determined and Kirk Gibson taught him to know how to win or something, so he didn’t have that “hey, let’s not catch the popup to the mound” moment, and so the Braves lost 2-0.
So that was the game, really. Feel good about Teheran putting up another really good start. Feel bad about getting shut down by whomever the hell “Patrick Corbin” is. Mull over, in your spare time, the fact that the Braves are now essentially even stevens recordwise with the “need more grit, less Upton” Diamondbacks we’ve been mocking all offseason.
Now, let’s talk about something important instead.
Who the hell names a child Didi Gregorious? Is he the older sister from Dexter’s Lab or a 15th century monk? How can he be both? Does he wear pink bows in his tonsure? Is he creepily stalked by Mandark, but in a weirdly homoerotic manner now? Why would you do that to a child? I mean, you might be stuck with Gregorious as a last name, and I get the whole “we’re from the Dutch Antilles, we have really goofy, not-normal names down here! We’re crazy Kingdom of the Dutch out the wazzoo!” thing. But seriously. Didi? Didi Gregorious?!
I do not approve. Though, given that his full name is Mariekson Julius Gregorius… Why, parents? Why?!
The name of my boss is Didi. Short for Diethelm. There you go.
I gotta say, I’m fully on board with Didi Gregorious. If a friend said to you, “Hey, I’m meeting Didi Gregorious for a beer…wanna go?”, you would of course say yes. If you’d put in for a promotion at work, and your competition was Didi Gregorious, you would immediately withdraw your name from consideration. All band names sound awesome when followed by “featuring Didi Gregorious”. Really, it’s an all-timer.
It wasn’t a pop up. It was a high bouncing chopper. If Teheran makes the play and beats Parra to the bag the Diamondbacks still score a run that inning. Freeman likely would not have gotten the out at second.
It looked bad only because neither guy gloved it but I suspect that more than 50% of the time on a ball hit just like that, with a fast hitter at the plate, no out is made.
They lost it in the sun.
(I’m ignoring the fact that the play happened about 8 PM local time in an indoor-ish park. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.)
Blinding.
Didi Gregorious is a MLB player born in Amsterdam with a Ramones-like first name & a glam-rock last name, so I like him immediately. More than Paul Goldschmidt anyway, who sounds like a refugee from Rammstein.
#3
Yup, they played that Baltimore chop like it was radioactive. It was cartoonish in a ’62 Mets kinda way.
@3 Yeah, I’m convinced we weren’t going to get anybody on that play – even if Freeman or Teheran gloved it.
DOB reporting that the Braves are likely to go to a 6-man bullpen for this weekend’s series.
The play was for Freeman to (1) call off Teheran and (2) get the lead runner. That happens, probably no runs score on the single.
Regardless, when their starter as 5 walks and you don’t manage any runs, it’s a bad night.
@2 If my friend said he was meeting someone named Didi Gregorious for a beer, I’d ask if she was hot.
Just a few anagrams for Didi Gregorius:
Rigid Id Rogues
Sir, Our Gig Died
I Did Rug Orgies
I Rue Sordid Gig
I Rig Rod Guides
When does Venters see Andrews? When will the surgery take palce?
Schafer 7, Simmons 6, Jupton 9, Freeman 3, McCann 2, Bupton 8, Francisco 5, Pena 4, Hudson 1
I’ve seen enough to believe, if they’re both in the lineup, Schafer belongs in RF over Jupton.
So the Braves are missing both Kershaw and Greinke on the weekend. Time to get back on track at home against the Dodgers.
I’m gonna suggest that a Schafer/Simmons lead off duo will not get the Braves to the playoffs.
Schafer’s bad route taking rears its head.
Freddie Freeman is not hitting for any power. That is going to have to change. SLG of .333 since returning from the DL means that either he’s still not quite 100%, or he was abducted by aliens while on the DL and their experiments sapped a lot of his strength.
It’s a shame, because he was hitting so well before he went on the DL.
This offense is frustrating to watch.
We suck.
I can’t wait to get Heyward back in the outfield and Schafer out of it.
A feast-or-famine offense that is currently in Ethiopian mode, the lingering fear of an Episode in the back of my mind with every Hudson pitch … a pleasant game, this is not.
The ball seems to be coming off Freddie’s bat with authority, though. Of all the Braves, it seems his outs are often stung to a place where an infielder or outfielder are standing.
Speaking of power outages, though, El Camarón Blanco has only one bat flip on the year. Guessing Arizona thought they’d get better production from him than that.
Well if you’re looking for reasons we aren’t scoring much, Freeman’s .600’s OPS is right up there with the best. We need him to be a force. I’ve given up on Uggla, and will probably do the same with Melvin. I was counting on Freeman and Heyward playing like all-stars for us to make the playoffs. Hasn’t happened yet, but “it’s early”.
All those pessimistic things we’re thinking and saying about you, Freddie? Here’s a chance to squelch them.
Is that a squelch?
Two four-pitch walks? I don’t question it, I just let the Snakes do our work for us.
Pitch FX has both Kennedy and Huddy getting squeezed. Hirschbeck is consistent, at least.
That’s a gift.
@25
It does the job for now.
Come on McCann!
DANGIT
Ugh.
He was angry at that bat.
That definitely isn’t a squelch.
They tried to hand us the game that inning…we said no thanks. Grrr. I think you can trace nearly all of our struggles back to ‘Peach Clobbers’.
@36 Not a fan of “Peach Clobbers”.
You know, everyone knows that we strike out a lot, but we hit a LOT of pop-ups. In addition to leading the league in K%, we’re fourth in the league in IFFB% (infield flyball percentage).
@38 I think that’d tie to the sing for the fences approach, yes?
Absolutely agree. But it’s a bit of an unspoken cost — everyone talks about the strikeouts that result from an uppercut swing. Not as many people talk about the pop-ups, and pop-ups are easily the least productive contact that you can make.
@40 Agreed. If the only cost was the strikeouts, that’s one thing, but it’s clear the all or nothing approach isn’t going to work long term and they’ve got to having better ABs.
That’s been a ball all day until that pitch.
Goodness gracious that was a terrible call.
Sounds like BJ had some reason to complain.
That’s a preposterous strike three call. Did he think that B.J. was showing him up by starting to go to first?
I don’t think you can diagnose a whole lineup that way as if it’s a single entity. I guarantee not everyone is going up there swinging for the fences, and even some of the people with what can be argued is a good approach might be getting bad results at the moment.
We just need more people hitting better. Whether that takes better luck, better approach, better mechanics, etc. I think depends on the individual in question.
Robot ump idea looking better and better as time passes.
I’m not sure that there’s any reason to throw anything to Juan Francisco that’s below his chin.
47- Agreed. The image of, say, Justin pounding the gears out of some bucket of bolts is quite satisfying.
There are just too many holes in the lineup for BJ Upton and Freddie Freeman – and Jason Heyward, I guess – to be this bad.
Well, BJ Upton walked last inning, even though the ump didn’t realize it at the time.
Is it really too much to ask the guys making 15 million a year to hit at the medoza line?
Our pitching has been good/great for the most part. When that falters…doooooom.
Probably should have just held onto that one, Prado.
Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah
And even though I kinda like FatJuan, I would wager that he’s whiffing his way into backing up CJ rather than platooning. I don’t think he’s got the long leash (aka $$$ contract) that Uggla and BJ have.
Shafer has to get to 3rd on that fly ball. Brainlock.
No, Joe. No one can score from second base after the ball is caught, you doofus. Maybe Schaefer should have seen faster that it would be caught but that was a hell of a running grab.
There are circumstances of people taking two bases on a sac fly, but it generally requires an errant throw.
Justin Upton is putting together some really nice at-bats. That mini-slump may be over.
Another “squelch” chance.
59 — Yeah, of course. I did *mean* without a Melky like throw by the center fielder 🙂
Hey, hey!
YES!!!!! GO GO JUSTIN
YEAH! Way to go Freddie!
Freddie’s still a Free Man!
It may not turn out to be a big deal, but Shafer’s totally at fault there.
On a ball like that, you go a little less than halfway & if the ball drops you score anyway. If it’s caught, you still have enough time to tag. It’s baseball 101, really.
Edit: That works.
Well done, Freddie.
Nice hit, Freddie. Strange to see a line drive not hit some random fielder straight in the chest.
Justin Upton can move so quickly even when it doesn’t look like he’s absolutely burning. Another thing he has in common with Heyward.
Who else besides Freddie needs tough-love motivation? I will try to use this power for the greater good.
Ugh.
@70 Sometimes I think Huddy could use it.
I’d say Hudson needs something – tough love, whatever.
Of all the Episodes we’ve seen, this one is the most recent.
Gutty pitch on strike 3. Nice.
Well that was a gift.
@76 Looked good to me.
El Episodio Blanco.
Thanks for nothing, Tim.
Dammit. That wasn’t even a bad pitch.
God but do I hate when pitchers crap away a lead the very next inning they pitch after obtaining it.
This isn’t just an Episode, this is a Lowepisode.
Maybe Beachy can take Huddy’s spot.
Who had Hudson and Medlen as the Braves’ worst starters?
Pitch-to-contact guys: fuck ’em.
I’d be willing to trade Hudson for a decent relief pitcher and insert Beachy in his spot.
@85
Bad news for every starter on the Braves.
Gotta go get ’em, Braves.
Tim Hudson sucks. It’s time to shoot him and drag his body out back for the hogs.
Game over.
Hudson is gonna be fine. His peripherals are exactly where they’ve always been, and in a couple cases, such as SwStr%, they’re better. His problem is basically his Left On Base percentage. That’ll come back up.
Why would you not PH gattis for success here?
UGH
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/about-the-braves-and-all-of-their-strikeouts/
2 runs down, 2 on, 2 out. BJ’s got it covered.
Sole possession of first place was so much fun while it lasted.
I still cannot believe McCann struck out there.
BJ is late on fastballs, curve balls, Knuckle balls, pinnacle balls, pool balls, slider balls, bouncy balls, slick balls, smooth balls, and worst of all, big juicy right down the middle balls.
You know, I don’t even care about Upton not catching that ball. They weren’t coming back anyway.
I don’t like Juan.
We suck so hard.
Goldschmidt is who I wish Freeman could be.
http://cdn1.sbnation.com/imported_assets/618478/major-league-theyre-shitty_medium.jpg
What a sorry statement it would be to get finished off by Heath Bell on consecutive days.
3 for 4 day for Freddie. 2 doubles.
Productive out for B-Mac. Just as good as a bunt.
I want to vomit.
Lost five of last six. Now only four over .500.
They’ve been bad since being 12-1.
Having Automatic Out up as your last hope is the definition of hopelessness.
Sure is frustrating outscoring these guys 13-8 in this series, and losing two of the three games.
9-16 the last 25. That’s Astros bad!
This team has been really bad for the last month. I guess the schedule has been tough, but there’s no excuse for them to have gone 9-16 since starting 13-2.
I feel sad.
Doomsville… Population: Us
I think Fredi deserves a lot of flack for writing a lineup card that put BJ and Juan back to back.
The Blue Jays are starting Ramon Ortiz today. That is all.
Let’s go home. Now we will have both McCann and Heyward back, it’s time to get back on the right track.
Forcing myself to look on the bright side:
despite the fact that
– Uggla and Bupton are two of the worst everyday players in all of MLB (so far in 2013) and they’ve played nearly every game
– Heyward has missed two weeks and hasn’t hit at all
– Freeman has missed two weeks and hasn’t hit for power
– Simmons has tons of ABs at the top of the order when on most teams he’d hit 8th
– Our normally unhittable closer has blown 3 saves
– and on and on and on…
If the season ended right now we’d be in the playoffs.
Recapped by W.C.G.