(hi to all, i’m blazon and Alex has asked me to do Friday game recaps which is fine by me…i joined this blog just a few months before Mac died but it was time enough to see he had created something special and i wanted to hang around…i’m an expat Brit living the retired life in Appalachia on the tail end of a rural DSL line that ekes out a mighty 2MB, just enough to catch my beloved Braves each night….saw my first ever game of baseball at the old Comiskey Park in ’74 – had no idea of the rules and was puzzled why the home crowd was warmly applauding the opposing pitcher – Nolan Ryan’s no-hitter was broken up by Dick Allen’s infield hit in the 9th…living then in Florida Atlanta was the nearest baseball, that and TBS hooked me quick…)
i am of a generation in Britain, where Latin and Greek were on the syllabus from age 11 up, like it or not…to get into University, whatever your chosen field, Latin was mandatory….why tell you this? because this adds up to a lot of words, in three languages, where ours at its roots is based on theirs…you can fall in love with words, later on i did…thus the poets and the fine writers and in the last few years attempts to write limericks and parodies…baseball is a wonderful subject for the poet…high drama/pathos/anguish/delight all stretched out over three long hours at its own languid pace which, suddenly, can burst into action so fast and disparate you can’t follow all of it…so i enjoy writing rhyming stuff about baseball in general, the Bravos in particular, and Andrelton and Gattis all the time; to me Gattis is pure classical hero fresh back from the ampitheater, blood still dripping from his bat, and Andrelton an innocent naif out of Avatar – they both look their parts…i love them both…
while we wait for the first pitch…a word from Keats who few know was the first poet to empathize with the ails of the slumping slugger, an alliteration he particularly enjoyed…he would find rich pickings among our mighty men…
LA GRANDE SLAM? MERCY!
O what can ail thee brave Jay Up
alone and palely loitering
the tar is withered from thy bat
and no balls sing.
i see a frown upon his brow
the videos, the BP too
he tries to check, the umpires rule
thou goest, true.
Jay Up then showed his home run trot
such memories, he sighed full sore
and then he shut his wild, wild eyes
so strike outs, four.
so this is why he sojourns here
unhappily, two fifty two
go out with Fredi, reassess
and bunt a few.
******
to the game then…home cooking and it better be good, we’ve had enough of the other lately… looking forward to the renewal of the Georgia youth rivalry – in this series last year we only took one and when Buster made an out it was usually a smacked line drive at the right fielder, he seems to be a level above Jason at the plate and has two rings and an MVP to prove it…but who knows…he’s 2 years older and his defensive contribution is not on par…btw, it’s quite likely you know more about baseball than i do, in some cases a lot more – don’t let that bother you, it doesn’t me…)-
| 1st |  | Giants hitters come in hot , waste no time proving it…Medlen poor control at big counts, lucky it’s just one…1/0 |
|  |  | same old same old offence…2 strike outs, one looking, guess who…(count the times Posey swings and misses)… |
| 2nd |  | Jason falls, Medlen struggles on, Blanco again…2/0 Giants |
|  |  | 1,2,3…so obediently do we go down…4 strikeouts says Chip- well, well… |
| 3rd |  | Posey line drive then possible double play ends badly…good joke from Joe on Skip(Belt)..Medlen 2 K’s.. 3/0 |
|  |  | now we’re being told Baumgarden is God, maybe he is…this is an old song we’re singing…Medlen good AB |
| 4th |  | 1,2,3 – wow…this is SD deja vu for the pitchers…throw away a few runs early on, then some improvement…yuk |
|  |  | Jason losing s/o contest with Buster.. belter grab by Belt…still being no hit… |
| 5th |  | Posey double, ho hum..Medlen awful on 0/2 counts-the adjective is merited, earned… 4/0 Giants |
|  |  | Base Runner!! Steal!! can’t stand called strike 3 with RISP – Dan must lead the league….umpire flaky? swing! |
| 6th |  | 1,2,3…maybe his last…could watch Andrelton’s routine throws all night…of such things is beauty made… |
|  |  | was his last..CJ pinch hits…bloop! no hitter gone…DP…Andrlt seems to have no BABIP luck, needs to go to right |
| 7th |  | will be good to see Alex W…3rd double, RBI, for Posey…believe me now?! Alex, 2k’s, 3 walks,baulk,2R 6/0 |
|  |  | Joe’s Baumgarden rocking chair analogy spot on, so smooth…10 K’s…100pitches..FF’s AB’s our best, a fighter… |
| 8th |  | Vavaro pitching…nice DP…poor old Alex – specs problem?? |
|  |  | BJ, 2 bobbles, still thrown out – trying ?? 1,2,3… talk to me baby, get my mind off this… |
| 9th |  | Carpenter pitching… Posey with a Posey out…for me we have no hitter in his class…am i wrong? |
|  |  | We reach the warning track-success! first time tonight? Jason, great hustle, but DP…Ball Game, 6/0 Giants. |
games like these, to watch, sheer punishment…someone has suggested an alternative…
a sabermetrician we know
suggests we don’t bother to go
he could tell in advance
that we don’t have a chance
the hell with the ebb and the flow.
cheers and thanks for your patience. Better luck tomorrow. Some ebb and flow please!
blazon, you surely did Mac proud. Wonderful job!
So… I think we can all just ignore that game.
Bring back PRADO! Find a dumpster for UGGLA! In all seriousness, it’d be nice to see the Braves address 3b or 2b at the trade deadline to acquire a speedy, high OBP leadoff type hitter as there is no one on this team that matches that profile.
Is there an Uggla for Prado deal that could possibly work? Surely we can work up a highlight reel of Uggla chasing a foul ball and falling dangerously into the dugout? That’ll get their attention, I’d think.
BTW: Great recap blazon, and I didn’t have time to mention yesterday, Hotspur. Actually, to call them “recaps” is to do them a slight disservice. This is top shelf reading material and consistent with why I have long bookmarked Braves Journal.
Who would we have to kill to acquire Zobrist?
@4 I suggested that a few weeks ago. I don’t think it’d take a highlight reel as Prado hasn’t played well in a Dbacks uni. It’s most definitely worth discussing, and I’d love to see Prado take back the leadoff role.
@5, acquiring Zobrist might literally cost more than we have in our minor leagues. I mean, they traded James Shields for Wil Myers, who was a better prospect at the time than anyone we have by a significant margin.
@6
I agree. From what I understand, Zobrist is 2nd in that clubhouse behind Longoria. So…back to Prado for Uggla…or Prado and Matt Reynolds for Maholm and Uggla.
How ’bout an Uggla for Dee Gordon swap? Obviously risky but he’s getting on base at a 38% clip at AAA and could form a ridiculous 2b/SS DP combination with Simmons.
The ol’ “trade my old, least valuable and highly paid player for something useful” gambit is really hard to pull off at the MLB level.
I don’t think having a speedy lead-off hitter matters. And Uggla is the least of my worries. We need good hitters period. Right now we have very few of them, and one of them doesn’t play much.
Since May 1
Justin Upton: .218/.329/.324 and striking out in nearly 1/3 of his PA.
BJ Upton: .173/.289/.279 and striking out in over 1/3 of his PA.
This has to be fixed. BJ Upton is looking like the worst FA contract in the history of ever.
I stumbled on this Father’s Day-related YouTube video of classic Braves action and thought I’d share. Father’s Day game, 1987, and Tracy Jones of the Reds was intent on proving he was baseball’s #1 hothead by jumping Jim Acker. (Of course, Acker very aggressively walked towards the plate, so he’s not entirely innocent.)
I think Ozzie Virgil’s takedown of Jones is arguably the highlight of his Braves career:
For you guys old enough to remember, did we sign Jim Wynn as a free agent, or get him in a trade?
@7, Dee Gordon certainly needs a change of scenery, but I just don’t believe in him. He has almost no power at all, and (likely as a result) hasn’t been able to draw walks in the major leagues. I wouldn’t mind taking a flier on him, stashing him in Triple-A, teaching him a bunch of positions and letting him try to be Pastornicky 2.0, but I don’t think he’ll ever be a major league regular. He’s been so bad that the Dodgers have had everybody injured this year and they still can’t work him into their lineup.
@11, ask Mr. Baseball Reference:
“November 17, 1975: Traded by the Los Angeles Dodgers with Lee Lacy, Tom Paciorek and Jerry Royster to the Atlanta Braves for Dusty Baker and Ed Goodson.”
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wynnji01.shtml
Baseball-reference has complete transaction history for just about every major leaguer ever. Yet another reason that I think it may be the best site on the web.
I would like to have Prado back, but I’m not sure that Arizona is ready to trade him away. He was primarily the reason why we got Justin Upton. Are the fans already on him?
Sad thing is we want to address the infield spots, but we are stuck with this OF group.
Spike, none of my trade scenarios are that unrealistic, especially in terms of WAR, value, and salary. The Dee Gordon idea was, more or less, in line with what Alex stated. They haven’t given him a shot this year even though half their team has been on the DL and their 2nd base production has been less than stellar. Obviously, if the Braves were to trade Uggla, theyd have to eat a large part of his salary, of which they could easily afford to do. Prado has had negative value this year and is owed 33 million through 2016, while Uggla is owed 26 through 2015. The swap is not far-fetched.
Zobrist is a pipe dream, and I have no real expectations of seeing the Braves make that happen.
The Braves have the flexibility to eat salary and take on salary this trade deadline and that should keep players like Uggla and Maholm on the market for desperate teams.
Question please from a rookie…
are a ‘cut fastball’ and a ‘cutter’ one and the same thing?
to put it another way does Mariano Rivera throw nothing but a cut fastball all the time, albeit a very precisely located one?
Joey is killing it in AAA. Is he worse than Chris Johnson at third?
@15 Yes, it’s two ways of describing the same pitch. And yes, it’s basically all that Mariano throws.
Chris is hitting .317/.354/.455 overall. I don’t really think he’s our biggest problem.
@17, thank you much..
@16
Bethany, they must have heard you- special sessions have been laid on to address his greatness weakness…
dear CJ balls you need not shag
position up beside the bag
consult a coach or two
exactly what to do
when asked to please APPLY THE TAG!!
@16
He couldn’t field 3B last season, and this season he is dividing time b/w 1B and LF. He made three errors last night in the outfield, one of them a fly ball that he just… missed.
In sum, he’s a terrible fielder at positions easier than 3B.
2013 Martin Prado
-0.5 OWAR
-0.1 DWAR
@18 I just think he’s a pumpkin. I am aware he’s far from the biggest problem on the team.
Fine introduction, blazon. The offense has ebbed quite enough. Now it’s time to flow.
Batting BUpton sixth and Uggla anywhere, however, is less of an ebb and more like an intestinal blockage.
#20 – if only everyone could be a DH
I just want to go on and make my daily complaint about having Simmons bat leadoff.
Braves really need to address where Simmons is in the batting order.
DOB alluding that Alex Wood could get the spot start on Tuesday.
Nice to not be trailing after the first inning for a change.
Simmons has the third-highest BA in the lineup. Yes, his OBP is awful (.286), but would you really want to see McCann or Heyward or Uggla there instead? There’s really nothing remotely resembling a leadoff hitter on this team.
@29 OBP is the most important stat for a leadoff guy. Jason should be leading off.
Chris Johnson, by month:
April .915 OPS, 156 wRC+, .460 BABIP
May .730 OPS, 104 wRC+, .389 BABIP
June .661 OPS, 80 wRC+, .280 BABIP
Funny how that works.
Simmons has the third-highest BA in the lineup. Yes, his OBP is awful (.286), but would you really want to see McCann or Heyward or Uggla there instead?
Uh, yes? Of course? Heyward is actually the kind of guy who is becoming more “conventional” in the leadoff role. I’d like to see him get some time there, in the way Alex Gordon and Shin-Soo Choo do.
@29, I looked up the box score to the game I linked to up thread. Andres Thomas had roughly the same offensive numbers on Father’s Day 1987 as Andrelton.
Andrelton’s defense is leagues better, natch.
@14, they are unrealistic in that nobody wants Dan Uggla very much. I can think of very few less tradeable players, given his age, salary, and career arc. A player that is bad and likely going to get worse just isn’t an attractive option for most teams, no matter what you do. Why on earth would Arizona want to give up on Prado, who’s been better a lot more recently than Uggla? Why would LA want a one-dimensional slugger in a stadium that is death that kind of player? In the words of my good pal Woody Allen “The food here is awful – and such small portions!”
Good to see Gattis on the bench again today.
Holy crap BJ!
BJ!!!!
INTESTINAL BLOCKAGE!
Blind hog found one.
BJ got all of that one. That was pretty.
Chris Johnson just taught us that if you slide into first, you beat the throw by a mile.
BJ Upton has been hitting really well the past couple weeks, for whatever it’s worth.
.905 OPS in June for B.J. Progress.
Meanwhile, Pettibone and the Phils have been rocked for five runs in the first, because Coors Field.
Notice how the home plate ump is standing behind the right-handed box. Minor isn’t going to get that outside corner to righties.
I hate umpires.
Oh well.
Andres Torres’ OBP entering this game was .302. So we don’t have the only misfit leadoff hitter out there.
Sadly, Torres chose now to get on base.
And Chris’s D strikes again.
Nice job getting the glove down, Dorn.
Ugh. And he was positioned perfectly, too.
Jeez.
Pena and Gattis riding the pine, and here we go again.
How is that a double? It went right under his glove.
With a runner on and two outs, these guys are Ted Williams. Go die, you lucky assholes.
I reiterate: go die. Particularly you, Hunter goddamn Pence.
I hate the Giants. I legitimately hate the Giants.
Chris Johnson has roughly the range of a telephone pole. He doesn’t hit well enough to play 3B like that. We’ve got some “flaws”. Would be nice to cover a few up with some big streaks by the OF though.
Hey do y’all remember when we had that guy Gattis on the team? I liked him.
You’ve got to be kidding me.
I hate the Giants; I hate fate and luck; I hate umpires.
@54, Gattis was pretty great. A phenomenon. People would put cash on the barrelhead at the ballpark to see him.
Ballgame
Nice work, Johnson. Asshole.
Gattis probably should have started last night, but we all know how that game went. This guy is a righty and really tough on righties (except for BJ, apparently) so Gattis is never going to start a game like this.
@60
And yet in spite of that knowledge re: RHBs, Pena sits. Think where we would be right now if he was at third today.
This unpire’s zone blows. Just putting that out there.
@61 I agree, Chris and Pena should probably be in a platoon with now. Pena is also in serious pumpkin territory offensively but he’s definitely a better defender than Chris.
Jason allllmost got that one out.
What world are we living in where good baseball players hit .200 and Chad Gaudin is a successful starting pitcher? Bleck…
3 straight balls hit hard. C’mon babip, don’t fail us now!
GAAAAAH how did Pence get to that.
This just isn’t our week.
Gotta hand it to them, they’ve been scorching the ball.
F U BABIP!
And of course, our line drives with 2 outs and RISP are right at people. You can’t really win a ball game when every break goes against you.
I’m just sitting here, slack jawed. He crushed that and it wouldn’t go.
Come on! Dammit!
I’ve now written this off as one of the 54 you assuredly lose.
Damn you and you’re over- exited warning track fly ball calls, chip.
I would love for just one—ONE—break to go our way today.
CJ scores BJ! Nice!
There’s a squared up ball that landed!
75- Does that count?
@78 I might get greedy and ask for two.
Thank you bochey you giant-headed man. I’d have walked him there.
Joe is such an idiot.
Maybe we can vote Evan Gattis into the starting lineup.
I miss the days where Simmons never made errors.
I want to cry. I can’t believe this game.
A wall climb where none was necessary. How embarrassing.
I miss the days when Buster Posey was out.
Play better braves!
BJ is not Andruw Jones. He may not be Success!
What the hell was that BJ?!?! That almost hit you in the head!!! Ugh.
Jason didn’t get a lot on that throw.
We’re only down 3 in the 5th. A 3-run Reed Johnson pinch-homer can make that up right quick!
Well…that defensive inning was reminiscent of bar vomit.
Braves kinda created their own bad luck in that inning.
Andrelton turns a 3-0 count into an out.
Got a break on that one.
Gift for Jason right there.
How many ball 4’s did he swing at this time?
Yup, don’t need replay at all. Not one bit.
@97 He looked at 2 strikes and flew out on another. In his defense, he was trying to take the walk.
I’m done.
Sweet crap, Andrelton, STOP.
His game his become very consistent of late.
We ain’t scoring 6 so none of this shit matters.
As it so often does, Scout assures us that “Minor… has plenty left in the tank.” I’m sure there are plenty more runs in there, but I don’t want to see them today.
Wish I lived in the ATL so I could go boo some guys. Pretenders.
I’ve gotta rag on BJ more often!
June BJ is awesome!!!
Two acorns.
Wow, hell of a swing there.
Boooooooo
Okay, who is this BJ, and what has he done with the one we’ve had?
.256/.396/.590 for B.J. this month. Take it, we will.
Success!
I hate you today, Andrelton.
Simmons is the AntiSuccess, today. Woof.
Simmons, today’s LVP.
The old “put it in play and see what happens” idea bit us bad there.
Now we can’t even turn a DP. This defense is something.
They’re making all the plays. The Braves aren’t. That’s pretty much why the Braves are losing today.
If the Braves lose again today without Gattis getting a chance to pinch hit, I am going to be very, very angry.
Fredi knows that Gattis can hit lefties right?
Lopez came in to get two lefties out and he did. You have to tip your cap to him.
The Braves are going to lose again, aren’t they?
@123 The good news is that at the end of every losing streak is a win. The bad news is I’m not getting the feeling that any streaks will end today. Here’s hoping a Gattis pinch hit homer will prove me wrong.
Blanco is going to score.
Whew.
McCann remembers how this defense stuff works!
Great throw by McCann but he was safe.
And thank goodness he got thrown out!
I’m getting the breaks I asked for. We just haven’t been able to take advantage of them like I’d hoped.
COME ON KIMBREL
Lord have mercy that strike 2 was way inside. But I’ll take it!
I’ll take that swing and miss, too! Okay!
Seems easy: get Johnson on, have Gattis hit a walk-off 2-run homer. Done.
Edit: or Pena.
Pena pinch-hitting for Johnson. Curious.
Would be a good time for a bloop and a blast. Let’s do this!
@133
Lefty vs. righty. Of course, that didn’t matter to Fredi when he was filling out the starting lineup, which helped lead to a 3-1 deficit thanks to the matador act at third. It’s the inconsistency as much as anything that maddens me about Fredi’s choices sometimes.
Dammit.
I donot like he let’s-give-our-most-dangerous-hitter-one-at-bat-every-two-days plan.
@135
Which brings us back to the original point: curious. Johnson is a better hitter in a vacuum, so if you lived with his defense thus far, you might as well let him hit in the 9th.
@135, True, but you have the pitcher and Andrelton coming up. I’d rather see Johnson lead off and pinch hit for Andrelton with Pena (or Gattis). CJ was 1 for 2 against Romo, FWIW.
Come on Gattis!!!
That’s why you don’t save Evan till the end of the game. All they have to do is walk him.
I’d feel much better about Oso’s walk if we didn’t have Simmons right behind him.
It only seems appropriate for Simmons to hit into a game-ending DP, right?
Do something Productive simmons
I wish Fredi had pinch hit for Simmons, not Johnson. Please, Andrelton, not another DP here…
Andrelton is Frenchy with better defense.
OMG LUCK
@141, That’s why if you’re going to pinch hit for two batters amongst Johnson, Kimbrel and Andrelton, you pinch hit for Kimbrel and Andrelton.
But what do I know, Andrelton is really good at hitting into errors. Go Braves!!!
Did Chris Johnson just change uniforms?
Come on, Jason! Let’s do this thing!!!
Breaks have abounded tonight. We’ve had our chances. Let’s take advantage of it this time, okay guys?
YESSSSS!!!!!!!
Well this is getting interesting.
Argh!!! SO CLOSE!!!
Sacrifice fly, Justin. That’s all we ask.
Please remember: JUpton sucks lately. Pray he gets hit.
Nah, I want a homer.
Justin, PLEASE don’t take a called third strike here. And no DP, either, while you’re at it please.
Please don’t do anything stupid Justin… 3-1….
Wow. That Ball 3 looked right down the middle to me.
Strike 2 certainly was!
SWEET!!!!!
YES!!!!!!
Justin takes a ball 4 that’s actually called a ball!
Walk’s as good as an HBP.
Wow, that was CLOSE!
LOL.
Hey Beardy McMoron, if you throw a backdoor breaking ball and the catcher catches it behind the plate a couple inches inside, it was inside when it crossed.
An RBI is an RBI. Well-seen, JUp.
Come on Freddie. Do your thing!
FREDDIE!!!!
WE WIN!!!!!!
FREDDIE YES!!!!!!!!!!!!
That’s how you snap out of a team-wide funk.
Freddie!!!!!!
Freemania!
WHOOOOO!!!
Freeman is just money.
A good win to break that streak of mediocrity.
What a game!
I have rarely seen a game that the opponent so deserved to lose. Glad that mediocre contact and extreme good luck won’t be rewarded today.
You think there is any chance that Chipper would’ve taken that 3-1 pitch that Justin took?
Recapped.