If a walking Native American is paddling his canoe across the Sahara Desert and has a flat tire, then how many pancakes does it take to cover a red dog house?
Those who can solve that riddle may be able to figure out what goes on with this team.
One important take from our ditty of the day is the word “walking.” Getting walks is good. Giving walks is bad.
Julio Teheran experienced a Phil Neikro deja vu. As in “I pitched this good and we still got beat?” 7 innings, 11 K’s and 1 BB. Gave up 1 run and left with a tie.
El Oso Blanco returned to the lineup. A one day triple slash of .333 / .500 / .667. Yes, we missed you Ursa Major, Evan Gattis.
Craig Kimbrel seems to be showing the younger guys in the pen how to pitch. Kimbrel can’t throw a fastball for a strike in the 9th (but keeps runs off the board) and then Shae Simmons tries to do the same thing in the 10th.
This offense is offensive. 6 hits and 3 walks turned into 1 run. Just one more itsy bitsy run in regulation and that gets it.
In Simmons’s defense, if he had placed it on a tee it wouldn’t have been called a strike. Bobby would have been tossed last night after that umpiring show last night.
Yeah, I don’t blame Shae. I blame the “hitters.”
http://www.csnphilly.com/blog/700-level/video-cliff-lee-ends-postgame-chat-emphatic-fart
2 missed strikes in Top 10:
1. First pitch against Valdespin. Would have been 0-1, instead it was 1-0, and Shae, knowing Valdespin is bunting, grooves next pitch.
2. The walk pitch against McGehee.
That’s tough to swallow.
We wouldn’t have scored anyways. But yeah that ump was bad.
So having just seen the play and not knowing that it happened last night, I feel way too much time was spent complaining about Andrelton batting eighth and not nearly enough time spent on how ridiculous that play he made was. It’s been awhile since he’s done something truly astounding like that, but I nearly spat out my cereal this morning when I saw it.
Yeah, that was a circus play. Just awesome.
http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/51231442/v34686181/
Yeah, totally agree with Nick, Braves Journalers. All this whining about his batting order when he makes an amazing play. I turned on SportsCenter this morning, saw that play, and was immediately mad at you guys.
Ya, definitely had to re-wind and watch that play again. Frickin Andrelton, man. What a play. Best thing is, he would’ve probably turned the DP, too, if he’d been able to get the ball out of his glove cleanly. What a player.
He’s Andruw on the infield.
Headley going to the Yanks for next to nothing. My oh my how times have changed.
Bowman saying the braves could be quiet through the deadline really doesn’t inspire good thoughts.
The shame of it is that Yangervis Solarte could actually be a useful piece for the Braves. He’s played second, third, and short, and he’s probably a better hitter than Ramiro Pena. I wonder if we could turn around and get him from the Padres.
Could be, yes, and he’s probably slated to be a career utility man. He’s a 27-year-old rookie.
He’s a better hitter than Pena. (He has his shaky moments in the field, though, esp. at 3B.) Though he’s on a 4-for-51 skid, Solarte got off to a blazing start that truly carried the team in April/May.
The thing I don’t get about the trade for the Padres is that they really don’t need a utility man. They can barely field a team. They need starters. We need a guy like that far more than they do.
The way the Braves have been operating lately, Bowman saying we’ll be quiet through the trade deadline probably means that we will make a blockbuster deal. Look at the information going out about Uggla and how we wouldn’t cut him this year and then he gets cut the next day.
Alex @ 15,
But the FO can say “we got something for Chase Headley.”
Wasn’t that long ago that a lot of people here and on other Braves sites were very willing to give up a stud prospect or two for Chase Headley.
Headley has been banged up pretty bad all year. I am just glad he is gone before we play them this weekend.
Darwin Barney anyone? Might be better than Pastornicky. Would be a great late inning replacement.
I guess Chip tripped over the Gattis injury description too last night. The afternoon guys on 680 were getting on he and Powell a good bit about it today.
Headed to Yankees/Rangers game, where McCann’s starting at 1B tonight.
Tex continues to break down.
Barney can pick it, but he can’t hit his way out of a wet paper bag. I’d rather get a pinch hitter than a defensive caddy, though there’s no doubt that I’d rather have him than Pastornicky.
We definitely don’t need a defensive specialist who can’t even play shortstop. If you don’t hit, at least as a platoon player, you need to play SS, CF or C.
I wouldn’t even carry a defense-first CF, with Jason Heyward capable of playing the position. If Heyward and Bupton get hurt at the same time, someone gets DL’d and grab Cunningham.
Benches just aren’t as deep as they used to be, with bullpens growing. Forget utility infielders. Give me one back up shortstop, and a 1B-3B guy who can hit at least one hand of pitching. Give me a corner OF who hits the other, and maybe a guy who can fake CF (Reed Johnson when he was good).
This bench was just abysmally designed from the outset. You had Pena who never hit in his life but we somehow thought that was all an aberration, and last year was the real deal. Then Ryan Doumit to be the Eric Hinske type slugger off the bench, but he’s never in his career been a pinch hitter, he’s always been a 500 PA’s a year guy. And then… what? More defenders? Pastornicky and Schafer?
How incredibly poorly considered. I don’t jump up and down on Frank Wren often, I think he’s done a whole lot with very little, and while I blame him for the length of Uggla’s contract, I don’t blame him for Uggla or Upton’s performance…. But man. It’s like he forgot this was real baseball and not Sega Genesis RBI Baseball 95.
Maybe we’ll replace bench playerA that can’t hit with bench playerB that can’t hit, and everyone will be glad because we’re making moves and doing stuff…but in the end it just doesn’t matter much.
I don’t quite understand why we never gave Mejia a shot at the Hinske role of power bat off the bench. That’s the one thing I think might possibly help. We could upgrade Doumit’s position for sure.
Our bench could be marginally improved from within just by promoting Gosselin and Cunningham in late August and putting them on the playoff roster. Is it likely to help much? I don’t think so.
Sure hope the guys have eight runs in them. Going to need them with Mikey doing his thing.
Minor is already in trouble.
Jeez,Louise.
Well, that inning could have been much worse than it was.
Ok, time for the Bear to do his thing…
edit: lame…
Next time, Evan.
I think Simpson got an erection when Caray started talking about what an amazing bunter La Stella is, and that now in the two-hole he may get a chance to showcase it in the majors.
Hit them all to Andrelton, Marlins, please.
Get Minor on the DL. Anything to get him out of this rotation.
That boy’s strong.
Maybe Mike needs a little time off from the rotation. I seem to remember us being in the market for a lefty in the pen.
Minor continuing to impress…
At the game – Minor looks even worse in person I assure you
Good lord…Minor to the minors, PLEASE!
And because tonight is going so well Tommy kneecaps himself
Minor for Uggla. Get it done, Wren.
For crying out loud, get Minor off the mound.
Give me a break, Mikey: the pitcher??!
So, we might be quiet at the break according to what I’ve heard, but we have got to get Minor out of the Rotation. I think it may be time to send Hale down to get stretched out.
Seriously, what in the world happened to Minor?
The horse has already been stolen, I fear.
I fled to the smoking deck before he threw a pitch, thank god
I think Minor went to the Dr. Nick Riviera of urologists. The damn quack broke our pitcher.
Meanwhile, yet another scrub pitcher is getting into a groove at our expense. And the Nats are facing a starting pitcher who’s allowing a .350 average — and facing him at Coors Field.
If the Braves are as bad offensively as they’ve looked so far in this series, God help us, we’re done. If Bowman’s report is true and we pass the trade deadline with this same 25 man roster, somebody needs to explain to the fans why we’re waiving the white flag.
When we’re bad…we’re really really bad.
Stellar!
Now would be a good time to do something against these guys, Freddie.
What is the deal with Freeman and the Marlins this year? He just missed two strait up fast balls right down the middle of the plate.
Freddie’s lost the bubble.
Vanderbilt Tommy Hanson
Well done, Jason.
That’s how you pounce on a bad pitch! Well done, JHey.
Evan, that would have been a good time to…not do that.
Steve Cishek yet again. He’s like a video game boss that you can’t beat. Maybe this time…?
No bunts…
Way to close Schafer. Way to close.
Hit and Run!!!
Thanks, Fredi. Love it when you give away outs.
I’m not sure it is the smartest thing in the world to steal there after they guy has thrown over your way a couple times and made you conscious of it. Horrible jump there.
What a crappy bunch
Go away, Schafer.
Freddy is the worst late inning MGR in baseball … you gotta bunt him over … thats a bunch of crap .. you knew Shaeffer wasnt getting a good jump since he almost got picked off … Freddie stinks …
We don’t have a single hitter in the minors that can provide more than Doumit off the bench? Keep Bethancourt up and let Laird PH
If there’s any consolation, we weren’t getting the runner around against Cishek, anyway.
Yeah even if the stolen base works you’ve got Andrelton, Doumit, then BJ. That’s not happenin’.
@32
“Erection” and “two hole” don’t belong in the same sentence.
Do y’all remember back in April when we had the best starting rotation in baseball? It sure does suck that we can’t have those same 5 guys in the rotation again. Oh wait, we can.
Tehran, Wood, Harang, Santana, Hale
Well, isn’t that interesting.
And no, I do not expect them to have the same numbers that they had back then, but it sure does look better without Minor’s name in that group.
@71, Someone’s not familiar with Bree Olson’s body of work.
Fredi Gonzalez is managing the team he’s given. Not sure what you want him to do. Prior to being picked off, Schafer was 15/16 in SB. He can’t help that his bench is utterly useless.
Time to make some moves, and dammit if you can’t trade for a player, bring someone up.
We’re 100 games in and the Braves have got to be debating benching BJ. He’s now back to negative WAR on the year and the Braves cannot continue to have 2 black holes in the lineup.
Smitty’s Barber waxed my wife’s upper lip today and sprinkled this bit of sunshine in her ear:
Cubs get- Cody Martin, Tyler Pastornicky, and Juan Jaime
Braves get- Wesley Wright, Chris Coghlan, and Emilio Bonifacio
Despite the 9-game winning streak, the Braves are 2 below .500 for the last 76 games. Just not a very good team. Realistically, I don’t know what moves would make much difference.
Greatest Headline Ever
Cowboy Monkey Rodeo taking the Minors by storm
We pitch when we can’t hit and we hit when we can’t pitch. Interesting combo.
I’m thinking it’s now a good thing Minor wasn’t extended this last off-season.
@80 I was thinking the same thing. Talk about regression….
Freddie’s eyes…
they have to be, again, at the core of this fatuity…it’s awful to watch and he’s miserable…
swinging through fastballs is one thing…when he does make contact there’s no power presumably because his timing is so off…
and how about that ‘Andrelton’ error last night on the short throw? It was short enough to arrive at a catchable height which the old FF would nonchalant…
we need to find out what’s up with Freeman…one 35 game(day?) suck already, the second looks well under way…there’s so much flakiness around him in the order, he is our rock.
I wonder if guys like Schaffer and Doumit would benefit from some more ABs.
Letting Schafer patrol CF and leadoff a few games wouldn’t kill us.
Schafer has 1000+ ABs and has a career .613 OPS. I don’t think more ABs are gonna help.
@85
BJ has 400+ PA this year and has a .614 OPS. I still don’t think it would kill us to see what Jordan can do. It’s likely nothing.
There just aren’t any impactful in-house options to explore. Our best chance at improvement is for two or three out of the group of Freddie, JUpton, Heyward, and Gattis to run hot at any given time from now through the rest of the season (and stay healthy in the process).
Remember when the Braves were in on the bidding for Jorge Soler but was outbid by the Cubs who offered a 9/30 million dollar contract? He was just promoted to AAA after collecting an OPS of 1.355 at AA in his 3rd year of the contract. Having 6 more years of control for this guys during his age 23-28 seasons for an AAV of less than 4 million? Wow! That would have been nice.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=soler-000jor
Didn’t Minor have some shoulder issues before the season? Hiding an injury maybe?
Francoeur got called up by the Padres, who we play this weekend.
@89
No, he had goober issues.
Nothing points to health issues. His velo is essentially the same it’s been since 2012.
Minor, the untold truth…
priapically challenged was he
his slider a sore sight to see
swung right and swung left
with maximum heft
his balls were so easy to tee.
90 – Guaranteed he gets a key hit off us, last year we lost to the Royals 1-0 on an RBI single by Frenchy.
Interesting bit on maximizing Braves lineup:
http://tomahawktake.com/2014/07/22/optimizing-atlanta-braves-lineup/
Velocity is often a health red flag, but it isn’t the only one. If he’s not able to hit his spots, it makes sense to ask whether an injury is hindering him. Clearly, his command is not right, and has not been right all year. It may be mental, but it isn’t necessarily impossible that it’s physical.
@94
Thanks for the plug, Coop!
@95
He’s throwing strikes, they’re just catching the plate…a lot of the plate…all the plate. He’s seemingly lost the corners. When I saw him in Pensacola it was essentially the same problem. With no over-powering pitches, his location is vital. If it’s any consolation, Glavine had a down year his 4th full year in the majors and rebounded for a pretty decent career.
@83 – Just try it for a series. Doumit, Heyward, Upton.
I know that Doumit has sucked this year. But he has seen very limited play. His greater body of work suggests at least league average. Oh well, Fredi seems to agree with everyone here. Moot point.
As for Minor, I am guessing a sprained urinary tract could affect a lot of things.
Minor had shoulder soreness in ST when he was trying to rehab too quickly from his procedure. He says he is fine now.
Don’t miss the KO take on Cliff Lee’s press conference last night…
as old as the hills and a lot funnier.
@99 Are you on Keith Olbermann’s payroll?
Recapped, extremely belatedly.