Just when we all begin to expect a Barve performance (runners on second and third in the 3rd, one out, and no runs end up scoring…we’d all seen THAT one before), the Braves show up and remind us that even bad teams win once a week and mediocre teams actually win more than that. You have to go back to the Braves winless west coast trip at the beginning of August to find a week in which the Braves did not win at least three games, so if I were the Rangers, I would be very worried about the matchup this weekend. (Actually, if I were the Rangers, I’d be plenty worried about much more than that, but this isn’t a Rangers blog and so I won’t get into the problems that come with a 100-loss team.)
This game encapsulates why I cannot take the Nationals seriously. Aaron Harang now has a better record than Stephen Strasburg (I know, I know, wins and loses don’t really tell you anything at all, but as long as they are still counted and the Braves trash heap find looks better than the Nationals “ace”, I am going to point it out.) Strasburg gave up a home run to B.J. Upton—no, wait, I only watched the first three innings of this game, that can’t be right—it is right, unless my eyes are deceiving me. This is why Stephen Strasburg cannot have nice things, like wins against the Braves.
Aaron Harang rediscovered his pixie dust and allowed one unearned run over seven innings, despite the fact that the Braves did not have an error. A passed ball by the Braves Defensive Catcher TM provided that little oddity and allowed the Nationals to tie the game after B.J.’s homer. The Braves, however, decided that today was as good of a day as any to have their weekly burst of runs, and they came right back with two runs in the 6th; a Freddie Freeman double and Justin Upton single provided the first, and after Upton was caught stealing and Regression Chris Johnsoned, Tommy La Stella doubled and Christian Bethancourt singled for the second.
Since three runs are not enough offense for a true 2014 Offensive Burst, Aaron Harang led off the following inning with a single (maybe he can play centerfield and lead off every day?), a Jason Heyward single and Phil Gosselin walk loaded the bases for Freddie, who was robbed of an extra base hit and had to settle for a sacrifice fly. The Younger Upton came up big for the second straight inning with a two-run double.
The Nationals tacked on a meaningless run in the bottom of the 9th when some guy homered off of Craig Kimbrel, who was getting some work in and always seems to give up a run or two when he’s in the game in a non-save situation. That was, apparently, the first time that Kimbrel’s curve ball has been homered off of in his career. He’s pretty special.
That was all the Nationals got and the Braves managed to leave D.C. without getting swept. Well done Big Handsome; way to make the Gnats look gnatty. The Pirates won today, and the Brewers are currently winning, so the race for the second Wild Card spot remains as tight as ever.
Natspo(s) delenda est, semper et ad infinitum.
So the one time I choose not to watch the game on MLBTV the Braves do well. Is it me? BJ should wear sun glasses every game if it helps him hit HRs.
It’s not you. Timo’s on a business trip somewhere.
Again ‘Rissa recaps, Braves win. Go ‘Rissa!
Per Buster O, Pete Rose averaged 194 hits per season over 24 seasons. I wonder if he’d repent his evil ways and bat leadoff for the Braves next year.
‘Rissa
Your recaps have been the highlight of this season.
Go Braves!
Can you imagine how many HRs Gattis could hit if he were in the Rangers Ballpark 80 games a year?
@6
http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/mlb/prospects/watch/y2014/index.jsp?c_id=tex#list=prospects
Fredi managed his 632nd game for the Braves last night. That moves him past Charlie Grimm into 9th on the franchise’s (BOS-MIL-ATL) games managed list.
For what it’s worth?
Pete Rose could out hit BJ right now.
@7
I wonder what they want for Gallow
BJ has surpassed Andrelton and isn’t our worst hitter any more. Never thought I’d be saying that before the season started.
@10
Can’t tell if your typo was intentional, but it made me laugh.
Simmons seems like a nice kid. I’ve watched him being interviewed. I get the feeling though that he is as thick as the Earth’s crust.
From an article in NY Times about Paul Konerko
‘One reason Konerko stayed, he said, was his strong relationship with the hitting coaches Greg Walker and Mike Gellinger, who indulged Konerko’s wish to learn everything he possibly could about his swing. Walker, who now coaches for Atlanta, once said he spent more time breaking down mechanics with Konerko than he did with all his other hitters combined.’
From AJC
“With a young player like that, he could get something in the next two weeks and carry it the rest of his career,” said Braves hitting coach Greg Walker, who has been on Simmons since April to try to be a more controlled hitter and not swing so hard all the time. “Has he made a big step forward this year? No. The big thing for me mentally is that he’s allowed himself to get frustrated this year more than he should have.”
It ain’t the coaches. Its the players.
It’s really hard. Usually, for an athlete, being stubborn and believing in yourself is a virtue. When a lot of teams wanted to draft him as a pitcher and profiled him as a big-league reliever, he was bullheaded and wanted to play shortstop. Good thing, too, since he’s the best defensive shortstop in the majors. Unfortunately, the same reluctance to hear what other people thought about him is hurting his offensive game.
New thread.