Well, the Braves continued their assault on Offensive Ineptitude by being shut out for the 15th time
this year, this time courtesy of the Mets and Zach Wheeler. Julio Teheran threw 89 good to very good
pitches, and one stinker that Lucas Duda drove out of the park in about 4 femtoseconds in the top of
the 6th, which drove in Daniel Murphy who had doubled.
Jordan Walden and Luis Avilan combined to suck any drama out of the game by giving up three runs in
the top of the 9th, and the Mets taunted us by letting Buddy Carlyle close out the game. And of course
he retired the side in order.
Disgusting factoids gleaned from the broadcast:
In his last four starts, Teheran has been the “beneficiary” of two whole runs scored by his teammates.
In addition to the 15 shutouts, the Braves have scored 1 run twenty-four times. In the last 35 innings,
the Braves have put up a goose egg in 33 of them. And, if that didn’t make you sick enough – they
have dented the scoreboard in a mere 6 out of the last 64 innings. With the Pirates win over the
Brewers, the Braves are now 7 back with 9 to play. Let’s just go ahead and get swept and put this
season out of our misery.
How awful.
I hate this team so much.
Outside of Teheran and Wood, there isn’t a single person that shouldn’t be available. Listen to offers on one of Justin/Heyward, get rid of CJ and BJ at all cost, trade Kimbrel….this bunch sucks
This may not be the worst braves team ever, but it might be the most disliked.
I think most of the team is up for grabs this winter outside a few key elements. The number one element being Freeman. He is a solid bat in this lineup that will be needed. All it takes is looking at his splits to know he is the most steady offensive player we have.
I understand getting rid of peaces that are valuable that might not pay dividends in the long run. Take the Heyward vs. J. Upton debate. There is no way we keep both of those players long term. We choose one and shop the other. Gattis is a prime market chip to go at American league teams with. Plus, the guy cannot stay off the DL. What is his true value if he is only going to give us 110 games a year?
Another reason you hold onto Freeman is that we have him at a steal for the next 8 years. If he never improves on his numbers, he is still going for less than his production commands on today’s market. Yes, his numbers may have been down a little this year, but this was true of the MLB as a whole when it comes to offense.
Basically, you do not get rid of talent like that if you have it signed at a reasonable price long term. The same goes for Simmons and Tehran. I am willing to let go of Kimbrel because his contract term isn’t as long, and he is a closer. He is one of my favorite players, but his position is mute if we do not have the team that can actually put a lead on the board going into the 9th inning.
I am sure this debate will be an interesting one for the next 6 months.
@5 I think Freeman’s a good deal, but I don’t think he’s a better deal than if he just went to arbitration. There wasn’t much of a hometown discount.
If I had faith that Gattis could play first, I might advocate packaging Freeman and Upton.
@6
I think packaging Gattis with B.J. to an AL team would be a bigger draw than Freeman and B.J. I say this due to a recent baseball tonight episode discussing the drop in HRs and Slugging %. At the moment, there are quite a few players in the league who can put up Freeman type numbers. There are very few players that can put up Gattis type power numbers in the league at this current time.
I believe there will be several power hungry AL teams this winter who will be calling the Braves for Gattis thinking his injuries could be remedied by playing him at DH a majority of the time. I just hope we have a smart enough front office in place at the time to get the most out of the deal. In that, I hope a passable catcher comes in the deal because I do not care for Bethancourt much.
If we cannot get the value, there is no reason to make any trade. The ultimate value of any trade this winter might be based on money freed up. We might have to move a Gattis, a J. Upton, or a Heyward to unload the B.J. contract, but the money saved could position us to put an overall better team on the field next year.
Basically, you might not be able to get three everyday starters with 15 million saved, but you can probably get some good platoon partners to cover multiple positions for that kind of cash.
Fredi has to go if only for his insane reliance on Avilan. But what else can he do? Just tip his cap to Frank Wren for acquiring the all but useless Jeff Russell.
When was the last time the Braves hit a homer? Was it Gattis’s shot that game Minor won 1-0? Also when was the last time the Braves had a walkoff hit? I don’t even have a guess, but seeing images of the Twins—the Twins—jumping around after a walkoff made me wonder if even teams having a bad season can look happy every now and then, why can’t I remember the Braves ever really looking happy this year?
I’m sitting in the Ramada in walking distance from Turner Field and both Jose Peraza and Kyle Kubitza are staying here. One has to wonder that now since the Braves’ playoff run is over, will they be getting the call for the last 8-10 ballgames.
Update: they’re now getting jerseys in the lobby. Very odd scene.
Another update: just getting awards prior to the game tonight. My speculation comes to a close.
I watched the mid 80’s teams with more interest then this junk that has been on the field the last month.
I just don’t get it. If they trot this same squad out next year i can’t imagine what happens. They are capable of anything from 75 to 90 wins, it is so bizarre. Generally teams with such solid starting pitching are winners, this is just a mess.
I like this though I hate it. Chris Vivamore of the AJC says the Braves tragic number is now three.
Thank you for the recap, Seat Painter.
Two requests:
1) Can someone pick up my recap for tomorrow?
2) If you are the praying type, send some up for my wife. While she delivered a healthy beautiful baby, she had some complications. She is in ICU, she is stable, but critical.
Thanks
Smitty,
Will send some prayers up for your family.
I figured we had to be somewhere close to the record for times shut out in a season, but apparently the 1908 Cardinals were shut out over 30 times…imagine having to watch that team.
Smitty, I can’t do recap but can send out my love and prayers.
@14 I’ll cover the recap. Hope your wife recovers quickly.
Smitty, thinking of you and your wife.
@14 Smitty you’ve got my every other thought and then some. Love that child and love that woman. Good luck.
In my prayers. Hoping for a speedy recovery.
And congratulations on the little one.
Smitty, I hope our prayers bring comfort and healing.
You got it, Smitty.
All the best to you & yours, Smitty.
A lot has been made of how far below average the hitting has been.
With the news of Gattis’s current and Minor’s earlier issues, they might be just as bad at urinating.
@23 – Good point. What is the opposite of “excellence?”
God bless, Smitty. Your wife, you and your little Smith are in my prayers.
Prayers for your wife, Smitty. Take care.
For all you wanting Wren gone, Rosenthal has apparently said that Dayton Moore is still a personal favorite of Schuerholz. Let’s hope not.
Based on the two football games I watched today, I would propose that UGA can beat Troy. I’m not sure they could beat either Bama or Florida.
For Mac: Roll Tide!
All my hopes for your wife’s speedy recovery, Smitty.
Tomorrow, my teammates.
This is one of the most depressing live-sporting events I have ever attended
#27
Florida? What exactly did they do today that impressed you?
Good thing they forced some turnovers, or else they might’ve given up 700+ yards instead of 645.
They played Bama even into the third quarter, even with those big pass plays. My Bama Cooper cousin is okay though.
@coop
Yeah…no. I have no love for UGA, and I don’t know that they will beat Florida. But I do know that not only can they beat Florida, they are objectively better than them.
I think when we start thinking that a team is good for being able to score 21 points in a loss to Alabama by equally as many points, we’re probably being a bit too deferential to Alabama. It is possible that the 2014 Bama squad is not the greatest team in college football history. Shocking to contemplate, I know…
I really don’t know why I’m watching this shit right now, by the way.
All of the sudden Auburn’s win looks pretty good after all
…and regardless of the outcome of the Pirates game tonight, we could be mathematically eliminated tomorrow.
Hey, if Florida could’ve just forced another 3 turnovers…
In years past,when the Braves would hit the skids there would be a team meeting or a players only meeting called by a team leader. Has that happened this year?
I’m not buying the leadership card.
@31
Any concern that UGA will not beat Florida is rooted in Florida’s years of dominance and the folklore therein, not the current “product” Florida is putting on the field.
Florida would have had to force 10 turnovers in order to win that game. You’re right, ububba, that had they not forced those turnovers, they would have put up 700+ and probably hung 56-65 on Florida.
I don’t know what to think about them. Driskel seems to have the skills but can never put it together, receivers are talented but frequently confused downfield, and the defense did fantastic early on but got completely worn out. It was really encouraging to see 65-0 against Eastern Michigan, but they’ve laid two eggs in two weeks. I’m pretty confident that if, after an open week, Florida loses to Tennessee, Muschamp gets the Lane Kiffin airport treatment. After what we’ve seen against Kentucky and Bama, we could very well lose to Tennessee, and probably will lose to Missouri, LSU, Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida State. That’s almost 6 guaranteed losses and I don’t know if Muschamp can survive that.