This game could have gone better.
Shelby Miller channeled his inner Harry Houdini in the first two innings when he got himself into and then promptly out of some sticky jams. In the first the Rockies got runners on the corners with one out, and then loaded the bases in the second with no outs. They Barved both situations up by getting exactly zero runs. In the midst of a season full of great futility, it is quite refreshing at times to see other teams squander golden opportunities.
To reward him for his efforts, the Braves offense gifted Miller with one run in the bottom of the second. Their generosity is to be applauded. If Shelby knew how to win, that lead would have been all he needed.
That run seemed to give Shelby the spark he needed, and he got on a roll, retiring Rockie after Rockie. Then the Braves sixth inning happened. Jonny Gomes and Adonis Garcia led off the inning with back-to-back jacks to give Shelby a three-run lead. Jace Peterson followed with a ground-rule double on his way to a three-hit, two-sacrifice night. He’s been scuffling so much, that offensive production was a sight for sore eyes. The Braves couldn’t scratch across that fourth run, though, and left Jace stranded at third with the bases loaded. You can’t really blame them, though; getting three whole runs for Shelby Miller was already quite the undertaking.
The last time Shelby was the beneficiary of that kind of offense was around the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and he was overwhelmed by it all. He immediately gave up the first Rockie hit since the second inning, then gave up another, and another, and another, and another, and before the dust had settled and the Braves had the chance to grab their bats again, Shelby was out of the game and the Rockies had the lead. His winless streak now ranks #1 in Atlanta history.
Edwin Jackson put the icing on the cake with a two-run eighth, ensuring that any crazy thoughts the Braves might have entertained about coming back to win the game were promptly squashed.
The positive that came out of this series is that it took place at Turner Field, so the Braves only lost the series and did not get swept. Dare we hope for a similarly good result for this weekend’s series against the Yankees?
somewhere, somehow there is Greek tragedy here…you promise yourself you will watch, again, the heroic quest for personal victory…you do, a horrid beginning is overcome, runs on the board, the enemy sequentially dispatched…and then
this time self destruction, it was quick…so was the off switch..too much pain.
‘Rissa,thank you.
Thank you, ‘Rissa. Enjoy the off day. Alas, Friday comes too swiftly.
Shelby Miller
on our staff they say he’s the pillar
but he can’t win a game
so this all starts to sound ridiculously lame.
So, regarding Michael Bourn…. Can we just not?
That absurd Charlie Blackmon infield single sealed the coffin.
Don’t snooze on Jonathan Morales, Catcher, our 25th rounder this year, a 20 yo JUCO player. He’s had a torrid 3 games for the GCL Braves going 7-11 with 3 HR (7 on the short season). Walking a lot, not striking out much:
http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=milb&player_id=664966#/career/R/hitting/2015/ALL
Can we just end this season? Sheesh. Hit the snooze button and wake up next year.
I’m exciting about Olivera, even if he isn’t quite ready. The minor league seasons end anyway, so unless they’re going to send him to extended ST or something, he needs to be in the bigs, regardless of whether he’s ready.
I’m not watching the games right now because it just seems like this team is beat. I think this team is much better than they’re playing right now, but this team just tanked right after the trade with the Dodgers. I can’t imagine we’re missing Wood/Avilan/Johnson as tangible as that was just a nail in the coffin that the season was now completely void of significance. Very few players have much to play for right now.
No Olivera for the Yankees this weekend. Maybe next week? The anticipation builds.
@7…
Rob…snooze button till next year? not for some of us, too long, too dangerous!
When did the tank start? For me the Colorado series, awful. Then your Dodgers trade…and even the Mets deal as thin as it was on paper took two veteran characters and reasonable producers away. That’s your nail in the coffin maybe.That appalling road trip followed.
The attendance was 13,000 the other night, I wonder how much that costs them, if there are any second thoughts. Advance season ticket sales -’16 and beyond? I worked in sales, would hate that job.
The fact that Miller’s winless streak is longer than Kenshin Kawakami’s is honestly astonishing to me.
The high draft pick is all that matters. It’s possible they are holding Olivera back because they are afraid he’ll contribute too much and we’ll accidentally win a few games.
@4 At this point I don’t remember really what the question is, but I do know that Michael Bourn is not the answer.
I think his problem is… he’s forgotten how to hit.
According to Chip, Bourn is making solid contact 90% of the time. Man, a 90% LD rate is off the charts. Hope a few of those start falling. When I tune in, it has tended to be the other 10%.
@4/12/13
Michael Bourn
had we only but knowrn
his earlier stay
was not indicative of what is happening today.
@10
Kenshin Kawakami
he always takes out sushi not salami
when stuck in the minors
there were just so many awful Appalachian diners.
@10 – Agreed. When is Fredi going to learn that Miller doesn’t know how to win and take him out of the starting rotation? 🙂
Cincinnati lost a squeaker today in a game in which the only run was scored on a GIDP. They, the only other team so bad as 1-9 in its last 10 games, will be a formidable foe in this race to the bottom.
In a pennant race, one is told to look at the loss column, since wins can be made up, but losses can’t, and because wins are more common for winning teams. In a race to the bottom, it’s wins, though that can’t be gotten rid of while losses can be easily accrued.
We are 1 win behind Milwaukee, 2 wins behind cincy, 3 behind the fish and Rockies, and 4 behind upstart philly.
Just as playing your opponent in a race is the only surefire way to make up losses in a pennant race, it is the only sure way to make up wins in a race of losers. We have 6 more games each against the Phils and Fish but none against the other 3 teams standing between us and dead last.
And just as having the teams ahead of you play each other when you’re behind multiple teams in a chase, it helps to have those behind you play one another in a race to the bottom. The Reds and Brewers play each other 9 more times, and the phish and Phils play each other 6 more times.
Long story short, I think we can do it!
John, you’re on to something here. What’s our magic number?
Off the top of my head it would be the maximum number of wins the team with the fewest wins right now could accrue minus the current number of wins of the team you wish to find the magic number for.
Although to be fair, you could use the regular magic number calculation and just apply it to the teams above you when the standings rather than against the leaders applying it to the teams behind.
If we just take care of business ourselves, we won’t have to scoreboard watch. That means taking advantage of gimme sweeps to the Yankees, jays, cards, and mets x 2. After that, we need to get crucial splits against the fish and Phils (and by that I mean 2-4 or worse against either).
David Murphy and especially Carlos Torres just made a play on a richocet grounder by Francoeur that should be seen. Also to be seen is Frenchy with the two-handed shove in the back to Torres covering….
The balls are bouncing the right way for the Mets right now.
Odd Fact: The Mets are 0-13 vs. the Pirates & Cubs.
New thread.