The Braves are on quite the roll! Today’s game marked the fourth time in their last five series they have been swept, and during that stretch they are sporting a cool 1-15 record. I am a little embarrassed for the Rockies, the victims of the Braves lone win. I can’t help but think derisively of them, “you lost to THAT team?!?”
With today’s outcome final, I officially retract my petition to the commissioner’s office to let the Braves play only the Fish for the rest of the season. It really doesn’t matter who this team plays. Watching them for the rest of this season really will be about as much fun as writing an alimony check.
This entire game in a nutshell:
The Williamses were called back up to make an emergency start in place of Folty, who was DLed with the virus that forced Shelby Miller into his 194,573,982 consecutive start without a win on Monday night. The Dynamic Duo showed some improvement, only giving up 6 runs and 9 hits while remaining in the game long enough that they could have picked up the win if their team had been facing the 1930 Phillies. Edwin Jackson took care of the next two innings and did what he does bast in a Braves uniform—surrender a run. I don’t know how his ERA is still in the 3.60s. I feel like every box score I see has runs next to his name. The Braves offensive hero on the afternoon was not Alex Wood, who somehow got a grounder through the left side of the infield to knock in two runs. His batting average is now up to .143, so I think it would be a good time to reevaluate that trade to determine the winner.
To paraphrase a recent DOB tweet, if the Braves play baseball and there’s nobody there to see them, did it really happen? I vote no, which would mean this series must be struck from the official record.
One small favor to ask of the Bad News Braves as they make their way to Washington for a 4-game set: please, for the love of all that is good about baseball, forget who you are for the next four days and play the spoiler. There are plenty of baseball games left this month for you to lose to get a good draft pick. But please, for now, kick the Nats while they are down.
Natspos delenda est.
As Penny Thomason pointed out in a comment on the About page, yesterday was the third anniversary of Mac’s passing. He created Braves Journal back in 1998 and he’s the reason that most of us are here. Please keep his family in your thoughts.
Wow, hard to believe it’s been 3 years. If you want something Braves-related to smile about, post #105 in the thread Alex linked to above has Jim Powell’s call of Chipper’s GW HR from the game the day after Mac died. Being good…it was fun. Miss you, Mac.
I feel like Mac would’ve had some fun with this season. Best wishes to his family, and a thank you to everyone that helped keep this place a hidden gem of excellence.
I never met Mac, but I felt like I knew him. I think I stumbled upon Braves Journal in 2000, and I’ve read it almost every day since. On the day he died, I cried like he was family. I’m so glad so many people have done such a great job to keep his great website going. Thanks everyone.
If the Braves sweep this series, this was a good season.
Greetings from Vegas…
I raise my glass to Mac Thomason.
And considering the results of this season, I may raise a few.
I made a spreadsheet of the league-wide standings in reverse, to track our descent.
Tonight we passed both the Marlins and the Rockies, in to 2nd place in the Draft Sweepstakes.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RJgXU6MeOPoEcqYJwbO3X1p0TVqZ4v6vMkTzO3GjF0w/edit?usp=sharing
Since the time of Mac’s passing, the Braves organization itself collapsed in a pile of its own insularity and indifference to its fan base.
But this place endures, and I remain here regardless of the state of the subject matter. I never met Mac, but I always admired his sports-Douglas-Adams approach, and I’ve been honored to be able to be a small part of the team that’s helped keep the lights on here for the past three years.
I love that Braves Journal rolls on! There are little things we do or say that remind me of Mac. He would have liked the whole “The Williams” stuff.
He was the best. However, I give Alex a big Fredi Gonzalez hat tip for all he does. You have kept Mac’s spirit alive.
‘the leaves of brown’..september…why I am here too.
You know what’s fun? Watching Andrelton turn double plays. That’s fun.
I never read Mac’s work when he was alive; I never knew he existed until just after he died. It takes a special sort of unknown, hardline, hilarious, dedicated, unpaid daily blogger to have Joe Posnanski write you an obituary. How I was turned onto Bravesjournal, for those of you who haven’t ever seen it: http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/37812808
On a different note, ‘Braves Stew’ is my nickname for this season. Let’s have another helping of Braves Stew tonight in Washington.
Thanks Edward, I had never read that. It brought tears to my eyes.
I sure hope that Penny and the rest of the Thomason family know that we will always remember Mac.
Interesting piece. Why pitchers should pitch in tie games…
http://tinyurl.com/p6aornu
I never saw that either, Edward. Thanks for linking.
And thanks too, to all the contributors here. In Mac’s legacy, you make the good times better and the bad bearable. RIP, Voice of the Braves.
Edward,
Since you found this place and learned of Mac so late, if you haven’t seen them yet, you should definitely check out the Mike Hampton videos Mac created back when Hampton being made of tissue was the big, on going, topic of the day. In my mind, that is some of the finest work from Mac since it was not just his written word but he also ventured into video blogging. Classic Mac stuff for sure.
@12 Edward, this is amazing. Thanks for sharing.
Don’t forget Jim Powell’s on-air tribute to Mac the day before he passed away. I remember trying to explain to my wife what I was upset about around then – not an easy thing to describe. It’s hard to overstate what a formative influence both Braves games on the radio and Braves Journal have been for me – I’m thankful for both, and they’ll both get me through how many ever miserable seasons are left between now and the next good stretch. Thanks to all of you guys for keeping this place so lively.
The “Suck for Puk” meme is gaining momentum. Any of you college baseball fans have a scouting report on him? Is he worthy of the #1 pick?
Thank you, Edward, and all you journalistas who keep Mac’s dream alive. I wish I’d known him outside Braves Journal, but I did not. I miss him.
Go Braves.
@7
Jeez, are the Cardinals really on pace for 105 wins? Somebody tell that team to cool it.
In other news, Cobb County just told the Braves to keep that crappy baseball in Fulton.
And here we are, exactly where the pundits projected us in the preseason: next to last.
I think we’ll end up proving those pundits wrong and falling below the Phils.
It’s hard to believe it’s been three years since we lost Mac. His writing would have made even a crappy season like this more enjoyable. We should start up a From the Archives series where we repost some of his best stuff. It’s been years, but the series he did one year to introduce each city the Braves travelled to was hilarious; those posts are still some of my favorite things I have ever read on the Internet.
Thanks Penny and Alex, and thanks Edward for the link.
20—http://www.minorleagueball.com/2015/6/29/8857707/2016-mlb-draft-prospects-aj-puk-florida-gators
As I alluded to in the previous thread, I am of the opinion that he definitely belongs in the mix for those top few picks. He’s not Strasburg or Price, but there’s a lot to like.
6’7″ lefty, throws mid-90’s, clocked as high as 99, and he has a plus slider?
The country strong pitchers seem to hold up better, and the Braves don’t get many of them.
That mid-90’s is also being released from near the grass in front of the mound. Probably looks quite a bit faster to the batter. That’s probably worth taking a flyer on. There doesn’t seem to be a consensus pick among the hitters. The pitching in this draft looks good at the top.
Kyle Barraclough
deserves a clerihew.
Remember it’s just a game;
it’s better if you don’t know how to pronounce his name.
Rusty S. vaults up the clerihew leaderboard.
A. J. Puk
He’ll be ours with any luck
I just hope he turns out finer
Than our last top-10 pick, Mike Minor
Unbelievable it’s been 3 years since Mac passed. Agreed with everyone else in the community on how much this has meant over the years to me as a Braves fan — I don’t post often, but I remember laughing myself to tears watching those videos Mac made about Hampton. Growing up as a kid watching bad Braves teams in the 80s (thanks, Dad!), I’m glad I’ve got this community to keep things on an even keel. We aren’t quite as bad as those teams, but some of these guys sure remind me of our “stars” back then like Gerald Perry and Ken Oberkfell.
I sure hope they turn things around at least for this series — can’t stand those douchy Nats…. go Barves.
A look at our needs for 2016:
http://www.gondeee.com/2015/09/03/braves-biggest-need-for-2016/
Our starting rotation projections are BLEAK barring a significant free agent signing. Good thing we traded Alex Wood!
Rusty S, salut!
Andrelton Simmons
his movements so graceful,the equal to wimmin’s
his arm though is better
if your gal’s is as good,’twould be best you forget her.
draft AJ Puk?
there’s no need to summon Lady Luck
his name so appalling
you can be sure only the Braves will come calling.
Hector Olivera
our Cuban standard bearer
claims age matters not
still, the actual number he has somehow quite forgot.
#34
Recalling those days of ’80s-Braves bleakness… when I was in college, I wrote a sports column for the school newspaper about Gerald Perry & how you had to really work hard to find things to like about this historically awful Braves era. Somehow, I found some in Gerald Perry.
I don’t remember much of the column, other than recalling a couple moments when Perry’s heads-up/daredevil baserunning impressed me. (We were bad, folks.) But I definitely remember how the thing began – with a self-loathing song/quote from an indie-rock band:
“Burned-out wreck spotted on the beach
A symbol of my life”
Oh, man… talk about the days of low expectations. Life (in BravesLand) certainly got better. It will again -– and hopefully, before I’m eligible for Social Security.
This was a good recap, and even better considering the date.
Boy, when the Braves get two outs, the other team has them right where they want them.
Just having the Braves on your schedule is having them where you want them.
Markakis is having a rough start.
Also, Rendon swung.
And there’s your ballgame. This whole team is in permanent Episode mode right now.
I’m running out of adjectives to describe this team. Words like “pathetic”, “unwatchable”, “embarrassing”, “wretched”, or “deplorable” just no longer seem to cover it.
Inept.
unapt
Maladroit
When the organization has so clearly quit — just go to Turner Field and sit in an unrepaired seat and look at a flickering scoreboard to see evidence of this — it’s hard to blame the players for following suit.
And now the pitcher doesn’t cover.
It’s one thing to lose every night. It’s another to be obliterated.
abject
Repugnant
atrocious
And none were profane.
Feckless
It seems impossible to somehow assemble a collection of starters and relievers this bad. This is beyond just suffering through a rebuilding phase, something is drastically wrong here. I don’t claim to have the magic formula to fix it, but there’s no way as an organization you can allow this to continue.
Nettlesome
I’ve been watching football so far this evening, but I just flipped over to the Braves game briefly against my better judgment to see what was going on and let me just say: Holy shit!
Along those lines, I generally push back severely against the whole sports media dynamic this time of year that seems to say: “I know the baseball stretch run just started…but no, it’s football season now. We’ll spend five minutes here and there on baseball but we all know that nobody actually cares about the climax of the baseball season.” I imagine an ESPN executive patting me on the head while saying this.
That having been said, no one is going to take greater advantage of the start of football season this year than I. It’s already paid dividends, as it saved me from watching whatever horrible thing happened to put us down 10-1 to a collapsing Nats team in the fifth.
Don’s now complaining about the runner scoring from third on the sac fly. Buddy, in the words of my good pal Solzhenitsyn, when you’re cold don’t expect sympathy from someone who’s warm.
Just got back from a two week camping trip. I take it I didn’t miss much.
Maybe we can get Pierzynski on the mound tonight.
Not that I’m rooting for Burawa to fail, but when was the last time a team used six pitchers in a game with progressively worse ERAs, given the guy who started had a 5.97?
I’m starting to think Rissa’s projection of 4 more wins is pure, glib, optimistic homerism. It’s hard to imagine anyone being bad enough to lose to this hapless bunch
What a damned awful team.
Wisler, Foltynewicz, Teheran….
I’ve got more confidence in Campillo, Cormier, and Kawakami
At least he didn’t cleat himself.
Thank God Million Dollar Baby is about to come on. At least it has a more optimistic ending.
Was watching this debacle at MGM’s sports book.
Of course, my attentions were quickly turned to the USC-UNC game. But at a certain point, I had to put myself in a position where I couldn’t even see any TVs showing the Braves.
That is a first.
The Atlanta Braves: Making UNC football look enticing since 2015.
Hard to say who had a worse game — Wisler or the UNC QB…
The Nationals outscored the Tarheels. The Braves scored the extra point
Lucas Sims, tonight: 7IP, 1ER, 3H, 1BB, 7K. It’s his fifth start in a row giving up less than 2 runs. Seems that he’s reestablished himself as a legit prospect.
I know that this is probably just some sort of reverse homerism, and recent history bias or whatever, but I seriously cannot recall another stretch by any team of such ineptitude. I know teams have lost a ton of games before, but the Braves right now are losing by A LOT, seemingly every game. This has to be one of the most incompetent stretches of Major League Baseball in history right? I mean, who are they running out there every day? Even replacement players would be in more games.
@71..
to your point…it’s occurred to me without checking any official source-just seat of the pants – that we may be on the brink of setting an all time MLB record…say, over a 30 game stretch, not the worst W/L tally but more graphically the biggest differential in runs scored against runs given up…30 might be a stretch but the last 15 i’d put a little money on…
is there any way to check this?
Worst 50 game stretch for a Braves team since 1935 says the radio.
Let’s see…the final 16 games of the 1899 Cleveland Spiders season would seem to represent the platonic ideal of hopelessness. They were owned by a pair of brothers who also owned the St. Louis Browns, and announced their intention prior to the season of running the Spiders “as a sideshow”. They “traded” all the best Spiders to their St. Louis team, and the team was forced to play most of the season on the road, as they couldn’t cover operating costs at their home field given their per game attendance of 145. As the season wore on, it became obvious that the team was to be disbanded at the end of the year, and almost nobody on the team at the end of ’99 had any subsequent personal success as baseball players.
The Spiders were outscored 149-38 in their last 16 games as a franchise. The Braves have been outscored 125-40 in their last 16 games. So, better!
LOL…we’ve been outscored 125-40 in the last 16 games??? My God! I mean, yeah, that’s better than the Cleveland Spiders, but is it better than any team whose owners weren’t intentionally trying to sabotage them for the sole purpose of dissolving the organization at the end of the year?
Hey, we made Deadspin…
http://deadspin.com/bryce-harpers-scores-four-runs-without-ever-recording-a-1728655881
“According to Baseball-Reference, this is only the fourth time in history that a player has recorded at least four walks, four runs, and no official at-bats. Harper even got an RBI, which none of these other guys I’ve never heard of managed to pull off”
They undersold the story — he never swung.
Braves used 8 pitchers tonight. The pitcher with the best ERA in the group was Moylan with a 5.06. This is embarrassing in every way. We need to have another poll. Where do you think the rebuild is now? My answer is not as optimistic as it was 2 months ago.
Recapped, I guess.