[our movie reference is to a grisly murder mystery. The murders are based off of the 7 cardinal or deadly sins espoused by the medieval Roman Catholic Church. We won’t add in the two “lost sins,” or go deep into that, but there is a parallel.]
The Braves entered this one on what appeared to be the short end of the pitching matchup. Noah Syndergaard is known by the mythical name “Thor.” Aaron Blair had not had a really good start at the Major League level all year. In fact the pitching matchup maybe caused some ENVY.And the Snit led Braves sometimes win with those kinds of odds. We can no longer assume “Of course we lose.” Well, the Braves did the hammering.
Thor shut down the Braves in the first. But Aaron matched him. In the second, Nick Markakis singled by bouncing one off of Thor to Rivera. We will call that play SLOTH. Tyler Flowers and Jace Peterson walked, thus bringing up Dansby Swanson. Well he singled, but only one got in. Then, Blair popped up, but Ender Inciarte singled to bring home another. A quick 2 to zero lead.
After a first inning walk, Blair went straight through the Mets through the Mets until the bottom of the fourth. Meanwhile, the Braves got a solo home run from Freddie Freeman in the 3rd and Hugs drove in 2 more in the top of the 4th. After Kemp got a single, Thor was done in favor of our old farm hand Sean Gilmartin who stopped the train wreck. In the bottom half, Blair gave up a two run homer to T. J. Rivera. So at end of 4, still comfortably ahead Braves 5, Mets 2.
The Mets Fans expressed their ANGER by beginning to trail out gradually over the next few innings. Not exactly what they came to see.
We all have PRIDE that Blair got a two run Quality Start by making it through 6. Then, Mauricio Cabrera came in and went through an inning with one hit and no strikeouts.
In the top of the 7th, the Braves went all in for GLUTTONY. Freeman, Flowers, and Peterson got on and Dansby drove the first two in. Thus 7 to 2 after 6 1/2. Mets fans’ ANGER really got going now.
Jose Ramirez looked a little shaky in the 8th, but no runs. Jim Johnson gave up a leadoff double by James Loney, but that was all.
I LUST for a team that can do this regularly. Maybe next year. . . .
@Rob, previous thread
The difference could be the winning. A World Series in your first full year is an easier ticket to endearment than an all-time collapse to miss the playoffs.
I think another factor, though, is the difference in the eras–Freddie has been outstanding compared to the league, not *quite* as outstanding as Chipper, but head and shoulders above the league counting this year. Still, when you look at the raw numbers, 30 homers and 110 RBIs looks a lot better than 20 and 85. That’s just the way the game was back then.
A last thought is that it was easier to get behind a guy who didn’t strike out as much, all else being relatively equal.
I enjoy your recaps, cliff. Thank you.
Given Swanson’s good but not great year in AA, did anyone see him hitting .305 in almost 100 at bats through his first 27 games? I know it is a small sample size, but he doesn’t seem to be doing anything out of the ordinary for him. The thing I like is his consistency. I’m sure opposing pitchers will find holes in his swing, but I’ll happily take his current production and his glove at short over a full season.
We are 15 and 16 since Swanson was called up. I know a lot of factors play into that, but the fact is Swanson has had a positive impact on the team.
Except for 2013, Freddie Freeman has been slightly disappointing until this year. He came up with the more marketable Jason Heyward and was the lesser of the two most years. He was also one of 3-4 star first basemen to break in the NL around the same time (Goldschmidt, Rizzo, arguably Belt), and he was totally outshined by the top two on that list until this year. So not really the same level of player as Chipper who was a transcendent player and should be a first-ballot HOF’er.
@td, credit to the Braves player development and front office people. I questioned bringing Swanson up also given his merely average production at AA and believed he would struggle a bit. but he looks like he ‘belongs’ and the Braves clearly believed he could make the adjustments and handle the atmosphere to at least be credible and gain valuable experience. he has done more than that. he has been very solid at the plate, afield, and on the bases. we often complain and question the front office decisions but fail to credit them when they get something ‘right’. while it is still early, Dansby clearly is showing he was ready for the big stage and the Braves knew what they were doing.
If Swanson and Albies had played since opening day we’d have a vastly different season and I’d have a vastly different positive outlook. Losing on purpose is just the worst of the worst.
@6, the cool part is you get to imagine an alternate reality and then count yourself correct for having that line up with what you wished for.
Ububba, I just picked up a random Rykodisc CD from the dollar rack at a local used bookstore. Band’s called Mercyland… I start looking at the liner notes, and then I see you wrote them.
Very cool serendipity.
@7, alternate realities is all we got when the reality is 60 wins.
Big baseball fans, Mercyland — their reshuffled lineup is called The Historical Mercyland Abstract….
#8
Woo, been awhile, but yeah, it’s real good (the music, I mean).
Fave cuts: “Uncle,” “Eula Geary Is Dead,” & “John D. White.”
Yeah, the band’s main guy is a huge Braves fan, was at the Stadium for Aaron’s 715th & named his 2nd son Henry.
And he has a song that ends with these lyrics: “…Pete Rose beat Bud Harrelson’s ass.”
Not to be a downer but I was not that impressed with Blair last night. He was missing his spots a lot, and the Mets just ain’t very good offensively. A guy with his stuff needs Maddux-like precision to be a consistently good MLB pitcher IMO. If another team wants him as part of a deal for a legit player I say trade away.
Dansby on the other hand impresses me more every day.
@12, I think folks are just looking for any positive with Blair. Any of us would trade him in a heartbeat. I could see him scratching out a career as a poor man’s Aaron Harang, but I think he’s more likely to wash out.
Snitker doesn’t seem to be a big believer in rest. Possible this is just because the playoffs are out of the picture.
I’ve never seen our Instructional League Roster publicized, but HOLY SMOKES at the group:
Pitchers
Kolby Allard, Ian Anderson, Corbin Clouse, Jasseel De La Cruz, Josh Graham, Jarret Hellinger, Javier Odalvi, Chase Johnson-Mullins, Luis Mora, Kyle Muller, Sean Newcomb, Alan Rangel, Carlos Salazar, Ricardo Sanchez, Lucas Sims, Chad Sobotka, Mike Soroka, Touki Toussaint, Jeremy Walker, Joey Wentz, Bryse Wilson
Catchers
William Contreras, Brett Cumberland, Abrahan Gutierez, Lucas Herbert, Jonathan Morales
Ricard Rodriguez
Infielders
Alex Aquino, Griffin Benson, Derian Cruz, Kevin Maitan, Yenci Pena, Austin Riley, Alejandro Salazar, Yunior Severino, Anfernee Seymour, Juan Yepez
Outfielders
Ronald Acuna, Anthony Concepcion, Braxton Davidson, Ray-Patrick Didder, Cristian Pache, Randy Ventura
Is this a change in organizational philosophy to bring this big of a group to instructs, or has this always been the case?
RE: Blair
He only had two more starts, so he wasn’t going to do anything at this stage of the season that was going to steer the rudder on his trade value or the Braves’ plans with him for 2017. With that said, he pitched ok at AAA, and he pitched fairly well in his first start back, and you’re going to cheer for a guy wearing the tomahawk. Personally, I think they need to put a muzzle around his dad’s mouth, and he needs to keep off Twitter and pitch, but I’m still going to cheer for him when he’s on the mound. The Braves aren’t going to give up on him, and it’s better for him to pitch well than not pitch well.
3rd article in as many day! Give it a read, please! http://tomahawktake.com/2016/09/20/2017-atlanta-braves-improving-in-the-field-part-1/
Ray-Patrick Didder? You just made that name up, didn’t you?
Nope! Hehe! http://tomahawktake.com/2016/09/17/atlanta-braves-scouting-report-outfielder-ray-patrick-didder/
ADONIS! He just crushed a no-doubter for a 3-run homer.
Man, I’m starting to like this team.
I do quite like Teheran and Adonis.
Not to nit-pick, but the “Compete gene” is likely not a single gene, but rather a trait influenced by many genes.
Related to the poll question above, Bruce Benedict turned 61 in August. If the Braves win tonight, they’ll have 60 wins. If you bet on the under you may be out some money.
I speculate we have 20 players on our roster that if put into roles more befitting of their skill sets, they would have a place on a playoff team. For instance, while Teheran is our #1 starter, he’s realistically a #2 starter on a playoff team. But still, 20 guys is pretty far along if you can find those other 5. If you care to know, this is what I got:
Teheran – 2
Folty – 4
Wisler – 5
Vizcaino – Closer
Cabrera – Setup
Krol – Setup
Withrow – Middle
Simmons – Middle
Ramirez – Middle
Someone From the Logjam – Long
Inciarte – CF, 1-Hole
Swanson – SS, 2-Hole
Freeman – 1B, 3-Hole
Kemp – LF, 5-Hole
Flowers – C, 6-Hole
Albies – 2B, 8-Hole
Peterson – Utility
Adonis – Backup 3B/1B
D’Arnaud – Utility
Mallex – OF
Of course, it’ll be hard finding a 3B or RF who can hit cleanup, a #1 starter, and a #3 starter, but a lot of the heavy lifting has been done.
Beating the Mets never gets old
JJ hitting 96 is impressive also….and then drops that nasty curve
Well, that shouldn’t have been as hard as it was, but a win’s a win.
24—My money is on Simmons as the Braves’ closer next year.
Nice to see the Braves doing their best to ruin the Met’s playoff chances. Hope it continues.
@23 Yeah, I had them at 60 wins in pre-season prediction thread. I’m pleasantly surprised that they look like handily beating that.
I don’t think we have what it takes to beat the Twins. Shades of 1991 all over again…
Got it hand it to the Twins. I guess they just wanted it more…
Recapped.