Well, that was fun. While the starters were in the game, they battled it out neck and neck. The Braves pushed across a run in the 4th after an Arizona error allowed them load the bases with one out. Mike Foltynewicz pitched well, but he gave back that run in the bottom of the 5th (on a home run by the pitcher, no less), and when Matt Kemp homered in the 6th to put the Braves back on top, Folty gave that run right back, too, in the bottom of the inning.
Once again his offense bailed him out, though, and did so in a timely enough fashion that he still managed to secure the win. This time they made sure to widen the margin enough that Arizona couldn’t come back to tie it. In the 7th Kurt Suzuki provided proof once again that the Braves catchers this season are shades of the old McCann/Ross duo, when the Braves had the best catchers in baseball, by hitting his first home run of the game, a two-run shot to give the Braves a lead they wouldn’t give back. A wild pitch later on in the inning gave the Braves two more runs, then solo shots by Suzuki and utilityman-extraordinaire Johan Camargo the next inning capped the Atlanta scoring. The lone run Sam Freeman gave up in the 9th wasn’t enough to cause any damage. He won’t get an (s) next to his name in the box score, but we know that was an Atlanta Save at its finest. The team went into the 9th inning with a lead, and they came out of the 9th inning with that lead in tact. The amount of Reitsma Room (or is it now Johnson Room?) the offense provided has little bearing on whether the game was saved or not.
The Braves have guaranteed they will not be swept in Arizona. Technically, the Braves still have a shot at winning this series, since the rubber game will start up later this afternoon. Aaron Blair gets his first major-league start of the season, replacing the traded Jaime Garcia in the rotation, so the odds aren’t necessarily in the Braves’ favor. But, technically, it could happen. There’s a reason why they have to play the games, and it ain’t over ’til it’s over.
Natspos delenda est.
I’ve always thought of Camargo as Javier Baez Lite.
From previous thread. I like what I’ve seen so far from Camargo and love it when guys like Canargo, who are not on the top tier prospect list, succeed. He plays with a lot of heart and his work ethic seems to be excellent. That being said, I’m still extremely cautious with my optimism. The next year or so in the majors will show us what we have.
Camargo has been a nice surprise – good athlete on defense w/ a cannon arm, and productive at the plate to boot. He is going to have a hard time staying league average or above as a hitter with his current terrible walk rate (3.2%) combined with a pretty ordinary (21.4%) strikeout rate, but even if his BABIP drops from near-.400 now to .350 or so, the net result is a utility guy who puts up a .700 – .750 OPS. That’s a nice bench piece at least, maybe even a starter for a while. If he can boost his walk rate up to 5-6% that would also put him in the conversation as starter-worthy.
@1
me too…what’s his walk/strike out rate? If i could have any Cub it’s him.
Blazon – Javy Baez’s walk rate is 5%, K rate 27.8%. Over his young MLB career (about two seasons’ worth of games) he has hit .250/.293/.412 – basically, a bunch of whiffs and HRs combining for a rather lackluster overall line. Baez’s value to date is tied up in his defense (excellent) and to a lesser extent his base running (good). Sky’s the limit for him if he can increase his walks and/or decrease his strikeouts, but you could say that about a lot of players.
Personally, if we’re taking Cubs, I’d much rather have Bryant or Rizzo, and would probably take Contreras or Russell over Baez too.
He’s pretty BABIP-driven. In that way, he’s a bit of a fluke, but that doesn’t mean I’d continue to sit Dansby until if and when Camargo’s contact came back down to earth.
Rob Cope, please help me understand: you would or you would not continue to sit D.S. until Camargo falls to earth?
Thank you for the recap, ‘Rissa. (Recap ‘Rissa: I like the sound of that.)
Camargo is probably going to be a .750 OPS middle infielder going forward, which is great. How he’s playing right now shouldn’t cause Atlanta to just sit Dansby. When Dansby had sat 5 of the first 8 games after the ASB, that seemed excessive. But if Dansby can play SS 4-5 times a week, and Camargo gets 1-2 starts at SS, 1-2 starts at 2B, and 1-2 starts at 3B, I think that keeps them both consistently playing.
With Rodriguez playing RF today, I hope that’s a start to Rodriguez spelling the corner OF positions, which frees up starts in the INF. And of course, every time we see a lefty, that’s an opportunity for at least 3 of Camargo, Phillips, Swanson, and Rodriguez to be in the lineup.
Okay, I agree if …
Swanson hits and fields. I tire of his flailing at sliders and kicking balls he should field. I don’t care about his hype or hair. I just want him to earn his playing time.
Javier Baez was 0-5 with 5 strikeouts yesterday. He might be Johan Carmago-heavy.
Surprise me, Aaron Blair. Pitch well.
@8&9
Swanson should probably be getting time with Albies across town.
friggin dansby and his terrible throw on the pickoff.
edit:
agreed on the baseline issue, nick
I think I read the ump’s lips when he said to snitker that he was IN the baseline, which I doubt.
I’m really confused as to how Blanco wasn’t out of the baseline on that. There’s no way he was in line to touch third base at the point where he avoided the tag. Maybe the umpires aren’t able to review that part? I really should look up what’s reviewable and what’s not at some point.
Nice play, Johan.
So to follow up on Alex’s joke from the last thread, while we’re converting Matt Wisler into a pitcher, we should apparently convert Aaron Blair into a position player.
@5..
thanks…some people just excite you, that recent HR at STP…they shouldn’t but they do…do you marry the starchy matron with money or the leggy blond on probation?
blazon, you devil. That’s wit.
Ugly but effective frame. It could have been worse. Blair deserves credit for escaping unscathed, I suppose.
So I did look up whether runners being out of the baseline is reviewable, and in an outcome that will not surprise you if you’ve ever tried to find something in the baseball rulebook, I’m still not quite sure. It does say that anything not specifically listed can be assumed to be not reviewable, and out-of-baseline plays are not listed. So that’s probably the answer. But, there’s also a spot where it’s talking about reviews on tag plays where it lists a few things that are specifically not reviewable within reviews of tag plays, and out-of-baseline calls are not listed there. So…
Walks suck, as does our defense this inning. I surrender.
Wow. I don’t know whether I’ve ever seen an inside the park homer quite like that before.
I see Aaron Blair is being himself.
Just release Blair. Opens up a roster spot. Doesn’t matter who occupies it.
Both of those could’ve been inside-the-park homers, really.
Memo to our outfielders: If you can’t catch the ball, back off and play it off the wall!!!!
@11 ..LOL ..that swhy in previous post I asked who was in long relief today !!! I knew Blair would get hammered … why in the crap dont you give Sims a shot ..?? we have seen Wisler and Blair … they are busts .. destined for AAA for life ..
Im at work ..cant watch .. what the crap is going on out there …????
did phillips just swing at the 1st pitch after pitches walks 2 straight ?? these guys are too stupid to play this game ..
here we go DP by Kemp
LOL ..at least he didnt hit into DP .. 3 pitches really …… all balls …
Congratulations, Matt Kemp! That sequence was such that you’ve made yourself an automatic qualifier for the MLB First Annual Most Mind-Numbing At-Bat of the Season Award!
wow .. the guys is walking folks .. Phillips swings at 1st pitch …. then Kemp swings at 3 balls ..and then Flowers swings at a 1st pitch .. these guys are Major league players .. some of them look like they dont care and just going thru motions .. whats happened to Kemp he looks like he is half ass trying
Impossible Kemp has no record of ever doing that in his major league career.
I knew we were screwed when Freeman had a pitch glance off of his shirt sleeve in the middle of that sequence.
UPDATE: I’m not sure Sean Rodriguez is a particularly good right fielder, folks.
ok guys .. see ya ..aint gonna watch the bums pitch and watch half ass effort by half these guys … going out to mow …. yea
My, Tad sure got home from work in a hurry!
It might sound harsh, but I’ve seen enough of Blair and Wisler. They are not going to contribute anything to this club.
@37
it does sound harsh…but it maybe true.
Are Wisler and Blair the same player?
I think I missed Blair’s pitching line by one number. He farging stinks. STOP trotting him out there, Braves management.
the blond had a bad game today too…not right that Snit asked that much of Morris…thought Joe’s comparo of Flowers and Swanson’s swing, weight transfers was excellent…Sean R can’t play RF…but who can…my friend Mr Acuna can…total disbelief to see Ender misjudge so many balls in flight…hey, day off tomorrow.
I think I’m throwing in the towel on this season. Why it took this long I haven’t a clue. I guess I got caught up in the optimism that playing near .500 can bring. Now we can lose our 90 games so at least my preseason predictions work out.
I’d say sell everyone, but we don’t have anything to sell. Correction, we have tons of stuff we’d love to sell, but nobody wants to buy it.
@42, I thought about that last night. When you’re sellers, and no one wants to buy, what does that tell you?
Done with Blair.
Nick @36. I just woke up the whole house. Thank you for that.
Dans demoted.
Bowman says Dansby sent to Gwinnett
Looks like Jace will be called up. Jace can play corner OF, and Camargo, Freddie, Adams, Phillips, and maybe even Rodriguez cannot. Could the straw that broke the camel’s back with demoting Dansby be that they needed ABs for Rodriguez and he’s not a good OF? I mean, did they really think that Rodriguez was ready to play 5 different positions and hit mid-season big league pitching after 44 minor league PAs post-injury? Most odd.
@48 this FO does odd things on the reg.
Touki seems to be making progress. Last 2 starts: 13 IP 10H 3ER 19K 0(!)BB
So Swanson sat the bench for a couple weeks, why? Were they waiting to see if they could trade BP? I guess in the big picture it hardly matters, but it’s still weird.
Playing regularly will help Dansby. Currently the younger Johan is both fielding and hitting better in the bigs. No one is entitled.
The job was Swanson’s to lose, and he lost it spectacularly. When he earns his PT with the big club, I will lead the cheers; but he needs to earn the position, not have it handed to him.
Also: good for Touki. I pull for him because of his name alone.
@36 .. yes 10 mins to get home .. got the yard mowed .. take care
Glad they made the move, but I sure don’t understand the mechanics of what Snitker was doing. Dans was finally starting to hit again when he got benched. Then he played and had his first two-hit game in a while…and got demoted. I think his being in AAA is best for all parties right now, but they should have just gone on and ripped the bandaid off earlier, IMO.
Agreed, Stu. I believe Dansby’ll get it together, and Camargo can shift to third. Even if Camargo becomes Prado eventually, the team will be better off with a functioning shortstop.
Is Ozzie a better defensive SS?
It’s too bad one of the best players in MLB regularly behaves this way. https://streamable.com/2msg2
He said it was because he was listening to Logic and Chance The Rapper. Honestly, they have the same effect on me when my kid plays them.
@56 Some things and some people never change
@53
Totally agree. He should have gone down over the break.
His problems are fixable. I’m not worried.
Recapped.
@56 : Agreed. His behavior is unacceptable, but tolerated by the Nats organization. He’s a great player, but I can’t stomach the guy.
Gohara to AAA
Touki to AA
Klaw speculated that Gohara over Soroka is because Gohara will have to be added to the 40 man this winter anyway or be subject to Rule 5.