The Natspos rode a stirring comeback win in the Home Run Derby by local hero Bryce Harper, and returns from the DL of stalwarts Stephen Strasburg and Ryan Zimmerman to a second half opening 8-5 loss to the visiting Atlanta Braves last night. Which just goes to show you how important a glorified round of batting practice and rusty veterans are when the real games are on.
Snit went all (experi-)mental in his lineup construction, batting Ronald Acuna, Jr. in the lead-off spot, and was rewarded when Acuna Matata went 3-4 with a walk, a homer, scored three times, and had two stolen bases. Ozzie Albies batted second, and in his only plate appearance doubled the RAJa home, and stole third and scored on a Freddie Freeman ‘productive out’ that likely made the SVU of the DC Police Dept. put Joe Simpson on their Watch List. But, Ozzie tweaked his hammy somewhere on the play, and was removed for Folk Hero Charlie Culberson.
The Gnats got on the board in the bottom of the first, when Adam Eaton and Harper pulled off a double steal, but Anibal Sanchez limited further damage. Things looked dire in the second when Sanchez loaded the bases with one out, but he wriggled off the hook, striking out Trea Turner and retiring Harper on a groundout. The Gnats tied it up in the third, when Sanchez surrendered a solo shot to Matt Adams.
But the Braves got off the mat (Matt?) in the fourth, when Kurt Suzuki doubled with one out off Strasburg, and was driven home by Johan Camargo. The Braves knocked Strasberg out of the box in the fifth, when Our Man Ronald led off with his second double, Folk Hero dropped a bunt single down, and Fab Five Freddie doubled both of them home. Nick Markakis did Simpson no favors with the DCPD with a sac fly to make it 6-2. After Camargo singled to end Strasburg’s night after 4 2/3, Strasburg and Max Scherzer were seen woofing at each other in the dugout. Maybe SuperMax just needs a change of scenery to a winning team? Look into it AA!
The Dark Lord, Jr. (Turner – since he kills the Bravos more than Chase Utley ever did), homered off Sanchez in the bottom of the fifth to make it 6-3. But Folk Hero got it back in the top of the sixth with a two out solo shot of his own. Sanchez went out and worked the sixth, and made it through unscathed. Anibal wasn’t particularly sharp, needing 112 pitches to go six, surrendering four other hits in addition to the two solo shots, and walking three. But, he was sharp enough, and that’s nothing but found money at this point. Jesse Biddle came in and worked a quick clean 7th.
In the eighth, Acuna, Jr. (running out of nicknames for him, that’s how good a game he had) homered for the Braves final run. Biddle came out for the bottom of the frame, and promptly allowed a lead-off single to Anthony Rendon and followed that up with a two run rally killer to Juan Soto, showing us that we haven’t cornered the market on exciting, impossibly youthful outfielders. But Jesse buckled down and held the score there at 8-5, which allowed Snit to send out A.J. Minter to pick up a save in the ninth. Win, win, win. Let’s do it again tomorrow.
Wisler and Fried for Old Max Two Eye Color
Nice one Mr. Painter.
Thank you for the winning recap, SP. Raja has a distinctive ring, sort of like the sound of a well struck ball off Acua’s bat.
Win one more today, Braves.
Scherzer and Strasburg argue in the dugout
Familia traded to Oakland.
Prev. Thread
Ozhaino Jurdy Jiandro Albies
it is, perhaps, at moments like these
our heart’s palpitations
meekly suggest you go station to stations.
****
Brad Hand
was the choice yours to command?
Changing horses mid stream
but ignoring the League’s most lovable team
Acuna
He’s focused, finally. He has found his rightful place in the order, something he now knows he can do better than anyone else. All the difference in the world.He belongs.
The full value of Culbertson was also on show last night. Eight instant innings of quality infield defense, good base running, then an add on homer. Batting average in this context irrelevant.
First Herrera, now Familia. Roger may have a knack for homing in on the guy who’s next to be traded.
@8 To the wrong team apparently. AA needs to get in there and “sell, sell…….” [vague reference to Trading Places]
It’s amazing how having a three hit game magically makes you retroactively more “focused.”
Of remaining options, Treinen would be my pipe dream. He might be the second-best reliever changing hands for 2018. Something tells me Iglesias doesn’t change hands considering the position the Reds are in.
If the numbers made sense, I still think Britton makes sense for us in our position. Some people are saying that we shouldn’t trade for a risky reliever like him since we’re not imminently a World Series contender, but that’s exactly why I would do it. Because of his health, he’ll be cheaper and I’d love to roll the dice there. We basically rolled the dice with a ton of pieces this year hoping it worked out, and a lot of it has, so if we’re going to get the team good enough to compete in the playoffs without selling off several prospects, he might be the best bet if the numbers work.
@4
I still have a healthy and rational fear of the Gnats, but man, they just bring this crap on themselves. They’re becoming a little like the Mets in that regard. Yes, we did run an international crime ring in Latin America, and yes, that’s frowned upon, but we’re at least a buttoned-up organization where players don’t argue in the dugout or trade for stupid closers that choke the star players.
That was Thomason-esque, Seat Painter. Well done and thank you.
@13 Well said
“running out of nicknames for him, that’s how good a game he had”
Indeed well done.
Saw Muller at A+ last night behind home plate. Topped out at 96, so it might have been a hot gun. Curve and change all looked good. He’s a big, strong, tall, Texas lefty, and he looks every bit as athletic as he was said to be when teams were considering drafting him as a position player.
He took 7 scoreless into the 8th, but he wore down, and on his 97th pitch, he gave up a grand slam, so his stat line doesn’t look too hot. But make no mistake, if he can stay healthy, he’ll be ready for AA very soon. If you like your pitchers to be studs, then I think you have to like him over Anderson. They were right to be careful with him in his first full season last year, but it looks like they’re taking the leash off of him.
Also, Pache is an athlete. Look at pictures of him two years ago:
And this is him this year during the Braves Futures game:
https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/atlanta-braves-cf-cristian-pache-homers-during-the-mlb-news-photo/939004330#/atlanta-braves-cf-cristian-pache-homers-during-the-mlb-spring-game-picture-id939004330
In person, he looks plenty athletic enough to be getting the updated scouting on his power. I still don’t think he’s worth going ga-ga over like he’s some Ronald Acuna clone like some do, but as of now, I think he has just as high of a ceiling as Riley, if not higher. I definitely think he’ll be a major leaguer in some capacity.
I don’t know why Izzy Wilson is MLB’s 20th-best Braves prospect. He showed off his speed on a first-to-third, but even still, he’s small, doesn’t seem to have a great hit tool, and the one throw he made from LF was mediocre. I don’t know where these power grades for him are coming from.
@11 I agree, especially on Britton, but I am quickly becoming resigned to the fact that the Orioles value him more highly than anyone else and there is such strong competition that someone will eventually make an unreasonably generous offer.
After perusing our stats over at FG, one thing that jumps out at me is that our catchers seem to be fading – especially defensively. Zuke’s throw to 2B last night was an obvious mistake (as made evident by Wieters not making the same throw later in the game) and our catchers have collectively sunk to near the bottom of the league in defense. I find myself being drawn to the OFR trade proposal for Realmuto, although it’s very painful to think of giving up that much potential.
Brent Blackwell’s strategy seems to be the best (although some players and trade pieces could be changed to the same result). Get a slugging IF, a couple of veteran relievers, and maybe a SP.
For the IF, I could go Asdrubel, Moustakas, or Freese in that kind of order (Moustakas or Freese may not even cost anything off the top 30). If we can’t get Familia packaged with Asdrubel and Britton goes elsewhere, I could see targeting Rodney/Duke (for something like McCreery/Ricardo Sanchez and a couple of PTBNL). Also, the idea of trading for Eovaldi is intriguing (I don’t see any other SP being worthy or they would be too costly) but I’m not a big Romo fan although our old friend Chaz Roe is pitching pretty well for the Rays. The Rays may be a team that would be willing to trade for someone like Weigel coming off TJS like the Braves did with several pitchers (including Biddle).
Ozzie’s hamstring is a big red flag warning that we better have some kind of starting-quality backup for any one of our infielders – especially like the lesson we learned last year with Freddie. Moustakas and Freese could either play 1B. And Asdrubel could cover any other IF position (in combo with Camargo). Even more than the HRs we need, we need depth.
Look at what Blackwell suggests we would be giving up in return. There is no way that would even put a dent in our farm. As to the farm being all pitching, I am certainly thrilled to see some of the performances of this years slugging draftees so far. Alexander and Jenista among others – very encouraging.
Yes, we did run an international crime ring in Latin America, and yes, that’s frowned upon, but we’re at least a buttoned-up organization where players don’t argue in the dugout or trade for stupid closers that choke the star players.
The cumulative effect of laughing more and more as I kept reading this sentence may have left me permanently disabled.
@10
The focus comes when you are told you’re going to be given the chance to hit lead off. The production followed, at 20 you’re rather impressionable. Shame you have an issue understanding that.
I doubt that Asdrubel will want to be a bench player. He made quite a fuss when the Mets moved him from SS to 2B.
Blackwell is on OFR? Link?
I trust AA to not give up too much for Britton. Britton was used 6 times in 11 days before the break, and 9 times in 18 days when he came back in mid-June. If they throw him regularly until the deadline, you have about 45 days of very consistent use to go off of to see if you can pitch him for 2+ months until he leaves for FA. If he’s ineffective, then it didn’t work out, but he’s definitely worth acquiring at 40-60% of what it took to get Hand depending on how much salary is involved. Plus, unlike Machado, he would be a guy worth getting in the organization for a couple months to see if you want to sign him as a FA.
If Ozzie is out for the series at least, then a 10-day DL stint wouldn’t be out of the ordinary. Since Rio is on a hot streak, you could consider giving him some 3B ABs and shift Camargo over to 2B. Or let Charlie Clobberson play 2B and call up Phil Gosselin.
Izzy Wilson excites scouts because they see his batting practice. The boy rakes. Unfortunately, when pitchers don’t throw the ball mid-thigh inside, he really cannot do much with it. He walks a lot because he won’t swing at anything that isn’t on the inner half; of course, this means he strikes out a ton. If he could cover the outer half he would be a stud, but I sincerely doubt that he ever will. Should Wilson be the price of a good reliever rental…we should make that trade.
Game has been banged due to weather.
At least the Nats won’t lose tonight.
Mallex is on pace for a 3.4 WAR per 600 PAs. Gohara has his work cut out for him.
For Familia, the Mets received Bobby Wahl, a 26-year old relief pitcher who gave up 4 ER in 7.2 IP last year in his only major league action; Will Toffey, a 23-year old 3B in A+ with a .741 OPS; and international bonus pool money.
Hmmm.
@22
Looks like the A’s are giving up almost nothing to get Familia. A AAA RH reliever past prospect status (26) and a 2017 4th rounder who is also not a ranked prospect. That’s roughly equivalent of a Elian Leyva/Lugbauer offering. Hard to believe Braves can’t beat that. Ugh.
@13
High praise around these here parts. Thanks!
If it’s international bonus pool money they wanted, then we’re really not the team to trade with.
Also Bobby Wahl doesn’t look that bad to me.
Also also, I imagine AA is targeting relievers we can control first. It would be foolish of him to do absolutely nothing after everything he’s said recently. I’m interested in seeing what he ends up trading for.
I have to issue a mea culpa. Toffey was actually A’s 17th ranked prospect via MLB Pipeline and now 20th on Mets’ list. Still we could have done just as well and could have offered something better for the combo (w/Cabrera) without impacting our farm. Something like Elian Leyva and Izzy would have been equivalent.
As Ryan C points out, those were C-grade prospects, and ours are in the picture. To show what an inexact science evaluating prospects are, two of the names on our list (Anfernee Seymour and Kade Scivicque) were released earlier this year. With that said, JC Encarnacion will undoubtedly be higher than a C-grade prospect once the list is updated.
Yeah, I’m not mad we didn’t trade for Familia, but I’m doing this to highlight the cost of these relievers.
The Mets’ 20th prospect is like our 25th or worse prospect.
I love ole Chip, but he said another boneheaded thing the other day. He said that one team’s #3 prospect might be our #17 prospect. I get what he was trying to say, but… that’s a Copenhaverian stretch.
What I’m afraid of is that AA is going to sit back and wait until all the big boys are done buying and then see what riff-raff is left over.
@34
You mean waiting to see where we are in the Governor’s Cup standings before deciding to moving guys?
Billy Beane is a damn smart guy. He is always building and rebuilding. He always adds and subtracts. The A’s border on competitiveness every year. They miss occasionally but are right back the next year. AA should be analyzing the market and knowing what the Braves do or do not want and at what price. If we end up with nothing or David Freese and Chaz Roe and end the season with either or both of Moylan and S. Freeman in the bullpen (or Whitley or Ravin or Socolovich or J. Ramirez) then we will know that the FO and AA either don’t really care about the product or are not very good at their jobs.
I am frankly, glad that some of the “controllable SP” on the market are no longer available (Fullmer/C. Martinez) because I think they would be bad plays as deadline buys and counter-productive to developing our internal assets.
There is real value to be had in rentals at the right price. It disturbs me that AA hasn’t said that at all. In fact, the interviews he has given have been so vague to have meant virtually nothing. The one from the A-listers was full of pablum meaning nothing, He’s had an offseason and 60% of this season to do all the analysis in the world of the team and all the internal assets. DO SOMETHING.
What does it say about the Braves FO if they really think that giving up a #20 and a Wisler-type for Familia is not worth it? Would we have been upset if the Braves gave up E. Phillips and Lugbauer?
Last year pre-AA, the Braves went out and got Brandon Phillips and Matt Adams as soon as the need was identified without giving up anything (McKirahan and Yepez????). Those were really good short term trades. I’m still not sure I wouldn’t rather have Adams over Tucker – he’s sure come in handy for the gNats.
And the trading works both ways. Why can’t we sell a Brandon McCarthy for a Huascar Ynoa? Maybe someone thinks S. Freeman is an upgrade in their bullpen – lefties are supposed to be coveted.
Marcus Stroman seems to have found his groove again. The Blue Jays are looking at a rebuild, so why not make an offer?
Why can’t we sell a Brandon McCarthy for a Huascar Ynoa?
Well, to answer that question, it’s because McCarthy doesn’t have nearly as much value as Garcia. He’s not even playing. With that said, McCarthy could be a post-deadline trade if he gets back on the field. But at that point in the season, teams will give up very little and the salary savings will be minimal.
Otherwise, let’s just relax until the deadline comes. Today is the 22nd, so there are 9 days left. The Braves have played exactly one game — they won that game — since the Indians traded for Brad Hand, and Brad Hand himself even hung a breaking ball to Joey Gallo in his only appearance in that time. The Braves have played zero games since the A’s traded for Familia, so there is literally nothing to overreact to. Three legitimate relief options have been traded, and by my count, there are about 9-10 left who would upgrade our pen.
Plus, guys like Asdrubel Cabrera could be available as late as August 31st if we really wanted to shore up the bench or a certain spot in anticipation for a hypothetical playoff run. There’s time.
Billy Beane is a damn smart guy. He is always building and rebuilding. He always adds and subtracts. The A’s border on competitiveness every year.
They finished last the past three seasons.
AA should be analyzing the market and knowing what the Braves do or do not want and at what price.
Maybe you should send him an email or something.
I am frankly, glad that some of the “controllable SP” on the market are no longer available (Fullmer/C. Martinez) because I think they would be bad plays as deadline buys and counter-productive to developing our internal assets.
OK, you didn’t want to add a likely 3-4 WAR starter — who you’d have every reason to expect would better than McCarthy/Fried/Gohara this year — because you’re afraid of blocking a pitcher who maybe…possibly…could be as productive as Fulmer, Carlos Martinez, Chris Archer et al…if everything goes right.
Whatever. But why did you put “controllable SP” in scare quotes?
It disturbs me that AA hasn’t said that at all. In fact, the interviews he has given have been so vague to have meant virtually nothing. The one from the A-listers was full of pablum meaning nothing.
How many times do people have to say it’s not any GM’s job to telegraph all of his plans via the media to you?
What does it say about the Braves FO if they really think that giving up a #20 and a Wisler-type for Familia is not worth it? Would we have been upset if the Braves gave up E. Phillips and Lugbauer?
Practically everything else you had to say irritated me, but nothing so much as this line of argument.
To you, a random person on the internet, the prospects the Mets traded for and the prospects the Braves have are interchangeable.
That’s because you don’t have very meaningful access to any of these prospects. You just have what a guy or two had to say about them after seeing them a couple times, maybe a couple months ago, when these guys are developing all the time.
And while what you’re taking — foolishly — from what AA literally says gives you not very much about what the Braves’ motivations are, you know even less what about the Mets want, which is saying something.
Drew Lugbauer and William Toffey may seem interchangeable to you because you saw a few people give them the same grade. But they’re not.
Todd Frazier is going to be a free agent in 2020. So is Travis D’Arnaud, but it’s easier for the Mets to be patient and hold onto D’Arnaud than it is for them to stand pat and not trade Frazier, who is old and a little more expensive.
Drew Lugbauer is 20 and a catcher, and William Toffey is 23 and a 3B. That means Toffey, regardless of grade or prospect status or (injury-influenced) stat-line, is probably more desirable to the Mets. He could be ready relatively quickly to stand at 3B and get struck out time after time by Touki while the Mets rebuild. That’s apparently what the Mets want right now. It also turns out that the Mets have a decent catching prospect at AA already.
If the package seems light, even beatable to you, maybe a simpler explanation than A VAST CONSPIRACY OF INCOMPETENCE AND/OR NEGLECT is that you don’t exactly have your finger on the pulse of what these prospects are or what GMs actually want.
Why can’t we sell a Brandon McCarthy for a Huascar Ynoa?
No one is going to want Brandon McCarthy until he’s the best pitcher left on the board.
Maybe someone thinks S. Freeman is an upgrade in their bullpen – lefties are supposed to be coveted.
I don’t know why the Braves haven’t hired you yet.
I would describe it as a general angst that we will let the trade deadline come and go, get nothing, and let a very winnable division slip through our grasps. I think it’s fair to worry about that but stop short of overreacting until the chips fall.
Man, don’t get on Adam on a roll.
Prepare the pitch forks.
Let’s be honest, some people just get cranky because there is no baseball to watch. You could see it during the ASB. It’s their default emotional setting when there are no games.
I understand that Stroman has had some injuries lately, but isn’t he the kind of SP the Braves are looking for in terms of ability and control?
2018: $6.5 million, 2019-2020: Arb. Eligible, 2021: Free Agent
In fairness, there was talk of teams thinking they could have come up with a better deal if they’d known what the Mets were up to. The “conspiracy of incompetence” may have just been the Mets.
Almost forgot… if you’re going to type it a billion times, his name is spelled “Asdrubal.”
Late to the party but thanks so much SeatPainter, for a beautiful recap.
BigD @13 – right on.
I have answers for everything Adam said because he ain’t the end all to be all too. I don’t particularly want to get into a blogument about it. A couple of points.
A’s went to the playoffs three years in a row (won div twice) then last the last three years, now 13 over .500. Sound familiar? The Braves have not done quite that well having blown chances at the playoffs before losing 90+ three years in a row. That’s what “border of competitiveness” means.
Also, how many games has Lugbauer spent at C. Hmm? He’s a bat, playing 1B/3B/C/DH. Not really a catching prospect. Toffey has no power but a better hit tool. So, yes, they’re different but can still be compared by overall value.
I do apologize when the truth irritates Adam R. AA and the FO haven’t shown us much so far. I’ll revise my judgment when I see something happen to revise it. Crasnick reports Braves not really serious about Britton.
@45 Dang. You’re right – missed it. Will get it right from now on.
TBF, Lugbauer has made all but one start at catcher this year. If there is a knock on him, though, it’s that he hasn’t “Slugbauer’ed” above Rookie ball. And being a college draftee, he needs to start doing so against competition more in line with where he came from. Look at Graffanino and Jenista literally right out of college ball. He’s an interesting piece for an organization with nothing remotely close to an immediate long-term solution at catcher, but that’s really about it.
With all that said, I’d be looking at trading from another position because throwing this many catchers at that long-term problem is probably the right idea. If they trade for Realmuto this offseason and caddy him with a FA or Alex Jackson or something, then my tune will change.
Look, Atlanta has a ton of high minors guys they’d really like to trade. You had Wes Parsons coming out of relief yesterday because there aren’t enough spots in the rotation. When you have this many talented players you need to trade, the shopping list they seem to have — bench pieces, relievers, maybe a 5th starter– is highly attainable.
And yes, one game in 7 days is good enough to get any ball fan restless. You get that syrup in you, you get all antsy in your pantsy. I know I’m there.
Stroman has long been one of my favorites. Checking on him seems like a wise thing to do.
All we need to win this division is for Acuna to rake in the 2nd half.
Surely Toussaint or Allard or someone can provide us with bullpen help.
The problem is, if we call them up, what happens to our farm system ratings!?
Folty, Allard, Zimmerman, and Ynoa all throw for their levels.
Good chance of a rainout today too.
Jace Peterson just knocked in a run for the O’s. [yes, the desperation for baseball is palpable]
Not sure if the Braves see Allard as a guy in our future. They might see him as a pitchability lefty type with a ceiling of a BOR guy.
Would not surprised to see him dealt.
@51…Precisely. Plus ca change etc. Even money he does just that. Lead off, let him stay there, he’s inspired. But, in a minor key, please, those routes! Reverse sno-cone clever though.
@52 Please define ‘throwing for their levels’.
@49 Why even contemplate the overpriced Realmuto when Contreras is excelling in his improvement? He’ll come up next September latest. RM’s bat not a significant improvement factor over our duo in a short 2 month run.
@50…coop…Stroman/strawman..tempting fate?
They should move the game up to Camden Yards – not a drop up there. Flash Flood Watch for DC.
If you miss baseball, watch the Padres kicking some Phillies butts – it’s fun.
Estimated start time, 3:30.
@ Blazon: 😀
Finally–baseball!
I was so desperate to see baseball that I watched the rain delay programming. Although they did not say anything we had not heard before, watching Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz brought back some wonderful memories. If we had not been there to see it, the sustained excellence of that trio would be unbelievable.
And I never tire of hearing Leo say the key to pitching is locating the fastball. Easier said than done, of course.
Sigh…looks like we have to tolerate CB Bucknor behind the plate today. Just changed this AB with an Eric Gregg level strike call. (And then calling a later pitch in the same at-bat that was closer to the plate but still a ball a ball.)
Scoring 4 against Scherzer is a tall order. Maybe it’ll rain.
Bad Folty.
Ender?
One.
Chip and Joe love them some productive outs.
In a shocking turn of events, Santana has cleared waivers and has been outrighted to AAA.
Also, Chad Sobotka, who is an interesting prospect, got promoted to AAA. He could see the pen in the second half.
@66
I mean, it did score a run.
But it’s like it almost counts more than one run, since an out was also made.
Ugh that hurts. Bet he thought it was gone.
I think Acuna hesitated thinking it was over the fence. He should have made it if he had gone flat out from the beginning. On the other hand, the ball hit so hard off the fence that it made for an easy throw for Harper.
gNats announcers report Harper’s throw at 94MPH.
The Bucknor Wheel of Fortune has landed in our favor!
Joe’s not so fond of Buckner, however.
Joe’s not wrong about Bucknor.
I like productive hits better. Nice work Dansby.
Dansby beat him. HA! Should’ve walked him.
RBI machine.
Scherzer laboring today, which is a good thing. Just keep chipping away at him.
Braves still have the worst hitting pitchers in the league (OK, one of the worst). More than 1.0 WAR difference between us (-0.7) and Nats (0.5) or Phillies (0.3).
This should be overturned and won’t be.
UPDATE: I’m starting to question whether this won’t be overturned. If it isn’t, it’s an absolute joke.
UPDATE #2: LOL
Bucknor’s blindness is a communicable disease, infecting the entire umpiring crew. And since he’s probably been to New York and served as the replay umpire, he spread his malady there, too.
@81 Brilliant!
Replay adds no value if that call is not overturned.
I would love to hear what they saw that made them unsure that he was safe.
Again, nobody seems to know what “clear and obvious” or “clear and convincing” actually means. It might be more helpful if they publicized the 75 percent number that is generally associated with that level of evidence, because a whole lot of people (including the umpires), seem to think that it requires a whole lot more certainty than that. One hundred percent certainty is just not a feasible level to be at.
Way to throw to the wrong base, Ender!
Terrible throw by Ender, but I couldn’t blame him for aiming at an umpire.
Ender, jeez. Get in the game, dude.
Syndergaard to DL with hand, foot, and mouth disease. Is there any point where you stop laughing at the Mets and feel sorry for them?
No. Stupid question.
When Ender is robbing home runs, making diving catches, covering ground, and making strong throws he’s great. When he’s thinking, he’s not.
If he were thinking, one might assume he’d decide to throw to second base to keep a runner out of scoring position, so I’m not sure thinking was the issue, either. Whatever, Folty walked a guy into scoring position afterward and we got out of it anyway.
Doomed by the weatherman.
So close for Nick – we sure needed that would-be HR. Instead, we let Max off the hook.
Lefty-lefty, pish-posh; Sam Freeman to Bryce Harper is something that belongs in the SNL “Bad Idea Jeans” sketch from back in the day.
Can we trade for a better LOOGY already?
And the white flag has been thrown. Sam Freeman does what is expected except he didn’t get a chance to walk anybody first. It might have been better to give Folty a chance to get Harper out.
I like Folty versus anyone in that situation. Oh well.
What in the hell is Joe complaining about now? The ball is out of play and the first-base coach has like a foot in fair territory while talking to Harper, and Joe’s freaking out about it like it’s some massive scandal. Who the hell cares?
I hate the Nats so much that I had to go out and add to the compost pile: cabbage leaves, garlic skins, onion tops, egg shells. Not only did I add to it but I turned it over, which is hard work here in the Florida Panhandle, where the humidity will kill you. But I just couldn’t watch Freeman pitch. So glad Carle bailed him out.
Our broadcasters are going to blame this game on Folty, as per usual. Nevermind that we have two fargin runs and have been thrown out on the bases left and right.
@99 Agree that we need more runs, but I haven’t seen any horrible risks on the bases. Yes, made some outs but all seemed like reasonable tries. Outfield throws seem to be more of a problem. If Nick had tried to throw to third instead of home, things might have been different (plus it should’ve been cut off).
I just don’t know what to think of Anthopolous yet. Like, I really believe that Coppolella would have already made a couple of trades this year to try to help the Braves win even more games.
I’m not saying it would have been perfect or even better.
It just feels like this Braves front office is in a self-inflicted holding pattern over the precious prospects (because I’ve seen multiple sources suggest the Braves don’t want to dig into the prospect surplus). The mouthpieces have indicated this team is looking at acquisitions that would still be in the picture next season.
So does this season matter to the organization? How much so?
We need an upgrade on Sam Freeman.
@101
I just don’t get what they expect to do with the prospect surplus if not use it to improve the team. Their seems to remain this thought that, if we wanted to, we could just ride with the prospects and that would eventually get us to the exact same place that we would get to if we use them to trade for something. I don’t at all think this plan will work. Eventually, we’re gonna have to trade a prospect that somebody’s gonna lament that we traded, or we’re never gonna get anywhere.
Game restart scheduled for 7:35
@101 Exactly. Maybe Coppy knew how to tank and build better than how to win but he surely would have done something. And he’d have pissed off every other org in baseball as a bonus.
Baseball America Top 10 Mid-season:
1) Mike Soroka
2) Austin Riley
3) Ian Anderson
4) Kyle Wright
5) Luiz Gohara
6) Cristian Pache
7) Drew Waters
8) Kolby Allard
9) Bryse Wilson
10) Touki Toussaint
The Twitter headline read that we could see some reinforcements in the second half from this list. It’s likely there will be minimal impact, but Gohara is someone who could help the entire second half, Soroka could help in September if healthy, and Touki could help in the pen as well, as many have noted.
Pache could conceivably provide 4th outfielder/pinch runner support if it became an “all hands on deck” mentality to win the division in September. Boy, wouldn’t that be exciting?
I could be too negative, but I don’t see Austin Riley being a big impact with the bat this season, and he undoubtedly will provide no defense or base running help. Nobody else from this list seems like a possible second half contributor.
With that said, even though he’s only in A-, Drew Waters is quickly flying up lists. Bryse Wilson is ahead of his fellow draftees Wentz and Muller, but that could easily change by the end of the year. Wilson is being challenging moreso in AA than Muller and Wentz are in A+.
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/2018-atlanta-braves-midseason-top-10-prospects/
AA vs. Coppy
Let’s be honest; this is a “calm before storm”. Do you really think AA is not going to make a trade? In fact, if you want to talk about track records, AA has a much stronger track record of making impact trades to add players than Coppy did, but obviously they had different jobs to do. I think we’ve had two very good GMs since 2015, and I don’t think it needs to be “WWCD” as if you can guarantee Coppy would have made a trade before July 22nd when AA will undoubtedly make one before July 31st.
I don’t disagree with the idea that you shouldn’t trade meaningful prospects for middle relievers that might pitch 20 innings.
Is Zach Britton gonna help us score more than 2 runs in today’s game? I still want a bat or two.
@106 Allard could certainly make an impact.
Nick got some bad strike calls in that last AB.
Damnit, I wanted to see Reed get a shot.
Aw, so close….
Another potentially winnable game lost because our bullpen sucks.
Our defensive positioning pre-pitch has been much better under AA. Several players have mentioned how the analytics have helped in that respect.
I don’t trust anyone in our bullpen other than Minter and maybe Carle right now.
My opinion of AA has nothing to do with Coppy, about whom I can’t summon a positive thought, and still can barely believe people are thinking of in wistful terms. The guy was an utter disgrace.
I will give AA until the trade deadline. If he makes a move, fine, but if he doesn’t, I will be super pissed. And anyone who doesn’t have a full color picture of him and the rest of the front office doing nothing and then coming back with, “Well, we looked at a number of things we could do, but at the end of the day, everything had too high of a price, and we just really like our prospects,” has no imagination whatsoever.
Co-signed.
Well, the wait was worth it for our last hit – his third, like yesterday. And a bona fide 3 run homer attempt by Tucker in the eighth.The bullpen was grotesque, particularly in contrast to theirs. Folty fine apart from horrid first innings. Chip and Joe – absolutely no more references to two strike hits, 2 out hits.
One day, maybe, we will get to see Reed actually hit.
@14 Biddle?
Sickels’ Mid-season reassessment of pre-season list:
https://www.minorleagueball.com/2018/7/21/17597092/atlanta-braves-top-20-prospects-for-2018-mid-season-review
Did not know Pache got $1.4M in 2015. No wonder Hart talked about him so much.
@117
for ‘hit’ read XBH
In fact, if you want to talk about track records, AA has a much stronger track record of making impact trades to add players than Coppy did
Thank you.
I don’t know how people read this sentence…
“Atlanta is hesitant to dig too deep into the farm for a rental.”
…and proceed to worry that AA will do nothing. That’s just not what the sentence says.
My guess is AA is trying to land someone like Archer or Stroman. He would then stick whoever gets displaced in long relief. Maybe it won’t work, and so AA is also telegraphing that there’s a glut of available RP that he can deal for if he can’t get a better controllable asset.
What do I know, but I don’t think the difference between Britton right now and a less name-brand guy is worth a prospect of note.
Not even one mention of the Schoop rumor on here? AA’s going to trade Dansby but send over Culberson and see if the other team notices.
Recapped.