Braves 9, Phillies 2

Whoops, forgot I was pinch-hitting for this recap.

Wasn’t able to watch the game last night, but the big story is that it looks like we’re looking at a new right fielder for a big chunk of the remainder of the season. And I say that because of the way Nick Markakis was speaking about the injury after the game:

It really sounds like he knows there’s a break in there. And I would think they’d have known at this point if there was a break. If that’s the case, then I would think you’re looking at 6-8 weeks. If that’s the case, then would you bring him back for the postseason if he hasn’t played in 2 months? Tough decisions, but you have some combination of Johan Camargo, Charlie Culberson, Matt Joyce, Adam Duvall, and Travis Demeritte to choose from. And as much as Nick Markakis means to the team, he’s a guy in the lineup you can replace with internal options. It’s really more about what he means to the Braves in an intangible sense that makes the loss sting.

But it was a somber morning in the Copenhaver house nonetheless. Jessica loves herself some Nick Markakis, so we spent breakfast watching Nick Markakis YouTube videos. Some pretty interesting ones for you to enjoy:

Who’s that guy? I think this is the only time he’s been ejected, but I could be wrong.

Rare sighting of a genuine smile and excitement from Nick Markakis.

I don’t want to psychoanalyze the man, but after watching a few videos of his career highlights, he’s not nearly as exuberant as he used to be. I wonder if it has something to do with this:

That’s not your typical “Well, it’s a business. Had a great run” sort of interview. He definitely comes off as someone who is still a little raw about not being re-signed by the Orioles. He says, “I understand the business aspect of baseball now“, which I thought was telling.

Anyway, those were some highlights from my trip through his career as presented by YouTube.

Back to the game, Mike Soroka didn’t have his best stuff. 8 hits in 4 2/3 won’t get the job done, but he avoided giving up the big hit. Jeremy Walker made his major league debut, the offense was able to pile on the runs without relying on the longball, but Brian McCann hit a ball to Jupiter.

Max Fried vs. Zack Eflin tonight at 7:05.

158 thoughts on “Braves 9, Phillies 2”

  1. Was talking with a Mets fan at length last night who hated the idea of trading Syndergaard but understand that it might be the best move. But it’s more about selling the trade to Mets fans vs. getting as much talent back as possible, so I genuinely think this is a palpable trade for both parties to get Thor:

    -Kyle Wright. “This is a guy we can stick in our rotation right now, a first-round pick.” Plenty of New Yorkian buzz words there.
    -Ender Inciarte. “We got back a major league piece, a Gold Glover, the Game Ender (which was in New York).” Etc., etc.
    -Adam Duvall. “Former All-Star. Big home run power. We can plug him into outfield right now.”
    -Chad Sobotka. “Big, huge, hard-throwing reliever. Closer candidate for the Braves. We’re going to let him work the late innings for us.”

    It looks less like a rebuilding trade where it’s a 4-for-1 trade where you get 4 players who can be on the major league roster right now.

    If it seems light, then you can switch out Wright for Ian Anderson, and they can say, “The Braves have a ton of great pitching prospects, and we got their best one. He’s a future ace, and he’ll be in the rotation next April.”

    Syndergaard will make $6M this year, and then he’s got two more arb years remaining, by the way.

  2. JC’d
    Late to the TV choices discussion but wanted to add something… I was an early adopter of YouTubeTV ($35 per month) and it was great. One of the really awesome things was I could take a ROKU with me when I traveled to my place in PCB and still get the Braves games. Apparently the rule with YTTV is you have to “sign in” from your home location at least once a month. So I could spend a month at the PCB home and never miss the Braves games. I had YTTV plus Netflix and was real happy with the package. Then in the span of a couple of weeks they both raised their rates. YTTV went from $35 to $50 (a 42% increase!). When YTTV was sold to me it was advertised as “all the channels you want and none of the ones you don’t”. Well their excuse for raising the rate was because they were adding a bunch of channels… that I didn’t want! I have no idea why NF raised their rate but I had noticed a decrease in premium movies and an increase in NT “original content”. So at that point I voted with my dollars and canceled both then opened a HULU account. HULU was less than YTTV and had similar movie content to NF plus I still got the Braves games. The only downside now is HULU will not let me take my ROKU somewhere else (PCB) and watch live TV from my home region. I am sure given enough time I can hack my way around that but I haven’t had a long enough stretch in PCB of late to worry about it yet.

  5. @1 Throw in Folty for Diaz and it’s close to what I was suggesting last night. Yours seems a little light and I don’t want to see Anderson (i.e. Wainwright) go away.

    This morning MLBTR has an interesting piece on the Braves focusing on the Royals and Rangers. I don’t like the idea of Royals pitchers being the best we can do. But a Rangers Minor/LeClerc trade could be just as good as Thor/Diaz. I do prefer Thor/Diaz, but Minor/LeClerc is a fabulous deke to fake out the Mets to think they might lose out on the best package. Minor/LeClerc should come cheaper especially if we get them to sell low on LeClerc. One of the Rangers’ biggest weaknesses is catcher and Alex Jackson would be a perfect fit for them. Jackson and his three true outcomes would look mighty good in Arlington Stadium.

  6. Of all the prospects, I would hate to give up Anderson and Pache. I’m fine with Waters, Wright, Ender for Thor.

    Been using youtube.tv for almost two years now, I think. It’s great. Since I’m using it mostly in Europe and it wouldn’t actually work here due to the location, ExpressVPN does the trick. Cut all chords and youtube.tv is perfect for me.

  7. Speaking of weaknesses and I don’t want to pile on Nick at all, but the only Braves weakness listed in Fangraph’s Replacement Level Killers series is RF.

    @ Rob. Loved the Nick retrospective. At even 8 weeks (Freddie took 7), Nick should have 2-3 weeks to get ready for the playoffs in September. And he’d be a great bench bat to have.

    I think the best option (pending what happens at the deadline) is to go full on platoon with Ender, Riley, Joyce, and Duvall and see if one of them can break out and make himself a regular. Although, I think Riley and Duvall should see some righties. The Riley/Duvall side of that platoon could have some real devastating impact on opposing lefties.

    I do think Culby is spectacular at his role off the bench and we may need Camargo more at SS for a while. Initially, with Fried up and Nick on the IL, that just evens up the pitchers and catchers again from Ender’s callup. We may start seeing an OF of Acuna/Ender/Riley for a while unless Dansby goes on the IL. That would get Duvall called up.

  8. Confirmed.

  12. @1 I love the trade you threw out from the Atlanta side, but I do think it takes one of Pache or Anderson to get it done if you’re not going to include stronger complimentary pieces. It’s going to be hard to sell NY fans on an OF of Inciarte and Duvall being worth trading a player of Syndergaard’s caliber for, especially when that other NY team has an all-star OF out there. The Mets are also said to be looking for a ML starter capable of stepping into the rotation now, even if it’s a third or fourth starter type. Wright could be said to fit the bill there, but he’s also the headliner here. I don’t think they sell their fanbase on that, no matter Wright’s future potential. If Wright never becomes more than that you’ve traded Syndergaard for spare parts essentially.

    I think a fair trade they could probably sell their fanbase on would be Syndergaard for…

    Foltynewicz- Former ML All-star capable of stepping into their rotation now. This also doesn’t hurt Atlanta much because if you’re adding Thor, you don’t need Folty and his future arb salaries. I think this is also where San Diego can’t compete with Atlanta in a deal.

    Pache- This stings, I know, but you’re bidding against a deep San Diego system here with a wealth of OF talent. They could also offer Luis Urias and not even flinch because the left side of their IF it set. Minnesota is in there too with Kirrilloff and Lewis. I don’t believe either Minnesota or SD would gut their system in a Thor deal, but I think both would deal one top 20 prospect for the sort of player they can’t/won’t attract in FA.

    Gohara- A change of scenery might do him good? This also frees up a 40 man spot, which Atlanta desperately needs. NY can also sell this to their fans as acquiring potential.

    Wilson- Again another piece included based on potential that frees up a 40 man spot for Atlanta.

  13. I can’t see us trading Pache unless it’s for a player like DeGrom or some other “true ace.”

  15. Just found this. Apologies if this has been posted before.
    “Riding with the Braves” on youtube.

    Mike Soroka:

  17. Duvall in starting lineup. Anyone notice that he is 4/6 with 2 HRs against Eflin. I think that’s not a coincidence. Perfect that his first start this year is in a bandbox like Philly.

    Duvall brings more defense and power than Nick. And Acuna moves over to RF. Not sure I like that – a whole new set of angles for him to play. But ju-ust a bit more speed than Nick out there. Duvall, Inciarte, and Acuna has got to be one of the best defensive OFs in the league if not the best.

    In fact, it’s possible, this year more than last, Camargo may provide improved SS defense over Dansby. With some regular ABs over the next 10 days, Camargo might come around to being the guy he was last year.

    What a great set of silver linings to a bad situation.

  18. From Fangraphs:

    Dansby 843.2 INN / -2 DRS / +75 OOZ / -6 UZR per 150 / -0.2 dWAR

    Camargo 78 INN / +4 DRS / +5 OOZ / +22.4 UZR per 150 / +1.6 dWAR

    Granted SSS, but the numbers are starkly different.

    Also, Nick = -6 DRS / -11.2 UZR per 150 / -10.2 dWAR. Duvall has got to be better than that.

    Our best defenders (excluding catchers) are JD, Ronald (LF not CF), Ozzie, and Camargo (SS only). Interestingly, Culby has put up good defense numbers all over the field. We should not be surprised if the improved defense pushes Max into being a stud again like he was beginning of the year.

  20. @13 DeGrom is absolutely having a better season, but I think Syndergaard is the better pitcher when looking beyond this year. He has better stuff. If you put him on an improved offensive team with a better defense behind him he could be devastating. Plus some of his struggles this season are due in part to being caught by Ramos. Both he and DeGrom allegedly aren’t fans

  21. @19 Agreed. I’m glad Atlanta didn’t get him in a way. I’m not overly impressed by the KC pitching options, assuming KC holds firm on not paying down any of Kennedy’s salary.

  24. So the Mets are exploring trading Syndergaard to SD, and then using some of those pieces to acquire a lesser pitcher in Stoman?

    Whenever I get down about the Braves moves (or lack of) I try and remember how torturous it must be to be a Mets fan when they do “Mets like” things.

  26. I’m not a Dodgers fan, though my fondest childhood memories are of sitting in the bleachers with my grandfather at the Class D Thomasville Dodgers of the old Georgia-Florida league. I confess I was a Brooklyn fan, idolizing the Duke, Peewee, Carl Furillo and the other boys of summer; but I forsook them eternally when the Braves moved to Atlanta.

    Until today. Today I find great joy in what the Bums are doing to the gNats. Rendon keeps trying to spoil my party, but … Give ’em heck, Dodgers!

  27. @20: again with the “stuff” stuff. Folty’s case rests on his “stuff,” deGrom’s on his performance. I know which I’d choose, but I agree Thor’s got better stuff and performance than this year’s annointed ace.

  28. Three on a match: @27: I think Thor is better than Folty, but I think deGrom is better and more dependable than either. My opinion

  29. @20 I can’t imagine a world where I’d think Thor is a better pitcher than DeGrom. Thor has better stuff, and that’s it. That’s not even getting into Thor’s injury history.

  31. DeGrom’s been the best pitcher on the Mets since his rookie year — better than Harvey, better than Syndergaard, better than Wheeler and Matz and whoever else.

    It’s like when the Cubs had Prior and Wood — their best pitcher was Zambrano, and they all knew it.

    I honestly cannot fathom on what planet Eric Sogard is a meaningful improvement over Johan Camargo. Even if he’s hot this year and Camargo’s ice cold, Sogard is a 33-year old with over 2000 plate appearances in the big leagues, over which he has hit .247/.317/.340. C’mon.

  32. I think the argument is that Thor has more trade value because of his team friendly contract and age…not that he’s a better pitcher than DeGrom which is obviously false.

  33. @32 I think the situation of this season (and whatever a given person’s perspective is on the strength of the Braves’ window for being competitive) is an interesting study in value over impact. Thor might indeed be more valuable than a player like DeGrom over the course of his contract. Does he do more this year to help the Braves make a run at a WS? Would his makeup/contract result in a greater overall likelihood of success for the team after this year?

    When you are talking about trading from the cream of your prospect crop, how do you balance value vs impact, or are they the same thing? I’m glad I’m not a GM!

  34. The game tonight can be seen on Dish with the usual suspects in the booth. Duvall in RF. Happiness is live Braves TV.

  35. I maybe didn’t articulate my argument very well for Syndergaard being the better pitcher, but Braves14 touched on part of it with age and contract moving forward. Plus you take Syndergaard’s best year and put it up against DeGrom’s and they’re both Cy caliber. So if both can hit the same ceiling, I’d rather have the younger guy with the better stuff when talking pitchers.

  36. I’m not sure why Chip is raving about the Braves uni’s tonight? It’s personal taste, I know, but I don’t like them at all.

  42. The feather on the sleeve bugs me. Lol. I don’t really like the batting helmets either. Admittedly missed the pregame though so I didn’t realize these were from 79.

  52. Seems like the umpires lately have had larger strike zones in general. I wonder if that’s by design.

  58. Smiles all around: kick them while they’re down, Braves. Some days baseball is so much fun.

  59. The Phils are definitely looking like last year’s September Phils. Defeated, despirited, declining. They are toast. I think this proves that the Royals series was a classic case of the Braves overlooking an opponent and trying to win while saving their best effort for the Phils/gNats.

  68. Again with the pitchers getting on base. Again with Flowers’ lazy work behind the plate.

  71. Should be an error on JD. What a waste of a perfect throw.

    That’s gonna cost Max 10-15 pitches – almost a whole inning’s worth.

  76. That was a hard catch for Josh, to be fair. SeanRod was coming in hard. I don’t fault him for that.

  87. They can’t continue to hit Camargo 5th. They just can’t. He’s going to sabotage so many innings.

  89. Tyler back to being Flowers, alas. Thankfully the Phillies are still being the Phillies. Come on, Ender.

  96. Guys, get off Camargo. He needs time to get in a groove. Think of it as Markakis batting 5th against a lefty. Three games from now, you’re gonna love Camargo hitting 5th.

  100. In all seriousness, Eflin has been saying he’s felt sluggish and his leg strength is leaving him even in these short starts. I hope they are checking him out for possible illness.

  102. I’m not saying Camargo shouldn’t play but I’m not going to be for him finding a groove in the middle of the order on a team chasing a division title.

  108. Well, i can’t prove it…

    But I told my wife that Ozzie was about to hit a grand slam.

  111. Wonder when Kapler’s seat starts to warm up? Lol. He let that guy feel a baseball as a warm up.

  120. This game brings to mind a question for all our wheeling and dealing statheads and their creative multi-player trade packages. How come we never see a CATCHER coming our way in them?

    We need a catcher as tonight only confirms. Apparently none of the young ones on the farm are ready. So why don’t we include a catcher in our wheeling and dealing before Wednesday? Meija would be nice, the Padres shorty with a punch like a mule.

  126. The ump wants this game to be over, ball four to JD was also called a strike, and also a ball to Albie’s last inning was called strike. Hitters have to know this kind of stuff happens in blowouts.

  130. That RBI hit by Duvall actually lowered his OPS…. LOL. Who do you think will have more HRs by the end of the year? Duvall or Markakis?

  136. @135 with Touki down that’s one less long relief guy in the pen, and Tomlin went yesterday. It’s good for Mac to be on a roll and have some good innings out there, I think.

  138. 108 – My 4-year-old, right before the grand slam, when the count was 0-2, said “Ozzie’s definitely gonna hit a homerun”. I’m like yeah ok, buddy…whoa Ozzie! He definitely did!

  140. Freddie the Fantastic. What a throw!

    Too bad, Max. You pitched better than the box score will show.

  141. Yikes. Should have had someone up after the first homer and taken him out after the bloop hit.

  142. There is 100% no reason for Snit to have left Fried in for the 6th. That has to be one of the worst decisions of the entire season. It may not have lost us a game, but it sure didn’t help Fried any. And therefore was bad for the team overall. I’d rather Blevins or Tomlin or Walker be out there getting those outs or runs against them.

  146. @142

    Roger..is there not a case that can be made that when a young starting pitcher finds himself in the middle innings of a game with the luxury of a 12 run safety margin then that allows him and his coaches, if they so wish, to gauge and make note of the rate of his growing tiredness, for future reference. What better way could there be? Come the 2 homers then out he goes. Job done.

    Did you see those beautiful back to back to back curves earlier that bamboozled Harper? Lovely.

  147. @146 blazon, not with a guy that we know needs to be limited on pitch count to save for the playoffs and one who is just coming off an outing where he got a blister in his last inning that caused a IL stint. That guy needs to pitch only as long as he’s needed and then let the rest of the staff take over. What if those HRs were the result of another blister forming?

  148. Well, when you put it that way…

  149. I find Braves Journal slightly culpable for Rodriguez’s display this evening. You guys brought this on. Don’t blame me. 😀

  156. A miserable night for Johan ends with a great backhand stop and a fine throw for the final out in the game. We must let him work through his batting slump.

  157. Speaking of miserable nights, Kimbrel came in with a one run lead in the tenth and went homer, walk, homer. Seems AA most definitely made the right mid-season pitcher pickup.

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