Time to snap out of it and steal a W tonight against league best (what a world) Miami. News we’ve half expected dropped today.
I feel like this almost cements the possibility that Cristian Pache gets the call when the Braves come back home on Monday. Chad Sobtoka, who likely is part of the player pool (inferring is a gift), is added back to the roster.
Bad Puns? Nah…it’s Too Erlin
This is not what any of us wanted, yet it’s here. Robbie Erlin will start tomorrow’s game and is said to be available for 75 pitches. Hopefully we see Tucker Davidson soon.
The Gwinnett 30 Get Some Screen Time
As I write this, the Gwinnett 30 took their talents to Truist tonight where they’re playing each other. Kyle Muller and Ian Anderson squared off and Muller looked dominant his first inning but faded in the 2nd. Peter O’Brien took Anderson deep and it got me thinking about O’Brien again. Will we see him this year? Unlikely, but worth storing in the back pocket. Here’s David on Muller:
David also added some news of his own on a player promoted to the player pool:
Braves Lineup for Tonight
Snap out of it, Gents. Let’s get the W.
If Robbie Erlin is starting a game for you your organization has problems with pitching.
Beautiful work, Max.
WTF was the strike call against Camargo?
@1–on occasion Chief can be a little negative, but his comment @1 is a master of understatement.
For some reason I thought Duvall has played some centerfield in the big leagues, but according to Baseball Reference I was wrong. Ender is the only CF on the roster right now, which means we get to see Ender against a lefty. Free Pache!
Is it just me or is Fried using his slider a lot more this season (and successfully)?
5 — I guess if something happens to Ender then we get to see Culberson in CF.
@6 Not just you! I can’t remember where I saw it, but there was a post somewhere that broke down Fried’s pitch mix this year, and the Slider use was up.
What… in the hell, Johan.
Bad baseball, bad product, players going through the motions. IMO.
Ah, the mighty Ender, just who I want to see with a runner in scoring position.
Johan is a great illustration as to the current mind set of where this team is right now. Looks like some are just not in it
@11 against a lefty no less
After Duvall, this lineup is ghastly.
I mean, I hear all of that, but surely Fried’s been worth the metaphorical price of admission tonight? He’s just given up a couple hard-hit balls, and erased one that fell with that pickoff.
Having seen so much of Glavine and Frenchy as players, it’s fascinating to hear their commentary. Jeff keeps insisting that they need to recognize the off speed pitch outside, not try to pull, and hit to the opposite field. That’s a good point, but I wish he had known that as a player himself.
And Glavine just said that the soft tossing lefty for the Fish can’t just keep throwing it outside; he needs to bust it inside. Again, good advice, but I seem to remember Glavine had some games in which every pitch was just off the outside corner. (At least that’s my memory)
@15 I mean, you know MY answer.
Johan Camargo probably should’ve been pulled out of the game after whatever in God’s name that non-baserunning event was. It cost us a run.
If you’re gonna stop three-quarters of the way to second on a soft liner to right that has a high chance of being caught, you might as well just not stop at all just in case it’s not.
This is the old curse of the first look struggle against a rookie pitcher.
@20 I would agree but we look like trash against everyone right now. Too bad we don’t have anybody in the minors that might look better than Ender against a lefty…or righty for that matter
Throws a strike? Nice call Chip
Another stellar play by Johan whether he is out or safe
Whew.
MARCELL!!!!
Marcell, say it’s so!
Incredible pitch and huge strikeout.
That pitch was legit insane, given the sequence that led up to it.
Why is Hech on this team?
@16
Glavine would muscle up to 91 or so in on the hands against righties maybe 8-10 times a game. Just often enough to keep them honest.
ADAM! DUVALL!!!
Whew. Good win.
@30–you’re right of course. When a right handed hitter started leaning over the plate, Tom could bust him inside. When he did, he always got it on the hands; Glavine never caught too much of the plate.
But I remember so many games in which the ump would keep giving him a few more inches outside and Glavine would go another inch or two outside.
Adam Duvall looks like one of those hip megachurch pastors.
Man, where would we be without Max Fried?
@33
It really was masterful. Thinking more about it, I believe you’re right that most everything to RHBs was away or below the knees early in his career. That inside fastball was a mid-career development, and actually became an out pitch for him. Maddux was the acknowledged master of command, but he had the advantage of wicked late movement on his pitches. Glavine had nerves of steel to throw what he threw.
A casual look at the standings shows that we’ve played 22 games, while the Marlins have only played 14 games. The Cardinals have only played 7 games, which is amazing. I find myself wondering how MLB plans to balance all of this at the end.
@33, 36 – As I remember, Leo Mazzone was famous for having his pitchers throw low and away. It seemed to work pretty well for a long time. Of course, there were always complaints that umpires extended their strike zone for Glavine and Maddux. If you throw exactly where the catcher is positioned over and over again, you’ve got a pretty good chance to get borderline calls.
Recapped. This will also serve as today’s Game Thread.
https://bravesjournal.mystagingwebsite.com/2020/08/16/braves-22-game-recap-braves-snap-skid-with-dramatic-2-1-win/