Bob Marley : “Stir it up.” And thus the Indigenous Persons, aggrieved from years of encroaching urbanization (trolley dodgers) were able to assert dominance.
Reggie Jackson: “I am the stick that stirs the drink.”
Franklin Roosevelt: “We have nothing to fear, but fear itself.”
Theodore Roosevelt: “Speak softly and carry a big stick.”
Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. “I want to be with my boys.” (and thus he remains, in Colleville-Sur-Mer.)
Al Davis: Just win, baby.”
Maximus: “Are you not entertained?”
Damn right, we were very entertained. A good and exciting ballgame, but with the right ending. Max Fried was pushed a little early and ran up a pitch count, but as the early innings continued, it was Walker Buehler whose pitch count exceeded that of Maximus. All hail, Maximus. 2 BB’s, 4 hits, 6IP, 9K. No, Chip, he didn’t get the “win,” but the Braves sure did.
I told you skeptics 3 years ago that I had seen Riley and that he would be a workable solution at third base. The wretched offense of the last 2 / 3rds of last year has become generally less than appropriate offense in 2020. But at one moment last night, his high arching ball changed the arc of a franchise. No longer do we hope to get lucky, we stalk you and take you out.
Snit the Aggressor: Going for the runs in the eighth by using the whole bench didn’t help in the 8th. It could have killed us in extras. The potential defesnive differential in the 9th could have killed us. But Snit had it right. We need to win today, and we need to win before extra innings. The 9th was partly a response to the declaration of total war by Snit in the 8th.
Now, Dave Roberts’s calculations all need recalibration. He went through 5 relief pitchers last night. Maybe Kershaw will spit the bit.
Ozhaino Albies is a dangerous, dangerous man when hitting right handed. I bet Dave will remember that one. But, with the crack of the bat, Melancon stopped his warm up and looked up. Essentially he stood in his tracks, raised his glove and caught it. Thus did the torch pass from the offense back to the pitchers.
Foot on throat. Go! Go! Go!
“Hit me with your rhythm stick!”
–Ian Dury and the Blockheads
I think it’s “straw” that stirs the drink.
Woke up just in time for the offensive outburst. Unfortunately missed Fried but watched Will Smith and Melancon. I am especially impressed by Melancon. His last few games, certainly all postseason games, he seems more focused and more intense than before. Maybe it’s just me. But I enjoy watching him pitch. He is nasty. Ozuna with the amazing at-bat to drive in the third run. Read somewhere that all Braves runs came after the hitters were down 0-2 in the at-bat. Go Braves!
Melancon seems to have hit another gear lately. And the rest of the bullpen. AA has assembled a badass crew in the bullpen.
Beating the Dodgers with some authority was awesome. It’s just one game, but I’m starting to believe it might be our year.
Thanks cliff, Melancon’s catch was cool, like something out of a commercial.
I’ve been obsessing about the possibility of 7 games in 7 days, and it’s only now occuring to me that this is something that everybody does every season, all season long anyway. Didn’t we play like 18 days in a row one time? It might be better to think of it as potentially two 3-game series with a potential tiebreaker. Win each series, and you’re good. I imagine Snitker manages his bullpen kind of along those lines during the season.
Some good pithy quotes there. I was reminded of one last night watching Melancon — as was once said about Lew Burdette, “he’d make coffee nervous”. Good show, though!
Glad to eat crow… so far..
Fried is a true #1 ACE. And better yet, he’s not even in his physical peak yet.
I’d expect if he remains healthy that he challenges for 20W next season. FWIW, his lifetime WIN PCT is currently .703
Melancon looks great. What I don’t know is whether he simply shifted into a gear he didn’t have in the regular season (or last year, for that matter) or whether he just pitches better when he is underused. It will make a big difference which it is later in this series.
cliff– this game makes up for a lot of failed Mondays. Thanks.
Is today the most anticipated lineup of the year? Options:
1. Sandoval to 3B, Riley to LF.
2. Pache to CF, Acuña to RF, Markakis to LF.
3. Culberson to LF, everything else same.
Who gets the call to replace Duvall (if needed)? My guess would be a 3rd catcher.
Thank you, cliff. Hammer those bums, Braves.
Six o’clock starts are much better for geezers than games that start at eight. I couldn’t go past six innings last night.
Here’s the lineup I would like to see:
1. Acuna RF
2. Freeman 1B
3. Ozuna DH
4. D’Arnaud C
5. Albies 2B
6. Swanson SS
7. Culberson RF
8. Riley 3B
9. Pache CF
Also – I was super impressed with Pache’s AB when he had to come in mid-AB against Buehler after Duvall’s injury. He took some good hacks and laid off pitches that he couldn’t do anything with. If Pache could get on base a time or two tonight ahead of Acuna and FF5 and solidify the OF defense that would be huge.
@11
I agree. I’d like to see Pache in there.
Pache’s patience at the plate was in notable contrast to Markakis.
I wonder how pissed Fox is today after all the Dodger propaganda they were pumping last night?
Kershaw has been scratched tonight due to back spasms.
Tony Gonsolin will pitch instead.
Kershaw scratched. Back spasms. Gonsolin to start.
@14: I noticed in the post-game show Ortiz and Thomas looked gobsmacked. Thomas especially looked like he’d just eaten a big plate of crow.
My lineup for tonight:
Acuna RF
Freeman 1B
Ozuna DH
d’Arnaud C
Albies 2B
Sandoval 3B
Swanson SS
Riley LF
Pache CF
Well, with Gonsolin (a righty) on the mound, I have to assume the Braves will start Kakes again even though he looked absolutely lost out there last night. If Kakes is gonna be in the lineup, I’d swap him in for Charlie Clutch and go with:
Acuna RF
Freeman 1B
Ozuna DH
D’Arnaud C
Albies 2B
Swanson SS
Riley 3B
Markakis LF
Pache CF
If Snit has the stones for it, he could bench Kakes, put Panda at 3B and Riley in LF. I doubt that’d happen though (and I’m not sure if I have much faith that Panda would be an upgrade over Kakes).
EDIT: You beat me to it by a minute, Dusty.
I’d go Pache in CF, Acuna in RF, and Kakes in LF in a heartbeat. Riley in LF should never happen when you have a generational talent to play CF on the bench, which then moves a good CF to RF (Acuna). And you sure as heck don’t hurt both 3B and LF defense to put Panda on the field.
With Camargo replacing Duvall, that’s just another clear sign that it’s over for Ender in Atlanta. I like him so much personally since he was so nice to me when I met him a couple years ago. But his body has failed him, and he needs to go be a tweener starting CF/4th OF for a rebuilding team so he can make a few more bucks before it’s all over. He was a very good Brave at a time where we didn’t have many.
Whoa. Gonsolin’s a hell of a pitcher, and I’m taking nothing for granted, but this is kind of a must-win game for the Dodgers, and that’s going to put even more pressure on them to win. Gonsolin hasn’t pitched yet in the playoffs, so he’s extremely well-rested — his last appearance was September 26, when he twirled six innings, giving up four runs on seven hits. He threw 87 pitches, which was five off his career high of 92. They basically seem to cap him at a pitch count of 90; he can be counted on for about five innings, six if he’s cruising.
Gonsolin has an extraordinary K/BB, so he doesn’t walk guys, and he gives up very few homers. He throws in the upper 90s, because of course he does, and he’s basically the same age as Max Fried, but his arm is a lot younger as he’s a converted outfielder who literally was drafted in the 9th round as a senior sign. His best pitches are his fastball and his slider; he throws his splitter almost a third of the time, but the advanced metrics suggest that it’s not a money pitch for him.
So if we can foul off a bunch of fastballs and work some deep counts, we can get him out of the game early, and force Dave Roberts to go to the pen, where he’ll have some tough decisions: May pitched last night and probably cannot go three nights in a row, and Urias almost certainly has to be held back as Kershaw insurance for tomorrow, so he’ll have fewer options than normal to choose from.
By the way, Ububba, I can’t remember if you’ve told any Frank Thomas stories before. Did you see him around Columbus much?
Kershaw scratched due to back spasms.
The Dodgers are using Dustin May in this series the same way we used Max Fried in the NLDS last year…which is to say, stupidly.
Gonsolin did just throw a sim game on Saturday. Not sure how intense that was/how many pitches but can’t expect him to go more than 4 or 5 if that’s really the case.
Rob alluded to it @20, but we have officially replaced Duvall with Camargo. Sadly, this means that Duvall is done for the year. On the plus side, I still like this move better than going with Inciarte.
Strained left oblique was the official injury report from the Braves BTW, not that anybody was confused about that.
@ 8,
Just think, if that is the Hammers’ Monday game this week, watch out!!!
I could see Urias relieving Gonsolin for sort of a tandem start especially if LA thinks Kershaw can go in game 3 or 4.
Oddly enough, I think I’d prefer Kershaw started tonight. Our history against pitchers we haven’t seen worries me. The extra chance of taxing their bullpen further is nice, though.
Agreed that Camargo is a better addition than Ender.
Only change to LA lineup is Pederson is in for Hernandez (otherwise known as the entire Dodger offense from last night).
They are scared to throw a lefty at us.
Actual lineup is Pache in CF with Riley at 3rd and Kakes in LF.
That’s my second preference, to Rob’s point, is probably the best defensive team we can field while not really sacrificing offense.
I don’t think you sacrifice much defense to put Riley in LF and Panda at 3B but I could go either way.
Braves need to go in for the kill.
@32 Are you suggesting there’s a way to win 3 games tonight? If so – I’m in! What’s the plan?
We need to be careful playing with Gonsolin. He could catch fire easily.
I’d rather face Gonsolin than Kershaw tonight, but Gonsolin’s no picnic either. At the very least, hopefully, that means Kershaw’s only good for one game in this series.
#21
No, I’m 5 years older than Big Frank. I was already living in Athens when he graduated from Columbus HS.
Of course, I’d heard about him b/c he was this amazing multi-sport athlete who’d committed to Auburn. But probably the first time I ever saw him play baseball was at UGA’s Foley Field. I mean, he looked like an enormous tight end playing baseball, which is exactly what he was.
Many years later, I was at a music convention in Chicago & got invited by this upstart record company (funded by Thomas) to sit in their/his suite at the “new” Comiskey Park for a game vs KC. I ate his food, drank his beer & watched him play — & IIRC, Albert Belle hit 2 HRs for the Sox that night — but that’s about as close as I ever got to him.
Still, along with the Raiders’ Otis Sistrunk, Big Frank’s probably the most-famous athlete ever to come out of Columbus.
Our Hammers finally played a Monday game worthy of the Monday recapper.
Let’s hope their Tuesday performance exceeds the worthiness of the Tuesday recapper, as it usually does.
All of the Fox studio commenters picked the Dodgers. But the Big Hurt did say in the pregame that the Dodgers shouldn’t go to sleep on the 7-8-9 hitters in the Braves lineup. Frank was crowing about that after Riley’s HR.
With the way Kakes has looked through the 1st 2 series and the 1st game of the NLCS, Snit has to look at benching him. 0 for 3 with 2 ks and 5 lob will not cut it.
Sounds like Riley in LF and Camargo at 3B would’ve happened against Kershaw per Snit.
Also sounds like no Kershaw in game 3 so assuming game 4 at this point.
Safe to assume Urias in game 3 maybe? Meaning Wood may get some innings tonight?
Gee, I wonder if Roberts now wishes that he had chosen this series to finally stop screwing around with Dustin May. Just makes his usage in this postseason all the more baffling IMO, though he admittedly couldn’t have known that Kershaw was gonna develop back spasms today.
@40: Apparently the back spasms developed on Sunday after a bullpen session.
Game thread!
https://bravesjournal.mystagingwebsite.com/2020/10/13/nlcs-game-2-braves-vs-dodgers/