Jean Segura‘s solo home run in the bottom of the 4th spoiled a dominant performance by Touki Toussaint, and a solo homer by Ronald Torreyes in the 8th off Chris Martin proved to be the difference.
Aaron Nola demonstrated one way to solve a bullpen problem, going 8 2/3 innings before allowing a solo homer to Austin Riley. Nola departed in favor of Ranger Suarez, who struck out Dansby Swanson to pick up his 4th save. Nola allowed 4 hits, no walks, and struck out 9 on 116 pitches. Riley added 2 doubles in addition to the homer.
Toussaint went toe to toe with Nola, allowing 5 hits and no walks in 7 innings, and striking out 10. Touki’s stuff was absolutely filthy. I wish I had a clip I could show you of strike 2 on Andrew McCutchen in the 6th. McCutchen swung and missed a fastball that ran in at his knees so far, that Kevan Smith had to backhand it just to catch it. Smith was literally shaking his head in amazement after that pitch.
Let’s see, what else happened? No, that’s about it.
The Phillies earn a split of the 4 game set, and the Braves head to New York Monday for a double header against the Mets. Kyle Muller and Marcus Stroman are scheduled for the first game at 5:10; Bryse Wilson and Tobe Determined for game 2.
JC’d from coop.
“Back in my Navy days, my last duty station was Fort Meade, where I, for want of a better word, supervised Army bad boys painting barracks. I was part of the Naval Security Group and probably the worst Chinese Mandarin linguist in the fleet, so watching folks paint buildings was the best use of my talents.
I had a lot of free time, free room and board and no clothing costs to speak of. This old country boy was rich, or so I thought; so I went car shopping.
And what a beauty I found! A 1967 Austin Healey Mark III 3000. She was everything I had every wanted in a car, and I looked fine rolling along with the top down.
It was the rolling along part that gave me trouble. The Healey couldn’t stay on the road. As soon as I got one expensive thing fixed, another more expensive one broke. That car emptied both my bank account and my patience. Today’s game reminded me of that beast.
Touki was great, but the offense broke. What an exasperating season this has been, and what a pitiful offense we have! Even at our best, we play five or six major leaguers. Even in the NL East, that flies no flags.
Too bad I am addicted to this ridiculous team. I despair, but I listen faithfully.”
Coop,
Today, the Braves offense was boo-hau.
Is it safe to say “to be determined” has the matchup advantage over Bryse Wilson? I suppose it does matter which Bryse shows up
coop, that was beautiful.
Surely they have recognized that there is nothing but p.r. value to La Gran Calabaza at this point. But even Chip has caught on. If they aren’t going to promote Demeritte, why not bring back Contreras, who can’t possibly hit any worse than La Gran Calabaza and can also actually replace Kevan Smith’s third at bat any time the Braves are losing. Plus, a third catcher sounds so perfectly Snit-like.
Hen boo hau.
Ububba, someday when you feel generous, please tell the new folks how you clobbered Chip in a UGA intramural game. I love that story.
@5 yes please. Somehow I missed that one
From a 15-3 win to a 2-1 loss. The best way to describe this team is consistently inconsistent.
#5
In Mandarin?
OK, but… it really was an accident – an E-6, in fact.
I think it was about 1985… Intramural Fields in Athens. I’m playing softball for The Red & Black (the UGA student newspaper) & he was playing for WUOG (the UGA student radio station).
I’m playing SS, runner on 1st, less than 2 outs & Chip’s at the plate. He hits a grounder to me and I field the ball. Thinking DP, I take a step toward second to underhand-toss the ball to my 2B.
Unfortunately for me (and Chip), my 2B didn’t have his head in the game & he never moved toward the bag. No play there, so I re-situate my body to throw the ball to first to, at least, get one out. So, I awkwardly pivot off my left leg & wing the ball sidearm to first, with my body still moving toward 2nd.
Immediately, I can tell that it’s going to be off the mark, like a sliced golf shot that’s going… right into the runner. The whole thing was in slow motion to me because I just knew what was about to happen. So, I took a peek at him running down the line, hoping he’d look up & avoid the errant throw.
But, like a good baserunner, he was determined to avoid getting doubled up, I guess, so he was head-down… and the ball clocked him on the top of his noggin — thump! — and he went down like Joe Frazier.
Although I was slightly grateful that it didn’t hit him flush in the face… of course, I felt terrible. Everyone ran over to him & he was definitely dazed. He eventually got up, shakily, never acknowledged anything about the incident & went to first base. Nothing was ever said, we never had words & I can’t even remember who won the game.
An Addendum: A few years later, say, 1991-92, after I’d moved to NYC, I was at a Mets/Cubs game at Shea Stadium. I’d scored passes to this suite, which shared the press elevator & I found myself in the elevator with Chip’s legendary grandfather, Harry. I’d had a bevvy or two (and perhaps he had, as well), so I guess I wasn’t shy when I told him something like:
“You know, I really should apologize to the Caray family… I went to college with your grandson & I once konked him in the head with a thrown softball… got him pretty good… I’ve felt bad about it ever since…”
And Harry Caray boomed, only in a way that he could boom in a crowded freight elevator: “Ah, don’t feel so bad… you probably knocked some sense into him!”
Everyone in the elevator laughed & only then did I feel a little bit better. A bookend to the story, at least.
@8 that’s classic. Thank you for sharing again
@8 Awesome story
Thanks, ububba. If you’re going to the Mets games(s), how about a not so instant replay?
@8 Brilliant!
@8 That’s a great story.
The two anecdotes in these comments here – – were a lot better than the Braves offense today.
At least one ownership group is really going for it – – the rich getting richer, as it looks like the Padres are gaining Adam Frazier from the hapless Bucs.
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/31884344/san-diego-padres-acquire-all-star-second-baseman-adam-frazier-pittsburgh-pirates-sources-say
Was chip maybe on track to become a great announcer before an unfortunate head injury in college?
I told Walt Weiss and Sal Fasano this AM, that I thought they could have hit one out last night in the 15-3 game and Walt laughed and Sal said only if he was facing Torreyes.
FWIW, this team may not be great but they’re a classy respectful bunch.
Oh and Snit tried to open my bathroom stall. Whoops.
This thread is remarkable! Thanks Coop and uBubba.
Win only one your done
Win two still blue
Win three some glee
Win four your in the door
Win five very much alive.
Come on, I just.got up. No coffee.
Just think: If we’d had our way, we’d have signed both Ozuna and Bauer.
https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2021-07-25/trevor-bauer-dodgers-timeline
Great to hear that there is a good group of people on the team Chief. It sure is nice to know the team is easy to pull for and not a team of Lenny Dykstra’s. Forgetting the bathroom incident, do you think Snitker should stay on as manager to start next year? I know there have been a lot of injuries and the bullpen has been a mess, but I can’t help but blame Snit for some of Atlanta’s lack of consistency. I’m interested to hear your take after seeing the team in person.
I’m sure that I’m probably in the minority opinion, but if the 2nd half of this season goes further into the tank, I think that management should at least move into the evaluatory, ‘bring us your plan moving forward’ stage of circumstances.
I’ve always thought that sports folks always seem to talk about players’ managers pros, but never seem to ever mention any cons. I’ve always thought that there were some.
IMO, young teams need a firmer hand and older clubs do better with players’ managers.
The 26 man roster we find ourselves with is seemingly neither. Some really old guys and some very young ones as well.
I’ve long thought that organizationally that the org needs a different approach with more reliance/focus on tools as opposed to ‘polish’ etc. Focusing on the latter IMO yields too many AAAA types that simply aren’t quite good enough for MLB.
And I’ve asked a few times what is our organizational philosophy from a hitting perspective? A pitching one? I get that these aren’t things that are printed in a media guide as in OUR STRATEGY IS: but still as someone who has gone to games since the late 70s, the org seems to not have clear direction.
And the Gwinnett shuttle needs to be derailed. Players need to be given more leeway when they come up and perform, options and svc time be damned.
Premptively, Rob, I’m one guy with an opinion. No less, no more.
I hate to say this, but I think it does matter who Freddie wants, if he would even tell them. If he is a Snit guy, maybe we keep him and it helps us resign Freddie. If he isn’t, that makes a difference as well. I normally don’t like to give that much power to a player, but we need to resign him long term and any edge we can get will help.
After having eaten the crow, I’ve come around to signing FF.
I still wonder if long term, its in a vacuum, the right move, but at this point, I think not doing so would be a worse move. He’s the unquestioned heart of this team, franchise, organization and fanbase. I think that you just have to pray that he stays productive over the length of the contract and perhaps he could also DH later down the road if it comes to it.
Going to games and seeing players in person gives you a different perspective from watching on TV.
@23, I’m as surprised as anyone to agree fully with what you just said 🙂
No question — signing a 30-year-old to a long-term contract comes with a guarantee of the player’s inevitable decline, and you just never know quite how long they’ll fight Father Time. Freddie’s already had back issues, and almost nobody remotely comparable to him has managed to stay highly productive past 35.
(As I noted a year ago, a scout wrote that he had “plenty of loft & raw HR pwr… Solid feel to hit now,” but “slow 1st step [and] bad wheels” when he was 15 years old! Them’s some seriously early-onset old player skills.)
So, yeah, he’ll get old some day. But he’s the beating heart of the franchise, the reigning MVP, the unquestioned leader in the clubhouse, and one of the most famously popular and nicest guys in the sport, universally admired by everyone in baseball.
Sometimes it really just is that simple: pay the man.
23 and 24 – I agree to a point, but what does “pay the man” mean? I don’t think I would do 8 years/$200, but 5/$110-$120 maybe. Would he do a front loaded 8/$160 deal? Something like 25/25/22/22/20/20/17/17? I could go for that.
Pay the man.
I wonder if FF5 is like Chipper in the sense that he wants the team succeed and would stay at a discount. He’s that kind of guy, I think. An extremely rare breed if so.
I’ll let the suits work out the details. I kind of doubt it would take $200 to bring him back, just because he’s a slow first baseman without a lot of defensive value who’s on the wrong side of 30. But we’ll see.
I would do an 8/150 with some deferred like Bonilla to keep paying him long after retirement and keep him in the organization. Freddie is a Dale Murphy-like personality. I asked him a question at ChopFest 2019 and his honest answer and calm and humble demeanor just made me love him even more. And yes, bring the DH to the NL.
Hey let’s get both Marte and Duvall…. And get a throw-in reliever to boot.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/07/marlins-shopping-marte-duvall-relievers.html
I have zero confidence in Wilson tonight.
@19 Yikes!!! That is true.
@20 I was a big fan of Dykstra back in the day. I used to watch him play with the Tidewater Tides when he was coming through the minors….back when he was a skinny little guy.
@22 It matters what Ronald says too. I know his contract isn’t up but you want to keep the best player on the team happy too. When Snitker threw him under the bus (after NOT throwing Dansby under the bus for doing the same thing) it was crushing for him and his family. I also lost faith in Snitker at that time. He should have had to issue a public apology to him. I know Freddie likes Snitker but I doubt it stops him from signing a multi-million dollar contract. You can’t keep a manager who alienates certain players AND is not a particular good manager.
@29 Marte is a rental. Unless they get him really cheap I wouldn’t do it. The Marlins won’t give him to the Braves cheaply either.
Freddie – at the max I would give him 5/135. That is a little more that Paul Goldschmidt got. It’s probably all the Braves can afford. Maybe add a team option for a 6th year. They can’t tie the finances up in a 38, 39 year old.
@30 He’s probably lost faith in himself after being on that stupid AAA shuttle bus. I like AA but that shuttle STINKS. It has got to play on the minds of these kids. I would move him to the bullpen permanently in
AAA and if he does well, call him up to the majors. He is out of options after this season so they need to do something before the end of the season.
Off topic but can we preemptively give the nickname Freddy Tarnok: Dinosaur Hunter? We have hardly any good nicknames on our team any more (La Gran Calabaza very much excepted), and I can’t think about a better nickname for an obscure prospect than an obscure comic book/video game reference.
I imagine any competitors for Freddie would have an even more objective assessment of his future than we do, and bid accordingly. But it only takes one idiot.
I wonder what kind of assessment of the market Freddie’s agent is giving him.
Well we come to the do or die series and AA has produced Joc P as the only addition .. no help for a staggered bullpen .. no right handed power bat for LF or 3B .. so we as always are a day late and dollar short while others work to improve teams .. we think all our prospects are cant miss .. when only 3 or 4 will legit .. we hold prospects way too long .. after its been established that they have went as far as they can go do we decide to see what we get for them .. you gotta roll the dice .. sometimes you win and sometimes you crap out
Not sure I understand this Frazier deal for the Padres. Just seems like more of what they don’t need. Brian Kelly said that the Padres want to move Hosmer, so that makes more sense. Then it scares me that they are moving Hosmer to sign Freddie in the offseason.
If we could trade for Marte, Duvall, and a couple of relievers while giving up mostly junk, then that would be great. But giving up anything of significance for those guys is probably the wrong move considering where we are.
@19 I would say I “accepted” the signing of Ozuna (knowing full well that he could easily become Dan Uggla 2.0), but I never wanted Bauer. He’s a prick, and I don’t care if he had “Braves” on his jersey, I didn’t want him. He’s also not nearly as good as his reputation suggests, so I feared an overpay, which likely happened regardless of his legal troubles.
@37 I worried about the Ozuna deal too given that 2020 was a partial season success and the previous season for the Cardinals wasn’t all that great. However, there weren’t too many other options out there. I liked Bauer but not for 40M/year.
@35 He’s doing the right thing. He could empty the farm and not make this team a World Series contender.
If the Braves win 4 of these next 5 games then they might buy. If not, look for them to stand pat or even sell. It won’t be wrong.
It’s too bad D’Arnaud isn’t healthy. He would be a great sell candidate.
Chasen Shreve looked great when he came up with Atlanta and had a good year with the Yankees, but has been pretty lackluster until this year. Any thoughts on trying to pick him up as a rental? He’s not striking out enough hitters, but everything else definitely looks better than the lefties we have.
“It’s too bad d’Arnaud isn’t healthy” is a pretty good summation of his entire career up to this point. That’s why the Rays were able to get him for nothing, and why we were able to get him for not very much.
He was drafted in 2007. Debuted in 2013. He’s played nine seasons in the majors. And he has collected 400 plate appearances a grand total of once.
Missing most of the year with injury is what he has done literally in most seasons of his career.
I like the guy: he’s clearly a fine hitter, a smart veteran, and I admire the hell out of him for having the tenacity to stay with the game to the point that he had a career year last season, at age 31. But he ain’t never stayed healthy before, and he sure ain’t about to start now.
#11
No violence tonight, and hopefully no accidents.
I’ll just be chilling w/ scorebook & a cold one.
Go Braves.
I think it’s likely the Braves go 2-3 this weekend, and if they do, they should sell the expiring contracts.
Muller is throwing some very handsome curveballs today. Mets keep trying (and failing) to hit on ‘em.
What the actual hell was Dansby doing that he didn’t score on that?
UPDATE: Well, no harm no foul, I guess.
Is one Sandoval AB worth not bringing Muller back in the 6th?
Get in touch with Smitty’s Barber! Bring your ideas!
@46 For real, why burn Muller so you can have the pleasure of PH an automatic out? Muller was at 75 pitches.
It’s the kind of stuff that wears out your bullpen. No Matzek in Game 2 now.
Why do you hear about all these teams in contention interested in players from other teams .. nothing about Braves .. ??
That’s one… some nice plays by Dansby in the 1st game
Woohoo! Tickling .500 one more time again with Mr. Wilson toeing the rubber in game two. What could go wrong?
Base running was suspect though, Ububba, but I do like for my shortstop to catch the ball and throw the ball..
Like on the UGA intramural field.
@50 Because the Braves GM is very secretive. Anyone caught leaking info is executed on the spot.
@52 This has the makings of more lose-win-lose-win
Looks like the Mets are starting Johnny Wholestaff in Game 2.
#52
Well, we did turn a couple of huge DPs tonight.
Game 2 really feels like a “must-win.” Maybe we win a shoot-out
@48 I would rather watch Muller hit than Panda at this point.
I wonder if the Braves pull a “no one was even talking about it” trade for a controlled player ……someone like Jose Ramirez. He would cost a lot but a foursome of Ronald, Freddie (fingers crossed), Jose and Ozzie would be sweet.
Your lips to AA’s ears, CindyJ.
I should have mentioned this sooner, but I’ve been feeling pretty good about this game. It seems when everyone is ready to give up on Wilson, he comes through and pitches a gem. Let’s hope that’s the case tonight.
Optimism is in scare supply around here lately. Thanks, td.
Classic Chip jinx by saying no lead off hits in 10 innings today before the lead off double…smh
Optimism sucks, td.
The non competitive pitches after an 0-2 count on Davis was the killer for Wilson. While Chavez has been good it seems like a strikeout pitcher would be better here but I honestly don’t know who on the staff they would be…Santana? Luke?
Edit- what do I know? Great job boys
Hell yeah!
Chip did a good job willing that strikeout and double play, I have to admit.
On the other hand, td, hope springs eternal. How about some runs, Hammers?
Post-ASG regression to the mean, thy name is Luke Jackson.
@66 yep
Loss incoming. Another shutout probably.
Luke Jackson doing Luke Jackson things lately.
I will give props to Freddie, he really has turned his season around. A shame that slump of his at the start of the season coincided with everyone except Acuña being ice cold. So many close games lost…
Shameful that chavez is maybe our best bullpen option . Fire Kranitz before he gets his mitts on Muller and Touki.
oh great, Newk to the rescue
@68 yeah, they interviewed Kranitz and he said something about Touki and I just thought, “keep your paws off of him”. Mike Maroth did in a couple of months what he couldn’t do in 3 years for him. I’m guessing he also worked with Kyle. If they start regressing we will know why.
Alright, likely now or never.
It would have been nice to have gotten some help *before * this series.
Damn you, Chip.
The new baseball has hurt the bats so dang much…
No clutch on this years team, unfortunately.
If the braves don’t sweep the last 3 games, please sell already.
Newk will make sure we don’t have to sweat the 7tb
@75 yeah, the bullpen choices this entire year have been head scratching, regardless if Newk somehow works out here.
6-9 is basically a black hole, especially when kevan smith is playing. You cant expect to win with that kind of lineup. And if they manage to get on base, more often than not the top of the order will choke.
Atta boy Newk
@76 seems like just some small offensive upgrades would allow us to score 1 or 2 runs. The Heredia/Almonte/Smith group is awful
It feels like the Braves’ record when the opponent has a “bullpen game” is piss-poor.
Biggest game of year …we strike out 10 times .. 4 hits against a bunch relievers .. piss poor
@79 Not to mention stinking it up offensively in double headers, in general.
Was close to saying 5-9 is a black hole, because Dansby has been maybe the biggest dissapoinment now that Freddie has gotten it going (Pache notwithstanding).
Well poo.
You are what you are. No horsepower.
You think that lineup concerns any pitcher? No it does not. Any moves should be towards next year and beyond. The young pitchers will be enjoyable to watch the rest of the year. See where Freddie’s numbers end up. Albies and Swanson rest of the season also. Heredia is worth watching. He may be next years center fielder. The rest, who cares, they hopefully will be history. They are AAAA players.
I suggest the Braves win the next three
@83 You wouldn’t move a Trey Harris, Tucker Davidson and/or Kyle Wright for Starling Marte and Dylan Floro?
@84 I absolutely would NOT! He’s a rental. Given that Tucker is injured I doubt he is traded. Wright can possibly be used as a throw-in in the right trade. He needs a change of scenery but his trade value is limited. I would only target players signed through next year.
I have seen two different articles suggesting the Braves should trade for Aaron Judge. That would make for a pretty awesome OF next year with Ronald back in the fold. Ronald and Judge with a platoon of Joc and Heredia in CF or Joc and Pache in CF.
We may have lost both games if we played 9 innings, but I hate the 7 inning doubleheader rules. They feel like little league games.
I am now a stand patter, unless AA can obtain a treasure for our trash, and the treasure ought to be controllable at least through 2023-4.
Does anyone else hear the Everly Brothers? Dream, dream, dream.
Braves since the All Star Break:
Loss
Win
Loss
Win
Loss
Win
Loss
Win
Loss
Win
Loss
@88 I agree I’d rather them just do nothing and ride out this doomed season as it is. Play the kids, stop the AAA shuttle and let guys either figure things out, or not, and then cut bait at the end of this season accordingly.
Rentals of marginal needle movers don’t interest me much with a roster shot full with this many holes.
recrapped, I mean recapped.
@88 also agree….wouldn’t mind trading for a non rental OF but that’s it. Call up Bryse for the bullpen permanently.