I am, mostly, the jinx of this year. Once again, a Wednesday loss. Once again, a day game loss. Once again, a getaway / last game of series loss.
Bryce Elder has been better than I expected. I have seen Muller’s numbers in AAA show up so much better and have wondered why he hasn’t been the one to come up. Not sure if it is internal scouting or just the fact that frequently Elder’s interval seemed to line up. I now believe Elder might actually be good enough to be a 5 (not enneagram type 5, starting pitcher number) on a playoff caliber team. So, another chance to fill a roster spot from this totally barren farm system.
How can a Joey Meneses be a factor? The real factor is that the Braves offense produced no power and, in lieu of such, not enough baserunners. The pitching showed up, mostly. The offense didn’t. The Mets finally lose, but then the Braves do also.
I had to go home to move a sofa and didn’t get to recap before I left the office. I have loads of stuff to deal with here. So, this is the best I can do for now. Discuss on the enjoyable visit to Philadelphia.
Thanks, cliff!
An annoying loss, to be sure, but we went 5-1 on the home stand and stayed the same distance from first place.
The good news (?) is that we’re still tied with the Mets in the loss column. That’s supposedly to be better than being tied in the win column, right? For… reasons.
Better because we control our own destiny as long as we’re tied in the loss column.
How can a Joey Meneses be a factor?
It was just that time of the month.
…I’ll show myself out.
@3 Oh, that’s good. Bravo.
Despite hitting the ball as hard as ever, Matt Olson’s year has been pretty meh, which makes me think:
He’s tired. Playing in every game can do that.
His walk rate is down because he doesn’t know the pitchers that well and is still adjusting.
Is there any data on walk rates for All Star-level players that switch leagues in the prime of their career? Miguel Cabrera’s walk rate dropped after being traded to the Tigers for a few years but not sure if this has been looked at in any detail.
Resigning Freddie was always the move and walking away over a sixth year was a mistake. He’s a generational talent and Matt is simply a very good player.
Through Freddie’s age-27 season, he had a .873 career OPS playing his games in the NL East. Through Olson’s age-27 season, he had a .859 OPS playing his games in the AL West and Oakland Coliseum. So going into Olson’s first season in Atlanta, the two 1B’s career trajectories were pretty similar.
Olson’s age-28 season, this year in Atlanta, has been pretty terrible and completely indefensible. The only thing I can say is that this whole thing has probably been hard on him while also switching leagues. Freddie did not have to switch leagues.
And Freddie’s Freddie now because he threw some gasoline on his game in a big way starting with his age-28 season. He went from the aforementioned .873 OPS to a .928 OPS since his age-28 season. He’s slowly become a better leader, he’s slowly become a better defender, and he has been a demonstrably better hitter.
So we need to see what Olson is going to do going forward, and I don’t know if right now is still the best time to be taking a snapshot of his career.
I’m still mad about the Freddie situation.
I’m still mad about the Jermaine Dye situation. We coulda used that guy.
Hello darkness, my old friend…
@7 Me too. I blame the lockout. If they had more time to chat AA wouldn’t have had to push the panic button and grab Olson.
But it’s in the past. And Olson has plenty of time to put it together.
@9 Crapppppppp
Gotta feel for Mike Soroka. But he would not have been a factor in October anyways if we’re being honest. Rest and get ready for the next season, Mike. Looking forward to having you back with the Braves in 23.
The path back to pitching after missing two years with a devastating injury is most likely not linear.
I hate this for Mike, but I’m not going to get too concerned about Soroka’s future. As @12 says, many twists and turns on the road back. As long as his Achilles holds together, he has the entire offseason to rest and begin a gradual throwing program.
I imagine the best case scenario for Soroka is similar to what we’ve seen with RAJ this season. Flashes of the player he was, more rest than we fans want him to take, and probably a quick trigger on taking him out of games.
By all accounts, Soroka is both very smart and very competitive. And competitiveness often beats intelligence in the heat of the moment. I expect to see a frustrated Soroka being pulled before he’s ready to come out of the game
I wonder if Soroka is a winter ball candidate. Would love for him to really make sure he’s back and better than ever next year.
I’m not giving up on Soroka. He still could still be a Cy Young winner. I’m still a believer.
@8 Same here, Rob, that trade is still nonsensical to me.
More salty about Jason Hursh over Aaron Judge.
Or Texeira for Kotchman and Marek
Oh man, the Jermaine Dye was brutal.
Are yall watching on Fox? I’m not seeing the game anywhere, and Fox has Yanks-Sawx here in middle TN.
Yeah, it’s on Fox to a very limited number of areas. With frequent cutaways to Aaron Judge ABs. Honestly, they probably should’ve made Yankees-Red Sox a national broadcast and dropped our game. That’s clearly what they would’ve preferred anyway.
Bats are not in any kind of groove. Not being negative, just stating the obvious. The good thing is that the only thing that matters is how they do in a couple weeks.
Tough to win with almost two complete games of hibernation mode.
Dansby as a leadoff hitter…woof
Two first-pitch outs by Olson tonight. Good job, good effort.
Oof. That was a hell of a strike 2.
Better luck tomorrow. 3 of 4 still possible.
Yeah, get ready for the wild card, braves aren’t sweeping the mutts with degrom and scherzer going 🙁 not with this offense.
Terrible call on Grossman to end it with a cherry on top of a sh*t sundae
Maybe next year the manager and team will learn that games in April and May matter
16 LOB . Guys choking under pressure … 2 games in a row ..
Recapped
https://bravesjournal.mystagingwebsite.com/2022/09/22/philadelphia-union-1-atlanta-united-nil/