Oh no! We suck again! Or maybe I should say we still suck. Losing six of eight to the gNats is not something I would endure in 2024.
Sunday’s 8-5 drubbing at the hands of the team from the nation’s capitol was yet another disappointment in a long line of disappointments over the past six weeks.
I’m toggling between the angry post and waxing philosophically – so you may get a little of both here. I have the Little River Band hit, “Cool Change,” running through my mind. My hope is Brian Snitker does, too.
“Time for a cool change. I know that it’s time for a cool change. And now that my life is so prearranged, I know that it’s time for a cool change.”
Little River Band
STOP RUNNING THE SAME LINEUP OUT THERE!
Marcell OHzuna was uncharacteristically quiet on Sunday. He has carried this offense in 2024. When AA picked up Jarred Kelenic this off-season, I never expected to say he would be the second best hitter on the team in mid-June. Alas, here we are.
Shake things up
Let Kelenic lead off tomorrow. Give Brian Anderson some innings in right-field, and send Adam Duvall to the moon. Move Riley to seventh or eighth until he figures it out. Do whatever you can, Snit, to create a cool change. This lineup that is prearranged every single day is obviously not working. We suck again!
Keep grinding. One of these days it’s going to break loose is JUST NOT WORKING!
Hurston Waldrep made his MLB debut on Sunday night afternoon and took the “L.” He was fine once through the order, lost his way in the fourth, and surrendered a 2-0 lead evaporate, when Aaron Bummer gave up a three-run double to CJ Abrams. The gNats took a 7-2 lead and were never truly threatened.
Some of you who watched may question if that is true, what with the Braves scoring three off Jordan Weems in the top of the ninth before Davey Martinez brought in Kyle Finnegan. With Ozzie Albies on first, Martinez made the call to the ‘pen, but the Braves had Riley, OHzuna, and Matt Olson coming up. Riley popped out to left, OHzuna to right, and Olson struck out on a pitch up and in that he had no chance of hitting.
The Braves are nine games back in the standings, 4-6 in their last 10, and 9-15 in their last 24. Snit, it’s time for a cool change, bro. I don’t want to have to keep saying “We suck again.” It’s making all of Braves Country a little irritated.
I don’t think it’s true that Snitker has run out the same lineup every day – there have been 38 different batting orders and 18 different defensive lineups in 63 games (not including pitchers), per baseball-reference.
A lot of that comes from things like the injury-related cups of coffee given to David Fletcher, Chadwick Tromp, Luke Williams, Luis Guillorme, et al. Granted that he hasn’t batted Kelenic leadoff, I think Snit has juggled his lineup about as much as he can; the rest is really in Anthopoulos’s hands.
I was at the game, and Waldrep was not getting swings and misses. That contributed to his inability to put guys away in the disastrous fourth. A guy with his stuff needs to be able to induce whiffs.
Similarly, the offense’s propensity to choke away scoring opportunities with men on third and fewer than two outs is reaching a crisis point. With Ronald out, I’d love to see more of our guys trying to steal the extra base, given how much basestealing is generally up across the league. Right now we’re not getting tons of opportunities, and we’re often squandering the ones we get.
Exactly right. I’d sure like to see some situational baseball. Using the same approach with RISP as with none on is just not working (to use Christian’s phrase which is so appropriate).
Okay, Alex, technically you are correct. I didn’t go fact check all the line-up changes. That doesn’t mean, however, that Riley shouldn’t be moved and that Duvall shouldn’t sit against EVERY right-handed pitcher. We share a perspective that the offense is not getting it done and I will celebrate that.
Hopefully we can celebrate a win or two in Baltimore because they get it going!
If Riley and Harris OPS in the .600s then it doesn’t matter – doomed. Hopefully we get some mean regression in the upwards direction, soon.
Truth!
Well, David Fletcher is trying the Mark Lemke career reinvention:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/06/10/david-fletcher-angels-pitcher-betting/
In commenting on the performance of his emerging players, Snit has a knack for saying absolutely nothing. Kind of like the Bally Sports broadcasting crew.
Looks like a lineup change tonight. Something along the lines I suggested. I hope it works. I really don’t care if the leadoff is Harris or Kelenic but I believe Harris has the best ability to adapt to it.
This is just another Bobby Cox Lite® team