Filthydelphia 8, ATLANTA 3

Game Notes...

- No Series Preview this week. Just don't have time for that.

- Today's lesson, kiddies, is when to pull the trigger. No, no, not on the gun in your mouth that seemed to be there the entire time you watched this game, but on when to take a pitcher out. Here's a SAT-worthy question.

Leaving your high-priced starter in the game, despite him not pitching well, laboring, and already up to 98 pitches coming out of the sixth, is to Losing as _____ is to ____
A - Masturbation is to blindness
B - Masturbation is to winning the lottery
C - Shooting Off Your Foot and then Being Surprised It Hurt
D - Masturbation is to finding the fountain of youth

- Not only was that retarded, but in the seventh, after Hudson loaded the bases with two outs on a HBP, an intentional pass, and an unintentional pass (he worked a wild pitch in there as well) and he stood at 119 pitches, the Braves LEFT him in there. Huge surprise when Greg Dobbs drives in two on Hudson's 122nd pitch.

- I am almost convinced Bobby Cox was making these decisions, too, despite the fact that he was sitting in his office. In the fourth, Paul Emmel rang up Edgar Renteria on a ball that Tom Glavine would have creamed his pants for. Renty, who never argues, was irate and with good reason. Emmel immediately ejected him, which makes me thing back to Bull Durham and this piece of dialogue

Teddy Cullinane: [broadcasting on the radio] I've never seen Crash so angry. And frankly, sports fans, he used a word that's a no-no with umpires.
Millie: [Annie snaps off the radio] Crash must've called the guy a cocksucker.

- Of course, Renty getting ejected caused Bobby to blow a head gasket, which incidentally, my mom did last week. He got his say in before and after the ejection from Emmel was directed at Cox. He's now two away from the record, but despite him being ejected, I am pretty positive the word to keep Huddy in the game came from him and it's just sad that the Braves did that.

- Not that the Braves offense came to play. They managed five hits and only Andruw Jones's double in the second went for extra bases. Weak, weak effort. Chipper Jones, at one point, was on the on-deck circle, but did not bat. In fact, had the Braves gotten to the pitcher's spot in the sixth, he would have hit and Hudson would have been out of the game. Sad.

- Of course, the Mets won. Surprised? Didn't think so. Now, we have to try to win a series with Buddy Carlyle and Kyle Davies pitching. Not good.