-Everytime I'm ready to say John Smoltz is entering the twilight of his career, he goes and does something like he did in the muggy Atlanta weather. Smoltzie went eight on 118 pitches and gave up just five hits and two runs to improve to 11-6. He walked a trio, but struck out a dozen to become the franchise leader in that catagory, passing Phil Niekro. Smoltzie now has 2920. Pedro Martinez will likely beat him to 3K because Pedro's two away, but Smoltz will likely be the 16th pitcher in baseball history to strike out 3000. Granted, that number, like the 500 homer club, has been cheapened slightly with Clemens, the Big Unit, Maddux, and Schilling all above the mark, increasing the collection of 3000 K guys from 10 when Nolan Ryan retired to 16 by the time the next All-Star break arrives, it will be just one more major accomplishment for my favorite pitcher.
-Mark Teixeira had a huge game, homering twice and driving in four. Since he was acquired, Teix has 7 homers and 19 RBIs.
-KJ added two doubles, Mr. Dynamic had a good-sized homer, and Willie added a triple as Yusmeiro Petit was roughed up pretty bad.
-Wickmoo sucks, by the way. Thickman loaded the bases in the ninth before a game-ending groundout put the D'Backs at bay. Since June 1st, Wickman has appeared in 30 ballgames pitching 27 innings. His ERA in that time is 4.33 and his WHIP is 1.59. When you pitch just one inning a game and you are putting 1.5 runners on, you're going to get roughed up.
-Braves get an off day tomorrow and start a 10 game road-trip. I'll check in again next weekend most likely. Hopefully, the Braves will make a move by then.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment