Rather than post my game recaps over what it is becoming an increasingly terrifying proposition that the Braves are again a third place team, why don't we talk about the positives?
The Braves falling short this season gives us more time to devote to watching football. The Braves may not be capable of winning, but I have my Dallas Cowboys, my Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and my lovable James Madison University Dukes to care about. The Dukes face off against North Carolina with a real short of beating a DI-A team.
More time for fall series premieres. Scrubs enters its final season as part of the highly entertaining NBC Thursday night lineup. Well, except for the putrid 30 Rock. Seriously, I've taken leaks that were more comical. Being drunk and trying to aim into a bowl that seems smaller each time is fun times. Oh, college, I miss you more and more with each passing Friday.
More time to write that great American novel. I'm thinking...Paris Hilton and Michael Jackson travel on scooters from Hollywood to Disney World. Think of the hijinks!
Less time worrying about whether or not Bobby Cox actually knows what he is doing. Honestly, Cox has killed me with his odd decision making with Kelly Johnson (is he valuable, is he not valuable) and bullpen management that it might be best for both Bobby and myself to have a few months apart. When the weather starts to get warmer in the spring, maybe I'll have put it behind me. Then again, I still want to hurt Phillip from the 4th grade for telling the class ugo that I had a crush on her. You're dead to me, Phil. Dead!
There will be less time to worry about John Smoltz's shoulder. Love the guy, but every time he shakes his arm after a splitter, I start a rough draft on my poem, "Ode to the Balding Superhero." I'm up to 7,127 rough drafts.
There may not be less time to worry about what John Schuerholz will do because he'll remain busy sorting through the bargain bin (can you believe I found Hackers there?), but there might be less time to worry about Schuerholz's legacy. Thankfully, those are built on the field, not with Mark Bowman's latest rambling about how great Schuerholz really is. Sorry, Marky, but it gets kinda irritating.
Did you know that snow usually falls when baseball isn't played? That's enough to get excited about.
And did you know that the NHL and NBA will get their seasons rolling in the coming months? No? Well, that's not too surprising.
See, kids, it's all great when you put it into perspective. After hardly a whimper against the Cardinals on Sunday, the Braves are just three games over .500, which is convenient because they are three games under .500 since May 1st. My hope is put in to the chest that formally harbored Davy Jones's heart and it's time to dream up a new scenario of just how good the Braves could be. This season has been licked. Some people will doubt it, some people will hold on hope, some people will pick their noses.
But in the opinion of one Dreamscape, one Tommy Poe, one BAMF, this season is a lost cause. We'll get them next year, I'm sure.
--
This was also Raw Numbers #30 over at chopnation, though altered somewhat.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
He Still Could Be a Contender
Andy Marte is beginning to feel it again and whatever it is, it is good.
The third baseman who was twice traded during the 2005-06 offseason is 13 for his last 31 (.419) with 3 doubles, 2 homers, and 9 ribbies. Even more impressive, he has walked three times to just five strikeouts. Before those nine games, Marte had struck out 57 times for Buffalo and walked just 16 times so any news on that front is good news.
Obviously, a small sample size can make any player look like Superman. Nevertheless, when a former prized prospect begins to look like...well, a prized prospect again, it's time to take a moment and ponder. Marte will turn 24 in October so he's hardly looking at a clock expiring. Remember, Wilson Betemit needed a few years to get it, too.
A few years, the choice between Marte and Jeff Francoeur was well discussed on Braves forums. Who was the better prospect, the patient power hitter who reminded people of Matt Williams or the free-swinging good looking kid who seemed like Dale Murphy was back with the Braves. I always stuck with Marte. But after posting a near .100 IsoOBP at Richmond in 2005 that saw him receive a brief cup of coffee with the Braves, Marte slumped after his trade. He walked 47 times between Cleveland and Buffalo last year and was off to an even worse start this year before recent times. When a .275 type hitter with power isn't walking, it's probably the old adage at work. He's not seeing the ball well or he is trying to do too much. Well, Marte is sitting back and making more contact and letting his power do its thing. The results have been thoroughly impressive.
I still think he'll be a consistent power hitter for 15 years.
It'll also be nice to get those people off my back that are still holding it over me that Marte hasn't been that good yet.
I love being right too much.
The third baseman who was twice traded during the 2005-06 offseason is 13 for his last 31 (.419) with 3 doubles, 2 homers, and 9 ribbies. Even more impressive, he has walked three times to just five strikeouts. Before those nine games, Marte had struck out 57 times for Buffalo and walked just 16 times so any news on that front is good news.
Obviously, a small sample size can make any player look like Superman. Nevertheless, when a former prized prospect begins to look like...well, a prized prospect again, it's time to take a moment and ponder. Marte will turn 24 in October so he's hardly looking at a clock expiring. Remember, Wilson Betemit needed a few years to get it, too.
A few years, the choice between Marte and Jeff Francoeur was well discussed on Braves forums. Who was the better prospect, the patient power hitter who reminded people of Matt Williams or the free-swinging good looking kid who seemed like Dale Murphy was back with the Braves. I always stuck with Marte. But after posting a near .100 IsoOBP at Richmond in 2005 that saw him receive a brief cup of coffee with the Braves, Marte slumped after his trade. He walked 47 times between Cleveland and Buffalo last year and was off to an even worse start this year before recent times. When a .275 type hitter with power isn't walking, it's probably the old adage at work. He's not seeing the ball well or he is trying to do too much. Well, Marte is sitting back and making more contact and letting his power do its thing. The results have been thoroughly impressive.
I still think he'll be a consistent power hitter for 15 years.
It'll also be nice to get those people off my back that are still holding it over me that Marte hasn't been that good yet.
I love being right too much.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
A Hug for Langer
Ryan Langerhans is one of those players I can't help but wish good things for. Jeff Francoeur can struggle, succeed, whatever...Yunel Escobar can continue to hit...whatever. But Langer? Man, I never stopped hoping he could get it going this year.
Well, chances are bad for it to happen now. The Nationals designated Langer for assignment Saturday. He will likely either be waived or sent to the minors as it's doubtful the Nats will work a trade for him. He's hitting just .158 on the year with 7 doubles, a triple, and 5 homers, spending most of the year with the Nats. He did post a good OBP and if he could fix whatever holes have developed in his swing, he could still be, at the very least, a good fourth outfielder.
However, struggles like this truly kill a fringe player's career. He will be way down on the depth chart of any franchise he joins, destined to be a AAAA outfielder who won't be on anyone's 40 man roster and will have to have a great Willie Harris type year to get another shot.
But Willie's showing that he could get another shot.
Hopefully, for me, he gets that shot like Willie. With the Braves.
Well, chances are bad for it to happen now. The Nationals designated Langer for assignment Saturday. He will likely either be waived or sent to the minors as it's doubtful the Nats will work a trade for him. He's hitting just .158 on the year with 7 doubles, a triple, and 5 homers, spending most of the year with the Nats. He did post a good OBP and if he could fix whatever holes have developed in his swing, he could still be, at the very least, a good fourth outfielder.
However, struggles like this truly kill a fringe player's career. He will be way down on the depth chart of any franchise he joins, destined to be a AAAA outfielder who won't be on anyone's 40 man roster and will have to have a great Willie Harris type year to get another shot.
But Willie's showing that he could get another shot.
Hopefully, for me, he gets that shot like Willie. With the Braves.
Braves 6, D'Backs 2
-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.
-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.
D'Backs 12, Braves 6
-How bad was this game? Micah Owings, according to Game Scores, had the second best day of any pitcher and the best day of any hitter. That's the kind of game you can only laugh about because if you think about it too much, you might find a very tall building to jump off of, cursing Owings' name the whole way down.
-All told, Owings allowed three hits (all solo homers) and struck out seven in seven frames. At the plate, he went 4 for 5 with a double and a pair of homers. He finished with six ribbies and now has an OPS of .851. Brian McCann's OPS is .770. Yeah...
-Jeff Francoeur had a solid game, homering twive and picking up three RBI's. The Braves scored three meaningless runs in the ninth to give the impression that the game wasn't as much of a turd as it could have been.
-The defense did little to help Buddy, but then again, he also did little to help himself. He was charged with eight runs, five earned, in five innings. He struck out four and walked two while allowing ten hits. Three errors added to the shitfest. Villy sucked and allowed four insurance runs in his one inning, though two scored after Manny Acosta replaced him. Mahay and Soriano brought some calm to this storm.
-Braves leading 6-2 right now so they can salvage a game of this series.
-All told, Owings allowed three hits (all solo homers) and struck out seven in seven frames. At the plate, he went 4 for 5 with a double and a pair of homers. He finished with six ribbies and now has an OPS of .851. Brian McCann's OPS is .770. Yeah...
-Jeff Francoeur had a solid game, homering twive and picking up three RBI's. The Braves scored three meaningless runs in the ninth to give the impression that the game wasn't as much of a turd as it could have been.
-The defense did little to help Buddy, but then again, he also did little to help himself. He was charged with eight runs, five earned, in five innings. He struck out four and walked two while allowing ten hits. Three errors added to the shitfest. Villy sucked and allowed four insurance runs in his one inning, though two scored after Manny Acosta replaced him. Mahay and Soriano brought some calm to this storm.
-Braves leading 6-2 right now so they can salvage a game of this series.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Week in Review Aug 14-17
Well, I was out all week so it's time to get caught up.
Braves 5, Bonds 4
-Down 3-0 and after watching their manager get ejected the previous inning, the Braves woke up against Jack Taschner, who had replaced Kevin Correia in the fifth. Teix opened the sixth with a solo bomb and McMan singled. After a K, Andruw walked and Mr. Dynamic doubled in two to tie the game. Matty pinch hit for Smoltzie and brought the go-ahead runner in.
-It remained 5-4 until Wickmoo El Vulturized Mr. Smoltz. Dan Ortmeier tripled and after a single, a steal, and an intentional walk, Randy Winn brought in Ort with a groundout.
-Funny story on Ort. I picked him up in OOTP and brought him in on a minor league contract for 2006. He became my fourth outfielder and was a .300ish hitter as a pinch hitter. Only reason why I know who he is and feel comfortably calling him Ort.
-Anyway, Willie leads off the ninth by walking against Steve Kline, who has been Mike Remlinger horrible this year. KJ was called on to bunt him to second (hey Coxy, I know you did that) and he puts the bunt down. Dumbass Kline's throw is bad and runners are on first-and-second. Chipper ends the game with an RBI double off Randy Messenger.
-Quality start for Smoltzie. Six innings on 93 pitches. He does give up six hits, three walks, walks three, and strikes out four, but it was a quality effort for a team needing quality efforts. Um, quality.
-Mahay and Soriano were both solid before Wickmoo's sixth blown save of the year.
Braves 6, Bonds 3
-I hate Russ Ortiz. I hated him as a Brave, hated him as a non-Brave, and love every moment he suffers. It's almost unfair to him. I just hate pitchers who have no real stuff, no real talent, and still get the media to love on them. When Ortiz won 20-some games for the Braves, it proved the worthlessness of the "win" stat.
-Braves never trailed this one, though it was briefly tied at 2-2 in the sixth when the Giants' only player homered to cut the Braves one-run lead to zip. But the Braves quickly retook the lead with four runs in the sixth. Teix walked, McCann was hit, and Francoeur singled to load them. A wild pitch brought in Teix and Andruw doubled in both runners. Huddy singled him to third and Willie made it 6-2 with a sacfly.
-Huddy = Cy Young winner? Eight innings on eight hits and three runs. One walk and five K's to add to that solid effort.
-Wickmoo allowed a pair of runners, but no runs while not having it in him to get a flyball. I don't like him.
Bonds 9, Braves 3
-Wow, big surprise that Chucky James sucked it up. Four homers allowed, oddly none by Barry Bonds, and a loss is the result. James allowed only six of the 17 batters he faced to reach base, but long balls will kill you. Tyler Yates got him out of anymore trouble in the fourth before Villy sucked in his 2.1 ING. Manny Acosta looks like he could be useful and Aussie tossed a good inning.
-Braves had a chance of going apeshit in this game, but failed. After Bengie Molina's three-run bomb in the first, Willie led off against Tim Lincecum with a triple. After a walk to KJ, Lincecum uncorked a wild-pitch to make it 3-1. A Chipper Jones line drive single put runners on the corners, but Teix hit into a force out, McMan flew out to center, and Francoeur struck out looking. Teix's grounder did make it 3-2, but it could have been a huge inning.
-Braves got another run in the fourth when McMan doubled and after an out, Andruw singled to put runners on the corners. Another big inning was defused by a sacfly.
D'Backs 4, Braves 0
-Ugh.
-Brandon Webb allowed two hits, walked one, and struck out six while tossing a shutout. KJ had the first hit of the day in the fourth with a double with one out, but Chipper and Teix did nothing to follow. Francoeur singled in the fifth, but Andruw followed with a twin killing.
-Lance Cormier bought him the rest of the year as a starter with 7.1 innings in which he allowed just three runs. However, he did give up eight hits, walked two, and struck out just three so I wouldn't go too crazy. Moylan finished the 8th for Cormier and Yatesy gave up a solo homer in the ninth for the rest of the scoring.
-Oh, and ugh.
Braves 5, Bonds 4
-Down 3-0 and after watching their manager get ejected the previous inning, the Braves woke up against Jack Taschner, who had replaced Kevin Correia in the fifth. Teix opened the sixth with a solo bomb and McMan singled. After a K, Andruw walked and Mr. Dynamic doubled in two to tie the game. Matty pinch hit for Smoltzie and brought the go-ahead runner in.
-It remained 5-4 until Wickmoo El Vulturized Mr. Smoltz. Dan Ortmeier tripled and after a single, a steal, and an intentional walk, Randy Winn brought in Ort with a groundout.
-Funny story on Ort. I picked him up in OOTP and brought him in on a minor league contract for 2006. He became my fourth outfielder and was a .300ish hitter as a pinch hitter. Only reason why I know who he is and feel comfortably calling him Ort.
-Anyway, Willie leads off the ninth by walking against Steve Kline, who has been Mike Remlinger horrible this year. KJ was called on to bunt him to second (hey Coxy, I know you did that) and he puts the bunt down. Dumbass Kline's throw is bad and runners are on first-and-second. Chipper ends the game with an RBI double off Randy Messenger.
-Quality start for Smoltzie. Six innings on 93 pitches. He does give up six hits, three walks, walks three, and strikes out four, but it was a quality effort for a team needing quality efforts. Um, quality.
-Mahay and Soriano were both solid before Wickmoo's sixth blown save of the year.
Braves 6, Bonds 3
-I hate Russ Ortiz. I hated him as a Brave, hated him as a non-Brave, and love every moment he suffers. It's almost unfair to him. I just hate pitchers who have no real stuff, no real talent, and still get the media to love on them. When Ortiz won 20-some games for the Braves, it proved the worthlessness of the "win" stat.
-Braves never trailed this one, though it was briefly tied at 2-2 in the sixth when the Giants' only player homered to cut the Braves one-run lead to zip. But the Braves quickly retook the lead with four runs in the sixth. Teix walked, McCann was hit, and Francoeur singled to load them. A wild pitch brought in Teix and Andruw doubled in both runners. Huddy singled him to third and Willie made it 6-2 with a sacfly.
-Huddy = Cy Young winner? Eight innings on eight hits and three runs. One walk and five K's to add to that solid effort.
-Wickmoo allowed a pair of runners, but no runs while not having it in him to get a flyball. I don't like him.
Bonds 9, Braves 3
-Wow, big surprise that Chucky James sucked it up. Four homers allowed, oddly none by Barry Bonds, and a loss is the result. James allowed only six of the 17 batters he faced to reach base, but long balls will kill you. Tyler Yates got him out of anymore trouble in the fourth before Villy sucked in his 2.1 ING. Manny Acosta looks like he could be useful and Aussie tossed a good inning.
-Braves had a chance of going apeshit in this game, but failed. After Bengie Molina's three-run bomb in the first, Willie led off against Tim Lincecum with a triple. After a walk to KJ, Lincecum uncorked a wild-pitch to make it 3-1. A Chipper Jones line drive single put runners on the corners, but Teix hit into a force out, McMan flew out to center, and Francoeur struck out looking. Teix's grounder did make it 3-2, but it could have been a huge inning.
-Braves got another run in the fourth when McMan doubled and after an out, Andruw singled to put runners on the corners. Another big inning was defused by a sacfly.
D'Backs 4, Braves 0
-Ugh.
-Brandon Webb allowed two hits, walked one, and struck out six while tossing a shutout. KJ had the first hit of the day in the fourth with a double with one out, but Chipper and Teix did nothing to follow. Francoeur singled in the fifth, but Andruw followed with a twin killing.
-Lance Cormier bought him the rest of the year as a starter with 7.1 innings in which he allowed just three runs. However, he did give up eight hits, walked two, and struck out just three so I wouldn't go too crazy. Moylan finished the 8th for Cormier and Yatesy gave up a solo homer in the ninth for the rest of the scoring.
-Oh, and ugh.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Filthdelphia 5, Braves 3
-Buddy Carlyle was average, but if his defense would have helped out, who knows what would have happened. Jeff Francoeur picked up a few outfield assists, but the middle infield of Mr. Dynamic and Martin Prado did little to help out. In the first, McCann tried to throw out Prado, but his throw was low and Prado didn't keep it front of him. Escobar followed by not backing up the play and a ball that trickled away only 10 feet allowed Rollins to third.
-Carlyle walked the bases loaded before getting a K. Jayson Werth singled to right, however, and that brought in Rollins, but for some dumbass reason, they sent Pat Burrell. Joe Morgan said Burrell could run so maybe they heard that and thought with the count full and the runners running with the pitch, Burrell could score on Francoeur's arm. Talk about running into an easy out. Burrell never even touched homeplate after being stopped a half-foot short by McCann.
-In the fifth, they tested Francoeur again and this time, it was Werth who was Werthless (thank you). Werth literally scoots around home plate and McCann's tag only to get into a stare down before being tagged out. The throw was to the first base side of homeplate, but Werth was dead meat at the plate.
-However, the middle infield defense went to work, unfortunately, and after a Rollins walk, Prado got a high bouncer that he refused to go back on, nor charge. He kind of let it come to him and it played an odd bounce. He tossed the ball to Mr. Dynamic, who dragged his foot across second and went on to first for a double play. Oh, wait, that's what should have happened. Instead, he missed second completely and then couldn't get the runner. Frankly, the double play was probably not possible, but they didn't get an out and Ryan Howard hit a three run bomb one out later.
-Yatesy was solid, but after the Braves got a run to cut the two-run hole in half, Aussie allowed a triple to Rollins and he scored on a sacfly by Burrell. Francoeur air-mailed the throw home, but he had no chance anyway.
-The third run I just mentioned was insane in how ESPN handled it. Still slurping on Bonds's knob, the network reaired the Henry Aaron held-at-gunpoint speech that originally played, as ESPN pointed out, on August 7th (bastards tried to ruin my birthday). While they did this, Martin Prado doubled in McCann. Unbeknowist to these jackasses at ESPN because they were too busy playing homage to their controversial God. Bastards.
-Chipper picked up the other two RBI's with a double. Prado was in because he was 4 for 9 off the soft-tossing Jamie Moyer, as reported by Mark Bowman. Being that Bowman's basically Bobby Cox's alter ego, it was clear Prado would start ahead of KJ.
-Mets won, Padres won, Senators won, and the Beaneaters got a win. Bad day for a Braves loss. Off day tomorrow and then...BARRY BONDS~!
-Ah, dammit.
-Carlyle walked the bases loaded before getting a K. Jayson Werth singled to right, however, and that brought in Rollins, but for some dumbass reason, they sent Pat Burrell. Joe Morgan said Burrell could run so maybe they heard that and thought with the count full and the runners running with the pitch, Burrell could score on Francoeur's arm. Talk about running into an easy out. Burrell never even touched homeplate after being stopped a half-foot short by McCann.
-In the fifth, they tested Francoeur again and this time, it was Werth who was Werthless (thank you). Werth literally scoots around home plate and McCann's tag only to get into a stare down before being tagged out. The throw was to the first base side of homeplate, but Werth was dead meat at the plate.
-However, the middle infield defense went to work, unfortunately, and after a Rollins walk, Prado got a high bouncer that he refused to go back on, nor charge. He kind of let it come to him and it played an odd bounce. He tossed the ball to Mr. Dynamic, who dragged his foot across second and went on to first for a double play. Oh, wait, that's what should have happened. Instead, he missed second completely and then couldn't get the runner. Frankly, the double play was probably not possible, but they didn't get an out and Ryan Howard hit a three run bomb one out later.
-Yatesy was solid, but after the Braves got a run to cut the two-run hole in half, Aussie allowed a triple to Rollins and he scored on a sacfly by Burrell. Francoeur air-mailed the throw home, but he had no chance anyway.
-The third run I just mentioned was insane in how ESPN handled it. Still slurping on Bonds's knob, the network reaired the Henry Aaron held-at-gunpoint speech that originally played, as ESPN pointed out, on August 7th (bastards tried to ruin my birthday). While they did this, Martin Prado doubled in McCann. Unbeknowist to these jackasses at ESPN because they were too busy playing homage to their controversial God. Bastards.
-Chipper picked up the other two RBI's with a double. Prado was in because he was 4 for 9 off the soft-tossing Jamie Moyer, as reported by Mark Bowman. Being that Bowman's basically Bobby Cox's alter ego, it was clear Prado would start ahead of KJ.
-Mets won, Padres won, Senators won, and the Beaneaters got a win. Bad day for a Braves loss. Off day tomorrow and then...BARRY BONDS~!
-Ah, dammit.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
