Bravesblog and stuff

Assessment after 70 games: What's gone right, and what hasn't

2007-06-17T18:31:00.000-07:00

What's gone right:

-The Bullpen.
The bullpen is the best it has been since Smoltz was the closer. Rafael Soriano has been automatic. Mike Gonzalez was as well before his injury. Tyler Yates and Peter Moylan have been outstanding in middle relief. Bob Wickman has been pretty solid when healthy, putting up numbers about what I expected from him. Other than a DL stint in May when he had back pain, he's been good. Oddly enough, the Braves didn't even miss him when he was gone because Soriano and Gonzalez were so good. The depth of the 'pen is great.

-The front of the rotation.
John Smoltz and Tim Hudson have done all you can ask. Both have been horses and eating plenty of quality innings. Smoltz's strikeout to walk ratio is as good as ever. Hudson has only given up 3 homers in about 100 innings and kept his walk rate down, and has gotten lots of ground balls. There is a concern with both of them fighting some minor shoulder injuries, and hopefully it doesn't limit their effectiveness in the 2nd half.

-The Kelly Johnson experiment/middle infield situation.
Kelly Johnson has been great, keeping his batting average close to .300 all year with lots of walks and some power. He has been adequate defensively, even occasionally drawing good reviews. Edgar Renteria is having one of his best years offensively, among the league leaders in batting average and on pace for a career high in homers. His defense has been much improved as of late, as it seems he's getting to a lot more ground balls for some reason plus making great throws.

-Left Field Platoon
Matt Diaz is hitting even better then he did last year, and Willie Harris has been a life saver. The Braves are getting elite production from 2 role players in left field.

-Rookie Production
Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Yunel Escobar have done a great job picking up the slack during some injuries. Saltalamacchia figures to stick around and play first base, but when Chipper gets back in the field, Escobar won't have a place to play. Look for Escobar to be traded for some pitching help.

-Jeff Francoeur's plate discipline.
Jeff Francoeur has been much better waiting on pitches to hit. He's no longer a drag on the team, and has been roughly league average in right field. That's very good considering he's a 23 year old making close to the minimum. The power is a little down, but I figure as the summer goes along that will turn out fine.

-Jon Sciambi is a good announcer.
He makes the SportsSouth games bearable. I still miss the TBS productions, though (not Chip so much, but Pete and Skip). The camerawork, audio, etc. suck.

What has gone wrong

-Mike Gonzalez and Mike Hampton's arms.
Hampton was gone before the season started with yet another surgery, and I wonder if he'll ever pitch again. Mike Gonzalez was outstanding before unfortunately going under the knife. He is projected to return for the 2nd half of 2008.

-What the blank is wrong with Andruw?
Andruw Jones' year reminds me of Mike Lowell's last year with the Marlins. He's just not hitting anything. He is on a pace for a career high in walks, and has stepped it up defensively range-wise, but rarely has anything good happened when he's swung the bat. He's now fighting to keep the average over .200.

-Chipper not staying on the field.
Chipper has been as good as ever with the bat. Too bad he missed a month with severely bruised thumbs he suffered in a collision with Pittsburgh's Jose Baustista. Hopefully he can get himself healthy and stay that way, because without him in the lineup the offense is pretty anemic.

-Brian McCann fighting nagging injuries.
McCann has been a disappointment. After hurting a finger during a bunt attempt, he hasn't been the same. A bad ankle has hampered him as well. McCann's power has been non-existant, and he's basically been a singles hitter this year who can't run. Brian's been a league average offensive player in 2007, and he has been worth what he's been paid, but he hasn't been the middle of the order producer the Braves need.

-Scott Thorman flops.
I don't have much nice to say here. At least Saltalamacchia will be taking his at-bats soon.

-Ryan Langerhans
Langerhans was so horrible that he was released before April ended. Willie Harris has taken his job and ran.

-Pete Orr
He's been on the team a year longer than he should have been. The only thing he does well is run, and he isn't used much to do that. He has options and is a waste of a 25 man roster spot. At least Woodward can bunt and play several positions.

-Back of the rotation
Mark Redman and Lance Cormier threw some spectacular BP. Anthony Lerew came up, sucked, and pissed off the organization lying about his ailing elbow. Kyle Davies has been extremely inconsistent and only remains in the rotation because the Braves have no better options. However, kudos to Buddy Carlyle for doing a very nice job since being called up. I still think the Braves need to give Oscar Villarreal a shot while giving Davies some time at Richmond.

The Bottom Line: The Braves need Chipper and Andruw to do what they're supposed to in the 2nd half for the Braves to remain in contention going into September.

Back here

2007-03-31T20:47:00.000-07:00

I am no longer writing for MVN and will be returning to this site for my blogging. Expect the amount of entries to pick up during the summer.

News for tonight: Mark Redman has been chosen to start the home-opener. John Smoltz, Tim Hudson, and Chuck James will get the starts in Philadelphia. Lance Cormier will start the 5th day.

Braves opening day is 2 days away!

Braves 5, Nationals 3

2006-06-06T19:18:00.000-07:00

For the first time in June, the Braves won a game.

Horacio Ramirez (2-1, 3.24) pitched 8 solid innings, allowing 3 runs on 8 hits, a walk, and struck out 5. I thought that actually Bobby should have pinch-hit for him in the 6th, to get a shot to sort out bullpen roles, but it worked out okay. Horacio threw 117 pitches.

Ray got the save, pitching a perfect 9th with 2 strikeouts.

After Horacio gave up a first inning run, the Braves scored 2 in the 2nd. Giles hit a 2 out 2 run single, on which 1 of the runs turned out unearned because the ball got under Alfonso Soriano's glove, allowing Pena to score all the way from 1st.

LaRoche homered in the 3rd to make it 3-1, and the Braves added another in the 4th.

Soriano hit a 2 run homer in the 5th and that score remained until the 9th, when Andruw homered for an insurance run.

Offensive contributors: Andruw Jones was 2-4 with his 15th homer. Ryan Langerhans was 2-3 with a triple, a walk, and scored twice. Brayan Pena was 2-4 with an RBI and scored. Adam LaRoche was 1-4 with his 10th homer.

Smoltz will go on 3 days rest tomorrow against Ramon Ortiz.

Phillies 4, Braves 1

2005-09-12T18:53:00.000-07:00

The Braves were shut down by rookie Eude Brito as the Phillies won the first game of a 4 game set, 4-1.

Tim Hudson (12-8) wasn't sharp. He went 6 innings, giving up 4 runs on 7 hits, 2 walks, hit a batter, and struck out 2. McBride pitched a scoreless 7th and Lerew pitched a scoreless 8th.

The Phillies got 2 runs in the 3rd and 2 in the 5th. The Braves got their only run on a Todd Hollandsworth pinch-hit homer.

Offensive contributor: Todd Hollandsworth hit a pinch-hit homer in the 8th inning, his 6th homer of the season and his 1st as a Brave.

Chipper Jones left the game with a strained left quad, he is day-to-day.

Brian Jordan started in left field and had a hit in 4 ABs and threw a runner out.

The Marlins are winning comfortably over the Astros late. They would pass them for the Wild Card lead. It doesn't look like there will be a reduction in the Magic Number tonight, and it remains at 13.

John Thomson will pitch against Gavin Floyd tomorrow night.

VORP for Braves' hitters as of 8/3/05

2005-08-03T19:38:00.000-07:00

And for the Brave hitters...

Andruw Jones 43.0
Marcus Giles 34.5
Rafael Furcal 28.5
Chipper Jones 22.4
Wilson Betemit 12.9
Adam LaRoche 12.2
Julio Franco 12.1
Jeff Francoeur 11.7
Johnny Estrada 8.0
Brian McCann 5.7
Pete Orr 5.6
Mike Hampton 4.8
Horacio Ramirez 4.5
Ryan Langerhans 3.7
John Thomson 2.7
Tim Hudson 1.1
John Smoltz 0.6
Eddie Perez 0.4
Kelly Johnson 0
Dan Kolb -0.1
Jorge Vasquez -0.1
Seth Greisinger -0.3
Kyle Davies -0.4
Roman Colon -1.0
Brayan Pena -3.1
Andy Marte -3.6
Brian Jordan -3.7
Raul Mondesi -5.2
Adam Bernero -10.9

VORP for Braves Pitchers as of 8/3/05

2005-08-03T19:28:00.000-07:00

Update on VORP (Value Over Replacement Player) for Braves' pitchers...who thought that on August 3 that Jorge Sosa would have been the 2nd best Braves' pitcher this year?

John Smoltz 50.6
Jorge Sosa 23.5
Tim Hudson 23.2
Mike Hampton 20.6
Horacio Ramirez 19.4
Chris Reitsma 14.0
John Thomson 11.6
Kyle Davies 9.7
Blaine Boyer 5.8
Jim Brower 4.2
John Foster 4.1
Kevin Gryboski 3.3
Jay Powell 2.1
Macay McBride 1.7
Jorge Vasquez 1.6
Dan Kolb 1.2
Seth Greisinger 1.2
Kyle Farnsworth 0.6
Matt Childers 0.5
Frank Brooks 0.2
Roman Colon -0.2
Tom Martin -3.5
Adam Bernero -5.7

Reds 8, Braves 5

2005-08-03T19:03:00.000-07:00

Horacio Ramirez got nailed for 8 runs as the Reds took the 2nd game of the series, 8-5.

Ramirez (9-7) went 5 plus innings, giving up a 3 run homer to Adam Dunn in the 4th then got lit up in the 6th for 4 more runs. Jim Brower relieved him and allowed 2 of those inherited runners to score. Foster and Kolb had scoreless outings.

Julio Franco hit a home run in the top of the 4th to give the Braves a brief 2-1 lead before the Reds’ offensive explosion. The Braves had a 3 run 7th after a string of hits.

Offensive contributors: Jeff Francoeur was 3-5 with an RBI and a run scored. Julio Franco hit the 2 run homer in the 4th, but was 1-4. Marcus Giles was 2-5 with an RBI and a run. Rafael Furcal was 2-5 with a run. Andruw Jones was 1-2 with an RBI and was hit by a pitch.

Washington won to move back within 4.5 games. The other games are close and not finished.

Kyle Davies will face Reds’ ace Aaron Harang tomorrow as the Braves try for 2 out of 3.

From Baseball Prospectus...

2005-07-31T09:35:00.000-07:00

"It might be a couple weeks since "Shark Week" on cable, but two of the
steely-teethed sharks in the baseball world--Walt Jocketty and John Schuerholz--are slowly closing in on deals. Multiple sources say that both teams have waited out the initial "feeding frenzy" and that their GMs will come in at
the last minute with "solid deals."'

Braves 9, Pirates 6

2005-07-30T19:52:00.000-07:00

The Braves scored 7 times in the 6th inning to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 9-6.

Kyle Davies (5-3) started, and had a rough 1st inning. He walked 2 then gave up a 3 run homer to Jason Bay. After that he was terrific, going 6 innings, giving up the 3 runs on just 2 hits, 3 walks, and struck out a season-high 8 batters.

Blaine Boyer came in and overpowered the Pirates in the 7th. He hurt himself though in the 8th, leaving the game with a strained lower back. He is day-to-day. I think it was already affecting him as he gave up a hit and a walk in the 8th. Kolb came on to give up the rookie's runs and give up another run, and to narrow it down to a save situation for Reitsma. Reitsma pitched a 1-2-3 9th against the bottom of the order for his 13th save.

Jeff Francoeur is in a hot streak of almost Andruw Proportions. He homered in the 4th to cut a 3-0 lead to 3-2, and doubled in 2 runs in the 6th to take the lead. He was robbed of yet another double late in the game.

Andruw led off the bottom of the 6th with a routine groundball that suddenly took the most bizarre hop I've ever seen in my 10 and a half years of watching baseball. It bounced over shortstop Jack Wilson's head for a leadoff single. The rest of the inning then progressed as follows: Walk. Double. Double. Double. Single. Sac fly. Triple. Sac fly. The Braves had a 9-3 lead, and hung on from there.

Offensive contributors: Francoeur was 2-4 with his 6th big league homer, his 19th overall on the season, doubled, had 4 RBIs, and scored twice. Julio Franco was 2-3 with a double, a walk, and scored. Rafael Furcal was 2-4 with an RBI. Marcus Giles was 2-5 with an RBI and scored. Andruw Jones was 1-3 with a walk and scored twice. Kelly Johnson was 1-3 with a walk, an RBI, and scored.

Does anyone else think that Ryan Langerhans coming in to play center field and Wilson Betemit coming in to play 3rd base late in the game was a showcase for a possible trade?

Julio Franco had his 2,500th career hit in the 2nd inning and got a long standing ovation from the sell-out crowd.

John Smoltz against Josh Fogg tomorrow.

John Thomson

2005-07-29T20:38:00.000-07:00

John Thomson threw 4 scoreless innings in his 2nd rehab start; this time at Rome. He allowed 2 hits, 1 walk, and struck out one. He threw 45 pitches; 29 for strikes.

His next start will be at Richmond, where his pitch limit will be 60 pitches. After that, he may be ready to return to Atlanta's rotation.

Braves 2, Pirates 1

2005-07-29T19:14:00.000-07:00

The Braves avoided a 9th inning comeback from the Pirates, but lost Jay Powell.

Horacio Ramirez (9-6) pitched 8 great innings. He allowed just 1 run on 6 hits, a walk, and 3 strikeouts.

Attempting to give Chris Reitsma the night off, Jay Powell came in to try for the save. He hurt himself on the 2nd pitch. John Foster came in and walked the batter. Jim Brower came in and gave up a double, but then struck out the next batter, then intentionally walked a batter to load the bases. With 1 out, the obvious choice to pitch was Dan Kolb, hoping for a ground-ball double-play. However, Bobby made a brilliant move, and brought in left-hander Macay McBride. This kept left-handed hitting Daryle Ward on the bench. The Pirates' catcher, Humberto Cota, was due up but was pinch-hit for by Ryan Doumit. He struck out, and McBride got the next guy to ground out, to get the save.

For the first 5 innings, Ramirez and Dave Williams traded zeroes. The Pirates broke through with a run in the 6th.

But the Braves got 2 runs in the 7th, as Rafael Furcal led off with a single, Marcus Giles doubled, and Chipper singled them both in.

The Pirates didn't have a serious scoring chance again until the 9th.

Offensive contributors: Chipper Jones was 2-3 with 2 RBIs and a walk. Kelly Johnson was 2-3 with a walk. Andruw Jones walked twice.

Kyle Davies will get the start tomorrow against Mark Redman.

You hate to see that...

2005-07-29T18:59:00.000-07:00

Jay Powell just broke his arm on a pitch. This usually happens to left-handers; it happened to Tom Browning and Tony Saunders. I hate to say that neither of them had much of a career after this happened.

Let's hope for the best.

Future Hall-of-Famers?

2005-07-29T13:47:00.000-07:00

Interesting article (that's unusual for ESPN these days). David Schoenfield ranks the top 20 players from today who will be in the HOF. (Story in the title link.)

Maddux and Glavine are numbers 3 and 4 on the list. John Smoltz is 5th, which I think is way high (and I'm a Braves fan!) but I do think he's a HOF'er as well.

Actually, the writer mentions a reason that Smoltz wouldn't make it: winning percentage. He states that because it's "only" .580, it would hurt his chances. Well, seeing as how Smoltz has a career ERA of 3.24 in 2,846 IP, and that some of the Atlanta offenses he's been supported by haven't exactly been the '27 Yankees, this is just plain wrong.

*****

Going off on a tangent, how can John Smoltz not make the HOF?

His career accomplishments (in no particular order):
1. Cy Young winner as a starter
2. Rolaids Relief award as a reliever
3. 20 game winner
4. 55 saves in 1 season
5. had a 3.27 career ERA coming into this season in 16 seasons
6. 174 career wins (a lock for 200 wins) in regular season
7. 154 career saves in regular season
8. All-time leader in postseason victories with 14 (14-4 record with a 2.70 ERA in postseason)
9. 2 time league strikeout champion
10. Led the league in innings pitched twice
11. 7 time All-Star
12. Has a W/L decision in the All-Star Game in 3 different decades
13. Led the league twice in winning percentage
14. Had a season in relief with a 1.12 ERA (different year than 55 save year) 15. Had a season in relief with 8 walks all year (different year than 55 save year)
16. Game 7 of the 1991 World Series
17. Game 5 of the 1996 World Series
18. On Bill James' Hall-of-Fame monitor, a probable HOF'er has a rating of 100+, with a 130 number being a shoo-in. Smoltz came into 2005 with a score of 128, and has passed 130 this season
19. Dominant Starter, turned to Dominant Closer, re-converted to a Dominant Starter at the age of 38
20. There are more accomplishments that I cannot think of or find right now. (For the fun of it, you could think of some and list it in comments.)

*****

Anyways, back to the article. I especially enjoy it when the writer rips Derek Jeter making it just because "he plays the game the right way" according to Tim McCarver. He does mention legitimate points about Jeter getting to the 3,000 hit mark though.

I don't agree with Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera being on his list so early, althoughthe writer admits that it's ridiculous. It's impossible to know how much they'll progress over their careers, regardless of how good they are right now.

Overall though, it's good stuff. You should read it.

The list of #21-40 will be posted there later today. I fully expect Chipper Jones and Andruw Jones to be on that list.

I'm now writing for MVN

2004-11-11T09:21:00.000-08:00

All of my entries will now be on http://braves.mostvaluablenetwork.com/.

Let the speculation begin

2004-11-05T13:22:00.000-08:00

Out of the free agents, I think only Jaret Wright, Paul Byrd, and Julio Franco are likely to return. JD Drew and Russ Ortiz will be way too expensive. Antonio Alfonseca will likely ask for a bit more money than he made last year, and the Braves can probably find someone as effective as he was for less.

In arbitration, I expect that Rafael Furcal will make about 5 million, Marcus Giles about 1.5 million, and Kevin Gryboski somewhere between 1 and 2 million. I think Chris Reitsma will be non-tendered.

Lineup vs. RHP

SS Furcal
RF Thomas
2B Giles
3B C. Jones
C Estrada
CF A. Jones
1B LaRoche
LF Langerhans

Lineup vs. LHP

SS Furcal
1B Franco
2B Giles
3B C. Jones
CF A. Jones
C Estrada
RF Marrero
LF Hollins

I think that if Drew leaves, the only way the Braves add another everyday rightfielder is through trade, unless they let all the free agent starting pitchers go and sign one through free agency. Otherwise, I think it would probably be a 3 or 4 man rotation in the corner spots between Charles Thomas, Eli Marrero, Ryan Langerhans, and someone like Damon Hollins.

If the Braves bring back Wright, they probably won't bring back Byrd. If they don't bring back Wright, they'll probably bring back Byrd. I think it's 50/50 for each.

likely rotation:

RHP Thomson
LHP Hampton
RHP Byrd
LHP Ramirez
RHP Capellan/Cruz/LHP Meyer

If Capellan doesn't win the 5th spot in the spring, he'll probably start in AAA. If Cruz doesn't win it, he'll be one of the primary set-up men. If Meyer doesn't win it, he will probably be a long reliever. I don't think Smoltz will end up in the rotation because if he does that will cost the Braves an additional 3 million or so, and a chance to bring back one or more of their free agents. Now, if the Braves lose all 3 starters and Drew in free agency anyway, Smoltz would probably start.

I think Meyer has the best chance to make the rotation because he is more polished than Capellan and the Braves need Cruz as a set-up man.

Likely bullpen:
RHP Smoltz
RHP Cruz
LHP Martin
RHP Gryboski
RHP Colon

I think the last 2 spots in the bullpen will be filled by people who were minor leaguers last year (not Capellan, I think the Braves want him to start) or NRI's.

Smoltz starting?

2004-11-01T13:35:00.000-08:00

Story in the title link.

Also, from http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/atl/news/atl_news.jsp?ymd=20041029&content_id=907971&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp

"How hopeful can John Smoltz be about getting a starter's role back? Is there any chance that Smoltzie's wish might come true? Honestly, I still believe that he has the ability to become a No. 2, possibly a No. 1 starter again for the Braves. -- M.W. C., Concord, N.C.

Last week, I really didn't know if the Braves were going to give Smoltz a chance to be a starter again. But after talking to general manager John Schuerholz, manager Bobby Cox and Smoltz, I'm beginning to believe this is a real good possibility.

With Jaret Wright, Russ Ortiz and Paul Byrd all eligible for free agency, the Braves have to start making plans to fill some voids in their rotation. They'll make every attempt to bring Wright back. But his success this year might have pushed his price tag too high. I'm also under the belief that Curt Schilling's success in the postseason helped Smoltz's chances. Long before Schilling, Smoltz proved to be one of the game's fiercest competitors in big games. He owns a record 14 career postseason wins and in three Game 7 starts has allowed just two earned runs.
Ironically, those two runs came in Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS, when Sid Bream slid home with the game-winning run.

Even if Wright returns, I think there's a good chance Smoltz could be part of the rotation. How's this sound for a starting rotation? Wright, Smoltz, Mike Hampton, John Thomson and Horacio Ramirez.

There would certainly be a void in the closer's role. But remember, the Braves didn't really struggle with Kerry Ligtenberg as their closer in 1998.

Smoltz wants to be a starter again and have the chance to end his career in Atlanta. I won't be surprised if he works a deal in the near future that will at least give him a chance to be a Brave through the end of the 2007 season."
-Mark Bowman

Free Agents

2004-11-01T13:29:00.000-08:00

JD Drew, Jaret Wright, Russ Ortiz, Paul Byrd, Antonio Alfonseca, and Julio Franco have filed for free agency. The Braves will likely make an attempt to bring back all of them except Ortiz.

It's been awhile

2004-11-01T13:23:00.000-08:00

I've been either really busy, or when I'm not busy I haven't had the motivation to write.

The Braves did well to push it to a Game 5 in the division series. The Astros were completely on fire. The middle of the Braves lineup was silent. The majority of the Braves pitchers were quite bad.

Unless you've been living on another planet, you know that the Red Sox reversed the curse and won the World Series. If anyone besides the Braves had to win, I'm glad it was them.

Game 1--Houston Astros 9, Atlanta Braves 3

2004-10-07T08:25:00.000-07:00

Jaret Wright gave up 6 runs (and 3 home runs) and didn't get out of the 5th, and the Braves stranded 9 runners in the first 4 innings. Roger Clemens walked 6 men, and none of them scored. A forgettable performance.

But today there's a new game, and Mike Hampton will take the mound against Roy Oswalt in what's pretty much a must-win for the Braves. Hampton was 4-0 with a 1.15 ERA in his last 5 starts for the Braves.

Game notes: Chipper Jones is questionable for Game 2 with a sore hand. If he plays with it causing him to go 0-4, I'd rather him not be in the lineup. The problem is, unless Nick Green can play 3rd base, Wilson Betemit is his backup. Betemit has virtually no experience and hasn't played well yet at the major league level.

Carlos Betran of the Astros also is questionable for Game 2 after getting hit in the ribs with a pitch from Juan Cruz.

If there was any good news from Game 1, it's that Roger Clemens threw 117 pitches and probably won't be able to come back on 3 days rest if there's a Game 4. That means that Pete Munro, who had pretty bad numbers, would start that game. If the Braves win today, they go to Houston to face inexperienced Brandon Backe and Munro. Backe has been pitching well lately though.

Chip Caray is leaving the Cubs and joining the Braves

2004-10-04T16:19:00.000-07:00

The Braves offered him more money, and he can go back to his hometown and work with his dad. Options were picked up on Pete Van Wieren, Skip Caray, and Joe Simpson, but not yet on Don Sutton. They say they're negotiating with Sutton. I guess they'll have 5 announcers if he does come back...I guess there would be 3 on TV and 2 on radio.

Hampton to start Game 2

2004-10-04T16:16:00.000-07:00

Mike Hampton will be moved up to Game 2, and John Thomson is tentatively scheduled to go in Game 3 with a couple of more days rest. If he still can't pitch then, I expect Russ Ortiz will pitch Game 3, and probably Jaret Wright in Game 4 on 3 days rest.

Braves vs. Astros--NLDS matchup preview

2004-10-03T18:37:00.000-07:00

Astros lineup

LF Craig Biggio .281 24 hr 63 RBI
CF Carlos Beltran .268 38 hr 104 RBI
1B Jeff Bagwell .266 27 hr 89 RBI
RF Lance Berkman .316 30 hr 106 RBI
2B Jeff Kent .289 27 hr 107 RBI
3B Morgan Ensberg .275 10 hr 66 RBI
SS Jose Vizcaino .274 3 hr 33 RBI
C Brad Ausmus .248 5 hr 31 RBI

key reserves

3B Mike Lamb .289 14 hr 58 RBI
OF Orlando Palmeiro .241 3 hr 12 RBI
C Raul Chavez .210 0 hr 23 RBI
SS Adam Everett .273 8 hr 31 RBI

starting rotation

RHP Roger Clemens 18-4 2.98
RHP Roy Oswalt 20-10 3.49
RHP Brandon Backe 5-3 4.30

key relievers

RHP Brad Lidge 6-5 1.93 28 sv
RHP Dan Miceli 6-6 3.51 2 sv
RHP Chad Qualls 4-0 3.62

Braves lineup

SS Rafael Furcal .279 14 hr 59 RBI
2B Marcus Giles .311 8 hr 48 RBI
RF JD Drew .305 31 hr 93 RBI
3B Chipper Jones .248 30 hr 96 RBI
C Johnny Estrada .314 9 hr 76 RBI
1B Adam LaRoche .278 13 hr 45 RBI
CF Andruw Jones .261 29 hr 91 RBI
LF Charles Thomas .288 7 hr 31 RBI

key reserves

OF Eli Marrero .313 10 hr 40 RBI
1B Julio Franco .306 6 hr 56 RBI
IF Nick Green .278 3 hr 26 RBI
C Eddie Perez .235 3 hr 13 RBI

starting rotation

RHP Jaret Wright 15-8 3.28
RHP John Thomson 14-8 3.72
LHP Mike Hampton 13-9 4.28
RHP Russ Ortiz 15-9 4.13

key relievers

RHP John Smoltz 0-1 2.76 44 sv
RHP Antonio Alfonseca 6-4 2.57
RHP Chris Reitsma 6-4 4.07 2 sv
LHP Tom Martin 0-2 3.97 1 sv
RHP Kevin Gryboski 3-2 2.84 2 sv

The Astros appear much stronger on paper and come into the playoffs on fire. But, the Braves are also playing well. In order for the Astros to win, Clemens and Oswalt have to be themselves, and lineup needs to continue it's hot hitting against MLB's strongest pitching staff this year. In order for the Braves to win, they need to get into the Astros bullpen where they're vulnerable, their banged-up players need to heal fast and perform well, and they need the hitters to produce. The Braves have a deeper team than the Astros, so if they keep it close late in the game the advantage swings their way.

This ought to be a great series.

Houston Astros 5, Colorado Rockies 3

2004-10-03T18:32:00.000-07:00

They clinched the wild card with this win, and they didn't use Roger Clemens after all. Instead, he'll be on full rest for Wednesday for Game 1 which starts at 4 PM (which I can't watch live!). Roy Oswalt will be on full rest for Game 2, and Brandon Backe will be on full rest for Game 3. If Games 4 and 5 are necessary, they'll probably bring back Clemens and Oswalt on 3 days rest.

Chicago Cubs 10, Atlanta Braves 8

2004-10-03T18:22:00.000-07:00

Well, the regular season finale didn't actually mean anything, but it was a pretty entertaining game to watch. Greg Maddux didn't pitch that well for the Cubs, but he picked up the win against the Braves-facing them for the first time since 1992. It was his 16th win of the season, but his ERA went above 4. Paul Byrd did not have a good day for the Braves; he allowed 9 runs in 4 innings.

Byrd (8-7) saw his ERA skyrocket to 3.94. He pitched 4 innings, allowing 9 runs on 9 hits, 2 walks, and only one strikeout. Jose Capellan relieved him and allowed 1 run in 2 innings, and Roman Colon pitched 2 scoreless innings.

Byrd allowed 5 runs in the first inning, putting the team in a hole. But Charles Thomas hit a 3 run homer, and the Braves added a single run the next inning to close the gap to 5-4. But, the Cubs scored 4 runs over the next 2 innings, and while the Braves scored some more runs they never really made a game out of it.

Hitting Stars: Charles Thomas was 2 for 4, hitting 2 home runs (his 6th and 7th) and had 5 RBI. Adam LaRoche and DeWayne Wise also homered (LaRoches's 13th, Wise's 6th). Eli Marrero was 3 for 4. Julio Franco was 2 for 3, and the 46 year old finished the season with 99 hits.

Rotation matchups

2004-10-02T19:12:00.000-07:00

Ok, forget about what I said totally about rotation matchups, period. If the Braves play the Wild Card, the series will begin on Wednesday. That means Oswalt would be able to come back on 3 days rest for Game 1, along with Clemens for Game 2 on Thursday.

If the Braves end up facing the Dodgers, Odalis Perez would probably pitch Game 1, Jeff Weaver Game 2, and Jose Lima Game 3.

At this point, assuming Thomson's injury is minor enough to keep him from missing his next start, it looks like it will be Jaret Wright for Game 1, John Thomson for Game 2, and Mike Hampton for Game 3.

Braves situation

2004-10-02T18:00:00.000-07:00

The Braves have eliminated the Cubs, beating them 5-4 yesterday and 8-6 today. Chipper Jones and John Thomson both had to leave the game early today. Chipper was hit on the hand with a pitch and suffered a contusion, and Thomson left with a stiff back. Both are day-today. Either Paul Byrd or Jose Capellan will start tomorrow against the Cubs in the regular season finale. I suspect nearly all the regulars will be sitting on the bench tomorrow to get some rest before the NLDS.

The Dodgers had a big 9th inning rally to defeat the Giants today to clinch the division on the next to last day. The Astros are winning big right now, so it looks like they'll take a 1 game lead with 1 game to play. In order for the Giants to stay alive, they'll have to win tomorrow and hope for an Astros loss. Then, there would be a one game playoff to see who will advance to the NLDS and go to Atlanta. In order for the Giants to make the playoffs, they'll have to win 2 games in a row and the Astros will have to lose 2 games in a row...but I've seen much stranger things happen.

It looks increasingly likely that the Astros will be playing the Braves on Tuesday. Assuming that Roger Clemens pitches tomorrow, neither he nor Roy Oswalt will be available for Game 1, and Oswalt would probably start Game 2/Wednesday on only 3 days rest. If San Fran can pull off a semi-miracle and make the playoffs, neither Jason Schmidt or Brett Tomko will be available for Game 1, either. Not to mention that if there's a one game playoff, none of the top 3 starters for either team would be available for Game 1. Good news for the Braves.

Jaret Wright is scheduled to start Game 1 for the Braves, but with the mild injury to Thomson and Bobby's reconsidering of the 4 man rotation, there's no certainty beyond that. Heck, there's not even a certainty about Wright starting Game 1 for that matter with his bruised ankle, although he's healing fast and will probably be ready.

Braves to go with 4 man rotation in the playoffs

2004-09-30T08:21:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I'm a little late with this. If Jaret Wright's bruise heals like he thinks it will, he'll probably pitch Game 1, John Thomson Game 2, Russ Ortiz Game 3, and Mike Hampton Game 4. Paul Byrd will start Game 4 if either Wright or Hampton have injury issues. If Wright is unable to pitch Game 1, he'll probably be moved back in the rotation and everyone else will move up, making Thomson the Game 1 starter.

Atlanta Braves 6, New York Mets 3

2004-09-30T08:10:00.000-07:00

Bobby Cox became just the 9th manager in MLB history to win 2,000 games in his career as the Braves took 2 out of 3 from the Mets. Russ Ortiz (15-9) rebounded from his slump with 7 decent innings and he won his 15th game of the season.

Ortiz allowed 2 runs in the first, but held the Mets in check after that pretty much. They did threaten to score, but Ortiz was able to pitch around it. He pitched 7 innings, allowing the 2 runs on 6 hits, 3 walks, but just 2 strikeouts. Antonio Alfonseca pitched the 8th inning but gave up a run, but John Smoltz was able to come on and pick up his 43rd save.

After spotting the Mets the 2-0 lead in the top of the first, the Braves picked up a single run in the bottom of the inning, tied the game in the 4th, and scored 4 runs in the 7th to take the 6-2 lead. The Mets scored a single run in the 8th off of Alfonseca, but couldn't rally.

Hitting Stars: Marcus Giles was 2 for 4 with 2 RBI. Adam LaRoche was 1 for 2, walked, and hit his 12 home run of the season. LaRoche had really done well as of late.

Doubleheader recap

2004-09-29T09:31:00.000-07:00

These were a couple of meaningless games.

The Mets beat the Braves in Game 1 as Steve Trachsel shut down the Braves. Paul Byrd (8-6) pitched well only allowing 2 solo homers but the Braves lost 2-1.

The Braves rallied to beat the Mets in Game 2 by a score of 5-2. Jaret Wright was hit in the shin by a line drive, but dodged a bullet as x-rays are negative and only show a bad bruise. He's listed as day-to-day. Roman Colon (2-1) picked up the win even though he gave up a run. Johnny Estrada was 2 for 4 with an RBI, Adam LaRoche hit his 11th homer, and Marcus Giles hit his 8th homer.

The Braves play the Mets in the rubber game of the series at 1 o'clock, then have the day off Thursday before traveling to Chicago.

The Cubs are still fighting to get into the playoffs, and the Braves want to keep them out because of last year and because of the Cubs pitching being strong, so the Braves will probably have the everyday players in. This could be a first round preview, and both teams might go straight to Atlanta after this series to start the playoffs.

Rained out, doubleheader scheduled today

2004-09-28T08:07:00.000-07:00

The Braves and Mets were rained out yesterday, and a doubleheader is scheduled for today starting at 4:30. Paul Byrd and Jaret Wright will probably be the starting pitchers.

While I was away

2004-09-27T08:43:00.000-07:00

The Braves swept the Marlins, clinched the division for the 13th year in a row, and eliminated the Marlins from playoff contention.

Mike Hampton returned from his knee injury without much pain and pitched 7 scoreless innings in his start. Hampton got his 12th win and lowered his ERA to 4.38.

Mark DeRosa tore up his knee and will be out for at least the rest of this season.

Horacio Ramirez came off the DL, made a relief appearance struggling through one inning allowing a run.

John Thomson picked up his 14th win with another strong start and lowered his ERA to 3.73.

Chipper Jones has 95 RBI with 6 games left to get to 100 RBI for the umpteenth consecutive season.

Cincinnati Reds 3, Atlanta Braves 2

2004-09-24T07:51:00.000-07:00

The Braves failed to clinch the division tonight. The magic number was at 2 and the Marlins lost to make it 1, but the Braves bats were silenced by the Reds pitching (not a good sign). At least the Braves will get a chance to clinch at home tonight against the Marlins themselves.

Jaret Wright (15-8) pitched well but picked up the loss. The sportsline recap said that he had "been drained by flu-like symptoms," but despite that he pitched 6 innings giving up 2 runs on 4 hits, 3 walks, and 6 strikeouts. He had a shutout going into the 6th when the Reds were finally able to break through after threatening in the 4th and the 5th. Kevin Gryboski came on to pitch in the 7th but didn't have it, as he gave up a run and only got 1 out. Tom Martin did a good job to keep out of any more trouble, and Antonio Alfonseca and Juan Cruz each pitched a scoreless inning in the 8th and 9th innings, respectively.

The Braves took a 1-0 lead into the 6th inning. They scored it on an unearned run in the first, but Wright allowed 2 runners to get on base in the 6th, then missed a throw back to him from the catcher which allowed the runner on 2nd to get to 3rd base (I haven't seen that since the Mets did it in 2001). A sacrifice fly scored the first run and allowed the runner on 1st to get to 2nd, then Sean Casey singled up the middle through a drawn-in infield to take the lead. They scored the insurance run off of Gryboski in the 7th, and held on in the 9th when they walked the bases loaded but allowed just one run to win. The Braves didn't have a single hit with RISP in the game.

Hitting Stars: Julio Franco had 2 hits. Marcus Giles reached base 3 times. Rafael Furcal, JD Drew, Johnny Estrada, and Andruw Jones all reached base twice.

Russ Ortiz (14-9) faces Ismael Valdez (13-8) at 7:30 on TBS tonight as the Braves try to clinch the division.

Another 2 game recap

2004-09-23T08:27:00.000-07:00

Tuesday: Atlanta Braves 5, Cincinnati Reds 4

John Thomson (13-8) continued his outstanding pitching and Julio Franco added 3 hits to help the Braves hold off the Cincinnati Reds 5-4.

Thomson pitched 7 innings allowing just one run on 5 hits, 1 walk, and 9 strikeouts. Chris Reitsma struggled through the 8th giving up 2 runs, and John Smoltz nearly blew the save allowing one run in the 9th but he held on for his 40th save of the season, the 150th of his career, and his 57th game finished this season to vest his option for next season.

Hitting Stars: Julio Franco was 3 for 5; Marcus Giles, Eli Marrero, and Eddie Perez were all 2 for 4.

http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/gamecenter/recap/MLB_20040921_CIN@ATL

Wednesday: Cincinnati Reds 11, Atlanta Braves 8

I'm sort of glad I couldn't watch this game, because if I had I might be throwing things. Paul Byrd went just 4 innings, allowing 6 runs (4 earned) on 10 hits, no walks, and 6 strikeouts. The bullpen did a good job from the 5th inning through the 8th inning, with Juan Cruz, Antonio Alfonseca, Tom Martin, Roman Colon, and Chris Reitsma each having scoreless appearances. However, John Smoltz had a terrible outing and was only able to get one out while allowing 5 runs to score in the 9th inning and it cost the Braves the game.

The Braves rallied from a 6-2 deficit scoring 3 times in both the 6th and 7th innings, highlighted by Chipper Jones' 30th homer of the year, a 3 run shot that gave the Braves a 8-6 lead in the 7th inning. However, with the Braves holding on to the lead in the 9th, Smoltz (0-1) came on to attempt the save and had the meltdown, and he had his first decision of the year: a loss. It's tough to stage a big rally and then allow the other team to win the game. Travis Smith came on to get the last 2 outs in the 9th, but it was too late.

Hitting Stars: Chipper Jones had just one hit but it was his 30th homer. It added 3 RBIs to his total, which is now at 91. JD Drew reached base 4 times; he was 1 for 2 and walked 3 times. Marcus Giles was 2 for 3.

http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/gamecenter/recap/MLB_20040922_CIN@ATL

A 2 game recap

2004-09-19T21:09:00.000-07:00

Saturday: Atlanta Braves 4, Florida Marlins 2

College is incredibly hectic sometimes, so unfortunately I didn't get the chance to recap the Saturday game. Jaret Wright was outstanding on Saturday, taking a 2 hit shutout into the 9th inning before the Marlins got 2 runners on base; Wright was relieved by John Smoltz who gave up both inherited runs but kept the Braves ahead. Wright (15-7) won his 15th game while allowing just 2 runs on 3 hits, a walk, and 5 strikeouts. John Smoltz picked up his 39th save, and he only needs to finish 2 more games for his option to vest.

Hitting Stars: Rafael Furcal and Andruw Jones each had 2 hits.
http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/gamecenter/recap/MLB_20040918_ATL@FLA

Sunday: Florida Marlins 3, Atlanta Braves 0

The Braves offense was anemic in this game. They couldn't score off of the Marlins 5th starter, Ismael Valdez (although he has pitched fairly well this year), and were shutout. Russ Ortiz lost again, although he deserved a better fate in this game. He pitched 6 innings, allowing just 2 runs on 7 hits, 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts. He only threw 83 pitches, and was probably taken out because the Braves desperately needed some offense while pinch-hitting for him, and also they're probably trying to conserve him for the postseason. The 2 runs he gave up were off of a home run, of course. He is now 14-9 on the season.

Hitting Star: Rafael Furcal provided practically the only offense, getting 2 base hits.

"Ortiz has allowed 22 homers this season, including 15 since Aug. 14. "
http://cbs.sportsline.com/mlb/gamecenter/recap/MLB_20040919_ATL@FLA

Atlanta Braves 8, Florida Marlins 1

2004-09-17T20:15:00.000-07:00

The Braves erased an early 1-0 deficit when Chipper Jones hit a 3 run homer in the 4th inning and they never looked back. Paul Byrd pitched 5 solid innings on 3 days of rest as the Braves cruised to a 8-1 win.

The Marlins scored a single run in the 3rd inning in a scoreless game, but that was all they got as Charles Thomas threw out a runner at the plate for the 3rd out of the inning. Chipper Jones hit the 3 run homer the next inning as the Braves scored 4 that inning, and 3 the next inning. They added another run late on JD Drew's 31st homer.

Paul Byrd (8-5) allowed a bunch of hits, but he threw strikes and got out of trouble frequently. He pitched 5 innings allowing one run on 9 hits, 0 walks, and 3 strikeouts. Kevin Gryboski, Antonio Alfonseca, Chris Reitsma, and John Smoltz each pitched a scoreless inning to finish up the game. Smoltz, if I'm not mistaken, finished his 55th game and he only needs 3 more games finished to vest his option for next year.

Hitting Stars: Marcus Giles and Adam LaRoche were both 3 for 5. Chipper Jones hit the big 3 run homer in the 4th (his 29th homer, and he now has 88 RBIs). JD Drew hit his 31st homer, and he now has 89 RBIs. Drew also reached base 3 other times by walking. Johnny Estrada and Charles Thomas both reached base twice. Pretty productive night for the offense, good pitching too; a good team effort overall other than the 2 errors.

New York Mets 9, Atlanta Braves 4

2004-09-17T09:47:00.000-07:00

Well, Jose Capellan gave up 7 runs in the first inning, and even though the Braves got the tying run to the plate in the 7th, they didn't ever get close.

Capellan (0-1) pitched just one inning, allowing 7 runs on 6 hits, 2 walks, and no strikeouts. He gave up 2 home runs in the first inning. Travis Smith, Tim Drew, Dan Meyer, Roman Colon, and Juan Cruz finished the game, and only Colon gave up an earned run.

Hitting Stars: Other than Eddie Perez going 2 for 4, there weren't really any.

Atlanta Braves 2, New York Mets 0

2004-09-16T08:24:00.000-07:00

The thing about having good starting pitching is that even when you're not playing that well you won't go into prolonged slumps. The Braves offense was pretty anemic, but John Thomson shut out the Mets through 7 innings and the Braves evened up the 5 game series at 2 games apiece.

Thomson (12-8) lowered his ERA to 3.92 as he continued his excellent work of late. He pitched 7 innings and allowed no runs on 5 hits, 3 walks, and 5 strikeouts. Chris Reitsma pitched a scoreless 8th inning walking one and striking out 2, and John Smoltz struck out one in the 9th as he picked up his 38th save.

The Braves scored both runs in the first inning. I didn't get to watch this game, but apparently it was a pretty bizarre way of scoring:
"Giles and J.D. Drew scored on nearly identical slides in the first inning, touching the plate with their left hand before catcher Jason Phillips' tag. Howe argued the first call with plate umpire Brian O'Nora."
After the first inning, the Braves did nothing. Al Leiter struck out 11 Braves in a losing cause.

Hitting Stars: Marcus Giles was 3 for 4 with 2 doubles. The only other Brave to get a hit (this is starting to become more of a frequent problem) was JD Drew, who was 1 for 2 but with 2 walks.

Game Notes: There was about an hour long rain delay in the first inning.

The home plate umpire Brian O'Nora had to leave the game and was taken to a hospital because of a viral infection.

Jose Capellan is scheduled to pitch tonight against Steve Trachsel. I'll actually get to watch most of it; the game is on TBS.

Dan Meyer promoted

2004-09-15T09:48:00.000-07:00

With Mike Hampton and Horacio Ramirez injured, and Tom Martin being himself out of the bullpen, the Braves needed another lefty and called up prospect Dan Meyer. He's had a good year at Greenville and Richmond. He made his debut last night against the Mets and pitched a scoreless inning in relief.

New York Mets 7, Atlanta Braves 0

2004-09-15T09:35:00.000-07:00

Kris Benson completely shut down the Braves' offense, and Russ Ortiz continued his struggles as the Braves got routed by the Mets 7-0. If Ortiz continues to pitch like this he'll be moved back in the playoff rotation for sure.

Ortiz (14-8) went 5 and two thirds innings and allowed all 7 runs on 9 hits, 3 walks, and 3 strikeouts. He seems to be having problems with the home run; I think he had been one of the league leaders in allowing fewest home runs until lately, but he's surely not anymore. His ERA went over 4 for the first time since June. After he left in the 6th, Tom Martin allowed his inherited runs to score on 2 hits without getting anyone out, and Tim Drew had to come on to finish the 6th. Drew also pitched a scoreless 7th. Dan Meyer made his ML debut and pitched well; a scoreless 8th inning allowing one hit and striking out one.

Hitting Stars: Johnny Estrada was 2 for 4. The only other Braves to reach base were Rafael Furcal and Andruw Jones on singles.

Looking ahead...the playoff rotation

2004-09-14T11:56:00.000-07:00

If Mike Hampton pitches at all in the postseason, I think it will be coming out of the bullpen. This helps to clear up the probable rotation for the postseason. Jaret Wright and Russ Ortiz will obviously start in the playoffs, but if the Braves go with a 3 man rotation in the first round like they normally do that leaves it between Paul Byrd and John Thomson.

Paul Byrd is 7-5 with a 3.34 ERA in 15 starts since coming back from the DL. He has 17 walks and 63 strikeouts in 94 1/3 innings pitched.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5468

John Thomson is 11-8 with a 4.08 ERA in 29 starts this season. He has 46 walks and 115 strikeouts in 174 1/3 innings this season. Since the All-Star break, he has been impressive: 5-1 with a 2.91 ERA.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5772

This is one of those "problems" that a number of other teams would love to have. The Braves have 4 quality starters (and it would be 5 if Hampton were completely healthy...possibly 6 or 7 with Capellan and Ramirez). My guess is that the Braves would go with Byrd as the number 3 starter in the NLDS. If they get to the NLCS and the World Series, then they would probably shift to a 4 man rotation, with Thomson getting Game 4 starts.

This looks like a pretty good rotation:

RHP Jaret Wright 14-7 3.39 ERA
RHP Russ Ortiz 14-7 3.82 ERA
RHP Paul Byrd 7-5 3.34 ERA
RHP John Thomson 11-8 4.08 ERA

The Braves probably can't go too far wrong with those choices.

NL Wild Card standings

2004-09-14T11:37:00.000-07:00

San Francisco is somehow leading the standings, despite the fact that no one on their team other than Barry Bonds and Jason Schmidt are having good years-and Schmidt's been struggling coming back from an injury. The Cubs are a half game back, Houston is one game back, Florida and San Diego are 2 games back, and Philadelphia is 5 back.

http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/standings/playoffrace

This link has some details about how far each club is from first place, how many games they have remaining, and who they would play if the playoffs were to start today.

In the National League, St. Louis would play the Wild Card unless a team from their division (Chicago or Houston) won it. If that were to happen, they would play the division winner with the worst record, and that's Los Angeles right now.

If San Francisco somehow wins the wild card, then St. Louis would play them and Atlanta would host the Dodgers. If a Central team wins it, then St. Louis would host Los Angeles and Atlanta would host the wild card. I think that one of the central teams will win it; I can't see how San Francisco can, although they are leading.

My prediction is that Houston will win because they have been hot lately, and the Braves will host them with the Dodgers going to St. Louis for Game 1.

News on Hampton

2004-09-14T08:42:00.000-07:00

http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/sports/baseball/mlb/atlanta_braves/9656907.htm
(link also posted in title)

"The news on pitcher Mike Hampton was mixed Monday.

An MRI of the left-hander's left knee revealed torn cartilage, which will require surgery. However, with the blessing of the team's medical staff, Hampton plans to postpone surgery and continue pitching.

"I don't know if anybody can tell you there's a 50-50 chance (he can do it), but we're going to try," manager Bobby Cox said. "We're going to try and get him through this season."

Hampton felt his knee pop in the fifth inning of last Saturday's start against Montreal. The recovery time from surgery is four to eight weeks. Team officials indicated that if he undergoes the procedure this winter, he'd be ready for the start of spring training.

Doctors said the tear in Hampton's meniscus cartilage won't worsen if he continues pitching. But the team is concerned about Hampton pitching in pain and whether it would force him to alter his delivery to compensate.

The lefty, whose knee was drained of fluid Monday, will rejoin the team today, but he'll miss his next start. Rookie Jose Capellan will replace him against the Mets in the series finale Thursday night."

Hopefully he doesn't screw up his mechanics. That could have huge future repercussions. Also, Jose Capellan will pitch on 3 days rest taking Hampton's place in his next start. This concerns me a little, because Capellan threw 111 pitches in his last outing and also he has never even come close to throwing as many innings before as he has this season at age 23.

Atlanta Braves 7, New York Mets 1

2004-09-14T08:34:00.000-07:00

Paul Byrd (7-5) pitched 8 strong innings as the Braves won the nightcap of the doubleheader 7-1. JD Drew had a big night going 4 for 5 with 3 RBIs. He had 6 hits on the day including the first game.

Byrd gave up a solo homer to the first batter of the game, Mike Cameron, but he had no further problems. He threw 100 pitches and ate some innings to help the bullpen get some much needed rest. He pitched 8 innings and allowed one run on 7 hits, 0 walks, and 4 strikeouts. Chris Reitsma pitched a perfect 9th.

Down 1-0, the Braves scored 4 times in the 3rd inning and never looked back as they added runs in the 4th, 7th, and 9th innings. They did it without a home run in the game.

Hitting Stars: Drew who was 4 for 5 with the 3 RBIs. Nick Green, Chipper Jones, Adam LaRoche, and Eddie Perez all had 2 hits. LaRoche added 2 RBIs.

New York Mets 9, Atlanta Braves 7

2004-09-14T08:18:00.001-07:00

The Braves lost game 1 of the doubleheader after leading 4-1 in the 6th inning. Jaret Wright (14-7) fatigued, and Bobby Cox was reluctant to go to the bullpen after their struggles lately and it cost the Braves. Wright gave up 5 runs in the 6th, and even though the Braves offense rallied, Travis Smith gave up a 3 run homer to put the game out of reach.

Wright ended up going 5 and two thirds innings allowing 6 runs on 7 hits, 2 walks, and 6 strikeouts. Kevin Gryboski and Tim Drew had scoreless appearances, but Smith gave up the homer to put the game out of reach.

Hitting Stars: Andruw Jones had just one hit, but it was a 2 run homer in the 4 run 4th (his 28th homer). Marcus Giles was 3 for 5. JD Drew and Adam LaRoche each had 2 hits.

Atlanta Braves 9, Montreal Expos 8

2004-09-12T17:27:00.000-07:00

The Braves completed the 3 game sweep of the Expos. They did it despite a bullpen meltdown and a blown 7-3 lead. They also just barely won despite the fact that they scored in every one of the first 7 innings. This turned out to be an excellent ballgame to watch though. The Braves won on an Andruw Jones double that knocked in Charles Thomas from 1st base with nobody out in the bottom of the 12th inning.

Jose Capellan had a decent first ML start. He pitched 5 innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits, 3 walks, and 4 strikeouts. It took him 111 pitches to get through 5, so he came out and gave the game to the bullpen.

The bullpen for the Braves today was pretty bad. Kevin Gryboski pitched the 6th inning and gave up a run on 3 hits. Tom Martin pitched two thirds of an inning in the 7th and gave up 2 runs, and Antonio Alfonseca had to come on and get out of the jam. (Alfonseca has been quite good lately, he's been one of the most reliable relievers...maybe he should have a bigger role down the stretch?) Chris Reitsma actually pitched a perfect 8th for once. John Smoltz had a rare bad outing and blew his 4th save and a 3 run lead. Roman Colon pitched a scoreless 10th, and Juan Cruz pitched the last 2 innings without allowing a run and picked up the win when the Braves won in the bottom of the 12th. He is now 6-2.

The Braves did an excellent job on offense, however. As mentioned in the first paragraph, they scored in each of the first 7 innings. Only in the 4th did they score more than one run. I'll mention all of the hitting stars:

Hitting Stars: Eddie Perez had a perfect 4 for 4 day and was a triple short of the cycle. He has to be one of the slowest players on the Braves and there was virtually no chance of that happening though. Rafael Furcal was 3 for 5 with his 14th homer. Chipper Jones was 2 for 5 with his 28th homer. Andruw Jones was 2 for 5 with his 27th homer. Marcus Giles added 2 hits.

The Braves travel to New York to take on the Mets in a doubleheader tomorrow and will play what will be pretty much a 5 game series. Jaret Wright and Paul Byrd are the scheduled pitchers for tomorrow.

Atlanta Braves 8, Montreal Expos 1

2004-09-12T09:29:00.000-07:00

The Braves broke open a 2-1 game in the 7th with runs off of a tired Livan Hernandez to take an 8-1 lead and cruise from there. Rafael Furcal played and hit a home run in his first game back since his arrest (his 13th homer), and Andruw Jones hit his 26th home run to help the Braves cause.

Mike Hampton pitched shutout ball into the 5th inning when he had to leave with a knee injury. He is scheduled to have an MRI today; that can't possibly be good news. He allowed no runs on 4 hits, no walks, and 3 strikeouts. Juan Cruz (5-2) came on after Hampton left and pitched 1 and two thirds scoreless innings, picking up the win. Roman Colon, Antonio Alfonseca, and Travis Smith each pitched scoreless innings to finish up the game.

Hitting Stars: Furcal with his 13th homer and Andruw with his 26th homer. Both of them had 2 hits and 1 RBI. Chipper Jones was 2 for 4 with a walk and an RBI. Adam LaRoche hit a big 2 run double in the 6 run 7th inning.

Jose Capellan makes his major league debut today against the Expos' Tony Armas.

Atlanta Braves 4, Montreal Expos 3

2004-09-11T09:48:00.000-07:00

This is the biggest win that the Braves have had in a while. Johnny Estrada hit a 1st inning 3 run homer and Marcus Giles added a solo shot as John Thomson pitched 6 solid innings. The Braves held on to win.

Estrada's homer countered a single 1st inning run by Montreal to give the Braves a 3-1 lead. The Expos got a single run in the 5th, but the Braves countered with a solo shot to take a 4-2 lead. The Expos got within a run in the 8th inning as Chris Reitsma's struggles continued, but John Smoltz was able to close it down.

Thomson (11-8) went 6 innings allowing 2 runs (one earned) on 7 hits, 2 walks, and 6 strikeouts. Antonio Alfonseca kept up his good work lately with a scoreless 7th inning. Reitsma allowed 2 bloop hits in the 8th inning; when you're struggling, these things happen. He wasn't able to get an out, but Smoltz pitched the final 2 innings allowing only the inherited runner at 3rd base with no one out to score. Smoltz wasn't as sharp as he is sometimes, but it was good enough for his 37th save. He has finished 53 games and only needs to finish 4 more to vest his option for next year.

Hitting Stars: Johnny Estrada was 1 for 3 with the big 3 run homer, his 9th of the season. Marcus Giles was only 1 for 4, but his homer was the difference in the game.

Game notes: Rafael Furcal arrived at the ballpark only about an hour and a half before gametime after spending most of the day in jail. He did not play, but he is expected to be in the lineup Saturday night.

Horrible News

2004-09-10T09:13:00.000-07:00

Rafael Furcal was arrested and charged with DUI early this morning. (link in title) This won't help the Braves snap out of the slump, for sure.

Philadelphia Phillies 9, Atlanta Braves 4

2004-09-10T08:49:00.000-07:00

The Braves fell behind 4-0 in the first 2 innings as Russ Ortiz reverted back to early April form and didn't make it out of the 3rd. They rallied back to tie the game, but a Jim Thome 2 run double off of Roman Colon (1-1) gave the Phillies a lead they would only add to in the final innings.

The game included a freak home run: Charles Thomas drove a pitch to deep right center field for what looked like would be a double. Phillies centerfielder Jason Michaels got to the ball, and as it bounced off his glove toward the ground he made a desperate attempt to catch the ball a 2nd time. Instead, he hit the ball with his glove and knocked it over the wall for a home run.

Russ Ortiz, as mentioned before, didn't pitch well at all. He didn't get a decision as the Braves rallied back to briefly tie the game, but he only pitched 2 and a third innings, allowing 4 runs on 4 hits, 4 walks, and 1 strikeout. His first 2 pitches of the game were hit out of the ballpark. Mike Lieberthal added a home run in the 2nd inning. When he walked the bases loaded with one out in the 3rd Bobby Cox yanked him. Juan Cruz came on and induced a double play to get out of that jam with no damage, and he pitched a scoreless 4th. Tom Martin and Kevin Gryboski came on to hold the Phillies scoreless over the next 2 innings, before Colon came on in the 7th and allowed 2 runs for his first major league loss. Chris Reitsma allowed a solo homer in the 8th and Tim Drew allowed 2 more runs in the 9th. For the most part, not a good night for the pitchers.

Hitting Stars: Chipper Jones was 2 for 4 with a 3 run homer (his 27th). Charles Thomas was 1 for 3 with the freak home run, his 4th of the year. Rafael Furcal and Andruw Jones added 2 hits.

John Thomson will face the Expos' John Patterson at 7 o'clock tonight on TBS.

Good News

2004-09-09T13:54:00.000-07:00

"The Braves will recall RHP Jose Capellan from Triple-A Richmond to start either Saturday or Sunday. Capellan was 4-2 for Richmond with a 2.51 ERA in seven starts. " (link in title)

I'm looking forward to seeing that upper 90's heater and that nasty slider.

Philadelphia Phillies 4, Atlanta Braves 1

2004-09-09T08:14:00.000-07:00

It seems that all the Braves had going last night was starting pitching. The offense was shut down and the defense cost the Braves at least one of the runs. Paul Byrd continues to pitch well, going 6 and two thirds innings allowing 2 runs on 8 hits, 1 walk, and 8 strikeouts. Tom Martin and Antonio Alfonseca had scoreless appearances, but Juan Cruz allowed 2 runs in the 9th although one was unearned.

Hitting Stars: Julio Franco had 2 hits. Eli Marrero was the only other Brave to get a hit.

Game notes: Marcus Giles left the first game and JD Drew left the second game. Both of them were hit by pitches. They are listed as day-to-day.

JD Drew lost his 16 game hitting streak after not getting a hit then leaving the game in the 6th inning.

Philadelphia Phillies 5, Atlanta Braves 3

2004-09-08T17:21:00.000-07:00

In the first game of the doubleheader, Jim Thome hit a 8th inning 3-run homer off of Tom Martin to give the Phillies a come from behind win. I didn't get to watch this game, and I won't get to watch the 2nd game either although I am able to listen to it on the radio. Jaret Wright apparently bummed his way through 6 innings, allowing 2 runs on 7 hits, 1 walk, and 8 strikeouts. It took him 110 pitches to get through 6 innings. Chris Reitsma (6-4) had allowed Martin's inherited runners to reach base, and he picked up the loss. Antonio Alfonseca, Kevin Gryboski, and Roman Colon had scoreless outings.

Hitting Stars: There weren't many, but Adam LaRoche was 1 for 3 with his 10th homer of the season. It was a 2 run shot in the 5th inning.

Bad News

2004-09-07T17:00:00.000-07:00

(link in title)

Horacio Ramirez might be done for the year. If so, hopefully he can come back strong and pick up where he left off before he went on the DL next season.

Rained out

2004-09-07T16:20:00.000-07:00

The Braves and Phillies were rained out tonight. The game has been rescheduled for tomorrow beginning at 4:35 (must have picked that time because I can't watch then). I'm guessing Jaret Wright and Paul Byrd will pitch tomorrow's games.

Atlanta Braves 3, Philadelphia Phillies 1

2004-09-06T18:56:00.000-07:00

The Braves got this game in despite threatening rain from the remnants of Hurricane Frances and picked up a win. Travis Smith made a spot start for Mike Hampton who was scratched because of a stiff neck, and Smith pitched adequately considering the circumstances. He pitched 5 innings allowing a run on 5 hits, 2 walks, but no strikeouts. He got just enough support to win. Tom Martin and Antonio Alfonseca pitched scoreless 6th and 7th innings. Chris Reitsma got an out in the 8th inning, and John Smoltz finished the game picking up his 36th save.

The Braves left way too many men on base. They've done this for about a week now, and while they've only lost like once, they can't afford to do that in postseason. Smith picked up his first major league win in over 2 years. He is 1-3 on the season.

Hitting Stars: Andruw Jones went 2 for 3 and hit his 25th homer along with 2 RBI. He drew a walk as well; good news for him. When his plate discipline does well, he hits well. Julio Franco was 3 for 4. JD Drew went 2 for 2 and walked 3 more times. He has a 15 game hitting streak. Rafael Furcal added 2 hits.

Game notes: Johnny Estrada missed the first part of the game and didn't arrive at the stadium until the 3rd inning because of the birth of his son.

I'll be really surprised if they play tomorrow's game. I think they'll be rained out, but I've been wrong many times before.

Montreal Expos 4, Atlanta Braves 3

2004-09-05T14:33:00.000-07:00

I suppose you can't win them all. Tony Batista knocked in Endy Chavez with an RBI double in the 12th inning to end the game. Juan Cruz got the loss. He's now 4-2 on the year.

The Expos scored single runs in the first 2 innings although it could have been a whole lot worse. John Thomson had already allowed one run in the 2nd inning and the bases were loaded with nobody out, but he managed to get out of the inning with no further damage. Thomson really settled down after that allowing just those 2 runs on 6 hits, 2 walks, and 2 strikeouts in 6 innings of work. He should have stayed in another inning (the post below describes the reasons why I think this), but that didn't happen. The decisions ended up not really affecting the Braves for good or worse. It's just that when you play 12 innings someone has to lose.

Tom Martin, Antonio Alfonseca, and Kevin Gryboski each pitched scoreless innings. Chris Reitsma gave up the tying run in the 8th, and it did end up being an earned run despite Chipper's throwing error. Juan Cruz pitched a scoreless 11th, but allowed the winning run in the 12th.

Hitting stars: There weren't many. JD Drew was 1 for 2 with his 30th homer. He walked 4 times as well. He scored 2 of the Braves 3 runs.

Mismanagement

2004-09-05T13:02:00.000-07:00

I really like Bobby Cox and I think he's one of the best managers in the game, but his decisions in the 7th inning will probably cost the team the game.

He pinch-ran Nick Green for Adam LaRoche instead of Dewayne Wise. Wise's value is completely speed and defense, this would have been the perfect time to use him. This decision probably wouldn't have mattered though, as Green got thrown out at the plate by a wide margin on a hard ground ball by Rafael Furcal. Wise would have as well.

But where Bobby's decision was costly was hitting Julio Franco for John Thomson. Thomson had only allowed 2 runs in 6 innings and had only thrown 77 pitches. Franco is the Braves best pinch hitter this year. Instead of actually pinch-hitting, he pinch-bunted. Why take Thomson who was throwing a fine ballgame if he could have done the same thing? Now, the Braves set-up men will have to hold them. Franco is still in the game, but the Braves lost Thomson, LaRoche, and Green. Montreal says"thank you very much". Tom Martin is probably a bit easier to score off of than John Thomson.

Atlanta Braves 9, Montreal Expos 0

2004-09-04T19:02:00.000-07:00

Russ Ortiz pitched his third career shutout, a three hitter, as the Braves routed the Expos 9-0. Ortiz (14-7) carried a perfect game into the 6th inning, retiring the first 15 batters before the Expos got 2 hits in the 6th. Ortiz is now 5-0 on the season against Montreal. He had a 1.47 ERA entering the game against them, and it actually will go down. I'm not sure if that's a good thing though, to have 5 of his 14 wins against one team. But, I guess that's the unbalanced schedule for you.

Overall in this game Ortiz pitched 9 innings, allowing no runs on 3 hits, 3 walks, and 5 strikeouts.

The Braves scored 8 of their runs in the first 3 innings against John Patterson, (6 of the runs were charged to Patterson) including 5 in the 3rd knocking him out of the game. Another easy win. The Braves could cruise through the rest of the game, although the Montreal bullpen did a good job allowing them to one run after the 3rd. The Braves outscored the Expos anyway 1-0 through the rest of the game.

Hitting Stars: Andruw Jones was 2 for 5 with a grand slam (his 24th homer) and 4 RBI. Adam LaRoche was 3 for 5. Johnny Estrada was 2 for 4. Every Braves starter had a hit except for Marcus Giles, and that's including the pitcher Ortiz (that sounds like yesterday!).

Game notes: Johnny Estrada was in Montreal and played despite the fact that his wife could give birth at any minute.

Atlanta has shut out Montreal 4 times this season.

Atlanta Braves 7, Montreal Expos 1

2004-09-04T08:18:00.000-07:00

For the second straight start, Paul Byrd put on a show. He pitched 8 innings, allowing only one run on 4 hits, 2 walks, and 6 strikeouts. He had a shutout going into the 8th, but he seemed to tire. Juan Cruz pitched a scoreless 9th to finish the game.

In what seems to be a trend, this game wasn't really that close once the Braves got on the scoreboard. They scored 3 runs in the 3rd and 4th inning, and added 4 more in the 7th. However, the Braves just missed extending their impressive streak of consecutive games with 10 hits to 13-they finished with 9 hits.

Hitting stars: Eli Marrero only had one hit, but it was a long home run to center field for his 9th homer. Rafael Furcal and Marcus Giles were both 2 for 5. Every Braves starter had a hit except for Eddie Perez, and that's including the pitcher Byrd.

Russ Ortiz is slated to pitch tonight against John Patterson. Patterson was listed for last night, but obviously he didn't pitch as Scott Downs started.

Post All-Star Break stats-pitching

2004-09-02T17:30:00.000-07:00

Ditto...link in the title.

More notables:

Jaret Wright is 8-1 with a 2.55 ERA.

Mike Hampton is 7-1 with a 3.95 ERA.

John Thomson is 4-1 with a 3.05 ERA.

John Smoltz has no decisions (not only since the all-star break, but the whole year...that's a good thing for a closer) with 19 saves and a 1.63 ERA.

Juan Cruz is 2-1 with a 1.29 ERA.

Chris Reitsma is 3-1, with a save, 13 holds, and a 2.53 ERA.

With both the hitting and pitching stats that good, it's no wonder that the Braves are 33-12 since the break.

Post All-Star Break stats-hitting

2004-09-02T17:07:00.000-07:00

This title, like nearly all of them, provides a link.

Notably:

Chipper Jones is hitting .310/.396/.606 with 13 homers and 39 RBI.

Rafael Furcal: .314/.377/.416.

JD Drew: .299/.393/.494 with 8 homers and 26 RBI.

Andruw Jones: .296/.374/.487 with 7 homers and 23 RBI.

Johnny Estrada: .331/.407/.488 with 4 homers and 19 RBI.

Charles Thomas: .298/.385/.368.

Julio Franco: .360/.402/.465.

Eli Marrero: .349/.421/.554.

Wow.

Atlanta Braves 7, Philadelphia Phillies 2

2004-09-01T19:22:00.000-07:00

The Braves completed the 2 game sweep of the Phillies. They scored 5 times in the first 4 innings, cruising to the win. It wasn't very close even as the Phillies scored 2 in the 2nd inning when the Braves answered with 2 more runs over the next two innings.

Hitting Stars: Chipper Jones went 2 for 3 with his 26th homer and he had 3 more RBI in his quest for another year with 100 RBI (he now has 76). Andruw Jones hit his 23rd homer. Marcus Giles and Adam LaRoche added 3 hits. The Braves have had 10 hits for 12 consecutive games now. Quite impressive.

Jaret Wright picked up his 14th win of the season with yet another fine outing. He pitched 6 innings then left after his back apparently tightened up. I think his being taken out of the game was precautionary. He allowed 2 runs on 8 hits, no walks, and 5 strikeouts. Antonio Alfonseca, Chris Reitsma, and Kevin Gryboski eached pitched a scoreless inning to finish the game.

The Braves now travel to Montreal to play after an off-day tomorrow. Paul Byrd is scheduled to pitch Friday against John Patterson, but I don't know if he'll be skipped over for Russ Ortiz or not. The way Ortiz has pitched lately, he probably needs the extra day of rest.

Roster expansion

2004-09-01T12:21:00.000-07:00

The roster limit expands to 40 men today. This article explains the Braves moves: what they have done and likely will do. I don't understand the procedures very well, so click on the link in the title to find out better.

Atlanta Braves 5, Philadelphia Phillies 3

2004-09-01T11:58:00.000-07:00

Mike Hampton (11-9) pitched a fine ballgame, throwing 8 innings of 2 hit ball. He allowed one earned run on a solo home run by Mike Lieberthal, walked one, but only struck out one. I suppose that when you only allow 2 hits though, you can get away with that.

The game was 1-1 into the 6th inning, when Andruw Jones hit what appeared to be a routine flyball that ended up being a 2 run homer (his 22nd). Citizens Bank Park's short dimensions and the wind likely played a part in that. The Braves added a couple of more runs and hung on when John Smoltz made a 4 run lead interesing in the 9th inning. But the Braves hung on to a 5-3 win.

Hitting stars: Andruw Jones had just one hit, but that homer was the difference in the game. Eli Marrero was 3 for 4 and Julio Franco was 2 for 5.

Game Notes: Roman Colon was optioned to Greenville and DeWayne Wise was recalled from Richmond. This was because of the deadline to set the rosters before September, and the Braves now have 14 position players and 11 pitchers.

Jaret Wright will oppose Vicente Padilla in what would appear to be a pitcher's duel, but in Citizens Bank Park who knows. Padilla always pitches well against the Braves though.

Atlanta Braves 7, San Francisco Giants 6

2004-08-31T09:00:00.000-07:00

The Braves scored 2 runs in the bottom of the 9th to win a game that they should have won easily. Andruw Jones singled through a drawn-in infield to knock in Julio Franco with the game-winner.

The Braves led 4-1 going into the bottom of the 6th, but John Thomson tired after throwing 5 good innings. He allowed 2 runs in the 6th letting the Giants cut the lead to one. Thomson got a no-decision, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits, no walks, and 2 strikeouts in 6 innings. In the 7th, the Gryboski/Martin combination allowed 3 runs, and it could have been more if Michael Tucker hadn't been thrown out at the plate for the Giants to end the inning. The Braves added a single run in the bottom of the 7th to cut the lead to 6-5.

In the bottom of the 9th, JD Drew singled to lead off the inning. Julio Franco followed with an RBI triple that was mishandled by Giants rightfielder Ricky Ledee, tying the game at 6 with no outs and a runner on third. The Giants were forced to bring in their infield and their outfield, and after Eli Marrero drew a walk, Andruw Jones got the game-winning single. Roman Colon (1-0) pitched a scoreless 9th inning, and he picked up his first career win.

Hitting stars: JD Drew was 3 for 4 with his 29th homer and 3 RBI. Andruw Jones, Julio Franco, and Nick Green each had 2 hits.

Game notes: Chipper Jones did not start the game and entered as a pinch-hitter late in the game because he and his wife's 3rd child was born in the morning.

The Braves took 3 out of 4 from the Giants, and have won 6 of their last 7.

The Braves now head to Philadelphia for a 2 game series. Mike Hampton goes up against Eric Milton tonight.

San Francisco Giants 9, Atlanta Braves 5

2004-08-30T08:25:00.000-07:00

Barry Bonds was on his game, and Russ Ortiz was not. That about summarizes everything in this game. Bonds hit 2 home runs, including the 2nd and 3rd longest in Turner Field history, and had 6 RBIs. The Giants scored first on Bonds' first home run, and had a 3-2 lead when Bonds hit his 2nd home run of the night. After that, it never was really close.

Braves hitting stars: Chipper Jones, Johnny Estrada, and Adam LaRoche were all 2 for 4. Rafael Furcal was 2 for 5.

Ortiz (13-7) pitched 5 plus innings, allowing 7 runs on 9 hits, 3 walks, and only one strikeout. He has had 5 consecutive shaky starts now. Tom Martin and Kevin Gryboski finished the 6th inning, with Martin allowing a run. Antonio Alfonseca, Roman Colon, and Juan Cruz each pitched a scoreless inning to finish the game.

John Thomson, who has been outstanding lately, faces Giants rookie Noah Lowry today at 1 oclock on TBS.

Atlanta Braves 9, San Francisco Giants 3

2004-08-28T13:48:00.000-07:00

The Braves knocked around Jason Schmidt scoring 6 runs without Schmidt being able to get out of the 4th. Paul Byrd was a star at both the plate and on the mound.

It was 2-1 Atlanta in the 4th inning. The Braves proceeded to bat around and scored 4 runs to make it 6-1. The Braves cruised from there.

Paul Byrd (5-4) pitched 6 innings and allowed one run on 4 hits, 3 walks, and 1 strikeout. Antonio Alfonseca pitched a scoreless 7th, Roman Colon pitched the 8th and allowed 2 runs, and Juan Cruz pitched a scoreless 9th.

Hitting Stars: Paul Byrd was 2 for 2 with 2 RBI singles and a sacrifice bunt. Rafael Furcal was 4 for 5. Marcus Giles and Johnny Estrada each had 2 hits. Charles Thomas was 2 for 2.

Russ Ortiz will pitch for the Braves tomorrow against an undetermined Giants starter.

Atlanta Braves 5, San Francisco Giants 3

2004-08-28T08:24:00.000-07:00

I don't like it when I type a game recap, and then the website shuts down causing me to lose what I just typed. Argh.

This was a fun game to watch. Jaret Wright and Kirk Rueter threw zeroes into the 6th. Barry Bonds broke the ice with a 3 run homer. However, the Braves rallied in the bottom of the inning, when Marcus Giles and JD Drew hit consecutive doubles to score a run. Chipper then followed with a 2 run homer to tie the game. The Braves then loaded the bases with, but Bobby Cox allowed Jaret Wright to hit for himself. Wright thought he was supposed to bunt(he wasn't), and he put the bunt down. Giants reliever Matt Herges forgot about the runner at third and instead threw out Wright at first base, and the Braves took the lead. They added an unearned run in the 8th to make it 5-3. The Giants didn't score again.

Hitting stars: Chipper Jones is on fire. He was 2 for 2, including the 2 run homer (his 25th), and had 2 walks. Marcus Giles was 2 for 5.

Jaret Wright pitched a good game. He went 7 innings, only allowing the Bonds home run. He allowed 6 hits, walked one, and struck out four. Chris Reitsma got the first 2 outs in the 8th but allowed a hit with Bonds coming to the plate, so lefty Tom Martin came on. He struck Bonds out. John Smoltz pitched a scoreless ninth for his 35th save.

Today the Braves play a day game. Paul Byrd will face Giant ace Jason Schmidt.

Atlanta Braves 6, Colorado Rockies 4

2004-08-27T08:33:00.000-07:00

The Braves swept the Rockies. I was able to watch this game thankfully, yippee! Anyway, every Braves starting position player got a hit. Both Rafael Furcal and Andruw Jones went 2 for 4. It was a team effort to score these 6 runs.

Mike Hampton (10-9) pitched 6 innings, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits, 4 walks, and 3 strikeouts. Antonio Alfonseca allowed 2 runs in the 7th, but Tom Martin finished the inning with no further damage. Chris Reitsma and John Smoltz pitched scoreless 8th and 9th innings. Smoltz picked up his 34th save in 37 chances.

The Braves started the scoring with 2 runs in the first inning. They loaded the bases with nobody out, and Chipper drove in one run with a groundout and Andruw hit a 2 out RBI single. The Rockies tied it on a bases loaded 2 run double by Todd Helton in the 3rd, but failed to take the lead when the runner on 1st base was thrown out at home. The Braves scored 3 times in the 4th and one more time in the 5th on a lot of bloop singles, and held on from there.

The Giants come to Atlanta for a 4 game series. Jaret Wright faces Kirk Rueter tonight on TBS at 7:30.

Atlanta Braves 8, Colorado Rockies 1

2004-08-26T08:33:00.000-07:00

I didn't get to watch or listen to this game. Chipper Jones had a whale of a game, hitting 2 home runs and getting 5 RBIs. He now has 24 homers and 69 RBI on the season. He was 2 for 4. He's been on fire since the All-Star break as John Smoltz predicted, and his numbers are vastly improved.

Other hitting stars included JD Drew who went 3 for 4 returning to the lineup a day after cutting his head in the dugout. Marcus Giles and Julio Franco were each 2 for 4.

John Thomson (10-8) pitched 7 innings, allowing one run on 5 hits, a walk, and 5 strikeouts. Antonio Alfonseca and recently called up Roman Colon each pitched a scoreless inning to finish the game.

Atlanta Braves 6, Colorado Rockies 5

2004-08-25T12:14:00.000-07:00

The Braves scored 4 times in the 6th inning en route to a come from behind victory. Rafael Furcal went 4 for 4, including a 2 run triple in the 6th. He was a homer short of the cycle. Julio Franco and Eli Marrero also contributed with 3 for 4 nights.

The Braves spotted the Rockies a 4 run lead in the first inning when Russ Ortiz allowed 2 home runs. Ortiz pitched 5 innings, allowed 5 runs, 4 earned on 5 hits, 6 walks, and 6 strikeouts. His control was way off, even for him. The Rockies had tacked on another run and had a 5-1 lead in the 6th when the Braves scored their 4 runs, including 3 with 2 out. Marcus Giles followed Furcal's 2 run triple with an odd double to tie the game in the 6th. Marrero hit an RBI single to give the Braves the lead they wouldn't relinquish in the 7th. Kevin Gryboski (2-2) got the win after finishing the 7th, and John Smoltz picked up his 33rd save.

Atlanta Braves 10, LA Dodgers 1

2004-08-22T19:53:00.000-07:00

The Braves scored 8 times in the 2nd inning and blew out the Dodgers. Jaret Wright (12-6) pitched very well. He pitched 7 innings allowing 3 hits, a run, no walks, and 7 strikeouts.

Every starting position player for the Braves had a base hit. Chipper Jones hit his 22nd home run. Marcus Giles, JD Drew, Julio Franco, and Eli Marrero were all 3 for 5. Charles Thomas was 2 for 4 and Chipper was 2 for 5.

The Braves salvaged a split with the Dodgers. They're off tomorrow, and they host the Rockies in a 3 game series beginning on Tuesday. The Braves lead the Marlins by 7 and a half games.

I'm back

2004-08-21T18:47:00.000-07:00

The Braves took 2 out of 3 from the Padres since my last post. They've lost 2 of the first 3 games from the Dodgers, including a 7-4 loss today (link above). They'll try to salvage a split tomorrow afternoon. I should be able to post a recap tomorrow night, barring an unforeseen circumstance.

Tomorrow's game is at 4:00 eastern time and on TBS. Jaret Wright will go for the Braves and Wilson Alvarez will take the hill for the Dodgers.

2004-08-18T08:44:00.000-07:00

I will be unable to post for a few days. I'll try to recap the action I missed when I get back.

St. Louis Cardinals 10, Atlanta Braves 4

2004-08-16T19:33:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the long delay in posting. I have been extremely busy, and on top of that, my internet access is not working properly.

Anyway, the Braves defense had a comedy of errors in the 2nd inning. The Cardinals scored 6 runs, and the Braves never had a good chance to get back into the game. John Thomson pitched only 4 innings and allowed 8 runs, but only 4 of them were earned. He allowed 2 hits, walked 3 and struck out 2. He didn't pitch nearly as bad as his line indicated.

Hitting stars: Chipper Jones went 1 for 4 with a home run. Rafael Furcal went 2 for 3 and had a walk and an RBI. Andruw Jones was 2 for 3.

I'm typing this recap as the Braves play their west coast game in the first game of the Padres series. I'll try to recap this game ASAP.

Atlanta Braves 9, St. Louis Cardinals 7

2004-08-14T13:50:00.000-07:00

For 2 first place teams that could be postseason rivals, this was an ugly game. It was an enjoyable game to watch though; a seesaw affair. The Braves ended up on top after a 3 run 7th inning, aided mostly by Larry Walker misplaying a flyball in the sun. Neither starting pitcher could get an out in the 6th inning, and I don't think either one should have started that inning. The game was advertised as a pitchers' duel, but of course when that happens most of the time a slugfest happens.

The Cardinals got on the board first, on a first inning 2 run homer from Albert Pujols. The Braves countered with 3 runs in the 2nd, including solo homers from Chipper and Andruw (his 19th). Chipper homered again in the 3rd inning (his 18th) to make it 4-2. But Jason Marquis helped himself with an RBI single in the 4th to make it 4-3. In the bottom of the 4th, Rafael Furcal hit a 2 run home run (his 12th) to extend the Braves lead to 6-3. However, the Cardinals cut the lead to 6-5 in the top of the 5th, including another homer from Pujols. They tied the game in the 6th when Ortiz allowed the first 2 men to reach base, then when Tom Martin came on to try and get him out of the jam he gave up an RBI single to Walker. The Cardinals took the lead in the top of the 7th when Furcal failed to catch the ball at 2nd base on a potential double play, and a runner came around to score when the ball went into shallow center. However, the Braves scored 3 times in the bottom of the 7th inning on a Julio Franco pinch-hit 2 run double and a Charles Thomas RBI single. Chris Reitsma and John Smoltz shut down the Cardinals from there, and Smoltz picked up his 29th save.

The hitting stars for the Braves were Chipper Jones, who was 2 for 5 and hit 2 home runs and had 2 RBI; Rafael Furcal went 4 for 5 with a 2 run homer and had 3 RBI; Andruw Jones who hit a homer; Eddie Perez who went 2 for 2 and scored a run; and Nick Green who went 2 for 5 and scored a run.

Russ Ortiz pitched 5 innings and allowed 8 hits, walked 4, struck out 5, and allowed 6 runs; all earned. Tom Martin pitched a third of an inning and allowed an inherited run to score, but Kevin Gryboski struck out Pujols and Rolen to get out of the 6th. Antonio Alfonseca (6-4) gave up an unearned run in the 7th but picked up the win after the Braves scored 3 in the bottom of the inning. Reitsma pitched two thirds of an inning and didn't allow a run, and Smoltz pitched a scoreless inning and a third while picking up the save.

St. Louis Cardinals 4, Atlanta Braves 1

2004-08-14T08:50:00.000-07:00

The Cardinal pitching shut down the Braves offense and allowed only 3 hits. The only run the Braves could manage was a solo homer by Chipper Jones, his 16th of the season. Woody Williams allowed one run in 7 innings, then Julian Tavarez and Jason Isringhausen shut down the Braves in the final 2 innings.

Paul Byrd did well for 6 innings as he allowed 2 runs and kept the Braves in the game, but he tired in the 7th and Larry Walker got him for a 2 run homer to make it 4-0. That practically put the game out of reach with the way the Cardinals pitching was shutting down the Braves. Kevin Gryboski came on to finish the 7th, then Antonio Alfonseca and Juan Cruz each pitched a shaky but scoreless inning in the 8th and 9th. Chipper's home run in the 7th kept it from being a shutout.

Today, the game is scheduled for 1:20 on Fox. The pitching matchup is Russ Ortiz (13-6, 3.22 ERA) for the Braves and Jason Marquis (12-4, 3.58 ERA) for the Cardinals. Another good pitching duel appears likely.

Game notes: Pete Van Wieren, Skip Caray, Tommy Holmes, and Kid Nichols were inducted into the Braves Hall of Fame.

Tonight's game

2004-08-13T13:28:00.000-07:00

The Braves will see tonight how they fare against the best in the National League this year, the St. Louis Cardinals. This will be a fun series. It's a potential playoff preview.

Tonight's pitching matchup:

St. Louis (Williams 8-6, 3.91 ERA) at Atlanta (Byrd 4-3, 3.86 ERA).

It's Woody Williams and Paul Byrd opposing against each other tonight; a matchup of veteran finesse pitchers. Williams has pitched well lately, and Byrd had an outstanding start his last time out. This should be a good one.

St. Louis has one of the most feared offensive lineups in the game. They're 2nd in the NL in runs scored. Atlanta is 5th in the NL in runs scored. Both of these teams can score some runs.

Atlanta has the best team ERA in MLB. St. Louis is 3rd in MLB pitching ERA. So not only do they have the best offenses, but they have the best pitching too.

I can't wait for the game to start!

Whoa

2004-08-12T20:23:00.000-07:00

From the game recap on www.espn.com: (link provided in title)

"Wright improved to 10-2 in night games with a 1.81 ERA, best in majors."

If he pitched like that in the daytime, too, he'd be a front-runner for the Cy Young. But, I certainly have no complaints.

Atlanta Braves 4, Milwaukee Brewers 2

2004-08-12T19:26:00.000-07:00

Jaret Wright, Comeback Player of the Year? He's certainly a legitimate candidate. He won his 9th straight game to improve to 11-5 and he lowered his ERA to 2.95. JD Drew went 2 for 4 and hit the go-ahead homer. Johnny Estrada hit his 7th home run and Andruw Jones hit his 18th homer.

Wright pitched 7 innings, and allowed 4 hits, walked 5, and he struck out 6. He allowed 2 runs, but only one of them was earned. In a bases loaded one out situation during the 2nd inning, Wright got Chad Moeller to hit a fly ball to right field. JD Drew threw a bullet that beat the runner by about 10 feet. The problem was that Estrada forgot to catch the ball, and tagged Lyle Overbay with an empty glove. This put the Braves down 1-0, but Estrada atoned for that error with a 2 run homer to make it 2-1. After Geoff Jenkins hit a solo home run for Milwaukee in the 6th inning, JD Drew hit his 26th homer to put the Braves ahead to stay. Andruw added an insurance homer later to make it 4-2.

Game notes: Both Johnny Estrada and Chipper Jones played tonight after leaving the game and missing yesterday's game, respectively. I'm not sure if Chipper's 100%, as he went 0 for 4 and struck out 3 times against Ben Sheets.

Ben Sheets pitched an 8 inning complete game in the losing effort for Milwaukee, following up his 18 K game earlier this year with 13 strikeouts in this one.

Phillies 15, Rockies 4

2004-08-12T11:00:00.000-07:00

The Braves remain 6 games ahead of the 2nd place Phillies. Philadelphia is 4th in the wild card race, and they're only 3.5 games behind the Cubs.

Atlanta Braves 10, Milwaukee Brewers 3

2004-08-11T19:47:00.000-07:00

Adam LaRoche went 3 for 4 and had 2 home runs and 3 RBIs to help lead the Braves to victory. It was his first career multihomer game, and he now has 7 home runs on the season. Other hitting stars were JD Drew, who was 2 for 4 with his 25th homer; Charles Thomas, who went 3 for 5 with 2 RBI; Rafael Furcal and Marcus Giles both went 2 for 5.

Mike Hampton (8-8) pitched 5 odd innings to pick the win. He allowed 9 hits, walked one, stuck out one, but only allowed one run. He had the benefit of 2 huge double plays. He faced one batter in the 6th inning after the power outage and gave up a leadoff double, and Kevin Gryboski relieved him and pitched a scoreless inning (leaving the runner on). Good move by Bobby Cox here, I think, because Hampton had a lot of luck earlier in the game and he could have been losing his stuff. Juan Cruz pitched 2 innings and gave up a run. Antonio Alfonseca pitched the last inning and gave up a run.

Milwaukee scored first in the top of the 2nd inning, but Atlanta countered with 2 runs in the bottom of the inning when LaRoche hit his first home run of the night; a two run shot. It was 3-1 when the power outage happened in the bottom of the 5th. When play resumed, Atlanta scored 4 times in the inning and had a 7-1 lead. It was crusing from there.

Jaret Wright is scheduled to pitch tomorrow against Ben Sheets. That should be a dandy pitching duel. But you never know...

Game notes: Johnny Estrada left the game after being hit by pitches twice; the 2nd time he was nailed on the kneecap and left the game. He was diagnosed with only a bad bruise, and they say he should play tomorrow.

Chipper Jones did not play because of a hand injury. I think he's day-to-day. Estrada moved up to cleanup, and Mark DeRosa played 3rd base and batted 8th.

Horacio Ramirez began his rehab assignment in Greenville, and he pitched 2 scoreless innings. When he comes back, the Braves will have a problem many other teams would love to have: 6 quality starting pitchers for 5 spots. It's possible Ramirez could go to the bullpen.

Last time I checked, Philadelphia was winning big, so it looks like the Braves will remain 6 games ahead of them in first place.

Lights out

2004-08-11T17:52:00.000-07:00

In the bottom of the 5th inning with the Braves leading 3-1, a generator blew or something and half the power in the stadium went out. I think I remember seeing that maybe only one other time before while watching a game. The FSN announcers say it's going to be about 10 minutes before the power is restored.

It's an official game...if play would be forced to stop, the Braves would win. However, they should be able to resume play. I think that everyone would like to see them play 9 innings (or more) anyway.

Tonight's game

2004-08-11T14:13:00.000-07:00

The Braves are hosting the Milwaukee Brewers tonight on FSN at 7 PM.

Pitching matchup:
Milwaukee (Santos, 9-7, 4.03 ERA) at Atlanta (Hampton, 7-8, 4.91 ERA).

Victor Santos has been a pleasant surprise for the Brewers, emerging as a quality starter for them. He's been inconsistant however.

Mike Hampton, other than his last outing, has pitched much better lately than his numbers show. He was a nominee for Pitcher of the Month in July (teammate Russ Ortiz won the award) and he was undefeated along with Ortiz and Jaret Wright in the Braves rotation. The 3 of them were a combined 14-0 as the Braves surged to the top of the division.

This looks like a decent matchup, but usually when that happens numerous runs are scored.

First post

2004-08-11T14:06:00.000-07:00

Hello, readers. This is a test post. This blog will be mainly used to discuss the Atlanta Braves, although I'll also occasionally post something about other notable events that catch my interest. I hope that I can contribute some good thoughts. Thanks for reading.