Braves’ quotes after Friday’s ninth-inning rally to win
BOBBY COX
“We got three walks there in the last inning. Marmol has got a 100-plus strikeouts in 50 innings; that’s phenomenal. But you walk people with a one-run lead, or it can even be more with the wind blowing out here…. He’s dynamite. He can strike out any hitter that ever walked up there.
“Ankiel had a great day. Had a great at-bat, had a great day in the outfield, made a great catch and made a great throw. He has that laser arm. I told our trainer before the game started, that he was going to have a great series. He was due for one. He showed it today.”
On Jurrjens
“He pitched great. Three runs with the wind blowing that way? I’m surprised Dempster … We got one homer, but it was a hitters’ day here and only two balls left the park. It was amazing. I thought there would be a lot of homers today. Dempster was dynamite. J.J. was, too.”
Finding way to win, Cubs finding ways to lose….
“The ball’s bounced our way pretty much. It’s got to bounce your way to get on winning streaks.”
On another comeback win
“We expect to, that’s for sure. It’s happened so often. It’s a different guy all the time, never the same guy. It’s amazing.”
Did you think Derrek was pressing in first game back?
“I thought he looked great today. He almost decapitated Castro, the shortstop, with that vicious liner. Marmol struck him out in the last inning, but he was right on him. Marmol’s Marmol; I don’t see how anybody hardly hits him.”
On Billy Wagner
“Wags has been dynamite all season. He’s been just great.”
BILLY WAGNER
“We get better as the game gets going. We just compete to the end. We caught a break today, caught Marmol on a bady day and were able to get a big hit from Rick. That’s been the I.D. of this team all year long – somebody’s getting that big hit. We’re finding ways to get on base. It’s good feeling to know you’ve got to be ready every day.”
On having different guys step up
“Every day, it just one after another. That’s what a team needs. There’s no superstars on this team. We’ve got great players that just are ready to have that big at-bat, and that’s all it takes.”
On matching Orosco’s strikeout record for lefty relievers
“Like I’ve said before, it’s more just time [longevity], something you do with time. It was good to win. The win was better. I was able to go out there and make enough pitches to help us win.”
RICK ANKIEL
You sense that feeling this team can come back in 9th?
“Yeah. It seems like we do it over and over. It’s almost like we get extra adrenaline or whatever you want to call it when it comes to late in the game. It’s a special feeling, it just always feels like we’re never out of it, no matter what.”
Success breeds success in those situations?
“I think so. Absolutely. Confidence is key, and the more times you can come back and do it, it’s just a reminder that we’re never out of it.
“It’s fun to be a part of. It’s a little never-wracking, but it’s fun to be a part of.”
Down to your last strike, what were you thinking?
“Trying to look for a pitch to put some good wood on. He’s nasty. Going up there, you think he’s going to stick with his slider. But after he threw Melky three fastballs, you never know. You try and pick out a spot where you think it’s going to start and stay a strike. He’s dirty, but luckily I hung in there and got one I could put some wood on.” [Hit a breaking ball]
On the throw to nail Hill at second base
“I just got to it, made sure I set my feet and let it rip. Luckily it came out clean and I got him. So it was fun.”
On being revitalized since trade from K.C. to first-place team
“Yeah, it’s awesome. Every day that you wake up and train and come to the park, you want that opportunity to head into the playoffs and possibly the World Series. So being able to come over here and get that opportunity is special.”
On feeling good to contribute to a win
“Yeah, in this game [it's] what have you done for me lately? So….”
On getting Derrek Lee
“It’s exciting. I’ve heard a lot of things about him being a great guy, so it’s great to get him over here. Anything we can do to help us win. It’s going to be fun.”
DERREK LEE
On the standing ovation
“I guess they [the ones standing] didn’t want me to get booed.”
On Marmol in the 9th
“He’s been lights-out all year. It’s just a tribute to how well this team is playing. They’re never out of it. They were telling me before the game that this is how they play – lot of close games and comeback wins. And today was another one.”
On being part of a winning team again, can you feel the difference right away?
“Oh, yeah. These guys know they’re good. And in first place. It’s a big difference.
“Even in the dugout. Just a quiet confidence, go about your business. We were down a couple of runs there, but no panic. Just great at-bats at the end, and get a big hit and a win.”
On a nice ending to the day
“Yeah, good day. Any time you get a win it’s a good day.”
Seems like it’s been a while since you were here with ‘03 Marlins celebrating NLCS win?
“Time goes quick, man. Those are definitely good memories. But it’s time to put that in the past and try to do it again here.”
JAIR JURRJENS
“Everybody’s chipping in. Every day it’s someone else. We’re playing like a team and winning ballgames like a team, too. Ankiel played good defense today and came up with the big hit to give us the win.”
On keeping ball down with wind blowing out
“The home run came off the end of the bat. It’s the way this stadium is built, the way the wind blows. You just try to play with it, take advantage of it when you have a chance, and keep the ball down when it’s not on your side.”
On his stuff today
“When you pitch here, I don’t feel like the ball is doing anything. I need to get used to the mound, get used to the whole environment before I can begin to feel my pitches. Honestly I didn’t think I had anything on my fastball. I asked Mac a couple of times. He said, for him the ball had zip on it. But I didn’t feel it coming out of my hand like I want to. I was just trying to make a pitch, using my slider more often today and trying to get more of them to bounce.”
On adding Lee to lineup
“Oh, definitely. When you add a big bat to the lineup it makes your lineup a little better. He’s giving protection to Martin, and B-Mac is giving protection to him. And Alex is after B-Mac; he’s got 20 home runs and he’s giving him a little protection, too. We’ve got a solid lineup now. We’re going to score some runs.”
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44 comments Add your comment
30-24 Dawgs - We Run This State!
August 20th, 2010
8:29 pm
Great win by the Bravos!
Dan-82ndAirborne
August 20th, 2010
8:34 pm
I’m re-watching the game on mlb tv and I’ve got to say, that ball 4 to McCann in the 9th was a strike, lol… sometimes, lucky is better than good. And how about Ankiel coming through in the clutch? He swings so haphazardly sometimes, it seems like he really doesn’t go to the plate with a plan, but he’s been hot lately, hitting .421 in his last six games and only striking out 4 times. Dave O’B, do you think he’s getting hot or just getting good pitches to hit? That slider he ripped for the go ahead triple definitely stayed out over the plate.
NRBQ
August 20th, 2010
8:46 pm
To paraphrase Bobby on Ankiel:
“Great…great…great…great…great…great.”
Bravefaninok
August 20th, 2010
8:48 pm
Dan-82ndAirborne
I think it is both,when a guy like rick gets hot ,they kill the mistake pitches,when there not they foul them off or watch it go bye for a called strike!
justin1
August 20th, 2010
8:49 pm
So if youre as tired of watching Heyward try to re-enact his first homer again and again everyday, and just bouncing out to 2nd, raise your hand. Or just say, “yea, move him down to the 6 hole again.”
DC Brave
August 20th, 2010
8:51 pm
Great words from the boys…literally the best coverage in baseball by Carroll and DOB. I would kind of like to see David Ross and Matty Diaz in there tomorrow. Give JHey and Bmac a rest. I got a feeling our fortunes against lefties are about to turn.
Bravefaninok
August 20th, 2010
8:52 pm
I was listening today on XM(weekday day games I work)
I was listening to the cubbies broadcast,You could hear in the announcers voice after the walk to Gonzo…..They knew the braves were gonna win.
DC Braves Fan
August 20th, 2010
8:56 pm
Braves are 13-6 in August (.685 ball). Not bad for a team that is supposed to be struggling.
Great win. Keep it going, boys. Go Braves.
DawgDayz
August 20th, 2010
9:05 pm
W/respect to Dan – I totally disagree. That 4th ball to BMac was definitely a ball…
Great win today. Really enjoyed Don and Jim on the radio talking about the fan who caught the ball and did not spill a drop of his beer. They said the man had his priorities straight!! If the beer was full, he would have spilled some. If it was empty, the ball would have smashed him in the face… DLee will bust out tomorrow. He prob had some crazy nerves today.
Largo
August 20th, 2010
9:10 pm
What has happened to Heyward. He’s not a shadow of what he was the first month or so. And don’t give me that crap about injury. He was some kinda “bad” when he was in the sixth slot. Now, it’s like he’s hitting infield practice and if he does do something good, we hear about it like he is the second coming of the Babe.
Ralph
August 20th, 2010
9:12 pm
Braves are going to run out of miracles pretty soon, can’t be too many left in that bag. For a team with little power we need to play more small ball and less Bobby Ball. Need to move McHeyward down to the seven spot against righties and to the bench against lefties.
FJ10
August 20th, 2010
9:48 pm
It’s amazing to me how after a win people want to bring up who’s struggling.
Season Jitters
August 20th, 2010
10:35 pm
Walking on the edge so much means just as good a chance of falling off and crash landing. We’ll see what the next few weeks brings… I hope Derrek Lee doesn’t get the chance to be disappointed.
Wyoming
August 20th, 2010
10:37 pm
Awesome win!
I’ll be hitting the Monday/Tuesday games in Denver then I’m flying to ATL for my first games at Turner Field on Friday/Saturday. Good week of baseball. Let’s go Bravos!
Leeeeeee
August 20th, 2010
10:43 pm
FJ10, some people expect perfection 100% of the time. That’s never going to happen in baseball. We need to be happy, we are in 1st place, playing our butts off when we need to. A lot more breaks have been going our way this year. I’m telling ya’ll, this is a special team. Playoffs, here we come. Who knows, as ole Cosell use to say, “they just might go all the way!”
reality
August 20th, 2010
11:12 pm
Folks, this team has staying power. Prado and Infante deserve a ton of kudos for puting band aids all over this season…they are the real deal. Glaus is a man among boys, hopefully he is back for the WS and is our dh. Hinske and David Ross are awesome off the bench. Diaz will hit his stride…melky has earned a ton of respect! Ankiel has potential and seems more promising than mcclouth. I’m not worried about heyward. Bmac is consistent and can’t wait for playoff time…. and now we have someone chipper affectionately calls d-lee. I think the bats are about to wake up in a big way. Lookng forward to some tomahawk chops 90’s style.
Heyward4MVP22
August 20th, 2010
11:23 pm
Just amazing, this team is special..
Nice win, let’s go Tommy some run support and get another win tommorow.
LuisG Win-it-4-Bobby-n-Chipper!
August 20th, 2010
11:24 pm
Hey Derrek Lee: we were never down “a couple of runs”. Are you still a Cub???
Ron
August 20th, 2010
11:30 pm
I was watching the game on Yahoo’s “Game Channel” and they reported Ankiel struck out swinging in the top of the 9th and the Cubs winning 3-2. Minutes later I got a score update on my cell phone from ESPN stating Ankiel hit a bases clearing triple. If you check the play by play on yahoo it still shows Ankiel struck out and it has been several hour since the game ended.
jimmyjam
August 21st, 2010
12:32 am
so wait, ron. you’re saying you read something on the internet that wasn’t true? weird…
ijudgenot
August 21st, 2010
12:49 am
Those who are asking for Heyward to be dropped out of 2 spot are correct. The kid is not a 2 spot hitter. He is the future no. 3 hitter on this team. Put Infante and Prado at 1 and 2 and Mac at 3 with Lee at 4 and Heyward at 5 spot.
Dan-82ndAirborne
August 21st, 2010
1:12 am
reality – I don’t think Infante and Prado are bandaids… they’re more like limbs. Obvious they should have been there at this point, but hindsight is 20/20. Both have proven that, not only are they deserved starters, they’re all star caliber players and in multiple positions. These guys are like the ultimate switch hitters. I’m very proud of what they’ve done for the team this year and I hope management is smart enough to keep them around.
As for Heyward, when I say he should be hitting lower in the lineup, it says nothing to the quality of hitter and the potential for greatness he’s shown and we expect. As ijudgenot said, he’s just not a #2 hitter. Put this kid in a position where he can succeed. Hitting in the 2 spot, Bobby has him trying to ice skate up hill.
Nevada Roy
August 21st, 2010
1:40 am
Lee’s numbers are better against RH pitching. My lineup would be:
1 Infante 2B
2 Prado 3B
3 Lee 1B
4 McCann C
5 Gonzalez SS
6 Heyward RF
7 – 8 LF / CF – Ankiel / Cabrera / Diaz / Hinske based on match-ups
Takes the pressure off Hayward and puts him back where he was so successful in April.
OldeFan
August 21st, 2010
1:51 am
Enter your comments here
Joe Brave
August 21st, 2010
1:53 am
How frustrating is it for the Phillies with all those selfish superstars to be on their one hot streak of the season, getting all those wins and not making up ANY ground on the solid-players-but-not-superstar Braves?
Bobby Cox – manager of the year……again!
OldeFan
August 21st, 2010
1:55 am
Sorry about that.
Wyoming: Welcome to the South. Hope you will be treated well while you are here.
Isn’t this exciting? It’s been a while since we were in late August, and on top, and having these exciting games. Less criticism folks: please, let’s enjoy this while it is happening. It has been Too long.
The Finger
August 21st, 2010
2:06 am
Was anyone watching the Cubs feed on MLB.tv? After the Melky-Gonzo collision…watch the trainer give Melky the “how many fingers?” AHAHHAHAHAHAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA someone is fking with Melky!!!!
NC Braves Fan
August 21st, 2010
4:52 am
Glaus is a career .338 hitter in the postseason with 9HR’s. To have him get helthy on this DL stint and come back strong for the stretch run in September would be huge. When Glaus gets off the DL make the Braves the favorite to win the East if you havn’t already. He is gonna get hot when the time comes. The dude is clutch.
john
August 21st, 2010
7:29 am
d-lee is hitting below his career averages – he is getting older but he improves Teams’ Defense big time with him at 1st- like Teixiera, LaRoche or Kotsay defensively.- Pitchers, Prado, etc will benefit by Lee’s glove. He is a CLASS ACT and fits the Braves mold-
Glaus seems to be hurting a lot more than he lets on- if just rest can cure,then look for him to return and make big contribution filling in at 3rd , 1st , & as PH (or DH in WS)-another Class Act-great Braves/Cox Team Player
Vermont 39
August 21st, 2010
7:44 am
GO BRAVES GREAT GAME!!!
Alan 10
August 21st, 2010
8:22 am
It was great to see Rick get that triple to win the game and become more of a part of the team, but look at the throws from the outfield that he has made and Melky is right behind him, its just great to see those defensive efforts instead of holding on to the ball.
Alan 10
August 21st, 2010
8:33 am
This Braves team has more staying power than any team in recent memory, there is not a really stand out star but an awful lot on game day stars with a few exceptional season long stars. The addition of Lee and the rehab (hopefully) of Troy will play nicely toward the end of the season.
One more thing, have you ever seen a group of pitchers that are so unselfish, have you heard any of them complain after they pitched their butts off and get no decision, THIS TEAM IS AMAZING, THE CHEMISTRY IS SUPERB AND THEY ALL REALLY DO ENJOY EACH OF THEIR TEAMATES SUCESS.
GO BRAVES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Eedgit
August 21st, 2010
9:06 am
I was at work and monitoring the game on the AJC web site, “At the Park” play by play, and I swear this site reported that Ankiel struck out in the ninth, the Braves lost 3-2; I went home thinking that was the result. At home several hours later, I had the AJC on the computer and happened to see a reference to Ankiel’s game-winning hit…it was fun to learn that the “3-2 loss” was actually a 5-3 win; but if the situation were reversed (if I thought they won only to find they lost) I would have been pi**ed!
The Doktor
August 21st, 2010
9:13 am
@justin1 – it’s uncanny, is it not? The issue absolutely must be Heywards mechanics, cause if you listen (yeah, sounds strange) to the sound of ball/bat when he makes contact it DOES sound different than most other players. For whatever reason, he’s just not getting any lift with his stroke. He’s a line drive type hitter but he’s just continually POUNDING the ball into the damn infield dirt. I’d be willing to bet my bottom dollar he’s more frustrated than anyone else about the whole affair. His hand still buggin’ him a little perhaps? Maybe…
Sfblump
August 21st, 2010
9:16 am
Great game, Rick. Keep up the good work. Help us win another world
series for Bobby.
Home of the Braves
August 21st, 2010
9:58 am
BOBBY COX
on TNT
“It’s Dynamite.”
Dan-82ndAirborne
August 21st, 2010
10:54 am
If you’ve been watching lately, before Troy went down and for the last month+, whenever he sees a fastball just above the belt, he swings his upper body at it but his hips never make it through. I think there’s something much worse than his knees hurting.
HTOWNBRAVESFAN
August 21st, 2010
12:00 pm
I hate to be negative after a win, but the idea of moving Heyward down in the lineup is probably a good one. As far as pounding the ball into the ground, he seems to be what a baseball coach of mine used to call a “top ball hitter.” This will result in very few pop-ups, but a whole lot of choppers. He’s definitely regressed as the season has worn on.
Braves Fan Since "80
August 21st, 2010
12:24 pm
Heyward like young pitchers have to play to get it right…… Like hanson has been up and down so has heyward…… Heyward and Ankiel are in the lineup for speed and defense. We expect heyward to add pop during his tenure……… ideally heyward would be playing like he started the season and batting third like he probably will next year…… He is not an auto out and has the tools…… ….. get Ankiel on a 300 tear and McCann to raise his game a little….. this team will be tough to beat
Grandpa Right
August 21st, 2010
12:53 pm
I hate to bring up a sore subject, but do you folks realize that on the play when Ankiel threw the runner out, McLouth would not have even made the attempt? He covered a lot of ground when he felt aggressive- whyich was NOT 100% of the time- but there is something wrong with the man’s arm.
We don’t have Willie Mays or Mickey Mantle, but we have definitely upgraded from McLouth. I suspect that he will collect the end of his contract from home somewhere and never contribute in the bigs, Sad, really…
peter nincompoop
August 21st, 2010
1:30 pm
Dan 82nd
Nice Blade quote.
peter nincompoop
August 21st, 2010
1:34 pm
Joe Brave
If you remember the Phillies were back 7 at the all-star break. I’m more frustrated we haven’t been able to gain more ground as good as we have been playing.
peter nincompoop
August 21st, 2010
1:36 pm
NC BRAVES FAN
Agreed. We’ll have a hell of a bench going to the post season. Knock on wood.
bobby
August 21st, 2010
2:22 pm
Largo, you are right about Heyward. It’s usually strike-out or ground to second but when he does something the announcers try to make it sound like no one has ever done it before even if it is just a single. In time, maybe he will be as great as they try to make him out to be but he’s a long way from being there now. Hitting in the 6 or 7 hole is where he should be.