Braves quotes after Fridays’ win against Mets
**FREDI GONZALEZ
On Maholm
“Masterful performance. I mean, this guy’s throwing 88-90, in and out with his fastball. Threw some curveballs in on right-handers, made some nice pitches on change-ups and also curveballs. And we played some nice defense behnd him.”
On Maholm’s low pitch count
“His last start was the same way. He gave up a two-run homer and a solo homer to Maxwell, and he went seven innings and we had to pinch-hit in the seventh inning.
“You know what I like about him? He gets back on the mound ready to throw the next pitch. His pace is unbelievable.”
“Offensively we didn’t do much, other than two two-run homers. And I tell you what, the last one by Danny was big. He could go back out in the eighth inning with a four-run lead instead of a two-run lead. That was nice.”
On Uggla’s improvement lately
“He’s been swinging it. We’ve seen him get hot and roll off some multi-hit games, some RBI games. Especially today with McCann and Chipper out of the lineup, Danny comes in and does a helluva job giving us some RBI production.”
**DAVID ROSS
On Maholm
“You see his ball decent and you want to swing at it, but it’s just moving so much that you can’t square it up. I just remembered, I was like, these guys are still going to be aggressive and swing, they’re not taking. Because I remember being in that situation when we were in it, like when he beat us in Chicago 1-nothing. He did that tonight, just throwing the ball in the middle of the plate, having his sinker cut or breaking ball he brought out late and change-ups early on, and double plays.
“That’s a catcher’s dream. A lot of fun.”
Frustrating when he’s on the other side, nice when he’s on yours?
“Yeah. I was thinking, Reed [former Cub Reed Johnson, who also came in the trade] has got to be over here thinking, this is no big deal, this guy’s been doing this two months. I’m in here going, this guy’s carving. He locked in pretty good. Like I said, that was a lot of fun.”
On Maholm’s stuff
“His fastball was sinking early and he established that he was going to throw strikes. When he did that, they had to respect away, and they started to swing at some balls away. So then he went to his cutter in and jammed some guys, got some groundballs and easy pop-ups. He got a couple of groundballs early on with his change-up, curveball later on for a free strike early on in the count. He shook a couple of times to a fastball in, and I was like, OK, you better make this pitch. And sure enough, he did it.”
“You look over there at the guy they threw out there [Matt Harvey], he’s got great stuff. The guy’s throwing 96, throwing hard. But he’s got to learn how to pitch. Once he learns how to pitch he’s going to be really good. Pauly, when you’re throwing 87 out there, you’ve got to know how to pitch from the get-go. And he’s gotten nothing but better as he’s gotten older. There’s something to be said about veteran pitchers that know what they want to do to every hitter and know how to read hitters like catchers do and try to get on the same page as catchers. And that’s why you try to bring young pitchers along and try to let those guys work through things and figure it out. Because this isn’t Triple-A, this is the big leagues. So you’ve got to go through some bumps and bruises.”
**PAUL MAHOLM
On his performance
“My main goal is to get in the game, mix speeds, challenge them down [in the strike zone] and get groundballs. The guys made a bunch of great plays. Obviously the one at third. Freddie made a great play [at first base]. Two double plays. Mike went and got the one in center. And obviously with J-Hey and Uggs hitting home runs, it helped me just make my pitches.”
On Heyward’s first inning homer
“Obviously it’s good, then you’re just going out there and trying to get a shutdown inning, get some quick outs. I think I threw like six pitches in the first, so… I just tried to keep the ball down and get groundballs.”
Is this how you were pitching in Chicago before the trade?
“Better. Obviously if you throw a complete-game shutout it’s better. My first game last week against the Astros, I felt good. I missed two pitches and gave up three runs. When I’m feeling good everything’s working. Just trying to get ahead [in counts]. Rossy called a great game, and pretty much it seems like every time they were looking away we came in with a cutter or a four-seam and got some broken bats and some easy outs.”
Growing up a Braves fan, now getting your first win for them in this manner?
“Yeah, it’s obviously good to get off to a good start when you come over to a new team. And to get the first one out of the way, being a complete game, it’s fun. Next time I’m just going to try to go as far as I can, same thing, try to get some quick outs.”
On throwing fewer than 50 pitches in five innings, 95 for nine innings
“Last year my complete game was in, I think, 91 pitches. So I’ve had a few. Whenever it gets deeper in games, my goal is to try to keep it under 90, keep it under 10 pitches an inning. It’s a challenge, something to try to go out and do. But the main thing is making pitches. Every time they got somebody on base tonight, I executed the pitch and the defense made plays.”
“Just execute pitches and let the defense work. They took care of me.”
**Mets manager TERRY COLLINS
On Maholm
“Obviously he pounded the strike zone. We swung at a lot of pitches early in the count. He was strike one a lot of guys. No consistent pattern. He threw some first pitch curveballs, some first-pitch fastballs, some first-pitch sliders, some change-ups. Really kept us off balance. We didn’t adjust very good.”
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
51 comments Add your comment
LAG
August 10th, 2012
11:06 pm
Just stopping in to say:
Paul Maholm was the man tonight.
That is all.
Pace
August 10th, 2012
11:07 pm
Surprised Maholm didn’t get the “cap tip” from Collins.
Thanks DOB – always enjoy the quotes.
Darryl Blackberry
August 10th, 2012
11:12 pm
Paul Maholm made Frank Wren look pretty good (and the Mets look awfully bad) with this start tonight.
Now let’s get Santana out of there early tomorrow and rough up their ‘pen! Go Braves!
Chop
August 10th, 2012
11:14 pm
Great win by the boys tonight!! Now let’s see if the Diamondbacks can help us out with the Nationals!!
Dan Uggla
August 10th, 2012
11:16 pm
Screw every last one of you that say im a lost cause or minor leaguer… if I didn’t have curls to do id hunt you all down… here comes the Duggla
lee maye
August 10th, 2012
11:26 pm
One good night does not make a season. The guy is what he is, a .228 hitter who strikes out a lot. And, occasionally homers with the uppercut one handed swing. Let’s not anoint him the next Hank Aaron or Dale Murphy for that matter.
Francisco with 2 nice plays at 3B. Kid can play and he will hit more HR’s and get more RBI’s and hit for a higher average than Uggla. Bank on it.
Quack Quack
August 10th, 2012
11:29 pm
Way to get that Birthday Smack from JHey early to give Paul Maholm a lead to pitch a fantastic shut out. Hope this is the Uggla we need to ride into October. MLB announcer said that Uggla’s 2012 season started August 1st.
Lets Roll…..
GO BRAVES!!!
Ryan Dempster
August 10th, 2012
11:38 pm
You’re welcome!!
Spartygw
August 10th, 2012
11:40 pm
2 days of rest for the bullpen, nice.
Jordan Schafer
August 11th, 2012
1:04 am
Mane yall ***** need to get yalls ***** ****** and recaniZEEEE. NAMES J-SCHAF! YA DIG??!!! holon….
Alaska Braves Fan
August 11th, 2012
2:33 am
Wow! Wren’s trade was right on target. I believe, from a fan’s point of view, that it might help to get Reed Johnson into the lineup on a regular basis. Let him play left while Prado sits, then right for Bourn and Heyward. Getting him some bats, and getting the regulars more time off will only help down the stretch. But Maholm – what can you say, except wow?
ABF
PaulG
August 11th, 2012
7:58 am
Where are all the Aunt Blabby Fredi haters. I am sure one will show up. It’s like their autonomic nervous systems misfire at times.they can’t help themselves….let’s see , our W% is in the same league as the Yankees, Texas …can you rationally argue that we have more talent than them?
As for Washington, regression to the mean will set in. It’s a long season.
BartBuzz
August 11th, 2012
8:50 am
I wonder how many Wren bashers will give him due credit for picking up Maholm and Sheets? The Braves haves a very good rotation now. And Wren didn’t need to break the bank. Reminds me of “Moneyball.”
chc4
August 11th, 2012
8:51 am
PaulG — Fredi is a bad manager, a Maholm shutout of the Mets doesn’t change that. Tell me… how is it possible that Bourn has only attempted 37 SBs? As much as he’s been on base he should steal most times. Fredi will wait til there are 2 outs to send him. It’s insane. And all the bunting with position players early in innings? Crazy. We are playnig well right now. We have pretty good players.
One thing I will give Fredi credit on is finally getting the lineup right with Heyward 3rd and Chipper further down. Batting Alex Gonzalez 2nd for a month last year was a fireable offense. We haven’t had that this year.
Tampa Gator
August 11th, 2012
8:54 am
Does anyone know where I can find the Bulldog blog?
Keith
August 11th, 2012
8:57 am
Excellent start from the trade acquisition.
Go BRAVES!
phil
August 11th, 2012
9:35 am
Fire someone!!
Tampa Gator
August 11th, 2012
9:44 am
Tampa Gator
August 11th, 2012
8:54 am
Does anyone know where I can find the Bulldog blog?
Link
Report this comment
I only threatened to do so before…..but to let you know. I have reported you to the AJC by using the REPORT THIS COMMENT for you offensive remarks in my name on the other article. I am sure the AJC will do something about this.
Brave New World
August 11th, 2012
9:49 am
The J-Hey Kid!
Tampa Gator
August 11th, 2012
9:55 am
But you keep on doing it (at 8:54am)…..Destin Dawg or whoever you are…….I do believe you will eventually lose your right to post on these blogs if you continue to do so. I have seen where the AJC has warned people about this before. I found your comment on the Georgia Freshman Tailbacks story to a tech fan to be especially juvenile and offensive and I truly do hope the AJC will do something about you. Posting on the blogs is supposed to be a pleasurable and fun experience for us who want to have intelligent sports communication with others…and who ARE NOT interested posting insulting and juvenile remarks to and about others. If the AJC does not respond to my first complaint about you this morning, I will continue to hit the REPORT THIS COMMENT until they do.
Tampa Gator
August 11th, 2012
10:00 am
……now to my regular posting comments:
Maholm again proved that knowing how to pitch is far more important than throwing 95 mph. The thing that makes Kimbrel so great….so far….is that he throws in the high 90s and has a great slider….but you can see his mind working on every pitch….and he hits his spot 99 percent of the time. When Delgado learns to consistently hit his spots….and pitches more than throws hard….he will become a dominant starter in the ML as well. But some guys never learn how to pitch in the bigs……and as Rossy said…..this is not AAA…..and Delgado hopefully will see that it isn’t soon. But I am glad the Braves did not trade Delgado for Dempster. And I am glad the Braves have Maholm instead of Dempster.
Amber Girl
August 11th, 2012
10:07 am
Good morning fellow Texan DUMB Amber is here.
Carl Farvman
August 11th, 2012
10:48 am
Again, I won’t waste a second reading On this……,On that…… canned responses. It’s boring stuff,no doubt. What I want to hear about is the temperature in Chipper’s room and his deep thoughs about the comfort level of a hotel bed.
Joe
August 11th, 2012
10:51 am
Wow.. some cheese with that whineTampa Gator? Give it a rest.
Braves rolling now, but I am not so sure those nasty Nats are gonna have a “correction”. A one game playoff with the Pirates.. I like our chances there… but it is one game.
BigGAdawg
August 11th, 2012
11:40 am
I have not enjoyed watching a pitcher work this much since Mad dog and Glavine retired. Smart efficient pitching that keeps the other guys off kilter. A belated Welcome to Atlanta. I hope he will be around for a good long while.
Atlanta Braves Links of the Day For August 11, 2012 | Atlanta Braves Dugout Online | Atlanta Braves Blog
August 11th, 2012
11:44 am
[...] Braves quotes after Fridays’ win against Mets [...]
Brandon
August 11th, 2012
11:45 am
@chc4 how can you blame Fredi for Bourn’s lack of stolen bases? As Bourn stated earlier in the season, the pitchers are holding him more than they ever have.
Also, Fredi has stated that he lets heyward run whenever because he trusts him. Its obvious that he does the same to Bourn.
Bourn has always been a great base stealer, but he is not going to try to steal bases just for the sake of it. He has been the stolen base champ for years and everybody(especially the pitchers) knows that. Now they have adjusted and he has to be more careful.
And does Fredi really have his position players bunting that often? You’re the first person I’ve heard say that. They usually complain about his lack of bunting
Amber Girl
August 11th, 2012
11:55 am
Hi MR Brandon DUMB Amber is here.
Brandon
August 11th, 2012
11:56 am
Hi Amber Girl !
Amber Girl
August 11th, 2012
12:10 pm
Did you see J-Hey and Uggy go yickkety?
Brandon
August 11th, 2012
12:17 pm
Indeed I did. The Roadrunner made a few good scoops at 3rd too, and maholm was very glavine/maddux – like in his performance
Amber Girl
August 11th, 2012
12:26 pm
I am so excited about this team. I just wish my favorite player-PRADO would get going. Chip.Big Mac all go yicketty tonite. Go Braves!!
Brandon
August 11th, 2012
12:28 pm
I’m ready for prado to mash too! Go Braves!
Brave Fan
August 11th, 2012
12:28 pm
Yickety-Yak. Don’t talk back. ROLL BRAVES!
Amber Girl
August 11th, 2012
12:30 pm
Maybe Prado Go Mambo. GO BRAVES!!!
Ken Stallings
August 11th, 2012
1:37 pm
Word is starting to circulate that the Nationals are not going to bench Strausburg. With the Braves still in the mix the pressure starts to mount against them doing that. However, sometime in the first week of September we will find out.
Kimbrel in BEASTMODE
August 11th, 2012
1:49 pm
We now have 4-5 starting pitchers (Huddy, Maholm, Sheets, and Medlin and Hanson on a good night) that I expect to go out and handle six innings or more on a regular basis. We’re ready now. Get pumped Braves fans, we are actually making a run this year. It is happening!!! #DelusionalOptimism
Brandon
August 11th, 2012
2:21 pm
don’t forget minor! all of his outings starting from july have been 6+(with exception to the one against miami that he left because of rain)
Brandon
August 11th, 2012
2:22 pm
Minor’s ERA has also dropped from 6.20 to 4.95 during that time frame
PaulG
August 11th, 2012
2:23 pm
Chc4…..besides Brandon’s comment know something about stealing% ….he is around 70%…..that’s marginal for being on the plus side for creating runs…..he is ok, but no Rickey Henderson whose level of success was a definite positive…..so for Bourne , you can’t let him have the green light with impunity
Amber Girl
August 11th, 2012
2:48 pm
@Mr Brandon Do you think Nats will fall and Braves take division?
Brandon
August 11th, 2012
3:21 pm
@Amber Girl – i don’t see the nationals falling too much, but I’m sure they will slow down. If they shut down strasburg at 180 innings, that means he could still have roughly 5-8 starts left. He will definitely pitch into september so i don’t see losing him a game or two affecting them much. The Nats have been very consistent all season so I don’t expect anything different. Realistically, I think that the Braves and Nats will fight for 1st place until the end. The head to head match ups will probably make the difference. But who knows, there is still a lot of baseball left. Hopefully the Nats will fall
Brandon
August 11th, 2012
3:24 pm
Lineup: Bourn 8 Johnson 7 Heyward 9 Jones 5 Freeman 3 McCann 2 Uggla 4 Janish 6 Medlen 1
Amber Girl
August 11th, 2012
3:28 pm
Thank you MR Brandon. One more question from DUMB Amber. Will the Braves have a chance if they get in playoffs?
Brandon
August 11th, 2012
3:40 pm
the braves have a VERY good chance! I don’t like the 1 game playoff because anything can happening 1 game , but in a 5 game or 7 games series, I love our chances!
Amber Girl
August 11th, 2012
3:45 pm
Thank you Mr Brandon. Where is my man MR Prado?
Brandon
August 11th, 2012
4:19 pm
Day off
Amber Girl
August 11th, 2012
4:24 pm
Thank you Mr Brandon. Guess he can’t go yicketty tonite. BTW Does Mr bother you?
jmor
August 11th, 2012
4:34 pm
Does anyone know the terms of Ben Sheets contract? $1million in bonuses but what is his salary?
DoninAcworth
August 11th, 2012
5:26 pm
Remember guys…. try hard to win each series but if you get the chance…sweep! We’re in pretty good shape and no major injuries to the troops that have to run out there each day and Freddi is working the line-up pretty good and all the guy’s that need to step up ARE! With Uggla getting his front foot down now his swing is better and if he get’s hot …well here we go!
Amber Girl
August 11th, 2012
6:06 pm
Almost game time. Got my hotdogs, my icecream,and my soda. Off to watch game. Seey’all tomorrow. Take care. Luv Y,all Go Braves!!!