Ragged end to Braves homestand; Minor’s work wasted again
For seven innings Sunday, the only real shame for the Braves was their complete lack of offensive support for Mike Minor, continuing a trend when the young left-hander’s on the mound.
Then Minor was replaced and, coincidentally or not, the game careened off the tracks for the Braves, who gave up four runs in the last two messy innings of a 5-0 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers at Turner Field.
They walked the leadoff hitter in the eighth and right fielder Jason Heyward lost two fly balls in the sun in the last two innings as the Dodgers handed the Braves their first series defeat in a month and first back-to-back home losses in that same period.
““When you give a team outs or opportunities by losing balls in the sun or losing fly balls, that kind of stuff, or walking people, it seems like it’s written in the rule book someplace that sooner or later somebody’s going to hit a ball in the gap and put a big inning on you,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “And that’s what they did. We gave them opportunities and they took advantage of them.”
The Braves finished 4-3 on a homestand that started with a loss to San Diego and ended with two against the Dodgers. They won three against the Padres and the opener against L.A., but the Braves had hoped for more before heading out on an important 10-game road trip that starts Monday night against National League East leader Washington. The Nationals beat New York Sunday to increase their lead to five games over the Braves.
“They beat us this series, nothing we can make excuses about,” Braves center fielder Michael Bourn said of the Dodgers, who got seven strong innings from Chad Billingsley (10-9) and picked up their 11th win in 16 games. “Hands down, they got us. We’ll go in and be ready to play against the Nationals.”
Billingsley held the Braves to three hits and two walks to become the first Dodger to win six consecutive starts since Kevin Brown in 2003. The right-hander leads the NL with six wins since the All-Star break and has a 1.30 ERA during his winning streak.
The Braves trailed 1-0 after seven and thought they’d have a chance against the Dodgers bullpen, but that was before the one-run deficit mushroomed.
Heyward lost a Mark Ellis fly ball in the sun with one out in the eighth inning, bringing in a run. Three more runs scored on Ellis’ bases-clearing double down the left-field line in the ninth, three batters after Heyward lost a fly ball off the bat of A.J. Ellis that landed in front of Heyward’s glove as he lunged after seeing the ball at the last moment. That was ruled a double.
“At this time of year the sun’s right there,” said Heyward, who was wearing sunglasses on both plays. “The ball stayed in [the sun], twice unfortunately, and they were able to capitalize. The second one, I tried to stay there as long as I could to try to get on the side of it, but it kept going that way. Not anything else I could do.”
Minor (6-10) got the loss despite allowing just five hits, one run and no walks in seven innings. A homer by Luis Cruz in the fifth was the only run against Minor, who has a 2.34 ERA in his past eight starts, but only a 2-4 record to show for it during that period. The Braves scored no runs while he was in the game during four of those starts, and scored one and two runs while he was in two others.
“That’s just part of it,” Minor said of the poor run support. “I feel like they’ve battled their [tails] off out there. Especially today. I only had two strikeouts, so there was a lot of defense out there. Jason fighting the sun, there’s nothing you can do about that.
“[Run support] is just kind of one of those things. [Philadelphia’s] Cliff Lee went through a little of that early in the season. I’m just going to go out there and keep pitching.”
He’s not piling up wins, but Minor has seven quality starts in his past eight outings, the only exception a rain-shortened start. Gonzalez said the outcome took nothing away from the performance of the lefty, who got out of a bases-loaded, no-outs jam in the third by coaxing a fly to medium right field (the Dodgers wouldn’t test Heyward’s arm) and a double-play grounder.
““I thought he was outstanding,” Gonzalez said. “Got into some jams early and wiggled out of that, and it’s nice to see the maturity and experience kicking in, where he can get out of those jams. He did terrific. It seems like there’s always one guy in every rotation that doesn’t get any run support. And he seems to be the guy. And I don’t know what he needs to do. Just keep pitching the way he’s been pitching and hopefully one of these starts down the road, our guys will get some runs for him.”
Gonzalez was asked about replacing Minor after he’d thrown 97 pitches and retired the last eight batters he faced. He brought Minor out as if he were going to pitch the eighth, but it was to see if the Dodgers would bring in pinch-hitter Juan Uribe to hit for Billingsley leading off the eighth.
When the Dodgers made that move, Gonzalez brought in right-hander Chad Durbin to face Uribe. Minor never threw a pitch in the eighth, and the move backfired when Durbin walked Uribe.
“I honestly thought I was going to go out there and pitch the eighth,” said Minor, who still felt strong. “And then they made their move and we made our move. It was just kind of strategizing from there.”
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98 comments Add your comment
Bob
August 19th, 2012
7:29 pm
First…and the Braves aren’t.
Steve
August 19th, 2012
7:35 pm
Nobody cares if you are first Bob. Grow up.
RAD
August 19th, 2012
7:38 pm
It really didn’t matter if Heyward lost 5 balls in the sun. The Braves still scored ZERO runs.
Bear Grills Worms
August 19th, 2012
7:42 pm
Heyward needs sunblocker. Why didnt sun bother Dodgers RF too ?
Bear Grills Worms
August 19th, 2012
7:45 pm
Id be ashamed to not score a run in a 9 inning game. It doesnt even matter to these millionaires though.
Del
August 19th, 2012
7:50 pm
I syre hope this doesn’t mean a long losing streak is coming.
Del
August 19th, 2012
7:51 pm
syre is sure
Bobby Cox
August 19th, 2012
7:53 pm
Don’t listen to Steve Bob, I care. You’re a good kid. Good job on getting first.
eskippy
August 19th, 2012
7:53 pm
How many innings do you usually play BGW?
mpimentel
August 19th, 2012
7:54 pm
Ok bravos forget those losers, be readdy for an important series against Nat’s
Jac
August 19th, 2012
7:54 pm
WOW- Simpson remarked that Dodgers and Braves Teams line up pretty evenly-where in the hell are these two Teams “even” after Dodgers added so many good Players? Kershaw, Capuano, Billingsly, Harang, strong Relievers,Kemp.Eithier,Victorino,Cruz,Both Ellis’,plus a very strong Bench
Alan
August 19th, 2012
7:56 pm
Chipper tweeted this a little while ago: “We didn’t hit enuff fly balls to right. Sun was bad out there today, apparently. Headed to airport to go to Wash. Gotta swing bats better!!”
I think he just zinged Haywood……… and rightly so.
Coach (2012 Fredi's Beisbol Fandango)
August 19th, 2012
7:57 pm
2012 Braves…….paper tigers. Enough said.
least of the east
August 19th, 2012
7:58 pm
everyone is so worried about who’s the odd man out when rotation goes back to 5. well, when you score 2 runs in 2 games, does it matter ?
it’s great to pile up runs when you have a lead, but how about scoring when you need 1 run to get back in.
if we end up facing any sort of decent pitcher in a one game wild card playoff, we’re in trouble.
Braves have mediocre hitting in Atlanta and next to nothing in the minors after drafting pitchers constantly.
let’s just tip our cap to Billingsley.
Dawgdad (The Original)
August 19th, 2012
8:00 pm
The decline was precipitated by the creampuff uniforms. Too many holes in the lineup and too many streaky hitters, ruin good pitching.
Amber Girl
August 19th, 2012
8:02 pm
Hello everyone DUMB Amber is here
Lakewood
August 19th, 2012
8:05 pm
McCann must be really hurting. He is killing the team. Uggla is also of course, but I expect that from him. Not McCann. I feel like he did the same thing last year post oblique. Dude just can’t stay healthy to save his life.
GRAPHITE
August 19th, 2012
8:21 pm
The nose dive has commenced.
Alan
August 19th, 2012
8:24 pm
Hmmmmm…… Looks like Chipper removed his tweet,
Tom
August 19th, 2012
8:30 pm
I know it dosen’t matter since we didn’t score a run, but shouldn’t the braves third baseman have been guarding the line in the eighth? He was at least 15 feet off the line when a grounder went just inside the bag for a double resulting in three runs scored. This was with a righthander at bat.
kenneth shue
August 19th, 2012
8:31 pm
it will be okay mister David O’Brien, we have the captain,Grand Funk Railroad, Chippers last stand at shea, can he walk up to the plate and play it ?
not a pitching coach
August 19th, 2012
8:33 pm
If the Braves think they’re going to be playing in October, then they must have made reservations in the Mexican WInter League.
Ken Stallings
August 19th, 2012
8:38 pm
Mike Minor should sue for lack of support! It has truly reached a point of absurdity and the hitters on the team needs to take personal responsibility. It is mostly psychological, but in part the fact that Minor is facing a series of excellent opponent pitchers. But, Minor has consistently held up his end of the bargain and the rest of the team is not!
Chipper’s unfortunate singling out of Minor is looking more and more troublesome, and possibly even shameful. Shameful because the blunt truth is that the Braves lineup has failed to score a single run of any type for the last 20.2 innings he has pitched! Normally when someone laments that a team isn’t scoring any runs for their pitcher, it is a bit metaphoric. In Minor’s case, it is absolute litteral truth!
Here is another litteral truth: in baseball, if you don’t score you don’t win! All a pitcher can do is keep you in position to win the game. Minor has now done that as David O’Brien’s column details. You don’t get any better than pitching seven quality starts out of eight and having that one exception due merely to mother nature causing a two-hour rain delay and Minor surrendered zero runs in 3.2 innings pitched before the rain delay. Those six runs the Braves scored in that game were the last runs scored with Minor on the mound!
In the start prior to that one, the Braves scored two and Minor surrendered just one over eight innings!
Today’s game was disappointing because it continues a negative trend of failure to support Minor with runs. Minor gave the team another golden opportunity to scratch out a win on the back of a dominant pitching performance he gave. Once again, the lineup failed entirely!
Nerdville
August 19th, 2012
8:53 pm
After the pathetic offensive output against L.A., I am guessing most fans aren’t feeling real good about what is about to happen against Washington’s pitching staff. Jason: get a decent pair of shades for cripes sake.
When are the Giants ever going to have to pay for their long doping history? They turned the other way as Bonds’ neck size doubled and they have had many other players suspended. You can’t tell me they didn’t know that Melky was on something. The cheaters should have to forfeit all the wins that Melky played in.
GTNSC
August 19th, 2012
9:06 pm
Oh no! Tomorrow is Monday. 3 game losing streak, here we come, and 6 games behind the Nats.
BUGGSY
August 19th, 2012
9:07 pm
And let the SLIDE begin…..An i don’t mean on the base pathes!!Look for a sweep coming from the NATS…Well it was a good little run,but we(BRAVES) are way in over our heads when they face good pitching..Maybe next year folks>>ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL!!!You bet i AM..
older1
August 19th, 2012
9:15 pm
Swinging for the fences. Just try to make contact, a blooper hit or two and a bunt are better than strike outs. If i were F.free or Uggla I’D just see if i could catch the ball with the bat u know and tap it somewhere, hey it beats striking out. GO BRAVES. They still have one of the best records in the league.
Ken Stallings
August 19th, 2012
9:19 pm
I think the Giants are going to pay a huge price this season. They are likely going to get passed by the Dodgers (who are playing great baseball now) and they likely won’t earn either wild card. Prior to Melky’s 50-game suspension, the Giants were leading the NL West.
May not be as much a price as they should pay, because you make a good point that they have had more than their fair share of PED renegades on their roster over the years.
Capt.Mudd
August 19th, 2012
9:24 pm
Everyone trying to raise their stock…hawking their wares by trying to park one in the seats….a surprised fan base clamoring for base hits and line drives……deaf ears and bats pointed upwards while the season winds down; not a good strategy for October baseball.
Capt.Mudd
August 19th, 2012
9:25 pm
Enter your comments here
Mendoza Line
August 19th, 2012
9:26 pm
BLAMEWORTHY
Do you notice how Fredi is very good at pointing the blame at something or someone other than himself?
Just once I’d like to hear him say that he didn’t do a very good job managing the team for a particular game.
At least once.
But it will never happen.
How do I know? Because Fredi’s had ample opportunity to do so up until now — and hasn’t.
I just don’t see this team advancing very far into the playoffs with Fredi at the helm.
alex
August 19th, 2012
9:32 pm
If chipper tweeted…. “apparently” he’s a HOF a..hole,bobblehead or not.
Bill in VA
August 19th, 2012
9:39 pm
Good pitching MIKE MINOR! Keep on going out there and holding up your end of the bargain.
Bad Chemistry
August 19th, 2012
9:53 pm
Boo Chipper n Fredi for calling out Jason like that. His defense in right has saved way more runs than it has allowed, but the two supposed leaders of our team take shots and deflect blame at the first opportunity to do so.
I’m sure Jason doesn’t trust either one of them… From Chipper suggesting that Heyward is “soft,” to Fredi’s benching in favor of Constanza, I don’t know how he ever could.
It seems the only player Fredi shows any loyalty to is Uggla; even McCann is riding the bench these days and hitting behind guys like Fransisco.
Really hate the way Fredi manages this team.
Ed
August 19th, 2012
10:01 pm
Enter your comments here
Larry30
August 19th, 2012
10:05 pm
So chipper comments that APPARENTLY the sun was bad in right today. Probably as bad as the night last year when the great one couldn’t make a play on a chopper to third that he lost in the lights. You can always count on chipper to toss somebody under the bus.
Ed
August 19th, 2012
10:10 pm
Would it be too much trouble for just one of our “hitting” coaches to say a word to Freeman. He always swings the bat straight up. This of course makes for very high popups.. Even when he is in the on deck circle swinging you can plainly see it is straight up. I am sure that other armchair coaches have noticed this also. Please…just a small hint.
Even as good of a coach as I think I am, I cannot suggest anything to help Uggla. If I had 64 million dollars I would maybe think about buying him out.
Larry30
August 19th, 2012
10:14 pm
Maybe we can send uggla to cleveland and ONLY pay $30 mil of his remaining salary to play somewhere else. Wren will throw $170 mil to players like uggla, Lowe, mclouth, and kawakami but he will probably let Bourne walk at the end of the season and hold onto McCann until we can’t get anything for him.
Fence builder
August 19th, 2012
10:20 pm
Enter your comments here
Virginia Jim
August 19th, 2012
10:20 pm
Braves fans- Stop whining. If the Braves take two out of three from the Nationals, we are back on track.
jharber
August 19th, 2012
10:34 pm
Virginia Jim Could I have some of what you are drinking?
WeBurn
August 19th, 2012
10:35 pm
This lineup has too many holes when Chipper sits.
All McCann, Uggla, and Francisco provide is occasional power. That’s it. Otherwise, you can count on them to strike out and rarely get on base. Shortstop is a black hole right now as well. That means that half of our lineup is full of easy outs.
We need to move some of this surplus pitching for another bat.
TuffShhhtuff
August 19th, 2012
10:35 pm
Well, at least now the Braves have an excuse for asking for a domed stadium. So the right fielder can play without that danged ol’ sun following him around. Who put that sun up there for the first time today anyway?
TuffShhhtuff
August 19th, 2012
10:38 pm
Yessiree VA JIM be drinking some strong stuff! He is actually hallucinating.
GB's Hamburgers
August 19th, 2012
10:40 pm
Amber, it’s smart to know you’re dumb. This team is headed in the right direction but they are capable of losing a bunch in a row. They will have to be on an upswing when the playoffs arrive to have a chance.
jharber
August 19th, 2012
10:43 pm
Reed Johnson is a big boost in left– Prado to second– Ross behind plate, A few others on here made this suggestion but Freddi can not see past Uggla
VinceVanGo
August 19th, 2012
11:01 pm
Wouldn’t you think it would be the visiting team missing balls in the sun and not the home team. It doesn’t make sense, however you still have to hit and score a few runs if you want to win. McCann’s toast, DH him and find a backup catcher to Ross. McCann was a big part of the late season collapse last year and he’s well on his way to doing it again. Make the move Frank, before it’s too late.
Blake
August 19th, 2012
11:34 pm
If this Is how their gonna play In the playoffs you can count me out. Elite teams don’t get beat 2-3 against the dodgers.They find a way to win…..
BravesFan79
August 19th, 2012
11:39 pm
Was a big mistake not having Minor pitch the 8th. I sure hope Fredi dosent manage this way during the playoffs! Mccann behind Fransisco?
Kent
August 20th, 2012
12:07 am
Wow…still amazed at the level of animosity towards Chipper. If anyone on the team deserves the ability to call it like he sees it its him.
Teddy B
August 20th, 2012
12:15 am
Pretty ignorant of Chipper to call out J-Hey like that. I’m pretty sure J-Hey is our best option in RF and he’s shown time and time again he can rake, and he plays a fine outfield. Stuff happens, its not like the sun moves away for games at Turner Field so that everyone can see good.
I seem to remember more than a few plays Chippy-boy muffed at 3rd base in his career. Lay off man, blaming teammates in a pennant race isn’t cool at all, that division can kill a team dead in the water. We are blessed to have Heyward, and so would ANY other team in the entire MLB. He hit a triple today, what did the rest of the team do? Oh yeah, not much.
SOS Braves
August 20th, 2012
12:42 am
No hitting bunch of losers. Mcfat is the worst of them. Fredi fruitcake needs to keep his fat @ss on the bench.
jimmy
August 20th, 2012
1:52 am
Chipper if you ain’t gonna play in the game then just keep your mouth shut about the guys who do take the field.
blackdog
August 20th, 2012
1:53 am
Why is it starting to feel like last year all over again?
jimmy
August 20th, 2012
1:56 am
Kent the problem is he calls it.from the dugout.
CARL AVEN
August 20th, 2012
5:07 am
The braves prove that good pitching will beat good hitting …It has become a given when ….opposing team introduces their new pitcher that they just brought up or their lefty needs a win …glad the faithful are still strong supporting the braves
Bill M.
August 20th, 2012
6:34 am
The only thing that will save the Braves is a sweep. If the Braves get swept it’s all over. I think the Braves will be better after Chipper leaves. They have to trade Uggla & McCann and put Prado back at second his best position. Sign Bourn and get a LF and 3rd baseman and a #1 pitcher.. They need RH bats as lefthanders are killing the Braves.
Really?
August 20th, 2012
6:59 am
I’d like to know if Chipper really made that tweet. Writing something claiming he did and then, the tweet is removed and can’t be verified, is like claiming something from an unnamed source. I’d be skeptical. Note how everyone jumped on this as well playing into the hands of the blogger.
I, however, from an unnamed source, heard that Jason missed those balls in right because Martians beamed down some sort of ray that shined in his eyes and the Dodgers and part owner Magic Johnson paid for that to happen.
FL dawg.
August 20th, 2012
7:10 am
The Braves are a streaky team, if they make the playoffs, they’ll either get swept or win the WS.
Robert
August 20th, 2012
7:17 am
It’s amazing how many fair weather fans the Braves have!! They have two bad outings and everyone is jumping ship and you wonder why they won’t spend money on a team when fans a gripping after two loses in a row for the first time in a MONTH!! First series loss in a MONTH!!! Gessh you all suck as fans!!! Lets go Braves!!!!
Carl Farvman
August 20th, 2012
7:32 am
“Chipper tweeted this a little while ago………” Fill in the blanks with nonsensical ignorance. Did anybody really think a productive tweet would come from Larry? Great hitter, but beyond the batters box we’re talking about not the brightest bulb in the package. Perhaps Larry needed to get into the tweeting business so the groupies could see his intellect first hand and maybe we will hear fewer and fewer cries for him to be manager. One can only hope.
Carl Farvman
August 20th, 2012
7:34 am
“The Braves are a streaky team, if they make the playoffs, they’ll either get swept or win the WS.”
Probably not far from the truth.
Carl Farvman
August 20th, 2012
7:39 am
“I seem to remember more than a few plays Chippy-boy muffed at 3rd base in his career.”
Yeah,if you were able to net out missed opportunities for an out by the third base position [Larry] …..who knows what his offensive #s would look like. I’ve seen many playable balls go untouched by Larry that a fine 3rd baseball could have handled almost routinely.
RGP
August 20th, 2012
7:44 am
The Braves got the bad game out of their system. Braves need to get the bats going and score some runs and do a beat down on the Nats.
Big Al
August 20th, 2012
7:54 am
The annual downhill slide has started for the Braves. Almost pathetic watching Braves fans suffer this time of the year.
yellowfever
August 20th, 2012
8:00 am
dumb, dumb dumb dumb dumb.
clt brave
August 20th, 2012
8:02 am
Hats off to Minor!! what a performance….Dodger pitching was very effective. I have not given up on the guys yet…still way too many games left to be played…I HAVE given up on Fredi ( see September 2011) ….nothing he has shown me so far makes me believe he will take the team where we want them to go …. EXHIBIT A : UGGLA UPDATE: this weekend against L.A. our All Star second baseman went 0 for 9!! (Friday, he was 0 for 5…something most major-leaguers can never accomplish..) Since the All Star break, he is batting .192 — for the year he’s cruising along @ .210 But i guess Fredi’s right; lets keep him in there…sooner or later he HAS to start hitting…doesnt he..?
Daniel Moore
August 20th, 2012
8:09 am
Whats the deal with Freddi G still running Jason Heyward in the three hole and he is not a genuine clutch hitter, a bonafide whiffer. Put the new guy Johnson in at right field and let Heyward rest and contemplate awhile from the bench, he’s certainly not putting in good at bats when needed. Come on Freddi.
Bear Grills Worms
August 20th, 2012
8:12 am
Braves need to resign McCann cheap or let him walk. $9 million can buy. Starting 155 game catcher not an oft-injured 100 game catcher.
Bear Grills Worms
August 20th, 2012
8:14 am
Freeman,Uggla,McCann all 3 slumping now when Braves really need them. Just like last year.
Bear Grills Worms
August 20th, 2012
8:17 am
Uggla gets a pass not hitting. Remember hes Fredi’s Marlin brother for life. No accountability.
Bear Grills Worms
August 20th, 2012
8:19 am
Two weeks ago everybody except Uggla was hitting. Today nobody but Bourn & zHeyward are hitting. Sad.
Daniel Moore
August 20th, 2012
8:19 am
Uggla needs to get up in the box close so he might have a better chance at maybe catching the ball before it breaks, certainly not standing with his back foot standing on the back line in the box.
Davey Sprocket
August 20th, 2012
8:30 am
Well, time for the showdown. Braves do not have to face lefty Gio Gonzalez this series, but Zimmermann, Strasburg (when it is not 106 degrees) and Lefty Detwiler is still a tough row to hoe. Frankly, it could have been worse – the Dodgers led by two in the 8th, and left a lot of guys stranded, or it would have been a sweep. If the Nats take 2, it will be tough on you guys.
I know Braves fans complain that they are playing great ball and still not gaining any ground, and the Nats are saying that they should have an 8 or 10 game lead, as well as they have played too. Now, we see who is playing well. Go Nats!
Peter
August 20th, 2012
8:41 am
Well who wrote the Braves bats will keep them from collapsing this year ?
The series against the nationals will tell us what we have a contender or a pretender.
Lt Col Razorback
August 20th, 2012
8:50 am
“older1” has the right idea, I think. Too many Brave batters are swinging for the fences. Home runs, particularly with runners on the bases, are nice; but just getting back-to-back singles has better results. Stop trying too hard Braves batters. Just concentrate on hitting the ball to somewhere they ain’t and the Team will be a lot better off in the long run.
Fog
August 20th, 2012
9:01 am
Went to both losses this weekend. Poor performance at the plate both nights. Freddie Freeman needs his ass chewed out. He swings at every 1st pitch no matter what. In Saturday’s game he struck out after Chipper walked in front of him and Uggla walked after him. NO patience…could have been a BIG inning (and it was the 1st inning). Yesterday, he was like clockwork…every at bat. I used to really love watching McCann because I thought he was a “professional hitter”. After watching him yesterday, sit his sorry ass. The 3rd baseman was playing shortstop in the shift and the pitcher was falling off the mound towards 1st base…drop a bunt. NO…he tries to pull everything into the shift. The only word that comes to ind is…moron. Where is the team first mentality with some of these guys. The only plus coming after these two losses is the effort on the field. They didn’t give up, they just didn’t hit. Play fundamentals. Get on, move them over and get them in.
Retired 6 years too late
August 20th, 2012
9:19 am
How long have braves fan been saying to sit Uggla, move Prado back to 2b, insert Johnson in left to get a balance hitting lineup not dominated with lefty hitters. McCann value has dropped and if he can be traded, move him out of here. Freddi)Bobby Lite) should not have been hired but Bobby wantd him to be his replacement and Bobby gets what he wants with this group. There are few if any everyday players in the minors and Scouting Directory and all the scouts should be FIRED! This is the start of the SWOON that hit this team last year as St. Louis took the wild card berth. Here we go Freddi, your legacy here has been set. You are a poor manager and this is the only major league you could get. PITY on you Liberty Media, Frank Wren and JS.
Here it comes
August 20th, 2012
9:42 am
Win the Nats series, and we’ll win the division as the Nats will start to tighten up. Lose it and the 2012
collapse will be staring us in the face. Other than Chip and Mac, the team is young, playoff experience wise. We could choke it up as easily as the Nats, and their mgr has playoff experience by the pound.
FG doesn’t.
Clydesdale
August 20th, 2012
9:48 am
I hope they work w J Hey on this sun issue. He should be using his glove hand, not his tiny throwing hand to shield the sun as long as possible. Othwrwise J hey has played a very good right field.
Barbara
August 20th, 2012
9:49 am
We will catch up in Wash. We have a whole month in the season.
Too Tough
August 20th, 2012
10:40 am
Brian Mc…is tired…any coach should see that catcher needs rest to get his legs back! rest him or loose him….Uggla….his problem is trying to absolutely kill every ball he swings at…IF he would try to ease up on his swing…I am SURE he would be a hittling machine and the homers would come as a bonus! Its time to sit uggla out for a few games…starting tonight..FG Brian too…or we will be so far back we wont make the wild card either Go Braves…PLEASE! come on!
fordcobra
August 20th, 2012
10:51 am
Braves hitters make average pitchers look like Cy Young
fordcobra
August 20th, 2012
10:52 am
McCann complaining about not playing so they let him play 0 for what?
bruce benedict
August 20th, 2012
11:00 am
Braves need to win tonight, or I’m afraid they will start to tighten up like last year. McCann needs to be on the DL. He really hurt us last year when he tried to play hurt. Let’s not repeat that again- put aside the macho pride, and let Ross catch. Also, when Francisco plays, he should bat ahead of Struggla.
TomTomClub
August 20th, 2012
11:31 am
Chipper calls out Minor and Heyward for less than stellar play but says ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about Uggla stinking up the joint for the better part of 2 years now!!! As good as this future Hall of Famer has been on the field, this will be a better TEAM once he is gone!
dylan
August 20th, 2012
1:10 pm
good lord how i hate atlanta fans. 2 days ago hes the best player the braves have ever had (which he is, above mathews, aaron, smoltz, and anyone else) and today hes scum for a SUPPOSED tweet that MIGHT be a kelly rippa on heyward.
and to those who say they’ve seen many balls chipper shouldve gotten too, how many times has he made that barehanded bunt play? just because he makes it look easy doesn’t mean it is. no other third baseman in the game makes as many or makes them as well as he does.
and i was crazy for wanting to “switch up the team” back at the deadline by trading hanson delgado mac and uggla, but now that mac is hurt and uggs had a game without a hr, now suddenly trading mac is the answer.
if you honestly had the braves as favorites for this game then you don’t watch too much baseball or you are a blind fan. i will always pick the braves to win, but against a good lefty they should NEVER be the favorite.
rules for the offseason: trade hanson, delgado, uggla, maybe mac, and pastor yickety, release jj, resign bourn, attempt to get lee, sign heyward and freeman to long term deals, get greinke (yes i can see that hes sucking in L.A., but hes obviously much better in the n.l., like EVERY PITCHER) get another catcher to platoon with ross if bethancourt is not ready, give gattis his shot in lf, prado back to 2b, and RE TOOL THE BENCH
Gary
August 20th, 2012
1:42 pm
Hittting is still the problem…..Harang and Capuano are mediocre at best………UGGLA…..HAS TO START HITTING………….OR NO PLAYOFFS…
Brave New World
August 20th, 2012
1:52 pm
All the whiners and critics are right: The Braves have embarrassed themselves to one of the best records in baseball. If only Fredi and Frank would listen to some of the geniuses on these blogs, The Braves could be undefeated in 2012.
Larry30
August 20th, 2012
1:53 pm
McCann should have been traded two years ago when he was “the best catcher in baseball.” which he has never been. Whenever I suggested he be traded I was called an idiot. He has always been a liability defensively and every season his weight increases. It has been obvious that his baseball future was in the AL as a DH. Should have traded him when we could have stocked up. Too late now. We are also going to be stuck with uggla’s salary while Bourne is allowed to walk at the end of the year. We have spent almost $200 million on payers like lowe, mclouth, McCann, and kawakami the past four years. Our problem is not money, it is getting our money’s worth. Liberty needs a new GM and team president.
Larry30
August 20th, 2012
1:57 pm
They had one of the best records in baseball last year at this point, too. Were you satisfied with the results at the end of the season, brave new world?
jharber
August 20th, 2012
2:07 pm
Agree Larry30, Talent evaluation sucks. No long term vision.
Larry30
August 20th, 2012
2:11 pm
Left out Uggla’s name on that list above. Have to include him to get near the $200 mil mark.
Brave New World
August 20th, 2012
2:42 pm
Larry30: No Braves fan could be satisfied with the 2011 results – complete collapse (thank goodness for the Red Sox). However, this is still one of the best teams in baseball.
Tim
August 20th, 2012
2:55 pm
jharber: you are a freaking idiot if you agree with what Larry30 said. Y’all are clueless ass people foreal you dont know anything shut the heck up..mccann is still a pretty good player he is just battling the shoulder issue that he has had for some weeks now.You aint in the front office and shouldnt say what they should do nobody wants to here that mess,you would get people killed if yall told them what to do.
?
August 20th, 2012
3:30 pm
I LOVE HANK WILLAMS JR.
jharber
August 20th, 2012
3:33 pm
.Hey Tim, Look in spring training blogs of 2011– check what I had to say then and what i am saying now. Little has changed. I would still rather have Omar Infante and Mike Dunn than Uggla, McCann should have been traded that off season along with Lowe. Almost any manager except Freddi G.
Larry30
August 20th, 2012
7:55 pm
McCann will never finish his career as a catcher. He has never been a very good catcher. No arm, and too many passed balls. If he didn’t hit he would have been doing what he’s doing now………riding the bench.