In survival mode, Braves happy to accept a gift
Braves starter Kenshin Kawakami wasn't overwhelming Saturday but he survived — and that described the Braves, as well. (AP photo)
The Braves were inching toward possible extinction in the National League East on Saturday when the Philadelphia Phillies morphed into something rarely seen this side of a beer league.
An All-Star second baseman, Chase Utley, lets a grounder shoot under his glove to open the ninth inning. A closer, Brad Lidge, commits two errors on one Matt Diaz sacrifice bunt — first a series of spasms and near face plant while trying to field it, and then a throw toward first that I think ultimately hit Paul McCartney’s drummer in Piedmont Park — that allowed the tying run to score. It was the greatest meltdown by a closer at Turner Field since somebody scooped up Bob Wickman’s ashes.
Two walks and a single later, the Braves won, 4-3, and lived to say I-told-you-so for another day.
If seven weeks from now Atlanta players are doing something other than cleaning out lockers or Googling airfares to the Caribbean, they can look back at Saturday’s win over the Phillies as a reason why they reached the postseason. Down 3-2 in the ninth, they faced the prospects of dropping to seven games out in the East after consecutive losses to Philly’s third and fourth best pitchers, going into the series finale against ace J.A. Happ. Instead, they’re five out with a chance to win the series.
Hold off on the dirge. It’s not just a wild-card chase, yet.
“This would’ve been huge — this would’ve been as crushing as [losing Friday] night,” Chipper Jones said. “To lose this series head up, knowing we were going to lose it head up and possibly get swept, it’s a tall task [to come back]. It feels very fortunate.”
Feel it. Embrace it. Take advantage of it.
This was a gift. But excuse the Braves if they’re not feeling guilty about it.
They lost a game the night before that they believe they should have won. They think they’re one of the best teams in the National League and certainly have shown as much since the All-Star break. But the mediocrity of the first half of the season is making it difficult to create much tangible evidence in the standings.
And now, they’re running on fumes.
– Nate McLouth, their leadoff hitter, aggravated a hamstring injury, and he’ll miss at least a few more games after the team considered disabling him.
– Rafael Soriano, who has shown a penchant for giving up game-winning home runs, is complaining of shoulder pain.
– Catcher Brian McCann, the team’s cleanup hitter and lone All-Star, hit a two-run homer Sunday but otherwise has been struggling. He stranded three more base runners Saturday, grounded into a double play, has seen his average drop 24 points (from .307 to .283) since July 24, and in the past 13 games is 7-for-45 (.156) with 25 men left on base.
The leadoff man. The closer. The All-Star. But they’re still here.
Win Sunday, and the Phillies’ lead is down to four. That didn’t seem plausible when this same opponent won 19 of 22 games and built its lead over the Braves to eight games on July 31 — and even 7 ½ games just nine days ago.
“If we lost this one, it would’ve been a tough lead for sure to come back from,” McCann said. “But we’d still come back the next day and try our best to win a game. That’s been our mentality. We’re not feeling do-or-die going into any game. We’re just playing hard, and hopefully in the end it’ll get us in the playoffs.”
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74 comments Add your comment
Sonny Clusters
August 15th, 2009
9:03 pm
We was glad to see this post to see if we’d be first.
Sonny Clusters
August 15th, 2009
9:03 pm
Wow! We was!
Sonny Clusters
August 15th, 2009
9:10 pm
When we was playing ball together back when we was in school we was always trying to make the team better by adding some skills where they was needed. We’d practice bunt and practice throws to the plate and practice baserunning and coach NEVER said “easy” when we was running to base. Coach expected us to run all out everytime we was on the field and generally we did or Coach would sit us down and let some underclass clown play instead of us to make us appreciate being on the team and not playing like individuals that didn’t hustle. Coach was always teaching us lessons and trying to make us better men but we knew that Coach was wearing ladies underware and that took some credibility away from Coach when he talked. We was something of a mess back then in many ways but we was state championship and that always was special.
Mitch C
August 15th, 2009
9:31 pm
Of course I’m happy that we won today’s game, and hopefully we can win tomorrow to cut it to four in the East. There’s something that everyone doesnt seem to be talking about, though.
While we know we have to play well to win it, and we have many teams to battle with, the Braves are only three games out of the wild card, a very doable task. It seems as though the writers and fans are ready to put up the epitaphs on our 2009 season if we dont blow the Phillies down for the East, when we can still well make the wild card.
After three years out of the playoffs, I personally dont care how we get to October. I’ve been a Braves fan for 27 years, and I’ll say it, not to mock. Fourteen straight division titles, one World Championship. Does anyone think that any of the wild card World Champions felt worse on the night they won the World Series, because they were “Only” the wild card? The trophy felt just as sweet, and the champange tasted just as good, believe me.
I think we can run down the Phillies, and I hope we do, but know what, I just want to get to the playoffs. October baseball is all that matters, whether we are the wild card, or the NL East champs.
Mitch
rico43
August 15th, 2009
9:33 pm
Seems that the NL East has evolved into the league’s toughest division based on some recent series. The Braves will definitely have to do it themselves — and because of the Giants and Rockies, I believe the division is more within reach than the wild card.
Gov. Clinton Tyree
August 15th, 2009
9:36 pm
There were probably a number of years, particularly in the 90’s, when those division/NL champion Braves didn’t win the World Series but could/should have, because they had the best team. The playoffs are a bit of a crapshoot.
It’d kind of be poetic justice if they snuck in as a wild card this year and took it to the house.
Gov. Clinton Tyree
August 15th, 2009
9:39 pm
Each year, my firm has a meeting in Las Vegas, and while I, the Governor, am not a big gambler, I have managed to wander into the sports book and put down $100 on the Braves winning the World Series. That’s been a laughable proposition the last few years, but the Governor tends to lose at the blackjack tables just as easily, so what the hell…just another way of paying my room tax.
I have my ticket for this year safely tucked away in my Fantasy Baseball championship cup in my office…would really like to make a special trip out to the Bellagio and pick up a cool 4 Gs in October…
Gang Greene
August 15th, 2009
9:43 pm
This team is just simply good right now, and have been for quite a while. It almost seems criminal if they miss the playoffs because they are certainly good enough to be there. The first 3 months of the season, they were simply maddening. Remmeber when it was as soon as they got to 500, they would lose, and then get back there, and immediately lose? Frank Wren and Cox and the players have done a great job. This team was basically repaired about half way going into the season- the pitching. And they have done well to fix the hitting that was a mess due to Schafer and Francoeur primarily. And despite what so many people on here write, Cox has adapted. He just didn’t know what to do with 4 automatic outs in the lineup. The guy gets ripped constantly, but he has shown me since about 1999 that he may be slow to adapt (set in his ways or hopeful???) but he eventually does. Now if only they hadn’t included Neftali in that trade for Tex…
Sonny Clusters
August 15th, 2009
9:54 pm
“To lose this series head up, knowing we were going to lose it head up and possibly get swept, it’s a tall task [to come back]. It feels very fortunate.” – Chipper
We was thinking this is why baseball players should not talk.
Antonio Gramsci
August 15th, 2009
10:07 pm
I see what you’ve done there. Clever.
Jeff Schultz
August 15th, 2009
10:14 pm
Sonny — Wuz you an English major?
mike on lake hartwell
August 15th, 2009
10:19 pm
what he done there, Antonio??
richbrave
August 15th, 2009
10:44 pm
Well JEFF, maybe we buried the BRAVOS too soon. I’D rather be lucky than good. They all go in the “W” column. BTW, nice descriptive,”…morphed into something rarely seen this side of a beer league.” SWEET. Couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch of clowns.
Capt Caveman
August 15th, 2009
11:01 pm
Hey Jeff — I was at twisted taco the other night hanging out with Brad Clontz and John Rocker. We had a good talk about the Bravos and their chances and both of them mentioned the biggest thing that the Braves had going was the fact that if they get close enough to the phillies they feel confident that Lidge will falter down the stretch. I agreed that it’s got to be in the back of the Phils players minds that he is certainly not the guy you consider a guaranteed win anymore.
Today just had to drive that point home to the Phillies dugout. Gotta wonder if any WS champ has ever seen their closer implode like this during a season and still kept him in that position into the playoffs. You pick up any vibes like that coming from the Phillies??
Ted Striker
August 15th, 2009
11:07 pm
I always wondered what happened to the guy whose tests I used to cheat off of back in high school. Sonny Clusters — how the heck are ya????
Sonny is Forrest
August 15th, 2009
11:18 pm
Me and Jeffy were like peas and carrots.
misterwax
August 16th, 2009
12:11 am
Need to put Soriano into a monastery somewhere for the next 7 weeks…he is in a meltdown, no matter what Bobby Cox says….let the starters start going for 9 inning games and a CG victory….that will stoke the team up just fine…
pj
August 16th, 2009
12:23 am
This is what’s crazy about this year’s Braves:
We’ve got the BEST starting pitching in the National League. San Fran is amazing, don’t get me wrong. The Marlins have some guys. The Cubs and Cardinals look good in a 5 game playoff series….
But this is the first time in 5 years that – when I look at pitching matchups in EVERY series – I feel like Atlanta has that advantage. I sat behind home plate as Jair beat Tim Linsecum. He’s supposed to be the best.
Jurrjens, Lowe and Vasquez simply pound the plate mercilessly. They throw strikes. They get ground balls. They aren’t intimidated.
Hanson is a freak who WILL pitch either a no-hiter or get a 20 strikeout game before its all over and he’s our 4th guy. Kawakami has beaten some of the best pitchers in the majors. As a 5th starter, he is all we could ask for and more…. oh yeah – Tim freakin Hudson is about to be ready to pitch.
Every Braves starter has an ERA in the 2’s to mid 3’s since the break.
This is what made this organization great for so long. THIS is what will keep us interesting until the last weeks, win or lose.
Much like Mark Texieria has proven to be the dominant difference between the Yanks and others in the AL, the Braves are simply one all star hitter away from being the best team in the NL in 2010.
Go Braves. I’m excited again.
Cardog10
August 16th, 2009
12:56 am
Do you think Philly, Boston, NY, or any other respectable baseball city would appreciate a headline like this? “In Survival Mode, Happy to accept gift”
and then you end it by saying, “Running on fumes”
We won three in a row, blew the game to LA in the 9th… then won 5 in a row… Then lost Friday when we hit 7 bombs to the fence, the game could’ve gone either way. We would’ve been 4 behind. In my opinion, Philly took a gift from us last night. No mention of that? Plus we would’ve had a guy on second with one out… but you call that a “gift”…
I’m sick of bloggers like you who try to cover a bunch of games, and you aren’t even a hometown fan. You wouldn’t have a job right now if you were in a real city. Lets become a real city. You are going to be first to go.
wxwax
August 16th, 2009
1:41 am
It’s fun to have a competitive team again. Good pitching is keeping most games tight, and that’s exciting.
I plan to enjoy the remainder of the season.
wxwax
August 16th, 2009
1:45 am
Thank you Sonny, that was funny.
DamYankee
August 16th, 2009
2:01 am
I really, really like McCann, but come on Bobby, David Ross is no slouch, is better defensively and throws better. McCann seems like having the weight of the team on his shoulders is kicking his ass, I think he needs a break.
Smack
August 16th, 2009
2:55 am
Inching toward possible extinction…God I just love that Jeff! We’re still in August right? Still got some time between now and October right? Let me guess, we win tomorrow night and all the sudden you will be gushing about the possibilities of a post season and if they loose, well the dream is dead. This is what I meant by fair-weathered the other day. No a fan you are not, we established that, you are simply fair weathered in your opinion. Ah Flip-Floppin’ Jeff….I kinda like that handle for you.
Mitch C
August 16th, 2009
3:32 am
Something just dawned on me. While we havent been to the playoffs in four years, this city (Atlanta of course) is spoiled. We’ve had either feast or famine. We were either in last or next to last for six years from 1985 to 1990, and then did nothing but win division titles for fourteen, before three bad to mediocre years from 2006 to 2008.
I say again, we just have to focus our sights on getting to October, whichever way we can do it. We made it to eleven straight Octobers after baseball introduced the wild card, most of the time by not even winning the East in dramatic fanhion. Now, after three years of not really being in contention, we are fighting for our playoff lives with every game. I expect, that, unless we collapse, (not likely with how we’ve played lately) it will be this way for the next.. six to seven weeks.
October will feel sweet, even if we are only the “Wild card”. I really hope we get there, because, with the way our pitching staff is this year, I like our chances to go deep into October if we do.
Mitch
Squawker
August 16th, 2009
4:14 am
How the FFFFFFFFFFFF do you reason that Blanton and Hamels are their third and fourth best pitchers, while Happ is their “ace”. Creative licensing? Jesus, Schultz, thats pretty bad, even for you.
abudefdef
August 16th, 2009
5:55 am
I’ve been saying it for the past few weeks. We have a lot of games (7 including today) left against the Phillies where we can make up ground. Braves keep winning series, sweeping some, and they will not have to worry about the Wild Card, cause the NL East will be within reach. Solid team up and down the lineup, but I think LaRoche should NOT be batting 8th! With his power, he needs someone behind him batting besides the pitcher. Maybe bat him 9th?
GO Braves!
KEEP THE FAITH BRAVES NATION!
Keep the Faith!
**WWHHHHOOOOAAAAA OOOOOAAAAAAA WHHOOOOOOOAAAAAAA OOOOOOOAAAA**
*TOMAHAWK-A-CHOPPIN*
Sonny Clusters
August 16th, 2009
7:25 am
Nope, Jeff, we studied journalism mostly. We was up early this morning and decided to check on ol’ Jeff and see what he’s been blogging. When we was playing ball together back in school it wasn’t nothing for us to get up early and do some stretching and some exercising and run some laps before we’d even brush our teeth. That reminds me of a little trick we played on Mr Met when he left his toothbrush on the counter in boy’s bathroom and me and the second basemen dipped that toothbrush in the toilet bowl and then put it right back where he’d left it but we didn’t get him none because he said he just used somebody’s toothbrush he found because he couldn’t find his. It was always hard to get one over on him. Coach would try to get him to take a pitch but he never would. One time Coach told him if he swung at the first pitch he was gonna take him out of the game and make him sit on the end of the bench with Stinky Wintes. Stinky was backup catcher and smelled bad most of the time. Jeff wanted no part of that because we was always going out with girls after the game and hanging around Stinly Wintes would linger with you for an hour or so after you left him. I’ll tell you what happened a little later.
mitch
August 16th, 2009
7:40 am
Hurry up, Sonny.
Sonny Clusters
August 16th, 2009
7:43 am
We Clusters was always ballplayers. My daddy could always play some ball and Daddy used to go deep when he was playing back when he was in school. Granddaddy Clusters played some ball too and he was tough. He don’t understand how Chipper keeps getting hurt all the time and missing games. Granddaddy said they didn’t have obliques back when he was playing ball. I don’t know if he missed any time with a sore thumb or toe but I’m going to ask him when I see him today. We’s both on the second shift.
richbrave
August 16th, 2009
7:44 am
Hey SONNY. Make it Way-y-y later O.K.?
mitch
August 16th, 2009
7:56 am
Come on, Sonny, what happened?
richbrave
August 16th, 2009
8:05 am
DOWN ON THE FARM:
0 for August. That’s WESTERN CAROLINA’s CHRIS MASTERS’ ERA for the month. In three starts, the MARIETTA flash has a 2-1 record with one complete game. 22.0 IP, 11 H, 1 BB, 25 – that’s 25 SO, only 2 runs allowed and a 1.16 WHIP. His entire body of work at DANVILLE includes 53.2 IP, 40 H, 4 BB, 64 SO. The lefty is showing rapid improvement and hopefully, ROME will see him soon.
Nativebird
August 16th, 2009
8:11 am
Bottom line, Phillys and Marlins have the requisite power in their lineups that at any time in any game, a 3-run shot puts them in the lead, no matter how their offense is performing. Atlanta simply does not.
Wren had the chance to obtain one more right handed RBI producer, he mailed it in. and that’s ball game folks.
abudefdef
August 16th, 2009
8:27 am
Nativebird, have you been watching baseball lately?
Last time I checked the Braves have the best record in the NL since the All Star break. Last time I checked they had taken 3 of 4 from the Dodgers, and can take 2 of 3 from the Phillies. Last time I checked the starting pitching is doing very well, and the Braves are getting enough timely hits (or long balls) to win games.
Wren didn’t ‘mail it in’. Wren put together a SOLID team, with GREAT starting pitching. Braves are well within striking distance of the NL East.
KEEP THE FAITH BRAVES NATION!
Keep the Faith!
**WWHHHHOOOOAAAAA OOOOOAAAAAAA WHHOOOOOOOAAAAAAA OOOOOOOAAAA**
*TOMAHAWK-A-CHOPPIN*
Sonny Clusters
August 16th, 2009
8:32 am
Okay, here goes. Stinky Wintes came from a poor family with no bathtub and he was no regular bather. Sometimes it was real hard when he was in a game and come off the field and in the dugout. Coach made him stay down on the end but we was always getting a breeze that would make it seem like Stinky was in our back pocket. Nobody liked him much but he was a pretty good catcher in a pinch. Jeff and Stinky didnt get along because Jeff was always after the girls and Stinky would linger on you for awhile after you was with him. Girls didnt like that and Jeff knowed it because sometimes they wouldnt go to the Dairy Queen with him if he’d been around Stinky Wintes. That game we was talking about Jeff didnt take a single pitch and next time at bat Coach put Stinky in to hit for Jeff and had Jeff sit down where Stinky was earlier. Coach and Jeff didnt get along much after that. They was both upset because they both thought they was in charge. We went on to be state championship but we was a mess. We was planning to right a book about this and see how well it sells and we may ask Jeff here to be the introducer since we has become a regular on his blog.
UGASlobberknocker
August 16th, 2009
8:45 am
Sonny Clusters cant fool me..It is really that disturbed Tech fan “St.Simons”, taking a break from the Georgia blog.
mitch
August 16th, 2009
8:52 am
Good story, Sonny, but it did unravel a little there at the end. But you may mean that to be a metaphor for life, how it might unravel on you sometimes.
Sonny Clusters
August 16th, 2009
8:56 am
Writing is not all that hard and we has been enjoying it here on this blog with Jeff. When we was in the newspaper business mostly we would have the papers out before breakfast so when people would come in the Waffle House they’d be some papers in the box right by the door. We was always proud to do that because the newspaperman before us sometimes would be late with the paper. We was thinking dropping these new little papers wouldn’t be all that much work. Theys so narrow and light it wouldn’t be that much to it. We was always putting papers in the trunk and the car would almost drag the ground but we could probably get all these papers in the back seat and have some left over. Mostly people buy the paper for Jeff anyway. He breaks most of the good stories now and is real good on underpants stories and baseball.
Nativebird
August 16th, 2009
9:09 am
If not for the gift, the Braves should be 7 out, which means at some point the odds are that they will be. Dont take my word for it, just ask the franchise 3rd baseman:
“To lose this series head up, knowing we were going to lose it head up and possibly get swept, it’s a tall task [to come back]. It feels very fortunate.” – Chipper
Here we go again
August 16th, 2009
9:37 am
Sonny, may I make a fan page for you on facebook?
eddieu
August 16th, 2009
9:40 am
Talk about clutch at bats……….Ryan Church had the worst with the bases loaded. Did we trade one over anxious hitter for another?
mitch
August 16th, 2009
9:44 am
Wouldn’t a sports talk show on TV with Roddy White, Michael Vick and Chipper Jones be great? It is sometimes impossible to tell what language White is speaking, sometimes impossible to cut through Jones’ incoherence, and great fun to listen to Vick mumble and describe his prison term as a hiatus.
JJ
August 16th, 2009
9:57 am
“If not for the gift, the Braves should be 7 out, which means at some point the odds are that they will be.”
Huh? Sorry, that statement makes absolutely no sense.
vermont 39
August 16th, 2009
10:38 am
Enter your comments here
Reid Adair
August 16th, 2009
10:39 am
Who on Earth will play center field for today’s game? I am thankful that Chase Utley and Brad Lidge gave the game to the Braves yesterday. I am still not convinced this “offense” has what it takes for the rest of the way.
vermont 39
August 16th, 2009
10:41 am
You guys slay me…this isn’t football!!!
Philly if I remember correctly has the ignominious rep as one of the biggest chokes in baseball history…as do the Dodgers. It’s about winning. It is a BC mantra that won 14 times in a row. There is no out of it until it is mathematically so. Stop creating drama…is this a FOX News column?
vermont 39
August 16th, 2009
10:44 am
Chipper needs an interpreter…Kawakami has one…it would ease unemployment #s
McFann ;Ô;
August 16th, 2009
10:58 am
He stranded three more base runners Saturday, grounded into a double play, has seen his average drop 24 points (from .307 to .283) since July 24, and in the past 13 games is 7-for-45 (.156) with 25 men left on base.
Those are some ugly numbers, Mr. Schultz. REALLY wish Bobby would take him out of the cleanup spot for the rest of the year.
Dang…cann you imagine if he woulda knocked in, oh I don’t know…10 of those guys! Sheesh…he coulda had a huge 2 weeks…
Not sure what’s wrong, but get well, soon, BMac.
Hillbilly Deluxe
August 16th, 2009
10:58 am
Soony
You shoulda told Stinky what we was always told up here in the hills, you may be pore but that don’t mean you have to be dirty; you can always go down to the creek and take a bath.
Tami
August 16th, 2009
11:13 am
I was at the game yesterday! My brother, his wife & sons & I decided very last minute — like around 1 p.m. — that we’d take our chances and go down there. We actually found a route around all the traffic mess (we live in Kennesaw), got down to Turner Field in quick time. And, despite the heat (and being either tied or a run behind), we had a lot of fun. But, I was a bit anxious for the guys going into the late innings, because they didn’t need to lose another game to the Phillies. The crowd of 44K plus was amazingly loud, urging Moylan to keep the score where it was at the top of the 9th (and he did). What a thriller! I’ve personally never witnessed the Braves come from behind in the bottom of the 9th to win there at the Ted before. My family and I will be talking about this one for a while. We had no problems getting home in a timely fashion either. In hindsight, we’re glad we didn’t let the traffic be our obstacle for attending our first Braves’ game in about 3 years. Now….tonight is yet another must-win….GO, BRAVES!