Glaus! Heyward! McLouth! Folks, this is really getting good
How's that for your first extra-base hit of 2010, Mr. McLouth? Pretty sweet, you say? (AJC photo by Jason Getz)
An amazing thing has happened. A 20-year-old has become the rising tide that is lifting all boats. The Braves beat the reigning National League champs 4-3 on Tuesday on a night when they had no runs and surely no hope after 26 outs.
To recap: They were one out from being blanked on a night when the Phillies’ starting pitcher was Kyle Kendrick, he of the 17.47 ERA. But Kendrick had done as bad pitchers too often have done to the Braves: He made them look timid. He worked eight scoreless innings and left the game to Ryan Madson, who’s not really a closer but who’s trying to bridge the gap until Brad Lidge gets healthy.
Madson walked Chipper Jones with one out. Then he retired Brian McCann, and then you saw who was coming up next and you thought, “Good night, Irene.” Because it was Troy Glaus, the latest incarnation of the All-American out. Put it this way: When last did you hear a guy coming up with two out in the ninth being booed by the home crowd?
It had been, sorry to say, a Glaussian night. He had misplayed a grounder by Ryan Howard into an RBI single in the top of the fourth inning, and in the bottom he had hit into a 5-4-3 double play. Some pitchers have Tommy John surgery. Was it possible the operation Troy Glaus underwent last summer was Greg Norton surgery?
But then, just as you were about to throw a shoe at the TV, Glaus did the darnedest thing. He hit a home run. And suddenly the Braves had hope. They were still down a run, but the No. 6 hitter was due to bat. And it wasn’t the usual No. 6 hitter. No, on this night Bobby Cox had bumped up Jason Heyward, who had been batting in the 7-hole, ahead of Yunel Escobar. Talk about genius managing.
So: Here was Joltin’ Jason with a chance to tie it. And just as you were thinking, “Nah — he can’t do it again,” he did it again.
Home run. Tie game. Unbelievable.
We pause here to note that Heyward’s game-winning single against the Rockies on Sunday mirrored a fairly famous precedent: Bases loaded, two out, the Braves a run down and then walk-off winners. Anybody recall Francisco Cabrera, Game 7, 1992 NLCS?
These are the sort of touchstone wonders Heyward has already wrought, and Tuesday’s astonishment was the most astonishing yet. Because he was the middle man in a most unlikely group of homer heroes: Glaus you didn’t expect; Heyward maybe you did, but then …
Nate McLouth? Who hadn’t had an extra-base hit this season? Whose flailings had prompted this typist to note during Tuesday’s live online chat: “You can’t spell McLouth without O-U-T”? That Nate McLouth?
Yep. Led off the 10th. Hit a home run. Won the wildest game we had seen since … well, since Sunday afternoon.
I’ve said it before, and I say it again: Something’s happening here. The Braves are believing in a way they haven’t believed since the run of division titles was broken in 2006. They’re believing because they’ve got a difference-maker on their side now, a difference-maker who isn’t yet old enough to take a legal sip of champagne. But he will be come October. You might want to file that away.
There was no reason for the Braves to win Sunday, but they did because the rookie took four pitches before finding one to his liking. There was less reason for them to prevail Tuesday, but they did because Glaus, of all people, kept it going for Heyward and because McLouth, of all people, caught the contagion.
Before the game, Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel was asked if a transcendent young player — like the Phillies’ Howard was back in 2005, or like Heyward is today — can energize an entire franchise. “A guy like that can bring excitement and bring energy,” Manuel said. “He can bring a whole lot to a team and to a clubhouse.”
We Atlantans are seeing it on a daily basis. Barely two weeks on the job, Jason Heyward hasn’t just stamped himself as the Next Big Thing. He’s making a big thing out of the team around him. He’s making us think it’s 1991 all over again. And maybe it is.
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239 comments Add your comment
Ross
April 21st, 2010
7:27 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=st6Er8UphqA
uberVU - social comments
April 21st, 2010
7:27 am
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by tracygoodwin1: Glaus! Heyward! McLouth! Folks, this is really getting good: Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)… eight scoreles… http://bit.ly/b4Rsrk…
Required Reading | Hard Knox Sports
April 21st, 2010
7:28 am
[...] Braves win in dramatic fashion over Phillies [AJC] [...]
UGASlobberknocker
April 21st, 2010
7:33 am
My girlfriend doesnt like to watch the Braves games. Dang, Im gonna miss her.
Meatlake
April 21st, 2010
7:34 am
Fine stuff Mr. Bradley. At least that should shut up the Glaus booers for a little while. Kinda funny the techie, “Nesbitt for…”went out his way to post 2nd!!!(huuuge accomplishment btw). First off, he was 3rd(can’t count maybe or just missed the timing on the enter button…gotta sting). Either way, his claim to internet AJC starblogdom was a measly 2ND. Secondly, I guess that you’ve got to grab onto what you can get and with UGA being the State’s flagship institution he’s just so used to being 2nd. My recommendation is the he get used to it(although it seems he’s at least half, if not fully there already) cause it’s gonna be for a long time coming in both basketball and football. Mark, sorry to stir the pot regarding my GT brethren on your Braves blog but I just couldn’t resist. That one little 2nd was just sitting there taunting me into this longwinded diatribe. I blame it on clean, old fashioned hatred. Anyway, big ups to Los Bravos and their rook phenom, Mr Heyward. So far, so good and it’s gotta beat last years April already. Oh yeah, and anyone who was booing Glaus(and thusly our Bravos)I have 2 words. HA HA.
Disclaimer: I do not truly actually hate my GT brethren in such a literal since, but they make it too easy sometimes.(If anyone’s been to a half empty GT game and seen the halftime “entertainment” consisting flagboy, you’ll know what I mean) Being a native Atlantan, I have both family and close friends who attended GT and have actually been known to root for them on occasion. So long as they’re not playing the beloved Dawgs, of course. Anyway, Go Braves, Go T.Dimitroff and Hunker Down You Hairy Dawgs…
heartofdarkness
April 21st, 2010
7:37 am
Troy Glaus = quiet out, no more [my bad]. Great coverage of a great comeback.
Donny Corleone
April 21st, 2010
7:51 am
To quote Harvey Kietel in Pulp Fiction “Now let’s don’t go blankin each others blanks just yet.”
Ross
April 21st, 2010
8:02 am
Turns out the dugout clearing on Nate’s walk-off was a joke prepared by Hudson in case of a walk-off homer.
Ezekiel
April 21st, 2010
8:07 am
Mark.. THIS IS BRAVES COUNTRY, BABY!!
trionbd
April 21st, 2010
8:08 am
Do we all remember when there was speculation that Heyward wouldn’t be brought up until after the first 2 weeks of the season to delay his arbitration eligibility? That would have been uber stupid.
Thomas
April 21st, 2010
8:08 am
So we are on our way to the playoffs, remember last year without homeruns was terrible and till the 9th inning of this game it was looking much like last years return. GO BRAVES!!!
robdawg08
April 21st, 2010
8:23 am
Lucky win last night. It still doesn’t make up for getting baffled by Kendrick for 7 innings with his 17.00 era. The Braves won’t be winning many games down 3-0 in the 9th. Maybe this game will at least get McClouth and Glaus bats finally going ? I truly think one of could have done as bad as McClouth has so far like going 3 for 50 ?
Heyward needs to be hitting 3rd.
Lineup should be :
Prado
Chipper
Heyward
McCann
Glaus
Escobar
Diaz
McClouth/Melky/Anybody
Jesse Stone
April 21st, 2010
8:41 am
I live out of state, and watched the game on mlb.tv. My mom lives down in Vidalia and told me that whatever network the game was on (I lose track) left the Braves game in the 9th inning and switched to a basketball game. Can anyone confirm?
RJ
April 21st, 2010
8:42 am
Very funny piece and an entertaining follow up to an entertaining finish! Braves, Hawks, Falcons and just maybe the Thrashers all may be headed in the right direction and perhaps get people interested again, even those carpetbaggers!
P.S Love the jolin reference but he may at some point deserve his own nick name..trying to come up with one…maybe simply “KID CLUTCH”
PMC
April 21st, 2010
8:45 am
The reason they win 90+ this year…. the way they won the last 2.
Gary
April 21st, 2010
8:45 am
How about “Boy wonder”?
PMC
April 21st, 2010
8:46 am
HEY WOW 22!
Jesse Stone
April 21st, 2010
8:46 am
Enter your comments here
PMC
April 21st, 2010
8:54 am
The schedule with the Phillies is sort of set up to have an epic division battle at the end like they did with “Beat LA” in 1991.
NC Braves Fan
April 21st, 2010
8:55 am
Entering the ninth inning last night, it was our very own “Brad” who cautioned that the game was not over yet. I hope you had a third cheesy gordita to celebrate afterwards! Nice call!
NC Braves Fan
April 21st, 2010
8:57 am
Entering the ninth inning last night, it was our very own “Brad” who cautioned that the game was not over yet. Nice call! I hope you had a third cheesy gordita to celebrate!
dean
April 21st, 2010
8:58 am
“Do you recall Francisco Cabrera in 1992?”
Hail yes! I had the good fortune of being there. I drove 250 miles after getting a call and asked, “Can you get off early today? I have an extra ticket to the game tonight if you can get here.” Ahh, what a night, and next day (what I remember)!
Love the Braves in NC
April 21st, 2010
8:59 am
Excellent article, Mark! Described the feeling perfectly! I am still riding high this morning from watching that game last night!
extremus
April 21st, 2010
9:07 am
Last night’s game was like watching a boxing match where a top-ranked veteran dominates the match all night against a slower, apparently less capable opponent, racking up the hit count. Then, in the final round, the other guy suddenly lands a three-hit combo that puts the champ flat on his back for the count. In that sense, these Braves have at times been like watching the early Rocky movies. Could they be a contender? Guess that’s why they play the games (and I couldn’t resist using one more boxing movie reference).
Blackberry Cobbler
April 21st, 2010
9:15 am
Luck happens. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then.
Glaus, McLouth, and Cabrera are still dragging this team down with their sub-200 batting average.
Sit ‘em all down. PLAY HINSKE AND INFANTE!!
Smack
April 21st, 2010
9:19 am
Nice to see you are coming around Doubting Mark!
Braves fans suck
April 21st, 2010
9:23 am
Just a few days ago “Braves” fans were calling for Cox to be fired etc……
Morons.
Braves fans suck
April 21st, 2010
9:24 am
Prediction
Braves will lose today. Mark Bradley and Braves fans will be looking at next year.
Morons
linzo
April 21st, 2010
9:25 am
Great finish. But am I the only one who is annoyed by the moniker “J-Hey Kid”? Does he require a nickname?
siskel_god
April 21st, 2010
9:27 am
“Some pitchers have Tommy John surgery. Was it possible the operation Troy Glaus underwent last summer was Greg Norton surgery?”
Mark Bradley you sir owe me a new laptop. I was not expecting you to ever write anything remotely funny so I was sipping my coffee normally. As I stumbled upon this journlistic nugget, I spat my beverage all over my computer. Kudos Mr. Bradley. But in all seriousness, you had my feelings pegged precisely, I was headed to the bed when Glaus came up then, bam! I thought surely there is no way that Jason can do it again then, bam! He’s like a mix of Hanson and KK at the plate, steady like Hanson was as a rookie, seemingly unflappable and like KK, he seems to shine in the toughest spots. This team has alot of magic on its side right now and if Tarheel Troy can get going a bit and Nate and Chipper can get hot then hey, we could very easily be like the Rox last year.
DawgNation
April 21st, 2010
9:29 am
LET’S GO BRAVOS!!!!
NC Braves Fan
April 21st, 2010
9:30 am
Entering the ninth, our very own “Brad” cautioned that the game was not over yet. Great call! I hope you had a third Burrito Supreme to celebrate!
meh
April 21st, 2010
9:39 am
Greg Norton surgery! thats a good one. Go Braves!
Fillin' up @ Juniors
April 21st, 2010
9:41 am
MARK, MARK PLEASE do an article on how genious Bobby has been this season so far. This game was won because J-Hey was in the right spot…Sunday we won because he pitch ran conrad for glaus at second, allowing a faster player to score on J-heys single, troubles at the top of the order, and sunday he put Diaz and my man hit 3-4. Bobby has gotten everyone in the game, gotten though some slumps and has this team clicking even with some obvious holes which he has been correcting. This has been a great start because bobby is makin’ his moves well.
rebeldawg
April 21st, 2010
9:44 am
It’s early in the season and all, but I does anyone remember the Atlanta Braves record for most final at bat wins in a season? From memory I believe it was 1995 and that was not a bad year.
will
April 21st, 2010
9:47 am
great story telling
MikeB
April 21st, 2010
9:49 am
Mark, you’ve got to be kidding..saying “of all people” ….Glaus can crush a baseball when he connects. So why is it so surprising? I would think “of all people” would be more suited for players that don’t even have WTP (warning track power) or who have had 6000 at bats in their career, but only have 3 homeruns. I know you’re just trying to be funny, but Glaus has hit several “at em” balls so far in this early season and has struggled at times, but so do a lot of power hitters at the start. Factor in that he is coming off a year where hardly played, give the man a sporting chance before you keep making negative comments concerning his hitting ability. I’ve been fortunate to attend several MLB games in the past few years and I’ve seen Glaus hit some mammoth homeruns…and he will do it again…so don’t be so surprised next time and find someone else to pick on or at least wait one more month to check his avg and slugging pct. I’m sure you would for Adam LaRoche.
LeROY Hobbs
April 21st, 2010
9:50 am
The highlight of the 2010 sports year was last night when Jason Heyward sprinted around the bases for his home run. It was as though the enthusiasm of a 12-year-old was embodied in this 6′5″ frame that’s strong as an ox and can run like a gazelle. I haven’t seen that type of hustle on a home run since Pete Rose used to sprint around the bases after his occasional long ball. Every dad should get a copy of that home run sprint and show it to the kids to let them know how ballplayers who love the game do it. Just a tremendous moment!
Bravissimo
April 21st, 2010
9:52 am
Jesse…I live about 1/2 hour from vidalia and I watched the game to the end (Peachtree tv via direct tv).
I think they get the feed from comcast, they might be the culprit in your moms case?
Sleepy Dwarf
April 21st, 2010
9:52 am
I went to sleep after the 6th
NC Braves Fan
April 21st, 2010
9:57 am
Sorry for the multiple posts on gorditas – the blog site was apparently having breakfast there for a while.
Mark Bradley
April 21st, 2010
9:57 am
Thanks, Love the Braves. Thanks, siskel god. (I’m running a bit late this morning.)
Mr. Turnip-Green Jeans
April 21st, 2010
10:01 am
What a game, what an article!
Thanks so much Mark.
Jesus
April 21st, 2010
10:02 am
Mark, I know all is not forgiven with Glaus but is that the type of hit he needs to get some confidence? Same with McLouth.
McDawg
April 21st, 2010
10:03 am
I had already thrown my shoe at the tube and turned it off after one out in the 9th-oh yee of little faith
JRM
April 21st, 2010
10:06 am
MB, looked kind of weird for the Braves to run into the clubhouse after the win versus the mob on the field after Sunday’s game. Any insight?
Mr. Turnip-Green Jeans
April 21st, 2010
10:06 am
“”(I’m running a bit late this morning.)”"
Midnight Taco Bell can have that effect, or the opposite. lol
JRM
April 21st, 2010
10:10 am
nm, per espn
McLouth, expecting a group hug at home plate, already had his helmet off, so he said he went ahead and threw it to the ground while standing alone.
“I didn’t know what to do,” he said, still smiling. “I looked around for a second and everybody was gone. They were waiting for me in the tunnel.”
Atlanta’s players surrounded McLouth for a team celebration in the tunnel area, with all the players jumping up and down.
Mr. Turnip-Green Jeans
April 21st, 2010
10:11 am
“(I’m running a bit late this morning.)”
Midnight Taco Bell usually has the opposite effect. lol
Mark Bradley
April 21st, 2010
10:17 am
From what I gathered, that was a planned thing, JRM. Just throwing the change-up, as it were.