Live from Braves-Phils: First place – wouldn’t it be nice?
"Got to keep those lovin' good vibrations happenin'." (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
The Braves haven’t been in first place this late in a season since Oct. 2, 2005. They’ll be in first place if they win today.
How’s that for a snappy lead?
Memorial Day at the ballyard. Phils in the house.Big crowd assembling. Traffic a mess. Clouds overhead. Beach Boys to perform afterward.
(And here I pause for a Beach Boys digression. I saw Brian Wilson perform at the Daytona 500 a few years ago, and I thought to myself: Here’s an individual who couldn’t bring himself to leave his house — the one with the sandbox in the living room — for years at a time, and now he’s standing up there in front of a couple hundred thousand other individuals.)
Chipper Jones said it Sunday: “We’d like to win two of three. When we’ve played these guys the last few years, we went in knowing we had to sweep.”
True enough. Since 2005, which ended the run of excellence, the latest the Braves have been in first was May 15, 2007. So you could say there’s something at stake today. Then again …
It’s baseball. This is Game No. 51. There will be 111 games remaining after this. You don’t clinch pennants on Memorial Day, and the Phillies, who have been hurting — Jimmy Rollins is on the disabled list and Placido Polanco has been hurt — and who haven’t been scoring (six runs in the past eight games, three in the past six). And the Braves won’t face either Roy Halladay, who just worked a perfect game, or Jamie Moyer, who’s 2-0 against the Braves this season without yielding an earned run.
In sum, you have to think the Braves have a splendid chance to win this series, which would not only put them in first place on Memorial Day but would leave them there on June 2. Which would be big news ’round here.
And I’ll be here to witness the doings, and I invite you to join me. And if Brian Wilson and Mike Love get into a fistfight afterward — Love famously thought Wilson’s shelved masterpiece “Smile” was gobbedlygook — I’ll tell you who prevails.
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513 comments Add your comment
Tweets that mention Live from Braves-Phils: First place - wouldn't it be nice? | Mark Bradley -- Topsy.com
May 31st, 2010
2:11 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Mark Bradley, Hank Humphrey. Hank Humphrey said: RT @MarkBradleyAJC: Live from Braves-Phils: First place – wouldn’t it be nice? http://bit.ly/9IDuXh /Would b neat! Happy Memorial Day Mark! [...]
Ree Roe
May 31st, 2010
2:11 pm
Mark,
When can we expect Jair back in the rotation? When that happens what do we do with Medlen?
-REEspond to Roe!!!
Mark Bradley
May 31st, 2010
2:11 pm
This is about as awful as a good club can play.
Meanwhile...
May 31st, 2010
2:11 pm
Not quite the effect Charlie was envisioning, I’m sure.
kurula
May 31st, 2010
2:12 pm
the braves are batting?
JTH
May 31st, 2010
2:12 pm
Ree- I bet Medlen goes back to long relief
Mark Bradley
May 31st, 2010
2:12 pm
From what I understand, Ree Roe, Jair Jurrjens won’t be back until the end of June.
GT Alum
May 31st, 2010
2:12 pm
Wow, the stars are definitely aligned in the Braves favor. I hope they stay that way for the rest of the summer.
eddie willers
May 31st, 2010
2:13 pm
Almost as painful as that botched infield fly game.
Mark Bradley
May 31st, 2010
2:13 pm
Escobar singles in two but is thrown out trying to take second. I’m surprised he was thrown out. That looked like a sure double.
Jeremiah
May 31st, 2010
2:13 pm
Way to go Yunel!
Mark Bradley
May 31st, 2010
2:14 pm
But it is 6-0.
chris
May 31st, 2010
2:14 pm
gamecast didn’t freeze,
they called a hit by batter then reversed it. The gamecast stringer has to go back and undo everything then redo the inning. Then they sent the runner to second because if it wasn’t a hit batter it was a pass ball ,so he has to redo that part. It takes a minute or two to catch up
Bravissimo
May 31st, 2010
2:14 pm
good to see Esco getting hits lately
Mark Bradley
May 31st, 2010
2:14 pm
OK, I’m asking you folks: Did it seem like Escobar ran hard all the way?
Cornfuzed
May 31st, 2010
2:15 pm
Well at least we cleared the bases ahead of McLouth. Six runs should be plenty today.
JMayne
May 31st, 2010
2:15 pm
This is great. 6-0! haha. Eat it up phils!! Escobar looked like he might have got in there. Cant blame him for trying. Ive been trying to find some stats on the last month the braves have had like this but…i cant remember one in a very long time. Tommy needs to settle down and eat some innings for the bullpen.
ATL FAN363
May 31st, 2010
2:15 pm
Yunel is coming around
eddie willers
May 31st, 2010
2:16 pm
I’ve always had trouble with Escobar’s enthusiasm.
Cornfuzed
May 31st, 2010
2:16 pm
Mark- they showed the replay on TV- Yunel hit it and watched it for about the first 8-10 steps before he decided to run.
Stone
May 31st, 2010
2:16 pm
nice back pedal Bradley. Brian Wilson does NOT pick his spots. He hasn’t played w/ the Beach Boys in years.
DC Braves Fan
May 31st, 2010
2:16 pm
Roger that on Gamecast delays. That said, its still 3-0 in the game I’m “watching.” First and third, one out.
Better than nothing, but not ideal way to keep up to date.
Bo Diddley
May 31st, 2010
2:16 pm
Looked like he decided to try for 2 after rounding first. Definitely didn’t come out of the box thinking 2.
GT Alum
May 31st, 2010
2:17 pm
Looks like Yunel started his slide too early. Still, good to see him driving the ball, and good to see the Braves being aggressive on the basepaths.
JTH
May 31st, 2010
2:17 pm
Didnt see Escobar run but it would not surprise me if he dogged it. Something ain’t right with his attitude a lot of the times. It seems like he doesnt want to be here.
JMayne
May 31st, 2010
2:17 pm
I didnt see the entire play to see if he was busting it but it did seem like he could have cruised into second. But…he sild too soon and it could have slowed him down just enough.
Cornfuzed
May 31st, 2010
2:19 pm
I’m just happy to see his average on the way up.
Bravissimo
May 31st, 2010
2:19 pm
Ok MB..the heavy question of the day….Who’s gonna win the Home Depot tool race?….Ill go with the Hammer.
eric
May 31st, 2010
2:19 pm
no, it looked like yunel took his time out of the box.
GT Alum
May 31st, 2010
2:20 pm
With the Phillies’ offensive struggles and the strength of the Braves ‘pen, hopefully 6 will be enough. Won’t complain if the offense tacks on a few more, though.
kurula
May 31st, 2010
2:20 pm
somewhere in the dugout, kenshin kawakami wonders where those runs come from.
Mark Bradley
May 31st, 2010
2:21 pm
The reason I asked is because that seemed an easy double all the way — ball in the gap, center fielder’s momentum carrying him away from second base. A batter needs to running hard all the way.
Mark Bradley
May 31st, 2010
2:21 pm
I’ve got paintbrush, Bravissimo.
CaptainMudderland
May 31st, 2010
2:22 pm
Mark–the guy has a propensity to mess up–with maturity, I would see this as a waning trait…however, and, as a current one it is bothersome to me but I have learned that this is the world of Yunel 2010….Yes he drove early…he wantsa to be dramatic and have the impact to delight the crowd…he certainly has many apparent “player flaws” but he is likeable and our SS…he is improving each year on the flub factor in my opinion.
eddy
May 31st, 2010
2:22 pm
No, seemed like he jogged out of the box then slide a mile too early. At least he might be getting his stroke back, though.
Jeremiah
May 31st, 2010
2:23 pm
I got the drill today! Let’s go drill!
Mark Bradley
May 31st, 2010
2:23 pm
First clean frame for Hanson.
Jeremiah
May 31st, 2010
2:24 pm
Tommy in cruise control
ATL FAN363
May 31st, 2010
2:24 pm
thats a better inng hanson keep it up
Mark Bradley
May 31st, 2010
2:25 pm
Again, I should stipulate that I wasn’t watching Escobar the whole play, and I only saw a snippet of a replay coming out of the box.
Cornfuzed
May 31st, 2010
2:25 pm
Hanson is in a groove. They didn’t get him early and it looks like he’s straightened things out now.
Bravissimo
May 31st, 2010
2:25 pm
Looking at the shots of the Phils in the dugout…they look like the Braves did during the series in St. Lou
kurula
May 31st, 2010
2:26 pm
DC Braves Fan– i found the game online, if you are interested. http://mvpcast.com/index.php/sports/3144-MLB—Braves-Phillies.html
you have to use firefox or internet explorer to see it.
GT Alum
May 31st, 2010
2:26 pm
Yunel’s a lot like the Hawks’ Josh Smith. He can be very exciting, but his attitude can also be frustrating at times. Yet, there’s so much talent there, it’s hard to just completely give up on him.
Cornfuzed
May 31st, 2010
2:26 pm
I’m sure it’s a little harder to hit when you don’t have binoculars and a teammate to tell you what’s coming.
JTH
May 31st, 2010
2:29 pm
“Yunel’s a lot like the Hawks’ Josh Smith. He can be very exciting, but his attitude can also be frustrating at times. Yet, there’s so much talent there, it’s hard to just completely give up on him.”
That sums it up perfectly. I hope Yunel knows how much we’re all pulling for him and to not let our critisims get to him because it’s just born out of frustration. I’m sure we would all love for him to play at a All-Star level.
chris
May 31st, 2010
2:29 pm
6-0 WITH Heyward 0-3. Good sign
We_Run_This_Country
May 31st, 2010
2:29 pm
Replay clearly shows him jogging out of the box and down the line….not sure once he rounded first though.
Bravissimo
May 31st, 2010
2:30 pm
SS’s graphic just showed the Braves will have tied their franchise record for 2nd best in wins in May if this score holds up….impressive.
Cornfuzed
May 31st, 2010
2:31 pm
The comparison to Josh Smith is a good one, GT Alum. But I don’t think either are bad guys. Just frustrating at times. And I think it’s easier to minimize the damage from Yunel’s issues on the field than it is from Josh’s on the court.