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
Rainy night in Ga.
May 31st, 2010
3:30 pm
marty…u mean pitcher, right…..lol.
Brock
May 31st, 2010
3:30 pm
what kills me is he won’t let the starters get in trouble before he pulls them. Let them finish what they started..if possible. Tommy did not show signs of slowing except for what? the stupid pitch count. I’ll say it again, you keep chipping at these guys confidence to finish innings or games then you’ve got problems.
Kashi
May 31st, 2010
3:30 pm
JHey is in slump. Bobby give him off day and he will go on hitting streak
"Chef" Tim Dix
May 31st, 2010
3:30 pm
Bet Bastardo caught Chef like grief…
BKP
May 31st, 2010
3:30 pm
I agree with you Mark. He should have let Hanson finish. Those 3 runs are on Bobby.
chris
May 31st, 2010
3:31 pm
Brock… how exactly will the offense bail us out of a 6-3 lead? Not sure i follow you there. And when you have 109 pitches and you have been all over the place like Hanson had, it’s time to go. Nothing bonehead about that call.
ATL FAN363
May 31st, 2010
3:31 pm
Good old chip
Brock
May 31st, 2010
3:31 pm
yep, ask me those same stupid questions guys. I’m a fan and have lived through 30 yrs of Braves baseball. I deserve to have an opinion. You deserve to ask stupid questions.
Bravissimo
May 31st, 2010
3:32 pm
3 runs arent on Bobby….theyre on Moylan…who wasnt himself today
Mark Bradley
May 31st, 2010
3:32 pm
That said, the Braves’ bullpen has been the best part of this team.
Bo Diddley
May 31st, 2010
3:32 pm
Brock, not sure what you were watching, but Hanson’s velocity had dipped, although his location was still good. When velocity dips, pitchers often try to compensate with their mechanics. Bad mechanics is what got Hanson in trouble in the first 2 innings.
Brock
May 31st, 2010
3:33 pm
if/when they get behind BKP. Like what usually happens when bobby makes moves like these. Hey guys. Hope I’m wrong. Just sayin I’ve seen this too many times.
ATL FAN363
May 31st, 2010
3:33 pm
mccanns due
Bravissimo
May 31st, 2010
3:35 pm
As long as we score 1 more than they do….I dont care how many runs the Phils score.
Brock
May 31st, 2010
3:35 pm
not watchin BO. up in Cincy visiting family so listening online. Thanks for the info. Joe Simpson didn’t divulge that info
Hawks Fan
May 31st, 2010
3:36 pm
Mark, any thing new on coach for Hawks…Go Braves and God Bless our Troops.
Brock
May 31st, 2010
3:37 pm
true Bravissimo.
IlliniBrave
May 31st, 2010
3:37 pm
The question now is, who do we go with to get to Wagner? Will it be Venter staying in? Or Kimbrel? Or the dreaded Saito – he who has blown too many leads lately?
kurula
May 31st, 2010
3:38 pm
brock- where are you listening online? the feed i was watching shut down…
Mark Bradley
May 31st, 2010
3:38 pm
We probably won’t know anything on a Hawks’ coach until later this week, Hawks Fan. It’s probably between Avery Johnson and Dwane Casey.
Elliptical Logician
May 31st, 2010
3:38 pm
I have no problem turning the ball over to Moylan. Bullpen has been spectacular this year and Tommy looked out of gas. Easy to question a move after it doesn’t work out.
Sid
May 31st, 2010
3:38 pm
please no Saito
Brock
May 31st, 2010
3:39 pm
fun 101.fm. just go to Atl Braves radio and pick it off the list
chris
May 31st, 2010
3:39 pm
109 pitches… only 66 strikes. went down in the count to victorino and ibanez. leaves a meatball that ibanez takes the other way off the wall. meanwhile he has been struggling with command all day, had already hit 2 batters (one wasnt called) and Moylan had given up only run and struck out 8 in his last nine appearances…. still missing the bonehead move.
Mark Bradley
May 31st, 2010
3:40 pm
Glaus hits Chad Durbin’s first pitch out.
Bravissimo
May 31st, 2010
3:40 pm
Glaus!!!
Elliptical Logician
May 31st, 2010
3:40 pm
AND THERE’S YOUR BALLGAME!
IlliniBrave
May 31st, 2010
3:40 pm
Oh, and I purposefully left off Chavez – I don’t think he’s even an option at this point. Not unless we have something like a 10-run lead.
Bo Diddley
May 31st, 2010
3:40 pm
Three.
Cornfuzed
May 31st, 2010
3:40 pm
YEEHAW!!! Game over now.
Michael
May 31st, 2010
3:40 pm
Santa Glaus!
ATL FAN363
May 31st, 2010
3:40 pm
that a boy Troy
BravesTeach
May 31st, 2010
3:41 pm
Woo-hoo!!! Gooo GLAUS!!!! Take that, Phillies!!!
DC Braves Fan
May 31st, 2010
3:41 pm
Good thing the Braves didnt give up on Glaus . . . Nice!
Go Braves!
Matt
May 31st, 2010
3:41 pm
Whooo Troy Glaus!!
Brock
May 31st, 2010
3:41 pm
I questioned that move when Tommy gave up the double. Knew he was coming out. But like I said, Simpson likes to talk about everything but baseball. Diidn’t know Tommy lost his stuff.
Sid
May 31st, 2010
3:41 pm
hard to believe Glaus is the same player from a month ago. he and the Kid may just carry this team into October.
Marty
May 31st, 2010
3:41 pm
Glaus is a beast.
IlliniBrave
May 31st, 2010
3:41 pm
Love it! Got Glaus on my fantasy team!!!
Still not enough cushion for Chavez though!
Cornfuzed
May 31st, 2010
3:41 pm
Blanco muscled up on that one. Didn’t think he could hit it that far.
SAM
May 31st, 2010
3:42 pm
Mark you see that homer? THAT WAS AMAZING!!!!
Matt
May 31st, 2010
3:42 pm
Phillies bullpen is a glaring weakness for them — we should be able to exploit that all year. Could be the difference.
Bo Diddley
May 31st, 2010
3:42 pm
Brock, I respect you. You know why? Other Cox-haters wouldn’t be big enough to do what you just did. Tip o’ the cap to ya.
Bravissimo
May 31st, 2010
3:42 pm
I think *The Heyward effect* has worked wonders for the bats on the Braves.
Cornfuzed
May 31st, 2010
3:42 pm
I don’t think even Bob Wickman could blow this lead now.
Hawks Fan
May 31st, 2010
3:43 pm
I’ll take Casey…..Troy has burn the wooded Horse, 28 rbi’s in May.
ATL FAN363
May 31st, 2010
3:43 pm
How many has nate left on base
Mark Bradley
May 31st, 2010
3:44 pm
Glaus is hard to believe. I ought to go back to April and resurrect some of the comments — my own included — from the live chats.
Brock
May 31st, 2010
3:44 pm
still think it was a bonehead move whether you do or not. I still think Schlitz is a good beer. Wow, not all people think alike. Makes the world a great place doesn’t it?
Bo Diddley
May 31st, 2010
3:45 pm
Schlitz? Really???