Braves-Phillies: A fair fight that might last deep into October
A good start: Martin Prado leads off with a home run. (AP photo)
They’ve played eight times, each winning four. They’re scheduled to meet 10 times more, and there’s a chance they’ll face off in the National League Championship Series. And what might happen then?
Said Chipper Jones: “In a seven-game series against them in October, I’ll take my guys over their guys. Meaning no disrespect.”
Moments earlier, Jones had offered this: “I have no doubt in my mind we’re as good a ball club as the Phillies.”
Then this: “My worry is not about Philadelphia — it’s about everybody else. [The Phillies] bring it every night, no matter who they’re playing. We don’t do that as often.”
We saw as much this week. The Braves needed a come-from-behind walk-off victory to keep from being swept by the Washington Nationals. Two days later they’re positioned to take a series from the team with baseball’s best record.
Jones again: “The thing that bothered me about that Washington series is that we looked like we were sleepwalking. That’s the difference between the two teams. The Phillies don’t come into a series wanting to take two of three — they want to sweep.”
The Braves have put together a nice team. The Phillies have spent nearly twice as much to build what they hope will be another world champion, but this is no mismatch. These Braves could do as San Francisco did last October and derail the Phillies, with this caveat. Said Jones: “We’ve got to get there.”
Without Chase Utley, who’s due back soon, the Phillies still got the start they needed. The Braves didn’t, but they’ve spent the past three weeks making amends. By winning Saturday, they drew within 4 1/2 games of Philly, which is close enough for now. They still haven’t hit the way they should, but they’ve manage to outpitch the world’s finest rotation.
Said Brian McCann: “We feel like we have a great team. … We can hang with them.”
While waiting for the offense to arrive, the Braves have done as they needed: Help their pitchers by playing defense (which wasn’t a given) and by scratching out just enough runs. They’ve won 14 of their past 21, and at no time in that run have they appeared to functioning at peak capacity. And that’s a good sign.
Take Saturday’s game: “A lot of good things out there today,” said Fredi Gonzalez, the manager, and there were. Jair Jurrjens won his fifth game and went 17 outs before yielding a base runner. The Braves led 2-0 before making an out, Martin Prado and Nate McLouth greeting Joe Blanton with homers. (Said Jones, the third-place hitter: “I’ve had that happen two or three times before, and every time I’ve struck out.”)
David Ross, in for McCann, dropped a deft safety squeeze — it was Ross’ idea, not Gonzalez’s — to score an important third run, and that run was made possible by Dan Uggla, who can’t buy a hit, but who hasn’t stopped playing. On a day when his average slid from .199 to .196, Uggla had nonetheless beaten a force at second base by a hair and would score on Ross’ bunt.
Gonzalez: “Those are things as a manager you like to see. It’s easy to play when you’re getting three hits, but Dan is scuffling and still playing hard. That’s great to see.”
For the Braves, the good news is that Uggla won’t always be hitting .196. (Although we were saying that a month ago, were we not?) The better news is that the Braves have managed to ride out the Phillies’ flying start and hang close enough for it to matter. The Rockies and the Giants and the Cardinals and the Marlins are good, too, but the teams with the best rotations should bear up as the NL’s best.
Jones pronounced Saturday’s victory “the biggest of the year so far,” but Sunday brings another test. The Braves must face Roy Halladay, the best in the business. He’ll be opposed by Tim Hudson, who’s pretty good himself. There’s not much difference between these teams, and it might be until mid-October before we sort this out.
Provided the Braves can bring themselves to beat the Washington Nationals.
By Mark Bradley
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96 comments Add your comment
bbkorbel
May 15th, 2011
10:03 am
Who knew? A civil Phils fan! “Tanks” Ash!
bbkorbel
May 15th, 2011
10:06 am
BTW…Tanks! Spanky & Our Gang talk for Thanks!
reckingball
May 15th, 2011
10:18 am
Hey Marcel @8;42am…………….Hey Marcel !!!!!
Will you please look at, whatever it is, that all of those people want you to see?
Maybe then, they will stop showing that darn commercial, over and over and over again.
It must air at least 25 times per broadcast.
reckingball
May 15th, 2011
10:21 am
But I guess it is still better than watching Coach Richt’s wife try to sell furniture, or that gang of lawyers, from Johnny Cochrane’s law firm, trying to get someone to sue somebody else.
Ric Flair
May 15th, 2011
10:26 am
Dan Uggla has constantly killed the Braves, even when he was at Florida. Now he is killing them because he can’t hit!
joe
May 15th, 2011
10:33 am
I know he is pitching pretty well at this point, but does it bother anyone else that Hanson can’t locate his fastball and is always at 90 pitches thru 4 innings ( it seems )? Be nice to get 7+ innings out of him eventually………
Mike (Philly)
May 15th, 2011
10:48 am
The Braves have a solid, balanced young club – probably the 2nd best team in the NL, actually. But “only 4 1/2 games out” pro-rates to 20 games back by the end of September. The Braves don’t have the horses to run with the Phillies for 162 games. A 7 game series in October, though? Anything can happen in a short series.
reckingball
May 15th, 2011
11:09 am
Looking for the Braves to win today.
GO BRAVES!!!!!
DickyDick
May 15th, 2011
11:59 am
Imagine the Braves playing most of the year without Prado,McCann,Lowe,Jurjen,Kimbrell,Venters? Thats what the Phils are dealing with on the injury front and they still have the best record in baseball.
Domonic brown #1 prospect in baseball last year is rehabbing/lurking in the minors .385 ba.. Utley should be back by the end of the month. OZ,Blanton,Contreras,Lidge all getting healthy. If
the corner outfielders (Francisco+ Ibanez) keep hitting .220 then the Phils GM will get some help at the trade deadline.
reckingball
May 15th, 2011
12:05 pm
I have to agree, the Phillies have one of the best teams, that money can buy.
reckingball
May 15th, 2011
12:08 pm
Imagine the Braves having the money to spend of FAs(that the Phillies spend), to go along with the talent, that the Braves have in their farm system.
reckingball
May 15th, 2011
12:10 pm
to be clear,…….. having the money to spend on free-agents.
Pauli
May 15th, 2011
12:18 pm
The people crying about the Phillies payroll are funny. I guess you don’t remember the 90’s when Turner spent everyone into the ground.I didn’t see any crying from Braves fans back then. Maybe if some Braves fans showed up to the park they would be able to spend a little more money? Just a thought.
Pauli
May 15th, 2011
12:22 pm
The roles were reversed in the ’90s when Billionaire Ted and his bottomless pockets owned the Braves, while the Phils still played in the Vet (where they shared revenues with the city) and couldn’t compete financially. Where were these whiners back then? Probably rubbing our nose in it.
The Phillies sell out every game, the Braves don’t even come close. The Braves don’t have Billionaire Ted to bail them out anymore. Their payroll is tied to their revenues now. If they sold out every game, their revenues would be higher and they could afford a higher payroll. But they don’t, so no tears for the Braves. The tides have turned in now it’s the Phillies turn on top
reckingball
May 15th, 2011
12:27 pm
Paulie………..No whining, just an opinion.
If the Braves sold out every night, the extra revenue would go to the stock holders, of Liberty Media.
Dr. Cool
May 15th, 2011
12:27 pm
I assume that those of you Braves fans complaining about the Phillies payroll are too young to remember the ’90s, when Billionaire Ted Turner and his bottomless pockets owned the team and the Braves outspent the Phillies (who still played in The Vet and shared revenues with the city of Philadelphia) by a wide margin. Now the Phillies have a great ballpark and they sell out every game. They built the team through the farm, and augmented it through trades and free agency. They have done everything the right way. Too bad for you that Billionaire Ted no longer owns the team and that your payroll is now tied to your revenues. If you sold out every game like they do in Philly, then your payroll would be higher. As a 30+ year Phillies fan who witnessed the ’90s, I have absolutely no sympathy for the Braves. There was never any sympathy for Phillies fans when we played in The Vet and suffered through a stretch of 19 losing seasons in 20 years. Nobody cried for us. No, they rubbed our nose in it and made fun of it. So, I am really enjoying be on the other side of it for a change. The Phils are on top now, and should be for a long time. Deal with it, Atlanta.
reckingball
May 15th, 2011
12:29 pm
Dr. Cool and/or Pauli, you don’t need to use different monikers.
reckingball
May 15th, 2011
12:35 pm
Yeah the Phillies are the defending World Champions, and they have a grea………..um,,, wait a minute, that’s right, they were beaten out by the Giants, last year, I remember now. HaHa.
Wow, the best team in the NL(that money can buy, and keep together), but they still choked in the big games, just like the Braves used to do, when Billionare Ted, was the man.
Philly (Mike)
May 15th, 2011
12:35 pm
reckingball – it’s cyclical. in 5 years the braves will have a much higher payroll, even though it will be spent mostly on the same players they have now. utley, rollins, and howard and were much cheaper (and better) when they were in their 20s and the phillies won the world series.
reckingball
May 15th, 2011
12:42 pm
Sometimes, it looks like the Phillies have enough extra money, to pay off some of the umps(i.e. game one of this series).
reckingball
May 15th, 2011
12:43 pm
I’m just trying to get a little response, from the Phillies fans.
The Phillies are the team to beat in the NL, everyone knows that.
But nothing is a lock, in MLB.
Mike (Philly)
May 15th, 2011
12:43 pm
The Braves had a million chances to win game 1 and they choked on it. Just like the Phillies had chances to win game 2 after the umpire called a ball on the 3rd strike to jurjens that would have ended the 7th inning last night.
Mike (Philly)
May 15th, 2011
12:48 pm
lol it’s cool. and i agree. i’m just glad the phillies wouldn’t have to play the braves until the NLCS. the five game divisional round is even more of a crap shoot than a seven game series.
reckingball
May 15th, 2011
12:49 pm
I don’t think that the Braves are going to increase their payroll that much.
They will spend enough to keep a couple of star players. That’s my opinion.
Hey Marcel
May 15th, 2011
12:57 pm
Did anyone see this vid of Ortiz from the Red Sox asking for hugs on the streets of New York City….? Good for a laugh!
http://tinyurl.com/3n3gowy
Mike (Philly)
May 15th, 2011
1:07 pm
I would have said the same thing about the Phillies ownership group 5 years ago. Consistent winning generates a lot of revenue, though.
DickyDick
May 15th, 2011
1:40 pm
Hope Chipper is paying a little lip service here. He is a nitwit if he actually would rather have Hudson,Lowe,Hanson,Jurrjens over halladay,Lee,Oswalt,and Hamels. Hamels is statistically the best LH pitcher in baseball over the last calendar year and Halladay,Oswalt, and Lee finished 2-3-4 last year in WHIP.
Cliff Lee’s K/BB ratio was otherwordly at 11/1 Halladay was second in baseball at 7.7 k/bb last year.
Dawgs Man
May 15th, 2011
2:19 pm
Ugla and Freeman. Back to back stinking.
Skeezix
May 15th, 2011
4:59 pm
Despite the disappointing slow start, I still think over the course of the season the Braves will end up on top. Most positive factor to date has been the terrific pitching. Also, the last two series against the Phils, we won 4 out of six.
Once the offense finally kicks in, we will eventually catch the Phils. Don’t forget about the Marlins though — they are proving to be a solid team also.
MitchC
May 15th, 2011
5:54 pm
Mark, winning two of three on two consecutive weekends from the Phillies is nice, but.. we have to remember that it’s only May. Last year, we blew a seven game division lead against them, and then had to fight for the wild card until the last weekend.
Over the course of 162 games, I still think Philly is the better team until we prove otherwise. However, there is no reason we should not win 90 plus games, and the Wild Card.
Overall, except for the Nationals lapse, the Braves have played well. Hopefully, they can continue to do so, so we will be able to snag the Wild Card, even if we cant win the division.
Phils Flogged
May 15th, 2011
6:29 pm
Good job, Braves! Flat out WHUPPED the Phillies in two series in 10 days!
wreckmaniac
May 15th, 2011
7:24 pm
Over 162 games many things will happen. We will have pitcher injuries and other DL situations to occur as will all teams. Uggla will pick it up. It is very impt to keep Chip healthy. The keys for ATL are for Heyward, Freeman, and McClouth to get it together and for the bullpen to hold up to the level that it has so far.
no freedom
May 15th, 2011
7:38 pm
am I allowed to comment again or does dol still have me banned for no reason?
DamntheButcher
May 15th, 2011
10:34 pm
Carlos Santana you can kiss my legal American Citizen Ass.
A Free Man
May 15th, 2011
11:39 pm
Are we watching the same games? Freeman may be the best defensive 1st baseman I’ve ever seen in my life! As one commentor finally got around to saying today, “he’s saved at least 10 runs this year, and probably at least 20 throwing errors”. Amen. Great 1st baseman! He’s just getting started, guys. The Adcock-esque batting average will come in time. Maybe even the Adcock four home runs in one game!! We have a great, young, and developing All-Star 1st baseman in town. Can I hear an Amen?
Keith
May 16th, 2011
12:19 am
Great win for the Braves against a usually unbeatable Halladay.
GO BRAVES! Now beat the Astros, please.
phil
May 16th, 2011
8:02 am
When Mark Bradley begins talking about one of our teams in ernest, look out….The man has been the kiss of doom for decades now…
Everyone keeps saying WHEN Uggly begins to hit…what if he doesn’t? Remember our buddy McOut from last year? When he begins to hit, blah, blah, blah….never happened last year….so let’s reserve judgment on Uggly until he actually DOES hit something other than once a week….same with FF….forget about Hurtward since he won’t even take the field anymore….
ChillyMutt
May 16th, 2011
9:02 am
Nice article Mark. This really could be shaping up to be a classic race.
With some of our young guys getting some major league experience – Heyward is only getting better and boy I LOVE Freeman’s glove at 1st base … Uggla (crossing my fingers) coming around and Prado starting to look like the future team captain after Chipper …. this is getting interesting.
ChillyMutt
May 16th, 2011
9:06 am
Gonzalez: “Those are things as a manager you like to see. It’s easy to play when you’re getting three hits, but Dan is scuffling and still playing hard. That’s great to see.”
Yes it is. And his at bats don’t seem to affect his defense.
Sure that’s why we signed him to an extension.
MLB Power Rankings: Philadelphia Phillies fight to defend top spot - Eugene OR DIRECTV Service
May 16th, 2011
9:48 am
[...] 6. Atlanta (23-19) … NL’s third best team is also third best in its division — but if confidence determined the standings, Atlanta already would have clinched. [...]
bvillebaron
May 16th, 2011
10:00 am
Dr. Cool:
As a Braves fan for almost 50 years living here in Central Pennsylvania you conveniently forgot one small detail in your smug post which is that it was my tax dollars that built Citizens Bank park which turned one of the cheapest and worst franchises into the NL versio of the Yankees. Yeah, they sure did everything the “right way”.
Keith Strawn
May 16th, 2011
10:59 am
Mark, You are improving with age.
Mark Bradley
May 16th, 2011
11:01 am
And you’re nice to say so, Mr. Strawn, but you’re wrong.
Felix Herny
May 16th, 2011
11:05 am
Hey Mark, it’s May. A good win for the Braves no doubt, but lets not get crazy. When the Phils actually start hitting and barring any additional injuries (that they haven’t already faced) this race should not even be close.
fefe
May 16th, 2011
11:09 am
@bvillebaron your tax dollars did not pay for CBP anymore than the Penguins new rink.
Chief pitchanono
May 17th, 2011
11:54 am
Yeah its the middle of may and fist place doesn’t normally mean much right now, but for the Braves and Marlins or any team who has to chase down and beat a team with philly’s rotation to win their division, its pretty important to get out in front and put as much distance between yourself and philly whenever you have the chance. It looks like this week the Braves and Marlins have their chance. Philly’s not playing well and the schedule has turned against them, while Braves/Marlins has gotten easier. If the these two teams are for real now is the time to show it. I think their will be a new 1st place team in the NL east by the end of the week and that is the first step if they want to take the division fromt the champs. I’m sure the phills will come roaring back at some point, but if a team can get on top and build a little lead, if phillies problems continue they could be there a while. Go Braves!!