Live from the ballyard: Could the Braves really lose to Jo-Jo?
May 23, 2008: Jo-Jo Reyes discusses key matters with former allies. (AJC photo by Jason Getz)
Jo-Jo Reyes used to be a Brave. He was the ride-along in the last summer’s Yunel Escobar/Alex Gonzalez trade. Lately he has become infamous for going 28 starts without winning, which matched an all-time big-league worst.
The good news: Jo-Jo Reyes starts against the Braves today.
The less-good news: He’s pitching better.
He has, believe it or not, won three of his past four starts, beating two decent teams from Ohio (Cleveland and Cincinnati, duh) and Baltimore. His ERA is a not-that-horrible 4.18. And he has actually been good in interleague competition (3-1 with a 1.79 ERA).
That said … even by Braves standards, it would look pretty bad to lose to a guy who went from June 13, 2008, to May 30, 2011, without winning a start. But the Braves, as we’re aware, often make ordinary pitchers they’re facing for the first time look like Christy Mathewson. And this will be the first time, not counting batting practice in spring training, the Braves will have faced Jo-Jo.
Meaning: Hold your breath.
While you’re holding it, I invite you to join me for all the online fun and frolic. First person to make a good Beatles/”Get Back”/Jo-Jo joke wins a round of coveted kudos.
By Mark Bradley
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238 comments Add your comment
jimmya
June 22nd, 2011
3:27 pm
ty mark the allstar huh
Skeezix
June 22nd, 2011
3:27 pm
Please, don’t mention the Jermaine Dye trade —it just gets my blood pressure up.
Delray Brave
June 22nd, 2011
3:29 pm
Can someone please tell me why Fredi has to bring in Venters every single game? This guy is going to cement in his shoulder down the stretch when we need him the most and he’s bringing him into the game in the 8th inning with a 4 run lead against the Blue Jays……………………………………………………………………..
Joe Tess Fish House
June 22nd, 2011
3:29 pm
Way 2 go. Laod the bases so they can tie it up.
ClemsonBrad
June 22nd, 2011
3:30 pm
need a big out here…
Skeezix
June 22nd, 2011
3:30 pm
Venters must have ice in his veins—he is unflappable.
jimmya
June 22nd, 2011
3:30 pm
veterns the man
PMC
June 22nd, 2011
3:31 pm
Errry Day Johnny.
jimmya
June 22nd, 2011
3:31 pm
bad spelling day lol
benito
June 22nd, 2011
3:31 pm
FIRST!!
dongkumong
June 22nd, 2011
3:31 pm
Atlanta=pile of garbage heap.
Joe Tess Fish House
June 22nd, 2011
3:33 pm
Whats UR favrite beer?
Fred Macmurray
June 22nd, 2011
3:34 pm
Joe Tess doesnt let the facts get in the way
jimmya
June 22nd, 2011
3:36 pm
shift or no shift
Alan
June 22nd, 2011
3:37 pm
Great pitching this series. Sure is looking like a braves phillies batte in the NL to play the Sox.
7.25--tip $8
June 22nd, 2011
3:39 pm
That’s the cost of a freaking beer at TF. I can go buy a 6 pack at kroger of the same beer for $6.
Either lower your ticket prices or beer. Or I will just continue to sit at home and watch them.
Sutton's Fro
June 22nd, 2011
3:39 pm
Arvydis — I was responding to Italian_29 who said the Braves looked great in the standings, which is why I put “on paper” in quotes. I think you missed my overall point that the results of any given game (or series) shouldn’t dismiss a fan’s complaint about the Braves’ long-term trends, or projected success in the playoffs.
Your comment that the Braves are winning despite the stats was one made often about last year’s team, and got people talking about an October surprise for the rest of the league. But in the end, the anemic hitting and sketchy defense we had seen all year long from the Braves killed the surprise.
Skeezix
June 22nd, 2011
3:40 pm
Don’t forget Wagner, a pretty good leftie, but we only had him one year. In the old Milwaukee days, Spahn was awesome.
old timer
June 22nd, 2011
3:40 pm
Shouldn’t use Venters with a four-run lead. Dude needs some rest. Beachy looked amazingly good for his first time back.
I like Joe, too. Just doesn’t need an excuse for every Brave mistake is all I’m saying.
PMC
June 22nd, 2011
3:42 pm
dongkumong nah, that’s Vancouver’s downtown.
Mitchell
June 22nd, 2011
3:44 pm
Just wanted to say before I forget that Johnny Venters is good.
I was worried he might give up a run there. Not because I thought the game might get out of hand but rather so he could have another outing without giving up anything.
How awesome would it be if he went the entire season only giving up two runs?
That would be ridiculous. Never know. Could happen.
Brantly
June 22nd, 2011
3:45 pm
Hope the padres will be worn out from their series against the red sox. At least they have farther to travel than we do.
Tracy
June 22nd, 2011
3:46 pm
Headley, I do have an MLB subscription,,,Sunnyside Joe is one of the three or four worst at slanting the the facts, overdoing the positive and ignoring the negative. C’mon..we are big people…we can handle some honest analysis. It just irked me to see this cheerleader in the booth get an Emmy. Isn’t that supposed to be an award for honest and forthright reporting?
Mark Bradley
June 22nd, 2011
3:47 pm
Braves win. They beat Jo-Jo Reyes.
Mitchell
June 22nd, 2011
3:48 pm
Certainly the Braves have been known to not show up at all for a game here or there, or two games or like an entire series… or the series after that.
But I just really wanted to say thanks to the Blue Jays for not showing up at all for any of these games.
That was nice of them.
Or maybe our pitching is just that good. Or maybe both.
Really, that was too easy.
Sutton's Fro
June 22nd, 2011
3:48 pm
Arvydis — my answer didn’t post for some reason…
I was responding to Italian_29 who mentioned the Braves’ record, which is why I put “on paper” in quotes. I think you missed the overall point of what I was trying to say, which is that short-term success in the regular season does not (or has not) translated into postseason success or WS titles for the Braves.
People touted last year’s team for winning games while lagging behind other teams in the stats columns, giving some folks the idea that Braves were going to surprise the league come October. But the same anemic hitting and sketchy defense that plagued the Braves all season showed up during the playoffs and killed the surprise. Championship teams have heart, but rely on consistently good performances.
Andre "Pulpwood" Smith
June 22nd, 2011
3:49 pm
Can anyone explain why Fredi used both Venters and Kimbrel in a 5-1 game?
Darth Vader
June 22nd, 2011
3:51 pm
All too easy…
Fred Macmurray
June 22nd, 2011
3:52 pm
there ya go Joe Tess,, put that in your crack pipe and smoke it LOL
Joe Tess Fish House
June 22nd, 2011
3:54 pm
I dont do drugs and niether should U
Italian_29
June 22nd, 2011
3:57 pm
To Mike that responded to my earlier post, Yes Uggla may have a CRAPPY batting average, but he is only one player out of nine. To say that not having him in the line up we could have a better record that we do now is just PURE speculation. How many runs has he saved with his hustle on defense. Yeah, maybe we would have a better record, but we may have a worse record if the person we put in Uggla’s spot struggled at the plate too.
Italian_29
June 22nd, 2011
4:00 pm
In response to Sutton’s Fro, I am not looking at a game or even a series, The BRAVES own the 4th BEST record in MLB and fans are still beeching.
overuse of Venters
June 22nd, 2011
4:10 pm
Someone please explain to me why we have 7 guys in the pen and we are up by 4 and still using Venters and Kimbrel. Venters is projected to pitch in 90 games!!! Last year, he pitched in 79 and seemed like he started fatiguing when we needed him the most. Lets assume he has 70 great appearances in him. Kimbrel is projected to pitch in 83 games!! The closer is gonna pitch 83 games!?!?
There is no reason to be up by 4 and pitch those two guys. They will have nothing left by october! By the way, eric O is 7th in majors in appearances, linebrink is 20th while kimbrel is second only to Venters. Our best 3 bullpen guys are in the top 7 in the MAJORS in games played.
Time to start trusting those back end bullpen guys a little more.
Mark Bradley
June 22nd, 2011
4:12 pm
It’s now pouring at the ballpark. Perfectly timed game.
Joe Tess Fish House
June 22nd, 2011
4:22 pm
Pouring what?
Furman Bitcher
June 22nd, 2011
4:48 pm
Mark I just wanted to answer your question about losing to Jo Jo. The answer is no.
Furman Bitcher
June 22nd, 2011
4:50 pm
I related news Venters arm just fell off. They need one more solid arm in this pen that they can turn to beside Oflarity, Venters & Kimbrel. This was a game where those guys should have not been in the at all with a 4 run lead.
Mark Bradley
June 22nd, 2011
5:20 pm
Oh, and here’s a little something about Brian McCann.