Update: It was a big day for the Braves, who didn’t even play
Glad tidings from a Philly fanatic. (AP photo)
Update: The Mets scored six runs in the ninth inning to beat St. Louis 8-6 after the Cardinals’ Rafael Furcal, of whom you’ve heard, couldn’t field a double-play grounder. The Braves lead the Cards by two games with six to play. Big break.
Today is an important day for the Braves, and they don’t even play. (The way they’re going, that’s a good thing.) The Cardinals are scheduled to complete their three-game series against the Mets this afternoon, and what happens in St. Louis will have a direct effect on the Braves’ psyche this next week.
Today’s the day when that half-game in the standings goes away. If the Cardinals lose, they’ll be two back with six to go. That’s still too close for comfort, but it beats the heck out of the alternative, which would be …
One game back, six to go.
The Braves appeared to have steadied last week. They held that 4 1/2-game lead for four days, saw it reduced to 3 1/2 on Friday, pushed it back to 4 1/2 on Saturday. They were positioned to keep it there Sunday afternoon, but Jonny Venters blew a lead and then Craig Kimbrel blew one the next night and suddenly they were only 2 1/2 games in front. After amassing two hits against Javier Vazquez (former Brave) last night while the Cardinals surged past the Mets yet again, the lead’s at 1 1/2.
And nothing’s steady now. The Braves led St. Louis by 10 1/2 games on Aug. 25, by 8 1/2 the day after Labor Day, which was barely two weeks ago. But the Braves have stopped hitting (again) and their rotation has been reduced to Tim Hudson and assorted rookies and the bullpen has started to wobble and …
According to Baseball Prospectus’ playoffs odds, the Braves’ chances of reaching the postseason stand at 70.3 percent. A week ago they were at 95 percent. This time next week they could be at 0 percent.
I didn’t see this coming. I didn’t think they were in real trouble until Monday night. But now I do. They’ve lost consecutive series to teams with losing records. They’ve won one of the past five series. They’ve lost 13 of 20 games. If they’re put in position where one more bad night could mean they’re no longer leading the wild-card race, I’m not sure how they’ll react.
The difference between a one-game and a two-game lead isn’t that much on paper, but with six games remaining a two-game lead could be viewed as almost healthy. A one-game lead could not. For a team that has had little go right this past fortnight, seeing the Cardinals lose today would be a major boost. But those Redbirds don’t seem to be losing much, do they?
The good news: Lefthander Chris Capuano is starting for the Mets, and he can be effective. The bad: He has won only twice in his past nine starts, and both victories, wouldn’t you know, were against the local nine. So the Braves have that going for them, which is … not really nice.
By Mark Bradley
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401 comments Add your comment
Loser Braves
September 22nd, 2011
1:57 pm
Couldn’t even win one game against philly or st louis after redneck larry opens his big fat mouth. That is choke quality!
Mark Bradley
September 22nd, 2011
1:57 pm
That’s the thing, SG10: The Braves were the second-best team in the National League and among the four best in baseball for nearly five months.
losers
September 22nd, 2011
1:58 pm
the phillies will have there rotation set,you mite see one of there top 3 but no way u see lee,hamels,and halliday all pitch,these games are meaningless to them
Mike B
September 22nd, 2011
2:00 pm
I went all the way from where I live, In Arkansas (about 7 hours from) St Louis As part of our vacation that was the highlight of the whole trip… We went to see the Friday night game…. and watched them lose… and they went on to get swept by the redbirds that weekend…. Still enjoyed the game but sad that they have all but fallen apart.
Mark Bradley
September 22nd, 2011
2:01 pm
I don’t believe they’ve done the coin flip, SG10. And I’m not sure the projected rotations mean much. There’s a chance Tommy Hanson could get a start next week.
SG10
September 22nd, 2011
2:01 pm
Mark,
No matter what happens hereon.. I think FG’s first year as a coach was a huge success. Would you agree? I think with BC and his loyalty to certain players in certain situations (Remember the Nortons!), we would be chasing Cards by now. What do you think?
Mark Bradley
September 22nd, 2011
2:02 pm
Braves on Sept. 1: Fourth-best record in baseball, behind Philly, BoSox and Yanks.
Homo the Brave
September 22nd, 2011
2:03 pm
Braves are finished. Cardinals get to play two of the worst teams in baseball (Cubs and Astros) while the Braves have to play two teams against whom they have struggled all year (Nationals and Phillies). Oh yeah, and Lowe will start one of those games against Philly. That’s an automatic loss. The only thing going in the Braves favor is that they will miss Holladay and Lee. But they still have to contend with Oswalt, Hamels, and Worley.
dean
September 22nd, 2011
2:04 pm
If “we” have to be eliminated I hope it’s a playoff game against the Cards. Anybody but the Phillies.
dawg4u
September 22nd, 2011
2:07 pm
BTW those insisting Joe Morgan hit the gw hr against the Dodgers for the Giants in 1993, it was 1982 as MB stated. Joe Morgan was 50 years old at the end of the ‘93 season and nine or ten years retired.
not a pitching coach
September 22nd, 2011
2:07 pm
re: Gary @1:55–I can see the Cards going 5-0 the way they’re playing and against the remainder of their schedule.. The way the Braves are playing, I can’t see the them winning more than 1 game against the Nats and the Phillies. I hope I’m wrong and that the Braves catch fire and blow through the rest of the schedule and into the playoffs, but I can’t see a single thing that would cause it to happen.This is so sickening.
Even if they squeak by and get into the post-season, which team could they beat?
SG10
September 22nd, 2011
2:10 pm
Actually, last year, there were valid reasons why the Braves struggled down the stretch..replacing Chipper, Prado and Medlen..along with injury to Heyward, was not easy.. this year there is no such reason. Okay, we lost Hanson and JJ but their replacements (Minor and Delgado) have done admirable jobs.. the players that let us down are Hudson (except last start) and Lowe…and in the offense, never mind – don’t know where to start…
thebas
September 22nd, 2011
2:10 pm
I believe the selection of the location of a wildcard tiebreaker game changed to head-to-head record a couple years ago. A potential tiebreaker game would be in St. Louis.
RaleighDawg
September 22nd, 2011
2:10 pm
Seriously ? You’re still blaming Kimbrel for Chipper “losing” a grounder in the lights ? And then, the “HOF” shows his leadership by skipping a game two days later for an elective surgery that – at a minimum – could have been scheduled for early in the morning ? Give me a break – you don’t have to look any further than Larry Jones for what’s wrong with the Braves. As the leader he sets the tone – and the tone for these guys is “Who cares ? We get paid whether we win or lose and I don’t want to be late for hunting season !”.
SG10
September 22nd, 2011
2:13 pm
Mark,
I have asked you for your opinion about FG’s coaching job 3 times over the past one week. It appears you don’t want to comment?
I remember you were not too impressed when the Braves hired FG and you have been big fan of BC as well..
Mark Bradley
September 22nd, 2011
2:18 pm
Freddie’s done OK. The Braves were in great shape until their rotation collapsed.
Matt
September 22nd, 2011
2:25 pm
Fredi burnt out the bullpen Apr-Aug so that when the starters collapsed, there was nowhere to turn. He has not done okay.
Braves Gone
September 22nd, 2011
2:28 pm
Yoiu’re sugar coating Mark Bradley. Not even close to ok.
JeanE
September 22nd, 2011
2:28 pm
It’s too late to rely on other teams to get in, we had our chance to take control and get in and we’ve blown it. I love the Braves but I’ve got zero confidence in them right now, not even the bullpen which is just spent. Honestly, looking at Fredi, he doesn’t look like he has any confidence either. He looks very tense, at least with Bobby, he looked the same not matter the situation. Except when he took his cap off his head, then he was worried! Gonzo is hitting but he’s hurting and can’t carry the team by himself. I just wish they’d show a little more emotion, I know they all care but sometimes they don’t look like it. Hope I’m wrong, I really do. I was looking forward to the postseason but not the rotation is decimated, we hitting even less (how is that even possible??) and the glorious bullpen is just out of ammo.
Chris
September 22nd, 2011
2:30 pm
Mike, Heywrad is producing. Have you not been paying attention the last few weeks? He has a .273 AVG and .378 OBP over the last month. He’s finally starting to get it together. The only problem is McCann and Prado are struggling. It seems we can’t ever get everybody rolling at the same time.
Braves choke
September 22nd, 2011
2:33 pm
Haha I read bradley’s freddie’s done as he’s finished at first.
dean
September 22nd, 2011
2:34 pm
I just remembered something about the ‘82 team. On 96.1 Steve Bedrosian was being interviewed. When he said, “We’re going to go up there and kick their asses.”, I knew we were doomed.
“Up there” was St. Louis.
Yankee
September 22nd, 2011
2:38 pm
A sucky team gets what it deserves. Plus, now we know how they had dominant pitching for so many years: They cheated. What makes it funny is that even with cheating, they still couldn’t win more than one World Series!
Braves Gone
September 22nd, 2011
2:38 pm
Sorry, choke. I don’t think he said it like that. I wish that is what he meant though. That Fredi was finished.
BulldogBen
September 22nd, 2011
2:40 pm
Mark, get out your thesaurus. If the Braves blow this you’re going to have to find adjectives other than “fantastically, historically, epic collapse”.
The adjectives don’t exist I don’t think.
You may just have to make them up Furmer Bisher style.
Loweser
September 22nd, 2011
2:42 pm
Cards are up 6 to nothing on the Mets!
Missy LaDue, UGA Scholar
September 22nd, 2011
2:44 pm
Well my boy friend—the lying scumbag!—says the Braves can avoid 20 losses next season by making Lowe a $15 million batting practice pitcher. If he’s that good at pitching batting practice for opposing teams, just imagine how much he’d do to wake up the Braves’ bats! And they have to pay him anyway, so why not make him do something that’s useful?
Loweser
September 22nd, 2011
2:45 pm
has philly changed their team color to garnet?
Mark Bradley
September 22nd, 2011
2:47 pm
About burning out the bullpen: What should he have done — given Kimbrel and Venters a month off and let Linebrink and Sherrill blow a dozen games?
I agree that there were times when Venters might have gotten a day off, but the idea is to win that day’s game. And sometimes you say, “I’m not taking any chances here.”
SG10
September 22nd, 2011
2:49 pm
In my opinion, role of coaching at major league level is over-rated. How else do you explain Francona being so bad with Phils and becoming legendary with the R Sox..or Charlier Manual doing okay with other teams and becoming master tactician with Phils…or Bruce Bochy struggling with Padres and taking Giants to the world series win. You rise and fall with the team you have got. I think there are only two kinds of coaches at ML level – bad coaches who blow-up team chemistry and then there is everybody else who will be successful depending upon the situation…You will rarely get to the major league level if you are bad coach.. Having said that, that makes almost everyone pretty much the same.
Mark Bradley
September 22nd, 2011
2:52 pm
SG10, I appreciate your thoughts … but Fredi and Francona are not coaches. They’re managers.
SG10
September 22nd, 2011
2:52 pm
Mark,
I agree with you that there were only few games where Venters or Kimbrel could have been kept out. I think the problem is the Braves offense is spoilt by the dominant bullpen..every time they got 1 run lead, they will shut down the shop and not score any more..
SG10
September 22nd, 2011
2:55 pm
Okay. I am confused. I thought terms Head-Coach and Manager are used interchangeably? Only true Manager is ‘General Manager’? Am I missing something?
Lindsey Snot
September 22nd, 2011
2:58 pm
You gotta be kiddin’ me…by next Tuesday, the Braves’re out of the WC race. I’m sick of drinking the kool-aid…my work here is done, as are the Braves.
Mark Bradley
September 22nd, 2011
2:59 pm
Yes. You’re missing something. There’s no such thing as a head coach in professional baseball.
Dennis Reynolds
September 22nd, 2011
3:00 pm
I like our odds IF we make it in. Most think that we’ll be swept in first round…Im not so sure about that.
Dennis Reynolds
September 22nd, 2011
3:01 pm
SG10…go back to a football blog or something.
Pissed off Ralphus
September 22nd, 2011
3:02 pm
While it’s their day off, somebody find a way into the the Cards locker room and steal Poopholtz and Holiday’s roid needles.
Loweser
September 22nd, 2011
3:05 pm
You guys have figured it out. That has been the problem. We have had a head coach and not a manager. was wondering why the braves kept trying to run the triple option on 2.
Herschel Talker
September 22nd, 2011
3:10 pm
MB:
“About burning out the bullpen: What should he have done — given Kimbrel and Venters a month off and let Linebrink and Sherrill blow a dozen games?”
Ahh…here’s the rub. This goes back to the terrible hitting. Too many missed opportunities when we’re up by 1 which could be up by 4, which means Kimbrel has too come in again. See the other night when we took the lead on the Fish only to leave the bases loaded yet again.
HT
Pissed off Ralphus
September 22nd, 2011
3:11 pm
Who cares, he sucks, maybe worse than Bobby. And our hitting coach should be shot.
Sonny Clusters
September 22nd, 2011
3:20 pm
Hugging. Where do you stand on the hugging? How about all the fanny-patting? Something is wrong here. Hugging should be for home. The dugout is for spitting and scratching. Somebody has been telling hunting stories and has everybody feeling all lovey-dovey when they should be mean. Hunting is sitting up in a tree stand and waiting for a deer to walk in front of you. Baseball is taking a step in and fielding that ball before it gets in the lights and you have to start dancing. We think this team has the wrong leaders and we think somebody that has won something before should be leading them now.
Booyah
September 22nd, 2011
3:22 pm
Hey Mark – Booyah wants to know if Strasburg is on a pitch count tomorrow. Isn’t he still limited due to injury comeback?
Mark Bradley
September 22nd, 2011
3:23 pm
I’m not much of a hugger. I’m more of an interpersonal-contact-avoider.
Sonny Clusters
September 22nd, 2011
3:25 pm
Yes, he’s making millions. Yes, he has impressive individual statistics. Yes, he can hit with his eyes closed except in crucial situations with runners on base in a pennnant race or in the playoffs . . . but, what has he won? What has his team won? How many times has this team surrendered? We was thinking one more year of Chipper Jones is going to be one more year of “almost good enough” baseball. The culture needs to change. Instead of Buck Commanders this team needs some fired up baseball players. Draft Stinky Wintes.
Pissed off Ralphus
September 22nd, 2011
3:26 pm
Maybe if we combine hunting and baseball, we can “take care” of the competition? After all, what can a wild, roid jacked, mexican grizzly bear do when you take him down with a tranquilizer gun? That’s right, just lie still. I mean c’mon, this random testing is BS. When do they “decide” to get around to this guy? How much is he paying someone off? It’s like he’s McGwires protege or maybe just his brotha from a Chicano motha?
Mark Bradley
September 22nd, 2011
3:27 pm
I understand it’s raining hard in St. Louis. Those teams will be waiting to play all night.
superiorblogman
September 22nd, 2011
3:31 pm
What ever happened to the theory you get what you pay for? In the month of September during this big fall from glory/choke act below are the #’s for 3 players that the Braves are paying a combined $30 million to.
Uggla 17-77 .220
Chipper 21-69 .304
Big Mac 12-65 .184
50-211 .236 That’s what you get for $30 Million? There in lies the problem people. The Braves are already cheap or cash strapped. They need more production for the buck than a combined .236 average for $30 million when the season is on the line.
Sonny Clusters
September 22nd, 2011
3:32 pm
Journalists, typically, do not hug. When we was Clear, Concise, and Compelling we was always stand-offish when other journalists wanted a hug. When we was playing state championship baseball we did not hug unless it was a woman we was hugging. Same for the fanny patting. Scratching, spitting, and the occassional emission was okay by us. We drew the line at repetitive fanny pats. All we’re saying is that the team is playing a bit soft right now and those big ol’ tears need to be exchanged for some meanness. Throw something. Punch something. Don’t hug each other.
Sonny Clusters
September 22nd, 2011
3:34 pm
We was filtered but it’s probably for the best. We was talking fanny patting.