A winless series concludes with a truly galling Braves loss
The Braves were ahead. Then the Grandy Man went deep. (AJC photo by Hyosub Shin)
The Wednesday loss bothered me more than the one that preceded it. On Tuesday the Yankees had to do something outrageous — six eighth-inning runs in the span of six batters, with an historic grand slam included — to prevail. On Wednesday they had only to stand back and watch as the home side did everything except win.
The Braves mustered 16 baserunners Wednesday night. They managed two runs. The Braves left 13 men on base, at least one in every inning. They managed 12 hits, at least one in every inning except the seventh. They were 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position, and one of the two was the rookie Andrelton Simmons’ bunt-for-a-hit single with Jason Heyward on third and one out, which Fredi Gonzalez conceded was “an aggressive mistake.”
This was a game that was harder to lose than to win, but lose the Braves did. They were swept in a series in which they made one error and outhit the Yankees 27-24. “We played good,” Brian McCann said, and that was the scary part.
This was a series that came down to little things. A night after Alex Rodriguez barely fouled off one 3-2 pitch from Jonny Venters and drove the next over the left-field fence, Martin Prado sought to squeeze home the tying run in the bottom of the eight. (This bunt had been called from the bench.) Instead Prado fouled Cody Eppley’s pitch to the screen. Two pitches later the Braves’ leading hitter grounded into a double play. One foul-off led to four runs, the other to two killing outs.
Said Gonzalez: “We lost three games, and we played two really good games and 7 1/3 of another.”
A professional athlete expects to lose on a bad night and to win on a good one. It’s losing on the good nights that leads to doubt, and doubt in a team is never a good thing. The Braves have lost four in a row after winning six straight. Even with an eight-wins-in-nine-games run mixed in, this team has lost 13 of 21. From 1 1/2 games ahead in the National League East on May 20, the Braves have fallen five games behind Washington — their largest deficit of the season.
Until the six-game winning streak, the Braves had hit better than they pitched. In this series they pitched better than they hit. They scored six runs, half of those coming off Matt Diaz’s RBI double against CC Sabathia on Tuesday, in 27 innings. For the series they were 3-for-24 with runners in scoring position, and only one of the three hits actually generated a run.
Said McCann, whose fifth-inning home run was the Braves’ only hit of consequence: “We couldn’t get the big hit.”
Tim Hudson pitched well, but not well enough. Derek Jeter led off the game with a double in the gap and scored on A-Rod’s single up the middle. The Yankees made that lead stand until McCann hit his homer. But Hudson couldn’t hold his advantage long enough to get an out. Jeter — yep, him again — led off the sixth with a single to right, and Curtis Granderson hoisted a Hudson cutter inside the foul pole in right. “It cut the middle of the plate in half,” Hudson said, sarcasm dripping.
Said Gonzalez: “We had a lot of good things [in the series] — other than a win.”
It’s not as if the Braves haven’t beaten good teams this season. They took two of three in Dodger Stadium and two of three in Tropicana Field, and they swept the Marlins in Miami at a time when the Fish were flying. But the determinant in this series was a subtle difference in class: The Yankees didn’t do a lot but they aced the essential stuff, while the Braves saved their worst for the worst possible moments.
Gonzalez again: “It seemed like we were one pitch away the whole series.”
That has to nag at any club, to be so close and to walk away on the dustbin end of a sweep. It sounds weird, given that June has seen the Braves’ longest winning streak of the season, but this is a team headed the wrong direction. Even good teams know they’re going to lose 60 or so games in a season — that’s just the nature of baseball. Far more galling are the losses that come for no reason. Like Wednesday’s.
Is there time enough for the Braves to right themselves? Sure. Ninety-nine games remain. But these wild mood swings — the Braves have already had three losing streaks of four or more games — have to subside. The hitting has to pick back up, and the surge in starting pitching has to continue.
“I think this club is ready to make another run,” Gonzalez said, and maybe it is. But those words would have carried more oomph had his Braves managed to beat the Yankees just once.
By Mark Bradley
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209 comments Add your comment
Packer Ed
June 14th, 2012
7:39 am
Bottom line, the Braves are nothing more to Liberty Media than a business deduction on a balance sheet.
Very few company people have emotional attachments to the Braves.
All business
Lame
June 14th, 2012
7:44 am
Quit the pity party. So what they lost three in a row in a 162 game season. You Braves fans exaggerate how good they are on a win streak and how bad they are on a losing streak. I hope your players aren’t as defeatist as y’all are. Lame stuff here.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
June 14th, 2012
7:47 am
The Braves aren’t man enough to beat the good teams.
reebok
June 14th, 2012
7:50 am
Totally gutless team. How to the Braves manage to play with so little passion and fire year after year?
reebok
June 14th, 2012
7:51 am
‘Do,’ not ‘to.’ The Braves can’t hit, and I can’t type.
Kyle
June 14th, 2012
7:58 am
This team and needless to say this manager show once again they can’t play with the big boys. Little league all the way but it will be no different than the Hawks in the end. They won’t go anywhere, they will keep the same people from the top – down and the same morons will spend their money again next year supporting mediocrity.
Cecil34
June 14th, 2012
8:01 am
Boy, what an absolute test-case example of a team with deep pockets, leadership and management skills and front office competency and savvy does to a team that has none of the above.
Fact is, this is what awaits the Braves every time they “qualify” for the “playoffs” with the wild-card, if they can even get that far.
Which is to say they really don’t “qualify” for anything.
This watered-down playoff system is nothing but socialist baseball.
And a money-grab by the MLB.
GT
June 14th, 2012
8:02 am
This has been the story the last few years even with Bobby, but last year’s dive at the end of the season was gut wrenching.
The Yankees are so much better managed than we are right now. Their pitch recognition and their getting ahead in the count when pitching have always been trademarks. Jetter may be the greatest shortstop of all time and he has not lost much, and we pitched to A Rod the number one grand slam hitter of all time, why? We missed signs, and fell in love with the bunt which most of the time we couldn’t execute. I think the Yankee fans messed with our heads too. Sad day for baseball in Atlanta.
Sons of Rick Matula
June 14th, 2012
8:10 am
Said Gonzalez: “We lost three games, and we played two really good games and 7 1/3 of another.”
Said Gonzalez: “We had a lot of good things [in the series] — other than a win.”
Gonzalez again: “It seemed like we were one pitch away the whole series.”
If you’re trying to make a point here, Mark, make it.
If you want to imply that Fredi is delusional and/or lost and unable to speak in anything other than baseball cliches, go ahead.
But let’s stop “hinting” and start hitting out at the malaise and complacence of this manager, this team and this organization!
William Smith
June 14th, 2012
8:20 am
When all decisions are made to get the cheapest deal what do you expect. The Braves are going to finish less than .500 so forget about it. That’s all folks!
Da truth
June 14th, 2012
8:20 am
The last straw for me was Sunday against toronto when Freddie didn’t let Julio Tehran Stay in the 6th inning and he brings in Livan. Ok, I didn’t like the move but when he left Livan in after giving up 5 straight hits….it was as if this game wasn’t as important as the upcoming Yankee series, which we all saw the debacle with Venters. The importance of keeping the win streak alive was really important for momentum, and now we arer on another 4 game losing streak. This is starting to smell lime September 2011….
Remember
June 14th, 2012
8:21 am
Having Bourne (fastest player) stand at 1st base during Martin’s 8th inning AB against a sidewinding, slow to the plate righty was confusing. McCann was on deck, so if they walked Martin, we were ok with bases loaded (even if NY had a lefty in the pen). If they happened to throw out Bourne, we still have McCann coming up. Worth the risk I would think. Instead, 6-4-3 and the game is over.
Mixer
June 14th, 2012
8:26 am
I wouldn’t be so fast in cracking on Andrelton’s bunt hit last night. What about JHey being a little more alert with his base running? Meantime, Fredi as a manager continues to look like he’s in over his head.
Jack Dennis TN
June 14th, 2012
8:26 am
No leadership from dugout. Fredi sits on his butt, never protects his players, looks sleepy, and waits for something good to happen. And they STILL need a RH hitter.
dean
June 14th, 2012
8:32 am
Lame @ 0744.
You must not be from ’round here.
I’m as big an optimist there is, but some trends cannot be ignored. I hope I’m wrong but I’m not very optimistic about ATL going very far this season. And that would be a shame. I was really hoping for Chipper’s last season to be a very good season. Not necessarily winning the WS, which would be nice, but playing like a good team that will only get better.
We will see if the end of June indicates a swoon or encouragement.
mike
June 14th, 2012
8:38 am
To Fredie Stinks: Why should Fredi Gonzalez get stressed out? Stress leads to heart attacks and other health problems. No need getting stressed over a game.
Ryan
June 14th, 2012
8:40 am
This series showed how inferior the braves are against top teams. Gee just like all Atlanta/Georgia sports teams!
Dawg Fud
June 14th, 2012
8:40 am
Shug,
I told my wife if we won the lottery I would love to buy the Braves!
Of course, I would either steal Tom Cousin’s idea and do an East Lake community renovation for the surrounding area or relocate the stadium…..
Tip Your Cap
June 14th, 2012
8:42 am
I watched the game on the Yankee network, and their announcers were completely mystified as to why Diaz sat on the bench, holding a bat and wearing a helmet, while Heyward and Hinske came up in the seventh. Heyward and Hinske’s numbers against left-handers are terrible. They had a shot of Fredi, and one announcer said, “I don’t know what’s going on in his head.” That sums it up pretty well.
Dawg Fud
June 14th, 2012
8:42 am
GT said it perfectly. I agree.
Dawg Fud
June 14th, 2012
8:43 am
Fredi is a mental midget in a tactician’s game. Now we know why Florida booted him mid-season.
richard whiskey
June 14th, 2012
8:47 am
braves payroll 93million yankees payroll 200million,who do you think is gonna win more games? is the reason i no longer watch baseball
Gonzalez is an IDIOT
June 14th, 2012
8:50 am
FG is an idiot…and Bradley, DOB, and Schultz don’t have the intestinal fortitude to really ask the hard questions – they are too worried that Fredi and rest of the players won’t like them anymore……Please somebody in upper management “grow some” and FIRE THE INEPT FREDI.
GwinnettDad
June 14th, 2012
8:52 am
The Braves roll over and die when they play the Yankees. They seem to look at that uniform, see Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Whitey Ford, and simply clutch.
Since Chipper joined the Braves and there’s been interleague play, what is the record of the Braves during the regular season and the World Series.
Have the Braves ever won a game?
jerry
June 14th, 2012
8:56 am
@richard whiskey
You hit the nail on the head. It is rather simple minded to think that changing managers will somehow overcome the talent level. Changing managers is usually just a ploy be management to pull the wool over the fans eyes without spending the money to upgrade the roster.
Playoffs!!!
June 14th, 2012
8:57 am
Bradley @ 1:36 a.m.—-Prado could have played 1st base, (done it before). The sportswriters in this town are just as bad as the managers. No excuse for not getting Diaz in there for a pinch-hit at-bat against a lefty.
jerry
June 14th, 2012
8:58 am
@GwinnettDad
Bobby and the Braves were 10-12 vs the Yankees during the regular season and 2-8 in the Series.
shorty
June 14th, 2012
8:58 am
Fire Fredi and plese get some new announcers I thought I was watching aYankees broadcast this whole series.. I’ve been a big of Murph since his playing days but he made me sick singing the praises of cheater jeter and aroid! And by the way Sutton the fans pay your salary so back off or get out and take Fredi with you!
Sad Sack
June 14th, 2012
9:01 am
Quite simply, you have two different teams. One with ownership that does what it thinks is needed to win a championship (they don’t always succeed, but they are actively trying) and the other with ownership that just sees it as line items on a P&L and Balance Sheet and have no expectations beyond trying to run it as a subsidiary business.
Yes, Spin Me Another Yarn!
June 14th, 2012
9:07 am
“You hit the nail on the head. It is rather simple minded to think that changing managers will somehow overcome the talent level. Changing managers is usually just a ploy be management to pull the wool over the fans eyes without spending the money to upgrade the roster.”
That is true…….sometimes. Bradley did make a statement that describes what I have been saying forever. This team has wild mood swings! It’s mass success or mass hysteria! The successes and failures associated with the performance of a team that is playing like the Braves are due to mental issues. The way you deal with a team’s psyche is with managers and coaches. They are the equivalent of shrinks that say the right things in private to the team and push the right
buttons to get teams to remain on an even keel.
Who on here or on DOB’s blog can say this team is on an even keel? No one. At least no one with a shred of credibility.
If ever there was an example of a manager having an effect on team performance (or lack of performance depending on what day it is) Fredi is the poster child.
P.T. Barnum
June 14th, 2012
9:08 am
The braves should have won 2 of 3 against the yankees, A team I have dispised my entire life. I’m 69 yo. It was plain stupid to take Minor out in the 8th, just to put Venters, who appears to have forgotten how to pitch into the game and then Gearirin. It’s almost as if FG is betting against the team. Last night not losing is temper at least to get out there to defend Simmons claim that he was hit by the pitch was outrageous. Show some damn spirit, even if you have to fake it. How much longer will mcdowell continue to be piyching coach, What’s his record? He takes a decent pitching staff and ruins them, injuries, forgetting how to pitch. What’s his training program? At least he hasn’t yelled at any fans yet this season. I can’t tell whether FW or RM is the rump end of a jackass.
bill
June 14th, 2012
9:08 am
The Braves do not care about the fans. They have Don Sutton and the idiot broadcasting the games. Just because they are explayers does not mean they are unbiased observers of the game. The Braves have kept Sutton, the idiot and Tom Glavine on the airwaves and in the family even though they are repeatedly disrespectful to the BRAVES FANS. We were here before you aholes got here. Sutton take your Dodger ass back to LA. powell and Glavine you might have played ball and think your superior to us bleacher bums but you can kiss Suttons A$$ on your way out of town. At least we come on time don’t kill each other in theparking lot and support the team through thick and thin. We can say anything we want too about the Braves because we are family. We do not need you outsiders telling us how to act.
N'Qan
June 14th, 2012
9:09 am
Same old problems. When are they going to quit leading the league in men left on base?
Doug
June 14th, 2012
9:12 am
I am surprised to read that they thought they played good. I mean there were spurts where the defense made outstanding plays. I guess the biggest let downs were the offense. The double play last night in the 8th by Prado was a killer. I don’t understand why we didn’t have Bourn running? I mean, lets put some pressure on the defense and try to create a run. The other let downs was the choice of relievers in late innings. How can you put a rookie just up from triple A ball in the 8th inning of the 2nd game against the mighty Yankees. THey chewed him up. I don’t know. I am starting to think that a Tony LaRussa or Bobby Cox would have won at least one of those games managing.
But, I am still holding out hope. Maybe our trip to NY next week, we can turn the tables on them.
VolGuy
June 14th, 2012
9:16 am
I watched Tuesday’s game and just about blew a gasket as Fredi sat in the dugout while venters self destructed. Afterward, I decided that there is no good reason to get so upset. As someone else said, this team is just not that good. Not bad, just mediocre.I doubt that anything will change very much until the Braves have an owner that is not some faceless corporation located in another part of the country. All the statistics of the last three games cited by MB are deceiving. The Yankees are not a diminant team by any means, but they do the small things well and the Braves don’t.
BulldogBen
June 14th, 2012
9:19 am
I turn 38 this year and have been an Atlanta sports teams homer my whole life. I’ve either grown out of a demographic or I’ve simply seen enough from our teams to be bitter to the point that I don’t think any of these teams will ever win a Championship, much less become some multi-championship city.
At this point it seems like the Braves never won the World Series. Don’t even remember what it felt like.
Sonny Clusters
June 14th, 2012
9:20 am
All this bad baseball from the Braves and all one tender little blogger on here can do is talk about us. We don’t know why he is so tender about Chipper Jones but maybe they have matching tattoos. Anyway, we noticed that Jeter and Gonzales are the stars of the Yankees and they both came up big in this series. Our “sure HOFer” played third base like a grandma and LEFT SO MANY MEN ON BASE that we was wondering if he was adding to his collection. When “true fans” don’t want anybody pointing out the problems they are putting their tender little heads in the sand. This team underperforms. They have told us they are champions but they only have little signs in the outfield to back that up. Those signs mean nothing. There is no “Championship” without a pennant. Those little signs are not much more than participation awards.
Don
June 14th, 2012
9:21 am
12 Hits and 16 Base Runners = 2 Runs (A BOBBY COX SPECIAL).
When you hire a Bobby Cox Clone – Surprise, Surprise – Thats what you get – a Bobby Cox Clone.
To make these stats (12 hits, 16 base runners = 2 runs) look even worse is the fact that the two runs scored on a home run.
No Flag Since Lemke
June 14th, 2012
9:23 am
Another night, another two hits for Bourn – except neither when it counted. When it counted there was a two-hopper to the second baseman and a K. This guy is the later day Mark Teixeira – pretty but meaningless stats.
reckingball
June 14th, 2012
9:25 am
It’s not the end of the world as we know it, the Braves will bounce back.
GO BRAVES!
Sonny Clusters
June 14th, 2012
9:25 am
We was wondering if a team that needed to get a run in could use a guy like Constanza last night? Leaving men on base is nothing new for the Braves but the Yankees showed us how baseball stars are supposed to perform for their team. Jeter was a base hit machine. A-Rod did what he was supposed to do in that big 8th inning. What about our star player? Inept defense – can’t run hard – leaves runners stranded. Nice deer tattoos, though.
Sonny Clusters
June 14th, 2012
9:27 am
A-Rod. We are not an American League fan so sometimes we mess up when we talk about that other league. One thing we do know and that is the Yankees could play three more before leaving town and they would win all three.
Don
June 14th, 2012
9:27 am
With a manager who is a BOBBY COX CLONE;
And even more significantly – with a PITCHING COACH who in his 6 or 7 years with the Braves with the large number of different Starting Pitchers they have had – has had almost EVERY STARTING PITCHER to end up being INJURED. Thas has DESTROYED and is destroying the Braves’ championship chances for years to come.
How can you WRITERS not ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM – when it is probably the most SIGNIFICANT PROBLEM the Braves (or any other Major League Team) has ever had.
How can you POSSIBLY IGNORE THIS?????
BaseballBuff
June 14th, 2012
9:28 am
Just one clutch hit could have changed everything. Sound familiar, Braves fans? Man, do I hate losing to the Yankees. The Braves look intimidated when playing them. Same old same old. A team without testes.
Pmc
June 14th, 2012
9:32 am
It’s nothing to get too upset about. This team was always going to be streaky. They will score 11 some nights and be totally inept others. These are the players we have.
Sid
June 14th, 2012
9:34 am
well said Charlie….most of these delusional fans and the sad Atl sports media will never admit the truth.
J.D. Phillips
June 14th, 2012
9:35 am
The team is inconsistent. Figure they will miss the playoffs by 2 to 3 games and come up short again. I expect around 85 / 87 wins.
Why?
June 14th, 2012
9:36 am
@Mixer
I think Heyward did the right thing by not going. Obviously it wasn’t a squeeze and A-Rod was yelling not to throw to first. It was just a another great call decision by Fredi LOL
Braves!
June 14th, 2012
9:36 am
no big deal–the braves can still win the weak east division and go to the playoffs.
P Rose
June 14th, 2012
9:37 am
Chipper is our big star; the Yankee’s is Jeter. Every time Jeter came to bat in this series, you thought, “Uh-oh,” because knew he was about to do something big; and sure enough, he did, nearly every time. Meanwhile, our hero did — well, basically nothing. And you felt it, too, every time he came up — you just knew he wouldn’t get a hit. Maybe he’s still hurting — if so, then why did he even play? Because he knew zillions of people would be watching, since it was the Yankees? If so, it was a bad decision.
Compared side to side, in every way, the Yankees’ big star far outshines ours. Maybe that’s why, during the Jeter-Chipper era, they’ve won five titles to our one. I love the Braves, and Chipper, but he ain’t no Jeter.