AJC > Sports > Braves > Blog > Archives > 2006 > July > 13
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Big trip starts in paradise
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
[an error occurred while processing this directive]Random thoughts and a few facts while waiting to board 8:25 a.m. flight to San Diego, which is not a bad place to be in the middle of July (sunny, high upper-70s, low humidity … OK, I’ll stop).
Braves are leaving today at about noon from Atlanta and plan to work out at Petco Park for a couple hours or less this afternoon about 3 p.m. Pacific time. Just in case anybody cares about that kind of stuff.
Oh, before I forget: Anybody catch that WNBA All-Star Game last night? Wow, was that unbelievable, or what? (kidding, folks)
How big is this road trip for the Braves? Well, it’s about as big as a road trip in mid-July can be, that’s for sure. I say that because the Braves really must continue to build upon the momentum they established before the break and at least maintain the status quo in the wild-card race, if not gain more ground.
The chart I ran with the last blog illustrated how all eight teams ahead of the Braves in the wild card standings had a losing record over the past two weeks to a month. A few of you pointed out that coincided with interleague play, more or less, and that the AL teams thumped the NL teams for the most part.
While that’s true and does explain some of the losses for most of the team, the the Giants, Astros, Phillies, Diamondbacks all had .500 or below records against NL teams in those spans I cited for each club; the Brewers lost two of three to the lowly Royals and three in a row to the Cubs right before the break; the Reds lost six of seven against the Brewers and Braves just before the break, and the Rockies lost three in a row against the Diamondbacks to close the first half and were swept by the Cardinals right before interleague play began.
So don’t try to minimize my stats, people. I’m telling you, don’t do it.
Of the teams ahead of the Braves, the greatest challenge will come from the Dodgers. The Braves will really have a hard time chasing them down, I think, because the Dodgers have done well despite injuries and could really put together a good run as they compete with the Padres down the stretch.
The rest of that mediocre bunch, I really think the Braves can catch. And don’t start with the Giants. They’re creaky and Barry is, as I predicted before the season, a shell of the player he once was and diminishing by the day. Nevermind the legal issues that are slowly, steadily coming down around him.
Schedule-makers did the Braves no favors, sending them to the West Coast both to start the season and to start the second half. They can only hope this goes a little better than that injury-riddled first trip to California went, but it’s already better in one big aspect — weather.
Gorgeous this time, sunny and highs near 80 each day. So no excuses from pitchers and others about weather conditions.
They’re facing a tough San Diego team that seized control of a tight NL West race with a 9-4 run before the break, finishing with a five-game winning streak at Philadelphia and Washington, during which the Padres hit .326.
And the Braves will face the Padres’ aces right out of the box, countering with their own: RHP Tim Hudson goes against RHP Chris Young (8-4, 3.12) Friday, and Young’s as hot as any pitcher in the NL, though a bit under the radar.
Young was 5-1 with a 1.75 ERA and .169 opponents’ average in his last eight starts before the break, allowing two earned runs or fewer seven times in that stretch, with 58 strikeouts and 16 walks in 51-1/3 innings.
Coincidentally, that streak began after he gave up eight hits and six runs in three innings at Atlanta on May 24, his worst start of the season in every way.
Saturday, Smoltz faces RHP Jake Peavy (4-8, 4.46) in a rematch of perhaps the best pitcher’s duel the Braves have been in all year. Peavy has struggled since that strikeout-a-thon he pitched against Atlanta the last time they were here, when Smoltz won while the kid piled up the K’s.
Alright, that’s it. Gotta catch this flight. For my listening pleasure on this long flight, I’ve got the new Gram Parsons three-CD set with Grievous Angel, GP and with the unreleased outtakes from both CDs, plus some Lucinda Williams, the latest Van Hunt (that dude is totally old-school soul) and the Wilco live CD.
So it should be a pleasant flight, whether I get upgraded or not.
Later.
