AJC > Sports > Braves > Blog > Archives > 2006 > September > 29
Friday, September 29, 2006
Beat Astros, or let them beat Mets?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A few thoughts while wondering if it’s better for the Braves to sweep the Astros — not that that’s much of a realistic option — and keep them out of the postseason, or lose three against them so the ‘Stros can win the NL Central and possibly face the the Mets in the first round of the postseason….
Personally, I’d rather see the Astros get to the postseason — and Philadelphia win the wild card — so the Mets can understand what it’s like to go against Oswalt, Roger and Co. without your own pitching staff on top of its game. Just so others could see it’s not so easy….
Kyle Davies. Oh, my. He’s 1-5 with a 13.16 ERA and .434 opponents’ average in his past eight starts, and lasted 3-1/3 innings or fewer in five of those eight. After going 2-1 with an 0.77 ERA in his first four starts as a rookie last season, he’s 8-12 with a 7.40 ERA in his past 31 games (24 starts)….
It’s not next year’s rotation I’m concerned about with Davies, it’s post-traumatic stress disorder. (Kidding. Sort of.)….
Davies is 9-11 with a 6.15 ERA in 28 career starts….
I’m glad Roger Clemens and Chuck James are pitching tonight, because it makes it a little easier to accept that I will have to miss Tony Joe White playing at Smith’s Olde Bar tonight in Atlanta. If you folks don’t have prior commitments, I’d strongly recommend the show and BBQ at Smith’s….
The Braves went 7-11 against the Mets this season despite the Mets posting a pedestrian .259 batting average and 4.83 ERA in the series. I think numbers were skewed by so many one-sided games in the series….
Five of the first eight games in the Braves-Mets series were decided by one run, but all of the last eight were decided by three or more runs, and five of the last eight were decided by a whopping eight or more runs….
Noted Mets-killer Chipper Jones played just half of the 18 games against them this season, hitting .314 with two homers and eight RBIs in 35 at-bats in those….
Three reasons the Mets kicked the Braves’ tails in the season series: 1. Carlos Beltran, with an are-you-kidding-me nine homers, 19 RBIs and 1.451 OPS in just 12 games against the Braves; 2. Jose Reyes, with a .338 average, seven extra-base hits and .440 OBP in 18 games; 3. Paul Lo Duca, with a .392 average (20-for-51) and 1.015 OPS in 13 games….
The Braves “limited” past nemesis Carlos Delgado to a .246 average and three homers, though he did have 14 RBIs in 16 games against them….
Wondering what’s worse right now, the state of professional sports in Atlanta or the state of professional football in the ACC? (Rim shot. Thank you.)….
Did I mention, the Mets will be done in four games in the first round if Philadelphia wins the wild card and New York has to face Houston in the division series? If the Dodgers win the wild card, it’ll go five. Dodgers over Mets….
This isn’t Mets-hating here. I like this Mets team, a bunch of good guys and an incredible lineup. Just reality. Their starting pitching has dropped off so sharply since early July, and they haven’t been hitting much lately, either….
The Mets went 13-2 with a .303 average and 4.23 ERA from Aug. 17 to Sept. 2. They’re 10-15 with a .239 average and 4.61 ERA since….
Speaking of listless finishes, the Braves are 4-5 in their erratic past nine games. They hit 12 homers in the four wins and seven homers in the five losses, including no homers in two losses and one homer in another….
The Braves are 12-12 in their past 24 home games….
This Braves team relied far too much on the home run. Don’t tell me speed doesn’t matter, Shaun. Look at Jose Reyes. Rafael Furcal. Dave Roberts. Those teams are doing pretty good. Braves need at least ONE speed guy. They don’t have even ONE….
That said, the Braves scored enough runs to win the wild card and compete for the division. More than enough runs. Their glaring problem was obvious to anyone paying attention: Pitching. No closer for most of the season, and a patchwork rotation for the entire season….
I’m gonna have to agree with Schuerholz that rebuilding the pitching staff should be Job 1 this offseason. And whatever it takes, if I’m GM I’m going to get another proven starter this winter, and another proven setup man….
And lastly, but certainly not least(ly?), let me take this moment to offer a sincere apology to the blogger known as Stinky. The real one. Stinky, I am sorry for implying a few days ago that you stated _ and this is the only time I will mention his name _ SJA was your hero.
As it turns out, I was wrong. The IP addresses indicate that was a Stinky imposter — Journalist Stinky, I believe it was — who made that claim. It was not you, and I apologize for implying I had proof it was you.
Also, I’m sorry that you took my “meet me at the ballpark” comment as a threat, at least enough that you felt compelled to include it in your plea for a public apology. I didn’t mean it as a threat.
Just wanted to clear this pure place of all the personal insults and such that were driving away good bloggers, and let you or anyone else know where I’d be all week, if you wanted to continue said insults face-to-face. That’s all. But it’s water under the proverbial bridge now. No worries.
Carry on, blog denizens. And please, within the parameters we discussed two days ago.
Ah, I feel better already.
