AJC > Sports > Braves > Blog > Archives > 2008 > June > 12
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Braves need to play like 1948
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Chicago _ On another windy day from Wrigley Field, where the Braves and Cubs are wearing 1948-era uniforms for this series finale and the Braves would like to play like that 1948 pennant-winning team, we say to all the denizens in Braves/MIB blogland: Hello again, everybody.
(Had to steal a phrase and pay homage to my man Skip Caray, son of Chicago broadcasting legend Harry Caray, who, during my first years on this beat, was still doing his thing and singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” behind the glass wall in the radio booth 20 feet to the left of where I’m sitting right now.)
Anyway, should be a good game today, with Tim Hudson and the Braves facing Carlos Zambrano and the surging Cubs, who’ve won 13 of their past 16 games and have a 10-game home winning streak.
Couple of loose ends before we get started here in this 1:20 p.m. Central Time game.
— Tom Glavine: Not sure when we’re going to hear the report on today’s MRI on his troublesome left elbow. He’s having it done back in Atlanta and I’d guess we’ll get the results sometime today before the Braves board their charter flight to Anaheim, but I just don’t know for sure.
— Rafael Soriano: He was unavailable to pitch last night, Bobby Cox said this morning when we asked about Soriano’s ongoing, day-to-day elbow situation. This is not a good situation, obviously, for a team’s closer to have to tell them each day before the game whether he feels OK to pitch.
I asked Bobby in the dugout this morning if Soriano would get another MRI when the Braves get back to Atlanta after this long trip, and he replied, “He’s had every test in the world, and it’s still sore.”
— Charlie Morton: I asked Cox if the big pitching prospect would have any pitch-count restrictions in his major league debut Saturday, and Cox said no, just gonna turn him loose. Maybe someone will tell him, “Hey, kid, this is Vlad Guerrero. Don’t give him anything anywhere near the plate.”
— Jeff Bennett: Had to leave immediately after the game last night because his wife was hospitalized here in Chicago. It’s OK, she’s doing fine now. As for Bennett’s performance - seven runs, seven hits, left without an out in the third inning - he said he just made a couple of bad mistakes, including a slider over the plate to Fukudome for that three-run homer in the first inning.
Regarding the pitch that broke Alfonso Soriano’s hand, Bennett said he was trying to strike him out on an inside fastball and it just got away. He also pointed out that it shoud’ve been obvious he wasn’t trying to hit him, with the count 0-2 and two outs, and a runner at second base.
Bennett didn’t believe that the Cubs would do any retaliation work today against Braves hitters, pointing out that “they already hit Mac.” Brian McCann was hit by Dempster in the fourth inning. Dempster had otherwise great control last night, walking none in nine innings.
Soriano’s out for about six weeks, probably. Big blow for the Cubs.
Too bad - for the Braves - that he couldn’t have missed this and every other series against them in the past few years. He kills them like no other hitter: .371 with nine doubles, two triples, 14 homers and 31 RBI in 30 games against the Braves since 2005.
His .363 career average, .416 OBP and .770 slugging percentage are his second-best totals in each category, behind his numbers against Pittsburgh (.381/.433/.782).
And his replacement today is….
_ Eric Patterson: The former Harrison High and Georgia Tech standout, and brother of Corey Patterson, was recalled from Triple-A and is starting in left field and leading off today for the Cubs.
Patterson was an eighth-round pick in the 2004 draft and a 2007 Pacific League All-Star.
_ Retro uniforms: Both teams are wearing 1948 replica uniforms to honor the 60th anniversary of Cubs baseball on WGN. The ’48 Boston Braves went 93-60 and won the NL pennant before losing to Cleveland in the World Series.
Hey, I’m looking down at the Bravos stretching down the right-field line, and I gotta say I like the uni’s. Very similar to the current uniforms, except for the stirrips with the variable-width strips and the blue caps with red bills and a plain “B” instead of the familiar “A.”
And Corky Miller looks like some kind of barnstorming 40s-era player in his, with the gut and the 5 o’clock shadow and the socks and all that.
Cubs uniforms are clean, man. Sweeeet. White uniforms, no stripes, pin or otherwise. Only stripes are the red ones on their navy-blue socks.
Also, the hundreds of the stadium employees are wearing white straw hats, and they even passed out faux black fedoras (made of cardboard or something) with a press pass stuck in the band. It’s a good look for me. Think I’ll wear it instead of the Stone Mountain Harley Davidson cap I brought to the park.
_ Zambrano is unbeaten at Wrigley Field this year (4-0, 2.38 ERA in eight starts). So was last night’s starter Ryan Dempster, who still is after pitching a four-hitter with 11 strikeouts. Dempster’s 8-0 in nine home starts, and hasn’t won on the road.
This place has always been in my top three ballparks to visit, but the atmosphere has never been quite as electric as it is now. By that I mean, they’ve had sellout crowds on Tuesday and Wednesday nights to start this series, and I didn’t see any unused seats in the ballpark. Most of the rooftop seats on surrounding apartment buildings have also been filled for the first two games.
The Cubs have the best record and best home record in baseball, and they’ve got a talented team that’s thriving in this environment.
OK, let’s play some ‘ball. The Braves, in case you’ve missed it, could really use a win.
Uh, that’s my understatement of the day.
Folks, the Braves desperately need a win, to avert a second consecutive series sweep and so that no one is tempted to jump from the plane after a few cocktails during the four-hour flight to California later today.
Sixteen losses in their last 19 road games, including eight of nine … astonishing. Awful.
And do you realize that Chipper Jones (.370) is the only Braves regular hitting over .260 on the road? They have six regulars hitting .308 or higher at Turner Field.
”EVERYBODY HURTS” by R.E.M.
When the day is long and the night, the night is yours alone,
When you’re sure you’ve had enough of this life, well hang on
Don’t let yourself go, ‘cause everybody cries and everybody hurts sometimes
Sometimes everything is wrong. Now it’s time to sing along
When your day is night alone, (hold on, hold on)
If you feel like letting go, (hold on)
When you think you’ve had too much of this life, well hang on
‘Cause everybody hurts. Take comfort in your friends
Everybody hurts. Don’t throw your hand. Oh, no. Don’t throw your hand
If you feel like you’re alone, no, no, no, you are not alone
If you’re on your own in this life, the days and nights are long,
When you think you’ve had too much of this life to hang on
Well, everybody hurts sometimes,
Everybody cries. And everybody hurts sometimes
And everybody hurts sometimes. So, hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on
Everybody hurts. You are not alone
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