ajcsportstalk

By reeferchiefer

August 1, 2006 10:56 PM | Link to this

only time will tell, it seems most have given up… but now it’s just one day at a time… you never know what may happen with this heat across the nation. i’m still on the bandwagon… lets go braves finish strong!

By David

August 1, 2006 11:02 PM | Link to this

I don’t want to jinx the bullpen. So shortly i want to say that so far they have been excellent, if only we picked them up in the offseason. Then we would be looking at the division, not the wildcard. GO BRAVES FINISH STRONG.

By Roper

August 1, 2006 11:11 PM | Link to this

I do hate to be the optimist, but think how amazing atlanta’s pitching would look if the other starters got it going.

It was nice to see everything go according to plan for Schuerholtz today.

By rob

August 1, 2006 11:13 PM | Link to this

I haven’t abandoned hope at all, but regardless how this year ends, the Braves have a nice player Aybar and Baez and Wickman are solid relievers.

I like what we have, now if only Huddy will wake up and start playing like the ACE we all know he is.

By Robert(Justice Is The Best)

August 1, 2006 11:14 PM | Link to this

Having Baez in the 8th and Wickman in the 9th is terrific for the Braves. That gives then a shutdown combo at the end of the game the only the Padres have in the National League. The bullpen is much stronger and much more effective now. The starters just have to give them the opportunity to shine.

If this team can win at least 8-10 of their next 14 games until Chipper comes off the DL and they are no more than 5 games out of the wild card at the beginning of September, they will win the wild card.

Honestly, the Reds can’t hang. You think our starting pitching is bad……. I think this wild card race will come down to the Marlins, Dodgers, and Braves. The Astros are done. Management destroyed the clubhouse with trying to unload Roy Oswalt and Morgan Ensberg. The Brewers have the pitching but their offense is not enough. The Phillies had a fire sale and more deals between now and the end of the month could be done. The D-Backs just don’t enough pitching. The Rockies kind of scare me because they are just lurking around and have a good enough team to stay in it. However, the only one of the wild card teams that would be capable of getting RED HOT are the Braves. Its just a question of will they do it.

By Steve

August 1, 2006 11:33 PM | Link to this

Hey Guys,

Just got home from PNC Park, in hot Pittsburgh. Great game, Smoltz was dealing, Baez was awesome and Wickman pitched great, just had two bad breaks to allow one run. I just want to point our what made this so great - the three of them totaled exactly ZERO walks. If the rest of the pitching staff will start throwing strikes as well, then we’ll win the wild card. And I gotta admit, I was too hard on Laroche earlier, my bad.

By kevin

August 1, 2006 11:42 PM | Link to this

Someone’s gotta light a fire under Huddy’s a**e and get him going.

By Blake

August 1, 2006 11:42 PM | Link to this

to be honest w/ you i dont know why everyone has all of the sudden talked about how the wildcard is no longer an obtainable goal…just a few days ago we were 5.5 out and we were talkin about how we trimmed at one point a 10 game deficit into just 5.5 and everyone was excited…its not like the teams ahead of us are burying us…we are just 1.5 out of 3rd place…come on

By jeff p

August 1, 2006 11:51 PM | Link to this

When my turn comes, it doesn’t matter if we have a four-game winning streak or a four-game losing streak, my job is to be accountable,” said Smoltz, who has spent his entire career with the Braves.

If the Braves pitchers (all of them) would somehow muster up this type of attitude, the team will have a chance.

Still think this team offensively (except for the lack of a true leadoff man) is as good as any during the 15 year run. Just need the starters to give the team a chance to win.

By gotigers72

August 1, 2006 11:58 PM | Link to this

I believe it’s too little too late, but I still think getting some relief pitchers was the right move. It sure is nice to see a reliever come in the game and throw strikes, keep the ball down, and keep the ball out of the middle of the plate. Now if the starters would do that they might have something. In my mind, Wickman just gave up 1 hit [to Bay] in the 9th inning. That other thing that hit the bag was a fluke. Aybar was right there and would have fielded it had it not hit the bag.

Although I said I thought it is too late, if they could learn to play at home, they still might have a chance. Chipper will be back before long. You never know.

By Kentavo

August 2, 2006 12:06 AM | Link to this

Yeah, what do you with Aybar when Chipper comes back? You know Cox is not going to sit Giles. No way.

By David

August 2, 2006 12:18 AM | Link to this

Aybar will be used as a super-sub, same as Betemit had been. He’ll occasionally spell everyone in the infield outside of LaRoche, and we’re golden if there are further issues with Chipper or Giles.

By Train Wreck Bystander

August 2, 2006 01:01 AM | Link to this

Giles seems to be doing much better in the 2-slot.

I think .500 ball is within reach this season. But I don’t expect a wild card out of this team. Too many teams ahead of us, and they are playing each other. They can’t all go on a skid.

If this were July 2 instead of August 2, maybe a wild card shot would be feasable.

This is a lot more fun to watch than the June from Hell, though.

By Ron Roberts

August 2, 2006 01:01 AM | Link to this

Folks, the trade of Betemit was good for all parties concerned, and I think that’s the mark of a good trade, frankly.

The Dodgers benefit by getting a player they feel can be an everyday third baseman; we already have an everyday third baseman (when healthy), and needed a utility fill-in (Aybar) and some bullpen help. Aybar’s younger, not as deserving of an everyday shot as Betemit was, frankly, but has tremendous upside. PLUS a change of scenery will apparently benefit Baez, and he’s certainly an upgrade for our bullpen’s setup crew.

Again, the key to any hint of a postseason for Atlanta is Tim Hudson. Horacio Ramirez has given us 7 of 11 quality starts (5-4 in that span - with our previously shaky ‘pen), and if he can just maintain that clip, with Smoltz being Smoltz and getting Hudson on track, the only team I see comparable to us is Houston, far as the wild card chase goes.

Hudson’s the key, though.

So, let’s pull for the Dodgers to take 2 of 3 in Cincinatti and go in with a 4.5 game deficit, and leave with a mere 3.5 game deficit by taking 2 of 3 our damned selves.

This road trip is the watershed moment. And Hudson will be a key factor, either way.

Oh, and geez, can we get rid of that worthless LaRoche, now?

The knee-jerk couch-coaches who were ready to run him off early in the season sure are quiet about him last month or so. I’m just glad Cox is as patient with him as he was with Andruw last spring, too.

Seriously, that’s how you can decipher for yourself which folks’ blog entries are worth reading and which are worth skipping… when ya see the name-calling, character-bashing, low-blow quips and knee-jerk “bench him, trade him” clamroing…(especially early in the season)… move to the next post.

By Canuckbravesfan

August 2, 2006 01:30 AM | Link to this

Is it just my imagination or does Hudson seem to the wall around 88-92 pitches ??? With the addition of the bullpen help, surely Cox and McDowell can see that we need to go to the pen earlier with Hudson. He just seems to lose command in the 6th inning and seems to lack stamina. Any thoughts on that ??

By Canuckbravesfan

August 2, 2006 01:31 AM | Link to this

That last post should have read “hit the wall”

By dfree

August 2, 2006 01:36 AM | Link to this

first off, lets stop with the there’s too many teams ahead of the braves talk, thats a cop out, the braves got as close as 4.5 games out of the wild card after the last road trip, even after that absolutely horrendous homestand, as of tonight we lost only one game (5.5 out now) all those teams ahead of the braves simply are not that good, none of them, the braves aren’t either right now, but they have shown signs of being able to make a run, the bullpen settling down is a good sign, all we need is for the starting pitchers to go six, and give up 4 or less and yates, baez and wickman will hold them, the offense will be fine, bottom line is that all those teams out west will beat eachother up, the marlins will fade and the phils have given up, the brewers traded their best player and the reds have weak starting pitching and play in a ball park that makes no lead safe, if the braves can avoid anymore losing streaks of 4 games and keep winning series and throw in a sweep against the awful teams, they can make a serious run, the scehdule sets up very well and chipper can be almost like mcgriff in 93’ when he comes back, close the deal, lot of baseball left to catch some sucky teams

By tommy tomahawk

August 2, 2006 01:41 AM | Link to this

i don’t wanna hear anymore about the braves not needing to make a run at the wild card because they wil just lose in the postseason, the braves are 5-1 against the padres, and 4-2 against the cardinals, i like their chances in each of those series in october, especially playing in petco, if hudson figures it out (probably most important if of the season) davies or ramierez could provide a very nice rotation

By rob

August 2, 2006 01:48 AM | Link to this

we’re in the race right now, but August will let us know for sure. we play the reds, the brewers, the fish, and the giants. If we can win those series it will help us climb the ranks, and sellers like pirates, phils, and nats are must win series.

we’re going to need some sweeps IMHO to get w/n 1.5 games.

It all comes down to Huddy. I’d like to see Thompson or Davies get back soon and pitch in quality starts, but Huddy winning 8 games down the stretch would be just what the doctor ordered.

By Chop Chop

August 2, 2006 02:19 AM | Link to this

Hit Renteria leadoff when Chipper comes back. Giles should be hot for most of the rest of the year if he stays in the 2-slot. It really makes you wonder why Bobby was idiotic enough to keep Giles hitting leadoff. Renteria steals more bases than Giles. Sure, Giles can’t bunt, but since when did a Cox-managed team play small ball to win? I’d rather have Giles stroking doubles and Renteria scoring than having Renteria come up to the plate with one out because the leadoff spot plays mind games with Giles.

Of all the dumb moves that the Braves have made this year (sticking with Reitsma as a closer for a month and a half longer than sanity allowed, letting Sosa implode in the rotation and as Reitsma’s replacement, etc.), allowing Giles to hit leadoff when he was extremely uncomfortable doing so is probably the worst. I just hope Bobby has enough common sense to give Renteria that shot when Chipper comes back.

By Matt B

August 2, 2006 04:41 AM | Link to this

“If you fall off the horse, you get back on.”

The long steady climb of August begins… 1 day down 1 game gained on the wild card and 1 game gained in the division.

1.5 games a week would put us with a 1/2 game lead in the wild card and 8 game hole in division heading into september.

We need huddy and horam to be solid get us 6 or 7 good innings everytime out.

Smoltz can keep being smoltz…

Chucky get back on track and get a 5th starter rolling…

Even in a dismal series… especially the sunday game the bullpen allowed only 4 runs in 8 innings, which wasn’t bad… get Davies back and stick schiell in the pen.

1 inning one game at a time… LET’s GO BRAVES!!!

By Andy

August 2, 2006 05:09 AM | Link to this

IF the pen had not given 6 of smotlz games away he would be at 15 and 5 I think. WOW. Woulda coulda shoulda—however the pen does look great—as long as you don’t see most of the pen or all of then pen like you do most nights thats smotlz is not starting. Come on Huddy, come on huddy, U CAN DUOOOO ITATEEE!!!!!

Oh yeah—asking renteria to hit 1st altough a good arguement—and how many times does a leadoff hitter actually lead off any inning other than the 1st? Not that darn often—however, edgar wants to stay at second—has expressed it—I want to stay second—cox allows the senior guy have his way(remember chipper batting 4th to be a bodyguard for Gary and his 131 rbi’s—chipper prefers 3rd but gary has more time in the league)As far as the damage goes to the team—I do think that if a player feels more comfortable in a certain spot cox has to try to give it to them—giles has to lead off—no where else. Hey andruw stole a base tonight—who knows right!?

By supergrass

August 2, 2006 06:20 AM | Link to this

it maybe too late in the season but the additions helped. each time the bullpen blew another lead, i felt pieces of my hair fall out. hopefully with the additions braves can at least finish above .500

By azcats

August 2, 2006 07:15 AM | Link to this

Remember. These are the Pirates the Braves are facing. Sweep them and the Reds and then you can claim to have a chance at the wildcard. Unfortuneately the only starter that can pitch won’t throw for the next 4 games. The bats better be supper HOT because I guarantee the starting pitching gets shelled (4 or more runs) the next four games. Can you remember the days of only giving up 0, 1, or 2 runs. Why can’t ANYBODY on the staff (except Smoltz) do that anymore? To bad the farm is bare.

By Dick from Pburg

August 2, 2006 07:52 AM | Link to this

As a fan from another Tribe I’ve seen Baez and Wickie through the ups and downs. You’ll sweat out shaky closes with Wickie but you’ll be happy a great percentage of the time. Baez is another story. He seems to have wicked stuff but will disappoint you frequently.

By Terry Carden

August 2, 2006 07:54 AM | Link to this

Whoa, don’t need to get over excited about beating a last place team who just dumped a lot of players. Let’s wait until we sweep Cinncy to annoint Braves WC winner. This team still has lots of holes, now mainly in starting pitching.

By Huddy's the key

August 2, 2006 08:22 AM | Link to this

If Hudson can pitch like an “ace” like he did briefly at the beginning of the season, then we’ll be ok. He’s shown signs of snapping out of it recently, but just can’t get those last few outs in the 6th/7th inning.

Pulling for West Coast Braves (aka Dodgers) to win their series against the Reds and start whittling down these GB’s.

By jack

August 2, 2006 08:33 AM | Link to this

ALWAYS have been an Atlanta Braves & Hawks fan. Amazing what the Braves have done in the past 14 years. Hindsight is 20/20 but even the most casual fan knew we needed to address the closer role early on. If we had, The Mets would be nervous looking over their shoulders right now. Shame.

By Head Coach

August 2, 2006 08:42 AM | Link to this

My lord , they win one game against the lowly Pirates and the bandwagon gets happy feet. Are you village people aware that the Florida Marlins have better pitching than the Braves ? Raise your hand if you think the Marlins are playoff material ? Are you all aware that the Braves will have to win between 32 and 36 of the remaining 57 games just to be in contention for the wildcard and 36 wins would give them 85 wins. O by the way NO TEAM HAS EVER WON THE WILDCARD WITH ANYTHING LESS THAN 88 WINS. Sorry to pour water on the bandwagon , but folks it just aint happening.

By Head Coach

August 2, 2006 08:47 AM | Link to this

O yea, I forgot to mention , the Marlins have a better record than the Braves.

By Rodger

August 2, 2006 09:03 AM | Link to this

maybe no team has won the wildcard with less than 88 wins, but the whole leage has never sucked as bad as the NL does now!

By Choppin Bob

August 2, 2006 09:04 AM | Link to this

ten bucks says hudson pitches a no hitter next time out

By Rodger

August 2, 2006 09:04 AM | Link to this

Plus, good news, it looks like Thompson won’t be back anytime soon.

By Rodger

August 2, 2006 09:05 AM | Link to this

Choppin Bob, please pay in cash…

By Larry

August 2, 2006 09:18 AM | Link to this

Count me in the optomistic, glass is half full camp. I believe that this club is capable of playing much better…we’ve had a couple of hot streaks already this year and one more will put us right in the middle of the wild card race. The key is getting better starting pitching.

For all those who prefer to whine and complain…go ahead. There’s plenty of reasons to doubt. I choose to see the opportunity that still exists and will cheer for the Braves (as I have done since 1967) until mathmatically eliminated. For the record, the team I’m most afraid of is Florida.

By KneeJerk

August 2, 2006 09:27 AM | Link to this

“coach”, how many towels do you have? You’ve already thrown about a dozen in. With that kind of attitude, the guys you used to “coach” probably wouldn’t run through a paper sign for you, much less a brick wall. Did you derive your “coaching” attitude from Henry Winkler in the Waterboy? This team does have a definite shot. We have almost 2 months to make up a 5 1/2 game deficit. No one ahead of us has to collapse. We just have to play 5 1/2 better. Some teams will drop out of the race in the next 2-3 weeks. I think we’re in it for the long haul. It’s not out of the question to win 6 in a row here. Where would that put us?

By KC

August 2, 2006 09:38 AM | Link to this

Choppin bob: Good morning!

As much as I hate to take that bet… I think I’m going to have to. And I would be more than happy to lose.

By ebineezer

August 2, 2006 09:50 AM | Link to this

The Braves were doomed before the season began as JS did nothing in the off season to shore up a bullpen that EVERYBODY knew was not going to do the job. Getting Wickman and Baez was like a no brainer. He had to get somebody, anybody. Why did it take soooo long? LaRoach is hot now and I am glad he is but I still would have rather tried Chipper at 1st and Betemit at 3rd. It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if the Braves had started the season that way. Man, I hate to see Betemit go! Renteria might have booted the ball late last night but overall he has been a most pleasant surprise this year. Everybody has been riding Giles pretty hard this year and rightfully so, but I still like him and hope he continues to turn his season around the way LaRoach is doing. He is not a leadoff hitter and I don’t understand why Bobby has blindly stuck him there so much this season. Bobby gave him a shot and it didn’t work so move on to somebody, anybody else. Odds are certainly against the Braves winning the wildcard but I’m not worrying about that now, I just hope they continue to play like last night and not like they did against the Muts.

By KC

August 2, 2006 09:51 AM | Link to this

AGREED… Huddy is definitely the key.

If Huddy were to snap back into form tomorrow, we would win the wild card. And with a sharp Huddy to go along with Smoltz and Ramirez (as long as HoRam doesn’t have one of his periodic meltdown starts in the 1st round), we would have an excellent chance of doing some damage in October once we got there.

I said it yesterday, but it bears repeating…

• The offense is fine (especially if we can get Chipper healthy).

• The bullpen is fine now.

• Smoltz is Smoltz

• HoRam will win 6-9 more games between now and the end of the season. (He’s almost completely shut down the opposition in 8 of 11 starts since his return from the DL in May).

• I even think the bottom of our rotation will be fine once Davies gets back, which should happen soon. *(Sunday was the first time C.James has failed to at least keep the Braves in a ballgame, and that’s all you really ask of a 4th/5th starter… “keep us in the game”).

Huddy’s the answer. If Tim Hudson is on his game, and the Braves are healthy (especially Chipper), the Braves have the best team in the NL. With a sharp Hudson, we are significantly better than the Reds or any other team in the WC race. If Huddy is Huddy, we’ll get it done. If not…

By dannycardwell

August 2, 2006 10:01 AM | Link to this

i wonder if the mets would be in first place if we had wickman all year as we could have if we had a good general manager. i keep hearing about the 3-4 good trades he has made. how about the 20+ bad ones or the deals he didnt make. chipper and smoltz both had taken pay cuts to get better arms in the bullpen and what did he do with it? must have spent most on his buddies because he sure didnt help us when we needed him. he could have signed wickman for 2 years for the same money chipper gave back. as for not being able to win the wild card i seem to remember in 1982? we had a huge lead going into september and lost over 20 games in the last month and barely won the division on the last day. we are in it although florida has better pitching. you never know. i believe if i were bobby i would automatically pull hudson after 5 innings as its clear he dont have the stamina for any more due to the heat.

By KC

August 2, 2006 10:09 AM | Link to this

dannycardwell:

No offense man, but if you think JS is a bad GM, you don’t understand very much about major league baseball. He is regarded throughout baseball, and by many people smarter than either you or I in this regard, as one of the best GM’s in the game.

The Braves have won 14 straight division titles. That says it all right there. Sure, ATL has only won 1 World Series in all of those trips, but as a GM, all you can do is put together a team with enough talent to get there. It’s up the players to perform when the rubber meets the road.

JS has accomplished more than any GM in baseball has accomplished in a very, very long time. You might be able to argue that the Yankees’ Brian Cashman has accomplished more (because they’ve won several championships over the last 10 year), but then again, they have a payroll of almost 3 times the league average to work with.

When Time Warner slashed spending several years ago, many people predicted that would be the end of the run, but JS managed to keep putting winning teams on the field every year, even with diminished resources.

Argue that the Braves “don’t have a good GM” all you want, but the facts don’t favor your argument.

By Jordan

August 2, 2006 10:13 AM | Link to this

Obviously, if we had been able to get this bullpen help earlier in the season we would have a better record by about 10 wins and that would make a huge difference in our current standing and our chances of making the post-season. We will not win our division unless we can beat the Mets head-to-head, and if we get swept by them we deserve to lost the division. We need to get on a serious winning streak if we are going to catch the wild-card. And that will only happen if our starting pitching picks up the ball and starts running with it. GO BRAVES! It can happen.

By Ike

August 2, 2006 10:37 AM | Link to this

GOOD MORNING EVERYONE… let me just say that i enjoy and share in the enthusiasm about the rest of the year. There’s no reason not to keep hope and stay supportive, even if that makes the potential fall from grace even harder to bear.

That being said, people need to stop assuming that our rotation will be fine down the stretch!! outside smoltz, no one has an era under 4.50! there is NO WAY Horacio wins 9 more games this year, KC. and you say taht James has kept us in games, which is true but we have given him run support so it’s not a matter of good pitching per se. and you does anyone here have absolutely no confidence with James and Shiell (or other) pitching FRI-SAT in Cinci?? am i taking crazy pills or does no one else recognize this. i want the braves to win more than anything else, but reading through these blogs and seeing blind assumptions about the rotation isn’t giving me much hope.

By midnite

August 2, 2006 10:42 AM | Link to this

For once this season I felt like the lead was secure going into the 8th. Baez was strong and big Bob W. was in command. Who cares about the run in 9th? It was nice to sit back in the easy chair relax and enjoy the win. Starter goes 7, set up 8th, close it down in the 9th, thats all we need boys.

By don

August 2, 2006 10:57 AM | Link to this

One robin does not necessarily indicate the arrival of spring.

By Jason

August 2, 2006 11:14 AM | Link to this

I feel very confident now in the eighth and ninth inning with Baez and Wickman on the mound, BUT…the problem is getting them in the game. If the starters don’t pick it up, Baez and Wickman will never get in the game. Great job last night!

By KC

August 2, 2006 11:20 AM | Link to this

IKE:

I just looked at the schedule… Looks like HoRam (provided he’s healthy) will make 11 more starts. So, after looking at the schedule… you’re correct. There’s no way he picks up 9 wins in 11 games. I do think 7 or 8 is not outside the realm of possibility, and I really can’t see him winning any fewer than 6 of his remaining starts. The team may win more of his starts than that, but I mean in terms of HoRam’s record.

Let’s keep in mind that in his last 11 starts he’s 5-4, but his record over that stretch should be 7-3. He was the victim of bullpen blowups and the lack of offense in June.

He had 2 no-decision starts in which he allowed only on run over 7 innings. And on 6/1 HoRam was saddled with a loss despite giving up 0 (that’s right ZERO!) earned runs over 7 innings of work. In 20 years as a Braves fan, I can’t ever remember a pitcher winding up with an “L” on their record despite giving up no earned runs.

In his 8 quality starts, his numbers are: 5-1, 1.67 ERA. Granted, the other 3 were bad… really bad. But a guy that shuts the other team down 8 out of 11 times is valuable. And with an improved offense and bullpen, there’s every reason to believe the Braves will win at least 7-8 of 11 starts HoRam makes the rest of the way.

And is far as C.James is concerned… all I’m saying is that he’s a 4th/5th starter, and all you really ask of a guy at the bottom of your rotation these days is “keep us in the game”. A decent 4th/5th starter will give you a chance to win if you can put 4 runs on the board (which Atlanta will most of the time). C.James has done that in all but one of his starts. So as a 4th/5th starter, I think C.James will be fine. I think we can look for similar results out of Davies when he returns (nothing great just keep us around and give us a chance to win it.

Again, Smoltz is Smoltz. If HoRam can give us in his next 11 starts what he gave us out of his last 11, ATL will win 7-8 of his remaining starts. That’s pretty good. But…

IT’S ALL ABOUT TIM HUDSON AT THIS POINT! He holds the Braves’ season in his hands.

By KC

August 2, 2006 11:23 AM | Link to this

IKE:

One more thing… the “blind assumptions” comment was unfair. I try to put a great deal of thought into things before I say them, and agree or disagree; I don’t think I’ve said anything nonsensical.

By Ike

August 2, 2006 11:38 AM | Link to this

KC- sorry to offend, it wasn’t meant as a knock on you or any specific person in particular, but just an observation reading through all the posts before me and seeing so many “ifs” in regard to our rotation.

Our rotation has been surprisingly bad this year, and especially within the past month. i was trying to point out the other side of the coin to the multitude of people who think the rotation will heal quickly.

By RobertH

August 2, 2006 11:39 AM | Link to this

If Hudson holds the Braves’ season in his hands, you can forget any hope of a postseason.

John Schuerholz may be a genius, but the long term contract he gave Hudson was one of the most foolish decisions since Butler, Jacoby, and Behenna for Len Barker. Don’t get me wrong…I was happy to see the trade itself. But Schuerholz let himself be intimidated by Hudson and his agent. After taking some heat for giving up Marquis, Wainwright, and King for Drew, who was only here for one year, Schuerholz felt he had to get Hudson tied up long term. Hudson and his agent demanded that any new deal be signed before the season began. Schuerholz foolishly gave him the deal he wanted ebfore he even threw one pitch in a Braves uniform. In 2007 and 2008 Hudson will get paid 13 million a year. 13 MILLION!!! Is there any Braves fan anywhere who actually believes that Hudson will come close to ever earning that kind of money? I’m sick and tired of hearing Schuerholz and the rest of Braves management talk about “budget constraints”. No one held a gun to Schuerholz’s head and forced him to make this foolish deal. The biggest budget constraints Schuerholz has to live with are foolish contracts which he himself agreed to. Remember that Hudson was injured the last half of his last year in Oakland. He missed seven starts. Some people then thought we were getting damaged goods.

I’m also sick and tired of corporate apologists on Braves radio (like Mark Lemke) blindly supporting Hudson…”no one feels worse about how he’s pitching than Hudson himself”. Bull crap. Hudson is the only one who can do anything about it. If he feels so bad about it, he needs to get his head and his heart right and start pitching the way he’s expected to. If he can no longer pitch at that level, he needs to get the heck out of Atlanta, ASAP. He came in here demanding a long term contract and big bucks. If he can’t perform, he gets no sympathy from me, and he should get none from any fan.

Hudson is darn lucky to be in Atlanta. He should have been booed out of the stadium when he walked off the mound last Sat. against the Mets.

By Ike

August 2, 2006 11:41 AM | Link to this

I know this is off topic, but just to throw it out there… Ex-Braves on the Dodgers went 7-15 last night with 6 RBI.

That includes a HR by Wilson Betemit, i’m happy to see the guy have early success, i just wish he was still on our side!

By KC

August 2, 2006 11:45 AM | Link to this

IKE:

Gotcha… no problem.

I don’t think all is well with our rotation. I just think that Tim Hudson is 90% of our problem going forward.

I think after the Mets series, the tendency is to yell “THE SKY IS FALLING!” in regard to our rotation. I don’t think it is… except with Tim Hudson (and that’s an awfully big “except”). HoRam and James both got shelled over the weekend, but I don’t think we need to panic about either one of those guys. HoRam will be a solid #3 starter, and C.James will do a decent job as a 4/5 starter. The key to everything is… well, I guess I don’t need to repeat myself again.

By Joe

August 2, 2006 11:46 AM | Link to this

Okay, I’m going to eat my early season words about the Mets eventually choking and the Braves taking their 15th straight division title. The Mets are an awsome ball club & hats off to ‘em.

I still think we’ve got the NL wild card in check and the schedule to do it. For all I care the Mets can win the division by 25 games over 2nd place. What would be fun is Atlanta taking them in the first round and sweeping it in three straight. Would that not be the best? Then the Met fans can dust off their Yankee jerseys for the duration of the playoffs.

By Ike

August 2, 2006 11:48 AM | Link to this

RobertH— I agree Hudson has been a colossal disappointment thus far, but i feel in this case it is unfair to pin blame on Shuerholz. We all have 20/20 hindsight. Hudson was 92-39 in Oakland, a true ace, and we were ALL ecstatic (sp?) when JS locked him up for 4 years. we thought our Smoltz-Hudson duo would surely win us some 5 game playoff series.

I don’t really think he can turn it around this year, but talent like that doesn’t just dissipate. I think he can be turned around during the offseason and become an effective #1 or 2 starter for us. (although that raises issues about McDowell— the guy hasn’t had the experience of turning around a veteran guy, that’s what Leo was best at)

By KC

August 2, 2006 11:51 AM | Link to this

Oh come on RobertH!!

You’re doing a little Tuesday morning armchair quarterbacking aren’t you?

At the time we traded for Hudson, it made all the sense in the world to lock him up for another few seasons. This guy had been an absolute model of consistency in baseball for years.

Any GM in baseball would have done the exact same thing, and we signed him well below what market value was for him at the time. Signing Hudson was a very, very smart move. But just because you make a smart move, doesn’t mean it’s going to pay off. John Shuerholz is a great GM, but he’s not #$&#!%^ Ms. Cleo!

By 45 year Braves Fan

August 2, 2006 11:52 AM | Link to this

I dropped in to the R-Braves’ game in Richmond Monday night, against the Norfolk Tides (Mets) and was really impressed with Will Startup in a 1.1 inning relief role. Brayan Pena caught the whole game and looked very good, winning it in the 10th inning on a walk off homer with 2 outs. One more player, Michael Ryan in left field made an inning ending catch with men on, laying out flat like Andruw does. 3 impressive players. I’d like to see Pena off the bench in late innings in Atlanta!

By Ike

August 2, 2006 11:56 AM | Link to this

Logistically speaking, i think we HAVE to go on some sort of good run, like winning 10 of 12, or 14 of 17. honestly, i don’t think “winning series” just taking 2/3 from most ppl is gonna cut it, we need to start beating ppl UP! i think the only way that happens is IF the starting rotation miraculously turns around. which would mean hudson somehow regaining form (maybe 2 good starts in a row would get his confidence back?) and Davies coming back and immediatey contributing at a #3-starter level.

Personally, i don’t think this will happen. we haven’t had consistency all year, why should we expect it now? but boy do i hope i’m wrong.

By KC

August 2, 2006 11:59 AM | Link to this

JOE:

I certainly agree that the Mets are going to win the NL East. We have no chance now.

I will have to say though that I can’t help but feel that the Mets are over achieving a little. It still wouldn’t surprise me to see them hit a slump. Their starting pitching just isn’t all that good. Tom Glavine is their number 2 guy, and right on cue… he’s declining just like he has about 2/3 or 3/4 of the way through the season in each of the last 4-5 seasons. After Martinez and Glavine, the really don’t have much of anything.

I think the biggest reason they haven’t had a sustained slump is that the level of competition in the NL just isn’t that high this year.

They’ve got the division locked up, but Mets fans who are dreaming of a World Series title this year, are doing just that… dreaming. No starting pitching, no rings.

By Ike

August 2, 2006 12:00 PM | Link to this

Speaking of Bryan Pena… is there ANY reason Pratt and Orr are still on this ballclub?? seems like we have young talent at both these positions who have high potential who could benefit from some time in the bigs

By KC

August 2, 2006 12:03 PM | Link to this

IKE:

I hate to say it, but it might be asking a little much to look for #3 starter quality out of Davies right now. He wasn’t looking all that great before he got hurt. I still think he’s got the stuff and the makeup to be a great pitcher, but I just don’t know that we’re going to see much of that this year. I’m just hoping he can look like a decent 4th/5th starter when he returns.

As far as miraculous turnaround for the rotation… again, I think as Hudson goes, so goes the rotation.

By Alan

August 2, 2006 12:54 PM | Link to this

Well, it’s just about unanimous: Tim Hudson is the key to the rest of the season. I - as well as many others - have been saying it all year. He’d better step up or it’s over. Smoltz IS Smoltz, which is terrific (almost automatic lately) and Ramirez and James are fine at #3 and #4 (as good as any other team in the NL, including the Mets). The “rub” is at #2 (Hudson) and, of course, and #5 (Shiell - hopefully to be replaced by Davies soon). Hudson absolutely has to deliver. And I don’t want to hear about a “lack of stamina” after 5 innings. He’s a professional athlete, for crying out loud - a starting pitcher making (not earning, unfortunately) $6 million! If he “lacks stamina,” he should quit the game and go get a 9-to-5 job behind a desk somewhere. All year, he’s insisting he feels fine - “Never better,” he said after last Saturday’s disaster. He has been a HUGE disappointment - the biggest of all this season - and that includes Reitsma, Sosa and Thomson, combined! Come on, Hudson! Pitch. Throw strikes. Keep the ball down. Is that so difficult? Start earning your salary already. It’s about time.

By todd h

August 2, 2006 01:06 PM | Link to this

i like the moves. now, lets hope the starters can be more consistant. haven’t given up hope ,but the losing streaks have to end.

By Head Coach

August 2, 2006 01:09 PM | Link to this

Davies will be back at the end of the month , of course by then it will be far to late. The good news is we have seen the last of Reitsma , Sosa , Thomson and Remlinger. I cant wait until the 40 man roster expansion gets here so we can see some more of these kids from triple and double A make a splash for 2007. it will be very interesting to see what happens to Aybar when Chipper comes off the DL , probably back to the bench and Giles will be leading off again.

By KC

August 2, 2006 01:26 PM | Link to this

Alan

I’m not sure who would be blaming anything on a lack of stamina. Unless there’s a medical problem we don’t know about… there’s no lack of stamina problem with Huddy. He’s never had these problems in the 5th or 6th before. It’s not like he showed up to camp this year with a beer-belly. He’s in good shape. There’s no telling what the problem is. It’s mystifying and incredibly frustrating for the Braves, Braves fans, and I’m sure most of all for Tim H.

By KC

August 2, 2006 01:42 PM | Link to this

Anybody notice how much more comfortable Giles seems to be in the #2 slot? He has admitted that he’s not comfortable leading off, and from what we’ve seen, it doesn’t look like he’s blowing smoke. So when Chipper comes back, why not hit Renteria in the leadoff spot, and Giles #2?

Renteria’s hit leadoff before (on a regular basis), and might feel more comfortable there than Giles. There’s no advantage I can see to having Giles hit before Renteria. Yeah, ‘Rent’ is a good RBI guy with a little pop in his bat, but so is Giles when he’s right.

In fact Renteria and Giles are remarkably similar hitters.

• Both have 15-20 HR power.

• Both hit a lot of doubles.

• Both have decent speed.

• Both are .300 hitters (by nature)

• Both like to hit the ball the other way.

Renteria is on pace to put up almost the exact same numbers that Giles put up in his last 2 full (not including his injury-shortened 2004 season) seasons. There’s very little to separate these two players offensively, except that one of them has been comfortable and in a good rhythm all year (this season), and one hasn’t.

If there’s a chance that Renteria might be a little bit more comfortable in the leadoff spot than Giles, why not flip them in the order once Chipper comes back?

By dannycardwell

August 2, 2006 01:44 PM | Link to this

you know, all year, everybody seems to think all our troubles are due to the budget being slashed by time warner but thats not completely true. we still are in the top 10 in salary. florida won 2 world series with half our salary at the time. the angel also won one with less than half our salary. florida has better pitching than us right now with i think a 15 million dollar payroll. pitching always wins championships. we wont be able to trade this time of year to better ourselves so the only answer is in our minor league teams. the bull pen got a lot better with wickman and company. surely theres at least 1-3 kids that can be pulled up to help. the wild card is still winnable and you never know the mets could take a dive for a couple weeks. the kids bailed us out last year and could do so again.

By Head Coach

August 2, 2006 02:20 PM | Link to this

For the Braves to make the playoffs they would have to win the wildcard. Before they can win the wildcard they have to get to .500 The last time they were at .500 was June 4th and that was almost two months ago. Will somebody please give me a rational explanation just how this team that has 49 wins and is 7 games under .500 after 105 games played is going to get back over .500 and win 35 to 40 of the remaining 57 games with the horrid pitching they have ? Rational explanations only please.

By Joe

August 2, 2006 02:30 PM | Link to this

KC: Right on. I do think the Mets have a great team this year but I also feel someone in the NL will knock them off before the World Series. I’d like that to be Atlanta.

Head Coach: No doubt the Braves need to reach .500 to go anywhere but they’ve got to do it soon. 60-60 will give them 42 games to play with to catch up. If they wait until 72-72 they’re toast.

August is a very do-able schedule. I think they can be over the .500 mark by then end of the month.

By KC

August 2, 2006 02:37 PM | Link to this

JOE

IF, and this looks like a huge if right now… but if Tim Hudson can get it turned around soon, we’ve got a great chance of being the team to knock the Mets out in the postseason.

That would be absolutely beautiful!!! For the Mets to finally beat us out for the pennant, only to have their nuts handed to them once more by the Braves. That would be priceless. If that happened, I would love to have the contact information of every Mets fan that’s been in these blogs talkin’ trash!

But… we’re a long way from thinking about that if Huddy doesn’t straighten things out soon.

By Joe

August 2, 2006 02:47 PM | Link to this

KC,

I’m there with you on the Hudson situation. I only bring up the opportunity of knocking off NY in the post season because it would just be a beautiful sight watching the Mets fans cry in their beer all night after the fall. Hell, I’d bring you with me to Atlanta’s sports bar for Mets fans to witness the sight… where ever that bar is.

Then again, we could easily be outnumbered and chased out.

By Head Coach

August 2, 2006 02:48 PM | Link to this

Joe , there are 27 games left in this month. your telling me they are going to win 18 games this month ? thats 18-9 , gee 67 wins by the end of the month. Then they only have to win 18 to 20 of the remaining 30 games. Did we trade for Roger Clemens and no one told me yet ? Roy Oswalt ? wow we are gonna kick some butt now !!! lol. Hey buddy , I said Rational explanations only.

By mvalia

August 2, 2006 02:52 PM | Link to this

I am glad to see us struggling a little bit. Maybe if we can get into the playoffs, the Atlanta locals won’t take it for granted and actually fill Turner field during the NLDS. As a die-hard Braves fan from NJ, it killed me to see the poor attendence during the year, no less the playoffs. Five.five games back… we can do it! At least then I’ll get my money’s worth for the MLB extra innings package since TBS no longer covers as most of the games.

By KC

August 2, 2006 02:55 PM | Link to this

JOE

…chased out… OR WORSE!

By KC

August 2, 2006 02:58 PM | Link to this

HEAD COACH

In order to for the Braves to win the wild card, they have to win 6 or 7 more of their remaining games than all the other teams (within 5-1/2 games of the Reds) do.

Considering the mediocrity of the other teams in this race… that’s doable. But, not with Hudson giving up an “L” every time out. We need Huddy to pull this off.

By RobertH

August 2, 2006 03:14 PM | Link to this

No, Ike and KC, everyone was NOT ecstatic! In fact, I don’t know one Braves fan who was. Hindsight? It didn’t take hindsight to see at the end of 2004 that Hudson’s ERA was his highest in 4 years, and that his hits allowed and strikeouts per 9 innings were the WORST OF HIS CAREER, not to mention the fact that he missed substantial time because of injuries. Perfect sense? You’re kidding, right? Since when is it “perfect sense”, when a pitcher puts up some of the worst numbers of his career and misses significant time with injuries, to open up the vault and tie him up for four years? This was a stupid deal, and no, it didn’t take hindsight to see it.

By Joe

August 2, 2006 03:16 PM | Link to this

Head Coach,

Rantional is out of the question at this point. Atlanta’s going to have to go beyond what’s rational to them to pull this off and this month is the chance to do it. No doubt this is the poorest Braves team we’ve seen in a long time but the fact is they’re still only 5 1/2 out. For many of us that still grasp at a chance, stranger things have happened: that means they have to get red hot and stay that way for the duration (that also means the bats are going to have to compensate for the pitching)… it won’t be easy but what hell, either that or give up. What fun is that?

By Head Coach

August 2, 2006 03:17 PM | Link to this

I see you guys are putting some deep thought into this , not. I give up ,lol .

By Head Coach

August 2, 2006 03:29 PM | Link to this

Ok, joe . thats the smartest thing Ive heard so far. No rational , lets just hope and pray , sacrifice a couple of animals at homeplate and sell our souls to hades. We can all smoke some weed. Get high , get drunk and go on the warpath , lol. Seriously , I am all for the legalization of marijauna and I dont even smoke. O yea , dig chief Nakahoma up and put his rotting corpse back in his teepee in the centerfield bleachers and then the Braves will win the wildcard , I hope . lol !

By KC

August 2, 2006 03:32 PM | Link to this

RobertH:

Of course you’re right RobertH. Now that I think about it… how could I have been so stupid?!

When a guy posts 2 years of sub-3.00 ERA’s (four consecutive excellent seasons overall) and then has one year (in which he was bothered by an oblique problem that he pitched through all year), sees his ERA shoot AAAAAAALLLL the way up 3.50 (H.S… how terrible!!!!!)… it’s logical and reasonable to write a (then) 29 year old pitcher off as a washed-up has-been.

Sure RobertH. DAMNIT!!! If only JS had picked up the phone and called you, you could have set him straight right then and there. Oh my, this could have all been avoided. I wish you were our GM RobertH, instead of that pathetic unaccomplished looser John Shuerholz!!!

By Robert

August 2, 2006 03:52 PM | Link to this

“surely Cox and McDowell can see that we need to go to the pen earlier with Hudson.”

You ARE kidding, right?

My deep respect for Bobby Cox began back in the early 90’s watching Cox leave Avery in about a third of an inning and two or three runs too long almost every start

You know, the funny thing is we DO have a chance at the wild card spot.

Now before everyone gets all giddy, remember Eeyore’s law , which states that even if your team qualifies for the playoffs, they are still mathematically eliminated from winning the WS if Bobby Cox is the manager

By Vince

August 2, 2006 05:44 PM | Link to this

Joe..sounds good.BUT. according to how it works, if the Braves win the Wild Card, they have to play a division winner other than their own, in this case the Mets.