ajcsportstalk

By fnreitsma

August 17, 2006 05:25 PM | Link to this

braves may win 1 in the florida series…but if we can take 2 of 3, we’ll be in ‘decent’ shape for the 9 game homestand. Bottom line…we’re 8 under .500. if we can win 10 of our next 12…we’ll be in contention for the wild card. otherwise, sorry guys…it’s too late. if we aren’t at .500 by the start of september, we are toast.

By David

August 17, 2006 05:58 PM | Link to this

I was stunned by how effective OV was as a starter. I thought this was an absurd move by Bobby, but he once again demonstrated why he always deserves the benefit of the doubt.

By dfree

August 17, 2006 06:03 PM | Link to this

the key to villareal today was that he got ahead of batters by throwing strikes, this enabled him to move the ball around and not be forced to throw down the middle strikes that usually end up being gopher balls, he’s not the answer, but maybe this can jumpstart something….

By Head Coach

August 17, 2006 06:12 PM | Link to this

This was a great pick me up by Villareal and the bullpen was outstanding. a split was expected and thats exactly what the Braves did. Cox will keep this team focused and playing hard inspite of the fact that they have all but been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. I cant wait to see who gets the call up when the rosters expand on September 1st. As far as the Marlins go they are a team with better pitching , although the Braves offense is much better at scoring runs than the Marlins offense. The Marlins are sending two leftys to the mound in Willis and Olson and I will bet the Marlins will take two out of three from the Braves in Miami this weekend.

By Greg

August 17, 2006 06:44 PM | Link to this

A good and exceptional outing by Villareal! I must admit I was wrong about him. However, I continue to see the Braves struggle on this road trip against the Marlins. I see the Braves taking only one game and remain where they are in the WC standings. Maybe the Braves can come home and win a lot of games for a change they are overdue for playing well at home. If they can win 7 out of 9 they can move up 2 spots and cut off at least 1 1/2 a game of of the Reds’ lead in the WC. Like I have always said, Hudson is going to have to step it up and somebody else in the rotation whoever it may be needs to step up if the Braves are to be in the post season for the 15th consecutive time. Andruw Jones needs to play and Renteria needs to break out of his slump (which he already did with a 3-5 performance against the Nats), Giles needs to get hot and set the table. A consistent effort has to come from the bullpen. If they do these 3 things in Florida, then they will either win two of of 3 or sweep the Marlins. It is as shame that the Braves have the same record or near the same record as a team with rookies and a 15 million dollar payroll!!!!!!! aka. the Florida Marlins. If they sweep or take 2/3 then I really believe the Braves can have a nice run at home and probably be in the top 3 spots of the WC race and maybe at 500 or above!!!!

By brent

August 17, 2006 06:57 PM | Link to this

It took Bobby three tries with Jason Shiell to ship him to AAA.

We’ve had Oscar all along …

I know his ERA isn’t great, but he is 9-1 now.

You think Oscar could’ve helped us win even one of those 3 Shiell losses? I do.

By Drixie

August 17, 2006 07:07 PM | Link to this

Oscar is young (about 25?) is 9-1, and just pitched 5 strong innings in a spot start. Oscar, you rock!

By john

August 17, 2006 07:49 PM | Link to this

Don’t get carried away Oscar is not Cy Young and if we don’t get some speed and pitching for next year we’ll still have trouble.

By Pete Err

August 17, 2006 08:16 PM | Link to this

Villareal couldn’t pitch a handful of catshit into a clothes basket!

By Ike

August 17, 2006 08:32 PM | Link to this

65 pitches, 46 strikes.

that’s the recipie for success for ANY pitcher, whether its an ace or a 5th starter

By Robert(Justice Is The Best)

August 17, 2006 09:34 PM | Link to this

Well, Pete Err, you must be blind because Oscar pitched very well today. Can he do it again? Who knows? But, today he did well. Give credit where credit is due.

By ATLER

August 17, 2006 09:41 PM | Link to this

How did Frenchy do can anyone tell me??? How about 0-4. Way to go posterboy. By the way nice win Bravos. Hurry back soon Andruw.

By gotigers72

August 17, 2006 10:09 PM | Link to this

Oscar was lights out today. Did what he’s supposed to do, kept the ball down and threw strikes. Even he admitted after the game that the key to his performance was keeping the ball down. That’s not been the case all year for Braves’ pitchers with the exception of Smoltz and Wickman. That is a major fundamental for pitching in the majors. Keep the ball down and throw strikes.

By Scalp Em Braves

August 17, 2006 10:15 PM | Link to this

Funny comment there Pete Err. Rumor has it you can’t pour p** out of a boot without instructions, so you are hardly in a position to criticize anything OsVilla does, much less anyone else on the team.

Today was a good day. Don’t get too giddy - tomorrow may not be so joyous. Huddy tends to wilt in the heat, despite his being a Georgia boy and a good Auburn player, due to his stint in the cool climes of the left coast all those years. They might as well change the name of Dolphins Stadium to “Broiler Park” in Miami. Hope he does well tomorrow.

I am cautiously optimistic about our chances for the WC. We need a lot of teams to lose a lot of games, and we have to win. .500 ball from here on out won’t get it. Seems like every time we see reason for hope, something else happens. We need Andruw back, badly. We need our starting pitching to be good, and our bullpen to be good, on the same days. We need Frenchy to quit swinging like Vlad Guerrero - he doesn’t have that gift of hitting balls out of the strike zone. And most of all, we just need some good bounces, and some good luck.

By Yars

August 17, 2006 10:16 PM | Link to this

I agree with what someone posted earlier. Our goal now is to get to .500. If we aren’t at .500 by September 1, it’s over. We shouldn’t even be thinking about the NL wildcard until we reach .500. It’s crunch time. Time is running out, & the players are realizing that. The next 10 games will decide the teams fate. We need to win 8-10 in a row, or else. Some of these teams in front of us right now like the Rockies, Phillies, Padres, heck even the Reds will not win the wildcard. Our biggest threat in my opinion are the Astros & D’backs. With that being said, we still need to go on some sort of winning streak. I don’t mean a 3 game winning streak, I’m talking about a 8-10 game winning streak. We shouldn’t throw in the towel just yet. The next 10 games will decide our fate. BC needs to keep Diaz in LF. Langerhans isn’t hitting this season, and I hope BC doesn’t hand over the LF job to Jordan when he comes back soon. Frenchy needs to stop being so anxious at the plate. Let’s hope Chipper stays healthy and BC can start getting some quality starts out of whoever starts.

By cityofdecatur

August 17, 2006 10:33 PM | Link to this

It ain’t over till it’s over

go Braves!!

O’Villa way to go guy!!!!

By Nola

August 17, 2006 11:05 PM | Link to this

great game today. I was shocked that Cox left Villareal in for as long as he did. I figured he would start bringing in the rag tag bull pen about the 5th inning and blow it. Wonders never cease.

By Kentavo

August 18, 2006 12:17 AM | Link to this

What does Diaz have to do to nail down the LF job? Bake Cox a cake?

By TheTruthMeister

August 18, 2006 12:21 AM | Link to this

You ignorant, inbred morons just about cause me to laugh my damned a$s off—freakin’ Braves win 1 damn game and they’re World Series bound, a pitcher does ok 1 time and he’s Cy f***’ Young, or a players gets 1 damn hit, or maybe even a homer and it’s the reincarnation of Babe damned Ruth on his way to a batting title!—you freakers make me want to puke!—f***’ Braves suck!—always have, always will!—get a life, learn to read and write, and stop screwing your damned sisters!

By Matt M.

August 18, 2006 08:02 AM | Link to this

TruthMeister, what are you talking about. Everything you wrote, nobody said. I never read 1 word about the WS, somebody said OV ISN”T Cy Young material. No homeruns and it was noted that Renti came out of his slump. Who’s the ignorant moron. You can’t even read. Oh and the inbred thing, thats funny, I’ve never heard that. Your right the Braves suck, 1 time in 15 years. We always will and always have.

By Robert(Justice Is The Best)

August 18, 2006 08:07 AM | Link to this

You know, TheTruthMeister, you should really put the “Goose” down. Man, seriously, quit drinking it. Its no good for you. Look at what it did to Maurice Clarrett. Do you want to end up like that? For real, dude. Just put the bottle down and pick a bottle of water instead. Better yet, whenever you feel the urge to type on those ignorant blogs like the one you just did call your AA sponsor. Alright, man.

By Mark

August 18, 2006 09:24 AM | Link to this

It shows how anything little this season makes us fans be optimistic. Its been a rough year for the team and fans.Consistant, is what this team lacks, due to lack of quality pitching.GoBraves! ahhhhhhhhhhhhhohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

By Wolfman

August 18, 2006 10:24 AM | Link to this

Hey Truthmeister,……….I wish I could meet you in a dark alley one night , and see if you would say those comments to my face.You are probably some loser who moved to the ATL from up North because you know everything down here is better, the climate, the people are nice, and the woman especially,…….so take your Yankees or Mets, or Boston, or Phillies hat and Jersey, and stuff it up your fing A#$ !!!!!!!!Whats your team done the last 15 years? Wonder why us Southerners can’t stand you “yankees” , but we still treat them with respect !!!!!!

By Shaun

August 18, 2006 10:30 AM | Link to this

Isn’t it weird how people criticize Chipper Jones for his lack of production and his injuries. He’s actually been one of our two best hitters and he has more plate appearances than Brian McCann, who is getting much deserved praise for his play.

By ColumbusBuckeye

August 18, 2006 10:38 AM | Link to this

Hey guys, the best way to handle truthmeister is to not respond to him. He’s probably just taking out frustation that NBC cancelled Blossom years ago. He just can’t get over it.

By KC

August 18, 2006 10:47 AM | Link to this

I’m not sure from one day to the next whether to thank the baseball gods or curse the heavens.

Us Braves fans have had our share of ill fortune this season. It actually began last September with Hampton’s “Tommy John” surgery. The hits just kept on coming over the winter when our two key free agents both left for major market money elsewhere. Then the Braves were unable to land a free agent closer, and there were no closers available (without grossly overpaying) on the trade market. Then came all the rest of the injuries… Blaine Boyer, John Foster lost for the season. Then Horacio went on the DL (the first time). Kyle Davies wend on the DL for an extended period of time. Chris Reitsma hurt his finger and was lost… oh wait… that was good news. Sorry.

Let’s not forget the inexplicable underperformance. John Thompson who had been quite good for Atlanta (when not on the DL) from about the half way point of 2004 through the first 6-8 weeks of this season (he led the league in ERA over that stretch), suddenly became a 5 million dollar batting practice pitcher overnight. Then when it seemed he was finally turning it around, he got hurt again. Tim Hudson was having a decent season and was coming off a dominant 4 start stretch, when all of a sudden the wheels came off. That horror show lasted for about 7 weeks.

Every time it’s seemed we were getting off the deck, we’ve taken another punch to the gut. After the worst June (or any Month) in franchise history, the bats exploded, this is… until Chipper had to go on the DL again. Tim Hudson finally seemed to have ironed out his problems when HoRam was lost to a finger injury. The National’s series was a perfect example. We got very good starts from both Cormier and Villareal (who’d a thunk it), but John Smoltz goes out and gives up 6 runs. Amazing. There’s no other way to say it… it has been a genuinely lousy year for the Braves so far.

Yet For all of the ill fortune the Braves have suffered this year, they’re still very much in the Wild Card race. Maybe we do have something to thank Lady Luck for after all. Yes, the more I think about it… it might be appropriate for Braves fans to take time out from cursing the baseball gods for the season that has been, and thank them for the mediocrity of the rest of the league. We should not still be in this thing. But we are. We very much are.

We are trailing.500 teams. That means the Braves are likely one 10-of-13 winning stretch away from finding themselves no more than a game or two out of the WC lead, with no more than 1-2 teams in front of them. At the end of any given 2 week stretch, the Braves could find themselves knocking at the door of the Wild Card lead. They certainly have the talent to do it. The question is, can they put it all together and play the kind of ball they’re still capable of (even without Hampton, HoRam, Thompson, Boyer, or Foster) the rest of the way? The Braves have got some work to do, but the playoff hopes are still very much alive. We’ll just have to see what happens over then next 6 weeks. Until then, I’ll reserve judgment on the cruelty or generosity of the baseball gods.

By Shaun

August 18, 2006 10:59 AM | Link to this

KC,

I think the Braves have the talent of a team that should be around .500 or slightly above, based on their runs scored/allowed. Lady Luck has cursed us more than helped us. They are going to have to play over their heads to get back to where they should be, then play over their heads some more to chase down whichever team happens to be in the top spot of the Wild Card race. The odds are against it, but anything’s possible in the NL in 2006.

By Ike

August 18, 2006 11:02 AM | Link to this

KC— this is not the type of starting rotation that can get us 10/13 games (a pace which we would then need to keep up). it’s the type of rotation that will keep us playing .500 ball. we had one stretch where the offense went nuts, and that was nice because our starters could give up 4-6 runs and we would still win.

guys… it’s over… lets just pack up our bags, walk away, and start looking towards next year. i’ll be interested to see what huddy can do tonight. maybe if he throws 7 or 8 good innings (runs < 3) that will be a sign that he can turn things around for next year.

but guys… it’s over. it had to end sometime.

By braves fan

August 18, 2006 11:08 AM | Link to this

One move that should be made post-haste is to re-activate Kyle Davies. He had a good outing the other day in AA, 7 innings and only 2 runs allowed. I know they want to be cautious with him, but since there’s only a month and a half of season left, they should go ahead and bring him up now. If he is ineffective or re-injures himself, the Braves season is pretty much over anyways because without him they stand no chance of putting together the substantial winning streak they need to get to the top of the wild card. So he might as well not waste any more time in Mississippi. I think Villarreal should stay in the rotation. While I don’t think he can keep shutting out teams for 5 innings, he is capable of delivering a handful of good innings every 5 days. Unlike Cormier, Barry, and Schiell, Villarreal deserves to be in the majors. While he’s not the best pitcher in the world, he can get guys out more often than not. Right now I think he represents the Braves best option as the 5th starter.

And speaking of the pitching situation. Is anyone else wondering where all the pitching talent is in the Braves’ farm system? I’ve read for years how they are so good at developing pitching. So where is it? You can’t tell me that they don’t have one single starter that is worth giving a look, even if it is a bit earlier than expected. I mean, who’s starting at Richmond and Mississippi? It can’t just be old retreads and failed relievers can it?

By KC

August 18, 2006 11:13 AM | Link to this

Shaun:

So you’re saying that you think the Braves have been playing up to their potential by playing .500 baseball????

If that’s what you’re saying, I’m going to have to passionately disagree.

If you look at the rotation, we’ve got two ACES in Smoltz and Hudson. Now, of course Hudson hasn’t performed like and ACE (far from it), but that’s my point… underperformance.

Forget about Hampton and HoRam right now… C.James is already as solid a #3 guy as there is in the NL right now (not that that’s saying much, but true none the less). If we get anything decent out of our 4/5 slots, this rotation… even with all the injuries, is capable of being as good as any in the NL. Again, that may not be saying much, but it’s true.

The Braves feel as good going into the 8th/9th innings with a lead right now as any team in baseball, and if nothing else, we know we have one solid middle relieve in Chad Paronto, and a guy who can get lefties out in McBride.

As to the offense: We have 5 all-stars followed by the Francour/LaRoche combination that will post 60-HR/200-RBI this year between the two of them (I know, I know… Francoeur has a lousy on-base percentage, we don’t need to go down that road again). Add to all of that a .300-plus hitter in Matt Diaz… This offense is damn good. The pitching is also capable of being very good. The problem has been injury and underperformance. But this is a .500 club by record only. They are a lot better than they’ve been playing, and are quite capable of playing .650 baseball or better the rest of the way. Not saying that will happen… just that they’re capable.

By TheTruthMeister

August 18, 2006 11:13 AM | Link to this

Well now Wolfman, if I were to met you in a dark alley, the first thing I would need to do, before severely kicking your ignorant a$s, would be to have you let go of my zipper and get up off your damned f* knees. By the way, I have met your sister and your mother in dark alleys, thank goodness, and your sister wasn’t too damned bad, but your mom has been rode hard and put away wet too many times. Wolfy, I wouldn’t live in “ATL” if you gave me the s** place, along with your sister.—-Columbo Suckeye, or whatever your little “handle” is…you sure seem to know alot about NBC’s Blossom…you southern inbred, ignorant, grabasstic, amphibian, sheepfucker!

By KC

August 18, 2006 11:33 AM | Link to this

IKE

I don’t know about that. Smoltz, Hudson, James is not bad 1-3. Keep in mind that James has failed to keep his team in the game in only one of his starts. Take away that one bad outing against the Mets, and he’s 5-2 with a 3.48. If he can keep that up, the Braves can be as good 1-3 as any team in the league.

As far as the 4/5 slots are concerned… yeah, that’s big question mark… but so far so good. I think we’ve got to win at least a simple majority of the games started by our 4/5 starters, and I think we’ve got the offense and the late inning relief to do that if guys like Cormier and Villareal can post an ERA of no more than 4.50 or so in the rest of their starts.

Anyway, if this Braves rotation can’t do it… explain to me how the Mets have kept winning with that rotation. Especially with Pedro hurt a good bit of the season. How have they done that? Offense and the ability to close out ballgames.

Let’s see… we’re scored 7 fewer runs than the Mets all season, and the bullpen as a whole has only blown, what… 2 saves since Wickman’s arrival?

It is not over. I’m not sitting in front of the TV with my giant Braves foam finger on one hand in a tissue in the other, waiting to either party or weep come the end of September… but I see no reason to pack it in. Why???

I’m not predicting the Braves will make it back to the post-season this year. I’m just saying that I think they’re capable. I resolved myself to the distinct possibility that they won’t make it back in June, so it’s not like I’m going to be crushed or heart-broken if they don’t. But I’m just going to continue to pull for my team, as I would think any fan should. If you’re ready to cash it in, why do even have any interest in talking about this team? If you’re convinced this team has no chance, what exactly is it that’s holding your interest? I don’t get it.

By Shaun

August 18, 2006 01:08 PM | Link to this

KC,

All I’m saying is the Braves are underperforming in relation to their expected record based on runs scored/allowed. (You can find expected record on several websites including espn.com. Click on standings, then expanded.)

And the Braves offense is even better than you think it is. They are 3rd in the NL and 9th in baseball in runs scored. But the impressive offense has nothing to do with Francouer, who has made an out in 72 percent of his plate appearances. The Braves would have scored about 5.4 more runs with a fringe rightfielder instead of Francouer.

RBI don’t mean anything when judging a player’s production. If you want to ignore that fact, it’s fine, but it is fact. Here’s the exerpt from the Baseball Prospectus article one more time:

Counting stats (RBI, HR, runs scored) aren’t very informative because they’re highly context dependent and don’t account for how many outs a player is using up. Percentage stats are far better than counting stats, but only in the presence of a sizeable data sample (i.e., plate appearances). Percentage stats are only negligibly influenced by teammates and lineup slotting, but, like all traditional statistics, they are influenced by ballpark and historical era. Players at the corner positions generally produce better offensive numbers than those players at the more vital up-the-middle positions. AVG isn’t really useful unless viewed in tandem with OBP, SLG and plate appearances. And the greatest of these is OBP because it can also tell you how often a player creates outs at the plate.

By Scott

August 18, 2006 01:14 PM | Link to this

We all know that some people blog some idiotic crap just to get people riled up, and it usually works. Most everybody on this blog have been opining fairly well,but the old Truthmeister dipped into the PCP a little early today. Just ignore him…he’s a zero.

By iwalterp

August 18, 2006 01:19 PM | Link to this

I think one has to understand that most of the Braves moves are based on money ,or the lack of it. Does anyone on this board after seeing Schiell start 3 games really believe that JS or BC realy felt that he was the Braves best option from the minors, ahead of Lerew and others? On another note isn’t it amazing anytime that BC has to make a major personnel move between 2 players one of them ends up on the DL with an injury unknown to the fans before hand?

By KC

August 18, 2006 01:31 PM | Link to this

Shaun:

What I thought I understood from your previous post was that you were saying the Braves aren’t underacheiving… that they really are nothing more than a .500 team by nature. Is that what you were saying?

By Shaun

August 18, 2006 01:49 PM | Link to this

KC,

I was just saying the Braves have underperformed their expected record based on runs scored/allowed. According to their expected record, they should be around .500 and a game or two over, but they are under .500 right now. They’ve been on the wrong end of a lot of close games which is probably due to luck and a bad bullpen for most of the year.

By Shaun

August 18, 2006 02:02 PM | Link to this

KC,

I was just saying the Braves have underperformed their expected record based on runs scored/allowed. According to their expected record, they should be around .500 or a game or two over, but they are under .500 right now. They’ve been on the wrong end of a lot of close games which is probably due to luck and a bad bullpen for most of the year.

By Shaun

August 18, 2006 02:17 PM | Link to this

In baseball winning/losing close games is largely due to luck. Teams records in close games aren’t really consistent from one season to the next or from one half of a season to the next, which would seem to indicate that records in close games, particularly one-run games, are largely a product of luck.

By dawgfacedboy

August 18, 2006 03:55 PM | Link to this

Yeah Oscar did fine yesterday but I’m not ready to breathe a sigh of relief yet. This is a very inconsistent Braves team. They’ve been prone to follow a big win with a big loss. How many games did the Dodgers win, something like 15 of 17, or something ridiculous like that? It’s going to take a run like that for the Braves to get into the playoffs. I don’t care how big of a fan you are, that just ain’t gonnna happen. I suggest JS take a long hard look at what got them in this hole and fix it for next year or this “dynasty” is headed in the complete polar opposite direction!!

By matt

August 18, 2006 04:08 PM | Link to this

Winning 15 straight division titles gives everyone in Atl. to cheer about but it really means squat to everyone else in baseball. Considering the braves get dominated in the playoffs year after year. If your high school team wins the sub region every year, is that really that good? NO! The Braves have not gotten “beat” in too many post season series. Instead they’ve epitimized the meaning of the word “CHOKE!” They’ve epitimized the phrase “playing stupid!” Face it, this team survived on dominant pitching which they OBVIOUSLY don’t have this year. JS screwed the pooch by not getting an established leadoff man as well. The braves cannot keep up with yet another weak division!