2006 Braves Season

[Francoeurstein]

Hello Braves fans of BBF. This stickied thread will be about the Bravo's 2006 season. Along with stastics homeruns, hits, strikeouts etc. We will talk about who's in a big slump or who's hot. But this is for braves fans and braves fans only. Without further ado here it is!!!

[Francoeurstein]

As the Braves are competing for their 15th consecutive division title, they will play the LA Dodgers. The dodgers had a very underrated offseason, nabbing our beloved shortstop Rafeal Furcal. The matchup will be Tim Hudson will be facing Derek Lowe at 4:10 eastern time. All we can give them is are hope and good luck!!! LETS GO BRAVES!!!!

[Francoeurstein]

It's now the top of the fourth and the braves are doing fine!! LaRoche had a 3 run homer in the first to make it 4-0 it's now 4-1 and Tim Hudson is doing great.

[Atlanta Braves Freak]

ABF's midgame report: Braves are leading 4-1 with one outthe Bottom of the 4th. The Braves got 4 runs in the 1st inning (what a way to start the season!). Tim Hudson has been shaky, but he hasn't given up the lead. Lets go Braves!

[Francoeurstein]

Congrats Edgar on getting your braves debut hit!!! Maybe we should hope for a debut homerun:D . And congrats Chipper for an rbi score is now 5-1. Continue the rally brav
.os!!!!

[jwkfs]

It's gone! That's the Andruw I remember from last year!

[Atlanta Braves Freak]

Braves now lead 8-1 thanks to Andruw's 3 run bomb, I'm liking the look of the season so far!!!!

[Francoeurstein]

ANDRUW!!!! congrats on your first homer and way to knock in 3 runs to start a blowout!!! ( When will they take out Lowe ;)? ).

[Francoeurstein]

ABF's midgame report: Braves are leading 4-1 with one outthe Bottom of the 4th. The Braves got 4 runs in the 1st inning (what a way to start the season!). Tim Hudson has been shaky, but he hasn't given up the lead. Lets go Braves!

Shaky, I think not. He has only give up 2 hits up until now. But now I think he is starting to get shaky.

[Francoeurstein]

AAHHHHHH!!!!!!! They're coming back!!!! Well if they keep this score they could probably use Reitsma, you gotta hold 'em Cormier!!!

[jwkfs]

Phew, that was a nail biter. I sure hope the 'pen holds up better in the future...

[Francoeurstein]

Reitsma almost blew it. I'd say if he blows 3+ in a month Bobby oughta take his butt out.

[Atlanta Braves Freak]

Braves, 11 Dodgers, 10

Nail BITER!! The Braves had a comfortable 8-1 lead in the 5th, but they couldn't hold it. Not surprisingly the bullpen had trouble holding the lead. I guess we have to get used to this as the season progresses. But, a win is a win, the Braves are 1-0!

[Atlanta Braves Freak]

One more inviting note was the production of the 2-3-4-5 hitters, Edgar Renteria, Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones, and Adam Laroche combined for 10 RBI and had 6 of the Braves 12 hits. It seems like these guys are going to be our production crew this year and we can't forget about Jeff Francouer, even though he went 0 for 5 today.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

You said it ABF a nail biter it was indeed.
So Anyway here is the postgame boxscore


NL Boxscore Atlanta vs. Los Angeles


Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Atlanta « 4 0 0 0 4 2 0 1 0 11 12 3
Los Angeles 0 0 1 0 4 0 0 3 2 10 17 1
Preview | Matchup | Lineup | Log | Wrap | Box
W:O.Villarreal(1-0) L:D.Lowe(0-1) S:C.Reitsma (1)
HR: ATL- R.Langerhans (1), A.Jones (1), A.LaRoche (1) LOS- None



Atlanta AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR W K AVG
Marcus Giles 2B 3 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .667
Edgar Renteria SS 5 1 2 2 1 0 0 0 1 .400
Chipper Jones 3B 3 2 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 .333
Andruw Jones CF 4 2 2 4 0 0 1 1 1 .500
Adam LaRoche 1B 5 1 1 3 0 0 1 0 1 .200
Jeff Francoeur RF 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
Brian McCann C 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250
Ryan Langerhans LF 4 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 .250
Tim Hudson P 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500
Lance Cormier P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Brian Jordan PH 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000
Mike Remlinger P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Oscar Villarreal P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Pete Orr PH 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
Blaine Boyer P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
John Thomson P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Chris Reitsma P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Totals 36 11 12 11 1 0 3 5 4

Los Angeles AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR W K AVG
Rafael Furcal SS 5 3 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .600
Jose Cruz Jr LF 6 3 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .667
JD Drew RF 6 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 .333
Jeff Kent 2B 4 1 2 4 1 0 0 1 0 .500
Olmedo Saenz 1B 6 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 3 .167
Bill Mueller 3B 4 0 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 .500
Sandy Alomar C 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .200
Jason Repko CF 5 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 .400
Derek Lowe P 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
Cody Ross PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Hung-Chih Kuo P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Yhency Brazoban P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Ricky Ledee PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Franquelis Osoria P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Dioner Navarro PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
Danys Baez P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Totals 46 10 17 10 3 0 0 3 6


E_M.Giles, C.Jones, A.Jones, J.Kent. LOB_Atlanta 4, Los Angeles 13. 2B_E.Renteria, J.Cruz Jr, J.Kent, J.Repko. HR_A.LaRoche (1) off D.Lowe, A.Jones (1) off D.Lowe, R.Langerhans (1) off F.Osoria. S_M.Giles. GIDP_M.Giles, A.LaRoche, R.Langerhans. DP_Los Angeles 3 (R.Furcal, J.Kent and O.Saenz), (O.Saenz, R.Furcal and O.Saenz), (B.Mueller, J.Kent and O.Saenz).

Atlanta IP H R ER BB SO HR PC-ST ERA
Tim Hudson 4.0 6 5 5 3 3 0 83-46 11.25
Lance Cormier 1.0 2 0 0 0 1 0 19-12 0.00
Mike Remlinger 0.2 1 0 0 0 0 0 11-8 0.00
Oscar Villarreal (W 1-0) 1.1 1 0 0 0 0 0 14-8 0.00
Blaine Boyer 0.1 4 3 3 0 0 0 19-11 81.00
John Thomson 0.1 1 0 0 0 1 0 5-5 0.00
Chris Reitsma (S 1) 1.1 2 2 2 0 1 0 14-10 13.50

Los Angeles IP H R ER BB SO HR PC-ST ERA
Derek Lowe (L 0-1) 5.0 9 8 7 1 2 2 69-50 12.60
Hung-Chih Kuo 0.2 0 2 2 2 0 0 21-10 27.00
Yhency Brazoban 1.1 1 0 0 1 2 0 32-20 0.00
Franquelis Osoria 1.0 2 1 1 0 0 1 8-6 9.00
Danys Baez 1.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 11-6 0.00


T.Hudson pitched to 4 batters in the 5th.

PB_S.Alomar.
HBP_by O.Villarreal (J.Kent).
WP_T.Hudson 2.
T_3:10. A_56000.
Umpires_Home,Joe West; First, Tom Hallion; Second, Ed Rapuano; Third, Tony Randazzo.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

And here is the 25 man roster.
Active Roster

Pitchers B/T Ht Wt DOB
48 Blaine Boyer R/R 6-3 215 07/11/81
40 Lance Cormier R/R 6-1 200 08/19/80
26 Kyle Davies R/R 6-2 205 09/09/83
15 Tim Hudson R/R 6-1 170 07/14/75
43 Chuck James L/L 6-0 190 11/09/81
30 Horacio Ramirez L/L 6-1 210 11/24/79
37 Chris Reitsma R/R 6-5 235 12/31/77
36 Mike Remlinger L/L 6-1 215 03/23/66
29 John Smoltz R/R 6-3 220 05/15/67
34 Jorge Sosa R/R 6-2 175 04/28/77
52 John Thomson R/R 6-3 220 10/01/73
56 Oscar Villarreal L/R 6-0 215 11/22/81

Catchers B/T Ht Wt DOB
16 Brian McCann L/R 6-3 210 02/20/84
5 Todd Pratt R/R 6-3 240 02/09/67

Infielders B/T Ht Wt DOB
24 Wilson Betemit S/R 6-3 200 07/28/80
22 Marcus Giles R/R 5-8 175 05/18/78
10 Chipper Jones S/R 6-4 230 04/24/72
19 Adam LaRoche L/L 6-3 185 11/06/79
4 Pete Orr L/R 6-1 185 06/08/79
11 Edgar Renteria R/R 6-1 200 08/07/75

Outfielders B/T Ht Wt DOB
23 Matt Diaz R/R 6-1 205 03/03/78
7 Jeff Francoeur R/R 6-4 220 01/08/84
25 Andruw Jones R/R 6-1 210 04/23/77
33 Brian Jordan R/R 6-1 225 03/29/67
18 Ryan Langerhans L/L 6-3 205 02/20/80

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

And here is my final wrap-up on the game.

Opening Day, April 3rd, 2006
Game 1 of 162
Atlanta Braves at Los Angeles Dodgers
Braves Win
Braves 11 Dodgers 10

................1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 | R H E
Atlanta......4 0 0 0 4 2 0 1 0 | 11 12 3
LA Dodgers 0 0 1 0 4 0 0 3 2 | 10 17 1


Win. Oscar Villareal (1-0)
Loss. Derek Lowe (0-1)
Save. Chris Reitsma (1)

Home Runs
Braves- Andruw Jones (1), Adam LaRoche (1), Ryan Langerhans (1)
Dodgers- None

Link to Game Summary (http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060403&content_id=1381552&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl)

Link to Box Score (http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_04_03_atlmlb_lanmlb_1)

Courtesy of MLB.com

[Francoeurstein]

Thank you Bravos, now if you could do that just every game.... (just playing). It was a great game and an indeed nailbiter. Tomorrow will be Cy young winner John Smoltz vrs. former 2003 world series pitcher Brad Penny. I will do an inning report of each game I can, and ABF will do a mid game report every game he can, and go bravos will do an end game report. Now who's going to win tomorrow?????? I'll give a hint. Starts with a "b" and ends with an "s".

[Francoeurstein]

And here is the 25 man roster.
Active Roster

Pitchers B/T Ht Wt DOB
48 Blaine Boyer R/R 6-3 215 07/11/81
40 Lance Cormier R/R 6-1 200 08/19/80
26 Kyle Davies R/R 6-2 205 09/09/83
15 Tim Hudson R/R 6-1 170 07/14/75
43 Chuck James L/L 6-0 190 11/09/81
30 Horacio Ramirez L/L 6-1 210 11/24/79
37 Chris Reitsma R/R 6-5 235 12/31/77
36 Mike Remlinger L/L 6-1 215 03/23/66
29 John Smoltz R/R 6-3 220 05/15/67
34 Jorge Sosa R/R 6-2 175 04/28/77
52 John Thomson R/R 6-3 220 10/01/73
56 Oscar Villarreal L/R 6-0 215 11/22/81

Catchers B/T Ht Wt DOB
16 Brian McCann L/R 6-3 210 02/20/84
5 Todd Pratt R/R 6-3 240 02/09/67

Infielders B/T Ht Wt DOB
24 Wilson Betemit S/R 6-3 200 07/28/80
22 Marcus Giles R/R 5-8 175 05/18/78
10 Chipper Jones S/R 6-4 230 04/24/72
19 Adam LaRoche L/L 6-3 185 11/06/79
4 Pete Orr L/R 6-1 185 06/08/79
11 Edgar Renteria R/R 6-1 200 08/07/75

Outfielders B/T Ht Wt DOB
23 Matt Diaz R/R 6-1 205 03/03/78
7 Jeff Francoeur R/R 6-4 220 01/08/84
25 Andruw Jones R/R 6-1 210 04/23/77
33 Brian Jordan R/R 6-1 225 03/29/67
18 Ryan Langerhans L/L 6-3 205 02/20/80



No Jurries!!!??? He had the best spring out of everyone on the bravos.

[Atlanta Braves Freak]

Thank you Bravos, now if you could do that just every game.... (just playing). It was a great game and an indeed nailbiter. Tomorrow will be Cy young winner John Smoltz vrs. former 2003 world series pitcher Brad Penny. I will do an inning report of each game I can, and ABF will do a mid game report every game he can, and go bravos will do an end game report. Now who's going to win tomorrow?????? I'll give a hint. Starts with a "b" and ends with an "s".
I'll try to do a mid-game report as much as I can. I'll like at the thread I created last year for the season and see what format we used.

[Francoeurstein]

Ok, I'll try to find it.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

I'm all in guys!!! BASEBALL IS BACK!!! :) :) :)

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

You all might find this interesting they have named the players on the Braves minor league roster.
Just a hunch but it looks like Richmond is going to be a tough team to beat.

http://braves.scout.com/2/515281.html

[Perseas]

Good way to start a season... 112 wins to go (I'm counting the playoffs in too :)

[grizzly451]

A couple more showing like that from the bullpen and I'd bet Devine will be back in the majors very quickly.

Hudson sure lost it pretty quickly too, but man those guys from the bullpen...its really good to see the offense starting off hot.

A win is a win, but boy that was an ugly win (least for the bullpen).

[Atlanta Braves Freak]

Ken Rosenthal says that it is too early to blast the Braves bullpen: http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5470778

[Atlanta Braves Freak]

You all might find this interesting they have named the players on the Braves minor league roster.
Just a hunch but it looks like Richmond is going to be a tough team to beat.

http://braves.scout.com/2/515281.html
I was checking out the minor league roster and who do I see but DAMIAN MOSS in Triple-A. When did he come back to the Braves?

[grizzly451]

I was checking out the minor league roster and who do I see but DAMIAN MOSS in Triple-A. When did he come back to the Braves?


If I remember correctly after he was traded, after a brief good showing, Moss did so badly he was cut loose and Braves just rounded him up again late last year (I think).

[Francoeurstein]

You all might find this interesting they have named the players on the Braves minor league roster.
Just a hunch but it looks like Richmond is going to be a tough team to beat.

http://braves.scout.com/2/515281.html

Yea, Salty should be in AAA. I wonder how Pratt will cope this season in ATL. By next year he will be a free-agent so then we can callup Salty to be a back up catcher and play about 65-80 games and hit 8-15 homers.

[Francoeurstein]

A couple more showing like that from the bullpen and I'd bet Devine will be back in the majors very quickly.

Hudson sure lost it pretty quickly too, but man those guys from the bullpen...its really good to see the offense starting off hot.

A win is a win, but boy that was an ugly win (least for the bullpen).


But Villarreal, ( however you spell it ) showed some stardom yesterday and in the Mexican world baseball classic. Maybe he can pitch somewhere around 60-70 innings this year and have some good performances, I'm watching this guy.

[Francoeurstein]

Braves are up sixth in the power rankings!!

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/powerRankings

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Pregame:
Tonight I suspect the Braves will use Chuck James, Oscar Villareal, and Chris Reitsma out of the bullpen if needed. The Braves send John Smoltz to the mound, they hope he can give them 7-8 strong innings, so the bullpen is not worked much after the working it got yesterday. I suspect Matt Diaz could get the start in LF.If not tonight ,tomoorow night.

Brad Penny can be tough ,then again so can Smoltz. But with saying that, remember Smoltz's 1st start last year.:eek:

Oil up your baseball glove, fix some sandwiches, get a blanket and cuddle up with someone you love (gonna be a late one ;) ), and Watch the Braves play The Dodgers tonight on Turner South and FSN West(Vin Sculley) 10:00 EST. Can't wait to hear and see Don, Pete, Skip, Joe, Chip and Ron, and Mark the voices of the braves.

2 wins would be a great way to start the year.:gt

[Francoeurstein]

Pregame:
Tonight I suspect the Braves will use Chuck James, Oscar Villareal, and Chris Reitsma out of the bullpen if needed. The Braves send John Smoltz to the mound, they hope he can give them 7-8 strong innings, so the bullpen is not worked much after the working it got yesterday. I suspect Matt Diaz could get the start in LF.If not tonight ,tomoorow night.

Brad Penny can be tough ,then again so can Smoltz. But with saying that, remember Smoltz's 1st start last year.:eek:

Oil up your baseball glove, fix some sandwiches, get a blanket and cuddle up with someone you love (gonna be a late one ;) ), and Watch the Braves play The Dodgers tonight on Turner South and FSN West(Vin Sculley) 10:00 EST. Can't wait to hear and see Don, Pete, Skip, Joe, Chip and Ron, and Mark the voices of the braves.

2 wins would be a great way to start the year.:gt


Thank you for the pre-game report, the game will come on in t-minus 4 hours and 45 minutes.

[Francoeurstein]

Whoelse is psyched about today's big game? I know Go Bravos is what about everyone else?

[Francoeurstein]

Okay fellas, is everyone here and geared up for game no.2???

[Francoeurstein]

First Inning report
Braves Offense
Out: Marcus Giles struck out looking
Hit: Renteria gets a hit to right center
Hit: Chipper gets a hit to left
Out: Andruw struck out looking
Out: LaRoche struck out swinging
Braves Defense/Pitching
Out: Rafeal Furcal grounds out to short
BB: Jose Cruz jr. gets walked
Rbi: J.D. Drew hits a two run homer to right (1) Rbi (4) :hp
Hit: Jeff Kent hits a grounder up the middle
BB: James Loney gets walked
Hit: Mueller gets a hit between second and first and gets an RBI (2)
Hit: Repko gets a grounder between third and short and gets an RBI (2)
Out: Navarro hits into a double play.

I'll only do this for the first inning every other inning I'll give a brief description. Smoltz is as rusty as aluminum in the rain for a year ( sorry for the bad similie ).

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

I'll say Smoltz needs to move to his fastball a little more.
As it stands in the top of the 2nd, it's 4-0 Dodgers :noidea

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

4-1 Good bye Baseball BRIAN MCCANN!!!

[Francoeurstein]

McCann!!! That says ROY all over it.

[Atlanta Braves Freak]

Top of the 2nd: Braves down 4-1 and Brian McCann just hit a solo shot. Smoltz gave up a homer to J.D. Drew in the Bottom of the 1st. Hopefully, when I post again the outlook will be better.

[Atlanta Braves Freak]

Seems like all three of us posted around the same time. :laugh

[Francoeurstein]

Giles is a frickin' doubles machine, lets give our hope to Renteria now.

[Francoeurstein]

Crap, how depressing, a delay.

[Francoeurstein]

Lets talk about Smoltz if you heard Sutton he said that he is always rusty in the first inning of his first start. I coincidence... A bad one. He's probably only gonna play 4 innings then James will probably come in following him will be Villarreal and Davies. Hopefully We'll come back.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Here comes that rainy day feelin again...

[Francoeurstein]

Pros and Cons of a double-header

Pro: Braves will get to start over.

Con: Bobby uses relievers a lot and they'll get tired.

[Francoeurstein]

Can someone tell me when the game comes back I'm changing the channel, can't stand this crap.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Well the Padres and Giants have now been post-poned due to rain. As of now the Braves are still just in a rain delay. I hope we can still get this game in.
....And catch up :rolleyes:

[Atlanta Braves Freak]

I hope (from a fan's POV) the Braves don't finish this game, but from the player's POV they want to get this game going again because if they can't play it'll be a day-night doubleheader tommorow. That's not what you want going into a 4 game series.

[Francoeurstein]

The games back!!!!

[Atlanta Braves Freak]

Game is back on!!

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Smoltz looked better retiring the hitters. We'll see how the offense does in a few.

[Francoeurstein]

Second inning report: Smoltz was untouchable ( phew ), and McCann launched one deep for a solo homer.

[Francoeurstein]

It's bad to know, but Penny is in the zone!! 8k's 4 innings!:ughh :ughh :ughh :ughh :ughh

I'm gonna keep editing his numbers...

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Can you say "Anemic Offense" that inning was depressing.

[Francoeurstein]

Can you say "Anemic Offense" that inning was depressing.

This game has been depressing.

[Francoeurstein]

It may be a bit early but what record do yall' predict from the Braves ( be honest ). I say like 94-68

[Francoeurstein]

Third inning report: The braves offense sucked and so did Smoltz. That's it...:hp

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Braves Record
100-62

[Francoeurstein]

I'm gone guys, can yall' two decide who will take over my inning reports??

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

I'm gonna lay down and watch the game, I'll post the postgame in the morning. I plan on doing one of those post-game things after every game.

Signing Off now, but not forever.
Go Bravos

[Francoeurstein]

I'm gonna lay down and watch the game, I'll post the postgame in the morning. I plan on doing one of those post-game things after every game.

Signing Off now, but not forever.
Go Bravos

Ditto

HA86

[Atlanta Braves Freak]

The Braves lost, I'll let you guys fill in with the box score. :(

[grizzly451]

Atlanta 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 4 9 0
LA Dodgers 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 X 5 10 1


Standings thru 4/4/06 | Wrap | Gameday

Atlanta AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Giles, 2B 5 0 1 0 0 3 1 .375
Renteria, SS 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 .333
Jones, C, 3B 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .333
Diaz, RF 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1.000
Jones, A, CF 4 1 1 1 0 2 2 .375
LaRoche, 1B 4 1 1 2 0 3 2 .222
Francoeur, RF 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000
James, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
a-Jordan, PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000
Cormier, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
McCann, C 4 1 1 1 0 0 1 .250
Langerhans, LF 4 0 1 0 0 2 1 .250
Smoltz, P 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 .000
Betemit, 3B 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 .500
Totals 37 4 9 4 0 13 11

a-Struck out for James in the 8th.

BATTING
2B: Giles (1, Penny), Diaz (1, Seo), Jones, A (1, Seo).
HR: McCann (1, 2nd inning off Penny, 0 on, 1 out), LaRoche (2, 8th inning off Seo, 1 on, 2 out).
TB: Giles 2; Renteria; Jones, C; Diaz 2; Jones, A 2; LaRoche 4; McCann 4; Langerhans; Betemit.
RBI: McCann (1), Jones, A (5), LaRoche 2 (5).
2-out RBI: Jones, A; LaRoche 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: LaRoche; Renteria 2; Smoltz.
Team LOB: 6.

FIELDING
DP: 2 (Giles-Renteria-LaRoche, Giles-LaRoche).


LA Dodgers AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Furcal, SS 5 0 0 0 0 0 4 .300
Cruz, LF 3 1 1 0 1 1 2 .556
Drew, RF 4 2 2 2 0 0 1 .400
Kent, 2B 4 1 2 0 0 1 1 .500
Loney, 1B 3 1 1 0 1 1 1 .333
Mueller, 3B 3 0 1 2 0 0 0 .429
Repko, CF 3 0 3 1 1 0 0 .625
Navarro, C 2 0 0 0 2 1 4 .000
Penny, P 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Seo, P 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .000
a-Ledee, PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000
Baez, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Totals 31 5 10 5 5 5 17

a-Grounded into a forceout for Seo in the 8th.

BATTING
2B: Cruz (2, Smoltz), Repko (2, Cormier).
HR: Drew (1, 1st inning off Smoltz, 1 on, 1 out).
TB: Cruz 2; Drew 5; Kent 2; Loney; Mueller; Repko 4.
RBI: Drew 2 (4), Mueller 2 (3), Repko (2).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Navarro; Drew; Cruz; Furcal.
SF: Mueller.
GIDP: Navarro; Loney.
Team LOB: 8.

FIELDING
E: Mueller (1, fielding).




Atlanta IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Smoltz (L, 0-1) 5.0 9 5 5 2 3 1 9.00
James 2.0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0.00
Cormier 1.0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0.00
LA Dodgers IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Penny (W, 1-0) 5.0 5 1 1 0 8 1 1.80
Seo 3.0 3 3 3 0 4 1 9.00
Baez (S, 1) 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.00


Pitches-strikes: Smoltz 86-58, James 42-24, Cormier 25-11, Penny 92-62, Seo 49-31, Baez 17-11.
Ground outs-fly outs: Smoltz 8-4, James 0-4, Cormier 1-2, Penny 4-3, Seo 3-2, Baez 0-2.
Batters faced: Smoltz 24, James 8, Cormier 5, Penny 21, Seo 12, Baez 4.
Umpires: HP: Tom Hallion. 1B: Ed Rapuano. 2B: Tony Randazzo. 3B: Joe West.
Weather: 59 degrees, rain.
Wind: 5 mph, Varies.
T: 2:46 (:25 delay).
Att: 36,249.
--------------------------------------------

I like LaRoche starting the season swinging well.

[Francoeurstein]

I saw Marcus swing at that high strike to end the game. Where was Gagne'ster? Ahh.. Screw him. Anyways today's matchup will be Horacio Ramirez vrs. Odalis Perez the x-brave. I think the braves will have to score a lot of runs, Ramirez isn't a legit no.3 starter, so we'll see the outcome.

[grizzly451]

Everything I've read is saying O. Perez is pitching for the Dodgers tonight vs. Ramirez, not Tomko. Which certainly doesn't sound any better to me for the Braves, Ramirez doesn't have that great of stuff, he's a no.5.

Perez should be trouble is he is as locked in this season as he is suppose to be, but who knows. He should have a much better season then he did last year if he is healthy.


http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060405&content_id=1384707&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl

[Atlanta Braves Freak]

HankAaron86, Gagne is serving a suspension from last year and he won't pitch in the series. It really didn't matter last night because the Braves couldn't even score a run of off Danys Baez.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Sorry Guys, I couldn't do the post-game. I've had a hellish day.:crazy :crazy

[Francoeurstein]

Everything I've read is saying O. Perez is pitching for the Dodgers tonight vs. Ramirez, not Tomko. Which certainly doesn't sound any better to me for the Braves, Ramirez doesn't have that great of stuff, he's a no.5.

Perez should be trouble is he is as locked in this season as he is suppose to be, but who knows. He should have a much better season then he did last year if he is healthy.


http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060405&content_id=1384707&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl

I just figured it out.. I'll fix it up.

[jwkfs]

Since I don't get the games out here in Colorado except for a few, I have question:
Yesterday, Chipper went out and Betemit came in; today, Betemit is starting at third. Is something wrong with Chipper? Or is Bobby just trying to keep him healthy and let Betemit get some experience?

[Francoeurstein]

Diaz a hot tamale'!! I wonder what his outcome will be I'm hoping this: G: 90-100 AB 300-350 H 90-110 AVG .295-.300 HR 15-20 RBI 50-60 I seriously like the idea of getting this guy maybe he'll be a full-time player one day.

[Francoeurstein]

Since I don't get the games out here in Colorado except for a few, I have question:
Yesterday, Chipper went out and Betemit came in; today, Betemit is starting at third. Is something wrong with Chipper? Or is Bobby just trying to keep him healthy and let Betemit get some experience?

The commentators said they didn't know...

[Francoeurstein]

Told ya he sucks 4 runs in the first inning.

[jwkfs]

Told ya he sucks 4 runs in the first inning.


Looks like the offense might pick him up, though, if he can throw up some zeros for the next couple frames. I was concerned about Chipper missing, but Betemit just alleviated those concerns :)

[grizzly451]

Atlanta 9, LA Dodgers 8
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Atlanta 0 0 5 3 0 0 0 1 0 9 13 2
LA Dodgers 4 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 8 12 1


Standings thru 4/5/06 | Wrap | Gameday

Atlanta AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Giles, 2B 3 3 1 0 2 0 0 .364
Renteria, SS 4 1 2 2 1 0 0 .385
Diaz, LF 3 0 1 1 0 2 3 .500
Langerhans, LF 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .333
Jones, A, CF 3 1 1 2 2 1 1 .364
Francoeur, RF 4 0 1 1 0 1 4 .083
Reitsma, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Betemit, 3B 5 1 2 2 0 0 3 .429
LaRoche, 1B 5 0 0 0 0 3 2 .143
Pratt, C 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 .333
a-Orr, PH 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.000
Boyer, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Jordan, RF 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Ramirez, P 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 1.000
1-Sosa, PR 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Thomson, P 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Remlinger, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Villarreal, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-McCann, PH-C 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .222
Totals 37 9 13 9 5 7 15

a-Singled for Pratt in the 8th. b-Grounded into a double play for Villarreal in the 8th.
1-Ran for Ramirez in the 4th.

BATTING
2B: Renteria (2, Perez, O), Langerhans (1, Osoria).
HR: Betemit (1, 3rd inning off Perez, O, 1 on, 2 out).
TB: Giles; Renteria 3; Diaz; Langerhans 2; Jones, A; Francoeur; Betemit 5; Pratt; Orr; Ramirez 2.
RBI: Renteria 2 (4), Diaz (1), Jones, A 2 (7), Betemit 2 (2), Francoeur (1), Langerhans (2).
2-out RBI: Betemit 2; Langerhans.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Jones, A; Betemit 2; LaRoche; Francoeur 2.
SF: Diaz; Francoeur.
GIDP: McCann.
Team LOB: 8.

BASERUNNING
SB: Diaz (1, 2nd base off Perez, O/Alomar).

FIELDING
E: Pratt (1, throw), Renteria (1, fielding).
Outfield assists: Francoeur (Alomar at 2nd base).
DP: (Renteria-Giles-LaRoche).


LA Dodgers AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Furcal, SS 4 2 1 0 1 1 3 .286
Cruz, LF 4 1 2 1 0 1 0 .538
Drew, RF 3 2 1 1 2 2 1 .385
Kent, 2B 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .556
a-Martinez, PH-2B 3 1 1 0 0 0 2 .333
Saenz, 1B 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 .143
Loney, 1B 3 1 0 0 0 0 2 .167
Mueller, 3B 4 0 3 2 1 0 0 .545
Alomar, C 5 0 3 2 0 0 1 .400
Repko, CF 4 0 0 0 0 1 3 .417
Perez, O, P 2 0 0 0 0 1 3 .000
Carter, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-Ledee, PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Brazoban, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
c-Ross, PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000
Osoria, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Hamulack, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Totals 36 8 12 7 4 7 19

a-Grounded out for Kent in the 4th. b-Flied out for Carter in the 6th. c-Flied out for Brazoban in the 7th.

BATTING
2B: Alomar (1, Ramirez).
TB: Furcal; Cruz 2; Drew; Kent; Martinez; Mueller 3; Alomar 4.
RBI: Drew (5), Saenz (3), Mueller 2 (5), Alomar 2 (2), Cruz (1).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Perez, O 3; Furcal 2.
SF: Saenz; Cruz.
GIDP: Alomar.
Team LOB: 9.

BASERUNNING
SB: Furcal (1, 2nd base off Ramirez/Pratt).

FIELDING
E: Furcal (1, missed catch).
Outfield assists: Repko (Betemit at 2nd base).
DP: (Osoria-Furcal-Loney).




Atlanta IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Ramirez 3.0 8 5 5 1 3 0 15.00
Thomson 3.1 2 2 2 2 3 0 4.91
Remlinger 0.0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0.00
Villarreal (BS, 1)(W, 2-0) 0.2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Boyer (H, 1) 0.1 0 0 0 1 0 0 40.50
Reitsma (S, 2) 1.2 0 0 0 0 1 0 6.00
LA Dodgers IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Perez, O 3.0 9 7 7 0 3 1 21.00
Carter 3.0 1 1 1 2 2 0 3.00
Brazoban 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.00
Osoria (L, 0-1) 1.0 2 1 1 3 0 0 9.00
Hamulack 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00


Remlinger pitched to 2 batters in the 7th.
Perez, O pitched to 2 batters in the 4th.

WP: Perez, O, Carter.
IBB: Jones, A (by Osoria).
HBP: Kent (by Ramirez), Repko (by Villarreal).
Pitches-strikes: Ramirez 58-33, Thomson 52-30, Remlinger 14-9, Villarreal 14-8, Boyer 9-5, Reitsma 13-11, Perez, O 53-36, Carter 42-24, Brazoban 17-11, Osoria 19-6, Hamulack 8-6.
Ground outs-fly outs: Ramirez 1-4, Thomson 3-4, Remlinger 0-0, Villarreal 0-2, Boyer 1-0, Reitsma 2-2, Perez, O 4-2, Carter 3-4, Brazoban 2-0, Osoria 3-0, Hamulack 2-0.
Batters faced: Ramirez 18, Thomson 13, Remlinger 2, Villarreal 4, Boyer 2, Reitsma 5, Perez, O 18, Carter 12, Brazoban 4, Osoria 7, Hamulack 3.
Inherited runners-scored: Remlinger 2-2, Villarreal 2-1, Reitsma 1-0, Carter 2-2.
Umpires: HP: Ed Rapuano. 1B: Tony Randazzo. 2B: Joe West. 3B: Tom Hallion.
Weather: 56 degrees, clear.
Wind: 9 mph, Out to CF.
T: 3:09.
Att: 35,292

[Francoeurstein]

What a good game!! Ramirez got injured, Dodgers got picked off one by one. And Villareal is now leading the league in wins :D. Today will be Jorge Sosa vrs. Noah Lowry. Nobody knows if Sosa last year was a big fluke or because of Mazzone, but we'll find out. Noah Lowry had a .500 record with a lot of K's, a lot for a no.3 starter indeed. But Sosa had a 13-3 record with a tremendous era. So today I expect Sosa to pitch 6-8 innings picking up the win, if not Villarreal:laugh. But Lowry is also a good pitcher racking up 7.56 k's in nine innings. Today I'm on the braves side with pitching.
Except for one big thing BARRY BONDS!!! That steroid taking piece of crap... Forget him. So anyways I think the score will end up being 6-2 Braves. We got root for the Braves today!!!!

[Mattingly]

So how are you guys and gals enjoying the 2006 season so far? :D

[Francoeurstein]

Thanks for asking Mattingly, it's been a good one. Winning a series against a team with pretty good players is a good feeling. I'm not quite sure about this game though. Giants are rallying now.

[Mattingly]

Thanks for asking Mattingly, it's been a good one. Winning a series against a team with pretty good players is a good feeling. I'm not quite sure about this game though. Giants are rallying now.
You're welcome. What about the past series did you like and not like? Pitching, defense, hitting, patience at the plate, managing. What things did you notice were good or improved upon from last season, and which bad habits from last year did you see repeat themselves?

For the Yanks, I've been complaining endlessly about an inability to drive in a few guys on base when we're down by 1-2 runs or tied. It just never seems to happen. Anything similiar with you guys 'n' gals?

[grizzly451]

What things did you notice were good or improved upon from last season, and which bad habits from last year did you see repeat themselves?

Well so far the Braves starter have an ERA of 13.19, enough said about that. The the bullpen is starting to come together, tonight against the Giants after Sosa came out the bullpen didn't allow a hit until the eighth inning I think.

But the Braves still lost tonight, 6 to 5 I think.

Trend wise, LaRoche is still bad against lefties, Giles is doing pretty well in leadoff, McCann is off on a solid start, Francoeur likes to go hitless and hit into double plays after Andruw gets on base.

If the starters rebounds I think the team will be in good shape.

[grizzly451]

Chipper returns: After missing Wednesday night's game because of a strained abdominal muscle, Chipper Jones was back in Thursday afternoon's lineup. He began feeling the ailment while fielding a couple of fly balls in Tuesday's loss to the Dodgers.

I know its about Chipper returning, but if he's straining muscles this early in the season... that worries me about Chipper being able to make it through the whole season and be productive.

Least it wasn't his foot....

[Francoeurstein]

Sosa had a homer!!! Tough loss guys, I am going to Tenessee and won't be on for two days.

[Atlanta Braves Freak]

Well, we know our offense is good, but our pitching has proved to be highly ineffective. I'm glad no one has mentioned the pitching coach change yet, I don't feel that is it, it is more the pitchers not having their best stuff.

[jwkfs]

Tough game today...Hudson struggled early, and again, the bullpen had to work a good stretch of the game.

Devine threw two wild pitches (one of which scored a run) and walked four (including one with the bases loaded) after striking out the first batter.

Pitching:

Pitcher IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Hudson 4.0 8 8 6 3 0 1 12.38
James 2.0 1 0 0 1 2 0 0.00
Remlinger 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Devine 0.2 3 4 4 4 1 0 63.00
Ray 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00


Hitting:

Player AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Giles 1 0 0 0 4 0 0 .300
Renteria 5 1 2 3 0 0 3 .370
Jones, C 5 0 1 3 0 2 5 .278
Jones, A 3 0 0 0 1 0 2 .292
LaRoche 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 .190
Jordan 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .286
Francoeur 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .080
Langerhans 2 0 1 0 0 0 2 .438
Orr 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .400
Betemit 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .375
Pratt 3 2 1 0 1 1 1 .333
Hudson 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333
Diaz 3 2 2 0 0 1 2 .333
Totals 31 6 8 6 8 6 19

[Eugenious]

GO BRAVES!!

http://www.bravesoxtalk.com

[atlbravesfan]

Starters going 11.57 is very unexpected to say the least. It's not like one or two pitchers struggling but everybody. So far it's making me want to http://basketballboards.net/forum/images/smilies/puke.gif


I think Smoltz is going to grab the bull by the horns today and pitch a great game.

Relief w/ Cormier, Villarreal, James, Remlinger has been excellent and Reitsma has done well overall. Devine seems to have lost all confidence. http://basketballboards.net/forum/images/smilies/awesomework.gif

Team is batting close to .300 and scoring 8 runs a game. :clapping

Coming back home 4-3 is not that bad, and hopefully with a string of 6 home games some things can get corrected before heading back out on the road for 9 games.

[grizzly451]

Coming back home with that record the way the Starters have been is not that bad. Its nice at least to see the offense going out there. The Braves scored what, 48 runs on that trip? Pretty nice.

Other then Devine, its encouraging to see the bullpen closing it down fairly well considering how worried people were about the relievers before the season.

At this rate the Braves are going to turn into the Reds. :eek:

[Francoeurstein]

I'm back, it was a fun vacation. Today's matchup will be former Cy Young John Smoltz vs. Former Brave Jason Schmidt. I would rank Smoltz and Schmidt in the top 20 top strikeout pitchers alive. So this is going to be a tough outing for the braves.

[Francoeurstein]

I hate Reitsma...

[jwkfs]

Yup.

It's looking to me like Ken Ray should be our closer :laugh !

[grizzly451]

Yup.

It's looking to me like Ken Ray should be our closer :laugh !


Ya know I was joking around with my friends about that before the game. haha!

Why not, give him a shot, couldn't do any worse :rolleyes:

[Francoeurstein]

Ya know I was joking around with my friends about that before the game. haha!

Why not, give him a shot, couldn't do any worse :rolleyes:

He rocks, I just thought about it, he can win rookie of the year!!

[grizzly451]

He rocks, I just thought about it, he can win rookie of the year!!


Sounds like a sequel to "The Rookie", wonder if Disney is already looking into it.

[Francoeurstein]

Hahahaa... :laugh :laugh!!! Well, after I get home from school I report the game.

[grizzly451]

The Braves offense so far has scored more runs than any other team, 11 more then the runner-up. But as you know the pitching as given up more runs than any starting rotation, 6 more then the runner-up. Pretty wild.

[Atlanta Braves Freak]

And our record is 3-4, but the offense is very encouraging. Once the pitching gets going and Chipper and Horacio get 100% this will be a tough team to beat.

[grizzly451]

Thomson did a really good job tonight, no Earned Runs, 4ks, 6hits in 5 innings. Its the top of the 6th and so far the bullpen is trying to blow it. Cormier is on the mound and struggling.

GO BRAVES!!!

[jwkfs]

Batter AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR BB K AVG
Marcus Giles 5 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 .259
Edgar Renteria 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .371
Ryan Langerhans 3 0 2 0 1 0 0 1 1 .476
Andruw Jones 4 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 .303
Adam LaRoche 4 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 .250
Jeff Francoeur 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .061
Brian McCann 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .250
Wilson Betemit 4 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 2 .385
John Thomson 2 0 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 .667
Pete Orr 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .286
Brian Jordan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .286
Totals 35 5 11 5 3 0 2 2 8

Pitcher IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
John Thomson 5.0 6 1 0 1 4 0 2.08
Mike Remlinger 0.1 1 1 1 0 0 0 3.38
Lance Cormier 0.2 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.00
Villarreal (W) 1.0 2 1 1 0 0 0 1.80
Kenny Ray 1.0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0.00
Chris Reitsma (S 3) 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7.71


Solid game today, picked up the W! Thomson pitched well, Ray pitched well, Rietsma kept the ball in the infield in the 9th. Homeruns by Giles and Andruw.

[atlbravesfan]

Braves win 5-3 vs. Phillies
Team Record: 4-4

Thomson pitched a very good game, wish he could have got a W with his effort. He even went 2-for-2 and had 2 RBIs. Might need to use him as a PH at times. :D

Villareal is now 3-0. Wow. Ray looked good and Reitsma picked up his 3rd save.

Sosa (0-1 23.14) vs. Lidle (0-1 5.40) tomorrow night.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Hey, guys...
I've been gone on a field trip for 4 days, and when I returned, I found my computer had crashed. This meaning the keyboard completely doesn't work. As I type this I'm using my "on-screen" keyboard. So basically I won't be posting often for a week.

However,I must say Ken Ray has really, impressed me, I hope Moylan can also. I must confess I'm a bit pleased with Horacio being out. However, I'm unhappy Chipper is out. I see Remlinger,Villareal, Cormier, James, and Ray being potential great successes.

If Moylan and Reitsma step up their game our bullpen could be a potential strength.

Our rotation needs to step it up. However I was impressed with Thomson yesterday.

Barring Chipper, our offense is pretty decent. I do hope Frenchy gets on track. Tony Pena's up from AAA and Devine is back down. We'll see how it works out. I'll see you all in a bit. Wish me luck with this computer crap.

Go Bravos.

[Eugenious]

Bringing up Moylan Baffles me. Does anyone know who he is? Let me enlighten you

Pitched in the Gulf Coast league for two years in 97 and 98, solidly unspectacular. Then plays the next few years in Australia. Yup, Australia. Comes to prominence in the US while pitching for Team Australia in the WBC. The team that lost all three games it played.

He was offered contracts from a few different teams after his "success" in the WBC. Moylan was like the other Aussie pitchers, wild, wild, wild. Apparently the Braves like him because he throws hard(96) and sidearm.

I watched him this spring, and wasnt overly impressed. he got some guys out, but they hit the ball hard as well.

The Braves have better options.

ON a positive note, its good that they sent Devine down. It was ridiculous that they even called him up. He struck out a lot of guys this spring, but he also showed signs that he wasnt ready. Pulling up this early in the season was just mean, he clearly isnt ready. and PLEASE, can some coach, any coach in the Braves organization work on his mechanics? its no wonder his back hurts, and he has a hard time getting the ball down.

Skip the same old tired sites, come over to our side of the web - http://www.bravesoxtalk.com

[grizzly451]

Bringing up Moylan Baffles me. Does anyone know who he is? Let me enlighten you

Pitched in the Gulf Coast league for two years in 97 and 98, solidly unspectacular. Then plays the next few years in Australia. Yup, Australia. Comes to prominence in the US while pitching for Team Australia in the WBC. The team that lost all three games it played.

He was offered contracts from a few different teams after his "success" in the WBC. Moylan was like the other Aussie pitchers, wild, wild, wild. Apparently the Braves like him because he throws hard(96) and sidearm.

I watched him this spring, and wasnt overly impressed. he got some guys out, but they hit the ball hard as well.

The Braves have better options.



The minors have plenty of guys with stories similar to Moylan that just never make it all the way (Ken Ray for example). By which I mean guys with good potential/talent/stuff, but problems with control, attitude, health, you name it. To go along with his well-known strikeouts in the WBC he also had a few walks to go with them if I'm not mistaken. The Braves only threw him what? A $30k contract? Thats practically just the normal minor league contract rate anyway. If he works out at all the Braves will look smart for getting him and if he doesn't few will notice because the expectations are low anyway.

More then anything after signing this guy, this callup is from the Braves really wanting to see what this guy has. With a pitcher that age, there isn't much point in letting them stay down in the minors to 'develop' anyway. No doubt both sides want to see whether or not Moylan has what it takes for the Majors so if he doesn't A) the Braves can cut him loose and B) he could go back home and not wallow in the minors halfway around the world from his family.

Plus pretty much all (but not all) pitchers that go the sidearm route have control problems. Its very difficult to get your mechanics down so you can throw that way with velocity and control. Your release point, and the way your wrist/hand position effect the ball's movement in a much different way then traditional delivery.

His roll would probably only be short relief anyway, so if they guy can hold it together for even only a couple of batters he would be able to get the job done.

[Francoeurstein]

I'm going to the game tonight. The matchup will be Lidle vrs. Sosa. Anyone tell me if you see a kid with a braves spring training hat and a braves jersey.

P.S. My math teacher will be there and he is a phillies fan!!!:eek: :eek:

[Eugenious]

Yeah, i was pretty harsh on Moylan, my boys asked me to restrain the tough talk and let them do the talking, so im just going to read what you guys got, and try and get some of you to read the site.

Its some funny stuff, and they know what they are talking about, they welcome anyone writing in, and they will post it.

But i still like Kevin Barry better...

www.bravesoxtalk.com

[grizzly451]

OK, last night's game was brutal. Seemed like everyone was off daydreaming during the game. Certainly Sosa was, Bobby needs to give him some extra practice at his fundamentals. He walked Lidle on 5 pitches, then didn't cover first on that grounder Rollins hit to LaRoche. Renteria misplaying that ball afterwards was the straw that broke the camels back, leading to the Phillies scoring 2 runs. Bottom line is that we should have won last night.

The announcers kept talking about Franceour showing signs of breaking out of his slump, but going 1 for 4 with a single (2 strikeouts) didn't show me that. McCann and Betemit definitely looked impressive, leading the offense last night. Its great to see different guys carrying the team along with the ones you would expect. McCann was thrown out trying to make it home last night, but it was 2 outs with Sosa batting next so I think that the coach made the right call waving him home.

The offense is still pounding it out, the Braves really need Davies to go out there tonight and show everyone he belongs in the rotation with a real gem of a game.


Last night's box score:


Philadelphia 0 4 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 7 8 1
Atlanta 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 5 14 1


Standings thru 4/12/06 | Wrap | Gameday

Philadelphia AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Rollins, SS 5 1 2 0 0 1 0 .394
Rowand, CF 5 1 1 2 0 1 1 .286
Abreu, RF 4 0 0 0 1 1 0 .300
Burrell, LF 4 1 1 1 0 0 3 .259
Victorino, LF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .286
Utley, 2B 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 .200
Howard, 1B 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 .321
Bell, 3B 4 0 1 0 0 0 3 .190
Lieberthal, C 4 1 1 2 0 0 2 .286
Lidle, P 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 .000
a-Gonzalez, PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Franklin, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-Dellucci, PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .100
Geary, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Cormier, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Rhodes, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Gordon, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Totals 36 7 8 5 3 4 10

a-Grounded out for Lidle in the 7th. b-Struck out for Franklin in the 8th.

BATTING
2B: Lieberthal (3, Sosa), Bell (1, Moylan).
HR: Rowand (1, 7th inning off James, 1 on, 1 out), Burrell (3, 7th inning off James, 0 on, 2 out).
TB: Rollins 2; Rowand 4; Burrell 4; Howard 2; Bell 2; Lieberthal 2.
RBI: Lieberthal 2 (3), Rowand 2 (3), Burrell (5).
2-out RBI: Lieberthal 2; Burrell.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Burrell 2; Dellucci.
Team LOB: 5.

FIELDING
E: Bell (3, throw).
Outfield assists: Rowand (McCann at home).


Atlanta AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Giles, 2B 5 0 1 0 0 1 2 .250
Renteria, SS 5 0 2 0 0 1 1 .375
Langerhans, LF 5 0 0 0 0 3 3 .385
Jones, A, CF 4 1 2 0 0 0 2 .324
LaRoche, 1B 4 1 1 0 0 1 2 .250
Francoeur, RF 4 1 1 0 0 2 1 .081
McCann, C 4 1 2 2 0 0 2 .286
Betemit, 3B 4 1 3 2 0 0 0 .471
Sosa, P 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .500
a-Orr, PH 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .375
James, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Cormier, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-Jordan, PH 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .375
Moylan, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
c-Diaz, PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .286
Remlinger, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Totals 39 5 14 5 0 10 14

a-Tripled for Sosa in the 4th. b-Singled for Cormier in the 7th. c-Struck out for Moylan in the 8th.

BATTING
2B: Jones, A (2, Lidle), Betemit 3 (3, Lidle, Lidle, Cormier).
3B: Orr (1, Lidle).
HR: McCann (3, 4th inning off Lidle, 0 on, 2 out).
TB: Giles; Renteria 2; Jones, A 3; LaRoche; Francoeur; McCann 5; Betemit 6; Orr 3; Jordan.
RBI: McCann 2 (5), Orr (1), Betemit 2 (5).
2-out RBI: McCann 2; Orr; Betemit 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Jones, A; Giles; Langerhans; Diaz.
Team LOB: 7.

BASERUNNING
CS: Renteria (1, 2nd base by Lidle/Lieberthal).

FIELDING
E: Renteria (2, fielding).




Philadelphia IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Lidle (W, 1-1) 6.0 10 3 3 0 7 1 4.91
Franklin 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1.50
Geary 0.1 2 2 2 0 0 0 3.86
Cormier (H, 1) 0.1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Rhodes (H, 1) 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.70
Gordon (S, 1) 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.00
Atlanta IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Sosa (L, 0-2) 4.0 4 4 2 3 2 0 11.37
James 2.2 3 3 3 0 0 2 3.12
Cormier 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Moylan 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.00
Remlinger 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.45


WP: James.
Pitches-strikes: Lidle 90-62, Franklin 17-11, Geary 11-8, Cormier 6-3, Rhodes 5-4, Gordon 17-12, Sosa 80-47, James 45-28, Cormier 1-1, Moylan 16-9, Remlinger 14-7.
Ground outs-fly outs: Lidle 4-5, Franklin 1-1, Geary 1-0, Cormier 0-1, Rhodes 0-0, Gordon 2-0, Sosa 1-9, James 4-4, Cormier 1-0, Moylan 0-2, Remlinger 2-0.
Batters faced: Lidle 26, Franklin 4, Geary 3, Cormier 2, Rhodes 1, Gordon 3, Sosa 20, James 11, Cormier 1, Moylan 4, Remlinger 3.
Inherited runners-scored: Cormier 2-2, Rhodes 1-0.
Umpires: HP: CB Bucknor. 1B: John Hirschbeck. 2B: Wally Bell. 3B: Mark Carlson.
Weather: 73 degrees, clear.
Wind: 6 mph, R to L.
T: 2:59.
Att: 37,107

[Francoeurstein]

I was there and it was a nerveracker!!! Maybe if Renteria didn't make that error he would of saved two runs...

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

You can't really blame that on him, the ball bounced off the side of the mound, he did his best.

You can blame the loss on Sosa who was sub-par.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Did you all see Pete Orr's triple. :eek: :eek: :eek:
That guy is faaaaaaaaast. He could be faster than Raffy.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Tonight, the braves face the phillies again for the 3rd and final time of this series. Kyle Davies will face Gavin Floyd. If I was a betting man, I'd put my money on the Braves tonight.

As long as we keep winning series after series we will be very successful. If we win tonight we will be back at .500 .

I hope to see Ray and Reitsma (and of course Davies) pitch well tonight. Again ,if Ray and Moylan become reliable bullpen guys we can turn that aspect of the team into a strength.

[Atlanta Braves Freak]

I think Kyle Davies will outpitch Gavin Floyd tonight. The offense should take care of Kyle, my prediction is a Braves 6-3 win.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

I'll go 7-1 Braves over Phillies.

[grizzly451]

Ouch! 3 homers in the 1st inning by the opposing team is a horrible way to start a game.

So far, ABF the score has flipped on you, its Phillies 6, Braves 3. Davies didn't have much tonight and he's already out of the game.

Good Luck on the comeback guys! Go Braves!

Boy the pitching this season, phew what can ya say? Hopefully the bullpen will make another good showing.

[Francoeurstein]

I blame it all on Leo's departure!!! Anyways, I'm pretty ticked about the loss... Francoeur may of broken his slump with 2 homers!!! :D :crazy :rolleyes: :eek: . Or ofcourse another fluke, we'll find out...

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

HA86 don't blame McDowall. Davies was awful the first inning but then rebounded for a good 4 innings. And hey how about the bullpen. If you're going to blame McDowell for the rotation problems, you have to give him kudos for the job he has done with the pen.

If I'm going to blame McDowell for pitching woes it'll at least be after the All Star Break.

Again a good game for the Braves, yet strike another up in the loss column. And if we keep falling back, expect some Mets fans to begn posting some smack.

If we could sweep the Pads that'd be great. Once again we lose the game and series to the Phils.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Bullpen Update

James 0-0 4G 8.2 IP 3.12 ERA. Lefty
Moylan 0-0 1G 1 IP 0.00 ERA.
Remlinger 1-0 7G 4 IP 2.25 ERA. Lefty
Ray 0-0 5G 5 IP 0.00 ERA.
Cormier 0-0 7G 6.2 IP 1.17 ERA.
Villareal 3-0 6G 7 IP 1.50 ERA.

*Reitsma 0-1 4G 4.2 IP 7.71 ERA. 3/4 SV/SO

*Closer

[Eugenious]

Great piece about it here...
http://www.bravesoxtalk.com/I-85_Club.html

[jwkfs]

Great piece about it here...
http://www.bravesoxtalk.com/I-85_Club.html

I agree. If you're going to blame the starters struggling on McDowell, then you also better give him credit for the way the bullpen has been pitching. Look at the stats GB posted -- that's pretty impressive compared to last year!

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Braves Win!!! 5-4 over Padres.
Thanks to Frenchy and Renteria with another homer, and some more great bullpen work.
Let's win the series tomorrow with Smoltz.
Hudson pitched very well tonight.
Give Villareal his 4th win. Leauge Leading 4th win I should say.
Great Win Gang.

PS. 11 Game hit streak for Renteria.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Here's The Box.


Box Score (http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_04_14_sdnmlb_atlmlb_1)

[jwkfs]

Good to see Francoeur turning it around.

Anyone else really impressed with Langerhans? Here's his line for the current year:

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG AVG
10 32 5 13 4 1 2 8 25 6 7 0 0 .500 .781 .406


He showed flashes of being a good hitter last year, but I think it may take him being an every day player for him to really shine. I never understood last year why Bobby kept platooning him and KJ, or this year why Bobby would pull Langerhans and replace him with Diaz when Francoeur was throwing up 0fers.

[Francoeurstein]

With this hot streak I wouldn't be suprised to see him end up with these stats: 25/90/.300

[atlbravesfan]

I agree. If you're going to blame the starters struggling on McDowell, then you also better give him credit for the way the bullpen has been pitching.

Maybe Roger is spending too much time with the relief pitchers and the starters feel left out. http://www.basketballboards.net/forum/images/smilies/rofl.gif

Be the man tonight Smoltzie. Mets lost today http://www.basketballboards.net/forum/images/smilies/cheers.gif so let's take advantage of that and get a win.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

1-0 Braves thru 4 and 1/2. LaRoche has homered. Renteria extended hit streak to 12 games.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Same Ol Same Ol thru 6.

[Francoeurstein]

Ahh the Peaver is pitching!!!! I'm looking at his splits vrs. ATL. Doesn't Francoeur make life happy???

[Francoeurstein]

He is 1-1 with games and 18.1 inning pitched with 21 k's lastly a 4.42 era. I'd say thats ok...

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

CAN YOU SAY JOHN SMOLTZ 4 HIT SHUTOUT!!!!

BRAVES WIN 2-0
3 Games Back thanks to good 'ol NY.

[Francoeurstein]

YES!!! A shutout!!!! And a win by the starting rotation!!! I am about to wet my freakin' pants!!!!

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

YES!!! A shutout!!!! And a win by the starting rotation!!! I am about to wet my freakin' pants!!!!
:crazy :crazy :laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh :D

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

On a sad note Blaine Boyer is done for the year. He is getting arthroscopic surgery for his arm. I like our current bullpen ,so I doubt it will be that much of a blow.

[grizzly451]

Boyer was kind of ending up as the odd man out. It would have been a hard choice what to do if he had come back soon. The bullpen should do fine without him, but I do hate hearing about anyone losing a whole season like that.

Villarreal is really picking up some easy wins too.

[Francoeurstein]

On a sad note Blaine Boyer is done for the year. He is getting arthroscopic surgery for his arm. I like our current bullpen ,so I doubt it will be that much of a blow.

Screw him, shall we watch ESPN and watch them repeat "SHUTOUT!!!" repeatedly???

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

...And now some more good news....WE ARE AT .500

[Francoeurstein]

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We won against the Peaver too, amazing!!!

[atlbravesfan]

Hail Smoltz!

http://basketballboards.net/forum/images/smilies/allhail.gif

9IP 4H 2BB 4SO 103 pitches/74K

***16th career shutout & 51st career complete-game***

[Francoeurstein]

That'll make us forget about his first start!!! Oops...:eek:

[jwkfs]

Bad news is Renteria got hurt -- strained his rib cage striking out late in the game.

Hope it's not serious!

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Probably just day to day. I'm glad Bobby played it safe and put in Pena JR. at SS.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

I was watching the highlights of the game on Baseball Tonight, and Andruw Jones was making some great catches. Who says that man can't still play D.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Here's the Wrap-up and Box Score on the game.

Wrap (http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060415&content_id=1402394&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl)


Box (http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_04_15_sdnmlb_atlmlb_1)

[jwkfs]

I was watching the highlights of the game on Baseball Tonight, and Andruw Jones was making some great catches. Who says that man can't still play D.

I thought the exact same thing, thinking about the "Andruw vs Jason Bay" thread. What decline in defense? :laugh I only wish this game had been on TBS so I could have seen him make those plays live.

[Francoeurstein]

Braves are tenth in power rankings :(. http://cbs.sportsline.com/mlb/powerrankings

[Francoeurstein]

15 in ESPN Rankings!!!! http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/powerranking

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

I thought the exact same thing, thinking about the "Andruw vs Jason Bay" thread. What decline in defense? :laugh I only wish this game had been on TBS so I could have seen him make those plays live.

:) Same here. I'm thinking what do you want the guy to make every play. He's the best in the game and possibly the best ever. Even now at this age. Which is I'm afraid to say is......ALMOST 30!!!!

The guy is only 29!!! He's got 10- 15 years left in him!!! He's as good as he always is which is always superior.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Braves send John Thomson on the mound to face Woody Williams for the Padres. The Braves go for the series sweep!!!:D :D :D

GAME AT 1:05 ON TBS!!!

[Francoeurstein]

Woody Williams is old and dried up we can take him.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Dissapointing loss today. Braves lose 4-3. :grouchy

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Going into more detail I believe that this was really a game the Braves should have come out and won.

Thomson pitched excellent, besides Ken Ray (who this whole season had been great) so did the bullpen.

Andruw Jones homered, also he played great defense. Francoeur got another hit. Giles and Thomson doubled, it was a good game.

Ray came in gave up a homer and 2 doubles. Then a few innings later Remlinger came in and did pitch well. (Can't believe he got the loss) Unfortunently, Langerhans dove for a ball which would have been a base hit, the ball was missed however and rolled all the way to the wall, giving Eric Young a lead off triple in the 8th.

The run eventually scored and put the Braves down 4-3. They did their best against Linebrink and Hoffman, but they could not comeback.

This was a game the Braves clearly should have won.

The Mets won...again today so the Braves are back to 4 games down.
I hope Renteria is back soon we need him for this series against the Mets.

I'd love a sweep then we'd only be back 1.

But let's not get too dissapointed. We won the series 2-1 and boosted our record up a game. We can't lose this series versus the Mets. That would be bad.

In fact in a few minutes, I am going to make a thread about this.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Here's the Wrap-up and Box Score.

Wrap (http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060416&content_id=1403216&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl)

Box (http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_04_16_sdnmlb_atlmlb_1&c_id=mlb)

[atlbravesfan]

Another great outing for the starting pitchers. Thomson's 6IP w/only 1H and 6SO was great. It seems lately that as the pitching gets better the runs start to drop off. The team is 4-for-(the last)31 AB w/runners in scoring position. Had the chances to put them away and didn't. Had to put the broom back in the closet. Frustrating loss to say the least.

The series with the Mets is very important since they are up 4 games right now. Not crucial, but important. I don't know how healthy they are, but we need to hurry up and get well soon, if that's possible. Smoltz will miss the Mets series b/c of the rotation. We will pitch 4, 5, and 1 against their 1, 2, and 3.

9 games in 10 days on the road. Let's come back home with some momentum. I see we play the Mets when we return, and if the rotation stays the way it is, we will pitch 3, 4, and 5 against them. Smoltz misses again. Have to wait and see.

[grizzly451]

Thomson got another double in that game too. He must be getting some extra BP this season.

Langerhaus is a better OF then Klesko, but boy his dive sure reminded me of him. I would chalk that up to inexperience, I don't think a veteran would have tried for that ball. But who's to say, he did get kinda close to catching it.

Was a really good game if nothing else.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Langerhans barely mis-played that ball. If you looked at the replay, you could see for a split-second it was in his glove. he just couldn't keep it there. Now, he'll be more sure he can catch the ball before he dives for it. :atthepc

[Atlanta Braves Freak]

Braves are down 4-3 with two outs in the Top of the 9th. Todd Pratt is at-bat, down to their last strike.

[Atlanta Braves Freak]

Game over, Braves lose 4-3, who'll volunteer for the post game review?

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

I'll do it... Make that...5!!! GAMES BACK!!!! :grouchy :grouchy :grouchy

[jwkfs]

Once again Sosa was less than stellar, but the bullpen picked it up and kept us in the game. That's one more loss that would have been a win with better starting pitching.

[Atlanta Braves Freak]

What does that bring the count to 3 or 4? So the Braves' record could easily be 10-4 or 9-5 if the pen hadn't had trouble. Could someone get me the number of games the pen has blown, because I want it in my sig line.

Games Blown By Braves Bullpen:

[jwkfs]

Seems to me like the 'pen has only blown one or two games (that last game against the padres springs to mind, and Reitsma's blown save). It's been the starters who have given up runs early and put pressure on the offense.

[grizzly451]

In last nights game with the Mets it was Sosa who gave up all four of the runs the Mets got. The bullpen was pretty tight for the rest of the game, 5 innings.

The ERA of the starters has still got to be close to 7.00. Let me see if I can find it.


Ok, the closet I could find was this: 1st to 6th inning ERA of 5.79. 7th to 9th: 5.30
Overall the Braves are sitting at 26th out of 30 in the ERA department. Pretty nasty news.

Neither would be strictly starters or bullpen since like last night Sosa only lasted 4 innings

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Here's the Box Score and The Wrap-Up I promised.

Wrap (http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060417&content_id=1405437&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl)

Box (http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_04_17_atlmlb_nynmlb_1&c_id=atl)

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

The Braves let go of Wes Obermueller....And...They sign Ricardo Rodriguez to fill his spot in the Richmond Rotation.

Here's the link...
Link (http://braves.scout.com/2/521374.html)

[jwkfs]

Davies pitching a GEM tonight.

Braves lead 7-1 going into the 9th, Davies has given up 1 ER and only 3 hits.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Can you say Complete Game for KYLE DAVIES!!! :lookitup
Big Win!!! Braves over Mets 7-1. Totals and highlights after this.

[Eugenious]

Great Game tonight! Nice to see Davies in such control tonight, now its time for Huddy to step up to the rubber and get the Braves the series win!

Hilarious "interview" with John Smoltz right here...http://www.bravesoxtalk.com/I-85_Club.html

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Oh, this is surprising.. John Thomson is leading the league in ERA. with 1.23 .

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Here's the Wrap up and Box Score.

Wrap- UP (http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060418&content_id=1406678&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl)

Box Score (http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_04_18_atlmlb_nynmlb_1&c_id=atl)

[ATL22]

Davies pitched a huge game for us tonight. Great to see the kid step up like that in an important game on a big stage. He is going to be a good one for a long time.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Davies just really locked up his spot for the whole season tonight ,if there was any doubt. I can't wait till the Braves give up on Horacio and slide good ol' Chuck James into the rotation. :D :D

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

I'm posing a question, if Reitsma blows some more games at closer, might we stick Villarreal in that position?

[Eugenious]

You gotta love Thompson, he was given a stiff one by the Braves this spring. He belongs in the rotation - check out what these guys have been saying about Thompson ALL YEAR LONG - http://www.bravesoxtalk.com/I-85_Club.html

Bravo to the Disorderly Orderly - James over Ramirez, ANY DAY. I'm not sure James is ready, but he is far better than Ramirez. I've never understood the Braves fascination with Ramirez - soft tossing lefty with no Ks, too many walks, and too many HRs.

Villarreal in the bullpen? Sure its possible, but don't get too crazy yet. Reitsma gets too hard of a time from everyone. I'm not saying he's lights out, but he's far from the Braves biggest problem - this year, last year, or any year.
Let the season move on and see what shakes out, I think just about anyone in the Braves Bullpen has a shot at being a decent closer, but my personal favorite is McBride. Once he's back and healty we will all be treated to his + fastball and nasty slider, he could easily be another Billy Wagner...

Great "interview" with John Smoltz right here
http://www.bravesoxtalk.com/I-85_Club.html

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

[QUOTE=Eugenious]

Bravo to the Disorderly Orderly - James over Ramirez, ANY DAY. I'm not sure James is ready, but he is far better than Ramirez. I've never understood the Braves fascination with Ramirez - soft tossing lefty with no Ks, too many walks, and too many HRs.

[QUOTE]

Thanks Eugenious, Oh and Welcome to the Forum. :D :waving

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Bravo to the Disorderly Orderly - James over Ramirez, ANY DAY. I'm not sure James is ready, but he is far better than Ramirez. I've never understood the Braves fascination with Ramirez - soft tossing lefty with no Ks, too many walks, and too many HRs.



Thanks Eugenious, Oh and Welcome to the Forum. :D :waving

[grizzly451]

I've never understood the Braves fascination with Ramirez - soft tossing lefty with no Ks, too many walks, and too many HRs.


The word "lefty" pretty much sums up the heart of the clubs love of Ramirez. If he were a right handed pitcher no way they would have kept him around this long.


In other news Giles hurt his finger in that game sliding into second base, I only mention it since Giles actually left the game because of it in the 7th. Since he normally plays with problems like that it must have really bothered him.

Andruw is also leading the majors with 22 rbi's so far, Pujols is second with 20.

[jwkfs]

Great pitching duel, Hudson vs. Glavine.

Hudson took a perfect game into the 6th and a shutout into the 9th, ended with a a complete game.
Glavine pitched well too, giving up 2 runs, only on earned.
Notes:
David Wright committed all 3 Met errors, Brian Jordan committed one for the Braves.
Tony Pena Jr played awesome defense filling in for Renteria, you'll probably see him on ESPN a couple times tonight.

Box:

Atlanta AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR W K AVG
Orr 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .192
Betemit 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .275
Diaz 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200
Langerhans 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333
Jones 4 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 .317
Francoeur 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .215
Jordan 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333
LaRoche 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .259
Pratt 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .250
Pena 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Hudson 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .125
Totals 32 2 4 2 0 0 1 0 5



Atlanta IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Hudson 9.0 3 1 1 1 6 0 6.08

NY Mets IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Glavine 8.0 4 2 1 0 5 1 1.38
Heilman 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.38

[grizzly451]

I followed most of the game via internet gamechannel at work, I hate that I couldn't have actually seen it. Sounded like it would have been a great one to catch.

Both pitchers were definitely in top form today thats for sure. With Glavine pitching I'm glad he didn't get the win, and glad he didn't get smashed. He has certainly made some adjustments to the Braves lineup the last few outings, basically getting better each time.

Andruw must be really motivated this season for an MVP he is just raking right now. ML leading 23 rbi's this month already and there is still over a week to go!

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

8 Homers!!! 23 RBI!!! GO BRAVES!!! Tim Hudson pitched awesome today. It wouldn't have shocked me if he threw a perfect games.

Winning this series definitely sent a message to the Mets. We were mostly injured. To put it in perspective, our whole infield was back-ups in the final games.

[Atlanta Braves Freak]

Was Marcus Giles out of today's game?

[atlbravesfan]

Was Marcus Giles out of today's game?
Yea, Orr filled in today. Swollen/stiff left middle finger. X-rays didn't show a fracture, but possible ligament damage. He plans on having an MRI in Atlanta tomorrow morning. http://basketballboards.net/forum/images/smilies/pray.gif

[forznoles]

Doesn't Andruw have 5 HRs in the last 4 games? The more starters we lose, the more Andruw steps it up. Amazing.

When is Chipper due back? Last I heard he was put on the 15-day DL after that injury going for an infield ball out west. Is that still about where things stand with him??

[forznoles]

Doesn't Andruw have 5 HRs in the last 4 games? The more starters we lose, the more Andruw steps it up. Amazing.

When is Chipper due back? Last I heard he was put on the 15-day DL after that injury going for an infield ball out west. Is that still about where things stand with him??
Never mind - answered my own question:

Player News from ROTOWIRE
Apr. 19
News: Jones (sprained right knee and ankle) has been able swing from both sides of the plate and hasn't had any problems with lateral movement. He's expected to be ready when eligible to return from the DL on Tuesday, the team's official web site reports.

[grizzly451]

From the Braves website:With Thursday's scheduled off-day, Cox took advantage of the opportunity to adjust his starting rotation. Kyle Davies, who tossed his first career complete game on Tuesday, will take Jorge Sosa's turn in the rotation and pitch on regular rest during Sunday night's series finale against the Nationals.

Sosa, who hasn't lasted five innings in any of his first three starts, will pitch with seven days of rest on Tuesday. When Cox informed the struggling right-hander of the decision, Sosa responded favorably and even told the veteran skipper that he'd come out of the bullpen if necessary on Wednesday afternoon.


That's the first stoke of removing him I'd bet on that. Cox probably just wants to see another solid start from Davies, maybe decide if he wants to let James try out for the spot, before bumping him. Definitely when Ramierz gets back though.

Sosa telling Cox he'd be willing to come out of the bullpen pretty much paves the way for it too.

[Atlanta Braves Freak]

It's a good thing the Braves didn't get rid of John Thomson, because now he'll return to the rotation.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Braves are calling up Prado since Giles and Renteria are hurt.

Link (http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060420&content_id=1410230&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl)

[grizzly451]

Man, Soriano was smoking in that game. Hitting 3 homeruns, 2 of them on Smoltz. Smoltz said the first one was a terrible pitch, but that the second one was a ball, so he tipped his hat to him for hitting it out.

Smoltz wasn't horrible, 7 hits, 3 earned runs, allowed in 5.0 innings, the bullpen scattered out the other 4 runs. Ken Ray was the only reliever that went out that didn't give up at least a run. Clearly though Smoltz was not his usual self. It was the first time since 1999 that someone hit 2 homers off of Smoltz in the same game.

McCann had a pretty solid game, he was the only guy in the lineup to get more then 1 hit during the game. Orr hit another triple for his sole hit.


Can you really count this as a game the bullpen blew? Hard for me to say, but they sure didn't help.

boxscore (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/boxscore?gid=260421120)

[Eugenious]

I have to agree with you Grizzly, its tough to call this a game the bullpen blew. Technically, yes they did, but with Smoltz only pitching 5 innings and giving up three runs, it wasnt even a quality start.

The downpour in the 8th inning certainly didnt help.

I have to say, I couldnt help but be concerned for Smoltz last night. He was laboring from the first pitch, and there was just something about the way he walked around the mound and the way he carried himself that, if i was pessimistic, would make me believe he may have something bothering him.

It was a cold wet night, so I'm sure thats what it was, and Bobby did a good job taking him out when he did, there was no point in leaving Smoltz in the game any longer.

Game 2 tonight, and the "stopper" John Thompson is on the mound. The Nats are going down...

[Eugenious]

If you guys want to read anything about Prado check this out:

http://bravesoxtalk.com/I-85_Club.html

Also - They've updated the Stats page with some cool content...

http://bravesoxtalk.com/85_Stats.html

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

I wouldn't call the game a bullpen blow, more like just an unlucky bullpen night. Cormier had been superb, but then he threw a pretty okay pitch to Ryan Church that got stuck in the corner, normally this would have been a double, or even a single with Frenchy's arm, but Church can run so he managed out a triple. Then Cormier gave up a walk, the they called in Remlinger to pitch, he didn't do that bad, the pitch he threw over the backstop had to be rain induced, and that probably ruined his mind-set, then Villarreal came in and finally he was pretty off and gave up the homer to Soriano. But then you have to give Soriano credit, because he had hit 2 previous homers that night. So i wouldn't call it a blow, just an unlucky night.

Plus going into the 8th inning the Braves had pretty much lost the game anyway, so it's not like we were dominating them the whole night.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

If there is any positive to this loss it's that the mets lost also, so we're still just 3.5 out of 1st.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Trade Idea if Reitsma starts struggling.

Rangers get Chris Reitsma and Jorge Sosa.

Braves get Francisco Cordero.

Cordero hasn't been great this season, but he'd be an upgrade over Reitsma, plus he could get on track with pitching coach Roger McDowell. Sosa is just thrown in to give the Rangers more options.

Just an Idea. It'd have to be done after Horacio comes back.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Another positive to last night's loss...

How about Tony Pena Jr.'s Defense!!! WOW !!!

[grizzly451]

THE GAME HAS BEEN POSTPONED DUE TO RAIN AND WILL BE RESCHEDULED ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 AT 7:05 PM EDT.

Caps isn't mine, I just copied and pasted.

I know I'm lazy :D

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Darn... I was hoping we might get a double header tomorrow.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Just wanted to congratulate Bobby Cox on getting 2100 wins. What a milestone !!!

[Francoeurstein]

Let's hope the Brave's will not be a failure this year. Let's all predict their record by 30 games. My prediction 17-13.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

My prediction is 16 and 14 after 30 games.

[Francoeurstein]

1,000 posts way to go you are now a veteran!!!

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Thanks HA86, much appreciated. :) :waving

[Atlanta Braves Freak]

I'll say you're more of a veteran because of the quality not the quantity.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Thanks also ABF, really appreciated :waving :)

According to this the Braves have signed former big leaguer Wayne Franklyn and he'll be at AAA.

Link (http://www.ajc.com/braves/content/sports/braves/stories/0423minors.html)

You have to go down to where it is titled "Around The System".

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

From Dave O'Brien at AJC.com there is very litlle rain, and the game shall start on time tonight.:D :D :D :D

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Martin Prado gets his first start tonight. The Braves (and really Bobby Cox) is high on this kid. They say he can play all infield positions and is very good defensively. But don't start thinking Jesse Garcia, no this kid can hit. He's hit around .290 in the minors, and was hitting well at AA when we called him up.

He's not Yunel Escobar or Elvis Andrus , but he could develope into a very solid mjor leauger. He's between 5''11 and 6''1 at 170 lbs. Which means he's pretty light and has pretty good range. He has okay power. He's 22, which is 2 years younger than Pena, and he can hit much better than Pena.

Welcome to the bigs Martin Prado!!! Good Luck on having a great 1st game!!!:D

[jwkfs]

He's between 5''1 and 6''1 at 170 lbs.

That's a pretty wide range :laugh

[Francoeurstein]

Martin Prado gets his first start tonight. The Braves (and really Bobby Cox) is high on this kid. They say he can play all infield positions and is very good defensively. But don't start thinking Jesse Garcia, no this kid can hit. He's hit around .290 in the minors, and was hitting well at AA when we called him up.

He's not Yunel Escobar or Elvis Andrus , but he could develope into a very solid mjor leauger. He's between 5''1 and 6''1 at 170 lbs. Which means he's pretty light and has pretty good range. He has okay power. He's 22, which is 2 years younger than Pena, and he can hit much better than Pena.

Welcome to the bigs Martin Prado!!! Good Luck on having a great 1st game!!!:D

Elvis Andrus will be very good I hear along with Saltalamacchia.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

That's a pretty wide range :laugh

I'm sorry I meant 5"11 to 6"1. :crazy :D :laugh

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

He just hit a triple and then Betemit homered!!! We're up 3-1 at the moment and they just brought in Reitsma. :confused: Good Luck Chris!!! :atthepc

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Chris has given up a hit to Ryan Zimmerman and has now struck out Jose Guillen.
Peter Gammons is now talking about the Braves bullpen on ESPN.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Braves WIN !!! 3-1 Over the Nats. Thomson pitched a very good game. Cormier gets the win. Reitsma pitched...:rolleyes: but they brought in Remlinger to get out of the predicament. And...they won!!!

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Here's the Recap and Box Score.

Recap (http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060423&content_id=1415682&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl)

Box Score (http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_04_23_atlmlb_wasmlb_1&c_id=atl)

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Braves are now only 3.0 games out of 1st since the Mets lost. We get our record back up to .500 at 9-9 and Remlinger gets his first save. When they brought in Reitsma in the 8th I thought it was a silent way of moving him into the middle relief role. And then they were moving Villarreal into the closer's role. But I guess that isn't the case.

I've said it before I'll say it again, Reitsma cannot close effectively.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Braves let Damian Moss go. At least they gave him a shot. :lookitup

Link (http://braves.scout.com/2/523423.html)

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

And here's another good Braves article.

Link (http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060423&content_id=1415434&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl)

[grizzly451]

I can't help but thinking the Braves got a little lucky in that game last night. I can't believe that the Nationals got 11 hits and only scored 1 run.

Thats incredible!!

Nerve-racking game for sure, but fun to watch

But hey, a win is a win. :D

[jwkfs]

I can't help but thinking the Braves got a little lucky in that game last night. I can't believe that the Nationals got 11 hits and only scored 1 run.

Thats incredible!!

Nerve-racking game for sure, but fun to watch

But hey, a win is a win. :D

Thomson did some seriously Sosa-esque escape work -- bases loaded twice with one out, five walks, no damage to show for it. :eek:

[jpenrod]

Braves are now only 3.0 games out of 1st since the Mets lost. We get our record back up to .500 at 9-9 and Remlinger gets his first save. When they brought in Reitsma in the 8th I thought it was a silent way of moving him into the middle relief role. And then they were moving Villarreal into the closer's role. But I guess that isn't the case.

I've said it before I'll say it again, Reitsma cannot close effectively.

That was a long outing for any closer, I am not sure that what happened last night was a sign of things to come.

[grizzly451]

Braves are now only 3.0 games out of 1st since the Mets lost. We get our record back up to .500 at 9-9 and Remlinger gets his first save. When they brought in Reitsma in the 8th I thought it was a silent way of moving him into the middle relief role. And then they were moving Villarreal into the closer's role. But I guess that isn't the case.

I've said it before I'll say it again, Reitsma cannot close effectively.


Yea I'd agree with jpenrod about this, Reitsma got himself into a bit of a jam AND was up at 39 pitches. So if his pitchcount wasn't already so high odds are Bobby would have left him in. He'll keep the job until he really starts wavering.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

He just seems so wavery when he's out there. He needs to be firm and have a "Screw what the people think atitude" and get the job done like closers do. He's an upgrade from Kolb but that's like saying Blue Lagoon 2 was an upgrade over the Pirate Movie.

I'm still pretty hopefull for him I'm just lacking that good closer confidence. If Reitsma saves 25 I'll be happy.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Oh and I agree 39 pitches is alot for a reliever, but I'm wondering why he had to throw so many. His total shold have been alot closer to 20 than 40.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Let's try and get over .500 tonight against the brewers. I believe we have Davies on the hill , let me check who their starting pitcher is. And as usual fingers crossed that the Mets lose!!:D

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

They've got Capuano pitching. This guy can deal. I hope our bats can come alive. :crazy

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Here's an update on the Braves sale.

Link (http://www.ajc.com/news/content/sports/braves/stories/0424bravessale.html)

[grizzly451]

Oh and I agree 39 pitches is alot for a reliever, but I'm wondering why he had to throw so many. His total shold have been alot closer to 20 than 40.


He pitched himself into trouble and Bobby was trying to let him work his way out of it, but he just started digging himself in deeper.

[grizzly451]

They've got Capuano pitching. This guy can deal. I hope our bats can come alive. :crazy


Capuano had a good year, and he's got the stuff to get better, but he does give up a lot of homers, and a fair number of walks. I believe that the Braves lineup can get to him.

If Prado is playing he walked twice I think in the game yesterday, its worth watching to see if he can get anymore tonight.

[Francoeurstein]

I have bad news terrible news, and worse news.

1. Capuano is on my fantasy
2. He is my favorite picther
3. Brewers are my second favorite team

[Francoeurstein]

Martin Prado gets his first start tonight. The Braves (and really Bobby Cox) is high on this kid. They say he can play all infield positions and is very good defensively. But don't start thinking Jesse Garcia, no this kid can hit. He's hit around .290 in the minors, and was hitting well at AA when we called him up.

He's not Yunel Escobar or Elvis Andrus , but he could develope into a very solid mjor leauger. He's between 5''11 and 6''1 at 170 lbs. Which means he's pretty light and has pretty good range. He has okay power. He's 22, which is 2 years younger than Pena, and he can hit much better than Pena.

Welcome to the bigs Martin Prado!!! Good Luck on having a great 1st game!!!:D


Why not call up Andrus???

[jpenrod]

Oh and I agree 39 pitches is alot for a reliever, but I'm wondering why he had to throw so many. His total shold have been alot closer to 20 than 40.
Maybe because it had been 9 days since the last time he pitched. That is a long time to go for any pitcher, and it is not unussual to see a guy that has been sitting that long to have some difficulty. This is the reason you will see closers come in in non save situations.

[grizzly451]

Braves record now 9 - 10.
Wow, what a game. Its not often to get to see a double steal, let alone one involving a steal of homeplate. How often do you see a guy steal home??

Even though it was the Brewers pulling that off, it was quite a play. Wonder if Yost was using any memories from when he was a coach for the Braves? I would think he had something in mind, he was a coach with Bobby for at least 10 years.

Overall, the Brewers played some slopply defense, Weeks made 2 errors, and Fielder made another play that probably could have been called an error. The Braves didn't take advantage of those errors and that probably made the difference in the game.

The good news is Giles was back in the game, and Chipper could play today.

Davies did a fine job, the only real mistake he made was the pitch that Koskie homered on. Otherwise he only allowed 4 hits, 7Ks in 7 innings, 3 ER. I don't know about you but I'd take that start any day, the team just couldn't score those extra runs.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/boxscore?gid=260424108 (BOXSCORE)

[grizzly451]

Tonight has the Braves batting against Tomo Ohka so the lineup should do better at creating some runs, at least based on past preformance. Andruw Jones is 14 for 33 against Ohka with five homeruns, plus 4 walks. Giles has also be good against him going 7 for 17.

Bobby should probably start Jordan too since he is 6 for 9 with 2 homers against Ohka.

Plus Chipper should be back and I'm sure Hudson is ready to build on the great outing he had last time.

Go Braves!

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Why not call up Andrus???

Because the Braves don't want to rush him. If they handle him wrong, he could be a big bust.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Maybe because it had been 9 days since the last time he pitched. That is a long time to go for any pitcher, and it is not unussual to see a guy that has been sitting that long to have some difficulty. This is the reason you will see closers come in in non save situations.

I'm not on this guy's band-wagon, I'll give him a break this time. If he pitches great I'm happy for him.

If he doesn't, I'd be closer hunting until Devine is ready.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

I recall watching one game in 2002 when the Braves played the Expos and Ohka was on the mound. Andruw hit 2 homers off him in 2 ab's. The his 3rd time up Ohka drilled him in the head. Then Andruw tried to charge the mound.

The next game, the Braves played the Mets. Andruw hit a homer in his 1st 2 ab's. So he hit 4 homers in 4 consecutive ab's. It was the first time a brave had done it since the 1800's.

I hope Andruw can keep up the work tonight.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Anybody here have MLB EXTRA INNINGS? The stupid thing isn't showng the game tonight.

[jpenrod]

I'm not on this guy's band-wagon, I'll give him a break this time. If he pitches great I'm happy for him.

If he doesn't, I'd be closer hunting until Devine is ready.

Look I am not saying I am sold on Reitsma as a closer, but it just seems that you sometimes jump to conclusions without considering all factors. in this particular case it had been a while since Chris had thrown in a game, often times you see people struggle in those situations. Knowing that Reitsma had not thrown in 9 days I am a little surprised Cox brought him in to pitch the 8th. All in all his last performance is not a justifiable reason to through him under the bus and give up on him.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Braves Lose 4-2 ...speachless :cool:

Box and Wrap (http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/wrap.jsp?ymd=20060425&content_id=1418268&vkey=wrapup2005&fext=.jsp&team=away)

[grizzly451]

The team sure is being a hard luck loser this season. Still both games with the Brewers were games the Braves could have won, I'm much happier about the way the starters have kicked it up from the first week.

Fielder hitting that little grounder into the empty side of a defensive shift was a brilliant move (or a stroke of luck). :crazy

It wouldn't surprise me if Ned Yost has his guys practicing doing stuff just like that. I always thought it would be a perfect move for a guy to practice driving the ball the other way just for such an chance during a shift.


Tonight's game sounds kinda scary, Sosa vs. Sheets. Sosa is pitching for his spot in the rotation, no doubt in my mind, he needs a GEM to stick around in my opinion. The key to this game would be the lineup doing the little things to move guys up and then drive them in.

[jpenrod]

Tonight's game sounds kinda scary, Sosa vs. Sheets. Sosa is pitching for his spot in the rotation, no doubt in my mind, he needs a GEM to stick around in my opinion. The key to this game would be the lineup doing the little things to move guys up and then drive them in.

Well Sosa had a good game, but it makes no difference when the defense screws things up?

[grizzly451]

Well, so far in today's game the Braves' are down 4 to 2. Sosa managed to make a semi-decent start, allowed 4 ER.

The lineup hasn't done much so far, but the good news is the Brewers took Sheets out and brought in who...Kolb, now if he will just play like he did for the Braves last year.

McCann is the only hitter with more then 1 hit, he has gone 3 for 3 so far.

[jpenrod]

Well, so far in today's game the Braves' are down 4 to 2. Sosa managed to make a semi-decent start, allowed 4 ER.

The lineup hasn't done much so far, but the good news is the Brewers took Sheets out and brought in who...Kolb, now if he will just play like he did for the Braves last year.

McCann is the only hitter with more then 1 hit, he has gone 3 for 3 so far.
Check your stat sheet grizz. the first four runs the Brew Crew scored were all unearned. throwing error by LaRoche allowed Cirillo to advance to third instead of being out at second. He eventually scored, the next two runs came on a homer with 2 outs both also unearned. then the 4th run came on a Chipper Jones error with two outs.


Yes just checked the stat sheet, Sosa's Line 5 1/3 IP, 5 H, 4R, 0ER, 1BB, 4K. Actually a very good outing for him today, but like I said it was wasted by the defense.

BTW I hate Kolb!

[Francoeurstein]

Atleast Chip's back.

[grizzly451]

Check your stat sheet grizz. the first four runs the Brew Crew scored were all unearned. throwing error by LaRoche allowed Cirillo to advance to third instead of being out at second. He eventually scored, the next two runs came on a homer with 2 outs both also unearned. then the 4th run came on a Chipper Jones error with two outs.


Yes just checked the stat sheet, Sosa's Line 5 1/3 IP, 5 H, 4R, 0ER, 1BB, 4K. Actually a very good outing for him today, but like I said it was wasted by the defense.

BTW I hate Kolb!


Ya know I thought those stats looked strange when I checked them out. I've just been following the game online I didn't actually watch this game. I saw all the errors and the run scored on Chipper's error but I didn't put two and two together about it. I'm at work, I guess it must be the highly stimulating surroundings here (/sarcasm) that kept me from noticing. Sorry about that, it probably was my error and not the website.

Whats up with pat Corrales being ejected? Was Bobby not there? I was just wondering why it was Corrales and not Bobby agruing strikes and balls.

[jpenrod]

Ya know I thought those stats looked strange when I checked them out. I've just been following the game online I didn't actually watch this game. I saw all the errors and the run scored on Chipper's error but I didn't put two and two together about it. I'm at work, I guess it must be the highly stimulating surroundings here (/sarcasm) that kept me from noticing. Sorry about that, it probably was my error and not the website.

Whats up with pat Corrales being ejected? Was Bobby not there? I was just wondering why it was Corrales and not Bobby agruing strikes and balls.

Cox was there, Honestly I do not know what happened. I was listening to the game on XM radio at work and I got pulled away. I never even knew he was ejected to you said something. All I know is that Ueker was discussing being traded for Pat Coralles and how much he liked Pat etc. I will have to see if I can find something about it tonight.

[Atlanta Braves Freak]

The Braves lost 5-4, but almost tied it in the 9th of of Derrick Turnbow. The bullpen looked more steady in this game, but the main point is that we've lost 3 straight.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

We gotta win in the next series for obvious reasons.

[grizzly451]

As far as I can tell, this is the first time the Brewers have ever swept a series of the Braves.


The good news is McCann is still doing an excellent job this season, he finished 3 for 3 with a RBI, plus he threw out a runner trying to steal in the 2nd inning. His fourth AB was considered a sac fly. He was the only regular in the lineup who didn't strikeout during the game.


April was going to be a hard month with all these roads games. So far the Braves have only played 6 home games, and 16 road games. Thats got to be tough. Add in all those injuries and the hard first week by the starting pitches, its no wonder the Braves are sitting at 9 - 12.


Maybe being at home can jumpstart the offense again and get all the guys in the lineup above .250. I also hope to see Prado get some more time.

Season Averages:
Jeff Francoeur - .190
Adam LaRoche - .221
Marcus Giles - .215

[jpenrod]

Maybe being at home can jumpstart the offense again and get all the guys in the lineup above .250. I also hope to see Prado get some more time.



That will be tough since he was sent back down when Chipper came off the DL.

[grizzly451]

That will be tough since he was sent back down when Chipper came off the DL.


Thats why I said I hope to see Prado get some more time. As in time on the Braves roster. Since he hardly had time for a cup of coffee before being sent back down.

[jpenrod]

Thats why I said I hope to see Prado get some more time. As in time on the Braves roster. Since he hardly had time for a cup of coffee before being sent back down.

Soryy, I did not know if you were aware he was sent down, I had to do some research yesterday to find out who they sent back down. I am with you though, I would like to see him get some more hacks in the bigs, but I figure they wanted him someplace he could be playing everyday.

[Atlanta Braves Freak]

The Braves get a well needed off day today, April has been a tough month and hopefully May can be the start of a winning streak (when I remove the Mets avy). Here's a grade for the month of April:

ABF's Grades

Starting Pitching- Started slow, but they have come around as of late. I'm anticipating the return of Horacio Ramirez so Jorge Sosa can go to the pen and John Thomson can stay in the rotation. Grade:C-

Star Player: John Thomson (2 quality starts out of 3, 1.31 ERA)

Relief Pitching- No question they are bad, but not as bad as I thought they'd be. Also, check out the number in my sig! Grade:D

Star Player: Oscar Villarreal (4-0, 1.80 ERA)

Hitting- Strong performaces by Andruw, McCann, Langerhans, Renteria, and Betemit have kept the offense afloat. If Chipper can stay healthy and Giles, Laroche, and Francoeur can break out of slumps this offense will be SCARY. If the bench could be more clutch the grade would be better. Grade:C-

Star Player: Andruw Jones

Fielding- 12 errors through twenty-one games isn't bad. There was an error by Brian Jordan and he is learning a new position. So the good fielding gets a good grade. Grade:A

Star Player: Andruw Jones

Coaching- Terry has to get on his job and Roger McDowell is still working and Bobby and the bench crew haven't particualrly done well managing defensive shifts. Grade: C+

Side Notes: Our highest paid player is Mike Hampton who is out for the season. Braves starting pitchers have only made 5 quality starts.

Upcoming Schedule: April 28-30 (home), NYM Mets
May 1-2 (home), Colorado
May 3-4 (away), Philadelphia
May 5-7 (away), NYM Mets
May 9-12 (away), Florida

Tell me what you think, this will be good conversation. :)

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

GB's April Grades





Rotation: D+ ....Smoltz barring 1 start has been awful. Hudson barring one start has been awful. Davies and Thomson have both pitched very well. Sosa has been very awful.

Honorable Mention: Thomson, wasn't even supposed to be with the braves and has pitched award worthy.


Bullpen: B- ..... The bullpen has been pretty good I believe. Villarreal, Cormier, and James all have ERA's under 3. Ray has been reliable and has only had one bad outing. Remlinger has had bad luck but still has a .237 opp. BA. Reitsma has had shaky outings but has only 1 blown save. So despite a few games it has been exceptional.

Honorable Mention: Ken Ray, the guy was never projected to be on the team, until the very end of spring training. Gotta give the guy Kudos for his great job.


Lineup: C+ .... They showed us how capable they can be at the beginning of the season, but has slacked off recently. I say this is largely because of Chipper and Edgar being out, who are big offensive forces in the lineup. I give them the benefit of the doubt.

Honorable Mention: Langerhans, Andruw, and McCann. All have been consistent. Nobody is exactly learning running away with this.


Defense: A .... We've done very well. Jordan has played well at 1B. Andruw has played great. Giles and Francoeur aren't looking smooth in the field and this makes me feel ill at ease.

Honorable Mention: Wilson Betemit. Has played well when stuck in the game.

Overall April Grade: C- The team hasn't played that bad, it's just been un-lucky.

[Atlanta Braves Freak]

I see you agreed with my defensive grade, I wasn't really sure about that.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

I see you agreed with my defensive grade, I wasn't really sure about that.

Totally Agreed.

They've been a bright side to this club. Except for a Jodan throw and Langerhans dive occasionally, they've been superb.