20 Jun
A no doubt depressing home stand begins game thread: June 20, Mariners at Braves
Though if you really want depressing, try being a Mariners fan. Maybe Monty Python can cheer me up.
Though if you really want depressing, try being a Mariners fan. Maybe Monty Python can cheer me up.
A home game tonight, so there’s hope despite the pitching matchup.
June 20th, 2008 at 2:11 pmSomething Frenchy needs to realize is that when you add muscle, you don’t have to screw yourself into the ground to hit the ball hard. That’s WHY you add muscle.
June 20th, 2008 at 2:17 pmThe thing about adding muscle didn’t make much sense to me. He was certainly strong enough to hit home runs before. If he was trying to make himself stronger to avoid injury or increase his stamina, that would be one thing but he explicitly said it was so he would have more power. It really does make me wonder how much Frenchy actually knows about baseball.
Very interesting numbers in DOB’s column. Basically, Tex from the right side is Andruw Jones from last year. That’s bad.
June 20th, 2008 at 2:26 pmShameless Plug Alert:
So after the REM gig last night, I ran into a musician named Steve Wynn & he told me about his new band called The Baseball Project.
Every song is about baseball. Tunes about Fernando Valenzuela, Harvey Haddix, Oscar Gamble’s afro, etc. The CD is titled Frozen Ropes & Dying Quails. They’re on Letterman tonight.
Here’s the link to their label’s site, and you can listen to the CD streaming.
http://tinyurl.com/3gbqhf
Haven’t listened to the music yet, but judging from his history & his choice of bandmates (Scott McCaughey & Peter Buck from REM), I would imagine that they’re fairly tuneful.
June 20th, 2008 at 2:38 pmububba,
The same thing happened to my friend at the R.E.M. show in Raleigh. I was so jealous when he told me the story the next day. Apparently, they were discussing if Mike Mills would be joining there fantasy league.
June 20th, 2008 at 2:43 pmububba,
The same thing happened to my friend at the R.E.M. show in Raleigh. I was so jealous when he told me the story the next day. Apparently, they were discussing if Mike Mills would be joining their
June 20th, 2008 at 2:43 pmfantasy league.
Uh, that was weird. The not-quite double-post.
June 20th, 2008 at 2:44 pmI’ve heard that Mills is a longtime Braves season ticket holder and Scott McCaughey (their touring guitar player) is a big-time baseball fan.
In fact, as a kid McCaughey was at the game where Marichal attacked Roseboro with the bat. His dad took him. Crazy, huh?
June 20th, 2008 at 2:52 pmMills is a longtime season ticket holder. I used to get to use them semi–regularly when I worked with the guy in charge of doling them out when he wasn’t in town. Nice guy, fer sure.
June 20th, 2008 at 3:52 pm@3,
I always wondered why ballplayers work more on adding bulk rather than stuff like plyometrics (sp?) that would increase their fast twitch muscles and shorten overall reaction time.
June 20th, 2008 at 3:57 pmeven george costanza can hit ‘em out (as long as he’s not getting lucky)… it’s all physics, right?
I’m sure the extra muscle doesn’t hurt in the HR category. Not sure if it helps in pitch recognition and plate discipline. heh heh.
June 20th, 2008 at 4:16 pmanyone see this on mlb rumors…
From the What Might’ve Been File: the Tigers offered Jair Jurrjens for Jack Wilson about a year ago. Nice to see that .500 will not be a goal for the Bucs, by the way.
the Pirates are morons….but their outfield is WAY better than ours
June 20th, 2008 at 4:31 pmAlbert Pujols career stats are beyond ridiculous. Just stupid. Lowest batting in a season .314? Lowest OBS in his 2nd year in the major at .955. Mind-boggling…
June 20th, 2008 at 4:35 pmUbubba, thanks for the link… Wynn’s a good guy, and that stuff’s not bad. I think I’ll give it a few spins.
I’m a big fan of Yep Roc — I pretty much like everything I’ve ever heard they’ve put out.
June 20th, 2008 at 4:57 pmAAR,
Yeah, I listened to the record twice today. I like the “Harvey Haddix” song, the story in the tune about Jack McDowell, “The Yankee Flipper,” and I can’t get “Ted Fuckin’ Williams” out of my head now. Oh well…
If you ever get a chance to check out the first 2 Dream Syndicate records, Wynn’s old band, I’d recommend them, too. (“The Days of Wine & Roses” and “The Medicine Show.”) Kinda Velvet Underground-ish, but with more searing guitar.
Gonna miss this game tonight, too. Heading out to see My Morning Jacket at Radio City. Go Braves. Time for some home cookin’.
June 20th, 2008 at 5:04 pmI never listened to My Morning Jacket before, but I have their new album. It’s okay, and I like the stylistic variety, but their singer’s voice sometimes grates. I like “Highly Suspicious,” though.
Have you heard The Cops? I’m really digging their album, Free Electricity. Very sharp Pacific Northwest punk/post-punk.
June 20th, 2008 at 5:20 pmI think this is going to be a morning recap. I may change my mind, but right now I think I’m going to go to bed early.
June 20th, 2008 at 5:36 pmour strategy for Bedard
Blanco
June 20th, 2008 at 5:45 pmEsco
Jones
Tex
Infante
Mac
Frenchy
Gotay
Campillo
Infante in front of McCann?
You’re kidding.
June 20th, 2008 at 5:46 pmGotay in for KJ and Infante batting 5th…well, then.
June 20th, 2008 at 5:46 pmBobby’s drunk again!
June 20th, 2008 at 5:46 pmI still like Bobby (unlike many here recently), but this is getting just ridiculous.
Batting McCann below Infante? Batting Infante fifth, period? Batting the most powerless player on the team, a left handed, leadoff? Taking Kelly Johnson out of the lineup, when he is hitting .316/.349/.382 against left handers this season and putting in Gotay, who’s season stats are worse than Johnson’s are against lefties.
Also Johnson’s OPS this season against lefties is .731. Blanco’s season OPS is .698 (.580 against left handers!). Can someone explain why one sits and the other plays and bats leadoff?
June 20th, 2008 at 6:08 pmDan, Blanco is the best CF on the roster. Hence he plays. He has a pretty good OBP and can steal bases, so he’s your prototypical leadoff hitter. As for Gotay instead of Kelly, I have no idea. Hopefully it’s just some nagging injury and Bobby decided he needed a day off to rest. I’d hate to think Bobby would play Gotay over Johnson for any kind of strategic reason.
June 20th, 2008 at 6:17 pmWhen we got Gotay, I was afraid that Bobby would do things like this with him. He can’t hit lefties — he’s a phony switch-hitter who should stop hitting righthanded. I’m all for getting Gotay some PT — I think he can play, but he barely ever gets to do anything but pinch-hit, an impossible job — but he should have done that during the road trip, give KJ a day as a DH instead of trying to find different ways to work Norton into the lineup. For that matter, giving KJ a day off every so often isn’t a bad idea, but it should be Infante playing in his place with a real left fielder. I guess that’s a dead horse, though.
June 20th, 2008 at 6:22 pmBobby reminds me of every boss I’ve ever had. Old school to a fault.
It’s great to trust what got you there but downright annoying and stupid to resist a little bit of change.
This lineup angers me.
June 20th, 2008 at 6:39 pmNot a very good audition, Raul. We have lots of guys who can hit into double plays.
June 20th, 2008 at 6:43 pmOn the other hand, a very good audition for Bedard.
June 20th, 2008 at 6:49 pmInfante is the team
June 20th, 2008 at 7:04 pmJeff, you suck.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:04 pmI wonder how soon it will be until Bobby bats Jeff 3rd and puts me out of my misery.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:07 pmGotay is having a nice game with the glove
June 20th, 2008 at 7:10 pmAny lefty looks likes the reincarnated Warren Spahn against this lineup.
Speaking of which, just looked at his numbers awhile ago. I had forgotten how good he was. 14 seasons with 20+ wins. Fourteen. That’s unreal. And he missed 3 years for military duty. If not for that could have easily been at 400 wins.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:11 pmBedard is out
June 20th, 2008 at 7:21 pmLooks like Bedard is done.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:21 pmJoe is pissed at Gregor. Look out!
June 20th, 2008 at 7:22 pmBlanco caught with his thumb up his ass yet again.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:22 pmSomeone needs to help poor ole Skip out…
he’s updated the Reds v. “Mets” game at least 5 times already tonight….the Reds are playing the yankees tonight.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:30 pmInfante is having himself a ballgame.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:38 pmA run! Infante!
June 20th, 2008 at 7:38 pmOh joy, it’s Francoeur.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:40 pmInfante shouldn’t be hitting fifth, and he shouldn’t (great play aside) be playing left, but he’s a good player. The thing is that he’s a great bench player but shouldn’t be a regular unless he’s at short, but he keeps playing a other positions.
You suck, Jeff.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:40 pmI think we all saw that coming.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:42 pmMy god.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:42 pmjesus christ….this is getting absurd.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:42 pmSee how much you suck? Nobody sucks more than you. Congratulations on your champion sucking status.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:42 pmwow.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:43 pmI wonder if Mark Bradley tuned in tonight for that one…
June 20th, 2008 at 7:44 pmYou know, with Perlozzo there I bet Leo is in attendance tonight.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:47 pmGood play by Tex there to get us out of the inning.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:51 pmWow. That was Bravesque.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:51 pmC’mon guys, he’s hitting the ball hard. ,He’s just getting really unlucky. Don’t lose faith Bobby. The fate of the team/game of baseball/world depends on Jeff Francoeur playing every inning of every game. Always.
Might be about time for a delenda est.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:51 pmCampillo screwed up, BTW. He should have just run Betancourt back to the bag, because the other runner was standing at third. I guess he didn’t screw up as much as that runner, though.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:53 pmGotay and Infante: 4-4
June 20th, 2008 at 7:54 pmJust tuning in.
Francoeur is an unbelievable rally killer. You think once, just once, he would not be a guaranteed two outs.
On the other hand, how did we keep the lead in the next inning.
Genius .
June 20th, 2008 at 7:54 pmAlso, good thing we have Infante and Gotay in the lineup. That’s where we’re getting all of our base runners.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:55 pmRiggleman with his first managerial screwup of the year, too. Let the reliever hit, then pull him two players into the next inning. Bobby couldn’t do that better.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:57 pmA successful sac bunt, too.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:58 pmYawn – when is Infante coming to bat again?
June 20th, 2008 at 8:03 pmFrenchy is absolutely breakin my balls.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:08 pmIncompetence on both sides. This series will redefine “suck.”
June 20th, 2008 at 8:10 pmNo error on that?
June 20th, 2008 at 8:10 pmWhat did the Frenchman do this time?
June 20th, 2008 at 8:11 pmDodged a bullet there…I was positive the lead run would score once Frenchy committed the Prado.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:11 pmHe
June 20th, 2008 at 8:14 pmranjogged to a ball in right center that bounced off the end of his glove. It wasn’t an easy play, but he should have had it. Jeff almost looks like he’s running in place. I guess that weight is really hampering him.Nevermind. I was able to see it on the cool Gameday video feature. Just waved at that fly ball / double. Jorge looked a little pissed at him, too.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:14 pmThanks for the explanation, anyway.
So, when is Chipper going to get a hit again? He is suddenly ice cold.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:16 pmFYI – Looking at the replay, I don’t think it is so much that Francoeur jogged to the ball as much as he took a poor route, breaking in a little and then having to go back as he ran over. The misjudgement screwed his timing.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:20 pmJust got in, from the comments it looks like I’ve missed another tour de force performance of suckitude from Francoeur.
No worries though, I’m sure he’ll do it again tomorrow.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:22 pmShould have yanked Campillo after the 6th. He got hit pretty hard the third time through the order.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:24 pmStill, 2 runs in 6.1 IP. Our offense has got to support that effort.
With all of the injuries and even the idiot moves by Cox, the story of the season is the failure of our high powered offense to come through time and again.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:27 pmNice freaking pitch, Bennett. 0-2 fastball right down the middle. Brilliant.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:30 pmThe offensive exhibition tonight has been shameful. Frenchy is, to quote Clark Griswold, “f—ed in the head,” because he’s missing plays he used to make with ease in the field, while remaining the same free swinger we all know and loathe at the plate.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:30 pmAnd he stuck it! Bennett pulls off the double-Grybo!
June 20th, 2008 at 8:33 pmWow, Bennett with the perfect homage to Gryboski there.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:34 pmFRENCHY GETS ON BASE!
ATTABOY FRENCHY!
(lol)
June 20th, 2008 at 8:37 pmI see it is possible for the punchless Braves to look even more anemic that hapless seattle. By my count we’ve threatened once, and are lucky to be down only 3 runs.
As I say that, who is teh idiot that just plunked francouer?
June 20th, 2008 at 8:37 pmIs it wrong to be happy that Frenchy got hit? I was actually hoping he might miss a few games with a sore elbow.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:38 pmWe need just a few more HBPs to get this offense going.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:38 pm…
June 20th, 2008 at 8:39 pmUGH!
June 20th, 2008 at 8:39 pmThis team sucks ass.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:42 pmChipper out…
ugh.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:44 pmNow Chipper’s out with an injury. And now, with the game already likely out of reach, Bobby turns to Will Ohman.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:46 pmAt least Myrtle Beach is up by two touchdowns.
I love Gorkys Hernanadez. He’s putting up better numbers than Schafer was last year at the Beach.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:46 pmThe M’s guys just said it’s a strained quad for Chipper.
Lovely.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:47 pmAnd the 2008 Atlanta Braves sinking ship continues taking in water at a fierce pace.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:47 pmVeterans folding up the tent again, I see.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:48 pmWhat happened to Chipper?
Injured leg?
June 20th, 2008 at 8:48 pmAny of you guys buy OOTP 9 yet? It has real rosters all the way through Rookie ball.
It’s an awesome game.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:49 pm8th inning, the production crew still hasn’t corrected skip about the Reds – Yankees game.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:49 pmIf Bobby Cox’s career can be likened to a television show, I think we can safely he “jumped the shark” when Ridgway was inserted into the game yesterday.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:53 pmThanks for the therapy. Time to pack it in. There is nothing left to root for tonight. Chipper is injured and we are not on the road so we can’t continue our streak.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:53 pmWeeellp, that should do it.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:56 pmAnother bad 0-2 pitch.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:56 pmWhy do our pitchers continue to throw fastballs down the middle on 0-2 counts?
June 20th, 2008 at 8:56 pmAt least it’s not 1988.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:57 pmPhillies keep losing but the Braves won’t take advantage of it. They’re blowing a good chance to make up that six game ground.
June 20th, 2008 at 9:01 pmSo ryanc, by what calendar date do you see us wrapping up the division.
Pfft.
This.Team.Stinks.
June 20th, 2008 at 9:07 pmSnitker might be dumber than Francoeur.
June 20th, 2008 at 9:08 pmDamn. It’s been a busy night at work so I didn’t even cut the game on tonight feeling like I didn’t need the extra stress. Seems like a good decision. We losing? Francouer making lots of outs?
June 20th, 2008 at 9:10 pmnice job guys………..you all suck………even the sacred cows…………..no exceptions tonight.
June 20th, 2008 at 9:12 pmWhat’s the injury update on Chipper…and now Escobar?
Sheesh!
June 20th, 2008 at 9:30 pmReally an awful, pathetic display.
June 20th, 2008 at 9:31 pmI wonder what the heck is wrong with Soriano’s elbow?
June 20th, 2008 at 9:32 pmSkip just said something after the game was over and probably didn’t realize he was still on the air. Right before Peachtree TV went to commercial, Skip said, “That’s almost embarrassing.” I think that about sums up the season, except I would say, “It is embarrassing.”
June 20th, 2008 at 9:33 pmMyrtle Beach won 22-3 tonight.
Gorkys Hernandez was 3-for-6 with 2 doubles and a walk.
Schafer is 2-for-3 with a double as the M-Braves lead 8-2.
It won’t be long til we have a Schafer-Gorkys-Heyward outfield.
June 20th, 2008 at 9:37 pmWorst all-around perfromance of the year?
June 20th, 2008 at 9:39 pmI should add that Tyler Flowers had 7 RBI tonight and Eric Campbell had 5 with a slam.
June 20th, 2008 at 9:40 pmBedard had a typical Braves outing, he must be one of us…
June 20th, 2008 at 9:41 pmHanan, I hate to say it, but I feel we could probably find quite a few to challenge this level of suck.
June 20th, 2008 at 9:41 pmWhat we need is a rainout.
June 20th, 2008 at 9:45 pmHow quickly I forget the Arizona game I was at about a month ago. However, at that time we were actually playing well having just swept the Mets.
This loss comes after another humbling week, which makes me feel worse about it.
June 20th, 2008 at 9:47 pmSchafer leads off the 7th with another double and comes around to score for the good guys.
June 20th, 2008 at 9:50 pmHanan, it’s probably appropriate to start rating our worst losses (most miserable displays) this year. I remember several times hoping that I had just seen the low point of the season.
One was a shut out against the Pirates, when we did not look at all like we wanted to play.
June 20th, 2008 at 9:56 pmWhatever. We were never going to beat Bedard anyways (even if he only pitched 3).
So lets worry about the next two games and take care of business there.
June 20th, 2008 at 10:11 pm@103, I heard that too, Ben. And yes, it was an embarrassing night for the Braves. Not for Campy, though. Dude pitched a pretty good game. Bright sides and all that…
June 20th, 2008 at 10:23 pmYeah, I saw the stat that said that Campillo leads the NL in ERA for rookie pitchers. He just gets no run support whatsoever, and the fielding tonight was not that great. I made a goof on yesterday’s final score thread. I thought they were playing in Seattle this weekend and to my surprise they were playing at home when I got home from work. It wouldn’t matter at this point if they played the Mariners in a simulated computer game…this team looks like they’ve given up already. They are lucky to only be 5.5 out.
June 20th, 2008 at 10:41 pmThis team has a bunch of goons playing the outfield. It’s the single biggest reason the Braves are where they are right now.
June 20th, 2008 at 10:47 pmThe pitching staff coming into tonight has a 109 ERA+. You can’t blame them for much of the problems this year. It’s the offense and the manager.
June 20th, 2008 at 10:48 pmWhat a thoroughly depressing evening, went to a lady friend’s house and watched the movie An American Crime. It has the chick from Juno in it. Anyway, if you want to watch an uplifting movie, that would not be my choice. Then I came home and watched that craptastic performance put forth by the Bravos. Chipper getting hurt again was the icing on the cake.
After Bedard got hurt, who pretty much lived up to his rep of having pusitis, there was no excuse not to win that game.
Oh well, at least there is a huge cow to go along with the huge scoreboard. As stated earlier, this team is lucky to be only 5 1/2 out.
June 20th, 2008 at 11:15 pmHamstring, elbow, Tommy John
June 20th, 2008 at 11:22 pmDisabled list you’re always on
Mr. Hampton, you’re the best
Working on three years’ rest
“For some reason I just can’t hit with bases loaded right now,” said Francoeur, hitless in his past 15 at-bats with bases loaded and 2-for-19 for the season — more than twice as many opportunities as any other Braves player.
“I’ve just got to keep working my [butt] off in the batting cage and the film room. It is what it is. I felt good at the plate, I really did. And I had an opportunity. I’m [ticked] off at myself.”
He has hit only .219 in his past 32 games.
“I feel like I’m so close to turning the corner, and for some reason I just ain’t going right now,” Francoeur said.
umm, no Frenchy you just suck. Someone better pick up this team right now. We probably wont have Chipper or Escobar the rest of the series
June 20th, 2008 at 11:46 pmIf nothing else comes out of 2008, we’ll still have the emergence of Jair Jurrjens.
So cheer up lads, he’s pitching tomorrow.
Also, did anyone see the end of the Croatia-Turkey Euro 2008 quarterfinal match? Unbelievable. The Turks were dead after giving up a goal in the final minute of extra time, but managed to sneak a last second goal in injury time and then won on penalty kicks. Tough Turkey!
June 20th, 2008 at 11:51 pmCary–Yes–what an amazing ending. I guess that I was not surprised to learn that there were riots in the streets of Vienna.
Otherwise, in catching up on the Braves, I see that we have reached a new low point.
June 20th, 2008 at 11:55 pmAt least Myrtle Beach had a good night:
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2008_06_20_myrafa_lynafa_1&t=g_box&did=milb
Three touchdowns and one with a two point conversion….
June 21st, 2008 at 12:01 am“I just ain’t going right now.”
I really really really really wish I hadn’t read that.
June 21st, 2008 at 12:02 amAnthony Lerew has surfaced:
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_06_20_brarok_tgrrok_1
A bad inning in the GCL is hardly encouraging, but at least its a start….
June 21st, 2008 at 12:11 amLOL at post 124.
June 21st, 2008 at 12:24 am“So ryanc, by what calendar date do you see us wrapping up the division.
Pfft.
This.Team.Stinks.”
you’re beginning to be a jerk chief. i never said this team was great. when i was arguing that this team was underachieving, we had smoltz, soriano, kotsay, and diaz all playing. since then, it has been a different story. all that aside, i will still take your bet that this team finish with more than your predicted 75 wins.
in my earlier posts (about a month ago but you cant stop beating a dead horse) i merely pointed out that you say the same things over and over with NO analysis. the only point of yours to which i argued was that this team is not bad and they’re underachieving by a long shot, which i still believe is true.
on a side note, i went to the game tonight. the crowd, the team, and the night deflated when chipper came out. bobby’s use of ohman was incredibly bad, francoeur sucks, infante is looking like a good pickup, bennett is going downhill fast, and buddy carlyle doesnt deserve a major league job. there needs to be a total roster reconstruction starting with kotsay and diaz getting healthy and ending with some shitty relievers getting the ax.
June 21st, 2008 at 12:46 amWas at the My Morning Jacket show, flipped on my phone to check the score, saw it was 9-2 and the last play read: “Escobar hurts leg.”
I flipped the phone back off & dove back into the tunes.
Helluva show, though.
AAR,
June 21st, 2008 at 2:27 amI dig “Evil Urges,” but “Z” is better.
Well, this is not at all encouraging:
“It’s pretty bad,” said Jones, describing an egg-sized knot on his right thigh, where he partially torn the quadriceps June 7. “It got to the point where I couldn’t move out in the field [Friday].
“This is definitely the worst it’s been. It’s raised a lot higher than the other leg. I’ll get back in there when it feels better. I missed a couple of days last time, and it’s worse this time.”
June 21st, 2008 at 6:35 amBrief recap, all I could handle, is up.
June 21st, 2008 at 6:40 am