I obviously will be morning-recapping most of this west coast swing.
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I don’t see much evidence that aggression is our problem.
Walks don’t really seem to be the issue. We’re on the low end, but reasonably close to the league average. More would be better, but I don’t see enough here to pin our offensive woes on too few walks.
Our problem is that we have 6 of our 8 regular position players hitting .250 or below. Our team average is .229. Unless everyone is drawing walks like Heyward, of which we know everyone is not capable, that’s obviously not going to cut it.
We’re right in the middle on strikeouts, too, so contact doesn’t seem to be a problem, either. It’s what we’re hitting that is the issue. We have the highest ground ball % of both leagues, and the third lowest line-drives. We have the worst BABIP in the NL.
Simply put, we’re not getting good wood on the ball. Why? That’s another question, I guess, but it doesn’t look to me that impatience is a sufficient explanation for why we jave no production and so many poorly hit balls.
When is the Nate McLouth experiment over? He’s struck out 12 times to only 3 walks. Caught Stealing twice to only 1 stolen base. .295 OBP, no homers, no triples. A measly .321 SLG. he’s been bad for over 2 years – pls spare us the agony
I would think a high amount of ground balls means we are swinging at a lot of balls outside of the zone, thus being too aggressive and not working the count to get a good pitch.
With the late game tonight, I’m passing the time watching Indians/Royals. Jeff Francour ended the last inning stranding runners on 2nd and 3rd with a weak grounder to the pitcher. Bruce Chen is pitching. He just gave up consecutive fly balls to Frenchy and Melky.
This is weird.
Edit: HAH! Brayan Pena just stepped up to the plate!
We just need Prado and Uggla to heat up and the offense will be fine again. At the minimum, Prado should start draw walks to at least be on base more often.
Chief Nocahoma fills a recently vacant niche at bravesjournal. Since Gadfly, Coach and the like are gone, and Robert is taking the year off, the role of pessimistic contrarian must be filled to keep the comments vital during hard times. For your services, Chief, I thank you.
OK, I totally want a Fernando Venezuela fleece blanket. And I would absolutely, without a doubt, buy a ticket for a Phil Niekro fleece blanket night at the Ted.
@7 It’s certainly possible, though not the sole possible explanation. It seems odd, though, that such over aggressiveness wouldn’t show more apparently in strikeout totals, given how dramatically bad is our BABIP.
Beachy might be the new Hanson. 93-94 on his fastball with good location, for the most part. To be clear though, Hanson is awesome and I subscribe to the theory that he’s intentionally taking something off his fastball to help with his early shaky control.
Not sure if you guys talked about it yet in here or caught Chipper’s comments where he essentially blamed the starting pitchers & threw THEM under the bus for the reason our offense sucks so horribly bad.
This is one of those times Chipper should REFRAIN FROM TALKING. Chipper, you are officially an idiot.
I suppose tonight the offense hasn’t scored under all the pressure Beachy has placed on you with all those runs he’s given up…? Oh wait…
I think it’s in shockingly poor taste for Chipper to go there. The starters haven’t been perfect in the last week (except Jurggjens) but considering how bad Chipper and the offense are, the pitchers must feel they have to be perfect to give us any chance. The Braves poor start this season is on this offense, plain and simple. Chipper should back off.
I didn’t read it that way at all. I think you’re misrepresenting his statement, as he described the offense as “struggling.” It’s just a fact that immediately giving up a bunch of runs is not good when your offense is sucking. Saying that is not throwing pitchers under the bus. Also, Chipper hasn’t been bad at all.
For those who want the actual statement and not someone else’s (mis)representation, here’s Chipper (not throwing pitchers under the bus in bold):
“I think our problem right now is we’re having problems getting through the first inning,” Jones said. “We’re down two or three to nothing in the first, and when you’ve got an offense that’s struggling, that’s like eight or 10 [runs].”
Braves pitchers have the league’s third-highest first-inning opponents’ average (.284), after leading the NL last season (.224).
“It’s just one of those things where our starting pitching is not doing badly, it’s just not getting off to good starts” early in games, Jones said. “The offense really hasn’t clicked at all yet. And [with the first-inning deficits] it’s like ‘here we go again’.”
I doubt that Chipper would give a quote to the AJC that would take anybody in the clubhouse by surprise. He’s known as pretty outspoken, and if he’s frustrated about early deficits, I’m betting that everyone on the team is — including the pitchers.
Of course, as Alex says, it’s a curious complaint – the problem isn’t that the team gives up early runs, it’s that the offense has been miserable. (Which Chipper admits, but doesn’t dwell on.) So, I don’t read it as him throwing the pitching staff under the bus, exactly — but it’s not the sign of a happy clubhouse. Then again, with a losing record, you wouldn’t want them to be happy.
74 – I agree that that’s not too bad, but seriously, the conversation should be about how the team’s horrible hitting is overshadowing its excellent run prevention. There shouldn’t be a mention of pitchers’ struggles. They’re gonna give up some runs early–remember when Glavine gave up his runs? He still won 300 games. And that’s because he didn’t have this shit offense.
Ummm, no, he’s clearly putting the onus on the starting pitchers and I read the same article so thanks for providing the link – I stand by my comments 100%
“When you’re struggling offensively, you put a lot of pressure on yourself to begin with. And when you’re down 3-nothing in the first inning, it tightens guys up even more.”
That quote is pretty clearcut. (and along with his “here we go again” remark…nasty little comment).
The starting pitching has been great. Guess what, our starters aren’t going to be perfect every inning or even every first inning. But they’ve been amongst the best in baseball.
What Chipper should be saying: “The offense stinks, we’re horrible. We can’t hit our way out of a paper bag. Maybe my dad will come to the park and help me hit or else I should retire now”.
Sorry, Chipper’s comments angered me. No matter what, I’d rather see the Braves stick together but for the voice of the part of our team thats killing us to blame the part of our team that’s doing their job, is ludicrous.
Have there been any home runs, other than that Heyward 3-run bomb in Milwaukee, that have not been solo shots? I can’t remember any others, but I’m not sure.
94 – Agreed, if Prado hits .500 the rest of the way–or hell, even .400–I will not mention his BB totals, or walk rate, or inability to see more pitches per plate appearance than Jeff Francoeur.
BAbip. It sounds like such a weak excuse for a struggling offense, but it’s really a big part of the problem right now. Pure, unadulterated bad luck on balls in play.
I seriously doubt Chipper just called up the AJC and said “I have a statement.” They probably asked him a question about the early deficits and he gave an honest (and accurate) answer. Think before calling someone an idiot, and if you’re going to do so, at least don’t lie about their performance in the process.
I like seeing Beachy back out for the 6th. His fastball was still sitting around 93 in the 5th and his k-rate has been accelerating. Ride him a little longer and keep Sherril on the bench.
Bobby would have pulled Beachy, but his stuff looked sharp in the 5th and Freddi was proven right to bring Beachy out for one more inning in the 6th…that was arguably his sharpest inning. I think that was a good call by Freddi.
Vin Scully is like a Rolls Royce while Chip Carey is like a Ford Focus with a bad engine and smashed out windows. Listening to Vin on my MLB.com broadcast has been an absolute delight. What a treat, even as an opposing fan.
I don’t know how Vin gets his stories and frankly, I don’t even care if he makes half of them up. That’s arguably the best voice in sports to listen do. Dodger fans are lucky to have him. And though not saying Ernie Sr. was quite as good, but listening to Vin really makes me reminisce about Ernie Johnson Sr. from my childhood.
Grst, you make a snide comment back to defend Chipper’s D (which was excellent on that play) but what about the first pitch pathetic pop up the inning before that would have extended our lead? Are you going to ignore that?
The sliders were nasty, but Thames’ flailery was a big part of that. Still, whewww! And as a bonus, we get to see Kimbrel make people look intimidated and silly in a meaningful situation!
Happy for Beachy on his first win tonight. Nice to see an actual big inning with the bats. I wouldn’t mind if next time there’s a lead in the seventh while Moylan is on the DL, that The Lisp gets a shot first instead of Linebrink. While Peter’s out, I’d like to see if The Lisp or Luis Valdez could get some outs in the 6th/7th with a lead, because it’s apparent that Linebrink can’t.
Always loved that tune—a perfect pop song.
Now let’s go stomp the Dodgers’ guts out.
April 19th, 2011 at 5:12 pmIs it just me, or does Gonzalez come off as some sort of buffoon in his interviews?
April 19th, 2011 at 5:20 pmI made a prediction over at Talking Chop yesterday afternoon that McLouth wouldn’t bat 2nd. I should have made a better prediction, like this one…
We’re going to take the next 2 and the offense is going to frickin’ explode.
April 19th, 2011 at 5:47 pmI don’t see much evidence that aggression is our problem.
Walks don’t really seem to be the issue. We’re on the low end, but reasonably close to the league average. More would be better, but I don’t see enough here to pin our offensive woes on too few walks.
Our problem is that we have 6 of our 8 regular position players hitting .250 or below. Our team average is .229. Unless everyone is drawing walks like Heyward, of which we know everyone is not capable, that’s obviously not going to cut it.
We’re right in the middle on strikeouts, too, so contact doesn’t seem to be a problem, either. It’s what we’re hitting that is the issue. We have the highest ground ball % of both leagues, and the third lowest line-drives. We have the worst BABIP in the NL.
Simply put, we’re not getting good wood on the ball. Why? That’s another question, I guess, but it doesn’t look to me that impatience is a sufficient explanation for why we jave no production and so many poorly hit balls.
April 19th, 2011 at 5:57 pmWhen is the Nate McLouth experiment over? He’s struck out 12 times to only 3 walks. Caught Stealing twice to only 1 stolen base. .295 OBP, no homers, no triples. A measly .321 SLG. he’s been bad for over 2 years – pls spare us the agony
April 19th, 2011 at 5:58 pmSame lineup as yesterday
April 19th, 2011 at 6:10 pm@4
I would think a high amount of ground balls means we are swinging at a lot of balls outside of the zone, thus being too aggressive and not working the count to get a good pitch.
April 19th, 2011 at 6:27 pmWith the late game tonight, I’m passing the time watching Indians/Royals. Jeff Francour ended the last inning stranding runners on 2nd and 3rd with a weak grounder to the pitcher. Bruce Chen is pitching. He just gave up consecutive fly balls to Frenchy and Melky.
This is weird.
Edit: HAH! Brayan Pena just stepped up to the plate!
April 19th, 2011 at 7:31 pmOne of my all-time favorites, for sure. Just a great sounding track.
April 19th, 2011 at 7:41 pmWe just need Prado and Uggla to heat up and the offense will be fine again. At the minimum, Prado should start draw walks to at least be on base more often.
Nate is Nate.
April 19th, 2011 at 8:06 pmI hate to say it, but the Phillies are going to run away with this division. Matter of fact, I threw up when I said it, but the point stands.
April 19th, 2011 at 8:11 pmBase hit for Wilson Betemit!
April 19th, 2011 at 8:12 pmChief, the Phillies are currently losing 9-0 to the Brewers. I hope you’re not too disappointed.
April 19th, 2011 at 8:19 pmChief Nocahoma fills a recently vacant niche at bravesjournal. Since Gadfly, Coach and the like are gone, and Robert is taking the year off, the role of pessimistic contrarian must be filled to keep the comments vital during hard times. For your services, Chief, I thank you.
April 19th, 2011 at 8:19 pmChief once again with a glimmer of hopeless negativism.
April 19th, 2011 at 8:26 pmShorter Chief: DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
April 19th, 2011 at 8:44 pm“The circle of life….”
April 19th, 2011 at 8:47 pmIt’s Chief’s prerogative to give up hope a few days into the season, as he does every year.
The Phillies just lost 9-0. Even though that doesn’t fit his narrative, I doubt it will shake his convictions.
April 19th, 2011 at 8:55 pmBeachy’s kind of been Kyle Davies-ish his last two starts. Hopefully he puts that rest tonight.
April 19th, 2011 at 9:09 pmOK, I totally want a Fernando Venezuela fleece blanket. And I would absolutely, without a doubt, buy a ticket for a Phil Niekro fleece blanket night at the Ted.
April 19th, 2011 at 9:12 pmGlad to see our manager is trying to get himself and possibly Hudson suspended
http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-braves-blog/2011/04/19/yes-hudson-pitch-was-message-to-l-a-rookie/
April 19th, 2011 at 9:13 pmHeyward was robbed.
April 19th, 2011 at 9:14 pmThere’s no doubt in my mind that Chip wanted to say Heyward was safe because Loney touched the base w/his bare hand.
April 19th, 2011 at 9:16 pm@18
Im only going if it is a Rafael Belliard hitting a home run or Otis Nixon spiking that pitcher in the chest or doing some blow.
April 19th, 2011 at 9:17 pm“Yes, he deserved to get an inside pitch, and I HOPE HE BURNS IN HELL!”
April 19th, 2011 at 9:17 pmMr Stick
April 19th, 2011 at 9:20 pm@22 Fortunately, I think technology will make your vision a reality faster than you might think.
Can we just get one damn run?
Edit: Guess not.
April 19th, 2011 at 9:22 pmHey, remember what stranding runners feels like?
April 19th, 2011 at 9:22 pmSigh…that type of inning is becoming predictable…
April 19th, 2011 at 9:23 pmUggla looks like vintage Andruw Jones at the plate. By vintage I mean tries to hit every curve ball out of the park.
It is getting to the point where Uggla is going to start getting “hats for bats” and pouring drinks for Joe Boo
April 19th, 2011 at 9:24 pm@7 It’s certainly possible, though not the sole possible explanation. It seems odd, though, that such over aggressiveness wouldn’t show more apparently in strikeout totals, given how dramatically bad is our BABIP.
April 19th, 2011 at 9:27 pmCome on Jason
April 19th, 2011 at 9:30 pmHow is that a double?
April 19th, 2011 at 9:31 pm@31
Nate is also the scorekeeper tonight.
April 19th, 2011 at 9:36 pmBeachy might be the new Hanson. 93-94 on his fastball with good location, for the most part. To be clear though, Hanson is awesome and I subscribe to the theory that he’s intentionally taking something off his fastball to help with his early shaky control.
April 19th, 2011 at 9:37 pmWhy can’t our offense be off to as good of a start as Gwinnett’s? Everyone’s getting on base over there.
April 19th, 2011 at 9:37 pmThese Georgia Power tips are stupid.
“Turn off you lights before you leave. Also remember breathing is important”
April 19th, 2011 at 9:42 pmm-m-m Michele Phillips, 1966! I was 14, she was a goddess, great choice, Mac.
April 19th, 2011 at 9:56 pmMan, Heyward’s just looked bad lately. He’ll get it turned around soon, I’m sure, but he’s swinging at such bad pitches.
April 19th, 2011 at 9:57 pmWell, at this rate I might get to bed by 12:30
April 19th, 2011 at 9:57 pmGood thing Ethier only needed on pitch to fly out. Beachy’s not having many quick ABs.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:04 pmBeachy has thrown 61 pitches already.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:05 pmKuroda is going deep into this game at this rate. Can we please get his pitch count up?
April 19th, 2011 at 10:08 pmIt would be nice if Uggla would start hitting.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:11 pmSleep Game Thread=Sleep Bat Thread….
April 19th, 2011 at 10:11 pmAt least Chipper hit the ball hard that half-inning. As with last night, I’ll be very surprised if we score more than 3 runs tonight.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:13 pmThe strike zone on this umpire…. He’s squeezing both pitchers, but Beachy especially.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:17 pmMan, I sure do like seeing Beachy blow fastballs past people.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:19 pmBeachy!
It would be nice to get him some run support….
April 19th, 2011 at 10:19 pm#44 – I think the zone has been very good tonight.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:21 pmHow many bats are we going to break
April 19th, 2011 at 10:22 pmAlright! Freddie’s been having very good ABs lately.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:23 pmNice AB Freeman
BTW, the Angels have scored 14 runs tonight. Have we scored that many all season?
April 19th, 2011 at 10:24 pmWonder what was in the Dodger scouting report about Freeman’s speed….
April 19th, 2011 at 10:26 pmscrew it, nevermind
April 19th, 2011 at 10:27 pmChrist, Nate. That was horrible.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:29 pmGod I hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate Nate McLouth.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:29 pmThat was comically bad
April 19th, 2011 at 10:29 pmhate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate
April 19th, 2011 at 10:30 pmI just tuned in… and the first thing I see is Nate McLouth kill a (BB) rally.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:30 pmI fear that we have just had our offensive surge for the evening….
April 19th, 2011 at 10:30 pmThat was the saddest thing I’ve seen this season.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:30 pmBut Alex, tell us how you really feel.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:30 pmTypical McOut(s)
April 19th, 2011 at 10:31 pmNate’s hold on whipping boy continues to tighten.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:31 pmBatting 8th is too high in the order for Nate McLouth.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:32 pmwhy cant Young or Schafer be MLB ball players?
April 19th, 2011 at 10:32 pmNot sure if you guys talked about it yet in here or caught Chipper’s comments where he essentially blamed the starting pitchers & threw THEM under the bus for the reason our offense sucks so horribly bad.
This is one of those times Chipper should REFRAIN FROM TALKING. Chipper, you are officially an idiot.
I suppose tonight the offense hasn’t scored under all the pressure Beachy has placed on you with all those runs he’s given up…? Oh wait…
I think it’s in shockingly poor taste for Chipper to go there. The starters haven’t been perfect in the last week (except Jurggjens) but considering how bad Chipper and the offense are, the pitchers must feel they have to be perfect to give us any chance. The Braves poor start this season is on this offense, plain and simple. Chipper should back off.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:33 pm#63 – but, but, Ron Gant said he was a perfect 2 hole hitter tonight.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:33 pm#60
Adam:
HATE! (Nate – not you
April 19th, 2011 at 10:34 pm@65 Completely agree.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:36 pmThanks, rook!
April 19th, 2011 at 10:37 pmThere’s a break.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:38 pmActually, the pitchers have been among the best in baseball.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:38 pmBy the way, maybe Chipper will blame McOUT’s rally killing double play last inning on Beachy’s shutout. That would make sense, right Chipper?
April 19th, 2011 at 10:38 pmAdam,
Agreed and Beachy tonight has looked great…but again, it’s gotta be his fault we can’t hit the damn ball. Like I said, Chipper = idiot.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:39 pm@65
I didn’t read it that way at all. I think you’re misrepresenting his statement, as he described the offense as “struggling.” It’s just a fact that immediately giving up a bunch of runs is not good when your offense is sucking. Saying that is not throwing pitchers under the bus. Also, Chipper hasn’t been bad at all.
For those who want the actual statement and not someone else’s (mis)representation, here’s Chipper (not throwing pitchers under the bus in bold):
http://www.ajc.com/sports/chipper-early-deficits-contribute-917147.html
“I think our problem right now is we’re having problems getting through the first inning,” Jones said. “We’re down two or three to nothing in the first, and when you’ve got an offense that’s struggling, that’s like eight or 10 [runs].”
Braves pitchers have the league’s third-highest first-inning opponents’ average (.284), after leading the NL last season (.224).
“It’s just one of those things where our starting pitching is not doing badly, it’s just not getting off to good starts” early in games, Jones said. “The offense really hasn’t clicked at all yet. And [with the first-inning deficits] it’s like ‘here we go again’.”
April 19th, 2011 at 10:39 pmNice outing from Beachy. He was getting ahead of guys but had trouble finishing them off.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:42 pmThis commercial makes me laugh like a little girl.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:43 pmUber kudos to Beachy for bouncing back so well.
If 6 innings of scoreless pitching from your pitcher isn’t enough o “loosen” you up, Chipper, what is?
Next Chipper will say that the pressure of getting a run when the pitcher was doing so well threw the offense off.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:43 pmYES PRADO!!!!
April 19th, 2011 at 10:45 pmPrado!
April 19th, 2011 at 10:45 pmI think Chipper already knows this offense is sucking it up. Hell being down 1 run feels like too much for these guys.
PRADO!!!!
April 19th, 2011 at 10:45 pmI doubt that Chipper would give a quote to the AJC that would take anybody in the clubhouse by surprise. He’s known as pretty outspoken, and if he’s frustrated about early deficits, I’m betting that everyone on the team is — including the pitchers.
Of course, as Alex says, it’s a curious complaint – the problem isn’t that the team gives up early runs, it’s that the offense has been miserable. (Which Chipper admits, but doesn’t dwell on.) So, I don’t read it as him throwing the pitching staff under the bus, exactly — but it’s not the sign of a happy clubhouse. Then again, with a losing record, you wouldn’t want them to be happy.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:46 pmanother solo for the boys
April 19th, 2011 at 10:46 pmAlex, overreact a bit?
April 19th, 2011 at 10:46 pm74 – I agree that that’s not too bad, but seriously, the conversation should be about how the team’s horrible hitting is overshadowing its excellent run prevention. There shouldn’t be a mention of pitchers’ struggles. They’re gonna give up some runs early–remember when Glavine gave up his runs? He still won 300 games. And that’s because he didn’t have this shit offense.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:46 pmRally killer.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:46 pmPRADO! Ok Heyward, maybe at least hit your groundball to short. You know, build on the momentum.
Edit: That was basically the equivalent.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:46 pmThank god. A run!
April 19th, 2011 at 10:46 pmCan we stop bitching about Prado for at least a day, now, please?
April 19th, 2011 at 10:46 pm#88 – done
Heyward and Chipper missed some good fastballs to hit that inning
April 19th, 2011 at 10:49 pm88 – You mean like not mention his 1.4 BB% on the season?
April 19th, 2011 at 10:49 pm@74
Ummm, no, he’s clearly putting the onus on the starting pitchers and I read the same article so thanks for providing the link – I stand by my comments 100%
“When you’re struggling offensively, you put a lot of pressure on yourself to begin with. And when you’re down 3-nothing in the first inning, it tightens guys up even more.”
That quote is pretty clearcut. (and along with his “here we go again” remark…nasty little comment).
The starting pitching has been great. Guess what, our starters aren’t going to be perfect every inning or even every first inning. But they’ve been amongst the best in baseball.
What Chipper should be saying: “The offense stinks, we’re horrible. We can’t hit our way out of a paper bag. Maybe my dad will come to the park and help me hit or else I should retire now”.
Sorry, Chipper’s comments angered me. No matter what, I’d rather see the Braves stick together but for the voice of the part of our team thats killing us to blame the part of our team that’s doing their job, is ludicrous.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:49 pm@88 Alex
When he starts consistently getting on base (not just hits, but walks too), we can stop bitching.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:50 pmOkay. I’m going to start calling him “Uggly” until he does something that isn’t at the plate.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:50 pmIf Prado goes 2 for 4 every night I wont care about his BB totals
April 19th, 2011 at 10:51 pmHave there been any home runs, other than that Heyward 3-run bomb in Milwaukee, that have not been solo shots? I can’t remember any others, but I’m not sure.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:51 pmBalls. Another “at ‘em” liner. Seems like we’ve had a few of those this series.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:52 pmBMac hit a 3 run HR in the 1st vs FLA
April 19th, 2011 at 10:53 pm94 – Agreed, if Prado hits .500 the rest of the way–or hell, even .400–I will not mention his BB totals, or walk rate, or inability to see more pitches per plate appearance than Jeff Francoeur.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:53 pmBAbip. It sounds like such a weak excuse for a struggling offense, but it’s really a big part of the problem right now. Pure, unadulterated bad luck on balls in play.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:53 pmAh yes, the 3-run shot by McCann.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:53 pmDamn Uggla.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:54 pmI seriously doubt Chipper just called up the AJC and said “I have a statement.” They probably asked him a question about the early deficits and he gave an honest (and accurate) answer. Think before calling someone an idiot, and if you’re going to do so, at least don’t lie about their performance in the process.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:55 pmWould you let Beachy start this inning at 100 pitches vs 3/4/5 in their lineup?
April 19th, 2011 at 10:55 pmWTF. Why is Beachy still out there? Maybe just the first hitter?
April 19th, 2011 at 10:55 pmLast time I checked, the WPA of a home run was actually higher than for a walk. So maybe for just one inning, let’s not bitch about Prado. Deal?
April 19th, 2011 at 10:56 pm@103
It’s 2/3/4, so it makes a lot more sense.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:56 pmI like seeing Beachy back out for the 6th. His fastball was still sitting around 93 in the 5th and his k-rate has been accelerating. Ride him a little longer and keep Sherril on the bench.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:57 pmHah. Gave him the corner on that one!
April 19th, 2011 at 10:57 pmBeachy deserves better than just one solo shot.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:58 pmBut yeah, bad strike zone tonight. That was a beautiful strike, but that’s the first time tonight it would have been called.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:58 pmYeah, allofasudden the ump is giving him the corner. Not that I’m complaining….
ETA: By FAR Beachy’s quickest inning of the night. Whoda thunk.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:58 pmThat third strike to Ethier was the first time the ump’s been generous on the corner all night.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:58 pmi’m in LA for work right now, and i have to say, Vin Scully calls a helluva ballgame. really enjoyable.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:59 pmBobby would have pulled Beachy, but his stuff looked sharp in the 5th and Freddi was proven right to bring Beachy out for one more inning in the 6th…that was arguably his sharpest inning. I think that was a good call by Freddi.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:59 pmCan’t complain about Beachy’s performance tonight. Great job, especially after throwing a lot of pitches early.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:59 pmTom O.,
Vin Scully is like a Rolls Royce while Chip Carey is like a Ford Focus with a bad engine and smashed out windows. Listening to Vin on my MLB.com broadcast has been an absolute delight. What a treat, even as an opposing fan.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:00 pmBeachy is impressive, nice outing
April 19th, 2011 at 11:01 pmSo…Beachy in the 7th? Dusty Baker wouldn’t think twice about it. I guess this is Fredi’s big chance to prove whether he’s more Bakerial or Coxian.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:01 pmFREDDIE!!!!!!
April 19th, 2011 at 11:02 pmHaha, Freddie!
April 19th, 2011 at 11:02 pmFREDDIE !!!!! OPPO!!
April 19th, 2011 at 11:02 pmUNLOAD, MR. FREEMAN! (Even if it is one more solo shot.)
April 19th, 2011 at 11:02 pmI dont think I’ve ever heard so many boos at dodger stadium. Is it just the mikes that SS is using?
April 19th, 2011 at 11:03 pmFreddie hit the hell out of that ball.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:03 pmI hate Freddie’s .305 wOBA.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:03 pm#9 spot comes up this inning, he’s definitely done.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:04 pmWhere does Vin Scully get these stories? Does Chip ever tell a story?
April 19th, 2011 at 11:04 pmCrank up the Bieber.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:04 pm125 – Don’t worry, it’ll go up.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:06 pmNot even worth it, ububba.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:06 pmI doubt it. Freeman’s wOBA was .213 last year.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:07 pmAdam,
I don’t know how Vin gets his stories and frankly, I don’t even care if he makes half of them up. That’s arguably the best voice in sports to listen do. Dodger fans are lucky to have him. And though not saying Ernie Sr. was quite as good, but listening to Vin really makes me reminisce about Ernie Johnson Sr. from my childhood.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:08 pmAnd I was like baby, baby, baby, oh…I thought you’d always be [a line drive].
April 19th, 2011 at 11:08 pmVin,
“Growing up in San Diego, Brooks had posters of Tony Gwynn”.
If he could just HIT like Tony Gwynn…
April 19th, 2011 at 11:09 pmYeeeeeessss……
April 19th, 2011 at 11:11 pmPinch Hit!
April 19th, 2011 at 11:11 pmA pinch hit!
April 19th, 2011 at 11:11 pmPinch-hitters are now 1-26 according to Vin. That really defies description.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:11 pm3 hits in one inning?
April 19th, 2011 at 11:11 pmAlex, he does hit like Tony Gwynn. Unfortunately, he hits like Tony Gwynn Jr.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:12 pm#138
Pinch hitters being 1 for 26 is the fault of our starting pitchers. They’re putting too much pressure on them with their shutouts through 6 innings.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:13 pmHe does field like Tony Gwynn. End of career, post-10,000-hamburger version, of course.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:14 pm#140 and #142
Nice 1-2 punch, guys.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:16 pmBe a great time for JHey to add on
April 19th, 2011 at 11:16 pmYay! Prado gets on and Heyward, despite his batting order spot, comes up with the bases juiced.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:17 pmUgh.
First Pitch Chipper! Way to go!!!!
April 19th, 2011 at 11:18 pmTime for Chipper to put up or shut up here.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:18 pmDamn. I thought the catcher had a play at 2B too.
EDIT: sigh. alright, heading to bed. Hopefully they can hold the lead. The hits will start to fall, and eventually they will fall with RISP to boot.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:18 pmWow. What a waste of 3 base runners.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:18 pmClutch.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:18 pmabsolute garbage from Heyward/Chipper there
April 19th, 2011 at 11:19 pmFirst pitch pop up by Chipper.
I think I am even more justified in telling Chipper to stop talking. Period. Ugh.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:19 pmWhere in the heck was loney playing just then?
April 19th, 2011 at 11:19 pmLinebrink is the pitching version of McLouth.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:27 pmSaxophones are the 7th inning stretch version of McLouth.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:27 pmChipper deliberately missed that ball to make a pitcher look bad. What an asshole! Oh wait…
April 19th, 2011 at 11:31 pmWow… that was a hell of a play by Chipper, and an even bigger hell of a pick by Freddie.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:31 pmPlease, please bring in Venters.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:31 pmMeatza, Meatza!
April 19th, 2011 at 11:32 pmHey Fredi, don’t rush to get Linebrink out of there or anything. And can someone explain WHY Linebrink is our 7th inning pitcher in a tight game?
April 19th, 2011 at 11:32 pmUgg. Linebrink was looking good. FB velocity in the right spot, pitches down… Then once there were base runners on, he couldn’t locate at all. Yuck.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:32 pmGrst, you make a snide comment back to defend Chipper’s D (which was excellent on that play) but what about the first pitch pathetic pop up the inning before that would have extended our lead? Are you going to ignore that?
April 19th, 2011 at 11:33 pmIf you can’t add on with the bases loaded and one out, you will get beat in close games, especially with Scott Linebrink on the mound.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:34 pmWere those sliders as nasty as GameDay made them look?
April 19th, 2011 at 11:35 pmLest we forget, Jonny Venters has HUGE shit out of the ‘pen.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:35 pmVenter’s can’t locate the FB at all tonight.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:38 pmAlex R.,
re: Vin Scully – agreed. he’s awesome.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:40 pmLet’s Vent!
April 19th, 2011 at 11:40 pmThe sliders were nasty, but Thames’ flailery was a big part of that. Still, whewww! And as a bonus, we get to see Kimbrel make people look intimidated and silly in a meaningful situation!
April 19th, 2011 at 11:42 pmOh, COMMON! So unlucky!
April 19th, 2011 at 11:48 pmWhen it comes to disappointing, our offense never disappoints.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:49 pmFreeman was incredibly unlucky there.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:51 pmMan, the baseball gods don’t like us.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:52 pmLest we forget, we have a lot of years’ worth of karma yet to pay back. The baseball gods have plenty of reason not to like us.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:53 pmVin Scully is 83 y/o….unbelievable.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:53 pmNasty
April 19th, 2011 at 11:54 pmKarma as in Leyritz, Hrbek, and Ed Sprague? I’d say we’re about even.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:55 pmGreat job Mr Venters
April 19th, 2011 at 11:57 pmJohnny F’in Venters.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:57 pmImpressive that he pitched so well even getting squeezed and with his control on the fritz.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:58 pmJV just devastates people.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:59 pmJohnny Venters. My God.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:59 pmJonny looked hurt
April 20th, 2011 at 12:00 amYeah, looked like he was stretching a good bit out there
April 20th, 2011 at 12:01 amNate’s had a good game.
April 20th, 2011 at 12:02 amBTW, Heyward now hitting .207
April 20th, 2011 at 12:04 amVenters is something else. He looked like Steve Carlton against Thames, who is one of the game’s better lefty-mashers.
I’ll assume that’s the first time Thames ever saw him because he looked hopeless.
Hey…. how ’bout them pinch-hitters tonight! Breakout city.
April 20th, 2011 at 12:04 amHINSKE!!
April 20th, 2011 at 12:05 amThe pinch hitters are coming out in force tonight!
April 20th, 2011 at 12:05 amSkeeBall!
April 20th, 2011 at 12:06 amHINSKE! …
Wait, does it count if there’s a runner on base?
April 20th, 2011 at 12:06 amSki-ball!!
April 20th, 2011 at 12:07 ami dearly love eric hinske
April 20th, 2011 at 12:07 amHeyward needs some new bats or something
April 20th, 2011 at 12:10 amlotta love for Chipper from Vin Scully tonight
April 20th, 2011 at 12:11 amThis guy may have the straightest fastball in the majors
April 20th, 2011 at 12:14 amBlow it out, boys. Nice.
April 20th, 2011 at 12:17 amDamn.
April 20th, 2011 at 12:17 amHey, look! Offense!
That’s 4HRs, and three of them were that same spot in left-center.
April 20th, 2011 at 12:18 amDAN!
Now, let’s do this before the 9th inning next time, please?
April 20th, 2011 at 12:18 amAnd boom goes the dynamite.
April 20th, 2011 at 12:18 amLook how many runs we score without an early deficit. Chipper vindicated!
/Alex R. logic
April 20th, 2011 at 12:21 amI should start to feel sorry for this batting-practice pitcher, but (ahem) we need the batting practice.
April 20th, 2011 at 12:23 amgotta love hinske, pinch-hitting, going 2 for 2 in his two 9th inning ABs
April 20th, 2011 at 12:23 am2-2, 3 RBI. Not a bad night of pinch-hitting for Hinske. And the way the Dodgers’ pen is pitching, it might not be over…
Ah, I jinxed us. Sorry.
April 20th, 2011 at 12:24 amSo Eric Hinske has two pinch hits in this inning. Not bad.
When was the last time we had an eight-run inning?
April 20th, 2011 at 12:25 amCongratulations to Brandon Beachy on his 1st ML win.
I picked a good night to stay up and watch the whole game.
April 20th, 2011 at 12:27 amNormally I would be like, ‘save some for tomorrow’, but tonight, screw it, we need to the lineup to feel good and get it going.
That HR by Hinske may be where we look back and say, ‘hey, season got going right here’
April 20th, 2011 at 12:28 amBonjour! Early morning in Cannes…waking up and watching an eight run inning. Gonna be a great day!
April 20th, 2011 at 12:29 amThat was another terrific play by Gonzalez.
Bonjour, Timo. South of France is a beautiful place, especially when it’s 10-1.
April 20th, 2011 at 12:29 amInfield defense. So good!
April 20th, 2011 at 12:29 amFreddie has had a couple of huge picks tonight. Defensive 1B are not exactly the most valuable asset in the world, but it’s still nice
April 20th, 2011 at 12:29 amOh my God. That play by Alex Gonzalez was amazing.
And Freddie Freeman is crazy good at stretching for it. It’s a good thing he’s 6’5; if he was 6’1 none of those throws would have made it.
April 20th, 2011 at 12:30 amHah! Another one for AAG. Nice game!
April 20th, 2011 at 12:30 ambig night for Alex Gonzalez too. that win had to feel good for these guys. felt damn good for me.
April 20th, 2011 at 12:30 amAlex Gonzalez is RIDICULOUS with the glove.
April 20th, 2011 at 12:31 amHelluva way to end the game by Gonzalez. That second play was even better than the first.
April 20th, 2011 at 12:31 am206- Last July 24th at Florida, the Braves scored 8 in the 8th to win 10-5. The big blow was Conrad’s second grand slam of the year.
April 20th, 2011 at 12:31 amFlashin’ the leather!
April 20th, 2011 at 12:32 amWho’s Yunel?
April 20th, 2011 at 12:33 amBonjour ububba… south of France was even a good place last night after yesterday’s 2-4 loss
April 20th, 2011 at 12:36 am8-run innings are always welcome. This one was worth staying up for. Last night…not so much.
April 20th, 2011 at 12:39 amBeautiful. Walks are back. Now we just need Jason to heat up and the offense will be awesome. Nate can stay in the eighth spot.
April 20th, 2011 at 12:52 amVenters: he good.
April 20th, 2011 at 1:06 am114,
April 20th, 2011 at 2:07 amWhen a pitcher is tired you usually don’t see his stuff deteriorate, it’s his control/command that goes out the window.
Happy for Beachy on his first win tonight. Nice to see an actual big inning with the bats. I wouldn’t mind if next time there’s a lead in the seventh while Moylan is on the DL, that The Lisp gets a shot first instead of Linebrink. While Peter’s out, I’d like to see if The Lisp or Luis Valdez could get some outs in the 6th/7th with a lead, because it’s apparent that Linebrink can’t.
April 20th, 2011 at 2:51 amWhat a wonderful line to wake up to! So glad for Beachy, and I’m so glad to see Freeman turning a corner.
April 20th, 2011 at 8:04 amRecapped.
April 20th, 2011 at 8:09 am