Atlanta Braves vs. Washington Nationals – Box Score – September 23, 2011 – ESPN.
Get out to a big lead and then try to hang on. It’s not like it’s symbolic of the season or anything.
The Braves jumped up 3-0 in the first, sending eight men to the plate. Dan Uggla singled in Michael Bourn, Freddie Freeman did likewise for Chipper Jones, and Uggla then scored on an error. The Nats got a run back in the second, a two-out single off of Tim Hudson.
But in the fifth, the Braves seemingly got a safe lead. Uggla doubled home Bourn, then Brian McCann doubled him home along with Chipper, and it was 6-1 while Tim Hudson was cruising.
And then suddenly he wasn’t. After getting the first out in the sixth, Hudson allowed hits to four of the next five batters and it was 6-3 with the tying run at the plate. Cristhian Martinez finished the inning.
Eric O’Flaherty allowed a two-out single in the seventh, but that was all. He never causes any trouble. The still clearly not-right Jonny Venters allowed a leadoff homer in the eighth, but that was all. And in the top of the ninth, the Braves stole a run when Bourn singled, stole second, and then got into a rundown on a Chipper grounder; Ryan Zimmerman dropped a throw, Bourn and Chipper were both standing at second, and in the course of chasing Chipper back to first they let Bourn go all the way home because nobody was covering. Craig Kimbrel allowed one of those leadoff singles to right but that was it, striking out two.
Soriano 3r HR 4-1 cubs
ALFONSO!!! Cubs 4-1 on a 3-run HR by Soriano!
4-1 Cubs in the 8th. 3 run shot by Soriano!
From the game thread since I’m slow at posting; the Bourn run is up on MLB highlights for those who didn’t see the game.
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2011_09_23_atlmlb_wasmlb_1&mode=video
And Soriano just hit a 3-run homer, go Cubbies!
Awesome. Great night. Maybe I should catch the late night showing of Moneyball to cap it.
Hat tip tonight to Phil Collins. Way to save him Mac and play the perfect song
Sussudio!
I don’t care what the recap says. No way we win this game. Not with Strasberg pitching. Best pitcher ever.
Craig rolls into a DP. Still 4-1 Cubs after 8.
Cards are biting it hard tonight. Another rally-killing DP…
High leverage use of the Collins.
How did the Braves score runs without any homers?
Hudson had cramps and is fine.
5-1 Cubs, on a single by Starlin Castro.
The Cardinal pen is awesome!
As someone said on another site, turns out you can’t unpiss your pants.
Cubs win! Cubs win!
Cubs Win, Cubs Win
OK, it’s a 3-game lead with 5 to go.
Amazing how fast things changed in the space of 24 hours, with one bad Cardinals 9th inning & one good Braves 1st inning.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7009925/atlanta-braves-rhp-tommy-hanson-pain-shoulder-blade
I’m sorry for being so negative. I was wrong. I can admit that. I just had a bad feeling about this. I’m glad I was wrong.
And Moylan’s gone for 2012. That hurts.
Moylan, god love him, is replaceable. Hanson, not so much.
We might get Medlin back. That would be great if he pitches well
Is there any way that Hanson could come back in the NLDS?
Central Florida’s QB is so stupid
Smitty, his name is Medlen, not Medlin. Learn to spell, please.
Learn to not be a douche
You’re the one who called me a tool first!
30,
Naw, Smitty wasn’t first.
Can anybody at BYU dig up some golden tablets containing offensive schemes or instructions on how to wrap up tackles? Can’t wait to hear about how great we are BECAUSE WE BEAT UCF.
No, I’m not over that Utah game. Why do you ask?
And just to make the night perfect, Chris Young just doubled in a run to bring Arizona into a tie with the Giants, 1-1. A D-Backs win all but eliminates the Giants (5 behind us with 5 to play) and gives Arizona the NL West.
@30 – Smitty could’ve been referring to the host. I wouldn’t have argued with that.
Sorry if I offended
These next two games should be winnable
So what are Emma’s playoffs odds for the Braves now? 15%?
Goldschmidt triples in two runs to make it 3-1 Arizona, bottom of the 8th.
If the Arizona and Anaheim scores hold up, that will be 3 divisions in 1 night.
And all four (mathematically alive) teams chasing the wild-card leaders losing, while we win and the Red Sox were rained out. Every game result will end a race or make it less competitive. Weird.
Aubrey Huff pops out. Giants lose 3-1. Diamondbacks win the West. Giants one loss or one Braves win from a lot of golf.
@36 i would say 83 percent
Who owns the tiebreaker for the number 2 seed?
42: The Dbacks do. Still hoping they manage to beat out the Brewers for the two seed.
Ha! I told you guys the Cubs would take at least one from the Cardinals! Firmly back in control! Now let’s keep it that way, and pray to God that Hudson is alright!
In answer to the Hanson question, they are acting as if it’s possible that he would be back for the NLDS, but if he can’t get through a damn instructional league rehab game three weeks after being shut down before, I really don’t see that there’s much hope of that happening. And even if he does get through an instructional league game, without a Major League game under his belt, would you really wanna start him in a playoff game? Even over Lowe?
Medlen is good and unexpected news though, and hopefully makes up for the loss of Moylan. Apparently Sherrill will be back for the playoffs, too, and despite all the crap we give him around here, we have definitely missed him.
Angels lose, Rangers pour ginger ale* on each other because Josh Hamilton used to do drugs.
*not joking
They did that last year, too. I actually think it’s kind of cool. Certainly a nice gesture, anyway. And incidentally, if they did it the same as last year, Hamilton left later and they proceeded with the standard booze shower.
Crazy sidebar, but I just now watched the Sheen Roast that I’ve had on the DVR for awhile, and one of the co-producers was former MLB player Todd Zeile. Turns out that he and Winning are really good friends.
Sucks that my favorite website on the planet, after a win by my favorite team and a loss by the trailing wild card team, still has a troll dominating the posts.
All the Emma hate around here is getting really annoying. Live and let live… as long as he refrains from insults and unnecessary profanity (profanity after a Braves loss, however, if perfectly acceptable to me).
The spelling correction was a tad annoying, and if it had been anyone but Emma, I think Smitty wouldn’t have dropped the douche-bomb.
Anyway, compared to what we saw several weeks back, I’d say Emma is improving in his etiquette.
That looks odd, doesn’t it?
Anyway – how ’bout them Bravos!
Iwas at the game. The Nats were hitting shots all night, a lot of which found gloves. Uggla hit the shit out of the ball a couple of times and the play Wilson made to keep the ball in the infield saved a run. (But, yes, why the hell was he batting behind Freeman and in front of Heyward?) The team played well, got some help from Ryan Zimmerman who, unusually had a terrible night defensively. But if Strasburg hadn’t left, the Braves wouldn’t have scored any more; he was beginning to cruise. He really is good. I think you could say Bourn manufactured that run in the 9th. What I don’t like about going to Braves games in person, though, is I can’t fast forward through the 9th inning. So, instead, I got up and walked around the conoourse after Kimbrel gave up the hit on an 0-2 pitch. I couldn’t stand to watch. I did actually see the two strikeouts from right behind home plate.
There’s much too much focus on Emma Lawson. Just ignore him if you are as annoyed about him as I am but please, let’s stop talking about this guy.
You gotta feel bad for Moylan. That means he’s probably pitched his last game for the Braves. He was, well is, one of my favorite guys on the team.
@52
Moylan could be fine if it is a small problem.
According to Wren, Moylan has been pitching with a small tear in his rotator cuff for a while now. They said his outing went fine the other night but he couldnt even play catch the next day. They mentioned the tear has worsened. Dont see it being a small issue, but I hope thats the case.
Bourn 8 Prado 7 Jones 5 Uggla 4 McCann 2 Freeman 3 Wilson 6 Heyward 9 Beachy 1
Well, he probably wasn’t coming back next year anyway, so yes, his stint with the team is likely over.
Guess AAG needed another day.
@myself
Never post at 2:00 in the morning after listening to you favorite band and having a plethora of beers. It sucks that my own post annoys me.
I don’t get this tweet from DOB:
“Hot-as-fire beef szechwan at 1:45 a.m. from restaurant in Chinatown. Saw a table full of Braves fans there. They used chop stix. Impressive.”
Because Braves fans are provincial redneck morons who one can’t assume able to manipulate a couple of small pieces of wood as eating utensils? Am I misreading this?
@57 Being 3 up on Cards allows AAG more rest. Another win and McCann can rest.
@59 After a night drinking I use my fingers.
I’m not a redneck, I wouldn’t say. But I suck at using chopsticks, so I always ask for a fork.
Not everyone is great at manipulating a couple of small pieces of wood.
Well, DOB did follow it up with this tweet.
•I used a fork, because I never could get hang of chop sticks. No patience. RT @trwinstead: @ajcbraves Kimbrel used a fork. He’s advanced. 3 hours ago
I guess he was just impressed. I hate chopsticks and dont understand why anyone would use them. Its like using a hammer and a nail to build something instead of a nail gun. When technology improves something just go with it.
@62
Jerry Seinfeld: “I tell you what I like about those Chinese people. They’re hanging in there with those chopsticks. Oh, they’ve seen the fork…and the spoon. I don’t know how they’ve missed it. Chinese farmer goes to the field in the morning…HELLO! Shovel! You’re not plowing 20 acres with a couple of pool cues.”
Chopsticks are amazing. I cook and eat with them all the time. I only own like 3 forks
Recently I was the only one in a group of like 11 to use a fork instead of chopsticks. I tried but dammit I just couldn’t use the chopsticks!
I learned to use chop sticks in college, you had to do something to make Ramen Noodles interesting
Ramen Noodles are interesting as soon as you buy them. Its like 30 meals for $5.
They needed some pep on about meal 24
It’s a cultural thing.
You’re not supposed to bring weapons to dinner, iirc.
Chopsticks are more civilized than stabbing your food at the table. (The fork was a compromise by the Euro-barbarians from just bringing their daggers to dinner to spear the meat.)
If using a knife and fork, at least have the good graces to use the knife in the right hand and the fork in the left, as if you’ve had *some* small semblance of schooling.
At my school, we used a knife in both hands.
@ 70, yes, and keep your elbows off the table when eating, please.
I only use chopsticks when I’m eating sushi, I fail completely at using them for anything else.
I was pretty swift on the uptake when learning to use chopsticks and enjoy using them quite a bit, and I’m also from the South. Apologies to DOB if I found offense where none was intended.
MLB.com’s front page has a subheadline about today’s game that indicates our starting pitcher is named “Brandy” Beachy. Now, I’ve known a lot of pretty girls who could use chopsticks named Brandy, but no dudes with that name.
Great first inning by Brandon, btw. Efficiency AND strikeouts!
Well, I guess that decision precludes the 2-run Jack Wilson homer.
Why is McCann, the slowest person on earth, trying to steal against Pudge?
@76 Frediball!
Beachy Breakdown.
Somebody better get some Phil Collins in here, quick.
Beachy… sigh.
So much for efficiency.
I think Beachy had 8 in the first inning and 30 in the second? Come on, Brandon. Ya gots to do better…
Well, that sure helped. Thanks Natspos.
Bad Bunter Brandy Beachy.
It’s painful to watch some of these guys bunt.
Goodness gracious, he foul tipped ball four. Ugh.
Wow. Rick Ankiel sure comes up big against the Braves. You’ll see that highlight after pictures of Werth handing Ankiel his sunglasses in the field on SportsCenter.
Beachy is unbelievable. He might have a Javy Vasquez-like, under-performed periphals kind of career, but he’s still really fun to watch. I’m a sucker for strikeouts.
73—Same here.
Remember when Brian McCann was good? The first half of the season seems like a long time ago.
@87
He needs some rest
Please not another episode…
Wow. Tim Tschida… What a stoic response to getting hit in the face mask with a foul ball.
Oh, Brandon.
Crap on a stick!
Ugh. There’s no excuse for that, Brandy.
So…only Hudson is somewhat trustworthy for the (possible) postseason.
Guess I’ll change over to RA Dickey [redacted]ing the Phillies.
Jimmy Rollins is only 32 years old? Seems like he’s been around forever.
At least the Cards are losing (1-0 in the 6th).
Dan, if you really want to cheer yourself up, consider how badly Hudson pitched in the 6th after he tweaked his neck/ shoulder.
FREDDIE! So not all is lost.
That would be more exciting if not for the Beachy meltdown the previous half-inning.
Cubs just got out of a big jam.
Seven innings in the books in St. Louis. Still 1-0 Cubbies.
Just saw where Manny is talking about wanting to play again. Assuming he’s allowed back into the league, wouldn’t any team that signed him have to play with a 24-man roster for 100 games?
No, you’re allowed to bring up a player to replace a suspended player.
So a team can’t replace a player for 5 games while he’s suspended for beaning Cody Ross, but they can replace a player for 100 games for shooting HGH?
Eight innings done in St. Louis. Still 1-0.
I’m pretty sure, John. When Ramirez was suspended for 50 games in 2009, the Dodgers brought up a player (Xavier Paul) to replace him.
Heading off to catch Moneyball before the big games tonight. I’ll let you all know how it goes.
Braves are totally not backing into the playoffs.
Cards on MLB Network now.
Looks like Marmol is fixin’ to yak it up.
WTF? A caught stealing there?
Either Bourn or Fredi is an idiot.
Why would he run there? OMG. RAGE….
Who in the Cardinals organization paid Marmol to throw this game?
I don’t even want to know why Bourn is going there.
He’s going just to piss me off. That’s the only reason. It’s all about me.
Mike Quade is apparently on Quaaludes. Why is Marmol still pitching?
And in flipping back and forth, I noticed that Prado’s flyball would have scored a run had Bourn not been thrown out stealing.
There’s a run lost because of a really stupid steal attempt. Either Fredi or Bourn has lost his mind. The Braves are down three not two.
Marmol with 3 straight walks, walks in the tying run
Ball four.
And a wild pitch to win the game for St. Louis.
I can’t believe the Cubs. Bases loaded walk. Sigh.
Urge to kill … rising.
what in the world. why won’t this man throw a strike?
Cards win? Seriously? Wild pitch? WTF?
…. walkoff wild pitch
I HATE CARLOS MARMOL.
Go to hell, Marmol.
Mike Quade: Not even pretending to try to win that game.
i cannot believe this.
By the way, am I crazy, or did it look like Bourn might have been safe?
Bourn was safe, but still stupid to run
Wow. Just wow. I know that you control your own destiny, but Marmol is a supreme goat right now that just gave the Cardinals a game, and HOPE, all by himself.
You know what? The Braves should have to win to get in.
Our playoff percentage just decreased down to 14 percent. Shit
@134-
agreed. but marmol is still terrible.
If I didn’t know better, I’d say the that Cubs-Cardinals game was rigged by MLB to keep it interesting. Three straight walks and a wild pitch with two outs.
Marmol sucks so bad!
@137 But you know better. If MLB was rigging games, it wouldn’t go down like that. The Cardinals would just win the game. Marmol hasn’t been particularly good this year, and control has always been his achilles heel.
Seriously, our playoff odds decreased from 83 percent to 14 percent in one DAY, how is that even possible?
@139, but wouldn’t a good and decent manager just CHANGE PITCHERS AFTER THREE STRAIGHT WALKS? Quade is going to so deserve his firing.
“Seriously, our playoff odds decreased from 83 percent to 14 percent in one DAY, how is that even possible?”
You tell us, you’re the only one making the claim.
Carlos Marmol just made my enemy list. Blood pressure increasing….
@141-
i can’t imagine they had better options waiting in the bullpen. they’re the cubs, after all
@140
You’re using a formula to which none of us are privy. Explain with actual numbers and data, please.
@141
My guess is that Marmol is his closer and he just rolled with him. It’s not a fix. Quade is probably just in love with roles and deviates from his pre-determined decisions very, very slowly. Like, well, certain other managers we all know around here.
I take the schedule and my gut feeling and form a quadratic equation
You guys can’t seriously think we’re going to make the playoffs can you?
“i can’t imagine they had better options waiting in the bullpen. they’re the cubs, after all”
Any option is a better option than a pitcher that refuses to throw strikes.
I take the schedule and my gut feeling and form a quadratic equation
Define “quadratic.”
Does anybody think we’re going to make the playoffs, with just 14 percent odds?
Pitching, hitting, and the quadratic equation do not work that way!
GOOD NIGHT!
(At least we’re still up by two…)
@148, really truly, I have no problem with what you are doing – I just think it is lame beyond belief at this point, and that you are still at it is one of the saddest things I’ve seen on this site.
Easy come, easy go: back to two game lead.
Also, look at the momentum factor. That comes into my formula
@155
How does your formula incorporate the Cardinals having lost two of their last three with their only win in that span being gift-wrapped by a wild closer?
it doesn’t matter how they got it. They have 4 games left, 1 against the Cubs and 3 against the Astros. We have 4 left, 1 against a surging Nats team and 3 against a Phillies team that is due for wins
154—Not as sad as the folks who keep giving him attention, IMO.
Well, that last 3 hours of baseball totally sucked ass. Cubs are bad for many reasons & Marmol’s one of ’em. Two up with 4 to go. (At least the Dawgs won.)
#154
Often, when you’re on a crowded subway car & a “crazy person” gets on your train craving attention in an infantile way (screaming, babbling, whatever), you’ll ignore him—even when he’s five inches in front of your face. You treat him like he doesn’t exist.
And when the entire subway car does this, he usually leaves the train & tries his annoying act elsewhere.
Recap.