Braves 9, Rockies 8 (11 innings)
Atlanta Braves vs. Colorado Rockies – Box Score – May 04, 2012 – ESPN.
Coors Field Baseball lives. This time, it was the home team punished by the ridiculous park, taking a a 5-0 in the first and winding up losing in extras. I hate that place.
My personal rule is to hold nothing that happens there against the pitcher. So I don’t hold the first inning against Tim Hudson, but it was ugly. He gave up a double and two walks to load the bases, then three singles to allow five runs.
The Braves chipped away in the third, when Freddie Freeman hit a two-run homer to score Chipper Jones. They then rallied to take the lead in the fifth. Chipper singled in Michael Bourn, followed by a Freeman single. After they advanced on a wild pitch, Brian McCann tied the game with a single. Later in the inning, Uggla replaced McCann on a fielder’s choice, Jason Heyward singled, and Eric Hinske doubled in Uggla. It was a bit diappointing that Heyward couldn’t score, as the Rockies got out of the inning without further damage.
They then tied it in the bottom of the inning with a homer, but Chipper followed in the sixth with a homer of his own to make it 7-6. Hudson gave up a run to tie it in the bottom of the inning and gave way to the bullpen, which did pretty well.
And then we had four straight shutout innings. Go figure. In the eleventh, Tyler Pastornicky (pinch-hitting for Chad “High Leverage” Durbin) singled, and Eric Hinske hit a homer to make it 9-7. Not safe. Craig Kimbrel gave up a walk and a single, then a run scored on a fielder’s choice. He got out of it with groundouts to get the save.
I was going to be pissed if we lost this one, because we got robbed of a few runs. The ground-rule double by Bourne was unlucky because Jack Wilson would have scored easily, and Freeman probably would’ve scored on Uggla’s double if Cuddyer hadn’t got an extremely lucky bounce and thrown Freeman out at 2nd.
May 5th, 2012 at 6:54 amHas anyone said “Durbin knows how to win”?
May 5th, 2012 at 8:19 amLast night in DC, Joe West was under the weather so the crew had to go without a 3b umpire. Boy oh boy did it make a difference. The Phillies lost 4-3 but scored their 4th run twice in the 7th inning if the right calls would have been made at 3rd.
May 5th, 2012 at 8:21 amOmar Infante’s line this year:
May 5th, 2012 at 8:48 am7 doubles 2 triples 5HR
.325/.357/.650/1.007
@4 The wonders of small sample size
May 5th, 2012 at 9:10 am#5: I’d take that small sample size over 5 weeks of a season!
May 5th, 2012 at 10:06 am@6 Career OPS of .718
May 5th, 2012 at 10:52 amI am glad Aubrey Huff seems to be doing better. Anxiety disorders can be hell.
May 5th, 2012 at 11:02 amRight, but what’s your point? He’s on a great streak for a sustained period of time, the kind of streak that can carry a team. Good for him!
May 5th, 2012 at 11:02 amSo, I didn’t see it in the last thread, but for those scoring at home, Fredi had two pretty homer moves, which for me, underscore his inability to plan ahead effectively.
In the 7th, tied 7-7, Hinske got on to lead off. Jack Wilson was allowed to swing away, and he grounded out, swapping 1st base with Hinske. Huddy was then asked to bunt, with one out(!) failed, followed by the Bourn ground rule double, and those two runners were stranded.
Then Huddy didn’t even come out to pitch the eighth.
A little foresight might have led our dim leader to have Wilson, who is actually a good bunter, bunt, and have Francisco, Diaz, Pastornicky, Ross or even a sick Prado hit for Hudson.
Then you’d have a good bunter do the bunting, and actual hitter do the hitting.
But instead a .138 hitter got to hit, and a pitcher got to bunt, both of whom failed.
Then the double switch, weakening the defense AND offense by sending Diaz in for Heyward, just so you could get O’Flaherty to pitch in a second inning.
So he shoe-horned a bad defender, who happens to be a platoon hitter, into the second spot in the next inning, thus hurting his defense for the remainder of the game, and negating any matchup possibilities with his best “lefty masher” by letting Tracy know when he’s coming, and thus, giving Tracy matchup control.
All the while, he still had Venters and Medlen, along with Martinez, available to start the 9th.
Then, he used Durbin ahead of Venters, Martinez and Hernandez in the 10th. I can only assume the thinking was, don’t burn a multi-inning-capable reliever because the pitchers spot was due up first (which was Fredi’s own stupid fault. So Martinez and Hernandez were out. And he could only have chosen Durbin over Venters, because the bottom of the Rockies order was due up, and he was saving Venters to pitch the next inning if we didn’t score.
May 5th, 2012 at 11:03 amMy phone corrected “boner moves” to “boner moves”
May 5th, 2012 at 11:04 amAlso, I know Medlen wasn’t available for the 9th, as he pitched the eighth..
I miss the edit function….
May 5th, 2012 at 11:06 amHinske’s comment on ajc.com:
“We’re swinging the bats well as a team. Even when we’re losing we’re getting that pitcher’s pitch count up, trying to get in the bullpen, and guys are having good team at-bats. That’s what [Greg] Walker preaches and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
Good to see the change in approach from last year. It is what Wren said they needed to improve on right after the season. He got the right guys in Greg Walker & co., it seems.
May 5th, 2012 at 11:13 am80 at bats is short period. Reversion to norm highly likely.
May 5th, 2012 at 11:15 amMy phone corrected “boner moves” to “boner moves”
http://www.redshirt.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/batman6.jpg
May 5th, 2012 at 11:17 amYeah, so my phone didn’t know “boner,” so it changed it to “homer.” So now that I taught it “boner,” it changes “homer.”
Neat.
May 5th, 2012 at 11:22 amGreat recap. Chipper partying like it’s 1999, going .300/.358/.567.
I won’t harp on this if people won’t keep talking about it, but here’s something for musicians. Yes, I know the chords probably aren’t named accurately, but if you know basic major and minor chords, you’ll hopefully get the picture:
If I (d#) fell in love with you
And you (D) promised to be true
And (C#) help me (a#) understand
‘Cause I’ve (d#) been in love before
And I (D) found that love was more
Than (e!) just holding (A!!!) hands
How does one write something like that? The only answer I can come up with is: by the grace of god.
Plus, already, they were starting to mirror their increasing compositional sophistication ever so subtly in their lyrics as well, shedding the skin of one of their first American smashes with that last line.
What a band.
May 5th, 2012 at 11:50 amNot sure if this got mentioned, but apparently Delgado’s tipping his pitches:
May 5th, 2012 at 12:30 pmhttp://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=16779#commentMessage
Fredi’s idiocy was overshadowed when Jim Tracy intentionally walked Jack Wilson. Fredi can’t do anything dumber than that.
May 5th, 2012 at 1:02 pmMhmm, Moyer pitching against the Braves a day after a slugfest. I smell a no-no.
May 5th, 2012 at 1:22 pmA Rockies fan tells me Tracy apparently sits more regulars on Sunday than Fredi could ever dream of.
May 5th, 2012 at 1:27 pmAdam R’s contribution @17 is just one more reason why this blog is the best place on Earth – virtual or otherwise.
May 5th, 2012 at 1:31 pmTonight’s game is the free MLB.tv one, for those of you, like me, who need it.
May 5th, 2012 at 1:54 pmI know it has been said here a lot, but it bears repeating: About time to start sucking like you’re supposed to, Natspos.
May 5th, 2012 at 2:36 pmThe Beatles were great. These days, I find myself listening to their earlier material more than their later material. I find it a lot more fresh and a lot less leaden down with the weight of their immortal legacy. I burned out on them a long time ago and just haven’t been able to get back into them. Some of their songs that used to entertain me now sound obnoxious to me.
That said, Paul McCartney is probably the most organically perfect bass player of all time. For someone who fills his music up with a lot of working parts, he never overplays on bass. It always seems to fit perfectly into his arrangements. And the fact that he can sing so fluidly while playing is truly breathtaking to me.
Re: Braves – Tonight’s game is also featured on the MLB Channel, which I’ll be watching on the big screen. These moments are rare for me.
May 5th, 2012 at 2:46 pm#24: I’ve seen it mentioned before, but why is it that the Nats are suggested to be not as good as they’ve been playing?
Also, Jamie Moyer had just completed his first year of major league ball when Mike Minor was born. Weirdness.
May 5th, 2012 at 2:47 pm#26-
I think the concept is, you say “OK time to go back to the old Nationals” in a very shaky voice because it is not clear at all that this team is, in fact, going to do so. More of a plea than an expectation.
May 5th, 2012 at 3:09 pmI’m certainly hoping the Nationals aren’t as good as they are now, but they seem to be built to win. I’m interested to hear why people think they’re not going to be very good.
May 5th, 2012 at 3:11 pmGot onto the internet. So far as I can follow the game, it will have to be online, as I am in Virginia. (I’ve never been to Virginia before.)
Prado is sitting for the second day in a row with “flu-like symptoms”. Must have been a heck of a party.
May 5th, 2012 at 3:40 pm#27: Ahhh, okay. I can see that.
May 5th, 2012 at 3:45 pm@29
Hope Hinske gets the start. He is on fire.
May 5th, 2012 at 3:47 pmLineup against the lefty Moyer:
Bourn cf
Jones 3b
Freeman 1b
McCann c
Uggla 2b
Diaz lf
Heyward rf
Pastornicky ss
Minor p
Prado is available to play, but will have to come off the bench.
May 5th, 2012 at 4:40 pmOne thing about the Nats is that their pitching staff is young and they might not hold up. The biggest thing is an old Marlins problem, not enough good players. They have some who are very good, but they’re playing Rick Ankiel and Adam LaRoche regularly. (LaRoche is playing out of his mind, and Ankiel has been one of their best players but will that last?) Obviously, their offense is problematical. They actually need Harper to play well. The pitching has carried them — which carries us back to its youth.
May 5th, 2012 at 5:02 pmEarly May, I would rather Phils lose now than Natpos
May 5th, 2012 at 5:15 pmNo pitching staff can realistically surrender less than three runs a game for an entire season. The Nats’ offense has been pretty underwhelming so far. They’re hoping to win like the 2010 Giants, but such teams usually play out more like the 2011-12 version.
May 5th, 2012 at 5:37 pmThe game is also on MLB Cable channel with Atlanta likely blacked out.
May 5th, 2012 at 6:38 pm@17, Change that D#m to an Ebm and the A#m to a Bbm (I know they are the same chords, but for theory purposes…) and that composition starts to make more harmonic sense. Especially considering the Gm and F#m that show up later. A fun puzzle for the ears and brain, fer sure. Just amazing.
May 5th, 2012 at 6:46 pmY’all talkin’ bout them college chords.
May 5th, 2012 at 7:23 pmFreddie meant to do that. Honest Injun.
May 5th, 2012 at 7:25 pmFreddie has been a defensive disaster so far in this series.
May 5th, 2012 at 7:26 pmGuys, Mac is without internet, and I can only watch an inning or two of this one, so there probably won’t be a recap after this one. Sorry!
May 5th, 2012 at 7:28 pmGoodness Minor.
May 5th, 2012 at 7:30 pmDammit, Mike…
May 5th, 2012 at 7:30 pmNo worries, y’all. I’ll start the recap, 4-0 Rockies.
May 5th, 2012 at 7:31 pm@41 – Don’t worry about it.
May 5th, 2012 at 7:32 pmRemember that week where our starting pitching was awesome?
May 5th, 2012 at 7:32 pmBut heck, 4 is nothing.
May 5th, 2012 at 7:33 pm@38, I know, I couldn’t help myself. Western music theory is a cruel master. Probably why I love the noise.
May 5th, 2012 at 7:35 pmI like both kinds – Country and Western.
May 5th, 2012 at 7:38 pmWay to go, Atlanta.
May 5th, 2012 at 7:39 pmI still hate Coors Field.
May 5th, 2012 at 7:44 pmStu, I think we can safely say that we don’t want this one recapped, even if it isn’t too hard for you to do it.
May 5th, 2012 at 7:54 pmOh my god.
May 5th, 2012 at 7:54 pmWhich of you messed with the Rockies’ gloves? Because you did a fine job.
May 5th, 2012 at 8:03 pmA run!
May 5th, 2012 at 8:03 pmI feel like I’m watching a Little League game.
May 5th, 2012 at 8:06 pmWhat the hell happened to Minor? I did not expect him to look bad two starts in a row.
May 5th, 2012 at 8:10 pmApparently this team now enjoys large, early game deficits. At least we’ve proven capable of coming back from them.
May 5th, 2012 at 8:10 pmSome nice defense from the Braves there in the third.
May 5th, 2012 at 8:12 pm#57 – Its Colorado and no stats should be counted in this ballpark. All 6 runs have been scored with 2 outs. Why is Prado sitting again?
May 5th, 2012 at 8:14 pm@60 True. Apparently he’s got some sort of bug.
May 5th, 2012 at 8:16 pmLineup from Braves 1st game against Moyer.
May 23, 1987
May 5th, 2012 at 8:18 pmDion James – CF
Ken Oberkfell – 2B
Gerald Perry – 1B
Dale Murphy – RF
Ken Griffey Sr – LF
Greg Nettles – 3B
Ozzie Virgil – C
Andres Thomas – SS
Rick Mahler – P
Nevermind, just saw where Prado has the flu.
May 5th, 2012 at 8:19 pmWay to go Chipper!
May 5th, 2012 at 8:30 pmWoooo!!! Chipping away.
May 5th, 2012 at 8:35 pmWe should have won that game, but Gene Garber got smoked for a two-run homer by the Hawk in the 9th inning (remember when his 49 home runs seemed an impossibly high number?). As per the Braves’ custom, they hung around for a while before Jim Acker gave up an RBI double to Jim Mumphrey in the 16th inning.
May 5th, 2012 at 8:36 pmCouple now, couple later.
May 5th, 2012 at 8:38 pmThanks, Mike. I was almost optimistic there for a second.
May 5th, 2012 at 8:44 pmUgh.
May 5th, 2012 at 8:46 pmMATTY!
May 5th, 2012 at 8:51 pmDiaz, bringing hope to Braves fans.
May 5th, 2012 at 8:52 pmJASON!
May 5th, 2012 at 8:54 pmJASON! Nice catch in the bullpen.
May 5th, 2012 at 8:54 pmThis is why we chop, y’all.
May 5th, 2012 at 8:54 pmCHIPPER!! Hope is returning! (Now we’re really screwed.)
May 5th, 2012 at 9:05 pmCHIPPER!!!!!
May 5th, 2012 at 9:06 pmChipper breaks another bat….typical…guy already costs $15 million a year and now he’s costing even more… {/tad]
May 5th, 2012 at 9:06 pmThis place is so crazy. Go Braves.
May 5th, 2012 at 9:08 pmWOOOOOOOO!
May 5th, 2012 at 9:09 pmIt’s hard to put into words just how stupid Coors Field is.
May 5th, 2012 at 9:10 pmI have a borrowed laptop I have gotten to work. Hopefully I’ll be able to use it and get it working in the morning. For now, good night, and let the rally continue.
May 5th, 2012 at 9:17 pm@81 Sleep well, Mac! Enjoy Virginia.
May 5th, 2012 at 9:22 pmNice to have Matt Diaz circa 2009 on the team.
May 5th, 2012 at 9:23 pmHoly Toledo.
As in, that ball Heyward hit…
May 5th, 2012 at 9:25 pmMinor’s ERA is 5.97 after tonight.
May 5th, 2012 at 9:25 pmHoly smokes, that was into the wind and over the foul pole.
May 5th, 2012 at 9:25 pmhe killed that one
May 5th, 2012 at 9:27 pmhang ‘em another one
May 5th, 2012 at 9:28 pmhang him another one
May 5th, 2012 at 9:28 pmedit!
May 5th, 2012 at 9:29 pmI think that was probably a home run but based on the sole piece of video from the broadcast, I don’t see how the umps could have overturned the initial call of foul.
May 5th, 2012 at 9:29 pmIt looked like it passed straight over the foul pole, but if that was the only angle they had it was impossible to say for sure.
May 5th, 2012 at 9:30 pmMan, such a shame to see that called foul.
May 5th, 2012 at 9:30 pmYea, fully agreed with 91/92.
May 5th, 2012 at 9:31 pmagreed.
The pitcher’s rattled, though. Get to him before they relieve him.
May 5th, 2012 at 9:32 pmI miss the old TBS camera crew.
May 5th, 2012 at 9:32 pmWow, that pickoff is going to make Sportscenter.
May 5th, 2012 at 9:33 pmOuch, that ball Tyler hit bounced off of someone and all the way up and hit the facing of the upper deck.
May 5th, 2012 at 9:33 pmPlay stoppage to tend to a fan? That’s new to me, but I don’t disapprove.
May 5th, 2012 at 9:36 pmThis, my friends, is why you should never sit behind first or third base.
May 5th, 2012 at 9:36 pmThey stopped play in that game in Texas when the fan fell out of the upper deck.
May 5th, 2012 at 9:36 pmI don’t like the idea from an aesthetics standpoint, but maybe it’s time to extend the nets around more of the field.
May 5th, 2012 at 9:37 pmPlayers coming off the field – that’s not good.
May 5th, 2012 at 9:40 pm102 — Agreed.
May 5th, 2012 at 9:40 pmThey’re mentioning your idea on air, Bethany.
(Players back out)
May 5th, 2012 at 9:41 pmNo one is safe from Rogers!
May 5th, 2012 at 9:43 pmDid Chip just say that the go ahead run scored on Pastornicky’s ground out? Is he watching the game?
(My wife’s watching something on netflix, so I don’t have enough bandwidth to use Nexdef and overlay the radio guys. Ugh.)
May 5th, 2012 at 9:44 pmIt looked to me like the ball just hit the top deck. It would have to hit someone pretty hard to change trajectory like that.
May 5th, 2012 at 9:45 pm108 — It looked too low off the bat to hit the upper deck off the fly.
May 5th, 2012 at 9:46 pmInteresting that Fredi had Prado pinch hit over Hinske, but I think it’s the right move since Brothers would just have come in one batter earlier. As many at-bats as you could get against Rogers was a positive.
May 5th, 2012 at 9:46 pmWOOO!
May 5th, 2012 at 9:47 pmNowhere near the strike zone.
May 5th, 2012 at 9:48 pmChipper has been 140 feet of hell tonight.
May 5th, 2012 at 9:49 pmThis Chipper fellow might be good someday.
May 5th, 2012 at 9:49 pmI know you all like to make fun of me…but another broken bat by Chipper….costs associated with him keep going up and up…I’d say ‘give me a break’ but this isn’t funny… {/tad}
May 5th, 2012 at 9:49 pmI actually lol’d at that one from Chip.
May 5th, 2012 at 9:50 pmThe year of the sac fly!
May 5th, 2012 at 9:50 pmFreddie is the new Mr. Swings at Everything.
May 5th, 2012 at 9:51 pm116 – yeah, have to hand it to him on that one.
May 5th, 2012 at 9:51 pmChipper has zoomed past Jake Beckley for 39th on the all-time RBI list. 3 more RBI and he displaces Al Kaline, Harmon Killebrew, and Rogers Hornsby on the list. (I know, I know, those are some overrated hitters.)
Also, Chipper’s in the Top 10 NL leaders in RBI despite playing part time. It’s as if he’s a great player…
May 5th, 2012 at 9:55 pmChad “The Dominator” Durbin.
May 5th, 2012 at 9:55 pmChip Caray said something funny? Evidence, please?
May 5th, 2012 at 9:56 pmDistburbin’ Durbin’s looking a little rusty.
May 5th, 2012 at 9:58 pm@122
He said something along the lines of “He ain’t heavy, he’s my Brothers”.
May 5th, 2012 at 10:00 pmOk, Durbin. Just one run given up in the stupid ballpark counts as a victory.
May 5th, 2012 at 10:04 pmUgh, my feed cut to ‘commercial break in progress’ before the replay – was he still on the bag on that one?
May 5th, 2012 at 10:12 pmGattis hit another HR.
May 5th, 2012 at 10:15 pmRain delay. Blergh.
May 5th, 2012 at 10:17 pm@126 He on the bag.
May 5th, 2012 at 10:38 pmAnd we’re the last game of the night. The radar seems to show that there shouldn’t be much more to this storm, but it sure isn’t moving away quickly.
May 5th, 2012 at 11:11 pmGame is back, it seems.
May 5th, 2012 at 11:19 pmFatvan gets a nice double play grounder out of Helton.
May 5th, 2012 at 11:30 pmWay to chug it out, Martin!
May 5th, 2012 at 11:37 pmI’m almost not completely revolted by Livan right now. Now can we have at least one game this series that makes sense?
May 5th, 2012 at 11:46 pmI’m almost not completely revolted by Livan right now. Now can we have at least one game this series that makes sense?
May 5th, 2012 at 11:46 pmSorry abot the double post. Congrats on your first save, Livan. Now go away.
May 5th, 2012 at 11:47 pmFirst career save. Congratulations, Livan.
May 5th, 2012 at 11:47 pmI’m going to the game tomorrow- last chance to see Chipper in person. Hopefully he’ll start. If anyone else is hoing and wants to grab a beer I’m down.
May 6th, 2012 at 12:58 am‘Going’ I meant. I’m not planning on hoing and if you are please stay away from me.
May 6th, 2012 at 1:01 amMac,
May 6th, 2012 at 3:00 amWelcome to Virginia! Though I hope your trip here is short and your out of here soon and healthy. But if the Braves want to continue winning as long as your here, I can’t complain about that. Only promise to get the rest of us out of this state when you leave.
@ 114. Nah, he grounds in too many double plays. He’ll never make it.
May 6th, 2012 at 6:45 amChipper:
May 6th, 2012 at 6:56 amhttp://mlb.mlb.com/cutfour/article.jsp?content_id=30475214
@142
That is great
May 6th, 2012 at 7:32 amGot my internet back this morning, the recap is up after all.
May 6th, 2012 at 8:04 am