Nationals 7, Braves DOOOOOOMED
Washington Nationals vs. Atlanta Braves — Box Score — May 27, 2012 — ESPN
We learned a couple of things this week, after being swept in straight sets by the Reds and the Nationals, as the Braves have lost seven in a row and have been outscored 38- 18 in those games. One of the things we learned is that the Nationals are a real baseball team. Another is that the Braves may not be. Oh, I’m not going to pull the plug on the season just yet; it’s only May, after all, and we have an entire summer swoon to look forward to.
But this team has weaknesses. The weakness I’m worried about isn’t even the offense; hitters typically warm up over the summer, and we’re missing a lot of really important bats. This team’s weaknesses are the men who toe the rubber.
Tonight, Brandon Beachy, our best pitcher, took the mound to try to be our stopper. And, in typical fashion, he pitched well. But, also in typical fashion, he was extremely inefficient, and had to be taken out after five innings, in which he’d allowed three runs — two unearned, thanks to the first of Tyler Pastornicky’s two errors tonight — on three hits, with seven strikeouts against four walks. No one can hit Beachy this year: he’s giving up 5.9 hits per nine innings. It’s his walks that elevate his pitch counts.
Beachy isn’t a problem with this team, but his early exit exposed the bullpen, which is a problem. After letting Beachy start the sixth, Fredi yanked Beachy immediately after he plunked Danny Espinosa and put in our long man, Livan Hernandez. Livan then uncorked this sequence: walk, single, sac bunt, double, strikeout, single, single, groundout. Four runs later, it had gone from a 2-2 tie game to a 6-2 laugher, and the way this team has been swinging the bats, the game was basically over. Livan then gave up a really long home run to Bryce Harper in the 8th, by which point it didn’t matter.
There’s probably more to say but I really don’t want to. Watching this team is about as enjoyable as being stuck in gridlock in a car with broken air conditioning outside a paper plant.
This song is not by Simon Collins. Simon Collins is far too good a musician for this team. This song is by Alvin Stardust, a fifth-rate British pop singer who used to be a failed rock singer named Shane Fenton. (His real name is Bernard Jewry.) This song reached number 7 on the British charts in 1984, and it is one of the worst songs of which I am personally aware.
Is it time to bring up Simmons to play SS and try to get a bounce off of that? The injuries are killing them right now, but our lack of D at SS isn’t helping either and maybe Simmons could provide a Dee Gordon like influence on this team by being pesky and all
May 27th, 2012 at 11:29 pmAfter scratching out two against Gio, it was really disappointing to see Beachy lose it in the 5th. Still, missing 3 of your 4 or 5 best hitters will make any lineup seem horrible.
May 28th, 2012 at 12:58 amThis has become really dreadful. I think however that Tommy will stop the bleeding tonight.
May 28th, 2012 at 1:50 amJJ finally had an encouraging start last night: 8 IP, 0R, 3H, 5SO.
The song is better than the baseball.
May 28th, 2012 at 2:10 amCan Freeman just not wear his glasses?
May 28th, 2012 at 6:56 amThanks Alex. How is Mac doing?
May 28th, 2012 at 7:45 amGiving Pastornicky an error on the attempted feed to Uggla for the double play early was kind of a bum call. The toss was right at the 2B man’s glove. I suppose someone had to be tagged with an error for that. I was initially annoyed that we made a throw-in-the-towel move by bringing Livan in to a tie game with a man on, but it turned out to be rather prescient since we were destined to not score again any way.
May 28th, 2012 at 9:16 amI’ll be recapping this afternoon’s game. I doubt I can change any luck, though.
May 28th, 2012 at 9:24 amAs soon as Livan came into the game last night I turned off the TV because I knew it was over.
I’m going to the game today prepared to throw all the personal belongings I bring with me at Fredi if he puts Livan Hernandez or Durbin into a situation that has the final outcome riding on it.
Can we please hit a home run with someone on base?
May 28th, 2012 at 9:38 amThank you to all you veterans and those still in uniform. Happy Memorial Day to all. Go Braves.
May 28th, 2012 at 9:55 amWelcome back, Mac.
I’m thinking this little May sway might not be such a bad thing. Yes, it points out how dependent we are on Chipper and BMac, and there’s little to be done about that this year. But it might also light a fire under the FO to make some changes that need making. It’s time to give someone new a shot in the rotation, whether it’s Medlen, Teheran, or Redmond. And it’s time to try out a new shortstop.
May 28th, 2012 at 10:00 amDespite what Mac says, I blame Stu and AAR. Welcome back, Mac.
May 28th, 2012 at 10:32 amsansho1, I’m assuming the approach will be “we have so many injuries, let’s ride it out until everyone’s healthy to see what we’ve really got.”
May 28th, 2012 at 10:32 amThis is the perfect day to get our first Monday win of the season.
May 28th, 2012 at 10:45 amMcCann is playing today.
May 28th, 2012 at 11:26 amOh goody. A Monday day off we can spend watching Cardinals baseball and Braves’ Brownian motion.
May 28th, 2012 at 12:07 pmMaybe, since today is a holiday, the normal Monday rules don’t apply. Of course, that would probably mean that the Monday rules would apply to tomorrow.
May 28th, 2012 at 12:16 pmWell, one nice thing about the last week is that this start is no longer disappointing.
May 28th, 2012 at 12:20 pmAw, come on, Tommy!
May 28th, 2012 at 12:20 pmThis is an early episode.
May 28th, 2012 at 12:20 pmWell done, Tommy. See, I can recognize good play when I see it; it stand out more now.
May 28th, 2012 at 12:27 pm93 mph FB!
May 28th, 2012 at 12:27 pmThis year there’s no way McCann’s going to be an All-Star unless, by some miracle, he’s voted in.
May 28th, 2012 at 12:28 pmPhew. 30 pitch first inning…
May 28th, 2012 at 12:28 pmIt’s sure is a shame that all of this good Prado has gone to waste lately.
May 28th, 2012 at 12:37 pmI have no words for how this team is playing.
May 28th, 2012 at 12:42 pmHanson’s doing his best to make the case that whatever happens today is not his fault, dammit!
Well, it’s nice to see someone making an effort.
May 28th, 2012 at 12:47 pmTommy is playing with fire… Hope he is able to make it through 6. But how is supposed to score runs for the Braves tonight?
May 28th, 2012 at 12:47 pmRuns, please.
May 28th, 2012 at 12:47 pmShitty timing for Heyward to suck.
May 28th, 2012 at 12:50 pmSICK of seeing Jason swing and miss.
May 28th, 2012 at 12:50 pmMatt Adams makes Eric Hinske look like Kate Moss.
May 28th, 2012 at 12:52 pmI thought Heyward would be the kind of player that would push a .900 OPS when on a hot streak, but it looks more like it’ll be .800.
May 28th, 2012 at 12:54 pmJuan Francisco has to be my least favorite player. A .258 OBP probably contributes to that.
May 28th, 2012 at 12:58 pm@34 Don’t forget the defense.
May 28th, 2012 at 1:01 pmAre the Gwinett games televised? They can’t be more frustrating than these.
May 28th, 2012 at 1:03 pmThis is getting ridiculous. And Pastornicky was not involved in the play. I blame him anyway.
May 28th, 2012 at 1:03 pmIf Hinske just tosses that we get him.
May 28th, 2012 at 1:03 pmHanson’s gonna reach 100 pitches by the 4th inning.
May 28th, 2012 at 1:03 pmHow can McCann not catch that ball? Bah.
May 28th, 2012 at 1:05 pmThis is like the 9 Stooges.
May 28th, 2012 at 1:05 pmAt least the Cardinals ran themselves out of a run. Our only hope is that the braves’ busted give-a-damn is contagious.
(And they get your capital letters back when they stop sucking.)
May 28th, 2012 at 1:06 pmBallgame.
May 28th, 2012 at 1:07 pmWe look like the worst team in baseball right now. Failure on every front.
May 28th, 2012 at 1:07 pm@44, we have been the worst team in baseball this past week indeed.
May 28th, 2012 at 1:08 pmIt sounds like we are playing in Busch Stadium. I’ve been listening to Chip and Joe’s feed via some wireless headphones while puttering around the house. The crowd erupted on the hit to make it 2-0. It’s pretty sad when the visiting team has louder, more enthusiastic fans.
May 28th, 2012 at 1:08 pmAt least we’re not the Cubs.
May 28th, 2012 at 1:09 pmSaw Springsteen yesterday in Cologne. THAT was entertainment.
May 28th, 2012 at 1:09 pmDG, they’re not necessarily Cardinals fans; how many people rubberneck past a particularly spectacular wreck on 285?
May 28th, 2012 at 1:10 pm@46,
This, except replace “sad” with “commonplace.”
May 28th, 2012 at 1:10 pm@46,
This, except replace “sad” with “commonplace.”
May 28th, 2012 at 1:10 pmSorry, finger spasm.
May 28th, 2012 at 1:10 pmSpeaking of, Descalso? Getting beaten by Holliday or Furcal I can take, but Descalso?
May 28th, 2012 at 1:10 pmI can’t watch this bullshit anymore.
May 28th, 2012 at 1:10 pmHanson may not reach the fourth inning.
May 28th, 2012 at 1:11 pmUggla giving the SS defensive recommendations thells you everything you need to know about the state about our infield defense.
oh look, another HR.
May 28th, 2012 at 1:11 pmKnow what’s crazy? We could have had Drew Sutton and JJ Hoover over Francisco and Durbin and saved 400 thousand dollars.
I would advise none on this blog to look at Hoover’s stats. Theyll make you sick. Also, Sutton has played well for the Rays and actually looks competent in the field.
May 28th, 2012 at 1:11 pmThis streak’s going to reach 10 games.
May 28th, 2012 at 1:12 pmIts a holiday. I refuse to let this garbage bunch ruin my day.
May 28th, 2012 at 1:13 pm@47 …..yet
May 28th, 2012 at 1:19 pmAnd I’m done.
May 28th, 2012 at 1:23 pm6 strikeouts after 3 1/3 – you think Tommy has a shot at 20?
May 28th, 2012 at 1:23 pmBraves should just forfeit every game until Chipper comes back.
What sorry pieces of **** this team is without him.
May 28th, 2012 at 1:23 pmAlso, how sad is it that trading Derek Lowe is probably the worst move we made in the offseason?
Baseball is a terrible game.
May 28th, 2012 at 1:25 pmShould I start a Fredi Gonzalez Death Watch?
May 28th, 2012 at 1:32 pm@65. That is the funniest thIng ihave ever read on his blog lol
May 28th, 2012 at 1:34 pmA week ago Wren said the offense has been so good that he didnt need to focus on acquiring a bat. Ha.
May 28th, 2012 at 1:40 pmWith 102 fever yesterday, I was in bed all day, drifting in and out. I woke up at one point certain that I had heard that Fredi was anagrammed, and Chipper was named player-mamager.
One can only hope.
I do think it is now established that Fredi can’t pull this team out of a spin.
May 28th, 2012 at 1:41 pm@65 You would think that if the streak reaches
May 28th, 2012 at 1:43 pm14, his job would be in peril, but Liberty Media is such an inactive slug of an owner that it probably has to get to 20 before they consider acting.
I reiterate my position from last night- when Juan Francisco gets a meaningless hit, I worry that he’ll thus be here that much longer.
May 28th, 2012 at 1:47 pmI wouldn’t describe 2 two-out RBI’s as meaningless, unless you’re saying we have no chance of winning this game, which even for as bad as we’ve been playing is a rather hysterical view.
Francisco’s been adequate as a back-up player, in my mind. It’s not his fault we’ve had to use him much more than a back-up should be used.
May 28th, 2012 at 1:52 pmBeth Keener seems to have vanished.
May 28th, 2012 at 2:04 pmGrst, I don’t blame you for not paying too much attention, but you couldn’t have believed that we had a chance in this game after Francisco’s hit.
He’s a Dave Kingman who can play third (and hopefully has a nicer personality). He’s a pinch-hitter on a real team… after rosters expand.
May 28th, 2012 at 2:16 pmAfter today, we’ll be tied for last.
May 28th, 2012 at 2:26 pm@72. She is no longer employed by FSS. Here is an example why…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ifa7fEj30qM&feature=youtube_gdata_player
She was a pretty face though.
May 28th, 2012 at 3:04 pmThis is WORSE than September at this point, isn’t it? How many times does this team have to collectively crap the bed before something happens?
May 28th, 2012 at 3:13 pm47,
May 28th, 2012 at 3:25 pmI’d trade our ownership and front office for the Cubs’.
Recapped.
May 28th, 2012 at 3:32 pmI just watched that whole video as penance for being a fan last week.
May 30th, 2012 at 1:21 am