The formula for this month has been: Score Once Or Twice + Great Pitching + Great Defense = Winning. Well, this series with the Brewers the pitching and defense fell apart.
Paul Maholm looked like he was on cruise control until the fifth, when the Brewers exploded for EIGHT(!) runs. The most interesting thing that came out of this series was the Brewers gave Chipper a grill and a year’s supply of sausage.
During the sixth inning Chipper got the grill out and Fredi ran over to the Miller Brewing and got a keg. The Braves began to have a cookout to celebrate Freddie Freeman’s birthday.
Sometime in the seventh inning, Marin Prado got the TV set up behind third base. Everyone gathered around to watch Nate McLouth hit a walk off single to give the Orioles another one run win.
Bob Uecker came down for the eighth to hang out, sign autographs, and do postgame interviews. By this time the cookout was getting a little rowdy. Uecker went up to Dan Uggla and asked, “How long have you all been drinking?†Uggla responded, “Late July.â€
Sorry, I did my best to make that interesting. The Bravos are off tonight, but Vegas still lists them as a three run dog.
Here are my SEC picks. Home teams on the right:
Alabama 32 Arkansas 3
Florida 23 Tennessee -4 [editor’s note: Smitty originally had Tennessee coming out on top, but that is officially prohibited on this site]
Florida Atlantic 3 Georgia 52
Western Kentucky 14 Kentucky 21
Idaho 6 LSU 54
Texas 32 Ole Miss 7
Mississippi State 38 Troy 7
Arizona State 21 Missouri 28
UAB 10 South Carolina 32
Texas A&M 24 Southern Methodist 7
Presbyterian 3 Vanderbilt 45
Louisiana-Monroe 21 Auburn 28
Ugh. I should have stayed in Amsterdam. If anyone wants to drown their sorrows/share some powerful eyebleach with me, I am playing at the Clermont Lounge tonight.
And don’t forget to tip your waitresses.
Good job, Smitty. I needed a laugh this morning.
God, this feels familiar.
And don’t forget to tip your waitresses.
Good job, Smitty. I needed a laugh this morning.
God, this feels familiar.
Well, I’m looking forward to that Brewers-Phillies wild card game. (Just kidding.)
I just can’t get too worked up over any of this. Best-case scenario is a play-in game. If the Braves make it, then I’ll pay attention. If they don’t, then I’ll be glad I didn’t watch another collapse. Or so I tell myself as I continue to check my phone and listen to the odd inning here or there.
Plenty of odd inningslately, Adam.
Recap was much better than the game, Smitty. Dooley’s Vols doesn’t have the lyrical quality that daddy’s dawgs did.
Roll Tide.
Now that’s funny stuff. (h/t Johnny Carson)
I phear a Phillies-Braves wildcard phiasco.
A year’s supply of Klements brats is pretty awesome.
@1
spike i wish i were there, i’d bring a blind fold or at least some dark glasses for you. luv me some Claremont.
good recap smitty
Thanks, Smitty. I think they’ll need that extra day to work the brats & beer out of the system. I certainly didn’t expect to end up with a 3-3 road trip.
Spike, is Blondie still in the house?
Her career continues to this very day.
@7
Carson and I share a birthday (October 23). Except for that whole, “he isn’t living anymore,” thing.
If the way the season has gone so far is any indicator, here is what to expect:
– We will get swept against the Nats and lose our big lead in the WC race.
– We will then win 8 games in a row and appear to be in good shape.
– We will top the season off by losing our last 7, but will sneak into the playoffs because the Brewers lose to the Padres on a walk off walk in the bottom of th 15th on the last day of the season.
– In the WC game, we will beat the Phillies and Cliff Lee, 9-8. These will be our first earned runs we’ve scored in 10 games.
I haven’t decided how the first playoff series will go, but it will definitely start with us losing our first 2 games.
Did a quick breakdown of the Braves offense per game (had to to the math myself because I couldn’t find a way on Bref or fangraphs to put team runs for each game into bins – if anyone knows how please enlighten me).
In their 144 games this year the Braves have scored exactly:
0 runs 13 times
1 run 14 times
2 runs 23 times
3 runs 11 times
4 runs 25 times
5 runs 8 times
6 runs 16 times
7+ runs 34 times
Let’s compare to the Nats, who in their 143 games have scored exactly:
0 runs 7 times
1 run 16 times
2 runs 18 times
3 runs 18 times
4 runs 19 times
5 runs 20 times
6 runs 9 times
7+ runs 36 times
Big difference to me is that Braves have score 0-2 runs nine more times than the Nats, while scoring 3-5 runs 13 fewer times.
Obviously Nats pitching has been superior, but I think the real key to Braves inconsistency has been failure to consistently put up 3+ runs.
Blondie is an American icon.
How are the sausages being doled out? Is it so many per month, serving size per day, or what?
Inquiring minds.
You folks are way too pessimistic. The Braves won last night, as long as you go by match play scoring, not this stupid stroke play scoring. The Braves won two innings to one. What a great contest! Pretty tight there at the end, but we pulled it out.
I’m basically just assuming that the Braves were possessed by Kadeem Hardison for the past 3 games. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4wx2e_the-6th-man-theatrical-trailer_shortfilms
#18
Well, the Cards lost last night, so we did burn a day off the calendar.
We’re 5.5 games ahead of St. Louis & 6.5 games ahead of LA–and those clubs play each other 4 times thru this weekend.
@17, was that a question for Blondie or Smitty?
Both.
Count it.
What was the braves lead at this point last season before the collapse. I really dont see the Braves getting passed by two teams, with all the head to head matchups down the stretch.
At the close of play on Sep 13, Atlanta was 4.5 games up on St Louis.
The macabre is fascinating. In a macabre sort of way.
Maybe we’re fortunate that a) we don’t play StL or LA the rest of the way and b) there are 2 WCs this year.
You are probably right-it’s not likely they can lose both wild card slots-although the Braves seem capable of anything. LA playing St. Louis also makes it less likely for Philly or Milwaukee to make up ground since one or the other team ahead of them will win.
I think they should eliminate September from the baseball calendar. End the season on Aug. 31 and start the playoffs.
And what are the chances that I would be paying attention to an O’s-Tampa game on September 13?
Gotta admit it: I’m really pulling for Baltimore these days.
O’s win in the 14th inning.
A couple odd facts about that: 1) For the moment, the O’s stand alone in 1st place in the AL East, and 2) That was the 13th-consecutive extra-inning game that Baltimore has won–talk about living right…
If Boston, Oakland and Tampa can hold up their end, it’s not inconceivable that the Yankees could actually miss the playoffs.
Very true & they are playing lousy, but their remaining schedule doesn’t appear too daunting–only 6 of the 20 games are against .500+ clubs (TB & OAK).
Their last 3 are at home vs. the Sawx. Guess that could be interesting for a variety of reasons.
Come to think of it, both New York clubs are tanking it down the stretch. The Yanks have blown a 10-game division lead and, since the All-Star break, the Mets are 4-21 at home.
@32 Do the Yankees ever have a daunting schedule?
@21, 22, 23 – That made my day.
This upcoming documentary on knuckleballers sounds tremendous:
http://www.salon.com/2012/09/14/pick_of_the_week_baseballs_secret_zen_fraternity/
Speaking of the Yankees, I’ll just leave this right here.
Jeter is an overhyped singles slapper.
Derek Jeter and Willie Mays have the same number of hits. THEY ARE THE SAME PLAYER.
Question: Is “Jeter is overrated” the original internet sports meme? Seems like we’ve never been without it. I wouldn’t know what to do if it ever left.
Then again, as the song says, how can I miss you if you won’t go away?
14- Houston just beat the Phillies (bullpen implosion), so that nightmare just became a little less likely.
#36
Hysterical.
But, if the Yanks blow it, chances are it won’t be because of Jeter (2nd-half numbers: 344/385/500).
I know the terrible truth about Derek Jeter.
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/34432/
23 — I laughed out loud.
36 — Laughed at that too when I saw it earlier today. Funny stuff.
@39, I don’t think you have to worry much about hearing “Derek Jeter” and “left” in the same sentence.
We have more wins at Citi field since the ASG than the Mets do.
Alex,
That’s brilliant. So that means that Derek Jeter killed JFK?
It will truly take a monumental collapse for the Braves to not make the playoffs (or the play-in game).
If they go 6-12, the Dodgers (not counting the Cards here since they are now the other WC team), the Dodgers would have to go 13-5 to tie, the Brewers would have to go 15-4, the Phillies would have to go 15-3. If the Braves play .500, they breeze in. Unfortunately, I don’t have that much confidence that they will play .500.
They’ve played over .500 every month of the season except May, when they were one game under. They’re 7-5 in September, which extrapolates to a 94.5 win pace. Again I must ask myself what team you’re watching.
So that means that Derek Jeter killed JFK?
I can neither confirm nor deny this.
@49 They should be about 3-9 in September, that’s where the worry comes from.
We are watching a team that was very lucky to beat the Rockies 3/4 and scored 4 runs in 3 games against the Brewers. And the Mets are basically a Triple A team at this point. Again, I doubt the Braves will collapse but they are not playing well.
Whatever managerial “it” is, Buck Showalter seems to have it.
An O’s / Pirates series (reprise of ’79, I think) would be fun.
stu @37 – yeah, but he’s a really good overhyped slap singles hitter.
Could probably say the same about Pete Rose.
stu @37 – yeah, but he’s a really good overhyped slap singles hitter.
Could probably say the same about Pete Rose.
They clearly arent playing well, but the starting pitching has been very strong (before this past series). I dont think two teams can pass us esp with the way Stl has been playing. There are too many head to head matchups with the teams chasing the Braves. This offense needs to get going.
@51
Are you saying, “They just know how to win?”
Jeter is a pretty damn good player and it’s ridiculous to say he isn’t just because you don’t like the Yankees or the NY media hype. I think the Braves would have been willing to have him on their team.
I try to get with the program that all good trends are flukes, while all bad ones are expected to continue indefinitely. And that teams with significantly worse records than the Braves aren’t actually worse teams, just sleeping giants. I can’t quite wrap my brain around it, but I’ll keep trying! 🙂
I recognize that Jeter is one of the greatest players in history. But he’s a Yankee, his defense and clutchness and intangibles have been overrated for years, he’s really handsome, he says all the right things, he can literally bed any woman on the planet, he has five World Championships, and he’s basically going to get free drinks in any bar in New York till he dies.
So I’m pretty sure I’m fully justified in saying that he sucks.
54 & 55—I was quoting the cartoon. I don’t actually believe it, just thought it was a hilarious part in the video.
He can’t bed my woman.
What? What’s that, honey?
Uh …
@62 – Bwaaahhaaaahhhh!
59 – Okay, Sansho, that’s pretty funny.
I think my feeling of uneasiness is that we are not quite 12 months removed from the last “monumental collapse.”
@60
Most men too.
@60, Ew, no. Not attractive.
I suppose there’s no reason it couldn’t happen again, but this team seems a little deeper and a lot healthier than last year’s model.
It’s not just last year. The Braves had a massive lead in 2010 that they nearly blew too.
Okay, almost every woman. (I’m guessing that Lily Tomlin wouldn’t give him the time of day, either.)
@60 and @66: Huffington Post actually has a slideshow set up for all girlfriends. Wow is that a murderers row of talent.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/01/derek-jeters-girlfriends-past-and-present_n_1729061.html
And A-Rod ends up with Madonna.
I will never understand why men think about the sex lives of other men.
That isn’t close to all of them. That’s just some of the ones we know about. There are a lot more than ten gift baskets in New York.
A lot of women think of the sex lives of other women, too.
The core reason? I dunno, evolutionary competition, probably.
@74 I bet they think about it a lot less than you think they do. If I were to guess as to why men do it, it’s because they wish they were in that guy’s shoes.
Wishing that they were in that guy’s shoes is another way of saying evolutionary competition. I mean, ultimately, I’m guessing that my lizard brain wants a lot of Derek Jeter’s exes to mingle with my gene pool.
I don’t wear shoes in those circumstances.
@75 I absolutely wish I was in Derek Jeter’s shoes.
Well, I’m about to leave for a weekend trip to DC because it’s hard to find any discussion of Yale football on this blog, so I have to go experience the season opener in person. I’ll see if I can sample a little #Nattitude-mania while I’m down there and report back.
There is nothing about Madonna that I would ever want.
The last time I watched The Game was 2007, and we lost 37-6.
Got any optimism for me, Jonathan?
New coach (who I met on Monday) new offense (Oregon-style no huddle running spread), new attitude. On the other hand, 5 freshmen starting on offense, the backup QB (a junior who lost out to a freshman) just quit the team, no kick returners who have ever returned a kick. That’s pretty much why I want to see the opener myself. it’s either going to be great or a really long season.
@75 – The only thing that comes to mind is … Duh.
77 — what about business socks?
@84: Depends on how grungy the floor is.
@83 Duh for you, ridiculously silly to me.
@80, She was nothing to sneeze at 25 years ago. And she really does look pretty great for 70.
Jeter’s list never crosses my mind. Brad Pitt’s maybe. Not envious, just crosses my mind.
Yale-Georgetown might be more entertaining than UGA-FAU.
Go Bulldogs (x2)
There are three kinds of people: 1) People who would trade places with Jeter. 2) Liars. 3) Jeter.
@90 – Bwaaahhaaaaaahhhaaaa!
See, the thing about trading places with Jeter is it costs me time living. I’d be alive for nearly 10 fewer years if I traded places with Jeter. Is being Jeter worth it if it means you instantly age 10 years? I’m really not sure it is. I can say that were I 20, there’s no way I’d make the trade.
@92 – IMO, you’d have to envision an amazing life in front of you, even as a 20 year old, to not trade spots with Derek Jeter (born 6/26/74). It would be a bummer to miss out on ages 20 – 38, but you’d certainly be able to live life to the fullest for a long time if you were Jeter starting today.
I wouldn’t trade places with Jeter, because Jeter would be pissed. He’d probably hunt me down and kill me, and then where would either of us be?
Hey, can anyone tell me whether Park Atlanta enforcement extends to the weekend? I usually park for free around the Capitol, but I’m wondering if that’s possible anymore.
Wondering about Saturday in particular, as that’s when I’m going.
•#Braves lineup: Johnson cf, Prado lf, Heyward rf, Jones 3b, Freeman 1b, Uggla 2b, Ross c, Simmons ss, Medlen p 59 mins ago
I’m trying to imagine Jeter scrounging around my house, trying to scrape together a decent gift basket. How does some 1974 Topps Traded doubles, a couple of Coronas, and a MARTA Breeze card sound? Pretty thin, but maybe an extra layer of tinsel and it won’t look too bad….
This is a fantastic thought experiment.
@93- How much more fulfilled than the rest of us do you really think Derek Jeter is? Don’t get me wrong, having sex with hot starlets seems like a great gig, and I’d gladly try it out. But I would think there’s also a lot of bullshit involved with Being Derek Jeter that wouldn’t be as fun. Stuff that doesn’t get glamorized or reported in TMZ or whatever. Regardless, I definitely don’t think it’d be worth giving up Ages 20-38. I’m only 28 now, and stuff doesn’t work as well as it used to. Recovering from exercise is harder now. Joints get sore where 5 years ago they didn’t. And that’s not even getting into all of the awesome experiences I’ve had being in college and the like. I really can’t imagine it being worth it. (Plus, just being alive that much less really seems like it’d suck. Being alive is awesome, man!)
Depends on what makes him happy.
By the time I’m 38, I really hope that I’m married and settled down. But he clearly has different priorities.
Hmm, imagine that on Braves Journal: An experiential and visceral dream has been supplanted by a relative age performance thought experiment. Proof positive that the SABR types here come by it honestly.
Nice start, Kris. Get him some runs, Braves.
Runs are still in scarce supply.
100- Looking at the responses, Jeff, I’d say there’s more than one kind of “performance” being considered.
.158 BA w/ RISP in September, according to the broadcast. That can’t be right. There’s no way it’s that high.
And Heyward got jobbed. Not that it surprises me.
I, for one, will welcome our robot umpiring overlords, just as soon as MLB implements them.
I think that because Jason is all legs it leads to him getting called out incorrectly more often than the average player.
Just wow, Meds.
This thread is incredible, y’all. I’m guffawing.
(I definitely wouldn’t trade places with him, either.)
Freddie!
i know im late to the party, but am I the only one who thinks Detwiler looks like Ashton Kutcher?
Hey, a run!
Sit the old dudes and play the kids.
Chip Caray and his endless Cub references. Medlen is not Kerry Wood moron.
Joe forgot that Medlen had 12 strikeouts in a complete game like 2 starts ago. “A new career high!”
Unfortunately, our broadcasters have been better than our offense.
Been out of the country for a few days. Medlen and a great thread, what a way to come home.
Then this game should look familiar, Joe.
Heyward’s had a lot of almost-homers lately.
This game is a showcase for the two players we all knew when the season started would be the most important on the team: Kris Medlen and Andrelton Simmons.
That went a long way to the off field.
Have the Braves scored more than one run in an inning this week? In a game?
They scored two on Wednesday… right before the Brewers scored eight, so that wasn’t much help. But yes, our last multirun inning was the seventh inning on Saturday. That’s 45 innings ago.
Kris Medlen, have a game.
Anyone else expect we’ll lose this game next half-inning?
This team sucks so hard right now. Except for Minor and Medlen.
Vroom.
I fear Meds’s streak may end tonight.
Freddie Freeman outran Zimmerman? Holt cripes!
Holy cripes!
Uggla needs to go back to the bench.
You know what? I dislike Uggla more than I do Fredi. He’s easily my least favorite Brave since Melky. Go away, Uggla.
Kimbrel! More holy cripes!
Kimbrel doing Kimbrel things.
I’d probably switch lives with Kimbrel
Me too! (But I’d also switch with Jeter.)
A-B-E for the win!
I’ll take it
Meds’ streak continues; Braves win! Braves win!
Wow. You weren’t kidding with the A-B-E baseball.
Was that 20 wins in a row on Medlen starts? In any case it counts. Would be nice if the offense would help out a bit and not leave the pitchers feeling like they are doing a high wire act every single night.
Kimbrel’s got our last two wins. On one hand, that shows the goofiness of the win stat, but he sure deserves them.
I’d say Medlen deserved this one.
I am completely bereft at not having followed this thread during the game for fear of plagiarizing while writing the recap.
Business socks – that’s priceless.
Wow, our offense really sucks.
DOOOOOOOOOMMMMMEEEEDDD!!!
Gotta luv you some Medlen magic. Brave’s pulse continues to beat. Braves need some Viagra to find their wood.
@144 – Perhaps they should all trade places with Derek Jeter…
Just sayin’.
Justin Verlander is second in the MLB in strikeouts, with 212. He’s pitched 210.1 innings.
Craig Kimbrel has 101 strikeouts. He’s pitched 54.1 innings.
Craig Kimbrel has nearly 1/2 of the strikeouts as Justin Verlander has tallied, in just over 1/4 of the number of innings as Verlander has pitched. That is all.
Medlen rules.
Kimbrel rules.
A-B-E… it works again.
FYI Medlen’s 8 called third strikes are the most in the majors this year. The 20 straight wins in his starts is the longest streak since Clemens with the Yankees in ’01, and the fourth longest since 1920. Kris Effing Medlen!
My first Braves game in DC!
I got to watch the last couple innings in a bar downtown that was fully tricked out in DC Sports stuff (mostly Caps, though also some Nats stuff). I kept my excitement as subtle as I could. 😀
“You’ve got to tip your hat to Medlen,” said Washington manager Davey Johnson.
Goddamned right, you do.
Recapped by spike.