Atlanta Braves 2010 thread

Billy Wagner looked like a young Billy Wagner last night. I'm so glad they have him and not Mike Gonzalez this year. Mike blew yet another game in Baltimore's loss to Tampa the other night. Wagner's fastball was consistently touching 97-98 mph last night, and he dropped his slider in at around 83-85 mph. That's just filthy! I just hope his arm holds up as the season progresses, and if they bring Craig Kimbrel up at some point, I hope Billy takes him under his wing.

 

The Bullpen in general is solid. Moylan is his old, consistent self. And Medlen is showing he's a reliable long relief/middle inning guy who can get people out. Not to mention Wags is stone cold in the 9th. If Saito can return to form, and EOF can get out lefties, this could be one of the better pen's in the NL.

 

I just hope we never have to use JoJo Reyes. I can't figure out why they haven't included that guy in a trade yet. He's always going to tease them with his stuff, and when the lights go on, he gets lit up like a Christmas tree.

 

My guess is the first time we're down by at least 3 runs going into the 7th or 8th, JoJo will get the call. Same with Chavez.

 

Glaus is starting as slowly as LaRoche always did, maybe worse, so it's looking like a pointless move at this point. I'm having a hard time figuring out why Melky Cabrera is getting more playing time than Matt Diaz. I hope Bobby rethinks things a little after getting blanked by the mighty Cubs pitching staff last night. They got eight hits somehow without getting a run in.

 

Well, hitting into two DP's with men on third and less than two outs will do it. They were horrible with RISP, which was really the difference in the game.

Too bad, because aside from two Home Run balls, Hanson was really unhittable.

Oh well, 2 out of 3 is ok to start the season. Although, shocker, Chipper is hurt and may miss the entire SF series.

 

With the injuries starting this soon I think I'm going to be shocked if Chipper has a good enough season to come back next year.

 

That was a tough loss today. They had several opportunities to win and didn't do it. It is like last season all over again with stranded baserunners and missed opportunities. Their pitching was very good though. Wagner simply picked the wrong batter to make a mistake pitch to. He might have gotten away with it with a few of the other guys.

 

I couldn't believe Wagner grooved that pitch like he did.......and from the look on his face when it was hit, he couldn't either.

I did think the Ump's strike zone was kinda tight....Hudson painted the corner a couple times on Rentera in his next to last at bat where he pulled a double down the line.

Anyways...tough loss

Can't be stranding runners like that

 

Yeah, Wagner put that on a platter. I think I could have drove that to the outfield. There were a few the ump wasn't calling pretty close to the knees so he was keeping the zone fairly high. I also noticed he was making the zone very wide on the outside of the plate [for lefties]. He was consistently calling strikes off the plate there all day. The Giants stranded a lot of runners as well. One good thing from that game was the bullpen, they were gutsy to say the least. Moylan and Medlen both managed to pitch out of some big time trouble at certain points. The way Moylan went after Renteria and got the K when he could have put him on first was beautiful. I admit I was sitting here yelling for them to stop being crazy and put him on the base and go after Panda. If you like excellent pitching these are two clubs you definitely want to be watching. I think when it came down to it the short rest and being on the road was too much for Atlanta as the game wore on.

 

Nice to see J-Hey get back on track last night. If he starts taking walks and driving the ball the other way (and hitting lefties), watch out.

 

Yeah that was a pretty good opposite field knock that barely cleared the wall. Not bad at all. A three hit night was just what the doctor ordered for the kid. Today he gets to go up against Lincecum.

 

I really hope they don't have problems finishing up series like they have had the past couple of seasons....

 

They dropped another one. They just can't win in that park. Heyward hit another opposite field homer though. ESPN.com has it as 382 feet to left field. Unfortunately I didn't actually see the game because of the rain delay.

 

The Rain Delay thing sucks. I'd be pissed if I actually paid for Extra Innings and then couldn't see the game.

 

I'm watching the Gwinnet Braves tonight, getting my first chance to see Freddie Freeman play this year. I'll let y'all know what I think after the game.

 

The Braves are getting destroyed and will soon be under .500. I wasn't thrilled to see them head out west almost right away this season. It's clearly having an effect. Or they are worse than we thought they'd be. JJ gave up 8 earned runs in 3 1/3, but here's the shocking part: JoJo Reyes came in and gave up 6. I don't think I've ever seen such a bad outing from JJ. I hope it's not an injury, I didn't see the game.

 

JoJo typically gets shelled when he pitches in a major league game. He's simply not a major league caliber pitcher. When Scott Proctor is ready, JoJo will be sent down or released.

 

Watched Gwinnet tonight. Freddie Freeman appears to be unsure of himself right now. He hit just one ball hard tonight, and it went straight to the second baseman. I think his timing is off right now. His hands and his hips are not coordinated together at this point. What we need to remember is that this is a young player who had only a handful of at bats in AA ball last year, and he's making a big jump in competition.

Craig Kimbrel looks like a right handed Billy Wagner. His fastball is electric, and his slider is a plus pitch. If he learns to take just a little more off his slider, it will be a plus plus pitch. If he ever learns how to spot that electric fastball, he's going to be a dynamic closer in the majors.

Corey Gearrin looks like a potential major league middle releiver. He's a side winder who gets good movement on his pitches.

Mike Dunn was one of the players in the Vasquez trade. Good fastball, but I really didn't see much else out of him. IMO, Arodys Viscaino better be the real deal, or this trade was very bad for the Braves.

 

JJ just didn't have it tonight. It happens. His second start of the year, and remember he had some shoulder issues this spring. Pretty embarassing loss though, to a Padres team that really has trouble scoring runs.

I usually don't get worked up over lopsided losses, they count the same as a 1 run loss, but the offense was abysmal. 4 hits off Kevin Correia? That's horrible. And McLouth is still struggling. It's early, but this is starting to look like the same frustrating offense (aside from Heyward) of the last few years.

 

Two doubles, two more RBIs for Jason Heyward tonight. His second hit the bottom of the wall around left centerfield. His average with RISP at this point has to be ridiculously high.

 

He's an RBI machine. This is why I felt his power number projections were too low. Granted it's still early, but he's always hit with RISP in the minors. Over 162 games, with the way this lineup gets on base (getting guys in is a different story) he's going to have A LOT of chances.

 

I agree. I'm not sure how long you can leave him in the 7th spot with the way he's producing.

 

I was acutally surprised they moved him back to 7th against a righty yesterday. It worked out, as he had a couple RBI's and got to hit with men on base, but I think he's better suited in the 6 hole.

That way you have Chipper, Mac, Glaus, J-Hey. Hell, I'd really like him to hit 5th, but they want Glaus' RH bat in the middle of the order.

 

prado is doing pretty well this year.

 

The pride of Venezuela. Have you heard his quotes? He had me laughing today. Saying that even though he's killing it he "doesn't look good at home plate right now" and basically saying his swing is horrible but he's still getting hits.

 

no but he's only 26 and has a .45 something. I hope he keeps rolling. Right now as far as Im concerned he's mexican.......... at least thats what Im telling people.

 

I'm sure they know their own.

And tonight's Lineup:

Braves lineup: 1. McLouth CF, 2. Prado 2B, 3. Jones 3B, 4. Hinske 1B, 5. Escobar SS, 6. Heyward RF, 7. Cabrera LF, 8. Ross C, 9. Lowe P

I like this lineup much better. Melky is NOT a leafoff hitter. McLouth is hitting way below his body weight, but takes pitches and can get on base via the walk.

I also like Hinske getting a start at 1B. Mac with the night off, but he was due for one.

 

I also like Heyward in the 6 spot, but I don't know much about Hinske, does he really have cleanup power? Maybe tonight would have been a good opportunity to give JHey a tryout in that spot.

 

Hinske is just a solid all-around hitter. Can hit for power, has a nice SLG% and solid OBP. His OPS has always been pretty good as well. I'm really not sure why he ever left Toronto or why he hasn't been an every day player for somebody in quite awhile.

 

Toronto traded him to Boston. Check out his splits vs. LHP, that should tell you all you need to know. Between that, his poor defense and that he's never really been a good hitter vs. RHP just screams bench player. His career OBP, OPS and SLG % are also pretty underwhelming too if he was an everyday player, especially for a player at the corners.

 

Well, I know his career took a turn for the worse in Boston, but he was a solid player in Toronto. Now, it's clear he's a bench player, but when he left Toronto I thought he could've played 3rd for someone full time.

Oh well, we got him now and he's off to a hot start. I love that he can give Glaus a day off every now and again.

 

He's a very useful bench player, no doubt. His problems started in Toronto, he actually fell off in his last year there to the point where the Blue Jay fans boo the crap out of the guy every time he comes back.

I'm trying to remember just how good of a prospect he was coming up. I know he got traded a few times before he broke into the MLB and won the ROTY award. Maybe he just played well over his head in his rookie year so expectations were high on him.

 

LOL at getting no-hot against Jimenez. Dudes a beast, but that was pathetic. 9 runs last night on 13 hits, none tonight. THAT is Braves baseball.

 

He walked six batters. That's got to be the worst no hitter I've ever seen. His velocity is ridiculous but seriously. Their centerfielder robbed Escobar of a hit in the seventh also so had a little bit of help. It was a pretty impressive defensive play. The catcher also picked Kawakami off at second base to end an inning and get him out of trouble when he was walking people like crazy.

 

AJ Burnett walked 9 guys when he threw his no hitter back in 2001, I think that's the record for most guys walked when the pitcher throws a no hitter.

 

Wow, I had no idea, that's a healthy amount of walks. One thing that was impressive about Jimenez' performance was the velocity he maintained throughout. He was still throwing 98 in the 9th inning. I believe his pitch count went up to about 130. And I'm sure it takes a good amount of discipline to stay focused enough to get all of your outs despite all of those walks. I just felt the Braves should have been able to hit the guy. It wasn't like Randy Johnson in 2004.

 

Jason Heyward is truly a special player. If there was any doubt, it's safe to remove it now. Bases loaded, two outs, bottom of the ninth, down by one.. The kid comes in, works the count like an old veteran, and then sends a ground ball rocket into leftfield on a 2-2 count to win the game. That's 15 RBIs for the kid now and his average with RISP is over .700 after this game. You just knew he was going to make something happen. I'm kicking myself for not making a trip over to Atlanta for that game today, I had considered getting tickets a couple of weeks ago. I'll definitely be in the stands for a couple for the next homestand later this month. JJ is back to normal, he pitched a good one but didn't get the run support that seems to be reserved for only Derrick Lowe.