Quarterly report, the position players, misc.

The greatest mystery of the Braves season so far? B.J. Upton was intentionally walked once!?!

If Jordan Schafer, in his next 79 plate appearances, reached base four times, that would exactly match BJ’s on-base performance so far. We all assume — hope — BJ will crank it up soon. We search desperately for signs, for green shoots of growth as Ben Bernanke once said re the economy. But we find few shoots. Take last night: a couple strikeouts, a popup. Hey, he hit a hard grounder to the second baseman!. It’s a hackneyed trick, but if you divide his average annual salary by four, as we’re a fourth through the season, BJ has been paid nearly $200,000 per hit.  On the other hand, his defense has been generally good, though not outstanding. He’s lollygagged in backing up a couple balls off the wall in right field, and booted a ball here and there. Watching Andruw all those years spoiled us.

B.J. Upton: F

Fan Uggla. CB and I attended last night. Had a blast. After Uggla’s potentially game-wrecking blunder, it dawned on me that any time he has to think in the field, he’s flummoxed. Bouncer near the baseline. Runner approaching. Try to quickly grab the ball, tag the runner and get two? Or take your time, field and throw to first for the sure out? Eh. Fan just kicks it. I have no data to support this, but it seems any time he has to hurry or make a decision defensively, he flubs it. Oh, yeah. He’s struck out fully a third of his plate appearances. His OPS is worse than Julio Teheran’s. This weird notion that he has somehow been a bargain, always absurd, is now as logical as Dennis Rodman’s views on North Korea. He, Uggla not Rodman, is tied for second on the team with 7 homers, so that saves him from an F.

Fan Uggla: D-

On to more pleasant stuff. Andrelton Simmons so far has been pedestrian with the stick, though he will no doubt improve.  His OBP and OPS are worse than Fan’s. But he puts the damn ball in play and his offense will come. Now. Defense. Simmons has no errors. Repeat. None. At shortstop. His defensive WAR is best in the league. Beyond that, the guy is a virtuoso, a pleasure to watch. He’s the anti-Uggla, always under control, never panicked or unsure. On a possible double play grounder, the baseball spends less than a millisecond in his glove. And of course, he has an arm like Kimbrel. He is already the best defensive shortstop in Atlanta Braves history, and maybe franchise history. I can’t comment on Milwaukee and Boston.

Andrelton: A-

J-Hey. He’s off to a woeful start, yes, but unlike BJ, J-Hey shows hopeful signs. In his first game back last night, he sprayed line drives all over the field. And his defense has been excellent, as always.

Heyward: C/Incomplete

I generally like the local organ columnist Jeff Schultz, but it bugs me that he writes five columns about the NFL draft for every one he does about the Braves. One in the offseason warned of the dangers of trading a sure thing in Prado for a question mark in J. Upton. Maybe that’s why Schultz never writes about baseball. This isn’t about Schultz, and I hate picking on newspaper guys, since I used to be one and that is a hell of a tough road these days. But had to get that off my chest. Anyway,  JU is a legit MVP talent, and we knew that before this season. Now that he’s content and healthy, he’s the best thing to hit Hank Aaron Drive since Hank Aaron’s drives. Well, maybe since Chipper in his prime. J. Upton’s defense has been fine, if not quite stellar. There’s that.

Justin: A

Freeman. Little to quibble with here. He only has two homers but he’s hitting .299 with a .380 OBP. His defense has been rock solid. He is hitting .324 with a .925 OPS vs. lefties. It’s only 40 PAs, but still.

Freddie: B

McCann: Incomplete. He has come out mashing, but he’s barely played. Let’s hope he rampages to the finish and snags a big contract from an AL team that is not Boston or New York.

Chris Johnson, which translates roughly to pleasant surprise. He has more total bases than Uggla in 39 fewer plate appearances, and WAY more than BJ. He’s cooled, yes. But he has hit and his defense has been better than advertised. Plus, what a cool guy to petition the official scorer to charge him with an error.

C. Johnson: A (given expectation)

Juan Francisco. Juan’s been OK, but he’s solidified his rep as a guy who takes a slow-pitch softball hitter’s plate approach. He has struck out more often, per plate appearance, than Uggla or BJ, for God’s sake. That, and he sometimes throws like Fred McGriff (Badly). In fairness, Juan’s grand slam in Cincy was one of the season’s more important hits, sealing a win the day after Kimbrel’s back-to-back homer blown save.

Francisco: C+

Evan Gattis. One of the best stories we’ve had since, I don’t know, Otis? That is, before Otis became pathetic and despicable. Gattis has been a bolt of excitement, but add it up and he’s only reaching base 29 percent of the time. Nevertheless, he should continue to be a thunderous weapon off the bench and behind the dish now and then. (Fredi, Teheran can throw to Gattis.) Finally, Evan’s defense at catcher has been good.

Gattis: B+

Schafer: A

Ramiro Pena: B+

Reed Johnson: B

Laird: B

Miscellaneous

Game day stuff: It’s never going to change. CB and I decided last night that Turner Field is equipped with a computer that determines the mass appeal of every sound emitted by a human or machine. When Billy Idol is the most interesting music all night, well….

Meanwhile, the only original element to the presentation, the organist, has been banished to a couple of riffs a game during visits to the mound. Shame on you, Braves marketing people.

Oh, and yesterday I had to make two trips to the Turner Field Box office. It’s supposed to open at 9, I arrived about 9:05 and stood around with two other guys for about 20 minutes before I had to leave. They still had not opened. I came back later. The attendant didn’t realize June 28 was Chipper’s number retirement game. Speaking of, you can’t buy tickets to that game only. You have to also buy tickets for three other games too. I’m going to see a lot more than three additional games, but damned if I want the Braves marketing staff dictating which games I attend.

So, all that stuff: D

Open Thread, 5.6, Bravos vs. the Ed Armbristers

Dammit, Otis. We love you, but you’re pushing it. Blaming your son? That’s low. In case you didn’t see it, Otis got busted for the 48th time, with crack and a crack pipe. Said it belonged to his son.

Moving on, the home team begins another long, meandering roadie versus the tough Reds at their theme (ball) park. I hate that place. On TV, at least, it looks like a tarted up retro ballpark with a steamboat attached. And there’s that stupid gap in the upper deck behind the infield. It’s the worst of the throwback yards.

A mediocre Bahamian player with a cool name

Los Bravos will face Brsnson Arroyo. Meh. He’s OK. Capable of dominating. Capable of being horse whipped. Maholm, meanwhile, returned to his solid ways last time out. Who knows what can happen? The Reds are very good at home.

This long, winding road trip could get nasty. The Braves need to get some offense from up and down the lineup. Freeman appears to be heating up right on time. Mac is back in the lineup tonight, which I assume means we’ll have one of the game’s best pinch hitters available in Gattis. (Lineups aren’t posted as I type.)  It’s always nice to win a series opener, and this one would be especially nice to win. After three in Cincy, it’s four at the co-best (with Pittsburgh) of the retro stadiums. Unfortunately, the team the Braves will play there is good. I’ll hope for better, but I’d settle for 5-5 on this trip. Since when do teams have two 10-game trips in the first five weeks of a season?

Open Thread, 5.2, Bravos vs. the Saul Riveras

Maybe, just maybe tonight is the night B.J. busts out. In 31 at-bats against Dan Haren, who’s given up bushels of hits this year, the elder Upton has hit .323 with five round trippers.

Nondescript righty throws a pitch with his shirt all puffed up.

The bad news is Haren pitched reasonably well last time out. More good news: I suspect Medlen’s due for a good one. He’s been OK so far, with an ERA of 3.26 but a high (for him) WHIP of 1.35 and an uncomfortable number of belt-high pitches around the heart of the plate. Those occasional location problems are due to change, starting this evening.

The Natspos’ lineup is not yet available. It’ll be interesting to see if Harper’s playing after being removed from last night’s game with an owie. Here’s the Braves’ starting nine:

1. RF: Jordan Schafer
2. 3B: Chris Johnson
3. LF: Justin Upton
4. 1B: Freddie Freeman
5. C:   Evan Gattis
6. 2B: Dan Uggla
7. CF: B.J. Upton
8. SS: Andrelton Simmons
9. SP: Kris Medlen

Open Thread, 5/1, Braves vs. the Woodie Frymans, or Frymen

Often mistaken for a corrupt Alabama sheriff

A win tonight would almost feel like a bonus.

Zimmerman has been the Nats’ best starter so far. Maholm struggled last time out, so that suggests he’ll rebound tonight. Or maybe he’s about to have a two- or three-game slump. After all, Maholm is a decent pitcher but his career ERA is 4.24.

Anyway, isn’t J-Up due to go deep? It’s been, what, three games since his last circuit clout? And maybe Schafer will wreak mayhem again. This team looks like it’s going to be streaky. The good vibe is back. So who knows how far they’ll take it?

Open Thread, 4.24, Braves vs. David Nieds

Sorry to be late to the game. Huddy struggled early, giving up back-to-back long balls in the second. But he rebounded nicely with a quick 1-2-3 third. A two-run lead, of course, is nothing at Coors.

So far the bats are silent but that’s unlikely to last. Andrelton is resting, and that’s all it is, according to Powell. He’s not hurt. Pena’s leading off at short, Schafer’s in right. J-Up up as I type.

Whack. Line drive single. He’s 2-for-2. Now if his brother will get going.

 

Open Thread, Bravos vs. the Ernie “the Cat” Ladds

How ’bout ya, Real Big Cat?

Heading out to the yard in a couple hours. I can’t wait. In the past few seasons, a Wednesday afternoon game vs. a team of the Royals’ ilk would draw 15,000. I’m thinking we’ll see double that today. Hope so.

As of this writing — about 9:45 — the lineups aren’t posted. But the home nine will face average right hander Wade Davis. He had a nice season in relief last year for Tampa Bay. His first two outings this season have been pedestrian. He allowed four earned in four IP his first time out, and then pitched five scoreless but wobbly frames in his last start against the woeful Twins. The Braves are a slightly different animal.

Minor toes for the home team. In 17 starts since June 30, 2012, he has allowed more than 3 earned runs once. He’s been pretty good lately.

Writing of the Brave animal as I did paragraph before last, CB passes along that Buster Lonely, er Olney, says J. Upton’s eight homers have traveled an average of 422 feet. He is raking, crushing it, tearing the cover off the ball, pillaging, ransacking, laying waste, etc.

Open Thread, 4.12, Bravos vs. Boots Days

Fredi is innovating. He wants the veteran Laird to catch the rookie Teheran, which makes some sense. But rather than remove Gattis’ thundering bat from the lineup, Fredi is starting El Oso Blanco at first base and batting him clean-up.

I like the move. Obviously you’d like to win the first game of any series, especially one against the division favorites. A series against the Natspos in April is fun, not nerve-wracking like it would be in September.

So enjoy.

Duane checks in

Fingers crossed!

I see where Mr. Frank Spin, um I mean Wren, is telling Mark Bradford from the local outlet that everything is just fine. Might be the best team he’s put together. One question for Mr. Spin. Has he watched the first two ballgames? Yo, Frank. We’re 0-2, big man. Made a shitpot of errors yesterday that would make a tee-ball team look good.

I know. I can hear you guys now. “Duane, it’s spring training. Means nothing.”

That’s loser thinking. In opposed to that, here’s Duane thinking: Send a message. Make a statement. Get after their asses. NOW. This year it’s more important than ever. Chipper’s gone. It’s a new day. So far that day feels like a rainy, crappy Monday.

Sure there’s time to turn things around. But winners implement a mindtality right away. So Fredi needs to play his starters and win. I ain’t ready to say today is a must win, but it’s time to get off the goose egg.

Speaking of winning, some of you might be interested to know that your favorite Forest Parker — that’d be me — is turning things around. I joined a church down near Eagle’s Landing and Pastor Luke there is really inspirating me. He says anything’s possible in life or in the weight room with JC on your side. Brenda’s even thinking about giving me another chance. Keep your fingers crossed and pray for ole DFFP.

Go Braves!

NY Times makes the case for Murph

Nice piece by baseball scribe Tyler Kepner on Murph’s last chance to be voted into Cooperstown before going to the veteran’s committee. The story points out a couple interesting factors not often considered in HOF debates, including this:

The ballot lists integrity, sportsmanship and character among the factors for voters to consider. Chad Murphy says that if voters apply the clause to keep some players out, they should also use it to let others in.

…and this:

But if offense had not exploded as it did in his retirement, Murphy might have had a better chance. As steroid users enhanced their records, they seemingly diminished those from the previous era.

Hanson to Angels for reliever

According to Heyman, the Braves dealt Hanson to the Orange County LA Angels for a relief pitcher named Jordan Walden. I know nothing about Walden, but he had 32 saves in 2011 and was hurt part of last season.

Sounds like a trade of an out-of-whack starter for a similarly troubled reliever, maybe. The Braves save a chunk of money, which presumably — we hope — will be spent on a left fielder or third baseman. We shall see.

UPDATE: O’Brien types that the deal frees $4 million to chase a left fielder, and that “is the reason for the deal.”

Losing Hanson does no harm. Amazing how far his stock fell, though, from one of baseball’s top young starters 3-4 years ago to this.

Could Scott Thorman be far behind?

Everyone’s favorite .211-hitting, PED-using centerfielder is coming back! Yep, the Braves, for some reason, have picked up Jordan Schafer off waivers from Houston.

I’m going to assume this is one of those what-the-hell-nothing-to-lose moves. If this is any indication of how we’re going to replace Bourn, we shudder. It can’t be. Then again, we replaced Greg Maddux with John Thomson. That was different, one spot of five. We only play one center fielder.

If Schafer opens 2013 in center field for the Braves, I’ll read a book by Sean Hannity. I’d sooner eat the carpet under my desk chair than read a book by Sean Hannity.

In other matters, good moves to pick up the options of McCann, Huddy and Maholm. McCann will make a chunk of money. But you’re highly unlikely to find anyone better for next season. Keep him one more year, and Bethancourt should be ready for 2014. Meantime, work to sign Heyward and Freeman long-term, now.

Open Thread, Wildcard Friday, 10.5, Bravos vs. Joaquin Andujars

Yeah, if Medlen just keeps doing what he’s been doing, the Braves will have a great chance to win. But this one-game playoff business is loopy. It’s like a two-minute job interview or awarding the Oscars based on the trailers.

Honestly, I’ll be glad when it’s over, one way or another. I rationalize this time of year and tell my brain, “Brain, if the Braves lose, at least I won’t be held captive all month by the playoff schedules.” Which is true. But then the other part of my brain figures out that I’m rationalizing, preparing myself for a soft landing in case we lose.

Ah, well. It’ll be an interesting day at the yard. An early run or two will do wonders, for my state of mind, anyway. Good thing I’m not playing. A, because I’m 48 years old and would be the worst player in major league history. B, because I’d be as jumpy as a damn squirrel on the side of the street that might or might not run out in front of your car.

I’m rambling. I’ll ramble a little more. I expect to see the best atmosphere at a Braves game in many a year, maybe since the mid’90s. I remember how at postseason games in the early ’90s, Braves starting pitchers would get huge cheers when they walked from the bullpen to the dugout. I’m thinking that happens today. So if the crowd plays any role, it can only help.

Go Braves! Go Meds! Keep Chipper’s career alive!

 

Open Thread, 10.2, Braves vs. John Candelarias

As expected, most regulars will rest tonight. This looks like a spring training lineup:

Bourn cf, Pastornicky 2b, Simmons ss, Overbay 1b, Ross c, Francisco 3b, Baker rf, Constanza lf, Hanson p

Dude, wanna burn one?

I completely agree with this approach. Yes, the bats need to get going. But a breather will probably help as much as anything. As for Hanson, I suspect he has little to no shot of making the postseason roster should the Braves win Friday. No way he’s on the Friday roster. If we get to the LDS, my roster guess would be:

Pitchers: Medlen, Hudson, Minor, Maholm, Kimbrel, O’Flaherty, Moylan, Avilan, Durbin, Venters, and C. Martinez.

Infielders: Chipper, Francisco, Simmons, Uggla, Freeman and Baker.

Catchers: McCann, Ross and Boscan.

Outfielders: Prado, Bourn, Heyward, Johnson, Constanza.

If Hinske had done anything lately, I might take him over Constanza. But Hinske has been awful, as has Overbay. So Francisco is your left-handed power off the bench, along with McCann if Ross is starting. Constanza, of course, also gives you an excellent pinch runner and outfield defense. I carry Boscan to free up Ross/McCann to pinch hit. There’s no backup first baseman, you say? The Renaissance Man, Martin, can handle that if needed.

I think this is the roster I’d use. Fredi probably will, too, or something very similar. The only variation I could see would be keeping either Hinske or Overbay and maybe losing Baker or Constanza. Or leaving off Boscan and keeping Hinske or Overbay. He might also carry Gearrin and lose Boscan, Baker or Constanza.

As for Friday’s roster, I’d use the one above but leave off Maholm and add Gearrin, I guess.

Open Thread, 10.1, Bravos vs. the Tike Redmans

Sure, we’re three out with three to play. But as some have mentioned, tying for the division title would be a high-risk proposition. Win the Thursday one-game playoff with the Nats and, fine, you get a day off and play either the Nats again or the Cardinals on the road the first two games, Sunday and Monday.

Lose, and you have to turn around, fly back to Atlanta and play the do-or-die wild card game the next day, with one more starting pitcher spent and a less rested pen.

Probably won’t matter. Chances are we’ll lose one or the Nats will win one of the next three. Nevertheless, you play to win. That’s Fredi’s plan for tonight, anyway. Chipper’s in the lineup for the seventh straight day. I figured he’d rest tonight. But it’s not like playing a week of games is a Herculean task.

I suspect No. 10 will rest tomorrow night. I was kinda hoping he’d sit tonight.

Instead, he and his mates face former Bravo minor leaguer Jeff Locke. He went to Pirateland in the McLouth trade. Locke has been bad in four of five starts, but he is left handed. Maybe it’s good to work on hitting southpaws one more time before the playoff(s.)

One of our lefties, Maholm, toes ye slab this evening. It would be good to see him author another solid start heading into the playoff(s), assuming he will be the fourth starter, assuming we use four starters.

Speaking of October, it might be better to play the Natspos rather than the Redlegs in the LDS. Washington has lately looked wobbly, in the words of our old friend and northern Virginia resident (but Atlanta native) Larvell Capra. The DC pen is in some flux — Clippard’s lost the closer’s job — and the rotation has been shaky behind Gonzalez and Zimmerman.

Like CB, I thought Friday night’s Chipper salute was first-rate. I particularly enjoyed the video clips from old Bravos like Otis and Eddie Perez. And Roadrunner, as far as the “hype” around Chipper being the best Atlanta Brave, there’s certainly an argument. Yes, Maddux was a better player and so, obviously, was Henry. But the length of time in Atlanta and, especially I think, Chipper spending his entire career in the organization adds a dimension that makes his career here more special than Maddux’s years here, or Glavine’s or Smoltz’s. Henry spent more than half his career in Milwaukee, and came to the bigs there. As for Niekro, I think Chipper has been a better player than Knucksie was a pitcher. I love Phil, but that’s my opinion.

Finally, as for MLB being effective marketers, I don’t think they are. MLB has poorly marketed its product and particularly the players.  The freakish looking robot-humanoid things on Fox a couple years ago, the crappy celebrities (Dane Cook) plugging the postseason, etc. MLB has done little in recent years to push its stars. Plus, I don’t think MLB had anything to do with the Chipper tributes here or elsewhere. Clubs did that on their own.

Open Thread, 9.28, Chipper Night

Random musings about the greatest Atlanta Brave:

• I first saw Chipper play at Macon’s Luther Williams Field in 1991. Appropriate. Seeing a future franchise treasure at a treasure of an old ballpark. The 19-year-old Chipper was in his second season as a pro. Erratic at shortstop, there was never any doubting his wizardry with a bat. I’m no baseball scout. But it was plain to anyone who’d swung a bat or watched many others swing: this kid had a Tony Gwynn-type ability to consistently put the meat of the bat on the ball. It showed. Chipper hit .326 in Macon that year, and .346 in Greenville the next season.

• In March, 1994, the rangy kid Jones was flying around left field in Fort Lauderdale against the Yankees. He radiated joy and skill. He homered and, I believe, doubled that night before crumpling to the ground trying to avoid a first baseman’s tag on an errant throw from shortstop. That first baseman: the despicable Leyritz, who seriously should probably be in prison. After the game, a friend asked Ernie Johnson Jr. about Chipper. Bad news.

• Opening Day, 1995. CB and I sat in a FulCo that was not close to full after the players’ strike. No matter. We watched the rookie Chipper, now playing third base, hit third, single in a run in his first at-bat and later knock in another run and get another hit. Those were his third and fourth big league hits. Chipper would hit .265, with 23 HR and 86 RBI. He hit .364 in that championship postseason, and made several glittering defensive plays at third. Come to think of it, how many Hall of Fame players, or any players for that matter, played three different positions so early in their careers? Not many, I’d guess.

• Chipper hit at least 20 homers and drove in at least 100 runs for the next eight seasons. He stole double-digit bases in five of those years.

• Everyone knows Chipper buried the Mets in 1999. The Braves, of course, won the East and then dispatched the wildcard winning New York in the NLCS. The numbers were remarkable, though: in 12 games vs. the Mets, Chipper hit .400, with a .510 OBP, 7 homers and 16 RBI. Slugging percentage: 1.000, meaning he had 40 total bases in 40 at-bats. Let that sink in. In six games that effectively buried the Mets — the Braves went 5-1 — Chipper hit 7 homers, knocked in 12, scored 11 runs, hit .473 and reached base 60 percent of the time.

• I don’t have time for an exhaustive list of Chipperthoughts here. We’ll keep those coming. But I’d just add to the recent list the two walk-offs against the Phillies. And, in recent years especially, his candor and thoughtfulness about baseball have made him an always interesting interview. (Here, O’Brien calls him the most pleasant player to deal with he has ever covered.) Finally, in all his years, he never came close to even threatening to leave the Braves. Some of that, no doubt, is because the Braves always made signing him a priority. But Chipper never once made any noises, that I can recall, about even considering playing elsewhere. Yeah, he had his share of injuries. Yes, his candor got him into a little PR trouble at times. And, yes, he had youthful indiscretions. Who among us wouldn’t if taken out of our small hometown and handed seven figures and a glamorous lifestyle? Chipper, farewell, friend. Thanks for all you’ve done for our beloved Bravos. We will dearly miss you.

• Oh, yeah. Huddy pitches tonight against Jon Niese. We hope Bourn plays. We hope the Braves win. We hope Chipper goes yard, just like — as Maddux said at his number-retirement ceremony — old times against the Mets.

Open Thread, 9.27, Braves vs. Todd Dunwoodys

The most interesting subplot tonight is how Hanson pitches. One has to figure that after Maholm’s work last night, odds are against Tommy starting in the postseason. The only way I could see Hanson getting a postseason start, short of an injury to someone else,  is for him to go out and absolutely dominate in his last two starts.

That seems unlikely.

That’s the man with the same name as the Atlanta suburb in the middle of all that grass, in front of all those empty seats. Man, that was a charming baseball park.

Bourn is out again tonight, as Constanza starts in center and leads off. CB noted that he’s getting a little concerned about Mike B. Yeah, let’s hope he gets a few games in before the WC tilt next Friday. We need ya, Mikey!

Here’s a cool clip from our friends (in an Interweb-we-like-their-Braves-references-and-stole-their-chief-photo way) The Black Lips. Interestingly, they have been touring in Egypt, Iraq and other places in the Middle East.

*** PS. I don’t sense the dread that used to accompany every late September as the Braves prepared for another playoff appearance. For one, most of the guys on this team have never endured one of those dreadful Octobers. (I don’t really count 2010 as dreadful. That team did about as well as could have been hoped.) Two, this club appears to be having fun and is playing well as the season ends. They might not win it all. Heck, might lose the one-game wild card round. But I truly don’t believe the 2012 Braves are burdened by that yoke of past failures as they head into postseason ball.

What y’all think?

Open Thread, 9.25, Braves vs. the nemesis of Hemingway’s Old Man

The blue marlin is a beautiful and noble fish. They reach up to 14 feet long and nearly 2,000 pounds. They can live to be about 30 years old. They follow warm currents, sometimes migrating thousands of miles. In The Old Man and the Sea, the fisherman battles a marlin.

On the other hand, the baseball team that has taken this majestic creature’s name is not nearly as interesting. But they are in town tonight to open the season’s last homestand.

Nathan Eovaldi, who at 22 is younger, one presumes, than many marlin swimming the seas, pitches tonight for the first time since bamboozling the Bravos a week ago. I’m guessing that doesn’t happen again. Unfortunately for Eovaldi, Kris “MedDog” Medlen is pitching for the home team. As CB and I have typed, I’d almost like to see Meds lose one now, since it seems inevitable and it’d be best to get it out of the way now rather than in the playoffs.

I won’t be attending any of the three against Florida, er Miami, but I hope good crowds turn out. The Mets series this weekend is nearly sold out, reportedly. CB and I will be there for the Chipper fete on Friday night. Should be fun.

Let’s also hope Bourn is back in there tonight and swinging well.  (UPDATE: R. Johnson is starting in Bourn’s place.) His two-hit game in Philly was an enormously welcome sign. He’s probably the biggest key to the offense in the playoffs.

Open Thread, Sept. 21, Bravos vs. Barry Lersches

Once traded to the Braves, but never played for the Braves

Any series against the Phils can be scary, even though they’ve fallen miles short of expectations and shed a third of their team. Still have to face Halladay and Lee on Saturday and Sunday.

Plus, Kendrick, tonight’s starter, has pitched well lately and always pitches well against the Braves. On the upside, the Braves are a better team. Hanson, tonight’s hurler, has pitched reasonably well lately. Now if he could just throw more than six damn innings. And if Bourn could just get a couple hits.

Frankly, there’s virtually no chance the Braves don’t make the playoffs. But you want to go in clicking, obviously. Snuffing out the Phils’ faint hopes would be a good step in that direction.

 

Med Dog, meet Mad Dog and Gibby

Medlen is on about as good a run as any Atlanta Braves pitcher ever, maybe any pitcher ever. After some (admittedly limited) research, I found a similar stretch composed by the master himself in 1994, and another super-human streak by Bob Gibson. That was perhaps Maddux’s best year. He was 16-6 — hard to figure how he lost six games, as he allowed more than 3 earned runs once in 25 starts — with a 1.56 ERA.

He posted a sub-2 ERA the next season, too.

Anyway, in 8 starts during July and August of 1994, Doggie pitched five complete games, with a .93 ERA, and allowed a .182 batting average. His record in that period was 6-2.

Medlen’s run this season has been even better than that by some measures. As commenters mentioned, he’s 8-0 in 10 starts, with a .76 ERA, a .195 opponents batting average, and a .821 WHIP.  He has completed “only” two games, but could easily have gone nine last night. Fredi, wisely I think, is careful to keep him fresh. Plus, Medlen was on a pitch count in his first couple starts as he was coming from the bullpen.

Maddux, of course, did his finest work at the height of the steroid era. I don’t think either of these guys has been tainted, but as a sign of the times, in 1994 Matt Williams — nice player but he never hit 40 HR in another season — and Frank Thomas — likely a first-ballot Hall of Famer — were both threatening Roger Maris’ season home run record when the strike hit.

In an entirely different era, Bob Gibson fashioned a jaw-dropping streak. In June-July 1968, he pitched 12 straight complete game wins, including eight shutouts, with a .50 ERA.

What Medlen is doing is nearly as impressive as what Gibson did. Of course, Gibson essentially pitched that way for an entire season.  Then again, the overall MLB ERAs in these three seasons add perspective:

1968: 2.98; so Gibby’s run was 2.48 under that

1994: 4.48, Mad Dog’s run was 3.55 under

2012: 3.99, MedDog’s run is 3.23 under.

Keep it up, MedDog.

Open Thread, 9.19, Bravos vs. Joe Klinks

Med Dog. Little Doggie. Kris Medlen.

He’s pitching tonight, which of course means the Braves will almost certainly win. That streak obviously has to end. Next season would be a good time. I’d almost rather it end before the playoffs, figuring if it doesn’t happen during the regular season it’ll surely happen in the postseason.

Nevertheless, I don’t want the Braves to lose tonight. Josh Johnson throws the ball fast and with good control. He’s hard to hit. The Braves usually don’t hit him much. Should be a pitchers duel. So it’ll probably end up 10-8.

On another topic, you all probably know that wild card teams can set their 25-man roster for the play-in game, and then reset it for the division series. Therefore, the Braves (and the other team) won’t need to have but one, maybe two starting pitchers for the WC game. You could carry a second in case you need relief very early.

We can carry extra relievers, hitters or some of both. A guy from FanGraphs proposes starting Kimbrel, pitching him for two inning and using relievers all the way, theorizing that relievers are generally better than starters.

Could work. But no way Fredi’ll do that. I wouldn’t start Kimbrel. I wouldn’t want to have someone else close. But there’s something to be said for making sure you use your best weapon. I’d start Medlen and obviously have a quick hook, and go to Kimbrel with a lead, a tie or even a small deficit in the 8th, depending on the pinch-hitting situation. It’ll literally be a must win, so you can’t manage it like a regular game. There’s an off day after the WC game, so no need to worry about wearing out relievers in that game. Not that there would be, anyway, since it’s do-or-die.

The game adds some excitement, to be sure, but it pretty much bastardizes baseball. It’s not a sport where you are supposed to have to win every game, just most games.