Fredi Haas, with a vengeance

“For us to win this year, we had to have a three-or four-run lead in the eighth inning. A one- or two-run lead, and he was going to mess it up, I guarantee you that.’ Claudell, discussing Fredi, er, Eddie Haas

Bottom of the 9th, tied at 5, no out, Ramiro Pena at second, Reed Johnson at the plate.

A single probably wins the game, but Fredi don’t play that. Good bunt by Reed, but to what end?

I know, Simmons’ walk brought J-Up to the plate, but with two outs — the first of which was gift wrapped by our manager without a clue.

Open thread, 5/3, Braves vs. Bruce Boisclairs

Some consistency would be nice, and the Mets should provide a punching bag for the Bravos.

But Marcum has pitched well against the Braves, Niese is solid and God knows how many hitters Matt Harvey strikes out on Sunday. (Even money on Uggla recording a golden sombrero.)

 

 

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

Likes: Dallas Cowboys, New York Yankees, the wave

What do you wanna bet his favorite director is Michael Bay?

Nats fans keep doing the wave, it’s a beautiful thing! Keep the wave in Nats park! #baseball #keepthewave

— Bryce Harper (@Bharper3407) April 30, 2013

B.J. Uggla

The Braves’ two highest-paid players have been their worst. By far.

DOB shares these distressing stats:

Apparently Uggla is contagious

B.J.‘s .485 OPS ranks 188th out of 192 MLB qualifiers.

(.138 BA, 13 H 94 AB, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 9 BB, 34 K, .219 OBP, .266 slugging)

Uggla, with a .601 OPS, ranks 165th.

(.163 BA, 14 H, 86 AB, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 15 BB, 37 K, .287 OBP, .314 slugging)

The good news? They can’t get much worse. Check that — Uggla has gotten worse each year in Atlanta, so it wouldn’t surprise me if his BA remains south of .200 for the duration of the season.

The bad — really bad — news? The Braves will be paying Uggla through 2015 and B.J. through 2017. Handsomely.

FW has done some great work as GM — the trade for Justin Upton was unquestionably the shrewdest move of the offseason — but his track record on contract extensions and free agent signings remains pitiable.

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?

The silver anniversary of rock bottom: Even the wins were ugly

Part of a recurring series “celebrating” the 25th anniversary of the worst season in Atlanta Braves history 

Through 25 games the Braves were 16-9 with a comfortable 3.5 game lead in the NL East. Through 25 games in 1988 the 6-19 Braves were already 10 games out of first.

Game 26 came at home vs. the woeful Phils, managed by Lee Elia and featuring past-their-prime stars like Mike Schmidt, Lance Parrish and Von Hayes. Kevin Gross, the Steve Trachsel of his day, faced off against Zane Smith, who would somehow win 15 games that year.

You can call me Al

Dion James, at .243, had the highest BA in the line-up for the Bravos. Murph stood at .234; Oberkfell, .219; Virgil, .197; Gant, .160. Against all odds, they jumped out to a 5-0 lead after 7.

And then blew it.

Smith loaded the bases with walks to Juan Samuel and Schmidt and a single by Parrish. He got Hayes to ground out to first, scoring one, then left the game after Mike Young hit an infield single.

Enter Bruce Sutter, with two on, one out and a 5-2 lead. After Milt Thompson walked, Chris James singled to close the lead to 5-3. Greg Gross popped to short, bringing (then-)light hitting catcher Darren Daulton to the plate with two outs and the tying runs aboard. Daulton, who would hit .208 that year with one homer, singled to left.

5-5, after 8.

Forty-one-year-old Kent Tekulve retired the Braves in order in the bottom of the 8th, and Paul Assenmacher did the same in the 9th, striking out Schmidt, Parrish and Hayes.

With two one and one out in the bottom half of the inning, Albert Hall stepped up to face Tekulve. Hall, who had entered the game as a pinch-runner for Ken Griffey Sr., singled to right, scoring Andres Thomas with the winning run.

Predictably, the Braves lost the following game. It would be two weeks before they’d put together consecutive wins, beating the Pirates and Cubs. Chuck Tanner would manage only one of those games. The local nine were 12-27 when they fired Tanner, who had a .424 winning percentage as Braves manager.

Good times.

Timmy!!!

Tim Hudson, by the numbers:

Wins as a Brave 108

Wins his first three seasons 49

Wins his last three seasons (pre-2013) 49

Winning percentage as a Brave .620

Wins by Juan Cruz and Dan Meyer, the pitchers traded for Huddy 27 

Hits by Charlie Thomas, the third player in the deal with Oakland 5

Hits by Huddy since the trade 86

Wins by Mark Mulder, traded from Oakland the same month 22

Wins by pitchers traded for Mulder 123

Congrats to the 5th best pitcher in Atlanta Braves history — not bad considering the other 4 are either in the HOF, or soon will be.

Open thread, 4/30, Braves vs. Fredi

When asked why he was starting Reed Johnson over Jordan Schafer, who reached base four times Tuesday night and stole two bases, Fredi replied, “It’s called playing the percentages, it’s what smart managers do to win ballgames.”

Open thread, 4/29, Braves vs. themselves

Jay Hey says he hopes to be back by the end of May. Yikes. Even though he was hovering near the 1/2 Mendoza-line the Braves RF was contributing in ways Uggla and B.J. have not.

Uggla is so bad even our friends at CAC are struggling to assert, as they did last December, that the highest-paid Brave is “outperforming his contact.” About the only thing he does with any proficiency now is walk — and bases on balls have become almost a defensive posture for Uggs, who seems to draw his free passes when making contact is what’s needed more. A strikeout is not the same as a ground ball to deep second or even a weak fly ball to CF when it’s the 8th inning and there’s 1 out.

Unfortunately, that’s probably asking too much, as Uggla is hitless on 16 plate appearances with RISP. Strasburg must be licking his chops: Capt. Bargain is hitting just .118 vs power pitchers and .127 vs. righties.

Fredi, who managed as woefully as the Braves played on the road trip, needs to stick with a top-of-the-order combination for at least a full series. Face it, nothing’s working so go with the pair most likely to rebound: Simmons and B.J. Andrelton has actually shown signs of life lately, batting .255 with a .333 OBP on the road trip. B.J., meanwhile, hit .262 with a .815 OPS in 81 games out of the 2-hole last year.

He’s hitting 7th tonight, behind Uggla, an indignity no player should have to suffer. Schafer leads off, followed by Simmons, J-Up, Freddie and Chris Johnson. Gerald Laird catches and bats 8th.

The Braves badly need a jolt, and a commanding effort by Julio T. would provide just that. Can he build off his last start, when he allowed one run in 7 IP against Colorado? There’s some added pressure tonight, with Strasburg pitching for the Nats and the Braves desperately needing a win. Time to step up, Juley.

The schedule from hell doesn’t get any easier — after the seven-game homestand vs. the Nats and Mets the Braves hit the road to play the Giants, Reds and D’backs.

The Braves are one game ahead of last year’s pace. Game 25 in 2012 was a four-hour slugfest at the Ted  that saw the local nine 6-0 and 12-8 deficits to win 15-13 on a two-run homer by Chipper in the bottom of the 11th.

Guess who’s at the game tonight?

Chipper is in the clubhouse talking to his former teammates. He jokingly said, “the 41-yr. guy had to come down here to kick some butts.”

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) April 29, 2013

Finally, are you as surprised as I am that Jon Koncak came out of the closet?

Open thread, 4/28, Braves vs. Jerry Ujdurs

No matter how good the Braves are, there’s always concern that Fredi will muck it up. If not for the outfield fly rule call in last years Wild Card game we’d be bemoaning the 4th inning bunt by Andrelton with one out, runners at the corners (slow-footed Freddie at third), Meds on deck and the Braves trailing 4-2. Needless to say the safety squeeze didn’t work out.

Tonight, he starts Uggla and his .167  BA (.135 vs. northpaws) at DH over Juan Francisco, who’s batting .327 with a .921 OPS vs. right-handed pitchers this year. Uggla has responded by striking out and hitting into fielder’s choice that would’ve been a double play if not for a bad throw by Infante.

Speaking of shitty Braves, check out these numbers for Nate McLouth: .351 BA, .455 OBP, .486 slugging, 8 steals. Apparently his resurgence down the stretch last year was no fluke.

Open thread, 4/26, Braves vs. Mark Fidryches

Uggla sucks, but batting him second makes sense, considering the alternatives. The Tigers will present a big test for Maholm, who’s been to the 2013 Braves what Medlen was to last year’s squad.

(If Mark Fidrych came along today the stat geeks would be too busy denigrating his low K totals to appreciate the pure joy he brought to the game.)

R.I.P. Rick Camp

Dead of natural causes. Here’s a story I wrote for the local organ remembering Rick Camp’s most iconic moment as a Brave:

“I thought it was the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse,” she said — a sight no less likely than a Rick Camp home run.

No one was much surprised that the Braves lost — a common occurrence in the 1980s.

“If we have to rely on me to hit a home run to win a game, we’re in bad shape,” Camp said afterward.

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, 4/23, Braves vs. John Thomsons

‘I don’t like books’

It’s 29 degrees at Coors, according to DOB. Here’s the Game 1 line-up:

Simmons 6, BUpton 8, JUpton 7, Freeman 3, CJohnson 5, Gattis 2, Uggla 4, RJohnson 9

As you’ve no doubt heard Jay Hey underwent an emergency appendectomy last night and will miss the next two weeks. Tyler Pastornicky, batting .351 with 6 doubles in 74 AB’s at Gwinnett, takes his place on the active roster.

 

Open thread, 4/21, Braves vs. Cecilio Guantes

I don’t mean to sound glib, but would ballparks around the country feel compelled to sing “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” if, God forbid, Atlanta was victimized by a terrorist attack? Let’s hope not. (By the way, classy move by Neil Diamond, who showed up at Fenway yesterday on his own offering to sing.)

As for today’s game, Braves hitters have no excuse. In his last 17 starts, Jonathan Sanchez has only one win vs. 11 losses and an ERA near 9. Dirty indeed. He’ll face a line-up minus Jay Hey, getting a day off, and Dan Uggla, calf strain, but it’s not like those two are scaring anyone.

1. B. Upton CF 2. Pena 2B, 3. J Upton LF 4. Gattis 1B, 5. C. Johnson 3B 6. R. Johnson RF 7. Laird C 8. Simmons SS

Cross your fingers that Andrelton and Ramiro Pena avoid injury today, because there’s no other middle infielders on the active roster.

Open thread, 4/20, Braves vs. Dock Ellises

Not only is Tim McCarver a gasbag, he’s frequently uninformed, as evidenced by his assertion this afternoon that Washington’s ‘pen is baseball’s best. About five minutes later, Ryan Mattheus gave up a game-tying double to John Buck with 2 outs in the 7th. Wrong again, Tim.

Speaking of relievers, the Braves added David Carpenter to the 25-man roster today, replacing Blake DeWitt, who was placed on the DL. Carpenter will only stay with the parent club a few days until Freddie is activated on Monday – assuming Avilan returns. That looks to be a safe assumption; according to Carroll Rogers, he could be available as soon as tomorrow.

Here’s the line-up, featuring three players batting under .165. Is is any surprise that one of them is Dan Uggla? He’s batted under .200 in five of his 12 months with the Braves and appears headed for a 6th.

1. B Upton CF 2. Heyward RF 3. J’Upton LF 4.Gattis C 5. C. Johnson 1B 6.Uggla 2B 7. Francisco 3B 8. Simmons SS

They’ll face the enigmatic James McDonald, who looks like John Smoltz one night, Albie Lopez most others. But McDonald has dominated the Braves, allowing just 5 earned in 30 IP while striking out 33.

No pitcher in baseball has been better than Maholm, which worries me. The law of averages dictate he’s due a stumble, and the Braves are due to lose consecutive games for the first time this season. Fortunately, I’m often wrong.

Open thread, 4/19, Braves vs. John Milners

Huddy goes for win 200 tonight in the same city where Phil Niekro became the first Atlanta Brave to reach that milestone: May 1, 1979.

It didn’t come easy, with the score tied at two in the 9th. Sarge Matthews led off the inning with an inside-the-park HR to give the Braves the lead. A Mike Lum sac fly and Glenn Hubbard single accounted for the other runs in the 9th, more than enough for Knucksie.

Number 35 finished with a flourish, striking out John Milner to end the game. He was rewarded with a $20,000 bonus from Ted.

Knucksie would go on to win 21 games — tying brother Joe for the NL lead — that year against 20 losses. Most impressively, he won 118 games after turning 40.

A win tonight would be the 108th for Huddy in Braves uniform. Acquiring Timmy from Oakland for Charles Thomas, Juan Cruz and Dan Meyer stands as one of the best deals by any GM in the last 20 years.

Here’s the line-up:

1. BJ Upton CF 2. Heyward RF 3. J’ Upton LF, 4. Gattis 1B 5. Johnson 3B 6. Uggla 2B 7. Simmons SS 8. Laird C

Meanwhile, according to DOB, Luis Avilan jogged without any discomfort and threw a painless 20-pitch bullpen session. Looks like he’ll be ready to go by the time the Braves get to Colorado, if not sooner.

Open thread, 4/18, Braves vs. Kevin Polcoviches

I’m very curious to see how Julio T. fares tonight. Will he build on the last four innings in D.C., or will his command desert him, as it did at the start of that Nats game? You may recognize the Pirates hurler: Jeff Locke, traded to the Bucs in the Nate McLouth deal. He’s been unimpressive in two starts, walking 5 and striking out 3 in 11 IP.

Tonight’s line-up

1. B Upton CF 2. Heyward RF 3. J. Upton LF 4. Johnson 1B, 5. Uggla 2B, 6.Francisco 3B, 7. Simmons SS, 8. Laird C

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.