4/30/2007

Game Thread: April 30, Phailies at Braves

Philadelphia is actually playing pretty well now, and has caught Florida in the standings. Luckily, we miss Moyer, who's been their best pitcher.

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131 Comments:

At 1:02 PM , Blogger beedee said...

Home sweet home! Perhaps the guys can take the series, and the pen will settle back down.

 
At 1:09 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

I predict a big week from Diaz. After the numbers he put up in the minors and the way he hit last year, I think he'll be motivated by this trade and come out focused.

Our biggest problem is that our bullpen walks guys and our left side defense is non-existent. Wickman's been a contact pitcher for 8-9 years, now he's missing the plate. I cant blame him. Do any of you have any idea how hard it is to throw a ball 90mph and make it hit the exact spot on the bat necessary for it to fall within the 3-4 feet Renteria can cover. No wonder he's trying to hard to spot it.

 
At 1:15 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

The pen needs rest badly. James and Hudson need to step up and go deep into the game and the offense needs to keep scoring like it did on the road trip.

 
At 1:56 PM , Blogger ububba said...

Let's score a bunch of runs tonight, so we don't have to sweat the 9th. I'd like to see Wickman another day.

 
At 1:57 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Isn't it strange that we are pining for Lance Cormier to come back?
So How bad was Davies in the last start. I missed the game.

 
At 2:18 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

I don't have the line, Johnny, but he had terrible control and I think he was gone by the 5th. He made me want to punch myself in the face.

 
At 2:21 PM , Blogger Jay said...

Johnny,

Davies' line:

4.0 IP, 4 R(all earned), 5 BB and 5 H

Combined our pitchers gave up 13 walks.

 
At 2:22 PM , Blogger Jay said...

oh and Davies had 4 strikeouts.

 
At 2:24 PM , Blogger Jay said...

Here's the boxscore

 
At 2:27 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

William Schaeffer at Chop-n-Change makes a good point about the Langerhans trade. The Reds picked up the A's best relief prospect for an injured outfielder that will be out for all of 2007. With that in mind, we may be able to get somebody that we can use. Rich Harden maybe? :)

No.

 
At 2:51 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

some good news...

Chan Ho Park is now in the Mets rotation. El Duque has been sent to the DL

 
At 3:19 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Quote of the day: "Before this contract extension was completed, my question wasn't about of these players will the Braves would be able to keep." -Mark Bowman

 
At 3:55 PM , Blogger ububba said...

Re: El Duque.

You knew that was going to happen. All spring, the Met fans in my office have been talking about "El Duque Insurance."

And, of course, he was pitching really well. I certainly won't miss his starts against the Braves. El Duque always gives us fits.

Although I remember him having a good start against ATL when he was with Texas, I'll take my chances with Chan Ho.

 
At 3:57 PM , Blogger ububba said...

And one more thing:

I really, really miss Lima Time!

 
At 4:15 PM , Blogger Alex Remington said...

Mac, I don't know how I feel about the tagline to this game thread. I wouldn't want to jinx the Phillies into being good or something.

 
At 4:39 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

I know everyone on here is really down on Edgar's defense, but blaming Wickman's loss of control on it? Man, I just don't know about that. He has been overworked pretty badly. I just hope he isn't hurt.

 
At 4:52 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

If Wickman turns heel, I say we start calling him Walkmania. He could jog in from the pen to the sounds of "Doing it for the Shorties" by Mizzeatwizzad.

 
At 5:00 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

I agree Weldon. It's gotten out of hand in here.

 
At 5:01 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

We are so pleased that the game will be starting at 1905 today. Thanks you Bravos.

 
At 5:05 PM , Blogger Jay said...

Bad news, Wickman has been placed on the DL.

 
At 5:07 PM , Blogger Jay said...

Here's the link. .

We brought up Paronto and placed him on the DL. It certainly makes sense on why he was struggling.

 
At 5:15 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well at least he blew two games before he admittedhe was hurt. Thanks a lot.

 
At 5:21 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Evidently Wickman sprained his fat. Thank goodness we got Soriano and Gonzo.

Wonder which one gets to be the "Closer"?

We need some pitchers to stay healthy.

 
At 5:22 PM , Blogger Jay said...

AJC updated a little and said either Gonzo or Sori will be the closer. I'm fine with either one to be honest.

 
At 5:24 PM , Blogger Jay said...

"Rafael Soriano likely will fill in as closer, along with Mike Gonzalez."

 
At 5:24 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'd say that's good news, based on the way he's performed recently, Jay. At least there's an explanation.

 
At 5:27 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

As bad as the news of Wickman's DL is, I'm relieved that he didn't drag us through the Reitsma hidden injury crap we had last year.

 
At 5:28 PM , Blogger Jay said...

Stu,

Yeah man, that's what I said on my blog, at least we know why he's blown 2 saves and was pulled from another game...he's been injured. I wish our players would just stop hiding injuries, put your ego aside and get healthy.

 
At 5:32 PM , Blogger Jay said...

Willie Harris is getting the start tonight...

SS-Rollins
LF-Victorino
2B-Utley
1B-Howard
RF-Burrell
CF-Rowand
3B-Nunez
C-Ruiz
P-Lieber

2B-Johnson
SS-Renteria
3B-Jones
CF-Jones
C-McCann
RF-Francoeur
1B-Thorman
LF-Harris
P-Hudson

 
At 5:34 PM , Blogger Jay said...

Oh and AJC is now saying Wickamania has tendinitis in his upper right back.

 
At 5:36 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

So much for Diaz getting increased opportunities.

 
At 5:48 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Big Willie Style is all in it.

Matt "T-2000" Diaz, shamed again.

You might as well face it, Bobby Cox is addicted to Platooning.

 
At 6:10 PM , Blogger Jay said...

Tim Hudson is playing with a heavy heart, not only did he lose a former teammate, Hancock, but apparently his grandmother also died. He's wearing a big "JH" oh the left side of his chest.

That inning went quick, nice Huddy.

 
At 6:12 PM , Blogger Jay said...

Nice, Leadoff walk for KJ.

 
At 6:17 PM , Blogger Jay said...

Wow, Huddy striking out Howard on three pitches.

 
At 6:18 PM , Blogger Mac said...

Are there tendons in the upper back? That's just muscle, fat, and bone, right?

 
At 6:31 PM , Blogger Mac said...

Double plays are murder. I really think people should keep closer track of them.

 
At 6:44 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

They showed a picture of Mark Lemke in the radio booth on Saturday or Sunday. It makes his proclamation on that ad somewhat funny. He does not have a "full head of his own hair".

 
At 6:44 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Little Willy, Willy won't go home
But you can't push Willy round
Willy won't go, try tellig everybody but oh no
Little Willy, Willy won't go home

 
At 6:47 PM , Blogger Jay said...

Huddy is dealing tonight. I hope he can go 7-8 tonight to give our pen a nights rest.

 
At 6:51 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

You're right, Jay. It would be nice to get a long start tonight.

 
At 6:53 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

Wait, if Paronto was going to pitch tonight in Richmond, why didn't we just keep Wickman on the roster and DL him retroactive to yesterday? Paronto's not going to pitch tonight anyway, so there's an empty roster spot anyway, and he would get work tonight instead of his first live work being against a major league team.

 
At 7:04 PM , Blogger Jay said...

NIIICE barehander Chipper!!

 
At 7:05 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Langerhans wasn't destroyed....

The misson remains incomplete.

No more unasiisted Triple Plays, please...

 
At 7:07 PM , Blogger Mac said...

I have an announcement! The new Braves Journal is now up and the DNS is migrating right now. Hopefully tomorrow morning bravesjournal.com will point to the new site but it can take up to 48 hours. Anyway, for now it's sixtyfeetsix.com, though I'll keep tonight's game thread here.

Most of you guys should have had your profiles cross over.

 
At 7:07 PM , Blogger Jay said...

Frenchy hustling to get an infield single.

 
At 7:09 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Francouer is safe....good start to thsi game....

 
At 7:09 PM , Blogger Mac said...

Willie has now 1/3 of Langerhans' hit total for the season in 1/26 the plate appearances.

 
At 7:09 PM , Blogger Jay said...

Wow, it looks good Mac. Does that mean that this is the last Blogger game thread?

 
At 7:11 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

When I go to sixtyfeetsix.com, it gives me some Sean Foreman guy.

 
At 7:12 PM , Blogger Jay said...

1-0 Braves!

 
At 7:13 PM , Blogger Mac said...

Sean (the genius behind Baseball-Reference) is hosting the site. It's possible that your DNS hasn't migrated for that URL yet. It's a temporary fix.

 
At 7:13 PM , Blogger Jay said...

Oh, I went to bravesjournal.com

 
At 7:19 PM , Blogger Mac said...

Yeah, bravesjournal.com is working for me too. Sometimes it migrates fast for some people.

 
At 7:20 PM , Blogger Jay said...

The Marlins are crushing Park...it's 7-0 in the 4th.

 
At 7:23 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

BravesJournal.com works for me now too. Go BJ.

Yeah, I realized later Sean Foreman was the guy behind B-Ref. Good man.

 
At 7:24 PM , Blogger Jay said...

Rob,

What URL did type in? Did u do Bravesjournal.com or sixtyfeetsix.com ?

Try this , maybe it'll work.

 
At 7:24 PM , Blogger Jay said...

Oh ok...disregard that last comment.

 
At 7:28 PM , Blogger Jay said...

Oh it just changed with the new banner...it looks really good.

 
At 7:30 PM , Blogger Jay said...

CHIPPER!!!! Tie ball game!

 
At 7:30 PM , Blogger Mac said...

I'm still playing around. There are lots of themes on the site; I like this one, but would have to hack the banner some to make it work.

 
At 7:34 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

Why free Brent Lillibridge? Where do you want to play him?

 
At 7:36 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Pat Burrell looks great in RF wearing a Braves Uniform.

 
At 7:41 PM , Blogger Jay said...

Bases left full....at least Chipper tied it up.

 
At 7:43 PM , Blogger Mac said...

Shortstop. Have you not been paying attention the last few days? Renteria is turning into Julio Franco anyway, let's give him Julio's old job.

 
At 7:44 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

You've gone off the deep end. Renteria is not Julio Franco. He can play shortstop. You don't put Renteria's bat on the bench. Sheesh.

 
At 7:48 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

The same Lillibridge who's hitting .282/.367/.400 at AA? Renteria is hitting .340/.405/.510. You seriously think he'll improve our defense enough to compensate for Renteria's offensive upgrade? Wow.

 
At 7:48 PM , Blogger Mac said...

Julio's old old job, first base. Put Thorman in left. Or vice versa. Renteria can't play shortstop anymore.

 
At 7:49 PM , Blogger Mac said...

And an out a game -- Renteria's difference from the average shortstop -- is a lot.

 
At 7:51 PM , Blogger Mac said...

He's even starting to look like Julio.

 
At 7:52 PM , Blogger Jay said...

Wow, nice stolen base KJ! He's a great lead off guy...takes walks, gets on base, hits for average and power.

 
At 7:53 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Where's Tony Pena Jr. when you need him?

 
At 7:53 PM , Blogger Alex Remington said...

You know, I think I like this Kelly Johnson kid. I think we should give him a nickname.

How about "Sparky"?

 
At 7:54 PM , Blogger Mac said...

Double plays, sheesh.

 
At 7:54 PM , Blogger Jay said...

come on Andruw...

 
At 7:55 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

Alright, I e-mailed a Braves blogger and he did some stat-hunting, and here's what he found:

"1. Dewan has his +/- around -5, which is a shade below average .... he is ranked ~20 in shortstops (again, a shade below half way).

2. Pinto's PMR has him about average too (actually a shade above)

3. Tango's fan scouting report also has him marginally below average http://www.tangotiger.net/scouting/pos2006_SS.html

So, in summary, largely average. To be honest that jives with what I see on screen. I can see where Mac is coming from as he can be a little lazy sometimes but he is generally okay, not great, but okay."

I've never said he was good. I just said he wasn't bad. So, according to those metrics, he's an average defender. But he's an above average hitter. That would make him an above average player. He's a good shortstop.

 
At 7:58 PM , Blogger Mac said...

Those stats are from last year, though, aren't they? All we have during the season is range factor -- and his range factor is really bad. And we have a colossal hole in left field.

 
At 8:01 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

Mac, you don't take a 30 year old shortstop who's never played any other position at the big league level, and stick him in LF because he's not getting to enough balls. He's not BJ Upton. He's not a good shortstop defensively, but he's not that bad.

I swear it seems like there's always gotta be a whipping boy around here. Now that Langerhans is gone, it seems you've picked up Renteria more fervently.

 
At 8:01 PM , Blogger Jay said...

Thorman is really coming along, both offensively and defensively. Now that he's getting some at-bats.

 
At 8:01 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

Oh, and you definitely don't do it in the middle of the season. Trade Escobar for a LF. Don't move a shortstop of 10 years on a whim.

 
At 8:03 PM , Blogger Jay said...

Hmmm, Detroit and Baltimore's benches cleared after Tejada was hit by a ball and pointed his bat to the pitcher warning him and probably not saying very nice things. I didn't see who the pitcher for the O's was....but I can tell you who it wasn't...Jaret Wright, who was placed on the DL again today. Now who didn't see that coming?

 
At 8:03 PM , Blogger ryan c said...

renteria has had 80 total chances at a play this year. furcal has had 83 and furcal has played in 8 less games than renteria. renteria is 26th in ss rankings at total chances. rob, he just doesnt ever get to anything.

 
At 8:05 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

re: nickname for Kelly Johnson. On another Braves blog (velcroblog.com), they call Kelly "Scooter." I think it fits him pretty well.

 
At 8:07 PM , Blogger Jay said...

Yes, nice single Thor...come on Willie

 
At 8:07 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

Renteria/Furcal chances

1) Sample size.
2) The Dodgers have more groundball pitchers, especially Brad Penny and Derek Lowe.
3) Of freaking course Furcal does. When you compare most shortstops to Furcal, they're going to come up short. "Man, that Chipper Jones sucks for a third baseman. Mike Schmidt had way more home runs!" Sheesh...

 
At 8:09 PM , Blogger ububba said...

C'mon boys, let's win this one & take first.

Mets are still getting whipped.

 
At 8:10 PM , Blogger Jay said...

Come on...all we need now is a deep fly...and we have the lead.

 
At 8:10 PM , Blogger ryan c said...

yes, but 8 game differential. get your red and blue tinted glasses off and face reality. renteria is not a good defensive shortstop. oh, and i guarantee by the end of the year renteria will have about 200 less chances than furcal ends up with. sheesh.

 
At 8:10 PM , Blogger Spike said...

well that sucked.

 
At 8:10 PM , Blogger Jay said...

WOAH!....that was a horrible call!

 
At 8:11 PM , Blogger Spike said...

Don't know if Pena is the guy I 'd have hitting here

 
At 8:11 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

Oh, one more thing. Renteria and Furcal have the same fielding percentage. Tony Pena is also leading the majors in errors. Didn't I say something about sample size earlier?

 
At 8:12 PM , Blogger Spike said...

wha'appen?

 
At 8:12 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

Ryan, did I say Renteria was a good defensive shortstop? No. Read my posts. I'm just not ready to call him BJ Upton like most people here are.

 
At 8:13 PM , Blogger Jay said...

Damnit...another spoiled chance.

Gonzo time!

 
At 8:13 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Inning over. Pena grounded out to the pitcher.

 
At 8:14 PM , Blogger ububba said...

When it comes to shortstops, sometimes you also have to trust your own eyes.

My eyes tell me that Renteria's range is less than what you'd like. But, he is hitting .337.

"A great chance squandered.." Yes.

 
At 8:14 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bryan Pena? Are you kidding me?

 
At 8:17 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

Another great outing by Hampton. Let's see how long he can keep this up. One more run...

 
At 8:18 PM , Blogger Jay said...

I love Gonzo...he pitches angry!

Gotta love that shift.

 
At 8:18 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Rob is posting from the alternate reality where Hampton's arm didn't fall off.

 
At 8:19 PM , Blogger ryan c said...

yes, HAMPTON has pitched well rob. :)

 
At 8:19 PM , Blogger Jay said...

YES!! Helluva inning Mike. Wow that was impressive.

 
At 8:21 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

I don't have the braves on TV where I live, but according to MLB gametrax the ump has a pretty wide strike zone all night. Is that true?

-CourtneyC

 
At 8:22 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

Whoops. Yep... go Hampton.

I hear Hudson's out for the year with an elbow problem.

 
At 8:22 PM , Blogger Jay said...

KJ!

 
At 8:23 PM , Blogger ububba said...

KJ!

 
At 8:23 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

I wish Kelly Johnson was my brother. Don't tell my brother I said that...

 
At 8:23 PM , Blogger Jay said...

Courtney, Yeah he's been very wide tonight, the strikeout on Harris wasn't EVEN close. It never had the corner of the plate and it was high.

 
At 8:24 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

Hey, let's bunt with a guy hitting over .330. Good call. Bunting...

 
At 8:25 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

All right, time for Chipper to deposit another one over the left field wall.

 
At 8:25 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Eight-for-15 against Alfonseca and Cox has Renteria bunting. Great bloody call.

 
At 8:25 PM , Blogger Jay said...

Well, Rob you have to consider the situation...leadoff hitter at first and our best hitter is up next. You gotta try and get him into scoring position.

 
At 8:27 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

Yeah, I got the situation. It's still stupid. Renteria's a good hitter too. You don't bunt with a guy hitting over .330. I can understand the 8th place hitter and you got a pinch-hitter for the pitcher.

 
At 8:28 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

Plus, if you bunt with Renteria, they might walk Chipper. Nice trip through the 2 and 3 spots in the lineup.

 
At 8:28 PM , Blogger Jay said...

Good point...

Come on DRUW!

 
At 8:28 PM , Blogger ububba said...

Well, here we are.

Be clutch, Andruw

 
At 8:29 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

WALK OFF!

 
At 8:29 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

BRAVES WIN! BRAVES WIN! BRAVES WIN!

 
At 8:29 PM , Blogger ububba said...

That's clutch!

 
At 8:30 PM , Blogger Jay said...

Druw!!!

 
At 8:30 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sweet!

 
At 8:30 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

Hey-o! Go Braves!

 
At 8:30 PM , Blogger Spike said...

Nice to get one of those bad beats back

 
At 8:31 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Mac, let me guess: was Joe Simpson talkin about the need to take the ball to the opposite field?

 
At 8:31 PM , Blogger ububba said...

Shea Report:

Marlins 9, Mets 4

Fish rallying in the 8th.

Hello, first place...

 
At 8:31 PM , Blogger Alex said...

how far did that go??

 
At 8:32 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

I bet Renteria bunt on his own. He is known for doing the "little things"(for the shorties(so that they will know how to play the game the right way)).

 
At 8:32 PM , Blogger drewdat said...

Thanks, Alf!

Goodbye, Blogger.

 
At 8:37 PM , Blogger Jay said...

Mac,

Where do we sign in on the new site? I entered my info when i commented, will that do it or is there someplace esle?

 
At 8:46 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well, shut my mouth.

 

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