Braves 2011

[Jarhead]

Atlanta super-prospect Julio Teheran to make his major league debut tomorrow.
Against the Phillies in their absurd ballpark, so no pressure.

The absurd ball park allowed the Braves to spread out 5 RBIs over 5 guys, and get 12 hits while the pitching was allowing only 2 hits shutting out the Phillies. A fine showing on the road while the manager is making moves to stabilize the pitching staff. The braves are 8 and 2 over the last 10 games. That makes me feel pretty good right now.

[COYS]

The absurd ball park allowed the Braves to spread out 5 RBIs over 5 guys, and get 12 hits while the pitching was allowing only 2 hits shutting out the Phillies. A fine showing on the road while the manager is making moves to stabilize the pitching staff. The braves are 8 and 2 over the last 10 games. That makes me feel pretty good right now.

Also of note, ATL's starters ERA thus far: 2.97. Phiadelphia's starter's ERA: 3.11. I'm not saying our pitchers are better than theirs, but I AM saying that we can hang with them toe to toe as long as we get some timely hitting. The Atlanta staff really hasn't gotten much national respect. I understand that Loriano's no-hitter was newsworthy, to be sure. But he walked 8 guys! Hardly anyone mentioned Tim Hudson's masterful 1 hitter, which was a better performance than Loriano's no-no, over all. Then after the games on Baseball Tonight last night, Moulder and Garciaparra are debating the best pitching performances of the night and Lowe + our relievers' 2-hitter doesn't even get a mention. I can actually understand the argument that Cliff Lee had a better game with the 16 K's. However, the performance of the Braves' staff was excellent and at least deserved a mention in the conversation. Plus, the Braves got the W!

[Jarhead]

Even with 16 Ks, how can anyone consider a game in which Lee allowed 12 hits and 5 runs a well played game? The Phillie field defense only participated in 11 of the put-outs. with only 2 hits and 11 put-outs those guys hardly broke a sweat except for chasing balls around the field. Good game for the Braves, a game in which the most of the hits and all of the runs were produced by the top half of the batting order. That's a formula for success.

[Jarhead]

Oooops! Well, we can't win them all.

[wilson]

The Braves are really rounding into shape, displaying the kind of overall balance they looked to have on paper before the season started. They've really been fun to watch the last couple of weeks. This weekend's wins in Philadelphia were, in my opinion, the two biggest of the season so far.

[devildeac]

Oooops! Well, we can't win them all.

Yea, but 2 outta 3 on the road against the Phils is pretty impressive. Hope they got a couple soft pretzels and cheese steaks to celebrate.

[Matches]

Yea, but 2 outta 3 on the road against the Phils is pretty impressive. Hope they got a couple soft pretzels and cheese steaks to celebrate.

Definitely. Very nice weekend - and we get the Phils again in Atlanta shortly. Get 2 of those 3, and it's a horserace again.

[wilson]

Definitely. Very nice weekend - and we get the Phils again in Atlanta shortly. Get 2 of those 3, and it's a horserace again.

We'll certainly have a good shot at 2 of 3 against the Fillies at Turner Field next weekend.
The probable pitchers:
FRI: Lowe-Worley
SAT: Jurrjens-Hamels
SUN: Hudson-Blanton

[BlueDevilBaby]

And now only 2 of 3 against my Nats whom I thought were certainly going to blow that one last night. Nats' wins agains Hudson are few and fart between.

[JasonEvans]

Nats' wins agains Hudson are few and fart between.

Niiiice typo!

-Jason

[BlueDevilBaby]

Ooops! I should stop posting while at work.

[kmspeaks]

Typical Braves. Show up big and take 2 of 3 from the Phillies. Then turn around and drop 2 straight to the Nats.

(Pardon the negativity but I also happen to be a Redskins and a Capitals fan. Optimism is a hard concept lol.)

[Jarhead]

Typical Braves. Show up big and take 2 of 3 from the Phillies. Then turn around and drop 2 straight to the Nats.

(Pardon the negativity but I also happen to be a Redskins and a Capitals fan. Optimism is a hard concept lol.)

They sure are hard to figure out. After losing twice at home to the Nats, they close out that series with a win in extra innings. Somehow they have been playing .700 ball for a few weeks now, but they cannot gain on the Phillies. How frustating is that?

[Olympic Fan]

They sure are hard to figure out. After losing twice at home to the Nats, they close out that series with a win in extra innings. Somehow they have been playing .700 ball for a few weeks now, but they cannot gain on the Phillies. How frustating is that?

It's not that bad. After losing to St. Louis on April 30, the Braves were 6.0 games behind the Phillies (and 5th in the division). After last night's come-from-behind win, the Braves are 4.5 games back and third in the division.

That's 1.5 games in less than two weeks. With three games this weekend in Atlanta, the Braves have a chance to get a little closer (I'm realistically hoping for 2 of 3 to get to 3,5 games back ... a sweep would be sweet).

[wilson]

With three games this weekend in Atlanta, the Braves have a chance to get a little closer (I'm realistically hoping for 2 of 3 to get to 3,5 games back ... a sweep would be sweet).

These are my thoughts exactly. I'll be there on Saturday and Sunday (and Monday and Tuesday).
True story: During last week's doubleheader vs. the Brewers, I was at Turner Field as part of a decidedly sparse crowd (no way it was more than 10,000 or so). I have gained something of a reputation among my friends and family for being able to make myself heard on TV and radio when the crowd is that small. I did just that during Game 1, and Tom Glavine mentioned my absurdly loud yelling on air while doing color commentary.
One of the greatest accomplishments of my life.

[Duvall]

Dan Uggla certainly looks like $62 million well spent.

[devildeac]

Dan Uggla certainly looks like $62 million well spent.

Yea, well at least before last night's non-slaught performance, he was above the Mendoza line.

Sheesh. The Phils made 2 errors and their pitchers walked 4. The Braves made no errors and only walked 1. Now they gotta win today and Sunday to gain any ground.

[Olympic Fan]

Thanks to a great performance by Jurrijens Saturday afternoon, the Braves evened up the series (and returned to 4.5 games back) with a 5-3 win.

Sunday is the big one -- win and we're on their heels (having taken 4 of 6 in eight days head-to-head). Lose and the Phils are up 5.5 and will have split the matchup 3-3.

[wilson]

Another great Braves win today. This was my favorite game of the season so far. The atmosphere was good at Turner Field, and it was just a great ballgame. It was an old-school matchup where the two pitchers were playing at such a high level that you just knew every pitch mattered...the kind of game that's a lot of fun to watch even if you don't care who wins.
Beating Halladay is impressive under any circumstances. I've now seen him pitch at Turner Field three times, and the Braves have won two of those games. The first was when he was still with the Blue Jays, and he got a no-decision, while being matched pitch-for-pitch by Kenshin Kawakami (no, seriously). The second was a waxing at the hands of the Fillies during this season's opening home series, and the third was today.
It was also a very encouraging game for Dan Uggla today. He scored all three of the Braves' runs and had another couple of very fine defensive plays...they said he couldn't field, but I'm still sort of wondering what they were talking about. His range isn't world-beating, but he can pick it. I think today was his finest all-around game in a Braves uniform. Here's hoping he's about to bust out. If he can do that against Roy Halladay, he can do it against anyone.

[Channing]

as bad as the braves' offense has been at times this year, it is interesting to note they still have the largest +/- in the NL, and are tied with Cleveland for the largest +/- in baseball. That has to bode well for the long term prospects for this team.