Atlanta Braves Thread

which is why they are gasping for air as the season winds down. They just can't seem to beat the teams they should crush.

 

exactly

losing 2 outta 3 against teams like the pirates and nats is what caused all of this anyways. then you go into philly with no margin for error. tough spot for anybody.

i get up every morning and check espn for west coast scores, hoping for some help with the giants, padres, and now the rockies. good grief charlie brown.

 

done

I'm calling it

Hudson loses again to the damn gnats?

 

I went to ESPN and looked from Sept 1 to now and when the pressure was on the Phils really stepped up while the younger Braves didn't

Sept 1
Braves 78-55 up 3 Runs scored 637, Runs allowed 505
Phillies 75-58 Runs scored 610, Runs allowed 534

Sept 25
Phillies 93-61 Up 7 Runs scored 726, Runs against 612
Braves 86-68 Runs scored 708, Runs allowed 596

Assuming 2 days off, Braves went 8-13 ? averaging 3 runs scored while giving up around 4 between dates
Assuming 2 days off, Phillies went 18-3 ? Phillies averaged 4 runs scored while giving up just over 3

I'm tired so the numbers may be wrong, but the veteran Phils have really stepped it up

 

[sarcasm]This is a shock to us all.[/sarcasm]

 

Buster Olney's take from ESPN Insider:
Chipper Jones spoke of possible retirement early in the season, when he wasn't hitting or driving the ball, when opposing pitchers threw fastballs across the outer half of the plate. And there was actually a 24-hour window in which it seemed possible that he might retire immediately.

That didn't happen, and in the weeks that followed, he found his swing again and started hitting again. He hit .400 in the first 10 days of August, with three homers, and was mashing the ball -- right up to the moment when he crumpled on the field on Aug. 10, with a season-ending knee injury.

And it wasn't long after that that the Braves started to collapse.

Coincidence? Probably not.

On Aug. 10, the Braves were 65-48 and they had a 3½ game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies. But since then, Atlanta has slogged along, going 21-20 over the past six weeks, and the Phillies have run away with the division. And following Atlanta's loss on Friday, the Braves have fallen behind the Giants and Padres in the wild-card race, too.

Jones' injury is just one reason why the Braves' chances for making the playoffs are in serious jeopardy. Here are some others:

1. Jair Jurrjens' problems. The right-hander stepped back into the Atlanta rotation in late June and looked great, initially. But he started the Aug. 25 game in Colorado -- which, in the end, might be seen as the turning point of the Braves' season -- and made the first mistakes that led to Atlanta surrendering a 10-1 lead. Colorado came back and won that game 12-10, and Jurrjens, hampered by knee trouble, has made only four starts since, allowing 14 runs in 21 1/3 innings.

And on Friday, Jurrjens had to shut down a bullpen session; he won't pitch Sunday, writes Carroll Rogers.


2. Tim Hudson has seemingly hit a wall. After finishing August with a 13-strikeout effort against the Marlins, he is 1-4 in September with a 6.10 ERA. The 35-year-old Hudson has thrown 215 2/3 innings, far more than the 184 1/3 innings he threw over the 2008 and 2009 seasons; in his first full season since having reconstructive elbow surgery, he'll probably wind up throwing more innings this year than in any year since 2003.

On Friday night, Hudson walked six and lost, Carroll Rogers writes.

3. Derrek Lee hasn't had a big impact that the Braves hoped for. He mashed a pivotal grand slam for the Braves on Sept. 19, but he's had stretches of really tough days, too. His overall numbers since joining Atlanta: a .361 on-base percentage and .413 slugging percentage, with two homers and 17 RBIs in 31 games.


4. Rival advance scouts think that members of the bullpen -- the most dominant element of the team in midseason -- are flat-out gassed. Takashi Saito actually had been getting good results before being shut down last week with a shoulder problem, Jonny Venters has made 73 appearances in his first year as a reliever and has allowed more hits and walks over the past couple of months, and the gritty Peter Moylan has 80 appearances.

The perception of the scouts is not fully supported by the results; for example, Billy Wagner has allowed one hit and no runs in 7 1/3 innings this month, and although Moylan struggled in August, he's had a good September. But the scouts see a regression of stuff in other members of the Atlanta bullpen.

Saito probably won't pitch this weekend.

5. Omar Infante and Martin Prado have slumped in recent days. Prado is hitting .244 in September, .144 over the past seven days, and Infante has hit .208 over the past week, in a time in which the Braves faced the Phillies' big three. Atlanta doesn't really have a big bopper right now, like a Joey Votto or an Albert Pujols; the Braves' offense is a collection of hitters whose main strength is getting on base, and it has to be a sum of all of its parts.

6. No power. The Braves have just 11 homers in their 22 games in September, which was why GM Frank Wren had scrambled to make the trade for Derrek Lee; in Jones' absence, Wren understood the Braves needed more punch.

There is still time for the Braves to stop their slide and make one last run into the playoffs; they're only a half-game behind the Padres in the wild-card race. Derek Lowe will take the ball on Saturday.

But they are 9-13 in September, and their problems have been taking them down.

The Phillies have cut their magic number to two, after their latest victory; Philly's winning streak has reached 11, writes Matt Gelb.

 

Another series lost in Washington.

 

.5 back with 6 to play at home. SF & SD end the season against each other. If the Braves win at least 4 of the 6, I like their chances to make the post-season.


It sounds as if Jurrjens might be done.


http://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-braves/braves-will-wait-until-636284.html

 

Maybe so but if they make it as the wild card i'm afraid it will be a short series.

 

It's going to be short series for them no matter what if they make it.