Game Notes — August 1

Funny, I don’t remember Turner South broadcasts having the kind of technical difficulties we witnessed tonight before Fox bought the network. This isn’t the first time either — why, it’s enough for a person to think they’re running this operation on the cheap. Just another example of profit over product?

FYI, Adam LaRoche is now 12th in the NL in slugging percentage. Anyone out there still want to trade him?

Brave-O-Matic is heading to the beach, so our sporadic posting schedule will be even more truncated than is usual. However, Brave-O-Matic Select subscribers are in luck! You’ll be able to watch the debut of our webcam series “Brave-O-Matic Bocces…” First episode: Amelia Island!

From Buyers to Sellers

Just like that, the Mets (featuring the Amazing Beltran) slammed the door shut on any meager playoff hopes we might have had, and exposed our greatest weakness for all to see. Our starting rotation is the worst in the league right now, just getting hammered day after day. No end in sight, no help on the way — it’s so bad that we might be looking at a new era of mediocrity. All the money we’ve sunk into Hampton and Hudson, Smoltz will be 40 next year, two rookies who we insist have promise but who haven’t delievered (James, Davies). And Horacio, always Horacio.

JS has one more day to see what parts we can assemble for spring training 2007. In descending order of likelihood, here are some of the prime candidates to be traded:

1) Wickman — Hey, you know how it is when it comes time to tighten the belts. Last to arrive, first to leave. Proven bullpen arms are always being shopped this time of year, so let’s flip the Wick. Possible destinations: Boston, Anaheim.

2) Baez — see above. Possible destinations: Anaheim, Arizona.

3) Renteria — Having a great year, he’s also a 30-year-old SS whose trade value will never be higher. Possible destinations: Colorado, Minnesota.

4) Hudson — He’s the kind of guy that tends to move this time of year, but he’s been so horrible that it’s hard to see who would want him. Still, considering his history of success, someone might take a flyer. Possible destinations: Texas, St. Louis.

5) Giles — Betemit’s departure means it’s far less likely Giles will be moved before the offseason, so we’d need a functional 2B in return. Possible destination: Anaheim.

Its Better to Burn Out

than fade away. And the Braves are going down in flames in a spectacularly unsatisfying fashion. As the Mets arrived in town, the Braves faced their moment of truth. They’ve failed utterly. Pitching has largely been the problem, allowing 6 first inning runs to the Mets in 2 games. Tim Hudson was smacked around again, surrendering 9 earned runs in less than 6 innings. But the hitting has been lackluster as well- Marcus Giles is the only Brave with more than one base hit in the series.

And now Chipper returns to the DL. And Betemit is gone to LA. Well, we have a fancy new set-up man, but I fear nothing will be in set-up condition. A week ago we were poinsed to march into the wild-card with our eyes firmly on the Mets. Now we watch as the Mets roll through Atlanta like Sherman. And we regress to trail 8 teams in the also-ran play-off race. Well, at least we should be able to grab some good seats at the Ted this August.

So how’s your summer going?

Braves Win & Lose

I just thought something should get posted, but I don’t have any real interesting angle in mind to delve into. The Braves had a very good come-form-behind win Wednesday night, but followed it up with a lackluster afternoon on Thursday, falling 6-1. The loss hurts because the Mets are off, so it was a free chance to pick up a half game. And the Nats and Philly both won today.

Wicky notched another save Wednesday. Chipper’s hit streak ended and Bobby got another ejection towards manager immortality. And today, Sosa hurt himself doing the one thing he should not attempt- pitching. Shiell wasn’t bad, but he’s not ready to be a prime-time starter yet. Soon maybe, but not yet. It was 92 degrees at the Ted today. Global warming makes me watch on TV. No trade news yet, though Schuerholtz says he is still talking to the Padres about Linebrink. But, given that Chipper couldn’t play again today, expect that the deal will not go through.

Ahead- A weekend at home with the Mets. Big, bigger, biggest. If the Braves are serious about post-season play- this series is our Rubicon.

Trade Deadline Rumors Abound

It’s being said and sung on local sports talk radio that the Yankees are trying to pry Wilson Betemit ( Who some call- the best player in baseball without a starting job) from the Braves. The offer appears to have reliever Scott Proctor coming from the Big Apple to our bullpen.

I don’t think we’ll let Betemit go for anything less than a huge talent. But Death Ray’s set-up effort has been less than spectacular of late. We’ll see soon enough, as the trade deadline approaches quickly.

Dirty Sanchez (Marlins 2, Braves 1)

Once again we fell victim to a rookie starter, as Anibal Sanchez baffled the batsmen for seven innings. Our only run came in the sixth when Giles singled in Langerhans, who had a heckuva game, getting two hits (his first since the All-Star break) and making two highlight reel catches — he must have read my comment on yesterday’s game. Cody Ross accounted for the Fish offense, hitting two solo HRs off Chuck James, who pitched very well otherwise.

So it’s a bump in the road. We’ll have to get a win tomorrow to give ourselves a chance at our seventh consecutive series victory. Smoltz vs. Josh Johnson — if the bats tonight were any indication, it could be a quick game.

A Headline that

you’ll never forget- Check this out.

You got a better one?

At Home on the Road (Braves 10- Phils 8)

The Braves win again. Doing it with the bats, on the road, against a division foe and without the Jones Boys again. A 7-2 roadtrip was unimaginable a month ago, when just winning a series seemed impossible. Now we’ve moved back into sole possession of second place, focused firmly on the pursuit of the Mets (11.5 games back) rather than the wildcard (4.5 gb), as Sam rightly recommended.

Cole Hamels was indeed 100 feet tall, though only 5 innings long, last night. A dozen k’s in 24 batters faced. Timmy Hudson was mediocre yet again and owes the hitters some nice gifts for bringing him an undeserved W. Ken Ray and Tyler Yates reminded us why the Wickman acquisition is so important, surrendering 4 runs in 2 innings, just so as to provide Wicky with a save situation. And WICKY SAVES. Another 3-up, 3-down 9th.

4 more Braves homers. 2 from LaRoche. Adam looks solid at the plate- head steady, eyes fixed on the ball and a smooth, deceptively easy swing and follow through. Opposite this is Ryan Langerhans, who severely needs extended time in the batting cage. Ryan was 0-for-3 again and is now hitting a lowly.235. Ryan has not had A HIT since July 9th. His swing looks uncomfortable and awkward, like a right-handed batter trying to swing lefty for the first time. With Andruw returning tonight (I hope), Langerhans needs to be benched and spend the game working on the mechanics. Leave Thorman or Diaz in. Diaz is hitting at a .320 clip now and Thorman has only 2 fewer homers than Langerhans in 165 fewer at-bats.

The Wickman Era Begins (Braves 5-Phil 1)

Prior to Bob Wickman’s debut, the Braves led the NL in blown saves, with 20. Since the Wickman Era began- 0 blown saves.

The Braves sat on their hands all night and refused to score run more than one run until HoRam sat down. Finally, in the 9th, the Braves exploded for 4 runs and took away another big road win. HoRam was once again pitching from the stretch all night long, allowing at least one baserunner in every inning after the first. But time and again our Houdini of the diamond escaped virtually unscathed, allowing only one run- on a bases-loaded fielders choice. Wicky faced the minimum, striking out one and coaxing 2 harmless ground outs to close out the 9th.

This was a big win for the Braves, being on the road against a divisional foe and without the services of either Jones brother. Expect to see at least Andruw return tonight, as fallen-star Tim Hudson faces off against the 100-foot tall Cole Hamels. Prediction- Francoeur will either strike out or leave the yard in every at bat.

Bob Wickman

We’ve waited for Scheurholz to make a move to shore up the bullpen, and considering what’s available out there, this was about as good as he could do without giving up the store a la the Reds. Wickman has the Proven Closer label, but more importantly can draw on a simple history of success at the major league level that’s completely absent from the remainder of the bullpen.

There are definite signs that he’s not what he once was, though. Wickman’s Baseball Reference page shows an aging pitcher who was league-average in 2003-4 before enjoying a renaissance last season. However, he’s no longer the pitcher who would routinely strike out a man per inning, and he got a little lucky last year — anyone who gives up 9 HR in 62 innings and Ks about 6 per 9 IP is fortunate to only give up 17 total runs.

So far this year he’s kept the ball in the park, which he’ll have to continue doing. I’d still like to see us import Linebrink or Williamson, but if we don’t take a couple from the Phillies this weekend it may not matter much. The recent hot streak accentuated the hole that we’ve dug for ourselves — we’re still behind the same teams, and losing 4 of 5 will put us right back where we started.

Anyway, we welcome any contributions that Wickman can make. I have a suggestion for his entrance music — what about “Fat Man” by Jethro Tull? Fear The Flute!

The Scoring Ends. But help is on the way..

It finally happened. The Braves lost a game. And failed to score 45 runs in the game. Sad. A rough way for Shiell to make his Braves debut. Imagine starting during the biggest win streak of the season. Against Carpenter, the defending Cy Young winner. On the road. And you get a surprise 2-hour rain delay before taking the mound. Rough.

But still, Chipper’s hit streak reaches 19 games. And McCann went deep yet again. So now it’s on the Philly and let’s win there. But the big news……

Braves acquire veteran closer- Bob Wickman- from Cleveland. How good is it? Hard to tell. Wickman’s a veteran closer, so that’s good. But this year his ERA is over 4, not good. For me, I’m excited about the move. I think its important to have a closer who’s been there and done it before. And we’ll recall that last season Wicky, as he’ll come to be known, had 45 saves and a 2.47 ERA. Not a whole lot of k’s for a closer, but solid location control.

I’ll sit back and watch, and await the in-depth analysis of this new Brave’s prior work from Sam or M. Norman. Probably Sam, since M. Norman is conspicuously absent of late.

No Superlatives Left Behind

Holy Cow. Another incredible, dominating, stunning performance. A 20-hit, 15-run performance is followed by an 18-hit, 14-run performance. Andruw, 0-for-4 on Monday, is the Dominator of the Day with a 5-for-5, 2-HR, 6-rbi display. Just incredible.

Hudson gets a win despite surrendering 5 meaningless runs in under 6 innings. 5 runs? What the hell good is that nowadays? The Braves scored in all but 2 innings. I’m speechless. What a time for M. “Daddy” Norman to quit posting again.

Nothing left to say. Every starting position player except Francoeur had a multi-hit night. 4 of our first 5 in the batting order are hitting over .300. Only Andruw “lags”. Scott Thorman is up to .273. Blah, blah, blah….. Beaneaters….. 1929 Yankees…..Paul Waner…. 4 games out of the wildcard. And tonight we offer up rookie Jason Shiell to see if pitching has ANY relevance.

Memo to Jeff Torborg…

…who sounds surprised that 1) Marquis didn’t cover third on a single to right, and 2) he made a stupid first pitch to Renteria, busting him up and in with the bases loaded: Jason Marquis is a hothead and a me-first player. Always has been, always will be. Now let the slaughter continue….

No Individual Record-Breaker…

But one hell of a team performance, whipping a new division leader.

Chipper’s streak ends with him still tied Paul Waner. But Chipper certainly did not have a down night, as he offered up 3 singles in the rout. The roster flooded the field with 20 base hits, this season’s best thus far for the resurgent Braves. Sosa proved that he hits better than he pitches when he smacked his 3rd HR of the season, moving him into a tie with Brian Jordan. (And also Sean Casey) LaRoche was 4-for-4, Francoeur had 3 hits and Betemit added 4 to his totals. Among the starters, only Andruw and Thorman went hitless, and each of them left the game early, as a dozen position players were used by Cox.

Player of the Game has to be Brian McCann. His 3rd inning grand slam on the 9th pitch of an extraordinary at-bat was a thing of beauty. He just kept fouling off every pitch till he got one he wanted. And the “Wow!” At that point it was a scoreless game and Horacio was getting tired from the heat. After the slam, the wheels came off for the recently demoted Jeff Weaver.

The Whompin’ Stick

Another day, another double-digit offensive output. Nice of our boys to provide at least a glimmer of hope — and it would have been even nicer had the Cubs been able to hold a 5-run lead vs. the Mets — alas, their vaunted bullpen (virtually the only strong spot on the team) imploded Braves-style, so we remain 12 games in arrears.

But let’s not dwell on that. Today we salute Chipper Jones, who tied Paul Waner’s record of 14 straight games with an extra base hit. He goes for the record tonight against Jeff Weaver of the Cardinals. Not a bad straw to draw — he’ll get to bat lefthanded, his more powerful side, against a mediocre pitcher in a park that, while historically a home run graveyard, does yield a fair share of doubles. He’s 5 for 15 against Weaver — all singles.

A little later we’ll meet the man with whom Chipper (for the time being) shares history.