Know Thy Braves - Sept 7, 8, 9

[Frayed Knot]

Seeing as how this will be the 5th series with these guys this year we should pretty much know the cast of characters by this point. And if the mere 7-5 edge the Braves hold so far seems closer than you thought, remember that it all started out with a three-game NYM sweep in April. Since then, not so good.

That said, I�m not quite sure what to make of this team sometimes.
They followed an 18-8 July with a 15-14 August, but even that pedestrian record disguises that they finished the month on a 4-9 skid, a stretch which all but killed their shot at winning the division because Washington has a 7 game lead and no one blows that kind of lead in September ... well, almost no one. And their offense (4th overall in the NL) is suddenly flat as they�ve scored [u:3r8k059z]two or fewer[/u:3r8k059z] runs in 7 of their last 9 games. That they�ve won 3 of those 7 (including back-to-back 1-0 wins v the Rox in which neither run scored was earned) is a tribute to their pitching as well as a tribute to the ineptness of Colorado who no one loses to in the 2nd half of 2012 ... well, almost no one.

Atlanta currently sits on the #1 WC spot with a 3-1/2 game lead on WC#2 (Cards) and another 1.5 games on top of that ahead of the next hopeful pretender (Dodgers)

The main change since we last saw them is that Fredi Gonzalez benched the erratic Dan Uggla last week [.178 BA in the 2nd half] which moves the all-purpose Martin (the devil wears) Prado to 2B which in turn starts a merry-go-round in LF consisting mainly of (RH) Reed �Lyndon� Johnson & (LH) Jose �George� Constanza

Other Atlanta 2nd half slumpees include:
- catcher Brian McCann (.623 OPS w/7 XBHs in 2nd half vs .731 w/23 in 1st) which only means that backup David Ross will be there to kill us in whichever game he starts plus in PH ABs off the bench..
- and CF Michael Bourne (.666 OPS w/11 XBHs vs 1st half of .817 w/30) who, while still good, is no longer a Top-5 MVP candidate this year (still ain�t signing cheap though).

But elsewhere in Braves-land:
- Chipper�s still Chipper even if not quite as often;
- Freddie Freeman is where we hoped Ike would be by now even though FF is 2-1/2 years younger;
- Jason Heyward is where none of our current OFs will ever be;
- and SS Paul Janish is a great fielder even if he can�t hit which, considering that he was their 4th SS option this season, is something I�m sure they can live with.


Friday - 7:10 EDT
Niese vs Paul Maholm [6-6; 3.96; 1.16 in 6 starts]
A deadline pick-up from the Cubs after Ryan Dempster nixed their deal, Maholm hasn�t been great but naturally has out-performed Dempster since that time and cost the Braves less to land.

Saturday - 4:05 EDT National TV (for some of you anyway) on FOX
Hefner vs Kris Medlen
Medlen is one of those stories that seems to only happen to the Braves. With counted-upon young pitchers Beachy, Jurrgens, Vizcaino, Teheran, Minor, Delgado all hurt, dealt, and/or under-performing, up from the DL & the pen comes Kris (no he�s not married to a Kardashian ... at least not yet) Medlen.
A 10th round pick in 2006 now 26 y/o, he showed decent stuff in 2009 & �10, then missed all of 2011 w/TJ surgery before starting this season in the bullpen where he was pretty good though hardly great. He then got bumped to the rotation in late July where he suddenly turned into a ridiculous 6-0 with 4 runs given up (3 earned) across 7 starts/49 IPs and a 50/5 K/BB ratio. Yes, 50-to-5
And if you go back to the last time he was in the rotation in 2010, the Braves have won the last 18 games in which he�s been the starter (he�s 12-0 with 6 NDs in those).

Sunday - 1:10 EDT
Young vs Tommy Hanson [12-8; 4.40; 1.48]
Hanson was #3RoY in 2009 but has managed to get just a little bit worse each year since.
Mets beat him on Opening Day (5 innings - 1 run), beat him again 11 days later (7 innings - 5 runs), and then he took a ND in a game during that disaster stretch right after the ASG in a game where he got smacked around (5 innings - 6 runs) but the Braves ultimately won late off Beato & Parnell. In all we�ve scored 12 runs against him (11 earned) over 17.1 IPs in those 3 starts.


Bullpen: Nah, let�s not talk about that cuz, even though ours has been better lately, there�s still no comparison.
Although since we�re on the subject, closer Kimbrel is coming off closing out two consecutive 1-0 games in about a 15-hour span (Wed night + Thurs aft), He actually allowed two base-runners in the process but no one reached 2nd and he got 6 of the 7 outs he needed via strike-out making most of of the hitters look stupid along the way. That�s now 94 Ks and 21 hits allowed in 51 innings for the season from a 5� 11� 3rd round draft pick out of some JuCo in Alabama. Or, looking at it another way, he�s struck-out more than half the batters he�s faced this season (94 of 186). Note: Not merely half the [u:3r8k059z]outs[/u:3r8k059z] via strike-out but half the batters who stepped in against him this season eventually left dragging their bat back to the dugout.
But hey, don�t worry, he�s already 24 y/o and will only be under club control for another four seasons.

Edited September 6, 2012 by Guest

[Edgy MD]

A big dodged bullet perhaps for years to come, has to be Julio Teheran. The team's top prospect (#5 overall in the last two Baseball America pre-season rankings) went 15-3 / 2.55 in AAA last year and looked ready to advance smoothly to the bigs at 21. He not only didn't make the team out of camp, but he regressed severely back in the International league (7-9 / 5.08) and got raked in his lone mid-season start with Atlanta.

He's back now as a September callup. I wasn't quite expecting Strasberg, but definitely thinking another dominating starter was about to enter the division. Maybe a young Cole Hamels-level pitcher. What happened to this guy?

[Ceetar]

It's a sharp wake-up call to thoughts of the Mets being 'stacked' in starting pitching. Both the Braves and Yankees (And probably others) were supposedly so stacked with starters with huge prospects simply needing a couple of months.

anyway, don't forget Reed Johnson very well may be what ended Johan's season and caused him to struggle in July-August. I know it was 'accidental' and we've already seen him since, but I do believe this guy could use a HBP..

[Frayed Knot]

Edgy DC wrote: A big dodged bullet perhaps for years to come, has to be Julio Teheran. The team's top prospect (#5 overall in the last two Baseball America pre-season rankings) went 15-3 / 2.55 in AAA last year and looked ready to advance smoothly to the bigs at 21. He not only didn't make the team out of camp, but he regressed severely back in the International league (7-9 / 5.08) and got raked in his lone mid-season start with Atlanta. He's back now as a September callup. I wasn't quite expecting Strasberg, but definitely thinking another dominating starter was about to enter the division. Maybe a young Cole Hamels-level pitcher. What happened to this guy?

Control problems was, I believe, the main culprit with him.

t's a sharp wake-up call to thoughts of the Mets being 'stacked' in starting pitching. Both the Braves and Yankees (And probably others) were supposedly so stacked with starters with huge prospects simply needing a couple of months.

There's an old saying* about how if you want two great pitchers the best way is to find six great pitching prospects
IOW, don't count on Harvey AND Wheeler AND Mejia AND Familia all being great ... or even good for that matter.

* there are several variations of that saying but they all advance the same idea

[Edgy MD]

I don't know if anybody is saying the team is stacked. (Optimists? Where?) You always need more pitching. Everybody knows that.

[Ceetar]

Edgy DC wrote: I don't know if anybody is saying the team is stacked. (Optimists? Where?) You always need more pitching. Everybody knows that.

well, not stacked exactly but you do see people suggesting things like trading McHugh (or even Wheeler) to round out the team and the "Don't bother with Pelfrey we have enough." stuff.

You always need more pitching. That's sorta where I was going with that.

[ashie62]

I've got a fever and the only prescription is more Pelfrey.

[MFS62]

Frayed Knot wrote: The main change since we last saw them is that Fredi Gonzalez benched the erratic Dan Uggla last week

Yeah, but erratic can mean some good days and some bad days. And Uggla seems to save his best days for the Mets. I expect to see him in the lineup (but I hope not).

Great job as always, FK.

Later

[Edgy MD]

Uggla's career vs. the Mets: an Elsteriffic .223 / .304 / .397 // .701.

[batmagadanleadoff]

[Edgy MD]

It's harder to read names on latter-day cards.

[Frayed Knot]

Edgy DC wrote: It's harder to read names on latter-day cards.

Well, it's a Braves New World out there.

Uggla's career vs. the Mets: an Elsteriffic .223 / .304 / .397 // .701.

Which represents a sizable cut below his career .252/.342/.469 // .811 line

[Edgy MD]

Frayed Knot wrote: It's harder to read names on latter-day cards. Well, it's a Braves New World out there.

Check out those two cards just above the Hunter/Capra card. Would it kill you to use a normal ink color that contrasts with its background?

Frayed Knot wrote: Uggla's career vs. the Mets: an Elsteriffic .223 / .304 / .397 // .701. Which represents a sizable cut below his career .252/.342/.469 // .811 line

Indeed. Elster was a comparison I just pulled out of my hat last night, but it wasn't a bad one, as he went .228 / .300 / .377 // .677 for his career. At least he gave you the top shelf defense that Uggla couldn't dream of.

Look at that isolate OBP for Uggla, though. He's actually leading the league in walks.

[Frayed Knot]

That's what was so weird about that lengthy (35 games?) hitting streak he put together last year.
The 'swing hard in case you hit it' guy with a low BA and high walk pct (IOW: the classic 'TTO' player) is exactly the opposite type one would expect to put together a streak of even ten games.

[Edgy MD]

You stare at this for eight minutes, only to find out you're looking at Bobby Bonilla? What kind of reward is that?


Ah, yes. KWM GOLCH. Wonder whatever happened to him.

[batmagadanleadoff]

It's harder to read names on latter-day cards.

That's my biggest complaint about the newer cards. First off, the names on the hard to read cards probably aren't printed: they're embossed. And the card companies use funky, showy glittery materials to emboss the players names. To me, it's more of a distraction than a positive design element. They're difficult to read even when you're holding the card in your hand in the real world. It's usually harder if you're looking at a photograph of the card, like here.




Frisella? Or Leroy Nieman?

[Frayed Knot]

The one Braves' SS that we haven't seen yet this year* is Andrelton Simmons.
He's some guy they found in Curacao who they brought up in June and he immediately took over playing every day while hitting .300 w/power and defense. But then just before the ASB he broke a finger (sliding head first) and has been DL'd since.
Well he's been rehabbing and could be back this weekend just in time for our series.




* They've had a different one almost each time we've faced them: Tyler Pastornicky (4 starts), Jack Wilson (3), Paul Janish (4), and even Martin Prado filling in (1)

[Edgy MD]

Them Prado games kill me. They had the stones to go into the series with one shortstop. He gets hurt, and Prado ends up finishing that game and starting the next one (is Gwinnett too far away to send for help?), and we still ended up losing both with bullpen hijinx. These games were handed to us.

[Frayed Knot]

And, IIRC, Prado made several good plays at SS and probably drove in a few as well.
And then they traded for Janish the next day.

[Zvon]

Great job FK. Thank you.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Belated thanks.