Andruw Returns in Fine Form
Atlanta 6, Los Angeles Dodgers of Los Angeles 1. Aside from Kelly Johnson’s uncharacteristic blundering in the infield tonight, you could not have asked for a much better game out of the Braves. Jeff Bennett redeemed himself for his last couple of performance with 4.2 strong innings on short rest. The bullpen acquitted itself well, with the only run of the night coming off of Buddy Carlyle. Will Ohman, Blaine Boyer, and Manny Acosta all looked sharp, which is really promising.
Offensively, Chipper had an absolutely huge night. I’ve been joking that he’s been hitting for two with Tex’s early struggles. But the last couple of days he really has.
Of course, the real spectacle of tonight’s game was Andruw Jones’ first trip to Atlanta in Dodger Blue. Well, it was not pretty. Thanks to my spankin’ new extended zoom camera, I have the proof. Here’s Andruw throwing in the outfield:
I know it’s not nice to pick on him for getting tubby, but dang-o!
Here’s Andruw striking out in his first at bat, one of two Ks on the evening:
His line: 1-3, 2K, 2B, BB.
Here’s Andruw in the outfield after crashing into former Brave Rafeal Furcal on a pop-up to short center:
Ultimately, I was pretty disappointed in the fans’ reaction to Andruw. He got a nice little ovation with no booing when the starting lineups were announced, but he got a lot of boos when came to bat. He did get a smattering of applause when he doubled in his final at bat. Still, Andruw was an institution here for more than a decade. True he was always a little disappointing because we all knew that with a little more discipline at the plate, he could have been even better. But he is still one of the all-time great Braves and I wish the fans had shown him a little more respect.
In fairness to Andruw, though, it was ugly all around for the Dodgers tonight. Derek Lowe struggled a little and we made him pay. We made them pay for their errors in the field, too.
It’s finally starting to feel like the Braves are playing cohesively as a team. Less of the let’s hope the starting pitching can carry the inconsistent offense can carry the spotty bullpen can carry the fatiguing rotation. Maybe we’re finally building some momentum. If we keep seeing the team we saw tonight, the rest of the season is going to be a lot more pleasant to watch.
Bad news on Glavine for tomorrow night’s start, but I don’t expect it to be a long trip to the DL. Good news on the Gonzales front and faint ray of hope on the Moylan front, though, should help lessen the sting a little.
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