Bad Jo-Jo, Bad!
The Braves moved Yunel Escobar into the leadoff spot tonight and put smoking hot Mark Kotsay in the number two spot. And, while the move surely made the blogosphere happy, it didn’t end up changing our fortunes in road games or one-run games or one-run games on the road. I wholeheartedly support the move and agree with the rationale proffered, but the lineup needs more than just a shakeup to get it going in clutch situations.
Jo-Jo Reyes once again started out strong and collapsed in his final innings. This time, Bobby didn’t insulate his ERA from his miscues by pulling him early, not having that luxury after needing 5 innings from the bullpen over the course of the doubleheader yesterday. The good news on Jo-Jo is that he walked nobody in 6.2. The bases on balls were his big problem this spring and last fall, so it’s good to see he’s turning the corner on that problem since we’ll be seeing a lot more of Jo-Jo the rest of the year.
Chipper Jones continued his torrid pace, going 3 for 4. The radio announcers were discussing how teams have liked to turn Chipper around to the right side this year, but that it hasn’t been working as Chipper’s hitting .393 against lefties. Still, that sure beats the .415 and 9 HRs against righties this year. You take what you can get.
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