Section 435 An Atlanta Braves blog. From the upper deck at Turner Field.

Goodbye, Tex

When Mike Hampton of all people is the only Brave not currently on the DL, it FINALLY became apparent to management that this season was over. So, mark your calendars for Casey Kotchman bobblehead day sometime in 2009, 2010, and 2011.

With Kotchman we get some stability at first base for the next few years, a steady bat, though lacking Tex’s power, and someone who, from reports, is as able defensively as Tex. You know, so long as he is able to keep the malaise at bay.

When asked for comment on the trade, Scott Thorman responded, “Fuck.”

Duder McWhoeverstein, a AA pitcher, was also included in the trade. Like Casey Kotchman, he also has a better chance at playing first base for the Atlanta Braves than Scott Thorman.

Frank Wren had this to say about McWhoeverstein, “Look, we would’ve gotten two draft picks for Tex next spring if we’d hung on to him. So I’d look like a total jackass if I only got one guy back now.”

All in all, probably not quite the deal we were hoping to get. But still an improvement over draft picks as we get at least one body who we know can play quality baseball at the major league level.

On My Absence

Apologies for my prolonged absence. I’m in the midst of a move. It’s only a mile down the road, but I’ve been in and out of boxes and without the internet tubes. Things should be approaching normalcy again by this weekend’s series against the Brew Crew. I’ll be back to analyze the trade-deadline carnage (both literal and figurative) then.

Another Brutal One

Washington: Like a Kajillion, Atlanta: Significantly Less. (Okay, fine. 15-6.) Folks, today was the first time that I can remember actually leaving a game before the final out. Yogi Berraisms aside, this one was over.

So we lost two out of three to the team with the worst record in baseball going into the series. This was not a good team that we lost to. And this was not even a bad team at its best. Dmitri Young, Nick Johnson, and Ryan Zimmerman are all riding the DL train right now. They used Paul Lo Duca at first for this series for goodness sakes. Ryan Langerhans, whose bat last year makes this year’s Francoeur look like Ted Fucking Williams, bashed our pitchers around like it was beer-league softball.

Going into the second half, Braves fans were holding out hope that the bats would turn around and start performing as well as our pitching staff has. Instead, our pitching has been abysmal. 15 is the most runs we’ve given up since September of 2006.

Jo-Jo Reyes is reverting back to his old ways. In 10 games from May 3 to June 18 his K/BB was 22/50. In 5 games since, it’s 12/10. That’s what it boils down to for Jo-Jo: control. No control, no Jo-Jo mojo. I still think he’ll get that sorted out and will be a quality major league starter. But he’s shown us once again that he’s got a little ways to go.

Same Ol’ Song and Dance

Washington 8, Atlanta 2. This was the kind of loss we’ve come to expect from the Braves this year. Nothing doing on the offense once runners get on base.

• John Lannan is apparently only a competent pitcher against the Braves. Against the Braves, he excels.
• Ryan Langerhans had more hits tonight than his entire 2007 tour with the Braves.
• Francoeur was still Francoeur, 2008 vintage. There were some folks in our section tonight with an M-Braves bag. I thought they might be there to bring him back.
• Jair Jurrjens didn’t have it tonight. Neither did Buddy Carlyle or Royce Ring.
• Julian Tavarez had it. I guess that’s a positive.

So, who’s still on the bandwagon?

Battle of Who Could Care Less

Atlanta 7, Washington 6. Wow, was that an ugly game. If we were playing a team that actually cared about winning instead of the former-Brave-AAAA-All-Stars we could have easily lost that one.

Here’s a list of Atlanta Braves castoffs on the Nationals’ roster right now:

• Ryan Langerhans
• Pete Orr
• Odalis Perez
• Johnny Estrada
• Willie “Caught Stealing” Harris, the second best player ever out of Cairo, GA

The plus side to the game was that the bats were not only hot but efficient. 7 runs on 8 hits, 5 left on base. None of the double-digit LOB that we’ve been seeing a lot of in the first half.

The down side of the game was … well, it was ugly.

• Tim Hudson didn’t pitch well. He made short work of the Nats early, but only because their hard-hit balls were hard hit right at folks. They started finding holes later on and put 5 on the board against Huddy. Of course, he deserved to get a win on a bad outing after getting stuck with Ls and NDs on some pretty good outings.
• The outfield looked a little rusty. Kotsay misplayed a ball on a Kory Casto double over his head, probably costing him second base. Francoeur stood there and watched a Ryan Langerhans triple down the first base line, presumably thinking it was foul, not really taking off towards the ball until the umpire signaled it fair. That definitely cost third base. Honestly, if I were calling the shots from the dugout, I would have sat Francoeur’s lazy ass right then and there.
• Mike Gonzales had a rough outing, giving up a run, though he still managed to pick up the save. I think Gonzo’s due some patience, though. Let us not forget that he’s a month back from Tommy John surgery. That he is pitching as well as he is right now should be cause for celebration, not concern.

Counterpoint: What the Braves Need to do to Win

Going into the All-Star break, I suggested it’s time for the Braves to wave the big white flag on 2008. I think I’m in the minority on that opinion. It’s hard to argue that 6.5 games is an insurmountable deficit, and with a second half full of division matchups, we certainly have a lot of chance to help ourselves.

So with that in mind, here’s a round-up of what we need to do to win:

• Braves.Today.Com » Blog Archive » Braves at the Break: It’s now or never for this team
• Braves need these 5 things to get back in race | ajc.com
• For the Braves to Make the Playoffs… - Talking Chop
• Braves Need Magic (Not a Trade) To Make a Push « The Launching Pad-An Atlanta Braves Blog

Baseball starts again tonight as the hapless (against all teams that aren’t the Braves) Nationals come to town. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll be ecstatic if, come September, the Bravos make me eat my words.

Grasping at Straws

There’s a scene at the end of the movie Miracle, about the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team, when the upstart Americans are leading the Soviets with less than two minutes to go in the semifinals. The Americans start wondering when the Soviets are going to pull their goalie to get an extra skater in the game. As the clock ticks down the final seconds towards an American upset, the American coach realizes that the Soviet coach doesn’t know what to do at the end of the game when you’re trailing because the Soviets had never trailed at the end of a game.

That’s exactly where the Braves have been at the All-Star break the last couple of years. After so many years of winning, they don’t know what to do when they’re not.

Well, here’s my free (and worth every penny) advice to the Braves’ front office for the 2008 season: hang it up. Your goose is cooked.

You can say throwing in the towel makes me a bad fan, but my fan credentials are there. I was at the Ted for every inning of every game both times the Bravos got swept by the Phillies. I stayed for 17 innings last weekend. My girlfriend dreads each loss knowing the funk it puts me in. I want to see this team win. But let’s face it; it’s not in the cards for 2008. Rather than selling the future for the next Tex that will push this .500ish team towards a .505ish team, let’s start sorting out the lessons to learn from this year and start putting together the pieces for next year and beyond.

Sure, we’re only 6.5 back in an underachieving division. The Mets really aren’t as good as we should be. The Marlins and Phillies are playing way better than their pitching staffs should allow. And we’ve overcome bigger deficits than this in our long run.

But I was sucked in by that siren song last year and ra-ra’ed when we added an impact player whose huge impact didn’t impact our record much. The fact of the matter is adding a couple of pieces to fill in our holes - a big outfield bat and maybe another solid reliever - just isn’t going to cut it. There is something more fundamental that is flawed with the 2008 Atlanta Braves. This team is less than the sum of its parts. They don’t know how to win. What’s missing is more than any sabremetric is going to figure out. It’s confidence. It’s leadership. It’s all those intangibles that the numbers guys hate.

Of course, the folks in the front office won’t wave the white flag. They just don’t know how. Buckle yourself in for another second half in which we hang on until mid-September with the playoffs just tantalizingly outside of our grasps. We’ll pick up the Cubs’ fans’ old mantra of “wait ’til next year,” but next year and the next years to come won’t be quite as sweet as they could be had we decided to be sellers this year.

I cringed at our big win in San Diego tonight for just that reason. Maybe two straight series losses going into the break would tip the honchos to our fate. But just like that 5 game streak of huge wins after the break in 2006, just like Tex’s big entrance in 2007, we go into the week off with one tiny little straw to grasp at.

An Amazing Victory

Atlanta 7, Houston 6 (17 fucking innings). Of the official crowd of 24,000 this afternoon, maybe two thirds waited out the two hour rain delay before this game started. Plenty of people left after Kyle Davies Charlie Morton gave up a grand slam that gave the Astros a 5-1 lead. And as each inning of free baseball ticked by, the crowd shed hundreds more souls, so that by the time Gregor Blanco led off the bottom of the 17th for the Braves, even the lower level was sparsely populated. But you couldn’t tell by the noise when Mark Teixeira hit a bases-loaded single to end the longest game in Turner Field history with a win.

I know there will be the temptation to view this as a turning point, a game changer for a thus far disappointing season. Coming back from a four-run deficit, winning a marathon one-run game in extra innings. Doing what we’ve seemingly been unable to do all season. But we’re still a long way out, and I for one intend to just enjoy the moment for what it was rather than to try to imbue it with some deep meaning. It was grueling and mentally exhausting, but I’m truly priveleged to have been able to witness this game from start to finish.

What Was Ugly

Kyle Davies Charlie Morton gave up 6 runs in 6 innings, including a grand slam. I’ve found the kid unimpressive so far and I hope his trouncings over the last couple of games don’t contribute to the kind of mental blocks that have so obviously hurt a number of young pitchers that we’ve rushed to the majors. He’s obviously not ready to be here yet. Nonetheless, Morton’s forgettable performance was forgotten by the end of the game.

What Was Amazing

After Morton came out, we got 11 innings from the bullpen. Over those 11 innings, the Astros were unable to score another run. Everyone in the bullpen was fantastic. Extra special props go to Buddy Carlyle. he seems to have found himself in the bullpen this year and is quietly having a great season. He went 3 scoreless, striking out 4, and dropping his ERA to 1.38. Mike Gonzales was also outstanding in his two innings, striking out 4, and looking untouchable.

What Was Fascinating

• Brian McCann and Mark Kotsay both got the day off and both ended up playing almost full games worth of innings. Jason Perry didn’t get the start, but played 15 innings after coming into the game early for an injured Omar Infante.
• Manny Acosta pitched 3 innings and had two plate appearance, trying to bunt a runner over both times. Acosta turned out to be the worst bunter ever, striking out the first time by fouling a third strike bunt on an eye-level pitch. The second time, he bunted it straight back to the pitcher who made the out at second. Acosta hustled to beat out the double play but injured himself stretching for the bag and had to come out of the game.
• Jeff Bennett was the only reliever who didn’t pitch. He was in the dugout the whole game. [Ed. - DLed]
• In the bottom of the 17th, with the bases loaded, nobody out, and Mark Teixeira at the plate, the Astros brought their left fielder into the infield, playing with three five infielders. Perhaps this is the baseball equivalent of pulling the goalie. It didn’t matter though, as Tex drove a base hit to deep center for the win.

On Francoeur, Low Notes, and High Notes

So I’m a little bit behind after early bedtimes and early rising the last couple of days for my second Peachtree Road Race and other Patriotic Hat Day festivities. A lot has been going on with the Braves in the meantime.

On Francoeur

I salute Bobby Cox and Frank Wren for their decision to send Francoeur down in spite of whatever bad blood it might cause. Francoeur’s reaction was incredibly childish, so let’s hope it was just a reaction and he sees the wisdom of the move. (Seems like he might be coming around to that.)

Frankly, it’s incredibly selfish of him if he thinks the Braves owe him the opportunity to sort out his struggles with the big club. If the Braves weren’t 5 games under .500 and 7 games back - all but out of contention for the second half - it would be one thing. If Francoeur’s struggles weren’t a big contributing factor to the team’s underachievement this season, he might have a case. Even a handful more clutch hits from Francoeur would have been enough to keep us in the hunt.

And up to this point, Francoeur is a superstar in marketing only. He’s a very good player who has yet to live up to his full potential. Does he have it in him to be great? Absolutely. But he’s not there yet. And until he is, he should get the deference his performance - not his hype - affords him.

On High Notes

Fourth of July: Atlanta 6, Houston 2. After a crushing sweep at the hands of the Phillies, it was great to see some excitement again at the Ted. The first sellout of the season watched the Braves win one the right way. Tim Hudson pitched a gem. Jason Perry, up from Richmond to fill in for Francoeur, hit a triple in his first major league at bat. Kotsay had a single, an RBI, and a defensive gem. And KJ went deep. What was particularly satisfying about this one was the 6 runs on 8 hits. We haven’t seen that kind of efficiency in a while.

On Low Notes

Thursday Night: Philadelphia 4, Atlanta 1. I was going to write a post on Thursday about how we can’t give up the season yet. About how the 1991 Braves were 9.5 games back on July 7 and came back to win the division. But then the Phillies completed their sweep, and took my remaining optimism with them. Now, the 1991 Braves reeled off wins in 9 of their next 11 games to bring them back within 2.5, and we’ll need the same kind of streak. And we’ll need Frenchy to come back from Mississippi with his head on straight to drive in some runs for us.

In the past, I’ve contended that the Phillies’ putrid starting rotation is going to sink them before the season is up. But damn, those guys can hit. We’ll need some help from the Phillies, too, if we’re to make a run in the second half.

Picking the Wrong Time to Swoon

Tuesday: Philadelphia 8, Atlanta 3. Wednesday: Philadelphia 7, Atlanta 3. The Braves have gone 2-6 over their last 8 games, losing the first two to the Phillies at a point when we could have pulled back within striking distance. The only thing worse tonight than the game itself was being completely surrounded by shrill, pre-teen girls.

Some notes on the ugly:

• Mark Kotsay has thrown up an 0-fer since rejoining the grown-up squad. Doesn’t look like anything to be concerned about, yet, and he looked spry bounding out into center starting the game this evening.
• Our reinvigorated, re-healthy lineup has had a hard time with the Phillies starting pitching which has been putrid for most of the season.
• The Braves were 0-3 on Wednesday night with the bases loaded. Jeff Francoeur got our only bases-loaded RBI by grounding into a double play.
• Ryan Howard has more hits than RBIs this season. He has 71 RBIs. He has 70 hits (all of them home runs). Of course, when Campillo pitched around Chase Utley to get to Howard, Howard made him pay with a 3-run bomb.
• Chipper is definitely not 100%. He barely even made an effort to run to first when he hit into a routine groundout. Frankly, we can lose 8-3 without Chipper. I’d rather see him take a few more days to completely heal.