Braves Lose Last Game to Marlins

As I predicted, the Braves lost the last game of the series. Which is 3 loses out of 4 to the Florida Marlins. Not something you want to do against a division foe.

-Kyle Davies continues his inconsistency with another bad outing. 5 earned runs in 5 innings. This is probably the most unpredictable pitcher on the Braves.

-Kelly Johnson and Jeff Francoeur each contributed with 2 rbi.

-Salty continues to prove his top prospect value by going 2-5 in place of McCann. McCann has a bothersome finger and ankle sprain.

-Like usual...there was a substitution of a regular starter. Chris Woodward went an awesome 0-5 while playing SS. Good choice Bobby!

-For a moment I thought Andruw Jones was getting back on track. Looks like it was a fluke and he is back to his usual pathetic hitting ways. Why Bobby Cox has a .219 hitter in the cleanup spot is beyond me. Please stick him back in the 6th spot or so.

-Scott Thorman went 3-4. He shows signs of life once in a while.

The Braves will play the Chicago Cubs again tomorrow. Chuck James will try to out duel Rich Hill.

Braves vs Marlins

The Braves are 1-2 in three games so far. I am not very pleased with the way this series has gone.

On Monday, Tim Hudson struggled allowing 6 runs (5 earned) in 6 innings. The Braves couldn't hit Obermueller who had an era over 5.00. What a surprise!

-Yunel Escobar went 4-4 with an rbi. He is an excellent replacement for Chipper as of now. Orr, Woodward and Prado aren't going to cut it.

-Jeff Francoeur added to his walk total by getting two walks. It is nice to see that he is still trying to take some pitches.

In today's first game of the double header, the Braves couldn't hit Mitre. Luckily, Mitre only pitched 5 innings and the Braves were able to score from homeruns by Salty and Woodward.

-Buddy Carlyle pitched a good game going 7 innings, allowing only 1 hit, which was a homerun to Aaron Boone in the 3rd.

-Saltalamacchia hit his 2nd homerun of the season to put the Braves in the lead.

-Chris Woodward surprisingly hit a homerun as well, which made it back to back after Salty's.

-Pete Orr continues his horrible play going 0-2. I can't figure out why this guy is still on the team, or why he even played in place of Johnson for that matter. Why does Cox feel the need to rest Kelly so often? Is there something I don't know about?

In tonight's game, the Braves couldn't hit Vanden Hurk who has an era over 8.00! The Braves previously roughed this guy up in another series, why couldn't they this time? John Smoltz gets a loss when only allowing 2 earned runs. Not good.

-Right hander Blaine Boyer was called up and pitched an inning giving up one hit. A possible bullpen improvement. What I can't figure out is that the Braves decided to send down Carlyle after his impressive game. Wouldn't it make more sense to let Cormier get a few starts down in the minors to see if he can catch up a little more before risking another blowout?

-Scott Thorman went 0-4, further hurting his chances of keeping his job.

Kyle Davies will face Scott Olsen tomorrow. The way the Braves have been playing lately, I will have to say they will lose this one.


In other news, Chipper Jones bruised hands have not been getting better and it is a big concern. You can read more about it here. I just don't understand, Chipper was doing fine just days after his collision and all of the sudden he got worse.

Mississippi Braves Manager Clip

In case you missed it, manager Phillip Wellman of the Mississippi Braves went crazy after he was ejected during a game on Friday. I have seen dirt kicking, home plate being covered, and bases being thrown, but this guy added some extra creativity in his rage. It was very funny.

You can watch it here on youtube.

Doesn't he look a bit like Bob Wickman?

June 3rd Game Rant

The Braves failed to capitalize on a Mets loss today by losing the final game of the series to the Cubs 1-10. Why can't the Braves ever sweep a team? The only sweep this season is from opening series against the Phillies. It would be nice if they could go on a little winning streak.

-Lance Cormier looked like a little league pitcher out there today surrendering 8 earned runs in 4 innings. I know it is just one start, but it is obvious that he is not a solution for the 5th starter either.

-The Braves again failed to hit against a pitcher with little experience. The Braves make poor or young pitchers look like Pedro Martinez in his prime.

-What made me angry, is that Aramis Ramirez was hit by a ball off of Jacque Jones' bat while running to 2nd base. Ramirez was out and the ball was dead. Had Ramirez not got hit by the ball, a double play should have been made to end the inning. Instead, Cormier gives up a grand slam to former Brave Mark DeRosa.

-Kelly Johnson continues to hit well. Going 2-4 in today's game. Why he was benched yet agian for yesterday's game has me confused. The only reason I could think of was that Rich Hill is a left handed pitcher. I wonder if Bobby Cox looks at stats at all, because Johnson hits lefties better than righties. .325 avg/.513 slug/.413 obp vs left .282 avg/.500 slug/.390 obp vs right

-Jarrod Saltalamacchia got a little action at 1st base. He had a nice diving grab on one play but made a throwing error. I think Renteria could have caught the throw, but he just watched it fly by. I think sooner or later Scott Thorman will lose his job if he can't get anything going.

-Renteria has no range. There were two ground balls in the 1st inning that could have been fielded by him. Instead they just slowly rolled by him. At least dive for them Edgar, put a little more effort in.

Tomorrow Tim Hudson will be on the mound to face Wes Obermueller and the Marlins. This game should be won easily.

Game 2 of Cubs Series

The Braves won their second game of the series against the Cubs today. Chuck James pitched a well game and Yunel Escobar had an excellent Major League debate.

-Chuck James went 6 innings and allowed 2 earned runs. He had some control issues and walked four, but overall a decent game. His era is now 3.78 for the season.

-Escobar went 2-4 with an rbi in his 1st game up from the minors. He is already impressing me and it shouldn't be too much longer before he replaces someone like Prado.

-Marin Prado continues to struggle, going 0-3 in the leadoff spot (batting .179 for the season). He also had an error late in the game that cost a run. I don't like this guy and think he belongs in the minors. I laugh at those who wanted this guy over Kelly Johnson.

-I am starting to run out of patience on Scott Thorman. I would like to see him have some success but he is really killing this team.

Tomorrow the Braves will have Lance Cormier, who has finally recovered from injury pitch against Sean Marshall. I have no idea what kind of outcome to expect. The Braves don't fare well against unfamiliar pitchers, but then the Cubs have lost 6 straight. A sweep would be very nice.