Giants 5 Braves 3
I can't decide whether to be disappointed at Cox's insistence on leaving his starting pitchers in the game too long, or face the likely realization that a tired Hudson or Smoltz is better than most of our fresh bullpen arms. At any rate, another late-inning lead lost when Hudson visibly tired. Brave-O-Matic does not wallow in nostalgia, but it sure would be nice to have a guy like Goose Gossage or Sparky Lyle, who could occasionally come in in the seventh inning and just close the game out from there.
Can't blame all this on the pitching staff, though. Again the Braves got a good many runners on base, only to fail repeatedly at driving them in. Andruw in particular seemed very anxious to hit pitches straight up in the air -- an enviable talent, one supposes, but useless in this context. Can't be too hard on him, obviously, or Francoeur, who suffered a rare 0-fer.
For what it's worth, the team has been flashing some serious leather lately, which is good news for Thomson and Hampton, both of whom will be starting against the D'Backs this weekend after lengthy rehab stints in the low minors, where the glovework is usually less than stellar. Sounds like Horacio is the odd man out, at least until the next DL stint.
Can't blame all this on the pitching staff, though. Again the Braves got a good many runners on base, only to fail repeatedly at driving them in. Andruw in particular seemed very anxious to hit pitches straight up in the air -- an enviable talent, one supposes, but useless in this context. Can't be too hard on him, obviously, or Francoeur, who suffered a rare 0-fer.
For what it's worth, the team has been flashing some serious leather lately, which is good news for Thomson and Hampton, both of whom will be starting against the D'Backs this weekend after lengthy rehab stints in the low minors, where the glovework is usually less than stellar. Sounds like Horacio is the odd man out, at least until the next DL stint.
posted by Sam Bass | 11:30 PM
1 Comments:
Two out of three ain't bad. It definitely hurts to see two really fine starting pitching performances end that way but such is life.
This next comment is nit picking for sure but there have been several situations lately where the Braves have had baserunners on with less than two outs. American leaguers get the green light and swing for the fence. In the senior circuit, I always thought the play is to move the runners along, effectionately known as small ball. And I'm not proposing Andruw bunt or any other such extreme tactic cuz I love the homerun as much as the next guy. But when you have a lead, those insurance runs are priceless. I'd like to see him specifically and maybe some others take a little off. Slap the ball to right side and get the runners in scoring position. Maybe treat the at bat like you start with two strikes. Its a career year, but I think even he recognizes the folly with his evident smirk after some of the monster swings.
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