Nats 5, Braves 4: And… Another One-Run Loss
It was nice to see the Braves battle, but we just didn’t have it yesterday. Tom Glavine came out in the first inning (with a strained hamstring — uh-oh) having loaded the bases and retired nobody, and for the second time in two games Jeff Bennett was asked to get the Braves out of a bases-loaded jam. He did so, again, allowing only one of the runners to score. Wily Mo Pena, our best friend all day, helped us out here with a double play; he also threw in a hat trick of strikeouts and a comical drop of a routine liner that scored a run and brought us within 1, as close as we ever got.
Bennett struggled, walking in a couple runs in the second and giving up another in the third, but he got 12 outs in another gutty performance — this is essentially the second time he’s had to make an emergency start following an injury to a member of our rotation after having pitched the day or two before; he did the same thing on what was supposed to be Mike Hampton’s first start. After him, our bullpen didn’t allow a run and gave up just one hit the rest of the way, with Jorge Campillo and Blaine Boyer combining for a very impressive 3 perfect innings and Chris Resop stranding a leadoff double. It was a particularly beautiful debut in a Braves uniform for Campillo, who needed only 23 pitches for his 2 innings of work, 16 of them strikes.
The Braves finally got on the board with a two-run homer by Chipper in the 6th, tacking on another run in the same inning when Jeff Francoeur hit a sac fly for his 8th RBI in two days. Their only other run came in the 8th on Pena’s bobble, though they loaded the bases in the 9th off Chad Cordero only to have McCann fly out on the first pitch from Jon Rauch.
Cordero and Pena had both been injured, so their long-awaited debuts were not particularly auspicious for the Nationals. But Tim Redding pitched us pretty well, and for some reason the resurgent Cristian Guzman continues to kill us. The most satisfying thing from the game was to see the Braves battle back from a pretty big deficit in the early innings, despite the demoralizing injury to Glavine. He’s listed as day-to-day, which is extremely important, because with Hampton on the eternal shelf and Chuck James clearly still not ready for prime time, we really need him to take the mound every 5 days.
As long as we’re going to lose one-run games, I’d rather lose them this way: battle hard and fall just short, rather than blow a lead. Off day today, then down to Florida. Hopefully we can beat them up and finally, finally make it above .500.
(Update: I wrote a piece for my Huffington Post blog about some of the uncertainty I face as a modern Atlanta Braves fan — we were on top for so long, and now that we’re not, I’m rooting really hard for us to be the best again, even though it seems a bit uncharitable to all the other teams. Hope you like it.)
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33 Responses to “Nats 5, Braves 4: And… Another One-Run Loss”
April 14th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Does anybody think that starting Matt Diaz everyday in left is a bad idea? I do!!
April 14th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
His numbers will suffer without a doubt because he doesn’t hit righties nearly as well as lefties. I think he’ll figure it out and be a league average leftfielder but by midseason, I also think that Brandon Jones will be platooning with him and I have no issue with that.
April 14th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
Well Diaz does have like a career 300 something batting average or close to it against righties also. Just not as good as he hits lefties. But Diaz started off slow last year also.
Dandre dude it is early in the season man. Tex has a worst average than Diaz does. Both are slow starters in the season. We all know that if healthy Tex will have very very good numbers and I believe IF healthy and IF Diaz starts everyday I could easily see him hitting .310, 20 homers, and 60-70 RBI’s. Diaz earned an everyday job and we need to be patient.
April 14th, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Tex - .213/.302/.382 - Gold Glove defense at a key position that gets the ball on about half the plays.
Diaz - .245/.245/.327 - Can maybe someday take a picture of one of Tex’s Gold Gloves.
This is why the sabremetrics people constantly bad mouth batting average. Batting average is a decent stat but tells so little of the total story for an offensive player. Yet because its one of the three stats listed next to a player on a TV broadcast it is a viewed a key stat. Tex while not have a good start is having a better start than Diaz.
April 14th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
I think Matt Diaz will still hit .300+ in the everyday role, but without much power and with (at best) average defense. Still, Matt is a pretty good situational hitter. Anyway, I am not worried about the Braves’ offense. They will again be one of the NL’s better offensive clubs, and they will score enough runs to win 95 ball games.
The worry is the pitching staff. I have been worried about the Braves’ pitching staff since John Smoltz developed a sore shoulder in March. I became a lot more worried when Rafael Soriano went on the DL. Now, with Hampton DL’ed, James back in AAA after a very poor start on April 9, and Glavine struggling with a hamstring injury, there is a lot more cause for concern. They just recalled Buddy Carlyle, and this is beginning to look like 2007 all over again.
April 14th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
I’m normally a glass is half full kinda guy but I still don’t know why there is more hope this year than last year. There was just as much chance last year to win the division/wild card as there is this year. Relying on two 40+ old pitchers offsets the additions of those pitchers and a full season of Tex.
That isn’t to say there isn’t hope. The Braves could have won the division last year and they still can this year. Plus the Phillies aren’t as good. The Mets are probably the same but they are managed by Willie Randolph so that is worth -5 games right there.
I don’t really think it matters though. I think the four best teams in the NL are all in the NL West. Well maybe not the Dodgers, there are too many question marks. The DBacks are the best team in the NL, the Rockies are the defending champs, and the Padres have a great rotation. Making the playoffs out of the East or Central makes round one tough.
I’ll still enjoy watching the Braves all summer but a WS contender this team is not.
April 14th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
Linked off of Fark.com Alex, not bad at all. That should really help the hit out on your article.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-remington/im-a-diehard-atlanta-brav_b_96534.html
Pretty good article as well.
April 14th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
Thanks for the compliment, TMac. Looks like I got a bunch of comments on Fark, nearly all of them about my three-word throwaway dissing the Tomahawk Chop.
I was trying to say something about how I realize that rooting for my formerly elite team to be good again is inherently obnoxious, but even though I realize that I’d rather be obnoxious and have the Braves win than be tolerable and have the Braves lose. On Fark, that became a discussion about whether I’m an idiot for thinking the Tomahawk Chop is racist, and whether I’m whiny for wanting us to win some more.
I prefer the people on our blog.
April 14th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
TMac, dude PLEASE learn to read and not diss what I said. I said Diaz has a BETTER AVERAGE not overall SEASON. And truthfully I am RIGHT. I said NOTHING about defense. Overall Tex is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much better than Diaz that it just is NOT even funny dude. So learn to read next time or MAYBE I just did not make myself clear enough in what I wrote earlier, but I even reread what I wrote and it made perfect sense. You was trying to make me look like a fool and I dont like that dude.
April 14th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
According to John Dewan’s Plus/Minus, Matt Diaz was one of the best left fielders in baseball, believe it or not. But we all know that first base and left field, on the defensive spectrum, are the two positions on the field that need good defense the least. What really matters is Diaz’s hitting. And if he hits like he has — bats .330 again — his slugging really won’t matter, nor will his defense. If he doesn’t, well, Brandon Jones should come up and platoon. But Diaz has earned a shot at the starting job.
April 14th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
It’s nice to get away from the constant up and downs of the Braves this season, for a couple of weeks. I did a 100-foot, 70-foot, and 30-foot dive today and capped it off sitting on the beach drinking a Corona and smoking a Cuban cigar while watching the sunset. I must say, that is the way to live.
April 14th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
You smoke and drink Will? I bet all of yall that Matt Diaz will not .300 if he plays everyday in LF this year. He will also lead the team in K’s if he does play everyday too. Hopefully Brandon Jones will rip AAA and get called up soon. I know plenty of great hitters like Ortiz and Teixeira are off to great starts, but Diaz isn’t in the same league as them. Diaz has looked pretty dumb at the plate a plethora of times at the begining point of the year. Diaz is basically swinging at any and everything. Most teams are going to keep busting him up with fastballs so he can’t get his arms extended. I will really like for Diaz to hit over .300 and have a great year, but I don’t think it’s likely. Well I was wrong on Yunel Escobar, but Brent Lillibridge still has more tools than him.
April 14th, 2008 at 11:36 pm
Will, live it up for all of us. It was 50 degrees in DC today.
April 15th, 2008 at 6:39 am
Alex don’t worry about the comments on fark, they can be really brutal. It is a great site to get funny comments about current news stories though.
Braves Fan #1 I wasn’t attacking you. I just feel it is one of my missions in life to convince people that batting average is very overrated. If you took offense sorry.
Will Corona isn’t good. Drink Dos Equis, Negro Modello, or one of the local beers next time your down there. Corona is made specifically to export to America. Enough beer snob for me today, I’m envious of your vacation.
April 15th, 2008 at 7:14 am
It appears I came off too snarky Will. Beer much like beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I’m just not a fan of Corona and know that it is brewed specifically to export to Americans. I guess that is what I get for posting before I go to work and fully wake up.
April 15th, 2008 at 8:31 am
I’m on vacation, I’ll do what I want D’Andre. Lol
I’ve been kind of going back and forth. They have the local cayman beer but I’m not that big a fan. Had a couple red stripes, tried a pretty good cuban beer but a corona and lime is just perfect when you’re sitting on the beach.
April 15th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
I just read up something that made no sense at all on this team’s official website,like the Braves don’t expect to be there come October,only because of their bullpen woes,hey this bullpen can and will improve soon in the future,this bullpen needs to improve ,this bullpen will improve soon in the future,and I felt totally disgusted reading up a totally lousy analogy about a team like the Braves not expected to be in October, this is BravesNation,this organization has always expected to be in October every year no matter what.BravesNation not showing up in October?man come on now,those 14 straight division titles have always been totally disappointing to native Georgians,because of just one world series title,so anything short of a world series title has always been a disappointment,forget about not showing up in the postseason come October,that’s beyond disappointment speaking of these damn good old Bravos.Not getting in the fall classic has always been a disappointment and just one world series title along with 14 straight division titles has always told the story.
April 15th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
All that talk about the Braves won’t be in the postseason,come October,whatever,BravesNation will be there no matter what,this is BravesNation,and this team will start winning and winning in October in the near future after all that October heartbreak before and after 1995 since they last won the world series,this team will win and win in the near future,and I’m sticking with my Braves until they end their heartbreaking October woes.
April 15th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
BRAVESNATION,
Huh?
April 15th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
The NL East will be a two-team race between the Braves and those philladelphia phillies,and the team with a better bullpen will win that division,those new york mets will be nothing at all to look forward to because the Braves and the phillies will start to run away from them,not to mention those florida marlins’ first place status won’t last at all.Braves,phillies it will come down to the bullpen.
April 15th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
BravesNation
If you go back and look at that article, it was a mailbag article that referred to the bullpen and the possibility of going to the post season. The question was posed whether atlanta needed to make some changes to their bullpen in order to get to the post season. The answer was that the bullpen will change when Gonzalez returns in mid season. This will happen without a trade. So, the article was basically saying that Atlanta will be changing its bullpen and it will not arrive in October looking the same as it does now. Thats how I read it. It was not suggesting that Atlanta will not be going to the post season.
April 15th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
diaz is good. he’s cheap, he plays an above average (yet very awkward) left field. people that count him out 2 weeks into the season are the same people that counted him out a month into the season last year. to say that he’s not a good outfielder is a common mistake b/c he looks so lost, but he has good range and a good arm and rarely makes errors. to get a 300+ hitter out of the 7 hole is pretty rare, good obp or not.
April 15th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
moylan on the dl. what else? hey, chicken little, the sky is falling. now who’s the closer? worst beginning of season ever.
http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080415&content_id=2530285&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl
April 15th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
ryan c, Diaz isn’t a ABOVE AVERAGE left fielder.
As of now the Braves suck!!! Now we are going to lose Moylan for 15 days. Smoltz and Chipper are one more bad play away from going on it too. Johnson is having knee problems, Escobar back has been giving him problems, and Mark Kotsay has had back issues that limited him last year. This offseason we have to get a younger staff and whatever else. I can care less for right now. I wish everybody are as passionate and competitive as Chipper, Glavine, Hudson, and Smoltz. On the bright side Tommy Hanson is killing Hi A batters right now.
btw, Diaz isn’t going to cut it has a everyday LF for the ATLANTA BRAVES!! May be for a team like the Royals or Giants.
April 15th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
ryan c, Diaz is a great platoon player and can give you a clutch hit off the bench. Day in and day out Diaz isn’t that great. He swings at stupid pitches, he has just a average arm, and he doesn’t cover that much ground in LF. I don’t have a problem with Diaz AT ALL. Like the old saying goes, “if it aint broke, don’t fix it!” Since Diaz was great in a platoon role why not keep him there? A Brandon Jones or Josh Anderson platoon with Diaz, would be better than Diaz playing everyday.
Hopefully Diaz will make me eat my worlds. Just coming out of spring training I never wanted Diaz to play everyday. May be, because Brandon Jones is from my hometown (Panama City, Florida) and I want to see him platoon with the Mighty Matty Diaz, ha.
April 15th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
d’andre, check the stats. the last 2 years, diaz’s defense has been above average. diaz is our everyday left fielder and he can cut it. dont jump on the bandwagon when he ends the year with a .320/20/85 season. your opinion is your own about diaz and his ability to be an everyday left fielder, but failing to read the stats means you’re just wrong.
April 15th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
I am suppose to check STATS to see how well he covers ground in the OF. uh, I don’t think so. He also had those great seasons in a platoon role. Like I said, he is a great platoon player, but an average LF. The Braves have bigger problems than Diaz right now. It might be time to call up Kris Medlen.
April 15th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
where’s the proof that he is an average left fielder? he has never played a full year as the starter. and yes, you are supposed to check stats to check his RANGE. his jumps have been a little off this year, but he does have decent range. there were many balls hit to the fence last year that would have been over many other left fielders. put it this way, he was better than kelly johnson in 2006 and willie harris in 2007.
April 15th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Diaz is a better offensive player than Willie Harris, but CLEARLY Harris is better than him defensive wise. You want a fact not stat? When the Braves played in close games past the 7th inning last year. Bobby Cox always sub. Diaz out and put Willie in. Checking stats for a players range is just dumb. Many people these days overrate stats.
By D’Andre Williams (I am better than you, and I know it)
April 15th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
Just because Bobby does it doesn’t mean it’s right.
April 15th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
i guess we should just throw out stats all-together and just go with our senses. matt diaz is a good left-fielder, and i SEE things differently than you do. we’re having a dumb argument, and it gets dumber when the numbers are there and they get dismissed.
April 15th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
So yall are saying that Diaz is a better defender than Willie Harris?
April 15th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
D’Andre, Willie Harris is a great left fielder. He’s probably better than Diaz. But Diaz is no slouch defensively, at least according to some measures, and he’s a much better hitter than Harris. John Dewan’s Plus/Minus system has Willie as the league’s second-best left fielder last year, and Diaz as the league’s fifth-best, despite the fact that they were platooning.
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