Archive for October, 2010

Fredi Gonzalez will be named manager of the Braves on Thursday. Most will approve, but some will not. I do not. Gonzalez was the easy choice. He’s familiar and he’s a student of Bobby. Most fans will find this acceptable and believe if he’s the closest to Bobby, he must be the right one, so they will back him. No matter that he wasn’t able to command respect from his franchise player. He won’t gain the same respect given to Bobby. He doesn’t have the personality required to gain that type of respect and hard work. Despite Bobby’s in-game mistakes, [...]

Derek Lowe was amazingly good and the offense came out swinging early, but they couldn’t keep it up and Cody Ross did them in. A two-run seventh tied and put the Giants ahead for good, ending the series and Bobby Cox’s career. The Braves loaded the bases with two outs in the second, but Lowe flied out to end the threat. They went ahead in the third on a sac fly RBI by Brian McCann. The Braves were aggressive early against a not-so-impressive Madison Bumgarner, but they couldn’t manage more than the one run through five. Cody Ross hit a [...]

National League Division Series – Game 4 October 11 – 7:37 (TBS) San Francisco Giants (2-1) vs. Atlanta Braves (1-2) Madison Bumgarner (3.00 ERA, 4.03 xFIP, 2.11 BB/9, 6.97 K/9, 7.6 SwStr%, 45.1 GB%) (Career vs. ATL: First Start) vs. Derek Lowe (4.00 ERA, 3.65 xFIP, 2.83 BB/9, 6.32 K/9, 8.2 SwStr%, 58.8 GB%) (Career vs. SF: 17 GS, 7-5, 3.02 ERA, 28 BB, 67 K) Braves vs. Bumgarner: None Giants vs. Lowe: Aubrey Huff: 10-38, 3 2B, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K Pat Burrell: 7-21, 2 2B, 2 RBI, BB, 4 K Freddy Sanchez: 3-17, 3 [...]

I have never left Turner Field feeling the way I did last night, and hopefully I never will again. All you need to know: Braves’ Conrad shouldn’t have been there Who’s really to blame for the loss in Game 3? NLDS Game three recap: Giants 3, Braves 2 The fact that Brooks Conrad was playing second base in the ninth inning is mind blowing to me. The fact that he started this game is mind blowing to me. The fact that Craig Kimbrel was taken out with two outs in the ninth is mind blowing to me. The fact that [...]

National League Division Series – Game 3 Sunday, October 10 – 4:37 (TBS) San Francisco Giants (1-1) vs. Atlanta Braves (1-1) Jonathan Sanchez (3.07 ERA, 4.11 xFIP, 4.47 BB/9, 9.54 K/9, 9.8 SwStr%, 41.5 GB%) (Career vs. ATL: 7 G, 5 GS, 1-3, 6.00 ERA, 10 BB, 31 K) vs. Tim Hudson (2.83 ERA, 3.87 xFIP, 2.91 BB/9, 5.47 K/9, 6.9 SwStr%, 64.1 GB%) (Career vs. SF: 13 GS, 5-4, 3.56 ERA, 25 BB, 58 K) Braves vs. Sanchez: Matt Diaz: 1-8, RBI, 2 BB, 6 K Troy Glaus: 2-8, 2B, RBI Brian McCann: 3-7, RBI, BB, 2 K Nate [...]

So many emotions were running through me last night that I never would have been able to write a recap. I still don’t know if I can, but this is my effort. The Braves rallied from four runs down, overcame a tight jam in the 10th and Rick Ankiel launched a bomb into the cove to give us one of the best games I’ve seen in a long time, tying the series with a 5-4 win in 11 innings. This time around, the Giants struck early and hard, as Pat Burrell hit a three-run home run in the first inning. [...]

National League Division Series – Game 2 Friday, October 8 – 9:37 (TBS) Atlanta Braves (0-1) vs. San Francisco Giants (1-0) Tommy Hanson (3.33 ERA, 4.04 xFIP, 2.49 BB/9, 7.68 K/9, 8.4 SwStr%, 41.8 GB%) (Career vs. SF: 2 GS, 1-0, 2.57 ERA, 5 BB, 14 K) vs. Matt Cain (3.14 ERA, 4.19 xFIP, 2.46 BB/9, 7.13 K/9, 8.4 SwStr%, 36.2 GB%) (Career vs. ATL: 5 GS, 2-2, 4.03 ERA, 15 BB, 22 K) Braves vs. Cain: 1. Omar Infante: 2-9, RBI, 2 K 2. Jason Heyward: 1-2, 2B, BB, K 3. Derrek Lee: 4-15, 2B, HR, RBI, BB, 3 [...]

Tim Lincecum pitched a solid game and showed great control, but the Braves were right there to help him along. Absolutely zero pitch recognition and a terrible approach, along with bad managing and defense, led to a 1-0 win for the Giants. Lincecum had a great gameplan against the Braves and used it to perfection, pumping in fastballs belt high and above, and dumping slider after slider into the dirt. In the game preview, I stated the Braves needed to look fastball early and be aggressive with it. They looked offspeed all night and never caught up to a single [...]

National League Division Series – Game 1 Thursday, October 7 – 9:37 (TBS) Atlanta Braves (91-71) vs. San Francisco Giants (92-70) Derek Lowe (4.00 ERA, 3.65 xFIP, 2.83 BB/9, 6.32 K/9, 8.2 SwStr%, 58.8 GB%) (Career vs. SF: 17 GS, 7-5, 3.02 ERA, 28 BB, 67 K) vs. Tim Lincecum (3.43 ERA, 3.21 xFIP, 3.22 BB/9, 9.79 K/9, 11 SwStr%, 48.9 GB%) (Career vs. ATL: 8 GS, 6-2, 2.89 ERA, 19 BB, 61 K) Braves vs. Lincecum: 1. Omar Infante: 4-11, 2B, 4 K 2. Jason Heyward: 1-5, 2B, BB, 2 K 3. Derrek Lee: 6-16, 2 2B, 2 RBI, [...]

The following is a list of links and Twitter accounts to keep you informed for the NLDS series between the Braves and Giants. Who to follow on Twitter: @ajcbraves, @mlbbowman, @capitolavenue, @bravesjournal, @ben_duronio, @gondeee, @22gigantes, @gggiants, @extrabaggs, @hankschulman Capitol Avenue: On the Postseason Roster Discussion: Hanson or Hudson in Game 2? NLDS Preview with Chris Quick Derek Lowe is the right one Talking Chop: Talking with the Enemy: Braves vs. Giants NLDS Q&A Braves vs. Giants Preview – A Look at the Giants Offense Braves Set NLDS Roster Braves Journal: San Francisco Giant facts Braves Heart: A Q&A with the [...]