Morning Chop: Braves 7/12
Jul 11, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves shortstop
Andrelton Simmons(19) celebrates scoring with first baseman
Freddie Freeman(5) in the fourth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports
New All-Star Freeman stars in Braves’ win
Final Vote winner drives in four; Atlanta holds on to reward Hudson
[Editorial Note: I was at the game last night following Freddie Freeman’s selection to the ASG, and the atmosphere was absolutely electric. I was amazed at the size of the crowd for a Thursday night, and the the threat of rain, and I’ve never seen more LIVE support for any one player. It rivaled anything I ever experienced in my years watching Chipper.]
ATLANTA — After millions of fans voted Freddie Freeman into the 2013 All-Star Game, and over 40,000 of them saluted him with a standing ovation before his first at-bat on Thursday night, the Braves first baseman wasted little time rewarding them for their efforts, ripping the first pitch he saw into right-center field for a two-run double to spark the Atlanta offense.
Braves postgame quotes after Thursday’s win
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FREDDIE FREEMAN
On his night:
"It’s something that’s hard to explain but I’m just so thrilled that the fans voted me in, to come out here and get a W tonight is pretty awesome."
On the ovation for his first at-bat:
"It was pretty cool. Devin took his time too and gave it a little time. It’s a nice gesture the fans gave me."
On what his dad said:
"He was pretty thrilled. He’ll be there Sunday night just like me. I called him and he didn’t even say hello, he said ‘Congratulations.’ It was pretty cool. I can’t wait to see him in a couple days."
JASON HEYWARD
On Freeman’s night:
"Great for him. I’m happy for him. First All-Star game, more than deserving to be there at that game. Hopefully he’ll play long enough to be voted to start one or two or a few. Great night for him tonight, great win for us. Great way to start the series."
On hoping to avoid DL before All-Star break:
"I don’t personally think that I’ll go on the DL right now. We’ll see what anybody says. We’ll evaluate again tomorrow of course. But right now I don’t think it’ll be DL. I think the fact that nothing is torn, nothing was pulled, I think I’ll be OK to just have some rest and get it worked out. Again, I won’t know until tomorrow where we’re at."
TIM HUDSON
On getting Freeman into the All-Star game meant something to all you guys:
"Sure. He’s been a great hitter for us pretty much ever since he’s been here in the big leagues with us. I’m pretty sure this isn’t going to be his last. It’s nice for him to get what he deserves. There’s no question about it. He deserved to be there. Unfortunately it had to go down to a vote. He should have been one of the guys in there off the start but it is what it is. It’s a little bit of a flawed system in my opinion, the way things are for the All-Star game but it is what it is. You’ve got to go out there and try to put the best team you can out there regardless whether the fans vote or not. It’s our job to try to put together the rest of the roster that’s going to give us a chance to win the All-Star game and put together a good game for us to get homefield advantage."
FREDI GONZALEZ
On Freeman’s game:
"Three hits and he had a terrific night. After he gets named by the fans to the All-Star team, he didn’t let them down. There was a lot of support and he came through today, got some RBIs and got some big knocks when we had to."
On Hudson getting past first inning:
"He battled. And we made him work a little extra harder by giving away some of the outs but he really battled and to go seven innings and almost 110 pitches was a hell of an effort for us. We need that tonight after the extra inning game in Florida and Pauly only going 5 1/3 today, we needed that for our bullpen tonight and then the two guys in the back end converted."
On Heyward:
"We’re going to evaluate him in the morning and hopefully it doesn’t manifest itself into something worse than it is right now."
What Do the Braves Exactly Have in Chris Johnson?
Midst the hopes for a new third baseman, are the Braves okay just sticking to what they have?
*Opens book and reads aloud*
In the beginning, Frank Wren created a third base platoon. And third base was no longer waste and void. Wren said, “Let Juan Francisco play third base against right-handed pitchers, and let Chris Johnson play third base against left-handed pitchers.” And Wren saw the situation, and it was good. He named this the platoon.