Morning Chop: Atlanta Braves News 5/17/14
The Atlanta Braves continue to put few runs on the board, and amazingly are still atop the NL East Division, if barely. Another loss last night int he first game of the series against the St. Louis Cardinals further tightened the early race, and even the Braves’ pitching is at times shaky. Check out the boxscores from last night’s loss, courtesy of Baseball Reference.
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OPS | Pit | Str | PO | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jason Heyward RF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .208 | .624 | 16 | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| Justin Upton LF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .281 | .897 | 18 | 8 | 3 | 0 |
| Freddie Freeman 1B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .305 | .889 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 1 |
| Evan Gattis C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .250 | .790 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 0 |
| Chris Johnson 3B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .285 | .679 | 22 | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| B.J. Upton CF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .209 | .617 | 13 | 9 | 1 | 0 |
| Andrelton Simmons SS | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .259 | .697 | 20 | 14 | 3 | 5 |
| Ervin Santana P | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .167 | .333 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Luis Avilan P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Jordan Schafer PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .125 | .368 | 2 | 2 | ||
| David Hale P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Ian Thomas P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Tyler Pastornicky 2B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .222 | .572 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 6 |
| Team Totals | 32 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | .250 | .575 | 131 | 84 | 24 | 12 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table Generated 5/17/2014.
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | BF | Pit | Str | Ctct | StS | StL | GB | FB | LD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ervin Santana, L (4-1) | 5 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2.76 | 24 | 99 | 61 | 38 | 7 | 16 | 8 | 12 | 7 |
| Luis Avilan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4.85 | 4 | 18 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| David Hale | 1.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.59 | 7 | 24 | 13 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Ian Thomas | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.24 | 2 | 14 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 8 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 5.62 | 37 | 155 | 94 | 55 | 11 | 28 | 13 | 16 | 11 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table Generated 5/17/2014.
BND picked up the recap of last night’s Atlanta Braves’ loss by Atlanta Journal Constitution’s David O’Brien. Check out David’s report on the Atlanta loss to St. Louis.
Braves fall to Cardinals
"ST. LOUIS — For a while Friday night it looked as if a misplayed fly ball in center and a two-out wild pitch could be decisive factors for the Braves and pitcher Ervin Santana. But things came unraveled in a three-run Cardinals fifth inning, after which no one play or errant pitch could be blamed for the Atlanta Braves’ 5-2 series-opening loss at Busch Stadium."
If it seems like the outfield crew for the Atlanta Braves are swinging at a ton of pitching well outside the strike zone lately, you are perceptive. Walter Bergeson of Rants Sports takes a look at this sad trend.
Atlanta Braves’ OFs Struggling With High Pitches
"You may have noticed that the three starting outfielders for the Atlanta Braves – Jason Heyward, Justin Upton, and B.J. Upton – strike out a lot. Between the three of them they have struck out 136 times already this season. A big reason for their collective struggles is that they all have difficulty handling pitches up in the strike zone."
The Ledger-Enquirer picked up this article, originally a subscription piece at the Atlanta Journal Constitution, by Braves’ reporter David O’Brien. Some fans have been quite vocal that Braves’ hitting coach Greg Walker might need to be fired. Perhaps, but perhaps Braves’ batters are just not listening! Read what David thinks.
Braves hitting coach: No excuse for being this bad
"SAN FRANCISCO — When the Braves signed one Upton and traded for another before the 2012 season, they thought they’d taken big steps toward assembling a power-laden lineup that would strike out but also strike fear into opposing pitchers."
When you hear the word slump, you don’t tend to put the Atlanta Braves’ Andrelton Simmons in the same sentence. Oh, perhaps with hitting at times, but never with his glove, right? Wrong! At least for Jeff Sullivan of Fangraphs. Jeff takes a look at at Andrelton’s slump.
A Week of Andrelton Simmons Missing Plays
"You know what nine or ten runs mean. You know the rule of thumb is that’s about what a win is. A win’s a pretty big deal, so those declines above are pretty big deals. And, of course, offense isn’t the only area where numbers fluctuate. Defensive Runs Saved, as shown on FanGraphs, updates daily. A year ago, as a shortstop,Andrelton Simmons was worth 41 runs above average in the field. This year he’s on pace for +4. He’s a full-time player on pace to be worse by 37 runs, and that’s an enormous gap that to my knowledge no one’s discussed."
Are you a fantasy baseball nut? Believe me, I get it! I’m in so many leagues, I have had to start ignoring a few to focus on the one’s I’ve been in a long time. Jasper Sherer of SB Nation’s Fake Teams takes a look at the Fantasy Outlook going forward for the Atlanta Braves’ Justin Upton.
Justin Upton Fantasy Outlook: What to expect from the Braves outfielder going forward
"Finding a profile on Justin Upton this offseason that didn’t mention his drop in offensive production over the course of the 2013 season was rare. Rightfully so, many experts and fans alike were cautious about Upton heading into the season because of his demonstrated inconsistency."