Morning Chop: Atlanta Braves News 5/24/14
It’s reasonably safe at this point to say the Atlanta Braves have a renewed hunger and passion for winning. Not all is perfect, but when is it ever? The main thing is the Braves are finding ways to win, and are now 3 games up of the nearest competitor in the NL East. Take a look at the box scores from last night’s win in game 1 of the series against the tough, Colorado Rockies, courtesy of Baseball Reference.
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OPS | Pit | Str | PO | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jason Heyward RF | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .247 | .669 | 17 | 10 | 3 | 0 |
| B.J. Upton CF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .209 | .640 | 17 | 10 | 1 | 0 |
| Freddie Freeman 1B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .303 | .904 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 3 |
| Justin Upton LF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .293 | .948 | 15 | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| Chris Johnson 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .265 | .629 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Ramiro Pena 3B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .196 | .643 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| Andrelton Simmons SS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .265 | .704 | 17 | 10 | 0 | 2 |
| Dan Uggla 2B | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .177 | .505 | 20 | 11 | 1 | 1 |
| Gerald Laird C | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .208 | .552 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 1 |
| Gavin Floyd P | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .125 | .250 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| Luis Avilan P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||
| Tyler Pastornicky PH | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .233 | .603 | 2 | 2 | ||
| David Carpenter P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Ryan Doumit PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .240 | .595 | 5 | 3 | ||
| Craig Kimbrel P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Team Totals | 34 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 10 | .294 | .716 | 136 | 87 | 27 | 11 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | BF | Pit | Str | Ctct | StS | StL | GB | FB | LD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gavin Floyd | 6.2 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 2.49 | 27 | 102 | 72 | 36 | 18 | 18 | 10 | 10 | 2 |
| Luis Avilan | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.20 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| David Carpenter, W (4-0) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.53 | 4 | 12 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Craig Kimbrel, S (13) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1.96 | 3 | 13 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 9 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 2.00 | 35 | 128 | 91 | 45 | 24 | 22 | 13 | 11 | 2 |
Gerald Laird has certainly made the most of his opportunity to play every day since Evan Gattis started dealing with his bug. Mark Bowman of MLB takes a look at Laird’s work, and we’ve included a link to the MLB Video as well. Check out Gerald’s Layered approach.
Laird’s clutch hit propels Braves past Rox in opener
"ATLANTA — Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez joked thatGerald Laird has been getting cranky as he has been forced to handle the catching duties with Evan Gattisbattling a virus. But as long as the backup catcher extends his recent success, nobody is going to complain about him getting more playing time than usual."
http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/69971088/v33105645/?query=laird
Chris Johnson has a problem controlling his temper, and he certainly needs to get some help learning how. I don’t think you can just decide to do better. If you have a control problem, you often need help (professional or otherwise) to learn how to deal with the problem. What I love about Chris is his acknowledgement of the problem, and what I felt was a heartfelt apology and desire to change. We shall see. Mark Townsend of Yahoo Sports takes a look at last night’s blowout.
Chris Johnson removed from game after shattering bat in dugout tantrum
"Chris Johnson‘s emotions got the best of him again on Friday night. After striking out againstColorado Rockies right-hander Jordan Lyles in the second inning, the Atlanta Braves third baseman went down the tunnel of the Braves dugout and shattered his bat in a fit of frustration. Pieces of the bat ended up striking manager Fredi Gonzalez and teammate Gerald Laird, who had their backs to Johnson while standing on the dugout steps."
I have to admit I was skeptical about putting Gavin Floyd in the starting rotation, and moving David Hale out. There are other factors there of course, but Hale has been flawless in relief, and Gavin is proving he still has the juice. David Miller of Rant Sports takes a look at how well Gavin Floyd has performed.
Gavin Floyd Proving a Worthwhile Signing by Atlanta Braves
"There was no shortage of questions abounding when the Atlanta Braves apparently tried to answer their starting pitching needs by signing former Chicago White Sox starter Gavin Floyd. For a fan base that tends to lean more towards the pessimistic side after what happened with Dan Uggla and B.J. Upton, it wasn’t surprising to find doubts among the Braves’ faithful. Unlike some occasions when this fan base is overly doubtful, they had plenty of reasons on this one."