Tim Hudson Won his 200th game beating the Nationals 8-1 on April 30, 2013. Please Credit Graphic Created by Tim Williams
@timwilliamsart

When the chips are down the man Braves fans want on the mound is Tim Hudson. Tonight at the age of 37 years 290 days Huddy – as his adoring Braves fans like to call him – taught the Nationals how to Huddy as he won his 200th game. And he did it in style.

In The Beginning

The Athletics wanted Tim Hudson so badly they drafted him twice, the first time was in the 35th round of the 1994 Draft and finally in the 6th round of the 1997 Draft.  The 24 year old made his Major League debut in a five inning loss June 8, 1999 against the Padres allowing three earned runs. His first win came in his next start, on June 13 going seven innings and allowing one run  while beating the Dodgers.

In the early part of this century (wow that sounds like a long times ago) Hudson along with Mark Mulder and Barry Zito were the reason – in spite of not being mentioned at all in the movie – that the Athletics were a force in the AL West.  He won 20 games in 2000 and 18 in 2001; by the end of the 2004 season Hudson was recognized as one of the best in the game with a record of 92-39 (a .702 winning percentage) in 183 starts with a 3.30 ERA and a 1.222 WHIP. All if that while pitching in the middle of Baseball’s steroid era.  Yet somehow in what many would call his last great trade, John Schuerholz  pried him away from Oakland for Juan Cruz, Dan Meyer and Charles Thomas.

Welcome Home To Atlanta

A Georgia native Hudson was extremely happy to come home to the team he’d grown up supporting, the Braves and manager Bobby Cox. His arrival unfortunately coincided with a downturn in Braves postseason appearances. Hudson loved Atlanta so much he took a very friendly four year $36m contract that sees him under Braves control through this season. Coming into tonight’s game Huddy was 107 –66 as a Brave having failed to get his 200th win last week in Denver when Justin Upton and Craig Kimbrel couldn’t hold his lead. Tonight however Hudson would not be denied.

Huddy’s World

Hudson took just 15 pitches to send the Nationals into the field in the first. Andrelton Simmons needed just two pitches to put the Braves and Hudson in front for good, homering off of Gio Gonzalez into the left field stands. The Braves treated Gonzalez badly in DC and they were harder on him tonight. By the time Gonzalez headed for the showers in the fifth to be replaced by Zach Duke he’d given up five runs on seven hits walking five and striking out nine. Duke had didn’t have any better luck against a Braves lineup that had their tails up and were firing on (almost) all cylinders. He lasted three innings giving up four hits and allowing three runs including a home run to Hudson that Bryce Harper had in his glove but couldn’t hold. Tonight however no light shined brighter than Hudson’s.

With his wife and daughter in the stands accompanied by every relative that could get to the game, Hudson put on a show. His final line of seven innings, three hits one run, one walk and six strikeouts doesn’t tell the story. Whenever there was a sniff of something going a little off course Hudson stepped up and righted the ship. In his last inning Ian Desmond tripled down the right field line. He finished the inning still standing at third base as Hudson induced  Tyler Moore to ground of to Chris Johnson with Desmond unable to advance. Hudson then struck out Chad Tracy swinging and Wilson Ramos looking to end the inning and take all the fight out of the Nationals. He left the mound to a roar from the Turner Field crowd, tipping his hat as he went into the dugout. Anthony Varvaro entered in the eighth and set the next six Nats down in order to end their night.

After the game Hudson was as usual quiet and humble in his success. he told reporters:

“I couldn’t have written it up any better for me personally. My family was here. Kim and Kennedie came. My dad, my brothers, some nieces and nephews were here. It was fun to go out there and have some fun from start to finish. We put up some runs early, made it easier on me to go out there and be aggressive. To get out of that one (seventh) inning with a lead-off triple without giving it up was kind of a cherry on top.”

Asked how he felt mentioned in the same sentence as Phil Niekro, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine,  and John Smoltz:

“Honestly, I don’t know. I still don’t consider myself really worthy of being in those kinds of conversations. But talk to me in five years. If I’m not in a wheelchair.”

That’s A Wrap

Tim Hudson is the fifth Braves pitcher to win 200 games and second pitcher in the live ball era to homer and help himself win his 200 game. He’s the first only only one to double, homer and score two runs in his 200th win. He’s now 60-32 at turner field, second in wins there to Greg Maddux (72). Hudson may not be the prototypical ace with a 95MPH heater who strikes out a ten a game but if the season is on the line and a series has to be won, he’s the man fans want to see on the bump to start the game. Ina a post game interview on the field Hudson was as usual humble in his success.  Congratulations Tim Hudson. You’re  a true gentleman and one hell of a fine pitcher.

September 6, 2012; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Tim Hudson (15) pitches in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-US PRESSWIRE

As always, his batted ball profile was his strength, inducing over 55% groundballs and a fairly low line drive rate.  This resulted in a .270 BABIP allowed, well below the .295 league average.  He also kept the ball in the park, allowing 12 HR, which was 8.3% of all flyballs.  That low percentage is what caused his xFIP to creep above 4.00.  The only odd thing was the nine double plays induced, way less than any other full season in his career.

The main reason for the slight drop in success were the loss of strikeouts.  His 13.6% K rate was his lowest as a Brave, and there was a coinciding rise in Contact%.  He also lost a fair amount of velocity, losing about 1.5 MPH on his fastballs, which will hurt both GB% and K rate.  His slider was also a bit straighter and flatter, making it easier to hit.  This deficit will likely be offset a bit next year by having a full season of Andrelton Simmons and Martin Prado in the infield.

Huddy’s control was up to par as usual, walking just over 6% of hitters while throwing almost 62% first-pitch strikes.  He was throwing the ball in the strike zone a bit more often than the past couple seasons, which also helps explain his K rate.  His four-seamer and curveball had the highest ball rates, but those are rarely-used pitches that are commonly meant to be thrown out of the zone.

August 8, 2012; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Tim Hudson (15) follows through on a two run double hit against the Philadelphia Phillies during the second inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-US PRESSWIRE

Runners had to earn any bases they got, as they were only 2-of-7 on steal attempts, and Hudson only threw three wild pitches and no passed balls the whole season.  It’s very surprising that he still ended up with a below-average strand rate.  He handled lefties well, though it was mostly due to BABIP luck, as his K/BB ratio was quite a bit better against righties.  He pitched better at home, but had better results on the road, due to a 70 point drop in BABIP.  His best month was June, while his worst month was May, but his worst peripherals came in August.  Offensively, he managed one of his better seasons, hitting .218/.250/.273, plus seven sacrifice bunts and two sacrifice flies.  That’s about half a win just from his offense alone.

It seems to be a lock that his $9M option will be picked up this year, but there are no guarantees after that.  He will turn 38 next July, and there was no pitcher at that age this season who has a guaranteed contract for next year.  If he has another above-average season, he may get a couple years, but with that velocity drop, the end is coming quicker than you think and a multi-year deal is unlikely.  That being said, I think he will be at least average next year, but I have a feeling hitters will start squaring him up more often, pushing his ERA up around 4.00.

It all started in the top of the sixth inning when Cabrera hit an absolutely massive shot to left field* and then proceeded to watch the ball soar over the fence.

* note – sarcasm

Your probably wondering, “why didn’t Melky take off out of the box because that came really close to hitting the fence?” The answer is that something about Turner Field makes Melky extremely lazy. Your probably also wondering “what’s the big deal? Juan Francisco does that all the time.” Well it didn’t stop there.

Melky should know better than to pull all of that, especially when this is really his first above average season in baseball. (Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-US PRESSWIRE)

Melky was just full of antics and fun last night at Turner Field:

• admiring his ball fly just over the fence
• pointing at the Atlanta fans after reaching the plate
• gesturing with his hands near his groin after Blanco’s homerun
• taunting Jason Heyward after he caught a fly ball while Heyward was on second
• taunting Braves fans in left field when he pretended to throw baseballs at them

At this point there are tons of people speculating that Melky should be beaned today for all of the childishness and disrespect he showed last night. There are some people who think beaning a batter is a horrendous thing to do and should not be tolerated.

I tend to be of the former.

The question shouldn’t be “should we hit him?” the question should be “how much crap does a player have to do before he gets hit?”. I’m guessing Melky will be hit today, especially after seeing Chipper’s comments after the game and seeing that Tim Hudson is on the mound today.

That’s Melky and that’s why he’s not here anymore. He got a little happy when I think Blanco hit the home run. That won’t be forgotten.”

I’m not sure what Melky’s issue with the Braves and their fans is. Does he expect a team to want him to play for them when he hits .255/.317/.354 while coming to camp overweight and out of shape (2010)?

I fully expect Melky to be hit today and I don’t have a problem with it one bit. I have always been an old school baseball guy. I like high socks, and bent bills, and hustle on the field. Hitting people who disrespect your team and especially your fans is part of that.

I’m not saying I want Huddy going for a headshot but I don’t think anything is wrong with him bruising a leg, an arm, or some other part of the body that won’t kill the dude. With the velocity of our starters there’s little chance of that regardless of where he’s hit anyways.

This is baseball and when you play baseball you can get hit. When you step in the batter’s box you should know that it’s completely possible for you to get drilled, and you should have the common sense to realize that it just might hurt a little bit.

It’s not like Melky is going to be hit on purpose because he hit a homerun and admired it. Sure that might have pissed some people off but that doesn’t really call for a beanball. All that other stuff on the list up there though? Yeah that just might call for some good old fashioned retaliation, and I’m perfectly fine with that.