Nice comeback in the series vs. the M's. Tex needs to get hot if we are going to stay in contention with this injury bug thats bitten us all year. I still think we're in it (only 4 games back). The starting pitching has been solid. Now that Gonzo is back in the closer role I think the pen will have a little more consistency.
Horrible loss last night. Escobar better get his head out of his *** after that performance. Bobby won't put up with that crap for long.
the whole offense is just not coming through right now, and Jeff Francoeur is on the top of that list. I'm not sure how much his foot is still bothering him but he needs to start hitting. He had 2 hits last night so hopefully that can spark a breakout.
Its nice to have Mike Gonzalez back. Wonder where we'd be in the standings had he started the season healthy.
I'm glad I picked up Gonzalez on my fantasy team. Hopefully he can continue being effective at closer.
Braves Minor leaguer throws No-Hitter http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/...25&content_id=423287&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp Not bad for a 22rd round pick.
No he was drafted a couple years ago. He's 21. We may see him with the big club next year if he keeps this up.
well at least one good thing is it appears we will have no shortage of pitchers........... at least for now.
You add him to the mix with Charlie Morton and how he has handled himself in the Bigs so far, and once again, you have nice young arms to fill in the gabs from age and retirements, etc.
Has anyone aside from Chipper been better and more consistent than Jair Jurrjens? 8 innings of 3 hit ball from him tonight. Gonzalez looked good working the 9th. The Phillies and Marlins have struggled a bit lately, keeping us in this race. Hopefully Chipper can come back and get that average back up and get this offense going.
We're down by 1 on the road again...maybe the Jays will score here. If we lose I hope its at least by 2...
Another thing that urks me about this loss is that Chipper came on deck to pinch hit for Kelly Johnson. If Chipper is healthy enough to pinch hit why was he not DH'ing? Furthermore, if he had hit and the Braves somehow tied the game, he would have been forced to play in the field as we have no other infielders on the bench. Meaning Bobby would have to be sure he was well enough to play. Thats the way this season has gone so far I guess. You dont expect a weak hitting team to put up 9 on a day when Hudson pitches...
Hudson just didn't look right today. He battled through a lot of it but hung a few sliders and then just lost it.
Great performance by JoJo. With the way Tex is hitting, teams are not going to allow him to beat them with Chipper out of the lineup. The 1 run streak continues...
Its bad enough that we have this one run loss on the road streak going. It just makes it even worse when JoJo pitches like he did. We really need Chipper back in the lineup.
One encouraging thing that can be taken from all this is that the starting pitching has been solid. If we get some guys healthy (broken record) we can still make a run at this.
Damn, another one run loss. I thought I got upset with my Phillies' blowing games but it's nothing compared to the Braves. Must be tough being a Braves' fan.
Yeah but we have been around FOREVER...I think only the Reds, Giants, and Cubs have been around as long. I bet Bobby Cox's wife has had it the toughest.
Looks like "Mr. Glass" could make a start shortly after the All-Star break... http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/...t_id=3035098&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl
We can probably go ahead and throw this one in the tank. Morton was due to get banged around. Just wish it didnt come against the Phils...
Man you gotta feel bad for Francoeur. Dude is in a Reggie Sanders type slump and isnt showing any signs of breaking out of it.
I hear the Braves are considering sending him down to the minors to help him out. Something just isn't right with him and you can tell when you watch the games. I'd give him to the All Star break to find himself and if there's no improvement I'd send him down for a few weeks. It will be a tough pill for him to swallow but he's only 24 and still has room to improve. Maybe he just needs to go where there is no pressure on him. Seeing as how he is actually being booed by the fans and bashed by the local media constantly.
I dont know what is between his ears...but the pressure is self induced. His swing has so many hitches in it right now, he opens up way to soon, commits and bails...the only pitch he could possibly hit, is a mistake thrown inside. Its a shame, he was always a free swinger, but he never committed this early before, hard to say what it will take for him to fix it really. And, as I watch him, he is missing so many meatballs as well...then he bails and swings at garbage in the dirt as if once he gets 2 strikes he knows he is going to strike out anyway so he just wants to get it over with. Ugly!
yeah it's weird because he's gone through slumps before and always made the necessary adjustments to fix it. He's been working so hard taking extra BP on days off and so on yet he doesn't seem to be making changes.
You nailed it on the mental aspect. Baseball is so simple at times. See the ball, hit the ball. Any other thought at the plate is unneccesary and can lead to the types of struggles Jeff is having. Going down to the minors may be the best thing for him right now. This new stance has made his swing even longer.
I feel sorry for Jeff too. Watching him last night you just had that feeling he was going to fail. It's obviously all mental. Just imagine what a nice gapper with bases loaded and two outs would have done for him. I'm not sure what he needs right now. Maybe the minor league thing would work. A fellow braves fan at work today was questioning whether he is even as good as he's been given credit for. I still think he is. It's funny how we were talking about how clutch he was a month or so ago. How quickly things can change in this sport.
Well, there are slumps, and then there are slumppppppsssssss. Jeff is in a slummmmmmmmmmmmmppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp!
If any Braves fan has ESPN insider I strongly suggest you read Rob Neyer's blog about Frenchy. It is very well written and I happen to agree with everything Rob says. But for those that don't have it, he basically says that Francoeur is basically just having bad luck, his K and BB rate are in line with his career numbers but his balls in play is low. I'm sure now its mental for him and he's pressing at the plate but bottom line is he needs to take more walks and stop swinging at everything or he'll keep sliding.
Crazy game yesterday/last night. Usually we're on the wrong end of 17+ inning games. Nice to pull out the series before the west coast road trip.
It would be nice if Atlanta could become a .500 team again. If they can start playing good ball within the next month or so they could still have a shot with the way this division is.
