... it looked like bobby noticed something with hudson's delivery that wasn't quite right, and by the looks of the chat at the mound hudson must have agreed. and in the last hudson gem that was ruined, it could be said that bobby left him in too long. if you're a manager and you have two guys like soriano and wickman who are usually very good, there's really no reason not to hand the ball over to them if you notice something wrong with your starter; after all, that's why they were brought to atlanta.

and this is just a judgment call i guess, but i have to disagree with your statement that wickman hasn't been the same since his DL trip. since coming off the DL he has actually looked like the same old wick (albeit we haven't seen him as much):  an unorthodox starter who throws strikes and makes people put the ball in play -- as opposed to the typical hard-throwing strikeout guy -- which will sometimes lead to bad results in a close game; and unfortunately tonight was a game that we really needed.

having said all of that, i do think the braves have to wonder whether or not soriano would be a better fit as a closer -- but i don't think that's a new question, i think it's probably been on everyone's minds much of the year.

this loss is a tough one. twice now huddy has lost a gem in the ninth. he's gotta be frustrated. part of the blame has to go to the rookie infielders: salty at first and escobar at third. both of them had opportunities in the ninth to have simple outs and couldn't come up with it. can we blame it on the turf? maybe. has wicky lost his mojo? maybe. but something must be done, otherwise, this will be a LONG summer!

and BTW, Soriano is definitely of closer calibre, but BC would never risk hurting Wick's confidence by replacing Wick with Soriano. its way more important to BC to know that his players know that he has confidence in them than to put the right guy in at the right time. (can you sense the sarcasm?)

Since his stint on the DL (not including tonight):

10 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 5 SVs

Not sure what Wickman you are talking about, but the one who's been pitching in the closer role for the Braves has gone back to his 9th inning dominance.

I know the numbers look good, but his outs have been everything but easy outs.
Brndn thanks, I didn't see the agreement with Hudson and maybe didn't have anymore. I guess that's the real difference in the way pitchers are today versus in the 70's.  84 pitches was considered low for a starting pitcher, but then again the ball speed has increased on an average.

Thanks again.

How many pitches did Soriano throw last night in the eighth to get two outs, maybe 16?  Why can't he pitch the ninth the way he is throwing the ball?  Bobby needs to go with the hot guy not the guy who is not quite right.  Losing interest with this team.

I feel all of your pain.  It hurt to watch it go down.  I think the game reaffirms our need for another starter.  Hudson takes on a lot and has performed admirably.  It sucks the life out of him and the fans to lose that one, then turn the ball over to a bad-mediocre tosser the next few days.  

As for Wickman... Hell, remember what it was like last year without him?  Absolutely nauseating.  You get a closer sometime you win and a few times shit like last night happens.  Happens to Rivera, everyone.  One concern though...  I know 'Smoltzs Beard' posted Wick's numbers.  Very good.  But I feel like 1) He doesn't look confident  2) He's throwing more balls and getting behind more   3) He's aiming his pitches, trying to place them.  Anybody else see that or am I wrong?  Also, Wickman is a put-it-in-play guy.  That's fine, but if you're that kind of pitcher and you're getting behind in counts, you're screwed.  

Let's see what happens.  He looks scared, it seems.  You're right about nibbling the corners.  The first thing anyone would say about Wick, any baseball person anyway, is that he throws strikes.  A 2-0 count against Wickman looks pretty good for any decent hitter.  Sometimes not-so-decent.  I give him credit, though.  He's helped a great deal and I root for him personally.