Game 14 Recap: Braves 3, Nationals 4

Maybe after the clutch hitting debacle in the 9th, TP will use some more of his hitting coach skill and threaten to shave heads again. It worked in Pittsburgh, and its better than teaching them to get a run in with no outs.

"The game’s over if Escobar’s line drive isn’t right at the second baseman," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "We probably win the game, we’ve got [Rafael] Soriano throwing out in the ‘pen. Just unfortunate. We finally got something going real good and line drive right at ‘em once again."

Its also tied if Norton and Kelly did worth a damn. But lets not mention that.

Escobar for leadoff 2009! He’s here…FOR YOU.

You forgot Prado’s sweet baserunning with Chipper up.

This game pissed me off but good, as it did many of us. Not being able to score in that situation in the ninth is just about inexcusable. I agree with those who’ve said that this team is hard to watch right now. Painful even.

But…

I am not ready to give up. I don’t want to fire anyone, I don’t want to overhaul the entire roster (just a couple parts), I don’t want to post diatribes that would make the crying babies themselves call me a whiner. I DO want to have faith, because as bad as it’s been, it’s only three weeks into the season.

Let’s step back from the ledge a bit. It’s terrible, but it could always be worse – it could be November. I’d rather deal with the ups and downs of baseball than have no baseball at all.

Go Braves.

I second the call to move Schaefer to the lead off spot. Now only will it allow the whole team to take advantage of his aggressiveness, I think Escobar will give him some protection and allow him to hit even better.

No matter what moves Bobby makes, if our hitters don’t stop being so impatient at the plate – we’ll forever be stuck in mediocrity.

We’re an opposing pitchers best friend with some of the JUNK we swing at with abandon.

Makes me scream at my TV and scare the dog.

Painful. Looking early to be a more frustrating season than last year w/all the one run losses. The thing that made last year tolerable was that you understood their injuries played a role in the Braves performance. This year (so far) that can’t be said, though Jones, McCann & Escobar have some minor issues. Losing to the Pirates and the Nats is deflating to say the least. This team is better than what they are showing. I’m still a believer but I’m not buying the excuse “it’s still early in the season”. The Braves need to start addressing some issues now before this mediocre playing sets in permanately. On the bright side Kotchman looked good last night and it’s good to see Frenchy regaining his swing. Lets go Braves.

At the time of when it occurred, the Braves were up 3-0, but Jordan Schafer blew around the bases, rounded second, and would likely easily have beaten any potential throw to third for the triple, especially with Elijah Dukes fumbling around with the ball for a moment. But instead he slammed the brakes and scrambled back. Baseball is a game of seconds, or even less, and that mistake turned out to be costly.

Had Schafer made it to third, who knows; Martin Prado might’ve come in to PH, lifting Kawakami and his obligation to pitch to Dunn/Dukes/Kearns, and if he replicated his PH of yesterday, Schafer scores on his double, 4-0. And speaking of Prado, he committed his own base-running blunder of the night.

Bottom line is, ever get that feeling, that no matter the score, a botched offensive play like both Schafer’s and Prado’s pretty much gives that sense of dread that the theoretical run that could’ve scored is going to be costly? Because I did, on both accounts. I hate the feeling of it, and I wish it weren’t there, but it’s like a Murphy’s Law-ish thing – if you fail to get the run you’re supposed to get, it will bite you in the ass.

Now I just say, “Yeah, we suck.”

We can’t win a game to save our life. And the “worst team in the league” continues to use us as a punching bag. That says enough. If we don’t win tonite…………….I don’t even want to finish that sentence.

What’s the forecast for tonight’s game?

I’m hoping we’re not facing another late night that gets you all excited at first, but only ends in disappointment.

If I wanted that, I’d call up an old boyfriend LOL.

To some degree this team reminds me of those Braves teams during the 90’s that would struggle and struggle to find themselves and gel in the early months, but you knew all the pieces were there.

This is what i said would be the Braves problem in April- that they hadn’t gelled yet. Hopefully the 2nd half of my prediction will also be right— that they pull it together and get on a hot streak.

I think Norton needs a start, just so he can get the 4-5 PA to, hopefully, help work out whatever issues he’s having at the moment.

Of course Kelly had a couple of great games against the Nats (first series), then Bobby sat him and he went into this slump shortly after, so you don’t want Kotchman sitting out when he’s actually started hitting the ball well recently.