Game 36 Recap: Diamondbacks 12, Braves 0

by cbwilk on May 17, 2009 2:34 AM EDT in Braves Game Recaps

Of all the players to get fooled on the fake-to-third-throw-to-first trick, Chipper Jones is not the one any of would have expected. But hey, Ricky Henderson got fooled by it once too. It was all downhill after that first inning double play, where Chipper and Yunel Escobar were eliminated by a move that Bobby Cox believes is a balk.

Arizona's starter Max Scherzer dominated the Braves' lineup, throwing six scoreless innings to record his first Major League win. Ken Kawakami really didn't pitch that poorly, but he wasn't spectacular either, allowing 3 runs in 5 innings while striking out 4. The Braves' bullpen allowed things to get really out of hand, as James Parr contined to unimpress, allowing 2 runs, Jeff Bennett walked 4 and allowed 1 run, and Buddy Carlyle opened the floodgates, allowing 6 runs in the 9th.

Final - 5.16.2009	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Arizona Diamondbacks	0	2	1	0	0	0	2	1	6	12	11	0
Atlanta Braves	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	1
WP: Max Scherzer (1 - 3) LP: Kenshin Kawakami (2 - 5)

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A big what-if

Don’t know if those watching on TV caught it or not, but in the second inning, there was fan interference on a pop-foul that even Garret Anderson was in position to make the out. Guy in a Smoltz shirt reached for the foul and apparently collided with Anderson’s arm, preventing him from making the grab. Naturally the very next play was a hit that resulted in the first run scoring.

Not saying that this would’ve prevented a 12-0 rout, but Kawakami’s performance gets a little bit of a crutch there.

No wonder nobody likes you, Tuttle... everything's a (Pujols) damn debate.

by royhobbs on May 17, 2009 3:02 AM EDT reply actions

I definitely agree that FUGA could have caught it, but I don’t think it was fan interference. The ball looked to be into the stands, but still catchable

by eaheckman10 on May 17, 2009 9:50 AM EDT up reply actions

i thought he settled down quite well. I saw the fan interference, and it appeared that guy that interfered caught some hell for it. I also noticed Francouer’s OBP was featured on the scoreboard.

"Ohhhh Shit."-Bobby Cox, 3/28/09

by 10-4 on May 17, 2009 12:54 PM EDT up reply actions

bullpen

The Ga play on the foul ball is a moot point. This team has some serious bullpen issues. Bennet and Carlyle need to be released, along with Jo-Jo, they just can’t get major league hitters out. At best this is a .500 club. Why not go ahead and call up some of the minor league pitching to get them some big league experience? This team, as much as it pains me to say it, is not winning the WS this year.

I do like JS in CF. If he could just make contact. And Mr. Out in RF needs to be sent down.

Matt Diaz deserves the majority of AB’s from LF. Garret doesn’t even look like he cares.

Why did we let Ibanez go to Phil? It’s not like this club couldn’t afford him. And Abreu looks like a bargain now.

I hope FW has an updateed resume.

by samxrm on May 17, 2009 3:25 AM EDT reply actions

Yes, Bennett are Carlyle aren’t our greatest pitchers. But name me a team with a mop-up man that is lights out. Yes, 6 runs in an inning is awful, but before that Buddy has been at least passable as a mop up man, which is all he is. The rest of our bullpen is solid to good. Soriano has been lights out, and Gonzalez has been too when he hasn’t worked 14 days in a row. O’Flaherty has done better than any of us could have expected, and Moylan and been back and fourth but seems to be coming around as of late. That’s four solid bullpen arms, and Jo-Jo may be a solid No. 5 bullpen arm. Let’s not forget that Jo-Jo has shown the ability to get major league hitters out, just on a very inconsistent basis. Our bullpen is at the VERY least average, if not above. Let’s not freak out because we lost one game.

by eaheckman10 on May 17, 2009 9:56 AM EDT up reply actions

And one more thing. Can we please get off the idea that Matt Diaz deserves the majority of LF at-bats. playing against lefties, fine. But he has ZERO plate discipline. It is worse than Francoeur’s. If anyone deserves the majority of at-bats in left other than Garrett Anderson, it is Brandon Jones

by eaheckman10 on May 17, 2009 9:57 AM EDT up reply actions

His walk rate this year is actually higher than half the team’s. Imagine that

"If on-base percentage is so important, then why don't they put it up on the scoreboard?"
President, CEO, and chairman of the Brandon Jones fan club. PLEASE COME BACK! PLEASE COME BACK! PLEASE COME BACK!

by bigjoe on May 17, 2009 10:21 AM EDT up reply actions

Diaz? That shocks me. He swings at some horrible horrible pitches

by eaheckman10 on May 17, 2009 10:46 AM EDT up reply actions

Swear to god, its higher than Johnson, Escobar & Francoeur among others

by bigjoe on May 17, 2009 11:03 AM EDT up reply actions

You must be trolling

Because the team didn’t have enough money for Abreu so obviously the team wouldn’t have money for Ibanez.

by VictorW on May 17, 2009 10:22 AM EDT up reply actions

It seems there’s a lot of talk about pitching….but we got blanked. We could have given up 120 runs and it wouldn’t matter if we couldn’t score any ourselves. Our pitching has been spectacular most of the season so I’m calling this a fluke. Team probably took a collective day off. It happens. No concerns, except that I am angrily disapointed that we lost this game, by any score, against the second worst team in baseball. But if we can win today and take 2 out of 3, whatever happened last night will be forgotten, by me at least.

Take care of the little things, and the big things will take care of themselves.

by SunDolphin on May 17, 2009 8:23 AM EDT reply actions

Win today. Stick with the 2/3 plan. Or else.....

"The future is no place to place your better days." - Dave Matthews ~ RIP Roi

by Chief Noc-A-Homa on May 17, 2009 8:47 AM EDT reply actions

I was at this game

I left in the top of the seventh because Parr looked so awful and I knew it wasnt gonna be a good night after that. I never leave a game early, but what was the point in staying. After the double play pick off in the first, the braves seemed to give up on hitting. It was still fun but we need to adress the bullpen problem now. Medlan is gonna start so where is our help?

Proof that when posting while high or intoxicated can lead to some really funny posts

by bravesrbaseball on May 17, 2009 9:51 AM EDT reply actions

Agreed.

I absolutely do not understand the approach of the top brass to try to “get by” with vets who are stopgap measures at best, when there have to be better options available on the farm, who would be benefitted from MLB experience.

Buddy Carlyle is a good example of what I’m talking about. Although a gamer and thus a Bobby Cox kinda player, he pretty clearly is not a major league pitcher at this point (if he ever was). He’s a classic journeyman who have been up and down for 10 years, with grand totals of 100 career games, including 27 starts, 240.2 innings and a 5.50 ERA. He simply not good enough to be on the roster and there can be no expectation that he’s ever going to be a better performer in the future.

So instead of the CarlyIes of the baseball world, I think we need to be giving some of our young guns a serious chance. For example, Luis Valdez is a legitimate bullpen option – not for the longman role, but for one inning, 6th or 7th inning duty. He was very solid last year in AA and has further impressed this year in AAA. His combines stats for the last season and a quarter include: 70 games, 83.2 innings, 67 hits, 24 earned runs, 96 K, 38 BB and 2.60 ERA. Why isn’t he here now? Give him a shot!

The idea that the young guys are going to somehow have their confidence crushed or their development stunted by being given a chance in the bigs just doesn’t fly with me. Especially when we have screaming roster needs that should be addressed somehow.

by fandave on May 17, 2009 10:48 AM EDT up reply actions

The idea that having their confidence crushed doesn’t fly with you? Look at Jo-Jo Reyes and Kyle Davies

by eaheckman10 on May 17, 2009 10:51 AM EDT up reply actions

As for JoJo, I have never been very impressed with his stuff – don’t know that confidence or the lack thereof is the problem at all.

And for every Davies-type example that you and others could suggest, my response is there are an equal number of examples of young players who do well from the get-go or settle in to very productive careers after an early adjustment period.

by fandave on May 17, 2009 10:59 AM EDT up reply actions

i stayed until the end, because i love a good comedy.

"Ohhhh Shit."-Bobby Cox, 3/28/09

by 10-4 on May 17, 2009 12:52 PM EDT up reply actions

We may have passed each other on the way out, because that’s exactly when I left too.

No wonder nobody likes you, Tuttle... everything's a (Pujols) damn debate.

by royhobbs on May 17, 2009 12:55 PM EDT up reply actions

Relax People

Last night is just one game. There are 162 of them in a season. Personally, I think last night made the front office’s decision easy. Carlyle is getting the axe. Two GS in back-to-back appearances make Bennett’s penchant for bases loaded walks look like no-hitters. Parr had a good inning and a so-so one when he somehow lost his control.

We got Lowe on the mound today — as long as the offense doesn’t quit after the first inning, I think we’ll be in good shape. Big Picture: the mets are as hot as you can be, and we are still only 3 games out of first.

by fphjr01 on May 17, 2009 9:55 AM EDT reply actions

braves laid an egg in this one. It happens no big deal they’ll bounce back tomorrow.

by wash088 on May 17, 2009 10:01 AM EDT reply actions

This "walking in runs thing" is getting very repetitive.

Bennett was actually pulling his weight last year, and Buddy seems to have lost something as well.

"The future is no place to place your better days." - Dave Matthews ~ RIP Roi

by Chief Noc-A-Homa on May 17, 2009 11:16 AM EDT reply actions

check it out.

http://www.weather.com/outlook/events/sports/hourbyhour/graph/28559:20

Yeah, we aren’t playing today.

"Jason Heyward might be the best offensive prospect i've seen in fifteen years. His game is solid. I would trade any of the current players we have on our 25 man roster for Heyward. He's that good." - NL Scout.

by Scott Coleman on May 17, 2009 12:36 PM EDT reply actions

One of those games

where the bottom drops out. Happens to the best of teams. And the Braves are one of the best. They’ve got some good momentum going after the roadtrip. They’ll bounce back.

by adc62 on May 17, 2009 6:53 PM EDT reply actions