Braves v Giants 07.23.09

I know Gondeee does these for every game, but I figured I'd try my hand at it.  I also understand that some of you don't like or disagree with me, and that's okay.

Today was just a bad loss for us.  With the caliber of baseball we've been playing lately, there is no reason we should have given this game away the way we did. 

First of all, Barry Zito was great.  He was in command most of the day, was able to work out of jams, and got the benefit of some questionable strike calls, a near sure-fire recipe for success.  That being said, we also squandered at least one great opportunity when we loaded the bases against him and failed to put one runner across the plate.  Also, once we got into the bullpen, we should have been able to keep up the decimation that we have laid upon it the rest of the series.  Coulda, woulda, shoulda, etc.

Cons of the game:

• no timely hitting today
• bad defense late (Kotch, Chipper, Moylan)
  
• a couple of our hitters looked asleep at the plate today (see Chipper's 2nd AB)
• home plate umpire was fairly erratic, giving VERY high strikes to Z and missing the play @ first where Moylan's throw hit the Giant IN THE HEAD inside fair territory
• Gonzo's apparent injury

Pros of the game:

• Esco, Prado, McCann continued their good hitting, albeit not when needed most
• KJ, in his first appearance back from the DL, got a solid, up-the-middle base knock and turned one of the QUICKEST double plays I can recall where the ball was gloved
• our pitching was, once again, very solid.  I cannot really fault them for today for much.  KK held the fort down, Medlen was very good, and Moylan got ground balls that found holes along with at least 2 Ks.  Acosta didn't let the Giants' lead balloon

I'm sure many of you can come up with things that I missed, both pros and cons, of today's game.  However, I feel it is very important to remember that we won 3 of 4 from the former Wild Card leaders.  It is very difficult to sweep any series, let alone a 4-game set, yet we took 3 out of 4.  Not too shabby.  As long as we can continue the great baseball, and avoid too many bumps in the road, such as today's game, we should be able to win most of our remaining series.  We need to take the positives we can gather from each game, because there are many lately.

With our great pitching, our resurgent offense and (lately) solid defense, Huddy on the mend, Omar coming back soon, and Kelly Johnson's continued good work from Gwinnet in the limited time he'll see, there is no reason why we shouldn't be able to take the lead in either the Wild Card or East.  I'm sure many of you may disagree with my modicum of analysis, but please be polite and I shall return the favor.  Thanks for reading...

With all that said, Chipper had better get hot.  I'm tired of not seeing the .3 lead his batting average.