Game 82 Recap: Braves 2, Cubs 4

by gondeee on Jul 7, 2009 8:32 AM EDT in Game Recaps Comment 13 comments

Too much wildness from Jair Jurrjens early in the game, and not enough offense any time after that. This was one of those games that looked like we should have come back, but time and again we just didn't put enough hits together.

The time recovering from injury may have done Nate McLouth some good as he looks like he's the next Braves batter ready to explode. He's riding a 7-game hitting streak and is 7-for-his-last-13 with 2 homeruns. Martin Prado didn't live up to his player of the week honors, and went 0-for-5, and Matt Diaz did his best Frenchy impersination while playing right field, going 0-for-4 wtih 2 strikeouts and 5 men left on base. Speaking of Jeff Francoeur, he actually got a pinch hit in the seventh -- only the second pinch-hit of his career (2-for-7).

The Braves rollercoaster rolls on. We can only hope they've reached the bottom of this dip and are heading up again.

Final - 7.6.2009	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Atlanta Braves	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	2	9	0
Chicago Cubs	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	X	4	9	1
WP: Randy Wells (4 - 3) SV: Kevin Gregg (15) LP: Jair Jurrjens (6 - 7)

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Losses suck, but Wells has really had our number this year. Sometimes a guy can do no wrong against a team. Got plenty of hits and rocketed a few balls to the deep parts of the yard, but again, just couldn’t seem to get the big swat to put a big inning on the board.

How big will McLouth be for this team for the foreseeable future. The guy has a sweet swing and drives the ball hard just about every time he puts a bat on it. Prado and Diaz have carried this team while McCann and Chipper have been struggling. I will be happy if at least once this season all 8 players are hitting during the same stretch.

by kalesi on Jul 7, 2009 9:26 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Thanks

Thank you for having a positive response after a loss. I still have hope for this season. We are four games under .500 with six games before the break. If we go 5-1, we can hit the break even. This is good because Lowe has always been a “down-the-stretch” kind of guy (for 15m he better tear it up!).

Prado and Diaz came back to earth last night (both going hitless) but, as you pointed out, McLouth had three hits (with the dinger).

We CAN win. Are we going to?

by SupermanWearsBobSander'sPJs on Jul 7, 2009 9:56 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I mean, watching the Braves these days is frustrating. I’m not a big guy on wheeling, dealing, firing coaches, etc.

It’s cliche’, but baseball is a marathon, not a sprint. There’s a list a mile long of teams that catch fire in the second half of the season. By rights, the Braves have no business being this much in the race a mid-season. In fact, and I may be wrong, I think only once during the 14 year stretch did the Braves actually lead the division at the turn.

I think because baseball is such a game of trades and singnings people think that there’s a magic bullet out there that can all of the sudden lift the team. There isn’t. The fact is the Braves have to start playing better. The pieces are there, but when you have guys that are going ice cold in the batter’s box what can you do? The pitching is there, and personally I’d feel a lot worse about making a run if we had a bad staff.

The solution is not one player. It’s not trading Vazquez or Escobar. It’s about guys who are getting paid to play baseball starting to put the bat on the ball and driving in runs.

by kalesi on Jul 7, 2009 10:43 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Exactly.

"It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone." A. Bartlett Giamatti

by sddbaker on Jul 7, 2009 12:42 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Bobby should take a cue from Piniella’s handling of Soriano and move McLouth down to the middle of the order. Having your most prolific homerun hitter batting leadoff is a waste. Perhaps

Diaz
Prado
Jones
McCann
McLouth
Escobar
Anderson
Kotchman

by redwards95 on Jul 7, 2009 10:33 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Clean up

Our main problem is the lack of a true “clean up” hitter. We have a couple of good 3-spot hitters and a couple of good 5-spot hitters. We have got to get a cleanup guy.

Who? I think Adam Dunn is the only legitimate option.

by SupermanWearsBobSander'sPJs on Jul 7, 2009 5:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Nope. He is another #3 type hitter, if not a #2. Certainly not a cleanup hitter.

"Actually, Justin was right."
by bigjoe on May 15, 2009 9:04 AM PDT

by justincredubil02 on Jul 8, 2009 8:49 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Those wacky Braves!

I love ’em.

by sddbaker on Jul 7, 2009 11:09 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Bleargh. I just wish we could sustain something long enough to get us back to .500 so we can think about going on from there.

by soup du jour on Jul 7, 2009 11:18 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

DON'T GIVE UP

Don’t give up! We can still catch Washington as they are now only 14 games ahead of us for last place. Frenchy is whining so I am sure Cox will get him back in the lineup to help us achieve last place glory. Plus Jeff Bennett cannot be far from being activated and that will surely help. Our .098 Pinch Hitter Deluxe should also be ready to come up from AAA to insure our 2-3 runs a game. It’s gonna be a long summer.

JMR

by chicken little on Jul 7, 2009 11:59 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs