The Worrisome Part of the Braves Opening Day Victory
by gondeee on Apr 6, 2010 1:17 PM EDT
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PrintIn all the rational exuberance of yesterday's awesome victory by the Braves over the Cubs, one thing stood out as a harbinger of trouble for the team. We've all heard by now how the Braves chased Carlos Zambrano in the second inning, but his replacement, Sean Marshall, restored order quite well for the next three innings. I was actually surprised that Piniella took him out.
Normally I would say that Marshall's performance was just a case of him being on his game, he did strike out five of the eight batters he faced, but the guy that replaced Marshall for the Cubs was another lefty, James Russell. He shutout the Braves on just two hits through the next two innings.
Then came more right-handers, Jeff Samardzija and Justin Berg, and the flood gates re-opened for the Braves, as they doubled their run total with those two pitchers in the game. With Berg unable to get out of the eighth inning, the last lefty in the Cubs bullpen, John Grabow, came on to restore order and retire the last two batters. We could hit the right-handers, but not the left-handers, and while it's only one game, the differences are night and day:
| Innings Pitched | Hits | Runs | Walks | Strikeout | |
| vs. Right-Handers | 2.2 | 10 | 16 | 8 | 3 |
| vs. Left-Handers | 5.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
Maybe it was just that the three lefties were on their game and the three righties weren't, or maybe this is a deeper problem with the Braves lineup. It really wasn't a problem for them last year, though it certainly seemed like sometimes they could be absolutely shut down by a left-hander. This was part of why I thought they were so eager to go out and get a right-handed power bat like Troy Glaus -- to combat those pesky lefties.
Luckily we face right-handed starters for the remainder of the series. We just have to hope that Piniella is not smart enough to bring in those lefties from the bullpen.
...Buzzkillington out!
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debbie Fing downer...
Haha good stuff though gondeee. Let’s try to change that ASAp and not make it a trend.
"Spring Training is the most exciting time that can't end soon enough" - Me
by JKowalek on Apr 6, 2010 1:21 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Good thing the Phillies got Roy Halladay and shipped off Cliff Lee.
"Matt Diaz is a baseball player."-Joe Simpson
And I thought that move was only good for us in a future sense…
This guy wants to suck all the cubs dick can he not have an unbias some what partition reguards
by RWH2 on Apr 5, 2010 10:20 AM CDT
by justincredubil02 on Apr 6, 2010 1:28 PM EDT up reply actions
But Halladay is gonna win the Cy Young
For pitching pretty well against the Natinals!!!
"(Jason Heyward) is like the Grim Reaper -- you know he's going to get you, you just don't know where or when."
by Scott Coleman on Apr 6, 2010 1:34 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Haha
"Spring Training is the most exciting time that can't end soon enough" - Me
by JKowalek on Apr 6, 2010 1:39 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I wouldn't worry too much about this.
We do, after all, have baseball’s #1 lefty-killer… Who just happened to be the only Braves position player to not get into the game last night. If we had really need a hit off of a lefty, we could’ve called on The Hittin’ Fool.
"Yeah, and I have an enchanted jock strap." -- Karl Karlson
You make a good point, though, gondeee... and we should definitely track this through the year.
"Yeah, and I have an enchanted jock strap." -- Karl Karlson
by Jacob Peterson on Apr 6, 2010 1:39 PM EDT up reply actions
Greg Norton?
i keed i keed
A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.
~Earl Wilson
+1
Matty D didn’t play yesterday. I’m sure that would significantly help against LH pitching. Plenty of balance for the Braves as long as Glaus can produce.
by Southern IN Chopper on Apr 6, 2010 1:50 PM EDT up reply actions
Since 2008 only 10 other home runs by Braves hitters...
have traveled faster than Heyward’s 110.5 HPH shot yesterday. Pujols averaged 106.9MPH for his 47 HR last season. Dude showed serious power yesterday.
Q: If on-base pct is so important then why don't they put it on the scoreboard? -Failcoeur
A: Because the Braves don't want to show their fans how bad you suck.
Jorge Posada's was 113.7 mph yesterday
Kind of makes you think it’s not really AS epic when Jorge Posada can do it. But anyways
Sincerely,
Buzz Killington
If Jorge’s homerun is in any other stadium but Fenway, it would have hooked way foul. Has is the MPH calculated? Do they have radar guns, or is it just a calculation using distance and time the ball traveled?
by dunnytwogloves on Apr 6, 2010 2:22 PM EDT up reply actions
The pitch to Posada was 1 MPH faster which accounts for some difference, plus his was basically a low flying line drive, while JHey got it up some. Means he got under it a little more, and that’ll take a few MPH’s off it too. That said, I PROMISE that won’t be the hardest ball JHey hits all year, and it may be Posada’s.
I’m confused…if you guys are using HitTracker, Heyward’s home run was 120.9 MPH off the bat, while Posada’s was 113.7 MPH…
People will come Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again.
People will come Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again.
yeah, that’s more like it… NOW its epic, especially when his lineout the next at bat might have even been hit harder
Apparently also
The 9th hardest hit ball since 2006. Holy shit. And that was just his first home run as a 20 year old!!!
Wow yeah they definitely changed the numbers for his HR.
120.9 MPH and a distance of 476 feet.
Just jaw-dropping.
legalize it, don't criticize it.
They did change it
That’s pretty amazing….. I wonder about the methodology though now with such a drastic change in speed/distance. Heyward’s might stand up for a long time this season.
it's already raining where i live
I don’t want more rain, but you do have a point. That’s what hurts most. I can yell at you for bringing me crashing down to earth, but the truth is the truth. I hope we can fix this.
The future is here...in the form of Jason Heyward.
I miss the Braves today.
It’s kinda like having the best sex of you life then having to wait a while to see the person again.
A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.
~Earl Wilson
Doesn't this point become moot (to some degree) when Nate remembers how to hit ...
Not because he hits lefties better (which – as we know – he doesn’t), rather because it takes away the need to put Melky in the lead off spot.
"There's a little sound off the bat," Cox said.
What does Melky being in the leadoff spot have to do with the entire team getting two hits off of lefties in 6 innings?
This guy wants to suck all the cubs dick can he not have an unbias some what partition reguards
by RWH2 on Apr 5, 2010 10:20 AM CDT
by justincredubil02 on Apr 6, 2010 2:22 PM EDT up reply actions
well ...
The “entire team” did not include our resident Lefty Killer: Matthew Edward Diaz.
If Nate finds his stroke in the near future, Bobby should be able to use Matty and Melky in more of a true platoon.
Mind you, I’m not saying it will remedy the problem entirely, but it should help a little, don’t you think?
"There's a little sound off the bat," Cox said.
We’ll go from 2 hits in 6 innings to 3 or 4.
This guy wants to suck all the cubs dick can he not have an unbias some what partition reguards
by RWH2 on Apr 5, 2010 10:20 AM CDT
by justincredubil02 on Apr 6, 2010 2:40 PM EDT up reply actions
Right ...
which is why I added the following qualifiers: “to some degree” and “I’m not saying it will remedy the problem entirely, but it should help a little”
I’m with you man, it’s something they should remedy if the issue persists, I’m just trying to see the glass as half full, that’s all.
"There's a little sound off the bat," Cox said.
teensy-tiny sample size….
"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
Agreed ...
I refuse to see 2 hits in 6 innings as our baseline v. lefties.
"There's a little sound off the bat," Cox said.
Maybe it's just me
But if there was one part of the team that gave me some worries after yesterday’s game, it was Lowe’s inability to pitch consistently for atleast 4 innings. The offense bailed him out this time with a win, but he better pick up his game next time around. If this was Halladay we were facing or Lincecum, pitchers who can keep their composure throughout a game, I don’t know if the Braves would of started out the season with a win.
Bottomline, I’m more worried about Derreck Lowe being the Lowe of 2009 than the Brave’s offense possibly being vulnerable to southpaws.
I'd agree there...
the lefty thing may be indicative, but with Glaus, Diaz, Esco, Prado, and Chipper from that side, maybe Melky in for McLouth or Ross for McCann on a given day, I doubt we are as bad as we were yesterday.
But considering what he costs both this year and going forward, we need better production out of Lowe.
If Derek Lowe of 2010 is like Derek Lowe of 2009, and he is our worst pitcher, that will not be a problem.
This guy wants to suck all the cubs dick can he not have an unbias some what partition reguards
by RWH2 on Apr 5, 2010 10:20 AM CDT
by justincredubil02 on Apr 7, 2010 1:24 AM EDT up reply actions
not worried
Nothing to worry about yet especially with Diaz not even getting any ABs vs those lefties. The only thing that remotely concerned me about yesterday (I already had assumed Lowe would suck) was Bobby up to his old tricks using his best relievers in a blow out, but I can give him a pass on that since it was after all the first game of the year and with no game on Sunday or Tuesday it would have been a long time between outings for Saito and Wagner.
And Wagner hadn’t pitched since at least Thursday apparently. I haven’t looked that up, but they did mention that on TV. So I think it was just to get some work in. I will say, Wagner looked filthy!
by dunnytwogloves on Apr 6, 2010 3:09 PM EDT up reply actions
I might be mistaken but wasn’t yesterday game a blow out when the Lefties came into the game. I think the urgency to produce hits was out the window. I am, like the others on here, more worried about Lowe. I will not hold severe judgment on the Braves until mid-May. That is when we will have all the sample data to make decisions on whether to jump of the building or not.
Let's Go Braves!
I'm worried...
…because I’m not worried about anything.
It’s so frustrating.
"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
You’re clearly not looking hard enough!
"SIGN PUJOLS OR FIRE WREN" ~ Swo12bv
by Smoltz's Beard on Apr 6, 2010 4:01 PM EDT up reply actions
not worrying yet
As others have said, unless a lefty has to face Big Matty D, he hasn’t really faced a challenge.
Besides, if we bash righties so hard that they have to bring in a lefty in the 2nd I think we’ll be ok…
Besides, if we bash righties so hard that they have to bring in a lefty in the 2nd I think we’ll be ok…
haha
"SIGN PUJOLS OR FIRE WREN" ~ Swo12bv
by Smoltz's Beard on Apr 6, 2010 8:18 PM EDT up reply actions
Sean Marshall was on his game
his breaking ball looked like it was really working, so I think that explains a little bit of yesterday’s struggle. Plus, Cox didn’t put in Matty D for Cabrera yesterday…
The third-base umpire ran into the outfield and retrieved the biggest chunk. "It's a f***in' potato."
by alligatorimpersonator on Apr 6, 2010 5:32 PM EDT reply actions
hmm
i understand this a lot. Thats why i thought Glaus was supposed to be between Chip and McCann giving our lineup that L-R-S-R-L-R-L-S balance.
The good thing is that although the lefties stopped hitting the LH pitching Glaus was doing well and thats what he is supposed to hit. LH pitching
Yeah, i was thinking, maybe we can't hit lefties... GUESS WE NEED MATTY DDDD
4/4/10
The Braves will win 90 games this year.
Against lefties, I want this lineup:
Diaz
Prado
Chipper
Glaus
BMac
Escobar
Heyward
Melky
Only 2 lefties, and they’re BMac and Heyward, so i’m not too worried.
"(Jason Heyward) is like the Grim Reaper -- you know he's going to get you, you just don't know where or when."
Switch Diaz with Melky
Then we’re talking about a solid lefty smashing lineup ;)
by SmithnCompany on Apr 6, 2010 9:47 PM EDT up reply actions
Wait a minute
Just look at the walk total by the LHPs compared to the RHPs. The RHPs gave up 8 walks… they were pitching themselves into trouble. They were walking people to fill the bases, and when they were forced to throw strikes, we made them pay. The LHPs gave up 0 walks, and look at the result.
This is just one big coincidence that the RHPs gave up a ton of walks and the LHPs didn’t. That’s the reasoning here, I wouldn’t be worried at all.
Kawakami - 1, Halladay - 0
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