Braves vs. Brewers - Series Preview
by Scott Coleman on Jul 15, 2010 4:10 PM EDT
in Series Previews & Recaps
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After a wild All-Star Break that included Brian McCann winning MVP of the Mid-Summer Classic and and the acquisition of Alex Gonzalez, it's time for some Braves baseball.
The hot-and-cold Milwaukee Brewers will make their way into Hotlanta for a 4-game series. The Brewers had been struggling before the break, but swept the lousy Pirates to end the 1st half. Two of the wins did come in extra innings against one of the worst teams in baseball, so take the sweep for what it was.
The Brew Crew are currently 40-49 on the season and sit in 3rd place in the weak NL Central.
Here are some basic offensive stats for the Brewers and their NL rankings:
Runs: 418 (4th)
BA: .260 (7th)
OBP: .336 (5th)
SLG: .432 (2nd)
HR: 110 (1st)
SB: 49 (11th)
BB/K Ratio: 0.48 (5th)
As you can see, the Brewers are a very talented offensive club. Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Casey McGehee and Corey Hart form a very potent middle of the order and Rickie Weeks is a pretty good leadoff man. They don't get much production from anyone else though. Alcides Escobar isn't hitting much of anything, George Kottaras has been catching lately without much offensive contribution and Carlos Gomez is barely OPS'ing .600.
Now some stats for their starting pitchers:
ERA: 4.63 (14th)
FIP: 4.65 (15th)
Innings Pitched: 500.0 (14th)
K/9: 7.34 (5th)
BB/9: 4.05(16th)
BAA: .275 (14th)
WHIP: 1.52 (15th)
That's horrible, and that's with ace Yovanni Gallardo in the rotation. Gallardo is currently on the 15-day DL and will miss the series. Dave Bush and Randy Wolf have both been decent, Manny Parra is mediocre and Chris Narveson is pretty awful. Both Wolf and Parra are both lefties though, and we all know how the Braves do against those.
And their relievers:
ERA: 5.25 (15th)
FIP: 4.00 (10th)
Innings Pitched: 293.1 (16th); Oh my goodness.
K/9: 8.35 (6th)
BB/9: 3.77 (7th)
BAA: .280 (14th)
WHIP: 1.52 (14th)
Similar to their starting pitchers, the bullpen is pretty bad as well. Their lower FIP suggests they aren't all that bad, but the rest of the numbers are still pretty ugly. Trevor Hoffman is no longer the closer and Joh Axford has done a nice job in the 9th innings for them. Carlos Villanueva, Todd Coffey and Zach Braddock make up their middle relief and they're all decent. Kameron Loe has been a bright spot for them and he's been very good in his stint in Milwaukee.
Pitching Match-Ups:
Thursday, 7:10EST:
Friday, 7:35EST:
Saturday, 7:10EST:
Sunday, 1:35EST:
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LINEUP!!!!
Prado
Heyward
Chipper
McCann
Glaus
Hinske
Gonzalez
Blanco
Jurrjens
"Sharks have a week dedicated to Jason Heyward."
METS: My Entire Team Sucks.
Phillies Baseball: Established - 2008
1. ITS GREAT TO HAVE HEYWARD BACK. He makes this lineup so much more potent.
2. We have a guy with 17 home runs our 7 spot. I repeat, we have a guy with 17 home runs in our 7 spot.
Can’t wait to see our newly formed offense in action.
60% of the time, it works every time
which is fine because he’s not the mastermind of a conspiracy to break Troy Glaus’ wrist, right?
"Infield hits are sexy, because they require technique."
-Ichiro
by VivaLosBravos on Jul 15, 2010 5:49 PM EDT up reply actions
for some reason
Im the most excited about Blanco in CF
by drumzalicious on Jul 15, 2010 4:34 PM EDT up reply actions
Much better than Melky.
"Sharks have a week dedicated to Jason Heyward."
METS: My Entire Team Sucks.
Phillies Baseball: Established - 2008
by Scott Coleman on Jul 15, 2010 4:36 PM EDT up reply actions
Sorry, I am afraid it is a mirage.
Blanco’s production that is. Although it is hard to tell. Blanco started out great in 2008 before crapping the bed at the end. Then he put up an OPS of around .600 in AAA last year. That just does not portend for future success. On the positive side, he has speed even though he doesn’t steal many bases, and he is fairly patient, which is a nice quality from an 8-hole hitter.
Seriously, why not try Blanco at the leadoff spot? He has good plate discipline and speed. And it would allow Prado to drop back down to the 2 hole, and Heyward could hit 5th.
The only time the Mets win is in the offseason.
I hope Prado
has gotten past his mini slump. Go Braves!
Washington Tribune, June 29 2010 – "The stonecutters carving Stephen Strasburg’s name onto the Washington Monument have been directed to await further instructions."
I think he has.
Even during his mini slump, Prado was putting in good at bats. He was hitting the ball pretty hard but the problem was the ball did not fall or land away from the fielders. I think he is good to go tonight. Call it a hunch.
My 4 guys (Hudson, Hanson, Meds, JJ) can take on anybody's 4 guys (the MLB) and Victory will be ours!
by romone_braves91 on Jul 15, 2010 4:58 PM EDT up reply actions
remember when we had the leadoff problem at the beginning of the season? before we put Prado in the leadoff spot we had him usually hitting second, and he was raking then too. Not saying that I agree with Blanco hitting leadoff, but just pointing out that Prado would be awesome wherever Bobby decides to put him in the lineup.
"Tony Gwynn made sacrifices. Cal Ripken made sacrifices. I'm not sure Derek Jeter made sacrifices given the ungodly deep pockets the Yankees have." - Chipper Jones
by MBL1 on Jul 15, 2010 5:21 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Ride out Blanco's hot streak, but don't move him up in the lineup
this start will end. He’s striking out in almost 24% of his ABs and his BABIP checks in at .429 as of right now. We’ve seen Blanco do this before and that average will regress a lot.
R.I.P Jazz #6
maybe its just bullshit that im spouting but it would seem a grounball hitter like Blanco would suffer from wild fluctuations of BABiP.
Heyward,Hanson,and Shaffer r ready now!! Why do you think they havent signed the "right handed bat"?
by fatazfoot on Jan 7, 2009 8:59 PM EST
he's speedy so his BABIP will be higher than average
but not that high. When the dust settles, he’s a nice fourth outfielder with good on base skills who can play all three outfield spots if needed. A good guy to have on your team but not nearly this good.
R.I.P Jazz #6
no i wasnt saying that he can sustain a high BABiP, although as you mentioned he can…just that a guy who lives and dies on hitting grounballs is gonna have some trouble with luck…sometimes the ball goes through sometimes it doesnt…so he seems more susceptible to wild fluctuations in his BABiP..
Heyward,Hanson,and Shaffer r ready now!! Why do you think they havent signed the "right handed bat"?
by fatazfoot on Jan 7, 2009 8:59 PM EST
I'm also excited
to see Gonzalez playing tonight. I’m keeping my expectations in check, don’t want to be disappointed if it takes him a few games to settle in and start playing up to his potential.
Washington Tribune, June 29 2010 – "The stonecutters carving Stephen Strasburg’s name onto the Washington Monument have been directed to await further instructions."
He is playing over his head atm
I would like for him to keep this trend up, but if he gets settled in and back to playing over his head I will be most pleased!
by TCfromDubVee on Jul 15, 2010 4:50 PM EDT up reply actions
I realize what his stats say
I’m being optimistic in my thinking. He may just be a “late bloomer”:)
Washington Tribune, June 29 2010 – "The stonecutters carving Stephen Strasburg’s name onto the Washington Monument have been directed to await further instructions."
Oh I agree with your optimistic attitude.
It’s not the HR’s that catch my eye, but also his extra base hits.
I hope he is a late bloomer!
by TCfromDubVee on Jul 15, 2010 5:49 PM EDT up reply actions
This has to be my favorite lineup of the year. Only thing that could make it better would be if Huddy was in the 9th spot (although he could pinch-hit at any moment)
LaRussa
would probably bat Huddy 6th
"Infield hits are sexy, because they require technique."
-Ichiro
by VivaLosBravos on Jul 15, 2010 5:30 PM EDT up reply actions
I hate to get ahead of myself,
but this sure does look like a good chance to win 3/4 (or more). If we don’t win Saturday’s game, it had better be because Fielder and Braun hit like 20 homers. Hudson vs. Narveson is the greatest mismatch since their fathers, Hud and Narve, faced off 30 years ago (Hud’s team won 47-1).
"Yeah, and I have an enchanted jock strap." -- Karl Karlson
by Jacob Peterson on Jul 15, 2010 4:17 PM EDT reply actions 3 recs
joke comprehension fail
I googled Hudson and Narveson trying to locate their ancestors.
"Infield hits are sexy, because they require technique."
-Ichiro
by VivaLosBravos on Jul 15, 2010 5:28 PM EDT up reply actions
hahaha
Nice.
"Yeah, and I have an enchanted jock strap." -- Karl Karlson
by Jacob Peterson on Jul 15, 2010 6:29 PM EDT up reply actions
I like this matchup
Wolf is the only pitcher on their club that I can see the Braves struggling against, a crafty Lefty. Parra, as a lefty, worries me less because of his control issues. Lets hope the Braves start off the 2nd half well.
by Andy Braves Fan on Jul 15, 2010 4:19 PM EDT reply actions
Braves Option Brandon Hicks to AAA to make room for Heyward:
http://twitter.com/mlbbowman/status/18628380842
"Sharks have a week dedicated to Jason Heyward."
METS: My Entire Team Sucks.
Phillies Baseball: Established - 2008
Why?
We All know Hicks is better than Heyward:)
Washington Tribune, June 29 2010 – "The stonecutters carving Stephen Strasburg’s name onto the Washington Monument have been directed to await further instructions."
he was helping my fantasy team. I had no MI and use him bc i knew he might score a run every once and a while…he has 5 runs scored and an OPS of 1000 for my team (the only PA he got he walked, for me at least)…
now I must turn to Tommy Manzella
Heyward,Hanson,and Shaffer r ready now!! Why do you think they havent signed the "right handed bat"?
by fatazfoot on Jan 7, 2009 8:59 PM EST
Managerial fail.
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 Jul 16, 2010 6:13 AM EDT up reply actions
ya i should have known that DeRosa was gonna break his wrist and not contrubute at all thi sseason…
Heyward,Hanson,and Shaffer r ready now!! Why do you think they havent signed the "right handed bat"?
by fatazfoot on Jan 7, 2009 8:59 PM EST
Nostradomus fail.
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 Jul 18, 2010 10:06 AM EDT up reply actions
Does anyone know when Mike Minor pitches this series for Gwinnett?
im visitng Buffalo(family) and will go to a Gwinnett-Buffalo game, but i’d rather go to the game in which Minor pitches…any help would be well appreciated
OJ didn't do it
Going to see Scott Thorman tonight in AAA action. Should I go for the ’graph?
"Infield hits are sexy, because they require technique."
-Ichiro
HA.
Saw him play in Omaha last weekend; Went 0-3 with a pair of walks and a pair of strikeouts. O Royals scored 13 on 16 hits and not a single one from Scotty.
Made a bonehead mistake running the bases – stopped at 2nd on a double in to the left field corner, thought it was foul.
decent numbers this year for Omaha. But the big story is Moustakas’ AAA debut.
"Infield hits are sexy, because they require technique."
-Ichiro
by VivaLosBravos on Jul 15, 2010 5:33 PM EDT up reply actions
Let's Go Bravos!
Remember, this is Braves Country. 30-10!
My 4 guys (Hudson, Hanson, Meds, JJ) can take on anybody's 4 guys (the MLB) and Victory will be ours!
by romone_braves91 on Jul 15, 2010 5:05 PM EDT reply actions
Beware, brew crew
You’re in Braves country.
You’ve been warned.
"Tony Gwynn made sacrifices. Cal Ripken made sacrifices. I'm not sure Derek Jeter made sacrifices given the ungodly deep pockets the Yankees have." - Chipper Jones
by MBL1 on Jul 15, 2010 5:10 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
might as well start drinking now
"Infield hits are sexy, because they require technique."
-Ichiro
by VivaLosBravos on Jul 15, 2010 5:17 PM EDT up reply actions
Heyward goes deep twice in this series..
AT THE LEAST. he’s rested up..and ready.
The poster formerly known as: SidKotchman
by SidGlaus on Jul 15, 2010 5:26 PM EDT reply actions
Auto Tag fail
this was SBN’s link: http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/32946/Alex_Gonzalez
"Infield hits are sexy, because they require technique."
-Ichiro
I really want to kill some time...
Im awaiting the debut of Gonzalez, and Heyward back from the DL.
Also playing…
Phillies at Cubs:
Moyer / Dempster
Mets at Giants:
Dickey / Lincecum
The birth of Jason Heyward was God’s punishment for the sins of the people in New York and Philly.
Like em both
"This stadium is upside down!!!" -Jim Powell, 4/5/2010
by Cammando2317 on Jul 15, 2010 6:01 PM EDT up reply actions
Thier record is bad....
but their bats are not to be triffled with. I never feel comfortable with their midle of the lineup
any truth
on this other blog they’re saying Buster Olney reporting Braves are close to aquiring Hart. any truth folks ?
Buster Olney says a lot of stuff
Some of it’s right, but a ton of it is wrong, too. Blind squirrels, nuts, blind dogs, bones, broken clocks, deaf musicians, etc.
I like Buster, but is he really saying these things?
Hart may be too much….we don’t need him. but if we get him, I’m on board- swan song
I thought about if we did get a big bat
I would be scared to look at the prospects we would give up…
by steeeeezzzzzz on Jul 15, 2010 6:18 PM EDT up reply actions
He appears to have lost his DerekLoweWin mojo.
We haven’t scored for him at all lately. Why do we always have 1 guy that we don’t score for? And don’t tell me it’s just dumb luck. That’s such a logical explanation that it can’t possibly be right.
"Yeah, and I have an enchanted jock strap." -- Karl Karlson
by Jacob Peterson on Jul 15, 2010 6:32 PM EDT up reply actions
Against this pitching staff,
I wouldn’t be surprised.
No fires, though, please.
"Yeah, and I have an enchanted jock strap." -- Karl Karlson
by Jacob Peterson on Jul 15, 2010 6:32 PM EDT up reply actions
i think the staff is underrated…they arent good, but they arent as bas as the stats indicate.
Narveson has a good GB% and yet his BABiP is still 337…his XFIP is in the 4.40s and thats decent enough…the MLW defense is horrible….the only two players with postive UZR are Escobar and GOmez and a bunch of them are legendary bad (Weeks)…and i think the defense is killing the whole team (which is why their ERAs are all above thier FIPs.
Parra has also pitched better than his stats indicate…
we are certainly the better team pitching wise and its close offensively (if they get hot, they might be the best offense in baseball with the top 5 of the order all capable of 30+ HR). And we should certainly win the series, so thats good news..and its great to see a healthy Heyward. and lucky to not have to face Gallardo bc he is a stud.
Heyward,Hanson,and Shaffer r ready now!! Why do you think they havent signed the "right handed bat"?
by fatazfoot on Jan 7, 2009 8:59 PM EST
Buzzkill
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 Jul 16, 2010 6:15 AM EDT up reply actions
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