Atlanta Braves at Colorado Rockies Series Recap
by SCrebel10 on Jul 22, 2011 9:01 AM EDT
in Series Previews & Recaps
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It wasn't the best series, but Atlanta managed to escape the cruel confines of Coors Field with a series split against the Rockies. Here are some notes from the series.
Freddie Freeman continued to destroy Rockies pitching. For the series, he went 7-18 with two home runs, two doubles, and four RBI's.
Jordan Schafer struggled in the leadoff spot before injuring his finger in the third game of the series and missed the finale. He went 3-12 at the plate with five strikeouts and two walks. He did however steal two bases.
Dan Uggla kept his hitting streak going before missing the series finale due to an injured calf. With a hit in each of the three games he played in, Uggla now has a 12 game hitting streak. Uggla was 4-13 including two home runs in game two of the series.
Dexter Fowler stepped up and assumed the role of token Braves killer during the four game series. He was 6-14 with five RBI's, two triples, and two steals including a steal of home in game four of the series.
It's safe to say Brandon Beachy isn't a fan of Coors Field whatsoever after a rough start in game two. The Rockies pounded Beachy for nine hits and six runs as he uncharacteristically walked five and struck out only three in 4.2 innings of work.
The rest after the jump...
Outside of Scott Proctor and Cory Gearrin, the Braves bullpen pitched relatively well. The non Proctor/Gearrin relievers threw 8.1 innings, giving up only one run (unfortunately that run was the one to lose game three) while striking out six.
Moving on to Proctor and Gearrin, the duo got rocked in game two of the series. Gearrin gave up two hits and four runs while walking four and hitting one batter with a pitch. Proctor came in and didn't fair much better, giving up three runs in 1.1 innings pitched.
Atlanta also struggled to get the duo of Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez out during the series. They tallied a combined 12 hits including two home runs. Gonzalez left game four early after injuring his wrist.
Craig Kimbrel recorded his 30th save during Thursday's finale, which tied him with Kerry Ligtenberg for the Braves franchise record for saves in a season by a rookie. I think it's safe to say Kimbrel will hold that record on his own very soon.
After missing the first two games of the series, Jason Heyward returned for the final two and swung the bat relatively well. He went 1-3 in game three and 2-5 with a home run, a double, and three RBI's in game four of the series. Atlanta badly needs him to get on a roll at the plate. He also made a great diving catch in the finale.
Ubaldo Jimenez tied a season high in strikeouts with nine in game two of the series. He held Atlanta to two runs in 6.2 solid innings.
Up next:
Atlanta heads to Cincinnati for a three game series starting Friday night.
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Jordan Schafer struggled in the leadoff spot
Really? A .357 OBP in the series is considered struggling?
If you are a Schafer hater it is.
I don't ask for much but all I ask is that you to throw strikes.
by georgiadawgsfan on Jul 22, 2011 9:32 AM EDT up reply actions
Schafers gonna Schafe...
(ok – that was dumb as hell)
Wasn’t one of those games against Ubaldo Jimenez, and didn’t the entire team struggle against him?
Cherrypicked stats are always wonderful. So here’s another one…since Prado was hitting int he 2 hole after the AS break Schafer was .407 OBP in the leadoff spot with 4 steals I think.
I didn’t cherry pick shit. I said that he had two bad games. He did. It’s not like I ignored the good thing he did in those two games. I said that he walked twice. …that’s about all that he did well offensively those two games.
Anyway, I’m excited about the Reds series. We miss Cueto, so that’s a plus. Also, Sunday night baseball without Joe Morgan.
So if we dislike a guy, we can pick and choose which games from a series define him? Phew, I was about to take his 2-4, 2 SB 3rd game of the series into account.
"Venters is throwing circus pitches up there. It’s a circus. I was like, what the hell did he just throw me?" - Hunter Pence
And in a single series...
that single good game can make for impressive numbers in spite of 2-3 completely awful games bracketing it.
http://sportsandgrits.blogspot.com/
Wow...
First its is lack of a decent OBP. Now that the OBP is trending upward, we are honestly worried in how/when he gets on base?
Not saying that...
I’m fine with Schafer in CF, and hope he keeps it up. Just saying using obp in a single series can be very misleading for the fact that going 4-4 in one game, but just two walks and one hit in the other 3 with 7 Ks, and you’d have a pretty impressive overall obp for the series despite having 1 good game and 3 crappy ones.
I don’t expect you or UNC to quit arguing anything and everything you can find to support Schafer, but obp for a single series is about as bad of a “small sample size” as it gets. His obp since the BReak is nice, and hope it stays that high, but it is an unquestionably small sample, and Schafer has had strong spurts before which he followed by a long run of worthlessness. Hopefully he’s turning a corner, but I wouldn’t make that statement definitively just yet.
http://sportsandgrits.blogspot.com/
i dont think they were using it to go out of their way
and argue schafer’s brilliance..
I think it was just in response to Gondee’s criticism.. I mean, 2 steals and a 357 obp is exactly what we are hoping for from our leadoff guy.. If he did that every series we would be set
In all my defense of Schafer, I’ve never said I want him hitting leadoff.
He would work better hitting 8th, but as of late he has been getting the job done leading off, so who knows maybe he worked on things during the break and will turn himself into a real leadoff hitter.
I just hate how he gets crucified, even after a series where he got on base a lot. People just go too far out of their way to pick on one of our own.
As much as it seems like he’s been around forever, he still only has 358 ABs. Not even a full seasons worth. Any other young player and people would be giving him much more time to prove himself, but with Schafer its like people almost root for him to fail.
"Venters is throwing circus pitches up there. It’s a circus. I was like, what the hell did he just throw me?" - Hunter Pence
by ATLandUNC on Jul 22, 2011 6:32 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
i dont think it's fair to say he is a hater.....
While that .357 might be a nice number he did have 5k’s. That means about 36% of his PA’s ended via K. Don’t you think it is fair to say that if he would have put the ball in play 2 or 3 of those times that with his speed something good would come from it? Clearly the young man needs to continue to work on his approach.
by jdmarine on Jul 22, 2011 9:54 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Was speaking more of his approach than anything,
it’s still a very poor approach and it hurts him.
"If you go out to a bar, pick up a chick, take her home, but can't close the deal, we used to call that "Calling Dan Kolb in for relief."-Talking Head
Weird stuff in Schafer's numbers
He struck out 5 times in 14 PAs in this series, which is way too many K’s for a guy with essentially no power. However: in looking over his game log this year, I see that Schafer has streaks where he strikes out a lot, and streaks where he doesn’t. The weird thing is, during the streaks where he’s striking out a lot, his OPB goes up. In the Philadelphia series, he only struck out once, but he was 1-for-12 and he lost seven points off of his OBP. During this last Colorado series, he gained four points on his OPB despite the strikeouts. Same thing happened during the Rockies series in Atlanta: 5 K’s in 18 PAs, but he ended the series +.004 on his OPB. Go figure.
"Some people give their bodies to science. I gave mine to baseball." -- Ron Hunt
The first Colorado series he had 1 really good game and 3 really bad games. The issue with Schafer continues to be consistency. We can’t have 1 good game out of every 4 and be satisfied with that in the lead-off position. I’d rather be giving Prado & Heyward more ABs because even a lessened Heyward helps the Braves much more offensively.
I was struck by these two statements...
It’s safe to say Brandon Beachy isn’t a fan of Coors Field whatsoever
and
he uncharacteristically walked five and struck out only three
How is that field’s fault? I ask this honestly. I know the thinner air at Coors’ altitude can turn fly balls into home runs, but what effect does the stadium have on walk rates?
Of course, now that I think about it, you probably meant he hates Coors Field in a more generic sense because of the experience he had there. If so, that’s comprehension fail on my part.
TheLetter2: East Coast Boogaloo
Breaking balls lose their action at Coors as well. Pretty sure you can chalk up his walk rate and lack of strikeouts to that.
"Baseball is the only place in life where a sacrifice is really appreciated."
Yea.. was more of a general statement. But I do think the air had something to do with Beachy’s lack of breaking stuff in his start as well.
"If you go out to a bar, pick up a chick, take her home, but can't close the deal, we used to call that "Calling Dan Kolb in for relief."-Talking Head
Yep. I thought so. I was halfway through my hard-hitting questioning when it occurred to me I might have misinterpreted it. Nevertheless, I did want to see if there was a local effect on his stuff.
TheLetter2: East Coast Boogaloo
Yea, Kimbrel talked about how every slider he threw
hung up because of the air. It certainly looked like it affected Beachy and his control somewhat as well.
"If you go out to a bar, pick up a chick, take her home, but can't close the deal, we used to call that "Calling Dan Kolb in for relief."-Talking Head
It almost has to be. Guys who aren’t groundball pitchers go into Coors and they get psyched out the first time they induce what they think will be a routine fly ball, and then the outfielder has to go all the way back to the track. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that guys like Beachy get overly concerned with keeping the ball down, and it effects their command.
"Some people give their bodies to science. I gave mine to baseball." -- Ron Hunt
HIS NAME IS DAN UGGLA
He has looked great this month. He is walking at his normal clip, but he is striking out a little bit too much. As long as he continues to hit for power and draw walks, then he will be alright.
This article is awesome:
http://www.platoonadvantage.com/2011/07/baseball-teams-blind-spots-and-burned.html#more
"Baseball is the only place in life where a sacrifice is really appreciated."
I hope the Braves got all the dumb out of their system in Wednesday’s game. One of the dumbest games this year, but they rallied back yesterday so at least it should be well behind them now.
Not starting an argument here…but you are asking a lot from a manager facing extra innings to either A) pitch to a player who’s .300 OPS points better against LH pitching, or B) blow up his bullpen to for a R/R matchup against Ty Wigginton when it wasn’t disadvantageous to put him on 1st base. The smart play was made and it failed…this is normal and it happens to every ballclub who wears a uniform, not just those managed by Fredi Gonzalez.
Especially when they should have been out of the inning if not for an error.
Pitching to Carlos Gonzalez is never the smart play, when the option of not pitching to Carlos Gonzalez exists. I’m pretty sure CarGo has at least one more batting title than Wigginton and 99% of the players in the league. It’s not like he’s inept against lefties.
I understand L/L and all that…but if a manager had his lefty reliever walk any of our guys to set up an at-bat against McCann, we’d all love it. That’s exactly what happened in that game. The only difference is that CarGo has been slightly better against lefties than McCann over their careers.
-C
It’s rough to sit through these games and not have someone that can’t hit a Ball?
by cthabeerman on Jul 22, 2011 12:49 PM EDT up reply actions
Either way, based on the feedback of posters…it’s obvious that this was a No-Win situation in which only the result mattered and did nothing but exacerbate any existing feelings you might have already had of Fredi Gonzalez.
Pitching your best pitcher against LH hitters, against a guy who’s significantly worse against LH pitching than the guy you put on base?
I’ll say it until I’m blue in the face though. Everyone is quick to blame Fredi, but Prado’s error and EOF’s grooved fastball are the only reasons the Rockies score with 2 outs in the 9th.
I’ve defended Fredi all year, but not on this one. The move itself doesn’t change my opinion of Fredi, but it was without a doubt the wrong move.
Your last point doesn’t hold water with me. Carlos Gonzalez got the hit, and he definitely factors into the equation. If you want to pretend it’s a Player A with .306 avg against lefties vs. Player B with a .272 avg against lefties, fine, and I wouldn’t disagree with that in most situations.
Knowing that Player B is Carlos Gonzalez is enough to change my mind, though. I also watch him play 4-5 times a week and know what he can do against any pitcher in the league, left- or right-handed, so maybe that’s the determining factor in our disagreement on the subject.
-C
It’s rough to sit through these games and not have someone that can’t hit a Ball?
I’m not trying to be a butt, in the least, so don’t take it as such.
What’s funny it that I’m usually the one who’s far behind everyone on this site when it comes to applying such statistical analysis to these kind of situations. The one time I actually see that, from at least a statistical prespective, the proper move was made…I’m the one getting soundly overruled by everyone claiming the “Johnny Eyeball” defense.
That's fair...
And I don’t think you’re trying to be contrary or anything of that nature. You’re certainly entitled to your opinion…and, as I said, mine would normally agree with yours in cases such as this.
That said, CarGo is probably a top 10 member of my “Do not let him beat you” list. He is an exception to your (and usually my) rule that you go with the better statistical match-up.
In the end, I may post a FanPost to find who would be on people’s “Do not let him beat you” list for the NL, with the same situation in mind – a superior platoon split (let’s say 30-35 pts, since that’s what it was) at the plate, an incredible player with a worse split on-deck, a speedy runner at second with two outs.
-C
It’s rough to sit through these games and not have someone that can’t hit a Ball?
Here's something we'll never know though...
Let’s say EOF pitched to Wigginton and he got the GW hit. How do you think that would have been received here…especially if Fredi made a statement in the post-game along the lines of “I pitched to Wigginton, knowing how good he hit Lefties, because I would rather face him than CarGo”.
I’d be okay with that. But, once again, one of the last players I want to see in the batter’s box with the game on the line is CarGo. It’s the pitcher’s job to go after hitters and get them out. Wigginton is not a special player. CarGo is and that’s where there’s a disconnect for me between the statistics and the strategy.
-C
It’s rough to sit through these games and not have someone that can’t hit a Ball?
Maybe that’s where my problem is. I don’t think CarGo is an elite player…certainly not in the class of Tulo. To me, he’s an above-average athletic player who’s stats are propped up by Coors Field (as most Rockies players), considering he has a massive Home/Road split.
The game was at home, though. If anything, that should have made you more worried…
Matt Holliday had more sevsplits and turned out to be just fine outside of Coors, fwiw. Just because the place offers the opportunity for outrageous splits doesn’t mean the players can’t play elsewhere.
-C
It’s rough to sit through these games and not have someone that can’t hit a Ball?
Goodness.
One would think that Schafer had cheated on yours sisters by reading this place lately.
I’m curious if someone is willing to look it up – how does Schafer compare to other Braves CF players in modern history in a similar number of total games/PA?
~ "The NL - where our pitchers do more than just play with their balls." ~
People are going to lose it next week when Chipper gets back and Schafer is leading off and playing center field. Defensively, the outfield of Prado, Schafer and Heyward is the best one we could have especially right now. Schafer is developing into the lead off hitter we need. He has 15 steals and 32 runs scored despite his current OPS of .616. The numbers project over a season to roughly 45 steals and 100 runs scored. That is a good season for a lead off man. And yes, stealing bases and scoring runs are important numbers to look at for a lead off man. Rickey Henderson leads all time in those two categories and he is arguably the best lead off hitter ever. Jordan needs to learn how to get on base more obviously. I think when he does people will shut up, because his defense in center field is great.
His defense is above average
and Jordan needs a new approach at the plate. Because he’s not even making contact anymore
He had two hits Wednesday night. He is making contact some at least. You are right that he needs to change his approach though. It would be great if he could draw more walks and leg out more bunts and infield hits.
What I see in Schafer is a hitter who is still learning to read ML pitching and choose his pitches. Some nights he does it well, some nights he doesn’t. What I’ve noticed is that a lot of the time, he’s OK until he has two strikes on him, then he swings at everything. I’d accept some strike-three-looking if it meant fewer swings at bad pitches.
"Some people give their bodies to science. I gave mine to baseball." -- Ron Hunt
Not a good comp
because since Andruw, our CFs have been beyond awful. Simply being better than awful leaves a lot of room to still be bad.
http://sportsandgrits.blogspot.com/
2 good games, 2 crappy games
That’s my series recap.
"Venters is throwing circus pitches up there. It’s a circus. I was like, what the hell did he just throw me?" - Hunter Pence
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