Bleacher Report - Articles by James Hulka

The 2010 Braves Opening Day Roster

James Hulka — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:21:48 -0500

With economics playing a larger role in how teams are constructed - here's my 25 players who are going to be on the Braves active roster leaving Spring Training and in the dugout on Opening Day 2010. There are a couple of additions, that, by the September, may bring the Braves back to the playoffs and possibly a World Series title in Bobby Cox's final season.

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Stupidity on Display at Yankee Stadium

James Hulka — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 01:34:45 -0400

I've never been a Yankees fan.

Growing up in New Jersey as a Braves fan in the mid 1990s, there were a handful of Yankees fans amongst my high school classmates before they won the first of their World Series titles—and hundreds the moment the trophy was back in the Bronx.

At least those Yankee teams you could respect.

After watching a couple innings of the Blue Jays-Yankees game tonight, the Yankees gave more fuel to the people who hate them.

These Yankees give off the aura that they are invincible, untouchable, and God-like. How dare you throw at us?

You're not allowed to bean any of our players or play hard—but we're allowed to do that to you—because we're royalty.

I'm not saying Blue Jays reliever Jesse Carlson was an innocent bystander in the process.

However, Jorge Posada—like Boston's Kevin Youkilis earlier this season against the Tiger—showed how stupid you can be when you get hit.

I won't go into the AL versus NL designated hitter argument.

Personally, I think beanings would be less if pitchers had to hit and potentially get hit for beaning their opponents.

But, aside from that, Jorge Posada's been around more than long enough to understand that someone's going to get hit on his team if your pitchers drilled two opposing hitters.

Edwin Encarnacion was lucky he didn't have any broken bones in his hand or that it didn't deflect off the front of his arm and hit him in the face or head.

Aaron Hill is the Blue Jays best player this year. When he gets drilled in the upper-center of his back two innings after his teammate got hit, the Yankees had to know retaliation was on the way.

Apparently Jorge Posada didn't. And who knows how many other Yankees seemingly thought they were too invincible to be retaliated against.

And I don't buy for a second Posada's "it got out of hand". Coming across home plate he didn't have to brush his arm past Carlson. Plus he was dumb enough to do that right in front of the home plate umpire.

The Blue Jays are out of the race for the playoffs. Who knows how the impending suspension of Posada and whoever else on the Yankees will affect things the next few weeks.

The Yankees as a team are just as stupid if no one pulls Posada aside even in private to chew him out for being an idiot.

Someone in that locker room whether it be manager Joe Girardi, Andy Pettitte, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, or one of the coaches to remind him of how stupid he was for his actions and how the consequences of his actions could hurt the team.

We all know A-Rod won't do it.

If someone did—good. If not—it just goes further to support the idea among those who don't like the Yankees that the New York players don't think the unwritten rules of the game don't apply to them.

After Playoff Hopes Swept Away, Atlanta Braves Should Focus on 2010

James Hulka — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 22:08:48 -0400

The week got off to a great start, with the Braves winning the first two games in Florida.

The rest of the week showed that only a miracle would get the Braves into the playoffs in 2009.

To be realistic, the Braves would have to go 20-5 over the last four weeks of the season and have the Rockies go 13-12 or worse to even get a one-game playoff.

The Braves' offense showed over the past four days that the type of runs necessary to make it to the postseason this year just isn't there.

In the bigger picture, that may not be a bad thing.

Chipper Jones, as good as he was last year, has not been up to snuff this year. Kelly Johnson went from being a borderline All-Star at second base to a reserve. The offense's inability to produce meant Chipper and Brian McCann couldn't get more days of rest that they're bodies needed, and now it's showing.

However, looking forward to next year, there are some interesting decisions to be made, and ones that could put the Braves in excellent position to be even better in 2010 than 2009.

The starting pitching, for the most part, pitched as advertised. Kenshin Kawakami wasn't expected to be an ace, but he, along with new acquisitions Derek Lowe and Javier Vazquez, put less of a burden on the bullpen than the 2008 starters by pitching deeper into games.

Tim Hudson's return this week gives the Braves potentially six quality pitchers under contract for 2010. Jair Jurrjens and Tommy Hanson have pitched brilliantly this season and are only 23 years old. They aren't going anywhere.

Derek Lowe's ERA was inflated greatly by four awful starts. Of the 28 or so starts he made, 24 of them were fair or good, and his ERA during those starts was about 3.30. The four starts against the Mets, Yankees, Marlins and Orioles—his ERA was about 18.

The question seems to be who of the other three starters isn't in the starting rotation next year for Atlanta.

Tim Hudson has looked like the ace he was before Tommy John surgery last August. He's got a $12M option for 2010 that the Braves should absolutely pick up. The rotation is deep without him, but he's the epitome of an ace, which the team really didn't have this year.

Javier Vazquez had the type of season that many people wondered if he was capable of. Like Jurrjens, run support made his win-loss record misleading, because many times he didn't get any offensive support behind him.

If I'm GM Frank Wren, I might consider trading Vazquez, but would rather trade Kenshin Kawakami instead.

Both are about the same age, but Kawakami's contract is about $4M less per season than Vazquez's. I would keep the better pitcher, even though KK is signed through 2011 and Vazquez will be a free agent after 2010.

The Braves outfield for 2010 should be all set, but not as we saw it this weekend.

Nate McLouth and Matt Diaz will be back, and likely manning center field and left field as likely every day players in 2010.

The other two outfielders on the Braves in 2010 will probably be youngsters.

Jordan Schafer's offensive struggles persisted all year, and were likely a major product of the bone spurs in his wrist that began bothering him back in April. If healthy, I think he's ready to get significant playing time in the majors; some days in left, some days in center.

I also think Jason Heyward will show, both in the Arizona Fall League and in spring training, that he's the next big thing in Atlanta. I expect to see him starting the season as the Braves' right fielder.

I don't think Ryan Church or Garret Anderson will be back next season.

Why Greg Norton is still on the Braves baffles me. Brooks Conrad is younger, more athletic player and can actually play defense as well as be a switch-hitter off the bench when needed.

Omar Infante should play a larger role in the Braves offense next year, as long as Max Scherzer doesn't break his wrist with a pitch again.

Yunel Escobar stepped up his game this year, despite periods of lackadaisical play. Hitting .400 with RISP is no small feat. Martin Prado has done everything to keep the everyday second baseman's job.

Adam LaRoche looks much more comfortable in a Braves uniform, and should be offered a two or three year contract by the Braves in an otherwise weak market this offseason for first basemen.

Yes, the Braves will have a left-heavy lineup in 2010. However, there are platoons to get right-handed hitters like David Ross, Infante, Prado, and Matt Diaz in the lineup while giving Chipper Jones and Brian McCann some rest.

The biggest question might be, who of the two "closers" can the Braves afford to keep?

Rafael Soriano, with the exception of a week where he was overworked, has been phenomenal as the Braves' closer. I'm not sure if Mike Gonzalez would come back without a promise of significant closing opportunities and closer-type dollars.

Bobby Cox's management of the bullpen could go a long way in making the unit be better in 2010 than in 2009, which was still markedly better than 2008.

Garret Anderson, Ryan Church, Greg Norton, Kenshin Kawakami, Mike Gonzalez, and Javier Vazquez are current Braves who have more than a slim chance of playing with another team in 2010.

They all won't be back, but a couple of them might.

I don't see the Braves making a huge splash in free agency, but maybe acquiring a bat in exchange for one of their "surplus" starters would be the most likely acquisition. Otherwise, the only changes next year will come from within, as the youth movement continues.

The one thing I'm doing next year if I'm Frank Wren is drafting a college third baseman or making a trade for another team's top third base prospect who can be ready in a couple of years when Chipper is ready to retire.

Otherwise, from an organizational standpoint, the Braves don't have any major holes to fill. If Jordan Schafer and Jason Heyward can be as good as many scouts think they are, the offense will be much improved for years to come.

Stephen Strasburg Shouldn't Choose Boras Over Tony Gwynn

James Hulka — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:30:48 -0400

You can't fault Tony Gwynn for trying.

However, when players are dumb and greedy enough to say they want Scott Boras handling their business decisions for them instead of a Hall of Famer, excellent college coach, and one of the best hitters ever to walk the planet, they deserve all the negative publicity they get.

Stephen Strasburg—if you reject the highest offer ever given to a draft pick ($12.5 million)—you're an idiot.

Period.

Either you're too blind and deaf to not have ever heard of Aaron Crow, or you're too stupid to realize what will happen if you hold out for more money that you haven't yet earned.

Scott Boras has no conscience and I doubt ever did. He's a cold-blooded greed enabler out to get himself paid and his picture taken by chopping 10 percent of a dumb and gullible major leaguer or upcoming player.

Alex Rodriguez didn't learn. Neither did Manny Ramirez.

The lesson is "You're not worth what Boras thinks you are."

Both Rodriguez and Ramirez have been in the big leagues for 15 seasons now, and let Boras drag them around by their (possibly) steroid shriveled genitals, as long as he does one thing for them, which is get them a lot of money.

If it were me, the decision would be easy. I believe Tony Gwynn made $6 million the last year of his career in San Diego, on a "hometown discount." He's coaching near the home he's had the last 20 years, around his son, financially comfortable for the rest of his life and respected everywhere for his career, and extensive knowledge of the game.

Greed is not something that was ever associated with Tony Gwynn. Maybe Stephen Strasburg will take the hint...

Oh I guess he just did.

I was about to say "and not be too greedy and let Boras let him lose a year and a lot of credibility."

However, ESPN is reporting the Nationals and Strasburg agreed to a deal for $15 million. $15 million—for someone who won't play in the majors until at the earliest mid-year next season.

I wonder if his old college coach at San Diego State called him and said, "They're offering you how much? $15 million?!?! Take it and get on the field. Play because you're good and love the game, not for the money. It's a lot more fun that way."

If so—good for you Tony. I wonder if he was able to tell Aaron Crow (about to go unsigned AGAIN) the same thing.

Hanson, Homers Power Braves Past Giants

James Hulka — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 02:25:21 -0400

Chipper Jones, Garret Anderson, and Ryan Church all homered to back a stellar 11-strikeout performance by rookie Tommy Hanson as the Atlanta Braves beat the San Francisco Giants 11-3 on Monday night.

The strikeout numbers hadn't really been there for Hanson since his call-up in early June. However, against the Giants, he used all of his pitches to record 11 K's in seven strong innings.

Hanson's fastball was clocked regularly from 94-96 mph and he twice got Edgar Renteria looking as he painted over the black on the outside corner. Mixing in a 76 mph curve and an 83 mph slider that dove at the toes of left-handed hitters' back feet, Hanson was able to keep the Giants at bay until the Braves' bats woke up in the seventh.

Hanson gave up three runs on five hits and walked three to go with his 11 strikeouts. He almost tiptoed his way out of a bases loaded, no out jam in the second, but Randy Winn dropped a two-out double into right center.

The other run scored in the seventh as Nate McLouth uncharacteristically misjudged a fly ball to center off the bat of Juan Uribe that turned into a triple. An Aaron Rowand sacrifice fly scored Uribe two hitters later, but Hanson prevented any further damage and left in the middle of the seventh with the game tied 3-3.

The Braves' early offense was provided by the long ball. Garret Anderson jumped on a high fastball for a solo home run in the third to cut the deficit to 2-1.

In the fourth, Nate McLouth singled with one out, stole second, and went to third on a groundout by Martin Prado. Chipper Jones hit another right-handed home run, this time to center, just out of the reach of Aaron Rowand to give the Braves a 3-2 lead.

With the game tied at 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh, Yunel Escobar and Garret Anderson singled to start the inning. Matt Diaz fouled off two bunt attempts, before deftly hitting a line drive on a tough low and outside slider to right-center. When Diaz slid headfirst into third with a triple, the Braves had a 5-3 lead.

Casey Kotchman chased Giants' reliever Sergio Romo with an RBI single to right.

After a pitching change, Ryan Church pinch-hit for Hanson and golfed a line drive home run a few feet inside the foul pole to extend the Braves' lead to 8-3.

Nate McLouth followed Church's home run and walked, and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Two outs later, he scored on an RBI single to center by Brian McCann for a 9-3 Braves lead.

In the eighth, Matt Diaz led off with a single, and Casey Kotchman reached on an error. Church, who stayed in the game after pinch-hitting in the seventh, stroked an RBI single to right center, scoring Diaz as Kotchman made it to third.

Nate McLouth capped the Braves scoring with a sacrifice fly, as Kotchman crossed the plate for an 11-3 lead.

Mike Gonzalez and Kris Medlen each pitched a scoreless inning of relief to complete the victory.

With the win, Tommy Hanson ran his record to 5-0, and tied for the high strikeout performance by a rookie in 2009 with 11. Toronto's Scott Richmond and Tampa Bay's David Price also notched 11 strikeouts in a game earlier this year.

With a little better performance from the bullpen on the last road trip, Hanson could have been 6-0, or 7-0 after tonight's start.

What the Braves hadn't seen up until tonight was the strikeout totals. His walks are a bit high, but the 1.27 WHIP after tonight's start is very respectable. Opponents are only hitting .215 off the right-hander, who improved his strikeout totals to 36 in 48 IP, 6.75 K/9 IP.

The other thing to notice is that while Chipper Jones hit his 11th home run of the season tonight, it was the seventh he's hit right-handed.

His average is about the same from each side of the plate, but his slugging percentage against lefties (batting right-handed) is 170 points higher.

Braves fans also have to like the new-look Braves lineup. Ever since Martin Prado established himself as the everyday second baseman and No. 2 hitter, Yunel Escobar has been hitting very well, hitting either fifth or sixth in the lineup depending on the opponent's starting pitcher.

Kelly Johnson's last start at second base was June 28 against Boston, and June 30 was the first day that Martin Prado essentially became the everyday second baseman, as Johnson went on the DL after the game on July 3.

In the month of July, and somewhat coinciding with his shift to a run-producing spot in the order, Escobar is hitting a robust .385, with an on-base percentage of .478 and slugging .718. The OPS so far this month totals a whopping 1.196, including 13 RBI in 14 games.

The way the lineup is now constructed does not have a lot of power, but plays to each hitter's strengths, and there are no easy outs from hitters one through eight. Nate McLouth's .258 average is the lowest of any regular, and he's hit the most home runs of anyone on the Braves so far this season with 14.

The Braves need that type of production and the RF platoon of Diaz and Church should work well, as hopefully tonight's home run and three RBI from Ryan Church gets his bat going. Garret Anderson's projections look pretty darn close to what the Braves expected when they signed him to an affordable one-year deal prior to the season.

The rest of the series features two pitching matchups that should favor the Braves. With Monday's victory, the Braves snapped a five-game losing streak to the Giants that included a sweep at San Francisco in May.

Derek Lowe (8-7, 4.40 ERA) will face Ryan Sadowski (2-1, 1.00 ERA) on Tuesday. Lowe pitched well each of his last two starts, getting a win in Colorado, and a no-decision as the Braves beat the Mets late on Thursday.

Sadowski pitched shutout ball in each of his first two starts, but lost his last start despite giving up only two runs at Florida. He hasn't pitched since July 8.

Wednesday will feature two of the best young pitchers in the NL. Jair Jurrjens (8-7, 2.77 ERA) has pitched better than his record indicates, while Tim Lincecum (10-2, 2.27 ERA) has pitched just as well as his record indicates.

Jurrjens did not pitch in the series in May. Lincecum got the win in his start, throwing eight scoreless innings against Atlanta on May 29.

The series finale will see Kenshin Kawakami (5-7, 4.15 ERA) face lefty Barry Zito (5-10, 4.89 ERA). Kawakami has pitched very well in his last two starts, allowing only three ER in his last 12.2 innings, going 1-1, taking the loss on Saturday as Johan Santana was just better.

Zito has alternated good and bad outings his last four appearances, going 1-3 over that span. He pitched well against Pittsburgh on Saturday, but lost 2-0. His previous start saw him allow nine runs without getting through five innings against San Diego.

Zito leads the NL in losses with 10.

Realistically, the Braves could take two of the final three and finish 6-2 on the eight-game homestand if the offense can support Lowe and Kawakami. The Braves have had a lot of trouble with Lincecum before, but maybe if Jurrjens can match him, the Braves could do what they did Monday and get some hits against the Giants' bullpen.

Splitting the series would mean the Braves would head on a six-game road trip to face the struggling Brewers and Marlins as a .500 team. Atlanta would surely like some momentum and a winning record before setting out on the road.

They've gotten off on the right foot, winning four of five since the All-Star game and outscoring their opponents 35-12 over those five games.

Braves Take Greg Maddux's Advice, Beat Mets

James Hulka — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 01:49:08 -0400

Maybe the Braves should hold pre-game ceremonies more often if they'll follow them up with performances like tonight.

With Greg Maddux inducted into the Braves Hall of Fame Friday afternoon, the Braves expected a night of emotion and high attendance for Friday evening's game against the New York Mets, where his No. 31 would be retired.

With Maddux in the booth, Jair Jurrjens jammed Gary Sheffield on a cut fastball that made the Mad Dog proud.

The Braves scored three in the first and never looked back on their way to a two-hit shutout, winning easily 11-0.

The only two hits the Mets got were doubles by Gary Sheffield in the second, and David Wright in the fourth. Jair Jurrjens stranded them both, getting a double play in the second and two groundouts in the fourth, as Yunel Escobar had a busy night on the infield.

Nate McLouth was the only position player who started the game that didn't join the hit parade, but fortunately his 0-for-5 didn't slow down anyone else.

The Braves scored in each of the odd numbered innings, and totaled seven doubles in the game, half of their hit total of 14.

With one out in the first, Martin Prado doubled to left-center and Chipper Jones drew a walk. Brian McCann worked the count to 3-2 before roping a double down the right field line that scored two. Yunel Escobar followed two batters later with an RBI single that scored McCann putting the Braves up 3-0.

The same portion of the Braves lineup went to work in the third. Martin Prado hit a solo homerun to lead off the inning that bounced on top of the yellow line in center and hopped into the stands.

Brian McCann launched the second homer of the inning two batters later just out of the reach of Jeff Francoeur in right, following a Chipper Jones single, giving the Braves a 6-0 lead.

It's the second consecutive night the Braves had two home runs in the same inning.

In the fifth, Jones doubled with one out and moved to third on a bloop single by Brian McCann. Garret Anderson's double off the wall in right scored Jones from third and ended Mike Pelfrey's night after 4 1/3 innings, giving up nine hits and getting only 10 outs.

Tim Redding came in and was rudely greeted by Yunel Escobar who doubled to left-center, scoring McCann and Anderson. Gary Sheffield pulled a hamstring and tried to flip the ball to center fielder Angel Pagan to no avail, and was replaced by Jeremy Reed and walked gingerly off the field.

The Braves added a fourth run as Ryan Church singled to left pushing Escobar to third, and Casey Kotchman poked an RBI single to right giving the Braves a 10-0 lead.

The Braves' final run came in the seventh inning off Elmer Dessens when Yunel Escobar drilled a 1-out, ground-rule double to center, and scored two batters later on an RBI double by Casey Kotchman.

Jair Jurrjens was phenomenal and really wasn't in trouble the whole night. He allowed two hits and two walks in six scoreless innings. The only inning where more than one runner reached base was the second, when Alex Cora conveniently hit into an inning-ending double play.

Boone Logan, Luis Valdez and Kris Medlen each threw a hitless inning to complete the shutout, after Jurrjens was removed despite throwing just 85 pitches.

The win, coupled with the Marlins' loss to the Phillies, not only got the Braves back to .500 at 45-45, but they're now tied for second, still six games back of Philadelphia.

They've won six out of their last eight games, but some better bullpen work on the last road trip might've had the Braves carrying an 8-game winning streak into Saturday afternoon's game against Johan Santana.

Three bullpen collapses on the last road trip cost Tommy Hanson two wins, and while a 5-5 road trip to three different time zones is decent, an 8-2 trip would've looked a lot better, and so would 14 wins in their last 16 games, instead of the 11-5 mark since the start of the Philadelphia series.

Even with Mike Gonzalez resting his sore elbow for a few more days, the Braves aren't really an arm short in the bullpen. With Tommy Hanson optioned down to AAA until Sunday, the Braves are able to give Gonzalez a few more games to rest, while still having seven relievers in the bullpen, and none of them having thrown in both games so far in this series.

Hanson's return after Sunday's series finale, will likely bring Gonzalez back rested, and see Luis Valdez return to Gwinnett. Omar Infante hopes to return by early August, and allow Diory Hernandez to play the remainer of the season in AAA.

With Sheffield's injury, the Mets are going to lose their only real power threat in their lineup likely for the last two games of the series. David Wright's average is dropping, and I doubt the Braves are going to give him any pitches to hit to add to his sagging homerun total of five.

That five homerun total will be the highest number the Braves will likely see from a Mets hitter this weekend, as Wright, Jeff Francoeur and Daniel Murphy will be the high men in the lineup.

While the Braves will be facing a rested Johan Santana, the Braves are the one team Santana has yet to record a victory against in his Major League career. He's just 3-5 with an 4.83 ERA since the beginning of June (eight starts), and that includes seven shutout innings in his last start against the Reds.

Kenshin Kawakami hasn't been stellar, but he's been pretty steady. His best games have come when he's had more than four days rest, or if he's facing a dominant starter. He outdueled fellow Japanese hurler Daisuke Matsusaka in Boston, and bested Roy Halladay, both times with more than four days rest.

Over that same time period (since June 1), Kawakami is 2-0, with a 3.64 ERA with the Braves winning six of those eight games.

Sunday's pitching matchup also favors the Braves, as Fernando Nieve has cooled off, after a hot start to his season. He's 0-3 with a 5.40 ERA over his last four starts.

The Braves welcome back a hopefully healthy Javier Vazquez, who might be pitching for the sweep on Sunday afternoon if the Braves can best Santana on Saturday.

Over his last four starts, Vazquez is 2-1 with a 1.35 ERA, and has a 2.03 ERA over his last eight starts, dating back to June 1. His only loss in the last four outings was a 1-0 loss against the Red Sox at Turner Field.

Realistically, the Braves could see themselves either alone in second place in the NL, and or only four games back of the Phillies depending on how the NL East games go this weekend.

The Braves will have to face Tim Lincecum on Wednesday, but will miss facing Matt Cain (pitches Sunday against Pittsburgh) and Randy Johnson (on DL).during their following series against the Giants.

For one night though, everything was perfect in Atlanta.

Tommy Hanson's Arrival Means Jason Heyward Is Next

James Hulka — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 18:54:00 -0400

In the past few weeks, others around baseball have gotten to see why Jason Heyward is getting a lot of attention.

Those fans who follow the Braves have known about Heyward since the day he was drafted. A local product from Georgia, Jason Heyward was taken with the 14th overall pick in the 2007 MLB Amateur Draft.

He's met the challenge at every level—and this past weekend, those who watched the Futures Game got a chance to see why the Braves refuse to include him in any trade.

With Matt Wieters and David Price already in the majors, the Braves now have the No. 1 prospect in all of minor league baseball in their farm system.

Like Tommy Hanson, he's already good at such a young age, and there's still room to get even better.

Athleticism is nothing new in Heyward's family. His uncle played college basketball on the 1964 UCLA championship team under John Wooden. Both of his parents are Ivy League graduates (Dartmouth) where his father was a standout basketball player in his own right.

Since getting drafted just 25 months ago, Heyward's list of accomplishments in the minors are already lengthy.

June 2008: South Atlantic League Midseason All-Star.

August 2008: South Atlantic League Postseason All-Star and Most Outstanding Major League Prospect. Finished third in hitting in the SAL at age 18 with a .323 average.

September 2008: Baseball America Class A All-Star and Minor League All-Star.

May 2009: Carolina League Player of the Week.

July 2009: 1-for-2 in MLB Futures Game in St. Louis.

Will September 2009 include a major-league call-up at age 20?

Earlier this month, Heyward earned a promotion from High-A Myrtle Beach (spacious pitcher's park) to AA Mississippi. In 49 games this season at Myrtle Beach, Heyward hit .296 with a .369 on-base percentage, slugged .519 with 10 HR and 31 RBI in 49 games.

The other number that makes you take notice is that during that stint, he had 21 walks to 30 strikeouts.

Since his promotion, Heyward has been scorching:

.417 batting average, one home run, 10 RBI, .476 OBP, .750 slugging percentage for a OPS of 1.226 in 10 games.

In those 10 games, he also has five doubles, two triples, and only two strikeouts compared with four walks.

He won't keep those numbers up, but there's no reason to think he won't be a high average hitter the rest of this season and probably hit about 20 home runs.

The comparisons that Heyward has drawn are extremely telling.

Steve Phillips of ESPN obviously copied someone else's line by saying Heyward was a "more athletic version of Fred McGriff."

One scout compared him to Justin Morneau—a sweet lefty swing with power that is still developing.

Physical comparison's because of his position as a right-fielder make others see a left-handed version of Dave Winfield, or a Darryl Strawberry in his prime.

Watching the Futures Game on Sunday, after the four-hour rain delay gave people an understanding of why one AL scout said, "[Heyward's] BP was the best one that I saw all day."

In the first inning, with Heyward starting in right field for the US team, he made a beautiful sliding play on Barbaro Canizares' sinking liner. He didn't catch the ball before it skipped on the ground, but the range he showed, the quick reaction, and the awareness to try to sell the catch to the umpire while not getting consumed with the call showed his maturity.

His first at-bat showed why he's projected as a perfect No. 3 hitter in the majors.

After former Braves prospect Tyler Flowers lined a single to center, Heyward smoked a single off the left-handed pitcher on the first pitch. His numbers have shown him to be a patient hitter in the minors, but this showed his pitch recognition and intelligence at the plate, as well as how the ball jumps off his bat.

The stats alone don't make Heyward a star in the making.

Alex Rodriguez has the stats to be a star, but he's too consumed with his self-image and lets the mental aspect of the game become a hindrance.

Jason Heyward, by accounts of most scouts and baseball insiders, is intelligent, modest, humble, hard-working, and extremely personable, especially for someone who's still only 19 years old.

An imposing physical specimen at 6'4" and 225 pounds, it makes it easier to like him seeing that big, easy smile come across his face.

Braves fans might be smiling soon, as sometime within the next year, they'll likely be cheering on Jason Heyward as the starting right-fielder for the Atlanta Braves.

All indications are that he'll be the heir-apparent star the team needs for years going forward. It's always a great feeling when the home grown kid becomes a star, yet knows how to be calm, appreciative, and mature without letting apparent success mess with his head.

Time will tell, but Heyward is giving notice that his thunderous bat and engaging personality aren't far away.

What the Ryan Church-Jeff Francoeur Trade Really Means For Atlanta

James Hulka — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 02:18:14 -0400

So far, the analysis of today's trade of outfielders between the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets has focused solely on the players exchanged—Ryan Church and Jeff Francoeur.

Defensively, as some other writers have noted, the trade is a wash. Francoeur has the better arm, but Church has a slight edge on range.

Both have fallen out of favor with their managers, for different reasons. Church wasn't the same player after a collision and concussion last season, which coincided with the Mets' managerial change.

Francoeur has been an offensive sinkhole for much of the past two years, as pitch recognition, pitch selection and hitting mechanics have him a bit messed up.

Francoeur might have been non-tendered by the Braves had he not been traded. Church won't be the seemingly automatic out, but might rediscover some power now that he doesn't call Citi Field his home.

A close look at Church's Home/Away splits tell part one of the story.

At Citi Field, Church is hitting a paltry .216 with a .576 OPS.

Away from Citi Field, his numbers improve to a .326 batting average with an .804 OPS.

Looking deeper, the individuals in the trade who won were really Matt Diaz and Jason Heyward.

Huh?

A look at Ryan Church's Left/Right splits tell part two of the story.

Against lefties, Church is hitting .167 with a .414 OPS. Against righties, those numbers are a .310 batting average and .784 OPS.

By getting Church out of Citi Field, it's a logical argument that his overall numbers will be better than his season averages. While Turner Field is not the hitters' haven for lefties like Yankee Stadium or Citizens Bank Park, it's better than New York's NL Park.

Church's struggles against lefties means Matt Diaz will most assuredly be playing right field when Atlanta's opposing a left-handed starter.

Garret Anderson's splits aren't so polarized. Most of his numbers are slightly better away from Turner Field except for slugging percentage. All of Anderson's home runs are against righties, but his average against lefties is about 50 points higher—.316 to be exact.

So, what does this mean for 2009. Against lefties, Church will be sitting while Matt Diaz starts in right field and likely Garret Anderson in left. Against righties, Church will play right field and Anderson will continue to get most of the starts in left, but Diaz will play once or twice a week in left to give Anderson a day off. The three will likely have similar numbers of at-bats as each of them will probably play 4-5 days a week and rest for two.

This also means that the Jason Heyward train might be arriving in Atlanta sooner than some may have expected.

Die-hard Atlanta fans know Jason Heyward. He was the Braves' first round pick in 2007, and rated as one of the top five prospects in all of baseball at the beginning of the 2009 season—despite playing at Class A Myrtle Beach at the end of the 2008 season.

He's tall, athletic, fast and hits for high average and power. He is as some scouts described "a more athletic version of Fred McGriff."

He's a left-handed hitter and thrower, who has produced at every level—Danville, Rome, Myrtle Beach and as of last week, Mississippi.

He doesn't turn 20 until next month, and he's already at AA. And—he's heading to St. Louis this weekend to play in the Futures Game for the USA.

Here's a selection from the Minor League Baseball website:

"Heyward spent the first half of the 2009 season with the High-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans in the Carolina League. While in Myrtle Beach, he hit .296 with 12 doubles, 10 homers, 31 RBI and 34 runs scored. Since joining the M-Braves, he's hit .333 (6-18) with two doubles, two triples and five RBI in only five games."

Actually, since that report was made, he's played three more games at AA. That .346 average with an OPS around 1.050 including seven RBI in eight games showed that his numbers earlier this season with Class A Rome (.296 average, 10 HR, 31 RBI, in 49 games and an .888 OPS) is probably not a fluke.

A strong finish to the season for Heyward might land him in Atlanta on Opening Day 2010. Or it could be like Tommy Hanson, just a couple of months at AAA before a mid-season call up.

Either way, Heyward's opportunity is there. It's very much like 2005.

In 2005, the Braves signed 30-something veterans Brian Jordan and Raul Mondesi to be their corner outfielders. By mid-season Mondesi was gone and a 21 year-old rookie burst on to the scene by the name of Jeff Francoeur with speed, power, offense, and a rocket arm in right field.

By all accounts, Heyward is going to be better, as his pitch selection is better. His high walk rate and career Minor League OPS above .370 coupled with his power numbers make him a more complete prospect.

The Braves are not afraid to promote young prospects if they're ready. Rafael Furcal won the Rookie of the Year at age 21 in 2000 (even though they thought he was 19 when he started the season), after playing at Class A in 1999. Francoeur and McCann both made their MLB debuts with Atlanta three years after they were drafted in 2002.

For the rest of 2009, Braves fans should expect Church to sit against lefties. He should play well, be more patient at the plate, get on base more, and hit for more power. Diaz will get more playing time and be productive in his increased role.

Church's chances of being retained after he becomes a free agent at the end of the season are an unknown. If Heyward hits any speed bumps, the Braves might try to bring him back on a one-year deal. If Heyward hits .300 with an .OPS in the neighborhood of .900 or even higher and gets to 20 homeruns—I expect he'll be the favorite to gain the right field job when the Braves head to spring training in February.

Analyzing Bobby Cox's Bullpen Management

James Hulka — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 16:46:25 -0400

Bobby Cox is a smart manager, but his old-school approach to managing a bullpen cost Tommy Hanson a win on Saturday.

A big reason why the Boston Red Sox have won two World Series in the last five years is because a bunch of arms in the bullpen are rested after they've pitched two or three days in a row.

The Braves do have that luxury—as Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez are closers. Both have been very good this year, but Cox has for years depended too heavily on his most reliable relievers.

Saturday afternoon's game in Washington was a prime example.

I didn't have any problem with Cox taking out Tommy Hanson after seven strong innings, in which he allowed only three hits, no walks, and the scoreless streak ended at 26 when Adam Dunn launched a solo home run to right in the seventh.

Boone Logan pitched a perfect 1.2 innings the day before. The trio of Moylan, Soriano and Gonzalez had pitched at least one inning in each of the two previous games.

In the seventh inning, Cox had Moylan and Eric O'Flaherty warming up in the bullpen just after Dunn had closed the gap to 3-1. Hanson quickly settled down and retired the next three hitters to get out of the seventh without any further damage, finishing with 105 pitches, about 70 percent of which were strikes.

Moylan had pitched the two previous games, while O'Flaherty hadn't worked on Friday, and thrown only four pitches on Thursday, retiring the only batter he faced.

I screamed while listening to the webcast when it was Gonzalez who came in to start the eighth, facing the bottom of the Nats order.

Four batters later, Gonzalez exited after giving up a single and two walks to load the bases, with Ryan Zimmerman and Adam Dunn up next.

I was screaming again, but knew that Bobby Cox would call in Moylan to try to get Zimmerman to hit a ground ball for a double play. Zimmerman hit a ground ball, but up the middle for a single to tie the game at three.

Cox finally brought in O'Flaherty with two runs in and two runners still on. Dunn and Josh Willingham followed with RBI singles before retiring the last two hitters as the Nats took the lead 5-3.

Cox should have brought in O'Flaherty to start the inning. The Nats still would have likely pinch-hit Ronnie Belliard for Anderson Hernandez, and Josh Bard for the pitcher. O'Flaherty still would have been in the game if it got past Nyjer Morgan and Nick Johnson (two lefties) that Cox would have still had Gonzalez ready if Dunn came up in the eighth.

The rested lefty would've been the better choice, and I believe would have gotten through the eighth with the Braves still leading.

If it was me, the ninth would have been Gonzalez closing, as Rafael Soriano wasn't sharp on Friday, despite getting the save. Using your closers for the bottom of the order instead of saving them, if necessary, for the middle of the order (especially Adam Dunn) would have been the more prudent move.

Moylan, Soriano and Gonzalez had been used in four of the previous five games of the Braves winning streak, only getting rest on Monday's off-day and Wednesday's blowout of Philadelphia.

Meanwhile, Manny Acosta, he of the 97 mph fastball and 2.84 ERA, had only thrown one inning since the Yankees left town last Thursday night. The same was true for Kris Medlen, as the only game each had pitched since June 25 was one inning each in the 11-1 victory on Wednesday.

If the Braves really are going to make a run at the playoffs this year, which they could conceivably do, Bobby Cox has to stop overusing his favorite arms in the bullpen and spread the work around a bit more to some other relievers to give his best guys more regular rest.

Cox has pushed a lot of the right buttons lately, but his stubborn, old-school approach to managing a bullpen cost the Braves a shot at getting back to .500. It cost Tommy Hanson a perfect 5-0 record in his best start this season, and ended the Braves winning streak at five, instead of giving Derek Lowe a chance to extend it to seven on Sunday.

While it was only the second time this season the Braves lost a game they were ahead in after 8 innings (the other was a loss at New York in 10 innings in which a blown call at third cost the Braves the lead), this one falls on Cox, despite the fact that the relievers called on didn't get the job done.

Now, the Braves have to win on Sunday to avoid losing a series they should be trying to sweep.

Braves-Nationals: Pinch-Hit Homer Again Buoys Braves

James Hulka — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 02:43:38 -0400

One at-bat into his Braves career, long-time minor-leaguer Brooks Conrad made lots of fans in Atlanta, as his three-run, pinch-hit blast led the Braves to a 9-8 win over Washington on Friday night.

The Braves had been pitching very well lately, but Kenshin Kawakami's first start since taking a liner off his neck was rather forgettable.

He surrendered runs in each of the first three innings, including the first hit and RBI of Washington starter Ross Detwiler's career.

Kawakami couldn't escape seeing the mammoth home run that Adam Dunn hit in the third inning to give the Nats a 4-3 lead.

The 91-mph fastball caught too much of the plate and landed several rows deep in the upper deck in right center field, probably some 500 feet from home plate.

While Kawakami struggled on the mound, his lineup bailed him out each time. Every time the Nats scored, the Braves came right back.

An RBI single from Matt Diaz in the top of the second inning scored Brian McCann to tie the game at 1-1.

In the third inning, Martin Prado doubled to right and Chipper Jones followed with a double of his own. Jones scored two batters later on a Yunel Escobar RBI single to tie the game at 3-3.

After Dunn's home run in the bottom of the third, Kawakami seemed to settle in a bit. The Braves responded.

The same trio came through again in the top of the fourth for Atlanta. Martin Prado singled, and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Chipper Jones drove in Prado with a single to left.

A Brian McCann single moved Jones to second, and then Escobar doubled over Dunn's head in left to score Jones and give the Braves a 5-4 lead.

Kawakami's ill-advised decision to throw to second on a slow chopper by Cristian Guzman with one out in the fifth was the last straw, as instead of two outs and one on, Kawakami was pulled after the throwing error with runners on second and third.

Boone Logan came on in relief and wound up retiring all five hitters he faced in the fifth and sixth innings. However, Josh Bard's groundout scored Josh Willingham from third to tie the score at 5.

After Yunel Escobar and Casey Kotchman worked walks from Jesus Colome in the top of the seventh, Bobby Cox sent the just recalled Brooks Conrad to pinch-hit with two out and two on.

Conrad, who had signed with the Braves as a minor league free agent after the 2008 season, was promoted after Kelly Johnson was placed on the DL earlier in the day with a wrist injury.

The switch-hitter was selected as a International League All-Star, but only had 19 career at-bats in the majors with Oakland last September.

He made his first plate appearance extremely memorable. He turned around a 95-mph fastball low and over the inside corner down the line and into the Nationals bullpen for an 8-5 lead.

Peter Moylan survived some control issues by escaping the seventh allowing only one run, despite giving up a single to Ryan Zimmerman and walking Adam Dunn to start the inning.

The Braves got the run back in the top of the eighth after a Martin Prado double, a walk to Chipper Jones, a sacrifice bunt by Brian McCann and an intentional walk to Yunel Escobar loaded the bases.

Matt Diaz was uncharacteristically patient facing reliever Julian Tavarez and drew a walk to extend the Braves lead to 9-6.

Garret Anderson's liner to right was too shallow to score Jones from third and the Braves couldn't add more, as the left the bases loaded again.

Mike Gonzalez was impressive in striking out the side in the bottom of the eighth. After going quietly in the top of the ninth, Rafael Soriano dug himself a big hole by walking Nick Johnson and Ryan Zimmerman to start the inning and bringing Adam Dunn to the plate representing the tying run.

It seemed as if Soriano was going to escape unscathed as he got Dunn to pop out to Jones at third, and blew a third-strike fastball past Josh Willingham.

However, Cristian Guzman roped a double down the line in right, scoring both runners and making the score 9-8. Josh Bard then rolled over a fastball, grounding out to Casey Kotchman to end the game.

I look at Kawakami's error as a pivotal play in this game. If he takes the sure out at first, instead of trying to get the force at second, there's two outs and one runner on second with the catcher coming up next.

Kawakami had pitched pretty well the previous inning plus, and could have gotten through five innings with a 5-4 lead, thus giving himself a chance to win.

On a night when most of the pitchers who took the mound got hit hard, Logan pitched well in a perfect 1.2 innings of relief.

Soriano's inning was a rare bad one, as he's been great all year, but might benefit from a little rest soon. Bobby Cox, might consider using Manny Acosta and Logan a bit more to give the trio of Moylan, Gonzalez and Soriano a break on occasion.

That late inning trio has been overall excellent all-season. Moylan's ERA prior to tonight's outing had gotten below 4.00 for the first time all season.

Since starting the season giving up five runs in his first two appearances without recording an out, he's had an ERA under 3.00 each month since.

Exclude those two appearances in April, his ERA is under 3.00 for the season...same as Soriano and Gonzalez.

The Braves have a unique situation with two closers. As Joe Simpson mentioned on tonight's broadcast, Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez have been very good if not great, and don't let their egos get in the way of who gets the save on the stat sheet.

It's a rare resource to have a left-right combination of hard throwing arms in the bullpen who can close out games.

The Braves' now season-high five game win streak comes at the heels of Bobby Cox pushing a lot of the right buttons.

Martin Prado has slid nicely into the lineup in the No. 2 spot in the order playing second base. Yunel Escobar appears to be healthy, and taken a quick liking to batting fifth behind Brian McCann.

I'm curious though about one thing. When was the last time the Braves got pinch-hit homers on consecutive days?

I don't know, but it's probably happened before. But another more interesting trivia question is: has a team gotten pinch-hit homers from players on consecutive days, who had never hit a pinch-hit home run before?

I'm guessing that the Elias Sports Bureau might have that information somewhere, but I don't.

Nevertheless, the middle of the line-up got it done. Every starter except Jeff Francoeur got at least one hit, and the 2-6 hitters in the Braves lineup went a combined 11-for-20 with 5 BB, 6 RBI, 4 R, and 3 sacrifice bunts.

The Braves hope to ride the suddenly hot bats of Matt Diaz, Martin Prado and Yunel Escobar to another win on Saturday afternoon, as Tommy Hanson goes for his fifth straight win.

Atlanta Braves Pitcher Tommy Hanson Named NL Rookie Of The Month

James Hulka — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:07:33 -0400

If you were watching Thursday's Braves' game on Sports South, you probably saw this.

Even if you didn't, fans of baseball shouldn't be surprised.

Four weeks ago, Tommy Hanson was still in the minors, dominating AAA hitters pitching just outside of Atlanta for the Gwinnett Braves of the International League.

Five starts into his major league career, he's already giving notice of his arrival.

Despite allowing seven earned runs in his major league debut, and three homers to the Milwaukee Brewers, Hanson finished June with a 4-0 record and a 2.48 ERA to garner NL Rookie of the Month honors.

Since allowing an RBI single by Aubrey Huff on June 12th, at Baltimore, Hanson has kept the opponents off the scoreboard, as opponents have hit just .143 with runners in scoring position against him so far this season.

He's currently working on three straight scoreless starts, allowing only nine hits over his last 17.1 IP. He hasn't allowed a run in his last 20.2 innings, and became the first NL rookie to beat the Yankees and Red Sox in consecutive starts.

The scary thing for NL opponents is that while Hanson has put up very good numbers, he can be much better.

Six shutout innings after a bout with the flu may make Terry Francona sick, but opponents might be knowing exactly what he means after he goes deeper into games and increases his total strikeouts.

Regardless, congratulations to Tommy Hanson for being named the NL Rookie of the Month for June.

Braves fans certainly hope for your success to continue.

Braves-Phillies: Players Make Cox a Genius By Completing Sweep

James Hulka — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:54:26 -0400

Matt Diaz came through with the go-ahead RBI double in the eighth inning as the Braves completed the sweep of the Phillies Thursday night, 5-2.

Timely hits were hard to come by, as only three of the 17 half-innings featured runs scored.

Casey Kotchman was sitting on a fastball and drilled a 1-0 offering from JA Happ deep into the right field seats for a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth.

Javier Vazquez was pitching another stellar game, but was pulled after Greg Dobbs drilled an outside fastball over the head of Gregor Blanco in center with one out and two on in the fifth, as Chase Utley scored from second.

Peter Moylan came on and was able to get both batters he faced out in the sixth inning, but Pedro Feliz's soft grounder was enough to score Jayson Werth from third, tying the score at 2-2.

Moylan got the first two out in the top of the seventh, then was relieved by Eric O'Flaherty following a double by Shane Victorino. O'Flaherty did his job by getting the only hitter he faced, Utley, to fly out to center to end the inning.

From the seventh inning on, it was a chess match that Bobby Cox seemed destined to win.

After Kotchman singled to start the bottom of the seventh, he pinch-ran the faster Kelly Johnson for Kotchman. Pinch-hitter Diory Hernandez laid down a beautiful sacrifice bunt to move Johnson to second. A swinging bunt by Gregor Blanco moved Johnson to third before a patient Martin Prado drew a walk.

However, Chipper Jones didn't square up a fastball that had the plate, and left runners stranded on first and third.

Cox brought in Mike Gonzalez to start the eighth in a tie game. He used the park to his advantage as Ryan Howard flew out to the warning track in right center—a home run at Citizens Bank Park.

After surrendering a walk to Werth, he struck out pinch-hitter John Mayberry, who couldn't check his swing for the second out.

With Pedro Feliz up, Werth took off for second, and made it to third as Brian McCann airmailed the throw off the glove of Kelly Johnson (now at second base) into center field.

With the count 2-2, Gonzalez threw a fastball too high for McCann to catch for a wild pitch.

McCann quickly raced to the backstop, got an accurate throw to Gonzalez at home to tag Werth out on the left shoulder attempting a head first slide at home plate to end the inning.

McCann atoned for his throwing error by leading off the bottom of the eighth with a single to left-center. Cox sent in the speedy Jair Jurrjens to pinch run for McCann, and soon found himself at second after another well-executed sacrifice bunt, this one by Yunel Escobar.

Matt Diaz blasted the first pitch he saw, a low-inside fastball over the glove of Victorino in center to score Jurrjens easily from second with an RBI double, despite Victorino's vain attempt to fool Jurrjens into thinking he could catch Diaz's rocket.

With the struggling Jeff Francoeur up next, who'd already struck out earlier in the game with runners in scoring position and less than two outs, Cox pressed the button again, and sent Garret Anderson up to pinch-hit.

After falling behind 1-2 facing Ryan Madson, Anderson managed to foul off a few pitches and stay alive and gave Diaz a chance to successfully steal third base.

Madson made a mistake on a 1-2 pitch that Anderson hit to deep right center. The park wasn't big enough to hold this one, as his drive cleared the wall by a few feet, going maybe 10 feet farther than the fly ball that Howard hit that was caught by Francoeur in the top of the inning.

In reality, the Braves didn't need the home run there, as even if caught, the fly ball was deep enough to score Diaz from third and extend the Braves' lead to 4-2.

What the home run did was really wake up the crowd and the bench, who were just buzzing a bit after Diaz had given the Braves the lead a few pitches earlier.

For Anderson, it was a clutch hit, and his first career pinch-hit home run.

Rafael Soriano came on in the ninth and set the Phillies down in order. Martin Prado, who moved from second base to first when Johnson pinch-ran for Kotchman, made a great catch over the tarp in foul territory on a Matt Stairs pop-up to end the game.

Diaz's three hits and go-ahead RBI in the eighth inning were the keys. Anderson's home run was clutch and gave the Braves a bigger cushion heading into the ninth and let the Braves finish off the sweep in style.

Cox's moves this game all worked out—and they worked all series.

Martin Prado is an excellent fit at second base and in the No. 2 spot in the order, especially as Johnson's struggles at the plate haven't ended. It also balances out the lineup, giving the Braves a less lefty-dominant batting order.

The move allows Escobar a few more RBI chances by sliding him down to fifth or sixth in the order. Kotchman has enough plate discipline to hit just about anywhere from second to eighth, and it's rare to see the power he showed on his fourth inning home run to right. He got all of it.

When Nate McLouth returns to the lineup, hopefully this weekend or early next week, it will make the Braves a more formidable group. Braves fans also hope that in two or three weeks, the return of Omar Infante from the DL will further improve the Braves' offensive production.

If I'm Cox, I'm seriously considering having an outfield of Infante-McLouth-Diaz, at least a few days a week, and cutting into Francoeur's playing time.

But, for this series, and this day, Cox showed exactly why he's won 2,300 some games in the majors. He pushed all the right buttons with the bullpen, his lineup, and his late-game substitutions.

The Braves finished the key 10-game homestand against the Cubs, Yankees, Red Sox, and Phillies at 6-4.

If the Braves can match that record over the next 10 games on their final first half road-trip (three at Washington, three at Chicago, four at Colorado) the Braves will be right at .500 heading to the All-Star Break.

Despite being two games under .500 right now and in fourth place in the NL, the Braves sit just two games back of both Florida and Philadelphia, and one game back of the Mets, who face the Phillies this weekend.

The Braves seem to have the edge in all three pitching match-ups this weekend against the Nationals. If the Braves can somehow extend their now four-game winning streak to six games or longer, they'll have to really like their chances after the All-Star break.

Friday, July 3: Kenshin Kawakami (4-6, 4.25) vs. Ross Detwiler (0-4, 5.24)

Saturday, July 4: Tommy Hanson (4-0, 2.48) vs. John Lannan (5-5, 3.45)

Sunday, July 5: Derek Lowe (7-6, 4.44) vs. Scott Olsen (1-4, 6.56).

Manny Ramirez Meets Homer Simpson and Bugs Bunny (Humor)

James Hulka — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 01:39:46 -0400

(Photo: Albuquerque Isotopes)

In classic Manny Ramirez fashion, he walked past reporters and avid fans at Isotopes Park and quipped to the cameras in a very nasal voice.

"Eh, I'm glad I made that left turn at Albuquerque", drawing laughs from the reporters, but not Governor Bill Richardson. Richardson was still deaf from the noise at the spaceport groundbreaking earlier in the week.

Before the game started, some fans were puzzled, but realized it was likely one of Manny's usual mental lapses when he signed a few baseballs as "Bugs Bunny."

The joke was made even more appropriate when outfielder and Dodger prankster Jason Repko made like an eight-year old while Ramirez was being interviewed, putting his index and middle fingers in a V shape behind Ramirez's head.

As Manny fanned Manny in the bottom of the first (the recently demoted Manny Parra of the Brewers that is), infielder Blake DeWitt attached a pair of gray rabbit ears to Ramirez's cap on the bench—with superglue.

Fortunately, Ramirez had no trouble getting his incisors sharp chewing on carrots out in the field in the top of the second inning as nary a fly ball headed his way.

Meanwhile, in the left field picnic area, one 45-year old father of three was in year eight of his hunger strike.

The mostly bald man had lost most of his beer gut staging his hunger strike, and no one approached him except to give him a hot dog with both red and green chile on top that made him incensed upon his reading of the Albuquerque Isotopes logo on the wrapper.

He sighed and ate it as he realized the Calgary Stampede was not going to return, despite his efforts.

He had little choice as four and five-year old kids ran around with black dreadlock wigs and tiny gloves. One of them actually caught a foul ball down the line Manny Ramirez didn't even realize had been hit his way.

"Homer" was eventually wheeled out of the most gorgeous park in all of the minor leagues when he spazzed out and didn't realize Dee Brown took over for Manny in left field in the fifth inning.

He knew something was up because the ears and dreads were gone, and Dee Brown actually caught a baseball after running to catch it.

It was Dee Brown's line drive single in the eighth that scored Luis Maza with the only run of the game—a rare low-scoring affair in the rarefied, mile-high air along Avenida Cesar Chavez and University Boulevard.

As soon as Bugs Bunny took his seat on the bench, the game was over—in the minds of about 1/3 of the fans on Tuesday night.

Only about 10,000 of the record setting crowd of 15,189 was still in the stands when the immortal Met himself Scott Strickland struck out the first two hitters in the ninth to preserve the 1-0 win.

As he left the field, Manny hung a sign with "Duck Season" over his back, and kissed the old usher (who did look a bit like Elmer Fudd) smack on the lips to celebrate the victory.

No word if Daffy Duck will be playing center on Wednesday, or if Marge and Bart came to help Homer get home.

Jose Guillen a Brave and Jeff Francoeur a Royal?

James Hulka — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 04:32:09 -0400

I know it's just a rumor, but I could see this one happening.

I've noticed that Jeff Francoeur has reverted back to his old stance and reverted away from he worked on with Rangers, hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo this offseason.

It's only making things worse.

Three weeks into the season, Francoeur was hitting .317 with an .856 OPS, two HR, and 12 RBI.

Since then, he's hit about 100 points lower, his OPS is a paltry .611, and he's got only two HR and 18 RBI in the last eight weeks.

There's been plenty of talk, over the past few years, that Kansas City Royals GM Dayton Moore, who was with Atlanta when Francoeur was drafted, would acquire him if given the chance.

The Braves seem to be growing tired of Francoeur's poor offensive approach and production and are exploring the idea of trading him.

The knock on Jose Guillen isn't his talent.

He's spent a two-week stint on the DL this year already and has better offensive numbers (.266 BA, 8 HR, and 33 RBI) than Francoeur does on a team that's struggled offensively just as much if not more than Atlanta.

The knock on him is his attitude.

While he doesn't quite have the short fuse of Milton Bradley or Carlos Zambrano, he's worn out his welcome in a number of places.

His tool set is very similar to that of Jeff Francoeur. He's got enough speed, but isn't one to steal bases. He's got a rocket arm and enough range to play the outfield, but is inconsistent at the plate.

In 2008, Guillen posted hitting, on-base, and slugging numbers several points below his career average.

He still hit .264 with 20 HR and 97 RBI.

Last I checked, that was still a lot better than Francoeur's .239 BA with 11 HR and 71 RBI.

The Braves' clubhouse has had some success in taking care of "bad apples," while also having those players be successful on the field (Kenny Lofton and Gary Sheffield).

While I am somewhat concerned about Guillen's past as a Braves fan, it's a risk I would take.

As long as Kansas City offers to pay part of Guillen's remaining $18 million on his salary between now and the end of the 2010 season.

Guillen is in the second year of a three-year deal that pays him $12 million per season. As of right now, that doesn't fit in the Braves' budget.

Another $5 million (after you subtract Francoeur's remaining salary) is likely not something the Braves could absorb on their payroll.

However, if the Royals would kick in about $5 million of what remains, it would be in the Braves' interest to trade right fielders with Kansas City.

The Braves do need a right-handed power bat in the outfield, and Jeff Francoeur has shown he's not hitting like 2006.

A year and a half of Jose Guillen might be just enough to allow Jason Heyward to develop in the minors, then take over in 2011 (age 21), and the Braves would allow Guillen to become a free agent.

The trade is not without risk, but given his age (just turned 33), tools, production, and put him in a comfortable clubhouse, I think trading Jeff Francoeur for Jose Guillen might improve the Braves chances for 2009 and 2010.

There's always the risk that Francoeur will become Jermaine Dye—a dominant right fielder in Kansas City for several years.

However, given the last hometown Atlanta product to be traded to Kansas City by the Braves (Kyle Davies), I don't expect things will change drastically for Francoeur, although I hope wherever he plays that he improves from what he's doing now.

I know Braves fans can't take another month of a .228 average with an OPS around .600.

The McLouth trade was a start—Guillen-for-Francoeur would be a risky, but positive next step.

When Umpires Compound Bad Calls

James Hulka — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 03:57:23 -0400

You could read Eric O'Flaherty's lips on TV. "How do you miss that?", he repeated to plate umpire Bill Hohn.

I doubt the response was, "Because I'm blind with an ugly mustache to boot," before he made three quick ejections.

Anyone who watched all or part of the game had to wonder who was the awful umpire behind home plate.

The man doing the Eric Gregg impersonation behind the plate with the disgusting facial hair was Bill Hohn—not the first time I've seen him call an inconsistent (at best) game of balls and strikes.

If the Braves had scored in the ninth after Nate McLouth's walk—I would expect a Red Sox fan to be writing a similar article.

The nice thing about instant replay is that it does show, in most cases, whether or not a call was made correctly. I'm glad MLB added it as a tool for umpires to get homers correct.

Those of us watching TV get the ability to see when umpires, referees and officials make mistakes, and then analyze whether or not it made a difference in the final outcome.

This day, it probably did.

Umpires are human and make mistakes. The NFL realizes that and for the past few years evaluates referees and if there's a badly blown call in the game, they'll at least admit a mistake. The addition of the challenges and in-game instant replay allows the referees to get the call right, eliminating most of the bad calls.

If you're a San Diego Chargers fan, or were a New York Giants fan in 2003, that may not be enough.

But the MLB Umpire Association can't continue to not address blatant umpiring mistakes that greatly impact games.

On May 13, plate umpire Paul Schreiber ejected Tigers manager Jim Leyland after Schreiber put his hand on Magglio Ordonez's shoulder after a called strike three.

Was there anything inherently wrong? No. However, it was perceived to be inappropriate and Schreiber personally apologized the next day.

I doubt Chipper Jones will be getting any apologies from Bill Hohn.

In the rule book, I understand the reason behind umpires ejecting players or coaches if they argue balls and strikes.

However, Bill Hohn went from being a bad judge of the strike zone to an all-out poor umpiring job when he ran Eric O'Flaherty, Chipper Jones and Bobby Cox in succession.

Even the Boston broadcasters on NESN, especially Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley, agreed that the 0-2 fastball O'Flaherty threw to J.D. Drew in the seventh inning was strike three.

However, I don't agree with Eck's idea that he tossed the Braves trio because he knew he missed the call and didn't want to hear about it.

O'Flaherty got tossed while he was still on the mound, gesturing with open hands and saying twice "How do you miss that?", while Hohn walked closer to him and third baseman Chipper Jones. His ejection didn't matter much as Cox was about to bring in another reliever anyways.

Players like Jones—whether opposing fans like them or not—who are calm and collected most of the time don't fly off the handle unless something really ticks them off. Jones took exception to the called strike three he took earlier in the game that was several inches low. When Jones saw Hohn walk in his direction and seemingly engage a pitcher on an argument over a thigh-high fastball that caught the middle of the plate, he lost it.

As a Braves fan, I can't ever remember seeing Chipper that angry.

He had a right to be. If you watch closely enough, you can decipher two words Jones directed at Bill Hohn before hitting coach Terry Pendleton pulled him towards the dugout—two words I can't write in this article.

Players don't have too much of a problem with wide versus tight strike zones unless it appears to be inconsistent.

Calling a knuckleball that's six inches below the knees a strike, but two fastballs (one from O'Flaherty and one in the ninth from Papelbon) that were clearly strikes is anything but consistent.

What should happen is the umpires release a statement outlining the missed strikes, the poor judgement of the home plate umpire. As a result of this, no fines or suspensions will be levied on the players involved. The ump then gets some sort of reprimand, whether it be a game suspension or fine.

Would the game have turned out differently had those correct calls been made? Perhaps.

Jones' first inning strikeout came with two on and no one out, right before Brian McCann doubled in both runners that Jones left stranded.

The pitch to Drew should have been the second out of the inning, and maybe Kottaras would have been stranded on instead of scoring and giving the Red Sox a 5-4 lead.

The pitch in the ninth gets overlooked as it wound up not mattering. Jonathan Papelbon threw a pitch in about the same exact spot as O'Flaherty with a 2-1 count on Nate McLouth.

The pitch was called a ball, sending the count to 3-1 instead of 2-2, McLouth fouled off the next pitch before walking on a full count. No runs scored that inning as McLouth got stranded at third when Matt Diaz struck out with the bases loaded.

Like I said earlier, if McLouth scored and Drew was called out because of the inconsistent strike zone, I would expect the Boston fans to be screaming for Bill Hohn's head, too.

I write this knowing that the stubbornness of the head honchos at MLB and the Umpires Association will never admit they screwed up or make changes to address blown calls that seemingly cost one team a game.

The only solace I can take out of this ump's colossal screwups is that at least this wasn't the NBA where a dozen missed calls each night is about the average.

Maybe someday, Major League Baseball will wake up to the idea and get the hint that the NFL did. If your umpires screw something up - admit it.

It won't happen tomorrow and won't happen while bumbling Bud Selig is commissioner. Maybe someday in my lifetime—if I'm lucky.

(AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Braves Get Upper Hand in Japanese Arms Duel

James Hulka — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 01:45:34 -0400

Kenshin Kawakami quietly won the match-up between the former Japanese aces at Fenway Park on Friday night, leading the Braves to an 8-2 win over the Boston Red Sox.

It was quiet from Kawakami's perspective as he recorded his first four outs of the game on strikeouts of Dustin Pedroia, J. D. Drew, Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz.

It was anything but quiet while Daisuke Matsuzaka was on the mound.

As I was flipping back and forth between the Braves' broadcast on Peachtree TV and the Red Sox broadcast on NESN, I did notice that analyst Dennis Eckersley couldn't believe the approach the Braves took starting off the game.

First pitch—homerun by Nate McLouth. Third pitch—line drive single by Yunel Escobar. Fourth pitch—line drive double by Chipper Jones.

In the meantime, Joe Simpson and Chip Caray noted that the Braves' aggressive approach to start the game was likely because they expected Dice-K to be more economical, thus throwing more strikes early in the count to try to get ahead, and pitch deeper into the game.

The Braves approach worked, and patience won out as Matsuzaka walked Brian McCann and Garret Anderson in succession to push a second run across. Only a correctly positioned Kevin Youkilis saved Dice-K and the Red Sox from a bigger deficit as Casey Kotchman lined into an unassisted double play to end the inning.

After a two-out walk in the fourth to Kelly Johnson, McLouth added to the scoring by banging an RBI double off the wall to make the score 3-0. Yunel Escobar followed with a bloop single to right that scored McLouth for a 4-0 lead.

Meanwhile, Kawakami seemed to have his way with the Red Sox lineup. He used the big Fenway outfield between the gaps to his advantage as Gold Glovers Nate McLouth and Jeff Francouer chased down a handful of flyouts that weren't squared up by Red Sox hitters.

The only Boston hitter to square up anything was Jason Bay, who doubled in the second and blasted a two-run homerun over the monster in the sixth for the Sox's only runs of the game. Bay also made a sweet sliding catch of Casey Kotchman's fifth inning sacrifice fly, which scored Garret Anderson from third, just before crashing into the wall along the left field line.

Garret Anderson joined McLouth as the other main offensive performer for the Braves. While seemingly everyone was involved in the offense, it was Anderson's 3-for-3 night that stood slightly above the rest.

Anderson drove in the first of his four runs drawing a bases loaded walk in the first. He singled in the third then chased Matsuzaka with an RBI double in the fifth, giving the Braves a 5-0 lead.

His seventh inning RBI single and eighth inning sacrifice fly scored Chipper Jones both times.

I was scratching my head a bit as Bobby Cox paraded out his usual bullpen arms despite a five-run lead at 7-2 in the bottom of the seventh.

However, Peter Moylan, Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez each worked a perfect inning in relief despite working in the series finale in Cincinnati on Thursday afternoon. Each reliever struck out two of the three hitters he faced, with David Ortiz going down for the third time that night to end the game on a 94 mph. fastball from Mike Gonzalez.

With the win and the losses by the Marlins and the Phillies, the Braves moved back into third place in the NL East, a half game ahead of the Marlins, and 4.5 games behind Philadelphia, who lost their fourth straight game at home.

The Braves are now 15-7 all time at Fenway Park in Interleague Play.

Saturday's pitching match-up pairs the starters who won the clinching games of Boston's last two World Series champions—Derek Lowe (7-4, 4.08) and Josh Beckett (7-3, 4.15). Each took the loss in their most recent start, as they both allowed six earned runs in their appearances.

Sunday afternoon's finale, which will be televised nationally on TBS, pits 23-year-old Jair Jurrjens (5-5, 2.89) against 42-year-old knuckleballer Tim Wakefield (9-3, 4.39). Wakefield has won his last two starts, giving up five earned runs in his last 12 innings.

Jair Jurrjens has pitched even better, giving up only three earned runs over his last two starts covering eight innings. He took the loss in both games, as one was cut short by rain, but both were not backed up at all by the often listless Braves offense.

Atlanta Offense Fails to Show Up

James Hulka — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 19:12:12 -0400

"There's only so many times you want to give the other team credit," Braves catcher David Ross said. "We just can't keep letting good pitching performances go by the wayside."

No kidding.

By my count this is the fourth game the Braves have wasted a solid, if not spectacular, pitching performance by Javier Vazquez. When your starter goes eight innings, strikes out twelve, and allows only one run on three hits with no walks - you have to win that game.

Vazquez's win total is half of what it should be (See April at Philadelphia, and both starts versus Arizona).

Ross is partially to blame as the bottom of the Braves order had one hit all day against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

With the exception of the first five innings of Monday's game, the Braves offense has been - quite offensive. Eight runs scored in the last 34 innings isn't going to cut it.

Everyone is to blame at some point in time.

As good as Chipper was in the first two games, he's looked that bad the last two nights.

Yunel Escobar had the blunder in the field that cost the Braves Wednesday night's game when he forgot there was a runner on 3rd base and tried to call timeout. It didn't help his throw was nowhere close to even giving Brian McCann a chance to tag out Craig Monroe. His at-bats today were nothing short of awkward, regardless of the situation.

Nate McLouth had the golden opportunity to drive in the go-ahead run in the seventh with Kelly Johnson on 3rd base after a double and a sacrifice bunt. But his approach was nothing short of awful chasing a slider in the dirt and a fastball a foot too high and outside on consecutive pitches to whiff, when all he needed was a groundball not at somebody or a fly ball to the outfield.

David Ross has cooled off since his productive start as McCann's backup. He's failed in chances to drive in runs with runners on base.

Kelly Johnson got robbed today on the second blown call in the ninth inning by 1st-base umpire Brian Knight who called Johnson out as replays showed Matt Capps at-best got there at the same time as Johnson. A few innings earlier, Canizares's tag on Freddy Sanchez was missed as was the fact that Sanchez didn't even appear to touch the bag.

That doesn't excuse some of his silly and stupid swings in the past week or so.

Jeff Francoeur had the only RBI of the day, but that doesn't excuse him for a poor series all the way around.

Garret Anderson hit a solo homerun in the ninth inning on Wednesday, but his first three at-bats were hideous as he left runners stranded on 3rd base with less than two outs.

Which begs the question - what do the Braves do?

Some of it is personnel, some of it is approach.

The way some of the Braves hitters go up to the plate and either take too many strikes or swing at too many balls is not a new thing isolated to 2009.

Sure, missing Casey Kotchman and Omar Infante, two hitters who have a better idea of the strike zone than Jeff Francoeur and Yunel Escobar, factors in.

But, I have to ask the question.

Would the Braves be better off with someone other than Terry Pendleton?

I know Terry Pendleton's a respectable guy, and knows how to hit. But knowing how to hit and being able to teach and instruct major league hitters how to handle different pitchers is completely different than just having the ability to swing the bat and make solid contact.

No one said Terry Pendleton is Rudy Jaramillo. If that was the case - the Braves wouldn't be in the bottom third of the NL in runs scored and Jeff Francoeur wouldn't have to spend his off-season working with Jaramillo on his swing.

Outside of Chipper and McCann, two players who go to their fathers for hitting advice, there isn't any hitter in the Braves lineup who scares the opposing pitchers and has a good approach most of the time they go up to the plate.

I'm not sure what the answer is, but I'm sure that there's likely no easy fix to the Braves offensive ineptitude.

American League All-Star Starter Leading Candidates

James Hulka — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:23:40 -0400

Last week I outlined who should be heading to the All-Star Game this year as a starter on the NL side. The voters got a few right - with Pujols, Beltran, and Ibanez presently in the lead at their respective positions. Most of the other vote leaders (Braun, Utley, Wright) certainly have merited the votes with their play this year. However, the voters who have Yadier Molina and Jimmy Rollins as their lead candidates at shortstop must not care to look at the mediocre (at best) seasons those two are having compared to Brian McCann and Hanley Ramirez. Now - we focus on the American League

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Six Changes that MLB Needs to Make—Now

James Hulka — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 03:22:46 -0400

I love the game of baseball - just not the way Bud Selig, Don Fehr and others choose to run it right now. Here's a brief list of sweeping changes that need to be made to fix problems in Major League Baseball today. And unfortunately, no Steve Phillips jokes here. That would have just been too easy. . .

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Recapping Moving Day in Atlanta

James Hulka — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 22:44:36 -0400

It will be difficult for anyone to top the Braves with regards to being a newsworthy team after they made not one or two headline catching moves—but three.

Granting a future Hall of Famer who has 305 career wins and two Cy Young Awards his unconditional release is momentous in its own right.

There are some discrepancies to exactly how the meeting went - but the end result is that Glavine's days in Atlanta are over. Whether he requested his release or that was the decision of the Braves entering their meeting with the 43 year-old lefty is still a matter of debate.

When it comes down to baseball—there isn't much debate that releasing Glavine made a lot of sense.

Glavine was due a roster bonus of $1 million once he was added to the active major league roster. He also had another $2.5 million in roster bonuses coming his way after a month in the majors.

The move saved the Braves potentially $3.5 million this year for a 43 year-old pitcher who was clocked at about 81 mph in his last minor league rehab start. That was his fastball - not a changeup.

The logic makes sense. Who would be better served to be in the Braves rotation? Would it be a 43 year-old lefty who is trying to recover from elbow surgery and has lost velocity, or one of two under-22 pitching prospects who are healthy, dominating AAA hitters, and ready for a promotion?

The money was surely a factor, but this also was a rational baseball decision.

The release of Glavine was the first (or was it) in a series of moves the Braves made.

Long reliever Jorge Campillo was placed on the Disabled List earlier in the day, and at least temporarily, is replaced on the Major League roster by 3B/OF Brian Barton to assist the Braves for a few days while Casey Kotchman's bruise from a Max Scherzer slider heals and Martin Prado mans first base.

Prior to Saturday's game—I expect Barton to be optioned back to AAA Gwinnett as the Braves made the second major decision of the day by announcing that Kris Medlen will be moved from the rotation to the bullpen and top prospect Tommy Hanson will start Saturday night's game against the Brewers.

Many Braves fans and surely some in the front office have been wondering not if this move was going to be made—but when.

Hanson's only issue this season at AAA Gwinnett has been being efficient. Hanson's statistics this season have been impressive.

In 11 starts, Hanson has a 3-3 record, a 1.49 ERA, 90 strikeouts compared to only 17 walks in 66.1 innings. Opponents are hitting a paltry .169 against the 6'6" right-hander who has a fastball that regularly whizzes by hitters at 98 or 99 mph.

Kris Medlen's victory Sunday in Arizona was the first by the No. 5 starter for the Braves since June 2008—almost a full season. Jo-Jo Reyes has been winless in the No. 5 starter position since then, and it took Medlen until his third start to get a victory.

While Gregor Blanco has been manning center field the past few days after the struggling Jordan Schafer was sent down to AAA, he likely won't be in center at Turner Field on Thursday night in the series finale against the Cubs.

The Braves third major move of the day was trading RHP Charlie Morton, LHP Jeff Locke, and OF Gorkys Hernandez to the Pittsburgh Pirates for All-Star and Gold Glove centerfielder Nate McLouth.

These names should sound vaguely familiar to Braves fans. Charlie Morton spent about half the 2008 season in the Braves rotation, but struggled after winning his major league debut against the Angels.

Jeff Locke is a hard-throwing lefty who was 1-4 with a 5.52 ERA at Myrtle Beach so far in 2009. He heads to Pittsburgh, along with CF Gorkys Hernandez, who started this season at AA Mississippi. If the name Gorkys Hernandez rings a bell—he was acquired along with Jair Jurrjens in the trade that sent SS Edgar Renteria to Detroit in October 2007.

Financially—the decisions don't really affect the Braves payroll for 2009. McLouth is making $2.5 million this year—the exact amount of Tom Glavine's second roster bonus.

What also helps the Braves is that McLouth is not just a rent-a-player. He is 27 years-old, hit .276 with 26 HR and 94 RBI last year in making the NL All-Star team and is signed through the end of 2011 with a $10 million option for 2012.

His current power numbers of 9 HR and 34 RBI are now the highest of anyone on the Braves roster. The move helps the Braves now, for the next few years, without breaking the bank.

For the Pirates, this does clear some salary, but they get a few more prospects, and the move allows them to promote their best prospect, OF Andrew McCutchen.

As I finish writing this - McLouth's offensive production would be welcomed greatly as the Braves just lost 3-2 in 11 innings, with no help from the umpires.

In the fourth inning, Derrek Lee checked his swing on a full count slider from Derek Lowe with runners on first and second base. Ryan Theriot was out on the apparent double play.

However, first base umpire Gary Cedarstrom ruled that Lee checked his swing despite replays showing that Lee's bat was not stopped until it was a full foot in front of home plate. By rule—should have been a double play.

The next batter, Mike Fontenot, doubled to center to drive in the first two runs of the game.

The other missed call was when pinch-runner Brian Barton was incorrectly called out attempting to steal second base by umpire Jim Wolf in the bottom of the ninth inning with the game tied at two.

An "excuse me" single in the top of the 11th inning by Micah Hoffpauir to score Derrek Lee from third proved to be the game's final run.

For the Braves—they made big news in the baseball world three times over, all while losing a game in extra innings.

McLouth is scheduled to arrive in time to be in the starting lineup Thursday night against scheduled Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano.

Cubs-Braves: Atlanta Completes Five-Run Comeback to Win in 12

James Hulka — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 03:11:29 -0400

(AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Chipper Jones got the first hit of the night for the Braves in the bottom of the seventh, and the last one in the bottom of the 12th, as Atlanta beat Chicago in an extra-inning walk-off stunner by the score of 6-5.

Cubs starter Randy Wells handled the Braves through the first six innings until Jones lined an opposite-field single over the head of third baseman Mke Fontenot.

Wells helped his cause at the plate with an RBI single in the second inning to plate the Cubs second run after a Chipper Jones error extended the inning.

The Cubs got two runs in the sixth on a Derrek Lee RBI double and a sacrifice fly from Mike Fontenot.

Kenshin Kawakami pitched pretty well, going seven innings and allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits and one walk. The first of the hits was a solo home run by Alfonso Soriano leading off the game.

Derrek Lee added a solo shot in the eighth extending the Cubs lead to 5-0 off reliever Manny Acosta.

Wells came out to start the bottom of the eighth with a 5-0 lead and only having surrendered one hit. However, Garret Anderson lined a solo home run before Martin Prado reached on an error by Derrek Lee to chase Wells after seven-plus innings and only 83 pitches.

Carlos Marmol's control problems gave the Braves a run after a walk to Jeff Francoeur, hitting pinch-hitter Greg Norton, and walking Kelly Johnson with the bases loaded. Yunel Escobar plated the Braves third run of the inning, as his sacrifice fly scored Francoeur from third to close the gap to 5-3.

Wildness ensued in the bottom of the ninth as Garret Anderson reached when Geovany Soto couldn't handle the strike-three pitch from closer Kevin Gregg. One out later, Jeff Francoeur blasted a 2-1 fastball deep into left center to tie the game at five and send it to extra innings.

Each team had runners on and chances to score in the 10th and 11th innings. The Braves had runners on third with two outs in both innings but were unable to push across the winning run.

After Rafael Soriano went through a comparatively quiet 12th, with Kosuke Fukudome's two-out walk being the only batter to reach, the Braves brought the top of the order up in the bottom of the 12th.

Yunel Escobar singled with one out, and stole second with two strikes on Chipper Jones. Electing not to walk Jones with first base open, Cubs reliever Aaron Heilman pitched to Chipper.

Jones' second hit of the night, this one on a full count, was a mirror image of the first. The opposite-field line drive over the head of Fontenot fell onto the grass in left and didn't draw a throw from left fielder Alfonso Soriano, as Escobar slid feet-first across home plate for the final run.

Before the game, Atlanta sent down CF Jordan Schafer to AAA Gwinnett after his average had dropped to .203, and he'd gone almost a month since his last multi-hit game.

The recently hot bat of Gregor Blanco was not so hot as he went 0-for-5 in his first game in the majors this season, striking out twice as the No. 8 hitter in the Braves lineup

Wednesday night, Ted Lilly (6-4, 3.50) faces Derek Lowe (6-3, 3.49). Thursday night's series finale is scheduled to be Carlos Zambrano (3-2, 4.22) against Jair Jurrjens (5-2, 2.59). However, this may change as it was reported after the game that Zambrano missed the team's flight to Atlanta on Monday.

The win by the Braves was the first over the Cubs since June 10, 2007, when Ted Lilly got ejected for hitting Edgar Renteria in the first inning, and Ryan Dempster gave up three runs in the eighth—Willie Harris scored on a wild pitch—as the Braves rallied for a 5-4 win with Chad Paronto getting the victory and Bob Wickman the save.

Predicting the National League All-Star Starters

James Hulka — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 03:26:15 -0400

Now that we've completed 2 months of the 2009 MLB season, let's take a look at who's leading the way (not in votes) and is playing like a starter for the National League All-Star Game. There are a number of possibles, and surely there will be some who are having great seasons coming off the bench at some point in this year's Midsummer Classic.

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The Top 10 Atlanta Braves Untradeables

James Hulka — Mon, 25 May 2009 02:00:28 -0400

Yesterday, I gave you the ten players who the Braves might or should try to trade for. Today, I give you the list of players in the Braves organization that management shouldn't trade for - unless someone like Albert Pujols or Evan Longoria is coming to Atlanta. No player is completely untouchable - but Frank Wren would have to be absolutely blown away for a player in a position of need in order to trade any of these ten guys. Some you might expect, others maybe not so much. We start with the obvious.

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Blue Jays-Braves: Johnson, McCann Power Atlanta to Sweep

James Hulka — Sun, 24 May 2009 18:29:55 -0400

Brian McCann and Kelly Johnson combined for six hits, three home runs, and seven RBI to lead the Braves past the Toronto Blue Jays 10-2 on Sunday afternoon.

The Braves looked to make the game a blowout early, as Kelly Johnson led off the game with an opposite field home run and McCann followed three batters later with a blast off of Toronto starter Scott Richmond.

However, Richmond settled down, going the next four innings without allowing a run. He wiggled out of a huge jam in the fourth as a single and double by Brian McCann and Martin Prado put runners on second and third with only one out. Jeff Francoeur chased a first pitch slider to ground out, and Diory Hernandez also grounded out, ending the inning with both runners still stranded.

Vernon Wells set up the Jays' first run after leading off the top of the fourth with a single. He promptly stole second and third on consecutive pitches, scoring on a groundout by Jose Bautista.

Wells also scored the Jays' second run when he led off the top of the sixth with a double to center. He scored three batters later on a Lyle Overbay RBI single.

Jair Jurrjens didn't have his best stuff and navigated through trouble all day. He did not retire the side in order in any of his six innings, but got a double play to end the second inning, and in two innings, the only baserunners reached after he'd retired the first two hitters.

Jurrjens kept the damage to a minimum with a line of 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 8 H, 2 BB and 3 K. and striking out three. He left after throwing 66 of his 102 pitches for strikes and the game tied at two.

Peter Moylan came on to start the seventh and gave up an infield single to Marco Scutaro before striking out Aaron Hill. He couldn't put away Alex Rios, hitting him in the calf, and subsequently walked Vernon Wells after five straight foul balls to load the bases.

Eric O'Flaherty was summoned from the bullpen and got Adam Lind to strike out swinging on a slider. Bobby Cox brought in Jeff Bennett to face Jose Bautista, now with two outs and the bases still loaded, and induced a soft fly ball to end the inning.

Facing Toronto right-hander Shawn Camp in the seventh, Jeff Francoeur and Diory Hernandez laced one-out singles to left before Jordan Schafer patiently drew a walk to load the bases.

Jason Frasor was brought in to face Chipper Jones, after he was held out of the starting lineup the entire series with toe problems. He lined the first pitch he saw off the glove of first baseman Lyle Overbay into right field to drive in the go-ahead run from third for an RBI single, and signaling immediately to Bobby Cox he didn't need to come out for a pinch runner.

The running was made easier as Kelly Johnson came up and blasted a ground-rule double to center, scoring Hernandez and Schafer, and making the score 5-2.

After an intentional walk to Casey Kotchman to re-load the bases, Garret Anderson scored Jones from third on a sacrifice fly and a 6-2 lead. Brian McCann cleaned up by blasting a three-run homer into the Braves bullpen in right-center for a 9-2 lead.

After Rafael Soriano set the Jays down in order quietly in the top of the eighth, the Braves added one more in bottom half off of Brandon League. Diory Hernandez singled with one out, and went to third on a double to center by Jordan Schafer. Pinch-hitter Greg Norton drove in Hernandez with a groundout to second.

Manny Acosta finished off the sweep getting around a throwing error and a single by getting a nice double play turned by Martin Prado at third before striking out Vernon Wells to end the game.

The Braves in the series outscored Toronto 15-5, with the starters going 21.1 innings allowing a total of four runs. Bobby Cox's bullpen moves paid off all series long, as Rafael Soriano put out the fire in the ninth on Saturday, and both Eric O'Flaherty and Jeff Bennett did the same in the seventh today.

I liked the move earlier this week of sending down James Parr and calling Manny Acosta back up to fill that hole in the bullpen. Parr is really a starter being used in long relief, and the Braves already had two guys capable of that role in the bullpen in Buddy Carlyle and Jeff Bennett, and also realizing Jorge Campillo is on the DL. Having another live arm for the late-inning situations was a smart move.

The Braves also swept a first-place team without Chipper Jones in the starting lineup, and only coming up for one pinch-hit appearance. His one appearance gave the Braves the lead late, so it was important, but the Braves got enough done without him.

Kelly Johnson seems to be getting hot again, having gone 5-for-9 with 4 RBI, 4 R, and 2 HR in the last two games. Brian McCann has continued swinging a hot bat since his return from the DL, going 6-for-10 in the series with 2 HR and 4 RBI, raising his average above .300.

After hitting .195 in April, Brian McCann has hit at a .364 clip for the month of May.

With the starters being stellar in this series, the Braves hope that Kris Medlen can regain the form he had while at AAA Gwinnett prior to getting called up. After today, the Braves are now 17-7 in the 24 games where they get a quality start—and only one of those was provided by Jo-Jo Reyes.

Those numbers are even more impressive when you take in to account three factors:

1) Jair Jurrjens won his first two starts without getting through six innings. He went five-plus innings each time with a 2.46 ERA beating Philadelphia and Washington.

2) Javier Vazquez had the bullpen blow two leads in games he provided a quality start. His 4-3 record could be 6-3 if the Philadelphia meltdown didn't happen, and Mike Gonzalez had earned the save instead of the win last Friday against Arizona.

3) The Braves had starts cut short by rain delays twice—each time with one of their best pitchers on the mound. Derek Lowe only pitched 3.0 innings against the Nationals before the rains came. Jair Jurrjens only got through 2.0 innings against Houston.

Considering all of this, the Braves staff, spots one through four, has done quite well. Kawakami's last start was the best start by anyone this year, save for Lowe on Opening Day. Kenshin's ERA in May is a tidy 2.63 (2-2, 7 ER in 24.0 IP), as he starts looking like the pitcher the Braves hoped he would be.

The Braves now head off to the west coast to play three against the Giants and four against the Diamondbacks. Pitching probables for the seven-game road trip are as follows:

May 25: Javier Vazquez (4-3, 3.39) vs Jonathan Sanchez (1-4, 4.74) (SFO)

May 26: Kris Medlen (0-1, 15.00) vs Tim Lincecum (3-1, 3.45) (SFO)

May 27: Kenshin Kawakami (3-5, 4.73) vs Randy Johnson (3-4, 6.26) (SFO)

May 28: Derek Lowe (6-2, 3.45) vs Dan Haren (3-4, 2.57) (ARZ)

May 29: Jair Jurrjens (4-2, 2.07) vs Jon Garland (4-2, 4.70) (ARZ)

May 30: Javier Vazquez (4-3, 3.39) vs Doug Davis (2-6, 3.95) (ARZ)

May 31: Kris Medlen (0-1, 15.00) vs Max Scherzer (1-3, 3.50) (ARZ)

Monday, Saturday, and Sunday are day games. Tuesday through Friday are night games.

Ten Potential Trade Targets for the Atlanta Braves

James Hulka — Sun, 24 May 2009 03:39:54 -0400

The three guys above (Tim Hudson, Brian McCann, and Chipper Jones) aren't going anywhere anytime soon. When Hudson returns, whether it be in August or September, the Braves will get their ace returning to a rotation that already has proven to be pretty good in slots one through four. The Braves position players have been underperforming, and the bullpen has been a bit shaky at times. So here's a possible list of who the Braves might, or should, try to acquire in a trade

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Braves-Blue Jays: Aces Up As Atlanta Bests Toronto

James Hulka — Sat, 23 May 2009 01:02:50 -0400

Roy Halladay is probably the best pitcher in baseball and the absolute epitome of an ace.

Kenshin Kawakami showed Friday night why he was one in Japan.

In a tidy two hours and 20 minutes, the 33-year-old right hander matched the 2003 AL Cy Young Award winner pitch for pitch as the Braves scratched a run across off the Toronto bullpen to give the Braves a hard-earned 1-0 victory Friday night at Turner Field.

Delayed about 45 minutes because of a rain delay, Kenshin Kawakami, the 2004 Eija Sawamura Award winner and MVP for the Chunichi Dragons of Japan's Central League, was not affected as he set down the Jays in order in each of the first two innings.

Kawakami had to be that sharp, as Roy Halladay was giving another virtuoso performance. Twice on Friday night, he caught Kelly Johnson looking at a called strike three with two runners on with a 90 mph cut fastball that likely made Greg Maddux proud.

The old-fashioned pitchers' duel continued after Halladay stranded two in the fourth after Kelly Johnson couldn't get a bunt down, and Jeff Francoeur flied out with runners on second and third to end the inning.

Halladay only gave up a walk and an infield single in his last three innings and erased one of them on a double play to end the seventh.

Kawakami was masterful and only got better as the game went on. He only had one strikeout through the first 4 2/3 innings but got six of his final 10 outs via the strikeout.

His control was impeccable, not walking any Jays, giving up only three hits, and never letting a runner get past second base.

He threw 71 of his 106 pitches over a season high eight scoreless innings for strikes.

The lone run of the game came in the bottom of the eighth after Kawakami froze pinch-hitter Joe Inglett on a curveball to end the top of the frame.

Matt Diaz pinch-hit for Kawakami and immediately drilled a fastball deep to right center for a ground-rule double.

After getting two strikes, Yunel Escobar put a beautiful inside-out swing on a close pitch grounding out, but moving Diaz to third with only one out.

Casey Kotchman sized up reliever Jesse Carlson and got a ball deep enough to left to score Matt Diaz for a sacrifice fly and the game's first run.

Adam Lind's throw was online, but not in time as Diaz scored standing up.

In the ninth, Mike Gonzalez came on and quickly got Marco Scutaro to fly out to right.

Aaron Hill lined a double to left, and moved to third when Alex Rios grounded out on a swinging bunt to the pitcher.

Many Braves fans' hearts skipped a beat when third baseman Martin Prado charged a chopper off the bat of Jays cleanup hitter Vernon Wells.

Prado caught the in-between hop as it glanced up in the air after hitting the heel of his glove. In one motion, Prado gloved the ball in mid-air and made a strong off balance throw to get Wells by half a step at first and preserve the win for Kenshin Kawakami.

This was a game that real baseball fans love. Excellent pitching, no major defensive lapses or bad baserunning mistakes. The game moved quickly as you saw an ace show why he's the best and another guy up to the task of matching him.

It had suspense at the end with the tying run on third. One pitcher got the win, and fortunately the other one didn't get the loss.

Roy Halladay's line of 7 IP, 0 R, 5 H, 1 BB, and 6 K was stellar despite the no decision. His ERA dropped after his 95-pitch performance to 2.52 to maintain his 8-1 record.

Kawakami was just a tad bit better. His line of 8 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 0 BB, and 7 K earned him the hard-fought victory. His ERA dropped a full run to 4.73 and is down more than two runs since the end of April. The win brings his record on the season to 3-5.

I'm sure it felt great for him, getting his first dominant performance since coming over from Japan. Japanese fans must have been reminded of years like 1998, when he went 14-6 with a 2.57 ERA and won the Rookie of the Year award.

For me, this was a game between my favorite team (Atlanta) and my second favorite team (Toronto). This is the one series each year where I have a tough time rooting for one team over another.

I'm sure it's an interesting one for managers Cito Gaston and Bobby Cox, who have had a friendship for more than 20 years and maintain ties to both organizations.

Gaston roomed with Hank Aaron when he came up with the Braves in 1967 and played with them for five seasons.

Bobby Cox managed the Blue Jays to their first division title in 1985 and gave Gaston his first major league coaching position. This is all besides the matchup in the 1992 World Series.

The 21,000 in attendance at Turner Field on Friday night really got a treat in witnessing two stellar pitching performances and a hard-fought win for the home team.

And even though the Blue Jays lost, they're still in first place with the Mets beating the Red Sox.

The pitching matchups favor the Braves this weekend as Derek Lowe (5-2, 3.58) faces Casey Janssen (NR) on Saturday, and Jair Jurrjens (4-2, 1.96) matches up against likely starter right-hander Scott Richmond (4-2, 3.64) on Sunday afternoon.

Should the Atlanta Braves Bring Back Mark DeRosa?

James Hulka — Thu, 21 May 2009 18:27:46 -0400

Everyone (especially the talking heads in New York) seems to be yapping about how every tradeable player is going to end up with the Mets or Yankees in about 15 minutes, including Mark DeRosa.

Not so fast.

With Omar Infante being lost for two months with a broken metacarpal bone in his left hand, the Braves have a major hole for a utility player who can play multiple positions in the infield and outfield, hit lefties, and produce in Atlanta.

Enter ex-Brave Mark DeRosa.

He was a favorite of Bobby Cox during his tenure with the Braves that ended after the 2004 season. He was tasked with being the everyday third basemen while Chipper Jones played left field.

It didn't work out as DeRosa didn't produce offensively; Chipper returned to third base, Charles Thomas and Eli Marrero played left field, and Mark DeRosa found himself in Arlington the following season after being non-tendered by the Braves.

Over the course of the last five years, DeRosa has gained a power stroke as evidenced by his 21 home runs last year with the Cubs. He's played about every position on the field, and considering the Braves essentially lost their backup third baseman, centerfielder, and shortstop when Infante went down, DeRosa would immediately fill that void in the Atlanta lineup—with some power as a right-handed bat.

The big difference is that the fans of the teams in New York think they can get a major league player in a trade they covet for their team, without giving up anything in return except a $20 bill, a rack of ash-wood bats, and a low-level minor leaguer with an ERA above 6.00 or a batting average below .150.

I lived in New Jersey for a lot of my life, read the papers and listened to 660 WFAN to hear these ideas come up everyday. These ideas are crazy—to everyone except the Mets and Yankees fans.

Moving Mark DeRosa would require a pitching prospect heading to Cleveland. It won't be Kris Medlen or Tommy Hanson, but the Braves have enough pitching depth to send one minor league pitcher to Cleveland to fill a suddenly big void on their bench and in multiple spots in the lineup.

Don't get me wrong—I love the skills Martin Prado brings to the Braves, but he can't play the outfield in a pinch as well as DeRosa. Putting DeRosa in right, and moving Francoeur to center, is a better backup plan than putting Francoeur in center between Matt Diaz and Garret Anderson if Jordan Schafer has to come out of the game.

We'll see what happens—but I think Chipper Jones wouldn't mind seeing his old teammate back in Atlanta a couple spots behind him in the order. DeRosa's 6 HR and 26 RBI would be best on the Braves if suddenly inserted in the five-spot behind Chipper Jones and Brian McCann.

It's too early to tell what will happen, but something will have to change with the team's best hitter out for two months if the Braves are to continue staying close to the NL East lead.

What GM Frank Wren will do remains to be seen.

Braves-Mets: Resilient Atlanta Wins Afternoon Finale in New York

James Hulka — Thu, 14 May 2009 02:30:37 -0400

Martin Prado was the unlikely hero, blasting a 12th-inning home run off Mets reliever Ken Takahashi to lead the Braves to an 8-7 win at Citi Field on Wednesday.

After seeing some excellent starting pitching from both teams in the first two games of the series, I was not surprised to see both starters bounced from the game early, as both Jon Niese of the Mets and Jo-Jo Reyes of the Braves have been inconsistent at best during their brief tenures in the majors.

The Braves jumped on Niese early as Chipper Jones and Garret Anderson each had an RBI in the top of the first, giving Atlanta a 2-0 lead.

However, Reyes gave it right back as he gave up a double, triple, and a walk to the first three Mets hitters. It could have been worse, if not for inducing an around-the-horn double play from Gary Sheffield with runners on first and third, which tied the game at two.

The top of the Braves order went to work again in the top of the third. Jones' second double of the game put runners on second and third with one out. Anderson and Matt Diaz, playing right field for a resting Jeff Francoeur, hit consecutive RBI singles to make the score 4-2.

After setting down six in a row, Reyes again had trouble with his control, walking Carlos Beltran and then giving up two singles to load the bases. Fernando Tatis then hit reliever Buddy Carlyle's second pitch just over the line in dead center for a 6-4 Mets lead.

The Braves scratched back to tie the game, getting sacrifice flies from Jones in the fifth inning, and from Anderson in the seventh, both times scoring Omar Infante from third.

Bobby Cox's decision to pinch-hit Kelly Johnson for the struggling Jordan Schafer in the eighth—with one out and a runner on—turned out to be the right move. Johnson smoked a double into the right field corner off J.J. Putz to give the Braves a 7-6 lead.

Rafael Soriano, after coming on to face the middle of the Mets order in the eighth, got Beltran to fly out. He didn't get a fastball up in the zone enough, and Sheffield tomahawked a letter-high fastball over the left field wall to tie the score at seven.

For the next three innings, the bullpens held firm, as no runner from either team got past second, despite only one half-inning where the side was retired in order (bottom of the 11th).

After Prado belted a 3-2 fastball from Takahashi into the left field seats, Mike Gonzalez came on for the second day in a row for a save. Again, he gave up a leadoff hit, as Jose Reyes doubled, and was advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt. But, Gonzalez struck out Beltran swinging, and froze Sheffield on a 3-2 slider to end the game.

The Braves head back to Atlanta after concluding an eight-game road trip that produced six wins—two each against the Marlins, Phillies, and Mets. If Greg Gibson doesn't miss that tag on Beltran Tuesday night, the Braves would actually be in first place in the NL East, a half-game in front of the Mets and Phillies, and 1.5 games in front of the struggling Florida Marlins.

Some tidbits and observations from the road trip:

- Jones' elbow may be hurting, but he's still producing. He hit .400 on the road trip in six games, with seven walks, four RBI, three doubles, and five runs scored. The only thing it seems to hinder is his power stroke.

- Jo-Jo Reyes may only have one more start in his Braves career if he doesn't perform well. Tom Glavine may be 43, but he can't be much worse than Reyes has been since his call-up. In four of his five starts, he's failed to pitch at least six innings, and in each of those has surrendered at least four earned runs. That 6.58 ERA is not impressing anyone.

- The Braves offense may not be potent or powerful, but it is much better when the heart of the lineup is healthy and available.

Since Anderson returned from the DL, the Braves are 5-3 with him in the lineup, and 6-3 overall. He's raised his average 30 points and collected all eight of his RBI in the last eight games.

Likewise, the Braves are 4-2 since Brian McCann returned from the DL. The glasses have helped, as he's 9-for-21 in the last six games with one home rune and five RBI. David Ross has filled in very nicely, with a .269-3-9 in McCann's absence. The combined totals of .272-6-21 from the catchers this year has been solid, but Ross is not as dangerous a hitter as McCann

Opposing pitchers can't easily pitch around Jones with Anderson and McCann in the lineup behind him.

- Memo to Bobby Cox: Please don't wear out Soriano and Gonzalez too early. The starters have been very good overall, allowing the bullpen some rest. Wednesday was only the second time this season that a Braves starter didn't make it through five innings in a game that wasn't delayed by rain (Kenshin Kawakami vs. Cincinnati).

Because of the blown call, I can't put a whole lot of blame on Gonzalez for Tuesday night's blown save. Soriano today looked a bit tired, as his fastball didn't quite have the same late life it often has. Here's hoping the starters can string together a few good games against a mediocre offense hosting Arizona this weekend.

The Braves start a 10-game homestand on Friday against the Diamondbacks (three), Rockies (four) and Blue Jays (three). Looking ahead, here are the expected starters.

If you enjoyed Santana vs. Lowe on Monday night, Friday May 22 could be even better. Don't think the outfielders will be too busy that night.

May 15: (ARZ) Doug Davis (2-5, 3.25) vs Javier Vazquez (3-3, 3.88)

May 16: (ARZ) Max Scherzer (0-3, 3.98) vs Kenshin Kawakami (2-4, 5.79)

May 17: (ARZ) Jon Garland (3-2, 5.18) vs Derek Lowe (5-1, 3.80)

May 18: (COL) Jason Marquis (4-3, 5.40) vs Jair Jurrjens (3-2, 2.01)

May 19: (COL) Jason Hammel (0-1, 5.40) vs Jo-Jo Reyes (0-2, 6.58)

May 20: (COL) Jorge de la Rosa (0-3, 3.53) vs Javier Vazquez (3-3, 3.88)

May 21: (COL) Aaron Cook (2-1, 5.03) vs Kenshin Kawakami (2-4, 5.79)

May 22: (TOR) Roy Halladay (7-1, 2.95) vs Derek Lowe (5-1, 3.80)

May 23: (TOR) Scott Richmond (4-2, 4.28) vs Jair Jurrjens (3-2, 2.01)

May 24: (TOR) Brian Tallet (2-1, 4.95) vs Jo-Jo Reyes (0-2, 6.58) or Tom Glavine (NR)

Mets Steal Win from Braves (with Assist from Greg Gibson)

James Hulka — Tue, 12 May 2009 22:34:58 -0400

It's unfortunate when a game that was as well-pitched and well-played from both sides for eight and one-half innings gets ruined by a blown call. This was especially true for the Atlanta Braves Tuesday night, as they lost to the Mets at Citi Field 4-3 in 10 innings.

Both starters pitched brilliantly. Jair Jurrjens lost his shutout in the eighth inning on a Jose Reyes two-run double that scored Jeremy Reed and Ryan Church to close the gap to 3-2.

The Braves put across single runs in the fourth on a Casey Kotchman RBI single and in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Garret Anderson off Mets' starter Mike Pelfrey. They added one more in the eighth, when Brian McCann hit an RBI ground rule double off reliever J. J. Putz.

After Carlos Beltran doubled off Braves closer Mike Gonzalez in the ninth, David Wright fouled out bringing Fernando Tatis to the plate.

Beltran took off for third as McCann's throw was perfect. Third base umpire Greg Gibson called Beltran safe, saying his hand got in before the tag. Replays showed McCann's throw not only beat Beltran, but Chipper Jones barely had to move his glove to tag Beltran just before his hand touched the bag.

But, Gibson was in the wrong position to make the call, and blew it.

After Tatis leaned into a pitch, Castillo flied out to left with what should have been the final out of a 3-2 Braves win. Instead, Beltran scored to tie the game at three with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.

After the Braves stranded two in the top of the 10th, Beltran walked with the bases loaded on a full count in the bottom of the 10th on a borderline strike, to give the Mets a gift win they didn't deserve, 4-3.

The Braves will try to get the series win and finish 6-2 on their eight-game road trip through the NL East as Jo-Jo Reyes faces Jon Niese in Wednesday afternoon's series finale.

Braves-Nationals: Clutch Hitting Carries Atlanta to Series Sweep

James Hulka — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 22:21:14 -0400

The Braves certainly didn't dominate the Nationals during their first series of the season at Turner Field, but nevertheless they did complete their first series sweep of the season with an 8-5 victory on Sunday afternoon.

CF Jordan Schafer was the only starting position player not to get a hit, but his two running catches in the eighth and ninth innings definitely made up for his 0-4 day at the plate. His grab of Elijah Dukes' liner to right-center in the eighth inning off reliever Buddy Carlyle preserved a lead with two runners on and only one out.

Seven different Braves drove in runs on Sunday afternoon, including Casey Kotchman who only got one at-bat as he was inserted late in the game as a defensive replacement for Martin Prado at first base.

Chipper Jones drove in RBI singles in both the fifth and seventh innings, and Jeff Francoeur had two opposite field triples, one definitely aided by a glaring sun in the eyes of Nationals right fielder Austin Kearns.

The key to Sunday's victory was the offense's ability to come right back after the Nationals closed the gap.

Right after the Nationals tied the game 3-3 in the top of the fifth, the Braves got RBI hits from Chipper Jones and Brian McCann to give the Braves the lead at 5-3. Washington scored one in the sixth, but the Braves got two more in the seventh to extend the lead to 7-4.

The Nats tried to inch closer in the top of the eighth, but could only get one to get to within 7-5 before Casey Kotchman's RBI single scored Jeff Francoeur from third base with the game's final run.

Rafael Soriano struck out two setting down the side in order in the ninth, earning his first save.

After the first week of the season, the only major concern for the Braves has been their middle relief corps.

Rafael Soriano has been lights out in the Braves bullpen.

Mike Gonzalez hasn't been completely consistent, but the blame for his blown save on Friday night can't be placed solely on his shoulders. The first two "hits" of the inning were a fly ball that Matt Diaz should've caught in left field, and a bloop single off the end of the bat on a pitch down and away.

As bad as Peter Moylan looked in his first two appearances, he was that good on Saturday when he struck out the side in the seventh. Blaine Boyer and Eric O'Flaherty have been shaky at best, and that's being polite.

Fellas, don't get too comfortable because Manny Acosta and Boone Logan are waiting at AAA if you struggle any longer.

I give credit to Bobby Cox for bringing in Buddy Carlyle in that jam in the eighth inning today. Buddy gave the Braves a couple decent innings on Friday after the rain delay. Today, Carlyle did allow one inherited run to score, but preserved the lead by getting a big-time strikeout of Adam Dunn to end the eighth.

The offense thus far has been a pleasant surprise.

After week one, the Braves have no one really struggling on offense. The lone starter who's "struggling" is Jeff Francoeur whose five RBI in six games including two triples on Sunday leave his average at .240. Garret Anderson isn't off to a great start, but Matt Diaz has been productive filling in playing left field.

Even the bench players in Omar Infante and Martin Prado are hitting well and being very productive. The two combined for three hits, two runs scored, and an RBI, allowing Kelly Johnson and Casey Kotchman to take most of the day off.

At the end of week one, the Braves have scored 37 runs in six games, and seven different regulars have already hit at least one of the Braves 10 total home runs, currently second best in the majors (surprise—Colorado is first).

Five regulars have batting averages over .300 to start the year and only the injured Garret Anderson does not have an RBI of the position players to make at least one start so far.

The starting rotation has been solid. Most weren't expecting complete dominance from the Braves' staff, but Derek Lowe, Jair Jurrjens, Javier Vazquez, and Kenshin Kawakami have shown to be as advertised during the season's first week. A 4-0 record with a 2.65 ERA and 26 K in 34 IP is solid.

Tom Glavine is still scheduled for a call-up to start Saturday in Pittsburgh despite leaving early on Sunday, pitching in a rehab start with AA Mississippi before the third inning. Jorge Campillo, Jo-Jo Reyes, and Tommy Hanson are the possible replacement starters if Glavine is not healthy enough to pitch on Saturday.

Friday's rain delay and Wednesday's bullpen implosion against the Phillies are the only reasons the quartet hasn't pitched more innings.

The signs are encouraging as the starting pitching and offense are both off to good starts. We didn't see too many one run wins from the Braves last year or a lot of two-out hitting from Jeff Francoeur. Both happened this weekend as Braves fans hope to see the misfortunes of 2008 turn around in Atlanta for 2009.

For one week, so far so good.

The Braves face a tough test as the other team with the best record in the majors after the first week of the season (the 5-1 Florida Marlins), start a three-game series on Tuesday.

Scheduled pitching matchups for the series are:

Tuesday: Javier Vazquez (0-0, 4.50 ERA) vs. Chris Volstad (1-0, 1.80 ERA)

Wednesday: Derek Lowe (1-0, 0.82 ERA) vs. Andrew Miller (0-0, 3.86 ERA)

Thursday (day): Kenshin Kawakami (1-0, 4.50 ERA) vs Anibal Sanchez (1-0, 0.00 ERA)