Catcher’s Blog

This is my review post on the Braves vs. Marlins game from August 28, 2008. The link to all the pictures will be below the review since there are 85 pictures; it would take too long to include all of them in the post. Some are linked in the post, though. Please continue reading if you wish.

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Today I was sent an article in one of my alert e-mails from SI.com writer John Donovan and he brings up a good point about the NL East when he says it’s the toughest division in baseball. But this particular part caught my eye and I agree:

Right now, the Phillies are staggering. The Mets are playing their best ball of the year. The Marlins are sticking around. The Braves, the one-time king of the division, are … I don’t know. What the heck are the Braves doing?

Every Braves fan seems to be asking that very question to themselves and other Braves’ fans. What the heck are the Braves doing? This past series seemed to be looking good in the first game and that we were picking up where we left off before the break, with almost everyone contributing, getting hits, and stealing bases, but the last two games in the series were played by a completely different team altogether. I really don’t know an explanation for any of it. How do we play well the first game and then the last two we act like we have no clue as to what we’re even doing out on the field? How on earth do we let a last place and current worst in baseball team beat us like it was merely batting practice? And former cast-off Braves at that. And why in the world do we sit arguably our best hitter right now in Brian McCann, especially right after the All-Star break? I just do not get this team sometimes.

The AJC made a good point that Mac is playing with urgency and getting fired up when it seems no one else on the team will. I have noticed him playing with a lot more fire underneath him than the rest of the team seem to want to play with. I just don’t get why they don’t get it. Something needs to happen or we won’t even get a sniff of the post season. We’ll be sitting right at home like the past two years, watching other teams play in the post season. It’s just stupid. The team and players say they want to win and they say it’s frustrating to lose, but if we really wanted to win, we would find ways to do it. No matter what it took. I just don’t see us doing that at all. We seem like we’re playing because we have to and that’s not how it should be at all.

The next two series against the Marlins and Phillies will set the tone for the second half and if the Braves want a shot at the post season, they better start playing better baseball. No one is going to hand it to them or roll over and die. They need to play and they need to start to doing it now.

Braves come up with a series win in a very big way. They scored four runs last night and twelve today, with the Pads only scoring a total of five runs in the last two games (eight for the entire series). If we stay hot like that offensively and can get everyone healthy for the second half, we would be in good shape. Too bad I’m not counting on us playing that well the rest of the season. I hope we do, but I won’t hold my breath. Everyone is going to go through some slumps now and then and have bad games, that’s just how it is. Chipper and Mac will probably be out and about in New York tomorrow with the All-Star festivities starting. While I won’t be here to provide coverage for it, I’m sure Lauren of Braves Love will be on top of it like she currently is on most of the goings-on in the Braves world. I hope to hear (and see) good things about the two Braves’ sluggers when I return on Saturday, or hopefully before then if I’m able to get Internet access any this week. I wish Brian and Chipper both good luck in Tuesday’s All-Star game.

With the All-Star break upon us, the trade rumors will now start to fly around a bit more than they currently are as the trade deadline looms near. We will most likely hear a few here and there about random teams wanting some extra help for the long haul of the second half, but writers are saying Teixshy might be the most sought-after player right now with his Gold-Glove caliber defense and his bettering offense. A poll on AJC asks readers their opinion on this matter, if we will or will not trade Teixshy, with 58.93% saying the Braves will indeed trade Teixshy, while 41.07% say they won’t. Personally, I don’t think the Braves will trade their first baseman, especially since we’re not out of the race by any means yet and he’s too good of an all-around player to trade away. Who would play first if we did trade him? Scott Thorman? Yeah, I really don’t want to witness that again.

Also having rumors flying around about being traded is Will Ohman. Ohman has provided the Braves with a sturdy lefty relief pitcher and has been very effective in most situations all season. We could possibly trade him for something as he has trade value, but I’m not sure that we’ll trade anyone with too much effectiveness unless we get someone good in return. But while Ohman is effective in his rolls, we now have Gonzo back to fill in the lefty reliever roll, but Gonzo is our closer with Soriano still out. Although, if I had to make a choice, I would keep Ohman over Ring. Someone is going to go somewhere if Matty, Glavine, and Hampton (it would be a miracle) comes back after the break. But we shall see what happens later this week after the break.

I’m gone now until probably next Sunday. Have a good break and enjoy your time off from the world of baseball. I know I will, even though I’m sure I’ll be ready for it again before I come back.

This is my review of the day game in Atlanta on June 25, 2008. It was good trip, it was a very, very hot that day, and we played a good game. I got decent footage and pictures below. The footage is a little shaky and I apologize for that. That would be from me not being able to hold my camera still hardly at all. I can’t sit or stand still, so that’s probably why. The footage was clearer on my computer before I uploaded it to photobucket, so know that it wasn’t my camera. The only bad thing about that day was that it felt like it was 100 degrees, literally, with no shade hardly at all and the seat digging into my leg the whole time, resulting in my leg becoming almost numb when I did finally get up around the 8th inning. I’ll save the rest for the review. The review is under a cut for length purposes.

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Tonight kicks off a very crucial series in that we play the first place Phillies for three games. The Phillies have not had a great go at it lately, so this could be our chance to gain some ground on them. Will we sweep them? I doubt it, but it’s nice to think about. The Phillies can always find ways to knock the Braves around, no matter how bad the Phillies are playing. Sometimes we even help them do it, too, and that’s the sad part. I know half of our bench/team is out of commission right now, but hopefully we’ll get relief from somewhere. If we have good pitching and our offense is clicking on all cylinders, then we should have a pretty good chance. But since this isn’t always the case, we’ll just have to cross our fingers and hope for the best. Tonight Charlie Morton faces Kyle Kendrick in what should be a decent match-up.

We’re halfway through the season already and it doesn’t seem like we should be. Why does baseball season always go by really fast? With all that said, BravesBlast.com is doing a mid-season review series on the NL East. They started from the bottom and reviewed the lowly Nats, who no one seems to even remember exist unless they’re playing them. The review is pretty good and thorough, so I’d recommend reading it if you have any curiosity on what the Nats have (or don’t have) to offer right now. It’s not a bashing review either, it’s done in an unbiased point of view, which usually makes for a better read unless it’s something to do with the Braves.