After a promising performance from 22-year old Jair Jurrjens, the Atlanta Braves' bats exploded in the 8th inning to ensure their first win of the year over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Atlanta got long balls from Matt Diaz, Mark Teixeira and Yunel Escobar in the victory that ensures they will not go 0-162.
The best news of the evening might be the bullpen's work. The maligned pen went three & two-thirds without giving up a single hit. Six different Braves' relievers combined on the performance.
The other bright spot was Jair Jurrjens. Acquired from the Tigers in the Renteria deal, the youngster beat out Jo-Jo Reyes, Buddy Carlyle and the host of other ineffective starters from 2007 to get a spot in the rotation. He looked solid last night before running out of gas in the 6th. If the Braves can get innings from him, the concerns about Smoltz's, Glavine's and Hampton's durability won't be so pressing.
Speaking of Mike Hampton, he returns to the mound tonight for the first time in over two years. What is the over/under on pitches before he tears some ligament or breaks some bone? I'm guessing 15, not counting warm-up tosses.
Seriously, I hope Hampton can perform tonight and be something of an asset for the Braves. It is not his fault that the Braves over-paid for a broken down pitcher. It isn't even his fault that his body keeps letting him down. Actually, I guess it is his fault, but I don't blame him for it. It is out of his control. You get my point.
If Hampton can win 10-12 games this year, it will be a remarkable accomplishment. I'm just keeping my hopes down at this point with him. Two and a half years is a long time between starts. Even if he stays healthy, how effective will he be?
Finally, did anyone see the trivia question last night during the game? The Pirates have the longest streak of losing seasons in sports history. 15 years. It does not seem that long ago that the Pirates were winning with Bonds, Van Slyke, Bonilla, Drabek and Jim Leyland. The last time they had a winning season was 1992. I was shocked by it, but they really have been bad for a long time.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
5 comments:
Was this game even on regular cable? The first game was on 28, the second on 27(!?!), and I couldn't find last nights on 7, 27, 28, 29, 33, or 56. I know TBS has spoiled me over the years, but shouldn't the Braves be available on one of these channels?
Don't bother with TBS anymore. The Braves are done on the SuperStation. I have DirecTV & it was on 630 which is one of the FoxSports channels I think.
I have a hard time understanding how TBS thinks re-runs of Everybody Loves Raymond will bring in more viewers than live baseball, but I guess they know more than me.
Hampton Over/Under - 15 pitches?
Under...didn't make it past warm-ups. Unbelievable.
Braves manager Bobby Cox said Hampton's first 23 warm-up pitches were "excellent."
My favorite quote about this situation
I saw that too. I guess it means he was hitting his spots or had good velocity, but who cares? Can he get anyone out? Can he actually earn some of his salary?
Post a Comment