Atlanta won its fourth straight (I'm on the ledge, off the ledge, on the ledge, off the ledge) with an impressive 5-3 win over San Diego. Jair Jurrjens continues to impress as a 22-year old, poised pitcher. He has great command and a deceptive fastball that gets onto the hitters quickly. Mark Kotsay is swinging a hot bat right as well as playing a terrific centerfield. His catch in deep center last night was tremendous.
Chipper went 1-2 with a homerun to center and two more walks, one intentional. I imagine teams are going to make Tex beat them, especially from the right side where he continues to struggle.
Current Average - .426
Other Braves notes:
Atlanta picked up some veteran bench help with the acquisition of Greg Norton from the Seattle Mariners. Norton is a switch-hitting pinch-hitter who can play 1st, 3rd or the outfield corners. With Martin Prado going down for six weeks because of the thumb injury he suffered diving into first base, the Norton pick-up is a timely one. Not exactly a Fred McGriff-type acquisition, but hopefully not a Craig Wilson one either.
The bullpen continues to be a mess. Last night, Manny Acosta put two runners on base before Cox went to the pen to get the final two batters of the night. It is clear that Acosta does not yet have Cox's trust, mostly because he continues to walk batters. Royce Ring (weird name, huh?) keeps getting lefties out, though he nearly gave up a disastrous dinger to Adrian Gonzalez last night that just went foul. Jeff Bennett got the final out for his first save.
The news from the bullpen is all bad. Peter Moylan is done for the year - surgery on Thursday. Rafael Soriano cut short his bullpen session yesterday because of discomfort. Mike Gonzalez had tightness the other day, but is still supposed to return to the pen sometime later in the week. With these three guys healthy (not even including Smoltz's return to relief pitching), Atlanta has a great bullpen. Without them, it is patchwork at best.
The injuries are not just on the field. Color commentator Joe Simpson had an appendectomy last week, so we are stuck with the ultra-bland Ron Gant for the time being. BRING BACK SKIP CARAY! I miss Pete and Skip, though they are still calling the games on the radio. Actually, I don't mind the guy from Knocked Up who does the play-by-play. He looks like he would know nothing about baseball simply from his hairdo, but is always on top of it and easy to listen to.
FYI - Mike Hampton is still hurt. And still earning $15 million this season.
Tonight - Tim Hudson on the mound as the Braves go for five straight.
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1 comment:
Boy doesn't the Renteria trade look better every time Jair goes out there? Chipper continues to be just incredible...nobody is better at their job than him. And yes, Ron Gant is brutal.
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