Talking Chop

Chuck James is proving to be a real boost to the Atlanta Braves starting rotation, but the big story on the night was the success of the on again/off again bullpen. Bobby Cox put the pen in perspective when he said, "We picked [James] up big time with the bullpen tonight." Indeed, he was right. Chad Paronto came on and had a good seventh inning displaying what Bobby Cox calls a "true sinker, a dandy." Cox also said that Paronto is a guy that Roger McDowell has helped tremendously. Ken Ray came on for a spotless eighth inning, and then Jorge Sosa was able to shake off the blowey he suffered two nights ago in New York as well as a leadoff walk tonight, and got a double play to end the game and pick up his second save.

The hitting star of the night was Braves leadoff hitter Marcus Giles. With two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth, after the Orioles had tied the game in the top half of the inning, Giles came through with a huge single to score McCann and LaRoche which put the Braves back on top where they would stay the rest of the night.

Chuck James spent the night striking out five Orioles with fastballs in the high 80s, occasionally touching 90 mph. Cox describes James as "sneaky fast, hard to pick up." Indeed he was hard to pick up until the sixth inning when the wheels came off a bit. James was not bothered by the two homeruns he gave up in the inning, he was only concerned with getting ragged by some of his friends who were at the game.

When it comes to Chuck's approach to pitching he says, "I just play my game, and let them hit me." It's a great attitude of not trying to do too much and overthrow the ball like so many young pitchers. The opposing pitcher for the Orioles is one of those young pitchers who was erratically bringing the ball up to the plate in the mid 90s tonight.

It may be a good thing that James can only throw 90 mph, as his approach is to not try and overpower people Instead he believes that "good pitches are gonna get outs." His approach when he's not pitching is to work on his location and work on his mechanics. After listening to this kid for just a few minutes it is apparent that he has a smart baseball mind. He also credits Roger McDowell for helping him with his mechanics during the game. "Roger's awesome. I come in and tell him I felt a little awkward that inning, and he can usually straighten me out a little bit."

The back-to-back homeruns he gave up in the sixth inning were both on fastballs. Of the first one he allowed to Conine, James said he "didn't want to walk him, and it was kind of a get-me-over fastball, and he didn't miss it." About the next one, two pitches later to Corey Patterson, James admitted he "had been struggling to lefties the whole game, as far as location on that side of the plate, and [he] left one up and in."

James again pitched well with only one rough inning, but he didn't let the game get out of control. He kept it close and gave the Braves a chance to come back, and as Cox put it, "Some of our line drives finally got through in big situations. We're different tonight!" Maybe it's because of the team they're playing. It was two years ago about this time of year when the Braves were scuffling, and it was a series they had in Baltimore that turned their season around. In that series, they suddenly put all the pieces together. If history does indeed have a way of repeating itself, then several months from now we may look back on this series or this game and say "this was the one where they turned it around." One thing is for sure, the Braves will be happy to see June end; a month that saw them go just 6-21, their second worst month since moving to Atlanta in 1966.

Tim Hudson is one of those guys who needs to turn it around as he goes to the mound tomorrow for the Braves.

Baltimore 3, Atlanta 5 at Turner Field
Baltimore Record: (37-44)
Atlanta Record: (34-46)

Winning pitcher - Chuck James (2-0)
Losing pitcher - Kurt Birkins (2-1)
SV - Jorge Sosa (2)