Baseball is a game of inches, and it was inches that decided Sunday night's game. With the game on mute (it was only two innings before I could take no more of any of those ESPN announcers) I watched as the seventh ininig was turned upside down by defensive lapses.
Jair Jurrjens was cruising, and the Braves had given him one whole run to work with, and he in turn had given up only one run. With the Phillies trying to sacrifice a runner to second in the seventh inning, Chipper Jones thew a ball away on the throw to first base. Martin Prado said after the game that he should have gotten to that ball. It was a tough play for Chipper to make, and Prado would have had to make a tough play on his end too, but that's what winning ball clubs do -- they execute. On Sunday night, the Braves did not execute.
The next batter hit a double that hit just off the end of the glove of an outstretched Garret Anderson, and scored the winning runs. That was a true play of inches, and the deciive hit in the game. The play was initially ruled an error, but hometown scoring later changed it to a double.
The Braves had their chances offensively, including the very next inning, but a Brian McCann double play cost them a golden opportunity to tie the game or go ahead.
These are the game you've gotta win.
0 recs | 30 comments
ugh. Coste…..Ruiz…..those Phillies catchers always have the Braves’ number.
Chief Noc-A-Homa - August 31, 2009
How close was LaRoche’s ball to going out in the 9th? I was watching the game cast on yahoo and it said “fly out to deep center”.
Did I also see correctly that Norton Kd to end the game? I know it’sa beaten dead horse, but does anyone have insight as to why this guy still dons a Braves uniform?
CharlotteChop18 - August 31, 2009
not close at all.
10-4 - August 31, 2009
It was maybe 10 feet shy of going out.
Norton = epic fail (We can always pin it on him, but it was a group loss. We had our opportunities and, huge shocker, didn’t deliver.)
Chief Noc-A-Homa - August 31, 2009
ESPN is in love with the Phillies.
blitzerlover - August 31, 2009
Sunny side up
The Braves have lost 2 straight series and somehow gained a game in the Wild Card.
10-4 - August 31, 2009
Definitely a positive thing….we got some help from other teams for a change.
NCChopper - August 31, 2009
Agreed Chief Noc-A-Homa, the bottom of the 7th and top of the 8th are classic examples of why teams miss the playoffs by 2-3 games.
CharlotteChop18 - August 31, 2009
And That's In A High School Park
EastFallowfield - August 31, 2009
+1
lol Utley’s wouldnt have made it out of my high school’s park
traphicg - August 31, 2009
Apparently
Atlanta’s batters can’t either.
Off The Hook - August 31, 2009
ESPN
is in love with the Phillies because…they are the defending champions, and they win.
Way to have your #1 guy lose to their #3 guy, probably why you are 8 games back.
Off The Hook - August 31, 2009
lmao
Chief Noc-A-Homa - August 31, 2009
Vazquez pitched last night?
justincredubil02 - August 31, 2009
What ever
your #2 pitcher.
Doesn’t really matter, the Braves aren’t making the playoffs anyways.
Off The Hook - August 31, 2009
I still fail to see where this is relevant…your #1 got beat by our 5th best…
w/e.
I shouldn’t feed the trolls. It keeps them coming back for more – like a stray cat.
justincredubil02 - August 31, 2009
Way to have
your #1 pitcher aquired from the Indians get slapped for 6 runs on 10 hits in 5 innings the night before.
adc62 - August 31, 2009
Don’t feed the troll, you guys.
soup du jour - August 31, 2009
Lets face it
The Phillies are in first place because they are winners. They have guys who know how to win. Sure, they may be only hitting .270, but they know how to win and do the things that it takes to win. Thats important when it comes to winning, and being a winner. You can hit .300 with a obp of .450, but if you don’t know how to win, or do what it takes to win, then you won’t be a successful team that wins. Look at the error by Chipper last night: if he was a winner, he would have made a perfect throw. In the same play, if Martin Prado knew what it takes to win, he would have come off the bag to catch the throw. The Phillies have winners, and Ryan Howard knows how to win, so he would have seen that the ball was gonna sail right, and used his winning skills to extend his arm an extra foot to catch the ball. Brian McCann hit a hard line drive into a double play. If he knew how to win, he would have hit the ball to the right or left of Utley so that it wouldn’t be caught. Thats what winners do, and thats how you win.
10-4 - August 31, 2009
Yeah....
they are definitely winners, and that’s because they know how to win. Even if you don’t win, and you know how to win, then you are a winner. I can’t believe someone hasn’t figured out in the Braves organization that we need some guys on this team that know what it takes to win, because to be a winner, you have to know how to win, and those Phillies, those guys know how to win.
sddbaker - August 31, 2009
Oh, and I forgot...
it’s the beginning of the end for Chipper, because obviously he’s never going to catch up to a fastball again. What a non-winner, aka loser.
sddbaker - August 31, 2009
Joe Morgan
is a winner. He’ll be the first to tell you.
adc62 - August 31, 2009
boom. nice.
justincredubil02 - August 31, 2009
Fucking Garret Anderson
About ten minutes before the game I was telling my friend all about GA. I mentioned that he’s an all right player, and used to be impactful with his arm and his bat, but nowadays seems to be lazy, unmotivated, and just generally happy he scammed the Braves into a decent contract.
My friend is a big GA fan and gave me grief about it, and although I was crying b/c he straight dropped a ball, I was gloating that it was a perfect example of his lackadaisical approach to the game.
I would do anything possible to have that scoring changed back to an error. GA is a doucebag piece of shit who’s tanked several plays that have cost us several games. This is the fucking stretch, and we’re close to beating the phils and you tank a play like that. DOUCHEBAG.
traphicg - August 31, 2009
That was when they went up two runs, and you know we can come back from a deficit of that magnitude.
TradeAndruw - August 31, 2009
so tell me, how do you REALLY feel?
justincredubil02 - August 31, 2009
well i'm glad you asked....
traphicg - August 31, 2009
lol
justincredubil02 - August 31, 2009
GORECKI
Please let Gorecki go down & help Gwinnett, he damn sure ain’t helping the Braves.
chicken little - August 31, 2009
"Here with Hall of Famer Joe Morgan..."
ronjba - August 31, 2009
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