Jared Wickerham - Getty Images
Steve Pearce and the Pirates gave it their all in this series, but it wasn't pretty.
Despite the fact that the Braves could not quite close out the sweep, this series can only be considered a success. Any time you win a series on the road, that is a good thing, even if the opponent is the Pirates. The Braves are now sitting all alone in 2nd place in the rugged NL East (though just 1.5 games ahead of the last-place Mets) and only 3.5 games behind the Phillies.
Game 1: Braves win 7-0 (TC Recap / FanGraphs Page)
Tim Hudson pitches 8 shutout innings and Jason Heyward goes 3/4 with a homer to lead the Bravos to the easy victory.
Game 2: Braves win 4-2 (TC Recap / FanGraphs Page)
Derek Lowe doesn't pitch great, but he limits the damage. He and the bullpen strand 14 Pirates and are supported by home runs from Melky Cabrera (really!) and Eric Hinske.
Game 3: Pirates win 3-2 in 10 innings (TC Recap / FanGraphs Page)
Kris Medlen and the Braves bullpen pitch well but the offense only musters 1 run off of Zach Duke. Eric Hinske ties it a 2 with a pinch-hit homer, but Takashi Saito gives up a walkoff homer to Ryan Doumit in the 10th.
Series Awards after the jump.
Braves' Pitching MVP:
Tim Hudson-- 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 4 BB (1 intentional), 3 K, 74% ground balls, 0.212 WPA
Braves' Hitting MVP:
Jason Heyward-- 4/8, 2B, HR, 3 BB, 1 K, 1 R, 3 RBI, 0.349 WPA
Other Braves Top Performers:
Eric Hinske-- 3/6, 2B, 2 HR, 2 BB, 1 K, 3 R, 2 RBI, 0.313 WPA
Chipper Jones-- 3/8, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 1 K, 0.120 WPA
Melky Cabrera (believe it or not!)-- 3/7, HR, SB, BB, 2 K, OF Assist, 0.166 WPA
Peter Moylan-- 2.1 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 0.242 WPA
Pirates' Pitching MVP:
Zach Duke-- 7 IP, 7 H, 1 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 5 K, 0.286 WPA
Pirates' Hitting MVP:
Ryan Doumit-- 3/9, 2B, walkoff HR, BB, K, R, 2 RBI, 0.606 WPA
Other Pirates Top Performers:
Ryan Church-- 3/9, 2B, R, BB, K, 0.046 WPA
Brendan Donnelly-- 2 IP, H, BB, K, 0.136 WPA
Braves' Pitching LVP:
Nobody really. Saito gave up the HR on Sunday but also put up 1.1 huge innings on Saturday; also, it wasn't really his fault that he was pitching for the 5th time in a week.
Braves' Hitting LVPs:
Troy Glaus-- 0/10, 3 K, -0.268 WPA
Yunel Escobar-- 0/11, 2 R, BB, K, -0.203 WPA
Nate McLouth-- 1/11, R, BB, 3 K, -0.186 WPA
Pirates' Pitching LVP:
Ross Ohlendorf-- 3.2 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 1 HR, 3 BB, 3 K, -0.299 WPA
Pirates' Hitting LVPs:
Garrett Jones-- 2/12, BB, HBP, 2 K, SB, GIDP, lined into DP, R, -0.378 WPA
Ronny Cedeno-- 1/11, IBB, 3 K, RBI, -0.265 WPA
Bobby Crosby-- 3/12, 2 BB, 3 K, -0.243 WPA
0 recs | 84 comments
I understand resting players…
But I still think Bobby should have kept at least 2 of Chipper, McCann, Heyward, or Hinske in the starting lineup. That lineup was a joke yesterday, and to more or less concede the winning streak is pretty frustrating. Why not go into play vs. a division opponent riding high? Just doesn’t make sense.
ATLandUNC - May 24, 2010
Even with the backup lineup yesterday, the Braves still had a shot to win that game.
UMDBHIK - May 24, 2010
Two runs in 10 innings against the Pirates is ugly, no matter how you slice it.
ATLandUNC - May 24, 2010
The backup guys played well, though
except for Clevlen. So your criticism doesn’t make much sense. The reason we didn’t score more runs yesterday is that the regulars sucked. Read the game recap.
Jacob Peterson - May 24, 2010
To further this comment
These 3 all played Sunday, so you can imagine that they didn’t do anything to help the cause on Sunday. The “regular” starters playing in this game were 1-18, while the “JV” squad, as I called them, were 5/13 including Clevlen’s 0/3…
Since May 10th, we are 10-3 with 4 series wins and a series split (Two 2-game series). Things are going well right now. I would have liked to see the streak continue, but in the greater scheme of things, maybe resting Chip, B-Mac and J-Hey means they will be going into a divisional series against the Fish and 20 games in 20 days…
Vance in Sacramento - May 24, 2010
And F-you SBN formating
Vance in Sacramento - May 24, 2010
Fixed
means they will be healthy and strong going into a divisional series against the Fish and 20 games in 20 days…
Vance in Sacramento - May 24, 2010
Hinske is showing time and time again that he should be in this lineup.
EyePod - May 24, 2010
Yes, against RHP
Hinske’s 2010 Splits
Really, this means nothing due to SSS of this years AB against lefties… So let’s look at 2008…
Hinske’s 2008 Splits
.262 is serviceable; .143 is NOT. A SLG of LESS THAN the OBP against LHP? Seriously? OUCH! A .356 drop in OPS?
Vance in Sacramento - May 24, 2010
Just a perfect storm of adjustments for the day
Day game after a night against a left-handed starter. In that situation, Ross was definitely going to get the start regardless. Likewise, we take any chance we can get to rest Chipper Jones.
Hinske was sitting because of the left-handed starter also, and he’s got some pretty drastic career splits. Heyward was hurt. It’s a shame that Matty is on the DL, yesterday would have been a great game for him to start and hopefully break out of his struggles.
It doesn’t help that Yunel has just been awful this season. Last year, we could rest the usual suspects and Yunel was hitting well enough that we could slide him up to the 5th spot in the order and it made absolute sense. We could even slot him at third. It didn’t help that we had Prado hitting into double plays yesterday which hurt some of our best scoring chances. We need to be able to rely on our middle infielders to be offensive threats, and yesterday, we simply didn’t have them.
At least Nate managed to get a hit off the lefty.
Bronn - May 24, 2010
Esco
I can’t really understand WTF is going on with him this season. Even before he was hurt, he was hitting like crap. He started coming out of it just before he went on the DL, comes back, and he’s right back in the doldrums like he was at the start of the year.
Is it just me, or does the kid strike anyone else as a bit of a headcase?
DolphinNation - May 24, 2010
I have to agree with you…and a lot of the times in many of his at bats it looks to me like he’s just sort of going through the motions. I mean, when I see Chipper or McCann take a bad swing or hit a ground ball right to someone, they seem visibly upset at themselves, especially if they had a good pitch to hit. However, to me it seems that Escobar is content with hitting ground balls to the left side of the infield and I hardly ever see him show any type of emotion on the field. I like Escobar, and I think his defense is stellar and I think he could be a great hitter if he changed his approach a little bit, but I think his time is nearing an end in Atlanta.
If only we had a hot hitting SS somewhere in the minors to push him to be better, but the face of the matter is we don’t!
Dave_D - May 24, 2010
Oh, and Escobar is still young, he should still be playing the game with the fire and passion we see Heyward and McCann playing with…I never see that with Escobar unfortunately.
Dave_D - May 24, 2010
Escobar has had a problem letting his emotions get the best of him. I read several articles about him trying to change that about his game. I don’t think Escobar showing more self control this season has anything to do with his performance so far.
stryder1o4 - May 24, 2010
Agreed
DolphinNation - May 24, 2010
Oh my goodness...
First everyone is on the guy’s case for showing too much emotion. Now he’s not showing enough? Cut the guy some slack. He’s in a slump. He’ll come out of the slump, and everyone will love him again.
Golly Gee Willikins.
sddbaker - May 24, 2010
A slump is going 1 for your last 30...
Not batting just over the Mendoza line, almost 2 months into the season. I hope you’re right, sdd. Don’t get me wrong…I love his defense, but the bat has regressed since last season IMHO.
DolphinNation - May 24, 2010
Just not his frosted tips…
Vance in Sacramento - May 24, 2010
I personally liked his emotion before…I think that these guys should be passionate about the game that they play.
Dave_D - May 24, 2010
This.
Smoltz's Beard - May 24, 2010
No not this
blind irrational hate
bpk228480 - May 24, 2010
SEETHING RAGE.
Smoltz's Beard - May 24, 2010
Emotional arguments aside...
especially considering the frequency he misses games, we need to ask if Yunel is truly our long term answer at SS, or if he might be a trade piece? Like Jurrjens, he’s no longer a minimum salary after this year.
Mr. Sanchez - May 24, 2010
I’m in the “trade piece” camp. His mental breakdowns have been driving me nuts since he first came up to the big club, but his injury history is a factor too. We also have to consider that he has horrible representation.
I don’t have the answer to what we do if we trade him away though.
Rhyno18 - May 24, 2010
I will say....
if we’re getting Fredi next year, I’d love to see how they work together.
Mr. Sanchez - May 24, 2010
oh wow, I hadn’t even thought about that. Interesting, indeed.
Rhyno18 - May 24, 2010
Exactly.
They’ve been screaming at him to tone it down for two years and now that he does, people think he’s jaking it.
He’s going to wind up getting run out of here, get with an organization that isn’t all over his case 24/7 and thrive. I hope I’m wrong but that seems the most likely outcome.
Sam Jethroe - May 24, 2010
The difference between Yunel this year
and Kelly Johnson last year is that we had a great replacement for KJ and we don’t have even a half-decent replacement for Escobar. If we did, I might agree that he’s going to get run out of town. But given the lack of replacements, I think Wren will be much more patient with him.
I think that even if he struggles all year (which I doubt he will), he still gets another shot in 2011.
Jacob Peterson - May 24, 2010
i think you're right
it seems like the front office likes yunel too much to get rid of him unless we could get a huge return, but even then, we’d have to find a worthy replacement first.
Bravely going forward - May 24, 2010
I sincerely hope
That you’re right.
Sam Jethroe - May 25, 2010
He is going to get it going and once be again playing at an All Star level.
fandave - May 24, 2010
Luck is playing a big part in it
Since he’s hitting .202 on balls in play, and is walking at a higher rate and striking out less often than last year. But there’s something a bit symptomatic about his BABIP, too, because he’s pulling a lot of things on the ground to the left side.
His LD% has dropped a full ten points, which have gone directly into his GB%, and you’re much less likely to get hits on ground balls. Everything he’s swinging at is driving directly into the ground softly. As a right handed batter with average speed, that’s going to result in making a ton of outs, which he has.
Don’t panic, but it’s a little bit reminiscent of Andruw Jones, even though their swings look nothing alike.
Bronn - May 24, 2010
I thought of Andruw too...
DolphinNation - May 24, 2010
He’s never going to have a high BABIP, but it will certainly shoot up from .202, and he is still walking a lot so that’s good. Also, he is hitting almost 18% IFFB, which is insane and will certainly drop. And he is playing unbelievable defense so far, ranked 4th among all MLB shortstops. He’ll come around
eaheckman10 - May 24, 2010
His xbabip is .314
And that’s with an extremely low LD%.
However, I am not sure the fangraph stats I plugged into the formula were correct. fangraphs has his infield fly percentage as 17%, but only 5 infield flies. It says his line drive rate is 9% or so with 9 line drives. That can’t be right. If his pop up rate is really 17%+, he’d have 19 pop-ups, not 5. Has he really popped out 19 times? If that number is correct, his xbabip would be .266. Normalize his line-drive rate to career norms and his xbabip would be .273 (if the pop out rate is really 17%). If he does indeed have only 5 IFFB, and you use his career LD rate, he’d be at .321 xbabip.
Regardless, he has clearly hit into some bad luck, but also the low line drive % and high IFFB % suggest he also just hasn’t hit well.
wobatus - May 25, 2010
BTW, Chippers xBABIP
is .331. At least it is if you plug the fangraph numbers into the hardball times calculator.
wobatus - May 25, 2010
whoops
it’s .313. I mistakenly put his walk total in for his SBs.
wobatus - May 25, 2010
put Infante over Esco!!
/sarcasm, but seriously he needs to find out what’s wrong with him fast
Kobe:The Legend - May 24, 2010
Yuni
watching Escobar the last couple seasons it seems right when you’ve had enough of his poor/bonehead play & you’ll ready to trade him for a case of sunflower seeds he snaps out of it & you fall in love w/the guy again. He can be a rollercoaster.
adc62 - May 24, 2010
Cox on the last game of the Series “…We did everything right, but win”.
Joseph_C - May 24, 2010
really?
Oh, Bobby.
Scott Coleman - May 24, 2010
And that’s why he’s sooo great!
fandave - May 24, 2010
"also, it wasn't really his fault that he was pitching for the 5th time in a week."
I am pretty sure that these bullpen guys let the coaches know before the game starts whether or not they can go out there today or not. Obviously, Saito said he could go so Bobby used him. I have no problem with that decision.
homerlanding - May 24, 2010
Oops
sorry about the double negative.
homerlanding - May 24, 2010
Yes, but these guys are professional athletes and the desire to compete can overshadow how they actually feel. That’s why Bobby is supposed to be there to make the choice, and unfortunately he chose wrong this time.
Smoltz's Beard - May 24, 2010
Bobby has for years over-used relievers. We have enough depth in the pen now that there is no even marginally decent justification for it.
fandave - May 24, 2010
You must not love Baseball.
Or puppies.
Sam Jethroe - May 24, 2010
So
he’s got 50/50 shot at guessing correctly whether or not a player is lying to him.
homerlanding - May 24, 2010
Or he could realize that maybe it’s not in the team’s best interest to throw a 40 year old coming off arm surgery out for the fifth day in a week.
Not unless you expect to be out of contention by July 1.
UMDBHIK - May 24, 2010
Saito is actually now in his second full season after his surgery, he was coming off of arm surgery last year. I would say his arm is OK.
homerlanding - May 24, 2010
true
that doesnt change the fact that he’s 40
drumzalicious - May 24, 2010
Saito
Yes Saito had pitched too many innings but who else could he go to?
Wags and the new guy w/ a 5.00 era were the only 2 left. Wags would had come in if we had the lead.
Tough loss but getting the big guns some rest before the 20 game run will be worth it.
Chesterhighwater - May 24, 2010 via mobile
This
Seriously, if he’d gone to Christhian Martinez in a tie game in the tenth, and hehad lost the game, you guys would still crucify him. If he’d used Billy Wagner without the lead, someone else would crucify him. He’d tried to avoid using Saito again, even though he’s one of the best relievers we have, in a game that was close or tied all day.
You could get on Bobby’s case for using Venters to get one batter, but Chavez was in a bit of trouble and nobody wanted to pitch to McCutchen with a runner on second. Venters came in, and quickly got ahead 2-0 to the man he was supposed to retire, then plunked him. It should have worked perfectly but for that. Despite that, Venters retired the next man and the inning ended with the pitcher’s spot due up. Rather than have Venters bat for himself, Bobby had Hinske pinch-hit, and he promptly homered.
Should we have had O’Flaherty pitch multiple innings, while he was going for the 4th time in 5 days? Or should we have had Moylan go multiple innings? Overuse overuse overuse.
Keep in mind how many people were in the game thread saying that Bobby left Medlen in for one batter too long. The same people crucified him for using Saito later in the game. You can’t have it both ways-either you want to ride the starters harder, or you’re ready to use the bullpen when it’s appropriate. Arm-chair managers get on my nerves like no-one else.
Bronn - May 24, 2010
Well said my friend
eaheckman10 - May 24, 2010
I would have used Wagner in the 10th
and probably the 11th, too. I would have only used Saito as a last resort. Admittedly, Bobby was close to “last resort” territory there, but I think Wagner was a better choice. It’s just stupid that so many managers refuse to use their best relievers in extra-inning games on the road. Wagner never got into the game and we may have lost because of it.
You bring up Christhian Martinez. I can’t blame Bobby for not using him. I can, however, blame the Braves’ braintrust for calling him up instead of a reliever that Bobby felt he could trust in a close game. Maybe that’s not Kimbrel; but what about Mike Dunn? I think it’s pretty clear Martinez will not be used except in a blowout or emergency. Why even have a guy on the roster if you’re not going to use him? Bobby was handcuffed by that strange waste of roster space.
Jacob Peterson - May 24, 2010
Watch the Interview
Saito was great his last time up, I don’t think Bobby had a reason not to choose him. Watch the rest of the interview I got my quote from, here: http://www.foxsportssouth.com/pages/braves
Perhaps it was a bit deceptive to quote only part of the interview. Bobby was undoubtedly right. He admits that our offense (not pitching) was the problem. The offense had way to many blown chances to score, and should’ve done better. But, as he says, 2/3 should be a good thing, although 3/3 is ideal in this situation.
Joseph_C - May 24, 2010
That’s a much more reasonable complaint, but at least you acknowledge the limited options available to him. He’d tried really hard this game to avoid taxing the usual suspects-Moylan had even gotten a couple of days off recently, though he was working his second straight game. Wager isn’t a young man either, though, and he had also pitched the night before. The problem with not scoring in the top half is that you have think either you’re losing the game in the bottom half, or you think that you’re having someone pitch the 11th inning as well.
The truth is that Bobby was trying to win the game, regardless of the line-up he’d started with, and he made almost all of the right calls in this one. Hinske was definitely meant to be the first bat off the bench, if we could get past the starter, and it worked marvelously. McCann got an extra day off and it’s important not to overtax your catchers. And all of the reserves except for Clevelen had solid games.
Bronn - May 24, 2010
Actually, the move we really should fault
Is that he brought in Brooks Conrad to lay down a bunt. The man had a one in three chance of reaching base safely, which would have advanced the runner to at least second base anyway. And he’s got some serious pop in his bat-he should have been allowed the chance to swing, if only because of his heroics during the Reds’ series. No telling what might have happened if Conrad had been swinging away.
Bronn - May 24, 2010
yes.
That was a very stupid waste of a pinch-hitter.
Jacob Peterson - May 24, 2010
Yup, that was stupid indeed.
Smoltz's Beard - May 25, 2010
I do agree
that most of Bobby’s moves were good ones in this game. I defended the lineup, for instance. I just would’ve used Wags before Saito.
In general, I think that Bobby does not get enough credit for making good moves. We tend to only focus on the moves that backfire or that irritate us because they are so “by the book.” He makes some mistakes—sometimes even mistakes that cost us games—but he’s not a bad strategic manager on the whole. His bullpen management, though, is very suspect. Of course, you could say that of most managers.
Jacob Peterson - May 24, 2010
He's No...
DUSTY BAKER. Haha. Poor Reds pitchers.
XBEARDX - May 25, 2010
LOL at the idea that Bobby would trust any rookie reliever in a close game. Dunn wouldn’t have been in there, nor would Kimbrel. Bobby wouldn’t have used anyone who got called up unless it had been a blowout or emergency.
Lennox - May 24, 2010
You may be right in this case
that Bobby would not have used Dunn or Kimbrel, but I don’t think the evidence supports your overall point. Bobby has quickly come to trust Jonny Venters, who is a rookie. And Bobby has used rookie closers before. Or have you already forgotten Kerry Ligtenberg? Also, Kris Medlen was used in key spots last year.
History shows that Bobby can learn to trust at least some of his rookie relievers. Whether Dunn or Kimbrel could be one of those, I don’t know. But I do know that Christhian Martinez is not trustworthy (from Bobby’s perspective).
Jacob Peterson - May 24, 2010
Venters has been used primarily non pressure situations and Bobby has just now started to develop some confidence in him to use him more.
Ligtenberg? He was used in 15 games the year before, again, usually in non-pressure stations where Bobby built up confidence in him.
Medlen was used as a matter of necessity last season, and, again, early on was only primarily in non-pressure situations out of the ’pen.
Lennox - May 24, 2010
Your best reliever (Wagner in this case) should be pitching in a crucial situation. A tie game in extra innings qualifies.
Unfortunately, virtually every manager alive waits until there’s a save opportunity to put their best reliever in the game. It’s foolish and invariably leads to losses.
The decision to call up Martinez is a head-scratcher indeed, and it’s not because of dandruff.
UMDBHIK - May 24, 2010
How many games would they picth
if they pitched in every high-leverage situation? Save situations usually are fairly high leverage. I suppose you could excuse the 3 run lead save. I agree it is silly to always save them for the save situation. Especially when you sometimes see a guy go a week without a save opportunity and then the manager has to toss them out in garbage time to get work in (and then a few save situations come up in a row and the guy is burnt).
wobatus - May 25, 2010
"Arm-chair managers"
Very true….although I tend to annoy people with my “professional” opinion. Sometimes the best of fans can be the worst of enemies…..
Joseph_C - May 24, 2010
Nope.
Smoltz's Beard - May 25, 2010
You throw in the new guy. It couldn’t have ended any worse than it did.
Smoltz's Beard - May 25, 2010
Hindsight is 20/20.
Skyagusta - May 25, 2010
Even if Saito felt ready to go tonight
and even if Bobby had no better options (which I disagree with—Wagner was a better choice), that doesn’t excuse Bobby for tiring Saito out in the first place. Takashi never should have been put in that Reds game in which he almost blew the lead; that was his 3rd straight game and we all know he’s not built for that kind of workload any more. That decision not only nearly cost us the Reds game, it very possibly cost us this game as well.
Not that this is earth-shattering news. We all know Bobby uses certain guys too much. But that’s the real issue here, to me. Not whether Bobby should have used Saito today in particular, but whether he uses Saito too much over a longer period of time.
Jacob Peterson - May 24, 2010
to the tune of "Theme from Greatest American Hero"
Believe it or not
Melky didn’t really suck
we never though he could be
so a-ver-age!
made contact 5 times
one even went in the air
never thought it could be
believe it or not, it’s Melky
AU_Jonesy - May 24, 2010
lol
Nice.
Jacob Peterson - May 24, 2010
Awesome
That was a fun, irreverent show. Especially for early ’80’s commercial TV.
Sam Jethroe - May 24, 2010
Good job outta you.
UMDBHIK - May 24, 2010
Cox has managed the bullpen beautifully this season.
Braves Biceps - May 24, 2010
Help coming...
Ok so whether it was Saito or Wags I think its safe to say either would have been tired from previous innings pitched. I know the Bravos signed a veteran is still either recovering from injury or going through a version of extended spring training. What is this guys name and how far along is he?
Chesterhighwater - May 24, 2010 via mobile
I think you mean Scott Proctor. He started the season in Gwinnett, but wasn’t effective and went back to extended spring training to start from scratch. That was at the end of April, so I would expect him back to Gwinnett maybe sometime in early July. I think middle to late July would be the absolute earliest he is going to able help Atlanta, and August is probably more realistic.
Don’t worry, I think Resop is coming soon. He’ll single-handedly fix all our bullpen and left field worries.
Rhyno18 - May 24, 2010
Yeeees Proctor. He was/is a long shot it would appear.
Resop spelled backwards is Poser. Ok I’m a ’tard.
Chesterhighwater - May 24, 2010 via mobile
And S. Proctor spelled backwards is Rotcorps.
Bronn - May 24, 2010
Awesome.
I will admit that I have been prejudiced against Resop as soon as I realized that his name backwards was “Poser.” Somehow, “Rotcorps” doesn’t inspire the same terror.
Jacob Peterson - May 24, 2010
Stressed....
spelled backwards is Desserts.
sddbaker - May 25, 2010
GAH
Anyone’s else’s “dislike” for the Marlins kick in yet???
Nova Scotia Steve - May 25, 2010
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