Braves 11, Nationals 5

Hanson's only mistake was the three-run home run in the fifth by Mike Morse. He allowed four runs on four hits in seven innings, walking one and striking out seven for his 11th win. Yunel Escobar had three RBIs, Brian McCann hit a homer and drove in two, and several others contributed an RBI. The Braves have now won five straight.

The Cardinals beat the Rockies, 6-3, inching the Braves to within 2.5 in the wild card. Eight games left.

It's Not Gonna Happen, But Still

Can they do it? Can the Braves make an improbable run at the Wild Card with only one full week left?? Well????

The only things you need to take from the game tonight are Javier Vazquez just pitched another ho-hum complete game, Martin Prado hit a home run, and apparently some guy named Desmond is the starting shortstop for the Nationals now.

I'll go ahead and put it out there that I have already called this season a lost cause, so in no way is this me getting my hopes up. But the Braves and Rockies both won tonight, meaning the Braves remain 3.5 games back. After the weekend series with the Nationals, the Braves play nothing but the Marlins and Nationals from here on. The Rockies haven't been lights out lately. After a weekend series with the Cardinals, they play the Brewers and Dodgers to finish, with the final three coming in Los Angeles.

The schedule favors the Braves and the Braves are the hotter team. But I'm still waving them off just because I've been watching this team all season.

Bobby Cox to Retire After 2010

With all of the major moves over the past few years, such as the departures of Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, and Greg Maddux, and the changing of the guard in the front office, things in the Braves community are looking different every year. Faces come and go in the sport, names change every year and in some cases every month. However, if there was one change for the Braves that would be incredibly tough to get used to, it would be the stepping down of Bobby Cox as manager. And now that time has come. The Braves have announced that Bobby will retire as manager after the 2010 season.

While most fans have ragged on Bobby for many years, me included, all fans know that Bobby Cox is the Braves. You can point out the missed playoff chances and the questionable moves over the past couple years all you want, but the Braves wouldn't be considered one of the most respected and revered franchises in all of sports without him, and I would consider that just as important as a championship.

The Braves handled this situation perfectly. Bobby is leaving on his own terms, the announcement shot down any rumors of front office problems, and he gets one final year for the fans to say goodbye. There is no doubt I'll make it to a game or two to say it myself. I'll miss the barking of nicknames from the dugout, the awesome ejections, and the snippy little looks he gives reporters in postgame interviews. It doesn't matter who takes over, it won't be the same without #6 in the dugout.

Braves 3, Mets 1

Jair Jurrjens owned the Mets again, pitching another seven innings of one-run ball for a 3-1 Braves win.

Luis Castillo singled in a run in the third for the only Mets run. Jurrjens induced double plays in the first, fourth, and seventh to prevent any potential trouble. Jeff Francoeur grounded into two of them, showing what he's truly made of. Jurrjens did walk three but that's what the double plays were for. He threw just 94 pitches.

Yunel Escobar had two hits and the two big RBIs that came on a single in the fourth, plating the Braves' first two runs and taking the lead. Adam LaRoche added an insurance run in the ninth on an RBI single, his only hit of the game. Martin Prado went 2-4. The Braves and Mets each had five hits.

The win is Jurrjens' 13th, tying his career-high from last year. I have a feeling that number will continue to go up year by year.

Next Game:
9/23: @ Mets, 7:10 (Tim Hudson vs. Mike Pelfrey)

9/22: Braves @ Mets Game Preview

September 22, 2009 - 7:10 (SportSouth)
Braves (80-70) vs. Mets (65-86)
@


Jair Jurrjens
(12-10, 2.75 ERA, 68 BB, 138 K, 1.24 WHIP)
Career vs. Mets: 5-1, 2.62 ERA in 7 starts
vs.

Nelson Figueroa
(2-6, 5.21 ERA, 18 BB, 42 K, 1.78 WHIP)
Career vs. Braves: 2-1, 5.11 ERA in 4 starts, 11 total games

Braves vs. Figueroa:
Chipper Jones: 2-12
Brian McCann: 2-5, HR, 4 RBI
Martin Prado: 4-7, RBI
Adam LaRoche: 2-5
Matt Diaz: 1-3, RBI
Nate McLouth: 4-5

Mets vs. Jurrjens:
David Wright: 6-17, HR, 3 RBI
Luis Castillo: 3-13, RBI
Daniel Murphy: 4-13, 2 RBI
Angel Pagan: 1-12, RBI
Carlos Beltran: 2-10, RBI
Fernando Tatis: 4-12, 3 RBI

Season Series:
11-5 (Last Game: 9/21, W 11-3)

What to Look For:
The Braves have won six straight over the Mets, who have completely lost all hope of saving their dignity this season. Jair Jurrjens' last start was seven innings of one-run ball against the Mets, and he has just one loss in seven career starts against them. Nelson Figueroa's last start was also against Jurrjens and the Braves, giving up six runs in five innings. The only Met to have success against Jurrjens is David Wright, though the one to watch should be Daniel Murphy. He is hitting .358 with three homers and 12 RBIs in his last 14 games, and is 4-13 with two RBIs against Jurrjens. Murphy also went 2-4 with a homer last night.

Matchup to Watch:
Jair Jurrjens vs. Daniel Murphy

Braves 11, Mets 3

The Braves scored 11 runs in the first three innings and Derek Lowe managed to hold the lead, winning 11-3.

Garret Anderson, Matt Diaz, and Chipper Jones all hit home runs. Chipper had four RBI. Martin Prado went 3-4 with two RBI. He was 3-3 after three innings. Nate McLouth had two hits and an RBI. Even Derek Lowe managed two hits. Brian McCann and Adam LaRoche were the only two not to receive a hit.

Prado's two doubles gave him 32 on the season, second behind Mac's 35. Mac's nine-game hitting streak was snapped. Matt's was extended to eight games.

The Braves got to Patrick Misch for eight of the 11 runs in only 1.1 innings pitched. Lance Broadway gave up the other three.

Derek Lowe "earned" his 15th win by going five innings, allowing three runs on six hits. He didn't walk any and struck out five. Lowe gave up a homer to Daniel Murphy in the fourth, which seems to be happening a lot for Murphy lately. Kenshin Kawakami pitched the last four innings very well, only giving up one hit, not walking any, and striking out three. Apparently that earns you a save. I had no idea.

Next Game: @ Mets, 7:10 (Jair Jurrjens vs. Nelson Figueroa)

It's Monday!

At the Fantasy Spin Cycle for Athlon Sports, they headline Brian McCann for his great week last week. Mac went 8-18 with two homers and nine RBI, including a four RBI day against the Mets.

Athlon lists Omar Infante as a player to pick up. Infante has been playing everyday due to random injuries around the field, especially Chipper's hamstring, and now LaRoche's back. He is hitless in his last seven at bats but has hovered around .300 all season and is always capable of having back-to-back multi-hit games like he did this past week. Last Tuesday and Wednesday against the Mets, Infante went a combined 5-8 with two RBI. He'll likely see some time this week due to Esco and LaRoche being hurt.

Apparently everybody is voicing in on LaRoche's contract situation. After my post last night that was based on MLBTR's post, I happened to notice today that Carroll Rogers posted on the AJC blog yesterday regarding it as well. It was based on Chipper's comments, and of course he wants his friend back. But he also knows the Braves need LaRoche's power in the lineup. Rogers thinks three years is too much with Freddie Freeman behind him, but as Chipper points out, you never know what might happen there. I think three years would be a solid number for Adam.

Also regarding Adam, his back kept him out last night (and laziness kept me out) and he continues to be DTD. I would guess that we will see a lineup tonight that is similar to last night's: Prado at first, Infante at short, and Conrad/Kelly at second.

What to Do With Adam LaRoche

Over at MLBTR, they posted a discussion on what the Braves should do about Adam LaRoche. With his contract up at season's end, they have the situation of whether to try to re-sign him or let him walk.

MLBTR names Nick Johnson, Aubrey Huff, and Russell Branyan as the leaders of the upcoming free agent class at first base. While Johnson is the best hitter, he doesn't produce and isn't reliable healthwise. Huff produces similarly to LaRoche but is older and probably commands more money. Branyan can't be trusted to repeat his numbers of this year and whoever signs him will overpay.

So while LaRoche is probably the most attractive of the group and won't demand an outrageous amount from the Braves, there is still the situation of Freddie Freeman. He moved up to AA with Jason Heyward and was on schedule to make a run at the starting job in 2010, but Freeman has struggled in AA and will more than likely return there next season. He's only 20 years old and will probably take another year or so, so signing LaRoche to a two or three year deal shouldn't be out of the question.

It's important to remember that while Freeman has been side by side with Heyward and is often mentioned with him, that doesn't mean Freeman is a freak like Heyward. He may need a couple years at AA or AAA. I think signing LaRoche to a three year deal won't hinder Freeman's progress at all.

Random Thoughts From Saturday Night

1. The rain held off perfectly for the game. A good omen.

2. The Braves won a game I went to. That makes about five out of 30 in my life.

3. Hot dogs and peanuts seem to taste better at a baseball game.

4. My results at the radar gun were embarrasing.

5. Javier Vazquez is a beastly beast. He didn't seem to throw many straight fastballs and he worked with so many different pitches I couldn't keep track.

6. Valet parking at a baseball game is just wrong.

7. Wearing a Chase Utley jersey is always wrong.

8. Mustard on my leg isn't fun.

9. The Braves have some solid intro songs. I'm proud.

10. Turner Field has a ton of unnecessary noises, especially for a foul ball.

11. The organist is awesome. Andy Griffith Show=Ryan Howard. National Lampoon's Vacation=Chase Utley. I was guessing at them all night.

12. It was a good crowd. Good to see this late in the year.

13. It doesn't matter where the Braves are in the standings. Turner Field is always the best place to be.