Same old story, same old song and dance.
Well the Bravos are 5-4 nine games into the regular season. It all started with a great flourish of pitching and home runs as B-Mac, Frenchy and, my pick for the 2009 Rookie of the Year, Jordan Schafer went deep in the season opener at Philly. That same game, newly acquired Derek Lowe went 8 innings giving up no runs with Mike Gonzalez grabbing the save against the defending World Champs. The same would repeat the next night as this time is was Jair Jurrjens who went 5+ strong, scoreless innings with a lead off bomb from Kelly Johnson and a long fly from Chipper Jones to give them both their first home runs of the year. Once again the bullpen came in and shut down the Phillies for a second straight time.
The Braves would drop the rubber match as the bullpen melted down, walking in runs, the worst sin of all, giving up a 10-3 to lose the game 12-11 as Brad Lidge got the save. Matt Diaz came in and hit a home run against Lidge who was 41 for 41 in save opportunities last year.
Next came the Home Opener as Derek Lowe was slated to start that game as well. He would go three innings as the rain delayed the game and the bullpen came in and got the win against the Washington Nationals. The Braves would also notch wins agianst the Nationals in game two and three. Which would include Jurrjens and, making his Major League Baseball debut, the first Japanese born player in an Atlanta Braves jersey, Kenshin Kawakami who did a pretty good job in his first outing. The sweep of the Nationals was a great was to lead off the season as the Braves went 5-1 in their first six games.
However, as the showdown for the NL East lead came to Turner Field with the Marlins coming in with the same record, Atlanta's pitching chose to revert back to their old ways as the starting pitching proved to be decent enough, but the bats went as cold as the low temps swirling around The Ted. Also causing much damage was the newly signed Garret Anderson who committed two errors in the field which would haunt the Braves as they lost 5-1. The Marlins would take the next two games as starting pitching did its job, giving the team a chance to win, but the bullpen and the bats failed Braves Nation as the Marlins swept the Braves in three games.
As the Braves go on the road again with a record of 5-4, the Pirates of Pittsburgh await. This road trip could do the Braves some good as the next 9 games are against the Pirates, the Nationals and the Reds. Teams who all went sub-.500 last year.
If the Braves can pick their bats back up, and Chipper Jones' left thumb can rebound, then this road trip seems like just what the doctor ordered to get back atop the NL East.
So until next time, dear readers: Pray for pitching, be proud of the Tomohawk Chop, and if you need a smile, just remember when Sid slid.
No comments:
Post a Comment