Brave New World...Is a Brave New ...Mess!

Your Atlanta Braves....our Atlanta Braves...are in a free fall.  A fall that has even the most avid Braves fans at a loss for words.

Consider this:  On July 7th...the Braves record was 42 wins--42 losses... still a contender.  Only 4 games out of 1st place.   A look at the standings then:

NL East Division

Tm	W	L	W-L%	GB	RS	RA	W-L%
WSN	46	38	.548	--	360	327	.544
NYM	43	42	.506	3.5	293	304	.483
ATL	42	42	.500	4.0	331	355	.468
MIA	35	49	.417	11.0	303	343	.444
PHI	29	57	.337	18.0	299	430	.340

  And now?

NL East	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
New York Mets	73	59	0.553	—	44–24	29–35
Washington Nationals	66	65	0.504	6½	37–26	29–39
Miami Marlins	55	79	0.410	19	30–36	25–43
Atlanta Braves	54	79	0.406	19½	33–32	21–47
Philadelphia Phillies	53	80	0.398	20½	30–35	23–45

Since July 7th....These Braves have won 12 games.   And lost 37!   They are 19 games out of 1st.

How...in the name of "Henry (Hank) Aaron does this happen?   Well ....the geniuses that they are...the Braves front office...decided to trade away an entire....yes...an entire team!   For a bunch of no names...to save money.   Why you ask?   Good question.  It seems they want to stockpile young pitchers...beef up the farm system...so when...in 2017...when they move to Cobb County....they will have the resources to acquire the necessary free agents to make the Braves winners again.

But ....and we have to ask....what about now?   What about 2016?   Correct us if we're wrong...but in 2016 ....82 games will be ...again played at Turner Field.   

And you expect us ...the fans ....to come?

A Brave new "Mess"!   Today....the Braves had an afternoon game with another team waiting to go on vacation...the Florida Marlins...At least the Marlins showed up:

 

Game Story

Braves' home skid now 8, worst since '88

The Miami Marlins rarely play well in Atlanta. Against this Braves club, Miami could do no wrong. ''To come in and sweep a team that's always played the Marlins tough and to sweep them here in their ballpark is big,'' manager Dan Jennings said.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Mia	0	2	0	1	3	0	1	0	0	7	14	0
Atl	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	5	1

 

The 4th....30 Years Ago

July 4th....Independence Day.  Hotdogs, Apple Pie...and Baseball?  30 years ago to the day...The Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets engaged in an event that went down in history as one of the longest and weirdest games on record.

The old Atlanta-Fulton County (cookie-cutter) Stadium was home to this game in which the first pitch was innocently thrown at 9:04pm after a 1 hour and 24 minute rain delay.

Then.....after more rain delays....these two teams combined to have 46 hits...22 walks...37 runners left on base....5 errors...2 ejections...and 29 runs.

Did we also tell you the game lasted 19 innings!

The game ended at 3:55am July 5th.   A Fireworks show was scheduled immediately following the game....and even though it was 4:00am in the wee hours of this southern summer town....

The show when on!  Thousands of local residents called the police ...thinking the city was under attack!

There were 44,947 fans that entered the stadium the night before....only a few thousand remained till the end.

But if you ask any Atlantans  about that night...today...Oh yeah...they were there!

Right!

From our friends at FoxSports South.   Reminisce with us:

 

Thirty years ago in Atlanta, a baseball marathon led to fireworks going off at 4 a.m.

JUL 2, 8:00a ET | Sam Gardner

It's Not a Brave New World!

We have seen this before....Our Braves...of the ATL.

Win some lose some.  But really?  These Braves were no-hit Monday...3 hit Tuesday.

They just...can't hit!

Buy today...at least they got a win.

 

Three Cuts: Braves snap offensive slump with win over Phillies

SEP 3, 4:18p ET | Zach Dillard

Andrelton Simmons · Ervin Santana

Don't Look Now...But These Braves are 17-7

17 wins...7 losses.  The 2nd best record in all of baseball.  We had a feeling the Atlanta Braves would be decent this year...but.

Hey...as Bill Parcells would say, "You are what your record says you are"!

single in 10th lifts Braves past Reds

APR 27, 5:45p ET | Cory McCartney

It took 10 innings before anyone's bats could come through. But Freddie Freeman delivered with a walk-off single as the Braves beat the Reds 1-0 in a game dominated by starters Johnny Cueto and Julio Teheran.
VIEW MORE »

Brave New World....Again

Okay...alright...Our beloved Atlanta Braves are leading the NL East by 9 games.  And it's almost August.

Just 56 games left.

But all of us know....what's happened in the past.  Even though Atlanta just swept the best team in all of baseball (St. Louis)...for Braves fans....we have a wait-in-see attitude.

Been here before...See you in October.

From the AJC:

 

Dale Zanine

Braves rally against Rockies

Andrelton Simmons hit a walk-off triple to give the Braves an eventful win against the Rockies. | Photos

Comments  (45)  

 Top need meet, Braves continue to monitor market
 Johnson staking claim in NL batting chase

"Brave" New Line-up

B. J. Upton ....benched....Dan Uggla,  benched.    Jason Heyward,  benched.  All three guys had a batting average well south of .200.

So the Atlanta Braves said, "If you can't hit...you can't play"!  Their replacements erupted for 11 runs in the win last night.

So,  Atlanta....this is not rocket science.  Sit these no hitting, prim a donas ...down.

Great job last night.

From the AJC:

Dave Tulis

Big night for the Braves

Former UGA pitcher Alex Wood made his major league debut as the Braves came back from a shutout last night to defeat the Blue Jays.

 Wood call-up sets off roster changes
 Braves' bullpen woes

Home Sweet...Home!

In what seemed like an eternity....that long road trip...Our beloved Atlanta Braves came home last week.

Aahh....home cooking is kind of a good thing.

Can you say ...6 wins...no loses?

From the AJC:

David Goldman / AP

Braves slam the Twins

Evan Gattis hit a grand slam in the 4th to boost the Braves and complete 6-0 homestand. | Box score | Photos

 Chipper likes seeing Heyward go “oppo”

The Beasts....Of the East

The New York Yankees were supposed to have an off year.   Too old...too many injuries.  Too tough a division.

Well somebody forgot to tell it to  the "pinstripes".   When all is said and done...these are still the Yankees.

That mystique....that history....that pride. 

The team we love to hate...is playing some damn good baseball.

From the New York Daily News:

MLB Power Rankings: Yankees are looking dandy while Braves cool off after hot start

You may only shush us when we're talking about how great the Atlanta Braves are. Turns out, we were as wrong as Joba Chamberlain when we made such a fuss over them earlier this season. Too bad Mariano Rivera wasn't at our MLB Power Rankings home office to say, "Suave."

A Very Tough Loss

It's early in the baseball season...but loses like this really hurt.

 

Braves denied sweep by Colorado, lose 6-5

Even Atlanta closer Craig Kimbrel blows saves from time to time.

Read story

Read more here: http://www.macon.com/braves/#navlink=subnav#storylink=cpy

A Clean Sweep

Yes....we know it's early in the season....but the Atlanta Braves sent a message to MLB and the Washington Nationals.

A three game sweep...in the "Nats" backyard.

While we're giddy and happy...we must pause and remember...there's 150 more games to be played.

From the Washington Post:

Braves wrap up a tidy sweep of Nats

Nats' shortstop Ian Desmond strikes out against the Braves Sunday.

Adam Kilgore APR 14

Gio Gonzalez endures the worst start of his Washington tenure and the Nationals absorb a sweep-sealing demolition.

• Box score: Braves 9, Nationals 0
• Reid: Nats face some heat after sweep
• Discuss the Nats | MLB scoreboard
• Ramos placed on 15-day DL
• Espinosa X-rays come back negative
• Yankees’ Kuroda blanks Orioles, 3-0

A Family Affair

Great game at the "Ted" last night.   The Braves trailed 5-4 going into the bottom of the 9th.

Then it was ..."Upton" time.

From the AJC:

AP

Upton brothers homer in 9th, stun Cubs

The Braves tied the game with B.J. Upton’s lead-off home run in the bottom of the ninth and won 6-5 when brother Justin hit his homer. | Box score

Welcome B J

The Atlanta Braves have themselves and new center fielder.  All  I can say is that for the price of  $75 million and change....you had better be great.   

Being just good...won't cut it in the ATL.  Last year you struck out 169 times in 146 games.

That is not going to get it done here for that kind of money.

But...we will give you the customary honeymoon for your first month or two.

Welcome!

 

Lisa Blumenfeld

Upton officially a Brave

Five-year contract worth $75.25 million completed after outfielder passed a physical exam Thursday. 

 

 

Atlanta Braves – No. 2
Center fielder
Born: August 21, 1984 (age 28) Norfolk, Virginia
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
MLB debut
August 2, 2004 for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Career statistics (through 2012 season)
Batting average	.255
Home runs	118
Runs batted in	447
Stolen bases	232
Teams
Tampa Bay Rays[1] (2004, 2006–2012)

 

In Memory of Pascual "Perimeter" Perez

This is so sad.... If you were an Atlanta Braves fan back in the '80's...You remember Pascual .

He was that pitcher who missed a game because he got lost on I-285....which circles Atlanta.  And he went round and round.

Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.

From TMZ.com:

 

Ex-MLB All-Star
Stabbed to Death
in Home Invasion Robbery

Breaking News

Former Major League Baseball pitcher Pascual Perez was stabbed to death in a home invasion robbery in the Dominican Republic ... this according to multiple local reports.

Perez -- who pitched in the Majors for 11 years -- was reportedly stabbed in the neck during the incident. There is speculation Perez was killed for his MLB pension payment he received before the murder.

Perez played for a slew of MLB teams -- including the Pirates, Braves, Expos and Yankees. He made the All-Star squad back in 1983 -- the same year he had a 3.43 ERA.

Pascual got the nickname "Perimeter Perez" when he got lost on the I-285 while driving himself to a Braves game back in 1982 on a day he was scheduled to start.

So far, it's unclear if anyone has been arrested in connection to the murder.

Perez was 55.

Read more: http://www.tmz.com#ixzz2B0gaVFbc

Things From the Week-end...That Was

An interesting couple of days in this small, southern, college town...to say the least.

We saw the Atlanta Braves make another quick exit from yet another disappointing post season.

The University of Georgia was embarrassed on national television.......(Fire the whole coaching staff on this one.

And then ....when it looked so hopeless for this section of the deep south.....low and behold...The Atlanta Falcons went into Washington D. C.......and won!   The only unbeaten team in the NFC!

Other notables:


Note to UGA.....Grow up...this is "grown man football":
 

Georgia QB's 'Worst 12 Hours Of My Life'

|

 

 

 

 

Get down,  young man!

 

RG3 Injured On Big Hit

One....and Done!

It just doesn't seem fair.   Our beloved Atlanta Braves won 95 games in the regular season this year.  They made fewer errors than any team in baseball.  They sent a pitcher to the mound where the Braves had won their last 25 games he started.

Then....it was done.   6-3 Saint Louis.   In a one game play-off... there is no time...not to pitch, hit and field.

So the Braves make the play-offs...and are eliminated 4 hours later.

Oh well.....Man that hurts!

Braves fans erupt over call

 Playoff collapses with errors
 Photos: Braves vs. Cardinals
 Complete coverage




From St. Louis:

  

"Nats"....Are Very ...Irritating

We all hate gnats.....now we hate "Nats".

"Nats"...short for the baseball Washington Nationals....are a pain in our rear end.

Our beloved Atlanta Braves can't seem to beat these guys.   The Bravos are now 6 games behind them thanks to last nights 13 inning ordeal.

From the Athens Banner-Herald:

Tracy's 13th-inning single lifts Nationals over Braves

WASHINGTON - Chad Tracy singled in the 13th inning to score Danny Espinosa and lift the Washington Nationals to a 5-4 win over the Atlanta Braves on Monday night.

by Associated Press

Finally...A Win on a Monday

Finally.....After going 0 for 12 this season on Mondays .....the Atlanta Braves finally won a game.

On a Monday.

Wow... this just might be the start of something good.

Hyosub Shin, hshin@ajc.com

Braves earn a Monday win

Braves celebrate 6th win in row, end an odd streak that stretched back to Aug. 22.

0 For Monday Night

Mondays are not fun days......for the Atlanta Braves.

For whatever reason....these braves can't seem to win on Mondays.

What the problem is.....guys?

 

Braves fall to Cubs on Samardzija's career night

ATLANTA - Jeff Samardzija had a career-high 11 strikeouts, Luis Valbuena hit a tiebreaking three-run double in the seventh and the Chicago Cubs beat the Atlanta Braves 4-1 on Monday night.

This Shit.......is getting Seriously...Ugly

Okay.....this is some serious....shit.... so you lose a few.....no big deal...it's a long season.....

But now?   8 losses in a row?  What that hell is going on ?

So you have a few injuries.........Who doesn't?

A week ago.....yes....just a week ago......these Braves were in 1st place......

Now?   Last place?

What's up?

David Goldman, AP

Another miserable Monday

Who Are these Reds? And Why are they Beating up My Braves?

For most of this young MLB season....our beloved Atlanta Braves were the surprise team in the National League.   1st place Braves.....Good pitching......good hitting....good defense.

Then they go to Cincinnati......And these "Redlegs"  have beaten them 3 straight times.

Really Atlanta?

Really?

What gives?   Why can't  you beat this team?

Well.....we introduce you to ......the Cincinnati Reds......Courtesy of there online newspaper:

 

Updates: Reds vs. Braves

• 7:01 PM

The Reds, who haven’t swept the Braves in Cincinnati since 1980, go for a four-game sweep at Great American Ball Park. | Tonight's lineups
• Doc: Can Reds stay hot?
• Reds going prime-time
• Masset passes test