Braves Regular Season

[Poodletop]

Would have been a shame to waste another great Sale effort.
And Mets and Phillies both lost, although I don’t think it matters much anymore with the Phillies.

 

[stinger78]

Would have been a shame to waste another great Sale effort.
And Mets and Phillies both lost, although I don’t think it matters much anymore with the Phillies.

Division is settled. Second place is not.

 

[stinger78]

Sigh… Morton’s gem goes for naught in a 1-0 loss.

6.2 IP 1 ER 6 H 2 BB 7K

Olson had the Braves’ only two hits.

This team just ain’t got it this season. Best to go home, think about it for the winter, and come back ready to play in 2025.

 

[Techwood Relict]

I'd rather make the playoffs and ruin somebody else's magical season.

 

[awbuzz]

Sigh… Morton’s gem goes for naught in a 1-0 loss.

6.2 IP 1 ER 6 H 2 BB 7K

Olson had the Braves’ only two hits.

This team just ain’t got it this season. Best to go home, think about it for the winter, and come back ready to play in 2025.

And The second hit was literally by hair.

Truly sad that Morton couldn't avoid the loss even if he couldn't pick up the win.

 

[stinger78]

And The second hit was literally by hair.

Truly sad that Morton couldn't avoid the loss even if he couldn't pick up the win.

Morton’s had some head scratcher games this season, but on the whole he’s been a good 4th starter at 40 years old and still right around a 4.00 ERA, which is close to his career number. He has gotten precious little offensive support too often and has had the B team bullpen fellas following him too often.

His W/L doesn’t reflect the value he’s had for the team this season. I suspect he’ll retire unless he wants to go to the bullpen as a middle reliever or the Braves whiff on Fried, in which case we may see him back.

 

[1979jacket]

Morton’s had some head scratcher games this season, but on the whole he’s been a good 4th starter at 40 years old and still right around a 4.00 ERA, which is close to his career number. He has gotten precious little offensive support too often and has had the B team bullpen fellas following him too often.

His W/L doesn’t reflect the value he’s had for the team this season. I suspect he’ll retire unless he wants to go to the bullpen as a middle reliever or the Braves whiff on Fried, in which case we may see him back.

I think given the way he looks right now, he will be in the rotation another year. He is a solid #4 starter. Keep putting him out there.

 

[Golden Tornadoes]

I think given the way he looks right now, he will be in the rotation another year. He is a solid #4 starter. Keep putting him out there.

Can we get him cheaper than $20M though? Too many other holes that will need to be addressed

 

[stinger78]

Can we get him cheaper than $20M though? Too many other holes that will need to be addressed

I think likely so, and we can use some of that $20M to secure Maximus, or maybe extend Sale? It's not often that you go to the bargain bin and find a guy like Sale, who, when you polish him back up, revels a gold bullion under the crust.

 

[stinger78]

Think about next season's rotation potentially: Chris Sale, Spencer Strider, Max Fried, Reynaldo Lopez, Spencer Schwellenbach, and Charlie Morton. My gosh! When's the last time any team had two starters named Spencer!

 

[Golden Tornadoes]

Think about next season's rotation potentially: Chris Sale, Spencer Strider, Max Fried, Reynaldo Lopez, Spencer Schwellenbach, and Charlie Morton. My gosh! When's the last time any team had two starters named Spencer!

I love your optimism sting, but I just don’t see us re-signing Fried. Under AA, extensions get done prior to the final year of the contract. If that doesn’t happen, the player usually walks. If this was an exception to the norm, I’d be over the moon ecstatic. I think that rotation would terrorize lineups night after night.

The other thing to consider is regression to the norm. Our bats will more than likely play back up next year. There’s too much talent for them to be quiet again. However, our starters have pitched unreal this year. Will that regress to averages next year? What a year we could have if we repeat the rotation’s success next year with better bats.

 

[stinger78]

I love your optimism sting, but I just don’t see us re-signing Fried. Under AA, extensions get done prior to the final year of the contract. If that doesn’t happen, the player usually walks. If this was an exception to the norm, I’d be over the moon ecstatic. I think that rotation would terrorize lineups night after night.

The other thing to consider is regression to the norm. Our bats will more than likely play back up next year. There’s too much talent for them to be quiet again. However, our starters have pitched unreal this year. Will that regress to averages next year? What a year we could have if we repeat the rotation’s success next year with better bats.

I have heard that Chipper Jones has panned the Braves approach at the plate this year. If that’s the issue, and it’s not all a random communal slump, that carries on. Chipper’s comment is that the league has changed in how it approaches the Braves but the Braves haven’t adjusted.

 

[kg01]

I have heard that Chipper Jones has panned the Braves approach at the plate this year. If that’s the issue, and it’s not all a random communal slump, that carries on. Chipper’s comment is that the league has changed in how it approaches the Braves but the Braves haven’t adjusted.

I've been saying this all year!!! It's ridiculous that they haven't adjusted. At all.

 

[Golden Tornadoes]

I have heard that Chipper Jones has panned the Braves approach at the plate this year. If that’s the issue, and it’s not all a random communal slump, that carries on. Chipper’s comment is that the league has changed in how it approaches the Braves but the Braves haven’t adjusted.

The fact that hitters have been thrown high fastballs for over a year and haven't adjusted is really worrisome to me. This is your job that you get paid to do day in and day out. It's not a secret what other teams are doing and like you said, the entire league has adopted this approach. Does this fall on the hitting coach? Does it fall on Snit?

As an aside, does Chipper still moonlight for the Braves as a hitting consultant?

 

[stinger78]

The fact that hitters have been thrown high fastballs for over a year and haven't adjusted is really worrisome to me. This is your job that you get paid to do day in and day out. It's not a secret what other teams are doing and like you said, the entire league has adopted this approach. Does this fall on the hitting coach? Does it fall on Snit?

As an aside, does Chipper still moonlight for the Braves as a hitting consultant?

I think he walked away from it. He really indicts the HR mentality that has captured MLB and laments the lack of focus in hitting for average. Folks prefer a HR hitter who hits .240 to a hitter who hits .300 consistently.

He says nobody knows who Luis Arraez is, but he’s putting together a Rod Carew type career averaging hitting .324 from 2019 to today yet he’s already been traded twice.

 

[Golden Tornadoes]

I think he walked away from it. He really indicts the HR mentality that has captured MLB and laments the lack of focus in hitting for average. Folks prefer a HR hitter who hits .240 to a hitter who hits .300 consistently.

He says nobody knows who Luis Arraez is, but he’s putting together a Rod Carew type career averaging hitting .324 from 2019 to today yet he’s already been traded twice.

Oh, believe me, my fantasy teams know exactly who Luis Arraez is and is grateful for his contributions to average, runs, and RBI's. But your greater point is exactly on point. Home runs are nice, but it's almost like how men's softball leagues are played. Solo shots are generally frowned upon. Your damage needs to come from 2 or 3 run bombs. You can't get those without runners on base and you can't get on base unless you walk or get a hit. You can't get a hit unless you put the ball in play. It's really simple, but it's really overlooked.

 

[kg01]

The way that vaunted Braves lineup fizzled TF out last year should've been a wake up call.

They're on the verge of wasting a pretty remarkable year of starting pitching. And I hope, like the bats last year, they don't assume it's just gonna magically happen again next year.

 

[awbuzz]

They are assuming resumption back to the norm of 2023 hitting wise, but last year was above the norm for most of the team.

 

[stinger78]

They are assuming resumption back to the norm of 2023 hitting wise, but last year was above the norm for most of the team.

Yes. Two outliers in a row, one high, one low. What do we make of that?

Braves =

 

[Golden Tornadoes]

Anybody catch the A's-Astros game from Tuesday night? The A's laid down three bunts in a row in the 12th that resulted in two runs and won them the game. They weren't just bunts though, they were GREAT bunts. It was very clear that this is something that the A's work on because they were placed in the perfect location each time. The Astros looked like they had never fielded a bunt before in their life. It might be small ball, but it sure worked out for them. Makes me wonder how many games it could have helped the Braves in.