Gamethread: Braves @ Red Sox, June 20, 2009 (67/162) LOSS

[sdp]

http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/6023/atlatbos.png
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Atlanta Braves (32-34) vs. Boston Red Sox (40-27)
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Series Matchups (Braves lead, 1-0)
> Friday: Braves 8, Red Sox 2 (W: Kawakami; L: Matsuzaka) - Recap (http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=5145533&c_id=atl) | Box Score (http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2009_06_19_atlmlb_bosmlb_1) | Gamethread (http://www.chopnation.com/boards/showthread.php?t=115)
> TONIGHT: Derek Lowe vs. Josh Beckett, 7:15 PM EDT on PTV
> Sunday: Jair Jurrjens vs. Tim Wakefield, 1:40 PM EDT on FSS/TBS

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Projected Lineup
Nate McLouth, CF
Yunel Escobar, SS
Chipper Jones, 3B
Brian McCann, C
Garret Anderson, DH
Matt Diaz, LF
Casey Kotchman, 1B
Jeff Francoeur, RF
Kelly Johnson, 2B

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Link Roundup
Lipka: Braves-Red Sox Preview (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/preview?gid=290620102)
Bowman: Lowe to face Red Sox for first time (http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090619&content_id=5415372&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl)
O'Brien: Smoltz shares laughs with former teammates (http://www.ajc.com/braves/content/sports/braves/stories/2009/06/19/smoltz_braves_visit.html)
Morosi: Braves struggle to get back to good old days (http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/9703468/Braves-struggle-to-get-back-to-good-old-days)

"We went up swinging; we didn't go up taking tonight, and we had a great pitching performance from our guy." - Bobby Cox

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Upcoming vs. New York Yankees
Tuesday, June 22nd: Chein-Ming Wang vs. Tommy Hanson, 7:05 PM EDT on PTV
Wednesday, June 23rd: Andy Pettitte vs. Kenshin Kawakami, 7:05 PM EDT on PTV/ESPN2
Thursday, June 24th: A.J. Burnett vs. Derek Lowe, 7:05 PM EDT on PTV
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June 26th-28th: Red Sox @ Braves; June 30th-July 2nd: Phillies @ Braves
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Go Braves!

[Middle Man]

"We went up swinging; we didn't go up taking tonight, and we had a great pitching performance from our guy." - Bobby Cox

We had more walks than any game since the 6/8 game against Pittsburgh, where we also had 7 walks. Walks played a critical role in at least two of our scoring innings, off the top of my head.

Two conclusions I can draw from this quote - 1) Bobby doesn't pay attention to what actually happens during the game and 2) Bobby's not sure how to pronounce Kawakami's name.

[sdp]

It's so hot outside.

[sdp]

What an exciting bunch of Braves fans!

Pitchers' duel tonight.

[argentina brave]

lowe's pitching like he means it...go braves!!!

...problem is, so is beckett!

[wordslayer©]

A cynical one as myself, might see the situation somewhat as you do, but I can almost hear the wheels the wheels spinning in Bobby's head, and I imagine it went something like this:

"Dem ole Red Sox......ahh bet dey be ah thankin dat I'm ah gonna use a good pitcher here. I'll trix em....I'll trix em real good. I'll brang in a pitcher dat will cause dem to hit da ball and we'll ah catch it. Dat batter only hits it one third of da time, so I have a 70% chance of bein right here."

[sdp]

And, that, my friends--that should be Jeff Francoeur's last at-bat as a Brave.

[wordslayer©]

It ain't looking good.

I'm afraid our winning streak is about over. But all streaks, I guess, are meant to die at some point.

But you know, I'm proud of the guys. It takes focus, hard work and dedication to put a streak together like we just did.

So here's a tip of the glass to ya, boys! You may not be the best, he11, not even the brightest, but no team will ever touch my heart in the way that you all have.

[wordslayer©]

Time to be optimistic and dwell on the positives of tonights game:

1) Bobby didn't need Soriano or Gonzalez, so he was wise to use them the last two games
2) Once we get three or four losses out of the way, maybe we can start another two game winning streak again.
3) Bullpen gave up no runs.
4) For five innings, we were tied!
5) We only hit into two double plays tonight.
6) When the rest of the team is $hitty, it helps me to not focus all my hate on Francoeur.

You see? It's all in how you look at it. If your attitude isn't right, you might look at tonights game and just get depressed, but you have to find that silver lining. And tonight....all that glitters is gold. I'm looking forward to our next winning streak.

go braves

[Dreamscape]

Great blog, slayer.

So...can we go back to not being happy now that our amazing, super, fantastical two-game winning streak is over?

[-Dr. Brave-]

Where did all the Braves fans go? A two-page game thread??

Cant yoo fokls drnk an dtypee atthe sam time?

[-Dr. Brave-]

Weren't we adhering to the Major League II definition of a win streak? You know...1 game, two in a row, three is a win streak?

If that were the case, then folks with less than three butt cheeks wouldn't need bleach.

[Hobbes]

The Phillies just lost their 5th straight game.

[sdp]

I sure hope Bowman didn't write this headline:

Lowe falters in his return to Fenway (http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090620&content_id=5434334&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl)

As if he had a chance to even win the game after being dominated by Beckett.

[wordslayer©]

Great blog, slayer.

So...can we go back to not being happy now that our amazing, super, fantastical two-game winning streak is over?

After you climb the mountain, it is easy to get lost in the darkness of the valley. But I tell myself, "there will be more mountains and a new streak will come."

Now that the streak is over, I find solace in these words:

"Oh, no not I, I will survive,
Oh as long as I know how to love, I know I'll stay alive
I've got all my life to live, I've got all my love to give
And I, l will survive, I will survive"

[Lauren T.]

So I'm no expert...but with a 2-run defecit, runners on first and third with 1 out in the 7th. Jeff Bennett comes in and allows one of the inherrited base runners to score by pitching to contact. If you ask me, it would've been nice to have Soriano come in for that situation even though it was the 7th. Was the fear that he's already pitched two days in a row or was the thought process one that it wasn't a point in the game that needed a "save" or a "hold" so we could get back into it?
I know I'm the only person here who ever defends Bennett, but Tek scored when Pedroia grounded into what should have been an inning-ending double play. Yunie did his part, but KJ threw it all wonky and Krotchman couldn't handle it. If the DP had gone through as planned, Tek wouldn't have scored. I wouldn't call that Bennett's fault, exactly.

[KB 34]

I have to say, put this starting rotation on the same team as the lineups from 2 or 3 years ago, add a decent bullpen, and that combination wins 100 games. The official site says, "Lowe falters in his return to Fenway." No Bowman, Lowe had a quality start but a combination of the offense being miserable and Beckett being good took care of things. He could have pitched a 1 hitter and potentially lost the game if it was a HR. In the somewhat recent past we hoped for games like this because scoring 4 runs wasn't that difficult, keeping the other team under 6 was a much bigger challenge. I can think of great whipping boys on the team but they're not found in the starting rotation. They are found everywhere in the lineup.

[bravos4evr]

hmmmmm, this team reminds me of babe ruth....with no thumbs!