Man-oh-man-oh-man! I can’t help but think that Kelly Johnson is the awesomest person in the world- ever. (Now I know you might think my Peter Moylan love is dying. Well, if you’re that concerned, it’s not. Pete’s accent gives him a major advantage over KJ)! Okay, so, Kelly. I swear I felt so happy when he walked and “drove in” that run last night, the only run of the game in the Braves-Nationals finale. I must say, if we had been swept by the Washington Nationals I would have been extremly worried. Last night’s game was has so much suspense in it, I would have thought I was watching a murder mystery.

Jair Jurrjens was great as always and his performance last night makes me wonder what he’ll be like in his late twenties or early thirties and its hard to think of him as 23, a year younger than my brother. This is two starts for him in a row where he could probably get the win if there had been some run support. Well, at least we won last night. That gives most of us some peace of mind on this long and boring off-day.  It seems like every two days we have an off day and that just stinks. So let’s look at some key points for this series with the Reds.

Brian McCann

That specialized contact lense he has will has… helped. He was one for four last night and one for two the night before, his first two hits in five games. Mac is essential to the line up and without him, lose a powerful, powerful element.

Chipper Jones

He needs to stay healthy. The Braves tend to play better with him in there. There is no doubt about it, so we need to keep Chipper as healthy as possible- that’s vital.

The Bullpen

We have three surgerically repaired relievers in Rafael Soriano, Peter Moylan, and Mike Gonzalez as the top relievers, they need to stay on top. Moylan has had a shaky beggining, but he’ coming back. His ERA went from 135.00 to 10.80 in six games, so I have no worries for him. As long as he keeps the ball in the strike zone, most of his earned runs have been walked in, so he needs to work on some control, but he looks pretty good considering he came back a month early from Tommy John Surgery. Gonzo needs to be his usual FANTASTIC self and be the closer he was last year after comming back from TJ. Sori, well, Sori’s fine. He needs to stay healthy. That’s all. The rest of the bullpen is pretty awesome. Eric O’Flaherty is really starting to impress me and (I’m hoping) other fans. Of course, Blaine Boyer is gone so these other guys will have to deal with the two guys who had the most appearances last year being gone (the other being Will Ohman, of course. I miss him and his hilarious self)!

Major Offense

We need to be able to protect our leads with good defense, yes, but adding isurance will definatley help that too. We need to be able to score runners that are in scoring positon and get guys on base. So far, Matt Diaz, Jeff Francoeur, Kelly Johnson, Chipper, and Yunel Escobar aren’t concerning me so much. MattE isn’t a regular like the rest, but he’s played more than Garrett Anderson this year (or it seems like it at least)!

With all this mind, I hope the Braves can start winnning. We have potential, but can we live up that potential…? That is the question.

(PS. I really wanna think of some nick names for the boys, espacially Moylan, Diaz, O’Flaherty, Schafer, KJ, and Kenshin- my favorites. Any suggestions?)

Awww, Blaine. Your hair now matches the uniform. As I watch Braves Live pre-game, I’ll start with the news of the recently DFA’d Blaine Boyer being sent to Albert Pujols and the Cardinals.

Like I’ve said, I’ll miss Blaine. I didn’t like his pitching, but I truly believe he could be better off somewhere else. I’m definitely going to keep an eye on him. I have no doubt that he could be a great reliever, but Atlanta just wasn’t working for him and maybe St. Louis will. Maybe the fans won’t boo him when he comes out (Atlanta fans, no offense. One of my favorite things about the Braves is the amazing fans, but booing your own player isn’t cool. At all)

(side-note: the tarp is being put on the field as I type this. Grrrr! No Rain-out! No, no, no!)

Back to the man with the fire-beard, for him Atlanta got OF Brian Barton. Last year, Barton has a .268 average as of May 1 of last year and he also has two homers and thirteen RBIs. So maybe this trade will be worth it! Maybe Blaine will be totally awesome in St. Louis and Brian Barton will be one of the best things Atlanta has ever seen! I sure hope so, because that will make a lot of my friends feel so much better. We’ll just wait and see.

Now, let’s hope the Braves get a chance to play tonight! According to Jon Sciambi of SportsSouth, the weather isn’t all that promising in DC. Booo! A rain out isn’t part of my plans tonight and I hope this gets better. Right now, though, I’m going to watch Hank Aaron In My Own Words. So, weather permitting,

LET’S GO BRAVES!

They finally snapped the losing streak! Not only that, they handed Zach Duke his first loss of the season (on his birthday! I kinda feel bad for him here!) and gave Javier Vazquez his much deserved first win. It was a shut out until James Parr hit a batsman with the bases loaded and made the score 11-1. I like Parr, he was amazing after his September call-up last year, but he’s worrying me this year. I know it’s only his second game of the year, but still, this was not the Parr we saw last year.

Brian McCann and Kelly Johnson didn’t play today (Mac for the eye!) but Chipper Jonez was in the line-up for the first time since the first game of the Marlins series. Mac’s and KJ’s replacements had great days, both shooting in three run homers. Jeff Francoeur, Matt Diaz, and Casey Kotchman also had RBIs, Frenchy with three, Kotchman and Diaz with one. The Bravos had a fifteen-hit, eleven run game and the Pirates had a seven hit, one run game. Both teams had one error. Peter Moylan continues to make his ERA smaller and I see him coming back to his 2007 self- minus the geeky glass of course and of course with more tattoos (which seems to be a subject in just about any interview he does, by the way). Jeff Bennett seemed to get around the jam he created for himself after the triple he could have prevented, but Javy Vazquez was by far the most amazing pitcher today! He went six shut out innings in awesome style! Go Javy! Go Braves!

Now, we’re going to visit the Nationals! Let’s sweep them again!

What’s going on with the Bravos? It’s five loss streak! This is making me very nervous, especially as we look at two sweeps in a row. I wonder if they realize if 2008 is over sometimes! I get being swept by the Marlins, they’re on fire, but I am not accepting a sweep from the Pirates. Not gonna happen.

Brian McCann is having trouble with his left eye, and he’s wondering if it has anything to do with his eye sight already blurring up after having lasik surgery in the 2007 off-season (I believe). It’s messing with his batting, he’s battling a slump. Am I the only one who refuses to believe that Mac will be the 2009 version of the 2008 Jeff Francoeur? Now, if Mac has to have lasik again the Braves will potentially have a major issue. As we saw last year, Mac is an awesome batter, we’ve seen it since he came up. Take him out, since he would more than likely go on the fifteen-day DL if he has the surgery, and it could be worse than a slumping Mac. Especially if Chipper doesn’t play.

Now let’s move onto Blaine Boyer. We all knew it was coming and it finally happened, he was desginated for assignment today. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s David O’Brien, he was out of the clubhouse before anyone arrived that day. Personally, I think I’m acutally going to miss him. I love the Baby Braves and the home-grown boys so I can’t say I ever hated Blaine. However I can say that I didn’t trust him, he had bad times last year and they continued this year. I have no doubt that he has potential, but I think that the fans booing him at Turner Field, his home field, really got to him and it affected his performance (so note to him: don’t even think about going to Philly). I wish him the best. Good luck wherever you go, if you stay in our minor league system or if you go somewhere else (like the Royals or the Nats) I will continue to watch you.

(And guys, please bear with me. I have End Of Course Tests starting Monday the 27th in Literature, Biology, and Math and I REALLY need to study because they’re worth fifteen percent of my grade. So try to be paitent with me, I’ll try to post everyday)

I’m not going to lie, I didn’t get to watch the game today. Instead, I was in Math and Biology doing stuff preparing for End of Course Tests! Woo! I know is that we lost and got swept. Boo! All I really do know is that Jeff Francoeur drove in both runs in the 6-2 loss. So yay for Frenchy! I’m so glad he’s doing so much better this year! I also know Kenshin Kawakami went six innings and gave up four runs, thanks to the awesome messages from a friend that could actually watch the game. The last thing I know is that neither Chipper Jones or Brian McCann played today, so without those hot bats in the line up or their defensive skills, it might have been uglier, I have complete confidence in Clint Sammons, David Ross (wo was activated from the 15-Day DL and sent into the line up), Omar Infante and Martin Prado, but Chipper and Mac are some people you’re going to miss. Plus, Yunel Escobar got hurt. This has got to make the trip to Pittsburgh so much more fun!

So now we go against the Bucks, who are fourth (out of six) in their division and three days back. The probable pitchers:

Tomorrow: Jair Jurrjens (2-0, 2.45 ERA) vs Paul Maholm (1-0, 1.32 ERA)

—- I have complete faith in JJ. He’s remarkable for his age! I can’t wait to watch this one!

Saturday: JoJo Reyes (first start, replacing Tom Glavine) vs Ian Snell (0-2, 7.20 ERA)

—- I’m not going to say anything about JoJo. He was horrible last year, but it’s a new year! I mean, Jeff Francoeur is hitting  WELL this year!

Sunday: Javier Vazquez (0-1, 4.50 ERA) vs Zach Duke (2-0 .59 ERA.)

—- Javy’s last start wasn’t his best, but he was still awesome in that horrible game in Philly, so Zach Duke might want to look out.

GO BRAVES!

Ahh, the game last night was so much fun! We might have lost, but it was great and a friend of mine that came along (even though she barley watched the game- me too for that matter. We played in Tooner Field for a long while!)

The only run the Braves scored was a solo homer from Kelly Johnson- who is burning us all to a crisp with his bat. Javier Vazquez was… shaky but not too bad (and he’s still awesome!).  He was excellent after the three run third. He went six and gave up three. Then came my favorite Peter Moylan. He had 1-2-3 inning and struck out one to improve is ERA to 22.50! Along came a Jeff Bennett who… gave up two runs. 5-1 was the score! After Bennett was Eric O’Flaherty (and they played this song, I’m pretty sure they were “making fun of” his Irish roots, but it was actually a pretty awesome song. I’m gonna have to find it!). He had a 1-2-3 and then the ninth. Blaine Boyer came out in the ninth. He gave up a hit, but managed to get out without any runs.

Tonight Derek Lowe will go off against Andrew Miller! D. Lowe is 1-0 with a .82 ERA (he would 2-0 but of course that rain delay last weekend had to happen!) and Miller is 0-0 with a 3.86 ERA. I have a feeling this is going to be a pretty fun game to watch, so tune in! It’s Jackie Robinson Day and I wish I could be at the game, but I suppose that there will be a Jackie Robinson Day next year and it will hopefully be at the Ted (though I wouldn’t mind doing some travelling for a game. It’s a goal of mine). Lastly, Chipper will be out tonight with a bruised thumb. Yikes! The game starts in about ten minuets so,

LET’S GO GET ‘EM BRAVES!

(tomorrow I’ll add a link to my friend having a little to much fun at Tooner Field)

The Braves can rest easy on their off day. They successfully swept the Washington Nationals on Easter Sunday, Jair Jurrjens got the win, even after walking five. He was able to go 5.1 innings and gave up four runs before being replaced by Jeff Bennett who went 1.2 with three hits and no runs. Then came Eric O’Flaherty who gave up one run in .1 of an inning- its appears most Atlanta Fans are losing faith in him quickly, but the season is still young, so we’ll see. After O’Flaherty came Buddy Carlyle who gave up a hit. Finally came Rafael Soriano who got the save. Soriano has surprised me a bit, I admittedly thought he’d be on the DL by now. So there we go, BRAVES WIN!

Hitting yesterday was outstanding. Jeff Francoeur- the Natural- got TWO triples. Frenchy is definatley telling us to watch out, ’cause last season is a thing of the past. Brian McCann impressed us with getting on base (in B-Mac Fashion) and then STEALING the base to become the team leader in stolen bases (also in B-Mac Fashion)! Yunel Escobar is showing us what he can do with his bat, as he has been the last three days, he went 1 for 4, but he did drive a few in, so did MattE Diaz! The team was eight for eight with runners in scoring position. They won 8-5!

Now, let’s look at the series (at Turner Field) against the Marlins, who have also been on fire.

Tomorrow: Chris Volstad against Javier Vazquez (I’ll be at the game tomorrow! So I’ll post whenever I can since I’m leaving as soon as I get home from school more than likely)

Wednesday: Andrew Miller against Derek Lowe

And finally, Thursday: Anibal Sanchez agianst Kenshin Kawakami

I’m very excited to see how this series pans out, since both teams have been playing extremly well since the season began. As always, GO BRAVES!

(RIP Harry Kalas and Mark Fidrych)

Happy Easter to you all! Hope you’ve got some great plans in store for the day (which may or may not include baseball).

Now, for those of us planning to watch some Sunday ball, let’s get started:

Yesterday was a great game! It appears to me that Kelly Johnson is on fire, and had he not been hit by a pitch, I truly believe he could have hit for the cycle. He was just a triple shy. Yunel Escobar is also doing some great things. What impressed me the most: the pitching. Kenshin Kawakami was amazing in his American debut even after the two run homer to Zimmerman and what not. When he departed, with the Braves up by one, Peter Moylan came out. Some people probably got sick at the stomach when he did, but he certainly showed them up. He did just what I knew he could do, he got the outs, not only the outs, strike outs. That turned his 135.00 ERA into a 45.00 ERA! Go Pete! Then came Rafael Soriano, he faced four batter, in the bottom of that eighth inning, the Bravos added some insurance run. So we head into the ninth with 5-3 lead and in comes “The Cobra” Mike Gonzalez. He worked in his magic for his first home save of the year, giving the Braves the series and the chance for the sweep.

So onto today, Jair Jurrjens will face Scott Olsen in the last game of the series before the Fish come to Atlanta (after a day off tomorrow, of course). According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s David O’Brien, both Casey Kotchman and Kelly Johnson have the day off. Garrett Anderson remains out of the line-up so MattE Diaz will be playing left field.

And did I forget to mention Jordan Schafer? The awesome rookie center-fielder is on fire! Last night he was 3 for 4 and scored twice. He’s quickly on his way to becoming a favorite in Atlanta, I have no doubt about it. He seems like a good kid (minus the HGH suspension last year. I honestly don’t believe he did HGH, but who knows? What he does in his spare time is none of my business) and he’s got himself a great bat. The other night at the stadium, they were selling Schafer jerseys! I wanted one so badly, and it’s definatley on my birthday list! ROCK ON SCHAFER!.

Last note: 

LET’S GO GET ‘EM BRAVES!

First off, sorry for not posting yesterday. I intended to so after I got home but when I did I was so tired I couldn’t think straight. So I’ll do yesterday’s and today’s right now.

The game last night will be pretty hard to forget. It was the second home-opener I’ve ever been too, and the rain delay for about two hours was pretty fun at times and miserable at others. I think the highlight of the whole delay was when they showed “Prime Nine” that show on MLB Network, one of my favorite shows. Okay, game time now.

Before the delay, Derek Lowe gave up one run in the top of the third (I’m not to entirely sure what happened as my nephew and I were running the bases in Sky Field). So the Nats got an early lead, not for long though, in the bottom of that inning, Yunel Escobar hit his first home-run of the year, a three run. So going into the delay called at the top of the fourth, the score was 3-1 with Atlanta on top!

After the delay, Buddy Carlyle came in with two outs and a full count for Lowe. Carlyle struck the batter out to end the inning. Buddy did pretty well last night, a good portion of the pitches he threw were strikes. The bottom of the fourth, the Braves added to their lead by one. After Carlyle, Pete Moylan made his home debut in a year. He gave up a hit, but I swear he made my night just being out there (because I’m sure by now I’ve made it clear that he is my favorite and last year was unbearable without him). After Moylan gave up that hit, Bobby brought in Eric O’Flaherty, who suffered a blown save, but the inning ended. After the Irish came Jeff Bennett in the top of the seventh. Bennett got into a jam but managed to get out of the via a double play. The bottom of that inning, the Braves broke that tie. Then in the eighth the Braves sent former closer Rafeal Soriano. Soriano went through quickly, leading into the bottom where the Bravos remained silent for one of the few times that night. Finally, came the ninth. Mike Gonzalez came in… and blew the save. So the ’pen continues in struggles, but that might just be short term. In the bottom of the ninth, despite Chipper Jones getting to second after a single and a sac-fly by Brian McCann, Atlanta couldn’t get the point.  So onto the tenth. The Nats didn’t make it, so we go to the bottom of the tenth. Jordan Schafer managed to get on base, then to second. Then came the best part of the night: Kelly Johnson hit a basehit to score Schafer. THE BRAVES WIN. Jorge Campillo got the win while Joe Beimel suffered the loss! I don’t think there was anyone there who wasn’t happy that long game was over! I like to compare to that 17-inning game last year against Houston, it was early enough into Saturday, that no one really cared who won at that point.

So onto tonight. Kenshin Kawakami will make his Braves debut against John Lanan. We could probably expect to see Chipper in the line-up tonight, and it wouldn’t suprise me if Garrett Anderson will be starting tonight too. We’ll find out more about that later on in the day!

(And finally, I’ve noticed I forgot to mention that I’m Crista. I live in the Merto-Atlanta area and the Bravos are probably the best part of the summer.)

     After the game last night, some twenty-four hours off may be a good thing for the Bravos. Even if it was just the third day of the season, yesterday’s game will be hard to walk away from, especially since this happened twice last year. Right now, that’s all in the past. Let’s look at tommorrow- or at least try too.

    Tomorrow is the home-opener against the Washington Nationals. Honestly, I have no idea how that’s going to go. The Braves seemed to beat the Nats just about as much as the Nats beat the Braves last year. Last year’s July 20th game (for my birthday), for instance, was just Braves massacre (I don’t remember the score, I’m pretty sure I tried hard to forget it as soon as possible. All I remember is the Nationals were in the ‘teens while the Braves were in the single numbers. It was the last time I saw Mark Teixeira in a Braves uniform in person. Sad, sad day). The Braves will send the Derek Lowe to the mound and the Nats will send Shairon Martis, who was 3-1 last season. It appears Martis will be making his first appearance of the 2009 season while Lowe will have his second start, after going eight innings and giving up no runs and two hits Sunday in Philly.

    There are two questions about Friday that we’ll have to wait to be answered. Number one: Will Chipper Jones and Garrett Anderson be back in the starting lineup?  There have been several reports that Chipper will be back tomorrow from his bruised thumb that sat him out yesterday. Although Garrett pinch-hit yesterday, there is no way to tell whether he’ll be back from his calf-strain. It kept him benched through a good portion of the spring, so we’ll just have to play that one by ear. Number two: Will the bullpen crack again? Honestly, I have no idea. Most of the relievers yesterday were making their debuts for the year (and for Moylan, his first game in a year) so they might have been over-throwing. Also the pressure might have caused them to crack, but I’m sure that was just a one time deal.

So now, all that need to be said is LET’S GO GET ‘EM BRAVES!

(And one final side-note: I wish to send my sincere condolences to the family of Nick Adenhart, may he rest in peace. I’ll be paying him tribute at the game tomorrow)