Why in the world is McLouth and his sub-Mendoza line BA and Rick Ankiel in the lineup tonight while Melky Cabrera sits the bench? This is unreal. Seems like Bobby has packed it in. Pitching Huddy on 3 days rest when it's obvious his arm is getting tired is crazy. Lowe may be ok on 3 days rest, but I expect Huddy to get rocked on 3 days rest at this time of year and after his past few pitching performances.
Can any Braves fan explain this to me?
- Thread starter mstatefan88
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seriously, ever since mclouth has been called back up he's been one ofthe hottest hitters, and most productive. ankiel is one of the best defensive outfielders in the league and putting mclouth in left just adds that much more tothe D. if you'd watched a game or two you'd realize that left field defense has killed them this year so bobby is attempting to help fixthe problem.
and as for pitching hudson on short rest...when it gets to this point you've GOT to go with your horses! no way you can throw out minor and beachy and expect them to step it up. they might would but i'd rather sink or swim with a crafty veteran that flat out knows how to compete. the young guys are good for young guys but not good enough to rest the fate of your season on!
the braves are choking it up down the stretch and it sucks since this is bobby's last year but we need hudson, lowe, and hanson on the mound as much as possible. if they stink it up so be it but they've been around all year and (lowe and hudson) have been through the wars and made this kind of final push before that they'll need to get in.
and as for pitching hudson on short rest...when it gets to this point you've GOT to go with your horses! no way you can throw out minor and beachy and expect them to step it up. they might would but i'd rather sink or swim with a crafty veteran that flat out knows how to compete. the young guys are good for young guys but not good enough to rest the fate of your season on!
the braves are choking it up down the stretch and it sucks since this is bobby's last year but we need hudson, lowe, and hanson on the mound as much as possible. if they stink it up so be it but they've been around all year and (lowe and hudson) have been through the wars and made this kind of final push before that they'll need to get in.
Hitting close to .300 since he got called back up. Hitting for good gap power too. I would rather have Ankiel playing center than Melky. Melky is bad at the plate and in the field.
He has no choise but to pitch Hudson. Minor is waaaaay over his innings limit and he is showing it. JJ is hurt. There really aren't any other choices that Bobby Cox has.
He has no choise but to pitch Hudson. Minor is waaaaay over his innings limit and he is showing it. JJ is hurt. There really aren't any other choices that Bobby Cox has.
It's been hitting, and if you had watched a game or two recently, you would know that. Ankiel is the best defensive outfielder on the team, but right now, I would rather have Melky's hitting and his switch hitting ability in the place of either McLouth or Ankiel. Not playing center, but playing LF because McLouth and Ankiel are faster obviously.
Before tonight, we've scored 14 runs in 6 games, and including tonight, 15 in 7 games.2runs per game down the home stretchis not going to win you alot of games. I would agree McLouth is hitting well, but I don't think having Ankiel AND McLouth in the lineup at the same time is a good idea in terms of run support. I think Melky should be in the lineup everyday until the end of the season. If you think our outfield defense is more of a problem than scoring just over 2 runs per game in the last week, you are an idiot.
Before tonight, we've scored 14 runs in 6 games, and including tonight, 15 in 7 games.2runs per game down the home stretchis not going to win you alot of games. I would agree McLouth is hitting well, but I don't think having Ankiel AND McLouth in the lineup at the same time is a good idea in terms of run support. I think Melky should be in the lineup everyday until the end of the season. If you think our outfield defense is more of a problem than scoring just over 2 runs per game in the last week, you are an idiot.
Melky has been on a championship team, he's been in the middle of a playoff fight as a hitter, while McLouth never has, and Ankiel has for a couple of years with the Cardinals. Melky is the best overallplayerof the 3, he is the only one that can switch hit, and he's been in a playoff scenario his entire career with the Yankees. Give me one of those guys who I need to score me a run in the late innings, and I will take Melky. </p>
about why huddy and lowe should pitch. and like i said it's mclouth's OFFENSE that has him in the games rite now. but he is the best defensive outfielder available after ankiel. and bobby puts up withankiel's .230 batting average because of his great defense. i mean really? your argument is unbelievably flawed. here's a fact: in baseball its all about being hot at the right time, mclouth is hot right now which is why he's in there. and i'm sure melky was the one that carried that yankees team to the title last year? i like melky but right now the combined defense of mclouth and ankiel is greater than what you would add by taking ankiel out for melky's bat. plus melky can come off the bench as a switch hitter late.
i am now certain of two things...ankiel cannot hit an outside change up and you have no idea what you're talking about.
i am now certain of two things...ankiel cannot hit an outside change up and you have no idea what you're talking about.
The truth is, this team just isn't that great. They played over their heads most of the year and made huge plays in the clutch. If it weren't for injuries, the Braves wouldn't have sniffed first place in the East heading into the final stretch of the season. It's frustrating to watch this team fold up like they have so far, but when you watch them you realize they just don't have the team the Phillies have, and aren't even close. They can still make the playoffs, but it will really take the Braves playing once again above their heads. Since Chipper went down, they have struggled mightily. His injury really hurt.</p>
Melky Cabrera needs to be in is at the local Barnhill's. Ankiel has actually been the hottest of of late with a .913 OPS in his last 7 games. Matt Diaz has an .824 OPS
in his last 15 games. You have to go with the hot hand when CF and LF are as bad as the Braves. Perhaps you'd rather have Kawakami pitch instead of Hudson, maybe Christian Martinez for Lowe? Both are sinkerball pitchers. A little fatigue may actually help their game. Lowe sucks anyway so you probably won't be able to tell the difference.
in his last 15 games. You have to go with the hot hand when CF and LF are as bad as the Braves. Perhaps you'd rather have Kawakami pitch instead of Hudson, maybe Christian Martinez for Lowe? Both are sinkerball pitchers. A little fatigue may actually help their game. Lowe sucks anyway so you probably won't be able to tell the difference.
In theory, McClouth should be an above average LF. In reality, he's been pretty horrible out there. He's misread and overrun several balls hit to him, as it's harder to read the break on the ball in left/right than in center. It's cost them at least one, and probably two, games (though if they hit worth a crap those would have been W's anyway).
I've already complained that they didn't pick up a veteran starter on the waiver wire as insurance. I forgot that they had Chris Resop, one of the best starters in the minors this year, and they put him on waivers for no discernable reason. Pittsburg picked him up for nothing, and he's pitched to a 2 ERA since, while the Braves are pitching everyone on 3 days rest from here on out because they have no one to turn to.
"Ankiel has actually been the hottest of of late with a .913 OPS in his last 7 games."
Too lazy to calculate the stats, but i see he had a homer and double Sunday (i missed most of that game), so maybe that's slanting his stats. But he's been horrible.
For September: .188/.316/.344
They could have had Omar in LF, with Conrad at 3B. But that would be too much thought for By The Book Bobby. In August Conrad had on OPS of .937. Bobby responded by giving him 16 ABs since. He's started once since mid-August.
Lowe has been the Braves best pitcher this month. While Hudson has been mediocre. Probably not a coincedence, as only a moron would put them back to back in the rotation, as they are basically the same pitcher. Oh wait, that's exactly what Bobby did. Face it, he's the Croom of MLB.
Too lazy to calculate the stats, but i see he had a homer and double Sunday (i missed most of that game), so maybe that's slanting his stats. But he's been horrible.
For September: .188/.316/.344
They could have had Omar in LF, with Conrad at 3B. But that would be too much thought for By The Book Bobby. In August Conrad had on OPS of .937. Bobby responded by giving him 16 ABs since. He's started once since mid-August.
Lowe has been the Braves best pitcher this month. While Hudson has been mediocre. Probably not a coincedence, as only a moron would put them back to back in the rotation, as they are basically the same pitcher. Oh wait, that's exactly what Bobby did. Face it, he's the Croom of MLB.
but to play Conrad now with Prado out. It would have been nice to have Infante in LF before that happened. Yes, Ankiel has been horrible and so have the rest of the outfielders not named Heyward. McLouth was on a tear after being called back up but has a .440 OPS in his last 7 and Cabrera has a .625 OPS in his last 7. Thankfully, we won't have to worry about Bobby after this season
bring him up, trade him or put him on waiers after a certain date. It was in his contract. You're right he could have been easily stashed in the bullpen or spelled Minor every other start. There was no excuse for that.
They did bring him up. He got a start, was in the bullpen for maybe a week. Then back to the minors. They didn't have to call him back up. They could have kept him in the minors without having to stash him in the bullpen. What probably happened is Bobby didn't want to use him, but they called him up anyway because of that clause in his contract, then Bobby declared he didn't want to ever use him again, so they went ahead and released him because Bobby calls the shots.
If it ends without a WS, at least i'll know i'll never suffer through Bobby again.
Don't assume Bobby will do what's obvious. He'll probably play Glaus at 3B against lefties.
One of the Braves writers pointed out the other day that one of the reasons the Braves gave for not getting another infielder after Chipper got hurt was because they had Diory. Since then, he's had something like 12 ABs.
This season was wasted because the Braves were prohibited from adding payroll at the trade deadline. A waste of a $90M investment, because a bean counter won't let them spend a couple million to protect their initial investment. This will continue until we have a real owner again, and not someone who just owns the team for the tax breaks.
Don't assume Bobby will do what's obvious. He'll probably play Glaus at 3B against lefties.
One of the Braves writers pointed out the other day that one of the reasons the Braves gave for not getting another infielder after Chipper got hurt was because they had Diory. Since then, he's had something like 12 ABs.
This season was wasted because the Braves were prohibited from adding payroll at the trade deadline. A waste of a $90M investment, because a bean counter won't let them spend a couple million to protect their initial investment. This will continue until we have a real owner again, and not someone who just owns the team for the tax breaks.
Hudson has a good history of pitching on 3 days rest, but he's looked tired and pitched out this month. Lowe on the other hand has a horrible history of pitching on 3 days rest.
Right now the Braves need 3 out of 5. 4 out of 5 almost certainly clinches, but 3 should be enough for at least a one game playoff while having about a 50/50 chance of clinching. You could have pitched Resop today, and pitched Hudson, then Lowe (against a different team, not the same team that just saw the equivalent pitcher the day before) and Hanson all on 4 days rest, then have the option of Hudson on 3 days rest for the last game or hold him for game 1 of playoffs if we've already clinched. With the bullpen we had a few weeks ago maybe you would go with Bobby's plan, but Venters, Farnsworth and O-Flaherty all look bad right now and are guaranteed to have to pitch innings if everyone is pitching on short rest.
Bobby is once again screwing us.
Right now the Braves need 3 out of 5. 4 out of 5 almost certainly clinches, but 3 should be enough for at least a one game playoff while having about a 50/50 chance of clinching. You could have pitched Resop today, and pitched Hudson, then Lowe (against a different team, not the same team that just saw the equivalent pitcher the day before) and Hanson all on 4 days rest, then have the option of Hudson on 3 days rest for the last game or hold him for game 1 of playoffs if we've already clinched. With the bullpen we had a few weeks ago maybe you would go with Bobby's plan, but Venters, Farnsworth and O-Flaherty all look bad right now and are guaranteed to have to pitch innings if everyone is pitching on short rest.
Bobby is once again screwing us.