Friends, Atlantans, Braves Journalers, lend me your ears.
I come not to bury the Braves, but to praise them.
The errors the defense commits live in the box scores;
the good is oft overlooked with their ohfers.
So let it be with last night. The noble Twitter
Hath told you their plans were not ambitious:
If it were so, it was a grievous fault,
And grievously hath the Braves answered it.
Here, under leave of Ryan C and the rest
(For Ryan is an honorable man;
So are we all, all honorable fans),
Come I to write the postgame recap.
This is my team, faithful and good to me,
But Twitter says they were not ambitious,
And Tweeters are honorable men.
They hath brought a World Championship home to Atlanta,
Whose flag doth fly forever.
Did this not seem ambitious?
When Freeman left, Anthopoulos wept;
Ambition need not be made of sterner stuff.
Yet Twitter says they were not ambitious,
And Tweeters are honorable men.
You all did see that in a game thread past
I already posted a Phil Collins video,
Which caused an offensive explosion. Was that not promising?
Yet Twitter says they were not ambitious,
And, sure, Tweeters are honorable men.
I speak not to disprove what Twitter spoke,
But here I am to speak what I do know.
You all do love them, not without cause.
What cause withholds you, then, to have faith in them?—
Oh judgment, thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason!—Bear with me;
My heart is in the box score there with a 1-0 loss,
And I must pause till it come back to me.
He weeps.
Bravo, Mr. Remington!
I am speechless.
Fantastisch! Bravo indeed. This recap is ranking way way up there. Thank you.
Nice. Beware the Ides of May. We don’t play well then.
My views are pretty much the same as Alex’s.
Incredible, and so much more than that offensive performance deserved. Positively Shakes(off sign knowing full well the Braves batter will whiff on a middle-middle fastball)pearean.
Amazing. For a bunch of reasons (mostly off-the-field), this has been the most ambivalent I’ve found myself about a Braves season in a long time, so I haven’t been watching as much— but damn if this site does not remain top-notch.
I’m so pissed off at MLB. They have seriously ruined this season. Between the labor dispute messing up Spring Training and thus the preparation for the season, and then doing all of these dumbass things with the humidors and the baseball, this season has been irreparably damaged. You just had a team lose when they pitched a no-hitter. Baseballs are not leaving the yard. And this team was built on the long ball, so we’ve been hurt more than most. I want a shorter game, I want a faster paced game, but I don’t want this, and I don’t know anyone who does.
One of the great things about this sport is the sanctity of the statistics, and it’s seasons like this where league-forced conditions throws everything off pisses me off.
Thank you, and have a great day.
@7 It is the league responding to a small but loud group of people to the detriment of the game. Welcome to society in 2022…
And honestly anything Manfred does probably won’t be in the best interest of the fans or the game
Thank you Alex R.
I am certainly in a performance induced doldrum as to the Braves. Really?
I just don’t understand how changing the baseball to be more dead accomplishes anything he’s trying to accomplish. There are some other things that he can apparently start implementing next year that might, but this constant messing with the baseball does nothing except piss everybody off.
I refuse to believe the ball has changed at all: look at Hancock’s appearances.
(WITH REGARDS TO ALEX.)
ON FIRST LOOKING INTO CHAPMAN’S HOMER
MUCH HAD I TRAVELLED THROUGH THE GAMES OF OLD
AND MANY GOODLY SWINGS AND MISSES SEEN
ROUND MANY HOSTILE BALL PARKS HAVE I BEEN
WHERE BRAVES ONCE THREATENED BUT DID OFTEN FOLD
NEVER DID I GRASP ALL THAT COULD MEAN
TILL I HEARD SNITKER SPEAK OUT LOUD AND BOLD
THEN FELT I LIKE SOME CATCHER WITH CROSSED EYES
AS A NEW BASEBALL SWIMS INTO HIS KEN
OR LIKE STOUT OZZIE WHOSE ALMIGHTY SWINGS
WE OFTEN FEEL WE’RE SEEING, ONCE AGAIN.
SO LONG AS MEN CAN HIT, YET DISAGREE
SO LONG LIVES SNIT, HE’LL TELL US WHAT NEEDS BE.
RAJ is back in the lineup tonight
Alex, you are the noblest Braves Journaler of them all. Bravo
I know this Chapman doesn’t play for the Braves, because there’s never anyone on first for any of our homers.
@11 You could hit a bowling ball out of the park with his pitching.
Well-d0ne.
But if the poetry doesn’t work tonight, we may be approaching time for Cannibal Corpse.
Of course Ozuna with called strike three and Ozzie with a first pitch bleeder for the third out. A very typical at bat for both
Nice first 2 frames for Davidson. It would be good if he could solidify that #5 spot in the rotation.
The balls don’t matter when we can’t put the ball in play and the umpire has a strike zone six inches wide on each side of the plate and six inches low
Hopefully he gives Davidson those calls too.
I can’t wait for the umpire scorecard on Phil Cuzzi. He is batting about 50% on his calls tonight
I’ve never seen a team take more 3rd strikes but swing at balls out of the zone than this team . Our plate discipline is awful .. what does a hitting coach do anyway???
@18 … Truth !!!!!
@23 it certainly doesn’t look like they have made many (if any) adjustments. Maybe Brian Jordan should be the hitting coach
4 of the 7 K’s looking. Happening way too much which would seem to point to approach that is more of a guess with two strikes than a defensive choke up and “put the ball in play” type of approach
Our offense is futile ….. really bad .. another 1 or 2 hit night …. guess Snit will keep rolling out same lineup .. Riley hit 6th one game and he had 3 hits … then back to 3 hole .. just assign each player a number and pull them out of hat .. couldn’t hurt .. honestly..
@26 . I agree …they are guessing too much … look fast ball and adjust …..
Now Cuzzi is squeezing Davidson this inning.
This ump .. not giving Braves anything close .. he gave the opposing guy 4 or 5 borderline .. time for Snit to get thrown out so Weiss can take over …
There’s your run, Tucker.
Chipwatch: Compare and contrast
“Bottom feeds the top. Right men coming to the plate now.”
“What makes this lineup so great is that anybody in it can break out and hit it hard.”
So the top of the order is the “right men,” except for the rest of the order.
I hated, but at least understood, Chip’s reflexive “right men up” when pitchers hit and you had only three or four guys in the lineup who could mash. It makes no sense now at all.
Last year that was like 30 feet over the fence.
Riley turned that DP like a middle infielder.
@34 he certainly did
Wow. Am interested in the tale of the tape on that one.
Then Ozzie got a hanging slider over the heart of the plate and could only foul it off.
He’s not bringing in Smith here with the tying run on is he? OMG
HR-prone pitcher with 2 men on in a 3-0 game, what could go wrong?
I would have just stuck with Minter, but it worked out this time.
Demeritte has cooled off.
And with that win the Braves have established a record for most wins from the start of the season without a three game winning or losing streak. The record will be at least 38. The old record was 36 by the 1959 Cubs. The record for any span of games (not from the beginning of the season) is 46, by the 2015 Mariners.
Hey, a win!
Burnes vs. Fried… What are the odds that tomorrow’s game is a shutout, too?
A win, a win, I do confess!
@12
My thanks to those gentlemen who responded positively, Alex I looked for you there.. Wasn’t it obvious that your fine effort earlier had been the sole necessary impetus in dragging this old horse back to the drinking fountain, I even said so.
ALL CAPS? Guessing, what a fuss! I can work on it easier, eyes you know. One day a decade or two on you’ll do something as ‘aggressive’ that a few will take exception to, Ha! Meanwhile, I love you all, the burden I carry that I would not be without.
I was not actually familiar with the Keats poem till I googled! Until then I was wondering if Matt Chapman had hit a homer and why it had struck your fancy. That one was lovely, blazon.
@46
Made my day, bless you.
I would just like to declare to the Journal that after almost 2 decades of knowing THE Alex Remington on the interwebs, I will be meeting that cat in person next month. I’m very excited. We’re going to the Nats/Braves game on June 15th in DC. Alex won’t be joining me, but I’m also going to the Rays/O’s game on the 17th in Baltimore. If anyone is interested in going to either of those games, let me know. Would love to meet more folks from here.
On another note, I’ll be spending the 16th enjoying DC as a tourist. I do already have a pretty extensive list of places I’m planning to go to, but if anyone has anything that you love doing in DC or a restaurant or bar you just adore, I’d love to hear any suggestions.
In the month of May, Atlanta is 26th in wRC+ as a team. That will not get the job done. Fortunately, they are 5th in pitching fWAR. I had thought that Atlanta’s offense was probably still top-half and we’re just watching a league-wide offensive outage, but nope, Atlanta sucks at the plate.
@ 48,
It sounds like you may have not “done DC” before. If so, I would highly recommend (I know it sounds like a bad cliche, but hang with me), the Gray Line Tour. They take you to all of the main monuments by bus. For example, at Lincoln Memorial bus parking is right in front. They stop for 30 minutes. You go in and look and take pictures and then, the bus goes on. You can see an awful lot of basics in one day. Vastly more than you can see on foot and / or Metro and / or car.
@50 Correct. Have not done DC. I appreciate the recommendation.
@48-
1. I love visiting the monuments at night.
2. The Air & Space museum has an
760,000 square foot annex out near Dulles airport, which is a short drive from downtown.
3. If you like art, The Phillips Gallery, has an impressive collection of 19th and 20th century modern art. Plus, I’ve always liked that it was once a residence.
4. I always recommend a visit to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum but that obviously requires a certain mood.
5. The Vietnam Memorial gives me chills every time.
@52
The Holocaust Memorial and Air and Space are must sees.
If you visit the Capitol, behave yourself.
@54
Dang it, I had my outfit picked out and everything.
https://media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com/image/upload/newscms/2021_10/3447876/210205-jacob-chansley-mc-1142.JPG
@52 and 53
Most of that is on my list, and the rest will be. I’m going sun up to sun down (and then some) on the Thursday off-day, and whatever I can’t get to will be on Friday before I have to go to Baltimore and try to live to tell about it.
#54
Ha
#48
Smithsonian Institution, the International Spy Museum, & Vietnam Memorial (look up my last name on The Wall — it’s my dad).
BTW, B’more’s an underrated town, IMO., esp. if you like seafood. Fave Bar: Club Charles.
As someone who walked it, the Gray Line sounds nice. We started at the Vietnam Memorial, then to the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean memorial, the WWII memorial, and the Washington Monument (did not try to go in.) By then it was lunch time, after which we hit 3 Smithsonians, ending up at Air & Space.
I was wiped out by lunch time, and did not enjoy the Smithsonians as much as I should have. If I had 2 days, I’d spend one of them just at the various Smithsonians.
@57 Shock to no one that knows me, the International Spy Museum is near the top of my list.
Vietnam Memorial (look up my last name on The Wall — it’s my dad)
This will be a moment I will take in. Respect to your father for his sacrifice.
I do need bar recommendations for Baltimore. I’ll check Club Charles. Thank you.
@58 I feel like I could spend a week in DC. There’s just so much.
@57
‘look up my Dad’
such a simple few words
so profound
you must be very proud.
Rob, sounds like you won’t have time on this trip but if you’re ever in Baltimore area and have time you really should make the short trip over to Annapolis. It’s definitely worth seeing on it’s own but the Naval Academy in particular is awesome to visit.
Vietnam Memorial, very powerful, first time I ever saw my dad cry.
If you get a foggy morning or right at sunrise/sunset Korean War Memorial has even more impact.
In DC, I also recommend Arlington National Cemetery and the Iwo Jima Memorial
Austin Riley. An Earl Weaver special.
Riley did not miss his pitch after a long inning of hard fought at bats.
And Ozuna might’ve hit his even farther.
Mirabile dictu…times 2
Rob,
I would recommend you allow a half day at least on a Smithsonian Building. Decide which you want to see most, and do it at least that long.
Also, it has been a few years, but basically the cafeterias in the Smithsonian buildings are the only buildings with food in the whole mall area. And, the best food and atmosphere was at the National Gallery of Art.
Fried maybe feeling the longer sitdown a little bit and has a little loss of control over two atbats, but gets bailed out by a line drive double play. Hope he’s back to sharp next inning.
There are some food trucks now down by the National Mall, so the food situation isn’t quite as dire as it used to be. The National Gallery is extraordinary; the African-American History and Culture Museum is unforgettable. (And the Sweet Home Cafe at the African-American History museum has been very favorably reviewed in the local newspaper as being not just the best museum cafe in town, but genuinely a good restaurant in its own right.)
Ozuna seems to be coming around this week.
Not sure if they stopped with COVID, but you used to be able to call your congressman and get a Capitol tour
You know, I like listening to Moylan. He’s not a born broadcaster, but he says smart, interesting things.
Fried actually looks much better this inning, they’re just hitting some good pitches. The RBI single in particular was on the corner down and away.
Agree, they’re hitting decent pitches. And also agree, Moylo is great to listen to. Come on now, Max!
Of course we score 4 off Burnes so we get the non lockdown version of Fried today
Good finish to the inning to pitch out of that soup
Mr. Editor.
Could you please remove today’s post and photo #55 to where it belongs, our Political blog -if anywhere. The man shown is a convicted criminal serving 41 months prison time for his very visible leading participation in the January 6 armed insurrection to remove the legitimate Government during which 7 individuals died.
Why it is there in our Braves blog ,who knows? There is nothing admirable = or funny for heaven’s sake, for admiring thugs like that.
My apologies for my overexposure here today. I was waiting for someone else to say the same thing.
Rob, sent you an e-mail.
I agree with Alex and Cliff that the cafe at the National Gallery is great and the cafe at the African-American Museum is great (have eaten at both). Not sure about the food trucks. I used to eat at them a lot when they crowded along Maryland Ave across from the Air and Space Museum but they disappeared during the pandemic. The best food trucks (IMHO) are ethnic – Thai, Indian, Argentine, Soul Food, etc… Not much value in the fried junk except the kids like it.
If I recall correctly, the National Gallery has two wings and the cafe is in the underground tunnel between the two.
There’s also a nice lunch-only cafe in the sculpture garden on the other side of the Mall.
The first batter in the 6th, Fried looks great. Course, second batter hits a line drive on another good fastball on the outside corner.
Yup, Fried looks really good again now.
LAST EDIT: and as soon as I put that in, they hit a double off the wall on a breaking ball that might not have been a strike.
@78 I didn’t take that as a political post…I took that as Rob was trying to be silly.
Rob took the bait from my joke, but now #78 is most definitely a political post.
This game has all of the makings of a bullpen implosion loss
@83 I would instead like some insurance runs from the offense to put less pressure on the bullpen.
@84 Most definitely. Unfortunately, our inability to put the ball in play may hurt us yet again
Strider looks amazing today. I would be happy to see him in the 8th and make it just him and Jansen today.
@86 For sure. We need a righthander with velo as McHugh isn’t that guy.
Hancock coming into the game only validates my expectation of a bullpen implosion
wowwwww i did not think Smith was gonna get Yelich. I was feeling some dooooom there halfway through that atbat
I’m trying to think of a good comparison for Strider, in the “where the hell did THAT kid come from?” department.
I honestly think it’s Venters.
Dansby definitely looks a notch better defensively this year, for whatever reason
@90 Yeah, Venters is actually a really good comparison I think. Strider might even have been a little more heralded than Jonny.
Kenley may be a bit gassed today.
man i’m glad we get to play a real outfielder in left late these days
Didn’t expect the implosion to come from Jansen
Lordy. I was sure Jansen could finish it.
Jansen definitely does not have his usual command. The blown save seemed to be inevitable.
It was a high fastball, but not high enough, only 95, and straight. It was not a good pitch.
Then he throws the same damn pitch to the next guy and gets lucky that it’s just a floating pop that still nearly falls in but for Swanson.
Yeah, he couldn’t find the lower half of the zone with a map. Lucky we’re still playing free baseball.
They can only score in extra innings when the opponent messes up.
It is comical how bad this team is in innings starting with a runner on second.
Chip Caray’s discussion of extra inning strategy is, IMO, the only downside of the new rule.
This bullpen is not a strength
Well…
Snatched defeat from the jaws of victory again with our minor league level bullpen
That’s six series lost, two series won and four that were split. Not good.
Too many bullpen arms with 88-90 and only a couple they strike hitters out. Hard to win pitching to contact
recapped.
A major league manager would be a upgrade.