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Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2011 18:49:30 GMT -5
[shadow=red,left,300]Atlanta Braves (14-25) @ San Francisco Giants (29-10)[/shadow]
ATL: Jose Ortegano (1-3, 4.89 ERA) SF: Tim Lincecum (2-3, 2.85 ERA)
This Monday's Game of the Week spotlights two teams going in opposite directions.
The Atlanta Braves had hopes for a fourth straight NL East crown, and a second World Series in three seasons. Instead, the Braves have crashed and burned. They find themselves 13 games behind the East-leading Marlins, and embarrassingly sit behind expansion Carolina in the division.
Atlanta's offense has been a disaster as they own an embarrassingly low .646 team OPS. Jacoby Ellsbury's OPS is 84 points below his previous career low. Dustin Ackley's average is 49 points below his previous career low. Ryan Zimmerman's average is 63 points below his previous career low. Riaan Spanjer-Furstenburg's OPS is 245 points worse than last season's total.
The horror stories extend throughout the team.
But the Braves were never an offensively potent team, relying more on a pitching staff that was among the game's best. That pitching has catastrophically slipped to the middle of the pack and the Braves haven't been able to recover.
Jose Ortegano is exemplary of this fact.
After a flukish 15-win, 2.71 ERA, All-Star campaign in 2014, Ortegano has been touched to the tune of a 4.89 ERA in 2015. He's worked 7 innings in only one of his starts, and has only had two appearances which can be considered high quality outings.
Atlanta's bullpen has also suffered, with veterans Heath Bell and David Aardsma hitting a wall and struggling through a rough spring.
The youngsters don't look ready for the Majors and the veterans look like they're entering the twilights of their careers. No wonder the Braves are struggling through an awful season.
Contrast that with a Giants team that expected to be good, but not class of the Major Leagues good.
Shockingly, while the Giants pitching is strong as ever, the team's offense has carried them. San Francisco is third in runs due to a ferocious right-hand hitting approach. Marinus Vernooij continues to blossom into a household name (if his name were pronounceable that is) with eight home runs to follow up a 20-home run rookie campaign.
Tim Lincecum may be the only guy the Giants don't score runs for, but he's been just a tough worse than dominant to begin the year.
This game could be the statement game Atlanta needs to break out of their shackles, or it could be another feather in the cap of a Giants team hitting their stride.
Questions for the GM's.
For Anthony Valentine, your star hitters haven't been performing. Is there hope they'll break out of it, either later this year or for next year, or do you blow things up?
Jose Ortegano hasn't been nearly as effective this season. Why has that been?
Tim Lincecum is as good as it gets, and your offense has been a nightmare. How do you try to get runs on the board today?
For Rob Nichols, you're team is almost entirely right-handed and has had success. Is that by design?
Quinton O'Toole has had a nice start to his career. Where has he been successful and what does he need to work on?
The Braves have some hitters with big time pedigrees, but Tim Lincecum is on the mound. What do you expect out of Lincecum tonight?
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Post by Dustin Ackley on Sept 5, 2011 21:14:10 GMT -5
For Anthony Valentine, your star hitters haven't been performing. Is there hope they'll break out of it, either later this year or for next year, or do you blow things up?
This team came into the season thinking that the game owed them something. They underperformed in spring, and have drastically underperformed during the season. It hasn't just been the offense, it's even been the pitchers the "strength" of the team. IF they don't snap out of it soon, there will finally be a price to pay and these players may find there way on a bus to Gwinnett! This team may go into a quick or major rebuild at any point. If the right offer comes along, ANYONE and I mean ANYONE can be traded.
Jose Ortegano hasn't been nearly as effective this season. Why has that been?
He hasn't been the only underperformer on the staff. There are 4 other guys in the rotation and ALL of them have struggled to an extent. Maybe he's been too busy counting the green he got from silly arbitrator who gave him 3.25 million when the team only offered 1.5! Maybe this is his way of thanking the organization for giving a World Series Ring!
Tim Lincecum is as good as it gets, and your offense has been a nightmare. How do you try to get runs on the board today?
I think you could throw just about anyone at this team and we'd be lucky to score 1 run off of them. Babe Ruth could pop out of his grave... Grab his glove, a smoke, and a drink and come out and throw 9 shutout innings against us. I'm dumbfounded by how much this team has struggled after winning 102 games last year and no major changes were made.
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Post by Dustin Ackley on Sept 5, 2011 21:16:16 GMT -5
and if it matters, now that the braves season hangs in the balance......
The 0-6 Stephen Strasburg is getting the start since he only pitched 1 game last week with my export not going thru and he made it thru .2 innings before he injured his thumb.
The Answer is still the same. Strasburg is counting his money and will soon become rumors in the trade mill.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 6, 2011 4:36:41 GMT -5
For Rob Nichols, you're team is almost entirely right-handed and has had success. Is that by design? Quinton O'Toole has had a nice start to his career. Where has he been successful and what does he need to work on? The Braves have some hitters with big time pedigrees, but Tim Lincecum is on the mound. What do you expect out of Lincecum tonight? It is neither by design nor by accident, I don't intentionally look out for right handers specifically, but I do place more value on how hitters deal with RHP as two thirds of the time that is what is coming from the mound. I like to have a platoon option for those players who struggle deeply against LHP, which is why having players like Gaby Sanchez available is great for Vernooij. O'Toole has had a great start, and especially comes up big in clutch situations with a .915 OPS with RISP and a whopping 2.071 OPS with the bases loaded. He struggles at AT&T which is odd as his contact should find the gaps, and he lacks focus in the middle innings. With more maturity and experience, he should be the lead-off man for many years and is likely to move to centre field when McCutcheon moves on. I expect an improvement out of Lincecum. Whilst his ERA/WHIP etc are good, we are 4-5 in games he starts despite us averaging over 4 runs per game in matches he starts. He needs to get back to dominating hitters and making opponents feel like they cannot win with him on the mound. He is also pitching worse at home, so this will be a good chance for him to prove he remains the best pitcher out there.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2011 19:22:30 GMT -5
Postgame Wrap:
Giants 6 - Braves 0
Tim Lincecum and Stephen Strasburg, coming into the season, were thought of as the two best pitchers in the game. On Monday, as has been the case this season, one of those pitchers lived up to his billing and the other continued a perplexing fall.
Tim Lincecum continued a dominant stretch that has the Giants out in front in the National League. Lincecum himself worked 6.2 shutout innings, and has not allowed more than two runs in five of his last six starts. His pitching has helped the Giants win 10 of their last 13 games, opening up a six game lead on the Dodgers in the NL West.
The Braves impotent bats were no match for Lincecum's dazzling stuff and movement. Atlanta managed just three hits off Lincecum, and two of those were infield singles. He retired the first 11 hitters to face him and didn't allow a hit until the fifth.
Lincecum did walk three so the Braves did end up with a pair of scoring chances. They had two on with two outs in the fifth, but Edward Salcedo grounded out harmlessly to second base. In the same situation in the sixth, Ryan Zimmerman struck out swinging to end the threat. Franco Estrada had the only legitimate hit off Lincecum in the seventh, a triple that split the gap. However, Lincecum was pulled for Sergio Cruz who got Salcedo to fly out to center to end the threat. Estrada was the only Brave to reach third base. Salcedo had a particularly rough day, stranding five runners on base with two outs, including three in scoring position.
Meanwhile, Stephen Strasburg struggled again, finding new ways to disappoint. In the second inning, he allowed two runs on two walks, two wild pitches, and an infield single. Three hits plated three runs in the sixth, while a pair of two-out hits, wrapped around a stolen base, brought a run home in the seventh. By the time Strasburg's day was finished, he allowed six runs and nine hits over 7 innings of work, only striking out three.
Strasburg is now an almost unfathomable 0-7, and Atlanta's playoff hopes have disappeared with him unable to be the record-setting superstar he was last season.
Questions for the GM's. For Anthony Valentine, Stephen Straburg had one healthy start last season that wasn't a quality start. This year, he's fallen off the map. Why has Strasburg fallen apart this year?
Edward Salcedo got the start and continued a poor 2015. Do you continue to throw him out there or do you look for another shortstop to start?
Your team has not won a single road game this season against a team currently over .500, and you're 5-14 on the road this year. Why has playing away from Atlanta been so difficult this year?
For Rob Nichols, you're offense scored runs via extra-base hitting, via speed-ball, and via patience and opportunity. How balanced would you say your offense is?
Tim Lincecum faced a pitching pillar and thoroughly outclassed him. Is Lincecum the best in baseball?
Andrew McCutchen has struggled a bit this season, though he had two hits in the game. Is this because he doesn't look comfortable in the eight spot in the order?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2011 1:24:39 GMT -5
For Rob Nichols, you're offense scored runs via extra-base hitting, via speed-ball, and via patience and opportunity. How balanced would you say your offense is? Tim Lincecum faced a pitching pillar and thoroughly outclassed him. Is Lincecum the best in baseball? Andrew McCutchen has struggled a bit this season, though he had two hits in the game. Is this because he doesn't look comfortable in the eight spot in the order? We have a fairly good balanced offense, but we are probably a power hitting number 5 away from a perfectly balanced offense. Beyond Vernooij, there is little long ball threat and teams can intentionally walk him too frequently for my liking. Thankfully he is only a sophomore so some pitchers are too proud to do it Lincecum is one of the top few pitchers in baseball right now, and when you factor in consistant success year after year, he is the best bar none. To think he accepted a $9.5mil per year contract and hasn't complained since is a testament to his loyalty as well. McCutcheon is hitting at 8 because he is struggling, the alternative would be swapping him for O'Toole and quite simply, O'Toole is outperforming him. McCutcheon remains lead off against LHP and is merely doing ok there.
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Post by Dustin Ackley on Sept 9, 2011 11:07:10 GMT -5
Sorry, the last few days have been hectic. I'll get a response up tonight
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Post by Deleted on Sept 9, 2011 11:29:46 GMT -5
Sorry, the last few days have been hectic. I'll get a response up tonight Hectic would be Strasburg and his 0-8 record
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Post by Dustin Ackley on Sept 9, 2011 12:32:45 GMT -5
Sorry, the last few days have been hectic. I'll get a response up tonight Hectic would be Strasburg and his 0-8 record Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I hate my team.
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Post by Dustin Ackley on Sept 11, 2011 12:12:08 GMT -5
Sorry for the delay...
Questions for the GM's. For Anthony Valentine, Stephen Straburg had one healthy start last season that wasn't a quality start. This year, he's fallen off the map. Why has Strasburg fallen apart this year? I honestly have no answer for this. He pitched so unbelievably well last year, we weren't expecting a repeat but we were expecting him to lead us to 90+ wins and compete for a playoff spot. Braves management is dumbfounded in his struggles so far this year.
Edward Salcedo got the start and continued a poor 2015. Do you continue to throw him out there or do you look for another shortstop to start? Sophmore jinx? Salcedo is only 23 years old and has lots of potential. We have no reason to believe he can't turn this around and be the short stop of the future for us. He has been good defensively for us so we have no reason to believe that his offense won't come around.
Your team has not won a single road game this season against a team currently over .500, and you're 5-14 on the road this year. Why has playing away from Atlanta been so difficult this year? The Braves have been one of the best road teams over the past few seasons. Personel has not changed, so I have no idea why the struggles all of a sudden. This team was always built around pitching and an offense that would score enough runs to win games. Well, when you aren't pitching and aren't hitting... You aren't going to win many games whether they are at home or on the road. This whole season has been a major disappointment.
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