Jun 25 2008
Wretched defense costs bumbling Braves in loss to Brewers
By Bud L. Ellis
braves.today.com
Brewers 4, Braves 3
Top of the Order: Three errors in the first inning dug the Braves a hole from which they nearly emerged, only to lose yet another one-run game and fall to 2-3 on the homestand.
The Good: The pitching was quite good, which makes the Braves’ pitiful display of defense all the more frustrating. Rookie Charlie Morton gave the Braves a very solid performance in his third major-league start: seven hits, four runs (only two earned), one walk and four strikeouts in six innings. Blaine Boyer and Manny Acosta, who have struggled in the late innings of close games, both made strides toward regaining their confidence. Acosta walked one but otherwise was perfect in his two innings. Boyer struck out one in one perfect inning. Mark Teixeira continued his good work at the plate with two hits, two runs scored and two RBIs, his 14th homer of the season in the bottom of the ninth pulling the Braves within a run. Chipper Jones didn’t start, but provided a pinch-hit single in the eighth, bumping his big-league leading average to .395. Jeff Francoeur did have two hits. Speaking of Frenchy …
The Bad: Defensively, the Braves played their worst game in recent memory, committing four errors in a game for the first time since June 2, 2004. Francoeur and Yunel Escobar combined to effectively allow the Brewers to play 9-on-7 in the first inning. Francoeur committed two errors in the frame; Escobar was charged with one. The gathering at Turner Field booed its displeasure, and rightly so. In fairness to Frenchy, Escobar should have handled a throw that Francoeur was charged an error on, but that’s the type of inning it was for those two on defense. Absolutely, totally horrible. Together, neither Frenchy nor Escobar looked like they belonged on a major-league field. And Escobar didn’t stay there long, getting ejected for slamming down his batting helmet in the fourth inning. With Chipper limited to pinch-hitting, Escobar getting tossed shortened the Braves’ short bench even more. Thanks, Yunel. Oh, and why is Corky Miller on the team again? With the Braves needing a pinch hitter and the Corkster being the only guy left, Miller and his .103 batting average popped up with runners on the corners to end the game. A fitting end on this night, for sure.
View from the Sports Garage: Right now, all 25 guys on the Braves’ active roster – and the 50 or so (just seems to be that many) on the disabled list – should sit down and write the baseball powers-that-be a letter of thanks. Because the Braves are in the National League East, their flickering hopes of playing meaningful baseball in August and September are alive. Every other team in the East stinks right now. The first-place Phillies have lost six in a row. The Marlins and Mets both have lost two straight. The Nationals are 3-7 in their last 10. But even for the Braves, who have produced their share of stinkers this season, Tuesday’s was tough to take. Nobody would’ve blamed Morton if he’d walked off the mound in the midst of that putrid display of defense in the first inning and sued Francoeur and Escobar for non support. I give the kid a ton of credit for settling down after the first couple of frames and pitching well. You can tell he has the stuff to win in the bigs. Escobar getting tossed is an unpardonable sin when you have no bench to speak of since either Omar Infante or Ruben Gotay has to start at third while Chipper’s quadriceps is healing. It forced the Braves to trot Miller to the plate with the game on the line. Yep, that’s who I want batting with the tying and winning runs on base in the ninth. Corky Miller! His pop-up sealed the Braves’ 20th one-run loss in 24 games this season. I don’t need to tell you if the Braves had won just HALF of the one-run games they have lost in 2008, they would lead the East by 5 ½ games, do I? The Braves have blown a big chance to pull closer to first place in the past week while Philly has hit the skids. But eventually the Phillies are going to start playing better again. And if the Braves continue the type of play we saw in the first inning Tuesday, we’ll all be looking ahead to college football season before you know it.
On deck
Braves vs. Brewers
1:05 p.m. today, Turner Field
The Skinny: Jorge Campillo (2-2, 2.54 ERA) has watched his ERA climb gradually since his first three starts of the season. Still, the right-hander hasn’t pitched poorly. He gave up eight hits and four runs while pitching into the seventh inning Friday against Seattle, a game the bullpen totally let get out of hand. His last victory came in Milwaukee on May 29, when he gave up one run in five innings (he also got his first major-league hit and RBI in that game). Jeff Suppan (4-5, 3.92 ERA) toes the slab for the Brew Crew, and he authored a stinker his last time out. The right-hander allowed seven hits and six runs on just 1 2/3 innings Friday against Baltimore. The Braves have to win today to salvage a .500 homestand. Not exactly what this team needed to do with the Mariners and Brewers, but a win today at least would give them a little momentum heading into the weekend series at Toronto.
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