Aug 15 2008
Kotsay’s cycle not enough as Braves fall to Cubs
By Bud L. Ellis
braves.today.com
Cubs 11, Braves 7
Top of the Order: Even two of the rarest events – a Braves’ player hitting for the cycle, and Jeff Francoeur hitting something other than air – wasn’t enough to keep the Braves from losing their fourth straight game.
The Good: Slide over, Albert Hall, and make room for Mark Kotsay in the record books. Kotsay tripled, homered and singled in his first three at-bats, then lined a double down the line in the seventh to complete just the second cycle by a Brave in the franchise’s 43 seasons in Atlanta. Kotsay finished 5-for-5, the third five-hit game of his career. The double that clinched the cycle also was his 1,500th career hit. Just as impressive: Francoeur, who went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBIs, those three coming on a three-run homer in the seventh (his 10th of the season). It’s Frenchy’s best offensive game in three months, and it raised his average to a robust .229. Martin Prado is hotter than heck right now, going 2-for-5. The reserve outfielder has 11 hits in his last 22 at-bats. Julian Tavarez, Vladimir Nunez and Will Ohman each pitched a scoreless inning of relief. Also good is the fact the Braves won’t see the Cubs again until 2009; the Cubs swept the season series.
So, Who is Albert Hall?: Glad you asked, good people. Hall was a switch-hitting outfielder who played for the Braves from 1981-1988, but never appeared in more than 92 games in a single season. In 1987, Hall enjoyed his best season, hitting .284 with three homers, 24 RBIs, 20 doubles, four triples and 33 stolen bases. On Sept. 23, 1987, Hall hit for the cycle against the Astros, becoming just the fourth player in franchise history to accomplish the feat. And he did it in dramatic fashion, tripling in the bottom of the ninth inning. His average dipped to .247 the next season, and the return of Lonnie Smith from an ankle injury after that sent Hall to Pittsburgh, where he played in 20 games in 1989 before retiring. The night he hit for the cycle, Hall scored the tying and winning runs in a 5-4 victory at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, in front of an intimate gathering of 2,477 fans.
The Bad: Two nights after Hall experienced his 15 minutes of fame, a young left-hander named Tom Glavine made the eighth start of his rookie season. Back to Thursday, where Glavine made his first start since June 10 after missing more than two months with an elbow injury. The future Hall of Famer wasn’t sharp, giving up seven runs on seven hits in four innings, walking four. Buddy Carlyle allowed two runs on four hits in an inning. Blaine Boyer added two runs on two hits with two walks in his nightly appearance. The Braves finished with 14 hits but left 10 runners on base. Worse, every time the Braves pulled close, the pitching allowed the Cubs to pull away. Kotsay was great at the plate, but lost a ball in the lights in the fifth that allowed a run to score. Then, there was the usual Cubs’ garbage: Yunel Escobar was hit by a pitch in the sixth by Ted Lilly and wasn’t happy, walking toward the mound before the umpires intervened. The benches emptied, but no punches were thrown. To make room for Glavine, who was activated before the game, rookie Francisley Bueno was optioned to Richmond. Bueno, by the way, was suspended for three games by Major League Baseball for throwing at Alfonso Soriano in the opening game of Wednesday’s doubleheader.
View from the Sports Garage: Well, the Braves at least put up a fight in this one. Couldn’t say that after two absolute flat performances in Wednesday’s double-dip. The Cubs are really, really good. The Braves are back to their struggling ways after a promising road trip last week. Glavine wasn’t sharp at all, and the mighty Chicago offense took advantage. At least the bats kept the Braves in it. I know he probably won’t be resigned and his back is one tweak away from landing him back on the DL, but Kotsay is a pro’s pro and it was satisfying to see him hit for the cycle, one of the rarest feats in the grand ol’ game. Even bigger to me was Francoeur’s performance. Dude really swung the bat well and it was great to see him produce at the plate. The Braves really need Jeffro to get going these final six weeks, to try and salvage something from his woeful 2008 season. And although Lilly is a gutless you-know-what, maybe his headhunting lit a fire under this team. Lilly, if you recall, has thrown at the Braves in the past, and the pitch up and in on Escobar was uncalled for; Lilly is lucky Esco didn’t race to the mound and pound him into the turf. I promise you this: when the Braves get the schedule for 2009, they’ll be looking for that first series against the Cubs and hoping Lilly toes the slab. You know what they say about payback. In the end, though, the Cubs are heads and shoulders above the Braves this season, and it showed in this dreadful series. Atlanta never led in any of the three games, being outscored 29-9.
On deck
Braves vs. Giants
7:35 p.m. today, Turner Field
The Skinny: A rematch of the matchup from the opening game of last week’s road trip. Jair Jurrjens (11-7, 3.18 ERA) gave up nine hits and four runs (three earned), and was let down by his defense, in losing last Monday at San Francisco. Jurrjens leads all big-league rookies with 11 innings, but now that he’s surpassed his career high in innings pitched and with the Braves out of the race, Atlanta’s coaching staff will keep a close eye on the young right-hander. For the Giants, Matt Cain (7-9, 3.69 ERA) gave up five hits and one run in 6 2/3 innings against Jurrjens and the Braves last week. Even though he walked five, the Braves couldn’t take advantage. In his last start, Cain lost to the Dodgers, giving up a go-ahead double to Manny Ramirez.
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The same Cub garbage? If I remember correctly this all started with the Braves throwing at Soriano earlier in the season, and putting him on the DL. So what if Soriano watched his “homerun single”? You don’t throw at a guys head. That’s some Bush League Braves garbage.
Bud, you’re exactly right, but just to add a few notes to your rebuttal: It was Hudson who nailed Soriano in the back last year after admiring 3 homeruns leave the park. Lilly in turn, hit Edgar in the chin, I believe. Ridiculous
As for the Bennett/Soriano thing…It was an 0-2 pitch with 2 outs and runners on base and the heart of the order coming up. Why would anybody in their right mind drill sombody on purpose in that situation?
I hope Bueno never throws another pitch in a Braves uniform because of his actions, but I am somewhat proud of him for being the only one with enough sack to toe the line and protect his team. And to think it took a rookie in his major-league debut to take action.
I’m extrememly disappointed in the way the team, including Bobby, has let Lilly slap them around in the past 3 outings without reprimand. Even if you take away his shenanigan’s, I’m still disappointed in the way it was handled and here’s why: When a team is beating you like a rented mule for the 6th straight game, and smacking the ball all over the field at will, you’ve got to bust them inside a time or two, knock them off the plate, and keep them honest. That’s not retaliation, that’s just baseball.
The Braves should be ashamed at the way they got pushed around on the field. As should the Braves FANS in Atlanta, who in essence let the Cubs’ fans do the same thing to them in the bleachers. Never should you be able to hear the home team getting booed while intentionally walking a hitter from the visiting team. Embarrassing.
Not to mention the endless “Let’s Go Cubbies” chants throughout the series.