WP: Olsen (3-2)
LP: Lowe (10-9)
SV: Capps (26)

This game, like Tuesday’s, completely sucked. The Braves played some really uninspired baseball and lost their second straight series, this time to the last place Nationals. So in the past 7 days, the Braves have lost 4 games to the worst 2 teams in the division. Doesn’t make any sense. Derek Lowe started and put forth yet another crappy effort not worthy of someone making 8 figures per season. The damage today was 4 earned in 5 innings, allowing 6 baserunners and striking out 3. 3 of the 5 hits Lowe allowed were of the extra base variety: a homer to Ian Desmond, and ground rule doubles by Desmond and Adam Dunn. 2 runs in the second and 2 runs in the 4th were more than enough for the Nationals with how horrible the offense performed today. Maybe more telling about Lowe’s day was the fact that he threw 98 pitches in 5 innings to a Nationals team featuring lugs like Nyjer Morgan, Adam Kennedy, the aforementioned Desmond, and Wil Nieves in the lineup. Desmond and Nieves would drive in 3 of the 4 runs. Quite simply, you cannot let a team’s bad players beat you, and that’s what Lowe did today.

Offensively, the Braves were having problems figuring out Scott Olsen. Yes, the same Scott Olsen who hasn’t started a game in 2 months. The Braves best chances at scoring runs came in the second, fourth, and sixth innings. In the second, Omar Infante and David Ross each had 2 out singles and were stranded by Melky Cabrera. In the 4th, Matt Diaz followed a Troy Glaus walk with his 5th homer of the season to tie the game at 2. Ross would triple and Cabrera would be intentionally walked to bring up the pitcher’s slot, which ended as well as you could imagine. And finally, before the rain delay in the 6th inning, the Braves got a sloppy run after Diaz reached on an error, moved to second on a passed ball, and scored on an Infante single. And that would take care of the Braves for the day, as only a pair of runners reached in 3 innings against the fearsome (cough) Nationals bullpen. The top 3 hitters (Prado, Heyward, Jones) went 0/11 with a walk. Pathetic. 2 backups, Infante and Ross, had 4 of the Braves 6 hits. Glaus would be the only other Brave to reach base more than once, adding a single to his 4th inning walk. Bad performances all around.

Tomorrow, the Braves venture to Cincinnati to take on the first place Reds. Maybe playing a team that’s actually contending will make this team start to play a little better. Reds ace Johnny Cueto takes on Kris Medlen. Should be a good one.

Hopefully by the time that series is over, the Braves have added a player to the lineup that’s got some pop. Here’s hoping…as always, keep your eyes peeled on my Twitter page for the latest. Will be tweeting my brains out Saturday with the deadline…

WP: Hudson (11-5)
LP: Hernandez (7-7)
SV: Wagner (23)

Tonight was all about the pitching. Much like last night, the Braves got a solid performance from their starter…hell, it wasn’t a solid performance. Tim Hudson’s performance tonight was COMMANDING. He had the Nationals looking stupid all night. Out of the 7 hits he allowed, 6 were singles. He walked one batter, that being the final batter he faced in the 8th inning. The 7 strikeouts he had tied his season high. That strikeout to walk ratio is starting to improve a lot more, which as I’ve been saying all year, is a huge key in him remaining a quality starter for the team. And I left the best for last…remember that sexy groundball ratio he’s sporting? It only got better tonight, with Huddy getting 12 ground balls compared to only 4 in the air. Absolute dominance from the Braves ace. Jonny Venters and Billy Wagner got the final 4 outs of the game without a blemish. Easy as pie.

Offensively…same crap as usual. Tons of runners, not a ton of runs. 12 Braves reached base, 9 were stranded…that means that at least there were no double plays on the evening. All of the offense happened early too, with the first 2 runs coming in the first inning, and the third coming in the 5th. Martin Prado and Jason Heyward got the memo I sent out last night about not getting on, as each reached base 3 times. With the tablesetters on bases, the offense was able to put some magic on the board. Chipper Jones hit a first inning sac fly to bring in Prado, who was on third after a Heyward double. The second run of the night came in odd fashion…after an Eric Hinske strikeout, the Braves pulled a delayed double steal. Brian McCann broke towards second and froze to initiate a rundown. That led to Jason Heyward barreling towards the plate and just getting his hand in under Ivan Rodriguez’s tag. So the kid can steal home too…awesome. The final run involved the particulars from the first inning again, as Chipper singled in Prado. In addition to the exploits from the top of the lineup, Brian McCann and Melky Cabrera would each reach base a pair of times. Melky’s OPS is approaching .700, and the world doesn’t know what we’re going to do once it gets there.

So we’ve got a really early day game tomorrow…12:35?! What the hell is that? Anyway. Craig Stammen vs Derek Lowe. I’m expecting a lot of runs to be put on the board. After leaving Washington, the team will be heading to Cincinnati for the weekend series…now thats going to be a tough one.

WP: Batista (1-2)
LP: Hanson (8-7)
SV: Capps (25)

Tonight’s game suck. Stephen Strasburg was supposed to start for the Nationals and got scratched when he “couldn’t get warmed up properly”, whatever that’s supposed to mean. So instead, Miguel Batista started for the Nats…and of course, he led a shutout of the Braves, 3-0. The Braves were only able to bang out 5 hits, and drew only 1 walk. It was, quite frankly, a pathetic offensive performance. I’m not sure what it really is about the Nationals…but they always seem to be able to handle the Braves when they need to. Tonight was another one of those nights. Of the 7 baserunners the Braves put on (the 5 hits, 1 walk, and a HBP to Jason Heyward), Melky Cabrera and Eric Hinske accounted for 4 of the hits, along with a single from Chipper and a Troy Glaus walk. Martin Prado went 0/4 with a pair of strikeouts, and Heyward added an 0/3 with a pair of strikeouts to his HBP. Brian McCann had a particularly hideous game, going 0/4 with a strikeout and a GIDP. The Nationals also ran like crazy on him, stealing 4 bases on the night. None of McCann’s throws were particularly close, the worst being a dart that flew over Chipper’s head into left field allowing Nyjer Morgan to score the first run of the game in the second inning. Its funny…people were talking about McCann’s throwing ability getting better, and he turns in a performance like that. It was really painful to watch.

Tommy Hanson started, and you know what? He was fine. The first run scored on the aforementioned McCann throw into left field. The other 2 runs came in the second inning, due to Chipper Jones throwing a surefire Roger Bernadina GIDP ball into right field to put runners on second and third with none out. An Ian Desmond single brought the two runners home. After that? Hanson was dominant. After that Desmond single, Hanson only allowed 2 more hits, one of which was an infield single. Overall for the evening, he’d allow 6 hits in his 6 innings of work while not walking a batter and striking out 8. Not as if it mattered with the state of the Braves offense on the evening, but Jonny Venters threw a pair of perfect innings to close out the game with a couple strikeouts. I question the wisdom of using him yet again, but whatever. He’ll be getting a vacation with his oncoming suspension soon enough.

Tomorrow’s pitching matchup makes me chuckle a little bit: Livan Hernandez and Tim Hudson. A pair of guys that are drastically outperforming their FIPs. Gotta love it. This reeks of one of those games where the teams combine to strand 20 runners and the final is like 4-2. Here’s hoping the Braves get the bigger number tomorrow, because with the Phillies being hot…look out.

HOT
Jason Heyward: .538/.613/.615, 7 R, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 5 BB, 5 K, 2/3 SB
He’s back, and he’s back with a vengeance. The Braves need this guy in the lineup performing at the level he did in April and May if they want to make a deep run into October. The alphabet soup of outfielders that went on with him and Nate McLouth both out did nothing to help the team, and they kept their head above water. A healthy Heyward means that the team SHOULD be able to make a push and gain some distance in the tight NL East race.

Alex Gonzalez: .370/.414/.556, 2 R, 3 2B, 1 3B, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 4 K
The ASG acquisition for the Braves isn’t tearing the cover off the ball like Yunel Escobar is in Toronto, but he sure as hell is hitting a lot better than Escobar was while he was a Brave. Gonzalez has also been solid defensively, and hasn’t many any lapses like Escobar was prone to do…this, I could get used to.

Jonny Venters: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 4 H, 2 BB, 5 K
He’s been lights out this year. Lights. Out. There’s bound to be a little bit of regression here, but you know what…I’m gonna roll with this right now.

NOT
Billy Wagner: 0-1, 10.13 ERA, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 HR, 2 BB, 2 K
Like Venters is bound for regression, Wagner also was, and suffered his bout of it this week, blowing a pair of saves that would have been really nice to have right about now. He’ll be fine, just a bump in the road…every closer runs into them.

Nate McLouth: .067/.067/.067, 2 R, 2 K
McLouth was jettisoned off the team today, being sent to Gwinnett to hopefully learn how to hit like a multimillion dollar player is supposed to. He had a crappy week, just adding to his crappy season. If it wasn’t for that walkoff against Philly in May…yeah. It would truly be a forgettable season for Nate.

Troy Glaus: .143/.321/.238, 2 R, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 5 BB, 4 K
Glaus was never a guy to hit for a high average…but yeah. More than 3 hits in a week would be a good example to set for your teammates, Troy. He was red hot in May and the team began to take off…he needs to heat up in a hurry. He’s hitting .226 over the last 2 months with an OPS in the .600 range. Yeah…

We’ll go chronologically. It broke earlier today that David Ross was signed to a 2 year extension, worth $3.25 million over the 2 years. So the backup catcher is now signed until 2012. He’s one of the better backups in the league, and is well worth this minuscule salary. Ross will be 35 once the deal expires, which is seemingly a pretty good time to cut bait on a catcher who’s been in the league since 2002. Over his 2 years with the Braves, Ross has been worth 2.6 WAR, translating to $11.7 million in production over a year and a half…while only making a total of $3 million by the time the deal is up. He got a very slight raise over his salary this year in the new deal, and he’s worth it. Its good to have a solid receiver waiting in the wings when Brian McCann needs a day off.

Now, another transaction…Nate McLouth has been optioned to Gwinnett. He apparently still had options left, which I wasn’t aware of. To replace McLouth on the roster, Brent Clevlen was activated from the DL after getting hurt way back in May. It is believed that Clevlen will be demoted at the end of the week and Gregor Blanco will be called up again…unless of course, there is a move made this week to acquire a center fielder. With Chris Coghlan’s injury in Florida, the name Cody Ross is looking less likely, but someone like Corey Hart or Josh Willingham could still be in play. As for McLouth…good god, he’s been terrible as a Brave. Since being acquired at the beginning of last June, he’s played in 146 games, so we essentially have a full season sample size here…his stat line? .225/.327/.365 with 14 homers and 118 strikeouts. He’s been worth -0.3 WAR. Thats right, he’s been a DRAIN on the team since being acquired. Its not Francoeur-level, but its still something you can’t have on a team looking to win a championship…trotting McLouth out day by day was only hurting the Braves.

This is rather funny though…looking at similarity scores on B-R, here are McLouth’s top 5: Bubba Trammell, Jody Gerut, Corey Hart, someone named Jim Greengrass (fantastic name), and Josh Willingham. Thats right, 2 of the most similar men to McLouth are…2 guys the Braves are looking at to replace him. McLouth is still on the hook for ~$2 million this season, and has a contract to pay him $6.5 million next season. The Braves are going to have to bite a huge bullet with that one if they want to dump McLouth off onto someone. McLouth, Kawakami, Lowe…this team suddenly has some crappy contracts. Chipper’s isn’t looking so horrible right now, is it?

As for McLouth’s current replacement…it looks like Melky Cabrera will be starting every day in center, which I don’t have much of a problem with, while Clevlen will be the 4th OF off the bench. I don’t really care. The Hinske/Diaz platoon in left seems to be working well since Diaz has returned off the DL, and Melky isn’t playing terribly bad lately…so whatever. Anything is better than McLouth at this point.

Tonight’s schedule: HOT or NOT will be up before the game is over this evening, and the recap of tonight’s game between the Braves and Nationals will be up at the conclusion of the game. Weather will not be an issue tonight…looking gorgeous 2 hours northwest of DC!

1) Julio Teheran, Myrtle Beach Mississippi
Weekly: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 9 K (in Myrtle Beach)
Season: 6-6, 2.28 ERA, .210 BAA, 7 HR, 23 BB, 121 K

2) Freddie Freeman, Gwinnett
Weekly: 8/25, 4 R, 1 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 1 BB, 4 K, 0/1 SB
Season: .290/.352/.488, 44 R, 23 2B, 2 3B, 13 HR, 57 RBI, 2/4 SB

3) Randall Delgado, Myrtle Beach Mississippi
Weekly: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
Season: 4-8, 2.80 ERA, .209 BAA, 7 HR, 35 BB, 125 K

5) Edward Salcedo, Rome
Weekly: 4/19, 2 R, 2 3B, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 3 K, 0/1 SB
Season: .262/.371/.418, 26 R, 9 2B, 5 3B, 1 HR, 19 RBI, 37 K, 11/13 SB

6) Mike Minor, Gwinnett
Weekly: 12 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 1 HR, 3 BB, 12 K
Season: 5-7, 3.71 ERA, .227 BAA, 9 HR, 42 BB, 136 K

7) Christian Bethancourt, Rome
Weekly: 2/15, 1 2B, 1 BB, 5 K
Season:.252/.283/.330, 24 R, 13 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 27 RBI, 38 K, 2/2 SB

8.) JJ Hoover, Myrtle Beach
Weekly: 13 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 2 HR, 3 BB, 11 K
Season: 8-5, 3.50 ERA, .249 BAA, 5 HR, 27 BB, 94 K

9) Robinson Lopez, Rome
Weekly: 5 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
Season: 3-7, 4.45 ERA, .234 BAA, 4 HR, 36 BB, 66 K

10) Carlos Perez, Danville Rome
Weekly: 2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
Season: 2-1, 1.59 ERA, .202 BAA, 13 BB, 24 K

11) Brett Oberholtzer, Myrtle Beach
Weekly: 4 IP, 10 H, 8 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Season: 3-6, 4.18 ERA, .307 BAA, 5 HR, 15 BB, 70 K

12) Chris Masters, Rome
Weekly: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 HR, 2 BB, 4 K
Season: 1-5, 3.29 ERA, .233 BAA, 8 HR, 34 BB, 82 K

13) Zeke Spruill, Myrtle Beach
Weekly: 4 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
Season: 0-2, 6.85 ERA, .317 BAA, 1 HR, 3 BB, 16 K

14) Tim Collins, Mississippi
Weekly: 3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 HR, 2 BB, 4 K
Season: 1-0, 2.44 ERA, .170 BAA, 5 HR, 18 K, 82 K

15) Matt Lipka, GCL
Weekly: 10/27, 7 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 10 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 6/6 SB
Season: .352/.407/.472, 23 R, 6 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 21 RBI, 8 K, 12/14 SB

16) Brandon Beachy, Mississippi Gwinnett
Weekly: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 HR, 2 BB, 7 K (in Mississippi)
Season: 3-1, 1.47 ERA, .200 BAA, 3 HR, 22 BB, 100 K

17) Mycal Jones, Myrtle Beach
Weekly: 9/32, 6 R, 2 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 8 K
Season: .277/.327/.418, 54 R, 24 2B, 9 HR, 87 K, 16/22 SB

19) Cory Harrilchak, Myrtle Beach
Weekly: 10/33, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 3 K, 2/2 SB
Season: .296/.363/.394, 45 R, 20 2B, 5 3B, 2 HR, 37 RBI, 46 K, 21/34 SB

20) Scott Diamond, Gwinnett
Weekly: 7 IP, 8 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Season: 4-6, 3.69 ERA, .293 BAA, 5 HR, 41 BB, 94 K

21) Riaan Spanjer-Furstenburg, Rome
Weekly: 7/24, 2 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 5 K
Season: .293/.349/.400, 16 R, 10 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 13 RBI, 24 K, 0/1 SB

22) Joe Leonard, Rome
Weekly: 6/23, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K
Season: .289/.333/.513, 10 R, 4 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 13 RBI, 16 K

23) Cody Johnson, Mississippi
Weekly: 0/3, 3 K
Season: .211/.282/.395, 31 R, 6 2B, 12 HR, 35 RBI, 108 K, 9/15 SB

24) Cory Rasmus, Rome Myrtle Beach
Weekly: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K (with Rome)
Season: 6-5, 3.16 ERA, .244 BAA, 6 HR, 26 BB, 66 K

25) Tyler Pastornicky, Mississippi
Weekly: 6/21, 4 R, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 5 BB, 3 K, 4/4 SB
Season: .262/.353/.379, 55 R, 17 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 54 K, 28/36 SB

26) Brett DeVall, Rome
Weekly: 5 1/3 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
Season: 6-6, 4.17 ERA, .313 BAA, 2 HR, 21 BB, 59 K

27) Elmer Reyes, GCL Danville
Weekly: 7/21, 3 R, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 3 K, 1/1 SB
Season: .295/.348/.419, 18 R, 4 2B, 3 HR, 14 RBI, 16 K, 4/6 SB

29) Jesus Saldeno, DSL
Weekly: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Season: 3-1, 2.05 ERA, .182 BAA, 1 HR, 10 BB, 44 K

30) Philip Gosselin, Rome
Weekly: 6/21, 5 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 5 BB, 4 K
Season: .320/.383/.456, 9 R, 5 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 13 RBI, 20 K, 4/5 SB

31) Abraham Espinosa, DSL
Weekly: 4 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Season: 4-1, 1.98 ERA, .255 BAA, 3 HR, 3 BB, 29 K

32) Jesus Sucre, Mississippi
Weekly: 2/14, 1 R, 1 2B, 4 K
Season: .257/.280/.377, 28 R, 19 2B, 5 HR, 29 RBI, 36 K, 1/1 SB

34) Caleb Brewer, Rome
Weekly: 3 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
Season: 3-2, 4.65 ERA, .273 BAA, 4 HR, 26 BB, 24 K

35) Tyler Stovall, Danville
Weekly: 1/3 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 0 K
Season: 1-0, 2.63 ERA, .119 BAA, 0 HR, 11 BB, 14 K

36) Tyrelle Harris, Myrtle Beach
Weekly: 3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Season: 1-2, 3.67 ERA, .248 BAA, 0 HR, 16 BB, 45 K

37) Edison Sanchez, GCL
Weekly: no stats accumulated
Season: .305/.438/.441, 9 R, 5 2B, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 15 K, 0/1 SB

38) Benino Pruneda, Mississippi
Weekly: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
Season: 1-4, 3.74 ERA, .225 BAA, 1 HR, 29 BB, 63 K

39) Aris Alcantara, DSL
Weekly: 4/9, 1 R, 3 BB, 1 K, 1/1 SB
Season: .321/.446/.467, 18 R, 12 2B, 4 3B, 25 K, 4/8 SB

40) Ryan Delgado, Danville
Weekly: 1/16, 1 R, 4 K
Season: .268/.303/.493, 8 R, 6 2B, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 14 K

MASH Unit
4) Arodys Vizcaino (strained elbow ligament – likely out for the season)
18) Dimaster Delgado (car accident – out for the season)
28) Adam Milligan (rotator cuff surgery – out for the season)
33) Andy Otero (currently on DL, injury unknown)

Hitter of the week: Matt Lipka, GCL
Pitcher of the week: Julio Teheran, Mississippi

WP: Sosa (2-2)
LP: Chavez (2-2)

Ah yes…what an infuriating game today was. We’re going to start with the offense. The Braves jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead after a first inning RBI single from Brian McCann, and a third inning solo homer from Eric Hinske. After a pair of 1-2-3 innings, the scoring commenced with another run in the 3rd, after a Melky Cabrera sac fly with the bases loaded to cut the Marlins lead to 4-3. With men still on the corners, Bobby Cox decided NOT to pinch hit for Jair Jurrjens…it was an interesting move at the top, as JJ was an inning removed from allowing 4 runs. So he hit for himself, and flew out to end the threat. That wasn’t all for the scoring opportunities though…the Braves would once again load the bases in the 7th. Bobby made the genius (cough) decision to pinch run Nate McLouth for Eric Hinske, who had reached base in 3 of his 4 plate appearances on the day. Naturally, Troy Glaus grounded into a double play, and the Braves’ hottest hitter on the day was out of the lineup. Fantastic. 8th inning…nowhere near as heartbreaking. Cabrera doubled to lead off the inning, and Chipper Jones banged him home on the next pitch with a double of his own. Tie game. That ended the threat that inning. 9th inning. Brian McCann walks, and is pinch run for with Matt Diaz. Diaz tries to steal and is thrown out. So theres the Braves’ best power option out of the game. Awesome. 10th inning. Jorge Sosa, the HORRIBLE TERRIBLE AWFUL Jorge Sosa, comes in…and gets a 1-2-3 inning on 8 pitches. At this point, I can’t make anything up. One more for the road: 11th inning. 3 straight singles load the bases for Eric…er, excuse me. McLouth. He grounds into an inning ending double play. So the Braves load the bases 3 times in the final 3 innings, and get one run out of that whole ordeal…the other run naturally came with no one on. Woulda been nice to have that Chipper double with more than one runner on base. But alas. Omar Infante got into the game in the bottom of the 11th inning. He’s been swinging a pretty sweet stick, and you don’t use him to pinch hit for McLouth in the 11th? I understand you’re trying to get McLouth’s confidence up and all, but christ almighty. Overall: 11 stranded. Jason Heyward, Hinske, and McCann all reached base 3 times. Two of those men were pulled from the game. We’re at the point where I’m actively cheering for Melky to be playing every day, and that is a sad, sad situation. He’s 8 for 27 with 5 extra base hits since the break…I’ve reached the stage where I’m cool with that considering the complete lack of production out of McLouth. He’s 1 for 17 since coming off the DL. I stood by him when he slumped this spring. I stood by him when he slumped in April and May. No more. No…more.

Lets talk about the pitching, and I’ll probably get angry again. Jair Jurrjens pitched well, despite what the statline says. He allowed 4 runs in his 7 innings, all of which came in a 4th inning where a downpour was raging and he couldn’t grip the ball properly. 2 walks, 6 strikeouts, and only 103 pitches in those 7 innings. I wasn’t too pleased with the decision to not pinch hit for him back in the 6th, but it paid off and saved a couple innings out of the bullpen. He did very well, and I’m happy with his progress since his return. As for the bullpen…Peter Moylan struck out the side swinging in his inning of work. Takashi Saito got a pair of strikeouts in his perfect inning. Jonny Venters allowed a hit, but got an easy DP ball to get out of it. And then…Jesse Chavez. Single, single, walk single, and we’re going home. He only threw 10 pitches…and 4 of those came on an intentional walk. When you allow 3 hard hit singles on only 6 pitches, you suck. He needs to go. I can’t take seeing this sack of crap in the bullpen coming into situations like this. I can understand why Bobby didn’t want to use Mike Dunn, after his last performance where he couldn’t find the strike zone with a seeing eye dog. He hasn’t pitched since Thursday though, so he’s fresh. What about Kenshin Kawakami? He’s pitched exactly once since being booted from the rotation a month ago. Why are you even going to keep him on the roster if you’re not going to use him? Cox is essentially working with a 5 man bullpen right now due to his lack of use of Kawakami, apparent nonreliance on Dunn, and the straight up “blowtorch to the gasoline” phenomenon that is Chavez. The best question of all…why not use BILLY WAGNER in that key spot? He’s the best pitcher in the pen. I don’t care if he’s got 2 straight blown saves. He is the *best* pitcher in the pen, and I don’t care what people have to say about Venters. The stupid philosophy that managers have today about using closers in non-save situations infuriates me. He’ll use Wagner with a 6 run lead to get him work at home, but won’t use him in a tie game in extra innings on the road? Stupidity. Pure, unabashed stupidity.

Alright. Offday tomorrow, then on to Washington to take on the not totally horrible Nationals. Awesome pitching matchup Tuesday between the NL East studs of the next 5 years: Tommy Hanson vs Stephen Strasburg. SICK!

Site notes: WPR will be up tomorrow. Mississippi’s got a doubleheader today that’s not starting for another 2 hours, and Randall Delgado is pitching the second game…don’t want to neglect his first AA start.

HT to Tara for catching some mistakes I made while writing in rage. You’re the smartest person I know who has “diva” in their Twitter name.

WP: Chavez (2-1)
LP: Marinez (1-1)

After a game last night where the Braves battled back, only to fall in the bottom of the 9th due to Billy Wagner’s second meltdown in a week, they battled back again…this time, the fort would hold, and the team would prevail 10-5. Kris Medlen started, and pitched…interestingly? He went 6 innings, which is a plus. He struck out 8 and only walked 1, which is another plus. On the negative side…he allowed 5 runs, due in part to a pair of homers and 8 hits by the Marlins. Dan Uggla’s second homer in as many nights gave the Marlins a 2 run lead, and Mike Stanton’s 6th inning blast extended the lead to 3. That would be all the Marlins got, due to Jesse Chavez miraculously holding down the fort in the 7th, and Jonny Venters causing some alarm (4 baserunners) in the final 2 innings, but ending up closing the game out.

Alright, time to look at the offense, which was the major story of the game. The scoring started immediately, with a Martin Prado solo homer to lead off the game…also his second in 2 games. Brian McCann would continue his hot hitting by singling in Jason Heyward in the second. Heyward…lets talk about him for a minute. He had himself a *night*, singling 3 times, walking twice, and scoring a pair of runs. Yeah…reaching base successfully 5 times in an evening is something you can really hang your hat on. Lets flash forward to the top of the 8th inning, where all the damage was done. Heyward led off with a single, and Chipper Jones would reach on an error by Jorge Cantu on a ball that could have been an infield hit, but Cantu rushed the throw, moving Heyward over to third. Brian McCann was plunked in the elbow to load the bases, and Troy Glaus drew a bases loaded walk to make it 5-3. Eric Hinske promptly laced a single into right to tie the game at 5. Alex Gonzalez was next up and attempted to sacrifice bunt…only the throw over to Cantu at third resulted in him not being able to find the bag and leading to all runners being safe. Nate McLouth tried his damndest to ground into a double play the next pitch, but only the lead runner was caught. Bases were still loaded, and that brought up Brooks Conrad…who proceeded to hit his second go ahead grand slam of the year, this one being 4 rows deep into the right field seats. The inning wasn’t done though, as Prado and Heyward would both single, allowing Chipper to drive in Prado with a fielders choice. And that took care of that. And 8 run inning, with all of the runs coming with 0 or 1 outs. Unreal.

It was an odd night. The Braves had 10 hits, and scored 10 runs. Only 6 men were stranded, and the team went a measly 3/11 with runners in scoring position. But yet…a win. Prado, Heyward, McCann and Gonzalez were the only Braves to reach base multiple times. And yet…the Braves won by 5 runs. Baseball is a funny game, isn’t it?

Tomorrow at 1:10: Chris Volstad vs Jair Jurrjens. Love this pitching matchup, totally in the Braves favor. Volstad’s a righty, so we’ll probably get another does of Hinske in left. I’d not mind seeing Melky get the start in center with how bad McLouth has looked since coming off the DL. We’ll see. A win tomorrow gives the Braves another series win…the team hasn’t lost a series in the National League in over 2 months now. Its absurd. In the east…the Phillies won, so they’re still 6 back. The Mets lost again and fall back to 7.5 out. They are fading and could be totally out of it at this point next week…we’ll see what happens.

GWINNETT
Demoted to Gwinnett: Gregor Blanco
This was inevitable, with Nate McLouth being activated from the DL. Gregor will be back in 6 weeks, though, when the rosters expand…maybe even sooner. He had himself a hell of a time with the main club, and proved he may be able to contribute something. Be forewarned .419 BABIP in the majors. Regression is a huge possibility.

Promoted to Gwinnett: Brandon Beachy
The Twitter trend of WHO IS BRANDON BEACHY!?!?! (started by myself and @CapitolAvenue) continues with a promotion to Gwinnett. He’s having a totally magical year, as I’ve been outlining the hell out of in my Weekly Prospect Reports. He struck out 100 batters in only 73 2/3 innings at Mississippi while only walking 22 and allowing 3 homers. Its been a magical run for him, and now its going to continue in the Gwinnett rotation, likely replacing Cristhian Martinez…who actually pitched effectively last night. Regardless…good for Beachy.

Demoted to Mississippi: Jordan Schafer
Seriously, what the hell? Schafer’s downward spiral continues after he struggled terribly at Gwinnett in his return from wrist surgery. You have to wonder if he’s ever going to be the same after that. I think he’ll be OK in time, but nowhere near the player he was projected to be a year and a half ago.  He needs to get his confidence back if he’s going to be a factor at the major league level. Don’t close the door on him yet…he’s still only 23. I’m 3 months older than Jordan, and I work for a quarter above minimum wage at my day job. The best may be yet to come.

Promoted to Mississippi: Julio Teheran
He moves on to his third level of the organization 4 months into the season. Teheran is ready for this. He was *struggling* in Myrtle Beach…with a 76:13 K:BB ratio in 63 1/3 innings and 6 homers allowed. His ERA was still under 3.00. As I said when I did the top 40 last weekend…by the time the season is over, with people getting promoted and losing eligibility…this young man could be the top prospect in all of baseball. He’s still only 19. Remember this.

Promoted to Mississippi: Randall Delgado
He’s not as good as Teheran, but he’s still really good as a 20 year old, striking out a batter per inning. The Mississippi rotation was filled with a pile of junk aside from Beachy, so why not let some of the real prospects get a shot? Delgado is ready. Teheran is ready. I’m actually getting a little scared, because with how fast they’re both moving…they could be ready by 2011 at the earliest. Derek Lowe and Kenshin Kawakami are still under contract in 2011. What the hell is going to happen to these guys? It could get very interesting very soon.

Signed by Mississippi: Yasser Gomez
I mentioned this in the offseason, but apparently the deal just got finalized. Gomez is a 30 year old Cuban refugee who escaped to the States this offseason. In his first game for the M-Braves, he went 2/2 with 2 walks. Just promote him to Gwinnett and be done with it. Let him see if he can possibly contribute at the major league level shortly…its not as if he’s a prospect, just an interesting name you may want to keep an eye on.

Promoted to Myrtle Beach: Cory Rasmus
Rasmus is having a nice year, albeit not spectacular. He’s a guy that scouts have been drooling over for years, and he stepped out of his brother Colby’s spotlight a little bit last season with a no-hitter in Danville. He’s a little old for the lower level leagues at 22, so its good to see him get moved up to take the spot of the Teheran/Delgado duo in the Myrtle Beach rotation. The Beach had an abundance of SPs anyway, with Brett Oberholtzer and Zeke Spruill both coming off the DL. The Beach loses their best 2 pitchers, but they’re not going to be weakened on the mound all that much.

Promoted to Rome: Carlos Perez
The aforementioned @CapitolAvenue’s favorite person to pimp in the system. He popped on my radar due to the constant shills, and I must say…I’m impressed. The walks are high, at 14 in 32 innings, but the 27 strikeouts and 2.00 GB:FB ratio with no homers allowed make me begin to salivate. Did I mention he’s only 18 right now? The Latin American pipeline continues…I’m going to be excited to see what Perez does in Rome.

OK, so thats all. Most eventful day in the system since the promotion of Cory Harrilchak and Mycal Jones last month. Its a good day to be a Braves fan, with all the advancement of young talent in the system. I’ll be back later tonight with the game recap, assuming the hurricane barreling towards Florida holds out on us.

WP: Hudson (10-5)
LP: Richard (7-5)

First order of business: sorry about the lack of a recap last night. Very tired after the game last night…could barely keep my eyes open in extras, and I conked out after Medlen came in and allowed the double. So yeah…summary of that game is “good pitching from Hanson, average offense, just one of those crappy losses”. Nuff said.

Now, on to today. This was NOT one of those crappy losses…in fact, it was a complete win. Excellent starting pitching, capable relief work (well…one reliever at least), sexy defense, and timely hitting. Lets start on the mound. Tim Hudson? He was straight dealing today. 7 shutout innings, 4 hits, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts. No extra base hits. One of those starts you just CRAVE from your pitchers. Mike Dunn relieved him and was really terrible: 19 pitches, only 4 strikes. He got one out and walked the bases loaded. He was relieved by Peter Moylan, who got a DP ball on his second pitch (on a GOOOOOOOOORGEOUS flip from Alex Gonzalez to Martin Prado…it brought a tear to my eye). Moylan then got 3 outs on 12 pitches in the 9th. Talk about efficiency…he faced more batters than Dunn, got more outs, and threw less pitches. Amazing.

Offense? Getting 4 runs in the first 3 innings, and then taking 4 on in the 7th just for the hell of it make me a happy man. The offensive star of the game was Alex Gonzalez, who went 4/5 with a couple of RBI to really give himself a breakout performance as a Brave. It was important to get another contributor on offense with Brian McCann getting a day off and Troy Glaus struggling, and Gonzalez stepped up big time today. Speaking of Glaus, his OPS is down to .792. His batting average is lower than Chipper Jones’. I’m not saying you should panic, because Glaus doesn’t have a history for hitting a high average…but yeah, its a little disappointing to see his stat line plummeting due to his slump. He did get an RBI today on a first inning sac fly…but who cares about RBI, anyway? Other stat lines of note…Jason Heyward had a pair of hits and a pair of RBI, Chipper had 3 hits, and how about Melky Cabrera, delivering with a pair of doubles and a pair of walks? Encouraging to see that out of him. Matt Diaz reached 2 more times to continue his little hot streak and give the Braves some life in left field. I actually really liked the starting outfield today, with the struggles of Nate McLouth and all. No idea what the team is going to end up doing with him…I’d prefer them to just ride this season-long slump out since he’s got a contract for next year, but I have a nagging feeling he could be moved. Maybe the Yankees will take him. Snicker.

The weekend series features the Braves traveling to Florida to take on the Marlins. Friday’s game is a nighter, and will feature Alex Sanabia (who?) going for the Marlins, taking on the Braves’ Derek Lowe. For what its worth, the Braves will miss the Marlins 2 good starters, Josh Johnson and Ricky Nolasco. By the same token, the Marlins miss the Braves 2 best starters, Tommy Hanson and Tim Hudson. Well, drat.