Braves rookie righthander Tommy Hanson wasn't sharp Saturday afternoon, but it didn't matter. Yunel Escobar and Brian McCann combined for 5 rbi and the Braves beat the Nats 11-5 in D.C. to move within three games of the wildcard-leading Colorado Rockies. With just eight games left, the Braves will have to stay white-hot to tie the Rox but there's a valid reason why they might just do that.
The Braves boast one of the best starting rotations in all of baseball, led by the aforementioned Hanson and veteran Javier Vazquez. Derek Lowe, Jair Jurrjens and Tim Hudson round out the starting five and give the Bravos a slew of arms that induce groundballs, miss bats and - perhaps most importantly - pitch deep into games.
Atlanta sits at 84-70 and has won 9 of their last 11 games. Uncharacteristically, they're also scoring runs of late thanks in large part to McCann.
The remaining schedule is kind to Atlanta, with five games versus Washington, three against Florida and their last six contests in Turner Field. Meanwhile, Colorado plays St. Louis and Milwaukee in Colorado before finishing up with three in Chavez Ravine against the Dodgers.
Despite the hot streak, Atlanta will wake up Sunday morning no better than two and half games out. With a handful of games left to play, that is a significant gap. In a September devoid of drama, baseball fans have to be praying for a tie so we're treated to a one-game playoff between the two on Oct. 4.
It's ironic to consider that the Braves are following a similar path to the postseason that the Rockies did just two years ago when they won 20 of 21 en route to the National League pennant. With the arsenal of pitching the Braves have on board, it's not hard to envision them heading to the Fall Classic either.
Still, if you play the odds, the Rox remain the favorites. If all they do is play .500 baseball starting tonight, the Braves will still have to go 7-2 to force the playoff game.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
A giant death knell
Playoff hopes of San Francisco Giants fans were effectively vanquished Thursday night by the usual suspect - a putrid offense.
Clinging to a one-run lead in the top of the ninth against the Cubs, closer Brian Wilson yielded a go-ahead, two-run bomb to Jeff Baker. It would be easy to blame Wilson for the loss, but he's actually been one of the better stoppers in the league in 2009. Instead, the culprit reared its head in the bottom of the inning. The Giants already knew that the wildcard leaders - the Colorado Rockies - had lost. Rally for a simple two runs and they'd be just three games out. The inning had promise. The Giants put a man on with one out against Cubs closer Carlos Marmol. Just as quickly, the next batter, Aaron Rowand, fell behind 0-2. What happened next epitomized the Giants offensive futility. Marmol chucked a waste pitch - a slider - about two and a half feet up the first base line. Inexplicably, Rowand flailed at the offering to record the second out. Boos reigned down on Rowand as Fred Lewis pinch hit for the Giants in their final attempt at glory. Almost predictably, Lewis was struck out on three pitches.
The Giants will miss the postseason because they failed to address their offensive shortcomings. At the trade deadline, the Giants insisted on trading for slap-hitting Freddy Sanchez and the underwhelming Ryan Garko. This despite having chips on the farm to trade and legitimate bats like Matt Holliday available. With Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum already in tow, wouldn't it have made sense to lure the A's into dealing Holliday for lefthander Madison Bumgarner? But alas - GM Brian Sabean decided to fill the cupboard with more of what he already had - replacement level batters that fail to support a tremendous pitching staff.
Now, as Friday's action looms, the Giants remain four games behind Colorado with just nine games remaining.
Clinging to a one-run lead in the top of the ninth against the Cubs, closer Brian Wilson yielded a go-ahead, two-run bomb to Jeff Baker. It would be easy to blame Wilson for the loss, but he's actually been one of the better stoppers in the league in 2009. Instead, the culprit reared its head in the bottom of the inning. The Giants already knew that the wildcard leaders - the Colorado Rockies - had lost. Rally for a simple two runs and they'd be just three games out. The inning had promise. The Giants put a man on with one out against Cubs closer Carlos Marmol. Just as quickly, the next batter, Aaron Rowand, fell behind 0-2. What happened next epitomized the Giants offensive futility. Marmol chucked a waste pitch - a slider - about two and a half feet up the first base line. Inexplicably, Rowand flailed at the offering to record the second out. Boos reigned down on Rowand as Fred Lewis pinch hit for the Giants in their final attempt at glory. Almost predictably, Lewis was struck out on three pitches.
The Giants will miss the postseason because they failed to address their offensive shortcomings. At the trade deadline, the Giants insisted on trading for slap-hitting Freddy Sanchez and the underwhelming Ryan Garko. This despite having chips on the farm to trade and legitimate bats like Matt Holliday available. With Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum already in tow, wouldn't it have made sense to lure the A's into dealing Holliday for lefthander Madison Bumgarner? But alas - GM Brian Sabean decided to fill the cupboard with more of what he already had - replacement level batters that fail to support a tremendous pitching staff.
Now, as Friday's action looms, the Giants remain four games behind Colorado with just nine games remaining.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
One to watch
Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane is known for his trading acumen and ability to recognize young talent. These skills have helped him transform the A's from the Hudson-Mulder-Zito era into a new age also founded on strong starting pitching.
In 2007, Beane traded ace righthander Dan Haren to the Arizona Diamondbacks for six players, one of whom was lefthander Brett Anderson. At the time, Anderson was a mid-level prospect with considerable upside. Two short years later, Anderson is one of the game's most promising young pitchers. Thursday night, the lefty turned in another fine performance against Texas in what has been a tremendous second half of the season.
Just 21 years old, Anderson has won 11 games with an ERA of 4.12 and a robust strikeout rate of 7.6 per nine innings. Walks, usually the Achilles' heel of young hurlers, haven't been much of an issue for Anderson. He's allowed 2.4 per nine innings and just 2.2 over his last 90 innings of work. The fact that he's increased his strikeout rate while simultaneously shaving walks is a great indicator of future success. Just as AL hitters should be figuring him out, Anderson has instead kicked his game up and become more dominant.
Scouts attribute the improvement to a simple increase in velocity. Anderson began the year working his fastball at about 90-91 mph. By June, he was throwing it at 94-95. That heater, coupled with a devastating slider, has made Anderson exceedingly difficult to hit. Once he begins to incorporate an effective change, this young man will dominate the American League.
Billy Beane doesn't always get his man. But this time, with young Brett Anderson, Beane has found a building block for the A's next postseason run.
In 2007, Beane traded ace righthander Dan Haren to the Arizona Diamondbacks for six players, one of whom was lefthander Brett Anderson. At the time, Anderson was a mid-level prospect with considerable upside. Two short years later, Anderson is one of the game's most promising young pitchers. Thursday night, the lefty turned in another fine performance against Texas in what has been a tremendous second half of the season.
Just 21 years old, Anderson has won 11 games with an ERA of 4.12 and a robust strikeout rate of 7.6 per nine innings. Walks, usually the Achilles' heel of young hurlers, haven't been much of an issue for Anderson. He's allowed 2.4 per nine innings and just 2.2 over his last 90 innings of work. The fact that he's increased his strikeout rate while simultaneously shaving walks is a great indicator of future success. Just as AL hitters should be figuring him out, Anderson has instead kicked his game up and become more dominant.
Scouts attribute the improvement to a simple increase in velocity. Anderson began the year working his fastball at about 90-91 mph. By June, he was throwing it at 94-95. That heater, coupled with a devastating slider, has made Anderson exceedingly difficult to hit. Once he begins to incorporate an effective change, this young man will dominate the American League.
Billy Beane doesn't always get his man. But this time, with young Brett Anderson, Beane has found a building block for the A's next postseason run.
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