Braves' News Tidbits

[ATLien]

How's that Nick Green for Sosa trade looking now

[General]

Adam LaRoche entered Saturday's game 3-for-36 (.083) with one RBI in his past 12 games.
After he hit .302 and slugged .576 after the break last season, LaRoche is batting .198 with a .336 slugging percentage in 39 games since the All-Star break this year.


C'mon Adam, pick yourself off the floor.

[General]

Mike Hampton (back) will come off the DL on Sunday and pitch out of the Atlanta bullpen.
Here's a surprise. ''I don't want to knock a starter out of the rotation who's been pitching well,'' Hampton said. ''Put me in the 'pen, see if I can help out and be an asset. I'll do it in the playoffs, too, if it'll help the team.'' It's possible that Hampton could be put back into the rotation later this month, but it's at least as likely that Jorge Sosa will keep his spot until the beginning of the postseason.

Good! That means Sosa stays in!

[General]

Marcus Giles went 3-for-5 with two solo homers, a stolen base, and three runs scored against the Reds today.
His third hit of the day was a triple, so Giles was certainly seeing the ball well. The two blasts today give him 10 homers on the season, so he's not going to match his career-high of 21 homers set in 2003. Still, Giles will come close to matching his 2003 production in batting average, on-base percentage, doubles, stolen bases, runs scored, and RBI.

[General]

Horacio Ramirez yielded three runs over 7 2/3 innings against the Reds today but wasn't involved in the decision.
He gave up seven hits, walked three, and struck out seven. Ramirez was in line for the loss before David Weathers blew the save in the bottom of the eighth when Chipper Jones hit a two-out RBI double. Ramirez has posted four straight quality starts, so he's worth using at RFK Stadium against the Nationals next weekend

[General]

Danny Kolb gave up five runs in the top of the 12th inning against the Reds today to take the loss for the seventh time this season.
Kolb retired Felipe Lopez on a popped up bunt to start the inning, but then gave up singles to Edwin Encarnacion and Ken Griffey Jr. before Austin Kearns delived an RBI double to put the Reds ahead 4-3. After an intentional walk to Sean Casey, Jason LaRue hit a grand slam to put the Reds up 8-3. General Manager John Schuerholz hasn't made too many mistakes in his tenure with the Braves, but giving up Jose Capellan for Kolb is certainly one of them.

[ATLien]

HoRam is back in business baby

[Kingdom]

He took a calculated risk. Kolb had good success in 2004, was coming to a pitchers park and to a team that's known for making pitchers better. It was pretty difficult to predict it would turn out so badly for Atlanta.

[ATLien]

what has capellan done yet? nada.

the braves know their farm system better than any team in the l.

[General]

I'd still rather have Capellan than Kolb.

[General]

Braves notes from Rotoworld:

Atlanta - Mike Hampton is rejoining the Braves as a reliever, allowing Jorge Sosa to stay in the rotation. Sosa struggled some after hurting his hamstring running the bases in his start Saturday, but he’s worth using in mixed leagues while pitching as a starter. Hampton might stay in the pen into the postseason. … Kyle Farnsworth has assumed closing duties from Chris Reitsma, a pitcher Bobby Cox no longer seems to have any faith in. Farnsworth is likely to do a fine job, but there’s a good chance the Braves’ seventh- and eighth-inning woes will cost them in the end. Hampton isn’t likely to be a big factor, so the Braves may look to rely on Sosa to bridge the gap once October starts. … Things aren’t looking very good for Kelly Johnson right now. He was already losing at-bats to Ryan Langerhans and now he has Todd Hollandsworth to contend with. I don’t like the idea of Hollandsworth getting any at-bats at all, but Cox will probably give him at least one start per week in order to keep him sharp.

[General]

Johnny Estrada went 0-for-3 today and is without an RBI in 10 games since coming off the disabled list.
He has a total of three RBI in 105 at-bats since June 28. Unfortunately, Brian McCann isn't doing a whole lot better lately. The Braves are going to need one of their catchers to get hot at the right time.

[General]

John Thomson didn't figure into the decision after giving up one run and four hits in five innings today against the Mets.
Thomson needed 101 pitches to get through five, so he was removed for a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the inning. Kyle Davies maintained a one-run lead for two innings before Blaine Boyer gave up the tying run in the eighth. Boyer ended up with the win and Kyle Farnsworth the save after the Braves went ahead for good in the bottom of the eighth

[General]

Chipper Jones and Andruw Jones both homered today to lead the Braves to a 4-2 win over the Mets.
Chipper had an RBI double in the first, and Andruw delivered a solo homer in the fifth. With the score tied at two, Chipper hit a two-run homer off Steve Trachsel in the bottom of the eighth. It was the 48th time the Joneses homered in the same game. That leads active teammates.

[General]

Adam LaRoche was out of the starting lineup tonight and won't start tomorrow aganist lefty Tom Glavine.
Manager Bobby Cox believes LaRoche is fatigued. Imagine what the first baseman would feel like if he hadn't spent all year platooning with Julio Franco.