At the beginning of spring training, the Atlanta Braves thought they had the best bullpen in baseball. If the starting pitchers could go six innings with a win, then O’Ventbrel (Eric O’Flaherty, Johnny Venters, and Craig Kimbrel) would come in to finish of the win 95% of the time. This would make the Braves pay a six inning game, as those three are nearly unhittable.
Remember when these three were available to close out a game? Now the two on the ends are hurt.
Unfortunately, two of those three have landed on the disabled list, and at least one being out for the remainder of the season with Tommy John Surgery (Venters). The Braves also have Jordan Walden, another shutdown reliever, on the disabled list with right elbow inflammation, but GM Frank Wren expects him to be back within a week. Luis Ayala, who was traded from Baltimore in April, has also hit the disabled list with an anxiety disorder. Ayala is a formidable bullpen arm, who is extremely tough on lefties and was likely acquired to help make up for the loss of Venters.
With the injuries to the above, where does this leave the Braves bullpen? Cory Gearrin and Luis Avilan will be called upon to be the set-up men for the Braves leading up to Craig Kimbrel. Entering this season, they had a combined amount of 75 innings pitched in their major league career. The youngsters have proven valuable during their short stint, but are they ready to have a role as big as the 8th inning to preserve a lead? Time will tell, but the scariest part of the bullpen is the 7th inning and earlier.
Anthony Vavarro will likely be the 6th/7th inning specialist. His stat line is impressive so far, but regression is bound to happen to the 28-year-old. He also has minimal MLB experience, but he has a better track record than David Carpenter and Cary Rasmus, who was called up to replace Eric O’Flaherty.
Rasmus has always been thought of as a good bullpen arm, and his stats for Gwinnett prove that. Unfortunately, he is a rookie and shouldn’t be counted on for immediate success with the Braves. I would have never thought that he or David Carpenter would be pitching meaningful games for the braves this year, but it looks as though that may happen.
As stated earlier, Jordan Walden is expected to be back by next week and Luis Ayala has already begun a rehab assignment. The Braves bullpen has a completely new look without the likes of Venters and O’Flaherty in the fold, and it was completely unexpected. I still think the bullpen will be okay, but late-inning leads will be less protected with the new-look bullpen the Braves have for the time being. Everyone has their fingers crossed that O’Flaherty will not need Tommy John Surgery, but a visit to Dr. James Andrews looms in the future. The bullpen was a key part to the Braves planned success this year, but it could soon turn into their greatest vulnerability.
Tweet of the Night
Tonight’s tweet of the night comes from MLB’s Braves beat writer Mark Bowman, who talks about Capuano’s dominance of the Braves:
I’m convinced Capuano would throw a shutout against the ’27 Yankees if they were wearing Braves uniforms
The Braves split the series with the Nationals, after taking the first to, and then had the eyes on the Mets. Mike Minor pitched terrific in his seven innings of work and gave the lead to O’Flaherty and Kimbrel for the win, right? No. O’Flaherty gave up a solo home run to Marlon Byrd in the 8th inning that tied the game up for the Mets. Evan Gattis (El Oso Blanco) connected for a solo home run of his own in the 9th. Craig Kimbrel came in to close the door on the Mets, except he made one mistake to David Wright, which sent the game into extra innings. Jordan Walden, Luis Avilan, and Cory Gearrin gave pitched the 10th inning and allowed the Mets to score two, and eventually win the game 7-5 in 10 innings.Don’t get used to that effort from the bullpen. They are the best in baseball and rarely give away opportunities like that to seal a game. I’m more concentrated on the offense.
In the bottom of the 9th inning, Ramiro Pena, in for Juan Francisco, doubled to start the Braves off. Reed Johnson sacrificed him to third and that brought up Jordan Schafer, who had four walks in four plate appearances on the night. I couldn’t help but think that the Braves would win it there. Unfortunately, » Continue reading “Braves Losing Streak Goes to Three, But It’s Not All Bad”
Focus on the positive: Michael Bourn's lead off triple
You would think a lead off triple is a good way to put 20 scoreless innings away and move on to winning ways. You, like many others, would be wrong. You are probably on target when it all fell apart though. That’s right, the dreaded 5th inning is where it all blew up for Mike Minor giving up three runs. The Yankees did not stop there, scoring one run in each of their at bats to follow.
A team coming off the aforementioned 20 scoreless innings cannot afford to relinquish a lead. The Braves struggles at the plate are far to similar to that of 2011, excluding Dan Uggla, whose patience is shown through the number of walks he has this season. What is not similar is the amount of pitching at Atlanta’s disposal. The bullpen is not as reliable, most notably Johhny Venters. Eric O’Flaherty has been injured, Livan Hernadez designated for assignment, and Kris Medlen sent down to stretch out for a starting role. Needless to say, Medlen will not be filling that spot just yet.
Although, a starter spot has opened with news that could be devastating if the Braves stay on the recent course. Brandon Beachy, who left Saturday’s game versus Baltimore with an elbow injury, showed a partial tear of the Ulnar Collateral Ligament on an MRI performed today. Beachy will see the team doctor Tuesday and Dr. James Andrews Wednesday. Injuries of this nature often require Tommy John surgery and one year of rehab.
Okay people, you have proven you cannot be trusted. I leave you with the big boys for a week, and I come back to an eight game losing streak. It is perfectly fine, I was not at all busting it working SEC baseball or anything. It is possible that sleep is overrated and leaving the city will never be necessary. On second thought, you guys just need to learn how to handle these boys!
Was it so hard to get Freddy Freeman his Oakley’s? Can nobody deal with FedEx? What took so long? Again, not to worry, the goggles are here, and obviously did the trick with a first at bat home run by Freeman. Granted, it was solo because Brian McCann, who needed me to bring him an IV bag after suffering from the flu, hit a two run homer. Which reminds me, all you who said “it’s just the flu,” have never had the flu. Here’s a hint, when you call in to work with a 24-hour stomach flu, you have misdiagnosed yourself. That is merely a hangover, and while you may feel as if you may die, you will not if you make it long enough to feel that bad. The flu is a different story. They have a shot for a reason! » Continue reading “MUST I DO EVERYTHING AROUND HERE? BRAVES START NEW STREAK…AFTER I GET BACK IN TOWN”
Earlier today I said that when it comes to the Braves and Phillies throw out what you think you know. My head is about to explode, so please try to follow the runaway train that resides inside my head. Here goes… » Continue reading “Braves/Phillies…What Did You Expect?”
Generally, I would not step back and talk about the previous game this late in the day, but as I was writing- trying to write, all I could think about was, “Where did this offense come from last night?” So, here is the glorious box score for you to gaze, and maybe I can move forward.
Ok, so it did not quite work for me. There is a line that did bother me- the Brewers offense, more importantly, the Braves pitching. Jair Jurrjens went five innings, gave up seven hits, and two home runs raising his ERA 7.71. Jurrjens has been a question mark, but Eric O’Flaherty shockingly gave up four hits and three runs bringing his ERA to 9.82. Now, I am moving on, or I will try.
Shortly after Chipper Jones lead his team to the dugout from center field, he ducked out to have his knee drained and will likely be out for tonight’s game as well. Mike Minor is hoping that his team will rally again without Chipper on the field. Minor gave up six runs on six hits last Sunday against the Mets, and could us a little home cooking.
Thursday night I was fortunate enough to be the guest of Dan Schlossberg and Chris Mascaro on Braves Banter. This episode is a bit longer than as I served as the opening act for Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez. Listen to our thoughts on the upcoming Atlanta Braves season. You can catch Braves Banter every Thursday at 7:00 PM ET.
Atlanta Braves
Miami Marlins
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Washington Nationals
Predictions
1. Phillies
2. Braves (Have one of the two new Wild Card Spots)
3. Marlins
4. Nationals
5. Mets
Brief Divisional Overview:
With the Marlins doing some rebranding, don’t sit on them to be quiet, especially with what they did in the off season. Their new stadium, mascot, uniforms, and Ozzie Guillen as their manager, they might be a sight to see. » Continue reading “A Look Into the Crystal Ball”
Can the Marlins overcome the questions in their clubhouse and bullpen and live up to the money they spent in the off season? Leslie Koerdt, Zaid Hakim, and James Palmer weigh in how the Miami Marlins match up against the Braves.
2012 Atlanta Braves Preview
