Braves Archives - Jane Heller

Can We Play the Braves Every Day?

August 30, 2015

Can you imagine if we played them every game for the rest of the season? We’d cruise to a division title, that’s what would happen. The Braves, such a formidable team of old with terrific pitching in particular, now have pitchers who throw batting practice. The sweep this weekend was lovely, but especially lovely was today’s 20 runs that the Yankees scored. TWENTY runs. Even our rookie pitchers got hits. Even Stephen Drew got hits. That’s saying something.

I wish the opposition the rest of the way could be as accommodating, but it’s unlikely. We’re in for a dogfight from here on. Bow wow. But in the meantime, I’m savoring the weekend. And I’m applauding our latest phenom, Luis Severino. All hail.

I Couldn’t Resist After Last Night’s Laugher

August 29, 2015

Yup, the laughing lady is back after a long absence on this blog – and for good reason!

After watching the Yankees’ offense sputter recently, it was such fun to see them score 15 runs against the Braves. Sure Atlanta’s pitching sucked and they walked in a bunch of runs, as well as had to use Jonny Gomes to pitch, but it was nice to be on the winning end of all that mediocrity. Now if only Toronto had lost………Booooo.

The Yanks Need to Get Hot in Hot-Lanta

August 26, 2015

Boy, am I glad to see the Yankees get out of ~~Dodge~~ the Bronx. Yes, they won one of the three games against the Astros – by a hair – but the offense went back into a slumber and the pitching, with the exception of Evo, never woke up. Pineda and Nova didn’t have it, which would be worrisome enough but now with CC out indefinitely it’s extra worrisome. Capuano was DFA-ed for the 100th time and Adam Warren hasn’t been the same since he was shuttled back and forth between the starting rotation and the bullpen. That leaves the kid with the fractured nose. I hate to keep saying it, but it would have been nice to have acquired a veteran arm (a good one).

What to make of the slumping offense? Girardi talks about how everybody’s “banged up” at this time of the year, and I don’t doubt it. Not having a healthy Teixeira in the lineup has made a difference. Ellsbury hasn’t caught fire since coming back from the DL. Didi was bound to taper off at some point. A-Rod couldn’t possibly stay hot through the entire season. Beltran has been surprisingly resilient and McCann’s had some pivotal hits. But now we’re down in the standings again to the Blue Jays and I liked it better when we weren’t.

I do have to say it was fun watching Brendan Ryan pitch a couple of innings in that blow-out game. He was good!

Will the series against the Braves bring everybody back to life? It happened once before after Girardi had a tizzy on the field in Atlanta and got tossed. I think there was a team meeting down there too. We need some kind of shove to get going again.

Hughes Fizzled In Summer Heat

June 20, 2012

Hm. What to make of Phil’s start today. He did a scary impersonation of the early-season Hughes by giving up all those homers and not going deep into the game. Yes, it was hot and yes, the Braves starter gave up the long ball too (Jeter!) and, yes, it’s only natural for pitchers to have bad outings.

Still, I hope we’re not seeing a setback in his development, just a minor blip. His body language was so negative though; he looked deeply discouraged – or maybe he was just hot, as I said.

The bullpen didn’t help and they’ve been great, so I think I’ll just write this loss off to….a crappy game.

The important thing is for Tex’s foot to feel better so he’s back for Round Two of the Subway Series. On the other hand, I love Chavez and am always happy when he gets in the lineup. I mean how lucky are we that our bench includes a guy like him?

New York Yankees Photo Day — Al Bello/Getty Images

The Party's Over

June 19, 2012

For now.

Tomorrow’s another day and the Yankees can always start a new streak. We knew it had to come to an end sometime, didn’t we? Didn’t we?

The problem, as I wrote yesterday, is that I got spoiled with all the winning and now I’m sulking. Also, tonight’s game against the Braves was totally winnable with so many “if only’s” dancing around in my head, most of them having to do with Teixeira.

Kuroda wasn’t as sharp as he’s been lately; he was serving up some juicy pitches. But the offense sputtered with men on base – again – and couldn’t pick him up. And then once that guy Kimbrel came in to close…Well, forget about it.

What a weird stance.

But he sure can throw hard, and he made our hitters look silly.

Very glad to see Swisher back!

The Party’s Over

June 19, 2012

For now.

Tomorrow’s another day and the Yankees can always start a new streak. We knew it had to come to an end sometime, didn’t we? Didn’t we?

What a weird stance.

But he sure can throw hard, and he made our hitters look silly.

Very glad to see Swisher back!

I'm So Spoiled Right Now (With Update)

June 18, 2012

It’s pathetic the way the Yankees have spoiled me with this crazy winning streak of theirs. I was watching tonight’s game as if there was no contest. Even after the Braves scored first off CC and even though our offense couldn’t do a thing with this guy Minor and even though it looked like we might lose at long last, I said out loud, “Somebody will find a way and we’ll win this one too.”

And, of course, that’s what happened.

Whatever problems CC’s been having vanished after the first inning. He said he and Rothschild made an adjustment and it showed with a complete game and 10 Ks. No need to worry about his pitch count and no need to use our bullpen. Brilliance.

And the offense had a little of everything – hits with RISP and the homers we’ve come to expect. More brilliance.

Could we petition Bud Selig to keep the Yanks playing teams in the NL East?

Update: Here’s a photo of the Grandy Man that Ruth took at one of the games against the Nats. He’s adorable, isn’t he?

I’m So Spoiled Right Now (With Update)

June 18, 2012

And, of course, that’s what happened.

And the offense had a little of everything – hits with RISP and the homers we’ve come to expect. More brilliance.

Could we petition Bud Selig to keep the Yanks playing teams in the NL East?

Update: Here’s a photo of the Grandy Man that Ruth took at one of the games against the Nats. He’s adorable, isn’t he?

If You Missed The Game, Raise Your Hand

June 13, 2012

Yup, I missed it. I had a party to go to, and while I checked the score periodically I didn’t watch. Sounded like a tight one though, with Granderson playing the hero and Kuroda turning in another fine performance, helped by the bullpen. If you’d told me the Yankees would be depending on Cody Eppley, I wouldn’t have believed it.

Two back-to-back sweeps for the boys. Sweet. I know this run can’t continue indefinitely but it sure is fun while it lasts.

I wonder what the players will do with their off day tomorrow in our nation’s capital. Some of the guys have already been to the White House, so maybe they’ll try the Pentagon or even the Supreme Court this time. I can just picture them hanging out with this group. Talk about tough umpires.

The Justices of the US Supreme Court sit — Photo: Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty Images

Yeah, A-Rod's Finished All Right

June 12, 2012

He certainly silenced the doubters with his record-breaking slam to tie the game tonight.

It was a line drive into the seats and it turned an otherwise boring game into a thrilling one. Swisher’s bomb was the icing on the cake. Those poor Braves and their tomahawk chop. They must have had their hearts broken, Minor especially.

The only negative for me was CC. Four runs isn’t a terrible number to give up. But the fact that he had yet another rocky first inning – and the Braves were hitting shots, by the way, not little dribblers – is troubling. When do we worry about him for real? I love him for being able to settle down and improve over the course of a game. I just wonder what the early shakiness is all about. It’s one thing to throw batting practice in the first inning of a game in June. It’s another to do it in a playoff game when we’d be facing an elite pitcher.

Good news about Gardner not having ligament damage. Now let the medical geniuses figure out how to get him feeling better.

More good news that Robertson will join the team in D.C.

Even better news about Mo: no meniscus involvement. His surgery today revealed that he only needed to have his ACL repaired. I assume he’s resting comfortably right now, high as a kite on morphine and dreaming of pitching again.

Yeah, A-Rod’s Finished All Right

June 12, 2012

He certainly silenced the doubters with his record-breaking slam to tie the game tonight.

Good news about Gardner not having ligament damage. Now let the medical geniuses figure out how to get him feeling better.

More good news that Robertson will join the team in D.C.

Hotlanta!

June 11, 2012

I know that people who actually live in Atlanta hate the above nickname, sort of like New Yorkers aren’t wild about “The Big Apple.” But tonight the name seemed appropriate, because the Yankees stayed hot in Atlanta. (Get it?)

There wasn’t much scoring – just that burst of three runs early – but it was enough for Nova, who was about as good as it gets. Whatever adjustments he’s made are working. Either that or good starting pitching really is contagious. But his favorite part of the game was probably his base hit. I loved how excited his teammates got and how they made sure to keep the ball for him.

Special shout out to Boone Logan. I haven’t mentioned him much, but he’s been pretty great. Tonight he filled in for Soriano, who seems to have sprouted a blister, and shut down the Braves.

The Yanks still have problems with RISP and I haven’t heard a word about Gardner’s visit to Dr. Andrews, but as long as the wins come I guess I’ll just stick my head in the sand about it all.

No Words

September 28, 2011

How can anyone sum up the emotions, not to mention the actual facts, that accompanied baseball’s last night of the season? It was just too crazy, too wild, too downright bizarre to believe. Whoever says our sport is boring needs to re-wind what happened tonight in both leagues and then re-evaluate. I’m only sorry there won’t be any one-game playoffs tomorrow, as that would have been truly hair-raising.

Congrats to the Cardinals. (I’m talking to you, Jeff, in case you’re reading.)

Congrats to the Rays. (Don’t say the Yankees never did anything for you.)

Congrats to the Orioles. (They were as giddy in that dugout as if they’d won the World Series, and I actually saw Buck Showalter smile.)

On the losing side, too bad for the Braves….and see you next year, Red Sox.

Francona sinking ship — (courtesy: Friend of the Blog John)

I literally clasped my hand over my mouth when Papelbon blew the save – and that it was Crawford who couldn’t field Andino’s walkoff hit.

Turning to our game, it was just as bizarre. The good news? Tex finally heated up with those two homers. But Logan? Ayala? Wade? I get that Proctor’s toast and that Girardi was (rightfully) saving our A-list relievers for the playoffs. But Logan, Ayala and Wade needed to be way, way better.

And another thing. Nunez cannot play defense, he just can’t. Love his bat, but come on. TWENTY ERRORS? Go away.

And A-Rod. The knee’s acting up? Not good. We’re a better team with him in the lineup but not if he’s going to be limping around.

Montero’s x-rays were negative, so I hope that means he’ll be able to play.

Garcia’s our #3 starter and AJ will pitch out of the pen? Interesting. And scary. I don’t want to think past CC and Nova, so I’m plugging my ears. (Lalalalalalala.)

So yeah. We blew a seven-run lead tonight, and the scrappy stingrays stormed back to beat us in a game that meant a lot more to them. If the same thing happens to the Yankees during the ALDS, I’ll freak out. Tonight? I was just glad the drama was over. I was drained.

Now we can concentrate on beating the Tigers. It’ll be CC versus Verlander and it’ll be tough. But we’ll cross that bridge when we get there on Friday. For now, I’m just enjoying what was a mind-blowing night of baseball.

Scott Proctor's Still Pitching?

March 8, 2011

scott proctor braves — (Courtesy: ajc.com)

I guess I’ve been living under a rock, but I thought he’d gone away. Apparently, he’s a Brave. During the broadcast of the Yankees-Braves game today I had to roll my eyes when Michael Kay said of Proctor, “He’s had an awful lot of arm problems.” Yeah, and Joe Torre used that arm more often than I use the keyboard of this computer. Oh well. I’m glad he’s still in the bigs. He always seemed like a decent guy.

Another stellar start by Freddy Garcia today, who was interviewed after he came out of the game and sounded like he’s very focused on winning a spot in the rotation. Great, right? Except what happens if he does win the job but then loses his incentive? Maybe Girardi should keep the competition going all season long.

And while I’m on the subject of pitchers, I had my first look at Andrew Brackman and here’s what I thought: He’s tall.

He makes Mo look like a bobblehead doll, doesn’t he?

By the way, did Charlie Sheen have to be wearing a Yankees shirt in his latest video rant?

Scott Proctor’s Still Pitching?