AuburnTigers1

I know a lot of people will look at Sheets' line last night and think he pitched pretty bad. That simply wasn't the case. He had a bad luck inning in the first, got into a few jams later in the game and pitched well to get out of them. When he left the game, we still had a really good chance to win the ballgame. We just couldn't get timely hits. I like the direction this team is going. I think if we can get Simmons back soon an Maholm stays as good as he has been of late, we will win the East and could make some real noise in the playoffs.

http://m.mlb.com/atl/player/518886/

It is CRAIG! Never believe a Yanks fan, NEVER!

Man, I don't know if I'm going to be able to control myself when Chipper plays his last game for us. I have a ton of respect for that guy. It's not everyday a guy plays 19 seasons for one team. He has been loyal to the Braves and I appreciate everything he has done for the Atlanta Braves.

OMG!! Did anyone see the Dodgers closer take that line drive from Mac to the face?!? Glad dude is ok.

Glad we made a rally too! 

Oh yeah! I jumped off my couch. I thought he was gonna be hurt bad. I think it messed with his head though. And how about Chipper Jones? That guy just keeps finding ways to help this team win.

So I'd like to see the Braves open up the year with this lineup:

CF Bourn (L)

LF Prado ®

C  McCann (L)

2B Uggla ®

RF Heyward (L)

3B Jones (S)

1B Freeman (L)

SS Pastornicky ®

P

I like Uggla in the cleanup spot more than McCann because he has more power. I also like Heyward higher in the order in the 5 spot so opponents will hopefully have to give him more fastballs with more runners on base. Also, I think it would serve Heyward well to have an experienced, patient hitter behind him in Chipper Jones. Man, I'm ready for baseball.

I agree with the exception of having Freeman so low. I think he needs to be a little higher. Although, in your lineup it gives us a little extra pop at the bottom.

You guys may want to look at how he is hitting against left handed pitching. I'll take .295 all day. With Uggla finally hitting the way he is why did it have to be a rh bat?

Michael Bourn!!!!! That's a great fit for the Braves. Bourn can leadoff and play cf. He can steal bases. Something we haven't had since Otis Nixon. That would so wonders for our lineup. I think we could make a run if we could stay healthy. Not making a move would probably get us a 1st round exit from the playoffs.

I was at the game tonight. Just got home at nearly 3:30. Yeah, that was crazy. How awful was the call at home? We couldn't see it very well from our seats.....

The most frustrating thing about this team is that they aren't even playing well and are still above .500 and are competing in an extremely tough division. If we ever get our hitting and pitching on a roll at the same time I think we could leave the NL East well behind before the season is over. Yes I know what kind of staff the Phils have, but I don't think ours is terrible either and our pen is light years better than theirs.

I'm not sure about him yet. I'm more worried about his mental aspect than physical.

You beat me to it. I was just about to say "I've never seen us run the bases this poorly. THAT A BOY DIORY as I type this!!!!!!!

I don't remember his defense being as unreal last year as it has been this year. I mean he's making Jeter like plays in the hole and throwing people out. He's made a few diving catches as well. The play he made yesterday on the rocket that was hit to him to turn a double play may have been the best one this year.

I'm also proud of Chipper. Over the years if Chipper so much as had a broken fingernail he was out of the lineup and out for a long while. He has a slight tear in a knee ligament and he's back in 2 days is saying a lot for him. It also tells me he has a feeling that this team can do great things this year and he want to be there to help as much as he can. 

I agree. We still only hit sporadically. When Prado, Uggla, Chipper, J-Hey, and McCann are all going at the same time it's not going to be fair. With the way the bottom of the order has been hitting lately as well, we could hurt some peoples feelings.

That was AWESOME!! I love that guy! Haha! CATCH THAT HUNTER PENCE!!!!!!!!!!!

That was an absolute rocket. Nice play by Gonzo! Let's win this thing.

Hitting him was what I meant. Not really breaking his jaw. That was a great job by the home plate umpire too.

Deep ball hit to right by Hinske. It looked like a homer off the bat, but Pence leaped in the air and caught it against the wall. He then took about 3 steps in and started bobbing his head up and down then motioned for the crowd to make more noise. Basically showing Hinske and the Braves up. I liked the guy until I saw that. What a jerk......

I'll take a K too.

I don't care if the bases were loaded in this game, if Hunter Pence gets up I'd ear hole him.... Speak of the devil.

Get to 2 1/2 back and we are tanking it to the 'Stros today. That's the Braves I know and love.

I agree about Linebrink. However, can we not rely on our great closer to get three outs and not give up 2 runs? 3-1 going into the 9th inning should be a done deal. We just can't beat the Nationals/Expos organization. They have our number. Always have.

He's 4-0 with an ERA under 2.00 in 5 games this year. I don't think we can expect much more from him!

It's nice to watch these guys play the way they are capable of playing.

AUFisherman:

I.E. Bad managing. I will never understand why you pull E'OF for Linebroke, when Eric's on fire and the batter coming up hits righties better than lefties

I hate to harp on this AFTER we just beat the crap out of SD the night after, but that was an AWFUL decision. He said on the Braves website that he did it for 2 reasons. 1 was O'Flaherty had thrown 30 pitches in 2 full innings the night before. 2 was their next couple of batters were right handers. There are 4 pitchers in that bullpen that when they're pitching I'm not worried about. O'Flaherty, Moylan, Venters, and Kimbrel. For crying out loud. If these guys are not walking them around the bases or giving up Hr's every other pitch let them go. IMO, managers put wayy too much emphasis on that Left vs Left Right vs Right matchup anyway. I'm losing confidence in the guy by the day. If we're noticing it, I promise they guys who get paid the big bucks to play the game everyday are.

Guys give Freddie time, I think he will be ok. Its hard to replace an icon. The players trust and like him. Hang in there.

I'm going to give him a chance. That doesn't change my feelings about his decisions thus far in the season. Let's not forget that he was fired from by the Marlins. That doen't give me the warm and fuzzies either. I'm not sure that there is a single manager that I would have been super happy to get to replace Cox. He's basically the only manager I ever knew for the Braves. I also know that Cox basically hand picked Fredi himself so he must believe he is the man for the job.