Good summary of a great, tight game. Have to give Yaz credit for another clutch hit and the pen for shutting down a good team.
I am concerned about our third base and first base coaches: having guys thrown out at the plate by fifteen feet twice in the past week and the ongoing embarrassing pickoffs at first base. Both create demoralizing and rally-killing outs. I'd like to know that Weiss has at least talked to them.
Weiss addressed the base running issues on 680 The Fan yesterday and said it's going to get cleaned up. Thankfully it hasn't directly cost us games or anything.
As Lindsay said, Walt has addressed the pick-off issues. This is a new baserunning philosophy that Richardson is implementing and it's fair to assume that it's going to take some time for everyone to get tabbing on the same page. That said, Matt Olson getting picked off first base (and he didn't dive back in!) is absolutely inexcusable.
As far as the send of Kim last night, yes he was out by the proverbial country mile. But PCA barehanded the ball on one hop, made a strong throw to Dansby who caught it cleanly and make another strong throw to the plate. If you're not getting some guys thrown out at the plate you're not being aggressive enough, IMO.
To Lindsay's point, we are lucky that neither has cost us games to this point, but both the pick-offs and the bad sends from 3B need to get cleaned up. But let's not forget, these are First World problems. We're 30-13 and lead the NL East by 9.5 games.
Short starts? I 100% agree with your comment that Ritchie needs to improve his swing & miss and be more efficient. Hopefully we’ll see progess over next couple months. But, I also think SP length, while important, doesn’t have the impact it used to have. It takes deep staffs, including shuttling guys up and down to the minors, to win these days. The average SP for the winning team yesterday (Braves not included) got an average of 16 outs. (Several aces pitched yesterday that went long). Braves’ BP had to cover 3 outs above the average for winning teams. Relying on BP for more outs is an issue, but maybe it’s not that big a problem for your back-end starters. I like AA’s work in deepening the pitching staff and Weiss’ more aggressive approach to using more of his staff. One worry I have is the underperformance of our optionable minor league relievers this year that were projected to help cover innings this year.
Good summary of a great, tight game. Have to give Yaz credit for another clutch hit and the pen for shutting down a good team.
I am concerned about our third base and first base coaches: having guys thrown out at the plate by fifteen feet twice in the past week and the ongoing embarrassing pickoffs at first base. Both create demoralizing and rally-killing outs. I'd like to know that Weiss has at least talked to them.
Weiss addressed the base running issues on 680 The Fan yesterday and said it's going to get cleaned up. Thankfully it hasn't directly cost us games or anything.
Thank you. Good to know. Must look into 680 The Fan.
As Lindsay said, Walt has addressed the pick-off issues. This is a new baserunning philosophy that Richardson is implementing and it's fair to assume that it's going to take some time for everyone to get tabbing on the same page. That said, Matt Olson getting picked off first base (and he didn't dive back in!) is absolutely inexcusable.
As far as the send of Kim last night, yes he was out by the proverbial country mile. But PCA barehanded the ball on one hop, made a strong throw to Dansby who caught it cleanly and make another strong throw to the plate. If you're not getting some guys thrown out at the plate you're not being aggressive enough, IMO.
To Lindsay's point, we are lucky that neither has cost us games to this point, but both the pick-offs and the bad sends from 3B need to get cleaned up. But let's not forget, these are First World problems. We're 30-13 and lead the NL East by 9.5 games.
Short starts? I 100% agree with your comment that Ritchie needs to improve his swing & miss and be more efficient. Hopefully we’ll see progess over next couple months. But, I also think SP length, while important, doesn’t have the impact it used to have. It takes deep staffs, including shuttling guys up and down to the minors, to win these days. The average SP for the winning team yesterday (Braves not included) got an average of 16 outs. (Several aces pitched yesterday that went long). Braves’ BP had to cover 3 outs above the average for winning teams. Relying on BP for more outs is an issue, but maybe it’s not that big a problem for your back-end starters. I like AA’s work in deepening the pitching staff and Weiss’ more aggressive approach to using more of his staff. One worry I have is the underperformance of our optionable minor league relievers this year that were projected to help cover innings this year.
Keep up the great work!
I wasn't sure what to think about Brian Snitker. Everybody seemed to put
Snitker down. Thought he was holding the Braves down.
But aside from a little healthier pitching staff, Walt Weiss and the new pitching coach seem to be the difference this year.
Gonna remind you again about Mike Martinez.
19 year old Dominican outfielder for FCL Braves. 6'2" 175 pounds when he signed for small bonus in 2024. The year some fool gave Perdomo $5 million.
Supposedly had big exit velocites, but real swing and miss issues.
Has made Big progress.
20 at bats
7 hits , 1 double, 2 homers
10 walks, 1 strikeout, 2 steals
Has apparently moved.from Centerfield to Left