Survived another one

The Braves survived a strong 9th inning rally to defeat the Nationals 7-6. The braves had a 2-run lead in the ninth, but the Nationals loaded the bases with one out. A run scored on a ground out, but Mike Gonzalez pitched out of the jam for his 4th save of the season. Tim Hudson was not on top of his game, giving up 5 runs in 6 2/3 innings, but still got his 10th win of the season. Blaine Boyer and Will Ohman pitched scoreless relief for Atlanta. Brian McCann led the offense with 3 RBI, while Brent Lillibridge added 2 hits and 2 RBI. The two teams play Saturday at 7pm. Jair Jurrjens pitches for the Braves and John Lannan will pitch for the Nationals.

Pitcher of the Day - CC Sabathia, Brewers - 9 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 10 K

Worst pitcher of the Day - Zack Greinke, Royals - 3 IP, 11 H, 7 ER, 3 BB

Hitter of the Day - Nomar Garciaparra, Dodgers - 3 for 5, 2 HR, 3 RBI

Worst hitter of the Day - Ivan Ochoa, Giants - 0 for 4, GIDP, ERR

...aaaaaand we're back

The Braves finally get to play a game tonight as they host the Nationals. Tim Hudson will pitch for the Braves, Tim Redding will pitch for the Nationals. Considering how poorly the Nationals have played, Redding is 7-3 this season so he may be a pitcher to watch.

Thursday's Bests

Best Pitching - Ubaldo Jiminez, Rockies - 7 IP, 5 H, 4 K, 3 ER

Worst Pitching - Johan Santana, Mets - 4 IP, 6 H, 3 BB, 5 ER

Best Hitting - Troy Glaus, Cardinals - 2 for 4, 2 HR, 2 RBI

Worst Hitting - Jose Bautista, Pirates - 0 for 4, 2 K, GIDP


I mentioned yesterday that US Women's soccer's leading scorer Abby Wambach broke her leg and would not be able to play. She will be replaced on the roster by Ben Davis graduate Lauren Cheney. Congratulations to Lauren on her selection to the Olympic team!

Total domination

The Brownsburg Little League has won all three age-levels in the district tournaments. The major division won their game, but I do not have a final score. Up to that point, they had only given up 3 runs in 6 games. At that age, pitching usually dominates the early rounds, if not the entire tournament. Brownsburg will play McCutcheon in the Section 1 tournament this weekend in a best of three format. Good luck to all of the Brownsburg teams in their tournaments!

Today is usually the day that baseball starts the second half of the season after the All-Star break, but there are only four games today. The Braves host Washington on Friday night.

The British Open starts today without Tiger Woods. Will it do well on TV without the world's best golfer? We will see....

The Green Bay Packers have alleged that Brett Favre may already have a deal with the Minnesota Vikings and that is the reason that he has asked to be released from the team. Of course, this is tampering, but it would be interesting to see Favre in a Vikings uniform when they play at Lambeau on the opening Monday Night Football game.

The US Womens Soccer team took a hit, literally, yesterday when leading scorer Abby Wambach broke her leg and will now miss the Olympics.

I'm glad that is over with

The AL beat the NL 4-3 in 15 innings in the All-Star game last night. Now, on to some important stuff...

Right now, baseballprospectus.com gives the Braves an 8 percent chance of making the playoffs. That seems about right. They have been playing around .500 ball most of the year, and that will not get you a playoff spot. It looks like it is mostly down to the Phillies and Mets in the NL East, the Cubs, Cardinals, and Brewers in the Central, and the Diamondbacks and Dodgers in the West. It took half a season the basically eliminate 9 of the 16 teams in the NL.

It is that time of year when the Little League district tournaments are being played. The Brownsburg teams have won the 9-10 and the 11 year old tourneys and played in the finals of the 12 year old tourney yesterday. I will report the result when I find it.

The terrible, terrible All-Star game

If you need to see an example of how Bud Selig ruined baseball, look no further than the sham that is the All-Star Game. What was once a night where the best pitchers from one league faced the best hitters in the other league for one night only, has now been turned into something that has lost it's way. This game is supposed to be an exhibition, not a serious game. It is supposed to be a way to showcase the best of the best and to show some character and the lighter side of some of the athletes we watch nearly every day. Instead, we get a game that the winning league wins home field advantage in the World Series. So, you get starters from Houston, Atlanta, Colorado, Texas, and Seattle deciding home field advantage in a World Series that in which they have no chance of playing. Do you think we will ever see Randy Johnson throwing over John Kruk's head? How about Larry Walker batting right-handed against Johnson just to have some fun? Not anymore....This time it counts! Well, count me out.

Commissioner Selig also had a hand in inter-league play, which diminishes the All-Star game as a special exhibition. And he was also part of the decision to expand the playoffs with the wild card and to go to the unbalanced schedule where you see other teams that are outside of your division only 6 times all year. And with inter-league play, teams in the same division do not play the same schedule and that is not a fair way to decide a division champion.

I will not be watching the All-Star game tonight. I'm sure there has to be something better one......like a WNBA game or something like that!

Good pitching against the Padres

The Braves pitching staff did a great job in the three game series with the Padres, giving up only 8 runs over the 3 games. In my previous post, I discussed the 4-0 loss on Friday night. On Saturday, the Braves won 4-1. Charlie Morton gave up the 1 run in 5 1/3 innings to get the win. Will Ohman, Blaine Boyer, and Mike Gonzalez held the Padres in check the rest of the way. Chipper Jones had 3 hits, and Jeff Francoeur had 2 hits and 2 RBI. Brent Lillibridge had 2 hits and his first career home run. On Sunday, the Braves scored 3 runs in the top of the first and cruised to a 12-3 victory. Jorge Campillo gave up two runs over 6 innings to get the win. Blaine Boyer, Tim Hudson (yes, Tim Hudson), and Mike Gonzalez finished the game from the bullpen. Brian McCann was 3 for 3 with 3 runs scored and 3 RBI. Brent Lillibridge had 3 hits, while Martin Prado, Mark Teixeira, and Mark Kotsay each had 2 hits. The Braves are off for the next four days as they get three days off for the All-Star break and have Thursday off before hosting Washington on Friday, July 18. The Braves are 6.5 GB the Phillies in the NL East and 7.5 GB the Cardinals for the NL Wild Card.

Best pitching - Ervin Santana, Angels - 7 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 10 K

Worst pitching - Radhames Liz, Orioles - 2 1/3 IP, 6 H, 8 R, 3 HR

Best hitting - Shane Victorino, Phillies - 3 for 3, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI

Worst hitting - Andruw Jones, Dodgers - 0 for 5, 5 K