Braves lead Padres by 2 games in the Wild Card, thanks to Cubs.
Hey, Chicago Cubs. The check is in the mail!
The Cubs finished off the San Diego Padres 1-0 tonight scoring a run in the 9th inning to take 3 of 4 games from the Padres. They helped turn a 1/2 game lead for the Padres to a 2 game deficit in the wild card race with the Atlanta Braves.
The Braves’ magic number to clinch the wild card now stands at 2. The Braves begin a three game series against Philadelphia this weekend in Atlanta. Meanwhile, San Diego traves to San Francisco to take on the Giants in a three game series. The Giants have a 3 game lead and can knock the Padres out of the playoffs with a win and a Braves win.
So, as far as the Cubs go, the Braves have a check in the mail for you. Thanks for all of your help. Enjoy the prospects we sent you.
The Braves “Big Three” finish off Marlins. One step closer to playoffs.
Panic, no way.
The Atlanta Braves came home off of a demoralizing sweep to the Philadelphia Phillies and losing 2 of 3 to the Washington Nationals. They were trailing the San Diego Padres for the wild card. The offense looked pathetic. Then, they lose another cog to the lineup as Martin Prado went down.
They came home to another stellar outing by Tommy Hanson. The offense again left him without a win. The bullpen shut the Marlins down and the Braves won in extra innings off of Omar Infante’s RBI single.
Tim Hudson pitched on 3 days rest in game 2 and shut down the Marlins again. The bullpen was stellar and the offense awakened in the 7th inning to down the Marlins and to take a 1.5 game lead over the Padres.
Game 3 was less dramatic than the first two. Derek Lowe shut down the Marlins and pitched six quality innings giving up only 1 run. The offense gave him all the support he needed in the 3rd inning when David Ross doubled home the first run of the game. Brooks Conrad then crushed a home run to give the Braves a 4 run lead. The bullpen again cruised through the last 3 innings and the Braves completed a sweep of the Florida Marlins. Their lead now is at 2 games over the Padres.
The most encouraging part of this sweep is that Hanson, Hudson and Lowe were outstanding. Those three guys will no doubt be able to match up with San Francisco, Philadelphia and Cincinnati in the playoffs. The biggest question is whether the Braves will muster enough offense.
One thing is sure if the Braves can get a lead late in the game, the bullpen can shut down the other team. Craig Kimbrel is playing himself onto the postseason roster. The kid looks unhittable and just nasty. He is stepping in nicely for Saito. He has a fresh arm. There is no way I would put Farnsworth on the roster over him. No way.
Lowe, Hudson and Hanson have given Braves fans hope and more confidence heading into Bobby Cox’s last regular season weekend.
Unannounced portion of Braves/Cubs trade.
Frank Wren's deal to get Bobby Cox into the playoffs.
When the Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs made a trade on August 18th to send former All Star Derrek Lee to the Braves many speculated that this may be the trade that propelled the Braves into the playoffs. The unannounced portion of the deal may have been the most important part of the trade.
The Braves traded three minor-leaguers to the Cubs: right-handed pitchers Tyrelle Harris and Robinson Lopez and left-handed pitcher Jeffrey Lorick. These are three arms that will help the Cubs replenish and rebuild their farm system. The Braves, meanwhile, received Lee and his veteran leadership and postseason experience. The Braves gambled that Lee would be a solid replacement for the absence of Chipper Jones’ bat in the middle of the Atlanta lineup.
Lee has been decent in Atlanta, though not exceptional. He has hit .270 with a .361 OBP and .409 slugging percentage with 2 home runs in 35 games for the Braves. The power has not been there, but that may be the lack of big-time power hitters surrounding him. He had Aramis Ramirez batting behind him in Chicago. He has improved his numbers in September during crunch time for the Braves. He has hit .282 with a .374 OBP and .436 slugging percentage with 2 home runs, 11 rbis and 12 runs scored. The Braves squandered a 3 game lead to know trail the Phillies by 5 games headed into October. The Phillies stormed past the Braves to steal the division, which the Braves led for 99 days.
But, besides the Braves slide, there may have been an unannounced part of the deal: maybe the Braves convinced the Cubs to help them get into the playoffs by taking down the San Diego Padres. The Cubs have beaten the San Diego Padres in the first two games of a four game series in San Diego. Coupled with the Braves winning two games against the Florida Marlins, the Braves have opened up a 1.5 game lead with 4 to play (5 for San Diego). The Padres have 2 more games against the Cubs and then travel to San Francisco to play the Giants, whom they trail by 2 games in the West division.
No one would have imagined that the Braves would have blown a big lead against the Phillies and dropped so fast so quickly. No one would have imagined the Padres losing steam at the same time as the Braves and losing the West Division lead to the surging San Francisco Giants. No one would have predicted that the Braves would need the woeful Cubs help in 2010 beyond the Derrek Lee trade…right?
It seems like maybe someone did know what the Braves would need and the Cubs and Braves made the most important trade agreement of 2010, arguably of course. With the Cubs agreeing to squash the Padres to propel Bobby into his last postseason, that makes it the best deal that the Braves have ever made. If, of course, that was the terms of the deal.
Hudson and Hinske power Braves past Marlins 3-2.
The Atlanta Braves got a solid pitching performance by Tim Hudson. He was not dominant, but he avoided disaster by getting out of jams. He pitched 6 innings and gave up 7 hits and 4 walks with 4 strike outs. The only run he gave up was after Melky Cabrera looked ridiculous and misplayed a ball. He did a 360 and Hudson looked annoyed.
He left down 1-0 because Anibal Sanchez shut the Braves bats down for 6 innings. The Braves should have tied the game in the bottom of the 6th inning when Derrek Lee hit a double. Brian McCann was at 1st because of a fielder’s choice. McCann was sent home by third base coach Brian Snitker and was out by 10 feet at home to end the inning.
In the 7th inning, Melky Cabrera led off with a single. He advanced to 2nd on a sacrifice by Alex Gonzalez. Brooks Conrad tied the game with an RBI triple in which Cameron Maybin crashed into the center field wall and had to be carted off the field. Rick Ankiel struck out for the second out. Hinske hit a two-run shot with what proved to be the decisive runs in the game.
Billy Wagner closed out the game with his 36th save of the year.
Atlanta loses Martin Prado for rest of the year.
Prado is done for rest of the year.
The Atlanta Braves received the MRI results back on Martin Prado. The news was not good and was not what the Braves needed to hear. He will be out for the remainder of 2010 with a hip pointer and a torn oblique muscle. He will have to be shut down for 2 months of rest. If all goes well and there are no complications, he should be ready by Spring Training. The positive in this was that he does not need to have hip surgery, which was apparently a worst case scenario.
As it is, the Braves have lost two third basemen due to injury this year, Chipper Jones and Martin Prado. The impact of not having both bats in the lineup could essentially end the Braves’ hopes of making the playoffs. Time will tell.
