GDT 10/3/13: Dodgers (Kershaw) @ Braves (Medlen) - NLDS Game 1 - 8:30 PM

50PoundHead said:
I thought the same thing. Puig took the ball up the middle a couple of times when Simmons was playing him to pull.

Game of inches. Gattis and Upton made great efforts on A.J. Ellis' doubles. I don't know if any RF gets Ellis' ball to right, but someone more experienced in LF probably gets the ball that handcuffed Gattis. Can't fault the effort though. Better 2B makes the play on Crawford's hard-hit ball. Medlen made a bad pitch to Gonzalez and paid. Other than that, it wasn't like they were roping it off him.

Playoff baseball is different. Sure, it's a crapshoot, but guys adjust. During the regular season, Puig probably goes up there hacking. Last night, he just tries to drive it up the middle.
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Maybe it's my rose colored glasses, but if Justin gets close to a ball, I presume Jason makes the play. Justin isn't a slouch in the speed department, but Jason reads the ball better off the bat and takes better routes to the ball.

More than a lot of things what this team needs before next year is Justin to spend some time in LF so he can learn the different angles properly. He once was a good (or at least average) defensive RF obviously the skills have slipped (he used to be faster) he should be at worst an average defensive LF, personally if he puts the work in to learn the angle tricks of LF he should be a solid defender out there. Hopefully Fredi can talk him into learning how to play LF better and get someone in there like Langerhans or someone who was a really great defensive LF who can teach him the finer points he needs still.
 
Diesel said:
Medlen was too amped up. That clearly cost him location and he threw a lot of meatballs up there. However, Kershaw gave Justin 4-5 pitches in his wheelhouse to hit....and just fouled them off. Late. His problem all year as been getting to the ball late.

I'm worried about Minor because his problem lately has been the same issue that Medlen had last night. Too many pitches wind up over the middle of the plate. It's his first postseason start, so we'll see what he is made of.
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Yeah. Even in the first inning Medlen was throwing too many fastballs and changes in the upper half of the strike zone. If you look at the period last year and this year when he pitched extremely well it coincided with his groundball rate going up.

Minor is a different kind of pitcher. He is a flyball pitcher who will always be prone to the gopher ball. When he's going well it is because he has a little extra hop on his fastball to keep the hitter from making strong contact. It is also important for him to mix his pitches. He has a deep repertoire--fastball, change, curve, slider and a cutter he started throwing this year. He and McCann need to figure out which three pitches are working best today and mix them up. I thought his fastball looked good in his last start. So hopefully the extra rest will help him with that little extra hop that makes a big difference for him.
 
If we had other guys in the lineup hitting the ball well enough and didn't already have EJ in there, I'd consider just starting BJ for defensive purposes.
 
zitothebrave said:
After watching Gattis and Justin not get to balls that Justin and Jason would have, I think it's time to go with a Bossman/Schafer CF platoon. Gattis is clearly the better hitter but we lost several runs yesterday that starting Bossman likely saves.

Also I hope Elliot starts hitting. We cannot have a total blackhole with him and that's what's looking will happen.
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Not sure if its smart to take Gattis out of the lineup after how he looked last night. Sure, most of the time he looks lost but when he gets hot he is a homerun threat everytime he comes to the plate. If we were the only one who made questionable plays then it would be fine. It just looks worse because others made bad plays.
 
thethe said:
Not sure if its smart to take Gattis out of the lineup after how he looked last night. Sure, most of the time he looks lost but when he gets hot he is a homerun threat everytime he comes to the plate. If we were the only one who made questionable plays then it would be fine. It just looks worse because others made bad plays.
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Honestly I don't think the other errors happen with Bossman in CF and AJ Ellis has 2 less RBIs. We still would have lost most likely, but we would have been in a closer game.

I think next time we get Kershaw we should go for a max defense lineup with Johnson being the exception. We already have Freddie, Jason, Justin and Mac who're bonafide threats, I'll live with a weak Bossman, Simmons, and EJ bottom half.
 
zitothebrave said:
Maybe it's my rose colored glasses, but if Justin gets close to a ball, I presume Jason makes the play. Justin isn't a slouch in the speed department, but Jason reads the ball better off the bat and takes better routes to the ball.

More than a lot of things what this team needs before next year is Justin to spend some time in LF so he can learn the different angles properly. He once was a good (or at least average) defensive RF obviously the skills have slipped (he used to be faster) he should be at worst an average defensive LF, personally if he puts the work in to learn the angle tricks of LF he should be a solid defender out there. Hopefully Fredi can talk him into learning how to play LF better and get someone in there like Langerhans or someone who was a really great defensive LF who can teach him the finer points he needs still.
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I agree. Only thing I was saying is that is that they ball to Upton was a tougher play than the one Gattis failed to make. If Heyward is in RF and Upton is in LF, we likely save a couple of runs last night.
 
The Braves embarassed themselves last night. Everything we were afraid of going wrong, went wrong. It's not that they lost the game that bothers me, but rather the way they looked completely overmatched in every facet of the game. They looked like a bunch of minor leaguers that were scared to death in their first MLB game. It was pitiful to watch.

Brain dump:

It is clear the Braves don't have an Ace to reliably (key word) match up with guys like Kershaw, Wainwright, Price, Lee, etc. Sure, Medlen can stand toe to toe with Lee once in a while, but not reliably.

As I have said ALL YEAR LONG, this team is completely unable to manufacture runs as required in postseason games. There are no back end starters or weak BP arms to beat up on in postseason games, and the Braves are unable to score. I have preached all year that all runs scored are NOT created equally, and last night proved my point.

Gattis KILLED us in LF, just like I said he would. There isn't much they can do about it now though. Have to stick with him because none of the other OFers can be stuck in there.

BJ proved beyond a shadow of a doubt he should not see another pitch in the postseason. That was the least competitive AB I have seen a RHed hitter put up against a LHed pitcher in a long time.

I called for 20+ Ks. Guess I was wrong...only 15 Ks. The only reason they didn't K 20+ times is beause Kershaw didn't get the feel for his curve until the 5th inning.

I brought up the thought of PHing for the starter early with a runner in scoring position, yet Fredi allowed Medlen to K in the 3rd (or 4th?) with Simmons on 2nd. Reed or Laird should have gotten to take a hack there since Medlen clearly showed he didn't have his stuff or location last night. Didn't Hale make the roster specifically to handle a few innings in exactly this scenario?

The team played scared. Fredi managed scared. Last night was a disgrace.

Let's hope these guys bounce back like they have all year and put up a fight tonight.
 
50PoundHead said:
I agree. Only thing I was saying is that is that they ball to Upton was a tougher play than the one Gattis failed to make. If Heyward is in RF and Upton is in LF, we likely save a couple of runs last night.
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There are tradeoffs with just about every player, but they are starker with Gattis. You lose a fair amount on defense in left. He is a below average baserunner, though last night's gaffe is not something he typically does. But he did get on base 3 times last night and hit the ball sharply in his fourth at bat. What do we get from Schafer or BJ if we stick them in center.
 
I think Schafer has a slightly better arm than Heyward. He probably gets the runner out. Doesn't mean I want him in the lineup though.

Need to put McCann cleanup tonight over Gattis.
 
nsacpi said:
There are tradeoffs with just about every player, but they are starker with Gattis. You lose a fair amount on defense in left. He is a below average baserunner, though last night's gaffe is not something he typically does. But he did get on base 3 times last night and hit the ball sharply in his fourth at bat. What do we get from Schafer or BJ if we stick them in center.
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Absolutely. I hate to harp on the same note, but if Uggla is even having the year he is being paid for, we can opt for better defense in the OF. We desperately need Gattis' bat.
 
50PoundHead said:
Absolutely. I hate to harp on the same note, but if Uggla is even having the year he is being paid for, we can opt for better defense in the OF. We desperately need Gattis' bat.
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If Schafer had hit a bit better in the second half, I'd favor him for tonight's game. He has a good record against Greinke and Minor is a fly ball pitcher. It is a situation that cries out for putting Schafer in the lineup. But the guy had an OPS of .455 in the second half. So I would stick with Gattis too.
 
Just going to throw this out there as an idea to have both Schafer's defense and Gattis' bat.

Is there any way remotely possible Heyward could play second? I'm somewhat serious at this point. Or maybe since Tosca likes to leave huge holes in the infield, go with four outfielders with a rover and let Simmons cover the entire middle.
 
bravesnumberone said:
Just going to throw this out there as an idea to have both Schafer's defense and Gattis' bat.

Is there any way remotely possible Heyward could play second? I'm somewhat serious at this point. Or maybe since Tosca likes to leave huge holes in the infield, go with four outfielders with a rover and let Simmons cover the entire middle.
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Maybe just have Gattis and Schafer wear the same jersey and hope nobody notices?
 
bravesnumberone said:
Just going to throw this out there as an idea to have both Schafer's defense and Gattis' bat.

Is there any way remotely possible Heyward could play second? I'm somewhat serious at this point. Or maybe since Tosca likes to leave huge holes in the infield, go with four outfielders with a rover and let Simmons cover the entire middle.
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A left handed 2B would be fun. Watching him try to turn double plays would be like watching Dan Uggla try to hit Kimbrel.
 
Feeling rather masochistic so I just re-watched the end of that game. Chris Burke's hr traveled a whopping 338'. Wow. Lol 338'? Seriously. Nice little pop up :facepalm:

CyYoung31 said:
There were also a few missed calls in that Houston game that screwed us, which everyone seems to forget.
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Kershaw is too good, Medlen had to be near perfect.

Said before LA is an awful matchup for us in a short series.

Regards to Gattis, I doubt that makes much difference.
 
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