April 17, 200818 yr I love winning. That's 10 days at the top of the mountain. Well pitched game by Hendrickson, a little shaky at the end there, but well pitched. Probably would have gone longer if it wasn't for the two defensive misplays in the first. The pen looked good, as always. Good stuff from Miller, Lindstrom, Pinto, and the very sharp Kevin Gregg. Lindstrom needs to pick it up though. Our hitting...what can I say, it's our hitting. The bench has really strengthened this year with the addition of Luis Gonzalez. Another error for Cantu, but as usual, he gets it back in his first AB. Good stuff, all around.
April 17, 200818 yr I don't think Lindstrom needs to pick up too much, he just had an off night. I'm glad though they were quick to pull him before it went too far, and he still didn't give up anything huge. But everybody (not named Pinto) has those off nights. And Hendrickson - 4 ERs total in his last 3 starts. Can't reasonably expect more than that from a SP. Even if he had a bad outing opening day, I'm glad to see him showing how he got that #1 spot in the rotation. With him and Olsen working the way they have, our SP doesn't look anywhere near as bad as we all expected this year. We can only hope this will also help the others develop similar consistency. What can you say about the hitting? Jacobs healthy is really something to see. Even if he only hits this good every other month and hits half as good on the months in between, he will still be huge for us. And I don't think I can say better than others how nice it is to have Gonzalez coming off the bench to PH like that. I know he's not gonna hit a HR everytime, but he's way above average for you expect to pull off the bench to PH.
April 17, 200818 yr I wasn't a fan of the Gonzo signing, mostly because I figured he'd just be taking at-bats away from younger guys. It's becoming more likely that I'm just an idiot. And I'll take an outing like that all year from Hendrickson. All we need are these kinds of nights from our starters. Because the lineup can rake, and I wasn't even counting on much from Cantu. Our bullpen can shoulder the load on a lot of nights. Even when one person in the pen is struggling, whether it's Gardner, Tank, Lindstrom, etc, the others seem to step right in and clean up the mess.
April 17, 200818 yr I just got back from the game. This seemed like one of the first games where every aspect of the team chipped in....great starting pitching at the outset, great relief pitching, timely hitting, the bench producing, and Helms making a nice play to end the game as a defensive sub. A great team effort. Oh, the Braves' Escobar kid is pretty good.
April 17, 200818 yr Author I wasn't a fan of the Gonzo signing, mostly because I figured he'd just be taking at-bats away from younger guys. It's becoming more likely that I'm just an idiot. Haha, I'm in that boat with you. I thought he would come in and try to get some playing time, take ABs away from Hammer or Jake...but he's really been a good addition off the bench and is a good veteran presence. I am starting to understand why he was so well liked in Arizona.
April 17, 200818 yr Oh, the Braves' Escobar kid is pretty good. Pretty fitting that he turned out to be the final out after flipping his bat and showing up the pitcher when he hit the homer.
April 17, 200818 yr Positives 1. Mike Jacobs. The guy has really turned it up a notch thus far. Make it 6 HR's for Jake...tied for the NL lead, with Derrek Lee. 2. The way some of you felt about Luis Gonzalez...I felt about Mark Hendrickson. I never liked the Hendrickson signing, but hey...he IS 3-1. He IS giving us a chance. He's been giving us 5+-6 innings thus far. He's getting the job done. 3. The bullpen. Justin Miller, Taylor Tankersley, Reynel Pinto, and Kevin Gregg all getting the job done. Pinto has been amazing thus far...just to think he looked like the worst bullpen pitcher the team had coming into the season. He's quietly winning that setup role job. Kevin Gregg...1, 2, 3 inning including 2 K's to hold onto the 1 run lead in the 9th. I like it. :thumbup 4. The old guys. Luis Gonzalez and Wes Helms...how about it? Each providing some of their own value to this team. 5. Now 4-0 in 1 run games. Good signs from a young team. Very rare. Negatives 1. Lindstrom struggled. Walked Teixiera and allowed a double to Francouer. Just 1 of those bad nights for him. With that said, we're so deep in the pen, that guys just pick each other up. I think Lindstrom should be fine. Also... I'm now 7-2 on the gamethreads. :cool
April 17, 200818 yr As the Palm Beach Post put it: The Heat just wrapped up the worst season in franchise history. The Dolphins finished 1-15. The Panthers missed the playoffs. Again. With a stench like that permeating the rest of the South Florida sports market, why not catch the Marlins now?
April 17, 200818 yr I'm starting to really like our bench. And it will only get better when Maybin gets up here and Amezaga moves back to his utility position. Amezaga, Andino, Gonzo, and Helms. Wow.
April 17, 200818 yr Author I'm starting to really like our bench. And it will only get better when Maybin gets up here and Amezaga moves back to his utility position. Amezaga, Andino, Gonzo, and Helms. Wow. Actually, it would probably be Amezaga, Ross, Gonzo, Helms. But I agree, our bench is looking solid.
April 17, 200818 yr I'm starting to really like our bench. And it will only get better when Maybin gets up here and Amezaga moves back to his utility position. Amezaga, Andino, Gonzo, and Helms. Wow. Actually, it would probably be Amezaga, Ross, Gonzo, Helms. But I agree, our bench is looking solid. I agree that's what it would probably be, mine is just hopeful.
April 17, 200818 yr Author BBTN starting to talk good about us You know them, they are the bandwagon.
April 17, 200818 yr we win we be on espn BBTN at start of show if we loss we end of show or non at all less we playing mets or phy
April 17, 200818 yr Going to have a tough time tomorrow night with Smoltz on the mound. We said that about todays game. Nothing is impossible. We can do this!!
April 17, 200818 yr Negatives 1. Lindstrom struggled. Walked Teixiera and allowed a double to Francouer. Just 1 of those bad nights for him. With that said, we're so deep in the pen, that guys just pick each other up. I think Lindstrom should be fine. 2. Dan Uggla is hitting .179/.233/.347, rarely hitting the ball hard with tons of pop ups, and batting 2nd. Huge negative.
April 17, 200818 yr I love winning. That's 10 days at the top of the mountain. Well pitched game by Hendrickson, a little shaky at the end there, but well pitched. Probably would have gone longer if it wasn't for the two defensive misplays in the first. The pen looked good, as always. Good stuff from Miller, Lindstrom, Pinto, and the very sharp Kevin Gregg. Lindstrom needs to pick it up though. Our hitting...what can I say, it's our hitting. The bench has really strengthened this year with the addition of Luis Gonzalez. Another error for Cantu, but as usual, he gets it back in his first AB. Good stuff, all around. I doubt anyone thought we'd even spend 10 minutes in first place this year.
April 17, 200818 yr I wasn't a fan of the Gonzo signing, mostly because I figured he'd just be taking at-bats away from younger guys. It's becoming more likely that I'm just an idiot. Haha, I'm in that boat with you. I thought he would come in and try to get some playing time, take ABs away from Hammer or Jake...but he's really been a good addition off the bench and is a good veteran presence. I am starting to understand why he was so well liked in Arizona. This boat is getting full. I didn't like some of the comments I heard him make while in Dodger Blue. Apparently I took them the wrong way. He has been a leader from the day he was signed. I even complimented him in person (at Dodger Town this Spring) for what he did for that fireman's family of the Wendy's shooting.
April 17, 200818 yr Oh, the Braves' Escobar kid is pretty good. Pretty fitting that he turned out to be the final out after flipping his bat and showing up the pitcher when he hit the homer. If he would have struck out, that would have been awesome. Hendrickson pitched well, Gonzo with a big HR and Jacobs stays hott. Good stuff.
April 17, 200818 yr following on from the stopwatch on screen and tommy/rich commenting on how jake's dinger left the park in 3 seconds, i did a quick calculation and worked out the ball must have been travelling at...wait for it...84mph!!! thats some serious speed when you consider thats the average speed for the approx 370ft blast
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