Sunday Game

We hit The Diamond on Sunday for the 3^rd game against the Bulls in their latest series.  The good guys lost 4-1 on a perfect afternoon for baseball.  Durham’s starter was Jeff Niemann, an IL leader in strikeouts.  This guy is huge – 6-9, 260 lbs.  At one point, the Bulls infield all congregated at the mound when the pitching coach was out there, and Niemann made everyone look like they were in Little League.  As one of my buddies noted, he really resembled a taller Tim Robbins in Bull Durham with the unkept hair and less than fit body-type.  His stuff wasn’t that overpowering on Sunday, but the Braves had trouble sparking any action at the plate, and we couldn’t string anything together.  Braves starter Ryan Baerlocher struck out 2 and gave up 7 hits in the loss.  Not much else to report on the game…                     

…Quick note about our mascot Diamond Duck – his outfit looked like it hadn’t been washed since April.  It was just filthy.  And I don’t even want to think about his sooty-looking discolored gloves – germ warfare kind of stuff.  Call the CDC, the Duck’s going in for a high 5… 

Lineup Forecast

From the outset, it’s been clear that this year’s edition of the Richmond Braves would lack any significant oomph in the power department. So far, it hasn’t been a problem – enough offense and some excellent pitching have the R-Braves safely perched in first in the IL South, six games ahead of Durham.

Still, it’ll be a test for the Braves to maintain their pace with so little extra-base power at the plate. Carlos Mendez (.288, 5 HR in 42 games) has been Richmond’s closest thing to a reliable run-producer in the middle of the lineup since Yunel Escobar departed for Atlanta. Graham Koonce has pop (8 HR in 34 games) but lacks a certain dependability.

That leaves steady – but limited – bats such as Martin Prado (.307, 0 HR), Gregor Blanco (.287, 2 HR) and Brayan Pena (.306, 1 HR) playing critical, instead of complementary, roles in the offense. The plan is complicated by the unremarkable speed of Prado (3-5 stolen base attempts) and Pena (2-for-4) and Blanco’s penchant for being thrown out on the bases (just 11-for-20 on stolen base attempts).

This makes the development Brent Lillibridge especially important in the second half. The multi-talented shortstop hit .300+ with 13 HR, 71 RBI and 53 steals (in 66 attempts) last year in the Pirates’ organization. He was called up to the R-Braves in late May from Double-A Mississippi.

Lillibridge has so far hit .246 in 18 games in Richmond with 2 homers and 2 doubles. He also is a perfect 7-for-7 in stolen base attempts. Shades of something, but not something yet.

A cause for concern is a relatively slow start to the year at Double-A (.275, 3 HR, 17 RBI, 14 SB in 52 games) and a combined 75 strikeouts and just 24 walks in 70 games this season. He clearly is no sure thing.

Richmond’s two premier hitters this season, Willie Harris and Escobar, have been stellar since being promoted to Atlanta – Harris (.385, 9 SB, 42 games), Escobar (.302 in 17 games) – and don’t figure to return to the R-Braves. However, some new faces might provide reinforcements in the second half of the season, providing a youthful spark for the stretch run.

The most prominent of these at Double-A are second baseman J.C. Holt, who hit .292 with 4 2B and 10 R in 12 games during an impressive stint in Richmond earlier this year, and outfielders Brandon Jones (.288, 11 HR, 47 RBI), Carl Loadenthal (.297, 24 SB) and Matt Esquivel (.257, 15 HR, 54 RBI).

Jo-Jo Gets the Call

Jo-Jo Reyes, who has been excellent at Double-A Mississippi, was promoted to Richmond today. The lefty should be well worth the price of admission. Perhaps the top pitching prospect in the organization, Reyes was 8-1 with a 3.56 ERA at Double-A with 71 SO in 73.1 IP. Mississippi, which won its league’s first half championship, was 12-1 in Reyes’ starts.

Reyes also made a start in Richmond this month, getting the win and impressing in the process.

Brayan Pena

Brayan Pena has gotten a tough break this year. After leading Richmond with a .302 average in 2006 and earning a roster spot with Atlanta this spring, the Cuban-born catcher is back in Richmond through no fault of his own, apparently blocked again at the major league level.

Pena was sidelined in early May with an injury. When starter Brian McCann also went down temporarily, hot prospect Jarrod “Salty” Saltalamacchia was called up from Double-A Mississippi to fill in. At the time, Atlanta officials spoke as though it was a given that the youngster would be returned to the minors as soon as possible so he could play every day and continue to gain experience.

However, Salty sparkled from the outset with the A-Braves and he’s remained on the roster even as Pena has healed up. Saltalamacchia has hit .324 with 2 homers in 24 games for the Braves, generally making a demotion look like a bad idea.

Meanwhile, Pena, who now has played in 51 major-league games over the past three years, has hidden any disappointment at being back in Richmond with his usual strong defense and solid hitting. Pena, who hit .217 in 23 AB in Atlanta before his injury, is hitting .306 during this year’s stint in Richmond. He continues to be an ideal fit as a backup to an everyday star like McCann because of his defense (he threw out 4 of 8 attempted basestealers in Atlanta in April), able bat (though he has no power at all) and lack of bejeweled prospect status (it is OK for Pena to sit for considerable stretches, while Atlanta officials will turn antsy if Salty stays off the field for long). It’s tough luck for Pena, but Atlanta must feel good knowing they have such a capable player waiting at Triple-A.

40-28

A nice balance of hitting and pitching helped the Braves beat the Syracuse Chiefs last night in NY.  Every Brave who played got at least one hit, including a 3 run homer from Doug Clark.  Starter Ryan Baerlocher picked up the W for Richmond.

39-28

The RBraves split their latest 4 game series in Pawtucket with a 3-1 W yesterday.  Kevin Barry pitched seven strong innings; Barry struck out 6, and Will Startup and closer Manny Acosta combined for 3 more K’s.  Manny nabbed his 9th save.

Corky Ain’t Dorky

Please Note: I tried to come up with the lamest blog title I could to utilize the “Corky” factor; I think I did ok… 

     The Dawg has been slammed recently with work and my business statistics class.  Major bummer that the summer has been dominated by paperwork.  A poorly timed test and limited cashflow ruined any opportunity to see Los Bravos take on the PawSox or the Bisons when those teams were here at the Diamond last week.  What can you do?  Anyways, to the reader that we have out there, don’t fret – the juggernaut that is the Richmond Braves blog is still in full effect.  There just hasn’t been anything posted recently.  Well, dear reader, we’re back with a review of our favorite throwaway interview – the 5 Minute Feature.  Catcher Corky Miller is the latest interviewee, and just like with Billy McCarthy, #27 uses the feature to introduce us to him, and for that we are thankful. Let’s see just how thankful.  I read a few bios that differed on the Corky aspect of his name.  The Richmond Times-Dispatch recently wrote an article that quoted him as saying his birth name is Corky Abraham Philip Miller; but some baseball websites disagree and don’t have Corky in the name.  They must not be believers.  I guess I have to take the man’s word, and stranger things have happened.  I’ve got a buddy whose name is Errett.  And another named McKeen.           

     In his 40 games this season as an RBrave, Corky is batting .207.  Corky has been around the block a bit, playing in the Reds, Twins and the Red Sox organizations before signing with the Braves in 2007.  Probably the best thing for me about his interview was his choice of an idol growing up – Bo Jackson.  Finally, an awesome answer to an easy question.  Let’s see his one of his parents power through Cleveland’s entire defensive line and backfield in the original Tecmo Bowl.  The Corkster has another completely awesome answer to the question “What does it mean to you to be playing here in Richmond?”  He says, “Everything.”  That’s endearing, man.  I love it, and the Richmond fans appreciate it.  Here’s another kick-butt answer: the best thing about being a player in the Braves organization are the teammates.  This guy’s good…real good.

     Corky’s favorite baseball movie is The Natural.  Agreed, but haven’t any of these dudes seen Major League?  That is the best baseball movie, period.  The interviewer slyly tried to get some clubhouse dirt, but Corky wasn’t biting.  No comment.  You’d think these guys were in the Skull and Bones (isn’t that the secret Yale club?  correct me if I’m wrong).  His superstitions include making sure he’s wearing clothes.  His nickname is Abraham.  And unfortunately he doesn’t have an answer to what TV show he’d like back.  That’s a bummer for me since I seem to mine about 75% of my jokes from the TV question.  There are obvious weaknesses to my blog entries.  BTW – I was kidding about his nickname; evidently it’s Buzz.  I imagine that’s because he crowds the plate in his stance.  Corky’s motto is one for the ages, “Play hard and have fun.”  I concur.

36-25

The RBraves took 3 out of 4 games against Buffalo this weekend.  The good guys swept the Bisons in Saturday’s doubleheader and then split the d-header on Sunday.

Buddy’s Back

Good news, bad news for Buddy Carlyle. The A-Braves shipped Carlyle back to Richmond, where he’s been dominant this year, right after he beat the Marlins yesterday for his first major-league win since 1999. Carlyle threw a beauty, allowing just a single hit in seven hits, earning much love, including a glowing column from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s crusty old institution, Furman Bisher. He’s clearly earned a return trip to the bigs.

32-22

Starter Trey Hodges got worked pretty hard in last night’s loss to Pawtucket, allowing 7 runs in only 2.2 innings.  The Braves got 11 hits, including a homer by new RBrave SS Brent Lillibridge, who was called up from Mississippi.  We try again tonight with Kevin Barry on the mound against Abe Alvarez.