ginaphur (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} ginaphur) wrote,@ 2006-04-11 12:23:00 |
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| Entry tags: | atlanta braves, baseball |
John Thomson, Pitcher & Hitter
April 10th, 2006 (Braves 5, Phillies 3)
It seems that two hours is not enough time to get to the ballpark on opening day. I missed the first inning but, in an unusual turn of events, the Braves were not behind by the start of the 2nd. The field looked great, especially after looking at the slop in San Francisco.John Thomson, plucked from the bullpen after Horacio’s injury, had his first start of the year and did an exceptional job on the mound and at the plate. As he took to the mound in the top of the 5th inning, the only runs scored in the game were the result of his two-run double in the bottom of the 4th. Thomson went 5 innings, giving up only 1 unearned run in the top of the 5th, and believes he could have gone more innings in this game had he not spent so much time on the bases, hitting a single and a double. Thomson also played good defense, remembering to cover first every time it was called for. (Yeah, Tim Hudson, I’m looking at you.)
A Thomson tidbit -
Coming to the plate after Brian McCann and Wilson Betemit provided consecutive two-out singles in the fourth, Thomson found the loud home crowd doing the tomahawk chop. Somewhat surprised, he said he looked toward the scoreboard to make sure it was definitely his turn to bat.
"It felt kind of cool coming up and hearing that," said Thomson, whose mound performance allowed the Braves' starting staff to lower its ERA to 8.66. Source
It felt kind of cool for us too, seeing a starting pitcher throw 4 scoreless innings and be a hitter!
Remlinger and Villareal were adequate, each giving up a run. I guess that shows the lowered expectations I have for the bullpen. Ken Ray looked good in the 8th, staying calm and pitching out of a little trouble. And Reitsma showed off his short memory in a perfect 9th, earning his 3rd save in 4 opportunities. Nice!
I think Francoeur may be coming around. He was robbed by David Bell (I think) on a smoked ball to third. But he did hit a couple that were not grounders to third which he’s been doing like clockwork lately. And he did lay off at least two first pitches. Yes, they were both strikes anyway but I realize it’s hard for him not to take a shot whenever the ball’s coming his way. He did misplay a ball to right field that got past him and allowed a run to score. Ole! Luckily his outfield neighbor Andruw got that run back for him on his solo homerun in the bottom of that inning.
Marcus hit the go ahead homerun even though his quad was not 100%. Of course, 100% is overrated - see Kirk Gibson.
Also, I must relay the text of a T-shirt someone wore that I liked:
“Here’s to Kelly Johnson and to Pete Orr,
Here’s to Ryan Langerhans, and to Francoeur,
Here’s to kicking Dan Kolb out the f’ing door,
Here’s to division championship, Here’s to 14 more!”
Nice shirt.
Lastly, Chipper went to the DL and Joey Devine went back to Richmond, while Peter Moylan joins the team from Australia via Richmond. We hope to see Joey again when he’s ready!
I had a nice view from my seat!
And of course, everyone has a nice view of the huge 5,600 square-feet HD screen (71’H x 79’W).
Braves win, 5-3!
