The Braves went on the road to face two NL West teams and return home 3-4 on the trip, despite getting two starts each from Smoltz and Hudson. The trade deadline is tomorrow afternoon, and the Braves are the frontrunner to haul in Mark Teixeira, so even though today’s an off-day, there’s still plenty to talk about in Braves Country.
This Week’s Stats
Scores and FanGraphs game summaries:
7/23: Braves 4, Giants 2
7/24: Braves 7, Giants 5
7/25: Giants 2, Braves 1
7/26: Giants 4, Braves 2
7/27: D-Backs 8, Braves 7
7/28: D-Backs 4, Braves 3
7/29: Braves 14, D-Backs 0
Stats for the week alone:
| Hitting | PA | OPS | pLI | WPA | WPA/LI | Clutch | CP | pWPA | pWPA/LI | pClutch | pCP |
| Yunel Escobar | 18 | 1.089 | 1.20 | +0.154 | +0.073 | +0.081 | +0.066 | +0.86 | +0.41 | +0.45 | +0.37 |
| John Smoltz | 6 | 0.367 | 1.09 | +0.039 | -0.038 | +0.077 | +0.081 | +0.65 | -0.64 | +1.29 | +1.34 |
| Julio Franco | 24 | 0.893 | 1.08 | +0.031 | +0.125 | -0.094 | -0.104 | +0.13 | +0.52 | -0.39 | -0.43 |
| Willie Harris | 27 | 0.816 | 0.98 | +0.011 | -0.148 | +0.159 | +0.157 | +0.04 | -0.55 | +0.59 | +0.58 |
| Chris Woodward | 6 | 0.733 | 1.40 | +0.005 | -0.034 | +0.039 | +0.053 | +0.08 | -0.57 | +0.66 | +0.89 |
| Peter Moylan | 1 | 0.000 | 0.00 | +0.000 | +0.000 | +0.000 | +0.000 | +0.00 | +0.00 | +0.00 | +0.00 |
| Jo-Jo Reyes | 1 | 0.000 | 0.27 | -0.006 | -0.022 | +0.016 | +0.000 | -0.60 | -2.22 | +1.62 | +0.00 |
| Tim Hudson | 8 | 0.500 | 0.37 | -0.014 | -0.100 | +0.086 | +0.023 | -0.18 | -1.26 | +1.08 | +0.29 |
| Edgar Renteria | 30 | 0.747 | 1.18 | -0.021 | +0.002 | -0.023 | -0.023 | -0.07 | +0.01 | -0.08 | -0.08 |
| Andruw Jones | 31 | 0.787 | 1.04 | -0.030 | -0.097 | +0.067 | +0.072 | -0.10 | -0.31 | +0.22 | +0.23 |
| Chipper Jones | 29 | 0.845 | 0.99 | -0.052 | +0.087 | -0.139 | -0.138 | -0.18 | +0.30 | -0.48 | -0.47 |
| Chuck James | 2 | 0.000 | 1.37 | -0.067 | -0.049 | -0.018 | +0.000 | -3.35 | -2.46 | -0.89 | +0.02 |
| Scott Thorman | 7 | 1.429 | 0.72 | -0.084 | -0.040 | -0.044 | -0.055 | -1.20 | -0.57 | -0.63 | -0.79 |
| Buddy Carlyle | 2 | 0.000 | 1.13 | -0.088 | -0.071 | -0.017 | -0.008 | -4.40 | -3.54 | -0.86 | -0.42 |
| Matt Diaz | 14 | 0.445 | 1.37 | -0.091 | -0.073 | -0.018 | +0.010 | -0.65 | -0.52 | -0.13 | +0.07 |
| Jeff Francoeur | 32 | 0.975 | 1.13 | -0.155 | +0.047 | -0.202 | -0.208 | -0.48 | +0.15 | -0.63 | -0.65 |
| Brian McCann | 28 | 0.536 | 1.06 | -0.180 | -0.254 | +0.074 | +0.090 | -0.64 | -0.91 | +0.26 | +0.32 |
| Jarrod Saltalamacchia | 4 | 0.500 | 2.32 | -0.194 | -0.065 | -0.129 | -0.043 | -4.85 | -1.63 | -3.22 | -1.07 |
| Kelly Johnson | 26 | 0.656 | 1.14 | -0.370 | -0.057 | -0.313 | -0.305 | -1.42 | -0.22 | -1.20 | -1.17 |
| Totals | 296 | 0.764 | 1.09 | -1.112 | -0.716 | -0.396 | -0.332 | -0.38 | -0.24 | -0.13 | -0.11 |
| Total Pitching | IP | ERA | pLI | WPA | WPA/LI | Clutch | CP | pWPA | pWPA/LI | pClutch | pCP |
| Peter Moylan | 5.3 | 0.00 | 1.69 | +0.622 | +0.302 | +0.320 | +0.111 | +3.27 | +1.59 | +1.68 | +0.58 |
| Tim Hudson | 15.7 | 1.72 | 0.57 | +0.437 | +0.545 | -0.108 | +0.129 | +0.75 | +0.94 | -0.19 | +0.22 |
| Rafael Soriano | 3.0 | 0.00 | 1.98 | +0.379 | +0.154 | +0.225 | +0.073 | +4.21 | +1.72 | +2.50 | +0.81 |
| John Smoltz | 14.0 | 2.57 | 1.07 | +0.379 | +0.160 | +0.219 | +0.208 | +0.66 | +0.28 | +0.38 | +0.36 |
| Oscar Villarreal | 4.0 | 0.00 | 1.31 | +0.327 | +0.124 | +0.203 | +0.165 | +1.82 | +0.69 | +1.13 | +0.92 |
| Chuck James | 6.0 | 3.00 | 1.11 | +0.066 | -0.031 | +0.097 | +0.100 | +0.25 | -0.12 | +0.37 | +0.38 |
| Jose Ascanio | 1.0 | 0.00 | 0.01 | +0.000 | +0.000 | +0.000 | +0.000 | +0.00 | +0.00 | +0.00 | +0.00 |
| Tyler Yates | 2.0 | 4.50 | 2.66 | -0.032 | -0.080 | +0.048 | +0.180 | -0.25 | -0.61 | +0.37 | +1.39 |
| Chad Paronto | 3.0 | 0.00 | 0.71 | -0.200 | +0.057 | -0.257 | -0.240 | -1.54 | +0.44 | -1.98 | -1.85 |
| Buddy Carlyle | 5.7 | 6.35 | 1.22 | -0.243 | -0.019 | -0.224 | -0.220 | -0.90 | -0.07 | -0.83 | -0.82 |
| Jo-Jo Reyes | 4.0 | 15.75 | 0.53 | -0.336 | -0.532 | +0.196 | -0.052 | -1.60 | -2.54 | +0.94 | -0.25 |
| Bob Wickman | 2.3 | 3.86 | 1.79 | -0.357 | -0.059 | -0.298 | -0.252 | -3.25 | -0.53 | -2.71 | -2.29 |
| Wil Ledezma | 0.3 | 27.00 | 1.30 | -0.420 | -0.226 | -0.194 | -0.126 | -10.50 | -5.66 | -4.84 | -3.15 |
| Totals | 66.3 | 3.12 | 1.10 | +0.622 | +0.396 | +0.226 | +0.075 | +0.22 | +0.14 | +0.08 | +0.03 |
| Relief Pitching | G | IP | TBF | gmLI | G/T | tG/T | USG | ||||
| Rafael Soriano | 2 | 3.0 | 9 | 2.06 | 1.27 | 1.24 | -0.04 | ||||
| Peter Moylan | 4 | 5.3 | 19 | 1.60 | 0.99 | 1.22 | 0.23 | ||||
| Oscar Villarreal | 3 | 4.0 | 18 | 1.69 | 1.05 | 1.07 | 0.02 | ||||
| Chad Paronto | 3 | 3.0 | 13 | 1.74 | 1.08 | 1.02 | -0.05 | ||||
| Jose Ascanio | 1 | 1.0 | 4 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.95 | 0.94 | ||||
| Bob Wickman | 3 | 2.3 | 11 | 1.24 | 0.77 | 0.86 | 0.09 | ||||
| Tyler Yates | 3 | 2.0 | 13 | 2.01 | 1.25 | 0.85 | -0.40 | ||||
| Wil Ledezma | 2 | 0.3 | 4 | 1.67 | 1.03 | 0.00 | -1.03 | ||||
| Totals | 21 | 21.0 | 91 | 1.61 | 6 |
And the season totals:
| Hitting | PA | OPS | pLI | WPA | WPA/LI | Clutch | CP | pWPA | pWPA/LI | pClutch | pCP |
| Chipper Jones | 365 | 1.022 | 1.00 | +2.024 | +2.443 | -0.419 | -0.410 | +0.55 | +0.67 | -0.11 | -0.11 |
| Edgar Renteria | 449 | 0.869 | 0.96 | +1.542 | +1.719 | -0.177 | -0.116 | +0.34 | +0.38 | -0.04 | -0.03 |
| Kelly Johnson | 407 | 0.861 | 0.95 | +1.478 | +1.848 | -0.370 | -0.269 | +0.36 | +0.45 | -0.09 | -0.07 |
| Yunel Escobar | 151 | 0.760 | 0.98 | +1.464 | +0.482 | +0.982 | +0.990 | +0.97 | +0.32 | +0.65 | +0.66 |
| Willie Harris | 239 | 0.827 | 0.98 | +0.570 | +0.128 | +0.442 | +0.445 | +0.24 | +0.05 | +0.19 | +0.19 |
| Brian McCann | 345 | 0.761 | 1.07 | +0.148 | -0.892 | +1.040 | +1.102 | +0.04 | -0.26 | +0.30 | +0.32 |
| Jeff Francoeur | 454 | 0.779 | 0.99 | +0.079 | -0.216 | +0.295 | +0.292 | +0.02 | -0.05 | +0.06 | +0.06 |
| Tyler Yates | 1 | 0.000 | 0.03 | -0.001 | -0.033 | +0.032 | +0.000 | -0.10 | -3.33 | +3.23 | +0.00 |
| Jo-Jo Reyes | 9 | 0.508 | 0.94 | -0.012 | -0.035 | +0.023 | +0.021 | -0.13 | -0.39 | +0.25 | +0.23 |
| Lance Cormier | 2 | 0.500 | 0.58 | -0.017 | +0.008 | -0.025 | -0.021 | -0.85 | +0.39 | -1.24 | -1.07 |
| Peter Moylan | 5 | 0.200 | 0.55 | -0.047 | -0.051 | +0.004 | -0.019 | -0.94 | -1.02 | +0.08 | -0.38 |
| Anthony Lerew | 3 | 0.000 | 0.88 | -0.072 | -0.081 | +0.009 | -0.001 | -2.40 | -2.70 | +0.30 | -0.02 |
| Matt Diaz | 237 | 0.827 | 0.93 | -0.075 | +0.623 | -0.698 | -0.655 | -0.03 | +0.26 | -0.29 | -0.28 |
| Oscar Villarreal | 3 | 0.000 | 0.81 | -0.077 | -0.087 | +0.010 | -0.006 | -2.57 | -2.91 | +0.35 | -0.20 |
| Mark Redman | 6 | 0.167 | 1.05 | -0.103 | -0.090 | -0.013 | -0.009 | -1.72 | -1.50 | -0.21 | -0.15 |
| Buddy Carlyle | 25 | 0.256 | 0.96 | -0.210 | -0.318 | +0.108 | +0.094 | -0.84 | -1.27 | +0.43 | +0.38 |
| Martin Prado | 30 | 0.412 | 0.93 | -0.240 | -0.286 | +0.046 | +0.026 | -0.80 | -0.95 | +0.15 | +0.09 |
| Julio Franco | 37 | 0.658 | 1.06 | -0.311 | -0.046 | -0.265 | -0.262 | -0.84 | -0.13 | -0.72 | -0.71 |
| Craig Wilson | 69 | 0.563 | 0.93 | -0.441 | -0.345 | -0.096 | -0.119 | -0.64 | -0.50 | -0.14 | -0.17 |
| John Smoltz | 40 | 0.252 | 0.82 | -0.474 | -0.638 | +0.164 | +0.047 | -1.19 | -1.60 | +0.41 | +0.12 |
| Tim Hudson | 56 | 0.450 | 0.72 | -0.486 | -0.508 | +0.022 | -0.121 | -0.87 | -0.91 | +0.04 | -0.22 |
| Brayan Pena | 23 | 0.565 | 1.42 | -0.507 | -0.304 | -0.203 | -0.076 | -2.20 | -1.32 | -0.88 | -0.33 |
| Chuck James | 44 | 0.382 | 0.89 | -0.507 | -0.531 | +0.024 | -0.032 | -1.15 | -1.21 | +0.05 | -0.07 |
| Kyle Davies | 30 | 0.579 | 1.05 | -0.516 | -0.162 | -0.354 | -0.347 | -1.72 | -0.54 | -1.18 | -1.16 |
| Pete Orr | 58 | 0.403 | 0.59 | -0.598 | -0.549 | -0.049 | -0.271 | -1.03 | -0.95 | -0.08 | -0.47 |
| Jarrod Saltalamacchia | 153 | 0.745 | 1.11 | -0.711 | -0.273 | -0.438 | -0.408 | -0.46 | -0.18 | -0.29 | -0.27 |
| Ryan Langerhans | 52 | 0.283 | 0.88 | -0.737 | -0.946 | +0.209 | +0.097 | -1.42 | -1.82 | +0.40 | +0.19 |
| Andruw Jones | 452 | 0.751 | 1.09 | -0.871 | -0.374 | -0.497 | -0.464 | -0.19 | -0.08 | -0.11 | -0.10 |
| Scott Thorman | 272 | 0.663 | 0.91 | -0.872 | -0.490 | -0.382 | -0.428 | -0.32 | -0.18 | -0.14 | -0.16 |
| Chris Woodward | 118 | 0.561 | 1.04 | -0.888 | -0.876 | -0.012 | +0.019 | -0.75 | -0.74 | -0.01 | +0.02 |
| Totals | 4135 | 0.761 | 0.98 | -1.468 | -0.882 | -0.586 | -0.901 | -0.04 | -0.02 | -0.01 | -0.02 |
| Total Pitching | IP | ERA | pLI | WPA | WPA/LI | Clutch | CP | pWPA | pWPA/LI | pClutch | pCP |
| Peter Moylan | 57.3 | 2.04 | 0.72 | +2.186 | +0.847 | +1.339 | +1.579 | +0.95 | +0.37 | +0.58 | +0.69 |
| John Smoltz | 126.7 | 2.84 | 1.10 | +1.849 | +1.615 | +0.234 | +0.079 | +0.35 | +0.30 | +0.04 | +0.01 |
| Tim Hudson | 151.7 | 3.09 | 0.92 | +1.774 | +2.826 | -1.052 | -0.832 | +0.29 | +0.46 | -0.17 | -0.14 |
| Rafael Soriano | 46.0 | 3.52 | 1.21 | +1.548 | +0.800 | +0.748 | +0.582 | +0.87 | +0.45 | +0.42 | +0.33 |
| Chuck James | 116.7 | 3.55 | 1.03 | +1.522 | +0.476 | +1.046 | +1.030 | +0.30 | +0.09 | +0.21 | +0.20 |
| Mike Gonzalez | 17.0 | 1.06 | 0.99 | +0.738 | +0.413 | +0.325 | +0.331 | +1.05 | +0.59 | +0.46 | +0.47 |
| Macay McBride | 15.0 | 4.20 | 0.35 | +0.122 | -0.050 | +0.172 | +0.139 | +0.16 | -0.07 | +0.23 | +0.19 |
| Blaine Boyer | 5.3 | 3.38 | 0.44 | +0.062 | -0.098 | +0.160 | +0.105 | +0.24 | -0.38 | +0.61 | +0.40 |
| Buddy Carlyle | 65.7 | 4.25 | 0.88 | +0.045 | +0.625 | -0.580 | -0.506 | +0.02 | +0.23 | -0.22 | -0.19 |
| Tyler Yates | 44.3 | 5.28 | 1.09 | +0.017 | -0.026 | +0.043 | +0.046 | +0.01 | -0.01 | +0.02 | +0.02 |
| Kevin Barry | 2.0 | 22.50 | 0.02 | -0.007 | -0.230 | +0.223 | -0.003 | -0.05 | -1.64 | +1.59 | -0.02 |
| Joey Devine | 3.0 | 3.00 | 0.20 | -0.023 | +0.035 | -0.058 | -0.030 | -0.16 | +0.25 | -0.42 | -0.22 |
| Oscar Villarreal | 58.3 | 3.70 | 0.69 | -0.025 | +0.249 | -0.274 | -0.197 | -0.01 | +0.10 | -0.11 | -0.08 |
| Chad Paronto | 40.3 | 3.57 | 0.63 | -0.120 | -0.364 | +0.244 | +0.111 | -0.07 | -0.20 | +0.14 | +0.06 |
| Jose Ascanio | 6.0 | 1.50 | 1.20 | -0.255 | +0.150 | -0.405 | -0.435 | -0.94 | +0.56 | -1.50 | -1.61 |
| Anthony Lerew | 11.7 | 7.71 | 0.88 | -0.343 | -0.534 | +0.191 | +0.126 | -0.60 | -0.94 | +0.34 | +0.22 |
| Wil Ledezma | 9.3 | 7.71 | 0.54 | -0.421 | -0.357 | -0.064 | -0.230 | -0.94 | -0.79 | -0.14 | -0.51 |
| Bob Wickman | 36.3 | 4.21 | 1.97 | -0.436 | -0.007 | -0.429 | -0.422 | -0.26 | -0.00 | -0.26 | -0.25 |
| Steve Colyer | 3.7 | 4.91 | 0.98 | -0.537 | -0.309 | -0.228 | -0.235 | -2.44 | -1.40 | -1.04 | -1.07 |
| Lance Cormier | 7.7 | 15.26 | 0.76 | -0.633 | -1.051 | +0.418 | +0.165 | -1.51 | -2.50 | +0.99 | +0.39 |
| Jo-Jo Reyes | 18.7 | 8.20 | 0.97 | -0.686 | -0.702 | +0.016 | -0.006 | -0.80 | -0.82 | +0.02 | -0.01 |
| Mark Redman | 21.7 | 11.63 | 0.94 | -1.293 | -1.239 | -0.054 | -0.132 | -1.11 | -1.07 | -0.05 | -0.11 |
| Kyle Davies | 86.0 | 5.76 | 0.98 | -1.659 | -1.037 | -0.622 | -0.640 | -0.43 | -0.27 | -0.16 | -0.16 |
| Totals | 950.3 | 4.11 | 0.97 | +3.425 | +2.032 | +1.393 | +0.624 | +0.08 | +0.05 | +0.03 | +0.02 |
| Relief Pitching | G | IP | TBF | gmLI | G/T | tG/T | USG | ||||
| Mike Gonzalez | 18 | 17.0 | 70 | 1.04 | 0.99 | 1.31 | 0.32 | ||||
| Jose Ascanio | 4 | 6.0 | 27 | 0.61 | 0.58 | 1.29 | 0.71 | ||||
| Rafael Soriano | 47 | 46.0 | 177 | 1.50 | 1.43 | 1.23 | -0.20 | ||||
| Peter Moylan | 46 | 57.3 | 230 | 0.81 | 0.77 | 1.18 | 0.41 | ||||
| Joey Devine | 3 | 3.0 | 14 | 0.17 | 0.17 | 1.11 | 0.95 | ||||
| Buddy Carlyle | 1 | 1.0 | 4 | 0.58 | 0.55 | 1.10 | 0.55 | ||||
| Oscar Villarreal | 38 | 58.3 | 248 | 0.90 | 0.86 | 1.02 | 0.16 | ||||
| Bob Wickman | 41 | 36.3 | 167 | 1.56 | 1.48 | 0.96 | -0.52 | ||||
| Tyler Yates | 50 | 44.3 | 200 | 1.16 | 1.10 | 0.96 | -0.15 | ||||
| Macay McBride | 18 | 15.0 | 75 | 0.66 | 0.63 | 0.92 | 0.30 | ||||
| Chad Paronto | 41 | 40.3 | 180 | 0.82 | 0.78 | 0.84 | 0.07 | ||||
| Blaine Boyer | 5 | 5.3 | 26 | 0.44 | 0.42 | 0.74 | 0.33 | ||||
| Wil Ledezma | 12 | 9.3 | 45 | 0.71 | 0.68 | 0.50 | -0.18 | ||||
| Mark Redman | 1 | 1.3 | 10 | 0.45 | 0.43 | 0.34 | -0.09 | ||||
| Steve Colyer | 7 | 3.7 | 22 | 1.01 | 0.97 | 0.14 | -0.83 | ||||
| Kevin Barry | 1 | 2.0 | 14 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.00 | -0.03 | ||||
| Totals | 333 | 346.3 | 1509 | 1.05 | 93 |
Best plays of the week:
- Edgar Renteria hit a 2-run double off Jonathan Sanchez, giving the Braves a 6-4 lead in the 13th inning of Tuesday’s game against the Giants (+.418).
- Willie Harris hit an RBI single off Jose Valverde, tying Friday’s game at 7 in the 9th inning (+.310).
- Jeff Francoeur doubled off Brad Hennessey to lead off the 9th inning in Wednesday’s 2-1 loss (+.196).
- Jeff Francoeur hit a 2-run homer off Tim Lincecum, giving the Braves a 2-0 lead in the 4th inning of Thursday’s game (+.186).
- Tyler Yates struck out Fred Lewis with the bases loaded in the 13th inning of Tuesday’s game, preserving a 7-5 lead for the victory (+.180).
Comments
It was an exciting week of baseball, but honestly I didn’t watch very much of it. With most of the games occurring late or while I had other commitments, I only caught a few innings all week.
It was not a kind week to most of the Braves’ hitters, as tends to be the case when you play extra-inning games. Kelly Johnson gave back 1/5 of his season total WPA with a -.370 week that was mostly based on a couple of missed clutch opportunities. Salty was the next worst at -.194, and he only had four plate appearances, getting a single in one of them. McCann and Francoeur were both below -.150, despite Francoeur appearing twice in the above leaderboard for clutch hits. Only Yunel Escobar had a significantly positive week, going 7-for-15 with 2 walks, 1 HBP, and a steal. It wasn’t a terrible week for most of the regulars that I haven’t already mentioned (Renteria .310/.333/.414, for example), but it wasn’t great for anyone, either.
The hitting leaderboard now goes 1) Chipper, 2) Renteria, 3) Johnson, with Escobar ready to overtake at any time now. Willie Harris also remains above average. Diaz, Francoeur, and McCann are the middling regulars, despite McCann’s overall struggles (.313 OBP!) and Diaz’ great hitting (.341/.363/.464). How many guys remain backups despite hitting .333 in basically a full season’s worth of at-bats over two years? Matt Diaz is finding out right now…
On the pitching side, Peter Moylan again finds his name at the top of the WPA leaderboard this week after 5 2/3 nearly-perfect innings of work. I honestly don’t understand how his arm is still attached and functioning properly, while the rest of the Braves’ relievers are falling apart. Perhaps it’s “were falling apart,” though, because Soriano pitched three scoreless innings of his own this week. Villarreal and Ascanio also did not allow any runs.
Ledezma was DFA’d after allowing two runs (one earned) in a third of an inning. That trade turned out quite well for the Braves. Yates and Wickman each had their struggles, giving up a run apiece in 4 1/3 total innings.
Smoltz and Hudson predictably provided four solid starts, with each giving up three runs in one outing while having a separate dominant start. Hudson probably could have gone the whole way yesterday, but with a virtually insurmountable lead, Bobby pulled him at the 80-pitch mark, after 7 efficient innings.
Jo-Jo Reyes pleaded the Braves to trade for a starter instead of an expensive first baseman by allowing 7 runs in just 4 innings on Friday. Buddy Carlyle couldn’t make it through the sixth on Thursday, allowing four runs in his start. James was solid on Wednesday, allowing two runs in six innings. That marks his fifth straight net-positive start (and 9th in his last 11). He’s sitting on a very impressive (but probably a bit lucky) 3.55 ERA right now.
The Road Ahead
I’m having trouble looking beyond the trade deadline myself (4 PM tomorrow), but the Braves will play some games this week at home against the Astros and Rockies. Here are the probable pitchers:
Tuesday: James vs. Chris Sampson
Wednesday: Carlyle vs. Wandy Rodriguez
Thursday: Reyes vs. TBA
Friday: Smoltz vs. Jeff Francis
Saturday: Hudson vs. Ubaldo Jimenez
Sunday: James vs. Aaron Cook
I may have something else for you this afternoon, but if not, I’ll certainly check in after any big trades go down.
jfwiii.net 
watch the game on Saturday and look for me and my youth group!
I will…where will you be sitting?