Tomahawked: An Atlanta Braves Journey

[SPAL]

**Under Construction**

2009 schedule

Record: 14-16

Date	Opponent	Time (EST)	Broadcast	Results
Sun, 4/5	at Phillies	8:00p	ESPN2	W 4-1
Tue, 4/7	at Phillies	7:05p	PTV	W 4-0
Wed, 4/8	at Phillies	3:05p	SPSO	L 11-12
Fri, 4/10	Nationals	7:30p	PTV	W 6-5 10th
Sat, 4/11	Nationals	7:00p	PTV	W 5-3
Sun,4/12	Nationals	1:30p	FSS	W 8-5
Tue, 4/14	Marlins	7:00p	PTV	L 1-5
Wed, 4/15	Marlins	7:00p	PTV	L 4-10
Thu, 4/16	Marlins	12:00p	SPSO	L 2-6
Fri, 4/17	at Pirates	7:05p	SPSO	L 0-3
Sat, 4/18	at Pirates	12:35p	SPSO	L 0-10
Sun, 4/19	at Pirates	1:35p	FSS	W 11-1
Mon, 4/20	at Nationals	7:05p	SPSO	L 2-3
Tue, 4/21	at Nationals	7:05p	SPSO	L 3-4
Wed, 4/22	at Nationals	7:05p	SPSO	W 1-0
Fri, 4/24	at Reds	7:10p	SPSO	W 4-3
Sat, 4/25	at Reds	1:10p	SPSO	W 10-2
Sun, 4/26	at Reds	1:10p	FSS	L 2-8
Mon, 4/27	Cardinals	7:00p	PTV	L 2-3
Tue, 4/28	Cardinals	7:00p	PTV	W 2-1
Wed, 4/29	Cardinals	7:00p	PTV	L 3-5
Fri, 5/1	Astros	7:30p	PTV	W 7-2
Sat, 5/2	Astros	3:30p	FOX	L 1-5
Sun, 5/3	Astros	1:30p	FSS	L 5-7
Mon, 5/4	Mets	7:00p	PTV	L 4-6
Tue, 5/5	Mets	7:00p	PTV	L 3-4
Wed, 5/6	at Marlins	7:10p	SPSO	W 8-6
Thu, 5/7	at Marlins	12:10p	SPSO	W 4-2
Fri, 5/8	at Phillies	7:05p	PTV	L 6-10
Sat, 5/9	at Phillies	3:40p	FOX	W 6-2
Sun, 5/10	at Phillies	12:35p	FSS	--
Mon, 5/11	at Mets	7:10p	PTV	--
Tue, 5/12	at Mets	7:10p	SPSO	--
Wed, 5/13	at Mets	1:10p	SPSO	--
Fri, 5/15	Diamondbacks	7:30p	PTV	--
Sat, 5/16	Diamondbacks	7:00p	PTV	--
Sun, 5/17	Diamondbacks	1:30p	FSS	--
Mon, 5/18	Rockies	7:00p	PTV	--
Tue, 5/19	Rockies	7:00p	PTV	--
Wed, 5/20	Rockies	7:00p	SPSO	--
Thu, 5/21	Rockies	7:00p	SPSO	--
Fri, 5/22	Blue Jays	7:30p	PTV	--
Sat, 5/23	Blue Jays	7:00p	PTV	--
Sun, 5/24	Blue Jays	1:30p	FSS	--
Mon, 5/25	at Giants	4:05p	SPSO	--
Tue, 5/26	at Giants	10:15p	SPSO	--
Wed, 5/27	at Giants	10:15p	SPSO	--
Thu, 5/28	at Diamondbacks	9:40p	SPSO	--
Fri, 5/29	at Diamondbacks	9:40p	SPSO	--
Sat, 5/30	at Diamondbacks	4:10p	FOX	--
Sun, 5/31	at Diamondbacks	4:10p	FSS	--
Tue, 6/2	Cubs	7:00p	PTV	--
Wed, 6/3	Cubs	7:00p	PTV	--
Thu, 6/4	Cubs	7:00p	SPSO	--
Fri, 6/5	Brewers	7:30p	PTV	--
Sat, 6/6	Brewers	7:00p	PTV	--
Sun, 6/7	Brewers	1:30p	FSS	--
Mon, 6/8	Pirates	7:00p	SPSO	--
Tue, 6/9	Pirates	7:00p	PTV	--
Wed, 6/10	Pirates	7:00p	PTV	--
Thu, 6/11	Pirates	1:00p	SPSO	--
Fri, 6/12	at Orioles	7:05p	SPSO	--
Sat, 6/13	at Orioles	7:05p	SPSO	--
Sun, 6/14	at Orioles	1:35p	FSS	--
Tue, 6/16	at Reds	7:10p	SPSO	--
Wed, 6/17	at Reds	7:10p	SPSO	--
Thu, 6/18	at Reds	12:35p	SPSO	--
Fri, 6/19	at Red Sox	7:10p	PTV	--
Sat, 6/20	at Red Sox	7:10p	PTV	--
Sun, 6/21	at Red Sox	1:35p	FSS	--
Tue, 6/23	Yankees	7:00p	PTV	--
Wed, 6/24	Yankees	7:00p	PTV	--
Thu, 6/25	Yankees	7:00p	PTV	--
Fri, 6/26	Red Sox	7:30p	PTV	--
Sat, 6/27	Red Sox	4:00p	FOX	--
Sun, 6/28	Red Sox	1:30p	FSS	--
Tue, 6/30	Phillies	7:00p	PTV	--
Wed, 7/1	Phillies	7:00p	PTV	--
Thu, 7/2	Phillies	7:00p	SPSO	--
Fri, 7/3	at Nationals	7:05p	SPSO	--
Sat, 7/4	at Nationals	1:05p	SPSO	--
Sun, 7/5	at Nationals	1:35p	FSS	--
Mon, 7/6	at Cubs	8:05p	SPSO	--
Tue, 7/7	at Cubs	8:05p	SPSO	--
Wed, 7/8	at Cubs	2:20p	SPSO	--
Thu, 7/9	at Rockies	8:40p	SPSO	--
Fri, 7/10	at Rockies	9:10p	SPSO	--
Sat, 7/11	at Rockies	8:10p	SPSO	--
Sun, 7/12	at Rockies	3:10p	FSS	--
Thu, 7/16	Mets	7:30p	SPSO	--
Fri, 7/17	Mets	7:30p	PTV	--
Sat, 7/18	Mets	4:00p	FOX	--
Sun, 7/19	Mets	6:00p	ESPN	--
Mon, 7/20	Giants	7:00p	SPSO	--
Tue, 7/21	Giants	7:00p	PTV	--
Wed, 7/22	Giants	7:00p	PTV	--
Thu, 7/23	Giants	1:00p	SPSO	--
Fri, 7/24	at Brewers	8:05p	SPSO	--
Sat, 7/25	at Brewers	7:05p	SPSO	--
Sun, 7/26	at Brewers	2:05p	FSS	--
Tue, 7/28	at Marlins	7:10p	SPSO	--
Wed, 7/29	at Marlins	7:10p	SPSO	--
Thu, 7/30	at Marlins	7:10p	SPSO	--
Fri, 7/31	Dodgers	7:30p	PTV	--
Sat, 8/1	Dodgers	4:00p	FOX	--

Sun, 8/2 Dodgers 1:30p FSS
Mon, 8/3 at Padres 10:05p SPSO     
Tue, 8/4 at Padres 10:05p SPSO     
Wed, 8/5 at Padres 3:35p SPSO     
Thu, 8/6 at Dodgers 10:10p SPSO
Fri, 8/7 at Dodgers 10:10p SPSO
Sat, 8/8 at Dodgers 10:10p SPSO
Sun, 8/9 at Dodgers 4:10p FSS
Tue, 8/11 Nationals 7:00p PTV
Wed, 8/12 Nationals 7:00p SPSO
Fri, 8/14 Phillies 7:30p PTV
Sat, 8/15 Phillies 4:00p FOX
Sun, 8/16 Phillies 1:30p FSS
Tue, 8/18 at Mets 7:10p SPSO     
Wed, 8/19 at Mets 7:10p SPSO     
Thu, 8/20 at Mets 7:10p SPSO     
Fri, 8/21 Marlins 7:30p PTV
Sat, 8/22 Marlins 7:00p PTV, 
Sun, 8/23 Marlins 1:30p FSS, 
Tue, 8/25 Padres 7:00p SPSO, 
Wed, 8/26 Padres 7:00p SPSO, 
Thu, 8/27 Padres 7:00p SPSO, 
Fri, 8/28 at Phillies 7:05p SPSO,
Sat, 8/29 at Phillies 7:05p SPSO,
Sun, 8/30 at Phillies 1:35p FSS, 
Mon, 8/31 at Marlins 7:10p SPSO,
Tue, 9/1 at Marlins 7:10p SPSO, 
Wed, 9/2 at Marlins 7:10p SPSO, 
Thu, 9/3 at Marlins 7:10p SPSO,
Fri, 9/4 Reds 7:30p SPSO, 
Sat, 9/5 Reds 7:00p SPSO,
Sun, 9/6 Reds 1:30p FSS, 
Tue, 9/8 at Astros 8:05p SPSO, 
Wed, 9/9 at Astros 8:05p SPSO,
Thu, 9/10 at Astros 8:05p SPSO,
Fri, 9/11 at Cardinals 8:15p SPSO,     
Sat, 9/12 at Cardinals 4:10p FOX,     
Sun, 9/13 at Cardinals 2:15p FSS,       
Tue, 9/15 Mets 7:00p PTV, 
Wed, 9/16 Mets 7:00p PTV,
Thu, 9/17 Mets 7:00p SPSO,
Fri, 9/18 Phillies 7:30p PTV, 
Sat, 9/19 Phillies 7:00p PTV,
Sun, 9/20 Phillies 1:30p FSS, 
Mon, 9/21 at Mets 7:10p SPSO,     
Tue, 9/22 at Mets 7:10p SPSO,     
Wed, 9/23 at Mets 7:10p       
Fri, 9/25 at Nationals 7:05p SPSO,     
Sat, 9/26 at Nationals 1:05p SPSO,     
Sun, 9/27 at Nationals 1:35p FSS,       
Mon, 9/28 Marlins 7:00p SPSO, 
Tue, 9/29 Marlins 7:00p SPSO, 
Wed, 9/30 Marlins 7:00p SPSO, 
Thu, 10/1 Nationals 7:00p SPSO, 
Fri, 10/2 Nationals 7:30p SPSO,
Sat, 10/3 Nationals 7:00p SPSO, 
Sun, 10/4 Nationals 1:30p FSS,

[SPAL]

Pitching Rotation

1. Derek Lowe           4-1 3.98
2. Jair Jurrjens           3-2 2.08
3. Javier Vazquez       3-3 3.88
4. Kenshin Kawakami   1-4 6.41
5. Tom Glavine           0-0 0.00
6. Jo Jo Reyes           0-2 5.48

[SPAL]

Lineup



1. Kelly Johnson    .230
2. Yunel Escobar   .287
3. Chipper Jones    .297
4. Brian McCann     .250
5. Jeff Francoeur    .283
6. Garret Anderson  .163
7. Casey Kotchman .298
8. Jordan Schafer   .232

Matt Diaz .230

Omar Infante .338

[SPAL]

Derek Lowe has been named opening day starter against the Phillies.

[ruarealhogfan]

How is Francouer looking this spring?  Is Glavine ready to go? Can't wait to sweep the Phillies to open the season...

[chiefsfan]

Man we play all of 5 games against you guys before late July.    gonna be some big games this season if theres a close race going at the time

[Hogz87]

These last three seasons have killed me so I haven't got real high hopes going into this season.  If anything, just so I won't get crushed again and be fed up by the All-Star break.  I'm excited about some of our younger prospects and can't wait to see what Schaeffer can bring as the starting center fielder.  I, along with every other Braves fan, am in high anticipation of Hanson breaking into the show for good.  The kid is a top 3 prospect in all of baseball, not just the Braves organization.

It'd be nice if Garrett Anderson could stay healthy and return semi close to his All-Star form.  I'm ready for a breakout season from Yunel and/or Kelly.  I think Kelly was on his way last year before being injured.  It'll be interesting to see how Vasquez and Lowe can do pitching in th NL East.  With the Mets, Phillies, and even the Marlins, our division stacks up quite nicely to the AL in terms of lineup depth. 

I really hope they come out and surprise me this year and we can make a push for at least the WC and be in the playoff hunt in August and September.  For now though, I'm expecting a 3rd place finish at best.  The Phillies will be world series contenders again, and the Mets sured up their biggest weakness last year which was back end bullpen quality.  The Marlins are young and will only get better and Hanely is primed to make an MVP run hitting in the 3 hole.  This division is the toughest in the NL so it'll be interesting to see how we stack up.

[SPAL]

The Braves announced that Jordan Shafer will start in CF. The braves have also set their pitching roster. They will begin with four starters (right-handers Derek Lowe, Javier Vazquez, Kenshin Kawakami and Jair Jurrjens), and eight relievers (righties Peter Moylan, Rafael Soriano, Jeff Bennett, Blaine Boyer, Jorge Campillo and Buddy Carlyle, and lefties Mike Gonzalez and Eric O'Flaherty).

Tom Glavine will begin the season on the disabled list. He is slated to make his first start April 18 at Pittsburgh.

Brian McCann will start behind the plate, with Clint Sammons backing him up, as David Ross is currently on the DL, retroactive to Wednesday.

The infield features starters Casey Kotchman, Kelly Johnson, Yunel Escobar and Chipper Jones, with Martin Prado, Omar Infante and Greg Norton coming off the bench.

Schafer will be flanked by a left-field platoon of veteran Garret Anderson and Matt Diaz, as well as Jeff Francoeur in right.

Manny Acosta, lefty Boone Logan and outfielders Blanco and Brandon Jones were optioned to Gwinnett, while right-hander Kris Medlen, infielder Brooks Conrad and catcher J.C. Boscan were reassigned to Minor League camp.

[razorback44]

How is Francouer looking this spring?  Is Glavine ready to go? Can't wait to sweep the Phillies to open the season...

Frenchie has looked good so far this preseason.  He is trying to hit for contact again and not power on every single swing.  We will see if he can keep it up when it counts during the season.

He also shaved that damn beard that he insisted on having last season.  I firmly believe that is why he slumped last year.

[BigSexyHog]

Over/Under on wins this year?  I don't get a chance to watch them much anymore since they partied ways with TBS.

[ldhawg]

I assume we can watch them on ESPN online tonite? Has anyone ever used ESPN360? Is it decent? Is it free?

[razorback44]

Over/Under on wins this year?  I don't get a chance to watch them much anymore since they partied ways with TBS.

I am saying 87.

[razorback44]

We look good so far.  3 homers through 3 innings.  McCann, Frenchie, and Schaeffer with a huge bomb in his first big league at-bat!!

[Hogz87]

Lowe has only given up one hit and no runs through three. 

Yuni was just inches away from going yard as well. Let's hope this is a sign of things to come from our bats the rest of the season!

[BigSexyHog]

Can't ask for a better start so far.  Pretty sweet Schaeffer went yard in his 1st AB.

[BigSexyHog]

Yes, it is on 360 and is free.  Can't beat watching it on there.

[razorback44]

It's nice to have a pitcher that can get Ryan Howard out.  It seemed like he hit .800 against us last year.

[ruarealhogfan]

I hear ya.  Lowe is looking good through 4...

[Pyotr Tchaikhogsky]

I'm cautiously optimistic about this team.  I sure as heck like what I'm seeing so far!!!

[Oliver]

I feel dirty rooting for the Braves...but I can't stand Philly right now.  The other thing I won't be able to stand to see this year is Derek Lowe pitch.

[BigSexyHog]

Well, Gonzalez made it interesting but was able to close it out... 1-0 .... Look out NL East here come the Braves!!!!!

[Hogz87]

We'll have the pitching.  It's just going to come down to the lineup producing runs.  Especially the middle of the lineup.

[ruarealhogfan]

Good way to start the season.  Lowe looks like he will be able to handle being the Ace of our pitching staff.  Gonzalez was a little shakier than I would have liked, but that 3-2 pitch to Howard was set up perfectly...

[SPAL]

Good night for the braves. Lowe did what we paid him to do. I was counting on this from him.

Im still skeptical about our bats. We went a pretty good stretch without doing much at the plate, and had it not been for the early jump we got, we could have just as easily lost the game. A lot of that can be attributed to Myers settling down and finding a groove.

Again, im not sold on our bullpen. Everytime i see Soriano warming up, i see a baseball flying into the upperdeck. Gonzo muzt have been jacked, at least thats what my hope is. He has got to throw more strikes and get ahead in counts.

One last thing....welcome to the bigs, Jordan

[Hogz87]

Jordan going 2-3 made me feel very good about the future for him.

[gutshot]

Nice way to start off the season.  McCann's homer was a monstrosity.  What can you say about Schafer?  Terry Pendleton said he was nervous before the game, but he sure didn't show it. 

Now Mike Gonzalez, and the bullpen in general, scare me.  He topped out at 93 lastnight.  That's still not where he was pre-surgery.  I'd like to see that fastball up around 95-96 again like it used to be. 

[Hogz87]

Braves pick up their second win tonight by beating the Phillies 4-0. Our pitching has been nasty. Kelly and Chipper both had home runs.

[BigSexyHog]

Braves pick up their second win tonight by beating the Phillies 4-0. Our pitching has been nasty. Kelly and Chipper both had home runs.

Did not see this coming, but could not be happier.

[Oliver]

Great job giving the Phallics their 2nd straight loss!

[Hogz87]

I was hoping for two wins at best to start the season since we started off on the road at Philly. This is great. We've got our home opening series after this against the Nats so we have the potential to start off the 2009 season in impressive fashion.

[SPAL]

Another good win. JJ didnt get out of the 6th, so we got to see more of the pen. Solid outing by everybody. I did not get to see how they did, but the stats look decent.

[ruarealhogfan]

GG Braves. Vazquez on the hill tomorrow...

[Hogz87]

Completing the series sweep would be pretty sweet.  I'd be a little surprised if it happened though.  I'm guessing Blanton will be going for the Phillies?  When is Hamels supposed to make his first start?

A 3-0 start would be nice because the Nationals have looked pretty terrible in their first two games against the Marlins, so us taking 2 of 3 from them in Atlanta is very possible.

[SPAL]

yeah blanton is goin for the phils. If we can get Vasquez to give some solid innings, we should complete the sweep. But i imagine philly will bring the sticks today and score about 7,so to win, we will need to do more than rely on bombs.

[Hogz87]

McCann went yard in the first inning with Escobar on second.  It's 2-0 Braves in the top of the 2nd.

[Hogz87]

Vasquez had a very shaky second inning.  Shafer ran down a deep fly ball by Howard but had it go off his glove as he ran into the wall and Howard go to second.  Ibanez followed up with a 2 run bomb that left in a hurry, and Vasquez walked two more batters before getting out of the inning. 

Vasquez is notorious for giving up the long ball.  I ohpe that isn't a reocurring theme on the road.

[Hogz87]

Hell yes!

Our bats are scorching so far this season.  We just batted around in the 3rd inning, no home runs, but we got 5 hits and 5 runs, and lead 7-2!!  Vasquez just needs to settle in and get through about 6 innings and not blow this lead.

[Oliver]

Honestly, the Phils ought to just save some money on pitchers and hire a guy to place the ball on a tee for the Braves hitters.

[Hogz87]

Shafer got his second homer of the year.  A 2 run shot.  9-3 Braves in the bottom of the 6th.

[SPAL]

Well, we have gone yard in the first inning every game so far this season.

Vazquez not doing too bad. Getting a lot of help from the offense. I figured the phils would break out the sticks, and we did just what we needed so far. I wasnt expecting this from our offense.

[Hogz87]

I thought we would need to score 6 or 7 to win today.  Vasquez looked shaky the first 2 or 3 innings but he has settled in real nicely.  They'll probably let him come out for the 7th since his spot in the lineup isn't due up this inning.  If does get to his spot though he might be done.  Good outing for him so far though.  6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 5 SO.

[Hogz87]

Great. Our bullpen is on the verge of blowing this. They've walked three straight runs in and now it's 10-9 in the bottom of the 7th. It was 10-3 going into this half inning.

[Pyotr Tchaikhogsky]

WTH is going on?  This inning is RIDICULOUS!

[Hogz87]

You have got to be effing kidding me. We walked in 4 runs that inning and gave up 8. Now we're down 11-10. I want to vomit. 

[yraciv]

Watched the end of it on MLB TV.  That is absolutely crazy, but either way I'll be happy with 2/3 at Philly every time.

[ruarealhogfan]

Wow. Down 11-10. Unbelievable...

[Hogz87]

I'm not happy with 2/3. Not when we have a 10-3 lead in the 7th and blow it.

[Pyotr Tchaikhogsky]

Here we go again.  Our pen is seriously allergic to the strike zone all of the sudden.

[ruarealhogfan]

It is just game 3 of a long season, but you can't give up 7 run leads in 1 inning...

[SPAL]

and away we go