Let’s get to it. From the “7-Up Stinks Studios,” here we go…
Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Tim Hudson reacts as he rounds the bases after hitting a go-ahead two-run home run in the seventh inning of an interleague baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays Monday, June 20, 2011 in Atlanta. Hudson went 8 innings and allowed no runs on two hits and earned the win as the Braves defeated Tornto 2-0. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)Hey, that was fun
Tim Hudson turned in an old-school, high school superstar type of performance in the Braves’ 2-0 win over Toronto on Monday. He pitched eight-plus scoreless innings and hit a two-run homer. The only thing that could have made it feel more like a little league game (where the pitchers are generally the best hitters, too) than a Major League game would have been manager Fredi Gonzalez bringing Hudson a different glove and telling him to go to shortstop when the pitching change was made.
Good times all around for a club that has survived an injury patch and has stayed in the thick of the race. Approaching the midway point – the Braves are 41-33, some seven games from the halfway mark of 81 – Atlanta is 4.5 back of the Phillies and holds a half-game lead in the wildcard standings.
And all of this with missing two-thirds of your outfield for roughly three weeks and the self-implosion that is Dan Uggla. Uggla is so bad – he’s been sub-.200 since May 17; spending most of the last four weeks hovering around .180 – here’s saying that the next time Hudson pitches, Uggla should be in the No. 9 hole and Hudson can hit 8th. And if Hudson doesn’t pitch again until the Braves head to Seattle early next week, DH for Uggla and let Hudson hit.
It’s that bad, gang.