Deadline day
The Braves won last night by scoring 11 runs on the heels of Josh Donaldson's latest three-run jack and Austin Duvall's insane hot streak since being called to the big leagues to fill the spot of injured Nick Markakis. (Duvall went 4-for-5 last night with two homers and is 8-for-17, that's .529 for those scoring at home or those sitting by themselves, in his four games this year.)
That 11-8 win Tuesday in Washington reclaims the Braves' 5.5-game lead with one nooner against the Nationals left in this series.
But the finale of a three-game set in late July is not the story. Nor is the surprisingly comfortable lead in the NL East.
Duvall being on pace for the single-best season in baseball history is not the story. (Yes, it's all of four games for the 30-year-old MLB journeyman, but at this pace it's not often I get to play the glorious 'at this pace' game this late in the season Duvall would slash .529/.500/1.059 with 120 homers, 200 RBIs and 200 runs scored over 160 games. Those would be records and Duvall would be an MVP frontrunner.)
The Braves action - or just as noticeably, inaction - will be the story of the day.
The rotation could use some help. The unknown return status for Markakis is worrisome, because we don't expect Duvall to continue this torrid stretch. (Seriously, this is the hottest stretch for any Duvall since Robert went True Grit-M*A*S*H-Godfather-Godfather II, among others, from '69-'74.)
But above all the Braves bullpen is an incredible issue, and in this view, the one that stands between the Braves being East frontrunners and NL and even World Series contenders.
Who in the bullpen other than Anthony Swarzak do you trust? (Did you see Luke Jackson doing Luke Jackson things last night?)
And feel free to toss around the much-overused "Braves bullpen ERA is among the best in the NL" stat all you want.
I'll counter with some damning stats, as well. (And remember, Ol' Sammy Clemens was fond of saying there are lies, dang lies and statistics.)
Braves relief pitchers are among the worst in the NL in allowing inherited runners to score and have allowed the most unearned runs in the NL. Neither of those numbers is applicable to a certain pitcher's or a certain type of pitcher's ERA, but those runs still count. And one of the main reasons the Braves 'pen has allowed so many unearned runs, in my opinion, is the 191 walks it has allowed.
Common baseball principle is throw strikes and get better defense behind you. (Your defenders are engaged and not on their heels and ready for the ball to be put in play.)
Now, if you believe in analytics, while the Braves relievers have a 4.10 traditional ERA, which ranks fourth in the NL, Atlanta's bullpen is last in Component ERA and Defense-Independent ERA. The former is a 15-year-old metric created by Bill James that forecasts a pitcher's ERA looking at walks and hits allowed. The latter is a mind-bending stat that tries to eliminate defensive plays and luck from the equation.
By those new-fangled, protractor-needing stats, the Braves relievers are what we know they are: Rotten.
Plus, with the number of baserunners the bullpen allows, when the games become more critical and each pitch becomes more meaningful - especially against much-improved competition - the question remains, who do you trust back there? Let's review:
If we value WHiP (Walks + Hits per innings pitched) - and I do consider it's the pitching metric as important as on-base percentage - we need to know that anything much higher than a 1.1 WHiP for a reliever is pretty risky.
The Braves had three relievers on their roster with sub-1.11 WHiP as of Tuesday afternoon and added a fourth when they acquired Chris Martin, a 6-foot-8 reliever, from Texas. (Side point: I will not include Martin in these stat breakdowns but I like the addition for a couple of reasons that defy some of the above trends. Martin has a brilliant K-to-BB ratio at 43-to-4 in 38 innings pitched. He has a 1.03 WHiP and has as many holds (12) as Swarzak and has closed a few games.)
As for the three Braves with a 1.11-or-lower WHiP, there's Swarzak, who has a 1.0 and has been by almost every measure, tremendous. There is Jacob Webb, who has a 1.11 and was starting to become a very effective option before getting hurt. He has not pitched since July 12 with a sore right elbow. And it leaves us with Josh Tomlin, who has a team-best 0.98 WHiP, which is great, but it's a number that is betrayed by allowing 11 in 56 innings.
So there you go.
A lineup as good and as complete as any in the NL and, this side of the Yankees, any in baseball. A rotation that has overachieved. (Hey, if they add a starter, too, I will not be upset about that.)
But a bullpen that simply can't be trusted.
And by 4 p.m. today - if the addition of Chris Martin is all the Braves do - we will know the Atlanta front office can't be trusted either.
Dems debacle
Wow, that was hard to watch and even harder to follow.
Granted, I am not a Democrat. But I am a voter - have not missed a chance to cast my ballot ever nor do I plan to miss one. (In fact, I was that political wonk who took the absentee ballots to Auburn when needed. And yes, ballots in Auburn are done in Crayola. Blue and Orange only, though.)
So I could not disagree more with several of the issues and talking points the Democrats continue to rally behind and the differences on which they haggle.
But from this middle-of-the-road conservative, there was not a single person on that stage who could beat Trump. And the two socialist contenders in the middle of the dais - Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren - are such potential fiscal disasters, I believe either would lose by double digits to The Donald. (Pick all the talking points you want, but voters consistently are willing to side with morally bankrupt than running the risk of making us financially bankrupt.)
Where in the world does the funding come from for the grandiose plans that were bandied about for universal health care and wiping away all student loans and free college for everyone and as much as half-a-trillion for slavery reparations?
(And don't get me wrong, the lack of fiscal conservatism from the once-fiscally conservative Republican party is just as troubling. The Donald's lack of care or control of exploding national debt is the biggest looming disaster that no one on either side cares to discuss.)
The only small point raised last night by either Bernie or Beth was Sanders' intriguing pledge not to take money from pharmaceutical companies or health care companies. That's a bold pledge, and one that if the 77-year-old socialist who comes across as the guy at the end of the block with a VW bug who could either offer you some wicked awesome brownies or yell at you for walking on his lawn depending on his mood wanted to truly make a talking point would wave at every turn. And the fact that Bernie got lured into looking like a Muppet by some dude from Colorado who will be the fourth guest analyst on CNN's panel show for the next round of debates is a telling indictment of how cartoonish - and devilishly delightful - a Sanders-Trump debate show could be.
That said, Beth did bury that one fellow with the (paraphrased) "why would anyone take the time to run for president to talk about things we can't do or shouldn't fight for?" rant.
According to Google searches, Marianne Williamson was the most-searched candidate from last night's debate in every state but Montana. But she was also the least known and is clearly unelectable by almost every measure. Her impassioned plea in her closing statement, however, was the best sound bite, in my opinion, and if I were a part of the DNC leadership it would be the rallying cry for the next 15 months.
Still, for the second time in as many chances to see them, the only two candidates that looked even remotely appealing to a middle-of-the-road conservative who is looking for the best option regardless of party were Beto and Mayor Pete.
Maybe we'll get something more tonight from the second group of 20 before the herd is culled. Both Harris and Biden - the betting favorites among the Democrats according to Las Vegas at +500 (bet $100 and win $500) and +600 - are in action tonight.
But until the Democrats realize that the issue in this moment is getting elected and not the issues of the moment in today's political climate and discourse, then this feels like a Don-and-pony show.
Fair point
I will start this segment here: I'm an unabashed LeBron James fan; I know some of you are not and some others still are unabashed LeBron haters. (Hi Stewwie.)
I truly enjoy watching LeBron's skill set, his physical gifts and the way he plays and understands the game.
I also know that some loathe LeBron. Hey, that's life in the spotlight, whether glaring as a universal superstar or a local personality.
But I also think this is a very interesting point raised by a tweet from Clay Travis, who showed a video of LeBron celebrating Taco Tuesday with his family.
The social media post reads: "Here's social justice warrior LeBron James, who was offended by the word posse, pretending to be Mexican on Taco Tuesday. Can you imagine if a prominent white, black or Hispanic athlete pretended to be black while eating fried chicken?"
I wish we could all laugh and enjoy and joke and not be offended - and not look for reasons to be offended - at every sentence, video, curve or straight line. (Granted, as a white male my opinion on these matters never really matters. That's an entirely different conversation, as well.)
And some of you asked earlier this month about the faux overreaction to the flag drop by the U.S. women soccer players by conservatives. And there was validity in that.
Truth is, I hate it all. In the written word and the spoken word. I am not offended by LeBron's video, because I don't see intent to offend. I see intent to make his kids laugh. But I would be shocked if LeBron does it again and would not be surprised if he apologizes.
Because Travis' point is right, and as much as I hate the "What if" coin flip of issues because it does not have context or perspective, if someone did what Travis described we would lose our minds.
This and that
- Kyler Murray has an early fan in Larry Fitzgerald, who said no other rookie quarterback has come into camp and been more impressive. Yes, that seems like high praise from the future Hall of Famer. To be fair, the rookie quarterbacks to come into Cardinals camp in Fitzgerald's 16 previous seasons, starting with the most recent, are: Josh Rosen (10th overall in 2018), Logan Thomas (120th in 2014), Ryan Lindley (185th in 2012), John Skelton (155th in 2010), Matt Leonard (10th in 2006), John Navarre (202nd in 2004) and Josh McCown (81st in 2002). Not exactly a super-high bar, no?
- Courtesy of @FBallGameplan (via GoMocsFB on Twitter) here's the Giants' head coach talking at length about former Mocs defensive star Tae Davis.
- Speaking of UTC, the Mocs get to work for real this week. Man, we're actually going to have football questions and stories and issues to discuss. Cue Lee Greenwood. " ... And I'll gladly stand UP next to you and defend her still today because there ain't no doubt I love this land God Bless the USA!"
- Another example of speaking your mind is just unacceptable in these political times and why a growing number of people hate those in my line of work and fall back to the Fake News outcry. Mario Lopez - aka AC Slater from "Saved by the Bell" to my generation, did an interview in June on some show I've never heard of. Lopez' career has stagnated some through the years. The headline reads "Mario Lopez: It's 'dangerous' for parents to support transgender kids" which is assured to generate a ton of clickbait in this charged, socially awake time. But here's Mario/A.C.'s quote from the interview: "Look, I'm never one to tell anyone how to parent their kids obviously and I think if you come from a place of love, you really can't go wrong but at the same time, my God, if you're 3 years old and you're saying you're feeling a certain way or you think you're a boy or a girl or whatever the case may be, I just think it's dangerous as a parent to make this determination then, well, OK, then you're going to a boy or a girl, whatever the case may be ... It's sort of alarming and my gosh, I just think about the repercussions later on." So there's that.
- Karma's undefeated example 1,457. Tyreek Hill carted off the field with what appeared to be a fairly serious right leg injury.
Today's questions
Which-way Wednesday starts here.
Which way will the Braves go today?
Which Democrat last night impressed you (if you even watched)?
Which way will LeBron go from Taco Tuesday - continue, quit, or quit and apologize?
Today is July 31. It's National Jump for Jelly Bean Day. Foe. It's National Cotton Candy. Foe. It's National Avocado Day. Yes, foe for me. It's national mutt day, which makes me think of the great John Winger rant in the hanger in "Stripes," a movie that could never, Never, NEVER get made today.
It's also the day that JK Rowling is 53.
Rushmore of modern-day fiction writers. (Think, since 1980.) Go, and remember the mailbag.