I watched the Braves play for the second time since the Michael Bourne trade and I liked what I saw. The lineup went: Bourne, Prado, Freeman, Uggla, Jones, Heyward, Gonzalez, and Ross. That's pretty solid even without the best catcher in the game, Brian McCann.
Bourne had an inning that typifies his value. He got on base, stole second, advanced to third on a bad throw to second, and then scored standing up on a sac fly from Uggla. Freeman walked in front of Uggla because there was one out and they didn't want to risk giving Freeman anything to hit. That speaks to how good Freeman has been because Uggla is absolutely on fire right now. And Prado grounded out before Freeman because he hit a hard grounder to short when the infield was in trying to keep Bourne at third.
So basically Bourne did about 75% of the legwork in creating that run. When McCann comes back I'm not sure who teams are going to want to pitch to when Bourne and Prado get on base. Freeman, McCann, Chipper, and Uggla can all hit for power. Even Heyward can be patient and hit for power when he is on. So there isn't much room to breathe if you're an opposing pitcher. I'm excited to see how this lineup can compliment the good pitching we have. I'm not sure we can catch the Phillies. But we should be able to get the wild card and make a playoff series at least competitive.
Bourne had an inning that typifies his value. He got on base, stole second, advanced to third on a bad throw to second, and then scored standing up on a sac fly from Uggla. Freeman walked in front of Uggla because there was one out and they didn't want to risk giving Freeman anything to hit. That speaks to how good Freeman has been because Uggla is absolutely on fire right now. And Prado grounded out before Freeman because he hit a hard grounder to short when the infield was in trying to keep Bourne at third.
So basically Bourne did about 75% of the legwork in creating that run. When McCann comes back I'm not sure who teams are going to want to pitch to when Bourne and Prado get on base. Freeman, McCann, Chipper, and Uggla can all hit for power. Even Heyward can be patient and hit for power when he is on. So there isn't much room to breathe if you're an opposing pitcher. I'm excited to see how this lineup can compliment the good pitching we have. I'm not sure we can catch the Phillies. But we should be able to get the wild card and make a playoff series at least competitive.
I'm shocked to see Bourn actually become a decent hitter, but his peripherals do not suggest he will keep it up. Still, as long as he's cruising, myswell take advantage of that.
ReplyDeleteHe can't be much worse than McClouth and Schaffer. And at least he gives you steals they wouldn't have.
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to Schafer? I thought he was a pretty highly touted prospect?
ReplyDeleteAnd funny enough, he (Bourn) was pretty much like McClouth's season, but with good D and baserunning ability. However, that's also about a 5 win player, especially in this depressed offencive environment. I'm still getting over the shock Bourn amounted to more than a 4th OF type.