Jul 09 2008
Braves make History
Sunday served to be many things for the Atlanta Braves . With that said, I really do not think that anyone really thought that it would make history. However, it did. It will go down in history for now as the longest game to be played at Turner Field .
The 17 inning battle will leave everyone talking about the diving catch made by Braves shortstop Yunel Escobar in the 15th inning with runners on second and third. The funny thing was third baseman Chipper Jones had told Yunel to move 2 steps to his left right before the hit that Yunel had to dive to his right to stab. Chipper commented that it was a Walt Weiss type of play that Escobar accomplished. For those that know Walt, this is a high compliment.
The Braves won this long ordeal by a score of 7-6 and though the game will go down in history, head skipper Bobby Cox is just happy to be on the right side of a 1 run game.
Indeed. The one-run games have been the bane of the Braves’ existence in 2008. They dropped to 5-22 in one-run decisions with last night’s loss to the Dodgers, and that’s 24 consecutive one-run losses on the road, extending the Braves’ major-league record.
The Weiss play, for those of you who don’t know, came in Game 3 of the 1999 NL Division Series against Houston, where Weiss made a diving stop and threw out a runner at home in the bottom of the 10th with the score tied, a game the Braves won in 12 innings. Atlanta would go on to win the series in four games, en route to the NL Championship and a berth in the World Series. It probably was one of the greatest plays by a Brave in the history of the franchise, given the situation (Houston poised to take a 2-1 series lead).
Escobar’s play was right up there. He is a heck of a player, for sure. We got to see just how good he could be playing every day when Edgar Renteria injured his ankle and missed most of August last year. Of course, Edgar was dealt in the offseason, in the trade that brought Jair Jurrjens — named NL Rookie of the Month for June on Wednesday — to the Braves.
Bud.
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Bud, that is correct. Plays like Escobar are given the opportunity usually when a starter goes down. It reminds me of when Tiki Barber got his start. He never relinquished the role after it.
Atlanta got the chance to see Escobar and then choose to go with him and get rid of Renteria and I think that Atlanta got the better end of the deal. Escobar is batting close to 300 and JJ has 9 wins for the braves.
Interesting design. Tnks, owner.
Cool design