Box Score

Got to be frustrating to be the Orioles. Not only to you have to share a division with the Yankees, you have a game like this, where 13 hits and three walks turn into only four runs.

Now, he does not appear to be a kumquat. However, he is precisely as useful as a hitting coach as a kumquat would be. You have to wonder.

Box Score

After looking just a little shaky his last time out, Jair Jurrjens was back in Maddux Mode tonight, and how. He even added in a few nifty defensive plays, just like the master. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to knock down the one-out single up the middle in the seventh that was the Orioles’ only hit. As it was, he settled for a one-hit, one-walk (he was actually perfect through five), eight-strikeout complete game shutout. It will do.

The obvious answer is “yes”. The obvious response is “look at the record, dude!” The Braves have the third-best record in the majors. The counter to the response, however, is that the record is in part a result of Fredi doing dumb things. By this, of course, I mostly mean his use of the bullpen, of using his best relievers in, at most, medium-leverage situations. This does slightly increase the team’s chances of winning. But if you’re leading 5-1 in the eighth, bringing in Jonny Venters instead of Scott Linebrink or Cristhian Martinez increases the chances from maybe 98 to 99 percent. And since pitcher innings are a limited resource, using Venters in this situation is counterproductive in the long term.