Game 41: Braves 3, Astros 2

Craig Kimbrel: the next Billy Wagner.

To be honest, it was better than I expected them to do.

The Astros fell to the Braves 3-2 on Monday night behind a stellar pitching performance by Atlanta starter Tommy Hanson and yet another failure by the Houston bullpen to hold runners.

But honestly, this was a game that I expected the team to lose, and lose badly. Thankfully, Brett Myers was able to bounce back from a couple of scary early innings, in which he put six Braves on base, and pitch a decent game. Myers went 6 strong innings, giving up 2 ER on 8 H and 3 BB. He finally looked as if he was able to control what he was doing, recognizing that his performance in the last couple of starts were due to the overabundance of breaking balls that he threw. Opting instead to go with his fastball for at least part of the contest, Myers was able to get outs when it counted and certainly kept the team in the game.

And the typical happened next. Fernando Abad came in to work the 7th and ended up walking two batters and surrendering a run-scoring single to the suddenly potent Eric Hinske (don't get me started on his bunt single. Yeah, you read that right, BUNT SINGLE by Eric Hinske). That RBI proved to be the difference, as Eric O'Flaherty and Craig Kimbrel came in to shut the door on the game. (As a side note, Braves fans should consider themselves lucky with the pieces that they've assembled, as they boast a young and fiery bullpen, a nasty rotation, and a perfect mix of budding superstars and effective veterans. I'm thinking they'll be World Series champs in 2 or 3 seasons).

So my question is this: how long is Brad Mills going to leave the bullpen like this? Everyone knows it's less-than-stellar, and while I contended in my last post that it's not purely the relievers' fault, it's nevertheless painfully obvious that some of these guys don't belong in a major league bullpen. Abad is a good example of this. He impressed in spring training and in the Dominican winter league, but is now sporting a 1-4 record with a 7.43 ERA and 1.95 WHIP. You can't even contend that Millsie is using him exclusively as a LOOGY, because Abad almost always faces two or three batters in every appearance. While I'm not necessarily opposed to using a lefty out of the 'pen specifically to get another lefty out, a guy like Abad shouldn't be left in the game when he's struggling, simply because the next guy coming to the plate bats from the left side. Mills should have pulled him after he struck out Brian McCann (he had already failed to retire the first lefty he faced anyway by walking Nate McLouth), but he left him in instead, and it proved to be the difference in the game. True to the cold nature of baseball, Wilton Lopez entered after the Hinske hit and easily handled the rest of the 7th and 8th innings.

It will be very interesting to see what Jim Crane does to remodel this team in the coming months and years. The sale was announced today, and pending the rest of the team owners' approval, Crane will assume the role of financier and ultimate boss in the very near future. After sorting out who stays and who goes in the management levels, the chips will then fall on which players are still suiting up in Houston. Will Matt Downs begin to start at second base over the atrociously ineffective Bill Hall (who struck out three times on Monday, bringing his season total to a ridiculous 48)? Will Abad be sent down to Oklahoma City to make room for another LOOGY, or perhaps a more ML-ready righty? Will the suddenly hot Carlos Lee be traded? A lot of questions will be answered in the coming months, and luckily for the fans of this currently terrible team, the rest of the 2011 season should become very interesting.

Wandy Rodriguez closes the two-game set in Atlanta against Derek Lowe tomorrow at 12:05.