Game 159: Braves 6, Mets 2
September 30, 2012 at 10:58 pm by David Lee under Atlanta Braves
Source: FanGraphs
Game MVP: Kris Medlen, 67 game score
Least Valuable Brave: Martin Prado, -.107
Most Valuable Met: Justin Turner, .027
Least Valuable Met: Jenrry Mejia, 40 game score
Big plays:
2nd – (ATL) Freddie Freeman double to put two in scoring position with no outs, .119
2nd – (ATL) David Ross three-run homer for a 3-0 Braves lead, .190
The Braves sent Chipper Jones out in style in his final regular season home game, getting ahead early and allowing the sellout crowd to enjoy its final innings with Chipper without worrying so much about the score.
The win also meant the Braves are 23-0 in Kris Medlen’s last 23 starts, setting a major league record. The previous record was held by Whitey Ford and Carl Hubbell. Here’s to hoping it goes to 24 straight in his next start.
The Braves need to sweep the Pirates, and the Phillies need to sweep the Nationals, for the Braves to remain alive. Washington’s magic number remains at one after losing to the Cardinals.
While it’s not the final game in Atlanta for Chipper, it was a personal good-bye for me as I attended to see him play in person one more time. Watching him disappear into the tunnel following the post-game interview and hugs with his parents is something I will never forget, along with the many, many memories he gave me through the years.
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Went to all 3 games this weekend. It was an awesome experience. I actually shed some tears when chipper walked into the stands to hug his mom and dad after the game.
Very emotional game, and great win. I definitely cried watching my favorite player walk off the field in a regular season game there for the final time. I am 23 and have watched Braves baseball essentially since I was 4. If you do the math, that is when Chipper stepped onto the scene.
Went to the saturday and sunday games this weekend. For the first time in nearly a decade, I stopped caring about advanced stats, really any stats and just watched a legend and my sports idol play baseball. I’ve been following baseball since 1995. Chipper has always been there at third (except for the LF years…). The video they showed at the start of the Sunday game had me in years as well as Chipper’s moment with his parents after that game. The fact that he went 1-2 with two walks in his final home game almost seems fitting to me considering that is what Chipper always set out to do: Work the count and get on base without swinging at any bad balls.
Being in attendance this weekend is a memory I will never forget. Before these last two games, the largest Turner crowd I was a part of was the first Braves game I attended in 2009(McCann’s 100th homer, Wagner’s 400th save and Medlen starting and winning before TJ surgery). It was neat to see a huge crowd in total support of one player and team. Thank you Chipper for all the years of memories and I hope the team can make a run in the postseason to send him out on top. I’ll be cheering them on hard from my home in Florida.
I caught a flight and went to the last two games as well with one of my best friends and with my wife. She is just starting to get into baseball and was asking me questions about Chipper…and when she was done asking questions she said, “so he’s like the David Robinson of baseball” who is her favorite basketball player of all time (we’re from Texas so we like the Spurs). I thought that was a perfect comparison of Chipper and Robinson; two guys who have meant so much to the city and the team that they spent their whole careers. It meant everything to me that I got to go see my favorite player one last time.
I went to the game on Thursday night and ended up buying a game-used ball from that night. For me, it’s a memento from Chipper’s career. When I was just old enough to understand what was going on, my mom was watching the Braves every night, and she got me into watching and cheering as well. That was a couple of years before Chipper, but it still seems like ever since my childhood, as I’ve watched the Braves, Chipper’s been there.
Mom passed away in 2008 from cancer, and so now with Chipper retiring it feels like the end of a memorable chapter of my life.
I’m glad my mom raised me watching the Braves, I’m glad I went to that game on Thursday, and I’m glad I bought that ball afterwards. Thanks for the memories, Chipper!
Hey guys,
I’m trying to find an article that I read a week or two ago (I believe). I think I was linked to it from this site, and it’s possible it was posted in the comment section. I just browsed through the past month and I couldnt find any links to it anywhere, so maybe I’m mistaken. Anyhow, the article talked about how there is no correlation between a team being “hot” at the end of the regular season, and postseason success. Also, the opposite was also true, a team ending their regular season in “cold” fashion had no correlation with postseason success. It also mentioned how there is no significant home field advantage in major league baseball. Does anyone know what article im talking about and have a link to it? I’d really appreciate it. Thanks in advance :)
You’ll find the opposite of this, with selectively chosen examples purporting to prove a point, in a recent DOB blog. (I know this isn’t helpful.)
I think your talking about the “momentum” article that was about football. I think Keith law recently mentioned it on twitter.
I believe it was on ESPN. I read that same article
I looked at the last 2 years and the team with the better September winning percentage won 9 of 14 playoff series. If you do a linear regression between September winning percentage and playoff winning percentage, it is a positive correlation with R^2 = .2. This is a very crude analysis so far. I’d be more interested to see, in the wild card era, whether the best september record is a better predictor of the winner of a playoff series than the overall season record. That would be very interesting. There are lots of ways to chop it up. This is just a start.
http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=25234931&topic_id=players&c_id=atl&tcid=vpp_copy_25234931&v=3
Larry Wayne “chipper” jones personally thanks all of us fans for the past 19 years and says there is still some lightning left in the bottle.
I’ve decided our offense blows.
It’s so flat right now. Two hits against one of the most miserable teams in baseball.
Look at the bright side: we’re “due”
How sad it is to lose the division against Jeff Locke, who hadn’t won a game in 9 starts, posting a 4.62 FIP, but limited the Braves to 2 hits. He who was dealt for the prize that was Nate McLouth. He who had recently been lit up by such powerhouses as: the Astros, Cubs, and Mets. Beaten by another shit-tossing lefty, only 2 days removed from being absolutely shut down by Niese. The Cardinals are insane if they don’t start Jaime Garcia in the wild card playoff. Though lucky for us, they only have two middling lefty relievers. If anything, this team is as traditional a Braves team if there has ever been one. A powerhouse pitching staff reinforced by an anemic, streaky offense.
I apologize for the negativity. It’s an attempt at preparing myself by expecting the worst, to allow me to be surprised by the best.
On the plus side, Garcia went today and the Dodgers’ two lefties (Capuano and Kershaw) are pitching tomorrow and Wednesday, so either way we should be facing a righty in the play-in game. Also, if the Reds can beat out the Nationals for best record, no lefties in their starting rotation!
Hot damn!
Yes it’s disappointing not to get the division but this year I’m actually glad that we lost tonight. The best we could have hoped for was tying the Gnats and playing a one game playoff for the division with the possibility of having to play another game right after. Personally, I’d prefer to only burn 1 of Medlen/Hudson before the division series. Now it sets up for Medlen in play in game, Huddy/Minor in games 1&2 at home in a best case scenario. Much preferable to Medlen in division playoff, Hudson in play-in and Minor/Maholm in games 1&2.
P.S. – digging the new look.
Whoa! Nice new look, CAC!
ehhhhhhhhhhhh
I like the new layout. I am worried about our bats right now.
Hoping Ross starts for the rest of the year. Big Mac has looked mad bad.
Like the new layout, but could we do something to drown out all the white??
Also, I’d like to request the Braves give Maholm some run support at some point in the relatively near future. The guy has pitched is ever-loving ass off the last 3 outings and has exactly 1 win to show for it.
I don’t know about the new look, there really aren’t any boxes around anything, none of links look like links, and everything is so white I had to throw my shades on…
I agree. Either the background should be greyed out or the area behind the type. The comments are really hard to read and it’s not easy differentiating one from the other. You should at least make the text links a different color. I offered to redesign this place for free months ago but never received a response. So whatever.
I love the new look. Very clean, very neat.