Orlando Cabrera from the Indians to the Giants and in the lineup today @ shortstop.

Bourn fills a big need for the Braves ... good move. I'm a little surprised they got out of the deal without having to give up Minor, but maybe he was more in the Pence deal.

Glad I was wrong on the Braves making a move. About the only downside is that they really needed a right handed bat, but Bourn addresses a serious deficiency at the leadoff spot. And to not have to give up any of the super coveted prospects, even better. Helps rebuild some of my faith in the front office.

 

If they're planning on trying another move today, it would be nice to see the Braves get some long relief. The starters are doing well, and the one inning guys are lights out, but when they've had to pull a starter early by around the 4th or 5th inning, they've usually gotten blasted.

 

That's true of almost every team. If you're pulling a starter in the 4th inning chances are they've already been rocked. The middle relief guys across baseball generally aren't great pitchers and are usually no factor in a close ballgame unless it goes deep into extra innings.

That's true of almost every team. If you're pulling a starter in the 4th inning chances are they've already been rocked. The middle relief guys across baseball generally aren't great pitchers and are usually no factor in a close ballgame unless it goes deep into extra innings.

 

In the Braves case, it actually tends to be to absurdly high pitch counts. Maybe I shouldn't have said 4th, but rather 5th and 6th. One of the other parts is that when the pitch count necessitates a starter being pulled but they are either down by 1 or 2 runs or tied, they ahve sometimes shown a reluctance to use their three part closing committee of O'Flagherty, Venters, and Kimbrel. That's when guys like Proctor or Sherrill come in and they have really struggled.

 

A great example is the second game of the Braves/Reds series. Lowe ran into trouble and got chased in the 6th inning, but Sherrill and Proctor survived the inning and the Braves were down 4-2 in a tight game. In the 7th inning, Proctor and Martinez got shelled to the tune of a 7 spot and the game became unwinnable.