Seattle: 25-47
Braves: 36-38
GAMES
Game 1: Erik Bedard* vs Jorge Campillo
Game 2: Jarrod Washburn* vs Jair Jurrjens
Game 3: Carlos Silva vs Tim Hudson
Through nearly 500 pitches as a starter Jorge Campillo has managed 60 swings and misses for a 12.1% rate. That's higher than Erik Bedard last year or Felix ever. He also has an incredibly low line drive rate all resulting in a 2.48 tRA. We'll get an upfront seat to witness it tonight, but Jorge Campillo has pitched as one of the best pitchers in the majors leagues so far this season.
Getting groundballs and missing a decent amount of bats paired with reasonably enough control has Jurrjens profiled as a solid two or three in a rotation.
Hudson's groundballs are down a bit from last year's incredible rate of over 60%, but he's managed to up his strikeout rate in compensation keeping his overall line the same.
Likely Starters:
C Brian McCann*
1 Mark Teixeira^
2 Kelly Johnson*
3 Chipper Jones^
S Yunel Escobar
L Brandon Jones
C Gregor Blanco*
R Jeff Francoeur
This is a very underrated offense lead by the always underrated Chipper Jones. They possess a 112 OPS+ as a team and as of late they've managed to ditch some of their more under-performing members.
CONTEXT
Knick knack patty whack another dog thrown to the bone. Johnny Mac goes away and we get to enjoy a whole new unknown person in nominal charge. What majestic sweeping changes might we see? Who wants to bet on none?
Are we still supposed to root for losses now that the team has fired the two more visible managers? I say yes. For one, we still want a shot at Strasburg or whomever becomes the consensus best talent next year. For two, enough losses might get Lincoln in the hot seat. For three, barring that, we don't want the upper front office to become complacent with Pelekoudas and Riggelman.
THIS SERIES BROUGHT TO YOU BY:
Sweetwater IPA
Sweetwater Brewing. Atlanta, GA
A full on IPA with loads of hops. It's a light drink, but Atlanta is a hot town and the rule of thumb is that the hotter the weather outside, the lighter the beer inside (the bottle).