Braves 8 Marlins 4

Walking to the game from our parking place


Chipper Jones on Third Base


Bobby Cox brings in his closer


Wickman mows 'em down

Yesterday I took the boys to Turner Field to watch the Braves defeat the Marlins 8-4. It was a very cold, windy and wet day in Atlanta. We were experiencing the back side of the storm system that brought tornadoes and severe storms to the South Saturday and Saturday night. By the end of the game the crowd was getting pretty thin. We even had a little snizzle (a few snow flakes mixed in with the drizzle).

One of the best parts of the game for Dad was that we were able to get into the game with $1 tickets. With the croud being very sparse we were able to sit behind the Braves dugout by the end of the game.

The Braves won the game behind the continued strong pitching of Tim Hudson and home runs by Chipper Jones and Andrew Jones. I have attached video of Chipper's home run (as seen from the cheap seats) and video of Bob Wickman ending the game (from behind the dugout). It looks like the Braves may have a great year!

Hudson strong again, Team has best mark in the majors, David Obrien, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, April 16, 2007

The Braves aren't sure when they'll play in warm weather. Or when their suspended utility infielder might show up for work again. Or whether the Mets' pitching will hold up or the Phillies will play like Jimmy Rollins envisions.

But two weeks into the season, the Braves feel confident of a few important things, none more than this: Tim Hudson is pitching like a bona fide ace again.

Hudson pitched seven innings of one-run ball and the Jones Boys each homered to account for five runs in an 8-4 win over Florida on Sunday at Turner Field as Major League Baseball celebrated Jackie Robinson Day.

The Braves (8-3) boarded their charter flight to Washington as owners of the best record in the majors, and Hudson is 2-0 with an 0.86 ERA after three starts.

"These three games couldn't have been much better for me," said Hudson, who has allowed 11 hits and two runs in 21 innings. "This is a good three-game stretch for anybody, particularly for me after the way things went last year."

He was 27-21 in his first two seasons for Atlanta, including 13-12 with a 4.86 ERA in a career-worst 2006 season. The Braves saw infrequent flashes of his prior brilliance for Oakland, where he was 92-39 with a 3.30 ERA in six years.

"The last couple of years, he has had maybe two or three starts all year where I said, 'That's the guy I remember,'" Chipper Jones said. "All the rest were pretty mediocre.