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Colorado Rockies fans have disliked the Atlanta Braves since 1995, when the Braves knocked the Rockies out of their first ever postseason appearance.
Not coincidentally, 1995 was the rookie season of one Chipper Jones, longtime Rockies killer.
Larry, who just turned 40 this April, is having an alright season for himself, batting .245/.309/.449 with 3 home runs. Kind of tepid, but that's an above-average batting line, per park-adjusted OPS+. In fact, only Matt Diaz and backup catcher David Ross even have an OPS above .800, and yet the Braves starting lineup is all posting an OPS+ above 100 (indicating an above-average batting line) with the exception of SS Tyler Pastornicky.
The Braves' pitching hs been generally strong, with the exception of Jair Jurrjens, who just last season posted a 2.96 ERA over 23 starts, has been demoted to AAA. Randall Delgado's 4 starts haven't gone swimmingly, but FIP suggests that there are better days in store for Delgado.
The surprise of the staff has probably been Brandon Beachy.
Yes, Brandon Beachy.
If you didn't know, Beachy was signed as an amateur free agent in 2008, having not been selected in any round of the draft. I did not realize that fact prior to this writing. You learn new things every day, right? Right?
Beachy, who was originally signed as a relief pitcher, split time between the bullpen and the rotation throughout his career, posting a cumulative 2.54 ERA in 213 minor league innings while striking out 10 batters per nine innings to only 2.2 walks.
Currently, Beachy is beating his career 3.23 ERA by nearly 2 runs, holding an ERA in 2012 of 1.38 over 5 starts. His strikeout numbers are down this year, but so are his walks, and his HR rate is sitting at a miserly 0.3 bombs per 9 innings.
The obvious flags for upcoming regression are clearly there, such as a .227 BABIP against and a 2.7% HR/FB, and a 3.79 xFIP suggests a pretty significant crash and burn. But for now, Braves fans are enjoying Beachy's contributions to the general cause.
Arbitrary prediction: Rockies take Tim Hudson's 2nd start in 2012 to lead off the series and force a little regression onto Brandon Beachy in the finale. Mike Minor, true to Rockies opponent fashion, holds the Rockies to a 6-hit, 1 run showing.
Visit Talking Chop to get a SBNation perspective on the Braves.
Expected matchups and stats postjump.
Friday, 6:40 PM MT
Tim Hudson vs Guillermo Moscoso
Saturday, 6:40 PM MT
Mike Minor vs. Jamie Moyer
Sunday, 1:10PM MT
Brandon Beachy vs Juan Nicasio