Baseball Guru
04-01-2002, 06:30 PM
By PAUL NEWBERRY
AP Sports Writer
April 1, 2002, 3:49 PM EST
ATLANTA -- Welcome to Atlanta, Gary Sheffield and Vinny Castilla.
The Braves' new sluggers made quite an impact on opening day, with Castilla hitting a three-run homer and Sheffield a two-run shot to lead Atlanta to a 7-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday.
Tom Glavine, starting in place of the injured Greg Maddux, went six scoreless innings before tiring in the seventh. But pitching excellence is old news in Atlanta.
The focus has shifted to offense after the Braves finished 13th in the National League in runs a year ago, even while capturing their 10th straight division title -- although they have only one World Series championship to show for it.
Sheffield, one of the game's most feared cleanup hitters, was acquired in a blockbuster trade with Los Angeles. All-Star Chipper Jones was moved to left field so the Braves could sign Castilla to play third base.
Those moves clearly had an impact in a city known for its failure to sell out playoff games. An overflow crowd of 51,638 -- the largest regular-season turnout in Turner Field's six-year history -- filled the park on a warm, sun-splashed day. Thousands more milled outside hoping to land scalped tickets.
The sellout was the first for a Braves' opening day since they made their debut at Turner Field in 1997. It was the third-largest regular-season crowd in Atlanta history.
The Braves had some 15,000 empty seats for their final game of the 2001 season, a loss to Arizona in the NL championship series.
Later in the day, the NCAA men's basketball championship game was to be held a few miles away when Indiana played Maryland at the Georgia Dome.
Those who got into Turner Field saw the defending NL East champions send an early message to the Phillies, who finished only two games back last season.
The Braves had just three hits in five innings against Phillies starter Robert Person (0-1), but made them all count.
Sheffield drove in the Braves' first run with a groundout in the opening inning. In the fifth, he came up with two outs after Jones walked for the third straight time.
Jones is used to such treatment -- he's averaged nearly 104 walks over the last four seasons -- but the Braves now have someone watching his back.
Person hung a breaking pitch, and Sheffield knocked it over the left-field wall for his first Atlanta homer. Sheffield trotted slowly around the bases, pointed skyward as he touched home and was serenaded with chants of "Gary! Gary!" As he took his position in right field to start the sixth, the fans gave him another standing ovation, many of them bowing.
Castilla, who started in the Braves organization but was lost to Colorado in the 1993 expansion draft, made a triumphant return to Atlanta.
With two outs in the third, Jones walked and Sheffield's grounder went right through the legs of third baseman Scott Rolen, whose days in Philadelphia could be numbered as he begins the final year of his contract.
Person, making the first opening-day start of his career, couldn't pitch around the mistake. He got two quick strikes on Castilla, then tried to sneak a fastball over the inside corner.
Castilla turned on the pitch, lining a 356-foot drive that hugged the left-field line before landing about 10 rows back. All three runs were unearned.
That was more than enough support for Glavine, who got his first opening-day start since 1999 when Maddux couldn't go because of a strained muscle in his right hip.
Glavine (1-0) improved to 2-2 in his four opening-day starts. He lost his shutout in the seventh when Travis Lee hit a 423-foot homer into the right-field bleachers, and gave up two more baserunners before Tim Spooneybarger took over.
Glavine went 6 1-3 innings, giving up five hits and both runs. He struck out seven.
Maddux, who was injured in spring training, hopes to make his debut Sunday in the final game of a series against the New York Mets, expected to be Atlanta's other main rival in the East.
Notes:@ Hall of Famer Phil Niekro threw out the first pitch, and the crowd gasped when a giant Air Force bomber flew over as part of the pregame ceremony. ... Carlos Silva made his major league debut for the Phillies in the sixth. He gave up an earned run but should have gotten out with no damage; SS Jimmy Rollins botched a double-play grounder for Philadelphia's second error. ... Glavine has a six-game winning streak in the regular season dating to 2001. His last loss was Aug. 24 against the Dodgers. ... Glavine improved to 22-8 in his career against the Phillies. He has more wins against Philadelphia than any team except Cincinnati.
AP Sports Writer
April 1, 2002, 3:49 PM EST
ATLANTA -- Welcome to Atlanta, Gary Sheffield and Vinny Castilla.
The Braves' new sluggers made quite an impact on opening day, with Castilla hitting a three-run homer and Sheffield a two-run shot to lead Atlanta to a 7-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday.
Tom Glavine, starting in place of the injured Greg Maddux, went six scoreless innings before tiring in the seventh. But pitching excellence is old news in Atlanta.
The focus has shifted to offense after the Braves finished 13th in the National League in runs a year ago, even while capturing their 10th straight division title -- although they have only one World Series championship to show for it.
Sheffield, one of the game's most feared cleanup hitters, was acquired in a blockbuster trade with Los Angeles. All-Star Chipper Jones was moved to left field so the Braves could sign Castilla to play third base.
Those moves clearly had an impact in a city known for its failure to sell out playoff games. An overflow crowd of 51,638 -- the largest regular-season turnout in Turner Field's six-year history -- filled the park on a warm, sun-splashed day. Thousands more milled outside hoping to land scalped tickets.
The sellout was the first for a Braves' opening day since they made their debut at Turner Field in 1997. It was the third-largest regular-season crowd in Atlanta history.
The Braves had some 15,000 empty seats for their final game of the 2001 season, a loss to Arizona in the NL championship series.
Later in the day, the NCAA men's basketball championship game was to be held a few miles away when Indiana played Maryland at the Georgia Dome.
Those who got into Turner Field saw the defending NL East champions send an early message to the Phillies, who finished only two games back last season.
The Braves had just three hits in five innings against Phillies starter Robert Person (0-1), but made them all count.
Sheffield drove in the Braves' first run with a groundout in the opening inning. In the fifth, he came up with two outs after Jones walked for the third straight time.
Jones is used to such treatment -- he's averaged nearly 104 walks over the last four seasons -- but the Braves now have someone watching his back.
Person hung a breaking pitch, and Sheffield knocked it over the left-field wall for his first Atlanta homer. Sheffield trotted slowly around the bases, pointed skyward as he touched home and was serenaded with chants of "Gary! Gary!" As he took his position in right field to start the sixth, the fans gave him another standing ovation, many of them bowing.
Castilla, who started in the Braves organization but was lost to Colorado in the 1993 expansion draft, made a triumphant return to Atlanta.
With two outs in the third, Jones walked and Sheffield's grounder went right through the legs of third baseman Scott Rolen, whose days in Philadelphia could be numbered as he begins the final year of his contract.
Person, making the first opening-day start of his career, couldn't pitch around the mistake. He got two quick strikes on Castilla, then tried to sneak a fastball over the inside corner.
Castilla turned on the pitch, lining a 356-foot drive that hugged the left-field line before landing about 10 rows back. All three runs were unearned.
That was more than enough support for Glavine, who got his first opening-day start since 1999 when Maddux couldn't go because of a strained muscle in his right hip.
Glavine (1-0) improved to 2-2 in his four opening-day starts. He lost his shutout in the seventh when Travis Lee hit a 423-foot homer into the right-field bleachers, and gave up two more baserunners before Tim Spooneybarger took over.
Glavine went 6 1-3 innings, giving up five hits and both runs. He struck out seven.
Maddux, who was injured in spring training, hopes to make his debut Sunday in the final game of a series against the New York Mets, expected to be Atlanta's other main rival in the East.
Notes:@ Hall of Famer Phil Niekro threw out the first pitch, and the crowd gasped when a giant Air Force bomber flew over as part of the pregame ceremony. ... Carlos Silva made his major league debut for the Phillies in the sixth. He gave up an earned run but should have gotten out with no damage; SS Jimmy Rollins botched a double-play grounder for Philadelphia's second error. ... Glavine has a six-game winning streak in the regular season dating to 2001. His last loss was Aug. 24 against the Dodgers. ... Glavine improved to 22-8 in his career against the Phillies. He has more wins against Philadelphia than any team except Cincinnati.