Programming Note: Giants-Braves coverage begins this morning at 8:30 a.m. with Giants Pregame Live and baseball follows from Atlanta at 9 a.m., only on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area!
ATLANTA -- Melky Cabrera was surprised to hear Chipper Jones' critical comments following Wednesday night's game, saying he got along well with the Braves' franchise star when they were teammates in 2010.
RELATED: Chipper calls out Melky for taunting
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Jones took offense at Cabrera's body language Wednesday, especially the pelvis-thrusting gesture that he and Gregor Blanco made after Blanco's three-run home run in the 11th inning of the Giants' 9-4 victory. It's a celebratory move that Cabrera and Blanco have done many times this season.
"It won't be forgotten," Jones said.
Cabrera told me he wasn't trying to show up the Braves. Giants manager Bruce Bochy echoed those sentiments.
"No, I don't think Melky means to ... show up another club," Bochy said. "If you know Melky, he's quiet and goes about his business. I think it's more having fun out there than trying to show 'em up."
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Still, Bochy said he'd talk to Cabrera before the first pitch of today's game. It also might be a good idea for Bochy to mention the situation to umpires, ensuring they are up to speed in case right-hander Tim Hudson decides to buzz Cabrera. The Giants' worst-case scenario would be if Hudson gets plunked, warnings are issued, and then Madison Bumgarner either tries to even the score or simply misses with a pitch inside and gets tossed as a result.
Bochy said Cabrera has told him he enjoyed his time in Atlanta under Bobby Cox. That's not the story that others have told, though. Whether bad feelings exist or not, the perception is that they do.
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In other pregame news, Bochy evaded a question about what he'd do in a save situation. He did talk to Santiago Casilla after the right-hander blew his fifth save attempt in his last eight opportunities. Casilla got cheddar-happy as Freddie Freeman hit a two-out double and Brian McCann hit a tying home run in the 10th.
"He said he felt great out there," Bochy said. "He's just got to slow it down out there a little bit and get back to pitching."
That means throwing that wicked spike curve of his more often, especially with two strikes.
Translation: Bochy still believes Casilla can get the job done over the second half, even if he might need to take a step back in the short term.
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Finally, Buster Posey is in the lineup because he caught just six innings Tuesday night and then caught eight relatively smooth innings Wednesday before a 1-1 game went haywire. Bochy said if he hadn't pinch-ran for Posey in the ninth inning, a move he was able to make because of Eli Whiteside's presence, then Posey probably isn't available to catch for him in Thursday's series finale. So Whiteside's presence definitely helped in more ways than one in this series.