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by Bob, Journalist
NASHVILLE, TN – Spring Training is always filled with promise and hope … losers have for months been saying “wait until next year” and here it is at last, well almost!
Not a pitch has been thrown … nary a bat has been swung … we’re assured a winning season, though it hasn’t yet begun. A dominant lineup, deep rotation and great management are always to be envied … and in this game where “above the neck” is where it’s at, we have an unbeatable combination … the championship is surely ours!
It’s a team game and this one has chemistry too … My Lady, Esteemed Jimmy Smith, Scribe, Sir Guy, Berigan, Gil, Lew, NaCly, Chris, Chopper, Christmas Stealer and BraveHeart … an All Star, HOF lineup, and now it looks like I’m to be given a chance!
Sure, it’s just an audition, a test … not even Spring Training … but I’m still all excited … in awe, to be exact … this is the bigs and I’m just so proud to be here!
Performance enhancers? If I can’t find adequate inspiration from them what’s gone before me, ain’t nothing else gonna help! Guess I feel like all the other young prospects … “they built it, you came … so now, what you gonna do about it?”
It sorta reminds me of Spring Training more than a few years back … we had a promising, highly touted prospect who had exceeded expectations, done everything asked of him … and then some. Unfortunately, he and the manager didn’t get along and his chances of making the club seemed slim to none. The truth is that the kid was trying too hard to impress the manager with his knowledge and total recall of the manager’s own stats as a player, some of which were best forgotten.
Finally, the manager had had enough … “Kid, you see those three over by the batting cage? Together, they hit twice as many homers last season as you did playing Rookie Ball … and the product of their three individual home run totals for the season was 2,450. I’ll take you North with us if you can tell me how many home runs each man hit last year!”
Our bright young prospect thought long and hard but finally had to admit he was stumped, muttering: “Skipper, that’s unfair, … not enough information, especially for a kid just trying to make the team”.
The manager, quite satisfied with himself, … smiled, and musing on the past, chuckled … “well it took me several years to do it but I hit more homers in my career than any of you did last year”.
Yes, the manager was a man of his word and the kid made the team! That is to say, he answered the question … and indeed, had a great career and was known, not only for his outstanding play, but for his acumen and aplomb.
Several years later, another manager, who had himself heard the story … found himself in a somewhat similar situation … a promising young kid who had excelled in spring training, but about whom he wasn’t quite sure … “Kid,” said Bobby, “several years ago, back when I was playing … we had a promising young player, like you, trying to make the team … but the manager, like me, couldn’t quite decide if he was ready … so he gave him a test.” “I like tests … tell me the story Skip!”
“Well son, it went like this … the manager told that kid, ‘Kid, you see those three over by the batting cage? Together, they … ‘ Yes, the manager was a man of his word and the kid made the team!”
“That was a nice story Skip, but a reel hard test! How did he figure it out?” “I really don’t exactly know,” said Bobby, “but I’ll take you North with us if you can tell me just how many home runs that manager hit during his career!”
Well, this kid made the team too … I’m told you could hear Bobby shouting over and over, “Larry, your a Hoss!!”
Actually, today’s sermon is about winning …
I remember last year, as the season was winding down … there was great dissention among bloggers on that other blog. No, there’s nothing unusual about that … but, methinks it is worth noting that with every loss, more and more joined those who gave up and chided those of us who kept the faith! Yes, the Braves failed in their quest … and the naysayers had their day.
Or did they? I’m not so sure … we were in second place, but much of our fanbase had all but conceded the race to the Mets! Well, they said it couldn’t be done … pointed to our record to date, and they were right … we came up short, … so did the Mets!
Contagion is a strange baseball animal … as is the Phoenix that was consumed at season’s end and will be reborn in a few short weeks.
I remember last year, as the season was winding down … a sincere youngster who, inspired by increasing numbers being openly critical of the Braves’ failure to win, proudly proclaiming that he became a fan during the streak because they always won … and, if they were going to lose, he’d look for another team … he saw no sense in pulling for a team that lost, just a simple waste of time! Good for him … at least he didn’t try to hedge his bets … no hypocrite, this kid … told it like it was … win or else!
Just a few posts and he was gone … maybe he switched his allegiance to the Rockies … good choice that! They were behind us at the time … no, they didn’t win the ring but they were the real winners of 2007! Well, maybe it was their fans who were the winners … or who made them winners … I know I pulled for them to beat the Padres in their “playin/playoff” game … Here’s to the Rockies and all their fans who kept a “never give up” attitude … remember the Rockies had to win 14 of 15 and overcome a 2-run 13th inning deficit against Trevor Hoffman … and they did! It ain’t never over till it’s over!
Were you to ask most fans, methinks you’d hear that winning is the objective. If you asked most owners, they’d give you same answer … but, methinks the truth is that their objective is to maximize profits on a present value basis. While not diametrically opposed, those are not the same objective.
We all admire and applaud dominant performances … at least, I know I do. It’s a team game but where would it be without Cy, Diz, Ty, Willie and the Babe?
Sometimes I think I’d enjoy the Braves having a 162-0 season … and sweeping the playoffs! Two 33 game winners and three winning 32 … goodness, no saves ‘cause none of the games were close! No I don’t … and neither do you! There’s no sport in fishing for hungry Brim with 100 pound test! Can you imagine anything more boring? Of course, 0-162, but not much … and goodness, still no saves!
Baseball is a very complex sport … with special meanings to common words and phrases … perfect, fair, foul, ball, walk, run, slide, single, stealing (signs and bases), balks, hit and run, bullpen, fly, sacrifice and squeeze.
Perhaps its least exciting aspect is the fly ball, which is also considered by many to be the most exciting, especially those that are long.
It requires just the right amount of energy so that properly conditioned players can perform at a consistently high level for long periods, day after day … month after month … providing both fans and participants with excitement and satisfaction. Unlike football and basketball, the game is not on the clock … each team has the same number of outs and each player has his time in the spotlight … albeit, some like that better than others.
“Coach” would probably call it striving for mediocrity but I think MLB’s objective should be for every team to have the same basic overall/aggregate player skill level. To me, the excitement is in the drama … consistently having the significantly superior talent is a no win situation from an expectation/satisfaction/appreciation perspective … for if we have it and perform as expected, it’s fun for a while but then, like fishing with 100 pound test, it becomes boring, unfulfilling … and if we underachieve, it’s worse.
Give me a team that’s competitive from a talent perspective … obviously, one that is well prepared, focused and executes fundamentals … but especially, one that has enthusiasm in abundance, believes in themselves, and never gives up, even when they’re down to their last strike! Everybody talks that talk, but few walk that walk. It’s the intangibles that make the difference!
I understand and even support the notion of even keel, business baseball … if you have a superior team from a raw talent perspective, … but I hate it! Looking at our prospects for 2008, I like what I see … we’re competitive and we’ll be just fine in Center, especially if we go with our young talent as I hope we do.
I would have preferred that we would not have signed Tommy and had used that money, and maybe a player or two, to “overpay” and get 2, 3 or 4 phenomenal, young arms, but we can play the cards we’re dealt … and win!
However, our fate depends on three positions, not one … our performance enhancers … the Manager, Pitching Coach and Hitting Coach. Scary, huh?
Speaking of scary … a famous instructor was once asked … well, he was frequently asked but once answered that “you should swing as hard, and only as hard, as you can while maintaining your balance and consistently making solid contact” … pretty good player too.
Bat speed is important … but only if you know how to use it. Baseball bats still look about the same as when I was growing up … but, boy! have they changed … time was when a player might worry about his favorite bat cracking, but now, it’s we who worry, … about someone getting killed!
When I think about that, I’m reminded of poor Billy Mitchell … called a good game, but couldn’t hit … they should have listened to that kid … the way I heard it, he got tossed from the game for wildly predicting the Japanese would one day bomb Pearl Harbor.
Still pondering the “Promising Prospect Puzzle”? I have it on good authority that a certain unnamed young beet writer just interviewed a certain third baseman, again unnamed … regarding a certain test … “Uh, I remember it well … reel easy for me, multiple choice test … Bobby only mentioned three numbers 2,450 … so you see, the answer was obvious!” “Huh, … obvious? … three numbers?” Smirking, “That’s right, 2,000 … 400 and 50. Everybody knows ain’t nobody never hit 2,000 homers … and if that manager had 400, it wouldn’t have taken him several years to do better than them guys did in a single season!”
The promising young beet writer empathetically thought it best to kill the story but another, perhaps more famous and of different ilk, overheard the interview and proudly gave his “scoop” to the AJC … “Hoss tells all … makes Monkey out of Seal!”
Well, what did you expect? … I was an actuary, not a beet writer.
I’m not sure exactly what I want in 2008, but I really think winning is its byproduct rather than its objective, whatever it is.
Bob, journalist
Braves & Stuff 
Super job, Bob!! Our many thanks!!
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Very nice indeed Bob! Lots of words as well! 😛
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oh, the humanity!
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HEllo Everbudy, heer are some JOkes:
• How do you get a beet writer out of a tree?
Wave at him!
• What do you do if a beet writer throws a grenade at you?
Pull the pin and throw it back!
• How do you drown a beet writer?
Put scratch-n-sniff stickers at the bottom of the pool!
A beet writer walks up to a Coke machine and puts in a coin. Out pops a coke. The beet writer looks amazed and runs away to get some more coins. He returns and starts feeding the machine madly and of course the machine keeps feeding out drinks. A woman walks up behind the beet writer and watches his antics for a few minutes before stopping and and asking if someone else could have a go. The beet writer spins around and shouts in her face: “Can’t you see I’m winning?”
please Carulina Lady, make me a collumist.
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Eloquent post Bob, Journalist, my ever venerable, reverential, piquant and multiloquent friend. You’ve cleared a fine panoptic path with so many side trails and scenic overviews here that I’ll enjoy meandering through it several times. Many conversation worthy points there.
Perhaps its least exciting aspect is the fly ball, which is also considered by many to be the most exciting, especially those that are long.
On that point, I have a sleuth reporter friend that might agree on both perspectives. Thing is, fly balls can be exciting because there are so few that actually dance. At the same time, long fly balls can be exciting because the pairing off ceremony takes so long. So many flies, such little time.
Oh, and Bob…never mind what I said about you at the end of the last blog. Just kidding. You were probably just a kid then. Not yet an actuarial.
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I am going to go out on a limb, and say Obama will win SC!
Something it sounds like Lew and I can agree on is not liking the Hildabeast. Of course, she would be easier to beat as well…
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Lots of new photos posted! (Are y’all even looking at them?? Nobody says anything about them!)
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:surprise: MISTERY SOLVED!!! :surprise:
A Beet writer was strolling downtown one day when he spotted a man walking in the opposite direction who was being followed by twenty penguins. The man had a worried look on his face, which is perfectly normal because everyone knows how dangerous a bunch of penguins can be if cornered.
“What are you doing?” asked the beet writer.
“I’m supposed to take these penguins to the zoo, but if I do, I’ll miss my appointment. Would it be possible for you to take them there for me?” the man asked.
“No problem,” replied the beet writer.
About three hours later, the man was on the way out of his meeting when he saw the beet writer going the other way, away from the zoo, and behind him followed the twenty penguins. The man ran over to meet him.
“What do you think you’re doing?” asked the man.
“Well, I took the penguins to the zoo like you wanted, but they got tired, so now we’re going to a movie!”
😛 🙄 😛 🙄
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CL, I know you aren’t the least bit busy or anything, 😉 but is there a way to have, I don’t know an icon, something that shows that there are photos of a person, or not? I end up clicking on folks that are lame, and have no photos of themselves, or their cars…Gil complimented me on my car, and vice versa….
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….sigh…..
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SOme kids at sChool make fun of me because I am now a Beet writer. They sometimes tell bad JOkes and hurt my feelings. One keeps saying i have beet writer breath, worse than seeal breath.
I am hoping I can be a collumist soon.
Carulina Lady, I liked Hillbillly’s photos, he was lucky somebody let him pose with their fish.
Hear’s a huntin’ joke for Hillbilly: These two beet writers asked to borrow an old journalist’s hunting camp up in the mountains. About three hours later they came back and said their trip was over. The old journalist asked, “Did you y’all already get yourself a bear?” They said, “Naw, we got up about half up the mountain and saw a sign that said bear left, so we turned around and headed back to the house.”
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Chop Seal, those are funny! 🙂
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Berigan, I can post something – but – what to do when everyone has photos on their pages?
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a photo of jimmy smith has been e-mailed to carolina lady . . .
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posted!
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Carolina Lady, the photos are GREAT!!! Sorry for not commenting much on them earlier. Keep forgetting I s’poze. Thanks for taking all the time for managing that. Now we even have videos and such. Chick’s dig the long ball…love it! I do enjoy seeing everyone’s pics (like your new Braves pics too). Are you a little sweet on Smoltzy? Hmmm…
I’ll have more for you when I can gather them up. Almost anything goes right?Not just dead animals and live denizens. And cars. And Grinch shoes (they take 2 gigabytes). When will we see Gil’s boats? Klobber’s Saloon? One thing for sure…not many blogs have a special personalized photo section.
We’ve been hearing of more people joining the Braves and Stuff blog, but where are they? Will they bring interesting information on Braves baseball or other interesting stuff? Hope so.
Will they be nice, respectful denizens or will they use the personal “your and idiot” attacks when they disagree? Perhaps CL needs to carefully screen bloggers before letting them join.
Carolina Lady, here’s a good blogger screening test to use. We cannot be too careful these days.
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HEars another one:
A beet writer and a cat were walking alongside the railroad track.
After a while, they happened upon what appeared to be a human leg.
“That looks like FRank’s leg,” said the beet writer
“I think you’re right,” said the cat, “I remember that scar on his ankle.”
They walked a little more, and happened to spy a human arm.
“That looks like FRank’s arm,” said the beet writer.
“I think you’re right,” said the cat, “I recognize his wristwatch.”
They walked a little farther, and spied what looked like a human head.
“That looks like FRank’s head,” said the beet writer.
“I think you’re right,” said the cat, “I remember those dimples, and white hair, and those blue eyes.”
The beet writer rushed over to the head, picked it up and held it by the ears and shouted,
“FRANK! FRANK! Are you HURT?”
Pleaze, Carulina Lady, make me a collumist.
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BRaking News: Somebudy has stolen the Fulton County Sheriff’s gun! Still has his badge, though. and his cap. Like a shortstop with a uniform but no glove. And the top infield backupp at three postions has a BRoken hand but there has been no mention of his hammock bone. Who will ask the tough questions? Chop Seal, beet writer.
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from AtlantaBraves.com:
“Jeff Francoeur changed agents this offseason with the hope that he may gain some more promotional opportunities on a local level. At the same time, he’s hoping that Atlanta-based agent Lonnie Cooper, who also represents John Smoltz and Bobby Cox, might help him land an extended contract with the Braves.”
Bobby Cox has an agent?? Why?!
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Howdy, all. Great lead-in, Bob; at least I think it is. 🙂 Just got done drinkin’ a little Jameson and puffin’ on a Don Lina. Yum. Life is good.
Sorry I haven’t worked on my photos yet; I’ve been a busy grinch. I’ll get on it soon. And SG, thanks for saying nice things about me the other day; I appreciate it.
CL, you’re a gem. Thanks for putting up with my frequent absences of late. I’ll do better; I promise. Now, baseball…Bobby has an agent? He’s gotta have someone to handle his paperwork; it gets kind of sticky otherwise.
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There; that a better avatar?
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Hey, Grinch!! GREAT avatar!!! We’ve missed you! jimmy sent a gift to your photo page recently.
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Lew, you’ve got mail!
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Bobby Cox was supposed to endorse Windex but there was a problem every time they shot the commercial. John Smoltz endorses Haim Habib. Francoeur endorsed Delta but they were bankrupt. Francoeur may want to hook up with a good potato chip company. More later, from beet writer Chop Seal.
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Nice work, esteemed Bob. Grinch, that’s perfect! Sorry I’m a bit late tonight but I’ve been watching skating’s National Championships. (Y’all think Bud is a buffoon? You should see Ottavio Cinquanta, the ISU president, who doesn’t even know anything about the sport he’s “governing”.)
CL, I saw that about Frenchy changing agents. Hope that’s a good sign.
Time to check out the new pics!
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Lew, that’s a quite a collection. I imagine that pictures probably don’t do it justice. Bet my dad would have a field day in there.
Hillbilly, little Miss Hillbilly is a beauty. You’ll be keeping the boys away with a cattle prod by the time she’s 16.
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Great job Bob. As always.
Cool pics. Jimmy’s kept me laughing.
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What’s up, Willy Wally? Long time no blog. I’ve been a busy man myself.
Hillbilly, you are a redneck sum&^%$#, ain’tcha? You always seemed genuine, but I wasn’t sure (you know how folks can be on the internet). We gotta kill supper together sometime. A friend of mine is on his way up here now from Swainsboro to bring me some deer; I’ve been goin’ through withdrawl. Steaks, cube steak, sausage and ground…yum. All are welcome at the Grinch’s table. You lucked out on the female side; I can see why you got so mad about the whole clown shoes thing. 🙂
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Hi, Grinchy! You’ll have to post a pic of the new puppy.
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Good call; she’s in here trying to eat my toes. And being fairly successful. Oh, the Rottweilery!
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You’d better teach her not to do that. After all, toes are not to be trifled with!
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You won’t believe this. Cruising various blogs and found this statement written by the blog host:
“One of the premier pitchers in the league, Gregg Maddux lead the staffs of the Braves to early success. He was traded to the Astros where he dominated in both a starters and relievers role.”
ooooooooooooookay!
😆
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And in what alternate universe did that happen? Not to mention misspelling his name.
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CL, just goes to show that you can’t believe everything you read!
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Read this article from Newsday by Wally Mathews. Describes our sentiments perfectly.
Mets have done nothing to improve since collapse
Wallace Matthews
January 25, 2008
New York’s Stealth Franchise, the one that flies so deftly below the radar that it could land at LaGuardia without being noticed, has conducted its offseason the way Rudy Giuliani is running his presidential campaign: hoping to win by doing nothing.
They shed Lastings Milledge, Paul Lo Duca and Tom Glavine. In return, they brought in Ryan Church and Brian Schneider, paid more money to Ramon Castro, Luis Castillo, Jose Reyes and Endy Chavez, and issued a stern warning to Duaner Sanchez to stay out of taxicabs in South Florida at 2 in the morning.
Meanwhile, Johan Santana still is a Twin, A-Rod still is a Yankee and Reyes still is a Met.
And yet, to quote the words of Mets VP David Howard, “If you look at it objectively, [we] are a championship-caliber, playoff-contending team.”
And if you look at it rationally, Howard, or whoever is writing his material, very well may be out of his mind.
They act as if last season was some kind of hallucination, that the historic collapse (they led the Phillies by seven games on Sept. 12 with 17 games to play) never really happened, that despite what the NL East standings showed Oct. 1, the Mets actually were the best team in baseball and, as such, didn’t really need much in the way of tinkering in the offseason.
In fact, when it came to personnel, they didn’t really need anything at all.
All they needed, actually, was a little bit more of your money, because, as general manager Omar Minaya was quick to point out after the Mets lost six of their last seven games of the season, “We spent more days in first place than any other team in baseball.’”
Yeah. And Billy Conn was leading Joe Louis after 12 rounds, the Titanic sailed beautifully for three days and didn’t Lincoln just love the first two hours of the play?
Still, that was reason enough for the Mets to raise ticket prices by about 20 percent for the upcoming season. The reason for this, according to Howard, friend of baseball fans everywhere: “We’re not going to make business decisions based on a two-week period.”
The only saving grace in that statement is that perhaps Howard someday will use the same rationale to hold the line on ticket prices if the Mets ever manage to win a World Series on his watch. (And in other news, Pamela Anderson has asked me to marry her.)
Returning to reality, that means this season you will pay more to see the same team, only a year older. You know this is not the fault of Minaya, who would just love to spend Fred Wilpon’s money, and it probably is not the fault of Howard, who is too busy thinking of new ways to get into your pocket.
That responsibility falls upon the owner, Wilpon, who is on the verge of a Steinbrennerian windfall with the opening of Citi Field, and his son Jeff, who is James Dolan without the guitar.
(It was Jeff Wilpon, de facto GM, who uttered the most infamous line in the recent history of the Mets: “Can somebody tell me why I shouldn’t trade this guy?” The guy was Scott Kazmir.)
What really happened here is that once again, the fans are being forced to pay for the failings of the players. When the Mets bombed out of the playoffs, they lost anywhere from $2 million to $15 million in postseason income. Somebody had to make up that shortfall. It wasn’t going to be the players and it certainly wasn’t going to be the Wilpons.
That leaves, well, you.
Last year, about 3.8 million of you paid your way into Shea, expecting to cash in on the guarantee that was plastered right on top of the dugouts: “Your season has come.” If anything close to that number returns this year, then the Mets’ fan base is either incredibly understanding or understandably numb.
The Mets caught a break when the Yankees performed their own crash-and-burn a week after their own, and there was the Torre Drama and the A-Rod Saga and Syringe-gate, starring Roger Clemens, to distract us from what wasn’t going on in Flushing through October and November and December. Now the excitement about the Giants in the Super Bowl will provide a smoke screen for the next 10 days or so, and if the Mets get real lucky, the Knicks will fire Isiah just before Opening Day.
But sooner or later, the smoke will clear, the air will warm and it will be baseball season again. The Mets will be back in business with roughly the same cast of characters, the same set of built-in excuses, the same big talk and the same small expectations.
But then, you know what they say in Flushing: Around here, there is no offseason.
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Interesting, WW, & very entertaining as well.
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NaCly … posted this on the last Blog … Hoover was in charge of the American Food Administration under Wilson … on this day in 1981, Carol and I were driving back from New Orleans, the day after Super Bowl 15 … the Eagles and I got plastered the day before … goodness how time flies.
Thanks FBG … ain’t saying what I thought about Bud but I did learn a lot … now Bud Light was a different matter.
Great lead-in, Bob; at least I think … well, I’m not sure what I think but if you do … then at least we both are. Actually, Chopper and Carol wrote it together and wanted to present it as a bi-byline under the CC mask when you almost missed your deadline … sort of a collumist tryout. <b.MyLady liked it and when I couldn’t come up with anything, she suggested I lend my name to it since they couldn’t agree upon an appropriate avatar … and she didn’t want folks to think that Lew was CC.
Sir Guy, is that an African or an Asian eloquent? Whichever it is, me mama, papa, sister and brother thank you and I do too, methinks.
I ain’t so sure about some of them other words … Carol said that venerable was just a nice way of saying I was real old … like antediluvian, Methuselah … I’m not sure I like that comparison but she said you were being nice. Methuselah was venerable but methinks he may have died in The Flood, not of old age … in God’s doghouse and Noah wouldn’t let him on the Ark.
Now reverential and piquant I like, but you don’t have to use no dollar words like multiloquent … I know I’m garrulous.
You’ve cleared a fine panoptic path with so many side trails and scenic overviews here that I’ll enjoy meandering through it several times. Many conversation worthy points there.
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FLB-Yeah. Over 100 signed balls (does include some minor league talent that will likely never play in the bigs) and 8 HOFers. When Glavine, Smoltz, Chipper, Schuerholz and Bobby Cox get inducted, it will be more like 13. I even have a Ted Turner signed baseball. He was graduation speaker at Kathy’s Law School. I went to graduation wearing a Braves shirt and he yelled out (from the middle of the procession-in his cap and gown) “How ’bout them Braves?”
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That should have been FBG-It’s late.
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Oops! I’ve asked MyLady to correct my last post by deleting everything after “I know I’m garrulous” … and a good thing too … such language … good thing I said fly and not ping pong.
Sir Guy, I would never quibble over the trivial and may have been too young to be an actuarial but I was old enough to recognize that the Bernoulli’s were right smart folks … at least one or two of them were probably smarter than either me or Issac but Newton was a charmer, name was easier to pronounce … found Royal favor and got a fig bar named after him.
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WW, thanks for posting that. It’s great for us that the Mets and Phils have only gotten worse. Well, like the Phils, we lost a CF, but unlike them, ours was no good! We also got rid of our SS, who was very good. Probably still is. Jair Jurrjens better start next year. Well, thats not too likely, what with him being young and all. Bobby is like sweet Lou and fears youth on a roster for some reason. If Hampton is healthy, that 35 year old will also be our 3rd youngest starter. Hmmm…Even losing 2 keys to our offense, I still think we are the team to beat…unless the Mets swing Santana. Much better than Glavine of 2008. I know which one would be the guy to count on in September and beyond.
So, is Wally Mathews right, is the Mets “braintrust” so dumb as to think they are better without any improvements, and subtracting Glavine??? Let’s hope so!!!
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The Purina Diet
Yesterday I was buying a large bag of Purina dog chow for Blanche, our Hunting dog, at Wal-Mart and was standing in line about to check out. A woman behind me asked if I had a dog. First thing I thought was ‘where is your sign lady’ but decided to go with it…SO..On impulse, I told her that no, I didn’t have a dog, and that I was starting the Purina weight loss Diet again. I said I probably shouldn’t, because I’d ended up in the hospital last time, but that I’d lost 50 pounds before I awakened in an intensive care ward with tubes coming out of most of my orifices and IVs in both arms. I told her that it was essentially a perfect diet and that the way that it works is, you load your pants pockets with Purina nuggets and simply eat one or two every time you feel hungry and that the food is nutritionally complete… so I was going to try it again. I have to mention here that practically everyone in the line was by now enthralled with my story to say the least. Totally Horrified, the lady asked if I ended up in intensive care because the dog food poisoned me. I told her no; I had stepped off a curb to sniff an Irish Setter’s butt and a car hit us both.
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Italics hurt me eyes!!!! 😯
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Sigh….nice lead-in, ‘Garrulous One’! Excellent, in fact! However, after you and SG exchange posts, I realize how outdated my dictionary is! Used to think I was pretty smart, however, either them’s new words y’all is using, or the definitions have changed! 😕
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“We spent more days in first place than any other team in baseball.”
Whoa! Is the NASCAR point system coming to MLB? That’ll be interesting!
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“toes are not to be trifled with.” how true, how true. and this blog has it all – baseball, stuff, pie, toes, barbecue, huntin’, a tiny beet writer, frank, red velvet cake, bird houses, and many more accompaniments. nothing missing but and idiots. and hk is reading, probably jackass, too. soon, maybe they will post, and others are welcome, too. hillbilly, chrisklob, savannah, grinch, berigan (good story), lew, jimmy smith, jason in maine, carolina lady, chop seal, flbravesgirl, ww, gil, scribe, all blogging here. miss anybody? did not mean to. lively blog – a carolina lady blog. and lew’s museum – journalist has seen those photos before. very impressive memorabilia. rumored to have a toe cap from you-know-who in a drawer. and jimmy smith has heard from chop seal that some of his little beet writer friends are experiencing poor circulation. journalist will contact dr. uboto, ugandan doctor, for remedy. oh, yeah, pudding. this blog also has pudding – and venison. fish. yo-yo’s. what? no yo-yo’s? soon. have a great day, everybody! go braves!
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salty, missed salty. periodic tables confuse journalists. never studied them much. miss anybody else? hope not. stinky was here but ran afoul of carolina lady. can’t do that here. and there is a lull in blogging every afternoon. is this attributable to fast pace of braves and stuff bloggers? or could it be nap time? oh, the humanity! not nap time! say it ain’t so. anyway, pitchers and catchers report soon. will javy and chino drive down together? fast food? would not want to ride in the car. and journalist has submitted some final photos to carolina lady for publication. jimmy smith will stop now. other bloggers must fill the remainder of the space available. jimmy smith has the tastiest page until flbravesgirl makes flbravesgirl’s posts – most likely many baked goodies. wait! is that fedex out front? must go see . . .
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William Wallace, that was an enjoyable article by Wally Mathews, in more ways than one (always nice to hear of Met struggles and missteps). Good writer…funny too.
Bob, Journalist, Carol was correct…I was being nice. Just for you sir, I pulled a few of my most expensive words out of the 50-dollar word drawer. Methinks approbation would best characterize the intent, since you are the ranking senior journalist and all. Garrulous is not a word I’d use…nosirree Bob.
Meant every word. Well, except for the Newton post. That was just, uh…
Not a pitch has been thrown … nary a bat has been swung … we’re assured a winning season, though it hasn’t yet begun.
So true and captures the attitude of the promise and hope of the coming summer. Speaks of the ever-optimistic (even to the point of delusional) baseball fan in most cities. Not all cities or fans have the optimism though. I remember, must have been a decade ago, seeing an ad on the day after the start of the regular season (Red Sox lost the first game). The Boston Globe promotional ad humorously summed up the prevailing attitude of so many Red Sox fans that had endured Buckner and so many heartbreaking seasons with a headline, on the second day of the season that read something like, “Oh well, there’s always next year”. Maybe only a Bosox fan could appreciate the humor in that.
Braves fans are coming off so many years at the top with such a historic run of championship teams. Braves fans throughout the country have been spoiled to be sure and the attending Atlanta fans aren’t the most rah rah crowds in sports. Yet, we remain hopeful. Even with one corporate arm tied behind our backs and a falling budget, we’ve remained believers.
Hopefully this year we’ll once again field a division championship or a playoff appearance or a World Series ring and avoid the less hopeful, less optimistic, lowered expectations of a baseball city with a jaded, sure to lose culture. Go Braves.
Countdown to Spring Training
17 days – 20 hours – 54 minutes – 28 seconds
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Whoops…make that 19 days ’til pitchers and catchers report. The hours and seconds are ok, they just add color…
I must be trying to move the season up a bit.
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Just got back from Sundae SChool and Jimmy Smith is in the kitchen eating cakes and pies. Cookies. Brownies. Many nice baked goodies. Yes, gingerbread, too. I am going for more milk and ice cream in a few minutes. I am worried about Jimmy Smith. More later from beet writer Chop Seal.
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“approbation”…(very heavy sigh)…I rest my case. 🙄
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Old baseball players joke:
Bobby Cox, Bobby Dews, and Tom Glavine were discussing the travails of getting older. Bobby Dews said, “Sometimes I catch myself with a jar of mayonnaise in my hand, while standing in front of the refrigerator, and I can’t remember whether I need to put it away, or start making a sandwich.”
Bobby Cox chimed in with, “Yeah, sometimes I find myself on the landing of the stairs and can’t remember whether I was on my way up or on my way down.”
Tom Glavine responded, ” Well, I’m glad I don’t have that problem – Knock on wood.” Tommy rapped his knuckles on the table, and said, “That must be the door, I’ll get it!”
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Salty, you gotta love those 50-dollar words. You know, the ones right there in the drawer that never get to see the light of day unless you’re dustin’em off and playin’. Can’t use the snooty ones though…them’s from Haavaad. They sure ain’t no talkin’ words.
To verbalize those Haavaad words properly, one must stick their chin out, expose the bottom teeth slightly with top lip firmly resting there and affectedly squeeze words out through the teeth while maintaining a haughty, self-gratified look.
Now, go to the mirror and try that. Pretty hoity-toity, huh? Vainglorious too? Yep. Disgusting…now wash your mouth out with soap. I can’t believe you actually did that. Hope you wife didn’t see you. ; )
Hey, thought you were losing the twin forks avatar. Got salt?
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Morning, all! What a lovely day. Perfect for leftover party food, maybe some grillin’, lots o’ cold beer and a western or two on the ol’ big screen. Got two full seasons of “Deadwood” to watch and “Broken Trail” on the way (not to be confused with “Brokeback Mountain”… oh, the Heath Ledgery!). Life is good. Of course, I should probably work some homework in there too somewhere…nah. Now, Falcons (speaking of “Deadwood”); time for a major roster overhaul. Does Jimmy Smith not favor the new old style to be implemented? Will the new offense just be a bunch of Mularky? 🙂
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Sir Guy>, much obliged for the kind words … your “The hours and seconds are ok” somehow reminds me of George Patton’s trying to please the little old ladies … the minutes, don’t forget the minutes … one good thing about Blogs … they themselves are the minutes and and just when we think they’re forgotten, somebody checks the archives and pulls them out to remind us of our faux pas.
Speaking of forgetting … I ain’t forgettin’ Jimmy Smith … and neither is my cat Ralph … though he seems to have forgotten me.
One bad thing about this Blog is that, unlike the Beet Blog and whatever that thing CC sometimes does is, … you can’t skip nothin’ … your and idiot if don’t read everything … most times twice.
Though we all have different perspectives, we can always find common ground and agreement … Lew said “it is as meaningless now as it was then” … most folks think that means it was and is meaningless … but, if it was meaningful back then and carries the same level of meaningfulness today … as I believe is the case, then what Lew said would still be appropriate … and so we agree.
Well, some folks think it was about sexual misconduct … but it wasn’t … the “dastardly deed” was incidental to the matter’s crux … it was about a public official’s premeditated abuse of the power of the office … and abuse of the public trust … for one to flagrantly attempt to take technical advantage of the language so as to avoid exposure of what was then perceived as unacceptable behavior … and to flaunt having so done … shows one to be devoid of integrity and is misconduct most foul.
From this day in 1955, methinks … “Did you see where some baseball player just signed a contract for $75,000 a year just to play ball? It wouldn’t surprise me if someday they’ll be making more than the president.”
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Grinch, if your friend doesn’t come through with the venison, let me know. I have plenty in the freezer and you’d be welcome to some of it. I’ll be leaving for Atlanta early in the am. If you email me I’ll throw a bunch in the cooler for you.
The SG’s eat pretty well off of land and sea bounty. Surf and turf…
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Bob, Journalist, depends on what the meaning of “is, is.
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NaCly I know what you mean … I just thought he meant I was on probation for having been garrulous.
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Now Bob, Journalist…get that malapropistic tongue out of that cheek or you will be on journalistic probation.
Although, Norm Crosby would be proud.
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SG…as instructed, I practiced ‘the look’ in the mirror. However, I didn’t have any appropriate words (that I knew) to finish up with. So, I was stuck looking like UGA in the bathroom mirror…not a particularly flattering image, in all honesty.
Avatar…ah, yes…avatars! I’ve not switched back…the blog ‘gremlins’ have done their thing since ‘day one’. You all saw forks…I’d see them for a sec, but back to old salt when the screen refreshed. I gave up…besides…’twas no cake to eat with the forks, and that was the purpose. So, it is what it is until I try to change…thinking of something more cerebral. Better to look smart than be smart…or something along those lines.
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Chopper, that joke was perty funny! 🙂 I am like whatshisname, kinda forgetful if you will. Like I read the posts since my last one early in the AM, and I know I was going to comment on something besides your joke…but I forget!!! Will have to read them again… 😦
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BerigAn, heer is another old people Joke. When you get reely old and forgetful the nice thing is you can hide your own Easter eggs.
ANd the Falcons have new coaches! Out of work and now working. GrincH is right about turning over the roster. Wonder if van Gorder will be heer to start the seeson? And BoBBy Preteeno’s defensive coordinator just quit! Imagine that!
And who will teach base steaing and base running and bunting to the Braves in the spring? Should make it a no golf spring. BaseBall only. Get fit and have good hammocks. Obliques and hamstrings. Toes. Thumbs. Bad Cold. And this is just Chipper.
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some have asked what is wrong between jimmy smith and diane lane – must be more than pudding. let jimmy smith explain:
it dates back to jimmy smith and diane lane’s first date at grand canyon, in arizona, and a trip down to the bottom of the canyon, by horse.
hadn’t gone too far when diane lane’s horse stumbled and diane lane almost fell off. diane lane looked down at the horse and quietly said, ‘that’s once.’
jimmy smith and diane lane proceeded a little further and the horse stumbled again. once more diane lane quietly said, ‘that’s twice.’
hadn’t gone a half-mile when the horse stumbled for the third time.
diane lane quietly removed a revolver from diane lane’s purse and shot the horse dead.
jimmy smith shouted at diane lane, ‘what’s wrong with you, diane lane!? Why shoot the poor animal like that? are you crazy??’
diane lane looked at jimmy smith and quietly said, ‘that’s once.’
and from that moment…..an understanding was in place between jimmy smith and diane lane.’ lovely creature but unpredictable – and does not cook. best to continue the separation.
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Sir Guy, like some pachyderms, I have a thick skin, 5 toes and once had a good memory … but I stubbed my toes when I when I failed to respond to your reaction to my story about the multiflawed Shaun … “ugly, awkward, poorly dressed, two left feet, dense and tongue tied … making a complete fool of himself. Strange but he was the life of the party with all the pretty girls listening to his every word … laughing at his stupid, unfunny humor … standing in line to dance with him“.
Remember … “Was he rich? Buying cocktails for everyone? Drug dealer?”
Actually, I had thought it would bring a comment from Lew because of the “complete fool” reference … but no, he wasn’t especially rich, or if he was we weren’t so aware …the drinks were free … and, had he been a known drug dealer, he would not have been welcomed … I guess you had to be there … but had you been, you would not have so thought … nor so reacted … just joking mon ami, as I know were you.
This was before DNA testing when appropriate behavior was the norm … we knew if we brought embarrassment to our families, we would be declared adopted or a hospital mixup claimed!
As you know, the point was and is that while we were the smart ones, we were also the fools, incomplete of course … awareness of our limitations engendered a self-fulfilling “fear of failure” prophecy … and we were wall flowers while he the life of the party … only we were too dumb to know it.
Shaun had no such limitation … just a nice guy … honest, sincere, and friendly with a wholesome attitude … his flaws didn’t inhibit him cause he was too dumb to realize he had them … surface blemishes they were and became invisible if and when you let them.
Attitudes have truly changed … if God gave every man the ability to think, why is it that so few do? Today, when folks can’t compete within the system, they apply for a grant so as to be able to start their own system … they call it modern creative, outside the box, thinking. That’s like someone who can’t draw worth nothin’ calling their work modern art and charging for it!
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Berigan, I did it again!! Hopefully, MyLady will see it and limit the bolding to “Complete Fool”.
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Bob, that was a mighty bold post. 🙂
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Grinch, it was indeed … but, thanks to a most gracious lady, it ain’t!!
Sir Guy … thoughts and prayers go with you … safe trip and all goes well!!
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Bob-I have been trying to tell you for three years now that there are many people who have graduated and are complete fools. Not us, but they’re everywhere.
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Lew, will you send JerseyGil’s address, please? The first didn’t go through.
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new jersey, carolina lady.
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Apologies Lew, we’re all products of our experiences and environment … I keep forgittin that you attended that school in Athens … perhaps that explains your perspective on complete fools … and some other things too.
Here’s Some ‘information’ for Yankees …
1. Pull up your droopy pants … you look like and idiot.
2. Those are cows. That’s why they smell to you … smell like money to us. Get over it. Don’t like it? … I-20 goes east and west, I-85 goes north and south.
3. So you have a $70,000 cotton pickin’ car … big deal …we have $250,000 cotton pickers that are driven only 3 weeks a year.
4. Yes, every Southerner waves … it’s called being friendly … try to understand the concept.
5. The Braves are important to us but the ‘Season Opener’ is a religious holiday held the closest Saturday to the first of November … the first day of deer season.
6. We open doors for women … all women, regardless of age.
7. We say ‘sir and ma’am’, ‘please and thank you’, ‘excuse me and I’m sorry’ when we are wrong or impolite … no, it’s not a weakness … just good up-bringing.
8. You bring ‘coke’ into my house, it had better be brown, wet and served over ice … ‘Mary Jane’ had better be cute, have long hair and know how to cook!
9. Yeah, you can play our golf courses … so long as you wave to everybody and stay out of the water hazards … it frightens the fish, and aggravates the alligators.
10. Don’t think that just because we talk slow we are … we have State Universities , Private Universities, and Vo-techs … we come outta them with a good education plus a love for God and country, … and we still wave at everybody!
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No time to read, but I just wanted to drop by and say we found out yesterday that it’s going to be a boy!!!! Due May 31st. Top prospect in the making. Estimated time of arrival to Turner Field: April 2028
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I’ll catch up in the morning. Later all.
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Mary Jane? You been watching Reefer Madness again? It was on cable last night. Pretty good comedy flick.
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Congratulations Honorable Hillbilly!!! … However, with such a fine looking little girl with such a beautiful mama, … methinks I might’ve just asked for a refill.
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Congrats Hillbilly!!!! Have you already bought the future HOF’er his first glove yet??? 🙂
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Congratulations, Hillbilly! How’s the name search going?
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Congratulations, Hillbilly!!!! Can’t wait!!!!! I nominate ‘WYATT’ as a name. Sounds good! “Now batting – – – ” Ya gotta think about how it’s going to sound over the PA system. 🙂
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CL, perfect! I’m biased because that’s a family name on my dad’s side.
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All right!! 2 votes for Wyatt!! I’ve always like that name!
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Bob, J, very fine lead there good sir. If you read my lead (The Winter Doldrums) then you know how I feel about this time of year and the anticipation of a fresh new season! I’m a little bored right now but by Valentine’s Day I’ll be giddy with excitement (and it won’t be because of Cupid)!
Hillbilly, congratulations! Will you call him “Hillbilly Junior”? Chipper Hillbilly? Either seem like a proper, fitting name. I am a junior. When we learned that our second child would be a boy, I wanted to name him after me (ChipKlob doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue but not many first names exactly “go” with my surname). Anyway, my wife ixnay’ed that idea, saying that there were two more chrisklob’s already on this planet and she had no plans for there to be a third!
By the way, what kind of fish are those in your photo?
Carolina Lady, many thanks for all of your efforts to maintain this blog. I am certain that it is quite a lot of work. I am also certain that it is truly appreciated by our little group! Thanks for putting my new pics up too. By the way, there is a picture of Frenchy in his Rome Braves uniform. He played against Charleston in 2003. One of the things that is so refreshing about him is the fact that he hasn’t let his mlb success go to his head. He’s as nice now as he was in A ball!
Grinch, you haven’t answered my question from a couple day back. Rumor has it that you attended a Braves game with “Robert”. What’s he like in person?
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Hi, Chris! You are most welcome, sir; most appreciated. Yes, it does take a lot more time than you’d think, but it is a very welcome diversion and I enjoy doing it! 🙂
I posted the JF ’03 photo on your Baseball page. One page is for whatever, the second is for baseball. As each person sends more photos, I’ll develop more pages. Thanks to the generosity of WordPress, we now have 3gb of photo space available to us!
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Oh the humanity…. I spent the entire day on the previous blog page. I though I had BO or something… Then I discover everyone has moved on to a new page. Well the joke on me or the joke is me, I can’t always keep that one straight…
Anyway, excellent post Bob. Just keeping the bar raised pretty high. 🙂
Hillbilly… In case you didn’t see my post on the other page. Nice looking family you have. And one more on the way, outstanding….
Lew… Great collection, very impressive.
jimmysmith…. uh…
Yes CL, I looked at all the photos, could not understand why even you were absent too. Figured you were just busy. 🙂 I have not sent any more photos as I don’t want to annoy you with them. I shall wait until I can send along some of my baseball photos.
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Gil, send photos, please! I have moments free when I can work on them, then times when I’m completely tied up with Mother. But I do get to them – and the mental diversion is worth its weight in gold! Believe me! 😆
I’ve always loved working with photos and have restored some old family photos that first appeared to be beyond help. Sometimes change them one little pixel at a time. Love it! (One thing I’ve learned: NEVER trust a photo unless you took it yourself!) 😆
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CL, thanks again. I saw that you had posted Frenchy’s Rome photo. I was just trying to alert the others that it was there and inadvertently made that statement in a paragraph I had directed to you. Sorry about that!
I hope that Mother is doing okay.
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Gil, even if you have BO we don’t mind. While nasty attitudes can be rendered thru the internet, nasty odors can not. At least not yet!
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Chris, it isn’t going too well with Mother. Sort of ‘treading water’ right now; hopeful the tests at the hospital Thursday am will provide some answer/s.
Was just checking the Blog Stats page and found that someone is copying some of our stuff. At least we’re given credit:
http://mystery.nl/2008/01/26/16promise-and-hope/
Ya never know who is reading! 🙂
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🙂 Yeah, I just made the mistake of checking the “other” blog….. Nothing has changed. 😦 I am not sure if Robert is a psychopath or a sociopath. Either way he is very disturbed.
I was pretty upset with the Braves moving but I got over it. It’s just business, nothing personal. I still may start rooting for the Nationals, I will know when they face off against each other. You can’t hide your cheatin’ heart… 🙂 Anyway, I really like Manny Acta. We shall see. I won’t dis the Braves too much.. 🙂
It might be fun watching them build a team from the ground up. 🙂
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Ha! Another one lifted verbatim without permission:
http://arakerts.blogspot.com/2007/12/p7with-javy-it-was-all-about-hits-amp.html
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Well, they did identify the source CL….
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I seldom worry about plagiarism, my grammatical errors and spelling grafts usually deter any would be thief. 🙂
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CL, sorry to hear about Mother. Good thoughts and prayers are on the way for you all.
I googled “chrisklob” a few days ago just for fun and found several interesting things where someone is taking portions of posts and running them together. Not sure if it’s some sort of Nigerian scam thingy or what. Might be interesting if some other folks here were to do the same thing to see if
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CL… Really sorry to hear your mom is still not feeling well. I just hired another nurse to come in to be with my mom in the evenings. I am trying to keep her from having to enter a nursing home as long as possible.
Her mind is still pretty sharp most days but alas, so is her tongue. The wife and I tried to care for her in our home but her disposition was so nasty I finally gave up and took her home.
She can be very gracious but I don’t think she chooses to be.
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if what????????????????????????????????????
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Gil, Mother’s problems are primarily physical but 4 strokes have done their damage, as well as dementia, etc. Most of the time she’s pleasant, but her confusion and communication difficulties cause problems. What she understands isn’t necessarily what is said – then she’s adamant that I’m lying or misleading her or something. It’s terribly frustrating but I constantly try to remind myself that she is brain-damaged and cannot help it. It certainly isn’t her choice to be this way. Auditory processing, word retrieval, etc are sorely lacking. It sure ain’t easy!
She wouldn’t survive a month in a nursing home. We’ve been in 4 of them for rehabbing, ranging anywhere from a month to 7 months at a stretch. I was there 12 – 14 hours a day. Things I saw had to be seen to be believed!
BTW, each page on this site is marked as copyrighted. If you find one I missed, please let me know!
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What if what, Berigan????????????????????????????????????
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Tell me that clock doesn’t say after 1 a.m.!!! Oh, the humanity!!! Good night, all! 🙂
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Thanks Chris! … nothing wrong with multiple ChrisKlobs … My father was Sr, I am Jr, my son is III, my grandson IV … not sure what I or they would have done had I two boys. We told my grandson that Daddy was Robert I and that’s what he called him!
Grinch told me a while back that Robert was sharp as a tack … fun guy … 66 years old, if I remember correctly.
All these people copying us ain’t so bad … I’ve heard it’s the sincerest form of something … so long as they provide the link … build it and they will come … and it’s good advertising!
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Sorry CL, my if what question was a jab at Chris’ last line of his 12:19 AM post….
Might be interesting if some other folks here were to do the same thing to see if
He has ADD or his wife called him to do something I bet! 😛
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Berigan, I deeply resent the implication that I have AD………..Hey look at the pretty rock! 🙂
Actually, not sure how that happened. Don’t know if WordPress cut it off or if I was just careless. Anyway, I was suggesting that other folks google their screen names to see what sort of weirdness popped up. When I did mine, I saw a post I wrote that was directed at Lew. That was the only other name that I saw.
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Good morning all, thought I would make a quick appearance before everyone ran off again.
CL…. Yes, I know from exactly where you come. Many of the same problems. It is funny how my mom can focus so sharply on one thing and cannot grasp the concept of another. Very frustrating for all. She treats nearly everyone who comes to see her horribly and then complains no one will come to see her any more. DUH!!!
Oh well, I will not put my family through such a thing if I can help it.
It is a bit cool here this morning but a warm up is promised. I still plan to get away to Myrtle Beach for a few days. With the extra help now with mom, it may now be possible. Florida is a bit too far to drive and I detest flying now. It is not so much the flying but all of the hassles associated with it.
The last flight I had, a five year old kicked the back of my seat all the way from San Juan to Pittsburgh.
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‘Morning, Gil! Caring for an elderly, feeble person 24/7/365 is draining mentally, physically and emotionally. You and your household have no life of your own anymore – none. Unless someone has actually done it for an extended length of time, they have no idea. I agree: I have sworn that I will never put my family through what she has put us through. It sucks the life right out of you.
I spent my life in aviation and I will not put a foot on an airplane now. Drive or stay home! 🙂 Myrtle Beach? You like it there?
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Top of the morning, good neighbors, as I take a break from the duties a’callin’ on this frosty Monday morning …
— Hillbilly: A boy! Congrats, man! Nothing like having a son. I should know; I have two of them. You have a beautiful family working there, and I’ll anxiously await writing the story of Wyatt’s big-league debut at Turner Field in 2028.
(Let’s see … I’ll be 55 then. Yeah, I’ll still be kicking around, or so I hope!)
— “Other” blog: Yeah, seems to be bogged down with Metro and Andres waving the flag of Mets nation, Robert awakening from his winter’s nap with his tired-out Cox bashing, Mr. Payne tossing around stats and DOB trying to moderate it all. Place just isn’t the same since the core group left, for sure.
— Big League Blog: Need to get some baseball stuff going on there this week, even though it’s Super Bowl week. We have another writer joining me on there until he gets his own site — which I’m cool with, short-term wise. I’ll try to knock something baseball-related for there today.
— CL: Thoughts and prayers for your mom. One of the reasons we decided to move back to the fringe of the ATL was to be closer to both sets of our parents as they get older. Hope the tests indeed provide some answers.
— Gil: Fishing? Man, that reminds me, I need to get my fishing license renewed here soon. Of course, I need to do the same for my driver’s license, since it expires this spring. I used to fish all the time down on the coast; need to get my freshwater fishing back in gear now that I’m up this way.
— Web copy showing up elsewhere: It amazes me what ends up where. I’ve seen stories I wrote five years ago referenced and posted all over the place. Kinda weird, in a way. As long as the site is referenced, I’m OK with it. Still, it’s a courtesy for somebody to drop you a note asking if they can link to you or post what you have and give you credit. Just lifting and taking isn’t right, but unfortunately, in the world of the World Wide Web, it can and does happen.
Smart move with the copyright disclaimer, CL. I had thought of that a while back and don’t know why I didn’t mention it, but it’s a really good idea.
Well, time to run. Enjoy your day.
The Scribe abides.
–30–
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Thanks, scribe!
Copying without permission: it’s called lack of character and no integrity, poor upbringing and no manners. Today’s society in general.
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lots of slobbering going on over there, too? golly, gee, wow. admiration society.
well, scribe, that blog suits frankster just fine the way it is. frankster was not sorry to see this journalist go. probably had something to do with jimmy smith’s posts calling frankster out following the shameful treatment of journalist bob – and maybe something to do with cheese and stuff. cheese and stuff? oh, the humanity! a new blog is born!
anyway, jimmy smith read all that blogging months ago and it is still the topic today? oh, the humanity! romper room. probably not going to win another best of cox. speaking of that . . . imagine how many “best of cox” there must be on the braves dugout railing and under the bench! not a pretty thought.
and carolina lady is good to let jimmy smith blog boogers. see, this blog is sophomorish, too – only can spell sophomorish – and it is intentional. now, there are some fine photos on this blog site now. jimmy smith has found some favorites on the other bloggers’ pages. interesting stuff.
and it is good carolina lady allows stuff here. not much baseball until pitchers and catchers report – but that will happen soon. will chipper attend this year’s daytona 500? excused from practice? uh, sing the uh, national anthem? uh, say can you see?
and now, golf. jimmy smith thinks there is too much golf by these braves. baseball camp is for baseball. and for stretching and toning and for strengthening and for honing skills. baseball skills. jimmy smith will continue to believe that the braves do not properly condition themselves for baseball. every pitcher that runs to base in the early months is prone to hamstring injury. and chipper . . . may implode at any time.
and what happened to stretching before the game? not cool? not union approved? bobby must stretch these players – especially all the old ones. and who will lead these exercises? chino cadahia? could be ugly.
and with infante injured (hand injury) should there be concern for the infield? primary backup at three positions.
and the beet writer wants some more fish. chop seal, of course.
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“. . . lack of character and no integrity, poor upbringing and no manners . . .”
carolina lady has said it all! oh, talking about something else?
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I have many questions and comments to answer so I’ll start from the bottom and work my way up. First of all I’ll start with a big “Thank You” for all the compliments on the family and the congrats for the fufutre addition.
ChrisKlob, Those fish are freshwater drum in the picture. Toughest fighting fish in Arkansas in my opinion. We have a little local Drum fishing tournament every year which is followed by a crawfish boil/horseshoe tournament/beer drinking after the weigh in. Good times are had by all.
Ladies, Wyatt is a fine name, but it is one that is already being claimed by a close cousin of mine. There are a couple of names being tossed around, but keep the suggestions coming.
Bob, J., a refill would have been fine by me, as well. And the door of opportunity isn’t locked, yet. A little hunting partner/centerfielder will be a much welcomed addition to the household, however.
Grinch, I suppose I am a genuine “redneck sum&^%$#” if you say so. I’d hate to see what you would call me if I showed you some of the REAL South Arkansas oil patch party pics that I have. You’d fit in quite nicely with the group of rambunctious hoodlums that I used to run with before I got married. And I mean that in the nicest, most complimentary kind of ways.
FBG, I’m afraid you may be right about the boys. I’ll have to establish an onry reputation right off the bat to get my point across to the young suitors. I think an {unloaded} shotgun should do the trick.
Chop Seal, I can honestly say that those are my 3rd place fish in the picture. If I were holding someone else’s fish, I might have had an envelope full of money in that left hand rather than a half-empty can of, uh, um…Coping Sauce(?).
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WyattOK. 😦LikeLike
Hillbilly-Just so you don’t name him KnockAHoma, life will be fine.
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how about journalist jimmy hillbilly?
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Scratch KnockaHoma. Thanks Lew. Next?
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“how about journalist jimmy hillbilly?”
OHHHH!! Are you saying you’re responsible for the clown shoes? Say it ain’t so, Journalist.
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Tucker?
Cody?
Jon? (One of our bloggers would love that one!)
Aaron? (One of my favorite people on the planet!)
🙂
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Aaron is good, obviously, as long as it goes well the surname. (Careful with that other one , CL, you’ll raise suspicions.)
CL, Gil, I know exactly where you’re coming from. I have helped care for 3 of my grandparents. We had my paternal grandmother live with us for a year after a severe stroke & I was the daytime caregiver while my parents worked. She became quite confused, in addition to the partial paralysis. Then a few years ago we moved my mom’s parents down from SC to an apartment near us so we could help them which turned into spending every bit of free time the 4 of us had in taking care of them as their health deteriorated. As difficult as that time was, I miss them terribly & I’m glad we were able to do it.
CL, not every nursing facility is bad. My sister works in a wonderful place where they have the mindset that this is the residents’ home & treat them with care & respect. They get many rehab patients because their therapists are so good. People actually get better & go home all the time. So there are good facilities, unfortuately just not enough of them.
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..goes well WITH the surname.
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FBG speaks the truth. Surname cancels a lot of options. Anything with -son on the end should be avoided, as my last name ends with -son. Just doesn’t sound right.
She also speaks the truth about nursing home facilities. My wife is the Assistant Director of Nursing at an excellent Nursing Home and like FBG said, they try to make the experience feel as much like home as possible. It’s not for everybody, but there are some good ones around, and unfortunately there are plenty of Bad ones that make the news and create a terrible stereotype for the “industry.”
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yes, carolina lady, aaron should blog with us.
now, about those clown shoes . . . there are only two people on this blog that are known to wear big yellow shoes. one is grinch. the other is . . .
not jimmy smith. will the other yellow-shoe-wearing culprit be identified here? jimmysmiththinks not. still, maybe. jimmy smith will not tell but maybe the yellow shoe wearer will tell. (it was good detective work on the part of jimmy smith to catch this yellow shoe wearer)
now, names . . . frank, homeboy, chino, larry wayne, jair, gorkys. gorkys hillbilly has a ring. only gorkys in arkansas. probably not the only hillbilly. and if a cross between a hill and a billy what would you get? chelsea. oh, the humanity! hillary and bill. hillbilly. arkansas, right? more good detective work by this journalist.
and now, baseball . . . kotsay already ends in a “y” so what will bobby do for a nickname for kotsay? and why is chipper not chippy?
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Name your kid Robert Anders McFann.
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That would make for an interesting story when people asked how they chose the name, WW.
jimmy, probably because Chipper is already a nickname.
I’ve been perusing photos but the ones from ’95 NLCS & World Series don’t look that great. (Pre-digital, of course) I’m not sure I have any other baseball photos. Guess we were too busy watching the games to play with the camera on most of our trips.
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Holy crap, Braveheart,
I don’t wish that curse on my own worst enemies.
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Braveheart-Any more like that and you can give your Wurlitzer back. Be careful that The Hillbilly doesn’t put some shells in that shotgun and come looking for you. Feuds have started for less in them Hills.
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There are no hills where Hillbilly is…but darn, that water is dark!
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BRaking news: Nationals catcher Paul LoDuca has been injured and must have toe surgery. Make that knee surgery. When pitchers and catchers report LoDuca won’t be reddy. Could that meen the Braves will trade a catcher and get Langerhans back? or Willie? or O-R-R, eh?
Yes, rumor starts here: Orr on the way back for a catcher. Bad journalism but it is slow and I am just a beet writer. Can say anything.
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Two rednecks are out hunting, and as they are walking along they come upon a huge hole in the ground. They approach it and are amazed by the size of it.
The first hunter says ” Wow, that’s some hole, I can’t even see the bottom, I wonder how deep it is?”
The second hunter says” I don’t know, let’s throw something down and listen and see how long it takes to hit bottom.”
The first hunter says ” There’s this old transmission here, give me a hand and we’ll throw it in and see”.
So they pick it up and carry it over, and count one, and two and three, and throw it in the hole. They are standing there listening and looking over the edge and they hear a rustling in the brush behind them. As they turn around they see a goat come crashing through the brush, run up to the hole, and with no hesitation, and jump in head first.
While they are standing there looking at each other, looking in the hole, and trying to figure out what that was all about, an old farmer walks up. “Say there”, says the farmer, “you fellers didn’t happen to see my goat around here anywhere, did you?”
The first hunter says ” Funny you should ask, but we were just standing here a minute ago and a goat came running out of the bushes doin’ about a hunert miles an hour and jumped headfirst into this hole here!”
And the old farmer said ” Why that’s impossible, I had him chained to a transmission! ”
Not your goat, right Hillbilly?
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🙂 Actually, the report of LoDuca having Knee surgery is a bit premature. I was reported in the Washington Post that he injured it recently during a workout. The Nationals have said they want their team doctor to examine him before any surgery is done. I don’t think they trust the Mets’ team physician. The MRI did not show a definitive meniscus tear, only the possibility of it.
I can’t blame the Nationals as the surgery is a crap shoot. Something I have learned from personal experience…. If you get the cortisone shot, you better make sure it is put exactly where the pain is or it does no good at all.
However, it is a good reminder to everyone that counting their chicken before they hatch can ruin a baseball season. That said, I am glad the Braves are not counting on Mike Hampton this year, but he sure is a wonderful addition if he can go.
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What would be more l;ikely, should LoDuca need surgery, is that the Braves would trade them Bryan Pena for one of those young pitchers.
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nacly… Great joke, I will immediately add it to my act… 🙂
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Lew…. What a wonderful suggestion, Could be a win, win. I know the Nats are trying to figure out what they are going to do with two first basemen this year. Plus they have a rookie with a rocket in his pocket who will be playing first for them by next season.
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What’s the big deal?!?!? I could have said name him Shaun.
Hillbilly would be trying to teach the youngster how to hit and the kid would never swing the bat. Hillbilly would scream at him to swing. And Hillbilly’s lil’ Shaun would tell him why swing? Bill James says a walk is as good as a hit. I’m just trying to improve my OBP, dad.
When the kid finally did swing, he would always strike out. Hillbillly would be freaking out about why his son can’t hit the ball. Hillbilly’s lil’ Shaun would say Rob Neyer says strikeouts don’t matter, dad.
In the one time his son did make contact, it would be nothing more than a glorified swinging bunt. Hillbilly would be humiliated. But Hillbilly’s lil’ Shaun would be giddy because he got a hit. Hillbilly would tell him to take that smile off his face because he is only batting .100 with one hit in ten at bats with 9 strikeouts.
Hillbilly’s lil’ Shaun would respond but, yeah, as Dayn Perry has noted, I have 5 walks in addition to that one hit and have been on base 6 times in 15 plate appearances. So, I have .400 OBP. I’m very proud of that. Teams win games with OBPs, not hits or runs scored. Why are you so 20th century and worrying about AVG? OBP is the end all, be all to baseball, Pops.
And he would tell his Pops so what if my average is .100? My Babip is 1.000 since I got a hit the only time i put the ball into play.
And Lil’ Shaun would add that my SLG may be only .100 but we were playing on a field with fences over 300 feet away. If you park adjust my SLG, it was more like .500, .600 anyway.
Lil’ Shaun would concede however that he needed to improve his SLG, secondary average, OPS, Runs created, but when he started talking about VORP, Hillbilly would point his rifle at his son and say, what freaking value over replacement player? YOU ARE THE FREAKING REPLACEMENT PLAYER!!!
When his son struck out with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, Hillbilly would be angry and tell his son he needed to be more clutch. Lil’ Shaun will say what is clutch? Oh, dad, you actually believe in that. Tsk, Tsk. You believe in Santa, the Easter Bunny, the tooth fairy, and rabbit’s feet as well, right? Dad, that at bat was nothing more than bad luck, chance, random variation.
When lil’ SHaun took the field, he would never catch the ball – but he would get to every ball. When he failed to catch it, his poppa would freak. Lil’ Shaun would tell his pops but, dad, my range factor per 9 leads the league. Who cares if I actually catch the ball?
Lil’ Shaun would be fleet of foot but would never steal a base because Billy Beane does not believe in stolen bases.
Lil’ SHaun would never win a game when he pitched but that would not faze him. He would tell his pops but, pops, my K/9 is good and K/9 is all that matters when it comes to pitching. Who cares how many games a pitcher actually wins?
Lil’ Shaun would never listen when his father tried to teach lil’ Shaun how to bunt, fearing that his pops was of the small minded smallball variety who still believed in silly things like a sacrifice bunt.
When his Little League team finished with 4 wins, 10 losses, he would tell his father but, pops, according to the Pythagorean, we should have finished with 9 wins, 5 losses. We just had a lot of bad run distribution, luck, chance. We were victims of random variation.
When his father was concerned because he had no RBIs, lil’ Shaun would just snicker and say what are RBI? He woud not call them RBIs – only RBI. RBIs is too gramatically incorrect for him. The language of old school baseball types. He would try to oversophisticate baseball by calling it RBI instead of the more common usage of RBIs.
But, on the other hand, Hillbilly will be a lucky father because if he names his son Shaun, when his son is a teenager he will have the only teenager ever who never calls his father names and never calls other kids names. He will just robotically regurgitate numbers all day long no matter how nasty Hillbilly and the other kids become towards Hillbilly’s lil’ Shaun.
Whatever you do, don’t name your kid Shaun. It would be like naming your boy Sue.
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Okay, that is what I get for blogging before I confirm my facts. LoDuca did indeed have surgery today. T’was done in the district and not in New York.
Good one Braveheart… 🙂
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And CL… Actually the wife and I try to get to MB once or twice a year. We take a summer vacation with the family each August at Holden Beach N.C.
We stay at the Litchfield usually and try to get in a round or two of golf. I use to go to Nags Head but the surf is so rough there. Back in ’71 I worked for a small contractor and rebuilt the two gas turbines used to supplement the power on the island during the peak months. I ended up living in Kill Devil Hills for about 6 months. Too bad I did not see the boom coming…. I just have always thought beach front property to be too risky an investment.
As for liking MB per see, I like the Surfside Beach, Merrill’s Inlet areas, Myrtle Beach is a little too glitzy for my taste but I like the area.
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Murrell’s Inlet…Merrill’s his cuz! It was his Inlet, but he lost out in a card game. Didn’t confuse the locals none, though…sound’s the same! 🙂
WW…you’re with words what Lew is with pencil…absolutely brilliant!
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WW, classic. Simply classic!
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Well… It could have been Meryl’s Inlet… 🙂 All look the same to me… 🙂
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Meryl doesn’t play cards, though…you know, ‘Sophie’s Choice’ thing!
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🙂
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Got any thoughts?
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/mlb/01/28/inge.mad.ap/index.html?eref=si_mlb
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williamwallace, as others said before, that 4:54 pm post…classic!!!
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CL, while I understand Inge’s frustration, he has to understand why the Tigers traded for Cabrera. While not as versatile or as good defensively as Inge, he’s far and away the better offensive player. The Tigers look like they’re trying to win it all this year with their lineup and I like the moves they made this winter, in spite of the fact that they turned their farm inside out to make it happen.
The bad news for Inge is that he’s owed $18m over the next three years. That’s a lot of money for a guy with his offensive skills. His BA has declined each of the past four years — not that it was great to begin with.
The good news for him is that defensively he’s very versatile. I doubt he could effectively play CF or SS but he could play just about anywhere else on the diamond. Oh, and he’s a very nice guy. Met him at ST a few years ago and he spent a few minutes chatting with a couple of us.
As far as the potential trade to ATL (which is where I’m guessing you were going with this), I could see Wren doing something like this but only if DET picked up quite a bit of the tab. $6m is a lot of jack for a player like Inge.
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CL, got to feel sorry for him..well, as sorry as one can feel for a guy making 6 Mil a year playing a kids game! 😉
I admire this part of what he said…
“People have said or written, ‘Take your $6 million and be happy sitting on the bench.’ But money doesn’t make me happy — playing baseball does.”
If this was Chippers last year, I’d say we should go after him. I can’t believe Inge is 30, I thought he was 27-28 tops…
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Gee, somehow I know exactly how he feels CL…..
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Gil, you mean you were getting paid 6 mil to be a fan of the Richmond braves???? 😯
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Well, Bowman says “Last year, Jones was determined to play in at least 150 games and he certainly might have if he hadn’t been involved in the freaky May 11 collision with Pirates third baseman Jose Bautista” … and all this time I thought it was Smoltz who wanted Chipper to play 150 games.
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Where is everyone tonight?
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The fascinating things that can be found whilst checking out sites that have referred links to this one! Entertaining, to say the least!
One referred back to the nearly-defunct Chop Chick blog where several folk registered their disgust with the whole thing. One person (love the moniker!) wrote this:
“By Cheap Chick January 27, 2008 10:57 PM | Link to this
[http://www.bravesandstuff.wordpress.com/] great alternative to these crappy AJC blogs!”
THANKS, CHEAP CHICK! Why don’t you blog with us?! 🙂
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BTW, that one brought 12 viewers last night.
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If you build it, they will come.
You’ve built it CL. They’re going to come!
From your administrator page can you tell who the visitors are? How do we translate blog readers to posters?
One potential downside to having a bunch of posters here though is the fact that the blog seems to slow down some around 250-300 posts. With a larger group blogging, we’ll have to have more lead post writers. Of course with a larger group blogging, we’ll have more potential lead post writers.
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Can’t identify them unless they post. I can tell where LINKS come from, even if a link is sent via email. (Can’t read the email, but that a link was sent using such-and-so-email server.)
Current hits (which do NOT include any of mine): Total Views: 13,898
I’m just amazed. 😯
Yeah, I try to get a new lead up by about 300 posts ’cause it really does slow down by then. More bloggers = more opportunities for folks to write a lead if they want to – the big chance! 😆 More interest. we’ve just gotta get folks to quit just reading and jump in with us! The water’s fine!!
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This is the post just prior to the one that CL referenced a moment ago.
By Cheap Chick
January 26, 2008 11:31 AM | Link to this
If you really want to see a bit of humor—go read the David O’Brien blog…as DOB attempts to perform his Jim Rome imitation—by the way, some funny s***, my man!…not really a good imitation, kind of like a p***** gnat trying to emulate an eagle…
Sorry for the colorful language CL! But I found some humor in it and think some others will too! (Astericks used to sensor some words that some may find questionable).
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The stats page really is interesting. Tells which pages are visited and how many times daily; which internal links are used and how often; a graph of hits by week, month or year to date; busiest day to date (732 hits); pages with a link which leads to our blog; search engine terms to lead here; all sorts of stuff that shows me a pretty good picture of how we’re doing. I find it very interesting! 🙂
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Yeah, she got in some pretty good shots! 😆
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Of those nearly 14k hits, can you tell how many are attributed to your regulars here? I’ll bet that stats page is very interesting. Gotta be a way to translate readers to posters though………..
As far as being slow, just remember how the other blog would slow down, unless you were using Firefox. Even with 300 hits, this one remains relatively fast.
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Just went back and skimmed thru CC’s latest attempt at a blog. Wow, when the cat’s away the mice really go wild. There are a couple of real idiots running around over there. Amazing what happens when there is no adult supervision.
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No, but it gives the # of posts made in the 24-hour period and it gives the # of views in that same 24-hour period. Many more views than posts.
I was incorrect above: the graph shows by the day, week or month.
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It is Idiot City over there. I just skimmed it quickly but it seemed that CC hadn’t made an appearance in 2 weeks or so. Like leaving a house abandoned – it will be taken over by derelicts! 🙂
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CL out. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
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Did anyone see the story last week of the man who successfully carried a gun through airport security … true story … he had forgotten that he had it with him … upon realizing it, he returned and explained the situation to airport security … who then promptly arrested him. Out of work/retired beet writers??
Bud … “I’ve seen stories I wrote five years ago referenced and posted all over the place. Kinda weird” … what kinda weird stories do you write?
One good thing about growing old … you never have that problem … you can’t remember what you wrote 5 minutes ago and 5 years ago seems like yesterday. I do understand though … I’ve seen stories I wrote posted all over the place too … on the walls … in the den, bathroom … all over the house … public places too … but none in the post office, at least that I’ve seen.
It probably happens more that I realize … I don’t pay much attention to the stuff I’ve written … I already know what I said … wasn’t worth rereading, and unless it was in school, I didn’t write it for the purpose of gettin’ credit.
Copying stuff is not a good idea … copyrighting is. Copying stuff can be dangerous … I sat by a nice girl named Mary … in an advanced calculus course … she was nice, but liked to copy my test papers … made good grades, she did … until I realized that she was doing it … I just changed enough in each solution so that it was flawed and the answer was incorrect … as soon as she finished copying a solution, I changed it back.
After I got “A”s and she failed two successive tests, she withdrew from the course and became a beet righter. Actually, Mary was reasonably smart and though she did withdraw from that course, she was graduated and became a high school math teacher in Atlanta.
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Aaauuuuuggghhhhhh… Bergin, you’ve found me out….. just don’t tell the IRS I’m a secret shopper…..
Personally, I think the chop chick is really a chicken salad of AJC employees who are given the assignment to stimulate fan interest. Another failed venture if you ask me.
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Bob, somehow to know that someone who cheated is now responsible for educating children is a bit unsettling. I’ll have you know I earned a 56% on my final trig exam fair and square. 🙂 I needed no help in failing, I underachieved through my own lack of effort. 🙂
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Oh, man am I full. Time for a nice big snooze…
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Gil, that was a true story … at least she withdrew … and I imagine learned a lesson … she was in over her head. somehow to know that someone who cheated is now responsible for educating children is a bit unsettling … agreed, and looking at prevalent attitudes, it looks like such people have had a profound influence on our youth and on society … those who believe in moral relativity probably see little wrong in that while I tend to agree with the notion of absolute morality … moral relativity, bah humbug … just a bunch of folks who want to rationalize and defend their own behavior.
That in a society of cheaters and corruption the heroes are the most corrupt and skilled at cheating is flawed logic. those same folks usually think that zero on a true/false test is an indication of stupidity.
You earned a 56% on your my final trig exam fair and square and failed … I earned a 42% on mine and received an “A+” … it was graded on the curve!
My cousin Dan McBrayer … good Braves Fan … so apologies if he, kids and/or grandkids are tuned in … a big lovable guy who always loved “Knock Knock” jokes … I told him a rather bawdy KK joke, one day, just before an Air Force ROTC class at Tech … he set behind me in class … we had a test that day … very easy multiple choice … every couple of minutes, I’d say “who’s there?”… just loud enough for Dan to hear … he’d bust out laughing but the instructor never caught on. Poor Dan knew the answers to every question but methinks he scored an 84 on that test as a result … not bad, but unfortunately, it too was graded on the curve … and his was the lowest grade in class.
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Seriously, in all of my actuarial courses, save one, and most of my other advanced courses, tests were structured where 100 was intended to be an unachievable result … how else could they properly evaluate your understanding on either a relative or absolute scale … and, they were graded on a modified curve … you had to demonstrate to the professor that you had a grasp of the material’s concepts in order to pass … but so doing didn’t guarantee a good grade.
I once scored over 100% on a math test at Tech … my professor was very smart … one of the smartest I’ve ever known … smarter than even I once thought I was … weird but smart, brilliant too … always graded on the curve and I rarely got over 80% … had him for 4 courses. In one course, he added an optional problem to each test … you could select it to replace any of the regular problems, if you so chose.
The optional problems were actually the most difficult … taken from the College of Mathematics advanced examinations … at the University of Moscow, if memory serves. This one was rather simple if you took a straightforward, turn the crank approach … but it was messy and to so do would take over an hour … which we didn’t have … neither did the Russians so I figured there had to be another approach … found it … and he gave me an extra 15 points credit.
On another math test … consisting of but one problem … I struggled and struggled before giving up in despair … in frustration, I wrote in big letters “I give up … nothing works … I can’t solve it!! That test didn’t count for much but he gave me an “A” … he hadn’t told us that it was one of the famous “unsolvable” problems … actually, the test paper came back … “Better Lucky Than Good – Grade A” … in red!
We had a lot of one problem tests … I presented what I considered to be a most elegant solution to one … he liked it too … so much that he included it in his future teachings of the material. I received an “F” … with “Read The Problem” and “RTP” all over the paper, in big letters, again in red, 57 times! At the bottom of the paper, in black ink … “the key to solving problems is in knowing what they are!”
Haven’t thought of him in a long time … but, he had a much greater influence on me than he’ll ever know … he’s probably the same one that caused my English professor to change my grade from “A” to “F” on a farcical treatment refuting what I chose to call the “Fundamental Theorem of Analytic Geometry” … he was having a difficult time that quarter … we had a girl in class and he had to control his language … methinks it truly impaired his effectiveness.
Hopefully, you won’t find copies of my earlier writings posted all over the place, at least not signed.
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Honestly, I don’t know how folks here can say this site gets slow with 300 posts…perhaps you all have forgotten how very slllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
that other baseball blog is….I just went over there for a second and checked out a 700+ post one…took just under 40 seconds with Mozilla. If I used IE, my computer would still be frozen up! I think we are all spoiled by the speed here…Takes 10-15 seconds for this page to load for me….
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———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-
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uh-oh…hope I didn’t break the blog!!!
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Berigan, it’s called instant gratification entitlement complex … what version of Mozilla are you using? … 10 seconds under Firefox seems slow to me, even with a cheap graphics card … and it’s not the fastest browser for this machine and OS … Opera is, or so I’m told … Explorer frequently locks up on this machine and is a relative snail when it doesn’t.
Of course, they tell me if I upgraded to a Pentium II, things would be better …
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Which version of Mozilla am I using???? this one of course! 😛
Seriously, I couldn’t find the info clicking around… I ain’t exactly computer literate!
I would still rather use IE just because no matter how I adjust fonts, and text size, it looks wrong on Mozilla. That, and you can’t send a complete page to yourself like you can with IE. But, without a doubt, it loads pages….loads faster than IE.
I thought you got some super duper computer a few weeks back! Did you have too many issues and just return it???
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Actually, I just ran a test on this Blog … with its 166 entries … 1.37 – 3.46 seconds, … 10 trials … 2.31 average. Think broadband … seriously, we oft forget that our internet experiences are connection speed and traffic dependent … and things go slower during peak traffic times.
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Another option for slow loading…Safari. I’ve mentioned it before, but it loads this and ‘that other blog’ in mere seconds, if that long…every time. IE would not have loaded the beet writer’s blog…would have timed out! Another thing; you don’t pick up near the ‘trash’ (spyware,etc.) that comes with other programs.
Oops…where are my manners? Good morning, all!
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I was just joking about the Pentium II and Broadband … but no, the locals wouldn’t take it back without a fuss … so I’m explaining the situation complaining to their corporate headquarters … via email. We’ll see what happens …
I still use IE for certain things when I’m using my web server … all browsers have their advantages and disadvantages … and, like you said, we’re spoiled … I used to run simulations that took 72 hours to run … new machines do them in less than an hour.
I see where Hanna Montana has replaced Edgar Bergen and Buster Brown as “the” program for kids … a lady was telling me tickets are being scalped for hundreds of dollars … times have really changed over the years!
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9 seconds for me….Bob, you has confused me! You don’t have broadband?? I Have DSL, but I hear cable is way faster…Heck, my DSL modem must be about 7 years old now…perhaps it’s the culprit!
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Morning Sir NaCly, all! … Safari has been duly noted but not yet tried … can you imagine paying more to take your kid to see Hannah Montana than it does to take them to a Braves game? Well, not that much more I guess … goodness!!
I still can’t get over paying $5 for a coke and $7 for popcorn at the movies a few weeks back … it’s mystery books, logic puzzles, TCM and Mr. Moto for us from now on.
and alas goodbye … duty calls
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Berigan, I find it best to keep my broads and bands separate … what speed DSL do you have? We have cable … actually, a whole bunch of em all over the place like copies of old stories I’ve written … I keep tripping over them … the Cable we have is fast … but the highest speed DSL that I used when I was hosting was plenty fast enough … it’s like TV … black and white was fine … until we got color. I still prefer the B&W movies, especially the mysteries and westerns.
Duty is over, at least for a while but the sky is black and God is bowling … later!
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I find it best to keep my broads and bands separate Sounds like tremendous advice for teenage sons!
$5 cokes and $7 popcorn…I remedied that long ago…I don’t go to movies! And…what is Hannah Montana? Finally…something my kids are too old to be interested in…and costs less than college tuition! I haven’t experienced that in quite a while!
the sky is black and God is bowling Thanks…I can set my watch by your reports and what to expect this afternoon. Music to the ears, frankly…or would that be ‘Bobly’?
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HEllo Everbudy, beet writing is not so bad after all. I have asked Jimmy SMith to set up my office in the bazement like other beet writers. Some people did not think a seal could become one of the top beet writers in town but hear I am. I hope to be a collumist soon.
IN baseball news, the Orioles have signed Rocky Cherry a RHP to a 1-year contract. I like that name and I wish Rocky Cherry successs. Sounds like ice cream to me.
And to that other Chop blogger who scolded all her bloggers . . . ding dong the blog is dead. And to Carulina Lady, I think I need a bigger expenze account with Spring Training coming up.
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Top of the morning, everybody, as we get ready for some black skies and God bowling here later tonight. For now, nice and cloudy, and a bit chilly.
Bob, I’ve wrote on just about everything in the world sports related, and some of it ain’t mainstream, for sure. For a few days, I wrote about college rowing. I’ve wrote about kayaking, fishing, hunting, kiteboarding (wanted to try it myself, but didn’t think breaking my leg with a pregnant wife would be wise), archery, bowling, and the various usual suspects we’re more familiar with, such as baseball, football, basketball, hockey, golf, tennis, auto racing, etc. To answer your query for a couple of days ago, I was at a small three-day paper east of the Big A for almost a year. Good young staff, fun place, but consider my new path a blessing; more doors opening, less stress and more time with family.
But getting back to the first point, yeah, it’s weird: A friend of mine called me once and said he found a story I wrote several years ago on some site that lists business people. It was the only story listed under my name. I didn’t even remember writing the story, to be honest, and it wasn’t that great (mind you, I’m not saying what I write is great, but surely, out of the several thousand stories I’ve written in my life, somebody could’ve find SOMETHING better than that!).
But I digress …
The new blog is going well and now the graphics guys have finished the banner for the top. Made sure Smoltz was in there (gotta keep a Braves vibe at http://www.bigleagueblog.net for sure). And while most of the content this week will be Super Duper Bowl related — may write something on Tiger Woods during lunch so I don’t have six straight days of the most overhyped monster in the history of the planet — I did write a piece on the Detroit Tigers Sunday night (posted it yesterday on my lunch break) and why I feel they are the preseason favorite to win it all. Guys and gals, that lineup they have is SCARY!! Edgar’s gonna hit SEVENTH. Check it out if you’re bored.
And the CC blog is an embarrassment to the AJC. But Carroll Rogers — good writer and a good gal — has a nice beat blog up this morning on the bullpen. Good to see her back in the mix.
OK, fish to fry this morning. Later.
The Scribe abides.
–30–
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SCribe, were you a beet writer, to? What is your favorite cheeze? And if you had gotten to write that blog at the AJc would you have been Chop Chick or another name? Another name would be better. Chop Chick sounds girly for a guy.
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Could it be? Have I stumbled upon a collection of old acquaintances? Is pie talk in the realm of possiblility once again? Am I asking alot of questions?
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RAISINS!!!! WELCOME, friend!!! jjs and I were just recently talking about how to get in touch with you! Hope you’ll be a regular and frequent feature here!!!
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I was just checking out links leading to this blog and located one from an ajc blog:
“By Niels Boor January 29, 2008 9:34 AM | Link to this
Most people here do miss Bob, Journalist. Mmmmm-kay.
Well, sure. Then feast on this. (link was here)
Bask in his genius.
Whatever.”
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The ajc link is how I found my way here. It’s great to see, er… hear, er… whatever this is, it’s pretty cool to [insert appropriate verb here] you all.
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We are ab-so-lute-ly delighted to have you here! Just sent jjs a note advising him to check the blog asap. He’ll be tickled to see you!
We’re making ourselves a nice little home here! We have our Photo pages, video links, etc; we all take turns writing the blog lead (LineUp Card page) – would you like to join the rotation??? Yes???
I’m sort of the groundskeeper – mostly working in the background. I am one happy lady, thanks to your appearance!!!! 🙂
When you have extra time, check out some of the previous blog leads. Some pretty good stuff there!
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Oh yeah!!!! The VOR is here. Excellent addition to the B&S roster.
Braveheart, yesterday afterenoon’s post was a jewel. You nailed it.
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raisins! hello from jimmy smith. lots of pie talk here. toes, too. good baseball blog with a new beet writer. truthful. polite. better manners. a seal. likes journalist bob. not yet a columnist but working on it.
it is good to have raisins blogging here. good baseball knowledge and likes pie. welcome!
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It’s good to wander in. CLady, please allow me to get my feet wet and get a feel for this Brave new world and I will consider the rotation option. Thanks for the invite! I will most certainly take some time to catch up on the previous stuff. JJS, can you make a pie from beets? And Hillbilly, love the Floyd pic. The ol’ job’s keeping me a little busy lately, which is a very good thing, so catching up will be slow. I’ll be in and out. See you all in a bit!
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Ma’am-Did those new drawings get to you? I was having a hard time attaching them to the emails. I had to send it in three separate messages. If not, I’ll try again. Smoltz’s drawing has disappeared from our photos section.
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Hi, Lew! Yes, they arrived – and I hope to get them posted shortly. I’ll check your page and see what has happened. I’ve noticed that at times photos temporarily vanish, only to reappear at a later time. That is a server problem that I can’t control.
Since WordPress upgraded everyone’s space, I think thousands of people are uploading like mad and the server momentarily freaks out.
Anyhow, I’ll check it and work on this latest (most excellent!!) ones! 🙂
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Carulina Lady, may I submitt a drawing?
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Howdy, all! Welcome back to the fold, VOR. What is this business about raisins? My handle may look different but my avatar should set you straight in terms of identity. There won’t be many originals over there but Head Cooch and Shaun before long. That really makes me feel bad…NOT! 🙂
Time for breakfast.
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Grinch in the daylight? Wow!
Yeah, not much baseball knowledge left on the other side. Scoots, TennPaul, KC occasionally.
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I should clarify. KC occasionally posts…..not occasionally has baseball knowledge.
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He dang sure doesn’t have football knowledge; to that I can attest. He’s al right for a Caucasian, though. Speakin’ of football, Hillbilly, how about your DC jumpin’ over to South carolina after their DC jumped over to the Falcons? Y’all are already learning from Petrino. 🙂 Later all; gotta get myself edjamacated.
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Grinch all this coach hopping has got my head spinning. I honestly don’t know what’s going on anymore. From what I know, the DC had only been with Arkansas for a month. He came over from Mississippi St. when Houston Nutt’s staff left. Then he headed to SC because that’s where he’s from.
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Boy, it sure has warmed up outside. It’s sunny and breezy; makes me feel like I’m back four hours southeast of here. Kinda glad I’m taking lunch at the house/office today.
VOR, nice to see you. Feel free to join us anytime.
Chop, yeah, beats here and there and everywhere. Mostly covered everything that needed to be covered. Never exclusively did one thing; you can’t do that unless you’re at a really big paper, and I always liked the ebb and flow of doing different stuff. Even in gig now, there’s lots of variety and I really did that.
As for the CC blog, nah, I don’t think Chop Chick would’ve been too happy had I taken her name. But I’m glad things have worked out the way they did. I like http://www.bigleagueblog.net a lot better (thanks Hillbilly for checking in again) and think it’s a better fit for me and what I want to do eventually with that. May work; may not. We’ll see what we can grow, though.
Grinch, how’s school? Guess you’re counting down until the trip south, lucky dogs all of you!
–30–
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As I try to kick off the training wheels so I can roll here in this Brave new world, I’m noticing that my avatar seems to disappear randomly. Is it something I’m doing? Suggestions?
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Greetings all, Looks as if the weather that is affecting Bob in Nashville will by-pass those of us around the Rivah City. Most of the storms are blocked by the Blue Ridge mountains. We can usually count on the ones that sweep through Texas to pound us.
VOC… Good to see another contributor who knows baseball here on CL’s blog. Hope you like beets…. 🙂
Scribe, nice article on the Tigers, I would concur that the boys from Detroit will be a force this year. They pretty much have it all covered. I saw it coming several years ago when the Mud Hens became a top team in the IL. The Tigers have a very deep farm system now. Another organization that has similar talent on the farm is Tampa Bay. They however, have not translated that depth into success at the big league level.
Bob, I too had some small semblance of success in school but history and political science were my forte’. I could have been a contender… 🙂 but made some poor life choices as far as personal wealth might be concerned as I gave away much of my time to those who simply used me for their personal gain. That said, all and all, I have all that I need if not all that I want and I can tell the difference. 🙂
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That seems to happen sometimes, VOR. I’m not sure if anyone’s discovered the cause yet. Oh, and.. Welcome!!
Let me tell y’all, an entire evening without a working connection makes me an unhappy girl. Thank goodness it’s OK now.
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VOR, WordPress has just revamped their entire system and have done some massive upgrades. It’s taking things a while to settle down, I think. At least, I hope that’s the only problem!! 😆
Lew, I’ll have your stuff up in a few minutes.
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VOR…. Your avatar reminds me of a saying once told to me by a local politician, it was “If you don’t blow your own horn once in a while, other folks will use it as a funnel”.
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Okay folks, time to get up and get something done today. Catch all of you later.
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mrgil: I’m not sure I like that avatar, but it’ll work for now. I’m settling in…
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VOR, the first avatar was great! Gil has at least 50 himself….. 😆 !
Lew, the new stuff is up. Smoltz is still there, the system just isn’t reproducing it all the time. Server thing. I would guess that 8- or 9-thousand people are frantically uploading who knows how many GBs of photos and it’s trying to cope. Did I get posted all you sent?
Have to laugh: someone posted that snide comment and link on ajc as a put-down, but as of a few minutes ago, nearly 80 people have followed the link here. THANKS!! 🙂
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There… that suits me…
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Perfect!
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VOR:
1. if you find why your avatars ‘fades in and out’, let me know.
2. Your current avatar is Lew’s ‘White-out’ look, so he’ll insist you pick another!
But most of all, WELCOME!
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That’s it, VOR!!! Don’t touch it! 😆 Couldn’t have been custom-made any better!
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I just spent the last hour writing a special welcome for the reasonable voice … Vandy called about some medicine for Carol … and in the confusion, I lost it.
It was a most reasonable post too!! One of my best … was certain to be copied and posted everywhere … can’t remember what I wrote and now I’ve got to go to Wallgreens to pick up the prescription!
Welcome aboard most kind, esteemed and reasonable Sir!!
You’ll find most everyone here is reasonable, even more than they were over yonder … ‘ceptin me and Lew … our First Lady is tough!!
Chopper (Chop/Baby Seal) has grown up from a pup to a pip of a beet righter for us … that’s the biggest change … I planned a big surprise dinner party to celebrate … was all ready to email invitations to a list of smart, intelligent beet righters that Jimmy had given me … but the page he sent was blank … claimed I lost what he sent … it upset Chopper when nobody showed up but it meant more fish for him … embarrassed me but we’re alright now … had a meeting … MyLady, Jimmy and me … she explained to us and to Chopper that it was just a simple little misunderstanding … good managers are like that.
Again, welcome … nice avatar … whatever that means!
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Jernalist Bob, better find Carol’s medicine quick 😆
Beet writing isn’t all that hard. Seals learn quick.
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Bob, J, sir: A mere “welcome aboard” from you is more than is necessary. I am very happy to once again be amongst reasonable folk. While I have not been around too many seals, I’ve never met one I didn’t like. (The seven seals of Revelation kinda wig me out, but I won’t be around when they’re opened…) As for beet righting, I have had very little experience in that arena. I understand, though, if your beet is listing, it can be righted with any variety of nuts, or even raisins – a personal favorite. I suppose that would all depend on the size of your beet and the degree of your list. But let’s not get too personal, right? Ah, to bask in the company of old comrades…
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scoots . . . where is scoots? tennpaul, too. bring ’em on over. more baseball knowledge here now than there. beet writers about the same except this one is a seal. and better manners. now, baseball . . . braves fanfest in rome with chino cadahia soon. heavy hor d’oeuvres with food stations and drinks located throughout the stadium. free after paid admisssion (braves p.r. department talk). and chop seal is right – bob must be more careful with carol’s medicine. and chop seal now wants a blackberry. charge to carolina lady? american express?
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Greetings VOR!!!! Did ya notice you can do stuff like this?——> 😯 :p 😉 🙂
and your posts show up right away as well???
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ok…not enough room. At least I didn’t have to wait 5 minutes to find out I screwed up!
😛
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confound it!! I keep forgetting to hit the shift key so I get the / instead of ?
Take 3…. 😕 😛 😆
I am a computer xpurt just like
baby sealchop seal is!!!!LikeLike
b2eb: Howdy! Nor am I an expurt like chop seal. Let me give this a try…8O
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Er… one more time… 😯
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As a sage writer once said…. BRAKING NEWS!!!! Johan Santana is….still a Twin!!! (And generalissimo Franco is still dead) At least for today. I get the feeling he has to be traded since the talking never ends about trade rumors. Don’t know why they would even mess with the Mets when the Sox have clearly better prospects, at least at the near ML level. IMHO, if the Mets get him, they go from a 3rd place team, to the team to beat. If the Sox get him, they become the Patriots, a team that cannot lose. I don’t like either possibility……
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Gee CL… It is a good thing I guess that I deleted my post instead of flaming Niels Boor as I originally intended the other day for dissing Bob. I thought about it but decided it was best to just let it go. Bob is smart enough to look out for himself. He does not need me to fight his battles… I have enough windmills of my own with which to tilt. 🙂
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Yeah, VOR those …. mess me up all the time!!!
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While I certainly don’t question Santana’s talent, NY is a far cry from Minneapolis. Perhaps he could thrive under that microscope, but coming in as the supposed savior of that rotation could place a mighty large monkey on one’s back. From Boston, the Twins want a package that includes both Lester and Ellsbury plus others. 😯 Not happ’nin’. The Mets have offered 4 top prospects, the Twins want a 5th. Obviously, Minny is operating from a strong bargaining position in that they really don’t have to deal Santana. But, hey, who can blame ’em for trying to milk talent from teams who always are willing to overpay to compete? 😉
I personally like Santana’s 1977 album Moonflower. What a great collection of both studio and live cuts! Back then, he played a Yamaha SG2000 which he designed for Yamaha. The thing weighed a ton and would sustain forever. In fact, listen… I think I hear it sustaining now! 😆
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jjs, as B&S CFO, you are responsible for Chop Seal’s expense account. 🙂
Gil, I think Boor’s ugliness backfired on him. 😆
changing hats – gotta go cook. 😕
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BREAKING NEWS: Various news sources report the Twins have agreed to trade Johan Santana to the Mets for four prospects. The link to the USA Today story is way long, so just go here and you’ll see it.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports
–30–
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I have never seen a Cuban born player who could not thrive in the spotlight. It’s just in their DNA I think. As far as the Mets, they will be fighting for third this year along with the Nationals. The difference is the Nationals will be a young up and coming team verse one that is getting old and in decline.
First place in the NL East is going to come down between the Braves and the Phillies.
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VOR, your points are valid…He has pitched in the playoffs a few times, so he has had to deal with pressure…but, not over a whole season. But, since he has gone from the Majors, to AAAA, that will help. 😉
Thanks for the link Scribe! Just checked http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/ and they have the same link to usa today. Sounds like the Twins have got some good arms, but still. Remember when we played them last year??? They have so many holes in their offense, to me that’s why they didn’t do better last year. They sure seemed like a very sound team fundamentally. Better than we looked when we played them. I know they traded away Matt Garza , so it couldn’t hurt to get more pitching, still…they already have tons of pitching prospects. Of course, if these guys turn into Joe Nathan, Boof Bonser, and Francisco Liriano , they will be happy…..
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BRaking News: Not very good prospects to the Twins for Santana. 72 hours to get him signed. One outfielder and three pitching prospects. Would have had the story quicker if I had a BlaCKBerry. Beet writer out.
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I still look for the wild card effect when it comes to pitching this year. On paper, the Braves have as good a starting five as any others in the top five. And that is without Mike Hampton. If Hampton can finally make a comeback and be effective, he is a deal maker. There will be fewer tired arms amongst the Bravos come August and September when the 162 game schedule begins to wear players down. Just ask the Mets…..
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Gil,
I hope you are right, but they just got about the best Lefty in baseball. And he’s coming to a DHless league, a league that hasn’t seen much of him. He’s better than Glavine by a long shot. We can still compete with them of course, but they did have our number last year. Even their bad pitchers beat us!
We have old pitchers, they have old pitchers. It will be interesting, that is for sure!!!!
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berigan, The Mets used a lot of smoke and mirrors last year. This year it will take more of the same for them to be successful. The real problem for the Braves last year is they did not have a fourth or fifth starting pitcher until late in the season. By that time the bullpen was toast.
All those innings pitched in April and May do show up in August and September. It is lot like a football team that hangs close in the first half but eventually those big offensive lineman take their toll and next think you know tailbacks start breaking off long runs in the second half.
Fatigue seldom shows up early, only poor talent or maybe poor attitudes.
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thing…thing….thing….
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VOR-Of course, some like Berigan are easily amused with such things as smiling face icons. I wonder if he could actually draw one though?
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Bring it!
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Bring it! was meant for the Mets… I should have made that more clear…
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Berigan-The Mets only went as far as they did last year because they got off to a huge start. From the end of May until the end of the season, they were a sub .500 team. Glavine won 13 games for them-Santana won 15 for the Twins. Wow. A whole 2 more wins (keep in mind that Santana needs to learn the NL hitters-quite an adjustment).
They still only have one more dependable pitcher-John Maine. El Duque only pitched 140 innings last year, Perez was hot and cold and you can count on Pedro about as much as you can on Hampton. By the beginning of the season he will have missed a year and a half. He is old and chronically injured (he has trifled toes-nuff said there). They just traded their only three minor league pitchers who are vaguely close to ML ready and their only stud outfield prospect.
They lost LoDuca and replaced him with a .235 hitter. They replaced Shaun Green with Ryan Church and lost Lastings Milledge. Moises Alou missed half a season. Castillo at second has chronic knee and leg problems and missed about 35 games. Del Gado had the worst season of his entire career and missed 25 games. They have no bench. They have Heilman and Wagner in the pen and that’s it. They are counting on Duaner Sanchez, who also missed a year and a half.
Why are you concerned? They added another arm and still have numerous holes. They have crippled their team for several years to come by trading their best prospects from a weak minor league system. It’s much like the Rangers picking up ARod and thinking it would be enough. How did that one work out?
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Just back from Atlanta and home on the coast again. For those who sent well wishes and prayers…they worked. Two thumbs up on our “mission”. Couldn’t have gone better in fact. Now, it’s so nice to be back home. There’s no place like home. Home sweet home. Home is where the heart is. Home, where my music’s playin’, home…
Was going to check in last night from the hotel, but after leaving Emory after a very long day, a long successful procedure and tucking in my resting wife for the night, I met a denizen for dinner. Yep, the one and only Grinch and I had some serious bidness to attend to…a big table of sushi. It didn’t stand a chance. Armed with chopsticks, we conquered every morsel there. Was great to finally meet the Grinch in person. He’s as good a guy as I always knew he would be. Had a great time.
As we chatted, we both agreed…great folks here on this Braves and Stuff blog. The best. Salt of the earth is defined and demonstrated here, if you think about it. Each and every one of you guys seem like extended family. It would be very nice to meet each and every one of you one day. Not being mushy…just that life is too short not to mention that if it’s true…and it is. I’ll look forward to seeing Grinch again and meet Lew and all who attend Spring Training, which is fast approaching. Amazingly fast…feels like spring weather too.
Away two days and I was pleasantly surprised at how many posts have been made. Lotta good stuff. And Braves stuff. And Stuff stuff. Now Braveheart has gone peacenik with the avatar. Has William Wallace found a kinder, gentler side? World peas? Now Gil is back to being Gil. No more bat man. Gilman is an improvement over batman. New faces too. Welcome VOR! Enjoyed your posts “over there”, now looking forward to the same over here. Always knew you were a true voice of reason. You musta’ been raised right to have such a good raisin.
Glad I just read Lew’s post. Adds a little more uplifting context to the “Mets got Santana” news. One ace ain’t a solid, sustainable, strong rotation. Still haven’t heard anything anywhere that changes my optimism so far on the upcoming season. I like our chances.
Now, have to go cook some din din…
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Gil, If Hampton is healthy, we know he will he will given all the chances in the world, even if he has an 8.00 ERA. How many innings will he per game after missing 2 1/2 years??? How many innings will Glavine pitch per start??? Should Smoltz go 7 often??? And if Chucky is still with us, and starting….how many innings will he go??? I agree we are much better in the starting arena, bullpen looks fairly good as well. But, I still see starters going 5-6 innings per start. And that burns a bullpen….
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SG, ‘whirled peas’. 🙂
Welcome back! And the news is great!!!
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Berigan … it’s my turn to be confused … of whom are you speaking with: “We can still compete with them of course, but they did have our number last year” … if I remember right, we split with both the Mets and Phils, … had a winning record against both the Nats and Marlins.
Methinks twas that other league and the Reds what had our number … and Smoltz had someone else’s. The keys to our success will be in ’08 will be if Kotsay is healthy and finds himself … and the genius of Cox and company … to develop good game plans, motivate the players and see that the team is properly prepared … perfection in the execution of fundamentals, above and below the neck, should be a required prerequisite for donning the leotard whether you’re an overpaid multimillionaire or an overpaid rookie.
Players who hit 330+ against both righties and lefties should be allowed to play and them who hit .220 shouldn’t! George Patton wouldn’t stand for it! If the players ain’t getting the job done, replace those responsible of seeing that they so do! if that isn’t happening, replace those responsible for seeing that it does!
Methinks Cox and company should be held a higher standard because of their track record … not given slack for that same reason. We have a right to expect a highly motivated team to be taking the field and executing properly when we’re told how talented they are and how well they’re playing … or do we?
Maybe not … but surely, we have a responsibility to support our team, win or lose … so long as that’s what we get!
Supper time … a Mr. Moto quick read, and a closing post and bed before 10!
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that is very good news about savannah gal. lots of good news on the blog lately. must remember carolina lady’s mom and wish her the best. and sushi with the grinch. finger food? see bobby cox there? oh, the humanity!
now, analysis . . . tom glavine is old and suffers from occasional cold ringfinger. tom glavine throws the circle change and an 82-84 mph fastball. tom glavine will ask for the corners. this may be a long season – eating innings could mean eating innings like mark redman the old mattress thumper. braves fans must hope that tom glavine still has something left in the tank as tom glavine has said before. and bloggers must hope that cultural deprivation does not descend upon the glavines now that tom is back in atlanta. don’t forget the diorama. and the monolith. and the zesto. and who will remember miss georgia dairy? and dutch oven? and zane smith? and woody woodward? and woody willow? and “the next great catcher”, joe torre. and now bubbles – tiny bubbles – not the same since the loss of don ho. and how many have been to the don ho show? and toes . . . it is good to be talking toes again as toes are not to be trifled with. and this braves team better have good toe health in 2008. as go the toes, so goes the season. and how many socks are bloggers wearing tonight? anybody with more than two socks?
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Carulina Lady, should I get a BLacKberry with the QWERTY keeboard? That way I can post storys when I am on the rode. I will need your AmeRican Exprez number to get things roleing. Also, I will need a little nicer cigares. Collumists smoke better cigares than beet writers. Maybe I can get some cigares from Cuba if you don’t mind the expenze. I think I am doing a good job beet writing since it is the off season and I still beet write.
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Lew said…. The Mets only went as far as they did last year because they got off to a huge start. From the end of May until the end of the season, they were a sub .500 team. Glavine won 13 games for them-Santana won 15 for the Twins. Wow. A whole 2 more wins (keep in mind that Santana needs to learn the NL hitters-quite an adjustment).
Lew, didn’t we get off to a good start as well, and also play sub .500 for most of the way??? Glavine had a 4.45 era, few bad starts in September or not, that sucks. 200 innings(clearly gassed, but he won’t ever admit to that) 219 hits, 64 walks, 89 strikeouts. And he’s going to be 42.
Santana had a 3.33 ERA, his first year his ERA was above 3 since 2003. Twins have no offense. The Mets, while not great, do have a better one. Santana had an off year for him. 219 innings, 183 hits, 52 walks, 235 strikeouts. That was against real, honest to goodness hitters, and the DH. Granted, he won’t have Andruw Jones to make look silly with change-ups , but we suck against lefties, don’t we??? he’s going to be 29.
Oliver Perez was 15-10 with a 3.56 ERA, he’s 25. A lefty Braves killer. If Pedro Martinez (He did pitch 28 innings in September, 28 more than Hampton has in the past 2 years) and Orlando Hernandez are there 4th and 5th starters, and each make 25 starts, they will be ok , at least starting wise.
Also, Pedro Feliciano had a 3.09 ERA in 64 innings, so I guess they have at least 3 arms in the bullpen. I still like ours much more.
Our offense on paper at least, is better than theirs as well. But, we have a guy who hit .214 last year projected to be our CF. I predict that even if Andruw sucks again like last year, he will still drive in more RBI’s that Kotsay.
Oh, you mentioned the Mets will not have Shawn Green next year in right. That will be a plus for them as well 😉 Damn. I sound like a mix of Anders, Metro man, and Met’s drool! Well, if they had been given truth serum. And they had been given brain transplants. I still think we will do quite well IF Kotsay rebounds. Or if he doesn’t, that Bobby wakes up and plays someone else by the beginning of May. If he keeps running him out there while hitting .170 in June, we are in trouble…..
Nice to be talking baseball in January!!! Even nicer to be in a blog with out the 3 met stooges!!!!
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from the daily telegraph: toes in the news.
MotoGP rider Chris Vermeulen made the motorcycling world sit up and take notice at the Chinese Grand Prix last year when he continued riding after his boot got caught under his bike and half his toe was chopped off.
The plucky – or mad – Australian said: “I don’t need any stitches or surgery because the end of my toe was burnt when it was grinding on the road in the crash and that sealed the wound.”
should have been wearing more socks.
oh, the humanity! somebody read this to chipper. sore toes are nothing. hammocks. obliques. heels. ankles. thumbs. miss anything? sealed the wound grinding the toe on the ground?
not even jackass is that tough. and where is jackass? and will someone look up rr and extend an invitation to blog here? probably best that it is not jimmy smith after the unfortunate googling incident. and wasn’t journalist bob the first to talk calabash on that other blog? mrs. calabash and gracie and lucy. journalist bob has some ‘splainin’ to do.
beet writer is busy at the other computer. news may be breaking at any time.
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Bob, you are correct, I forgot we split the series 9-9 against the Mets. I guess losing 5 out of 6 must wins to the mutts fogged my mind. That, or the Shadow did it….
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Johnny Estrada has signed with the NAtionals. Lo Duca must be hurt more than they let on. Now the Nationals have the fast Pete Orr and the slow Johnny Estrada. Could be a base running problem if Orr is running behind Estrada – but then again, Orr would have to get on base for it to be a problem, so it is probably not a problem. Nationals look like a bunch of old BRaves. One more Braves player and Gil can root for the Washington Braves.
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Uh, jjs, uh…did you know Chopper is impersonating you? Crafty little guy…make sure he didn’t leave fish scales on the keyboard. Oh, and let him, Qwerty and flippers, uh…they don’t work well together. Uh, you know.
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Hey, don’t laugh… it could happen. 🙂
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Q. How can jimmy smith tell when Chop Seal is in the room?
A. By the smell of cake on his breath….
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Yes indeed, Mr. Fly was not present on THAT sushi. We even ate shrimp heads, which I had not previously been aware was a good idea. It is, in fact; at least at this place. SG’s an excellent fellow; normally those short, bald guys always have something to prove. Nice to know stereotypes aren’t always true. 🙂
I hear the sounds of rain falling on Grinch Mountain…
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Comcast will soon cease to function, I’ll wager.
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So Johan is going to be a Met. How very interesting. Looks like Omar got off his thumbs and finally made a move that might actually improve the team.
One thing that I don’t think I’ve seen mentioned on here is the effect that pitching in New York may have on him. Minnesota isn’t exactly the pressure-cooker environment that he’ll experience in NY. There have been plenty of big time players that go to the find their fame and fortune in the big markets (particularly NY and BOS) and can’t perform under the glare of the bright lights (Kevin Brown anyone).
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that he’ll flop there. Just saying that there is an extra burden on those players.
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Berigan-Are you arguing for the sake of arguing, or have you actually thought about what you’re saying? First, why did the Braves year go as badly as it did? One reason and one reason only-they lost Hampton and Cormier going into the season and couldn’t find a suitable end of rotation replacement until Carlyle came in and late in the season when Bennett and Reyes finally shored up number the five slot. I think the Braves more than addressed this situation. As for Glavine getting gassed-a.we won’t use him as our ace like the Mets which should save him some starts and b. we have a bullpen (which the Mets don’t and didn’t) which will mean he doesn’t have to go as far as with the Mets. We also have depth in the rotation that did not exist last year. We were forced to use Chuck James as a number three starter. He’s not- he should have been number four or five-which he will be this year.
Now the Mets. Just because they got Santana, doesn’t really do them that much. He only won two more games than Glavine (as much as Glavine is maligned). He still has to adjust to the NL-no matter HOW good he is. Look at the rest of the Mets’ staff. Maine-5.46 ERA in August and September. Perez-4.74 ERA in August and September and only pitched 177 innings-can he do it again? He never has two years in a row before. El Duque- Only pitched 147 innings all year. Wow. And we bitch about Chuck James going 165? He also had a 5.40 ERA in August and September. Pedro Martinez-Has pitched all of 28 innings since August of 2006-a year and a half ago. He has not been the pitcher he was with the Red Sox since coming to the Mets and has not pitched 200 innings in years. Livan Hernandez had a 4.93 ERA last year. Just what is it about the rest of their pitching staff that makes you think they will be that good? The fact they have Pelfrey in reserve who had a 5.57 ERA for the entire season?
Look at a comparison of our lineups. 1B Tex vs. DelGado (Braves). 2B Kelley Johnson vs. Castillo (of the often injured legs) (Braves). SS. Yunel vs. Reyes (Mets) 3B Chipper vs Wright (I’ll still go with the Braves there-though it MAY be a tossup). LF Diaz/Brnadon Jones vs Alou (Braves again-Alou missed half a season and is 42-Endy Chavez fills in). CF- Beltran hands down (Mets) RF-Francoeur vs. Church (Braves again. C-McCann vs. Schneider (Braves yet again)
Starters-1.Smoltz vs. Santana (Mets, but not by much-at least for this year) 2. Hudson vs. Maine (Braves) 3. Glavine vs. Perez (Braves again, but this is closer) 4. James vs. El Duque (Braves) 5. Jurrjens vs. Livan (Braves, but this is mere speculation. The Braves wipe out the Mets bench and bullpen and starting depth. I repeat. Why are you so worried?
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Chop Seal, of course you can have the QWERTY Blackberry! Just tell jimmy smith and he’ll take care of it! But you shouldn’t be smoking anything! 🙂
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Of possible interest:
Tuesday, January 29, 2008 – Pageviews: 514
Total hits: 14,448
Not bad, children! 🙂
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Grinch, I left Fly in Savannah. He won’t eat sushi. Picky little bugger…likes sauteed and such. Mostly cheeseburgers.
Short and bald…dammit man! Just the other night I told you at least 3 million times not to exaggerate!
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SG, glad to hear the good report.
Somehow I have a hard time picturing Grinch eating sushi. He seems like a red-meat-&-fire kinda guy.
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SG, glad to hear that everything’s good with savannahgal!
CL, if you build it……….
Seems like you’ve attracted another old friend today. I don’t remember VOR from over “there” but then again, I don’t remember what I had for breakfast this morning. Glad to hear he/she is so highly esteemed amongst our regulars. I look forward to some interesting baseball chatter from VOR.
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SG… Well, if you were tall and bald you could be Michael Jordan… or Charles Barkley… take your pick 🙂
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Chris, VOR was “over there” from the beginning, I think. jjs mis-read his name, Voice of Reason, and thought it was ‘Raisins’ – so Raisins he has been! Isn’t the avatar perfection?! Love it! Great guy!
OK – y’all have fun! I’m off to bed. Yeah, yeah – it’s early, but I want you to know I can still party with the best of ’em. Even if the party lasts ’til 8:00!
‘Night!
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I guess in the big picture, I’m still a relative newcomer to this group. Only began reading “over there” 12-15 months ago and never blogged until probably April or so. So some of the folks y’all talk about are new to me. Either way, if y’all like and respect him then I’m sure I will too!
I look forward to blogging with you Raisin Man!
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I make it a point not to comment on other peoples looks other than to say they all look fine to me. Being able sit up straight is an accomplishment for some of us. 🙂
I have had white hair since the age of forty. I did not mind it turning gray as much as I mind it turning loose. I tried the hair dye and such but as I am not looking to pick up women and the wife does not seem to mind my getting senior discounts, I just let it be what it is.
One advantaged to being folliclly challenged is you save a bunch on combs, brushes and other assorted hair accessories. It does however, tend to cause others to view you with a suspicious eye when you hang out at barbershops. 🙂
Anyway, glad to hear that your wife is doing better. I pray she will have a complete recovery.
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And I still like Estrada….. 🙂
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/29/AR2008012902620.html
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FBG, I’ll eat anything that isn’t moving. And sometimes things that are. 🙂
Oops, someone took me seriously. He’s not really short and bald, Mr. Gil. I was just being facetious. People remain anonymous around me unless they wish to describe themselves in public. I, for instance, am an anorexic female underwear model. That big ugly hairy guy I put in the photo is someone I found peeping in my window at 3 a.m.
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Chris, I’m a newbie compared to most of our friends here as well. I think I started on the “other” blog about 2 years ago & many, if not all, of them were well-established denizens. To their credit, they accepted & included me quickly. And that was before the subject of baking came up.
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Gee, Grinch, your voice is pretty low for a girl.
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Thanks for the prayers Gil. She’s doing much better. On the road to recovery, just some “tweaking”.
Jordan or Barkley? Well, I’m not nearly as dark. Have more hair. Not as tall. Not as rich. Can’t dribble as well. But I actually did rescue Barkley once. Yep. Well, helped him out a bit anyway. Was having a drink with him once at a bar in Atlanta. Just two regular guys stuff…then some drunk jerk came up and started accosting him about a game several years earlier.
It was getting out of hand and Barkley was feeling cornered, didn’t want trouble or headlines…so I helped the fella find his way out of the bar. The misfit wasn’t really ready to leave but I (gently) showed him the error of his ways. Barkley and I then finished our drinks. He bought. “Fans” can be miserable people. Barkley was a gentleman and quite a good conversationalist.
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And just what will Mrs. SG think about SG having dinner with an underwear model?
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Thanks Klobber and JJS. Right now, I hope that we all have a blessed, healthy, happy and prosperous year. In that order.
Trust me FBG…Grinch ain’t no woman. Nor is he anorexic. Not ugly either. But he does eat shrimp heads.
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I, for instance, am an anorexic female underwear model.
fbf, yet another reason for you to complete the baked goods distribution deal we’ve been hammering you about for several months now!
I guess I may be the “greenest” of the bunch here. Makes me even more grateful to have been accepted by this venerable group!
SG, glad to hear the story about Sir Charles. I’d heard he could be quite difficult at times. Sounds like you did he right thing though. You’re right, fans can be absolute idiots at times.
I remember one time when I was at Dodger Town for spring training a few years ago. About four or five of us stopped Hideo Nomo and asked him to sign some autographs. He obliged and about half-way through, some damnyankee (even worse, he was a Mets fan) walks up and starts talking smack about some grand slam that Nomo had given up! All is could say was “your and idiot”!
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I know, SG. He has assured me that he’s much better looking in person than his pictures. I’ll give y’all a report after the get-together next month.
The shrimp heads are grossing me out though. Hope you 2 had some breath mints after that.
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Yummy yummy shrimp heads. Speaking of yummy things, venison chilli on the menu for Sunday (special thanks to SG). Who’s coming to Grinch Mountain for the super bowl? I have a 50″ plasma, but I also have Comcast so the HD only works some of the time (guess it balances out). Shoot me an e-mail at voton1066@yahoo.com. Plenty of food, alcohol and spare rooms for those who over-imbibe or look cute. OF COURSE, BETTING ON THE GAME WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. 🙂
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Oh, dear. Berigan, you’d better attend or wear earplugs at home.
I’ll have to decline, Grinch, because 1. I live 500 miles away & 2. can’t stand football. I am pretty good at making party food though. Maybe one of these days.
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Shrimp heads are actually very good…but they have to be deep fried at high heat. Then, they’re crispy and crunchy and don’t poke holes in the roof of your mouth. Brain food.
Klobber, if I played in the NBA and was rich and black and was a rare black NBA conservative, I’d be difficult at times too. He and I do share the conservative part. That’s mostly what we discussed. Interesting guy. Also, I think you and I are both the newbies on the blog roll. Role?
On that note, I’m hitting the roost pole. Poll?
As I hit the pillow, I’ll really, really…really try not to imagine Grinch as a female underwear model. Especially wearing those big yellow shoes. Wouldn’t be conducive to getting to sleep. Oh, the humanity!
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Yikes…that image may even disturb MY sleep. Night, all.
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Lew said…. Berigan-Are you arguing for the sake of arguing,or have you actually thought about what you’re saying?
Lew, I don’t think in the wide wide world of sports, there is anyone who likes to argue just for the sake of arguing, more than you! 😕 I thought I made some pretty good points as to why the Mets ARE better than last year, at least from a starting standpoint.
I think you are more biased than ever towards the Braves since you have battled the brain dead trio(sometimes a quartet with DAD?) of Mets fans on a nearly daily basis. I am a big fan of the Braves, but I can also tell when any team has improved themselves, and the Mets did improve themselves. Santana>Glavine. And from what I have read on the web, the Mets didn’t even give up their top 2 prospects!!! Too bad…..
Lew again… First, why did the Braves year go as badly as it did? One reason and one reason only-they lost Hampton and Cormier going into the season and couldn’t find a suitable end of rotation replacement until Carlyle came in and late in the season when Bennett and Reyes finally shored up number the five slot
Lew, really???? One reason, and one reason only??? You mean Bobby running Ryan Langerhans .068 BA out there for April, instead of Matt Diaz didn’t hurt the team? Running Willie Harris out there, day after day(.214 BA after all star break, .128 in September!!!!) again instead of Matt Diaz, That wasn’t a reason we lost by 5 games either??? I’m glad to hear using 37 year old Wickman on the road,(7.03 ERA on the road, 0.35 at home for those that have forgotten)having him come in with runners on in the 9th, and coming in day after day, after day, when he never had to do that before in his career, that wasn’t a reason either. And when Soriano was giving up a homer a game, I am glad we didn’t try Moylan for a week, and kept giving the ball to Raffy. (He doesn’t really look like a guy who’d like to be called that, does he?)
I respect Bobby, I really respect his never say die attitude, but there was more than one, and only one reason for us doing badly for much of the season. The players that didn’t perform up to expectations, and the manager who wouldn’t/couldn’t react in a timely matter to their failings…
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berigan… Often there are many reasons for catastrophic failure, falling short of success however can be a little bit more subtle. It has been said that losing one run games can be attributed to bad luck. Blow outs are a bit more evident in a discrepancy of talent between two teams.
I agree with Lew in the fact that the loss of two starting pitchers prior to the beginning of the season was a devastating blow to the teams chances of success last year but if one needed to point a finger at a single player, take a look at Andruw Jones. Yes, he had some really respectable offensive numbers aside from his batting average but those numbers are deceiving. He had so many opportunities to drive in runs and failed that it was maddening.
There was a reason the Braves did not offer him a contract. Hopefully he will rediscover the things that made him a great ball player in the past but truly he was resting on his laurels last year while a bunch of Chuck James types were repeatedly sending him back to the dugout with the bat on his shoulder.
I would much rather have a bunch of guys who want to make their team into a winner than a bunch that want to play on a winner…. It is why I still love the ’91 Braves.
As much as I love and respect Bobby Cox, I cannot give him credit for the team’s success without laying some responsibility at his feet for teams that clearly under achieved. Now, that being said, he has to play the guys who show up and those who can play. I think we are all guilty of becoming complacent at some point. We put on the cruise control and let the miles fly by and remember little of the journey. Perhaps Bobby has lost a bit of his edge, maybe he figured the hand he has been dealt was not quite good enough to stay when the stakes were raised. Who knows?
I am in no way saying Bobby Cox should step down but I think it would not hurt for someone to light a fire under his butt once in a while. Say what you will about the Phillies’ Charlie Manual when he called out that reporter early in the season last year but don’t think for a minute that every guy in the locker room didn’t step up after that because Charlie defended the honor of his team.
Okay, time to try and catch a nap.
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For some reason, I grew up thinking of Peggy Marsh as the First Lady of Nancy Creek … the thing I remember most about her was that she thought the most important thing was in knowing where you were going … it didn’t matter all that much on where you’ve been how or you got there but if you didn’t know that, chances were that you wouldn’t get there … that, and “tomorrow is another day”.
I could never a good writer … oh, when I start out I generally have some idea where I’m headed but, I get distracted by noise, pretty scenery and billboards and wind up taking all sorts of detours … get lost and end up some place entirely different than originally planned … that ain’t all bad and as someone far more eloquent than I has observed, it can be an exciting ride … succinct is nice but there’s so much you miss if you just stay on the main highway.
It’s well established and known that Miss Mitchell wrote her last chapter first, followed by a potential beginning … and then worked from back to front. Methinks so doing is a good technique cause if you get tired or bored and want to stop … you can usually so do without significantly diluting the vibrant force of the ending. I know that she done better than them what just keep writing until they run out of things to say … though it took her a long time to do it.
Methinks maybe Victor Hugo was like that too …
Did I write the ending before the beginning? … in this case I did. My lead post was intended to be about “Braves and Stuff” and what makes it special … remember ” Give me a team that’s competitive from a talent perspective … obviously, one that is well prepared, focused and executes fundamentals … but especially, one that has enthusiasm in abundance, believes in themselves, and never gives up, even when they’re down to their last strike!
Everybody talks that talk, but few walk that walk. It’s the intangibles that make the difference!”
In this game where “above the neck” is where it’s at, we have an unbeatable combination … the championship is surely ours!
That’s you folks! … but somehow I just got sidetracked …. too many mindtriggers, what can I say? … you’ve come to expect that from me … but it’s truly enjoyable to be in the presence of such a wonderful and delightful collection of informed intellect and creativity … and not a rotten egg in the basket!
As an aside, it had also been my intent to use “I’m told Bobby just smiled and kept repeating to himself … gonna call him Hoss, gonna call him Hoss!” … but what’s done is done.
Have a great, albeit chilly day!
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All this talk about s-h-r-i-m-p has me thinking SHRIMP SAMMICHES!!</b< There is nothing like a SHRIMP SAMMICH to make me feel fine. I may not be the r-e-a-l Julia but I can blog SHRIMP SAMMICHES until the r-e-a-l Julia shows up. NObudy knows who I am anywae.
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Ugh… where’s the coffee… Good morning all!
ChrisK: Although I’ve posted very sparingly over on the the “other” place for a while, I still read most days, and so I am acquainted with you already somewhat. Nice to meet ya! As I work from my home 90% of the time, I am afforded the opportunity to check in on things of importance to me, which includes all things Los Bravos. As I have now discovered this Brave new world, I will park one computer screen firmly on B&S and refresh often. As long as I feel I have something of substance to add, I’ll post frequently. I don’t care for argument, and I don’t care to be inundated with endless statistics, hence my prolonged absence from the “other” place. That being said, there’s always room for healthy debate, and always room for relevant stats to backup one’s position. I don’t believe in Sabermetrics, I believe in players. I don’t believe in formula, I believe in talent and hard work. I’m a old school guy who remembers going to the game with Dad for the enjoyment of it. I root for the hometown Braves because that’s who I grew up knowing. I can’t relate to anything else…
I remember Rico Carty, Ralph Garr, Carl Morton, Biff Pocoroba, Pat Rockett, Darrel Chaney, Jerry Royster, Brian Asselstine, Buzz Capra, Jeff Burroughs, Mike Lum, Marty Perez, Rowland Office, Rafael Ramirez, Preston Hanna, Terry Harper, Jeff Dedmon, Zane Smith, Brad Komminsk, Albert Hall, Joe Boever, Tommy Gregg, Andres Thomas, Rick Camp and Oddibe McDowell. I’ve been paying attention for a long time. I’ve seen alot of highs and alot of lows and I’ve loved them just the same through both. I remember Albert Hall hitting for the cycle, Brian Asselstine breaking his ankle in the outfield fence, Terry Harper dislocating his shoulder waving a guy in to home from the on-deck circle and Rick Camp hitting a game tying home run in the 18th inning on July 4th (actually 5th by the time he hit it) only to lose it in the 19th.
What a long, strange trip it’s been. But, I love it… and will continiue to do so.
OK, I’ve been extrememly long winded and still haven’t had my coffee. I’ll hang up and listen…
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VOR, nicetameetcha too! Sounds like you’ve been a Braves fan for a long time! Look forward to blogging with you.
I don’t care for argument, and I don’t care to be inundated with endless statistics, hence my prolonged absence from the “other” place.
Pretty much all you get over there these days.
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There’s still some good stuff over there, but you have to sift through alot of crap to get to it. It’s kinda like shopping at Ross or Marshall’s. My wife will spend an hour looking through every rack to find the one perfect item. She’s ecstatic to find it, but she has to expend alot of energy to get there. I have neither the time nor energy for all that. Nuthin’ wrong with it, it’s just not my cup of tea.
Speaking of which, gotta refill the coffee…
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Morning, all! My puppy has apparently disgarded the “sleep half the time” phase I found so charming.
Berigan, I must agree. A healthy Hampton and Cormier MIGHT have been enough to overcome Bobby, but no doubt the two factors together would’ve been a disaster no matter how hard everyone played. I turned my mom on to baseball last season and I couldn’t tell you the number of times she’d see Wickman or Soriano trotting out during a desperate situation for the 6th day in a row after 4 consecutive bad outings (with a fully or over rested Moylan/Acosta standing there warmed up and confused), say: “Wait a minute…I know I don’t know much but isn’t this a bad idea?” and turn to see me beating my head against a wall with silent tears streaming down my face. Anyone who knows SQUAT about baseball knows that Bobby has earned the right to stay in that dugout; they also know the Braves won’t start winning consistently until we hire a subtle, manger-in-waiting bench coach to hand him game decisions on a napkin (which he could use anyway) and just let him stand at the top of the steps to say “C’mon, Kid,” and run out to argue calls. You ALL know this; time to ‘fess up. If not, I want to hear some defenses of ANY of the things Berigan brought up. Do tell; I’d be fascinated.
Off to the gym.
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I’m tired and cranky. The high winds knocked out my electricity yesterday afternoon. I had to spend the night at my In-Laws’ house. Didn’t get much rest, because I’ve never been able to sleep well in other people’s beds (Don’t even go there, Grinch). The lady on the phone told me power should be restored by 11 p.m. lastnight, and as of 6:50 this morning it still wasn’t on. If it’s not on when I go home for lunch, I’ve got half a mind to cause a scene.
“And you wonder why I lost my sense of humor.” -(David Allan Coe.)
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And anyone wonder why the Twins never do all that well? They could’ve had Hughes and Cabrera, or Lester/prospects, or Ellisbury/prospects, and got Humber and scrubs instead. For Johan Santana. Of course, WE could’ve had the same players (or close to it) for Andruw “.220” Jones and got 8 more blown games and a sandwich pick instead, so I guess we shouldn’t point fingers.
Now I’m REALLY off to the gym.
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“Beware other people’s beds, lest ye find clown shoes under your own.” —Anonymous 🙂
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Grinch, I agree with you on all points about Cox. He HAS earned the right to stay as long as he wants. I have long wondered how much losing Corrales and Mazzonne hurt the team as I don’t recall as many misuses of the lineup, the bully or the bench when they were here. Of course, that could just be my faulty memory so if I am mistaken I fully expect to be corrected. Some of his decisions the last season or two have been downright awful so it makes me wonder if McDowell and Cadahia are the ones pulling the wrong levers or if Cox doesn’t trust them to have the same input on decisions that their predecessors had.
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**VOR**
No Shaun here. Is he welcome….not my call; however, **Lew** needs a sanctuary…aside from his drawing, that is!
Apologies for my 8:50 last night…I think some of Klobber’s KC made its way here…or the Comcast gremlings Grinch spoke of. He’s right…the weather kicks up and Comcast starts twitching…very aggravating.
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good points, chrisklob. corrales positioned the outfielders. that we know. did he “suggest” in-game strategy? perhaps he did. leo rocked right next to bobby. did he manage relief appearances? perhaps he did. chino seems removed – maybe to the buffet line. mcdowell watches pitchers implode when a visit to the mound might make a difference. jimmy smith has never understood why some pitchers are left to their own devices without a visit from the pitching coach. oh, well, same staff will be back in 2008. jimmysmiththinks bobby cox makes some good moves and some bad moves like any manager. the good moves seem to be pure bobby – recognizing some strength and plugging it in place. the bad moves seem apparent to all when the moves are made. wonderment comes to mind. staying with andruw at cleanup when andruw defied t.p. – wearing a pitcher out and going back again and again (also a criticism of joe torre). bobby may not be the best strategist but keep in mind that a lot of the pages on bobby’s book are stuck together.
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nacly: Stats have their place, but when players begin to be viewed by the numbers they put up as opposed to the numbers they where on their back, my eyes start to glaze over. I see baseball as a game and as a sport. To me, it is a living thing with a soul. I respect everyone who enjoys fantasy and rotisserie baseball, but I feel those numbers leagues are partially responsible for baseball losing its soul. Show me on a stats page where the outfielder gets a great jump on a fly ball, or where the 2bagger gets the ball out of his glove on the DP better than any of his peers, or where the cutoff guy is always in the right spot, or where the catcher always sets his infield correctly. Those are the things that make the whole game live. Without those, I wouldn’t watch 100+ pitches, I’d just watch SportsCenter.
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stats are fine to a point. journalist can read stats and take them for what stats are. nothing more, nothing less. does raisins think this current edition braves team may have lost a little soul? not because willie is gone (can say that?) but because not-hitting-the-cutoff becomes commonplace and is not corrected, because not running all out to first is explained away as injury avoidance, because the inablility to bunt is forgiven and the bunt is therefore abandoned (on a national league team? oh, the humanity!), because no one will/can hit behind a runner or give themselves up for a run scoring opportunity. can’t or won’t? playing pudgy or not? the fat relievers are gone (mostly) – was lack of conditioning accepted? by the player? by the coaches? by the manager? and why no stretching? how many pulled muscles just running to the bag? hurt in b.p. hurt in the first inning. hurt. still love the game and watch every inning but . . . there are some chinks in the armor. the demand for excellence cannot be abandoned or there will be no more excellence. is this staff of coaches and this manager demanding enough? well, explain andruw with his back foot in the first row of the stands over and over and over again. okay to let andruw slide, okay to let others slide. oh, the humanity! jimmy smith did not know jimmy smith felt like this. it is coming out now. oh, the humanity!
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I respect everyone who enjoys fantasy and rotisserie baseball, but I feel those numbers leagues are partially responsible for baseball losing its soul.
Totally agree. But I find it interesting to note that similar fantasy/rotisserie football leagues are partially credited with the success that the NFL enjoys. Of course, baseball has always been a more statistics-oriented sport than football.
Nacly, anytime you want to help yourself to some KC, you go right ahead.
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Good morning denizens.
Good baseball talk going on. I’ll throw in and state the obvious: no season has ever been won or lost by one player on a baseball team. A team made up of young, inexperienced or mediocre players will invariably lose the season. The only time one person can affect a team’s won-loss record is the individual that manages the team. It’s the manager that continuously makes right or wrong decisions that put his team in position to either win or lose a single game or an entire season.
And/or it’s the domino effect. The loss of Hampton and Cormier had a detrimental effect. When starting pitching fails or stumbles repeatedly the domino effect begins. Bully gets worn out and can get ugly quick. Soriano is brought in to close games that are nowhere near save opportunities and such. James going to Home Depot in the fifth inning didn’t help. Then we had the play of Harris, Orr, Thorman, and Wickman. We had Chipper injuries, we had Diaz (not playing enough), Woodward playing too much and on and on. We were all there. We all saw it.
Speaking of dominos, did I forget to mention Andruw? You can hang losses on his lack of offense, especially in clutch situations. His struggles and inability to get his act even partially together changed how hitters up and down the lineup were used.
A game is a sprint. A season is a marathon. It’s a game of inches and a season of miles. If one person is responsible for the season, it has to be the manager. As I’ve opined before, Bobby needs a (fill in a bunch of smart adjectives here) bench coach that can “suggest” moves during games. I’m not a Cox basher nor am I a Cox apologist. He’s a HOF manager and one of the best in the business. Let’s just say he’s past his prime and needs a little help.
Even Sherlock Holmes needed his Doc Watson. Hekyll needed Jekyll. John needed Paul. Ronald needed Nancy. Sonny needed Cher. Ren needed Stempy. McCain needed Feingold (I digress). Rocky VI needed HGH. Selig needed steroids (I digress). Derrick needed the Dominos. Fats Domino needed Blueberry Hill. It just goes on and on.
This year we have a potential champion with good starting pitching, well-timed and executed bunts, some stolen bases, clutch hitting, a little luck, player health and manager help. Without those things we’ll have another Domino Effect. Doesn’t really matter where the first Domino falls once they start falling.
Only a manager can stop the chain reaction.
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Y’all are putting up some good lead basis material here! Checked the Line Up Card lately?? I may need a pinch hitter this go-round. Volunteer? Berigan? 😆 Somebody help me out!
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Berigan-Just how did Langerhans poor start mess up the Braves season when they went 24-12 with him in the lineup? His poor performance was only a blip on the radar to anal fans like us who notice every nuance.
If you go back and check it out, you will see that when Smoltz, Hudson, James and Carlyle pitched, the Braves’ record was 20 games over .500-well more than enough to win the East. When you add in the performances of the fifth starters, you end up 5 games over .500. So-You tell me what the problem was. Was it the fifth starter or Langerhans and Harris (keep in mind we had the thrid most potent offense in the league).
I really get tired of hearing that my well reasoned and researched posts get dismissed as me being a Braves’ Homer. It’s one thing when I have to hear it from And Idiots like NoBrainZone and MetroDude, buit from you? Give me a flipping break.
Dude, you’re just enamored with Santana. He is a great pitcher, of that there is no doubt. However, he is an American League pitcher. He will have to learn an entire league of new hitters this year. This is doable and I’m sure he will succeed, but is still something he must do before he has success. Yes, he will improve the mets’ rotation, but realistically, by how much?
Let’s do some comparison here. For the last three seasons, Santan has averaged 17-9 with a 2.99 ERA and 229 innings pitched. Like I said-Great. But look at it like this. Glavine, over the past three years (and it IS Glavine he is replacing in the rotation, averaged 14-9 with a 4.21 ERA and 203 innings pitched. Now Yes, Santana is an improvement. But is the difference as radical as you seem to think. The difference is 3-0 with an ERA differential of 1.21 runs per nine and 26 innings pitched.
WOW. 3 more wins per season average. How much -realistically-does that improve this aging team? What about the rest of the aging staff? How about El Duque, who is now 42 years old and only pitched 140 innings last year? Do you think that he will pitch considerably more innings without injury this year? Odds are against it. How about Pedro Martinez coming off of missing 18 months? Do you seriously think he will return to CyYoung form? Do you think he will pitch anywhere close to 200 innings successfully when he has not done so for four or more years? Good luck on that, just like we need good luck with Hampton’s return. I sure won’t hold my breath and turn Braves’ blue waiting on it.
How about the players the mets lost and who they replaced them with? LoDuca batted .272 with 9HR and 54 RBI. He made the All SAtar team year before last. They have replaced him with Schneider, who hit .235 with 6HR and 24 RBI. They lost in that exchange. BIg time.
How about Shan Green wgho hit .291 with a .352 OBP. 10HR and 46RBI? They replaced him with Ryan Church who hit .272 with 15 and 70. They lose average and defense and gain a few HR’s-a little power, but not that much. I think they downgraded there, too.
How about losing Lastings Milledge? He hit .272 with 7HR and 29RBI in 59 games. He was up and coming, no matter how much grief I gave Mets’ fans about him. They now have Endy Chavez, who in 71 games (also injury prone) hit .287 with 1 HR and 17RBI. Who would you rather have considering that between Alou and Beltran, they missed over 100 games? Would you rather have Milledge or Chavez? Seriously?
No Dude, I don’t like the Mets, but am hardly an emotional infant. The days when my team losing meant I wouldn’t sleep that night are long gone. I’m an adult now and quite capable of doing research and coming up with logical and well reasoned conclusions. The Mets are NOT improved over last year!!! They are very old. They will lose much time to injuries again this year-just like the past number of years and they have no good substitutes. Who pitches if (WHEN) Pedro and El Duque go down? Who fills in at first if DelGado goes down? Who fills in if they lose two outfielders at the same time yet again?
Sorry Dude, the Mets ain’t all that yet again. All the hoopla we’ve heard from them and their fans the past two years and what do they have to show for it? One Division Title and that’s it. WOW again. I’m overwhelmed. Santana helps their rotation. So does Livan Hernandez. They are still a third place team. The Phillies have a much stronger line up and the Braves a much better, well rounded and deeper rotation, not to mention a better bullpen than anyone else in the division. The Braves certainly won’t run away with the title, but neither will the Phillies and the Mets certainly won’t-despite picking up on the (possibly) best pitcher in baseball. They need more than his three extra wins.
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Ma’am-If you can give me a few days (better a week), I’ll Give you one on The Klingons Invading Lynchburg.
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Bob, Perhaps it depends on where you are going or the goals one wishes to archive as to whether or not it is the destination or the journey is important. I shall save that to be pondered another day.
Meanwhile, I think all would concur that perhaps Bobby has lost a step or two when it comes to his managing of the team. It is real tough to let a guy go who has consistently won for the past 16 or so years with such a wide array of players. From big payrolls to budget concerns, he has had the Braves in the hunt.
Now, having said that, one still needs to have motivation to get over the top. To win the ring, tear down the goal post….. well, you get the idea…
Yes VOC…. I remember the many of the same guys and saw some of them before you as they plied their way through the minors. Some I did not as they came from different organizations but still a long time Braves fan through good times and mostly bad… It is why the wound is so deep with the knowledge that the Braves are moving their AAA team to Gwinnett in 2009. I would bet many of you folks in Atlanta would feel the same way if the Braves moved to Portland.
Yes, I can see the business sense of it all and I understand why it was done but it hurts no less because of it.
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No-Derek and The Dominoes needed Duane Allman.
Yes, the loss of Leo and Corralles made a huge difference. Ned Yost, too and Jim Beauchamp, as well. Bobby’s entire support system left him hanging.
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CL, if Raisin is willing and able, you might want to throw him in the game to pinch hit. After all, he just came over from another NL team. He already knows the pitchers.
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No-Derek and The Dominoes needed Duane Allman.
But of course. And also “slow hand”. Otherwise, just poetic license.
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I have to say that the following opinion by Bob Cook is a bit laughable. He cannot be serious can he?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22905489/
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SG, Sherlock Holmes played fiddle for Doc Watson? Now that’s an alblum I’d like to have. You forgot Beavis and Butt-head, Bonny and Clyde, Captain and Tenille, Braves beet writer and Buffalo Bob (oops…can say that?)…:-)
Off to school.
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Okay folks, I am headed over the Rivah and through the woods to mother’s house I go. I also promised to take my oldest daughter out to lunch so I’ll catch up on all the musing later.
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Braves’ title hopes vanishing
By Larry Stewart, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
January 21, 2008
Before the start of the fifth Professional Scouts Foundation dinner Saturday night at the Hyatt Century Plaza, magician Jason Latimer entertained at a VIP reception by performing the old “balls and cups” trick, with a twist.
The cups were glass, so those watching could see the foam balls disappear right before their eyes.
Among those witnessing the act was Bobby Cox, manager of the Atlanta Braves, who finished five games behind National League East champion Philadelphia last year.
“Can you make the Phillies disappear?” Cox asked Latimer.
oh, the humanity! the skipper is sharp already! and no mention of the mets – talking phillies. and bobby cox would not be one to tap the glass where the ball is hidden . . . no need to smear a clean glass. and bobby cox on the banquet circuit . . . accompanied by top assistant chino cadahia? are you going to eat your dessert?
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I’ll agree with Bob Cook that Minaya stole Santana from the Twins. Must have spent some time down on Canal Street learning from the professional scheisters.
With Johan Santana coming to Shea Stadium, no National League team should be able to block the New York Mets’ path to the World Series.
All I can say is “Bob Cook, your and idiot”!
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VOR, I’m with you on the “numbers guys” making my eyes glaze over. I think they’re missing the whole point of the game. They still haven’t figured that it’s not played on paper.
Finally got smart & printed the Text Effects page to use as a cheat sheet since I can’t ever remember what symbols to use.
Still chuckling at the thought of Grinch moonlighting as a Victoria’s Secret model.
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The SUper BOwl will be hear soon and that means SuPer Bowl SNacks. Now that I am a beet writer i plan to eat more cheeze snacks in addition to my fish SnacKS. What are some favorite snacks of the Blogggers?
Now, I will blogg some baSeball. Looks like SAlty will be at AAA when the seazon starts unless SaLty has a good enough Spring to win the catcher’s Job outright. Rangers say Salty won’t bee a backup – needs to play everyday. The other catcher makes $1.6 million. Still say Salty should have been A Pirate.
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How about a hot cheese & onion dip, Chop Seal? Very easy to make & yummy.
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Great, Lew! Appreciate it! williamwallace is up next and will probably be posted tomorrow.
I agree that the loss of Bobby’s support system has had a major effect on his decisions – and thus the team, especially the pitchers.
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Relative to the Santana deal, can anybody think of any other instance when a team was at any more of a contract bargaining disadvantage than NYM currently finds themselves in? Let’s recap…
1.) They play the trade talks out through the media for weeks before finally striking the deal, mainly because the other teams bailed, creating a media frenzy about the deal.
2.) The deal is contingent upon coming to an extension agreement with the player.
3.) Santana can demand the moon, the stars, the Millenium Falcon and Leia’s hair buns, and the Mets have no leverage to say “NO.” Can you imagine the media firestorm in NY if they don’t come to an agreement?
I can’t recall any other player ever having more leverage than Santana currently has. It will be interesting to see if he gets the 6 year/$150M deal he reportedly wants. And what does that do to the dynamic in the clubhouse? Will Superman Wright want his contract renegotiated? He only got 6/$55M.
Placing a team on the field aside, I think the Mets suddenly find themselves in a very precarious position…
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I think what we are seeing with Bobby is similar to what we saw with Parcells and Belichick this decade.
Belichick took all of Parcells boys up to New England with him.
When Parcells went to Dallas, he had to find and develop a new core.
Parcells was not as good without his core guys like Weis, Crennel, Belichick.
But maybe Parcells was never that good anyway and maybe Belichick was the genius behind Parcells the whole time. Kinda seems that way now. Parcells has never won a Super Bowl without Belichick but Belichick certainly has won without Parcells.
But the core coaches of Cox have scattered around now and he has finished in third two years in a row. At what point does this start turning into a Paterno/Bowden type thing?
How about la chica bonita proposing to Tom Brady yesterday? She was pretty hot but when you are Tom Brady and sleeping with Giselle after dumping Bridget Moynihan, la chica bonita musta looked homely to him.
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Everyone presumes Terry Pendleton will be the next manager. Why is that? Has he really shown much? What hitter has he made better? And what exactly does he do for the Braves? The one good year Andruw had in 2005, he gave credit to Willie Mays for widening his stance. Chipper and McCann turn to their fathers. Frenchy is still lunging and falling into the ball. Why not widen Frenchy’s stance to make him more well balanced? Furcal never really became the force he could have been. Giles regressed heavily. Langerhans never turned into the solid fourth outfielder he should have become. I just don’t see it with Terry. Great leader and player but I have not been impressed much at all with him as a coach.
As to Roger McDowell, who has had he made better? Perhaps Hudson and Moylan since they are similar to the kind of pitcher he was but who else? And why couldn’t figure out what Hudson’s problem in 2006 was? People can say what they want about Leo Mazzone but dude made lemonade out of Jorge Sosa in 2005, Jaret Wright in 2004, Damian Moss in 2002, and on and on and on. The Braves never suffered with the fifth pitchers because he would. Even Horam was decent when he had Mazzone coaching him.
The best darn coach on the Braves to me seems to be Glenn Hubbard. That fella works his butt off as a coach just like he did as a player. AND HUBBARD GETS RESULTS. He performed a miracle and made Giles a pretty decent fielding second baseman and he performed wonders making KJ decent enough over at second.
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Agreed that Bobby may have lost a step, but really, what has his greatest asset been over the last 18 years? Has it been as a strategist? I think Bobby’s greatest value is in that the players would seemingly run through a brick wall for him. If you’ve noticed, any player that has ever clashed with Bobby has either come to love him, or has been shipped out – no grey area there. I think there is a great deal of value in the ability to motivate a team, regardless of the method. That being said, decisions still have to be made, and I agree with the concensus that some of BC’s better advisors have moved on. Could another manager do better? With an apparently strong pipeline of talent, and a few key vets hopefully locked up contractually, Los Bravos should be able to field competitive teams past BC’s retirement party, so eventually, the proof may well be in the pudding.
Speaking of pudding, I could use a piece of pie right about now…
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One Braves Fan’s Perspective On Bobby Cox.
Since his arrival in Atlanta, fan opinions of Bobby Cox’s management of Braves games has ranged from brilliant to inept, depending on ones access to information, overall perspective, how carefully each game is watched, how well players capabilities are understood at any given time during the season and how you differentiate bad moves with simple lack of player execution or just bad luck.
Fan perspective and opinion also greatly differs according to which part of Bobby’s “game” is being judged. His strategic management of the game on the field is one aspect that has drawn the aforementioned range of criticism over the years. I’m inclined to believe that Cox’s core competencies are not and have never been game strategy.
For all but the last few years, fan scrutiny of Bobby’s game management success or failure was, for the most part, limited to close games, pennant chases and playoff games, where a manager’s game strategy, lineup and roster moves are magnified. The last few years, a “perfect storm” of events have culminated to result in losing seasons and early exits in post seasons.
Winning reduces attention to fundamental problems and losses magnify them. Wins add salve to wounds. Losses add salt.
Starting Glavine, Smoltz, Maddux and a host of good mid-relievers made the all-time record run of division titles look like managerial genius in the executive offices, in the dugout and in the press. Then, a few years ago, we ran into the Time Warner glass ceiling. Our consummate, division winning, golden franchise “carriage” turned into a pumpkin.
Even with the addition of Hudson and with enough talent on the team to contend, the wheels came off. The horrendous problems with our 3,4, 5 starting pitchers last year has been discussed until there is little to say other than…terrible. But we all know that. Did we have a team these last two years that could have made it to the post season with our lack of pitching depth? I would say, no to 2006 but yes to last year. We had Smoltz, Hudson and any creative combo of third and fourth starters that could have taken this team well into the playoffs, had we gotten there.
We have hitters that, if we look at stats, could hold their own against any team…on paper at least. What we didn’t have last year, even with all of the “power lumber”, was situational hitting and a lineup card/batting order that most often made no common sense. Hot hands were on the bench while slumping hitters flailed away. Andruw was given a reasonable amount of time in the cleanup spot by mid-June. Every failure at bat afterwards in cleanup effected the team up and down the lineup in more ways than can possibly be fathomed by mere statistics.
As many people, including myself, have felt or stated for almost as many years as Cox has been Braves manager, his forte has never been game strategy. He seems to be less natural with the “chess game” moves during the unfolding of games, close games in particular. His clubhouse management does endear players to him, but the Country Club atmosphere and the resulting culture that is created there (and the attention to golf) may have had a less than “inspirational” or gritty, blue-collar effect on players.
Would he have had more wins had he been a better game manager? Probably would have, the last few years especially. If you can’t outspend them you have to outsmart them. Would we have had as many wins and key-player improvement all these years without his unique player devotion and development? Probably not. That’s been the balance for me. As frustrating as it has been for so many games through so many years, witnessing his lack of game strategy unfold in critical situations, I could still consider and appreciate the bigger accomplishment: his unique player development program. It’s worked well. I understand Bobby has few rules, but they are all important and they seem to work.
Do we miss the good chemistry/decision making of Pat Corrales and Leo Mazzone in the dugout? Hugely. Not just with pitching but with the whole game. Pat managed the lineup card and was a trusted consultant in the dugout. Leo was a trusted bench advisor as well, and knew which pitcher to use in a myriad of situations. They are gone and what we have now is a new coach team with limited experience with Cox.
Bobby is getting older and he’s not in the best of physical condition. Those obvious conditions explain some understandable slowdown. There may also be other physiological issues that are impacting Cox with the grueling schedule and constant travel that managers endure. The man is 66 years old. That’s not “old” but he ain’t no buff spring chicken either.
I’ve never been a Bobby “basher” nor do I feel the need to be a Bobby “apologist”. I don’t really support either premise. The truth is far more complex than it is typically made out in the public arena. The man is a human being and he’s operating as part of a bigger management “machine”, and operating with young, highly talented yet imperfect human beings and he’s operating with a middle of the pack budget.
There is so much we’ll never know, it’s really tough to make fact-based judgments on behind the scenes activities or nuances. Adversely, many (not all) in-game decisions are glaring and obvious, such as Bobby’s misuse of the bullpen in blowouts, sticking with AJ in the cleanup spot so long, sticking with Harris at leadoff after such a long slump, bunting or not bunting, sending Woodward and Thorman up to bat in clutch situations, on and on.
Perhaps Cox should retire a year early if he’s not physically up to the rigors of the job. Based on what I’ve seen, my concern is for his health mostly. If Bobby’s health is flagging then he needs to get “kicked upstairs”, step himself down or be gently, secretly relieved of command. On the other hand, with benefit of doubt given and with all respect due, I’d support Bobby playing until his contract is up next year unless he thinks it’s time to call it a day.
I’d like to see Frank Wren require and recruit another set of seasoned coaches like Pat and Leo. These coaches should not be afraid to take charge and make strong recommendations. No “go along, get along” coaches will do. Bobby obviously needs help there. Ex-Braves, nice guys and “yes men” don’t necessarily make good coaches.
What about Cadahia, McDowell, Pendelton, Perez and Fultz? They all seem like good guys and we love TP and Perez, but are they the best coaches for the Braves? I certainly don’t claim to know how competent they are as mentors and professional coaches, but I suspect most if not all of them are not there because Braves did an exhaustive search and hired the best possible coaches available. Maybe you guys have more insight there you could share.
Bobby In 2008?
More than any speculation, opinion, statistic or measure, Cox has the pennants and division championships and wins to prove he’s a Hall of Fame manager. Still, something has changed with Bobby and it’s obvious.
If Cox is healthy and another season is not detrimental to him or a liability to the team, it would be great to have a final, celebratory “swan song” season for our highly respected and beloved manager. I’ll hope Wren (at the very least) gets Bobby a more seasoned, strategic and organized bench coach that can manage the games with Bobby and for him.
Cox, coach changes, further player additions or not, what is Brave’s management willing to do to compete and win in 2008?
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WW: Couldn’t agree more about Hubbard or TP. Maybe bullpen coach Eddie Perez’s name should be tossed into the bag of potential successors? He was and is a student of the game. I subscribe to the theory that catchers, like QB’s in football, make good strategists. Having been mostly a backup, he spent alot of time in the dugout talking with the brass. Not that I necessarily want to push BC out the clubhouse door before his time, I wouldn’t mind seeing Yosty get a shot with Los Bravos.
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Yeow…didn’t seem that long when I wrote that rambling stream of thought thing.
Oh, well…penalty box now for me.
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“Rambling stream of thought” is my backup screen name… 😆
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Savannah, it wasn’t that long …… for you …… or for me.
We can’t help ourselves.
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Hubbard = fundamentals
Perez = fundamentals
At some point, in virtually every game, doesn’t the outcome tend to hinge on executing a fundamental?
Neither was ever a star; they played within their capabilities…use their strengths and shy away from doing what they are not. Let the game come to them. Even star players must learn to do that…#1: they’re only stars because what they’re best at exceeds others’ best in the same category. #2: They also recognize what they aren’t. Andruw should have been a bigger star than he was, but he couldn’t pull of ‘#2’.
Of course, then there are those who’s best didn’t offer self-satisfaction; thus PED-best! But that’s another topic!
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Value Over Replacement, I wouldn’t push Cox out either. Like Grinch said, for better or worse, Cox gets to decide when he departs on his own terms.
But Eddie Perez would be an interesting option. Catchers always do seem to be the best option at manager because they have to think more, usually have to work harder to get to the majors because their lack of talent usually makes them a catcher in the first place, they spend the entire game facing the field and get to see things develop, and have to be a psychologist with all of their egomaniacal pitchers.
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WW and SG
Your streams don’t ramble…they grow into rivers of consciousness. Mine runs dry! 😦
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The last time I had a stream that rambled, I had to visit the family doctor… but I digress…
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I also think Yost should be considered for manager. Julio for Strength & Conditioning. I like the thoughts expressed about Hubbard and Perez, as well. It’s probably my lack, but I just don’t see much out of the current group of coaches, with the notable exception of Hubbard and Perez. What exactly does Chino do, anyway? Besides eat, that is.
So many times when the camera would pan to the dugout, there would be Julio, bat in hand, demonstrating and teaching a cluster of young players. That’s too important to ignore.
Lack of execution of fundamentals – especially bunting and moving runners over – is one of my pet peeves.
The questions for ST should be: Do you want to excel at golf or baseball?? Are you physically and mentally ready for the season? What do you have to do to be ready? Golf or baseball? Third place or post season?
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I finally got power restored at my house, now that everything in my refridgerator is ruined. Just finished eating lunch (half a bag of sunflower seeds) and I’ve come back to see lots of good baseball talk going on here. I’ve been on the Pat Corrales bandwagon for years. I’ve always thought that his presence was just a valuable as Mazzone’s was.
On the Santana thing, I don’t know if it’s already been mentioned here, but if I remember correctly, Hudson was one Wickman explosion away from shutting out the Twins in a matchup vs. Johan last season. He’s not invincible.
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“The last time I had a stream that rambled, I had to visit the family doctor… but I digress…”
BA DA BING!!!!
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Chino translates.
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Yes WW…I’ve all but given up on brevity. Managing the frequency of my bloviating episodes has been a more reasonable goal. Yet to arrive there, but a goal no less.
Salty, the river analogy works. Trouble is, when on a roll, mine tend to be more of a sunami, gathering up trees, houses, small animals and such.
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Salty, I agree with you about Hubbard and Perez. The game does come down to fundamentals. Sometimes the pitching and hitting is so talented you can get away without it and win lots of gams but eventually you are gonna encounter teams you are evenly matched with and you have to be able to execute all the smallball things JJS was talking about in his post earlier today.
That really scares me about the Braves next season. Think about going through McCann, Frenchy, Diaz, Kotsay, pitcher/pinch hitter, and then Yunel. Most of them don’t try to draw a walk, try to tire a pitcher out, steal a base, bunt a runner over, hit and run, hit behind a runner and all that good stuff.
Unfortunately, those are the 6 guys who tend to come up in the 7th and 8th inning when you need to get a runner on, over, and in. If you wait until the 9th when your top of the order comes up, the closer is already in and is usually hard to hit and the Braves find themselves screwed.
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Then again, Mac, Frenchman and Dye-az all have pretty good AVG with runners on, so…
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Headin’ out to pick up the littlest Voice of Reason from school…
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The last time I had a stream that rambled, I had to visit the family doctor… but I digress…
Hillbilly, hope everything came out alright. Wait, let me rephrase that. Hope the doc straightened you out. No, that’s not what I meant to say either. Uh…
Chino translates
Succinct. Correct. Funny too.
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What exactly does Chino do, anyway? Besides eat, that is.
CL, I believe Journalist Jimmy Smith may have some insight on that.
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rambling stream…oh, that was Raisins.
VOR, by now I suppose your family doc has poked around enough to solve the problem. Uh, no…that’s not what I meant either.
If Lew had that problem he’d be lookin’ at a blue snow situation.
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chino cadahia day on the braves and stuff blog. everybody taking a little piece of chino today – – – and so much is left! well, if chino is to remain an important part of this coaching staff and primary translator for uh, chipper and you know, hudson . . . then chino must have some more pants! that’s right, pants that fit. chino in uniform pants is not a pretty sight. too much wobble. and is it coincidental that some pants are called chinos? and must the dugout camera be at pants level? and why, when chino is out of breath is chino said to be panting? many questions remain as the season approaches.
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apologies to perry como and journalist bob . . .
Oh, what did chino wear boy,
What did chino wear?
What did chino wear boy,
What did chino wear?
Chino wore a bran new jersey,
Chino wore a bran new jersey,
Chino wore a bran new jersey,
Thats what he did wear
now, for some new pants . . .
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inseam. the measurement most feared by beet writers. beet writers are sometimes small in stature. locally, one of the taller beet writers is a small seal. a tiny, adolescent seal. but with no inseam. and why are beet writers reluctant to reveal the inseam measurement? there is no short explanation. this is the mystery of the inseam.
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Rambling Streams? Isn’t that what my blog was about?
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… and the smallest raisin is back in the nest.
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Can I just say that I LOVE the spring training countdown on the Braves’ mlb.com site. 15 days 20 hrs. 38 mins. 7 seconds… awesome.
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Speaking of small ones – Chris, I am completely remiss in failing to tell you how adorable is your little miss! Just two beautiful kids you have! Thanks for sharing their photos with us! (I get busy and my intentions to comment get lost in the shuffle sometimes!)
VOR, got some photos you’d like to post?
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VOR, that is neat! I had that thought, but WordPress doesn’t allow the scripting required to make it work.
Wow, you’d get the impression that we’re chomping at the bit or something! Worse than little kids before Christmas! 😆
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CL: Yeah, sure… I still haven’t discovered how to completely navigate the waters here in this Brave new world. Tips?
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Send ’em to me email and I post them. That’s the only to get around the site limitations – the administrator is the only one allowed to post images. But it’s worked well so far! 🙂 If they need it, I retouch or whatever and resize to fit the space. I’ll send my personal email and you can use that rather than go through the blog email. Right now I’m doing 2 types of pages: one for personal photos or whatever and one for baseball photos.
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Thanks, Tar Heel Lady!
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Lew said…. I really get tired of hearing that my well reasoned and researched posts get dismissed as me being a Braves’ Homer.
Kinda like me seeing….Berigan-Are you arguing for the sake of arguing,or have you actually thought about what you’re saying? 😛
Lew, I respect your posts, you put a lot of thought into them. I still say you are biased, at least to some point on this subject. As for the team being 20 games over .500 with Smoltz, Hudson, James and Carlyle…That’s great, and with somebody in left more often, say Diaz, and bringing someone like Bryan Pena up to get the AB’s instead of Orr, and Woodward, maybe we are 25 games above .500 and in a tie with the Phils. As much as I dislike Belichick(just don’t like the way he doesn’t answer any questions) You know he doesn’t settle for losses, I get the feeling after always winning Bobby and JS thought it didn’t matter much either…scrubs will do. Reject guys can play left and right, and work in the pen…we’ll still win….I know, budget issues have played a role as well. But, in those stupid siding ads you most likely have the pleasure of not hearing Bobby say(You never want to hear a player slide into home plate and say close enough) Close enough doesn’t do the job anymore. IMHO, the Phillies are worse than last year, but still a very good team. And the Mets, IF there Starters stay healthy, will be in the race with us all year long. Sadly enough….
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And all this talk about Sherlock Holmes….Well, Just like Clemens and Bonds, he needed a needle to be the best in his profession…..
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Berigan-You’re wrong, but quite honestly I don’t have the energy to try to convince you of anything. You are becoming the proverbial brick wall and I have much better things to do than convince you you’re missing at least one mortar joint.
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http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/36451#tr_36451-comments_pages
Lawyers: Pettitte will back McNamee
Posted: Wednesday January 30, 2008 05:31AM ET
Andy Pettitte will soon give a sworn deposition to staff members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and lawyers for his former personal trainer, Brian McNamee, say they believe they know part of what he will say. Pettitte and McNamee talked in 2001 and 2002 about Roger Clemens’ use of steroids and human growth hormone, McNamee’s lawyers, Earl Ward and Richard Emery, said Tuesday. As a result, Ward and Emery said they believed that Pettitte, who has acknowledged receiving H.G.H. from McNamee in 2002, will provide the first account of contemporaneous conversations with McNamee about Clemens’ use of performance-enhancing drugs in earlier years.
New York Times
Hmmm.
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I know it sounds unreasonable but as I was reading early morning comments to Chris from Reasonable Voice … and found myself feeling like I was listening in on the party line … young folks don’t know about such things but back during the war, you might have had a private line telephone or a party line … a party line was a lot like a intercom … each number on the line had its own special ring but if you were so inclined, you could listen in on your neighbors’ calls.
There was a limited number of private lines and they were expensive … when we moved in 1942, only party lines were available so we had a 3-party line for about 6 months … found we had some nosy neighbors too.
When VOR said he’d hang up and listen, it triggered the thought … “strange, if he hangs up … how’s he going to hear what Chris says?” … it really did, just for a second. Guess I was too engrossed in what he was saying as we share many of the same memories and attitudes.
I too remember when Terry Harper dislocated his shoulder but, the words triggered a totally different mental image and thought … “why was the guy trying to score from the on-deck circle?” … we did have some crazy players during his tenure!
In case I forgot to earlier so say, thanks Sir Guy… for the update … great report on SavannahGal.
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If I can be so bold, would MyLady please fix that at her convenience … my intent was to only bold Chris. … and then Sir Guy … advance thanks!
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Berigan, I really get tired of hearing that my well reasoned and researched posts get dismissed as me being a Sherlock homer.
For your information, Holmes only used a needle to inject B-12 and lidocaine into his buttocks. Doctor Watson did the honors. That’s why they were such dear friends. Solved many difficult cases together.
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Thanks Bob, Journalist.
When I was just a wee lad, I remember that my grandmother had an old party line on her phone in rural High Point, NC. I recall a switchboard operator. Kinda like Miss Bee and Mayberry type stuff.
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Just wrote a note to Bob, Journalist that went poof…gone.
Here’s the message I got when that happened: Whoops!
There was a small systems error. Please try refreshing the page and if the error is still there drop us a note and let us know.
Hmmm…the blog is as slow as I’ve ever seen it.
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Good evening everyone, well reasoned post made…. Well, most anyway. I had a wonderful lunch with my oldest daughter today, such a charming young lady whom I see far less than I might wish.. 😦 She too was very disappointed by the Braves announcement of moving to Gwinnett. See, I’m not the only one. Good baseball knowledge that one has… 🙂
An interesting read to show how some things never change….
http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/sports/baseball.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-01-30-0027.html
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THis bloG is lightnin’ in a bottle and i am the beet writer. Here is a comment about BOBBy Cox. NoSe picker. I am not judging him becauSe that would not be Nice. But he is a noSE pickeR. And that does not make him LoOk smarT. Maybe he is smart and just neeDs to PicK his nose. Beet writer maNNers.
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OK, EVERYBODY!! NEW BLOG IS UP!!!
Gil, that’s a good post – why don’t you move it over to the new page! Don’t want it to be overlooked. 🙂
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CL… Does this blog implode like the ajc when it reaches a certain number of post? Perhaps we shall find out… And it’s not even spring training yet. Should really liven up around here then 🙂
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it juuuussstt slllloooooooowwwwwsssss doooooowwwwwnnnnn. Macs, in particular, have a hard time dealing with it.
OK – everybody SHIFT! 😆
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