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by Berigan
JONESBORO, GA – I ain’t a beat writer….can’t get scoops from the players sitting in front of my computer in Jonesboro! Oh sure, I could make stuff up, like Dyan Perry does. π Or you can just say something like some writers do but that ain’t write right.
So something I can write about, at least a little bit, is baseball broadcasters I have heard through the years. I have listened to Skip and Pete longer than any others in my life. They don’t work much together these days, but any time I hear them together, or separately, it’s like putting on a pair of very comfortable shoes. It just feels good! Even when you hear good ones you really don’t know how very good they are ’til you hear bad ones. And, boy howdy! (do the youngsters today still say that???), have I heard some bad ones! With the Yankees, you can hear John Sterling and some woman with a shrill voice convince millions that baseball is not a very good game….I really can’t listen to many people do baseball on the radio, that is a special talent few truly possess.
But, I’m not going to write about Skip and Pete, or the really bad ones today. Lately, for some reason I have been thinking back to the broadcaster I grew up listening to….the late, great Jack Buck.
I’m sure most everyone here has heard, or at least heard of, Jack Buck….but, unless you listened to him call Cardinal games while driving around at night (or doing Monday night football with Hank Stramm on CBS radio) you never really heard Jack in his element, at his best.
Something about him calling games on CBS TV seemed…subdued. Like some know-nothing kid producer had said “Jack, you can’t be a homer, don’t get too excited, just call the game. You ain’t just broadcasting to some hicks in and around St. Louis, this is the big time!” π Plus, with Tim McCarver never shutting up about all he could do is call balls, strikes and hits.
Which was a shame. Because Jack Buck was as funny as anyone, anywhere, when he got on a roll. So much great stuff he did (MC charities, host local roasts, had his own non-baseball show on KMOX) is just sitting, gathering dust, not likely to ever be heard again. Pre-Internet, pre-youtube. I’m curious if anyone here who heard Jack only on TV, even thought of him as a funny guy!
He had a great guy in the booth that he clearly felt comfortable with, Mike Shannon. If you like Skip and Pete, you would like Jack and Mike in their prime.
But, there were times when he was able to shine through on national TV, when something magical happened, and he couldn’t contain his excitement, like Kirk Gibson hitting a homer off Eckersley, and no one even thought it was possible he could play in the series.
Broadcaster Marty Brennaman on that moment:
“The thing that amazes me about him β and all of us have our own styles β he understated things to the extent that they more than adequately conveyed what people saw and thought. When Kirk Gibson hit the home run off Dennis Eckersley to win the World Series game, he said seven words: ‘I don’t believe what I just saw.’ And that conveyed everything that people in Dodger Stadium were thinking [and] people watching on TV or listening on the radio. He said it exactly the way it was. That’s a talent that very few people like us in this business have.”
some quotes by Jack….
“It’s such a beautiful sport, with no politics involved, no color, no class. Only as a youngster can you play and as a pro can you win. The game has kept me young, involved and excited and for me to be up here with gems of baseball”
“It (George Steinbrenner’s new yacht) was a beautiful thing to observe with all thirty oars working in unison.”
“The biggest kick I get is to communicate with those who are exiled from the game β in hospitals, homes, prisons β those who have seldom seen a game, who can’t travel to a game, those who are blind.”
“When Harry and I were doing the games together, we were as good as a team as there ever was. His style and mine were so different that it made for a balanced broadcast. The way we approached the job, with the interest and love both of us had for the game, made our work kind of special.”
Some quotes about Jack by the people who knew and loved him…and were helped by him.
From Skip Caray:
“It seemed like he took a liking to me right away. There were always people trying to warm up to me because of who my Dad was. Jack wasn’t like that. He genuinely liked me and wanted to help me with my broadcasting career.He was doing play-by-play for St. Louis University basketball games and wanted me to come and do color analysis with him. There was a point that he thought basketball on the radio was boring. So we started taking turns doing the play-by-play. When St. Louis had the ball, Jack was talking and when the opponent had the ball, I was talking.
There was one game in which there was a loose ball after a rebound and neither of us knew who should be talking. There was silence for about 10 seconds and then we both just started laughing. So needless to say, our innovative idea ended there. The 10 or so games that I did with him doing SLU games gave me valuable experience and helped me get where I am today.
A few years later, there were some people with the St. Louis Hawks organization that remembered hearing those broadcasts and gave me the chance to do their games. When they moved to Atlanta, I went with the team and it helped me get the job with the Braves.”
And everyone’s favorite Chip Caray (hey, I like him, and that’s all that really matters! π ) was helped by Jack as well. He talked about Jack just after he died:
“Jack is the voice of baseball in St. Louis. He was as big as Jack Brickhouse and Harry Caray combined, and I really believe to this day maybe the best ever broadcast team in the history of this game was Buck and Caray in the old days on KMOX.
I grew up in St. Louis and I was one of those typical kids who fell asleep with the radio on under his pillow listening to Jack and Jay Randolph and Mike Shannon broadcasting games from the West Coast.I auditioned for one of the Cardinals jobs several years ago and I was sitting in the lobby of a hotel in Pittsburgh reading the newspaper, scared to death. This quarter comes flying out of the air and lands right on my newspaper and I look up and it was Jack and his wife. He came up to me and said, “Good luck.” He gave me a pat on the back and said welcome. He said, “I hope everything goes well.” And then he said, “By the way, don’t screw it up.”
…..Obviously, his health has not been very good [towards the end] and he handled himself with such great humor and great class. I wanted to interview him in the booth and talk to him about what he’s seen and he said, “Hey, guys, what’s shaking besides me?” He had Parkinson’s disease and he immediately made everyone else feel comfortable around him.
He was the voice of summer and a huge influence in my career. He went out of his way to make me feel comfortable and he always had a smile on his face and a song in his heart.”
Having listened to Jack Buck broadcast, I’d say you could see the smile on his face and the joy in his voice for the game. I think that’s why Chip’s style doesn’t grate on me, like it clearly does others. Chip needed to sound, and be, as different from his father and grandfather as he could. I hear a bit of Buck’s ‘hey, I’ve got the best job in the world’ in Chip’s voice….perhaps Jack sounded more sincere to others broadcasting that way.
Like Chip, I can remember staying up late, with a high tech transistor radio under my pillow listening to the Cards play past my bedtime. I’d swear Jack was almost as disappointed as I was that Willie Stargell had somehow bested us yet again late in the game, or when Manny Mota with a pinch hit, drove in the winning run for the Dodgers (when I really was staying up late!), though I don’t think he had tears running down his cheek, swearing I’d never listen to another Cardinal game like I was. But, like any true idiot fan of baseball, the dawn of a new day would make the reality that the Cards were not a very good team, somehow an insignificant fact, and I would be back for more….more close games, more losses, and more enjoyment listening to Jack Buck have a great time calling a game, and telling stories.
Of course, when I moved away from St. Louis in 1983, I was already on the outs with the team as well (as I have mentioned before, they traded darn near everyone off the team) and the KMOX signal didn’t always come in real well all the way down in Jacksonville, but….a taste of home was always there at 1120 on my AM dial any time I wanted it (and the station was coming in). And when I moved to Atlanta, it came in even better…and Jack was always there…..
But I noticed around 2000, he didn’t sound quite the same. He was a longtime smoker, and it seemed to finally be taking a toll on the best radio voice ever, IMHO. He now sounded hoarse, like he had been screaming, and….old. I didn’t know how little time he had left. He was missing games, and in and out of the hospital. He had one more moment though left to give….he read a little poem he wrote that he spoke the day baseball returned after 9-11. I remember ESPN showing it and chills running up and down my spine…watch this! Once again, he brought me to tears with his words.
He died June 18th, 2002, at the age of 77. I wish I could tune in to KMOX, and hear him one more time mention Busch beer, and say one more time….. that’s a winner!
John Francis Buck
1924 – 2002
~Berigan~
Very good, Berigan!!! I enjoyed reading this! THANKS for sharing this with us!
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Thanks, Berigan. That’s kind of how I feel about Skip, no one will ever replace him for me.
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Y’all know how old I am, so I’m not giving any thing away. I remember Larry Munson when he was doing VANDERBILT play-by-play and had a hunting and fishing show on WSM. They brought him to Atlanta to be a Braves announcer with Milo. Munson, as I have said on here before, was terrible! So, UGA hired him and the rest, as they say, is history.
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Thanks, B-man. Your description kinda put me right there next to a radio for a while. Awesome…
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BTW, Munson leaving cleared the way for Ernie Johnson and Pete, the Professor, the two best announcers-including Milo and Skip-that the Braves have ever had.
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The link to Jack’s 9/11 poem now works. Sorry, but it kept changing the URL for some reason. It really is worth the couple of minutes to see it.
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I’m glad the Braves site has video with our guys calling Chipper’s HR. For some reason ExtraInnings doesn’t show Peachtree broadcasts here so I got the Marlins’ guys again. (They were nice about it though. Showed lots of replays & Chipper’s curtain call.)
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Has anyone seen SG? Has he run out of words? Not likely. Maybe he’s hanging out across the street, again. One of you twofers that hang out over there in your plain brown wrappers, give us a report.
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Pete and Skip are a HOF duo, in my opinion. They truly are a classic team. I remember Milo and Ernie. They were the first team I heard. I remember when Pete came on – from the Tidewater Tides of the PCL, I believe. I remember when Skip was the voice of the Hawks, and moved over to baseball. Growing up, there was the trio of Ernie, Skip and Pete that rotated around radio/TV; seems to me that the radio gig was solo for a while. Then came John Sterling… Oh, man, was he awful. I still can’t figure out how he is revered in NY. Well, it is NY. π
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Raisins; Ernie, Skip and Pete were a great team, but like Grinch, I had a bad personal experience with Skip. So, I like the other two much better but for someone who didn’t have that experience it would be hard not to consider the three of them as THE Braves announcing team. Period.
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I worded my last incorrectly. Grinch had his experience with Smoltz. To my knowledge, he has no problem with Skip.
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Pappy, I’ve infiltrated the enemy’s blog. That’s a negative on SG. Not kidnapped, not a POW held there. Attempts to contact him have been unsuccessful.
Shall we officially list him as MIA?
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If I had to guess, which I don’t have to, but it is kinda fun, I’d say he isn’t MIA, rather occupied elsewhere. You know, Savannah is kinda mysterious…
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Whoa… my emotican dude disappeared. π―
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As did my emoticon dude…
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I AM EMOTICON….. DESTROY ALL HUMANS….TRANSMISSION OVER
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I CRY AT SAD MOVIES…. I LIKE LONG WALKS ON THE BEACH….I AM EMO-TICON….WE WILL TAKE OVER THE HUMANS….
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I’m kinda worried about Savannah, too. Unable to establish contact which is NOT normal!
also, ww – Salty (no, he’s not in the filter) – BASteve??? Wherefore art thou’s??? (That’s old English for ‘y’all’ )
Is some nefarious plot being carried out?? π―
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I think I saw that movie… π
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Not sure about the rest, but ww is hanging out across the street. I hope he is not badly influenced. That’s a bad crowd over there – not the kind your Mom would approve of… π
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I know someone who tears up at some commercials….
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Sorry EMOTICON took over my username and avatar for a moment. I think I’ve fended him off though
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Hey, JB! Gotta watch them closely. They have been restless lately, too!
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Are you EMOTICON? Or just emo kid? π
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I AM EMO!!!
I’m gonna go in my room and write dark poetry and listen to My Chemical Romance
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BREAKING NEWS:
Somebody tried to sneak a birthday by us!
JB was 28 years old yesterday!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JB!!!
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I still am 28
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2 quick items before I head out into 90 degree heat to mow my lawn.
1) I watched the 8:00am SportsCenter this morning to get highlites of last night’s game, being that I missed it and all. I figured that with Chipper still batting over .400 and hitting his 400th HR, they’d have it pretty early in the broadcast, kinda feature it. They lead with game 1 of the NBA finals, which is understandable, but that coverage ran until 8:11. Then they went to the BoSox game and brawl and dugout ruckus. Then they covered a few other things, including the Philthies and Yankers games, before finally coming back to Chipper and the Braves at 8:21 with minimal coverage. He got a brief mention, a couple of stats, and on to the next game. Sucky ESPN… π‘
2) From the credit where credit is due dept.: Jimmy Rollins hits a routine pop and loafs to first. The fielder (?) drops the pop and Rollins is stuck at 1B. Charlie Manuel benches him after the inning and refuses to comment to the media about it. In my opinion, Manuel handled it perfectly. He sent a quick and effective message, dealt with it in-house, and was done. Then, when Rollins was asked about it by the media, he responded by saying, “He has two rules: Be on time and hustle. I broke one today. It’s my fault. I can’t be mad at him.” Again, handled perfectly and with accountability. Even though he is with the enemy, Rollins stepped up a notch in my book.
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A belated Happy B’day, JB!!! π
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JB, I left you a birthday greeting on your blog!
Raisins, agreed on both points.
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Point 2), Raisins.
I found that story interesting and I really respect that approach to the game. Now let’s beat the Phils!
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Thanks, I got it Chris. I’m so thankful for the shouts of out that I got from you’all.
Made my day in the Blog-o-sphere a lovely one.
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Yeah, it kinda sticks with you, JB. Almost a whole year. π
I agree, Raisins. ESPN is totally useless to anyone outside of New England. Also, on Manuel and Rollins. That’s the way to do it.
Remember when Bobby pulled Andruw right in the middle of a game for loafing on a play? Never happened again. Wonder what would have been the result if he had benched him during that looooong year that he refused to listen to instruction? (“I’ll check it out after the season.” Stupidest statement I’ve ever read. Well, one of them, anyway.)
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Obligations beckon. Later! π
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Happy birthday, JB!!!
Good for Manuel for handling that right and good for Rollins for taking it like a man instead of a whiny brat.
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Speaking of whiny brats, Happy Birthday, JB. π
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We will list SG as missing through no fault of friend or foe. This category is usually reserved for small children and senile oldsters. I hope he left some bread crumbs.
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Tainted cheese fuels TB rise in California…
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24954041/
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Berigan, By the way. I love the lead you posted and I really enjoyed the Jack Buck tribute along with the link to him reading that poem. It’s been a while since I’ve revisited 9/11 drama and it was a good throwback.
Great post!
Cheers!
Beat the Phils!
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Oh so I’m a whiny brat now, Pappy!
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Them’s fightin’ words…
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Anyone under 50 is a brat to me, JB. π
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HA HA! Fair enough, Pappy.
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That settles it. We should all vote for Obama because “the rest of the world” thinks it is a good idea. Yeah right! If they want him so much, let them have him. How about president of Iraq?
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huh? Where did that come from , Pappy?
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Read something besides the sports page, JB. It’s good for your mind and ultimately for your country. π
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Thanks for the kind words on the blog! I still have a better one about him, but it’s lodged too deep in my….mind! π
And CL, thanks so much for the photos! Really added to the presentation! π
You did keep this line in though…”Or you can just say something like some writers do” I really just meant that as a backup in case you didn’t want to use Perry’s name! But, you kept the bash in, and that’s a good thing! π
JB, hope you had a happy birthday, at least the braves won! Good to see ya posting here! π
I don’t even mind seeing Pappy posting! π
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Need to run to the bank(Good ol’ WAMU, open til 6!) but….who did we draft first??? Everything I see online about the draft talks about the 1st round….for some reason, there isn’t a bunch of excitement about later picks it seems! π
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Hey Berigan, over here this girl had a good post on all the draft picks.
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Great lead JB… Very good read… Another talented contributer to the B&S blog is in evidence…
Now, CL.. I don’t mind ya’ll having a big old B-B-Q down in NC but you really need to check the wind direction first… Glad it isn’t a tire dump… Could give a whole new meaning of someone blowing smoke up our butt….
http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-06-06-0232.html
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And happy birthday JB…. Trust me… they come faster the older you get…. π¦
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Gil, you’re right about birthdays coming faster as you get older. I personally suffer through several each year!
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Sorry, Gil! They oughtta know better than to tell Bubba to stoke the pit fire!
π
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Gosh, I’m so relieved that Berigan approves of my postings. I was sooo worried.
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Klobber; I have given up birthdays. A couple of cheap-ass presents do not make up for a year closer to the casket. Keep your damn ties, etc., give me another year.
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I’m out of here. Hopefully, for only 12 hours, or so.
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C’mon, bully. Hold that lead!
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Dangit Blaine!!!
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Seriously Blaine. No need to make this game so interesting!
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π‘ π‘ π‘
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BAD WORDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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This kind of play is why a team loses so many one run games….
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Huddy should be steamin’!
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5 blown saves in the last 7 games…
starting pitcherleft fieldercloser
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Anybody surprised they are walking Chipper?
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And Casey, mighty Casey strikes out π¦
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Time for Frenchy to earn his pay.
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Okay Jeff…. Either a hero or a zero….
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ZERO>>>>>>
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Pitiful…
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I think that makes 9 LOB for Mr. Francoeur tonight.
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AAurgghhhh
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Aside form Hudson’s gem being wasted here, the other frustrating aspect of this game is the effect on the bullpen.
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Amazing….. I hope good Manny shows up tonight…
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DON’T WALK THIS GUY!!!!!
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Well, he didn’t walk him….
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I don’t know if I can stand to watch this any longer….
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The more I watch Gregor play CF, the more I’m convinced he’s not a ML CF’er…
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The team that can execute the bunt may win the game.
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BOOOOO! BOOOOO! BOOOOO!
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(*(&^(()&65&*908*&()(*78%%$&^
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Doesn’t look that way so far Gil.
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Manny was accosted…
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I think if I were Bobby, I would really let this team have it in the club house after the game….. Just so many mental mistakes….
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And I wish Chip would just shut his pie-hole…
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The more I watch Gregor play CF, the more Iβm convinced heβs not a ML CFβerβ¦ TOTALLY agreed.
The team that can execute the bunt may win the game.
The Braves haven’t executed much of anything well tonight. There have been a TON of mistakes. I hope Cox has the whole lot of them running poles after the game tonight. THey deserve it — all except for Mac and Chip.
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One reason the Phillies have such a good bullpen ERA is they are not worn out… Unlike a certain Atlanta team. Manny should never have had to pitch tonight.
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Game. Set. Match.
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What is Bobby doing?!?
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Tex quickly called KJ off that pop-up, didn’t he?
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Raisins, there’s no telling.
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Did Chip just say that Anderson and Blanco were arguably the best speed on the team?
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To the moon, Norton!
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πΏ
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π―
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I try not to listen to him Raisins. Wouldn’t surprise me though. Maybe Jurrjens is faster? I don’t know, he’s pretty darn fast.
Braves lose and I’m glad. They deserve to lose the entire series. They should be absolutely ashamed of their poor execution tonight.
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π₯
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That hurts. I don’t mind losing when you’re outplayed, when you just don’t have it for whatever… but to just hand it over…
At least they showed a little fight at the end against Lidge.
Shoulda never gotten that far.
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Actually, Blanco was safe, high tag
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Now… I still say Anderson and Blanco should be batting 1-2 in the order…
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But Chris is right, the Braves did not deserve to win this game… Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy….
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Are there any more questions about Anderson? Hasn’t he shown he can play with the big boys?
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Out managed and outplayed… who would have thunk it???
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I dunno, Gil. Blanco isn’t consistent enough for #2. Plus, Chipper’s not budging from 3. Anderson, Yunel, Chipper, Tex doesn’t sound so bad, though.
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the kid is a burner alright.
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Maybe they should drop Frency down in the order to the eight hole until he gets the message… Naw, not going to happen…
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Sidney Ponson, 4-1, 3.88 ERA , DFA’d by Texas…
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I don’t know what the answer is but clearly they haven’t found it yet. The knock on Anderson is that his minor league obp numbers aren’t great so he’s not ideal to leadoff. However, they need to put him there and give him a try. Mac’s major league numbers are better than his minor numbers.
Anderson also needs to be playing in CF tomorrow.
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I’d drop him to 7 for sure.
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AAARRRGGGHHH!!!! Kelly, use 2 freakin’ hands to catch the ball! And Acosta, blech. My dad went to bed as soon as he saw him come in. I thought Blanco was safe too but was stuck with the Phil’s broadcast so they didn’t have a great angle.
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Okay, I have a headache… I am going to bed, later guys….
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Anderson also needs to be playing in CF tomorrow. AGREED
Whose OPB in the leadoff spot this season is ideal to leadoff? Nobody’s that I can think of.
I’d start Anderson in CF and lead him off followed by Yuney, Chipper, Tex, Mac, KJ, Frenchy and Blanco (LF).
Gotta come up with a shorter reference for him than “Anderson”.
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Raisins, I saw that but I don’t think Ponson is the answer to our problems. Somehow I just can’t see him teaching the fundamentals of hitting, catching and baserunning. THAT is the reason(s) the Braves lost tonight.
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You know, I’m ticked that KJ missed that ball, too, but without two 2-out walks by Blaine, it never happens.
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I’d give Anderson a shot at leadoff. I like Yunel better as #2 anyway. And WHY is Francoeur batting ahead of Mac?
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Now, stuff.
Why does Rafael Nadal where capri pants?
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Well, we could give him a Cox-like nickname. Andy (or Joshy)?
Raisins, I wasn’t saying that I disagreed with your statement about leading off with Andy :). I was merely explaining why he hasn’t been there before. In fact, I endorse the idea. SOMETHING has to happen with this club to get them started. Bobby’s idea of waiting on the three run homer is not working right now. Maybe it’s time to insert some speed into the lineup. Speed puts pressure on the defense and forces things to happen. Try it Bobby. What’s the worst thing that could happen? We lose some more?
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And WHY is Francoeur batting ahead of Mac?
Because Bobby’s “book” says that you bat Frenchy ahead of Mac when a lefty is starting. Bobby needs to find the latest revised edition of his book.
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WHY is Francoeur batting ahead of Mac?
Why is Francoeur batting AT ALL. He looks awful lately. He needs a rest.
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All you have to do is look at the 10th inning for the Braves to see the immediate benefit of having speed on the bases.
Francoeur has to share in the blame pie too. 9 left on base? Is that right?
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Tennis players are a little different, VOR. Tons of ’em here at Bollettieri’s.
I’d sit Frenchy. He looked bad tonight.
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Every pitcher pitches Frenchy the same. They start him out high and away, then come inside high, then go back out away and down. Every time.
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Yeah, I know that’s what the “book” says. Hide it, burn it, flush it down the toilet. Let’s try thinking instead of relying on the book.
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Raisins, I think the 9 LOB is correct. Pretty sure he had bases loaded twice and couldn’t get the job done. Very AJ like.
He’s got to learn to adjust. The league adjusted to him, he’s got to readjust. That’s the reason that everyone pitches him the same. THey know it’s an easy out.
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Tonight’s game is a microcosm of the Braves in 2008. Could win it, should win it, can’t execute the basics to win it. Period.
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OK, that wasn’t very nice but I’m frustrated.
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Is it just me being PO’d, or did they truly reveal tonight that they don’t have a shot in 2008?
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I wouldn’t go that far, VOR, but they certainly showed how inconsistent they are.
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If we could have Yunel, Chipper & Mac bat every inning then they have a great shot.
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Is it just me being POβd, or did they truly reveal tonight that they donβt have a shot in 2008?
Not playing like that they don’t. THey won’t go far in the postseason playing like this.
FBG, unfortunately there are far too many other problems with this team that even ONLY those three guys batting couldn’t overcome.
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Just trying to lighten the mood, Chris.
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No, folks, that wasn’t me catching Chipper’s 400th last night …
BUT, I darn sure would’ve caught that pop-up in short right field with two outs in the top of the ninth tonight.
Maybe the single most-disgusting loss I’ve seen in 30 years of watching this team. It’s been a LONG time since I physically wanted to be sick after a game, but I honestly think I’m going to throw up now, then go to bed.
(And no, I haven’t started drinking again … I’m just THAT MAD). That stash of cash I have for playoffs and World Series tickets? Monday morning, I’m putting that in my IRA … no way this team goes to the playoffs if they keep giving away games like this.
Actually, change that. They’ve given away games all season long, but NOTHING like this. Single-most painful, hurtful, devastating loss since Game 4 of the 2005 NLDS in Houston.
Unbelievable.
–30–
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OK, time to go read & calm down so I’ll be able to sleep. Good night y’all.
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G’night everybody… I hope I can sleep after that… π
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I just saw another replay of the last out… I’m not so sure that the tag wasn’t high and the foot wasn’t in. It was mighty dang close…
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Raisins, either way, they deserved to lose. In fact, they deserved to lose on so many levels.
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They deserve to be taken out back and shot, but I’d take the win.
The bad events in
tonight’slast night’s game overshadow a few positives which need to be remembered. Huddy pitched a beauty of a game. Josh Anderson showed again that he can play at the ML level. Yunel delivers in the clutch. The Braves mounted a pretty decent rally against Brad Lidge.If I can somehow manage to remember those things instead of Francoeur’s 9 LOB, Boyer’s 2 2-out walks, KJ’s drop, Bad Manny, etc. then I might be able to put head to pillow with moderate success.
I know I’d sleep better with sloppy play and a win.
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Since I cannot sleep at the moment, I have a question to ask. Anybody else think Mac should be batting 4th? He’s a much bigger threat at the plate than is Tex right now.
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Wow… Resop cleared waivers and was sent to Richmond.
Do I understand correctly that Kotsay has more than just a sore back? He has a bulging disk putting pressure on his sciatic nerve. I don’t expect him back, no pun intended, soon.
And as I type that depressing tidbit, ESPN shows the final play of the game… again. π
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G’night… again…
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Wow….I watched just some of the game….my Dad was watching My Favorite Spy with Bob Hope, cooked a late dinner….got REALLY tired as the movie ended around 9:30(I think the same thing that bit Paladin long ago and makes you want to sleep around dusk got me too) put the tv on in my room, saw 2-1 braves, bases loaded, and saw Frenchy hit into a double play, a look of shock on Chipper’s face…and decided it was time for bed…the game was lost….after reading the comments above, really, really, really glad I didn’t stay up! My God, for Scribe to go off on the team like that, VOR, who never really gets negative, to sound like he did…wow….just….wow!
I noticed a few days ago on the other blog, KC going off on Bobby Cox…he never did that before that I can recall…..strange days indeed.
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Voice of Raisins Says:
June 6, 2008 at 11:21 pm
Sidney Ponson, 4-1, 3.88 ERA , DFAβd by Texasβ¦
We do not want him….Like Harry Carey said about Dick Allen in the 70’s…a million dollar talent with a 50 cent mind….
ARLINGTON — Veteran pitcher Sidney Ponson’s comeback came to an abrupt end on Friday, when the Rangers designated him for assignment before the night game against the Rays.
Ponson was 4-1 with a 3.88 ERA in nine starts for the Rangers and was an integral part of their resurgence since the end of April. However, a series of off-the-field incidents led the Rangers to drop him from the team.
“We’re trying to put together a team of 25 guys pulling together,” general manager Jon Daniels said. “Based on some recent comments, he did not want to be a part of that, and that’s something we’re not going to tolerate. We want guys who want to be here and want to pull for the team, and not guys who are here for their own self-interests.”
…..
Daniels declined to discuss the specifics and Ponson was unavailable for comment, but team sources said Ponson was put on notice after creating a serious disturbance at the hotel bar in St. Petersburg during the team’s last road trip. He was told that further problems would not be tolerated.
Two more incidents occurred this week. Ponson started with three days’ rest on Wednesday against the Indians and allowed six runs in four innings. Only two were earned because of three errors committed behind him, and Ponson reacted furiously after being taken out. His actions were interpreted as “showing up” his teammates.
The second incident occurred when manager Ron Washington informed Ponson on Thursday that he would be pushed back in his next start so that Kevin Millwood could start Tuesday on his regular four days’ rest. Ponson would have pitched on Wednesday on six days’ rest. Ponson wasn’t happy with that decision and made his feelings clear in a heated discussion with the manager.
That led the Rangers to the decision to drop Ponson before Friday’s game with the Rays.
“It’s a matter of respect and lack thereof,” Daniels said. “We expect our guys to act professionally, to show respect for their teammates and the people in the clubhouse. We have minimum standards.
“This is an opportunity to send a message to the organization, especially [to] our young players. There is a right way and a wrong way to win championships. We expect a lot from our organization. This is the right message to send.”
The Rangers signed Ponson in Spring Training with the knowledge that he had a past history of off-the-field problems, including two DUI arrests in 2004-05. Ponson, when he joined the Rangers, acknowledged his past problems but insisted he had learned from them and that they were behind him…..
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080606&content_id=2853351&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
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This should make everyone warm and fuzzy. Kyle Davies has made two starts, and has a 1.54 ERA. Just beat the Yankees last night, 1 run in 6 2/3rds innings. Isn’t that just, great? π
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Did I mention I was glad I slept through the game???? π
Hope everyone is feeling better today…it is a new day, as they say, and I bet they play a lot better today!
Look at the stats for the Red Sox Closer Papelbon, and you will see how a good manager uses a closer….I truly believe Acosta turned to…crud because of being used for more than one inning on back to back nights, and that double header where he pitched on both ends for no good reason….
Papelbon
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/gamelog?statsId=7614
Acosta
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/gamelog?statsId=8089
I am sure others will disagree with me, but how many times this year has he gotten up and down before coming in a game??? He’s just overworked. he was great til he was used 3 days in a row…..now he can’t get anyone out….will he end up on the DL????
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Man, gettin’ sleepy again, where is everyone??? The sun has been up for hours! π
I skimmed thru the AJC blog…oh man, makes ours almost seem positive last night…and DOB clearly thinks none of the blame is Bobby’s, and is mad at folks for thinking it is his fault.
It was just Yunel’s bad baserunning, and Kelly’s error… Not Frenchy failing many times with runners on, Tex not getting the big hit when it counts, not Boyers 2 walks with 2 outs, in the 9th(after coming in for Olman who was mowing them down) bringing in Acosta when he is clearly in a slump. If he game had been 5-1 in the 9th, the error would have meant next to nothing…..
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Berigan; Your argument might be more convincing if Johnson had not dropped an easy pop-up that would have given the Braves a 2-1 victory. You and your Dad break down and get another TV so he can watch dvds and you can watch the game.
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And DOB was bashing someone who was asking when Tex was going to get out of his slump, and he mentioned how he’s….”hit .355 (27-for-76) with six doubles, four homers and 22 RBI in his past 20 games (including three hits Thursday) before tonight, when he was 1-for-3 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch.”
Yeah, but how’s he doing late and close??? And so he’s got an RBI a game, seems every time Chipper is walked, it works as he rolls a grounder to ss, or 2nd. He’s still hitting only .216 vs lefties. He has 43 RBI’s. Well….Just looking at Chipper’s numbers alone. Between hits and walks, he’s been on base 128 times!!! Ok, subtrack 14 homers, 114 times he has been on base in front of Tex(At least, I don’t see numbers for fielders choices that Chipper has hit into) so, really….don’t act like Tex has been huge this year, he is hitting better of late…that’s all.
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Finally, 13 1/2 hours later, thats a looooong sleep pappy! π
Pappy, no doubt, Kelly screwed up, and cost the game, (Well, the lead at least)but too many screw ups earlier in the game…a lot of people cost the team the game, Kelly, Yunel, Tex, Frenchy, Acosta, Boyer….and Bobby.
Got lots of TV’s but my Dad found the movie while I was cookin’ and I watched a bit in a bedroom, but wanted to do some work on the computer….glad I missed this one, for sure!
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sleep time!!!!!!!!! Be good Pappy!
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First pitch surprise!
http://onthescene.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/06/06/first-pitch-surprise/
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Minor league team staff plays for 24 hours
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,364264,00.html
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Pappy, no doubt, Kelly screwed up, and cost the game, (Well, the lead at least)
Berigan, Kelly cost them the game. Period. He catches that ball and the game is OVER.
Kelly Johnson = goat
Granted, there were other opportunities to win this game. Frenchy left 9 on the bases. Yunel ran into an out at the plate in VERY stupid fashion. Ohman got caught trying to advance on a passed ball (either he left late or he is very, very slow). He should have stayed at 1b.
The kids that I see play here in A ball don’t make mistakes like these. They are pathetic.
CL, that’s a nice story about the Padres bringing that sailor home. The family didn’t seem too surprised though. I thought that they’d be a little more excited. While the dad’s home he needs to work with his son on how to throw a baseball. That pitch to the plate was weak.
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My feelings about last night have simmered for nearly 11 hours now — summarized on http://braves.today.com — and I still can’t believe the Braves lost.
One pop-up, bouncing out of the glove and landing three inches fair. Gotta wonder folks if that one play will be THE ONE we all spend the winter talking about. I certainly hope not, but you just gotta wonder …
How people can blame Bobby for this is beyond me. Only thought process I had last night was maybe bringing in Ring in the ninth to face the left-hander, but Boyer threw it so well when he first came in, I really couldn’t second-guess that one in hindsight.
Sigh … I’m outta here. Enjoy your day.
The Scribe abides.
–30–
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Just time for one post this morning, then back later. Back home after a long week of twists and turns. Much like that game last night, only better. Good to be home.
Now, baseballβ¦ or whatever it is the Braves are playing. That game last night made me physically ill. Oh, the horrors, the horrors! Unlike many of you fine ladies and gents, I did drink last night and instead of my usual couplβa cocktails, had another few after the debacle. Another great outing by Huddy, another amazing game from Chipper, another good night from McCannβ¦ then one more defeat snatched from the jaws of victory. Another game pissed away.
Started to log in and vent last night but thankfully had the good sense to just watch some meaningless tripe on the tube and wind down. Had nothing good to say anyway. Would have been nothing but a %$#&@ rant wouldβve come out anyway. Now Iβd be in the doghouse and the Braves would still be pitiful.
When Mr. Jeff, βBorass-will-get-my-money-βcause-Iβm-beefed-up-and-chicks-dig-the-long-ballβ Francoeur failed so many times in clutch situations the same exact way he has all year, leaving 9 men on base, I was totally annoyed. Itβs the same lame thing over and over. Sickening. Maybe there’s an βIron-manβ deficiency.
When Mr. Yunel βIβll-run-anytimeβ Escobar ignored Brian Snitkerβs instruction (screams?) to βget back, get back, tag up, tag upβ, I felt nauseous. Everyone in Braves Nation knew he would be out by ten feet, but Yunel just ran. Where is his common sense? Where are the fundamentals? Is there any accountability for not paying attention to coaches? Yunel needs a butt chewing for lollygagging down to first on a groundout as well.
When Mr. Manny, βitβs-now-in-my-headβ Acosta once again was accosted, I could not move. There I was in Twilight Zoneβ¦ Groundhog Day again. Manny looks afraidβ¦. Just like us when he comes out.
When Mr. Kelly, βone-handβ Johnson dropped that lollipop I went numb. Couldnβt believe what I was seeing. Could not frikkinβ believe it.
Completely discouragingβ¦ no, make that disgusting. Then to see the last big chanceβ¦ our last hope, two on, two out, a hit, fast running Gregor βI-should-never-be-considered-for-leadoff-againβ Blanco ran hard and slidβ¦ and called out. Safe or not, it was a perfect throw and an imperfect slide. That was a time for a wide, headfirst, hand-swiping slide. But it was not done that way and was not to be. Is this how Pirates fans felt when Sid slid?
Iβm just glad my wife was upstairs in the shower and out of earshot when all that came down. At one point I screamed at the TV so loud all the cats scattered for their lives. Loud expletives (deleted here) will do that.
Sad but true, that game was an index of our season of not executing the basics and just poor fundamentals. Today weβre out 4.5 games instead of 2.5 games. Weβve shown every team in the National League that a last at bat comeback is a very good possibility with the hapless Braves. Itβs not just a quirky loss and βweβll getβem tomorrowβ thing. A game like that lives on. It wasnβt just the stupid botched play by Kelly that lost the game. It was the teamβs lack of execution with bunting, moving runners over, sliding and, uhβ¦ running the bases and other such trivial matters.
Is there accountability for players not executing the simple fundamentals? Is there any accountability for not paying attention to coaches? Is there accountability to the coaches for not making them pay attention? Are coaches accountable to the manager for not being effective at getting the youngβuns to pay attention? Is there manager accountability to Wren for all of this? Wren to JS? Nopeβ¦ this manager is rewarded with contract extensions.
Look, I know Cox wasnβt to blame for last nightβs messβ¦ but heβs the manager and we keep making the same mistakes that keep costing us games. But thatβs right, Cox is a HOF’er and itβs a cushy country club, so never mind. Blah. Yuk. Blah, blah, blah.
So solly, just a vent. Oh, the horrors… the horrors!
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Attention all bloggers: The APB on SG has now been canceled.
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Welcome back SG. We were concerned about you.
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Just came in from the yard. Welcome back SG. I myself have had a whole morning of yardwork to mull over all that occured last night, and I’m still as ticked as I was at midnight.
SG, I think I agree with every statement you made. I’m tired of the emotional roller coaster these talented but hapless Braves are taking me on. My emotional attachment may have loosened a bit last night. I hope not, but we’ll see…
Changes need to be made. BIG changes. Something needs to be shaken up to the extent it can be measured on the Richter scale. From Wren down to the bat boys. Something needs to shake the foundation. I’m ready…
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Off to the airport again. APB? Concerned? Uh oh, am I in some kinda’ trouble? It has been a record week of computer/net activity lately… long story I won’t bore you with, although that’s never stopped me before. π I’ll have to catch up on this week’s going’s on in Stuffville and read the new lead when I return. But thanks for the missing person report. It’s nice to be missed.
Itβs been a week. Too much work, not enough play, 367 unanswered emails, heat spell, Obama clinching, McCain still veering left, stupid global warming legislation, gas prices, stock market woes, topped off by last night’s gameβ¦
It was a week.
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Gotta go eat now…
C-y’all later… π
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The movie Major League reminds me of the Braves. Remember how when they found out that the deceased owner’s wife was going to dismantle the team they finally got serious about their fundamentals and really started playing baseball? The Braves seriously need something of similar import!
I wonder if something is going on in the background with the firing of Frank Fultz recently. I know it was reported that it was the result of a long-standing personality clash, but it was never said who the clash was with. Wren? Cox? Got to be someone fairly high in the pecking order to actually bring about a personnel change. I REALLY hope we see more.
I also noted that the team has had targeted practice with bunting, long a woeful lack on this and previous teams. Someone IS doing something, but don’t know who. Would be very surprised if it was Bobby. As much as I love this man, he just doesn’t seem to be effective anymore. Who is calling the shots for these changes?
There is a too-great lack of focus on most of this team. No ‘blood in the eye’.
Failed to execute? I’ll do better tomorrow; has anyone seen the remote?
Blew the play? Sorry. I’ll try to not let that happen again. Cards, anyone?
Lost the game? Maybe we’ll get it next time. Anybody need a golf partner? Paychecks in yet?
Too much money, too much job security, not enough caring, pride or fight. Not enough of John Smoltz/Chipper Jones – ism.
Teams like that don’t deserve to win games, much less championships – and they don’t.
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CL, these kids aren’t playing like they’re hungry. They don’t want it bad enough.
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Wow… The Braves nation is up in arms…. Can’t blame us for feeling angry though. I may not watch for a while… Just not sure this team deserves my support. It is one thing when you have a bunch of no talent hacks but the Braves have talent… I am just not sure they have heart.
Remember what I said about Manuel taking on the media in Philly last year and how it turn that team around? Well, Bobby needs to kick some butt, show some fire, sit some fannies down who can’t seem to understand situational hitting.
We will see if there is carry over for the rest of the series but I for one will not be surprised if the Braves tank….
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Raisins… they are playing not to lose rather than playing to win… That is why they choke in the ninth….
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And SG… glad to see you stop by.. You are conspicuous in your absence…
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Gil, this game may well be the pivotal point of the season. Last night may have broken this team’s back. If so, we’ll point to June 6 as the day the season was lost.
If they can use this humiliating loss as motivation it may spur them into becoming what they are all capable of being and doing. If so, this date will also become an important one.
I, for one, am very curious to see how this team responds starting with today’s game.
It starts tonight folks.
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It’s time for the successor to be on board. Maybe he’s already in the organization. I wouldn’t mind seeing Eddie Perez get moved to bench coach, and start calling some shots in the dugout. Chino can be moved to Waffle House, for all I care. TP should go, too. I don’t care how much responsibility can be assigned to TP for the failures of certain Braves like Fran and Diaz, he needs to go. A message needs to be sent that this crap will not be tolerated. I’m tired of Tex, too. No clutch htting. Alot of show, very little go. He needs to be moved down in the lineup. Mac needs to be hitting behind Chipper.
Speaking of Mac… He is such a great hitter, will catching eventually rob him of his legs? Is there any possibility of him ever playing 1B to ease the wear and tear that catching inflicts. I can’t imagine any other possible position for him. I have no idea if he could even play 1b, but I’d like to see his hitting protected as long as possible.
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Welcome back SG! I knew you must be at the word store buying wholesale. π
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Berigan; I should have used a smiley face on my earlier post to you. Thanks for taking it the way it was intended. As the big rooster would say, “Just a yoke, son.”
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Ra: Tex et al. When you know that next year you will be wearing pin stripes, or be in Baltimore, or whereever you want to be, making huge chunks of money, how can you have an “edge”? In other words, how do you play “hungry” when you ain’t? I don’t know what the answer is, but throwing more money at ’em ain’t it!
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Pappy: I think to assert that Tex is just playing the string out to get his big $$$ in FA is a fair assessment. He hasn’t exhibited to me any sense of urgency with regard to team success. If the Braves fall any farther behind in the East, they should begin entertaining offers for Tex to try and salvage something from his time here. I certainly don’t want Wren to hamstring our payroll by resigning him.
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I have to play a concert tonight in Marietta, so it’s just about time for me to leave it with y’all for today. Because of the concert, I’ll miss tha game tonight. That may be a good thing, but I would like to see if there is any change in demeanor for this team.
As I exit for the day, I will leave you all with a few suggestions for shaking up this team. Maybe not everything, but one or two would certainly make a difference.
1) Chino is gone immediately, and Eddie Perez moves to the bench. Bobby likes him, and trusts him. As for bullpen coach? Who cares…
2) TP is gone. His motorcycle rides off into the sunset. I’m sure there is a “roving instructor” somewhere in the organization that can at least understand the concept of batting vs. hitting.
3) Corky Miller is gone. He is waste of a roster spot. Perhaps the Braves invested too much hope in the failed Javy experiment, but they never should have gone into this season with a backup catcher so inadequate. His replacement? Certainly not in the organization… Sammons’ progress is going too well to derail it by languishing on the bench. Gotta find one, Frank.
4) With Diaz still hurt, and not hitting very well anyway, and with Kotsay having more serious back issues than just spasms, I at least consider a Schaffer call-up. But if I do it, I play him every day in CF until Kotsay returns. I don’t pull the same crap Bobby has pulled with Josh Anderson. And I’d play JA, too, over Blanco. Blanco just is not a very good fielder. If I promote Schaffer, Blanco goes down, not JA.
5) My lineup becomes JA, Yuney, Chipper, Mac, Tex, KJ, Fran, Schaffer, pitcher.
6) Somebody has to step up and be a lock down closer, or Frank has to find one. If Soriano isn’t physically able, shut him down. If Manny’s psyche is shot, send him down. Gonzo can’t be expected to step right in to that role after his return. I’d at least consider moving Tex if I could get a real closer in a package in return. We’ve lost a helluva lot more games by not being able to slam the door than Tex has won with his bat, which by my count might be one.
7) I hope every player on that roster woke up this morning with a little bit of his ass gone from having it chewed up last night. If they were allowed to leave that complex last night with no repercussion, it’s a sad statement on the desire of the team. And if they aren’t going to care, why should we the fans?
8) Today, I sit Fran (he will no longer be called by anything more masculine until he mans up) and KJ. Fran because he just in general sucks right now, and KJ as a statement for accountability.
C-ya… π
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Jim McKay dead.
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/sports/stories/2008/06/07/mccay_0607.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_newstab&imw=Y
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I wish I could get on board with Klobber, and I am–to a point. But, every time I think they can’t get any sloppier, or hit any worse(Chipper, not withstanding)they do. Is this the team’s Rubicon? If so, they better roll up their britches legs and wade in!
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Raisins; You are probably gone by now, but on a trip to the store I was thinking about bringing up Schaffer. How could he be any worse than what they have now? And he’s HONGRY!
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Gil in Mechanicsville Says:
June 7, 2008 at 12:43 pm
And SG⦠glad to see you stop by.. You are conspicuous in your absence
Not only was it conspicuous, but it was noticeable as well! π
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I’m going to bed. Yes, it is early but what I saw last night wasn’t worth the loss of sleep. Let’s see what happens tonight.
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Hillary endorses Barrack Obama. Duh! Who did you think she was going to endorse, Barrack O’Brien?
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Now I can relax, watch the game and blog a bit… my lady has arrived safe and sound at her destination after an uneventful, smooth flight. It’s such a rare occurrence that she travels without me… couldn’t help but worry a bit.
Great lead Bear. You’ve got a nice appreciation and recall for the good folks in baseball. Enjoyed the read and learned a lot from it. Wish I could’ve heard the esteemed Mr. Buck in his heyday.
Thanks folks for the kind words. I’m touched. Actually my wife says that I’m ‘touched’ fairly often but I meant the, uh, good kind. π One thing about Braves and Stuff, it is noticeable when one of us takes a break. There are some conspicuously missing folks right now, but I s’pose they’ll be back around when time allows and inspiration strikes.
Missed Pappy, dadgummit. Gone for a happy nappy. Barrack O’Brien. π
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If Reyes keeps this up, we may not need another starter!
Can’t believe Frenchy and Kelly are both in this game today! No shake up of any sort!
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We need to score a run, so it can just be a one run loss….
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Yep, JoJo did good… real good. Bear, in Bobbyball there is no shakeup unless somebody has the nerve to play music in the clubhouse or look at him sideways.
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SG, did Devine look at Bobby sideways??? π
Sad but true….
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Well, it’ll be tougher to lose by one run now. π
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Devine looked at Bobby sideways when he brought him to the mound in a bases loaded situation AFTER giving up a grand slam in the playoffs. Bobby looked at him sideways when he gave up another slam. Felt sorry for the kid. He won several dubious achievement awards before leaving.
What the HELL is up with the umps this year?
Another loss. Ho hum. Five and a half games out and slipping further back. Just another day at the office. Tee time tomorrow?
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Right now the Braves have no rudder. No wind in the sails. No leader. No hustle. No scrappiness. No heart. No urgency. No drive.
This is simply what a 500 ball club looks like. We’re not used to it like so many other teams and cities are. You don’t get your head cut off with one merciful cut or your heart ripped out and stomped on in October… you die from 75-85 small cuts throughout the summer… cuts that bleed just a little until you finally expire, without feeling, without a struggle, without .
That whimper you hear is not the sound of a winner. That giant sucking sound is the sound of a corporation that is satisfied with ‘business as usual’, management as usual and just enough investment to make it look like they are trying to field a winning team. It’s about TV, stadium and merchandise money.
It sucks when Liberty and death mean the same thing. To Liberty…
Life goes on.
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Random thought: Is Obama going to continue to sound more like a preacher every day? Rhymin’ like Jackson, orating like Swaggart and spittin’ like Wright?
WWRRS? Now… there you go again?
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SG, 10:31 post dead on…..
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Back to baseball:
Today, I sit Fran (he will no longer be called by anything more masculine until he mans up)
Agreedβ¦ no more Frenchy. Itβs Fran it is until he hits himself out of mediocrity.
Thereβs another name change. At .279, Tex is not hitting to expectation (or price) and heβs certainly not hitting well enough to be automatically taking the first pitch every time he comes up. Until he quits popping warning track ooh-la-la’s and starts hitting for a decent average, driving in some runs and once in a while come through in the clutch when something other than personal stats count, he should join Fran as βTeshβ, our not-so-clean, cleanup batting first baseman. Are the the Wurlitzer winning Tex singers slipping on the charts?
Fran and Tesh sounds like a Discovery Channel kids show. I prefer Zaboomafoo, the lemur that says, βa panther outside? panther no panths, Iβm goinβ thwimminββ. Ren and Stempy would also be more threatening.
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**WWRRS?**
Welcome to Captain Benjamin’s Calabash Seafood? What are you having sir, Shrimp Sandwich?
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SG, Tesh is hitting a solid .209 from the right side, something that doesn’t seem to bother too many folks. Heck, I’d have Norton bat for him from that side….
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Are the the Wurlitzer winning Tex singers slipping on the charts?
They have been exposed as the lip-psynching frauds that he is. I mean they are. Whatever.
I’ll be glad when he’s gone.
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Too bad Tampa has Carlos Pena, I’d LOVE to swap him for a young arm or two…they are thick with starting pitchin in the minors and with the big club…of course as of today, we really have decent starting pitching(They can’t go deep, but they are decent!) We would need to trade him for someone’s young 1st baseman in waiting or perhaps a left fielder????
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Klobber… WWRRS… what would Ronald Reagan say? Sheesh man… the Gipper!
But a shrimp sammich does sound good.
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A heavy country metal song that a Grinch would surely love. That ol’ boy needs to get on back in here.
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Oops! Sorry SG. Thought you meant Ron Roberts!
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Klobber… how about a four finger pour of the good stuff, straight up. Pour one for yerself and the Bear too. He prolly needs a little throat cleanser anyway.
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SG, haven’t tipped one back with you in a while. Hope you’re not offended that I didn’t wait for you!
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Oh, you were thinkin’ the Charleston top-40 Calabash radio pal of JJS. Nope… not the same RR. Wonder if he’s still spinnin’ the top 40? What is in the top 40 anyway? Zamfir? Kenny G? Madonna? Hootie and the Blowfish?
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Hope youβre not offended that I didnβt wait for you!
Not at all good sir. While you were out I slipped behind the bar and poured meself a leetle one or three. It’s Saturday night… and a little pain in the elbow… a crick in the neck… needed a little medicinal shot, you understand. Like that.
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If the dogs can’t hunt they stay on the porch.
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No alchol for me, thank you very much….I’ll just stick to good old fashioning glue sniffing! π
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The husband of Sharon Stone (recently appointed ambassador to Tibet), was bitten on the toe by a lizard and hospitalized.
Is there something just weirdly ironic there? Jim Morrison would love it.
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I drink so little, I can’t even spell alcohol!!!!
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That’s okay Berigan. I’ll drink your share!
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SG, didn’t that happen years ago??? Sad that I know this truly trivial trivia…sad a great man like yourself does as well! π
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stick to good old fashioning glue
Pun intended? Could this be the bronchial glue clue? Do Bears construct model airplanes and go loop de loop?
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I had to leave stuff out of the lead, otherwise, shoot…It might have been half as long as a typical SG or WW post! π
Here was more info from the same article with Skip talking about Buck….
I remember another time when I was producing one of Jack’s talk shows and I screwed up. But throughout, Jack was ad-libbing, which he could do as well as anyone, and things went smoother than they should have. But it was obvious that I had made a major mistake.
Right after the show ended, Bob Hyland, the vice president of CBS Radio, called me down to his office. Jack said I wasn’t going without him. We went in and Jack tried to take all of the blame. I wouldn’t let him do that. After a while, Bob told me to get out of the office and Jack said that was probably the best thing Bob had said all day.
Jack was always looking out for my best interests and someone I was proud to have as a friend. In addition, he and Dad formed what I believe was the greatest announcing duo in sports history. They worked so well together. Dad was the voice of the guy sitting in the bleachers with his shirt off and Jack was the emcee for the guy dressed in a dinner jacket. They worked so well together and played off of each other so smoothly. Their combination formed something like a symphony. It was as pleasant as Pearlman playing the violin.
I remember one time in Spring Training they showed up probably after a good night out together and were still in good spirits. The White Sox had a catcher named Jerry McNertney. When he came up to bat the first time, one of them said his name in a peculiar way and there was laughter throughout the booth.
The next time he came up they couldn’t even say his name. So when McNertney came up for his third at-bat, they announced that a new catcher had entered the game. That wasn’t the case. McNertney played the entire game.
I always enjoyed seeing Jack when our teams played each other. He always had something that would make you laugh. During the 1998 season, when Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire were chasing history, my son Chip had Jack in his booth to discuss McGwire.
At that time, Jack had just been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and was shaking noticeably. So when he started talking, he asked Chip, “What’s shaking, besides me?”
That’s just the way Jack was. He was able to find humor in his illness. In addition, he was a war veteran and one of the greatest announcers we’ve ever seen.
More importantly for me, he was a friend and a hero.
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Sometimes I wonder why I remember some things and not others. Servo mechanisms and psycho cybernetics can be random… can be random… can be random… can be… can… be… click… click…
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SG, I truly have no Idea why I said old fashioning glue!!! Never sniffed glue…but, if I ever do run for office, I should go for full disclosure….as a kid I really loved to spell leaded gas fumes waft back towards the car! π³ and I and fellow neighborhood children would run behind the “bug” truck and run in the smoke for as long as humanly possible. I usually won, cuz I am really good at stupid things! π I am sure it has nothing to do with my lung issues 30+ years later…..
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Chris, is that part of the new Cap and share the government is pushing??? π
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Damn… I just fell back in my chair. Bear musta’ been savin’ that’un up. Cool… another little pop and I’ll dive right in… toe first. π
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Don’t sue, I is poor! Sue CL, she’s the one collecting all the millions from sweepstakes worldwide! π
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Baseball tonight is supposed to be on, but sportscenter is on instead…was there a redsox game on ESPN???
Anyway, saw some dark haired beauty won the french open. Anna Kournikova, Maria Sharapova….I feel deprived,Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, were the hotties when I was growing up, no fair! π¦
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Bear, how do you spell leaded gas fumes? π Must be the glue. π
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I did thingk Chris Evert was kinda cute back in the day…now, they all look like decent looking lesbians! π―
Do you all see why I don’t drink??? Pointless, absolutely pointless!
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Oh God SG, I am really on a “role” I kant speel worth sheet tonight!
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as a kid I really loved to spell leaded gas fumes waft back towards the car! π³ and I and fellow neighborhood children would run behind the βbugβ truck and run in the smoke for as long as humanly possible.
Well that explains a lot! π
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Berigan, is this you? π
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Bear, must be the cough meds.
Chris Evert ain’t no gay… she married the Shark, right? I always liked her. Now, Martina, yes… self admitted woman lover. Steffi? Not sure.
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Isn’t STefi married to Agassi? Not that that means anything…..
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No, The silver paint is where it’s at! π Good grief, how is that guy still alive???? My lungs hurt just thinking about that!
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Klobber… huffing paint? Those guys with the paint on their faces are unreal. Paint? That is just sick.
Especially if they sniff mauve.
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No, it’s Boris Becker I believe….I could look it up, but more fun to state things like they are facts without checking…
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That dude’s been arrested several times. All with paint on his face!
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Especially if they sniff mauve.
Only the gays sniff mauve. Because it’s so mauv-e-lous!
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B, pretty sure that Graf and Agassi are married. They did a commercial a few years ago with their kid on the tennis court. Little guy was just wearing out some grownup.
Of course, I remember those details but not what the product was. I guess it wasn’t a very good commercial, huh?
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Well, I’m about to get horizontal. Perpendicular is getting old.
G’nite.
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Klobber, the Agassi Shields marriage didn’t work out so well. Hope it does with Graf. Kinda’ like the Bruce Springstein-Hollywood-starlet-shortlived-wife-back-to-the bandmate-friend-wife thing.
That Agassi-Graf commercial was pretty cute… very cute kid. I think the product might have been Canon camera (not sure).
Now I’m going to bed before I start slurring my words like a paint huffing glue head.
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I thought you went to bed! π I was wrong, yet again! Really not my night!
Night!
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Son of Andres Galarraga, Armando, pitching for Detroit:
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8220290/Blood-clot-likely-to-bench-Bonderman-for-season?CMP=OTC-K9B140813162&ATT=49
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To the Roman Senate:
Caesar has crossed the Rubicon! Unfortunately, his “Brave” legions are still making mud pies on the other side. Weenie, Weenie, Vicki.
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Regarding yesterday’s game:
“It’s early β we’ve got a lot of baseball left to play,” said Reyes (2-4), who was charged with four runs and seven hits in 7 1/3 innings, with two walks and eight strikeouts. “We’re not even at the All-Star break.”
That’s what’s wrong! Accepting it as OK. The thinking that ‘Oh, we have plenty of time to make it up.’ Same mindset as the last few years. Even the youngsters have picked it up. I think we’re looking at another 3rd/4th place finish. π¦
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‘Mornin’, Pappy!
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Today 1:30 TBS – Braves/Phillies for those tough enough to watch…..
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from MLB.com – on Campillo:
“I wouldn’t say that he pitches backward, but he really keeps hitters off balance out there,” Braves backup catcher Corky Miller said. “He has the ability to spot three pitches at any time and is willing to throw those pitches at any time.”
Miller has served as a good batterymate for Campillo, and it appears Braves manager Bobby Cox will continue to use this duo together. This will provide Brian McCann, who leads Major League catchers with 12 homers, a chance to rest on Sunday and during Atlanta’s scheduled day off on Monday.
Let’s ALL vote our max for McCann! He sure deserves it; he’s still behind in the votes but is catching up.
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Very interesting article on Chipper and Ted Williams:
http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/jun/07/jones-hanging-tough-at-421/
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‘Mornin’, CL. Is anesthesia allowed if we watch this afternoon? π
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Someone pointed out yesterday that DOB(Depositor of Blather)jumped someone for criticizing Tex. My question to you young ‘uns, do you think you will live long enough to see the man in Fuchsia with stones enough to say anything critical about a player or, God forbid, Bobby? I know I won’t.
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Good morning y’all. Just checking in briefly before heading off into cyberspace to look at furniture. Did anyone else with ExtraInnings get the game last night? It wasn’t shown here (not that I missed much). I’m hoping we actually get the SportSouth feed today. I haven’t watched TBS since they dumped the Braves & would prefer not to now.
CL, you know my votes are going to Mac. Aside from me being totally biased in his favor, he has earned the starting spot.
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Hi, all! A quick thought before I return to the under-brush.
My single irritation with athletes is their suggestion they can’t bring their best with them each and every day. For the $$ they’re being paid, courtesy of the tix we buy, they darn bloody well be giving it their all each and every time they’re called upon. As for rest, I don’t want to hear it…they get an off-season…they sit for half of every game…they’re playing a game, not negotiating world peace. They think they have a hard job…reality awaits if they’re bold enough to step into the Real World!
Every game counts, and the objective is to perform your best, with winning hopefully the outcome. Worry about tomorrow’s game afterwards. The manager, he better figure out to get the most out of each player…no coddling. I’m starting to feel like sports is just a notch below how government is run…simply accept mediocrity as the pinnacle of success!
My rant is concluded…Pappy has the floor (I know he’s gonna take it! π )
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Howdy folks….
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do you think you will live long enough to see the man in Fuchsia with stones enough to say anything critical about a player or, God forbid, Bobby?
Pappy, to paraphrase (botch) Will Rogers (I think), “you can usually tell where a man gets his opinions… from the ones who sign his paycheck”. Or something to that effect. If it wasn’t Will it should’a been.
CL, the way Chipper is hitting right now would make Teddy Ballgame proud. He is so locked in… more than anyone I’ve ever seen for as long as this. No matter what happens with the team this season I’ll be pulling for Chipper to break records, win the batting title and, who knows, end the season with a 400+ average.
FBG, the game is not on TBS today, it’s on Turner/SS. Your wish is granted. I’m a big fan of McCann also. He just keeps plugging. He should stay in the 5 slot… if not the cleanup spot until Tesh ‘heats up’. Fran should move to 7 or 8. He should also be platooned until/if/when he turns it around and starts showing some discipline and common baseball sense at the plate.
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Salty gave me the floor, Gil. Care to dance? LP
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Or :p
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All it takes is to mention “Salty” and you’re in the filter.
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Salty!!! Where you been man? When we don’t have a little salt mixed in around here our Ph is off. π
Agreed on players putting effort into every game. Like Chipper said about practicing and conditioning this time of year, “when it heats up in the summer you cut down on the work… save your bullets for the game”. I agree with that, especially from the older vets. The 20 somethings should be able to give even more. Point is, when the game begins you give your all… your bullets, grenades, cannons, knives, rocks, sticks, stones… hand to hand combat, whatever. The scrappy team forces things to happen. Te lethargic team that says, “long season, just one game, etc. gets beat.
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Was it not also Will Rogers who said, “If you can’t accomplish what you want to, quit doing what doesn’t work”? Now there’s a thought.
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A quick thought before I return to the under-brush
Hmmm… painting or pruning?
Now I gotta get some food. Wifey is gone so I forgot to eat breakfast. Been out in the garden and used up all my gas. Must save my ‘bullets’ for the game. π
Latah y’all.
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“used up all my gas”
Did you say excuse me to the pink flamigos? π
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flamingos, too?
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We are flirting with a record temp of 96% here today. Fifth day in a row that it has been in the 90s. Consequently, I am going to eat and take a long, cool nap. When I wake, I am going to check the score, and if they lost, I am going to take another one. If they win I may take another one too, but that is another story.
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Well…:sad:….no Chipper today…maybe not for the Cubs’ series either. No sense watching the game. Sheesh! π
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Chipper’s out with a quad strain/tear.
Can things get any better guys?
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π¦
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Can’t even ’emote’ correctly! π¦
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It’s ok, Klobber. Bobby has a fix…it’s just a little tear. Omar can fill in…gotta little pop in his bat. It’ll be good. Besides, Fran is due to come around…just a tad off…had some good rollers to short last night…won’t be long now. Corky’s in the line-up, too…you know, he’s just been a little off…won’t be long before he’s smokin’ ’em to third base. Put the ball in play, see what happens. Also, we can use Jo Jo off the bench…hit some hard ones last night…unlucky.
Chipper’s just one of 25 on the roster…it’ll be fine.
π π π π If I could get my hands on Bobby! Heck, if I could just get my hands around Chino’s neck…but that ain’t gonna happen! π
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Salty, one of these days I want to see an interviewer call BS on Cox for all his cliches. No one has the stones to do it but I’d like to see it anyway.
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if I could just get my hands around Chinoβs neckβ¦
Salty must have very big hands. Like Grinch’s feet, but different.
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Today it’s gonna be interesting to see what Anderson and Blanco can stir up. Hopefully they can get on base and show us some speed. Sitting McCann is understandable due to repeatedly catching in the heat, his knee, his ankle, etc. but geeze… it’s the Phillies and a day off tomorrow. Sigh.
On paper this game is already won by the Phils but maybe our kids’ll show up with some fire.
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SG, I have very little confidence in this team’s ability to beat their way out of a paper bag right now, much less beat the Phillies.
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pink flamigos
Illegal bird immigrants?
Klobber, there’s no interviewer that can get Bobby off message or get him to stray from boilerplate responses.
This game is already getting ugly but at least Tesh saved 2 more runs. Gonna be a long day at the Ted. Maybe I’ll just use some more bullets in the yard. Back later.
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Klobber, I’m with you on that. This year the Braves have a perfect storm of pitching injuries, slumps from Tesh and Fran, aging starters, rookies (and others) not playing fundamental, baserunning blunders, Liberty budget, Bobbyball, coaching issues and probably Neptune is aligned with Mars.
Tesh ties it up with a towering blast!!! If he keeps doing that and gets the average up he’ll lose the ‘sh’ and earn the ‘x’ back. Hope he earns it back.
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Sitting McCann is understandable… π
I disagree…it isn’t understandable. He’s an athlete…get in there and do the job. Enjoy the day off tomorrow…heck, and the rest of this afternoon/evening, like other working folks do! At least start the game, and see how it goes. Pure BS!
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Maybe Fran will earn his ‘enchy’ back! π
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By the way, I did not italicize that whole post…honest…I didn’t!
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SG…did you get my note ’bout visitin’ your fair city the past couple of days? Wife had never been, so we did so for anniversary celebration. She enjoyed it…good city. Both of us being from Charleston, it’s interesting to see how different they are…which many folks don’t expect. Good food, good grog…nice sights! π
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Salty is from Charleston. That explains the moniker. Fortunately for him, and us, he is not from a cow town like Ft. Worth. π
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Fran, Fran he’s our man?
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Salty, totally agree with your 2.02. When there is an emergency, and yes, I consider this an emergency, it should be all hands on deck.
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he is not from a cow town like Ft. Worth. So what’s yer point, gunslinger? πΏ
Well…I did live nearby…and my kids were all born in the area. Then again, I’ve lived in Wisconsin, Florida, New Jersey, Alabama…I gets around! π
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Salt is the primary residue of the sea. The primary residue of cows is…oh nevermind.
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Flamigo = gay alien?
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Horge jits a single. Hosh jits one too.
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If silence is golden, that makes this place a frickin bonanza.
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Salty, I haven’t seen that email yet… was gonna go through the week of them sitting in my inbox today but haven’t yet. I’ll look it up when I get back there. Usually I’m on top of emails but not last week. When were you here? Where did you stay? Hope it was a good visit. Lemme know next time you plan a trip and I’ll buy you a beer.
Looks like a good game. Been out pruning, repotting, clearing limbs, etc. Man it’s HOT out there.
On baseball: I do understand and agree with your post and Klobber about players playing during an urgent, crisis situation BUT (a big but) when it’s this hot a catcher can actually hurt themselves by not taking a day off now and then. They’re constantly in the game, squatting, throwing as much or more than the pitcher, covered in hot equipment and so forth. Yeah, I’d like him out there but it’s understandable. Dunno how he feels or how much juice is left in his batteries, but I suspect he’s on a pretty low charge.
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Good nap Pappy?
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SG, understand your points to a degree. With Chipper and Kotsay out, there is more pressure on everyone else. I don’t CARE how he feels, unless he has a legitimate injury. I am not suggesting that anything careless be asked of him at all. However, they are about to get swept by the Phillies and unless they want that to happen they need to have the best eight position players on the field that are available.
Besides, he can rest tomorrow as they have a day off.
Campillo’s got 98 pitches thrown as we start the sixth inning. Anyone want to take bets on when he blows up?
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Klobber, if McCann felt sorta OK or better and could contribute the energy and strength to help us today, I’ll agree with you. If not… nope. Since we’ll never know, I’ll go ahead and agree. He should be out there. He’s a damn wimp. π
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Hey, Gil! I don’t think Josh is coming back. Maybe Fran will come work on his fundamentals, though. Oh, and tell Morton to come on down!
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The lineup the Braves have on the field today couldn’t make it to Omaha…aluminum bats and all.
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Hi All,
Been traveling A LOT lately and have finally found time to get back to blogging!
Are y’all enjoying the 2008 version of the Braves as much as I am?
If they can some how pull this one out it will be a miracle!
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Where are Woodcrap and Orr(dinary) when we need them.
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Hi Flange! Welcome back stranger!
If they can some how pull this one out it will be a miracle!
The only thing getting pulled out is MY HAIR! π¦
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ChrisK,
Lost my hair a long time ago watching this team.
Very frustrating! And I am one of the Positive guys!!!!
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Flange, I WAS one of the positive guys. Don’t see anything to be positive about these days that is really going to affect this season.
It has been nice to see JoJo mature. Obviously Chipper’s Herculean feat is tremendous to watch. Not much else to be real excited about. Too many injuries and too many underperforming players.
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flange; VOR was our Mr. Positive. Now, he is bald as a buzzard.
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Pappy,
I think Raisins, Lew and myself are all losing our hair or lost it a while back yelling at the TV.
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Escobar got robbed again. There really should be some recourse against umpiring like that.
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ChrisK, I am at work not watching the game, but it sounds like he has received bad calls 2 times in a row. I wonder if he has said something that POed the ump (like last night)
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Yunel is showing the results of his one-on-one instruction by TP.
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Klobber; The only recourse against umping like that is to swing at the damn thing. You AIN’T goin’ to get the call and keeping the bat on your shoulder won’t help!
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Pappy, I don’t think TP is Esco’s problem. I think it’s about what Flange said. I’m watching on tv but also following along with mlb’s gameday. Both of those pitches were WELL out of the zone. I’m surprised Bobby hasn’t come out of the dugout to “discuss” the “custom” strike zone that this moron has created for Esco.
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Gotta head to the house, pick y’all up in a bit!
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Well in fairness to the HP ump, that called third strike on Burrell was in pretty much the same spot as Esco’s last K. It doesn’t make it right though.
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And we are talking about bad calls in TWO games. Yunel’s BA has been going south for WEEKS.
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Who’s coming on in the 9th, Chino?
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Chino’s about the only one they haven’t tried.
Pappy, Escobar’s average starting dipping around the time that he starting hitting leadoff. From the beginning of the season thru May 12 he hit .319. .399, .437, with an OPS of .836. He’s hit leadoff since May 13 and has hit .262, .325, .359 with an OPS of .684.
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Hey Flange, welcome back. Long time no see. Yep, it’s been a tough year for hair and vocal chords. It’s tough being a fan of a .500 ball team… especially the first few years after such a dynasty. But Braves fans we are and shall remain through thick and thin. Thick is more fun and easier on the scalp. Maybe Braves should sign up Hair Club for Men as an advertiser. π
Klobber, I can’t remember seeing worse officiating than this year… for all teams I’ve watched. The strike zone is too tight, making the games too slow and too long. The worst part is that the zone moves around during the game at the whim of the ump. Damn umps show up with a chip on their shoulders. But what the hell can be done, they wear the Union label and they don’t give a rats sass what we or MLB think.
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Speaking of Braves sponsors, it’s the eighth inning in a tied game. Where are the Rolaids TV spots?
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SG, it is pretty bad. I’m not a fan of Questec or instant replay but there has GOT to be some consistency in the zone. MLB wants the games to go faster? Well outside of eliminating some of the commercial breaks (I know, I know, it’s a pipe dream) they can ease up on the strike zone.
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Klobber, I think McCann saw your post. π
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Which post, SG?
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NEver mind! I’m glad. Get off your duff and help this team son!
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Do these guys look like someone who is thinking, “What can I do to win this game”, or like someone thinking, “What’s our tee-time, tomorrow?”
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9th inning, we lose a lead. Like clockwork.
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The only good thing about this day is that FLANGE has joined in!!! You’ve been sorely missed, my friend! Really glad to see you! π
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I, of course, was talking about the Phillies.
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Pappy, this team has no heart, no soul, and no desire to win.
Wren has GOT to do something.
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Which post, SG?
Klobber, your 3:27 and Salty’s earlier 11:58.
Bobby just walked five feet in the dugout, turned around, walked back and sat back down. Gotta keep those legs from going numb. The hand was headed toward the nose but a quick camera change avoided another, uh… display. It does not get any more exciting than this. π
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Wish I had stayed asleep. Wait, maybe I did! This is just a bad dream, right?
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Speaking of Fran and such, I’ve noted before how the Braves franchise goes too far out of their way to draft and keep local Atlanta boys. That’s good for the locals and the franchise PR machine, filling stadium seats and it makes a feel-good story and such but it’s not often that good for the team. Fran was a huge baseball and football standout in high school, as has been promoted at great length in the press, TV, Delta ads and such.
Separating the hype around some of these guys from their actual contribution to the team seems a puzzle that escapes Braves management, local press, team homer-fans and Scott Boras (of course). Often the player himself begins to believe the hype. That can either build confidence or perpetuate a lack of self-awareness and self-improvement in the player.
Don’t get me wrong, Fran may wind up being a better than average right fielder and hit .285 in his career, but I’m beginning to wonder if he’s got that much. A player with average athletic ability needs superior intelligence and instinct to become a great talent. A great, natural athlete without the ability to outsmart good pitching and work through slumps quickly won’t be a great talent. A high school star and BMOC may not have what it takes to succeed in the Bigs.
The Braves did go against the grain a few times. Kyle Davies is one example. Anyway, it’ll be interesting to see how Jeff fares. Just not sure he’s got the ability to think himself into a great player. Having Boras as agent and all the hoopla surrounding his joining the Braves may wind up being the worst scenario for his early career. Heβs not proven anything yet, except that heβs slowed down in the outfield, his βgunβ is off target and he seems lost at the plate with no idea what the pitcher is trying to do to him.
Up against the hype and being the handsome hometown, homegrown good kid (who I happen to like and personally respect), Francoeur is playing well below expectations. Perhaps itβs our ‘bought in’ expectations that are way off.
We shall see.
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Wish I had stayed asleep. Wait, maybe I did! This is just a bad dream, right?
Pappy, you have entered the twilight zone, where you have to go through the same game over and over and over again until football season begins. A least then you’ll be watching a team with a chance to, uh… well, you know. π
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SG; Does the name George Lombard ring a bell?
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Sweep.
Weep.
Sleep.
Dream.
Scream.
Or just look on the bright side. We didn’t break many bats today.:roll:
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Does the name George Lombard ring a bell?
Exactly. Is he ringing bells in Japan now? Dinner bells?
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When unbroken bats in your belfry is the highlight of your day, this damn sure ain’t Kansas, Dorothy.
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Well, we are seeing that right now, we cannot compete against the best team in the NL East. It’s like the way I felt last year watching the Red Sox come in and beat us up. No way would I want to see them in the Playoffs. Same with the Phillies, if we snuck in via the wildcard. Ou-thit, out-pitched, out-fielded, and out managed, by Charlie Manuel of all people! π―
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Sweep.
Weep.
Sleep.
Dream.
Scream.
SG, that’s really good!
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After watching that mess I’m going back outside to cleanup the mess I left in the yard. Pappy, it’s now safe for you to return to the mess hall.
So many messes.
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Berigan; Don’t overlook our secret weapon. Bobby Manual.
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SG; We don’t use the term “mess hall” in the home. We try for a little more control.
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Bobby Manual, that’s pretty good. Someone needs to take that book away from him.
I shall hereby refer to this team as the Atlanta Tin Men since they clearly have no heart.
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SG; We donβt use the term βmess hallβ in the home. We try for a little more control.
So I guess you don’t call it a latrine either? π
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If you want the latrine press one. If you want the latrino, press two.
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We Braves fans may not have a good enough team to see the playoffs this year but we damn sure have a good blog to get through it. There will be many exciting stories coming on the Braves and Stuff blog and many exciting player stories to unfold inside the games, even if we lose more than we win… which seems to be where we’re headed. Not ideal, but I can live with that.
That’s baseball throughout most of America. May as well enjoy what we’ve got ’cause it’s a lot. And you can bet your sweet patootie on that.
Now back to my yard mess. Will check back later.
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I’m going out and let my dog walk me. Later, maybe.
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So I guess you donβt call it a latrine either?
Nope. On the coast here we just go to the head. Unless it’s too far, then we just warm the water up a little. π
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Pappy Says:
June 8, 2008 at 4:57 pm
Berigan; Donβt overlook our secret weapon. Bobby Manual.
π Wish someone would burn it!
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Nope. On the coast here we just go to the head. Unless itβs too far, then we just warm the water up a little.
SG, all of the “authorities” are claiming that global warming is causing the oceans to warm up. Someone needs to tell them that it’s just you!
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I don’t mean to sound like a contrarian (Hmm, not in the Mozilla dictionary somehow???) but I think McCann should have had rest today, complete rest….not an inning bouncing up and down, and diving headfirst into 1st several times on a 97 degree day….but…thinking about what others said about it being a must win day….how about this thought??? Booby(SP?) wanted to give him a day off before a day off…smart in theory. But, he still played some, and we still lost. How about playing him all 3 days with the Phils(Unless he was saying he was wiped out, cramping, etc) and just rest him the first day on the road??? Oh I forget, the book…. π
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Well, since it’s cooled off to a balmy 90 degrees I’m going to go work in the yard.
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Contrarian man has another point to make! If you guys were Tex, would you want to sign with this team???? If he signs with the Yankees or the Red Sox, he wants to win, along with get paid more than the Braves would pay.
If he signs with Baltimore, or the Mets, then we know money, and only money is his main motivator….I have actually seen him speak more to the media of late, being somewhat critical of what the team hasn’t done. But, you can’t be a leader when everyone knows you are leaving in a few months…but, the more I think about it, why wouldn’t he???
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After 6 p.m. and it’s all the way down to 94, 102 heat index.
I did not do yard work today.
I did not leave the house today. π
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Hello again,
Back home after watching that great 9th inning at my local watering hole.
I am not thrilled with this club!
I believe that the team needs to be shaken up with a major trade. Not just prospects for a LF or a starting pitcher, but trading a major part of the MLB team to change the dynamics.
I think this team has lots of great parts, but they don’t fit together to make a cohesive unit.
I think FW needs to look at trading KJ or Frenchy, sorry Fran, for:
– a good #2 starting pitcher that he Braves control for awhile
– a RH hitting outfielder with some pop and plate discipline that is willing to be coached
– a true second baseman
– a true lead off hitter that plays LF or RF or 2B
I don’t think this team is a lost cause, but after almost a full year with Tex and almost 1/2 year with better pitching, this is still a .500 team.
A change needs to happen or we just need to accept 3rd or 4th place.
Thoughts?
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So.
Atlanta sits at .500, 6.5 games back.
I just don’t see much of a year ahead of us.
Too many injuries
Too much complacency
Too much money
Too much mis-management
Too much Bobby-ball
π¦
There will be a good game here and there, maybe a small streak now and then, but this is, at best (the way they’re playing), a .500 team. Mediocre.
Sad thing is that they HAVE the talent and the potential. I sure hate to see it wasted.
Doom and gloom……..
sigh……..
……………sigh………
…..sigh…………….
π
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Hey, Flange!
We think about the same things! π
Does Tex have a no-trade clause?
Wren HAS to do something drastic. Don’t know him well enough to guess what, if anything, he might do.
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Another Cuban baseball player defects to the US.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/more/06/08/bc.bbo.cubanplayer.defec.ap/index.html?eref=si_mlb
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from some guy at SI:
“The National League is filled to the brim with talent at first base. Lance Berkman and Albert Pujols have been on a tear to start the season. Derrek Lee, Ryan Howard, Prince Fielder and Mark Teixeira boast gaudy credentials. And rookie Joey Votto is quickly making a name for himself.”
I must have missed something.
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The article goes on:
“With all this star power at the position one first sacker gets completely lost: San Diego’s Adrian Gonzalez.
He leads the NL with 55 RBIs. That’s 15 more than Pujols and seven more than Berkman. At his current pace Gonzo will finish with 44 homers, 144 RBIs and 102 runs.
It’s no mystery why Gonzalez’s achievements go unnoticed on the national level — the small-market Padres are currently one of the worst teams in baseball. But this makes his accomplishments even more jarring. Gonzalez is flanked by one of the worst supporting casts in baseball.”
Don’t know anything about him; is he somebody the Braves should look at?
Here’s the link if anyone is interested:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/gennaro_filice/06/06/threeup.threedown/index.html?eref=si_mlb
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CL,,
The way the team is playing right now is just sad.
They have so much more talent.
Maybe Bobby-ball is the answer.
The wrong answer!!!
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I don’t even quite know what to suggest, Flange. I’d love just 5 minutes in that locker room! π‘ Both barrels!!!!
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OK. How ’bout we fire the coaching staff? Think that might get their attention?? Would never happen, though; the Braves put too much stock in loyalty even if it hurts the team.
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CL,
I am not sure that might not help, but they will not fire Bobby or P. Maybe Mcdowell or Chino, but does that really count for anything?
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Guys(And gals!) If you would have told me at the beginning of the season that on June 8th, we’d be without Smoltz and Hampton, but starting pitcher would be the least of our problems, I’d never have believed you!
I mentioned before the new blog, that perhaps we should try to get Chris Duncan, since the Cards don’t really need him. He is a power hitter, and we need that….what team(Short of the Cards of the early 80’s) wins without any power hitter in the outfield??? Of course, he doesn’t play good defense, and is a lefty.
But perhaps Flange is right(Hello again after many moons!) and we need to trade Kelly or Frenc…Fran. Who else do we really have, well….short of Tex????
Funny thing is, right now, the Yankees don’t need him….Giambi has been hitting better of late….Cleveland could use him, but they have pitching, (Well, did….they have had some starters get injured recently) not offense…they need an outfielder as well.
Who matches up with us???
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Carroll had this quote from Chipper…he knows what’s up, if no one else does…
βWe just went from 3 1/2 to 6 1/2 (games down) and weβre headed back out on the road where we havenβt exactly lit it up,β said Chipper Jones. βI donβt know about anybody else, Iβm worried. I donβt want to come back from this road trip and be out of the race.β
We play the 1st place Cubs(best record in the NL) , the 1st place Angels, the Rockies(For one game, no day off) then the Rangers, who if nothing else, pound the ball….5-5 would be huge…..
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Berigan, both the White Sox and the Rays could use some help at 1b………
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One more thing before resting the baseball portion of my noggin…..Frenchy still hasn’t had a day off. He had half a double header off. He needs a mental day of rest, before a day off. Which, he will never get. We all get kind of dumb, don’t we, if we haven’t slept well, or been working a lot??? I know, I am making excuses for him, but if his ankles are still barking, and he doesn’t get away from concentrating, he is going to keep screwing up.
He seems to screw up, not think clearly for one ab, then goes up the next time just trying to hit the ball up the middle…he did that yesterday, and went 2 for 4. But, hitting .253 just ain’t gonna cut it. 2 homers in April, 3 in may, 1 in June so far???? What in the world would it hurt to sit him for a day or two??? If not that, DH him in California or Texas…well, IF Chipper can DH, he has to DH….
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Just when I try to leave, they pull me back! π Or however the line goes. Chris, you bring up a couple of interesting teams! Tex knows the AL, so teams will be less afraid of him than an NL only guy. Josh Fields was the White Sox 3rd baseman for most of last year, and was supposed to be this year, but no one wanted Joe Crede, so he’s back in the minors. Now Crede is on a roll, so he’s stuck in AAA. If you can play 3rd, you should be able to play 1st.
Would he and a top pitching prospect be enough for Tex??? I guess not…we sure gave up the farm for Tex….but I seem to recall the White Sox have traded a few top prospects of late….Do we take Nick Swisher??? He’s having a terrible year….the more I write, the less anything seems to work there…dang it!
I think I mentioned on the other blog that Tampa is loaded with starting pitching in the minors…Carlos Pena is going to be out a few weeks, but even with a low BA this year, he is/was on pace for 96 RBI’s and he hit 46 HR’s last year…are you thinking they’d just make him their DH? Him being Pena…
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Ber, my thoughts are that FW should gut this team and start over. New blood. It’s not going to happen tomorrow, but the next ten or so games will be very telling. I can easily see this team going 2-8 on this roadtrip and being more than ten games back in the standings before they get home.
At some point, he’ll have to decide to either fish or cut bait. My guess is that he’ll try to pick up a few pieces here or there and hope that some guys get healthy again. The way this team has played this year, I hope he doesn’t go this route. This group of “Tin Men” has shown no heart or desire to win.
Yes, Pena is out for a few weeks. Yes, he has a ton of rbi’s but a very low avg at .227. To compete in the AL East, the Rays may decide to upgrade. Their roster has several positions that don’t have very high avg (3rd, 2nd, ss). A two or three month rental of Tex might make sense for them as a short term fix. I don’t know exactly what FW would ask in return but I do know that the Rays minor league system is loaded with good prospects.
The White Sox is a similar situation. Both Konerko and Thome are having sub par years and they could clearly use a power hitting 1b. Again, not sure about what to ask for, but Fields might be a good starting point.
Clearly after this year the Braves will have to find someone to play 1b as there does not appear to be anyone capable AND ready for next year. It would make sense to try to find that person via a trade this year.
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How about the Rays’ Dan Johnson. He’s hitting .310 at Charlotte.
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Whoa… gutting the team. Well, pick your poison. A 500 team as is or make the tough decisions. Somehow get an ace out of the deal… not a ‘might be when healthy’ or ‘used to be and could…’ guy, a real honest to goodness ace.
Keep Chipper of course. The only way I keep Kelly is to put him at first base… but he’s better trade bait right now. Pitching trades are more complicated and my brain won’t let me go there now. Start Anderson in LF. Trade Fran, Tex, Kelly, Blanco, Diaz, Soriano (yes… he’s not our dependable closer) and lose Chuck James (right, like we get anything there). I’m just getting started but will leave it there.
Replace all coaches and offer Bobby a huge raise to move upstairs. Now I’m getting into fantasy territory.
A bloodbath. Start fresh. We may need to go to worst before we get back to first but that’s OK by me… as long as we see a strategic building going on. Thing is, JS and maybe Wren would have to go before any of this would happen. Oh, and while I’m at it, Liberty has to become Braves baseball fans and so passionate about winning that they’ll write the checks.
Now I’m really stretching the boundaries of plausible reality.
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One can only dream.
(and other windmill attacking inclinations)
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SG, I don’t see any other way. This team is going nowhere in a hurry.
I’d keep Chip, McCann, Escobar, JJ. Everyone else is for sale to the highest bidder.
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SG, when I was in fourth grade I was in the school chorus. That was one of the songs that we had to learn. To a man (boy), we all hated that song but every performance we had to sing it.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Oh and thanks for the bad dreams I’ll have tonight with that as the theme song. π
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Anybody still around?
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no
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Klobber, sorry ’bout that. At least it wasn’t a Tony Orlando song. Actually Man of LaMancha is maybe the only musical that I’ve ever liked. Loved it. Then, Peter O’Toole and Sophia Loren make everything great. Rent it sometime and wash that 4th grade memory right down.
Raisins… how was the gig? Or was it practice, practice, practice?
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I missed both weekend games, and I am sure glad I did. That being said, I still followed the general story lines from both games. Am I safe to assume we had more of the same passionless acceptance of losing from the home boys?
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The gig was good. It was an outside deal, from 7-9, so pretty hot and humid… but fun none the less. Thanks for asking!
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Honestly, this team could be 20 under .500 and Bobby et al would say we still had a chance….they never give up, which is a good thing, but something is really wrong with this team. As DOB pointed about before Tex hit a homer today, he had about 20 RBI’s in his last 20 games….
And yet, we aren’t scoring any runs. Chippers hitting .400….but we aren’t scoring any runs….go figure!!!!
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VOR, glad you had a good gig, thanks for telling! π
They look like a team that can’t compete with the big boys….very sad….
Boyer thru about 10 pitches every one of them a fastball, a high fastball….nothing makes sense anymore….
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SG, are you saying you don’t like Singin’ in the Rain????
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Side note… I got a relatively new guitar back for the gig last night. It has been with my “personal guitar technician” – a/k/a my genius brother – having its electronics rebuilt. The guitar is an officially licensed copy from Music Man, built in China using the same specs and wood as $750 Music Man models. The difference being cheaper labor, poor electronics and sup-par hardware. So, I bought the guitar used for $125, invested another $125 in replacement hardware and electronics, and have essentially the same guitar as the $750 Music Man, for 1/3 the cost. Plus, I got to choose the exact guitar pickups I wanted, which in this case are replicas of pickups which were installed in 1959 Gibsons. This baby absolutely sings!
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… sub-par… π³
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Am I saying I am now going to call my best friend who lives not too far from SG, in Pembroke??? I am! π
Later folks, tomorrow is another day…we will not lose.
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Bear, the fans/bloggers/armchair experts that say “it’s a long season and everything will balance out with Lady Luck”, are missing the point. A game of inches winds up being a game of decisions. Those decisions will lose their share, due to luck, inches, matchups, flukes and such. Losing this many one run games points to a more strategic problem. We do have the talent on the field to win. We may not have the talent off the field to win. Sad, true, hard, fair.
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I like the idea of exploring Tampa’s interest in Tex. They not only have a very well stocked minor league system, they might have a multi-faceted interest in the soon-to-be top FA. It would seem that 2 of the most likely teams to make the big offers to Tex next year will be NYY and B’more, both in Tampa’s division. And, a veteran like Tex might be just what a young team like TB needs, plus they would have a half-season head start on negotiations after 2008.
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Raisins, post a picture of the Music Man. Better yet, post a riff on your web or here. It’d be good to see/hear that.
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SG; We have the talent, we just don’t have the fire. There is no sense of urgency. There is no remorse for losses; no anger after failure. It is the resigned acceptance of mediocracy that pains me most. I simply cannot care any more than the team does. If they won’t, I won’t either.
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SG: I’m not sure how to post a pic, but I can email you one. Give me just a minute, and then look for it…
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Sent…
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Evening y’all. Feeling extremely discouraged about the team now. π¦
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And VOR seems to be feeling embarassed.
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Raisins, got the email… that geetar is a work of art. Thanks. Now, you gotta post a solo on that instrument. Now, about that new headress… a new bag?
FBG, don’t worry and don’t give up… it’s our Braves. There will be better days.
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I’m a’gonna sign off now. Head’en ’em up, movin’ ’em out.
On our Braves, all things must pass. It may take a while, but do not stop lovin’ the game and appreciating the little stuff.
G’nite, sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs… yikes. Bugs?
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Now, Braves.
I’m not for wholesale gutting of the team. But as constructed, they will not win the wild-card, much less the NL East.
They have gotten surprisingly good starting pitching despite the drastically different rotation than was expected leaving Disney. They also have young starters in the pipeline. It is not a priority for 2008 to me.
They need a closer. Period. ‘Nuff said…
Tex has no attachment to the Braves whatsoever outside of being an employee this year. He knows like the rest of us that his big money contract and long term home will be elsewhere.
I would put out feelers to guage interest in KJ. I think he is an above average to very good hitter, but he isn’t a complete player. He is a hitter without a position. He should be desirable, though, since he hits well and will be relatively cheap for a few more years.
I’m not ready to pull the plug on Fran just yet. I still believe that a good hitting coach could help Fran realize his great potential. Unfortunately for him, there isn’t one on Bobby’s staff. If I were FW ( ironically an abbreviation for forward ) I’d make job #1 finding a real hitting coach.
I like what I see from Anderson, but I’d like him in CF, with a power hitter in LF. Not a Greg Norton, who is OK off the bench, but a real power hitting MLB calibre LF. A legitimate home run threat, like Fran is supposed to be but isn’t.
So, to summarize, I dangle KJ and Tex and seek a closer and power bat for LF.
And I still can’t stand Corky Miller, but what else you gonna do there at this point in the season?
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‘Night, SG. And I never give up on my boys, just bummed/disgusted right now.
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Good points, VOR.
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In the midst of my very busy weekend – I filled up my gas tank yesterday afternoon and currently have about 1/8 of a tank left – I tuned in to the game
this afternoonyesterday as Fran came up to bat with bases loaded and 1 out. I told my wife, “He’ll either pop-up to the infield or roll into an easy double-play to short.” After the DP, I turned the radio…I guess, though, I can’t seem to give up on ’em either. I mean, I’m awake at 12:43 in the morning blogging about ’em! π
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My clock is fast! π
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Well, sometimes the people you love tick you off but you still love ’em. I can’t not love my Braves. I imagine y’all feel the same. If you didn’t care you wouldn’t be here.
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Well said, F(GA)BG, well said…
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Thank you, Mr. Brown Paper Bagwell. (I know Berman bugs people but that one always amused me.)
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My real question is:
Why am I awake at 12:43 in the morning?
What am I doing? I have to be up in a few hours to start my work day and contribute my fair and documented share of taxes to the system. I have alot of job related travel ahead in my next few weeks as well. It starts
tomorrowlater today as I have to venture out of God’s country and into the city. I need sleep.G’night all…
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I’m shutting down too. Good night y’all.
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I don’t know how you guys can be serious when you say trade so and so for a “power-hitting” LF, a first-rate starter, etc. If these guys are not getting it done for us, why wouild a GM give up something like that for them. The only real big-ticket item we have is Tex. And unless he is traded to the Yankees or Orioles, the team making the trade would insist on a contract extension. A year and a half rental is bad enough, but half a season? Get real. The Braves are broken and a lug nut here a spare here ain’t going to fix ’em. It’s going to take rubber all the way around and probably an engine. BTW, all the GMs in baseball ARE NOT sitting around figuring how THEY can fix the Braves.
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And a hearty good morning to you, Pappy.
About to head out the door to East Point, GA, (by the airport in ATL), current central location for my business. We are decentralizing, because there is no good reason to have a central location when everything is operated remotely. Part of the process requires that I actually go to my “real” office some over the next 2 -3 weeks, which really sucks… π¦
C-y’all later…
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If Francoeur had any sense, he’d hire McCann’s Dad to coach him. Right now, his head is lost in the Braves ‘system’. TP HAS to go!!! Chino has to go. Don’t know anything about Snitker except he has an odd name – not his fault. Bobby has yet another year, and I’d bet, another one after that, so we’ll just have to live with it somehow.
I agree with the comments above in that I’m fed up with the ‘used-to-be’, almost-was’, ‘might be’, over-the-hill-one-more-gig-before-retiring’, overpaid players. Supplemented by too-young, too-inexperienced kids.
Why oh why didn’t they hire Julio as bench coach/mentor/hitting coach/something??? So much to offer and I honestly think he would have accepted and enjoyed it. Julio loved the Braves.
arrrrrrggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
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Morning y’all. CL, I feel the same. TP is not getting the job done. Unfortunately I think we’re stuck with him because he’s the handpicked successor to Bobby & Bobby’s not ready to hang it up yet. I have no idea what Chino does, I’ve never seen the man get up off the bench. I believe Snitker was well thought of as a minor league manager so there’s some hope there. I would like to see Julio & Eddie in the dugout. Aside from their other good qualities, neither of them are afraid to chew somebody’s butt when they screw up.
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I agree with CL that Julio would make a good hire. That’s the reason, unfortunately, that it is not going to get done. Loyalty is a good thing unless it is carried to a fault. Fault!
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CL, I like the idea of Julio!!! Did anyone see him on baseball tonight, last week??? It was interesting. He also talked about Chipper and said, believe it or not, how he was a team leader!
Have you guys ever noticed Chipper and Frenchy on the bench next to each other??? I have seen Tex and McCann next to each other….I have wondered about Chipper and Tex’s relationship(Though I saw a couple of minutes of yesterday’s game rebroadcast, and Chipper smiling and talking to Tex after he tied the game up in the 2nd with that homer)
We should keep a close eye on the Cubs team, come Tuesday. No real speed. But, a lot of scrapy players. Ryan Theriot is there top hitter, believe it or not, .323. Then Mark DeRosa is hitting .303 with 34 RBI’s(How come he couldn’t hit a lick here, but went to Texas and bloomed?) Jim Edmonds looked completely washed up in San Diego, then found the fountain of Youth (At least for now) and is playing better defense and is hitting again. Reed Johnson doesn’t put up very impressive numbers, but he is an all out guy like Ryan Freel….I have seen him make many a catch on baseball tonight this year(Never even heard of him when he was in Toronto), and getting hits that put the team ahead…..Lou has little faith in rookies, so Felix Pie, and Matt Murton are wasting away in AAA(Perhaps some other guys to think about??? Probably not enough power for us) but….you cannot argue with the results….best record in the NL. Heck, even their pitchers are on a mission this year. Ted Lilly is hitting .265. And Carlos Zambrano? 16 hits, for a .364 average!!! Remember when the Braves had pitchers that helped themselves out???
If I were Wren, I’d comb both leagues, have the scouts just look for players with drive, forget their numbers. Well, a couple of things to look for statistically, guys who get hits late in the game, and with 2 outs. We lack that. Frenchy used to be that guy…but the league is on to him.
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FBG, Julio and Eddie in the dugout would be dynamite! They both have the personality and experience for it. Eddie is wasted in the bullpen. Who do we call to have this done immediately?? π
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and goodmorning! π
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I think Eddie is future-manager material. How much coaching can he really do in the bullpen?
I’ve seen Chipper & Tex sitting on the bench talking but I don’t know that they’re buddies. Tex, quite honestly, does not seem that likable to me. Chipper has always taken the young guys under his wing & I guess he’s trying to help guide Francoeur. Memo to Jeff: Listen to Chipper!
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Berigan, I agree that the pitchers have Frenchy’s number and he hasn’t a clue how to adjust. Let’s see – wouldn’t that be TP’s job? hmmm. Much less talented teams can go far on fire and spirit.
I had hoped that the forced loss of Smoltz would give the team some determination, some of his grit, but it doesn’t seem to have inspired them at all. Wonder what Glavine’s role, if any, is in this mix?? I doubt this is what he had in mind when he signed on for his last year.
Clueless. Without leadership. Meandering.
B, you mentioned Tex and Chipper. What opposites! One lives for one team. The other a hired mercenary with zero loyalty beyond his own stats – which are not a lot to be proud of.
Duty calls. Got to haul Mother to 2 appointments in this horrific heat – which means wrestling her wheelchair in and out of the trunk 4 times. Then home in time to cook supper. π
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Poor CL! It must be tough doing that on your own. We always teamed up to shuttle my grandparents around. Of course for a while there that meant 2 wheelchairs plus oxygen tanks. Needed a small army & a semi truck. π
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CL, watch your back!!! Gotta be careful with those chairs….I hope hers isn’t too heavy! You know maybe there is something to all this Global Warming talk! π Of course, I recall in the 80’s going with my Pa to Arizona in June, where it was 100 degrees, and talking to my Mom back in Jacksonville, where it also was 100 Degrees for a solid week! It never was that warm in Florida even in July! (Just a nice 96-97!) Must have been a sneak peak of Global Warming!!!! π―
Now, if it’s this hot next June, and the one after…then it is Global Warming, and it’ll all China’s and India’s fault!!!!! π‘
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B, my parents swear it’s hotter than when they were kids here. We are already in summer mode here, 90s every day.
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Aurelio Cadahia
Bats Right, Throws Right
Height 6′ 0″, Weight 245 lb.
School Miami-Dade New World Center Community College
Born November 22, 1957 in Havana, Cuba
Catcher Chino Cadahia (the brother of Benny Cadahia) was drafted in the first round of the January 1977 amateur draft (secondary phase) by the Philadelphia Phillies, and played seven seasons in the minor leagues. He debuted with the Auburn Phillies and hit .228/~.318/.275 his first year, playing mostly first base. In ’78, Chino was with the independent Paintsville Highlanders and hit .266/~.318/.392. He was the Appalachian League All-Star catcher despite a league-leading 17 passed balls. In 1979, Cadahia was in the Minnesota Twins chain with the Visalia Oaks, hitting .285/~.378/.402. He had 19 errors but was the California League All-Star backstop.
In ’80, Cadahia began a stretch with the Orlando Twins, hitting .234/~.311/.345. He hit .224 for them the next year and saw his only playing time at AAA, batting .208 with the Toledo Mud Hens. He hit .228 for the ’82 Orlando club, then in 1983 finished up as a player by putting up a .260/~.349/.342 line with Orlando, backing up All-Star Jeff Reed.
Cadahia was the pitching coach for the Salem Redbirds in 1984-1985, then a manager in the Texas Rangers’ system for many years. He was Ivan Rodriguez’s first manager in the Minor Leagues and handed him the nickname of “Pudge.” Cadahia was the Braves’ roving minor league catching instructor in 1996-1997, then the Minor League Field Coordinator from 1998-2006. He was named bench coach for the Atlanta Braves following the 2006 season.
Anyone who sees “qualifications” to be the Brave’s bench coach in the above, please point it out to me.
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I’m no expert but I can’t say that I see anything of note there, uncle. Well, except why was a guy who made a lot of errors when he played a minor league catching instructor? And 245 + how many lbs.?
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You read the same thing in to those “statistics” that I do, niece. Nada!
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Oh, and 245 was his “playing” weight. They have to take him to the nearest truck stop to get him weighed, now.
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I figured that. These days he has roughly the same physique as the Pillsbury Doughboy.
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“Oh, and 245 was his βplayingβ weight. They have to take him to the nearest truck stop to get him weighed, now.”
π
Only reason I can see to have him on the team, is he could eat all the buffett up if the team lost…before the players got out of the dugout…as punishment to the team!
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I’m going in for my frijoles and siesta. Hasta la vista.
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I don’t think that applies, B, they have a cook who’ll make anything they want to eat.
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FLB, they need to have the food taken away after a game like Friday!
Just vacuumed the whole house,(Good thing we don’t have some sort of cam via the B&S, me in underwear, facemask, and flip flops is not a site the world is ready for! Nor will it ever be, I hope! π― ) showered, now nice and clean, and ready to sweat as I run some errands! π
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Imagine if you will, in some alternate universe….Bobby Cox saying these words….
Last Sunday, Bobby Cox launched into a tirade about his 3rd place brave’s sagging offensive attack after getting swept by the Philies.
βJust be ready because I expect movement Tuesday,β Cox said.
βI expect (general manager) Wren to do something Tuesday, and if we don’t do anything Tuesday, there are going to be a lot of lineup changes. That’s all I’m going to say about the offense.
βIt can be me. It can be (hitting coach)Terry Pendleton. βIt can be the players. It could be anybody. I’m sick and tired to watch this thing for a year and a half. I’m not protecting anybody anymore. (Bleep) it.β
Of course, Bobby would never do that, that was Ozzie Guillen talking about his 1st place team, after they went 3 for 30 with runners in scoring position and were swept by the Tampa Bay Rays….
I am not really a fan of Guillen, but you know what??? They have won the 6 games since that tirade!!!!
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Of course…the last two paragraphs should not have been bold either…sigh…. π¦
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Bear; Do you realize how often “fiery” players play for “fiery” managers. And ever since Pinella went on a similar tirade last year, the Cubs have been a different team. Coincidence? π I think not!
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IF the Braves were to sweep the Cubs, I’ll bet Pinella would trash their clubhouse, turning over the food tables, etc. Would that do any good? It would sure get some player’s attention.
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I’m seriously dreading these next 3 games. My brother is a tried-and-true, die-hard Cubs fan, and Braves-Hater,…..and professional Heckler. I have a bad feeling I’ll have to put up with a lot of Smack-talk this week, because I don’t see the Braves taking this series.
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Hillbilly; I’m in line for some of the same. But, at least it ain’t the Muts. And I like Pinella. He’s my kind of manager. Kick butts. Take no prisoners. And whiz on the graves. He played the same way.
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Pappy, I’m actually a secondary Cubs fan for about 156 games a year. In fact, I’ve been to more Cubs games than I have any other team. Wrigley Field is by far the best venue I’ve attended, and like you, I really like Lou Pinella. They will always play second fiddle to the Braves in my household, though.
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Me 2, HB. But, Bobby’s method of firing up his team used to be to go out, raise hell, and get tossed. Now, I think they laugh(WITHOUT him seeing it)at him the way you do a senile old man that throws his oatmeal at the wall. I think the umps do too. It’s almost like they would come to the dugout to keep him from having to limp out there. Whatever, he ain’t firing up, or scaring anyone. That’s a shame.
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Pinella on the other hand, pulls the bag out by the peg and starts looking for someone to beat the XXXX out of with it. πΏ
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Stuff:
On one day the Texas governor “suggests” that the polygamist sect should move out of “his” state. The next day someone torches “his” mansion. Arson is suspected. I think they may be on to something.
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Stuff:
ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — Police in Robertsdale say former NFL football star and Crimson Tide broadcaster Kenny Stabler was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.
Police said the Foley, Ala., native was pulled over for a traffic violation on Alabama 59 and charged with DUI.
Stabler, according to authorities, was taken into custody early Sunday at about 1 a.m.
This is his 3rd DUI. Does Ala have a 3 strikes and you are out law? If so, does it apply to a former Crimson Tide QB and now broadcaster? General observation: 63 is too damn old to be out at 1 a. m. driving, much less drinking.
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More stuff:
Grant Achatz was named the world’s greatest chef after being diagnosed last summer with stage 4 cancer of the tongue. He is cancer free now, but presumably without much of his tongue, and definitely without taste. That is just as well. His “award winning” recipes sound like something from gastronomical hell. He is to cooking what Salvador Dali was to painting.
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More and more stuff:
NEW YORK (AP) – The New York City Opera commissioned Charles Wuorinen to compose an opera based on “Brokeback Mountain,” the 1997 short story by Annie Proulx that became the basis for a 2005 movie that won three Academy Awards
Boy George and Richard Simmons will play the lead roles.
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Someone better stop me before I achieve blog damnation.
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Pappy, in regards to your post this morning, I agree, this team is broken. Wholesale changes are necessary to make it right again.
If these guys are not getting it done for us, why wouild a GM give up something like that for them.
Sometimes the sum of the parts is greater than the parts themselves. Sometimes, the opposite is true. That seems to be the case with the 2008 version of the Braves. There are valuable pieces on this team. I still think that Francoeur has tremendous upside and I’ll bet you that most GM’s would take a chance on him. Same with Kelly Johnson, Gregor Blanco, Martin Prado (when he gets healthy) and others. Just because they are underperforming here doesn’t mean they won’t overperform elsewhere. Hey, sometimes players just need a change of scenery. Someone mentioned Mark DeRosa earlier. He’s a perfect example. How many years did he languish in the Atlanta system? He left for Texas and had a great year and parlayed that into a very nice contract with the Cubs.
The only real big-ticket item we have is Tex. And unless he is traded to the Yankees or Orioles, the team making the trade would insist on a contract extension. A year and a half rental is bad enough, but half a season? Get real.
Tex is the biggest ticket item we have, no doubt. Sometimes a team is one piece away from putting it all together. Baseball history is full of trades like this where a guy gets traded to a contender with just a few months to go in the season and then leaves for another team. Happens all the time. I’d rather get a couple of prospects for him than the draft picks. Trust me, someone will be interested in taking him off our hands.
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Good thing Klobber showed up just in the nick of time… Pappy was a’dominatin’ and runnin’ the streets of Stuffville unsupervised and all. Left alone he’d’a prolly yanked them skivvies and gotten in a heap’a trouble.
Pappy, but really… enjoyed your ‘stuff’ today, particularly the 11:58 Chino report and your spot on comment there. It is a mystery why anyone would hire a guy like Cadahia when Bobby himself needs so much help… particularly these last few years. Maybe Bobby doesn’t want someone that might threaten his decisions by challenging him with better ideas and better game moves. Or Maybe Bobby’s position and Chino’s job could be understood more by considering a Donald Rumsfeld comment on hiring: βA’s hire A’s, B’s hire C’s.”
Klobber, your 5:55 is good as usual. Thing is, when Braves players go elsewhere and perform better, there are so many possibilities and factors that contribute to the improvement… a simple change of scenery being one. Perhaps the new team’s insistence on mastering the fundamentals is another… new managers and new coach’s factor into performance in a huge way.
We’ll never be able to determine the cause/effect of a coach and a manager on a successful player or team… but we sure as hell can measure it pretty well in a underperforming player and a lousy team, just by watching.
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All this negative talk of Chino. Mr. Chino is my friend.
Well, not really my friend, but he never tried to swat me at the buffet table. Maybe ’cause he always had both hands occupied and all, but still…
Wicky was my buddy too. Well, not really buddy but, you know… the buffet.
Cheeseburgers too.
Bobby is my pal too. Well, not really pal, but he never tried to swat me. Had a close call once though. One day I was minding my own business and wanted to see the playbook so I rested on Bobby’s nose for a good view. Almost got poked. The manager nose is a dangerous place to sit. I also avoid sitting on his head during an after game interview… the way he rubs it and all. Other than those two locations he’s a purty safe resting place. Hardly ever moves.
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Klobber; I was trying to generate some “conversation”. However, you tell me some “names” of guys they will swap the Braves for yada yada and yada. If Frenchy can’t get timely hits here, why would he elsewhere? And why would a GM offer more than a “prospect” for him? ‘Course that might work out, but…
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And remember, we are talking about a trade for a “power hitting LF”. This is someone who is doing it. Why trade him for someone who isn’t?
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I refuse to talk to flies. Their voices are too high pitched. π
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Pappy, you are missing my point. We don’t need a power hitting LF this year. This year is done. Over. Kaput. 86. We are trading for next year, possibly 2010, not this year.
If Frenchy can’t get hits here, trade his sorry tail. BC and TP have been coddling him. He is the 2008 version of Andruw Jones. Send him off to play for someone like Lou Pinella or Dusty Baker. They’ll light a fire under him. That’s all the boy needs. Either that, or perhaps a visit to AAA.
Why would a GM offer more than a prospect? The boy’s got tons of ability. He’s not using it. A GM that sees that may be able to steal Francis away. Sometimes all it takes is a change of scenery or a wakeup call.
Can I give you specific names? Of course not Pappy. I’m not a GM or other insider. But based on trades that have occurred in the past I know it’s not a far-fetched idea.
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OK Klobber, good points.
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I’m goin’ to bed and leave it to you young uns. Have fun.
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Hey guys, good news. We’re guaranteed not to lose a game today!
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Goodnight Newman.
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I refuse to talk to flies. Their voices are too high pitched.
Are you insinuating that flies have small balls? Well mister, did you ever consider that’s ’cause very few flies can dance? Bet you didn’t. Besides, too many toes to step on. Hey, you’d have small balls too if it weren’t for Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers teaching humans with those classes and all.
By the way, we have small heads too, as if that mattered. We just don’t need a lotta room to pee and poop. Small powder rooms too. We have small arms too… it just don’t take much of a bullet to shoot a frog. It’s a small world out there and getting smaller all the time. Ironic isn’t it? But we still have plenty of room and there are so many blossoms to choose from.
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Good evening y’all. I am now trying to erase the mental image of Berigan vacuuming in underwear, facemask & flipflops. TMI, buddy.
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From the ajc:
The Braves purchased the contract of former Padres and Mets right-hander Brian Lawrence from the Camden Riversharks of the independent Atlantic League. He’ll be assigned to Class AAA Richmond.
The former San Diego 15-game winner was 2-2 with a 3.21 ERA for Camden, with 32 strikeouts and nine walks.
Lawrence, 32, is 50-63 with a 4.19 ERA in six major league seasons, including 1-2 with a 6.83 ERA in six starts for the Mets in 2007. He spent five seasons in San Diego and was 15-14 with a 4.12 ERA in 2005.
woo-hoo… the season is saved… yipee…
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π
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Hey, he might come in handy sometime, VOR.
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Y’all been casting your AllStar votes? We’ve got to get Mac in there.
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FLB, I look EXACTLY like Brad Pitt by the by….
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and if you believe that, I have a bridge in Brooklyn that I’d like to sell you, real cheap! π
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Ber, you look like Brads Pitts? Oops, I must have read that wrong! π
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Berigan, you don’t own a bridge in Brooklyn. However, if you need to use it, let me know and I’ll lease it to you for cheap!
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Chris, I have had women tell me my pitts look like his pits! π
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Didn’t I read it’s in Arizona now?? Or is that London bridge..some bridge…
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Tin man, have a heart.
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Actually Brad Pitt never appealed to me much.
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You’re right SG. The Braves don’t have heart. Maybe I should lead by example.
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On the other hand, think of how much $ the trash papers would pay for pics of Brad vacuuming in his undies. Smile, Berigan! π
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Are you saying no one would pay to see me in my undies??? Don’t answer that! π‘ I could see people pay to keep them out!
Ok, who’s cute to you then FLB???
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FBG, Pitt never did much for me either. π
Actually, my wife doesn’t understand why everyone gets so hot and bothered by him.
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While FLB’s mulls that over….
My new idea to shake things up now….Put Kelly in left. I’ve seen him throw from the outfield grass to home and looks like his arm is quite strong. Then play Infante. He plays with a bit of fire. If doesn’t hit well against lefties or righties(I am tired, ain’t gonna look it up right now) Then platoon him with Gotay. He did hit .296 last year.
But, we would never make a guy switch positions in the middle of a year. We will play a 35 year old who rarely played left the last several years…but that’s…..different.
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Chris, Brad Pitt doesn’t appeal to FLB, cuz he’s like so old! π
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Well, you said you looked just like him. We could buy a B&S suite at the Ted with the proceeds.
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I don’t know his age but that’s irrelevant. Sean Connery is still sexy.
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Chris, I think women like to say they don’t like fill-in-the-blank just to confuse guys.
In the 80’s it was safe to say the name Tom Selleck, and more often than not, women would agree he was “hot” then, I noticed in the 90’s, especially among young woman, none of them thought he was hot…they usually liked Brad Pitt.
Ask a man more or less our age(I’m 41, you are around there, right??) and we loved Raquel Welch even when she was much older than us…and we like someone like Jessica Biel, even if she is much younger than us….clearly, men are more open minded! π
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And FLB totally ruined my point mentioning a guy nearly 80! π‘
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hmmm… ok. This is subject to my whims of course.
The Hot List: Alexei Yagudin, Colin Firth, Johnny Depp (not in his crazy drunk swishy pirate mode but how he looked in “Chocolat” ), Maksim the pro dancer from Dancing with the Stars ( he has a tricky Russian last name, I’d have to look it up to get the spelling), and ( don’t laugh) Brian McCann.
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B, some people never lose it.
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I am like the fat Brian McCann! π
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Fat, hippy lookin’ McCann….
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Nice try, B.
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And even being 16 years older than him, and having a bad back, I could easily outrun him! π
Now, off to watch a Mr. Moto we somehow missed watching before….and I see lightning! We could really use some rain, it’s been at least two weeks in Jonesboro since it last rained….
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It ain’t the looks. Charles Bronson, George C. Scott, Tommy Lee Jones… none had any trouble with the ladies. It’s confidence more than physical.
Having quite a few million doesn’t hurt either. π
Same with female actresses that arenβt classic beauties. Take, uhβ¦ oh, thereβs, umβ¦ nevermind. Whoopsie daisy, double standard alertβ¦ change subject now.
Howβbout those Braves!!!
Uh⦠well, maybe not that, oh⦠seen any good movies lately? Cakes? Cookies?
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Well, I liked “Becoming Jane”. You have to have read Pride and Prejudice to get it though.
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No cakes or cookies. I’m on a major diet.
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FBG, I just don’t see the relation to Brian McCann in that hottie list of yours.
It’s like saying, ‘I like red velvet cake, pecan brownies, oatmeal and raisin cookies, cinnamon apple pie and big crunchy pickles’.
Uh, but it’s your list so you get to include anyone… π
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How about our old friend Julia Roberts? She doesn’t have the “classic” features, her mouth is very wide… but she still looks great.
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Hey, I like all of that stuff (well, except the raisins. sorry, VOR.).
No really, I think Brian is adorable. He’s like this cute cuddly teddy bear.
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Julia Roberts was very attractive… until she opened her vile, venomous, politically ignorant, “very wide” mouth. She was perfectly typecast in ‘Pretty Woman’.
Pretty is as pretty does. She ain’t.
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Huh? π―
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Um, OK. I was talking about the “classic beauty” thing. I have no idea what that was all about.
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Brian is adorable
FBG, with a .306 BA, a .579 SLG and his play behind the plateβ¦ OK, Iβll go with βgood lookinβ kidβ or βnice lookinβ ladβ or something like that. Well, if he gets his OBP up Iβll even throw in βa fine figgerβ of a manβ or such.
Adorable? Nahβ¦ I donβt think so. π
Add another 30 HR to his 12 and add 70 to his 36 RBI and, OK, sure⦠adorable. But only in a manly baseball stat kinda way.
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SG, what did Julia Roberts do/say? I must have missed it.
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Me too, Chris.
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I can see where the ladies might find Heap attractive. Aside from being one of the best at his job in the world, he’s rich! That’s gotta mean something, right?
Truthfully, he’s a very nice young man to meet and talk with. He’s got a good sense of humor about his shortcomings too. A lot of folks find that endearing.
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Whatever we missed won’t surprise me. Those HOllywood types are always stepping in “it”, politically speaking.
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Sorry FBG. You must not follow her very mean and personal attacks on President Bush and all conservatives. Hey, disagreement is fine, but she is… well, I’ll let that rest. She’s just not very bright. We’ll leave it at that.
I thin she used to date Brian McCann.
(I’m surely gonna get in trouble tonight if this keeps up)
Now, on the joys of gardening…
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Rich does not = attractive for me.
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I was ridiculed by a certain blogmaster over the weekend for making the statement that I will not watch movies or shows of those celebrities who use that very celebrity to further some political cause, especially ones that I don’t believe in (which is far and away the majority). Couldn’t believe that I would deprive myself for something like that and then insinuated that I must be a lot of fun to talk to at dinner parties.
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I thin she used to date Brian McCann.
Thank you Ricky Ricardo! π
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FBG, you are in the minority there. Probably one of the reasons that we all think you are so cool! π
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Klobber, I think one goes up 2 points on the one-to-ten attractive scale with every million bucks. A million here, a mil there and you can go from Heap to Hunk. Same thing as with beer. Each beer adds a point to the person of interest.
(now I’m really flirting with a dog house visit)
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Raisins π
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Lucy. Luuuuccccyyyy! I thin you better step out of that tub of grapes. Holy moly!!!
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I personally don’t care about celebrity’s political causes. But then I make a point of not discussing politics or religion, except with a select few people.
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SG, you must be referring to the famous Budweiser Scale!
(I hope CL left the doghouse in good condition! We might need it!)
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For the record, I thought Brian was cute before he signed his contract. I like how he plays, the way his personality comes across & the big blue eyes.
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FLB, I don’t care about them either. But I don’t want them to ram their political beliefs down my throat. Just like I don’t want anyone else to do the same, including family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc.
There are only a very few people that I can have a conversation with regarding politics. They are all people that respect the opinions of others, even if they don’t agree.
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I think FBG has a crush on someone!!!
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Chris, and that guy would talk about seeing every anti war movie that came out…films that wouldn’t even make a million dollars….I’m sure that makes him a wonderful guy at dinner parties! π
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I meant to tell y’all that I saw Jon Gilmore play last week. He was one of the Bravos top picks last year. He plays at 3b and I have to tell you that I was shocked at how much he looks like Chipper. Similar physical builds and the way he covered his position reminded me of Chipper quite a bit. Not as good as Chipper, but he’s young. Might be Chipper’s replacement in a few years.
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I think we’d all take another Chipper.
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Several times I started a response but decided not to do so. You’ll never win with him. He’ll make you look bad if he so chooses so I let it go.
I don’t need to know about someone’s politics to make a decision on whether I like them or not, or whether they are good at what they do. But I do strongly object to ANYONE using their celebrity to further some political cause. Why should I think like Sean Penn? I have a brain in my head. Some days, it actually functions enough for me to formulate my own opinions! Don’t tell me that I should believe in what you believe in!
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I agree, Chris. That’s why I choose to ignore all that stuff.
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klobber: If you don’t fall down at his feet and fawn all over his eclectic music taste, he’ll disrespect you in a heartbeat. He’s a legend in his own mind…
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Regarding celebs and their political soapbox:
Why would anyone take them seriously? Their whole way of life is centered around a world of make believe. Most of them are in no way attached to reality…
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And Voice of Raisins is the voice of reason as always. π
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Klobber, a “certain blogmeester” can’t help but resort to negative personal tripe or crass insinuation of a personal nature when a comment is politically different from his own. If you would’ve refused to watch a John Wayne movie because of his patriotism he would’ve found your post to be insightful or funny.
On the other hand, if I only watched films with those actors I agreed with politically or listened to music with the same requirement, I’d have very little to listen to or watch. Unless an artist is personally vile or attacks someone I care about personally, I’ll put that to the side and enjoy the performance. Not so with Missy Julia, Roger Dodger the not-so-documentary filmmaker, Spike Lee, Sean Penn, Charlie Sheen and a few others. Oh, and then there’s the obnoxious-newly-rich-dot-com-kid-basketball-team-owning-twit. He should be ‘redacted’ for being an idiot.
Anyhoo, I would gladly break bread and enjoy conversing with you any time. Might even have to break tradition and have a Knob Creek or two.
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Raisins, you’re right about him. That’s fine. I still read over there for the information and there are still a few bloggers that I enjoy reading.
Don’t know if y’all saw that someone was lamenting the loss of some of y’all today. Raisins and SG were among the ones listed. Can’t remember everyone else right now.
As for the celebs, you’re right. No sense of reality. Not at least as to how it applies to the average American. I think that if they had any sense of reality they’d spend more time doing benefit events for needy/sick/whatever people here instead of in every third world country. Not that those folks don’t need help but there are plenty of folks here that need help. Of course, you have to wonder if the tv cameras would follow them around here if they chose to do something stateside.
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Very weird juxtaposition of touchy conversational subject & Andre Rieu playing Nino Rota’s Romeo and Juliet on my iPod.
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As do I klobber. I read occasionally for the info. The infighting usually drives me off… I haven’t posted in quite a while.
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But Raisins… eclectic is a very good thing in art, music, cookies, brownines,,, eve pickles. Just ask FBG. She likes pickles too.
Can’t help it… variety. Love every genre. Not everything in any genre, mind you… but it’s all good. Genre-lly speaking. π
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KC definitely beats the old white Russki!
I guess what makes it easy for me is that I really and truly don’t care to watch movies that much. Don’t really watch that much tv either outside of baseball, Dirty Jobs and Deadliest Catch. Man, if Mike Rowe turns out to be a liberal I’ll be ticked!
SG, in my comment, I was very, very careful not to reveal anything about my political leanings. Of course, most of the idiots in Hollywood lean left, so perhaps my beliefs were rightly assumed to be well, right. I mean right leaning!
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Anyhoo, I would gladly break bread and enjoy conversing with you any time. Might even have to break tradition and have a Knob Creek or two.
I’d like that as well, SG. You’re a stand up guy and I think we probably have quite a bit in common. You ever make it to Charleston? I don’t get to Savannah very often/hardly ever but I have a suspicion that my job is going to be changing in the next few months and I may be asked to cover a larger territory. Might wind up down there sometime.
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I made my second post on DOB’s blog in 6 months the other day(I am…Krakatoa! π― ) Since he was bashing someone for saying Tex wasn’t all that and a bag of chips-he did correctly point out how he has driven in a fair number of runs the last 3 weeks or so…just didn’t like the tone. So, I pointed out how he was hitting .209 from the right side, and how Chipper was hitting double what Tex was from the right side….he didn’t comment on that point, for some reason…
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To be a Hollywood actor requires mostly good looks and basically, the ability to lie very well… uh, act. Sometimes it’s just a matter of being a member of the lucky sperm club following a famous actor parent. Acting requires an ability to read a script and look pretty while regurgitating the clever scriptwriter’s words and following the director’s instruction on how to… uh, act.
Acting does not require a great deal of intelligence. It certainly doesn’t call for a high moral or ethical standard or any particular values. It really helps to be pretty. It really helps to be liberal.
Even with all that… I love movies. Go figger.
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I suspect that it actually helps to have a very liberal agenda and very low morals and ethics. Just my perception.
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Chris, I watch old movies for a lot of reasons. You can what old movies and see actors that were “Liberals” in the best sense of the word, who served in the military, and loved their country. Penn, Clooney, Michael Moore…they want to knock “their” country down a peg or three….
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Klobber, I haven’t been to Charleston in years… even though I used to go every week or two. I’ll email you when I plan to get up there next. But don’t be a’dissin’ my rooskies… that hurt. π
Well, good ladies and gents, I’m gonna call it an evening. G’nite and G’luck.
Gluck? Not very Murrowish… but it’s there so it’ll do.
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Good night Mr G!
There are some conservatives in La La Land…but they have to watch it, from what I have heard…..Gary Sinese is one, but he aims his views more at helping the troops, not ramming his views down everyone’s throats…you know, the way it should be????
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But Raisins⦠eclectic is a very good thing in art, music, cookies, brownines,,, eve pickles.
Not knockin’ eclectic… just that certain person’s sense that only music he likes is of any value.
By the way, I’ve never had a brownine or an eve pickle, but I’m certainly willing to try some time… π
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510 posts??? Slow down guys!!! we want this blog to last a long time, I wrote it after all!!! π
and on that note, Pa will want to read about the folks in the film on IMDB. another great thing about old movies, especially B movies….60 minute films! Great for anyone with ADD, like me! π
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And g’night, sir Savvy-dude.
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B-mer, I do that all the time. My wife and I love TCM, and I often am reading on IMDB while the movie is on… π
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VOR, 2 different avatars tonight??? Bravo!
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Goodnight SG!
B, I don’t know anything about Sinise’s political views. That suits me just fine. In fact, it’s perfect, in my simple little mind. You can support the troops without supporting the war too! Those brave men and women are risking their lives daily so we can believe in whatever we want. In fact, if Sinise is a liberal AND he’s supporting the troops, then that just bumps him up a couple notches in my mind. Now that I think about it, I just read about a band that he’s in called Lieutenant Dan. Very admirable of him, especially considering what most of his peers are doing lately.
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VOR, me too! Read while watching! π Too bad you live so far away, and…oh wait….well, um….gas is expensive! π <used to be VOR’s emoticon, but I have stolen it…. π well, you got all them rugrats….someday we shall have to see a ball game together! π Maybe we can go with Grinch, and he can keep a couple of heavy drinkers like us in line! π
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Chris, I agree completely with if a guy was a liberal, and still supported the troops. there is some semi-manic comedian….I am sure he is a Bush basher, but I have seen him with the troops, so he is cool in my book because of that….last name of Black??? He’s on Comedy central…I don’t watch much of that anymore….And of course Robin Williams has gone to entertain the troops as well, and I don’t see him making donations to the RNC…wake me when Clooney or Sean Penn goes over to Iraq to entertain the troops.
Hey, didn’t I say I was gettin’ off this sucker????
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I think a B&S get-together at a game will need to be organized one of these days.
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At least Buck and Kiinkade went off on some Braves issues today. They ridiculed Jeff Schultz’s column that allowed the Braves to spin all their woes with injury excuses. They threw Frenchy under the bus. They said it’s probably time for TP to go since the players are tuning him out. They said the Braves don’t have clutch players and they said it’s about time for the Braves to stop claiming the 14 division titles because these mediocre losers had nothing to do with those division titles. They also said that the b.s. of oh, it’s still early is for losers.
It was nice to hear someone in the Atlanta media finally start touching on some of the real problems with this team and start talking like the fans are thinking.
This is the most frustrating damn team.
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Don’t eat no tomaters for a while folks!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080609/ap_on_he_me/med_mcdonald_s_tomatoes
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WW, welcome back! Ignore all the political crap, and see what we have talked about the past few days on the team….I am ready to see something drastic done with the team, but….will it happen????
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Just because you are a liberal and don’t support the b.s. war and think this war was a contrived bunch of b.s. done with nothing but corporate greed as the purpose doesn’t mean you don’t support the troops.
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Klobber, I saw what DOB did to you. Although I didn’t agree with your view that day on that issue, I didn’t see why he had to be condescending to you. But he’s done it to me about my views on Terry Pendleton, Mark Teixeira, AOL/TW, Liberty Media. I don’t get why he defends those guys so much. If it’s not the fault of Cox, Schuerholz, AOL/TW, LM, Wren, Pendleton, then whose freaking fault is it? I also don’t get why he is so fed up with the negative posters. This team is 219-217 in the last 432 games, is headed for a June swoon for the third consecutive year, has consecutive third place finishes, is again in third place but he expects everyone to be positive? I don’t like all the negativity and think many are childish simpletons but geez the fans are fed up and are demanding answers and solutions from the media but they continue to prefer to be pretend nothing is wrong
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Hey, WW. Good to see you.
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Howdy ww… Buck and Kincade must be reading the Colossus.
It’s not always about losing. Every night, 15 teams win and 15 teams lose. Losses happen. Even the best teams are gonna lose 60 times in a season. It’s how a team responds to those losses that defines them. When a team casually accepts losses as the result of things out of their control, or shows no remorse at all, there is an internal acceptance for mediocrity. It’s a cancer that can destroy even the most talented of ball clubs…
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Only one I have seen DOB bash is Acosta since he left the clubhouse without facing the media….that is unforgivable in his eyes, and worthy of bashing….no one else though….
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VOR, I think that Kinkade actually does read the Colussus. He has said a few things lately that are ripped right out of what you guys are saying.
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Hey FBG, sorry that I’m in a pissy mood
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Don’t worry about it. We’re all frustrated with the team right now. (and don’t tell SG but I’m fairly liberal. glad I’m not alone)
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Probably shouldn’t have gone there. Oh well, y’all won’t hate me for it, will you?
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Berigan, you’re right about that Acosta thing. He tends to do that kind of thing to certain players. You can’t ever say a bad word about certain players like Tex, Chipper, Smoltz, Glavine. They are untouchable to him. But lesser players ……..
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Kissing the butt of the BMOC? Seems in character.
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They said itβs probably time for TP to go since the players are tuning him out.
I saw an interview with Chipper recently. The interviewer asked him about who helped him with his swing. Never ONE time in the discussion did TP’s name come up. Now I realize that his father’s been watching his swing since he was in t-ball, but I found it very telling that his professional hitting coach’s name was never mentioned.
WW, I don’t expect ANYONE to agree with my beliefs. My wife goes to movies that I would NEVER see because of who is in them or who makes them. That’s fine.
However, in my opinion (which means absolutely nothing to anyone but me) it is hypocritical to spend money seeing a movie featuring someone that I don’t respect.
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FBG: Being “fairly” liberal or conservative is never a problem. Being fanatically liberal or conservative to the point that all objectivity is beaten into submission by an extreme lemming mentality is dangerous.
Man… that was deep. Did that just come from me?
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Yep, it did. Thanks.
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Oh jeez, I’m in a blog with TWO liberals. I guess I need to call it a night! π
Just kiddin’ guys! I can respect your opinions as long as you can respect mine!
And WW, DOB is probably one of the guys that Acosta stood up. No wonder he’s happy to dis him.
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Tim Kurkjian just did a really nice piece on Junior. In my opinion, he’s one of the great players of this generation. You don’t read many negative things about that guy.
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Raisins, that was very reasonable. Wouldn’t expect anything less from you.
While many of my views would be considered conservative, many others would be considered quite liberal. I’m no hard core right winger.
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I’ve always liked Junior too. It’s sad that injuries have marred the latter part of his career. He has always played with the enthusiasm of a Little Leaguer. I love that.
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WW, if Kincaid reads this blog or DOB’s or others, it wouldn’t surprise me. I’m sure that they go out to get the “pulse” of the fans to see how they are feeling so they can tailor their show around it. I’m not accusing them of pandering to a crowd, but it’s a smart business decision. Certainly better than that idiot Colon Cowterd.
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I love it too. Who knows what he could have done if he could have stayed healthy all this time. He might have challenged Aaron’s record. (Note: I don’t recognize that SF idiot as being HR leader).
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Klobber, I respect your opinion on that political thing. I’m not that way about politics for whatever reason. But one thing that has always turned me off with athletes are the ones who talk about Jesus and the Lord and all that religious stuff all the time. That drives me up the wall and has turned me off many a ballplayer. The more a ballplayer starts talking that Jesus junk, the more I think the player is a phony who’s trying to hide something. Don’t know why I’m that way.
I just think religion is a very personal and private thing that shouldn’t be used mindlessly for show like so many of them do. I mean we all believe in Jesus, why do I need to hear Smoltz or Frenchy or some dopey basketball or football player think they are spreading the Word by repeatedly referencing Jesus when it makes no sense to do so? It just annoys me to no end.
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I think he would have & that would have been OK with me. I don’t acknowledge the evil giant head either.
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I love Griffey. The real home run champ of 1998
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And I agree with WW again. That subject does not belong in a sports interview.
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It’s different if they’ve just accomplished something big & feel the need to thank God. But not all the time.
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Klobber, you crack me up with your hatred for Cowterd. Have you ever googled the term Shrutebag? It will take you to awful announcing.com. They share your low opinion of Cowherd
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I must now haul my tired carcass to the bed.
ww: I don’t mind their passion off the field, if they’ll show some on the field. But that’s just me.
G’night Colossus and Colossusans.
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‘Night, VOR!
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Berigan, I forgot to tell you that you did a great lead.
You too SG since I didn’t get around to posting under yours. I read it though. It was good and entertaining.
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WW, I have googled shrutebag, but only after seeing a post of yours (never heard the term before and still don’t know where it came from). I can’t listen to that idiot any more. I’d rather listen to Dan Patrick and Jim Rome. And I’m no Rome fan.
I feel the exact same way about athlete’s talking about their religion. To me, it’s the exact same thing as politics. For the record, I am a Christian, but I don’t feel the need to tell the world about it. I realize that many religions preach that their followers are supposed to “spread the word” but I don’t care for it personally. I have a relationship with God. I don’t need anyone and I mean ANYONE to tell me how to talk to Him.
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I have jury duty in the morning. Don’t know why I have to go. Wasted my time this morning with it. I’m a lawyer, so no one is gonna pick me. But they seem like they want to waste my time for the rest of the week by making me needlessly show up for voir dire anyway
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I love Griffey. The real home run champ of 1998
This.
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WW, as an lawyer you should know that the only question you should ask is if you’re gonna get to hang someone!
That’ll get you out every time!
Gotta hit it kids. See y’all (later) in the a.m.
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Poor WW! I was called for it while I was in Georgia. Hopefully we’ll have moved before my name pops up again.
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‘Night, Chris!
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Yeah, it was painful this morning. But at least they had magazines there. I think I read the last 3 months worth of Sports Illustrateds while I was sitting around
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Sounds like the dentist’s office.
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Did you get to do a trial FBG?
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Nope. It was this last trip when I was in Rabun for 3 weeks. My mom let them know I was out of state.
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Spike vs Clint
by Mike Krumboltz
June 9, 2008 03:32:28 PM
There’s nothing like a petty squabble between celebrities to send folks searching. Ideally, the tiff involves vapid starlets arguing over who started the purse-dog trend, but Clint Eastwood telling Spike Lee to “shut his face” makes for a perfectly acceptable substitute.
The spat began when Lee questioned Eastwood for not casting African-American actors in his two World War II films, “Letters from Iwo Jima” and “Flags of Our Fathers.” Mr. Lee noted that there were black soldiers present at Iwo Jima but not in Eastwood’s movies. Mr. Eastwood fired back, saying in an interview that black troops were not involved in the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima and also suggested that Mr. Lee should “shut his face.” Yow, Dirty Harry’s in the house!
In the dustup’s aftermath, lookups on Clint jumped 89%, while Spike surged 178%. A slew of articles including one from the Huffington Post drew clicks, and the story’s not over yet. The New York Daily News noted that Mr. Lee recently responded to Eastwood’s face-shutting suggestion. Quoteth Mr. Lee: Eastwood “sounds like an angry old man.” We’re not taking sides, but you gotta admitβtruer words were never spoken.
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The only difference is that in the dentist’s office, I am forced to listen to Michael Bolton, Celine Dion, Bryan Adams, Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston on an endless loop. Thankfully, they didn’t have music playing.
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That’s so that the drilling doesn’t seem too painful in comparison.
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I guess. But that music is painful. But I guess they can’t exactly rock out in the dentist’s office
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That would be funny, wouldn’t it?
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As much as I’m enjoying our chat, cousin, I’m gonna have to wrap it up pretty soon here.
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I guess he’s gone. Good night y’all.
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g;nite FBG
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Boy, I thought I went “far afield” yesterday, but you young ‘uns done better last night. I couldn’t follow it all, but it seems Brad Pitt was vacuuming Berigan’s house in his underwear. Whose? FBG has a crush on Sean Connery. SG has a crush on George C. Scott. And Raisins and Klobber are crushed. Is that about it?
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Glad to do you proud Pappy!
Raisins are often crushed for grape juice or wine. Klobbers are not crushed very often. Nothing good inside that anyone wants! π
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That’s it in a nutshell Pappy! π
That, and we have some commie liberals on this here blog! π
As I mentioned above, old timey liberals, do gooders, don’t bother me much…its the kind mixed in with them…I wonder if SG has seen them on other blogs??
I have mentioned a jazz board I frequent. There are guys there that truly wish harm on this country. “They” are the kind of folks(need to say some, not all, or I wouldn’t post there) that have posted articles saying how there were no heroes on flight 93, that the plane just went down because of the terrorists. They are the kind of folks that will not listen to criticism of Michael Moore,(A guy who I once liked, for films like Roger and Me) or Noam Chomsky(A guy I have never liked). They are their heroes. The Blue Angels are just recruiters in their eyes, wasting fuel, adding to global warming….you get the picture…..
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Those people make me sick Berigan. It’s one thing to have an opinion that’s different than mine. I can respect that opinion. However, those people go to far.
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And Pat Buchanan on the Right, is someone I CANNOT stand! He just wrote a book called Churchill, Hitler, and “The Unnecessary War”. I knew he has long hated Israel, but his Jew hatin’ ways are coming out more and more each day.
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Ok, enough with the politics Berigan! π‘
Anywho, back to baseball, before I go back to bed…saw on http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/ that the Phils might have some interest in Erik Bedard….man, if they got him…I will follow the Tampa Bay Rays for the rest of this season….the east will be over…..
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One final thought….Johnny Damon in Left. I know, he throws like a girl. A girl with a broken arm. but, you know what??? He is money in big games. Damon is not the guy you want to see up in the 9th against your team. He is still a good leadoff hitter, a recent hot streak has him hitting .326 and has 11 steals. His .392 OBP is higher than everyone on the team except Chipper. 6 homers, or one less than Frenchy. 4 more than Diaz. His 31 RBI’s are 5 less than Frenchy, but he is also a leadoff hitter! I know, there is no pitcher hitting in front of him, but still….good nubmers….the biggest problem is ownership acts like we are a team that can’t take on a contract like his. He gets paid 13 mil for next year, but all the money coming off the books this year, would seem to make it ok. He has been on a team that won a championship in 04, anyone on this team, besides Chipper, been on a team that has even played in a WS???
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good nubmers!!!!!!!!!! π
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Pappy, yep, you got me. I have a crush on George C. Scott. John Wayne tooβ¦ and Jimmy Stewart. But donβt worry, itβs just an innocent crush, not that other, uh, you know. Anyhoo, was good to see the streets of Stuffville were bustling last night. The bartender at Klobberβs Saloon must have a good wristβ¦ liberal with the pours. π
Bear, next time I feel like getting repulsed and wasting time Iβll visit a liberal blog. Other than Braves and Stuff and AJC Iβve contributed literally twice to another blog and that one was related to my business. I havenβt even had time lately to keep up with this one. Havenβt read the AJC Braves PR hosted blog in a weekβ¦ so, nope, no liberal blogs for me. It would be more productive for me to go out to my garden and yell at the weeds and expect them to change into βmaters or okra. Then I’d be the bigger fool.
Not knockinβ eclecticβ¦ just that certain personβs sense that only music he likes is of any value.
Raisins, agreed. Itβs simply called an egocentric smartass. Now, on variety… not sure if eclectic is a natural tendency or an acquired tasteβ¦ but I got it. You got it tooβ¦ with that eclectic guitar, right? π Yepper, I mustβa been droppinβ letters last night, with that βeveβ pickle thing. Funny, when I sat down at the computer this morning there was an βnβ just sitting there on my chair. I’ll plug it in somewheren. Besides, Eve did get herself in a pickle with that apple, right?
Found out many things about the citizens of Stuffville last night. WW goes to a famous dentist and meets music stars in the waiting room. Maybe you know⦠does Whitney still have teeth?
(and donβt tell SG but Iβm fairly liberal. glad Iβm not alone)
FBG, at least you arenβt unfairly liberal (except with baked goods) and youβre never alone in Stuffville. Itβs a politically eclectic village. There I go againβ¦ that word.
The overnights remind me of a good βol song.
Now I must away to the office before I start philosophizing about the war or the dangers we face or contradiction of supporting the mountain climber but not the mountain.
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Commie Liberals? Where? Stand back and give me a clear shot!
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http://www.afa.net/dnc060608.asp:
The above is just another attempt by the Dims to pander to ANY group that MIGHT help them win the White House.
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This upcoming series makes me worry, in a strange kind of way. I’m “afraid” Fran will have one of those multi-homer/rbi games; Tess will get a couple of hits; SOMEONE will save a game, and all will be pronounced as “on track”. Not!
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It seems that everyone is exhausted from exploring the bathos of insipidity last night. OK. I’ll go do something else. Bye.
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βm βafraidβ Fran will have one of those multi-homer/rbi games; Tess will get a couple of hits; SOMEONE will save a game, and all will be pronounced as βon trackβ. Not!
βSuccess is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.”
– Bill Gates
Temporary success with not such smart people is even more troublesome. OK now I’m really leaving. Giv’em time Pappy, it was a late night. Soon they’ll wake up and climb aboard.
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Good morning y’all. Don’t shoot, uncle, I don’t know any communists.
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Is the signing of Lawrence and assigning him to Richmond clearing the way to bring up Charlie Morton? Hope so.
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I wouldn’t shoot my favorite blog niece. Good morning, sweetie.
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I’d like to see what Morton can do. Hope your guess is right, uncle.
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Awww, thank you.
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I got to go to an appointment. See yah afterwhile, niece. Be your usual sweet self.
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I have mucho housework today so I’ll be in & out too.
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Time to take a break from breathing all that bathroom cleaner. Can’t be good for you.
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Time to take a break from breathing all that bathroom cleaner.
FBG, don’t they sell beer in your town? Much safer.
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Hey guys. Long time no talk. I’ve finally gotten around to creating an account so I can post on this here blog. It’s been fun reading but only half as fun as reading and posting. It’s good to see all is going well over here. Lots of familiars. I’ll try and frequent more often. I get all sorts of blockers coming here from the office computer. I noticed our system does this with all wordpress sites.
Pappy: “Is the signing of Lawrence and assigning him to Richmond clearing the way to bring up Charlie Morton?”
Now that is an interesting way to look at it. From O’Brien this morning:
“the Braves might eventually have to consider moving Jorge Campillo back to the bullpen, as good as heβs been as a starter. I say that because the move would make sense if the Braves believe Charlie Morton is ready to pitch in the majors, which I am told they do believe.”
So perhaps you are on the right trail. And I’d rather see that move than Lawrence coming up, but who knows…
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Wow! Who assigns the images? Honestly, I’m not that upset.
Reminds me of when Uncle Leo had his eyebrows drawn on by Elaine… Ha!
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tennesseepaul; Welcome old friend! I think you will find B&S Blog a very comfortable place to hang out. We have some who go back and forth, so feel free to do that. You can bring us some crumbs as you did above. Anyway, welcome!
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TNPaul, you are a welcome, welcome sight!!! And most welcome here!! Hope you’ll be around often!
Sorry about the avatar! The computer now assigns one if you don’t have one of your own. π
Haven’t had time to check baseball news yet. Anything going on??
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TNPaul, welcome!!! Good to see you again!
SG, you know pefectly well that I meant I was cleaning the bathrooms. Had to get away from the fumes in between. And I don’t drink.
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…and my spelling is not “pefect” today. Blah!
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Baseball news: Braves in 3rd place and going down like a concrete-block catamaran. Sorry to be the bearer of such news but the appearance of TnPaul should help. π
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UPCOMING BIRTHDAYS:
Lew: Jun 14
williamwallace: Jun 27
Mr. Fly: July 1
FloridaBravesGirl: Jul 8
THE LINEUP CARD
Gil – on deck
Raisins – top step
JBinATL – looking for his gloves
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I’ll have to email Lew. Miss him ’round here.
It’s a card & present frenzy here. My mom’s B-day is the 13th (which is Friday this year!) & Father’s Day the 15th. Their anniversary was yesterday. Too many things all at once.
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Birthday suggestions: Lew – a personality; ww – humility; Mr. Fly – a flypaper lounge chair; FBG – Hugs and kisses and anything she wants!
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π³ Thanks, uncle. But I must defend Lew, he’s always been very nice to me.
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Mariners fire hitting coach:
http://cbs.sportsline.com/mlb/story/10859620/rss
team travel:
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080609&content_id=2878521&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb&partnerId=rss_mlb
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That’s Lew, niece. He knows what side his cake is buttered on. π
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If the Mariners can employ a 71 hear old hitting coach, maybe I should apply to the Braves. I can’t teach them much about hitting but I can sure show them how to punch out a water cooler!
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Year = hear. Perhaps its Freudian.
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Welcome Tennessee Paul! Stuffville is a pretty laid back place, although we can get our hackles up from time to time. The Braves this year will require many deep breaths, counts to 10, perspective, etc. Oh, and some management advice and online coaching will be freely offered.
Hope you’ll start posting here regularly… miss seeing your stuff. Now, have to say… I had you figured for a more, uh, well rounded kinda’ guy. That octagon shape is, well, unexpected. Nice grill though.
FBG, I know, I know, dear… just pulling your pony tail a little bit is all. π
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I’m with you FBG, Lew adds a lot to the blog and beneath that tough ajc mosh pit exterior he’s a cool, laid back dude. Besides, he needs an occasional break from the trolls and Mutts.
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Interesting about the travel. It might be luxurious but it’s still tough on you to travel as much as the ballplayers do.
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Am I late? π
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OK…
So all of this time I have spent over the last 2 days driving into ATL has afforded me lots of time to think about the Braves, their current standing and my frustration level. Maybe I’m not as PO’d as I thought I was. Or maybe I’m just tired of being PO’d. Whatever… I like taking the more positive road. I just gotta figure out how?
π
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Yes, you’re late. Bad Raisins!…………..;-)
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I stand “corrected” by FBG and SG, I guess. All I know is that when Lew left this blog he “walked” right by my outstretched hand. I don’t get over, or forget, things like that. Like who you will, and I’ll do the same without mutual homilies. OK?
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I wasn’t trying to give you a hard time, uncle. I’m sorry things ended that way & I wish it could be fixed. One thing about Lew, he is very very stubborn.
Now, time to start making dinner. I’ll see y’all later.
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I wasn’t trying to be “short” with you, niece. I hope you understand that. I was just trying to explain where I’m coming from. And it all started with a “joke”. Remember?
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Pappy is running errands. Please leave a message at the beep.
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http://www.dugoutcentral.com/blog/?p=1489
How Old John McCain is – In Baseball Terms
Published by Bill Chuck on June 8, 2008 09:15 am under Uncategorized
I donβt want to say John McCain is old, butβ¦
John McCain (born August 29, 1936) is so old that:
* The MVPs the year he was born were Carl Hubbell (NL) and Lou Gehrig (AL).
* The year he was born, the first players were voted into the Hall of Fame.
* The year he was born was Joe DiMaggioβs rookie year.
* He was born in the same year as Ralph Terry, Ron Perranoski, Ruben Amaro, Harmon Killebrew, Frank Howard, Don Drysdale, Bill Monbouquette, Vic Davalillo, Tony Kubek, Bill Mazeroski, Bo Belinsky and Clay Dalrymple.
* He was 11 when the first televised World Series took place.
* He was 15 when DiMaggio retired.
* He was 15 when Bobby Thomson hit βthe home run heard βround the world.β
* He was 16 when Hoyt Wilhelm made his first appearance and 35 when Wilhelm made his last appearance at age 49.
* The year he was born was only 18 years since the Red Sox had won the World Series.
* He was 10 when Jackie Robinson debuted.
* He was 24 when Ted Williams retired.
* When Casey Stengel was forced out as manager of the Yankees for being too old at 70, he was 24.
* The year he was born was only 28 years since the Cubs had won the World Series.
* He was 28 when the Philadelphia Aβs moved to Kansas City. He was 51 when they moved to Oakland.
* He was 29 when the Houston Astrodome opened; he was 63 when it closed.
* He was 31 when Mike Mussina was born.
* He was 35 at the time of the first World Series night game.
* He was 35 when the Mets were born and they have now played 7,370 games (and still havenβt thrown a no-hitter).
* He was 37 when Roberto Clemente died at 37
* He was 37 when Willie Mays retired.
* He was 40 when Hank Aaron retired.
* He was 42 when Rickey Henderson made his debut.
* He was 45 when Julio Franco debuted.
* He was 49 when Jamie Moyer, baseballβs current oldest player made his debut.
* He was 50 when Greg Maddux debuted.
* He was 55 when pitchers Tom Seaver and Rollie Fingers were elected to the Hall of Fame.
* He was 56 when the Toronto Blue Jays won their first world championship.
* He was 59 when Cal Ripken, Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles played in his 2,131st consecutive major league game to surpass Lou Gehrigβs 56-year record.
* He was 61 when major league baseball came to his home state of Arizona.
* He was 61 when the Tampa Bay Devil Rays won their first game in franchise history.
* When he was 62, both Tony Gwynn and Wade Boggs recorded their 3,000 hit.
* He was 65 when the Diamondbacks won the World Series.
* He was 71 when Julio Franco last played in the majors.
Thatβs how old John McCain is.
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Even though Pappy is off running errands, I will agree with him that I think Morton is just about on his way to the Bigs. All signs point to that, anyway. Even though Campillo has performed admirably in the rotation, the facts are simply this: he can’t go deep into games, he develops blister problems after 2-3 innings, and the bullpen has needs that he can fill. Morton isn’t a reliever, and I would be very surprised if Frank promoted him to be one. I would not be surprised to see him make his ML debut on this trip as a starter. And I would also not be surprised to see Soriano back on the DL. He has issues, whether the MRI reveals them or not.
Also, I have forgiven KJ for his ghastly error. I am ready to move on, but I really would like to see the Bravos go at least 5-5 on this trip. Agreed that you gotta play better than .500 ball to have any shot at making the postseason, but with Chicago, Anaheim and Texas on the docket, and with their pitiful road record to date, I can live with 5-5. If they come home with a sub-.500 record at the end of June, it’s gonna be a long summer.
Number 7: You shall still be referred to as Fran until you drive in a run.
I really hope that Anderson and Blanco are batting 1&2 again tonight.
Oh, and how could I forget… 10Paul, welcome to our playground. It’s always open…
Anybody heard anything on Smoltz?
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CL, that was an interesting article on travel. Good find. There are so many distractions for frequent travelers as well as danger, fatigue, bad food habits and other, more destructive habits⦠particularly when so many vultures and groupies flock around celebrities and sports stars.
Speaking of temptations and destructive habits, Darryl Strawberry is in Savannah now with the Mets Sally League club. He has a new, clean and sober life, βliving one day at a time, in sobriety and as a man of faithβ. Heβs been added to the franchise as βa roving instructor for the Mets affiliates from rookie leagues to class AAA, as well as interact with the big league clubβ. Omar Minaya invited him to join. I think this is great. Iβll hope and pray this leads to great things for this once great player.
Interesting article and a nice bit about a conversation he had with Derek Jeter.
http://savannahnow.com/node/513210
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ww; I’m two years older than John McCain. I, too, saw all those “milestones”. I learned a lot from them and my other experiences of life. I, like him, am a unabashed Christian not a Muslim/christian, depending on how it will “benefit” me. McCAin is as middle-of-the-road as it comes in today’s politics, not the most liberal voter in the United States Senate. And his ears do not look like the dive-brakes on a A-1 Skyraider. Finally, if called upon to do so, us two old farts can still kick arse and take names.
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β¦the last 2 days driving into ATL has afforded me lots of time to think about the Braves, their current standing and my frustration level. Maybe Iβm not as POβd as I thought I was. Or maybe Iβm just tired of being POβd. Whateverβ¦ I like taking the more positive road. I just gotta figure out how?
Raisins, Iβm about in the same place you are on this. Sure, weβve all vented and parsed and criticized (as good and loyal fans are apt to do), but itβs not natural to stay in that negative place. No fun either. Oh, Iβll continue all of the above on occasion, but Iβm inclined to stop, smell the hot dogs, peanuts and Cracker Jack, have an ice cold beer and think of the game that I grew up lovingβ¦ which was not always the Braves and certainly not a perennial winner.
When Iβm thinking about this season, even with itβs obvious troubles and struggles (and roundly discussed mismanagement), I canβt help but remember the game itself, the park, the aesthetics, the great plays, the diving grabs, the clutch hits and such. Win or lose, Iβll get a big kick out of seeing Chipper on his quest to end the season at .400, and/or his march to a batting championship.
Iβll enjoy watching the highly talented Yunel as he rounds out the rough edges, masters the fundamentals and hopefully keeps his raw, scrappy and competitive attitude along the way. Lots’a heart there in that kid.
Iβll be pulling for Jair to continue his remarkable and impressive rise to ace status. Iβll root for Jo-Jo and Campillo to solidify their place in the rotation. Iβll hope that Glavine has a great year, watch him holding his own and witness a true HOF pitcher retire as a Brave… with dignity and that ice-man determination.
Iβll enjoy watching Huddy perform to his awesome best in every game. Iβll be hoping we get to see a healthy Kotsay and Diaz back in the outfield and Gonzo, Hampton, Moylan and too many others (sigh) to mention, back on the mound. Long term Iβll anxiously await the hopeful return of our number one warrior, Smoltzie. My eyes will be on our clutch Brian McCann as he quietly masters the game behind the plate and continues his hitting prowess.
Iβll be pulling for Josh Anderson to play great and make the club as a starter. Iβll enjoy watching the kids and the newbieβs… Infante, Lillibridge, Sammons, Morton and so forth.
I could go down the list and include almost everyone but the point is, the good game goes on and the players βgames withinβ the gamesβ will be great to witness and enjoy each and every day they play. Anyway, thatβs the mindset.
Something just occurred to me as I write this. I’m remembering last year… Braveheart posted a brilliant and passionate piece that was similar to this mindset, during a tough time for Braves Nation (Wurlitzer winner I think). Iβm onto a similar mindset here, yet his was so much timelier, eloquent and detailed than I could possibly duplicate. He nailed it.
Perhaps, if nudged, we might get WW to revisit that great post and give us his 2008 version of his Wurlitzer worthy take on why itβs great to be a fan of the Braves and, win or lose, what we can appreciate, get excited about and look for in our Braves players as they struggle as a team through the rest of the season.
What say WW? Redux?
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Oh, I forgot. Patriot McCain did not “see” those things that happened between the time he was 31 to 36. He was a “guest” in the Hanoi Hilton. They didn’t have TV.
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Damn Pappy, I thought you were older than that. Shucks, youβre still young enough to be running the country, uh, if that woman, Missy Rached, would allow you to go out more often.
And there I was, about to ask if youβd ever seen Christy Mathewson pitch.
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No, but I made a pitch to a Chrissie Matheson. What a fox!
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How did I miss this???
CHIPPER NAMED NL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
“Chipper Jones was the National League Player of the Week for June 2-8 on Monday.
The Braves third baseman led the National League with a .579 (11-for-19) batting average, a 1.105 slugging percentage and a .652 on-base percentage. His 11 hits were tied for the league-lead and included three home runs, a double, six RBI and four runs scored.
Jones is currently listed as day-to-day with a quadriceps injury. The Braves are off today before a 10-day road trip.
On June 3 against Florida, Jones went 2-for-4 with a single and his 399th career home run. The single moved him into second place on the Braves’ all-time hit list with 2,202, passing Hall of Famer Eddie Mathews (2,201).
He hit his 400th home run two days later against Florida, going 4-for-5. The home run moved Jones to 43rd on the all-time home run list and made him just the third switch-hitter to reach that mark.
Jones is batting a major league-best .420 with 15 home runs and 41 RBI and leads the majors with 92 hits.
Two other Braves were among the nominees for the award: Yunel Escobar (.313, 2 HR, 6 RBI) and Mark Teixeira (.370, 2 HR, 5 RBI).” AJC
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SG, my young buddy, I was about to tell you that you change direction more than a charged particle in an electromagnetic field. Are you bucking for another wurlitzer? Sorry, we’re all out. How about a harmonica.
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TennPaul!!! Great to see you over here!!!! π There are folks that go both ways…umm, so to speak! π³ So don’t worry about that, if it has crossed your mind.
No one commented on my 9:38 am post pimping Johnny Damon for left, so clearly everyone agreed! π
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How did I miss this???
CHIPPER NAMED NL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
CL; We won’t count on you for “breaking news”. π
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Pappy, nope… not bucking for anything. Never wrote anything in my life for an award… just an obsession I s’poze. But tell me, how have I changed direction? Just curious…
Now that you mention it, maybe it is those negative ions I’m hooked on. Perks me up when a storm is coming. Cheap thrills when you can get’em. π
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Berigan; If we are going to assemble a complete over-the-hill-gang let’s dig up George Allen to coach them.
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I’m on a new subject now, SG. What were we talking about? π
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Bear, I’ve always liked Damon. Sure, he throws like a guy with his arm skin attached to his body all the way down to his elbow… but he gets it there. Mainly, as you pointed out, he’s a guy you really want with a bat when the game is on the line. Always hustle and usually clutch.
I’ve been a Bosox fan many years… and a Cave Man fan. Hated it when he went to the Yanks, but, what’cha gonna do… that’s baseball today.
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βm on a new subject now, SG. What were we talking about?
Not sure Pappy… but I think you were ‘harping’ on a musical instrument or something. Boy, you change direction more than a charged particle in an electromagnetic field. Must be latent jet lag. π
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Looks like Jesus, Throws like Mary, Acts like Judas ….. that was the best tee shirt I have ever heard of when Damon left the Red Sox
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SG and Bear; I am a Sawx fan too and I loved Johnny D. But, the thought of that arm in NL parks is frightening. Let him stay in the AL and catch on as a DH. Hongry youth is what the Braves need.
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SG; How do you say “Let it go” in Spanish?
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Now, must feed the critters and forage for food myself. Just your typical caveman stuff. Back later to check on new cave drawings, grunts from Pappy and such. π
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He ain’t that old P-Din! π
How about these numbers by the ancient 34 year old??? Runners on .338. Runners in scoring position. .347 RISP, and 2 outs. .364. And with the bases loaded??? .429!!!
Frenchy THIS YEAR?? Runners on .232
RISP .234
RISP w/2 Outs .270
Bases Loaded .125
How many more games would we have won if Damon came up with the bases loaded with us this year????
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Greetings all, Glad to see Tenn Paul make an appearance. Always good to see old friends and acquaintances. As for the signing of Lawrence , the R-Braves released Williams to make room for him. Never for a moment think that Atlanta worries about Richmond having enough pitchers if there is someone they want on the big roster.
Bu the way, Morton pitched well for the first five innings in his last start (Sunday) and then got shelled but in all fairness, it was 100 degrees in Richmond at game time. Of course everyone played in the same heat but I think he was pretty gassed at the end of the 5th.
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WW, that was a classic line for the Damon move. Fans are tough… and hilarious.
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I’m going and grill some chops. Be back later. Don’t tell Klobber that I was pickin’ at SG. He hates that. π
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Pappy and WW, if not Damon, then who??? What if Kotsay can’t play again this year(As a guy with a bulging disc or 2, I can’t imagine him playing everyday, without something being done to shrink or remove the disc)
We can’t have two 4th outfielders in left and center, can we???
Gotta get dinner, later folks!
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Sparkplug needed…. I have stated before that the current edition of the Braves are short on fire… Escobar has been reined in so I don’t know where the push is going to come from. The button down corporate track only works when you have a lot of older veterans on your club. You still need a rah rah guy somewhere on your club to keep everyone fired up. Who is that person currently with the Braves?
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Gil, starting in the tee-ball league, kids are taught/conditioned to pitch very few innings. Well, maybe not tee ball. We’ve seen this in all the young’uns… 5 and gassed. 100 degrees probably did contribute but it follows recent trends. If I were not so darn lazy (and not sure where to find it) I’d look that up and see the historical numbers on falloff in innings pitched by starters. Would be interesting.
Must find food now.
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And CL…. I will try to come up with something worthy of posting for the blog lead….
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And don’t tell FBG I was pickin’ at Pappy. She hates that. Pappy, we’ll just keep it between ourselves. π
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SG… I think it is because teams are realizing young arms are going sour from over use and if not for Tommy John surgery, MLB would be hard pressed to find enough pitchers to staff half the clubs.
I can think of quite a few promising pitchers who had their careers cut short because of misuse by ballclubs.
One of the things Leo preached was conditioning even when he was the pitching coach here in Richmond.
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ATLANTA β Atlanta Braves right-handed pitcher John Smoltz underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder today. The procedure was performed by Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Alabama.
The most significant of the repairs was to the labrum in Smoltzβs shoulder and it is unclear at this time when Smoltz might be able to return to major league competition. Smoltz is resting comfortably and will start a rehabilitation regimen within the next few days.
βThe prognosis on Johnβs shoulder is unclear based on the findings of todayβs surgery,β Braves Executive Vice President and General Manager Frank Wren said. βWe will know more as John starts to progress through his rehab.β
Smoltz opened the 2008 season on the disabled list, then was disabled again from April 28 to June 2 with right biceps tendinitis. He went 3-2 with a 2.57 ERA in six games (five starts). One of the best pitchers in Bravesβ history, Smoltz owns a career record of 210-147 (.588) with 154 saves and a 3.26 ERA. He has played each of his 20 Major League seasons with the Braves.
The 1996 National League Cy Young Award winner, Smoltz registered 157 wins as a starting pitcher before missing the entire 2000 season due to βTommy Johnβ surgery on his right elbow. He moved primarily to the bullpen in 2001 and became the Bravesβ all-time saves leader by recording 154 rescues in just three and a half seasons (2001-04).
Smoltz returned to the starting rotation in 2005 and went 47-26 with a 3.18 ERA in 105 starts before being placed on the disabled list on April 28. Last season he passed Phil Niekro as the franchiseβs all-time strikeout leader, and on April 22 he became the 16th member of the 3,000-strikeout club, fanning Washingtonβs Felipe Lopez in the third inning.
Smoltz the only pitcher in baseball history to post at least 200 wins and 150 saves in his career. His 15 victories and 194 strikeouts in postseason play are both Major League records.
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THere’s a nasty rumor floating around that Pappy’s been pickin’ at SG again. Man, he better not let me catch him! π
Welcome TennPaul! Nice to see you found your way over here! Look forward to bloggin’ with you.
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The most significant of the repairs was to the labrum in Smoltzβs shoulder and it is unclear at this time when Smoltz might be able to return to major league competition. Smoltz is resting comfortably and will start a rehabilitation regimen within the next few days.
torn or damaged Labrum(s) do people ever pitch the same year this is repaired??? Hey, I thought I was going to dinner???? News is so fascinating, just couldn’t pull myself away! π
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Labrum, It Nearly Killed Him
Why the torn labrum is baseball’s most fearsome injury.
By Will Carroll
Posted Thursday, May 20, 2004, at 5:02 PM ET
The San Francisco Giants’ Robb Nen, one of the best relief pitchers in baseball, had off-season surgery in 2002 to “clean up loose particles” in his shoulder. What Nen didn’t know is that he had a torn labrum, the fearsome modern baseball injury that strikes down pitchers quickly, stealthily, and painfully. Eighteen months and three surgeries later, Nen is still waiting to throw his next major-league pitch. The leading minds in baseball medicine are flummoxed by the labrum. Doctors can’t agree on how to detect a tear, don’t know the best way to fix one, and aren’t sure why, almost without fail, a torn labrum will destroy a pitcher’s career.
Leading baseball surgeon Dr. James Andrews estimates that 85 percent of pitchers make a full recovery after an ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, aka the once risky Tommy John surgery. (USA Today has even called the surgery the “pitcher’s best friend.”) But if pitchers with torn labrums were horses, they’d be destroyed. Of the 36 major-league hurlers diagnosed with labrum tears in the last five years, only midlevel reliever Rocky Biddle has returned to his previous level. Think about that when your favorite pitcher comes down with labrum trouble: He has a 3 percent chance of becoming Rocky Biddle. More likely, he’ll turn into Mike Harkey, Robert Person, or Jim Parque, pitchers who lost stamina and velocityβand a major-league careerβwhen their labrums began to fray.
The labrum is a thin matrix of collagen seated between the head of the humerus (bone of the upper arm) and the glenoid fossa (the shallow depression where the humerus fits). It functions both as a shock absorber, cushioning the blow when the bones in the shoulder collide, and as part of the joint’s connective structure. The kinetic forces required to throw a baseballβa major-league pitcher’s arm moves at 23 rotations per secondβroutinely rip apart the structures designed to keep the shoulder together. The most common variety of labrum tear is a SLAPβsuperior lesion, anterior to posterior. The SLAP tear feels like a “catch”, a slight click or pop in the normal overhand motion.
Shoulder injuries tend to present themselves as pain and tenderness with a concurrent loss of speed on the fastball. A torn labrum is no different. But because it’s positioned between two bones, a damaged labrum is far more difficult to detect than other shoulder problems, like a torn rotator cuff. Doctors are only now getting the diagnostic tools to detect labrum tears, so it’s impossible to say how many great hurlers of the past suffered the injury. Even today it’s tough to tell which pitchers have labrum trouble. Baseball teams often consult with multiple orthopedists and radiologists in an attempt to reach a consensus. One team’s policy is to show an MRI to five doctorsβmajority diagnosis rules. The only way to know for sure that your pitcher has a torn labrum is to conduct exploratory surgery.
If an operation is necessary, the surgeon either enters the shoulder with a scalpel or pops in one to three arthroscopes outfitted with cameras and cutting instruments. The doctor then cleans up the tear and reattaches the labrum using sutures, much as they would with a deep cut to the skin. While newer techniques involve specialized devices that standardize the anchors and sutures, shoulder surgery is still far more complex and risky than, say, an elbow reconstruction.
Coming off a 15-10 season in 2000, Mike Sirotka was a key player in an off-season trade between the Blue Jays and White Sox. Before he ever put on a Blue Jays uniform, Sirotka’s left shoulder started barking. The culprit: a torn labrum. While he had been a coveted commodity just a few months before, the Sox and Jays now treated Sirotka like the plague β Commissioner Bud Selig ultimately had to force the Blue Jays to accept the trade. Sirotka, now 33, did have surgery to repair the labrum. After missing three full seasons, he tried a comeback this year. The Cubs released him in spring training.
The Seattle Mariners, perhaps more than any other team, have suffered on account of the labrum. When Seattle drafted 6-foot-10 Ryan Anderson in 1997, it seemed preordained that the titanic lefty would be the next Randy Johnson. Then Anderson had labrum surgery. He missed the entire 2002 seasonβand every season since. The Mariners’ 25-year-old right-hander Gil Meche has already missed two full years on account of labrum-related ailments. Meche returned to the majors in 2003, but faded badly in the second half.
Position players have labrums too. Angels third baseman Troy Glaus may miss the rest of the year with his “frayed” labrum (there’s no difference between a fray and a tear). Last year, Dodgers slugger Shawn Green lost a significant amount of power because of a severe labrum tear. Labrum tears also show up irregularly on the football fieldβthe Raiders’ Rich Gannon (throwing shoulder) and the Seahawks’ Matt Hasselbeck (non-throwing shoulder) are part of the labrum brigadeβusually when a quarterback’s arm gets planted into the ground at an unnatural angle.
Still, nothing taxes a shoulder like throwing a baseball. Even if a pitcher has an ideal throwing motion, the labrum suffers. Unlike the rotator cuff, a series of four small muscles that holds the shoulder in place and decelerates the arm, the collagen-based labrum can’t be strengthened. As of yet, there aren’t any reliable techniques to prevent labrum injuries. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the best way to avoid injury is to keep your pitcher from throwing while fatigued. But fatigue is exceptionally difficult for a pitching coach or manager to measureβand one wrong guess can lead to the operating table.
Roger Clemens returned from a torn rotator cuff to win six Cy Young Awards and an MVP. Kerry Wood struck out 20 in a single game during his rookie year, had his elbow rebuilt, and came back throwing just as hard. But pitchers with torn labrums will have to wait a while longer for their Tommy John surgery. So far, the message from the nation’s orthopedic surgeons is: We can’t rebuild them. Dr. Anthony Tropiano, a top baseball arm doc, says the best available treatment option today is to do nothing. “We call it conservative treatment,” he says, “but that’s just a euphemism for a little rehab and a lot of prayer.”
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All-Star Voting:
Third Base:
RANK PLAYER NAME NL TEAM TOTAL VOTES
1…….Jones, C………Braves….1,110,171
2…….Ramirez, A…..Cubs……….726,973
3…….Wright, D……..Mets……….655,105
Catcher:
RANK PLAYER NAME NL TEAM TOTAL VOTES
1……..Soto, G……..Cubs……..969,853
2……..McCann, B….Braves…..578,276
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ww, thanks for the shoulder articles! Wow. Doesn’t sound too good at the moment, does it??
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I wish I still had a labrum. π¦
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I’m going to do the Braves and you a favor. I’m going to bed. They seem to do better when I do. I’ll see y’all in the a.m. ‘Course that’s for you, 1 p.m. on. ‘Cept for Berigan. 3 or more p.m. π
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Can we leave Chip in Chicago? He’d be happy, we’d be happy, not sure about Cubs fans but who cares about them. It’s a win, win, not-sure proposition… two out’a three ain’t bad.
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Pappy shoulder bothering him? Flippin’ those pork chops too hard?
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Fascinating lineup card tonight for Bobby. Fran in the 3 spot. Effective for practice.
Strateegerie.
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Dontrelle to Lakeland (Tigers A/spring training site) to work on ‘rediscovering’ himself. In my absolutely most humble view, a trip to Richmond would do Jeff Fran some good as well.
I can hear the gnashing of teeth that his psyche will be dented, etc., etc., etc. However, the team has a psyche, and a hole in the lineup that makes Crater Lake look like a mud puddle. It is a ‘team’ game, is it not? π
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williamwallace Says:
June 10, 2008 at 7:17 pm
Labrum, It Nearly Killed Him π
Thanks…I think….for the article…man, had no idea it was so bad!! I must have heard of a few guys who had minor issues with their labrum, coming back fine…minor issues…
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Salty, agreed on Fran. His head is all messed right now.
Well, Bravos scored early but as usual, not often. In the mid 90’s that might’a worked. Not today.
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Strateegerie.
Cox must have misremembered that Jeff Stankoeur was once a pretty good ball player.
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Yet another Lefty turns into a great pitcher against the braves. A leadoff triple somehow doesn’t score.
I really think Frenchy needs 2 whole days off…what could it hurt???? Cox is all about letting someone play their way out of a slump. When you slump, you are always thinking about it, it does wear on you…
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Chip just said Glavine has strained his left elbow, will at least miss his next start….Morton time!
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Just leave Chipper on the bench! Game is lost. Why risk him???? Really stupid, if you ask me…what if he really hurt it, and was out the next 2-3 weeks????
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Jeff Stankoeur… π
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comes through with a big hit… well, got on base and it was a hit.
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Frances is having trouble running.
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Well, I am getting tired of Joe acting like Frenchy centered a pitch, didn’t pull off…it was a lucky hit, he gets those. He has little power these days….but at least he’s hitting Andruw’s weight! π
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I guess Frenchy’s hit was a big one, since the last two hits have come with 2 outs… π
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Yes… more like it. Lessssgo!!!
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Do the umps get paid by the bad strike calls and length of games this year?
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Kinda hard for Blanco to do well if the dump calls high outside pitches strikes…as Joe said on the second called strike, oh my, that was not a strike…. π‘
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I don’t mind an ump having an expanded strike zone but when it extends to the batters’ box it really gives the pitcher an unfair advantage…
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THey scored those two runs because they had to set up the one run loss.
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I donβt mind an ump having an expanded strike zone but when it extends to the battersβ box it really gives the pitcher an unfair advantageβ¦
Did you see those calls against Esobar over the weekend?
Escobar. Sounds like a great name for a candy bar! The Esco-Bar!
Gotta get someone in marketing to run with that idea though.
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Man, this is fun! π I also like paper cuts, and putting salt in wounds, and putting rocks in my shoes. So, I’m lucky I guess….
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Either that or a new watering hole could be in the offering in Miami’s South Beach…. π
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8th inning swoon. Just happens to be June. Think I’ll post a tune.
Not a minute too soon.
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Mike Gonzalas had a good outing for Richmond tonight, A couple of ground balls and two strike-outs.
And I don’t think this is going to be a one run loss….
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SG’s a poet, and he didn’t even know…something or another….
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There have been Manny Acosted games in the 8th inning. Let’s throw him out there every night.
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My, what a wonderful time it is to be a Cub’s fan….
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Acosta was good for the several months last year, and was good till about 2 weeks ago. What happened? Overuse??? His fastball was good tonight, but perhaps he is having to throw harder to get the same MPH.
We should send him down to Richmond when Gonzalez is ready. Why can’t we have 3 lefties??? Not in the book I guess…I think I have mispelled Mike’s last name….oh well, I don’t care enough to look it up….
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Mike Gonzalas had a good outing for Richmond tonight, A couple of ground balls and two strike-outs.
And I donβt think this is going to be a one run lossβ¦.
And I don’t think that Gonzales’ return is going to be enough to fix this team. This team has serious problems.
I am really starting to lose respect Cox as a manager. You can’t make the same mistake day in, day out and expect people not to question your sanity or intelligence level.
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How fitting, Stankoeur hits into a game-ending double play…….
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Perfect end to the game!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Such is the world and such is life in the MLBβ¦ baseball teams reap what they sow. No water, no fertilizer, no planting at the right time andβ¦ a gardener named Chance is in control. Chance is aptly named. Sighβ¦
One more song just before I go.
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Blech! Why, why, why is Francoeur hitting 3rd? And what the heck has happened to Acosta? He used to be pretty good.
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Thanks for the Smoltz update & the shoulder info, WW. Doesn’t exactly fill me with hope though.
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FLB, I think the thought was Frenchy would get some good pitches to hit in front of Tex…I guess…bat him leadoff for a week…I don’t know…I’d just like to see him rest the noggin for 2-3 days straight. But that will never happen….
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I’m resisting the urge to smack him upside the noggin.
Glavine to the DL, huh? Calling Mr. Morton….
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Glavine headed to DL again
http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080610&content_id=2886040&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl
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FBG, I think Acosta issues, and Boyer’s too, for that matter, go back to overuse. Amazing that they are used so often and other members of the pen rarely get the chance to get the ball.
As for Stankeour, gotta pin that on Mr. Cox too. First of all, I think he’s hurt. Second of all, he’s completely lost at the plate. He has no business hitting better than eighth right now. He needs to sit for a week or so and heal his legs and brain.
I really feel for Glavine. Never been on the DL in 20 or so years in the bigs. Suddenly he’s on the DL twice in two months. This one may be serious. I hate to see heroes like him and Smoltz go down like this.
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Oh, I know. I had forgotten Stockman was back up ’til I saw him tonight.
I love Bobby but I’m beginning to wonder if the mind is going a little. He is getting up in years.
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Good night y’all.
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I didn’t see it elsewhere on braves section of the AJC, but saw a brief post from DOB saying that Glavine’s elbow has been hurting for a month, and during the last two starts, its hurt with every pitch! π― Of course, he didn’t want to be a bother with all the other injuries… Players can be so dumb at times. If Smoltz had his shoulder scoped last summer, perhaps it would be less damaged, and he’d be ship shape this June, instead of likely done permanently! And What is better, to have Glavine miss some time in may, or have him done for the year??? If Glavine felt pain in his elbow for the first time ever, he should know better than to keep on pitching.
Red Sox are likely to rest all their starting pitchers this year for a few weeks, to a month. We run Jurrjens out on 3 days rest. They have a very specific program for pitchers to strengthen their shoulders. We fire the conditioning coach after many years….who clearly wasn’t doing something right.
And least Frenchy isn’t too likely to hurt himself permanently playing every single day on bad ankles, but some rest, what can it hurt????
Cox seems to think, hey everyone is a bit banged up who plays every day, and it’s great folks like Smoltz, Glavine, Frenchy and McCann(remember last year?) want to play injured for Bobby, but….what good has it done for the team longterm????
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Those are some good points Berigan. Everyone loves and respects the warriors. Remember Schilling in the WS a few years ago? Of course, the stakes were higher then. It was the WS after all.
I guess the other side of this issue is that if players take time off they get labeled as being soft.
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Well… I’m heading out for another day of work outside of my little haven here. π¦
I made the mistake of telling someone yesterday that things couldn’t go much worse for the Braves on this road trip. So, they promptly go out, make Lilly look like Cy Young, and lose another pitcher to an elbow injury.
π‘
It’s like a nightmare.
I’ll be back this afternoon…
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Psychologist: Braves suffering from culture shock.
Glomming onto a few juicy tidbits: βCould Frenchy at least consider packing his favorite teddy bear before heading out on this latest road trip?β βAthletic agoraphobia abounds this spring. Still, how to explain the ultra-professional Braves reacting like homesick kids their first time at sleepaway camp?β
βThere may actually be a psychological term for these road woes. I want to call it a ‘Sports Travel Sub-Culture Shock,'” suggested Michael Brein, aka “The Travel Psychologist.” Social psychologist Brein sees some parallels between visitors to unfamiliar cultures and traveling athletes encountering big, fuzzy, noogie-dispensing mascots and mother-insulting fans. In a mini, subtle, way, they’re sort of going through all the facets of culture shock, which is affecting their play.”
βExperts sometimes suggest that young campers bring along a favorite stuffed animal to avoid homesickness. Since that’s unlikely to happen β or be admitted to β here, Brein said the Braves might want to “carefully interview” players if the road woes grow. But some extra Chipper Chardonnay on the team charter couldn’t hurt.β
~
Well, there you have it. That explains everything. A teddy-bear here, a spot of vino there, a little less fan interaction, maybe a new sleeping bag and everything will be just fine and dandy. My, oh my… how things have changed in baseball. Or maybe not.
Maybe thatβs a bunch of mumbo jumbo psychobabble and the only problem is with the camp councilor that makes out the lineup card and supposedly fires up the campers. Batting slumping Fran in the third spot and throwing worn out and frightened Acosta out there too often are not the only problems with the teamβ¦ those are just a few of a growing number of symptoms.
Then again, it could just be poison ivy.
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SG, I don’t buy the “homesick” explanation. Aside from the fact that these are not eight year olds, this team was very good on the road last year. Much better than at home. Do you remember what a head scratcher it was?
As for my thoughts on what’s gone wrong, I wish I had the time to point all the fingers that deserve to be pointed but unfortunately, I have to go to work.
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The thing that bothers me most is that “Robert” from the other blog was right. Not in the boorish way he expressed it, but you don’t need a meat thermometer to see that Bobby is done. And the sooner he, Wren and JS realize it, the better off we’ll be. I don’t care who is at the wheel when the ship hits the rocks, the Captain is to blame. There ain’t going to be any mutiny. Relieve him. Retire him with honors. And let’s get under way.
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Good morning y’all.
Glavine’s elbow has been hurting for a month?!? Peachy. Just when you think there’s nowhere to go but up.
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“Peachy”? I haven’t heard that in a long time, niece. And I love it. And I know jjs would. π
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I have a good friend and “Peachy” is his nickname for his wife. They have had a long and beautiful marriage.
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My dad jokes that sis & I have turn from Florida girls to Georgia peaches. So he teasingly calls us Peaches.
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I’m waiting for SG or Raisins to give us our daily bread, and cheerleading. Rah Rah Sis boom bah! First of all, I can’t smell the hot dogs and crackerjack up here in 10EC. Besides I have spent too much time being a “loyal” and polyanderish fan…and being crushed. Now, I take a negative attitude and I can either be pleasantly surprised, or right. The highs are never as high as the lows are low. Alfred E. Newman
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Pappy, you’ve made a couple of good points this morning. I will give Robert credit for seeing what has become all too apparent this year. I won’t give him credit for the delivery though. He’s still and idiot in my book.
Yep, time for BC to become another of the “homeboys upstairs”. Not sure who I’d want in his position. Cadahia has shown me absolutely nothing and frankly, if Pendleton can’t get some of the guys to take hitting advice from him I wonder what he’d do with the entire staff under his control.
“The highs are never as high as the lows are low.”
There has been all too much of this the last few years. At least the last ten.
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In all fairness, I can’t really blame Bobby for all of the problems the Braves are currently experiencing, after all when you think about it, are the Cubs winning because “Sweet” Lou is a great manager or because the Cubs a spending money on payroll and keeping some of the talented pitches their farm system has produced over the years. Is Jim Lyland suddenly dumb as a box of rocks because his team can’t hit after reaching the World Series just two short years ago? Is Ozzie really smarter this year than last because the White Sox are in first rather than last in the AL central?
What I really want to know is who this impostor is that has taken over Brent Lillibrige’s body and what has he done with the player I saw last year?
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That bad, Gil?
I know people are quick to blame the manager (often too quick) but I think a lot of people feel that Bobby’s time is up. Maybe the extension wasn’t such a good idea. Chris, I’m with you on TP. I’ve always liked him, he’s one of ours but he’s not shown much as hitting coach & I don’t have much faith that he’d be better as manager even though I’ve thought for a long time that he was the Braves’ chosen heir to Bobby.
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I certainly hope that the Braves go out of house when they replace Bobby. There is no one in the organization now that I would be excited about taking the helm. Gil; No one said that Bobby is suddenly dumb as a box of rocks. But, I can name you a bunch of HOF managers that simply lost the fire in their belly. Connie Mack and Casey Stengal not-with-standing, it is a young man’s game, or at least a middle-age man. Bobby is neither.
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I think Eddie Perez is manager material but I imagine that he doesn’t have enough coaching experience yet to be considered.
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In a perfect world, someone new could come in as manager & Bobby could have a “honorary” coaching position so he could still be in the dugout every day & be head cheerleader, etc.
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I’m ambivalent on TP, for now. How much of what is seen…and all of what is never heard, more Bobby Cox than TP? In our eyes, TP is failing, yet perhaps he’s being the loyal coach to the man in charge. Now…put him the manager’s seat and see if things don’t change.
Remember, the man pulled himself from a game because his pitcher didn’t plunk the opposition. Somehow, I suspect all of that fire lurks within…but BC keeps an extinguisher close by. Sooner or later, to hell (sorry, Ladies!) with pomp, circumstance, and protocol. Call it what it is, demand what you expect, and make changes when the results don’t add up. I’d be quite interested, frankly, in a TP/EP clubhouse…I’m guessing some egos would have to develop callouses! π
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That’s it, Salty, TP was a very good leader as a player. Where did that go? And can he find it again?
I don’t think anyone wants Bobby to be unceremoniously dumped (except ol’ Dances With Donkeys). He should get the standing ovation, gold watch treatment. He’s earned it.
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NO JURRJENS TONIGHT: According to Braves.Com, Jair Jurrjens hurt his ankle leaving Wrigley Field last night:
http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080611&content_id=2889694&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl
Jeff Bennett will start in place of Jurrjens. Just posted something short on http://braves.today.com about Bennett taking Jurrjens’ place … Bennett hasn’t started since April 23, but has pitched well out of the bullpen for the most part.
Geez, folks, can it get any worse? Not exactly the way to start the road trip.
–30–
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Scribe, you have got to be kidding! Wow!!!! π― π― π―
Bennett right now is on pace to be in 71 games, 117 innings!!!!
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Thanks for posting the news, scribe! No wheels at all for this train!
sigh…..
Ok – NEW BLOG IS UP!
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