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by Gil in Mechanicsville
To conclude my synopsis on the possible Braves bullpen for 2009, I will comment on the best of the rest and perhaps some other possibilities from the Braves system. Again, it is necessary to take all of what I say with a grain of salt because things can change in a hurry. A big trade, a breakthrough spring, an off-season injury can all have a profound affect on how things can shake out.
Let’s start with Manny Acosta. The tall lanky Panamanian can be a show stopper at times and then “bad” Manny will make an appearance and give up five runs before he knows what hit him, or make that who. Acosta, I think, is well suited as a set up man. He still has not developed the killer instinct of a closer but he is just too good to bring in to face one batter. When he is on, he has a 95 mph fastball and devastating slider that brakes sharply away from right-handers. However, like many other young pitchers, he tries to get too cute and aims for the corners. Depending on the umpire’s definition of the strike zone, he is going to either catch guys looking or start walking people. For some reason, he will allow a few bad calls get in his head and the next thing you know, “bad” Manny shows up. Acosta had some injury issues last season which really hampered his development. Hopefully he will be ready coming out of spring training to finally become a fixture for the Braves. He has the potential to be a really valuable and dependable piece of the pitching staff as long as he can realize he really does belong on the major league roster.
Jeff Bennett also had a bit of a Jeckle-and-Hyde personality in 2008. He was a shadow of his former self with his new and improved physic last season, he had flashes of brilliance along with just plain awful. Who is the real Jeff Bennett, inquiring minds want to know. I think Jeff was also facing some fatigue issues in 2008. I just could not fathom why Bobby Cox would call on the same guys repeatedly last year. It was like he would forget a guy had pitched 3 innings two nights in a row and then have him come in yet again. Now the last thing a fringe guy like Bennett would do is say he could not go again. No, he is going to suck it up and take the ball and pray the batter will get himself out. It’s my humble opinion the biggest thing missing in the Braves dugout is a guy like Pat Corrales to tell Bobby who is ready and who is not. I’m not sure Chino or Roger really feels comfortable enough in their roles to speak up tell the skipper he is hurting the team’s chance to win. Anyway, Bennett is a ground ball specialist as he has a nasty sinker and is a go to guy when a double play is called for. In addition, he is pretty versatile as he can also be used as a spot starter or long relief guy. He has the tools to be a reliable arm out of the pen; the question is how often should you use him.
Buddy Carlyle, honest folks, you got to love this guy. All those years knocking around the minors, getting frequent flyer miles on Greyhound. He persevered and made it back to the bigs in 2007. I told folks when he came up from Richmond, way back when, that they should not expect too much out of the guy. He will never be confused with Tommy Hanson or John Smoltz but he is what he is and he can give you four or five innings of yeoman like baseball and by the time the sixth inning rolls around, you look up at the scoreboard and realize your team is still in the game. If you can just generate a little offense he stands a good chance of getting a win. The thing that puzzled me last year was he would languish for weeks out in the bullpen before Bobby realized he was still on the staff and call him in to pitch. Amazingly, he would get out of a big jam and put up a couple more goose eggs on the scoreboard and just wow the crowd with his resilience. Next thing you know, he is the pet pig and his arm falls off from over use. Now, it may not be fair to accuse Bobby of misusing his pen last year, after all, when your starting five are going three and out, night after night in April and May, it is inevitable that your bullpen is going to implode in August and September. There is a reason bullpen guys are not starters. During the course of their careers some sharp-eyed coach has figured out that some guys just have a marked drop-off in their effectiveness after a certain number of pitches. Some guys can go the distance and some guys are sprinters. It is up to the coaches to put guys in the situations from which they can glean the most success.
Jeff Ridgeway, had an up and down year. Used primarily as a short relief, situational guy against lefties, he had some early success but really struggled towards the end of the year. He will be in camp but look for him to be on the bubble in spring training. I would suggest he get an apartment in Gwinnett for 2009 so he can shuttle between AAA and Atlanta without having to leave home.
Phil Stockman, big righty who has battled injuries for the past couple of years. His biggest obstacle will be overcoming the fear of getting hurt yet again. He possesses a good fastball and curve but until he can get himself back in shape, he will be a fixture in Gwinnett.
Phil’s fellow Aussie, Peter Moylan, should be back next year about May. He will start some work in spring training but it will still be too early for him to do any serious work. I look for him to begin the year in Gwinnett if not on the DL until he proves he can once again get major league hitters out. The most telling thing about TJ surgery is not about the inability to throw a fastball but about hurling breaking pitches. It’s when they stop breaking that they end up in the bleachers.
Francisley Bueno and Jorge Julio are likely to be on the team next year unless the Braves sign someone in the off-season. I don’t know who the Braves have in their system that could be called upon next year but the crop of pitchers at Richmond did not look ready for primetime. If the Braves do not trade JoJo, I would expect him to start the year in AAA. The Braves are not going to make him into a reliever. The same goes for Chuck James. Of course lots of things can happen between now and February so keep a sharp eye out for changes.
~Gil~
Just superior, Gil! I really do enjoy reading your leads! THANK YOU!!!
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Thanks CL…. And thanks a ton for dressing up my entry.
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Good stuff, Gil. But (maybe I’m getting 2 guys confused) isn’t the tall Aussie who kept getting hurt Phil Stockman?
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Good report on Mom. Surgery went well & quicker than expected. The Dr. was confident she got it all on the first try but went back & took off a bit more to make sure she had “clear margins”. Now we wait for pathology. Thank y’all so much for your prayers & good wishes.
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Oops… That’s why I need proof readers… 🙂
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Well, at least I’m good for something.
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Very good read as usual Gil! What do you think, will we give Julian Tavarez another go around???
I would suggest he get an apartment in Gwinnett for 2009 so he can shuttle between AAA and Atlanta without having to leave home.
Something I never thought about before, but it really should be a lot easier on players next year. You get sent down, your family is still there. You get called up, you don’t have to find a place to live on short notice. I am sure those are the main reasons the braves moved to Gwinnett! 😛
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FLB, hope you get good news!
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CL, I swear your post didn’t show up saying there was a new blog. usually I see that happen with posts made 2-3 minutes before mine, but there was more time than that! Oh well…
Anyway, what I wrote was so sterling, I might as well repost in case any one of our thousands of fellow bloggers missed it…
Berigan ll, the worm turns Says:
November 19, 2008 at 7:19 pm
So, this is what I predict for the starting rotation.
1) Jurrjens
2)Hanson
3)Glavine*
4)Hampton**
5)Morton
Yup…Look out Phillies!
*Unless Glavine retires
**unless Houston guarantees Hampton a place in the rotation and more money they we pony up.
Berigan ll, the worm turns Says:
November 19, 2008 at 7:40 pm
You know, I am kidding about Jurrjens being a #1 Hanson being a #2 , but you know what??? Why not??? If Jurrjens arm hasn’t been ruined by overuse, he has the stuff. Hopefully, we can get at least one more arm, but it may be a Byrd type, someone that isn’t a #2 or even a #3.
Guess thats why it makes so much sense to get Peavy though, doesn’t it???
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You’re welcome, Gil! Can’t tell you how much I appreciate the series you’ve written! (Got any more??) Our ‘rotation’ has kinda fallen apart! ‘Course, I could just copy/paste one of SG’s posts and use it. 😆
That’s good news on your Mom, FBG! (Still waiting for Kelly’s report…)
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Berigan, Julian Tavarez will get an invite if he is not signed by some other team this winter. He did seem to find his footing after a shaky start with the Braves last year. I am sure there will be some new faces in the pen. The Braves always have a way of pulling some guy off the scrape heap and have him resurrect his career.
The Braves made the right choice for them in moving their AAA team. I am afraid it is going to be a losing proposition to the fine taxpayers in Gwinnett but baseball is not a money maker for anyone other than a lucky few.
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You’re welcome CL. Now would be a good time to take the sscribe up on his offer. I will try to come up with something new in a bit. One advantage to the off season is things don’t change too fast so you can stockpile a few.
Josie is up and gone early this morning, they are changing my mom’s room at the nursing home today. She had a falling out with her roommate so she is moving to a private room. Heck, I could have told them she could not live with anyone… 🙂
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Teixiera to Nats?
I’ll find the scribe and see if he can do something for us.
Oh, I know what you’re talking about, Gil! Forget the roommate route; nope, won’t work! Be very, very thankful that a private room was available! Here, my mother has her very own private nursing home! 😆
MEMO TO EVERYONE: when the mood/thought strikes, it is never wrong to do a lead and send it in. There is a special folder to hold them until it’s time to post! (hint, hint, hint) 😆 Technically, JB is up next, but I haven’t heard from him in a while. (Miss him, too!)
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For some, the words flow as easily as water from the spigot of an artisan well. For folks like me, it’s a bit harder. That and I don’t type all that fast… 🙂
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And where are Raisins and Salty this morning? Don’t tell me work has finally caught up with them?
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If anyone is interested, the MLB.com online chat with Frank Wrenn is at 3:00 today.
http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/fan_forum/chat.jsp
A morning without Salty and Raisins is like – uh, like – well, it ain’t good! 😦
And scribe – and JB – and Hillbilly – and – Chris – and everybody!
Where in the heck is SG??? AWOL he is!
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I was glad to read that the Braves made a good offer to Ohman. There is just something about him that I like. Hope he’ll re-sign.
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The winter doldrums may have set in and it’s not even winter yet… Like global warming… but different… 🙂
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Howdy!
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Andruw Jones has told the Dodgers he’ll begin playing in the Dominican winter league Dec. 6, about a week short of the anniversary of signing his two-year, $36.2-million contract. Still just 31, Jones is working with a personal trainer in an attempt to strengthen his knee and cut weight. He presumably hopes the winter at-bats will help him find his stroke, which, after signs of trouble in 2007, deserted him in 2008. Meantime, the Dodgers have yet to measure the market on Juan Pierre, whom they’ll need if Jones is still the flailing Jones in 2009. –Yahoo! Sports
I hope he can get it back…
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Get your outfielders: Amid reports the Cubs have an interest in Royals outfielder Mark Teahen, the Royals went out and acquired another outfielder – Coco Crisp – for reliever Ramon Ramirez. That puts Teahen, Crisp, Jose Guillen and David DeJesus in KC. Something else is coming. –Yahoo! Sports
Surplus outfielders?
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The Braves still don’t intend to begin pursuing Jake Peavy again unless the Padres re-open these trade negotiations which ended last week. While they still would like to bring Peavy to Atlanta, the Braves are currently wondering if they’ll still have an interest or the financial resources to do so, if and when the the Padres come calling again.
Braves general manager Frank Wren is ready to accelerate his attempt to acquire top-caliber starting pitchers. While Wren might not be willing to provide the fifth year that A.J. Burnett is seeking, he certainly has interest in Burnett and the financial resources to compete with other teams that are attempting to land the veteran right-hander.
Wren wasn’t fazed earlier this week, when it was reported that the Yankees were preparing to offer Burnett a five-year, $80 million contract. His initial skepticism has seemingly proven profound as subsequent reports have indicated the Yankees aren’t currently willing to offer a fifth year. This keeps Burnett in play for the Braves and creates the possibility that they could land him or another top-of-the rotation starter and opt not to offer the prospect-rich package required to land Peavy. — Mark Bowman
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Jordan Schafer was forced to return to his Florida home after getting hit by a pitch last week in the Mexican Winter League. But the Braves are confident that he’ll be healthy and capable of resuming Spring Training preparations in about a month.
Schafer suffered a tendon strain of his right middle finger when he was hit by a pitch on Nov. 12. The 22-year-old outfielder experienced immediate swelling and limited range of motion.
According to Braves director of player development Kurt Kemp, doctors have prescribed two to three weeks of rest to be followed by two to three weeks of rehab. All indications are that Schafer will be ready by the start of Spring Training, when he’ll have a chance to compete for Atlanta’s starting center-field job.
The Braves sent Schafer to Mexico to make up for the time he missed earlier this year, when he served a 50-game suspension for testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance. In 27 games with Navojoa, the club’s top outfield prospect hit .276 with one homer, nine stolen bases and a .343 slugging percentage. –Mark Bowman
Get well, big fella.
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Atlanta is going to need a southpaw in the rotation next season, should Andy Pettitte be considered? Pettitte won 14 games last year in 33 starts. He pitched 204 innings, striking out 158 and walking only 55. And the AL East was certainly no walk in the park; then again, neither is the NL East. Given the fact that CC is out of the Braves financial reach, Burnett wants a 5 year deal (and doesn’t warrant one), Dempster is gone and Lowe is a Bora$ client who won’t sign for a while, should Pettitte be considered? I am neither advocating it nor panning it, just throwing it out there…
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You know, signing a free agent pitcher is a lot like buying a used car. You hope you are getting dependable transportation but you always are worried you might just be getting someone else’s troubles.
Now, I don’t know how it’s going to turn out for the Braves but I think they will make at least one deal for a hurler and acquire a right handed hitter. It is still early.
Uh.. I wonder if Lillibridge will point to Schafer and say, “that’s why I didn’t want to play winter ball”?
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As for Pettitte, if he pitches again I think it will be with Houston..
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Royals officials privately suggest Mark Teahen might be moved to first base, and Mark Jacobs and Billy Butler could split time as the designated hitter. That would help defensively but steal at-bats from Jacobs and Butler. The more likely scenario is to trade Teahen, who has already been linked by rumors to the Indians, Braves and Cubs. — KC Star
Now Teahen is a lefty, and the Braves are seeking a righty. He only hit 15 HR last season with 59 RBI in 149 games. He isn’t the right handed power bat the Braves are seeking. Why is he continually being linked to the Braves?
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Uh.. They need a right fielder for AAA???
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But this is more likely…
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/story/898194.html
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Anybody else check out the chat with Frank Wren? It was pretty lame. Man, what a bunch of stupid repetitive questions…
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The standard was set by the national media during this year’s election cycle. Look for more of the same in March…
Well, almost done with the Christmas lights on the outside of the house. Just a couple of sets to string around the windows left to go.
Josie suggested we go ahead and have a three car garage built. Figures if the economy collapses we will all be out in the street anyway. I suggested we go ahead and sell this place and buy a condo on the water somewhere.
There was a house for sale many years ago I sorely regret not buying now. It was pricey for at the time but now it seems that it was a real bargain… Nothing like 20-20 hindsight…
Mark Bowman has a nice little piece on Brian McCann posted on the Atlanta MLB site.
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V, you know, Pettitte’s an interesting idea! I know everyone says Yankees or nowhere, or Houston perhaps, but the one good thing about Bobby is the respect he has around the league, and that might convince him to consider ATL. Perhaps Smoltz, Glavine, and Hudson can work on him! 🙂
Ibanez, I just like him, what I have seen. I know we need a right handed bat, but if we can’t get a 2nd pitcher, (Trying to stay optimistic that we will find at least one!) a guy who drove in 100 RBI’s for a sorry team like the Mariners could be quite nice in the ATL, and seems like a better cleanup guy than say Dunn….But, we got to get someone!
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This must be with the crap filtered out….
Braves Rumors: Hampton, Ludwick, Burnett
By Ben Nicholson-Smith [November 20 at 6:28pm CST]
Braves GM Frank Wren chatted with fans on MLB.com today and David O’Brien has some new Braves rumors as well.
* Wren told O’Brien that the Braves have had “a number of conversations” with Mike Hampton about keeping him in Atlanta. In his MLB.com chat, Wren said he thinks Hampton is still a “very good pitcher.”
* O’Brien says that talks with the Cardinals about Ryan Ludwick “aren’t dead.” Wren doesn’t comment when asked about Ludwick in the chat, but that is in itself something of a statement.
* O’Brien says that if Atlanta can’t trade for Ludwick, Raul Ibanez would be an outfield target. Wren said in his chat that he’d like to acquire a “productive bat in the outfield,” and that a right-handed hitter would be ideal.
* Not surprisingly, Wren writes in the chat that he’d like to have A.J. Burnett in the Braves’ rotation next year. Wren adds that the Braves have had discussions about bringing back Paul Byrd for a third time.
* Wren told O’Brien that he’s going to worry about assembling the 2009 team before working on extensions for players like Chipper Jones.
* And Brian McCann’s already lost 22 pounds since the end of the season.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2008/11/braves-rumors-h.html#comments
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Man, you guys and gals post like mad when I am out of the house, then clam up like…like, Clams. 😥
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Evenin’, y’all. That’s a good article about Mac, Gil. I’m proud of him for not resting on his laurels.
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And he has less laurels to rest on it sounds like! 😛
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We’re headed to Disney tomorrow afternoon for the weekend. So I’ll be gone ’til Sun. night. Maybe if I’m not around to check every night the Braves will make a move. Seems like we’ve been running in place so far.
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Ber 🙄
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A’s interested in Furcal
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081120&content_id=3686210&vkey=hotstove2008&fext=.jsp&partnerId=rss_mlb
Not much else going on…..
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Good morning all, Wow.. Friday already. Time is really picking up speed. I would hate to imagine how rapidly it would be moving if I actually had a job.
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Morning, Gil! Speaking of moving – how did the move to the private room go yesterday? Got to be better!
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I would hate to imagine how rapidly it would be moving if I actually had a job.
About 4 or 5 months ago, my job duties changed dramatically. I went form a very laid back leisurely kinda work day to a very time sensitive stressful kinda work day. I wake up on Monday morning, and Friday afternoon smacks me upside the haed. Time just files…
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Braves make some changes to their 40-man roster:
http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081120&content_id=3687197&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl
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Time just files…
Explain. 😕 I can use all the filing help I can get! 😛
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The Yankees intended to make four-year offers on A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe for about $14-15 million annually (in other words, close to $60 million each). However, Burnett’s agent, Darek Braunecker, is telling teams he’s only considering five-year proposals, and Lowe’s agent, Scott Boras, apparently also suggested the Yankees aren’t in the ballpark. –SI.com
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Time files… Bulova archives.
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Funny you should ask CL… Mom complained the whole time, we asked her for weeks if that is what she wanted, even took her to look at the accommodations. She said yes, she wanted to move, then when it happened she whined and had a temper tantrum… We said too bad, the deal is done.. get over it and we left…
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Actually, it’s filing as in “to reduce, smooth, or remove with or as if with a file”. You know, it just kinda goes away in microscopic pieces, but before you know it, alot is gone.
How’s that for a recovery? 😀
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We said too bad, the deal is done.. get over it and we left…
Wren leaving Towers’ office?
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In the wake of the Padres’ struggles in finding the right match for a Jake Peavy trade, Peavy’s agent, Barry Axelrod, said that he has not updated the original list of five teams to which Peavy would agree to be dealt. Furthermore, Axelrod said again that the oft-cited list of five that included the Braves, Cubs, Dodgers, Cardinals and Astros was only intended to provide a guide for the types of teams and cities the pitcher might consider approving. “I have not mentioned any other teams,” Axelrod told SI.com. “We are not the BCS. We’re not revising our standings every week.” Axelrod wouldn’t rule out the possibility that Peavy stays with San Diego. “I think there’s that chance,” he said. –SI.com
I still believe the deal will happen…
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Towers can just get over himself. Thinks he’s holding all the cards but I doubt it.
MORNING, RAISINS!!! Glad to see you this morning!
Gil, sometimes that’s the only way you can handle them. Otherwise they’ll drive you stark, raving mad.
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I have become numb to the figures bandied about by the Yankees and folks like Boras. A fool and their money are soon parted and some owners are certainly more foolish than others. I remember when Gene Autry, late owner of the Angles, made the pronouncement he was “closing up the old saddlebags” because even after years of trying to buy a pennant the Angles continued to be a joke.
Same thing occurred with Baltimore and Peter Anglos. A club house full of high priced veterans but there was not a hat amonst them big enough to fit their swelled heads from the huge egos.
Now, this does not mean I advocate the stingy policies of teams like the Marlins or Pittsburgh. There needs to be a balance. The NFL is a great example of how parity should work. Entire league is wealthy and winning more often comes down to smart choices and brilliant coaching than who has the deepest pockets.
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Filing, huh? Smooth over…et.al. Alrighty then! 🙄
Now, Axelrod…hmmm. So, for weeks, he talked out of one side of his mouth…didn’t work. So, he’s trying the other side? And, the Tower of Power…crumbling? Incestuous…no wonder Peavy’s stayed ‘on the road’.
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Good….afternoon Stuffvillains….wait, that can’t be right…are you all villains???
Gee, FLB didn’t find my comment that McCain has less laurels to rest on these days funny…I did! 😕 And really, isn’t that all that matters?? 😛
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Hampton Seeks One Year Deal
By Tim Dierkes [November 21 at 11:32am CST]
ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick spoke to Mike Hampton’s agent Mark Rodgers, who said, “We’re looking for a straight one-year deal – no option, no nothing.” Hampton obviously just wants to re-establish himself as a healthy, useful starting pitcher after so many lost seasons. It’s unclear whether Rodgers’ statement means Hampton will avoid incentive-based offers.
Crasnick says Hampton wants to pitch near his Arizona home, but the Braves, Astros, Padres, Giants, and Cardinals could be fits. Astros GM Ed Wade said recently he’s had dialogue with Rodgers and Hampton is open to returning to Houston. The Braves have also had dialogue.
Hampton, 36, posted a 4.17 ERA in 11 starts over the season’s final two months. Still, his peripheral stats were not impressive during that period.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2008/11/hampton-seeks-o.html
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Salty, I know the guys our best hope, just something about the whole situation rubs me the wrong way. And for reasons I don’t understand, I just now thought that the Padres probably should feel like trading their best piece, and one of the top 5 starters, a guy who will be “cheap” compared to other options for the braves, should be worth a major, major haul.
And what if we can’t get Lowe, or Burnett??? There are no other #1 or #2 options, are there???
Then the Padres would be back in the drivers seat, IMHO.
Drat! 😡
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Let’s face it Ber, It just cost more to buy a Lexus than a Toyota… Now both will provide transportation, it’s the style in which you arrive is different. No difference in pitchers. How many games differential can you expect to gain from a Burnett or a Peavy and a guy like Hampton? 5 over the season, or 10?
Now the real difference may not be style but reliability… I believe that should be the real issue when looking for a starter.
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Good point Gil, reliability. Peavy and Burnett have “issues” and Burnett now wants 5 years???
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Kelly’s pathology report: benign 😀
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Great news CL, thank God!!! 🙂
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😀 🙂 😀 🙂 😀 🙂 😀 🙂 😀 🙂 😀
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My comment is awaiting moderation?
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What’d I do?
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At least I wasn’t Salty-filtered…
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Wow… can’t even smile on WordPress anymore. Must be the “Fairness Doctrine”…
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Only 84 days…
Pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to camp on Feb. 14, and the first full-squad workout is slated for Feb. 18.
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Good news V! Less than 3 months! And spring is in the air right now! :p
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Hey, wanna feel really dumb??? Check this “mathemagician” out!!!! Wow!
http://static.videoegg.com/ted/flash/fullscreen.html?v=/ted/movies/ARTHURBENJAMIN-2005&cid=/ted/movies
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Yeah… spring is in the air if you live in South America….
Great news CL… 🙂
Moving day for Josie… I am trying to stay out of her way. I hate it when she decides to re-arrange the furniture.. Neither man nor beast is safe…
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Is it Feng shui thing????
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Sorry, Raisins! The filter said it had more than 10 links and wanted it checked before posting. (??)
Having trouble with your printer?? 🙂
[video src="http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y20/PerthPurplePenguin/vids/?action=view¤t=cvUMHvLZ.flv" /]
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Some of the reason the Cardinals surprised in 2008 was (SS Cesar) Izturis’ defense, who rated a +21 in the Plus/Minus System in something less than full-time play. He was a great defender with the Dodgers and is one of the few players whose glove could carry a bat like his. Izturis hits the market at a time when shortstops are in short supply, and an appreciation of what improved defense can mean to a pitching staff perhaps at a peak. –SI.com
Something to think about should Yunel somehow end up elsewhere…
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Well, back in the saddle again… yep, moved me back into my front office…. Not relocating again.
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Nice article on the Braves MLB site..
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081121&content_id=3687748&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
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Gil, sometimes the nest just has to be rearranged! 🙂
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And THANKS! to all for celebrating the good news with us! I was getting concerned; we had been told to expect the report on Wednesday – then Thursday went by – and into Friday – totally benign. Thank You, Lord!
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Great news about Kelly! Lord, dittos CL.
Just catchin’up. See if I got it right.
Hard to keep up lately, try as I might
‘twas another great lead by Mr. Gil
with a slumping batting order he fills the bill
Stuffville’s hot stove is in full swing
Yanks and Mets still have the bling.
We’re buyin’, sellin, tradin’ and such
If Wren don’t spend, we won’t get much
Is Ohman an omen
for the season to come?
Our pen could sure use’im
but I’ afraid we’ll lose him.
Peavy’s still dangling
San Diego’s still wranglin’
Braves need good arms and bats
With big A’s on their hats.
We got Mac eating less cheese,
Stuffy noses that sneeze,
Wives rearranging the nest
Wren negotiating for the best
Baseball and Stuff all mixed in a stew
Variety is good yet posts are too few
Like Tex going to Nats?
What next, printing cats?
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‘Morning, SG!!! Just terrific to see you here again!
And aren’t we sharp this very cold morning?! Love it!! 😆
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Hey CL. Seems like I’ve been on another planet lately. Haven’t watched the news much, or the weather, or the stock market or politics or the blog.
Didn’t miss the news and didn’t need the weatherman to know it was real cold. I assume the economy is still in the dumper and Obama is still enjoying his Camelot coronation. However, I did miss the blog.
How’s everbudy?
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You haven’t missed a thing in the news except maybe some anxiety –
*Obama is intent on remaking America in his own image –
*His rhetoric of ‘change’ seems to mean ‘reinstall the Clinton people in the White House’ – it’s simply more deeply entrenching the old guard in DC –
*Where is everybody? FBG is in Disney World, Chris is working around the clock, some are AWOL, a couple on the DL, which leaves our bench mighty thin.
*Hope all is well in your world!
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Good morning folks, Glad to see you back SG…. Brrr… cold as a you know what’s you know what…
I was supposed to go to a sale this morning but just did not feel up to putting up with the cold. Was not that much I was interested in. I will save my cash for another project.
Arizona Fall League championship game will be broadcast on MLB today. Hanson is scheduled to pitch.
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‘Morning, Gil! It sure ’nuff did cool off, didn’t it??? 😯
Here’s a strange article – full of contradictions:
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081122&content_id=3688670&vkey=hotstove2008&fext=.jsp&partnerId=rss_mlb
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Renteria negotiating with the Giants
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081121&content_id=3688385&vkey=hotstove2008&fext=.jsp&partnerId=rss_mlb
Furcal sweepstakes
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8828842/Giants,-A's-leading-Furcal-sweepstakes
Dayn Perry’s take on the pitching free-agent market
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8816680/Free-agent-market-for-pitchers-is-a-dangerous-place?CMP=OTC-K9B140813162&ATT=49
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All is well in my corner of the world and over here on the coast… chilly as a, well, what Gil said.
Since I’ve been traveling and way behind on my chores I’m gonna go pickup a few guys from the Savannah Bible Mission that hire out as day labor… good folks that made mistakes and found their way back through the Lord. They work good for a good price too. I should be able to keep’em busy through mid afternoon.
Back later… y’all behave.
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A female GM?
http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081121&content_id=3688537&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
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SG, now that was funny! 😀
CL, that article on Maple bats…one question…why??? Why’d they write that story when clearly they had no new information to pass on??? Looks like something I’d write..and even I’d want to rewrite it before publishing it! Weird indeed.
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Female GM? Glass ceiling broken? Will there now be crying in baseball?
Oops… doghouse for moi.
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The maple bat issue has gone to committee. Hmmm…
Selig and his bunch would make fine congressmen.
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Crickets. OK then, try this (came as an email):
HOW SMART IS YOUR RIGHT FOOT?
There are some things that the brain cannot handle. You have to try this… it takes 2 seconds. This is from an orthopedic surgeon. It will boggle your mind and will keep you trying over and over again to see if you can outsmart your foot, but you can’t. It’s preprogrammed in your brain!
1. Without anyone watching you (they will think you’ve lost your mind) and while sitting at your desk in front of your computer, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles.
2. Now, while doing this, draw the number ‘6’ in the air with your right hand.
Your foot will change direction and there’s nothing you can do about it! Before the day is done you are going to try it again, if you’ve not already done so… and you still won’t be able to outsmart your right foot.
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DUH!!!!
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from email:
When in England , at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was
asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an
example of empire building’ by George Bush.
He answered by saying, ‘Over the years, the United
States has sent many of its fine young men and women
into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders.
The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return
is enough to bury those that did not return.’
You could have heard a pin drop.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There was a conference in France where a number of
international engineers were taking part, including French
and American. During a break, one of the French engineers
came back into the room saying ‘Have you heard the latest
dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft
carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What
does he intend to do, bomb them?’ A Boeing engineer stood up and
replied quietly: ‘Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can
treat several hundred people; they are nuclear powered and can supply
emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they
have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000
people three meals a day, they can produce several
thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each
day, and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in
transporting victims and injured to and from their flight
deck. We have eleven such ships; how many does
France have?’
You could have heard a pin drop.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference
that included Admirals from the U.S., English, Canadian,
Australian and French Navies. At a cocktail reception,
he found himself standing with a large group of Officers
that included personnel from most of those countries.
Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped
their drinks but a French admiral suddenly complained that,
whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn
only English.’ He then asked, ‘Why is it that we always have
to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking
French?’
Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied ‘Maybe
it’s because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies and Americans
arranged it so you wouldn’t have to speak German.’
You could have heard a pin drop.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AND THIS STORY FITS RIGHT IN WITH THE ABOVE…
Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in
Paris by plane. At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his
passport in his carry on.
‘You have been to France before, monsieur?’ the customs officer
asked sarcastically.
Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France
previously
Then you should know enough to have your passport ready.’
The American said, ”The last time I was here, I didn’t have to
show it.
‘Impossible. Americans always have to show your passports
on arrival in France!’
The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard
look. Then he quietly explained, ”Well, when I came ashore
at Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944 to help liberate this country,
I couldn’t find a single Frenchmen to show a passport to.’
You could have heard a pin drop.
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Wow! Try the left foot, I think its the case with either foot…
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There must be a very good reason to have such a thing hard-wired into our brains – I just can’t figure out what it would be…..
The visualization is hilarious: each of us is sitting at our computers holding a foot up wiggling it around whilst waving an arm in the air. Someone in our household walks by and glances in…… 😆 😆
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Doesn’t take much to entertain us, does it?? 😆
Heading for bed. Been at this computer ALLLLL day and my eyes are fried!
See ya tomorrow if the good Lord is willing! ‘Night!
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Night CL! MMMN, fried eyes, sounds tasty!
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I figured a way to beat the system… draw the six from bottom up. 🙂
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I found a way to beat the system too. Draw a backwards six. But that’s cheating. Looking silly while cheating. 😳
CL, those were great American pride stories. I’ve copied and pasted those into a document to pull out at just the right time. Even better if I can remember them well enough to repeat at a liberal cocktail party.
Those shouldn’t be hard to find as much as I go to Atlanta.
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It’s getting to the point around here that I’m inclined to copy and save half the posts and links for future reference. That must either mean that there’s lots of good, keeper quality stuff and quotable quotes in the Stuffville Times Journal or maybe it’s just that I’m posting my own rants less. 😀
Now, about Stuffville: It’s finally gotten nice around here since we don’t have the old riffraff barging in and soiling the place with their dumb rants all the time. You know whom I’m talking about. Right? No? OK, then, I’ll just name names…
Much more peaceful and civil around here without the likes of outlaws and troublemakers like the pugnacious pipsqueak Paladin, the ever gargantuan grouchy grubby Grinch, the always Kombatant Knob Klobber, that negative, nonsensical scribbling Scribe, the sketchy Lewser Lew, the dark side of the moon redneck deer killing Hillbilly, the left coast solar tinkering tyrant Tennessee Paul, that juvenile JB in Atlanta who wouldn’t know a baseball from a Jelly Bean and the ever present, always chattering dot commie Steve from the Bay Area of Kalifornia.
There… finally got that off my chest. Yepper, much more civilized around these parts without all those crazy trouble making people popping off at the mouth all the time. Did I forget anybody? If so, there and idiot to.
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Good morning all, Sitting here trying not to be cynical about the fourth estate…
Question, is the proposed plan by the Democrats to rebuild infrastructure going to be done to help Americans or will it benefit Mexico? I suspect it will be the latter….
Tommy Hanson gave good account of himself for the 5 innings he pitched in the AFL championship game. Too bad the guy who relived him leaked runs like a sieve… My question is when do you start letting a guy pitch more than 5 innings or 75 pitches?
More baseball… If Texiera signs with the Nationals, is it possible for the Braves to pick up Nick Johnson????
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Bing… Light bulb just went on!!!! Great public works project could be to complete the building of the wall on our southern border…
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And SG’s rant may have melted down the blog….
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I like the wall idea. Any Mexican that helps will be paid a decent wage with a chance to get in line for citizenship. If they speak english and pledge allegiance to America they are moved higher in the line. If they join the military afterwards they are bumped up to the front of the line.
Off to church I go to repent for being so cruel to other bloggers.
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I hope they know SG was funnin’ them! All are missed and every day I keep hoping to see them here again.
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I do not lament those absent more than I embrace those who are present….
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Okay, looks like it’s time for me to take the economic downturn into my own hands and inject some capital back into the system. Going to buy a HD TV for the living room, a new freezer and maybe a new laptop for Josie… Going to drive my gas guzzling pick up truck or SUV to go pick them up… Saving money did not seem to work because I have lost about a third of my retirement so I may as well do a preemptive strike and spend some of it before the rest of it disappears….
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Good mornin’ all! Gil, you and I think alike, at least sometimes! 😀 I was telling my Dad the other day that there would be a lot of illegals getting a good wage, being grateful for Mr. Obama giving them a job. They’ll be so grateful, they will tell all their pals to head on up, never been a better time to be working in America!
Somehow, for some strange reason, I just don’t see a certain future president doing a think to stem the tide of future Democratic voters. Call me cynical….
Say, should that be my new handle here??? 😕
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Do your part Gil! Spend all you want, the goverment will print more! Make yourself broke, so you can get some of the free money too!
Oh, and the hot stove has gone quite cold, someone throw a log on it!!!
Too bad CC wants so much money(Unlike the other free agents out there) I’d love to see CC go 8 -9 innings every 5 days with us. But, Chucky will show him that a real stud lefty goes 5 innings and gives up 3 homers….livin’ up to possible new handle….
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Hey, Gil! May I go too?? There’s some stuff I’d like to get….. 😆 😆
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Me too!!! Must be nice to be a millionaire! 😛
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With Billingsley Hurt, Dodgers Eyeing Peavy?
By Nat Boyle [November 23 at 10:58am CST]
Chad Billingsley slipped on ice, fell, and broke his leg according to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times, spreading the Dodgers rotation thin as it stands.
“How this will affect the Dodgers’ maneuverings in the free-agent and trade markets, if at all, is… uncertain. General Manager Ned Colletti was unavailable for comment Saturday night. With [Derek] Lowe and [Brad] Penny expected to sign elsewhere and Greg Maddux likely to retire, the Dodgers’ rotation at this point consists of only Billingsley, Hiroki Kuroda and 20-year-old Clayton Kershaw.”
Hernandez reports the Dodgers are saying he’ll be ready for spring training. Buster Olney thinks that’s what you say when you might suddenly be re-interested in front-end rotation depth, namely Jake Peavy.
The Dodgers had previously lost interest when Kevin Towers asked for a package including Billingsley.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2008/11/with-billingsle.html
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Yes, being in the super high tax bracket could have it’s pluses. However, like I repeatedly told my kids, ” I worked for DuPont, I did not own DuPont…” However, the way their stock is nosediving, I might …..
Isn’t it amazing how some stocks like the dot coms are valued and the nuts and bolts companies like GM are not. Even if you sold GM for 10 cents a pound, they would be worth more than $2.50 a share.
And baseball… nothing will get done now I don’t think until after Thanksgiving…
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Who was funnin’?
Just bought a pound cake at the church bake sale. Just had a piece. Mmm…
Now for dessert, I’ll put a little butter on another slice (about an inch thick), toast it a few minutes on the ‘broil’ setting until golden brown and a little crispy on the edges, then, while it’s hot… slap a big fat scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.
Nirvana… 😀
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Gil, make sure to buy a new car to drive over and pickup those TV’s and computers. Half price sale going on. Then you can fit all the denizens HD TV’s in there for Christmas presents!
UPS delivers here!
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Well SG, I thought about it but I bought a used SUV back in April. Even when gas was $4.00 a gallon it was a bargain. It has becomes the wife’s primary vehicle. Now that gas has dropped to $1.70, I feel I can use it until it becomes a lawn ornament.
Free HD TVs… I guess that would draw ’em in for a little while. 🙂
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Well, the wife and I finished getting all the outside lights up. Lord my back hurts… VEPCO just notified their employees that the Christmas bonuses would be forthcoming with my December remittance….
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Gil, my back hurts too… from cleaning fish. A fishing buddy just dropped off 20 trout this afternoon, so I didn’t even have to get the boat or a line wet.
Thing is, I can lift heavy stuff all day long, work in the yard or field-dress a 200 pound buck, but if I have to bend ever so slightly for a period of time over a fish-cleaning table, my back just can’t stand it. Same for washing dishes. I’d rather clean fish than stand at the sink and wash a bunch of dishes any day but they both smart the old back.
Hey… just had an idea. See how this sounds: May seem a bit unusual, but it seems the things that hurt my back most are washing dishes, taking out the garbage, lifting my arm to get the ‘honey-do list’ off the fridge, lifting the toilet seat, asking for directions and handing over the remote control.
Think Mrs. Guy’ll buy that? 😀
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The long delayed series ’24’ resumes tonight. Jack Bauer is at it again, saving the world from terrorists in this two-hour season premier.
Can’t wait!
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Yep, sounds like the start of spinal stenosis, I feel for you bro… When I look back over my own onset, I remember how difficult it was to putt.
As for the dish washing… I compromised with the boss, I bought her an automatic dishwasher. 🙂 Was worth it….
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And still no trades by the Bravos… Ho hum….
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I doubt we’ll see any meaningful baseball news until after Thanksgiving weekend. …..yawn….
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Evening y’all! We had a fun (but rather chilly) weekend at Disney. Time to start preparing for Thanksgiving now. I’ve got orders to bake & of course there’s our own dinner to plan.
CL, glad to hear the good report for Kelly!!!!
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Almost forgot…. Pin collecting is very big with some Disney-philes. They trade pins, look for rare ones, etc. Melissa & I have bought a few pins (not for trading, just ones that we like). So the stores all have a rack of pins & there’s pin kiosks all over. Melissa was looking for replacement backs & I spotted one I had not seen before – Mickey at bat, in a Braves uniform. So that is now adorning my Disney-going backpack.
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One thing about The Sunshine State, when it gets cold there, it’s bone chilling cold. So much dampness that it goes right through you.
Makes cooking less of a chore though…
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I thought this would be a ‘feel-good’ story:
http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20081123/Food.Giveaway/
Instead, I found myself disgusted by folks best intentions being met with greed. You have a job and you pick 10 bags of potatoes and leeks for yourself? Give me a break. 😡
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Salty… I hate to sound like a bigot but I will bet 90% of them could not speak English…
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Sounded like a baited field… cops giving tickets. Tater entrapment.
Wonder if anyone got arrested for taking a leek in public.
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Wonder if anyone got arrested for taking a leek in public.
It was a ‘leek-free’ Saturday…no citations! 😆
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Gil…if they couldn’t speak, clearly, someone could read English! 🙂
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Leek-free…or free to leek? Hmmm…. 😕
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Lots of stray chatter this morning.
One possibly interesting thing I have seen suggests Tazawa has chosen Boston, but has not signed yet. We’ll see…
Another site suggests that the Mets are offering a contract to Furcal to lead off and play 2B. We’ll see…
I am still trolling for anything of definite info or interest, but it’s slow. We’ll see…
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‘Morning, everyone!
Welcome back, FBG! And thanks! Hope your Mom gets the same good news!
Baseball news is hard to come by these days! 😦
Might have to talk politics or something….. 😆
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Here is something random…
I have just downloaded and am running Google Chrome as my browser. The display is a little grainy, like Firefox, but the browser is definitely faster.
Oh, and I just discovered that it has its own spell checker.
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I have been test driving Safari… A bit faster than Mozilla
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The real problem a lot of times is the crud (Ads) that sites run that slow down the older CPUs… Some of the stuff I am using was the prototype for Steve Jobs….
Eventually they get the programs so bloated you have to upgrade… My next upgrade is going to be to a Mac…
Thing is hardware driven instead of software driven like a PC.
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Well, got my shed moved from my mom’s house this morning… Only took me two months. Now I have to set it up and move everything out of the old RV and have it hauled off. It worked great as a cabana for the grand kids when they would visit but then Josie decided she could put some of her extra stuff in it…. Now it is just another bone of contention…
And speaking of bones… Michael Vick is back in town for his Va trial. Turns out he was not a very nice guy. He would put family pets in the ring just for fun… The term scum bag come to mind for some reason….
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Gil, I don’t think the English language has the words to describe Vick.
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Fun stuff:
The one-man battery: The Reds have signed 31-year old righty catcher Ben Davis to a minor league contract – as a pitcher. Davis hit .205 in the minors last season, then pitched in independent ball, and last played in the majors in 2004 with the Mariners and White Sox. He has a career .237 average with 38 homers and 204 RBIs. He’ll probably start his pitching career at Double A ball. He is best known for breaking up Curt Schilling’s perfect game with a controversial eighth-inning bunt. Now, maybe he’ll see how that feels. — Boston Globe
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For some reason, if he were to get that far, I think he would be happy to give up a no hitter on a bunt..
As for Schilling… Well, the last time I checked, the opposing batter is suppose to get on any way possible. Too bad if he thinks a bunt is not legitimate…
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Hear, hear, Gil!!
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Contrary to a report that surfaced earlier this weekend, the Braves have not talked to the Rangers about Kevin Millwood or Vicente Padilla. In fact, they have zero interest in these two hurlers.
Braves fans can also forget about Matt Cain, Roy Halladay or Aaron Harang. The Braves have made several inquiries about these pitchers and have been told they aren’t available.
Still, while the Reds aren’t seemingly willing to deal Harang, they will certainly listen to offers for Bronson Arroyo, who obviously isn’t going to create the same kind of pre-trade excitement as Peavy. But the trade cost would be substantially cheaper, and Arroyo is certainly capable of at least providing some veteran stability at the top of the rotation.
The same could be said of Javier Vazquez. Wren has said that he’s had multiple discussions with White Sox GM Kenny Williams, and you can be assured that the conversation has included both Vazquez and outfielder Jermaine Dye.
The Braves remain hopeful that they’ll eventually win the bidding war for A.J. Burnett or Derek Lowe. If they are able to sign one of these free-agent pitchers, somebody like Arroyo or Vazquez would be viewed as a more attractive acquisition. –Mark Bowman
Now that’s interesting…
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More Bowman:
The Braves have at least talked about [Magglio] Ordonez, whose contract includes an $18 million salary for 2009 and $15 million club options for both the 2010 and 2011 seasons. There is a $3 million buyout for 2010 and no buyout for 2011.
But… most of their interest would center around Dye, whose contract includes an $11.5 million salary for 2009 and a $12 million option with a $1 million buyout for 2010. The 34 homers he hit this past season were seven more than all of the Atlanta outfielders combined.
As has been previously reported, the Braves have also looked into the possibility of acquiring Ryan Ludwick, who hit 37 homers with the Cardinals last year. But they’d rather acquire a more consistent power producer. Their fear is that Ludwick could become the next Morgan Ensberg, whose power significantly dipped after he surprisingly hit 36 homers in 2005.
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Yep, steroids wore off in 2006
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The de-leveraging taking place in the economy parallels the same corrective results in baseball, post steroids.
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers, Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire and New York Yankees. Funny how sports imitates life. Bubbles burst.
Maybe investors will once again be happy with a 6% return and baseball fans will be pleased with a 260 average and a decent set of skills like bunting, running, defense and clutch hits. No need for grand slams or 70 home runs to win a game or a pennant.
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And Furcal said he was excited by the interest of the Braves. 🙄
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081124&content_id=3690721&vkey=hotstove2008&fext=.jsp
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Please… no Furcal. He’s a DL waiting to happen.
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Peavy, who has a full no-trade clause, hasn’t returned phone calls or texts placed by the media, Braves players and friends from the Atlanta area.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081124&content_id=3690835&vkey=hotstove2008&fext=.jsp
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Good evening…2 1/2 hours, and I could have said good morning! Getting harder to get on the computer if I sleep fairly normal hours. 3 souls want to get on these days…
Read very quickly earlier today that Edgar Renteria had signed with the Giants for 2 years 18 mil. Turned out not to be a true. Not a good day on the Mlb trade rumor site, though it’s not there fault, they just report what’s out there.
Latest entry at the top of the page??? Furcal! 🙄
6:20pm: Impacto Deportivo says the surprise team is the Braves, possibly offering four years and $52MM. It’d be wise to treat the report with caution until it is confirmed by another source.
I have to agree with those that say he is a health risk. And has he stopped swinging for the fences???
Funny, I know SS is a more important position than say left field, but remember how many years we seemed to be stuck with old retreads in left, but the thought of Infante is impossible??? I’d rather get CC and Dunn and call it a day….just my 2 cents…
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‘Morning, Ber! Who on earth is Impacto Deportivo??? Sounds like a program to send illegals back home. 🙂
No way can the Braves sign him. What would Bobby call him???
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Furky???
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I think Patel is a Hindu word meaning Smith…
http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081124&content_id=3690968&vkey=hotstove2008&fext=.jsp
Next thing you know they will be signing guys from exotic places like France and England….
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“These young men have improved a tremendous amount in their six-month exposure to baseball, and we look forward to helping them continue to fulfill their potential.” SIX MONTHS IN BASEBALL????? 😯
Nah, Gil. The French wouldn’t demean themselves to play an American game and the English use weird bats.
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Of course it could have been worse, they could have been signed by Cleveland… Could have made things very interesting…. Might then have had to replaced the brave logo with a picture of Gandi…. .
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Interesting little tidbit of local news:
http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20081124/ARTICLES/811240264/1004?Title=Air_Force_One_Museum_proposed_for_Wilmington
We went to O’Charley’s for an early supper after Mother’s appointment; had the best tasting, tenderest baby-back ribs I’ve ever had. Never had to touch the knife, just cut them apart with the fork. Oh, lordy, it was good!
Turning in – been a long day. Kelly gets her stitches out tomorrow! Hooray!
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Mom’s report came in. Dr. got all the melanoma out on the first try so it’s clean. Now she’ll just have to get periodic checkups.
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Great news FBG…
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Good News FLB(Or should it be FBG???)
CL, you certainly live up to the L….eating ribs with a fork and knife, and not with yer digits???? 😯 how very…lady like! 🙂
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Good news from FBG and CL. Gotta love it when those mom’s and daughters are all well and good.
And the Carolina gals had a very nice rib dinner at an Italian place last night.
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I think Patel is a Hindu word meaning Smith…
That’s the funniest line of the week. Multiple hits on the chuckle meter. Gil takes first place in the ba da boom one-liner category. Priceless.
Yes, Singh and Patel… Smith and Jones. Quite a contest. Indians love national contests and such. Speaking of contests, that reminds me, a few weeks ago Savannah College of Art & Design hosted a film festival, where many independent films were shown in several theaters downtown over a week. A great chance to see Independent premieres, classic older stuff and international movies.
The best of the lot and one of the best, if not THE best movies I’ve seen in years was an Indian film, Slum-Dog Millionaire. Do yourself a favor and see it when it comes to your town. Fantastic movie. It gets 5 out of 5 stars on the SG rating system.
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Slum-Dog Millionaire…
The Michael Vick story…
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Checked in on the Jake Peavy Watch today with Kevin Towers. The San Diego Padres GM isn’t giving up hope that he can find a new home for Peavy, one of the game’s best righthanded pitchers whose salary is not too big for the Padres’ diminishing payroll. So I won’t give up asking about it. Towers disagreed with me that the best chance for a deal might still be the Braves. At the moment, he appears to be favoring the Cubs’ chances. “I think there’s a chance of maybe putting together a deal with Chicago,” Towers said. “At least I know he’s willing to go there.” But in the same breath, Towers added that he didn’t anticipate anything happen anytime soon, and explained why. Towers mentioned two complications. One is that the Cubs’ ownership situation is unsettled (there could be a sale, though there’s a lot of doubt now whether anyone interested will want to come up with the cash in this economy). The other complication is that they will probably need a third team to do a deal with the Cubs. –SI.com
Towers is and idiot. The best indicator he can give that there is favor in the Cubs is at least I know he’s willing to go there? “Oh, yeah, there is no clear direction of ownership, and there is a need to involve a mystery third team, but at least I know he’s willing to go there. This deal’s as good as done!”
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If I were a betting man, which I surely am not, I’d still bet that Peavy will be donning the tomawawk on opening day…
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Now, baseball and the economy converge as the stomach turns:
Looks like we all are now contributors to the lowly Mets. Who’da thunkit?
What next… taxpayers paying Peavy and CC Sabbathia to join Santana and the Mutts so that we Americans can all be proud to own a winning NY team? This Citigroup bailout just gives me one more reason to abhor the Mutts.
Is this “Quantitative Easing”? Remember that term… you’ll hear it a lot over the next year or two.
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Towers needs the Cubs in discussions to put heat on Wren/Braves. He’s not a good poker player, though, as both clubs know he’s over the proverbial barrel. Fine…keep him there!
I mentioned recently the impact of the economy on the Yankees and Mets. So, now we’re subsidizing ticket sales. Who knew a baseball game would become the new site for the ‘Greater Metro NY Unemployed Execs Support Group’!?! Not so surprising, really, when you think about it. It’s all part of Citi’s outplacement program…may as well use those empty seats for something! 🙄 😦 😡 😐 My feelings run the gamut! 😕
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Is Barney Frank a Padres fan? Could Towers be holding out for a trade bailout? Perhaps Towers is mucking up the trade waters on purpose so that he is “stuck” with Peavy’s salary; then he can go to Barney Frank and claim that the market forces have hampered his attempts to relieve the Pads of a bankrupting salary burden so that the gov’t can step in and pay Peavy’s salary for the duration of his contract. Makes as much sense as any other bailout…
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VOR…how about the far simpler approach: MLB teams are banks!
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At least GM is cutting itself loose from some of its sport’s endorsement contracts. I wonder how Tiger will make do with the sudden lose of income? Look for him to make a deal with Lexus…
Of course my question is, does anyone really take celebrity endorsements seriously? It’s one thing to accept the recommendations of someone who does not have a stake in the profitability of a company, quite another to heed the advice of a shill.
I think it’s time for the big three to call the bluff of the UAW. The one thing even the union knows is if a company goes under, all prior contracts are void. I still see an eerie similarity to the steel industry and the United Steelworkers back in the 60s.
Of course the Cubs could get Peavy and then receive the curse of Gil In Mechanicsville and have him blow out an already suspect elbow before he tosses the first pitch in a regular season game. To be honest, I think Peavy’s medical history is the red flag being waved at Frank Wren causing him to draw back a bit in his pursuit of the Padre’s right hander.
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Let’s see…. The purpose of the United States government is to collect heavy taxes from the citizens then give that money away, right? The more money you need, the higher up you are on their list of priorities. They can’t afford better medical care for veterans they send to war, but they can pander to multi-multi-multi millionaires/billionaires. Why is that people, once elected to Congress, suddenly become mini-gods who answer to no one? I’m totally fed up with it. 😡
Government has no business supplementing or financially supporting private enterprise. Those fools in charge of the auto makers were so incredibly stupid as to sign those astronomical contracts, they need to go out of business. The airlines had to file bankruptcy; no reason the car people can’t do the same. Giving billions to bail them out when they have the same inept management and the same contracts is useless.
There. I feel better. 😆
FBG, EXCELLENT news about your mother!!! Just excellent!!
Maybe we’ll have some baseball (read: Braves) news after the holidays. I may be reading Peavy wrong, but I’m getting the impression that he’s got a too-big opinion of himself. So far I don’t really like him. Hope that will change.
Cooking starts tomorrow! 😀
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“quite another to heed the advice of a shill” – such as “news” reporters? Millions fell for it.
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If all these companies are too big to fail, then it may be time to dust off the old anti-trust laws….
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One should not be surprised at the apparent readiness of the government to jump to the aid of the chosen few. After all, they have been indoctrinated with the ideas of entitlements and quotas all their lives.
Now baseball…. I am going to spend more time watching the local high school kids play this spring…
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And on that note, it is time for me to do something constructive around the house. Catch up with y’all later.
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It ain’t the government’s fault, it’s ‘we the people’ with our hands out asking for our own selfish needs. We are not united, we are subcultures, minorities and special interest groups that elected the crooked and unwitting politicians to run it, appoint judges that legislate from the bench and grow the US into the mammoth welfare state that it is. There can only be one way to fix ‘it’. We fix ourselves and focus on family, integrity, quality, high ethics and morals.
History repeats itself. We are at a crossroads. Two words…
Weimar Republic.
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SG… You make an excellent point but how do you make a fractured and disaffected society into one homogeneous unit? How do you convince someone who has been told all their life it’s okay to take from the “man” that they need to be self reliant?
It’s is okay for certain groups to practice exclusion and promote bigotry but not okay for others. No, it is why people become reclusive and bitter… I do not disagree on your take on the loss of morality in our society. People turn away from God because they don’t want to be told they are bad or wrong or made to feel guilty. Why would they subject themselves to that if they were always told it’s okay to do whatever you want as long as it doesn’t hurt someone else? Well, selfishness does hurt someone else but they may not see it.
Yes, many parallels can be drawn to our current predicament and other societies that failed.
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And speaking of selfish… Do you think Scott Boras will be willing to take less in these tough economic times?
What’s funny to me is no one ever mentions the 94% of the folks who pay their bills on time. Lives within their means and is productive in our society.
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“The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.” — Cicero , 55 BC
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My take on it is – if the subsidy was cut off from those who simply don’t want to work, they wouldn’t have much choice. “Sink or swim – you’ve been a leech long enough.”
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Good Braves stuff from Rosenthal. Apparently Frank is serious about A.J. Burnett.
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8845170/Braves-join-list-of-suitors-for-righty-Burnett?CMP=OTC-K9B140813162&ATT=49
Hey… Braves AND Stuff. 😀
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More Rosenthal:
The White Sox are asking teams for a young starting pitcher plus additional players for right fielder Jermaine Dye.
Uh… no. I like him, but not that much. I think Kenny Williams is delusional.
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Asking price and selling price are often two different things. I think the selling price on Dye will decrease dramatically when the CHISOX think about how much they are going to pay to keep him. Look for any trade of Dye to contain a clause having Chicago pick up some of his salary.
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Okay guys, here is your chance…
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will come to Georgia next week to campaign for incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss on the eve of the runoff election. Palin, will appear at four Chambliss rallies on Monday, Dec. 1. Scheduled times and locations are 8:30 a.m. in Augusta, 11 a.m. in Savannah, 1:30 p.m. in Perry, and 4 p.m. in north metro Atlanta.
Specific locations had not been determined Tuesday.
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An odd statement for a Chicago Pol to make I think… Today president elect Obama said his new choice for budget director “knows where the bodies are buried”. I wonder if he might know where Jimmy Hoffa is too?
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Piniella: Cubs are done seeking Peavy
With rotation set, manager says club looking for left-handed bat
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081125&content_id=3692094&vkey=hotstove2008&fext=.jsp
Kevin Towers just crapped his pants when that one got out…
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Padres’ plans being put on hold
Peavy situation keeping Towers from addressing team’s needs
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081125&content_id=3692093&vkey=hotstove2008&fext=.jsp
And now it appears Towers knows he has painted himself into a corner. What and idiot. He needs to be slapped upside the haed…
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So.. does Frank Wren substitute Lillibridge for Escobar in is offer for Peavy? 🙂
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Good stuff here on the b&s forum today! Hate to say political stuff, it’s beyond political….lots of common sense, which as my friend down near Savannah says, is the most uncommon sense of them all….
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You can’t blame Williams asking a lot for Dye…and why give up a 34 Homer guy, anyway??? They know he hit more homers than anyone else in the braves lineup, can’t just give them a bag of bolts, especially if they would pay him to hit homers for us. Plus, they gave up Nick Swisher already, so if they lose Dye, they are really going to have a whole in their lineup.
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Bag of bolts-worth more than a bag of balls. 🙄
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Saw this from DOB, via Peter Gammons. Again shows how stubborn Bobby can be….
Leaving them out there: Don’t know if anyone referred to this stat previously, but I just noticed it in a Peter Gammons file from a week or two back and it brought home a point we’ve made previously.
It wasn’t just that Jeff Francoeur had such a disappointing season, it was the fact that he was left to hit in the middle of the order for so long and left in the lineup day after day after day. The end result was a remarkable number of wasted scoring opportunities.
And here’s the stat and spells it out. Gammons got it from Rob Tracy at the Elias Sports Bureau.
Hitters who came to bat with the most runners on base: 1. Justin Morneau, 558; 2. Garrett Atkins, 515; 3. David Wright, 508; 4. Mark Teixeira; 5. Carlos Beltran, .498; 6. Jeff Francoeur, 494; 7. Ryan Howard, 483; 8. Carlos Delgado, 480.
So I took that stat and went and looked at what all those guys hit with runners on base and how many RBI they finished with in 2008.
The envelope, please:
Morneau: .330 with runners on, 129 RBI.
Atkins: .256, 99 RBI.
Wright: .290, 124 RBI.
Teixeira: .303, 121 RBI.
Beltran: .283, 112 RBI.
Francoeur: .203, 71 RBI.
Howard: .309, 146 RBI.
Delgado: .285, 115 RBI.
Wow. That’s just ugly.
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Funny Ber, I could see Frenchy failing repeatedly. So could everybody else who watched the Braves. I can’t imagine Bobby Cox couldn’t see it too, I just don’t think he felt anyone else he could go to.
That said, 2009 will be the make or break season for the Frenchman…
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But, wouldn’t you think anyone else in the lineup could hit better than .203 with RISP??? That’s what I just don’t get. Torre, or LaRussa wouldn’t stick with someone as long as Bobby. Nothing wrong with sticking with someone for say a month or so, but after that, those two would have had him batting 7th or 8th, ego be damned.
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A finger up the nose can obstruct vision. Just sayin’! 😯 Impairment takes many forms!
Screw the .203, by the way…go for the OBP…git on and git ’em in. Frenchy wanted every AB to be a highlight on SportsCenter!
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I would’ve put French in the 3 spot the entire second half.
In Mississippi or Richmond.
I’d put Bobby upstairs, away from lineup cards, umpires and sharp objects.
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Well, just got a phone call from some lady wanting a lunch appointment next monday. Said she wanted to hear my thoughts on the election, the economy and politics in general. She said it would just be the two of us, so she could give her undivided attention and take copious notes. I told her I’d try to fit her in.
Crazy… some chick named Sarah from Alaska thinking she can just fly into Savannah and pop right into my schedule. The nerve…
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Or you could send her a link to the blog… 🙂
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By the way.. she is way better looking in person…
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You think maybe Pinella got tired of Towers, too? That had to put a big smile on Wrenn’s face.
Some crazy chick, huh? 😆 😆
Wonder if she’d respond to an invite to join in here now and then? Since she has nothing else to do….. 😀
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Well CL. Nothing ventured, nothing gained…. Like my dad used to tell me, the worst they can do is say no. 🙂
However, I doubt she is a baseball fan…
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Hmm, Palin/Savannah Guy 2012????
SG, I am sure you are way too smart to run for office, but…we are in the mess we are in because folks like you are way too smart to run for office.
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By the way.. she is way better looking in person…
So, that’s why Alec Baldwin didn’t call her a war mongering idiot, and instead walked off with her arm wrapped inside his….
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Read this terrific story! (Ber found it)
http://uhoh.org/vancouver_sun_ducks.htm
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After reading this, you kind of get a better feeling what Kevin Towers is up against…nothing that new, just all the facts put together in one story.
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Oh, you want the link to read this, you say? Very well….
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/hotstove08/columns/story?columnist=rogers_phil&id=3725229
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Terrific video of WWII carrier ops:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7166330178234459087
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Jackie Lawson has a beautiful new card on America; watch to the end!
http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=1221321706636&source=jl999
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Evening y’all! Gentlemen, do you know that there are only 30 days ’til Christmas? Start your shopping!
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And, as CL said, the cooking starts tomorrow. I actually did a cake order today (cause it’s being picked up first thing in the morning). Very pleased with how it turned out. It’s a pumpkin cake w/ cream cheese icing. I made red, yellow & orange leaves out of marzipan & kind of scattered them across the top as if the wind had blown them there.
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Hey, FBG! That cake sound BEAUTIFUL!!! You sure are talented! 🙂
For the OLD people around here, this may bring back some memories. ‘Course that was way before my time (choke, cough) but I’ve, uh, heard about them. 😆
http://www.oldfortyfives.com/thoseoldwesterns.htm
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Yes, my two favorite cowboys were Roy Rogers and the Lone Ranger. I always wanted a palomino like Trigger but ended up with a pinto like Scout. That was okay 🙂 Tonto was a good role model too.
FBG… The wife is making pumpkin cheesecake for Thanksgiving dinner dessert. It will be her first try at it but I have faith it will be another thing the grandkids will remember in 20 years when they talk about the good old days….
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Sigh… No overnight trading to report on…. Still in search of two pitchers and a batter. Sounds like a recipe for pancakes to me….
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Okay folks… wake up!!! There is the world that needs saving out there…
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‘Morning, Gil! “Two pitchers and a batter” 😆 😆
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Wake up??? Still up!!! 😕
Check out drudge site and site that amazingly bad rug on the head of Obama’s choice for Director of Office of Management and Budget. When Drudge said something about Whig…I didn’t get it, I was thinking, gee didn’t they die out a long time ago??? Then I looked at the photo more closely…. Oh my……
😯
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Oh, and Cl, I forgot…I did check out the cowboys!!! I knew all but one guys name…sunny something or another…well, til they got to the smaller photos towards the end….
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Reports: McNamee gave DNA samples to investigators
http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/story/11131893/rss
Report: Charity parts ways with troubled Clemens
http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/story/11134912/rss
Furcal visits Oakland
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081125&content_id=3693616&vkey=hotstove2008&fext=.jsp&partnerId=rss_mlb
Dye hasn’t been contacted about offer
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081125&content_id=3692853&vkey=hotstove2008&fext=.jsp&partnerId=rss_mlb
Pettitte is talking with Torre about Dodgers
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8845170/Sources:-Pettitte-talks-with-Torre-about-Dodgers?CMP=OTC-K9B140813162&ATT=49
That’s all I got! 😀
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You’ve got us up to speed CL! Now, I can sleep! 😛
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O’Brien’s article on Burnett:
http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/braves/stories/2008/11/25/braves_aj_burnett_pitcher.html
According to Mark Bowman, the Braves still don’t have announcers for next year. 😦 No Skip, no Pete….. 😥
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‘Night, Ber! 😀
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I like Joe, Boog…Ron Gant…and Don Sutton (except when he talks HOF). Chip…ambivalent. Lemke…not so much….stick to pre/post-game. I like Smoltz, too…and don’t think for a sec the Braves are holding out to see if he can pitch. If not, it’s on to the booth.
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I really like Joe, Chip not so much, Lemke no, would love to have Smoltzie in the booth if he can’t be on the mound. From the little I read, the Braves are “looking outside the organization.” Boooooo!
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I take it they are talking about radio….??
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“The Braves have not announced who will serve as their new radio broadcast team. Chip Caray will likely continue to do all the games that don’t interfere with his television commitments to Peachtree TV and TBS. But it’s still not clear who will be working the radio broadcasts.
Currently, the Braves are looking a number of candidates from outside the organization. One name that I’ve heard is Jim Powell, a University of Georgia graduate who has called Brewers games for more than a decade.
If the Braves are looking for a broadcaster about 25-30 years from now, they may find Tristan Caray as a candidate. Chip’s wife, Susan, gave birth to Tristan on Nov. 19 and the baby’s proud papa says that everybody is healthy and looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving with the latest addition to the Caray family.”
Mark Bowman is a reporter for MLB.com.
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I would suspect the pay is not all that great for a radio announcer but then again, who knows what normal is anymore…
As for the Caray’s, there is a fine line between endearing and annoying…
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Just goes to show, it’s not nice to fool with Mother Nature….
TOKYO – Handlers of a popular polar bear, brought to mate with a female in a zoo in northern Japan, found their breeding plan was doomed when they noticed that he, in fact, was a she.
Tsuyoshi, a four-year-old, 441 lb cream-colored polar bear, had been living in harmony with a female polar bear since June, the two often playing together, Masako Inoue, a zookeeper at the Kushiro Municipal Zoo, said on Wednesday.
“We thought he was a male, so we never had any doubts as we took care of him,” she said.
Story continues below ↓advertisement | your ad here
“But one day we realized that the two bears urinate in the same way, and we thought, is that how males do it? And once we started to look at things that way, we weren’t quite so sure.”
After two DNA examinations of Tsuyoshi’s hair and a manual exam, the Kushiro Municipal Zoo found Tsuyoshi to be a female.
“We do have mixed feelings,” said Inoue.
“But because Tsuyoshi was supposed to be a male, she came here, and because she came here, we were able to take care of her since she was very small.”
It is not uncommon for the sex of polar bears to be misread, Inoue said, as their long hair makes it difficult to distinguish, especially when the bears are young. Tsuyoshi was pegged as a male three months after birth, Inoue said.
The Kushiro Municipal Zoo will talk with other zoos in the area to see what to do about their breeding plan, she added.
Received their training at the San Francisco Zoo perhaps???
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An incredible jewel Gil found:
http://jlbussey.typepad.com/ce/2008/02/ray-charles-jer.html
Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis and Fats Domino jamming!
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What??? Still no blockbuster trades or free agent signings??? And is it really possible that the Oakland A’s will swing more deals than us??? I thought they were a poor team, guess they have saved their pennies. Good for their fans…all 3 of them. 😛
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Haven’t checked out Ray, et al yet but a friend sent me this wild ad for the all new 1965 Chevrolets, with cast members from Bonanza, Man from Uncle and Bewitched!!!
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That was neat, Ber. Thanks!
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The evil Boras plots:
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8854244/Boras-holds-the-cards-in-this-free-agent-market?CMP=OTC-K9B140813162&ATT=49
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OaklandAngels eying CC and Peavy:http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081126&content_id=3694591&vkey=hotstove2008&fext=.jsp&partnerId=rss_mlb
(Thanks, Ber!)
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Bowman on Burnett, Chipper Jones
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081126&content_id=3694639&vkey=hotstove2008&fext=.jsp&partnerId=rss_mlb
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CL, interesting article, but that should read Angels eying CC and Peavy….I was really starting to wonder where all the money was coming from for Oakland! 🙂
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Oops. 😳
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Uh…. individual contributions made via the internet from such names as Mighty Mouse and Zorba The Greek…
Uh… Oakland has declared themselves a troubled bank and qualified for bailout money from D.C.
Uh… Oakland reverted to its checkered past and have been underwriting the high seas adventures of the Somali pirates.
Uh… The management of the As realized that at the rate the feds are printing money, 12 million a year is going to be a real bargain when compared to current salaries. It is expected the U.S dollar will have about the same value as the wooden nickels minted in Oregon prior to the civil war.
Uh… The Athletics found a really neat alternate use for the high dollar copier picked up at auction from the federal reserve…..
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Well, I just spent 3 hours trying to configure a wireless card to an older Dell laptop the wife found when she cleaned out the entertainment center. Now I remember why I didn’t like Windows 2000.
Uh… needless to say, I was not successful.
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I don’t know if folks here missed the news tonight, but the Indian city Mumbai( formerly Bombay-didn’t even know they didn’t go by that anymore!) has been attacked by terrorists in several places where westerners frequent, including a few beautiful Hotels…at least 87 dead, 250+ injured. Explosions over a 3 mile radius!!!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7751160.stm
Just heard that it was timed just before a huge cricket event, which will have huge detrimental effect on their economy.
also, there is a threat on Penn station and elsewhere….Al Qaeda Targets Amtrak N’east Corridor
http://wcbstv.com/national/nyc.subway.terror.2.874830.html
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CL, or Gil I am stuck in the Salty filter…. 😦
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You’re free, Ber! 🙂
Followers of the peaceful religion are busy, aren’t they?
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Happy Thanksgiving, my dears! I hope you all have a wonderful day with family and friends and a bountiful feast to share with them. I know times are tough for many right now but we have so much to be thankful for, not the least of which is the “community” we have formed here. I’m grateful that you all are in my life. (((hugs)))
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Gil, I’m sure Miss Josie’s cheesecake will be awesome. Pumpkin & cream cheese just go together. Made 2 pies today myself.
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Happy Thanksgiving all!!!
I, too, am thankful for my friends here. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day.
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Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone! Watch your gobbling…could leave you feeling…uhm…uh…way too full! 😆 Oh, and may have an unfiltered blogging experience…something I know little about! 🙄
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Happy Thanksgiving Folks!!! 🙂
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Happy Turkey Day Y’all…. 🙂
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Wishing each of you a day to remember all the things for which we can be thankful, especially our nation, our freedoms, our families and friends, our health, and our God.
What a unique experience to have a little enclave of people we’ve never met, but whom we hold so dear! Imagine explaining this concept to our grand-parents or great-grandparents!
A truly HAPPY Thanksgiving, my friends!
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Happy Thanksgiving!
My favorite holiday; friends, family, food. I give God thanks for all three.
Now, baseball: I move that we have a new, Braves and Stuff annual ‘Turkey’ Award for the biggest turkey in baseball this year (person or entity that did a disservice to the hallowed game) and a ‘Gravy’ Award for the MLB-MVP (for contributions to the game, inside or outside the lines).
Your choice can be player, manager, coach, agent, owner, umpire, commissioner, reporter, broadcaster or baseball entity.
You may not vote for Mr. Fly, sleuth reporter for either award. 😀
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I nominate Scott Boras as the turkey!
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I second that motion and move to strike that last condition!
Happy Thanksgiving ladies and gentlemen. Turkey, ham, dressing and gravy, deviled eggs, sweet ‘taters with raisins and pecans, pole beans, corn, ford hooks, ‘maters, celery stuffed with pimento cheese, apple pie with ‘nilla ice cream, sweet ‘tater pie… mmm. I’m prolly gonna hang around here all day.
Oh, almost forgot the cranberry sauce. We’ll have the whole berry kind and the other kind that Archie Bunker said was, “real… slides out of the can and wiggles”.
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Borass!!!!!
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Article on the pitching market –
http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/story/11135575/rss
Hey, Mr Fly! There ain’t no flies on you! What a feast!! I spent most of the day yesterday getting everything ready. Just have to pop them in the oven and dinner is ready! (I like the wiggly cranberry sauce, too! It goes with anything!)
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CL, Boras was also was at the top of my list for the 2008 Turkey Award. Runners up were Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Brian McAfee and the MLB Umpire Union. Topping my list is Bud Selig.
I’m still trying to decide who to cast my vote for the ‘Gravy’ Award.
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Good selections all, SG! Now the Gravy Award will take some thinking! hmmm.
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My hat is off and I salute all the ladies (and the rare gents) who tirelessly plan, shop, prepare, cook and serve the great feasts on Thanksgiving.
All I have to do is lug stuff in and out, taste test, carve the turkey and eat.
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Wow, Scott Boras is a good nomination but Bud Selig, Peter Angelos, George Stienbrenner, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Jon Miller and Joe Morgan, Doug Melvin, The ownership group of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Jeffrey Loria and not to be left out, AOL/Time Warner. All deserve consideration. We might actually have to buy multiple turkeys just so some deserving soul is not left out or at least hand out drum sticks for dishonorable mentions.
My personal favorite would be Doug Wilder, mayor of the city of Richmond, VA for allowing the Braves to move away after 42 years by taking for granted the Braves would put up with his continued inaction of upgrading to industry standards the Diamond even after financing was secure to do so 5 years ago. Perhaps we will have to expand the awards to include a lifetime achievement award to him… Perhaps the “Turkey Neck” award…..
As for the “Gravy” … Well, there is Albert Pujols, John Smoltz, Terry Francona, The Tampa Bay Rays, and possibly Charlie Manual for putting up with the fans of Philadelphia PA…. Maybe we could dish out a giblet or two for the runners up.
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One I would have to consider for Gravy is Greg Maddux. He showed the world what a real pitcher was, did it without steroids, flash, fanfare or dubious headlines, and won an unprecedented 18 Gold Gloves while doing it.
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My chief role for Thanksgiving is to serve as the primary “hunter/gather” for the feast. As I have gotten older, the trend has been a lot more towards the gathering side than the hunting side. Of course, there is still the hunting for bargains side of it….
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Yes, if only Maddux would clean up his potty mouth a bit, it would make his choice a bit more palatable.
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I’ll second Gil’s votes for Pujols, the Rays and for Manual. Good choices. Skip Caray should at least get an honorary Gravy Award, although he’d no doubt prefer a BBQ covered in sauce Award.
Still thinkin’…
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I think Skip would have appreciated the “Sauce” award…
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The bargain hunting is the BEST! Not only for dinners, either. I recently found:
– a jacket that normally sells in the $90-$100 range for: $18.57 (QVC clearance);
– a beautiful soft pink long-sleeved pullover sweater that would normally be in the $30 range for: $3.99 (Blair clearance);
– a fleece-lined jogging suit, a pretty blue with embroidery on the top, just like my mother likes to wear, normally sells for $35-$45: $4.99 (Blair clearance).
– the full 10-season TV series of Stargate SG that Kelly wanted for Christmas, normally sells for around $200 and up: $116 unopened gift box set online.
Makes my Scot-Irish ancestors very happy! 😆
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Agreed on the potty mouth, Gil! No excuse for that!
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Bora$$ is an easy choice for turkey… except that he is just doing his job. And he does it very well. I don’t care much for his job, but he does it very well. I suppose if I were a supremely talented athlete on the open market, I wouldn’t mind being represented by Bora$$. That being said, he is a real turkey… 😀
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Skip was the first to cross my mind on the gravy side, except that he needs to be accompanied by Pete. Maybe the Salt & Pepper Award for those who add that little something extra to make things just right.
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I know how you feel CL, I am like that at the auctions. I am sitting here looking at a Dalhart Windberg original oil of the Big Tree which was mis-identified as a print that I purchased for $100. Click the link to see a print…
http://arts-etc.com/WindbergSlides/pages/Big%20Tree_jpg.htm
Of course, I don’t like to talk about the pigs in the pokes I have purchased too. 🙂 I guess it all works out….
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From a local perspective, is there a classier guy on the Braves than Smoltzie? He is the consummate pro. He does a ton of charity work and carries himself extremely well in the public eye. But, you know what? Guess who else does that… Yep, everyone’s favorite whipping boy, Jeff Francoeur. He speaks at alot of FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) events and always, ALWAYS, makes time for the kids.
Tough call, but for me Smoltz is the gravy for the Braves. Now if Burnett will sign, he can have my vote. Just because…
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Maybe we could add a “Stuffing” award for those who added so much window dressing to a franchise. Could go to beat writer or journalist who was the biggest homer…. Perhaps even split the award into sage and cornbread awards for print and broadcast media…
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Raisins, I really hope Francoeur can turn it around this year. Maybe he can get Brian McCann’s dad to work with him as a personal hitting coach. He is still pretty young and I would hate to see folks give up on him too soon. he never really had the chance to work out all his “issues” in the minors.
I know a lot of folks clamor to rush guys to the majors before they are really ready and it often sets them back. Remember Brad Kominsk? I had the privileged of watching that kid just pound the ball here in Richmond before he went up to Atlanta and Joe Torre screwed up his swing. He was never the same after that.
I read a lot about how folks wanted to hurry up and promote Morton to the majors last season. Well. he wasn’t quite ready mentally I don’t think. Neither is JoJo… However, I predict both will be solid major league pitchers in the future. JoJo is going to be another Jason Smidth, just wait and see….
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Dear heavens, Gil! That is stunning!!! It IS insured, right???
For the Braves: Smoltzie, I agree (no surprise there, right?? 😆 ); Pete and Skip, definitely. Reaching back, how ’bout Turner and TBS of old? Bobby has to be in there somewhere, and Schuerholz (I’ve forgotten how to spell it!).
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Many spices, many side-dishes and many awards. I’ll nominate my little pal, Mr. Fly, the ‘Ham & Corn’ Award.
I’ll nominate CL for the “Stuffing” Award, ’cause she gave us the place for Stuff and Braves. Nominate Gil for the 2008 “Sage Award” for his good lead work, pinch hitting al the time. I’ll nominate the rest of us for the “Side Dish” Awards, for all the good, eclectic Stuff and such. Plus, today everybody should get an award, don’tcha think?
Yep, Skip would be a shoe-in for the “Sauce” Award. BBQ and, uh, other sauce.
Smoltzy is always on my list of good guys. Guest-speaks and winesses at churches, humanitarian work and such. Plus, he’s got an automatic career in broadcasting if he wants it. May come sooner than he’d like.
French is a good kid with high morals but he’d still be in my top ten for the Turkey Award, along with Bobby for camping him too high in the lineup so long. Mad Dog can talk potty all he wants… none of it is all that bad and he certainly bears no ill will toward anyone… except whoever happens to be in the batters box or on first base.
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SG, are you saying I’m “full of it”?? 😆 😆
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I guess today it is “Braves and Stuffing”?
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oooooooooooooooooh, ate way too much.
now, the tryptophan crash…
Urp, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, hiccup, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
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tryin’ to think but nothin’s happnin’.
can’t type…
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Food is put away, dishes are washed and dried, table polished, cabinets shining. Done for another year. sigh…….
Question: why do men never think of or offer to do the dishes since the women did all the prep and cooking for two days?? Just wondering.
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Well, when my Mom was alive and well, she’d start the turkey around 10 AM at the latest…Today I was still asleep when it went in… and it’s still cooking! Who has turkey dinner at dinner time??? 😯
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I should clarify…I was up from 3:30 AM til noon(Always have to see Santy Claus in the Macy’s parade, even through all the dreck leading up to him)
so, don’t think I slept all night! Or afternoon! 😛
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oooooooohhhhhh… My belly is stuffed….. I had to take my mom back to the nursing home and believe it or not, she was glad to go… She said if old people were suppose to be around so many children, the Lord would let them still have them. 🙂 Actually, I was kind of glad for an excuse to get out of the house too….
Poor Josie, stressed as usual, she said she thought it would be different this year… Ha I said, you know the definition of insanity don’t you? 🙂
Anyway, she is taking tomorrow off, poor thing has been going non stop for two weeks now…
The house looks great. A lot like the gingerbread house… I will attempt to get a couple of shots but digital cameras don’t always take good night photos. But mom really liked it and the grand kids too… hey, tis the season after all…
Thanks for the award SG.. I know you and Mr. Fly are still holding out for your Pulitzer… Well, I think your post ore worthy… 🙂
And Ber, I once had a screwed up sleep pattern like that too but I worked rotating shifts and often went on short rest. I guess that is why I am breaking down now. As soon as I can come up with a remedy I will let you know… 🙂
And CL…. It is why I bought and installed an automatic dishwasher…. But yeah, I can remember mom staying in the kitchen two days preparing and two days cleaning up. I gave up trying to help because no matter how I did it, it was always wrong…..
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I ate 3 portions of turkey(Really good fresh turkey from Publix) and a tater(forgot to cook any veggies) still hungry! If only there was some good purpose to having a bottomless pit! Well, I could try entering eating contests, but that wouldn’t work. I can’t eat more than 2 hotdogs without getting indigestion, how do those folks eat 40+??? 😯
Gil, would like to see your house!
I think part of the reason I sleep like this, is to get some quiet time. What, with a permanent house guest(Our friend with ALS) and Pa, If I go to bed and am up the same hours, I tend not to get much computer time…of course, I still have my old computer that ATT was supposed to set up on the internet for free….I called, they were supposed to call back, to schedule, and didn’t..then my lazy arse didn’t call them back….wonder if I could still get it set up for free from them??? Hmmm…
I also have my Mom’s laptop. It’s 8 years old, but has XP on it….perhaps I should follow thru on something. Used to be better at that 😕
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Man oh man, when you think of the problems folks have in some parts of the world, having more than enough food, a roof over your head, and several computers, don’t really seem like “problems” Perhaps I should be celebrating more today, and remembering what this day is all about….
This is the 4th Thanksgiving without Mom, and for some reason, it’s hit me harder this year than in previous years. Always had a small family, just me and my parents. Both my Mom’s sisters are dead, one Uncle(The other lives in LA and is 86) a cousin that was like a sister to my Mom died in 2004, and my other first cousin, well, haven’t heard from him since about a month after my Mom died.My Dad was an only child as well.
With Dad 77, the thought of someday having Thanksgiving and Christmas all alone….doesn’t sound like much fun. And I probably live in the worst possible part of the ATL burbs to ever find a Mrs. Berigan.
Need to order me one of them Russian brides I guess ! 😛
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Hey Ber, nothing wrong with XP.. Once I finally upgraded all my drivers so my peripherals would work.. I used to call it Windows eXPensive because most of my old software wouldn’t work. I am not going to make the same mistake with Vista. Of course, most of my computers were prototypes for Steve Jobs but that is another story….
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Ok, enough of that crappola…Baseball!!!
DOB had another blog today….he said this…
….So of there’s any chance they could still get Peavy in a deal with Escobar as the centerpiece, then they’d not want to deal Kelly Johnson for Ludwick, as was discussed at the GM meetings. As you can see, this is complicated. These are moving parts that are all part of the offseason process for the Braves, and so much depends, potentially, on the Peavy deal.
Am I missing something here??? We have finished out of the hunt 3 straight years. Kelly Johnson has potential, no doubt, but hit .235 in April, .250 in June, .224 in July, and .237 in August. 4 out of 6 months .250 or below.
And, try as he might, he isn’t a very good 2nd baseman.
Meanwhile Ludwick, except for June, where he hit .228, hit .291 or better every other month. Hit 37 homers, more than our whole outfield. Now, he may have had Fat Albert batting behind him some of the time, but still, he drove in 113 RBI’s in only 535 AB’s . I thought perhaps he sucked against righties. 22 HR’s 75 RBI’s and a 316 BA against them, 15 HR’s 38 RBI’s and a .266 BA against lefties. So, why don’t we trade for him like, yesterday?? I guess because he’s a bit of a late bloomer, but before 2007, he’d never had more than 136 AB’s in a season, and that was in 2003. In 2007, in 303 AB’s Ludwick hit 14 HR’s and drove in 52 RBI’s while hitting .267. 11HRs 37 RBI’s and a .298 BA against righties in ’07…oh, did I make it clear, that he bats right handed???
Also, he is/was cheap, just making 400K last year!!! Sure to get a raise, but still, cheaper than Adam Dunn(Which according to DOB, the braves have no interest in) and we don’t even have to give up pitching to get!
To me, Prado plays with a lot more fire than KJ, and plays better defense, so…what exactly am I missing here??? We don’t want to get rid of the SS and 2nd baseman from last year that took us to…to, 4th place, 20 games out????
There are about a billion SS’s available, so I sure hope if the Braves get Peavy, they don’t completely shut out the idea of trading KJ….
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Gil, I know you are going to join the cult SG belongs to 😛 😛 😛
But honest, Vista is not bad at all. I like it a lot in fact. Very quick to start, only time I have gunked things up is when I have had my email program up, been uploading stuff to youtube, and had several brower windows open at the same time…and things have just slowed down mainly. 3 gigs of RAM, but I can expand to 8, which would probably take care of the rest of the issues….
But, hey join that organization, all those folks are extremely happy all the time! 😀
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The wife and I were trying to decide what to do about Christmas this year and what each of us wanted, other than some perfume for her and a couple of jogging suits for me, we pretty much decided we already have it… So, next best thing was to get away for a few days. She saw an ad for a ski resort so guess what… Yep, looks like I will be spending time in the bar chatting with the snow bunnies because this dude does not do snow… Two givens…
1. The larger the mass the grater the gravitational pull and thus the grater the increase in velocity for said large skier…
2. Old bones take longer to heal than young bones and the combination of cold and speed have a tendency to make said bones shatter when striking such obstacles as trees….
2a. Trees are not your friend in respect to snow skiing.
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Out of all the baseball players in the universe there has to be someone who bats right handed, can hit around .280, drive in about 90 runs, hit in the neighborhood of 25 homeruns and be able to play left field well enough so as to not make the nightly blooper reels on ESPN. The trick is to find this player and sign him to a contract with the Braves. Are outfielders like this really that rare or is just rare for the Braves?
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Gil, do they have snowmobiles??? One’s with nice soft shocks??? 😉
Ludwick played more games in right, than left, so he must have a good arm, right??? And if he dropped off to 25 HR and 90 RBI’s that would be miles better than last year’s LF production….
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Last season, in only 89 games, Juan Rivera hit 12 HR with 45 RBI. He hit only .246 though. However, for his career, the right handed hitting LF averages .284/21HR/81RBI. I’m just sayin’
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I have a feeling that Ludwick was a one year wonder. I’d hate to find that out the hard way…
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V, I was big on getting Rivera in the Tex trade(They had 5-6 outfielders, but no, couldn’t toss him in) I have to say, he looked terrible in the playoffs, clueless at the plate. I know, the playoffs, lots of guys slump, try too hard…
Ludwick had a good year and a half…he looked pretty good at the plate last year, looked like a smart hitter, can take a walk….I just don’t know who’s better choice, if we aren’t going for Dunn.
Save the money on Dunn, or some SS like Furcal, and get Ludwick and CC!!!!
I can dream, can’t I??? 😀
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Catching up on some of the Braves not named Hanson and Schafer playing in the winter leagues this year… I noticed a kid named Diory Hernandez who played 2nd for Richmond last year is playing short stop in the Dominican. He is batting around .340. I remember this kid being a pretty good addition to the Richmond roster after a mid season call up from Mississippi. I am thinking the Braves might be grooming him to replace Lillibridge as the short stop in waiting for the Braves. He’s got some pop in his bat and like I said, a good glove. Just remember, you heard it here first….
I wonder where Scott Thorman will end up this year? He is a free agent and I expect him to play for Canada in the WBC this spring. When I saw him late this summer it appeared he had cut down on that big looping swing of his that made him so vulnerable to off speed pitched. Now he will never be confused with a Pujols or Texieria in his defensive prowess around first base but he certainly can play a serviceable left field.
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Also noticed Eddie Perez is managing a team in Venezuela. Don’t be surprised to see him jump ahead of some guys being considered for major league coaching slots. Personally, i think he would make a better bench coach than Chino.
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Question: why do men never think of or offer to do the dishes since the women did all the prep and cooking for two days?? Just wondering.
In our house, the after-feast chore is kinda shared, sorta. The ladies usually gang up and tackle the light dishes, putting the leftovers in tupperware, nibbling on the pies, catching up on the latest, uh, whatever girls catch up on. It would not be wise for a man to tarry in the kitchen when the ladies are in there after a meal… might hear something that would shed light on how women rule the earth, thus causing a cosmic shift in the universe. 😆
Oh, back to the question: Yours truly gets to deal with the heavy hardware, roasting pans, dutch ovens and such. Plus, while it’s crowded with women in the kitchen, somebody has to entertain the guys, handle the remote and catch up on politics, fishing, hunting and sports in general. Tough duty but somebody has to do it.
To reveal anything further I’d risk a paradigm shifting, tectonic plate cracking, cosmic inversion and, uh… losing my Man Card. 😀
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Maybe Eddie is being groomed and/or fast-tracked. He can already fill Chino’s spot on the bench… adding more for, uh, less.
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Out of all the baseball players in the universe there has to be someone who bats right handed, can hit around .280, drive in about 90 runs, hit in the neighborhood of 25 homeruns and be able to play left field…
Except, he’s the Braves RF…unless one believes last year portends his career. I want production from the OF…and don’t care if it’s HR’s or high BP…just create and/or drive in runs.
I can live with Rivera.
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Mrs. Guy and I have thought about a white Christmas too, although she does not like the cold. Born in Key West, she grew up in Connecticut and PA, so she’s not nearly as fond of snow as this snow deprived southern boy.
I used to ski at Sugar and Beech Mountain in NC and Snowshoe Resort up in West Virginia. Snowshoe is a great place and the Jean Claude Keilly (sp?) run is not that difficult (can work around the steep, scary, sheer-ridge stuff). They also have several nice intermediate slopes for beginners, those older than 40 and heavier than they used to be.
Or you could avoid the corn snow here in the east and head out west for easy, dry powder in Utah or Colorado.
Either way, most ski resorts have a nice cozy lodge, fireplace and brandy.
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Southern born and bred, I have a natural aversion to the white stuff! It may be pretty at first but it is a major pain in the posterior afterward. Dec 21, 1989, we were forecast to have a few light flurries. That night it started snowing HARD. Didn’t stop until 3 days and 18″ later. Everything was totally paralyzed. Since we don’t have snow equipment, 4-wheel drives were the only very limited mode of transportation to the hospital, a couple used by LE. Buildings burned to the ground because the fire trucks couldn’t get there.
After the snow, the temp dropped to ZERO. Coldest in our recorded history. That Christmas morning I got up, looked at the thermometer, couldn’t find the red mercury and thought it had broken and run out. Then, looked closer and there was a tiny little red speck waaaaay down at the bottom. On 0.
Kelly’s birthday party 12/23 was canceled, Christmas services and visiting was canceled because nobody could go anywhere.
Dec 26 the temps would go above freezing during the day and drop back into the ‘teens at night resulting in melting snow that turned into several inches of ice – day after day after day. A good time was not had by all!
But y’all have a good time! 😆
Left-overs tonight! Don’t have to give supper plans the first thought! YEA!!
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Yes, that was the year, 1989, that it snowed 6-8″ on Christmas eve here in Savannah, with drifts of 2 feet. LOVED IT!!! Wish that would happen this year.
And yes, I know it’s a mess afterward, but that’s OK… just gimme the snow.
As for the cold, like someone once said, “There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing”. Gore-Tex rules.
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Under the radar:
http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081126&content_id=3694644&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl
“There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing”. I don’t believe that for one second! The only time I was warm was when I was out there shoveling snow or trying to break up large expanses of 5″ thick ice. Then I was sweating! Until I stopped then I was wet AND cold. Yuck! If y’all need me I’ll be right here! 😆
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I used to ski at Sugar and Beech Mountain in NC…
😯
Skiing? I’ve thought it to be more like ice-skating down the mountainside! 😆
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I get the picture, CL. See if I have this right:
Outside, you like it warm and dry with only concrete on the driveway and green grass in the yard. Inside, you like it nice and cozy and you wear those cute little fluffy bunny slippers while sipping on an ice cold glass of Caffeine-free Diet Coke. 😆
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Salty, those slopes in NC can get very slick, fast, hard to hold the edge on a turn and the snow can get pretty crunchy.
When you fall, the crunchy part isn’t just the sound of the snow.
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SG, temp range 55-75, low humidity, anything else is optional. No bunny slippers. Either decaf coffee or decaf Diet Coke. 😀
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Another rumor bites the dust:
http://hotstove.mlblogs.com/archives/2008/11/another_unfounded_furcal_rumor.html
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Rumors… that’s why I can’t get worked up over the hot-stove stuff. Just can’t get excited about what if’s and what might be. I’ll pull for the ones that show up in a Braves uniform in Orlando and root for those that take the field at the Ted this spring on the first day of the season.
To me, Peavy, Furcal, CC, whomever are just a few of many baseball players trying to get the best deal they can while clubs get the best deals they can and agents win either way. Impossible to predict the chess games going on. Like trading baseball cards, only different.
On the other hand, I’m glad others speculate and such. Reading posts is more fun, less frustrating and less time consuming than gathering all the stuff. Even more interesting if they’re already in the Braves franchise, coming up or heading out.
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Prolly I’m just too lazy to dig up all the baseball gossip. 😀
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Digging is fun when there’s something to dig. It’s maddening when there’s nothing to find.
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So… isn’t it true that Tampa might be shopping Andy Sonnanstine or Edwin Jackson? Why aren’t we (Braves) looking into that? Or are we? Many times things materialize from seemingly nothing.
I find it very intriguing that Furcal’s name continues to be linked to the Braves when there is no position for him. Intriguing indeed…
I believe the Braves possess at least one advantage over the other teams in the Burnett chase. I think they’re willing to go the 5th year on the contract. Why? Because Liberty Media won’t be around for the whole 5 years. We all know they’ll flip the team as soon as the IRS says they can. Why should they be concerned about a 4th or 5th year that someone else will be responsible for?
Do I like the idea of Burnett for 5 years? Yes I do. Physically, he has not had problems post-Tommy John. For one thing, he is now more of a pitcher than a thrower. It happens to alot of pitchers, some just more successfully than others. I see Burnett as a success story.
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Gonna take the family to Pigeon Forge for the weekend. Won’t be any bloggin’ for a couple of days. I’ll see (well, not really see, but you know…) y’all Monday. Maybe something will happen by then… although I doubt it. More likely after Dec. 1 or even during the Winter Meetings. I still won’t be surprised to see the Peavy deal happen. Only, I think it’ll happen with Esco, Hernandez and Boyer. Towers has lost his leverage.
Later taters! 😀
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Have a great time Raisins, say hi to Dolly for me if she’s in town… 🙂
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Be careful there V! Using gas for an extended trip, spending money on a mini vacation, next thing you know, you are helping the economy! 😉
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Shoot SG, I love this time of year for one reason, and one reason only, Hot stove talk! Gives me a sane reason to be talking baseball when it’s cold outside! 🙂
And speaking of rumor, fact, and innuendo, sounds like we are not going to be needing to learn any Japanese this off season! 😦
Boston Signs Junichi Tazawa?
By Alex Walsh [November 28 at 11:36am CST]
Japanese amateur pitcher Junichi Tazawa appears close to signing with the Boston Red Sox, reports Chad Finn at the Boston Globe. The offer for the 22-year old is reportedly a three-year, major league deal nearing $6MM, putting Tazawa on the 40-man roster.
Tazawa has officially declined offers from the Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers according to the Kyodo Wire, says the article.
Signing Tazawa would complicate current opinions on the “gentleman’s agreement” previously observed by MLB teams, which prevented American teams from signing Japanese amateurs. Might Japanese teams start making offers to American amateurs if Tazawa is signed?
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2008/11/boston-signs-ju.html
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Japanese Schamapanese…
just bring me an ace. I don’t care if they’re from Vladivostok.
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Maybe a big bat from Uzbekistan.
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Hey SG… I saw that movie….
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Braves & Stuff Trivia Time:
Who said this?
“Savannah would be better for you. You’ll just get in trouble in Atlanta!”
Clue: It was not Mrs. Guy.
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Rhett Butler…
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Of course they could go to Riga to seek a Latvian fielder…
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Gil is close but no cigar…
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Ashly Wilks?
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Now I know how Alex Trebek feels, sitting there, smugly knowing the answer because he’s reading the card the writers gave him… 😆
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I know it’s from GWTW
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Nope. Not Ashley either (as I sit, smugly knowing the answer).
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Last best guess would be Aunt Polly…
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Gone With The Wind… yes. But this ain’t horseshoes and I don’t know nuthin’ ’bout birthin’ no babies.
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Bear will be mad that he wasn’t here to win the ten million dollar prize Braves & Stuff Trivia prize ’cause he prolly knows the answer. By the way… is Bear about 100 years old?
The Answer: Mammy said that to Scarlett O’hara
The Scene: Impatient with the lack of life at Tara, Scarlett has the option of visiting in Savannah or in Atlanta. A willful Scarlett decides to go to Atlanta to live with a frail Melanie and help Melanie’s Aunt “Pittypat” Hamilton (Laura Hope Crews) take care of her as she awaits the birth of her first baby. Mammy shrewdly and accurately interprets Scarlett’s real motives – to be closer to Ashley when he returns on leave from the war: “Savannah would be better for you. You’ll just get in trouble in Atlanta…You know what trouble I’s talking about. I’s talking about Mr. Ashley Wilkes. He’ll be coming to Atlanta when he gets his leave – and you sittin’ there waitin’ for him jes’ like a spider. He belong to Miss Melanie…”
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That’s Prissy’s quote..
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Was Prince from Latvia?
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Prissy yes, ’bout birthin’ babies.
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Which prince? Fielder?
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and what of the Brewers? Prince being a free agent, will he be the Fielder that left???
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One of my all-time favorites! GWTW!
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Amazing, watching the crazy people crash the stores acting like animals after the last bone. And just how much of the merchandise they are clamoring for is made in America? The only way a nation actually builds wealth is through manufacturing. Sad….
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Clue: It was not Mrs. Guy. 😆 😆
Gil, that whole Friday-after-Thanksgiving frenzy is insane. I spent maybe an hour online, found the items I sought at prices I could pay, and most have already been delivered to my door. Most ‘Americans’ disgust me these days with their behavior.
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Yes, we stayed home today too. Josie took a nap and I watched the Mork & Mindy marathon on the SciFi channel. I did manage to take the extra chairs out and put them in the storage shed until the next gala.
I will ride up to see Mom Saturday but I’m with you CL in regards to the on line shopping. Most of the time the shipping is free and I need only step out onto the front porch to retrieve our purchases.
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Funny… I went to sit on the couch for a minute and, zzzzzzzzzz. Out cold.
Woke myself up snoring! Now gotta eat again. I’m like a animal… sleep, eat, sleep, eat. Woke up to the news about people stampeding each other to get into a store and grab up stuff before someone else… sick and unfortunately, every year. Then checked the blog to see CL and Gil talking ’bout that very thing. Maybe I’m dreaming.
Uh, Cecil and Prince… you got it. Gil understands my earlier (typical) silliness.
Now for a ham sammich. Too much triptophan with turkey I guess.
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Before I go, try this:
http://funstufftosee.com/frogleaptest.html
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Back later…
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SG, just because one is very wise, doesn’t make them a centenarian. 😛
And no, I didn’t know that was a Mammy quote(Typed Manny at first, which kind of cracked me up) but now I see it in print, I do remember it. A great film!
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Mammy could play left but wouldn’t hit like Manny… unless you made her real mad. Prissy don’t know nuthin’ ’bout playin’ no baseball.
The leaping frogs must’ve put everybody to sleep.
It’s nice and rainy outside and cozy in here, so it’s off to the movies I go with my date (wife)… into the theatre (living room) after visiting the concession stand (kitchen) for hot buttered popcorn and a big, icy diet Coke.
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and saved about $40…. No such thing as a cheap date anymore….
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A 40,000 calorie diet with Diet Coke. That’ll work! 😆
I’m having a (second) piece of the most delicious Lemon Pudding Cake you ever tasted. Compliments of daughter Kelly! With decaf coffee. Ahhhhhh.
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at least not away from home…
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and it’s a lot more comfortable!
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Sounds like some cake I’d love!!!
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It really is superb, Ber!
‘Bout that time! See y’all in the morning! Sleep well!
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<A funny thing happened on the way to the forum…
Well, if the triptophan didn’t put me in a coma, last night’s movie sure did. Could hardly stay awake through the latest Indiana Jones flick, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Ok, my hopes were not high to say the least and I knew it would not be an Oscar contender, but figured it would at least be worth watching on TV. The buttered popcorn was good.
As far as the movie, even my lowest expectations were set too high. This Indy franchise has become such a half-hearted attempt at an action adventure series that it’s become a transparent façade. George Lucas, have you gone to the dark side? Have you joined Spielberg in mental La La Land?
I’ve come to expect a superficial, lowest common denominator, stilted comic interpretation of everything from Spielberg, but Indy has gotten too stupid to even get through for the special effects. The ‘thing’ is too violent for pre-teens and too idiotic for anyone over twelve.
Harrison Ford should be embarrassed the most. Watching his wax-like, Botox riddled character tromp through the movie was like watching the last half of Breakfast at Bernie’s Goes to Peru. Did he go all character actor crazy and shoot himself in the head so he could play ‘Regarding Henry’? Jack Ryan must’ve gotten captured and brainwashed.
Maybe I should be embarrassed the most for even watching it and wasting my time and yours by posting this critical rant, but I figured two of my favorite actors, Cate Blanchett and John Hurt would at least add interesting characters. Nope. They must’ve needed a paycheck or perhaps they just got enamored with the idea that it would be fun to make an Indy Jones movie with Spielberg. Bet they won’t make that mistake again.
Lucas and Spielberg have both made classics and their contributions have changed the film world. To see them stoop this low is sad in a way. Maybe they just do it for the money now and have lost the passion for great films. Or maybe they’ve just lost their good sense. That’s surely a danger when you become so highly successful that you have people around you day and night that are treating you like a god, sucking up, telling you how great you are and hanging on your every word.
Send a smart, talented individual into a social circle filled with ultra rich, ultra liberal, egocentric, narcissistic, myopic, self-serving clique with a hierarchy determined by fame and fortune and I suppose it would take real character to see through the ugliness and escape the trap of Kool-Aid psychosis. It’s a wonder these people can even walk the street without worrying about carbon footprints and talk to each other without wondering if Karl Marx would approve.
At the end of the day, is it those once talented for something other than printing money actors, producers and directors that have changed Hollywood, or is Tinsel Town and the elite, capitalist loathing socialists that ultimately changed them? There must be a dark cloud hanging over the whole place, but that’s another story.
You might have expected me to turn a simple movie review into a eco/socio/political babblefest, but still… 😆
So, is hot buttered popcorn really 40,000 calories? Yikes.
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A funny thing happened on the way to the forum…
Well, if the triptophan didn’t put me in a coma, last night’s movie sure did. Could hardly stay awake through the latest Indiana Jones flick, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Ok, my hopes were not high to say the least and I knew it would not be an Oscar contender, but figured it would at least be worth watching on TV. The buttered popcorn was good.
As far as the movie, even my lowest expectations were set too high. This Indy franchise has become such a half-hearted attempt at an action adventure series that it’s become a transparent façade. George Lucas, have you gone to the dark side? Have you joined Spielberg in mental La La Land?
I’ve come to expect a superficial, lowest common denominator, stilted comic interpretation of everything from Spielberg, but Indy has gotten too stupid to even get through for the special effects. The ‘thing’ is too violent for pre-teens and too idiotic for anyone over twelve.
Harrison Ford should be embarrassed the most. Watching his wax-like, Botox riddled character tromp through the movie was like watching the last half of Breakfast at Bernie’s Goes to Peru. Did he go all character actor crazy and shoot himself in the head so he could play ‘Regarding Henry’? Jack Ryan must’ve gotten captured and brainwashed.
Maybe I should be embarrassed the most for even watching it and wasting my time and yours by posting this critical rant, but I figured two of my favorite actors, Cate Blanchett and John Hurt would at least add interesting characters. Nope. They must’ve needed a paycheck or perhaps they just got enamored with the idea that it would be fun to make an Indy Jones movie with Spielberg. Bet they won’t make that mistake again.
Lucas and Spielberg have both made classics and their contributions have changed the film world. To see them stoop this low is sad in a way. Maybe they just do it for the money now and have lost the passion for great films. Or maybe they’ve just lost their good sense. That’s surely a danger when you become so highly successful that you have people around you day and night that are treating you like a god, sucking up, telling you how great you are and hanging on your every word.
Send a smart, talented individual into a social circle filled with ultra rich, ultra liberal, egocentric, narcissistic, myopic, self-serving clique with a hierarchy determined by fame and fortune and I suppose it would take real character to see through the ugliness and escape the trap of Kool-Aid psychosis. It’s a wonder these people can even walk the street without worrying about carbon footprints and talk to each other without wondering if Karl Marx would approve.
At the end of the day, is it those once talented for something other than printing money actors, producers and directors that have changed Hollywood, or is Tinsel Town and the elite, capitalist loathing socialists that ultimately changed them? There must be a dark cloud hanging over the whole place, but that’s another story.
You might have expected me to turn a simple movie review into a eco/socio/political babblefest, but still… 😆
So, is hot buttered popcorn really 40,000 calories? Yikes.
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No, silly! All the thanksgiving stuff plus snacks plus pies plus etc has gotta equal at least 40,000 calories! The popcorn was extra but offset by the Diet Coke! 😆 (And I’m one to talk! You shoulda seen my table! 😯 ) 😀
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Two posts? Hmmm… WordPress must’a liked. 😀
Enough of that Hollywood, anti-Marxist blather. There must be other windmills to attack. There must be a shorter, simpler subject to blog about without offending or boring denizens. Must be a good reason to post something nice and easy that does not require critical thought or wandering through my own social observations and assessments.
The weather? It’s stopped raining. The Hot-Stove? It’s cold. Jake Peavy? Who cares. Favorite songs? Too many to list. Cupcakes? Too sweet. BBQ? Like it. Poetry? Yes… that’s it!
Where’s my horse?
Where’s my sword.
What’s my course?
Surely not Harrison Ford.
So I’ll just ride away
to find another windmill
to attack this fine day.
Ride like the wind, I will
I’ll right all the wrongs.
No mountain too steep,
no sword, just broom and songs
it’s just the driveway I’ll sweep.
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Whew… that 40k calorie thing for buttering my popcorn had me worried. Usually we just spray it with the canned lite-butter stuff, but that hot butter was, mmm good. Finger lickin’ good.
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Now must ride off to attack the, uh, sweep the driveway. 🙄
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Good morning all, Well SG, at least you didn’t plop down $20 to watch that turkey…. Yes, that’s why Clint Eastwood said he would not reprise the Dirty Harry franchise. Said who wants to watch some 89 year old dude in a wheel chair chase the bad guys?..
Now, you want a movie that will really be worth your time and money and will allow you to experience all those emotions you thought you had lost? Go see Fireproof Marriage. Just a most excellent film and one I thought they had spied on my life to make… Really…. Right down to the smashing of the trash cans… (Watch the movie, you’ll understand)
Proves you don’t have to spend a lot of money to make a quality film….
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Just had my last turkey for at least the next three meals. Urp…
Gil, Fireproof Marriage is on my list to see. I’ve heard it’s good. There’s some good Sci-fi and fantasy stuff coming soon too, like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Seven Pounds and a remake of one of my old favorites, The Day The Earth Stood Still.
From the Batman movies, The Dark Knight was good as was Batman, The Beginning, if you like that sort of thing. The rest, with the exception of Jack Nicholson as Joker and Jim Carey’s role, were just comic fluff. Other than those, the superhero comic stuff gets very old very fast. Maybe I’m forgetting one or two. Iron Man was decent, I enjoyed it (at home on TV) but I wouldn’t really recommend it as a must see for anyone other than Marvel movie fans. Robert Downey, Jr. has had his troubles but the guy can act and was good as Iron Man.
The film, Slum-Dog Millionaire is gonna be hard to top.
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Tazawa rejects all offers except Boston’s:
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081129&content_id=3695687&vkey=hotstove2008&fext=.jsp
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SG… I generally enjoy most of the comic book hero genre but often skip it when viewing with the wife. I like some of the sci fi but not the over the top special effects stuff. I like a lot of the older westerns and a few of the new ones. I am not too much into the anti hero stuff.
Needless to say, Hollywood is in trouble if they are waiting on me to bail them out. I have no problem with the usual taboos but I am turned off when they are tossed in for the shock factor. I’ve had enough shock and awe in my real life to last a lifetime.
CL… Only confirms what we already suspected. I hope he likes New England better than Manny…. He will find those folks can turn on you pretty fast.
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CL…saw your reference to the Stargate SG-1 series. Our family used to gather round the tube every Friday night, back in the days when it was on Showtime. We have most all of the seasons. Good stuff…great cast chemistry, which was one of the biggest reasons we watched. When a cast can demonstrate ‘unspoken communication’ on the screen, they have ‘it’!
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An engineer was crossing a road one day when a frog called out to him
and said, “If you kiss me I’ll turn into a beautiful princess”.
He bent over, picked up the frog and put it in his pocket.
The frog spoke up again and said: “If you kiss me and turn me back into a beautiful princess, I’ll stay with you.”
The engineer took the frog out of his pocket, smiled at it and returned it to the pocket.
The frog then cried out: “If you kiss me and turn me back into a princess, I’ll stay with you and do ANYTHING you want.”
Again the engineer took the frog out, smiled at it and put it back into his pocket.
Finally the frog asked: “What is the matter? I’ve told you I’m a beautiful princess, that I’ll stay with you and do anything you want. Why won’t you kiss me?”
The engineer said: “Look I’m an engineer. I don’t have time for a girlfriend, but a talking frog, now that’s cool.”
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What is the difference between Mechanical Engineers and Civil Engineers?
Mechanical Engineers build weapons.
Civil Engineers build targets. 😯
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Two engineering students were walking across campus when one said, “Where did you get such a great bike?” The second engineer replied: “Well, I was walking along yesterday minding my own business when a beautiful woman rode up on this bike. She threw the bike to the ground, took off all her clothes and said, ‘Take what you want.'”
The second engineer nodded approvingly:
“Good choice; the clothes probably wouldn’t have fit.” 🙄
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I’m ‘engineering’ some early morning domination! 👿
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To the optimist, the glass is half full.
To the pessimist, the glass is half empty.
To the engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
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By the way…I’m not an engineer! 😈 perhaps, but, harmless, too!
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Something tells me Gil will like this one!
There was an engineer who had an exceptional gift for fixing all things mechanical. After serving his company loyally for over 30 years, he happily retired. Several years later the company contacted him regarding a seemingly impossible problem they were having with one of their multimillion-dollar machines. They had tried everything and everyone else to get the machine to work, but to no avail. In desperation, they called on the retired engineer who had solved so many of their problems in the past. The engineer reluctantly took the challenge. He spent a day studying the huge machine.
At the end of the day, he marked a small “x” in chalk on a particular component of the machine and stated: “This is where your problem is.”
The part was replaced and the machine worked perfectly again. The company received a bill for $50,000 from the engineer for his service. They demanded an itemized accounting of his charges.
The engineer responded briefly: One chalk mark: $1.00. Knowing where to put it: $49,999.00.
It was paid in full and the engineer retired again in peace.
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An architect, an artist and an engineer were discussing whether it was better to spend time with the wife or a mistress.
The architect said he enjoyed time with his wife, building a solid foundation for an enduring relationship.
The artist said he enjoyed time with his mistress, because of the passion and mystery he found there.
The engineer said he liked both because if you have a wife and a mistress, they will each assume you are spending time with the other woman, and you can go to the lab and get some work done.
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Normal people believe that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Engineers believe that if it ain’t broke, it doesn’t have enough features yet.
(I don’t get it…if it ain’t broke…why would it need fixin’? 😕 )
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The graduate with a Science degree asks, “Why does it work?”
The graduate with an Engineering degree asks, “How does it work?”
The graduate with an Accounting degree asks, “How much will it cost?”
The graduate with an Arts degree asks, “Do you want fries with that?”
Oh, Dear! 😆
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A pastor, a doctor and an engineer were waiting one morning for a particularly slow group of golfers. The engineer fumed: “What’s with these guys? We must have been waiting for 15 minutes!”
The doctor chimed in: “I don’t know, but I’ve never seen such ineptitude!”
The pastor said: “Hey, here comes the green keeper. Let’s have a word with him.” ….. “Hi, George what’s with that group ahead of us? They’re rather slow, aren’t they?”
The green keeper replied: “Oh, yes, that’s a group of blind fire-fighters.
They lost their sight saving our clubhouse from a fire last year, so we always let them play for free anytime.”
The group was silent for a moment.
The pastor said: “That’s so sad. I think I will say a special prayer for them tonight.”
The doctor said: “Good idea. And I’m going to contact my ophthalmologist buddy and see if there’s anything he can do for them.”
The engineer said, “Why can’t these guys play at night?”
(Nothing like pragmatism!)
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Terrific, Salty! Love starting off my day with a smile and chuckle! 😆
Those are some good ones!
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Blog-ination is mine….all mine!! Purely unfiltered, too! 😛
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Coffee (or Diet Coke) and humor…a good combination! 😆 Salty was here…and out! Have a good ‘un, CL…and all of Stuff-ville!
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Have a great day, Salty!
I went to the Braves MLB site, saw that Chipper needs votes (Hitter) for the TYIB award. Entered the info and it refuses to recognize my email address; says email invalid. 😡 So I guess I don’t get to vote. growl…..
http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=atl
Baseball news is dead on Thanksgiving weekend!
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Os may be third team in Cubs-Peavy deal
http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081129&content_id=3695822&vkey=hotstove2008&fext=.jsp
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I would not worry too much about it, if Peavy goes to the Orioles, the Braves won’t have to face him. I think it’s bluff. Roberts was a great second baseman, lots of pop in his bat… However, they started testing for PEDs and he turned into Marcus Giles….
The pundits are trying to stay relevant during the highten football season. The more likely deals are those which you don’t hear much about until they are done. Just the way the Braves seem to operate.
I think Towers is still trying to play mind games with Frank Wren. That said, I don’t know why the Padres would take Garrett Olson and not accept Charlie Morton or even Jo Jo.
Pie is no better than Atlanta’s Anderson and only marginally better than Gregor Blanco. Pie has speed but lacks the arm necessary for a strong centerfielder.
Salty, the thing I have felt was always true about engineers is they seem to have the misconception that anything they design will never need repair so they therefore design every machine so the most expensive and difficult procedure is always required.
Don’t believe it, try changing the starter on a Ford Pinto….
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Gil…don’t go literal on me. The joke was more about companies sending folks along into retirement, etc., oblivious to the talent. I know more folks making money at their former employer when they’re supposedly retired. Go figure. 🙄
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Much good engineer, Giles and Towers humor on the blog today.
Ford Pinto starters may be difficult to change, but they do have heated rear windows. Keeps the hands warm while pushing.
Speaking of making cars go, what would happen if you put a snail on a Salty?
S car go?
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Salty, my comments were may with my tongue firmly in cheek… 🙂 Did not mean to sound cheeky….
Anyway, I thought about becoming an engineer but didn’t like trains all that much….
And more hot stove news… more like leftovers…. Seems like the log jam is at the top with the obstructions being Sabathia, Burnette and to a lesser degree Lowe and Johnson. Once those kingpins fall, the rest will happen pretty quickly I think.
I watch the movie “Shooter” last night. Good guy flick, as a date movie, not so much…. Walberg is the new tough guy of film ala Eastwood, Bronson and Stallone.
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I really shouldn’t rag on the Pinto… Huumm, bad choice of words.. Anyway, the funniest stories always came from former Yugo owners….
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Yes… that was an adaptation of a Yugo joke.
There should also be plenty of Gremlin jokes, but they would be old and dusty.
I don’t know beans about Pintos.
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Speaking of making cars go, what would happen if you put a snail on a Salty?
S car go?
Would it dry up? 😕
Gil…sorry, didn’t catch the tongue…thought you were chewing! 😛
SG…keep hands warm…classic! 😆
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The funniest thing about Yugo jokes is most of them are based on real life experiences.
Sitting here watching the Redskins stink up the place against the Giants…
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Q. What did the pedestrian say after being run over by a Yugo?
A. The joke’s on me.
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Is it even physically possible for a Yugo to run over a person? I can see being flipped…or rolled over! I mean the car, not the pedestrian! 😆
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Remember how NBC used to run Yugo ads during the game of the week??? I still can hear Vin Scully saying, whereever you go, I go!!! 😀
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How do you double the value of a Yugo?
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Fill the tank with gas… 😀
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What comes with every Yugo User’s Manual?
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A bus schedule… 😀
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Overhead at an auto parts store:
Man: “I need a windshield wiper blade for a Yugo.”
Clerk: “Well, only if you throw $20 into the trade.”
😆
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What do you call a Yugo with a flat tire?
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Totalled… 😀
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ROFLMAO…..
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Yu*go (yoo-go)
n. 1) Small, economical, Yugoslavian-built automobile.
2) 4×4 hood ornament.
adj. 1) What doesn’t happen when you press the accelerator.
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So nothing happening while I was at Disney? If any of Melissa’s pictures from Sat. night turn out I’ll have to show them to y’all. They put the most amazing Christmas lights on Cinderella Castle. It’s like a sparkling crystal ice castle. Gorgeous.
Gil, the first new car my dad ever bought was a little Pinto station wagon. Ran like a top for about 15 years, including many loaded-down road trips to SC & back.
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Pretty funny guys! 😆
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FUNNY stuff! 😆
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Lots of stuff happened!
The Pirates signed Dinesh Patel and Rinku Singh, two finalists in India’s Million Dollar Arm competition, to minor league contracts.
The Astros acquired Tyler Lumsden from Kansas City for cash considerations or player to be named later; The Brewers signed R.J. Swindle to a major league deal, and the Red Sox acquired Wes Littleton from the Rangers for cash considerations or a player to be named later as well.
Ok, you were right, nothing happened….
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Swindle has to be a Boras client.
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Swindle has to be a Boras client
😆
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My assumption is that Peavy will eventually land with the Braves. No matter how long they wait, the Padres likely won’t get a package better than the one the Braves were offering two weeks ago. –Mark Bowman
Well, Bowman’s finally back on the optimistic side…
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Good morning folks… The rain has finally moved on this morning. Wow, talk about a cold wet miserable day. Yesterday sure was one of those. Yep, baseball should be getting back on the beam now, enough time eating turkey, time for them to start talking turkey….
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Due to payroll problems, Houston won’t “move forward” in negotiations with free-agent left-hander Randy Wolf, [GM Ed] Wade told the Houston Chronicle. Wolf, 32, was a key cog in Houston’s second-half surge last season. He went 6-2 with a 3.57 ERA in 12 starts after being acquired from San Diego.
I know he isn’t on most people’s “top tier” list, but he is an effective lefty that might go well in the rotation should Wren pony up the $$$ for A.J. Burnett.
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Today is arb day for FA’s. Only Smoltz was a Type B or better FA for the Braves, and they declined to offer arbitration. It’s no reflection on Smoltz or their relationship, merely a business formality.
Now that the picture becomes more clear for teams signing Type A or B FA’s, maybe the stove will heat up a bit…
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Wolf would not be a bad “plan B” choice should some of the other Braves options fall through. I am sure a lot of teams are in the position right now of wanting to get the most bang for their buck.
I look for San Francisco to be a big player at the Winter meetings. They have a good pitching tandem so now it’s time for them to generate some offense. I don’t know how many folks noticed but they were playing pretty stout baseball towards the end of last season.
I can understand why the Cubs feel they only need some minor tweaks to their team this year. They have a solid ball club with good chemistry. Their early exit was against a hot team in the 2008 playoffs.
The team I expect to see the biggest drop off from will be the Brewers. Poor management from the top down plus a scrooge mentality permeates from the Selig family.
Now saving money is a virtue but like the Pirates, they have taken ineptitude to a new level. Okay, you may have to throw in the Orioles with that bunch. Problem with the Orioles has not been the lack of desire to spend but in the execution of their plan. Another reason an owner needs to hire good baseball people and then get out of the way.
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Look out for the Marlins next year too, I don’t think 2008 was a fluke. They have been very good at getting quality prospects when they have traded away their stars. The kid they picked up from Washington for Olsen is a real gem.
Funny how the Braves are always looking to strengthen their line up from the right side. There is a reason the Braves face more left handed starters than any other team….
Until they prove they can beat them, that trend will continue.
I still think the Braves made a mistake in releasing Javy last year and keeping Corky. Does anyone else think Javy would not have hit at least 150 points higher than Miller. Lopez would have been a feared hitter coming off the bench too.
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Corky was… I don’t know what Corky was. How do you explain that? And what will they do this year? It has been overshadowed by the pitching/LF talk, but it is a need. Paul Bako part II?
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Bowman mentions the possibility of having Furcal and Escobar in the same infield next year. If I were Kotchman, I would suit up like a hockey goalie the way those two throw.
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Defensive catchers are fairly prolific. It’s finding one that hits above the Francouer Line that is difficult…
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B Mac isn’t in the starting line up for his defensive prowess… Just about any work he does in that area will be an improvement. I don’t think defense is going to be Flowers ticket to the bigs next year either.
I’m still trying to figure why the Braves shipped off Pena… Not like they are that deep at the catching position.
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Speaking of Smoltz…
As the offseason grows older and last season fades further into the past, I am beginning to gain a certain sentiment that might be a bit unpopular here. I think I am ready for Smoltz to simply retire. He has come back from so many major surgeries. And don’t fool yourself; this last shoulder surgery was a major surgery. There is certainly no guarantee that he can still pitch even if he wants to. I think it’s time for the Braves and for Smoltz, (and let’s include Glav in this conversation), to all turn the page and move forward. The Big Three (Maddux, Smoltz, Glavine) can all retire together and all go into the HOF together, as it should be. Smoltz can begin his promising post-playing career as a broadcaster with the Braves, who have a couple of mighty big holes to fill in that department too.
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Raisins, I think the Braves are going to give John every opportunity to fail. I don’t think Smoltz will try to continue at a level less than his best. That said, I will be sad when John hangs them up for good, however, he is closer to the end than the beginning of his career. Far too often we have watched players hang on too long and we have seen them diminish their own stature.
You are right in the fact it was major surgery, one where success has been suspect at best. John has come back before so I don’t think there is any illusion as to what he is facing. What I do feel confident about is Frank Wren is not counting on him to be a part of the Braves staff in 2009. If Smoltz defies reality and is able to contribute, great, but like you Raisins, I would hate to see him just hang on.
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680 the Fan is reporting that Hampton has agreed to terms on a 1 year deal with the ‘stros. Bye-bye, Mikey.
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DAMN!!!!!
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MLB.com is reporting the same thing. So much for “loyalty.”
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Was anybody really counting on him as an integral part of next year’s rotation anyway? I wasn’t…
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With Houston in cost-cutting mode, and now having signed Hampton, does this mean they are not in the hunt for Wolf? I’d rather have Wolf than Hampton…
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counting on Hampton? well, not as a number one but as a positive force in the rotation, yes. I will wait to see if Braves made an offer or not before making further comments.
one thing about Atlanta, you don’t have to worry about developing a long term relationship with any player. They have more turnover in their roster than your local McDonalds…
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The Braves would pick up their efforts to sign Furcal only if they include shortstop Yunel Escobar in another deal. Escobar would be part of any Atlanta package for Jake Peavy. And the Cardinals and Royals also have expressed interest. –Jayson Stark
The Royals? Who would they offer? Greinke? This plot has definitely thickened…
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Well, I bet the offer from Houston is a straight offer with no options, from what I have just read at MLBtraderumors.com. I think Wren is pretty smart, but I sure hope he wasn’t trying to make the one year deal incentive laden….
I was expecting him to be a 5th, or possibly 4th guy if healthy.
Wolf was better last year, he looked terrible to me a few times in 2007….I think he was injured…I don’t know, just can’t get too excited about Wolf…
We could really be in a bind next year, IMHO…Morton I have hope in still, Jo-Jo, not so much. Jurrjens is our only for sure guy, correct??? Can that be???
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Gil, I don’t think Atlanta failed to properly offer Hampton, rather he wants to be closer to his kids in Phoenix, with him going through a divorce. I’m sure that Wren & Co. would have given him the same deal if not for Hampton’s personal situation.
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V, that makes sense….
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Oh yeah, Hanson will get a spot in the rotation as well…it will be comical to hear the braves act like he will get a shot to make the team in spring training….
Burnett, Hanson and Jurrjens sounds like 3 good power arms and Wolf and Morton, Jo-Jo, etc rounding out the back end, that’s not too bad really…but, got to sign Burnett….if we lose out on him, do we have to take a shot at Sheets??? Shot at Sheets?? Surely someone soon should supply some silliness stuff.
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The guy across the street is reporting that the Braves offer to Hampton was actually for MORE $$$.
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Okay… That means I drop Hampton from my official Christmas card list….
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Well, the Brew offered arb to Sheets, further mucking up his contract chances. Now, in order to sign the injury-waiting-to-happen, a team has to give up a draft pick.
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V, I am still confused, if we signed Sheets, we, being a bottom 15 team, do we give up a sandwich pick, 2nd round, nothing???
And if Hampton signed for less, to be closer to his family, can you really be that mad at him???
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“During his six-season employment (2003-08) with the Braves, Hampton made a total of 85 starts, notched 35 wins, completed 590 2/3 innings and collected a salary of $84.5 million. The Braves were responsible for $48.5 million of that total, some of which was covered by insurance when the veteran left-handed hurler missed the 2006 and ’07 seasons, while recovering from separate elbow surgeries.”
“Simply using the portion owed by the Braves — not counting the insurance dollars, the return on investment is still staggering. The Braves paid him approximately $1.39 million per win, $570,000 per start and $95,000 per inning.” – Mark Bowman
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Here’s the skinny:
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2008/07/free-agent-comp.html
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Funny thing baseball….
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Thanks V!!!
Let’s say the Yankees sign Dunn. The Reds will then receive one ’09 draft pick from the Yankees. If the Yankees have, say, the 22nd overall pick next June, the Reds get that in addition to their own normal first round pick. The Reds also get a supplemental draft pick squeezed in between the first and second round of the draft.
The Reds only get the Yankees’ first-round pick if it falls between #16-30. The first 15 picks are protected. So if the Nationals sign Dunn, the Reds are kind of screwed because they do not get the Nats’ #2 overall pick. Instead, they get the Nats’ second round pick and the supplemental pick.
So…is the supplemental pick another name for the sandwich pick????
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Gee Berigan, that’s a good question you asked 9 hours ago, but I don’t have the answer! 😕 Have you thought of googling, instead of relying on other people to provide the answers to all your questions??? 🙄
Shut up, you’re not the boss of me!!!! 😡
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Ok, the mud is a bit thinner for me to see through, but still a bit muddy. Supplemental=Sandwich, just wish they wouldn’t use both terms….
http://soxprospects.wikispaces.com/MLB+Compensatory+Draft+Pick+System
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Braves ask about Oswalt, Greinke
The Braves may have been shot down in their attempt to trade for Jake Peavy, but they’re still actively hunting for potential top-of-the-rotation starters, reports ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark. According to clubs that have spoken with them, they inquired recently about Astros ace Roy Oswalt and Royals ace-in-waiting Zack Greinke.
But those sources indicate neither mission got very far. The Astros have been telling teams Oswalt isn’t available. And the Royals have been informing clubs that asked about Greinke that they’re not inclined to move him, although they may at least listen to offers next week at the winter meetings.
If those talks reopen, the Braves — who would like to add two starting pitchers — figure to be at the front of the line. But for the moment, they’re still just trying to put together a realistic shopping list.
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Eh… found some Peavy stuff but decided not to post it. I am so tired of him that I don’t know if I could even like him if he came here. Of course, after a few wins, I could change my mind. 😀
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According to mlbtraderumors.com, this is a list of players offered arbitration by their current teams:
Type A (15 players)
A.J. Burnett
Orlando Cabrera
Juan Cruz
Brian Fuentes
Orlando Hudson
Raul Ibanez
Derek Lowe
Darren Oliver
Oliver Perez
Manny Ramirez
Francisco Rodriguez
C.C. Sabathia
Ben Sheets
Mark Teixeira
Jason Varitek
Type B (9 players)
Casey Blake
Milton Bradley
Paul Byrd
Jon Garland
Mark Grudzielanek
Brandon Lyon
Dennys Reyes
Brian Shouse
David Weathers
Surprisingly not offered arbitration:
Bobby Abreu
Joe Beimel
Pat Burrell
Adam Dunn
Braden Looper
Jamie Moyer
Randy Wolf
Kerry Wood
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A.J. Burnett, Braden Looper, Randy Wolf…
Let’s sign ’em all. 😀
$(&#* Jake Peavy.
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Raisins! Watch your language! 😛
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Sorry… the whole Peavy thing makes me tired.
I can’t see the hold up. Regardless of how Towers is trying to spin it, there is only realistically one team that can match up with SD in a trade (a trade that Towers admittedly must make) and that’s Atlanta. He’s trying to inflate the market by making up crap. It just ticks me off. Get the deal done and move on. What’s the problem? If you could tell voice inflection from my typing, you would hear my voice progressively getting higher and louder. It’s just so freakin’ frustrating!
And the potential deal is holding up additional progress on Atlanta’s part. I am convinced that Furcal is genuinely interested in returning and is at least giving Frank a little more time to work with, but that time won’t last forever. Other deals involving Yunel/KJ may be in talking stages, but can’t progress. Somebody needs to fish or cut bait… period. This whole game playin’ mess by supposedly mature adults just doesn’t sit well with me.
😐
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Successful business people don’t fart around for 3 months and then sift through what’s left. They set a positive course of action and implement it. They make things happen. Successful business people dictate action, they don’t react to it. You can’t compete from a defensive stance; you can’t win a wresting match on your back. If I ran my business defensively, I’d have been out of business long ago…
OK… I’ve ranted enough. 🙄
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V, successful business people that is! Padres ain’t that anymore! 😉
Seriously, trying to be unbiased, the Padres see the the Diamondbacks gave up for Dan Haren, and are not seeing the same kind of offers for Peavy….I am still surprised that some other team, like the Angels haven’t been going after him. A lot cheaper than CC, could sign Tex and get him….they have more talent than room on the big club….
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One last thing…
I have no reason, YET, to lack any faith in Frank Wren. He has a plan, he has available assets. My fear is that he is doing what KJ did during his slump last season. He is watching good pitches go by while looking for the perfect pitch. While I certainly do not want him to “chase stuff out of the zone” ala Francoeur, I think you have to be aggressive, or you allow the pitcher to dictate the at bat.
OK… done now.
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Then again, he is swinging a $40M+ very fragile maple bat. He’d better hit the sweet spot. 😀
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I posted this on the jazz baord I sometimes frequent since there are many more folks there, but curious if anyone here has any suggestions…
About 2 Christmases ago, I got a JVC DVD recorder combo, since I have tons of old Beta tapes to copy(We’ve had a beta since 1980) and even some of the older VHS tapes were in dire need of transfer. Saw this unit at HH Gregg , recorded and played all DVD formats. My older Philips DVD recorder(Which has since given up the ghost) only would only record DVD +R, and DVD +RW discs. And thought, might as well get an extended warranty, since plain ol’ DVD players were dying on me every year or so, and with to recorder/players inside more potential for trouble. And I have hundreds of tapes to transfer, eventually.
Normally, I avoid these(extended warranties) like the plague, everything I read about them says they are more or less a waste of money(except perhaps on big ticket items) but, for $40 I would have 3 years of no worries. I seem to recall the salesman say, if it ever breaks down just bring it on in!
Even grabbed a 2nd one for my birthday in 06,(And another warranty) since I liked it so much.
Well, the one in my bedroom has 2 issues. It makes a fair bit of noise, I assume it’s the fan on the back of it, and now the drawer will not close most of the time you hit the button, sometimes I even have to unplug the sucker to shut it off!!!
So, I went into their store, since I knew I had the receipt….somewheres…to see if I really needed it, or if they could look me up in the system. They could, and did…Now, I didn’t really want to be without a recorder for too long, but I figured it might be a week. So, when I asked her how long it would take(No repairs are done in store) she said… 4 to 6 weeks!!! WTF???? Bring it in today, and in mid January, you will be right back to recording??? You have to be kidding me!!! I did forget to ask if there’s any chance of a “loaner” but that sounds like something that should be damn near illegal. I know I got no warranty paperwork, it was just bring it in with your receipt if you have any problems with the unit.
So, long story short, what should I do??? It may just be a minor repair that any old shop could do, but it pisses me off after giving them 80 bucks that I should have to spend money to get it fixed.
Should I raise a stink at the store level??? Say the unit is broken, and that I want a new one, that I’m not going to do without a dvd player/recorder for a month and a half??? Somehow, I don’t think that’s going to work.
I see a Customer Relations phone # on their site….I can call them later on…I just feel like I am missing something,
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What to do in a Terrorist Attack
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Good morning all, still no SG? Voting, right?
Yes, it’s hard to dance when everyone else wants to be a wallflower. Good analogy Raisins.
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Gil, that are funny! 😀 I need to vote…had 4 hours sleep, so…Jim Martin is the guy, right??? 😕
Would have left sooner, but some arse on the jazz board had to somehow turn my post about extended warranty issues into a political rant against me.
sigh…and his side won…I thought great thing about Obama winning was that lefties would just sing and whistle and be happy 24/7.
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Lefties are never happy and they are the only ones who are ever right.
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VOR, I know what you mean. I’m not even reading any Peavy stuff now. 🙄
23 days ’til Christmas, kids! Everyone done shopping?
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Everyone done shopping?
I dunno… I’ll have to ask my wife.
😀
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Have you bought something for her?
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Gil:
Thorman signs a Minor League deal with the Brewers…
http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/35336214.html
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Have you bought something for her?
I dunno… I’ll have to ask, er… nevermind… 😯
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Question: why do non-Christians buy CHRISTmas presents?? hmmmm. What are they celebrating? Just wondering.
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CL, I guess that’s why there was such a strong push to make it a generic holiday….I am so glad to hear ads these days actually saying Merry Christmas…
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Isn’t it funny how many teams didn’t even offer arbitration to their players??? Arizona might have gotten stuck with Dunn for a whole year?? Heck, they could have even traded him for something come July, but instead get nothing for him.
the Yankees can’t afford one year of Bobby Abreu? Phillies didn’t want any picks for Pat the bat???? Weird….
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And the Tigers are not willing to have Edgar at SS even for one more year. So they gave us Jurrjens and Gorkys Hernandez and now have absolutely nothing to show for it…not even draft picks. And they are weak in their system again…for some strange unknown reason…
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Don’t think the Tigers are weak. However, the trades made with Atlanta and Florida didn’t help them very much.
Good for Scott, now, if they will just tie a martingale to his bat to shorten his swing, he might raise his average, cut down on his strike outs and still have him hit 25 homers. Of course, nothing is going to improve his defense….
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Wounded deer attacks hunter who shot him
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/dec/02/wounded-deer-attacks-hunter-who-shot-him/
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It’s appropriate that Thorman is going to camp with the Brewers… he’s Rob Deer reincarnated.
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How ’bout that…
2 “deer” comments in a row. 😀
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😆 Oh dear!!! (someone was going to do it)
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Y’all are dears! 😀
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Yes, another topic dear to me… My message is either become a better shot or start hunting quail…
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Vasquez to the Braves…bye bye Lilli and maybe Flowers 😯 ? Hmm…need to join the cows and ruminate over this one.
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Major League sources told the Web site that the White Sox could receive as many as three players in return for Vazquez. The report said that left-hander Jo-Jo Reyes and infielder Brent Lillibridge are among the names under discussion.
Vazquez, 32, posted a 12-16 record with a 4.67 ERA for the White Sox in 2008. The right-hander has spent seven of his 11 Major League seasons in the National League, and there are some who believe a return to the NL could benefit Vazquez.
The right-hander is under contract through 2010 and will earn $11.5 million in each of the next two seasons. The contract also includes a limited no-trade clause, which reportedly blocks trades only to teams in the NL West and American League West. – MLB.com
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We were shopping for an ace, right? Right??
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from DOB: It’s done but for the physical.
Not sure yet if Flowers is in it, but I think he is. Lillbridge and Reyes are, and braves get Boone Logan, a young lefty who supposedly has a great arm and really pitched well in the first half of his first big-league season before fading some.
I just can’t believe they’d give up Flowers. Just can’t.
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Yeah CL…Seeing as how the Braves are so deep at the catching position. Funny how a kid can be untouchable for Pravy but go for Vazquez. Not surprised to see Lilly and JoJo go however..
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Man, I just got on the computer for the first time since this afternoon…I sure hope Flowers isn’t in it!!!
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I see Boone Logan had 2 good months for the ChiSox, May and June. April his ERA was 4.35, July 11.00, August(only 4 games) 18.00 on the nose, as was his ERA in Sept.
And…..a lot cheaper than Will Ohman. 🙄
Javier Vazquez is a decent starter, a 3 or 4. The 200 Plus innings are nice each year, but he has been doing that in the AL. if the braves are tied 3-3 in the 6th, you know he’s going to be pulled for a pinch hitter though.
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from Mark Bowman –
According to a source with knowledge of the negotiations, the Braves and White Sox have agreed to terms on a six-player trade that will bring right-hander Vazquez and left-handed reliever Boone Logan to Atlanta.
Vazquez will arrive in Atlanta early on Wednesday afternoon to undergo a physical. The deal could be formally announced by both teams later that day or on Thursday.
From a five-player list provided by the Braves, the White Sox have chosen four players. Two of those players are believed to be shortstop Brent Lillibridge and Minor League catcher Tyler Flowers, who greatly improved his stock while hitting .387 with 12 homers in 20 Arizona Fall League games this year.
The White Sox have also chosen two other players who are yet unidentified, but contrary to earlier reports, the Braves never offered left-handed pitcher Jo-Jo Reyes.
While Vazquez doesn’t provide the Braves the top-caliber starting pitcher they’ve been seeking, he does provide a solid veteran presence that their rotation currently lacks. The 32-year-old right-hander has won at least 10 games and completed at least 198 innings during each of the past nine seasons.
“He’s a real quality pitcher, and he’s always wanted to pitch for the Braves,” a Major League source said in reference to Vazquez, who went 12-16 with a 4.67 ERA in 33 starts for the White Sox this past season.
They offered that much for that caliber of pitcher??? I’m already disgusted. You pay big bucks for a Jaguar, not for a used VW!
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In 11 seasons, he’s had 6 winning years, the best was 2001 with
16W 11L 3.42ERA 32G 32GS 5CG 3SO
The next was 2007 with
15W 8L 3.74ERA 32G 32GS 2CG 0SO
Career totals:
127W 129L 4.32ERA 355G 353GS 23CG 7SO
2270.2IP 2270H 1169R 1089ER 300HR 75HBP 604BB 2015SO
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Methinks the Braves gave too much…. Looks like Charlotte is going to be loaded next year. All those guys who live in Atlanta who wanted to see Flowers play will get the chance when the Knights play Gwinnette.
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I really would have thought Flowers was worth more…this whole off season has been crazy, if you ask me. Only two teams want a cheap #1 like Peavy??? I know the Padres can’t take on any salary, but still…the Marlins got the best prospect in baseball for Josh Beckett, they always get a ton of talent when they have a fire sale. Haren brought in a lot for the A’s.
No teams are willing to even offer arbitration to A caliber guys, so they get nothing…all over the place as usual….will make a point in a second…
Why didn’t we offer Flowers to the Padres??? Or did we??? It seems Yunel and Flowers would have been a great haul for the Fathers…
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I’m OK with this. I know there’s a lot of wailing over Flowers but that’s just cause he’s the flavor of the month. He sounds like a DH-in-waiting.
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sigh Everytime I show up, y’all disappear. 😦
I come in peace … and I have cookies.
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Just slide the cookies under the door…. 🙂
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I’m OK with this. I know there’s a lot of wailing over Flowers but that’s just cause he’s the flavor of the month. He sounds like a DH-in-waiting.
I totally agree. He is absolutely destined for DH, no question. All the hype being built was simply for the purpose of value-building. I think it was imperative that Frank trade Flowers this off-season because, IMHO, his stock will never again be this high.
That being said, it was a hefty price for Vasquez, but the price for pitching is hefty. No way around it. Don’t think that Atlanta was the only team bidding for Vasquez. As for Frank’s willingness to include Flowers in a deal for Peavy, maybe he was willing. We don’t know what occurred in those negotiations, only that they broke off. And the way they broke off, quickly and quite publicly, makes one think that it may have been a bit contentious. I think Towers kept asking for more. It appears that they would come to a close agreement, and Towers would ask for more. I still don’t have a good feeling about dealing for Peavy, and apparently alot of other GM’s don’t either.
Now, before the gnashing of the teeth becomes very loud over Vasquez, remember two things. The ChiSox home park is a hitter’s park, and the AL has the DH. He’ll have a more pitcher friendly home in the Ted, and no DH. Look, he’s clearly not the #1 ace we need, but the Winter Meetings haven’t even cranked up. If Frank will acquires a #1, and Vasquez, and his innings-eating durability which will help our bullpen, gets slotted at 2, I’m OK with that. If we don’t get the bona-fide #1, it’s a different story. But I believe Vasquez is a good pickup as a #2.
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If Frank will acquires a #1
Um, if Frank still acquires a #1… 😳
Gimme a break. It’s early.
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Comment found across the street:
“We just traded Flowers for a pair of old Sox? Something doesn’t smell right.”
😆
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Tragic story about Henry Blanco’s brother:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3740452
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By the way…
Don’t forget the young lefty reliever the Braves got back. If you compare his ’08 numbers to the ’07 numbers Wil Ohman had achieved prior to his acquisition, Boone’s actually look better…
And there is still an offer on the table for Ohman, lest we forget.
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Another reason I don’t wish to visit Venezuela.
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This Boone kid may be passed along in another trade to fill another hole. It just feels like there is something else afoot because the bullpen really isn’t a place of need. You know, SD kept demanding Major League ready young pitching…
I’m just sayin’…
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Someone to take Boyer’s spot on the roster….
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After looking at all of the doomsayers across the street, I think we only need to answer one question after this trade: Are the Braves a better team today than they were yesterday. I think that answer is YES.
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You have a point Raisins, he is at least as good as Olsen in Baltimore. Sounds like he developed some arm issues. Young pitchers are notorious about not saying anything and trying to pitch through a problem.
I think the change in scenery will do Lillibridge a world of good. Sometimes that what it takes. I imagine another high profile player will be going to the Soxs. Likely the Braves could not get in touch with the traded players to let them know ahead of it being reported in the paper.
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On to another topic, and a more definitive answer for Berigan from yesterday:
Arbitration effects for Braves
If the Braves sign A.J. Burnett, the cost is going to be greater than the four or five-year contract they’ll need to provide. Because the Blue Jays made a salary arbitration offer to Burnett, any team that signs him will have to compensate the Blue Jays with two draft picks.
But because the Braves have one of the first 15 selections (7th overall) in next year’s Draft, they won’t have to relinquish their first-round pick. Instead, the compensation they’d provide for signing any Type A free agent (which Burnett is) would be a sandwich selection between the first and second rounds and their second-round pick.
If the Braves end up signing Paul Byrd or Jon Garland, they won’t be forced to provide compensation. Byrd and Garland are Type B free agents who were offered arbritration by the Red Sox and Angels, respectively. By doing so, these two teams produced the opportunity to receive a compensatory draft pick if they lose them via free agency. But because these two veteran pitchers are Type B free agents, the signing team wouldn’t relinquish any of their own draft picks.
Currently, the Braves aren’t in the market for a shortstop. But if they end up trading Yunel Escobar, they’d like to sign either Rafael Furcal or Edgar Renteria. Teams will be able to sign either of them without having to provide compensatory draft picks. Renteria was classified as a Type A free agent. But the Tigers didn’t provide him a salary arbitration offer. — Mark Bowman
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I like Mark Bowman’s perspective on the trade, and I totally agree:
Braves fit first piece of puzzle
Given that they recently spent nearly a month anticipating the day Jake Peavy would become a Brave, you can forgive the fact that Braves fans aren’t popping champagne bottles to celebrate the trade that brings Javier Vazquez from the White Sox. But at the same time you can’t overlook how valuable Vazquez could prove to be a rotation that still exists as a work in progress.
To get Vazquez, who has won at least 10 games and completed at least 198 innings during each of the past nine seasons, the Braves had to give up Tyler Flowers, who is a catcher best suited to serve as a designated hitter, Brent Lillibridge, who is a 25-year-old shortstop who looked totally overmatched against both Major League and Minor League pitchers this past season, and two other marginal Minor League prospects.
Vazquez, who is just one year removed from a career-best 15-win season, will team with Jair Jurrjens to solidify the middle of the rotation. The Braves remain confident that they’ll be able to lure A.J. Burnett away from multiple American League East bidders. If they do, they’ll immediately feel good about a rotation that might eventually also include a couple of guys named Smoltz and Glavine.
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Draft picks in baseball are so hit and miss. Anyone else remember that Scott Thorman was a former number one pick?
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😆
In the great tradition of brilliance at ESPN, they have Clint Sammons listed as the Braves’ projected starter in CF for 2009.
😆
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Here’s the link:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/hotstove08/index
😆
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ESPN = monkey with typewriter
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Yankees watch as Braves make pitch for A.J. Burnett
While the Yankees sit and wait for CC Sabathia to decide whether it’s worth $140 million to pitch in New York, the Braves have put themselves in position to take one of the other big names off the free-agent market.
Just as they were finalizing a trade for Javier Vazquez, the Braves were preparing a five-year offer for A.J. Burnett, according to sources. Burnett, considered the No.2 starter on the market, was expected to wait for Sabathia to make the first move. But with the Yankees, Red Sox and Blue Jays all apparently hesitant to give Burnett a fifth year, the 31-year-old might jump at Atlanta’s offer before Sabathia makes his decision.
According to sources, the Braves have all but ended talks with San Diego about Jake Peavy, as have the Cubs. –NY Daily News
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I’ve always liked Vasquez…this is a solid signing. He has a 1.26 WHIP versus AL hitters and pitched a number of years in hitters’ parks. He gives up a homer every 7 2/3 innings which, frankly, means he doesn’t give up a homer/start…generally. And…he eats innings.
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Towers apparently negotiates like he is a blogger on the AJC site. Wants to be seen as a big winner rather than make a trade that would help both clubs.
Obviously, he thought he was being snookered when the Braves met his initial request so he up the price.
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Guys, I am just going to have to reserve judgment on this one until I have a chance to see him pitch. I guess it will be a lot easier for Wren to acquire a big bat if he can sign Burnett as a free agent. He would have some pretty big trade chips available.
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Gil, I think this is a precursor to additional moves. Having a #2 or #3 starter now in the fold makes us at least a bit more attractive to potential FA’s or trade babies (Peavy) who may be concerned about our competitiveness. Also, the addition of LHR Boone gives another young Major League ready pitcher to possibly flip or keep while trading someone else. There is definitely more cooking. Wouldn’t it be nice to roll into the Winter Meetings with 2 of your 3 stated needs already addressed with only one piece to seek?
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So… Who do you guys think the Braves can squeeze out of the Tigers for Escobar? They need a shortstop as bad as anyone. Need one that’s cheap too.
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Yes Raisins, changes the completion of things quite a bit. I can see where Wren would think Flowers to be expendable. At best he is still a year or two away from the bigs and I don’t see anyone moving McCann out of the catching position for a good while. Besides, I wasn’t going to get to see him play anyway…
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I don’t know guys something is weird here…perhaps Wren is just flat out P.O’ed at Towers…I was looking via google to find something DOB said about Flowers, and stumbled across this via MLB trade rumors…
Will they substitute big ol’ slugging catcher Tyler Flowers for highly rated center-field prospect Gorkys Hernandez as part of the package, as Towers has reportedly asked them to do? Possibly, but unlikely according to people I talk to. Because the Braves have so little catching depth in their minor league system, they’d either have to go get a backup or be prepared to turn over catching duties to Clint Sammons if Brian McCann got hurt and was out for any significant length. Can’t see Braves turning to Sammons, who’s just not been much of a hitter at the big-league level.
http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/braves/entries/2008/11/12/easy_to_see_why.html?cxntfid=blogs_braves
So, what happened??? Did Wren panic a bit???? I would have felt much better trading Flowers to the Pads for Peavy, than for Vasquez, a guy who was called out by his manager down the stretch(Not a fan of that tactic, but still) and didn’t respond well at all…. he has a 10.40 ERA from two different years in the playoffs….
Something about Flowers just tells me he is going to be a stud. He hit last spring like he had actually been to Spring training before. No one hit the ball harder we heard, 12 Homers in AFL??? Ever hear of someone doing that before???
Hopefully I will be gladly eating some crow come Sept, and it does make us look more appealing to other FA’s…
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V, thanks for a bit more clarity on draft picks….one question I still don’t have an answer to, and it probably moot…what if a team like the braves signed 2 type A guys??? Sandwich and 2nd round in 2010???
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Just now checking out the other side(I just use find word and check out what DOB says, too many posts otherwise 904 since yesterday!) and I see yesterday that someone asked about Abreu and he said he thought the Braves might be more interested in him now that he wasn’t offered arbitration…interesting.
What do you all think??? The guy isn’t much of a right fielder, but has a good arm, would be very good in left. He can still run some (22 last year) has some pop(just 20 homers) but has a very good eye, which might rub off on Frenchy…hey, I can dream, can’t I???
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I think the Braves should spend a little of their money this year and upgrade the outfield lights at Turner Field. What’s it going to distract from now, the 40 foot cow?
Alright folks, the wife says I need to get up and go visit my mom……. I would rather take a beating… Actually the same, only different!
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Ber, the Braves are looking for a right handed bat. Abreu bats left I think.
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From the other blog yesterday,
By David O’Brien
December 2, 2008 6:45 PM | Link to this
Had a White Sox scout say he prays the Braves prospect in the deal, along with Reyes and Lillibridge is … Tyler Flowers.
If he is, the Braves are giving up an awful lot. I haven’t heard that confirmed yet, Flowers. Just a scout mentioned it. Kenny Williams did see Flowers play (Williams lives in Arizona) this fall and practically drooled over him.
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If the Braves keep Yunel and trade KJ, replacing him with Prado, that’s 2 righties
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Gil, good point, I forgot about him being a lefty…
Just looked, he hit .292 against lefties, .292 against righties the last 3 seasons! Interesting….he may be asking too much, or for too many years, but 2 year with an option for a 3rd, would that get it done???
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V, that’s true too, I forget about Prado being a rightie…..
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B, I think Abreu is a FA option, especially if the market forces his asking price down. It seems as though Wren is looking for LF through trade first, though. That’s probably because there really isn’t the righty bopper out there in FA aside from Dunn and Burrell.
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And here’s an option not mentioned, and probably not preferred. Suppose Frank can’t make a trade for LF, and Yunel and KJ still man the middle IF. Could Prado play LF? I’m neither advocating nor suggesting, just sayin’…
He is a righty bat that was good enough last season to make KJ available to trade, right?
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Lotsa news today:
Braves zeroing in on Burnett
Since ending their Jake Peavy trade negotiations on Nov. 14, the Braves have been confident that they’ll eventually sign A.J. Burnett. They haven’t pursued Derek Lowe and have no intentions to do so. Nor have they ever wavered on their claims that they aren’t interested in initiating the resumption of trade talks for Peavy.
That leaves Burnett as the only viable option to fill their need for an ace and based simply on the confidence they’ve expressed, it appears they are willing to provide the coveted right-hander with a five-year offer. The New York Daily News is reporting that the Braves are currently preparing such an offer.
Last week, Burnett’s agent, Darek Braunecker, said that his client will definitely have the opportunity to accept a five-year offer. The Braves certainly are in a position where they could easily be persuaded to offer this fifth year.
From an immediate perspective, the Braves have a desperate need for Burnett. But at the same time they realize the potential significance of the long-term benefits he could provide. They’ve already expressed excitement about a 2010 starting rotation that would include Burnett, Tim Hudson, Javier Vazquez, Jair Jurrjens and Tommy Hanson. — Mark Bowman
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’09 rotation?
Maybe Burnett, JJJ, Vazquez, Morton/JoJo, Hanson?
Maybe… only JoJo is a lefty. Don’cha need one?
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Maybe Burnett, JJJ, Vazquez, Glavine, Morton…
… many possibilities. Burnett, JJ, Vazquez would be a decent way to start, though.
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…only JoJo is a lefty. Don’cha need one?
Not if it’s Jo-Jo! 😛
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V, that’s not a bad idea, Prado to left, but it’s a team with little power. Now, if you had Peavy, Burnett, Javy, Hanson, and JJ…well, you really wouldn’t need that much, would you???
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And reason I mentioned Peavy and Burnett is the money saved by not getting a FA left fielder…
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B… I gotta tell ya, I have a feeling something else is brewing. Nothing to base it on; just a feeling. Another shoe to drop, so to speak. We’ll see…
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Oh, and B… I don’t think Burnett, Vazquez and Peavy are out of the question. I think it’s a real possibility. Wouldn’t that be nuts?
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V, I’d love that!!! And you know, you never know…if we sign Burnett and have Vazquez, well, one of them might get hurt, then we are not quite as strong(Well, duh Berigan!) but if one of Burnett, Vazquez, JJ and Peavy misses say a month with a bad happy, tired shoulder, it’s just not as big a deal
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a bad happy??? 😯
Hammy is what I meant, but fingers had other ideas…
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I did wonder what a “bad happy” was… I just figured it was a mood thing… 😀
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Sounds like a good name for a band, or some illegal drug!
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Hope this one stays at the whisper only stage!!! (the link to B.P. doesn’t take you to the article, by the way)
Let’s dig into the latest column from John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus.
* Perrotto speaks of whispers of a possible White Sox-Mets blockbuster. The Mets would receive Jermaine Dye and Bobby Jenks and the White Sox would receive Fernando Martinez among others.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2008/12/perrottos-lates.html
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Here’s something to gnaw on…
Numerous national reports say that Frank is preparing a lucrative 5 year deal for A.J. Burnett. When in the past have the Braves ever been that public about anything they were planning to do?
I believe this is more posturing for Kevin Towers’ benefit. These two guys have exposed more publicly than Paris Hilton.
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“I believe this is more posturing for Kevin Towers’ benefit. These two guys have exposed more publicly than Paris Hilton.”
Hummm… I think I have a hankering for a Thickburger….
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I had this thought the other day, when away from the Computer. Casey Blake can play several positions including the outfield. He could fill in just in case, you know, Chipper were to miss a game or two.
And the reason I like him, he is a very clutch hitter! A thought for left??
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I wouldn’t mind having Blake but he’s going to cost dearly…
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Who’s this Dearly??? A pitcher??? No thanks then! 😛
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A small move, but one I like a lot!
Braves Close To Signing Dave Ross
By Tim Dierkes [December 3 at 5:01pm CST]
According to Ken Rosenthal, the Braves are close to a two-year deal with free agent catcher Dave Ross. He’d serve as Brian McCann’s backup. Ross, 32 in March, posted a strong .381 OBP with the Reds this year. The Astros were also known to be interested, but I imagine Ross jumped when the Braves offered two years.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2008/12/braves-close-to.html
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Most received this in email, but in case somebody missed it, this is just too funny to miss:
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Gil, just saw this….shoot, sounds like a deal to me, and twins are still being cheap! I looked up his stats from last year, .274 with none on, .275 with runners on. Surprised he didn’t drive in more than 81 RBI’s, he sure would with us!!!
Twins, Dodgers Lead Charge For Blake
By Tim Dierkes [December 3 at 6:31pm CST]
6:31pm: Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune says the Twins offered Blake a two-year deal worth about $6MM per year with an option for 2011. Christensen says not to expect a signing tonight. Jayson Stark wrote earlier today that if the Twins or Dodgers guarantee a third year they’ll get Blake.
9:07am: Casey Blake’s agent Jim McDowell talked to all kinds of outlets yesterday. In speaking with Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, McDowell said they’re not far apart with the Dodgers or Twins. The Twins are apparently “within shouting distance” on the years and money. The Indians seem less interested than the other two clubs.
Yesterday Yahoo’s Tim Brown said McDowell’s initial request was $20MM over three years for Blake, more than the Twins want to spend.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/
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http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3742129HOUSTON — Oft-injured Mike Hampton finalized a one-year, $2 million deal with the Houston Astros on Wednesday, hoping to resurrect his career in the place where he became a prominent big league pitcher.
“Some of my fondest memories came in an Astros uniform,” he said. “So it’s a chance to return to some of those glory days.”
The contract includes $2 million in performance bonuses…….
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The signing of Dave Ross is another reason why I didn’t understand why the Braves traded Bryan Pena. After watching him play for two years, I certainly didn’t think his defense to be any worse than Corky Miller and his bat was a whole lot better.
I think Casey Blake would be a good fit for the Braves too but they haven’t listened to me for the past 43 years so I doubt they will start now.
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G’morning…
Well, th eol’ hot stove is being stoked up, and things are starting to happen. Let’s check the list, shall we?
Ace pitcher:
#2/#3 pitcher: CHECK
Righty LF w/ pop:
Back-up catcher: CHECK
Well… progress is being made.
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Now we see that Khalil Greene is going to St. Louis. That could mean one of two things. Either SD now has cleared a little payroll and can afford to keep Peavy, or SD now has a hole at SS and needs to revisit the trade w/ ATL to acquire Yunel.
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A little clarification on the goings on between Frank Wren and Kevin Towers.
The Braves devoted six weeks and two days toward attempting to complete that trade and, in the final hours before pulling out of the talks, thought they were about to close the deal.
The Padres, though, continued to change the names they were requesting, according to sources. And just when San Diego was expected to request that the pitcher waive his no-trade clause in a deal that would have sent pitcher Charlie Morton, shortstop Yunel Escobar, reliever Blaine Boyer and minor-league outfielder Gorkys Hernandez to the Padres, the San Diego front-office shifted yet again. –Scott Miller, CBSSportsLine.com
I would love to see this whole thing blow up in Towers’ face.
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On new BUC David Ross:
Ross hasn’t been able to match the 21-homer season he enjoyed with the Reds in 2006. But he certainly provides an upgrade for the Braves, who saw their backup catchers combine to hit .114 (13-for-114) with two homers this past season. — Mark Bowman
Man… they sucked.
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Braves will officially announce JV and Boone this morning. Dunno if there will be a press conference or anything. Nothing is scheduled on the official Braves site. I’ll stay on it.
Interesting tidbit… Compare JV’s career numbers to Ryan Dempster, and then look at the contract Dempster just signed. The deal starts to look alot better…
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One more thing:
If the Braves could still pull off the Peavy trade, and acquire their ace for only $11.5M-$12.5M per season, coupled with JV’s $11M per year salary, that leaves them with alot more $$$ to spend on LF and SS.
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Early morning domination!!! 👿
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Oops, 😳 wrong guy…
Let me try that again:
Early morning domination!!! 😈
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Better…
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Or:
Early morning domination!!!
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Yeah. that’s the ticket…
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Very interesting quote from the Toronto Sun:
Braves super scout Jim Fregosi did not miss many of Burnett’s starts the in the final two months of last season.
Well… they’ve certainly done their homework.
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Maybe Jim has a mistress in Toronto! 😛
Who’s Boone????
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And is that you guitaring in the avatar??? Is something about to hit said guitarist in the head???
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Doesn’t it seem more and more that physicians are running their practices like an assembly line? Here’s what happened to Bubba.
Bubba walked into a doctor’s office and the receptionist asked him what he had.
Bubba said: “Shingles.” So she wrote down his name, address, medical insurance number and told him to have a seat.
Fifteen minutes later a nurse’s aide came out and asked Bubba what he had.
Bubba said, “Shingles.” So she wrote down his height, weight, a complete medical history and told Bubba to wait in the examining room.
A half hour later a nurse came in and asked Bubba what he had. Bubba said, “Shingles.” So the nurse gave Bubba a blood test, a blood pressure test, an electrocardiogram, and told Bubba to take off all his clothes and wait for the doctor.
An hour later the doctor came in and found Bubba sitting patiently in the nude and asked Bubba what he had. Bubba said, “Shingles.” The doctor asked, “Where?”
Bubba said, “Outside on the truck. Where do you want me to unload ’em?”
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Listenin’ skills, CL…listenin’ skills! Not! 😆
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Like the Berlin song….
Now it’s my turn(to blog dominate!)
Don’t think Terri Nunn wrote the song about blog domination though…
I always thought she was mighty purty with them black bangs on blonde hair.
She may look better today than she did in 1984!!! 😯
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B:
Boone = Boone Logan, the reliever we received with JV.
Yes, that is me. That is an elevated drumset behind me. Hopefully it is never in motion toward my head.
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Boone Logan is a great baseball name, don’tcha think? 😀
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Ah…I thought that perhaps we had signed Aaron bleeping Boone! Which would have been fine with me, but I hadn’t heard about it….
Man, is the audio fuzzy on that Berlin clip! Only 2 clips this, and a live version on youtub. e
I think there were 2 different videos of it as well….some stupid record exec probably had the other one(s) deleted. No sense getting free publicity, get people thinking about buying a best of cd! 🙄
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Yep, its a good name for a baseball player, or a character on a soap! Lets just hope he pitches better than he did for 2/3rds of last year!
V, gotta love all the room word press gives for avatars! You do an excellent job in the space of a tic-tac
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The Redistribution Holiday Ornament
http://www.stupid.com/fun/RCTO.html
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Yo, B:
For the Christmas season, how about “Berigan 12, days of Christmas”?
😀
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You mean where everyone gives Berigan gifts for 12 days??? Sure!!!! 😆
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A Michael Moore DOG TOY? 😆 😆 😆
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CL:
Last year, I bought one of the Michael Vick Dog Chew Toys from the internet. It took me several weeks to receive it due to demand and court issues. (They had to remove anything that would directly link it to the NFL.) Still, my dog just tears it up. It’s awesome.
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Took me a sec to figure out what you were talking about! That Michael Moore toy is undersized…
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So is the Michael Moore intellect…
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… and the Michael Moore conscience.
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… and the Michael Moore moral character.
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😀
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Tomorrow is our birthday – December 5. Anybody got some thoughts you want to write up for a new lead?
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V, congrats for not going to below his waist line! Of course, neither has anyone else since 1979! 😀
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CL, that shut everyone up!!! SG, Gil, anyone that had more than 5 hours sleep last night??? Honest, I am going to try to get a bit more shut eye…I can try later….thanks for all the advance warning ! 😉
Wait, it’s V’s fault for dominatin’
so therefore, FLB should write one!
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And just think – a year ago it was “YEA! I get to WRITE!!”
sigh –
😦
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CL: I wasn’t around for the inaugural opening of the B&S colossus, but I’ll be happy to “pen” a few words if you’d like.
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Well, as Kermit the Frog would say.. “Times fun when you are having flies: …
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The Braves’ next step
Braves, while not yet ready to make Burnett a five-year offer, are not ruling out the possibility. They prefer Burnett to Lowe, and not simply because Burnett, 31, is three-and-a-half years younger. Burnett, club officials believe, has gained maturity, benefiting from the influence of Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay.
A front three of Burnett, Jair Jurrjens and Javier Vazquez would help the Braves in two ways, making them more competitive next season while also enabling them to better develop their next wave of young starting pitchers, beginning with Charlie Morton, Jo-Jo Reyes and Tommy Hanson. Vazquez is a 200-inning horse, and Burnett can be — when healthy.
Contrary to what I wrote in an earlier report, the Braves — for the moment — have minimal interest in Adam Dunn and the rest of the free-agent hitters. Raul Ibanez, who probably would be the team’s No. 1 choice, might rise out of the club’s price range.
One way for the Braves to add a bat would be to trade second baseman Kelly Johnson, who continues to draw strong interest from rival clubs. Martin Prado could replace Johnson, and the Braves recently added another second baseman, Diory Hernandez, to their 40-man roster. –Ken Rosenthal
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Braves make offer to free-agent pitcher Burnett
Braves have made an offer to free-agent pitcher A.J. Burnett, who is considered the second-best starter available this offseason behind CC Sabathia.
General Manager Frank Wren confirmed Thursday that an offer had been made to Burnett, who spent the last three seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays, but declined to discuss financial terms. Wren did say that, contrary to a published report, there is no guaranteed fifth-year in the proposal. It is believed to be a four-year offer with a fifth-year option at an average annual salary of at least $15 million.
Wren spoke after the team announced the acquisition of starting pitcher Javier Vasquez, obtained in a trade with the Chicago White Sox.
The Braves are also expected to announce the signing of veteran catcher David Ross, who will backup Brian McCann. DOB
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Another Major League source, who has been in contact with Burnett, said that the Braves provided Burnett with a four-year offer, that the source considered to be “very attainable“.
In their search for an ace, the Braves have been focussed on Burnett for nearly three full weeks. Wren didn’t know when he might receive a response from Burnett. — Mark Bowman
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Edgar’s getting $18.5M over 2 in SF…
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Good for Edgar.
I like the Christmas Snoopy avatar, VOR.
Trying to get taken off my Christmas card list, Ber?
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Wonder how you bake a virtual birthday cake?
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OK, kids, off to make Peanut Butter Bonbons.
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Yum!!! 😀
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Additional info from the guy across the street:
The Braves continued their dogged pursuit of a rotation ace by making a four-year offer to Toronto free agent A.J. Burnett, an 18-game winner and American League strikeout leader in 2008.
The offer is believed to be worth close to $16 million in average annual value, with a fifth-year vesting option that would kick in if Burnett stays healthy enough to pitch a certain number of innings.
I still think it’ll take a guaranteed 5th year to get him. The Braves may think so to, but opened with the vesting option. I think it’s a good first offer. It’s be nice of they could get it done before the Vegas meetings…
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Uh, it’d be nice… 😳
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More DOB:
Baseball’s annual Winter Meetings start Monday in Las Vegas, but general manager Frank Wren said the Braves could add another starter “before we get there. We’re trying every day to get another pitcher. That’s been our focus.”
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THANK YOU, RAISINS!! I appreciate it!!
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My pleasure, M’Lady. 😀
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Raisins: 😀
What is the big deal about a fifth year? If the money is there for four years, why not? He won’t have a no trade clause so he may not even be with the Braves in those years down the road. If things don’t turn around, he not want to be with the Braves! I guess I’m just not used to being picky about how MANY millions I should get! Just one would be sensational! 😆
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I think the issue on the 5th year has as much to do with insurance than anything. When teams insure these guys’ contracts, like Hampton’s and Huddy’s, the insurers usually only go 4 years at most. Given A.J.’s injury history, there is some concern.
My question is this: With Liberty Media likely selling the Braves in 2-3 more years anyway, what do they care? I think they’ll end up guaranteeing the 5th year eventually.
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Man allegedly assaults girlfriend with burger
VERO BEACH, Fla. — A Vero Beach man faces a domestic violence charge after authorities said he assaulted his girlfriend with a cheeseburger. An Indian River County Sheriff’s Office arrest report said a 22-year-old man and his girlfriend got into an argument as they sat in a car in front of their home.
The report said the man would not let the woman out of the vehicle, so she threw his drink out of the car. In response, the man allegedly grabbed her arm and smashed the cheeseburger into her face. The pair got out of the car, and authorities say the man again took the McDonald’s sandwich and put it on her face.
The man was released on $1,000 bond Wednesday. –AP
I wonder if he got fries with that…
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New meaning to the term “being a hamburger short of a Happy Meal”… Big Mac attack???
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Burnett, meanwhile, was rumored to be on the verge of a five-year deal that could be worth $80 million. Coupled with today’s anticipated acquisition of righthander Javier Vazquez in a trade with the White Sox, Burnett’s arrival could help rebuild an Atlanta rotation depleted by injuries to Tim Hudson (elbow surgery) and John Smoltz (now a free agent) last season. Tony Massarotti, Boston Globe
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New meaning to the term “being a hamburger short of a Happy Meal”… Big Mac attack??? Mad because they didn’t “Have it their way”?
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Actually, she told him, “Dinner’s on me,” and he took it literally. 😀
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I think if they can pitch, Atlanta signs both Smoltz and Glavin…
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New factoid from across the way:
New BUC David Ross has thrown out 38% of would be base stealers for his career.
And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.
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A healthy Smoltz as a #5 would be gravy, wouldn’t it?
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good afternoon….CL, or FLB, did you put a hex on me???
Seem to have suffered some food poisoning…..Was it the really tasty Mexican food last night??? The brand new Kroger peanut butter I opened last night as well?? The ice maker at the restaurant??? I just love mysteries ! 😕
This must be how Grinch feels most mornings…speaking of the Grinch….anyone heard from him lately??? Hope he’s aok…I should email him if I can find it…
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V, you make a good point about Liberty not being around in 5 years anyway…I mean, owning the Braves…hopefully they will still be around! 😯
I don’t like the way the one story was worded…what was it??? Hang on…the 1:53 part scares me more…no time to dilly-dally!!!!
By Tim Dierkes [December 4 at 1:53pm CST]
1:53pm: O’Brien’s source says the Yankees are going to make an offer to Burnett today or tomorrow.
11:23am: According to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Braves GM Frank Wren confirmed today that he made an offer to free agent starter A.J. Burnett. Wren added that the proposal does not guarantee a fifth year. O’Brien believes there is a fifth-year option. He adds that the deal averages $15MM per year. It doesn’t really sound like the type of offer Burnett needs to pounce on.
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Mexican food? Sounds good. I think I shall take the family to the Mexican place. A Crazy Taco would hit the spot. 😀
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The Braves have reportedly offered a four-year deal to Burnett, with an easily attainable vesting option for a fifth year. Ken Mandel
Well, that clarifies Bowman’s earlier quote, which evidently left some info out.
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I guess the Yankees were waiting to see what the floor would be. It comes down to Burnett deciding where he wants to work (I use the term loosely)…
A healthy Smoltz is a number one… A less than healthy Smoltz is an announcer.
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A healthy Smoltz is a number one… A less than healthy Smoltz is an announcer. Golden, Gil!! 😆
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After all, wouldn’t be great if all those young pitchers were given more time to mature and learn their craft before being thrown to the wolves. I realize every young hurler wants to get to the bigs as fast as they can but haven’t we seen youth wasted om the young far too many times already?
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They are always in a hurry, aren’t they? Cox seems very happy to have Vasquez – as are “most” of the Braves. Wonder who wasn’t happy?
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Gil, right you are about Smoltz! Shoot, even with a bad wing, he had a 3.11 ERA in 2007, and 2.56 in 28 innings this year! Who knows how good he’d be with a healthy arm!!! 😀
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Aw, come on! Stop the Smoltzie man-love routine! If he were half as athletic, tough, and driven as he says, he’d by learning to be a southpaw!
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Salty, he’s probably tried that.
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Ber, Grinch is well, just up to his ears in school.
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Hey, FBG! How is the baking coming along? You and Kelly are kindred spirits in that regard: she LOVES to bake! I have photos of her standing on a little step-stool so she could reach the counter, just rolling out dough, mixing, stirring, having a ball! She couldn’t have been more than 5, if that.
She still loves it. Not regular cooking, just “baking the good stuff” as she puts it. 😆
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OK – it’s about my bedtime so y’all will have to pretend it is midnight or after and is December 5!
HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY, BRAVES & STUFFIANS!!
NEW BLOG IS UP!
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