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Fans KNOW the individual players on their team. They have an ‘emotional investment’ in them, if you will. Just having a warm body in a playing position creates a void in that emotional investment – and fans begin to turn away to find that which is missing. A TEAM has to consist of more than just a collection of people. There has to be a bond, a constant, a glue that holds them all together.
The constants that have been present with the Braves for SO long – TV coverage, Skip, Pete, Smoltz, Chipper and Bobby are disappearing rapidly. I’d bet the ranch that this is Bobby’s last year and, from Chipper’s comments, he’ll leave at the first good offer – especially with Bobby leaving.
The Braves are the Braves in name only.
We hated to see Andruw come apart because we KNEW him. We had watched him grow up.
We hated to see Glavine leave because he was one of US. We felt betrayed.
A part of each of us died when Skip died because we KNEW him and loved him dearly. He was our link to the team, he was their voice, he was our voice.
And Pete’s retirement was almost expected after Skip died. The two just belonged together and one without the other was just ‘wasn’t right.’ He’ll be so badly missed.
Without the TV coverage we had for so long, we feel suddenly cut off from our team with no recourse. Makes it harder to ’stay in touch’ with them. Distance grows.
And Bobby. We love him, we get aggravated with him, but again, he’s always been there, it seems. Few remember the early days BBC – Before Bobby Cox. How unreal will it be for him to be missing from that top step, yelling encouragement, or hobbling out to the mound?
Chipper’s eyes are now wide open. He knows he’ll be playing elsewhere very soon now, especially after Bobby retires. No illusions.
John Smoltz. A true warrior if there ever was one. If Tommy LaSorda bled ‘Dodger Blue’, then surely the Braves Tomahawk beats in John Smoltz’s chest. After all these years and all he’s been through to keep pitching, he is badly disrespected by the current management. Gone in a flurry of bad decisions, severely hurt feelings and ill-will.
Well, at least we had it once and that’s more than many fans can say. The Braves are a 3rd rate team and will most likely stay there. I’m not excited about them anymore. I hope that will change, but I’d be surprised if it does. I don’t like being blind-sided.
~CL~
Braves & Stuff 
Great opine CL…. I think the depression might be setting in. To me it was like the orioles when Cal Ripkin retired. The Royals with the absence of George Brett. Same but different… At least they went out on their own terms, at least we got to say goodbye. Smoltzie was and is the heart and soul of the Braves, not the corporate types who inhabit the front office. I never cheered because Liberty media made an acquisition, never lived and died because Turner broadcasting scored in the ratings.
No, I stood up and cheered when the thunder roared and the lightning flashed because John was coming in from the pen to save yet another game, I held my breath when he was on the mound and pitched like the warrior he was even though he was in obvious pain.
If baseball is a business then let’s root for them as such. I would just a soon cheer for Circuit City or Best Buy. No, I am done with them for good now. It will save me money too, no trips to Atlanta, not having to pay DirecTV for the baseball package. No, I will find another team more deserving of my support. But it won’t happen overnight, no, the pain is too fresh and the wound too deep.
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Great, CL. I think this is good therapy. The discussion on here is truly a tonic, for me at least. It’s like any other group therapy, I suppose. But it does help.
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Thanks, Gil. I sure understand the feeling.
Got this in email a few minutes ago – I sure would like to join them!
http://boortz.com/nealz_nuze/2009/01/the-tale-of-the-redneck-houseb.html
I think that would do all of us some good!
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Thanks, Raisins. Good idea you had!
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Just a thought…
When Phil Niekro was released, yes released, it was like a knife in my back. I remember it like it was yesterday. How could the venerable Phil Niekro, future HOFer, be summarily released? And at that time, Phil was the only good thing about the Braves. When he came back to pitch one game in a Braves uni to retire, it was made better. I don’t know why, because the despicable part of it, the release, was unchanged. But somehow, it was better because he did come back home to retire. Things were somewhat less skewed. Maybe John and the Braves can make up again in some fashion, and maybe that will be a salve to our gaping wound. Who knows what will occur after 2009?
Maybe…
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We need to laugh. Got this in the mail:
My wife and I are watching Who Wants To Be A Millionaire while we were in bed. I turned to her and said, “Do you want to have sex?” “No,” she answered. I then said, “Is that your final answer?” She didn’t even look at me this time, simply saying “Yes.”
So I said, “Then I’d like to phone a friend.”
And that’s when the fight started….
———— ——— ——— ——— ——— —-
My wife sat down on the couch next to be as I was flipping channels. She asked, ‘What’s on TV?’
I said, ‘Dust.’
And then the fight started…
———— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— —–
My wife was hinting about what she wanted for our upcoming anniversary.
She said, ‘I want something shiny that goes from 0 to 150 in about 3 seconds.’
I bought her a scale.
And then the fight started…
———— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— —–
When I got home last night, my wife demanded that I take her someplace expensive…
so, I took her to a gas station.
And then the fight started…
———— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— —–
After retiring, I went to the Social Security office to apply for Social Security. The woman behind the counter asked me for my driver’s license to verify my age. I looked in my pockets and realized I had left my wallet at home. I told the woman that I was very sorry, but I would have to go home and come back later.
The woman said, ‘Unbutton your shirt’. So I opened my shirt revealing my curly silver hair.
She said, ‘That silver hair on your chest is proof enough for me’ and she processed my Social Security application.
When I got home, I excitedly told my wife about my experience at the Social Security office.
She said, ‘You should have dropped your pants. You might have gotten disability, too.’
And then the fight started…
———— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— —–
My wife and I were sitting at a table at my high school reunion, and I kept staring at a drunken lady swigging her drink as she sat alone at a nearby table.
My wife asked, ‘Do you know her?’
‘Yes,’ I sighed, ‘She’s my old girlfriend. I understand she took to drinking right after we split up those many years ago, and I hear she hasn’t been sober since.’
‘My God!’ says my wife, ‘who would think a person could go on celebrating that long?’
And then the fight started…
———— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— —–
I took my wife to a restaurant. The waiter, for some reason, took my order first.
“I’ll have the strip steak, medium rare, please.”
He said, “Aren’t you worried about the mad cow?””
Nah, she can order for herself.”
And then the fight started…
———— ——— ——— —
A woman is standing nude, looking in the bedroom mirror.
She is not happy with what she sees and says to her husband,
‘I feel horrible; I look old, fat and ugly.
I really need you to pay me a compliment.’
The husband replies, ‘Your eyesight’s damn near perfect.’
And then the fight started…..
———— ——— ——— ——
I tried to talk my wife into buying a case of Miller Light for $14.95.
Instead, she bought a jar of cold cream for $7.95.
I told her the beer would make her look better at night than the cold cream.
And then the fight started….
———— ——— ——— ——— —–
My wife asked me if a certain dress made her butt look big.
I told her not as much as the dress she wore yesterday
and then the fight started…..
———— ——— ——— ——— ——
A man and a woman were asleep like two innocent babies.
Suddenly, at 3 o’clock in the morning, a loud noise came from outside.
The woman, bewildered, jumped up from the bed and yelled at the man ‘Holy crap. That must be my husband!’
So the man jumped out of the bed; scared and naked jumped out the window.
He smashed himself on the ground, ran through a thorn bush and to his car as fast as he could go. A few minutes later he returned and went up to the bedroom and screamed at the woman, ‘I AM your husband!’
The woman yelled back, ‘Yeah, then why were you running?’
And then the fight started…..
———— ——— ——— ——— ——— —-
Saturday morning I got up early, quietly dressed, made my lunch, grabbed the dog, and slipped quietly into the garage. I hooked up the boat up to the truck, and proceeded to back out into a torrential downpour. The wind was blowing 50 mph, so I pulled back into the garage, turned on the radio, and discovered that the weather would be bad all day.
I went back into the house, quietly undressed, and slipped back
into bed. I cuddled up to my wife’s back, now with a different anticipation, and whispered,
‘The weather out there is terrible.’ My loving wife of 10 years replied, ‘Can you believe my stupid husband is out fishing in that?’
And then the fight started ….
———— ——— ——— ——— ——— —-
I asked my wife, “Where do you want to go for our anniversary? ”
It warmed my heart to see her face melt in sweet appreciation. “Somewhere I haven’t been in a long time!” she said.
So I suggested, “How about the kitchen?”
And that’s when the fight started….
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😆
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Dose of reality:
Frank Wren is scheduled to be on 680theFan this afternoon sometime during the Buck & Kincade show – sometime after 3:00p.
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Please let us know what he says!
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I wish they’d say which block he’ll be on; at least which hour. I’ll probably only be in my office another hour…
I mean, it is Friday… and I am the boss… 😀
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Ad I am in fact outta here.
C y’all…
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I think it’s Wren on now….you can listen live
http://www.680thefan.com/#
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He’s saying he doesn’t think he knows of a player that has come back from that surgery.
Claims he’d get as much money from the braves if he was on the active roster…then talks about how much more payroll flexibility the Red Sox have
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talking about Chipper now…
The most difficult thing a GM has to deal with is with aging players…smooth…
Hopefully, he will continue to perform at a high level, and we will sign him again…(more or less)
We have the ability to put together a championship team 🙄
Says some of the players mentioned in the Peavy trade talk will be around in 2009 at turner field.
All along I have said this is a work in progress….we have holes in key areas and are making progress…rebuilding/retooling is the wrong word…we have a very solid infield….we don’t think we are necessarily a rebuilding club. Very good bullpen.
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Sounds like our bullpen may be used in trades….
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talking about Burell…the Kinkade said it sounded like a deal…Burell is a defensive liability….no one in the group really stands out….
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now Lowe….doesn’t think the team is that far away from WS, thinks the starters are going to be pretty good, and the bullpen…..
now about to get off the air….
Well, not quite as gutless as before, but he might have been told he had to get on the radios….
Man, I can’t even translate english to english quickly, how do folks do it going from one language to another????
Sound like the interview will be up at some point on the website…so, you can see how far off I was! 😉
Of course, it’s friday at 4:46 PM….methinks it will be Monday.
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Man, how come this blog is slow….sounds like the braves don’t want any quesiton marks out of the rotation….I guess that’s why folks like Freddie Garcia are not on our radar….
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Well, enough of that dirty, dirty baseball talk, it’s January. Lets talk about Pro football, before the College football show next hour! 🙄
Moments like this make me feel like Atlanta is more a town of 30,000 than 4-5 million….I remember someone on the AJC blog saying Smoltz signing with Boston isn’t very big news apparently, since the top story via readers was the Porn industry wanting to be bailed out….
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Ber, the top story here in Richmond is the inauguration, hey, only 90 miles north and we are catching the overflow. 2. Circuit City has a couple of days to find a buyer or will be force to have the sale of the century… 3. Genworth Financial lays off 400 yesterday and 5. Richmond has the lowest unemployment rate in the country right now.
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I saw the porn story on NBC last night however, yes..porn sales are limp….
I won’t go there but I have about two dozen zingers I could insert here… 🙂
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And for the next couple of weeks, the Marines will be conducting urban warfare exercises around central Va.. Convenient I think with the inauguration just up the road.
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Braves nearing Kawakami deal and preparing Lowe offer
By the time the Braves make their first formal offer to Derek Lowe early next week, they may have already lured Kenshin Kawakami to Atlanta to strengthen the middle of their rotation. Multiple Major League sources confirmed Friday night that the Braves are close to completing a deal with Kawakami.
Kawakami, who has spent the past 11 seasons as one of the top pitchers in Japan’s Central League, is expected to arrive in the United States on Sunday. If negotiations with the Braves continue to move in their current direction, he could be in Atlanta as early as Monday to undergo a physical.
The Braves met with Lowe and his agent Scott Boras at Turner Field for a little more than three hours on Thursday afternoon and manager Bobby Cox was among those who emerged impressed by the veteran hurler’s intellect and character.
Right now it appears the Braves are simply hopeful that they might be able to lure Lowe to Atlanta to head their starting rotation. They will likely present him with an offer on Monday or Tuesday. — Mark Bowman
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Another perspective:
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-braves-movingon&prov=ap&type=lgns
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CL, there are some weird comments in that article…if this really is a quote by Wren, he’s lying. June is not mid season!
“Even by John’s own admission, he’s not going to be ready until sometime around midseason,” the GM said. “With that being the case, we needed to build our staff based on starting the season in April. That’s always been our plan, always been our focus.”
Why do I say if that’s what he said??? well, the writer is sloppy in some areas. Like with this info…
Glavine, coming off elbow surgery and not as far along in his rehab as Smoltz, hopes to be cleared to throw off the mound before the month is out. Only then will the Braves be willing to discuss a possible contract.
“We have been very up front with both players all along the way,” Wren insisted.
Having already spent five seasons in New York, Glavine has no plans to leave again. The 300-game winner says he’ll retire if he’s not pitching for Atlanta.
Well, you may recall reading in a story a few days back that Glavine was going to pitch off a mound in a few days, and it sure looked like he was open to playing in more than Atlanta if they weren’t going to offer a major league job.
He also said…
As it stands now, Jair Jurrjens and newcomer Javier Vazquez are the only healthy pitchers who won as many as 10 games last season. Hudson isn’t likely to be ready until after the All-Star break.
Umm, Ok….I did see a few stories saying he hoped to be able to pitch sometime in August but come on! A starting pitcher back in 12 months or even less????(VOR, super researcher-or CL, you are pretty good as well, when did he have it???I Just read about August 2nd reports that he was going to have it, not when he did have the surgery)
If Wren is saying John wouldn’t be ready til mid season, he’s learned well from politicians, and should move into that field….posthaste.<—– A word I use daily, by the way! 😕
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Oh, and good mornin’ everyone! 🙂
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And I also felt the need to double check when the writer said we were 72-90 last year….good gravy! 😯 Were we really that bad???? I really don’t expect the nationals to lose 102 games again. Any team with Ryan Zimmerman, Wily Mo Pena(Lots of shoulder trouble last year, and still only 26???)Elijah Dukes(24-A jerk, with tons of talent) Lastings Milledge( only 23) and Cristian Guzman(hit .316 last year)
They lost 89 in 2007, 91 in 2007, and 81 games in 2006(Ok, this is silly, but still)
In other words, we may have a real battle for 4th this year, I am psyched! 😀
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A nice story on Smoltz by Tim Kurkjian
Give up? It’s not in Smoltz’s DNA
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=kurkjian_tim&id=3819729
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Smoltz simply will not quit. Ever. On anything.
So why did he give up on the Braves???????
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CL, just caught up on the blog, followed along, read through the posts, re-immersed in the Smoltz/Braves debacle, read many good thoughts and saw your new masthead. Brought a tear, it did.
What a shame, all that’s happened. What an unnecessary shame. Now to read that many or most of you have lost interest in the Braves adds salt to the wound. Thing is, I feel that way too, but when baseball starts I’ll be back to watching the games because I love baseball and the Braves are my team, regardless of who is currently at the helm. Much like how I feel about America, only different.
In times like these, the blog serves as more than a place for ideas and such… it’s a place to get our feelings out. The posts are cathartic. My long post a few days ago was just that… but I’m still not settled about the whole affair for many reasons. Mostly, I think, because the debacle by Wren was so damn short-sighted and unnecessary. It shouldn’t have happened.
But it did and here we are…
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Thing is, I feel that way too, but when baseball starts I’ll be back to watching the games because I love baseball and the Braves are my team, regardless of who is currently at the helm. Much like how I feel about America, only different.
Very well put!
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“For all the finger-pointing in the wake of Smoltz’s signing with the Red Sox, the Braves will look much smarter if Smoltz proves incapable of pitching regularly.
Raisins, I don’t agree with Rosenthal on that. Not even slightly. In fact, I think that statement is ludicrous. Everyone in their right mind KNEW that Smoltz was a long shot to come back and pitch effectively. To anyone that has any understanding of baseball and the value of a player like Smoltz on the field, in the clubhouse and in the Atlanta community, this wasn’t about Smoltz being a dependable, healthy 3-4 or 5 pitcher going 200 innings.
Retaining Smoltz was something much bigger and more important than that. This was about doing something truly unique in pro sports… having a loyal, lifelong warrior and Braves icon staying in his Braves uniform one more lousy year until he retired. This was about Smoltz being appreciated as a man, an icon and a positive influence in the club.
This wasn’t about re-signing just any aging pitcher coming off of possible (probable) career ending shoulder surgery; this was about a unique opportunity to keep a lifelong Brave until he retired.
The money, although a lot to us, is a comparative drop in the bucket. John was our Cal Ripkin… and more. They should have written him the contract, hugged him, and done whatever it took to keep him happy in a Braves uniform, whether he could throw one single pitch or not. Retaining John was worth the difference he got paid by Boston to sit on the bench, talk to the young pitchers, and be there for the fans and visit the broadcast booth on occasion. Now he’s gone.
Today, most pro sports owners and management view athletes as nothing but carriers and producers of OBP, RBI, ERA, BAPIP, OPS and other such value measurements. That’s understandable… to a point and in most cases it’s good. They have to look at a player’s performance and output to field a winning team. Thing is, most in pro sports, franchise management and many fans have gone too far in this and we’ve reduced players to “pieces” and “trade chips”. John Smoltz was more than a “piece”. He was or, with vision, the heart of the team rebuilding, rebranding puzzle.
Wren and the Braves had a golden opportunity to elevate the franchise and squandered it. They could have behaved in a way that set themselves up and apart as honorable leaders. They could have set the Braves apart in the MLB as THE player’s franchise. What might that have been worth? They could have done something in this situation that would have positioned the Braves as, not a contender in 09 (which won’t happen with or without Smoltz), but a truly unique franchise. They could have done something that no other team could do in this day and age… keep a lifelong, loyal, warrior until he retired.
Wren has no vision. Wren is myopic. Wren is inept as a GM. This was not about fielding a “winning” team in 09. Anyone with any common sense already knew that. This re-signing of Smoltz was about doing something right and doing something against the norm. The ‘negotiation’ with Smoltz should have been treated as a legacy opportunity for a franchise, not as a cold, calculated expectation of innings pitched and requirements met. Besides, Smoltz has reduced his salary in the past at least as much as the difference in this botched deal just to be loyal and help the Braves retain other good players.
Now look how the Braves have treated him. This debacle was completely unnecessary, which is partly why it hurts so much.
Looking back for clues to the franchise modus operandi, I remember Glavine, our “ice man”. He also was a masthead of the Braves franchise and without him, we would not have seen 14 years of pennants. We watched and held our breath as he toed the mound and pitched cool, calm, collected shutout ball in that glorious 6th game to win the World Series in Cleveland.
Glavine won that game under the pressure of only getting one run of support. That man was also a Braves warrior. We didn’t want him to go, but the way it came down made us all furious at him for leaving the Braves… especially going to the hated Met rival. Not until I watched an interview after he returned to the Braves did I see his side of the story. He left because John Scheurholz treated him in much the same way. JS not only didn’t show the love to Tom, he didn’t make an offer by a certain, understood deadline, as Glavine had reasonably asked requested. It would have been ok for JS to negotiate, but he just didn’t even call. Glavine was basically “dissed” by that, so he left.
The ego of John Scheurholz is larger than any player we’ve ever had. Wren seems to have the same ego without the GM talent to go along with it.
As much as we all loved Maddux and didn’t want him to go, it was easier to understand when he left. The Braves were still trying to field a winning team and just couldn’t retain all the players, particularly those that were nearing the end of their careers and commanding the high price that Mad Dog was able to attract. That was sad but true, hard but fair.
Think of what the Braves franchise may have accomplished by having Smoltz, Glavine, Cox and maybe even Chipper retire together… or at least play one last year together with and for each other and the Braves fans. All the while, they could have been giving the young pitchers a chance to come out to the park, learn from the masters, pitch their hearts out and become aces for “their” club. Now that won’t happen.
The Braves have been critically wounded by this.
This move was incredibly short sighted by Wren and Schuerholz and whoever else is pulling the strings. Listening to Wren’s explanations of this John Smoltz debacle reveals much more about the man and the franchise than they would like. The man does not get it. He hasn’t a clue. He may be a decent man but he’s a terrible General Manager. He’s certainly not a visionary leader.
Even more aggravating is that Wren acts and talks as though he believes the fans are buying what he’s selling. He reminds me of a slick sophomore politician that’s been told by his mentors to “stick to the talking points, repeat it often enough, don’t go into detail and they’ll go along”. John Smoltz is not the only one that has been disrespected by all of this… Braves Nation has been dissed. It continues every time Wren opens his mouth and repeats his shallow reasoning behind his weak, inept case.
What’s more, in light of the horrible economy with many fans struggling to earn a living, keep their jobs and make ends meet, they look to baseball and other sports to escape the trails and difficulties of life. With any cultural insight at all, the Braves could have bucked the pro sports trend and not ‘laid-off’ John Smoltz. Not THIS year. Think of it. What message do they send to Braves Nation by letting this happen at this time? Do they think they were being frugal? Sensible? Fair? Smart? Do Wren and the franchise think that we believe he was being fiscally responsible and trying to field a winning team in 09 by letting Smoltz go? Of course not.
Two teams and two GM’s have lost credibility in this off-season: Padres and Braves, Kevin Towers and Frank Wren. Look at what we’re all discussing. Fans are talking of boycotting Braves games, not buying merchandise and some are talking of walking away from the Braves.
The damage caused by letting Smoltz go in the manner in which the Braves did is enormous and will have lasting repercussions. This debacle will cost the Braves millions… and it was all over a few egos and several pieces of gold.
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Now, to lighten it up a bit:
The problem with that is, the emotion is real. It can’t truly be removed. It’s part of what makes a fan a fan. Without the emotion, you’re just a bystander, an observer.
Or Shaun.
Anybody noticed that Raisins sure does write long posts? 😆
Berigan should have noticed that none of V’s and Hillbilly’s comments were around!
Bear, when you get around to this one… happy Independence Day!
I really put this one on the Braves’ management team. Yes, $3 million dollars is a lot of money but when you put it into the prospective of the overall cost of the operation it’s pretty small.
Gil, yes. Like I said in my first gargantuan post a few days ago before I left town and my other gargantuan post (blog first twice?) a few minutes ago, I also blame the Braves. Wren and his puppet masters botched it, but good. It’s like a movie producer that doesn’t like the attitude of a particular great actor.
The ‘troublesome’ actor’s ego (and drive, commitment, blood, sweat, tears, perfectionism, etc.) makes it difficult for the producer’s ego during filming, so the producer casts a less popular, less talented, malleable, nice guy that can act. Then, during filming, the producer gets all the attention. It’s his power base. Never mind that the rejected actor would have made all the other actors better by just being on the set. The ‘egotist’ actor would have also brought the script to life, increased critical acclaim and huge box office… you get the idea. Same but different. Similar comparison I think.
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And, you can believe that the attitude of every player on the roster has changed – and not necessarily for the better.
Smoltz and Chipper were the leaders of the team. One is gone, the other is furious. Enraged, even. Where does this leave the ones who looked to them?
I don’t expect CJ to be in ATL after this season. Then who will be the leader? Francoeur??? More likely McCann, but he’s still so young. There is no leader for the pitchers.
Good post, IM.
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Gee, IM has written 2 new leads in the space of an hour!!! 😆
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IM said…Retaining John was worth the difference he got paid by Boston to sit on the bench, talk to the young pitchers, and be there for the fans and visit the broadcast booth on occasion. Now he’s gone.
Exactly! Chipper said something to that effect from a snippet I heard on TV. He said even if he only pitched 100 innings or 150 innings this year, he’d be so important on the bench, talking to the young pitchers, etc, etc, etc….
But John Wren saved himself(ves?) a few million they aren’t going to use on a left fielder.
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The Red Sox have Josh Becket, Daisuke Matsuzaka, John Lester, Brad Penny, Tim Wakefield(181 innings last year-would have been 2nd best on our team)Justin Masterson(has been a starter in the Minors)Clay Buchholz(Who they don’t seem to want to trade for Salty) and…some other guy, who might, just might start for them come June…
That’s 8 guys to fit 5 slots. Masterson will likely come out of the bullpen. I have no idea what Clay Buchholz is going to do, I guess pitch some more in the minors.
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Well, some decent news….we had to go halfway around the world, but we may have another starter….wouldn’t it be funny to see the Mutts swoop in the last minute and take him from us! 😛
Braves Near Deal For Kawakami
By Tim Dierkes [January 10 at 11:34am CST]
SATURDAY, 11:34am: In the comments section of his own post, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes:
I really think the Braves have reached an agreement with Kawakami. And not because a Japanese paper reported it.
In the body of the article, he writes that an announcement by Kawakami’s people “could come at any time.”
Of course, he pitched every 6 days over there, and they have a shorter season, but he can only help at this point….
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We got him. Get ready to buy your Kawkami shirts before they run out! 😆
http://www.ajc.com/braves/content/sports/braves/stories/2009/01/10/braves_pitcher_kawakami.html
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Really don’t know what the point of this is, but that is one very real looking spider you can create on your computer….
http://www.onemotion.com/flash/spider/
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Kawakami. Amazing. Somehow I am able to completely contain my excitement.
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CL, that cracked me up! 😆
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Wren just flat out knows how to make friends, doesn’t he????
Optimistic Braves GM Wren refuses to admit team is in rebuilding mode
By Mark Bradley | Saturday, January 10, 2009, 01:16 PM
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Occasionally Frank Wren will check a message board. Friday wasn’t such an occasion. “I’m savvy enough to know this probably wouldn’t be a good day,” he said.
It wasn’t. According to some AJC.com bloggers, the Braves general manager deserves to be flogged, flayed and fricasseed for the sin of letting John Smoltz leave for Boston. “Fire Frank Wren,” wrote someone posting under the screen name Fire Frank Wren. “He is a disaster as a GM.”
Said Wren, speaking of the reason he strategically avoids such sites: “It’s not unlike talk radio, and I’ve stopped listening to talk radio. I don’t think the average sports fan calls talk radio, nor do I think he goes on the blogs. That’s a special group of fans — someone who wants the experience of making a call or typing a sentence. I don’t think that represents the masses. If you go by those, you get a somewhat distorted view.”
http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/bradley/entries/2009/01/10/optimistic_braves_gm_wren_refu.html
Now I know we all have heard over excited baseball fans on the radio(Not yesterday though, had to get back to college and pro football, no time for folks to call in after Wren was on) and we web folks can get over the top as well….He and the rest of the braintrust don’t get this is different than losing out on all those players that we did earlier in the off season. Different than suffering through yet another non playoff year. (90 losses in can you forgot that number since I last mentioned it!)
This was losing the top warrior, the guy that has given us so many great moments, memories of the braves. The one guy you knew put it all on the line to win. The Braves weren’t going to put anything on the line to make sure he stayed. Wren mentioned last year how the braves paid him 10 million not to pitch. I guess he has a short memory, and doesn’t recall the extreme pain he was in and kept trying to help the braves win. the Fact that he could have made MANY millions more pitching in New York or Elsewhere. That he’d be as well known as Roger Clemens if he was only about the buck.
I was also thinking how he and Chipper are the last links to the good ol’ days where the braves, if not quite the Yankees, still were a top 5 spending team. This just reminds us all that we are not that anymore. That we are more middle of the pack(Perhaps a notch higher) and will never be able to compete for the best again, unless and until some billionaire with a strong love of the braves buys the team.
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Hey Berigan wrote a lot under what Wren has wrought, don’t miss it!
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Day 3 post-Smoltz; I am over it.
This may bring the ire of several on here, but I am over the drama of the past few days, and moving forward. I’ve said it before, but it is true that I am a fan of the team. Whatever the circumstances, good or bad, John Smoltz chose to leave.
Now, I am back on my eager watch for additions to my team, and I am no longer fretting over losses.
I am very happy about the acquisition of Kawakami, because he is not expected to be anything more than #4 starter, and he will be a very good #4 starter, better than most in our division. If I weren’t feeling so lazy on a rainy Saturday evening, I might even go through and compare him to the #4’s in the division. But I’m not. Now onto the business of trying to wrap up Lowe.
Folks, a rotation of Lowe, JJ, JV, KK and Hanson will be very strong. In my estimation, which is admittedly optimistic, it can compete as a group with any in the NL East. It’s only concern is the fact that there are no lefties. You might say that a rookie starter is by definition a concern. I say he’s going to have a great rookie season.
I hope we can get the Lowe deal done soon so that Frank can turn his attention to LF. A signing of Lowe will free up Morton and/or Jo-Jo for inclusion in a trade. We need to get it done.
Ah… I love a lazy Saturday. Bogart is on TMC. I gotta go…
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Not TCM! 😳
TMC…
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OK… I can’t even correct myself without having to correct my correction. 😳 😳
TCM is the correct network. Not TMC.
Man, laziness is bad for the mind…
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It’s gonna be all right, Raisins! 😀 Deeeeeeep breath!
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Sure it wasn’t the TMI network??? 😛
I am the president and founder of that network.
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Derek Lowe Rumors: Saturday
By Alex Walsh [January 10 at 5:27pm CST]
5:19pm: We’ve got a bit of a status update in Ken Rosenthal’s latest.
Fresh off closing the deal on Kenshin Kawakami, it seems as though the Atlanta Braves are the latest front runners in the Derek Lowe sweepstakes. Citing a source, Rosenthal says the Braves are “all over” Lowe. As for the team that was perhaps overtaken in this case, Rosenthal writes, “Mets officials seemed pessimistic.”
Any pending offer from Atlanta is not likely to include a fourth year, according to Rosenthal. However, an offer for three years in the $40-42MM range with a club or vesting option is “one possibility.”
They are going to lose out again….
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My Dad keeps going thru old stuff in his room, and finding MY baseball cards!!! 😯 He found a rookie Jose Canseco card I had bought years ago, and put in a plastic cover…had to tell him at one time, it was worth something…going for 99 cents and not selling on ebay now! Also have a “Joey” Belle rookie Card(Albert later) worthless. Have a Willie Stargell 1981 card, Steve Carlton, Bob Forsch(2 no hitters and Mom found him mighty cute when she met him at spring training…I guess women like guys 6 ‘4 who are in good shape 😕 )a Carlton Fisk 1977 card(probably worth the most just cuz he’ was a red soxer $2.50) the rest??? Probably a waste of baggies! But, still cool…
He just found a Chipper card now! 1991 upper deck. Even in baggie, corner slightly mussed! 😡 but, as you can see from the link below, even it’s not worth anything!
http://cgi.ebay.com/1991-UPPER-DECK-TOP-PROSPECT-SET-CHIPPER-JONES-R_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ72Q3a1205Q7c66Q3a2Q7c65Q3a12Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318Q7c301Q3a1Q7c293Q3a1Q7c294Q3a50QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem260342717262QQitemZ260342717262QQptZUSQ5fSMQ5fSportsQ5fCardsQQsalenotsupported
Did I miss something??? Is no one collecting cards anymore, or are only Mickey Mantle cards and earlier worth anything????
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Anyone want a Hank Aaron rookie card cheap???
http://cgi.ebay.com/1954-Topps-128-Henry-Hank-Aaron-Rookie-PSA-9-pop-20_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ66Q3a2Q7c65Q3a3Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1308QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem270294446773QQitemZ270294446773QQptZUSQ5fSMQ5fSportsQ5fCardsQQsalenotsupported
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How about this for a step out:
Braves will sign Lowe, and will give him the 4th year as the inducement. They’ll do it. Mark it down…
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I’ll also bet that they’ll open talks with Chipper on an extension before they head to Disney. One thing that has occurred as result of the Smoltz debacle is clarity. They MUST accomplish the Lowe signing. They MUST approach Chipper regarding an extension. They MUST acquire offense for the outfield. There is no wiggle room on any of these items. And that is crystal clear.
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Good evening all, It was a busy day for me as Josie and I attended an auction in Colonial Heights. That is about a 40 mile drive for me now. It’s all good though, I picked up a nice emerald ring for Josie and a very nice oil painting by a semi-local artist. The money I spent on other various trinkets and bobbles will easily be made up by the sale of said art work.
Now baseball…. well, almost… Ber, baseball cards don’t go for diddly any more. I think it is because there are so many now and players change teams about as often as they change their uniforms. Folks who care are in nursing homes or they already have more stuff then they can display. Only the rarest cards still sell. I’ll bet I have 10,000 cards stored under the bed that I have not even looked at that I have bought at different sales for little or nothing. It’s all about timing the market I guess. Where is my crystal ball when I need it?
The only thing I see holding it’s value is gold coins, and that’s because they contain gold. Stamps, jewelry, art work… all of it is just a crap shoot. The only reason to buy it is if you want it for your personal enjoyment. Much like a souvenir tee-shirt at a rock concert…. I could actually make more money selling scrap metal than I could trying to sell antiques.
Okay, back to baseball. At least the Braves are having some minor success at signing players. Jim Bowden of the Nationals can’t even get folks to return his calls. He has said it looks like the Nat’s are going to have to build their success from within. They are still pitching shy but they had a better record than the Braves the last 2 months of the season. They have some kids in their minor league system that are going to be stars. Looks like they will try to go with Johnson at first base again this year.
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Oh… and guns… guns are very expensive at auctions… It’s crazy what some of those alpha males will spend for a Browning or a Colt…. Just crazy…. You would think they couldn’t buy one over the counter… Hummmmm…
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Man, did Dmitri Young ever waste his talent, or what???
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Finally a bit of positive news. Kawakami should help.
An emerald ring, Gil? Really? Can I go shopping with you sometime? 😉
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CL has been on a roll today! Love the ‘tude, girl. Remember the old IIHIHOIIY?
Raisins, after swimming across the river a time or five today, I think I’m about ready to move on from the Smoltz Wren debacle debate diatribe. I’ll just be glad when we finally get an owner for the Braves and Liberty Media is gone. I’ll also not shed a tear when Wren, JS and Cox are gone. A new owner brings new attitude, new management, new players, new team, new day, new beginning.
Gil, how much were they getting for Brownings and were they rifles, handguns or shotguns you were talking about?
Bear, baseball card prices go up and down drastically. Hold on to them and they may be your retirement fund, but you’ll have to time the market. Much like the dollar, but different.
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IM, are you saying I shouldn’t have thrown away that boxful of Napoléon Lajoie cards???? 😉
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All I know I know have a reason to root for the Red Sox again…2 WS in 4 years, huge budgets…didn’t feel the need anymore. I root for underdogs…good thing I have been a braves fan for so long! 😕
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Hey IM… It does not make any difference, especially if they are Belgian made. Always top dollar of the Bluebook price. It’s funny but other than serial numbers, you cannot tell the difference between a Belgian and a Japanese made firearm. Browning has a very good QA department.
Now understand there are much higher dollar firearms but they hardly ever make it to an auction. In fact, most of what ends up at an auction are seldom better specimens. Not always but most of the time. I have had some success but only because I am diligent.
If you have a Browning, you can get a good idea of what it sells for by going to GunsAmeica.com…
My collection of firearms runs to side by sides… Just love em. I will cull out the lesser grades as I can replace them with better examples, that way I am not gun poor… And I try not to take them near airports… 🙂
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I think V, or IM, someone posted a clip like this before….I have real mixed feelings about Wingsuits, and all that jazz. It looks like real fun, but watching people push it to the edge, getting so close to the rocks…you just know a lot of these guys will be taking dirt naps soon…Where is the bunny slope version??? 😛 It’s gotta be a rush, no doubt about it.
http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1778399&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1
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IIHIHOIIY??? I give up, what are you young whipper snappers talkin’ about???
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Ha! I am getting..whatyacallit??? Old??? It’s Honus Wagner’s 1909 card that’s worth millions. A Napoléon Lajoie is only worth 20K…hardly worth bothering with.
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😆 , IM. I had ’bout forgotten that!
‘Night!
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
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Sure, you all come out to play after I get occupied by something else.
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Just back from getting a very late dinner…wish the software here showed if anyone was here or not…
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Hi, Ber.
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Hey…
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ummm….
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I’m all worded out I think. I was on quite a roll…earlier.
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Yeah, by the time I get here everyone’s done for the night.
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Sure, you all come out to play after I get occupied by something else.
Invasion Of The Body Snatchers? Oh, the humanity!
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12:34 to 12:53: Bear and FBG on the elevator to the parking garage after a long day at the office. 😆
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Gil, I too have a collection of guns, but I don’t really call it a gun collection since I use them all. More than I could ever need. With each purchase, I had a very good and specific reason to “need” whatever it was, which of course means a different weapon for different types of hunting.
For deer, different rifles for still or fixed stand, tree climber, stalk, etc.
For hog, same as above.
For wing shooting, 12/20/28/410g shotguns for quail, pheasant, dove, duck.
For turkey, camo 12g… done and done.
For varmits and target, 22 rifles (with scope drives a thumb tack at 50 yds.)
For self defense, a handful of handguns (.45 glock is the mainstay).
For the heck of it or seeing a deal too good to pass up. , a few others (I have a semi-rare 12g double barrel over under Belgian snipe gun for you).
Now, for salt and freshwater fishing, my rod and reels are too numerous to even go into. Each rod and each reel has a different purpose for different species of fish, different conditions, length, shape, size, weight, etc.
Hunting and fishing can get expensive. So much game, so much equipment, so little time… but a combo city/coastal/country boy can survive. 😆
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IM… I no longer hunt due to my inability to walk long distances. I never cared much for deer hunting as I thought it to be boring. So much sitting… A bit of irony there… Anyway, I always loved to bird hunt, thus I guess my affection for side by sides. I never found a third shot to be of much use for anything other than to make the birds fly a little faster as they rose out of sight… My dad always had bird dogs and it just didn’t get any better than to shoot quail over a good dog. I have a flues model Ithaca 16 gauge double that I believe may be the best bird gun I have ever owned. Light like a 20 gauge and wonderful balance. Funny thing but I have never shot anything but low brass bird shot in it.
The quail have made a wonderful comeback here since the government banned the use of DDT. I know many will dispute DDT had a detrimental affect on the birds but something sure cause the shells to get soft and their resurgence has coincided with the turkeys. I guess you could say the circumstantial evidence is tremendous. I have also traveled a lot to Pennsylvania to hunt pheasant, wow, what fun that was. Pheasants just never would take to Virginia however.
Never cared much for duck hunting either. Again, too much sitting and too cold….. Maybe I should rethink that now. Then again…. It would still be cold…
Now baseball… I had no idea Atlanta had a Japanese culture, what the the Braves do, show Kawakami a picture of a Japanese steak house in Buckhead?
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If none of that works, there’s a Publix about five miles from home. 😀
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Now, for salt and freshwater fishing
I was really curious to see what kind of firearm you used for that…imagine my disappointment when you talked about rods that were not of the gun variety! 😦
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Off to church… back later.
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Dandified city boy here, never even fired a gun…or bb gun! 😯 Think my parents feared I’d shoot my eye out. Of course, until I was 12, lived in apartments, kinda hard to find much space to fire weapons there.
Don’t think I could shoot an animal. Sure find ’em tasty though! 😀
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Of course, I found at as kids my parents both had BB guns, both had fired real guns(Mom grew up on rural Oregon)
And if there was a grizzly mouthing off to me, I could shoot that…or an uppity hippo.
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I had no idea Atlanta had a Japanese culture, what the the Braves do, show Kawakami a picture of a Japanese steak house in Buckhead?
😆
When I worked and later visited a friend in Duluth(Gwinnett county) I did see a lot of Asians in the bookstores, studying hard. Not sure what their background was. Dated a Korean-American girl for awhile, so I can spot Koreans fairly well, but beyond that, or very round faced Chinese….can’t tell what countries Asian folk are from by their appearance. Or when they speak. 😳
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Does that guy speak English – or will we have the ever-present interpreter hanging around? Bet Bobby winds up calling him ‘Kami’.
Berigan, I’ve always loved shooting, but at paper only. I have no pleasure in killing something. ‘Cept certain snakes. And spiders.
A grey, overcast, damp day here – but it’s 63 so I’ll not complain. I’m thankful for EVERY drop of rain we’ve had!! The ponds, lakes and rivers are recovering from the drought nicely.
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Yes CL… You will soon be up to you’re uknowwhat in frogs….
Berigan, I loved to shoot skeet too but the dang things are just too hard to clean… 🙂
I am a firm believer that every American should know how to handle a firearm even if it is to know how not to shoot yourself in the foot… Toes are not to be trifled with you know…
Maybe the Braves will hire a Japanese hitting coach, maybe he could get through to Frenchy, he sure didn’t seem to understand what TP was saying….
Something I did not mention yesterday but reading what the Atlanta brass was saying about John Smoltz and the offer that was made to him by the Braves, they said he would earn about 10 million dollars if he could pitch like the John Smoltz of old. If John could pitch like that again, they should offer him C.C. Sabathia money….
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CL, glad to hear the lakes are starting to fill up there! They are here as well, but of course they drain a lot out of Lanier to save some snail, or something and a hydro plant….
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Something I did not mention yesterday but reading what the Atlanta brass was saying about John Smoltz and the offer that was made to him by the Braves, they said he would earn about 10 million dollars if he could pitch like the John Smoltz of old. If John could pitch like that again, they should offer him C.C. Sabathia money….
Gil, right you are! I don’t think the braves braintrust gets what the Red Sox get…that rest early in the year, really helps older pitchers, and a break later in the year, helps just about all pitchers. They seem to think just grind thru it, everyone is tired, etc, etc…
IF Smoltz is successful this year, it will be because he won’t be pushed, especially early in the year…no starts on short rest, no going an extra inning or two to rest a weary bullpen. And it will add up come Sept and Oct….
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Gil, the garter snakes keep the frog population well in check! In fact, I could use a few more frogs to keep the mosquito population under control! 😀
I read somewhere that Wren said Boston was willing to pay John more to not pitch than the Braves were. What about the insurance? Is Smoltz not insurable now?? I hope John blows the socks off of every pitcher he faces this year! Braves included.
Hey, Ber! We’re doing well with rain this year. A couple of tropical storms helped enormously! 😛 Plus all the ‘regular’ rain we’ve finally gotten. The pond out back is full to the brim.
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Nothing is what it seems: Iron Eyes Cody wasn’t Indian. Son of Italian immigrants named Di Corda. Went to Hollywood young to become an actor, appeared in a couple of films under the name of Tony Di Corda, then decided to become Indian, shortened the surname to Cody and made up the first name. Legally changed his name. Died in his late 90s, still as an Indian.
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Wow, now we know where the internet gets it from, everyone has become a movie star. If the camera adds ten pounds, not to worry, the internet will take off 50….
Josie and I went to the nursing home to see mom today, helped her with her lunch and just visited for a while. Really sad to see someone fade before your eyes….
We are headed over to the southside this afternoon to have dinner with the oldest boy. Here goes another 10 pounds…. 🙂
You know what’s really funny, I don’t know a single person who is not overweight, myself included. I cannot understand the obsession folks have over how much they weigh. If God had wanted us skinny, he would not have allowed the franchising of McDonalds….
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Iron Eyes Cody wasn’t an Indian??? 😯 Next thing you will tell me is the Pope is Jewish!
IS FLB old enough to know IEC????
Oh, and CL, it’s only in the upper 40’s here! How can you be in the 60’s??? Breeze off the ocean???
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The cold front has not gotten that far east Ber….
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Gil, I bet CL ain’t overweight! I have one friend who doesn’t need to lose any weight. Then he’ll sound like a girl and say he needs to lose some weight, when he’s clearly not in the least fat!
Hey, if
ya’ll’suse guys ADD isn’t too bad, this 5 minute clip on Model T’s is pretty interesting! Dig the “roads” they could go over that most SUV’s couldn’t today!LikeLike
Then CL must live in Bermuda then! 😉
http://www.wunderground.com/
CL, you has some ‘spainin’ to do! 🙂
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Well, must be that time of day everyone does stuff away from the computer…I should do that as well!
Heres a link to the jazz forum I mention a bit, and the baseball part. Lots of Red Sox talk….Just look at that pitching without Smoltz to start the season! 😦
http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=47598&st=195&start=195
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No, Ber, I am not overweight. I am undertall.
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I am not overweight. I am undertall. CL 😆
Gil, I certainly wouldn’t advocate that everyone hunt… but it is a good idea to have a weapon for self protection and to know how to use it.
And yes… skeet shooting is fun and they are hard to clean (so many pieces). They have to be cooked a long time as well.
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“cooked a long time as well”
Wash. Biol. Surv.
(I still think that’s funny!)
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A couple of interesting tidbits from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe:
— Ben Sheets, free agent pitcher: We’re hearing more and more that a team like the Braves or Rangers could pony up a couple of years on a contract that would land the oft-injured righthander. At this stage of free agency, he seems like big-time quality for a price that has surely come down. “I think as the weeks go on, more and more teams are going to take a good, hard look at him,” said a National League manager. “Given his history, he’s just not going to get a big deal, and the realization might be sinking in that he and his agents know it.” I seriously doubt it, based on the Braves’ desire to have certainty with regard to the rotation…
— Adam Dunn, free agent first baseman/outfielder/DH: This five-time 40-home run hitter is still out there, with the price coming down. Still a few potential destinations. An emerging one is Atlanta, where the Braves need a left fielder.I’m getting a funny feeling about this one. It won’t surprise me if he ends up in Atlanta…
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Boy, all that talk of Smoltz sure aged Raisins. But he looks so sad… or melancholy. The tan he has from hanging around in the sunshine makes him wrinkled but at least he looks like a healthy raisin.
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You know, on my computer, the image is still the Braves cap. What is everyone else seeing?
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IEC
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Old Iron Eyes. Italian-American Indian
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Hmmm… doesn’t exactly support my “moving on” statement, does it?
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I wonder why I still see the Braves cap? Then again, at least I can upload images, right IM? 😀
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BP’s John Perrotto gives his take on the top 20 remaining FA’s:
* Manny Ramirez – Dodgers
* Orlando Cabrera – Athletics
* Derek Lowe – Braves/Mets/Cubs
* Adam Dunn – Nationals
* Bobby Abreu – Reds
* Ben Sheets – Rangers
* Orlando Hudson – Nationals
* Andy Pettitte – Astros (at less than $10MM)
* Jason Varitek – Red Sox (at less than $10MM)
* Ty Wigginton – Astros
* Ivan Rodriguez – Not much of a market, may have to take a minor-league deal with an invite to Spring Training if he’s not signed soon. Could he end up involuntarily retired, a la Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and Mike Piazza?
* Kevin Millar – Orioles
* Mark Grudzielanek – Padres
* Braden Looper – Brewers
* Garret Anderson, Eric Hinske, Ray Durham, Jim Edmonds, Paul Byrd, Odalis Perez – All of them (with the exception of Byrd, who may retire) are drawing little to no interest and may be without a club on Opening Day.
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I see Derek Lowe…just trying to Jinx us, aren’t you! 😛
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Then again, at least I can upload images, right IM?
Now, Mr. Raisns… that is hitting below the belt. Besides, even if I did upload my picture, it would still look like the white backdrop because, well, you know…
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😆
😆
😆
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Nationals interested in Nady, Swisher(As in both-no mention of what they can offer back though)
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090110&content_id=3739097&vkey=hotstove2008&fext=.jsp
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The series, 24 starts back tonight. 😀
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ital? S’pozed ta be 24 in bold.
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There…
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Bear, I would not be at all surprised to see the Nationals become a division threat within a few years.
Prez Stan Kasten ain’t no slouch and he knows how to run an organization. Remember the giant sucking sound in Atlanta around, wasn’t it 99? JS may have made some trades but methinks Kasten was the brains behind the outfit.
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IM… Not only do you have a lot of pieces but they tend to be a bit on the gooey side. Of course they are not as bad a golf eggs, them bad boys are really a tough nut to crack…
Yes, I am fast losing my connection to the Braves, no kids to watch grow in the system, no TBS to watch every night. All the old players with whom I am familiar are moving on. Shucks, might as well root for the Pirates… Same, only different… Actually, some familiar faces can be seen and heard in DC
Yes, Stan Kasten is a pretty sharp operator. The Nats were hurt by MLB because they pretty much shut down the Expos’ farm system. Washington had to start from scratch. I will give y’all a report on some of their prospects if you are interested.
They are still pitching poor but they have a few kids in the pipeline, going to be a couple of more years though.
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Howdy folks! Just stopped in for a quick visit and to check on the condition of y’all’s condition!
Been a pretty brutal winter for Braves fans. I haven’t been reading much of the blog the past few months so I don’t know what the denizens think but it appears to me that the ATL is not as desirable a place to play any more. Three years of no playoffs, lousy ownership, BC nearing retirement, etc. and suddenly no one wants to don the tomahawk! Hey, even Rome fell too!
I’ll try to get back soon. Let’s hope Wren doesn’t screw up the Lowe deal!
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Holy Crap, it’s Chris!!!!! 😯 😯 😯 😯
I thought we’d never see you again! 😦
I was wrong!!!! 🙂
Yes, people are almost ready to give up on the team, but being with a team is like being in a co-dependent relationship, just can’t quite let go! 😛
We may cheat on her a bit this year though….truth be told, I get a little AL on the side….
Seriously, don’t be a stranger! Don’t have to read every post, just stop in a say hey. I know FLB misses your 11:30 PM arrivals….
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Not only do you have a lot of pieces but they tend to be a bit on the gooey side. Of course they are not as bad a golf eggs, them bad boys are really a tough nut to crack…
Gil, ya gotta help me out here. What on earth are you referring to? Maybe it’s just late and I’m slow, so gimme sumpin’ ta go on…
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KLOBBER!!!
I haven’t been reading much of the blog the past few months so I don’t know what the denizens think but it appears to me that the ATL is not as desirable a place to play any more.
Well, Klobber… if you’ll go back and read the blog you’ll find that we’ve solved most of the world’s problems. As far as the Braves problems go, we’re still workin’ on it. 😆
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Skeet, IM. Your earlier post??
CHRIS!!!! You sure made my day!!!! Hope you can pop in now and then to say HOWDY and check up on SG. Since he lost his avatar, he’s calling himself Invisible Man, aka IM. If he had a real computer, he could fix that! Wow, it’s good to see you!!!!!
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Real computer? REAL COMPUTER???
A R E A L C O M P U T E R ? ? ?
No, I think WordPress is so jealous of my mac that it works against me.
Much like it does Salty… only different. 😆
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Skeet, IM. Your earlier post??
❓
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No, it’s used to working with computers and isn’t sure what to make of that contraption you have! 😆
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😯
Have mercy… and don’t be so jealous.
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Oops – it was GIL who mentioned skeet after your post on hunting, fishing, etc this morning. My mistake. I think I made one last year, too, but I’m not sure…….
😆
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Time for a shower and some z’s.
Got that dreaded MRI tomorrow.
It is ‘supposed’ to be a newer model that is “more open.” I may or may not have the test.
“We can give you a Valium,” they said.
I told them that they don’t HAVE enough Valium to get me closed up in close quarters! Nope. Nada. Un-uh.
The lady said “It’s not as close as the others.” We’ll see.
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Chris!!!! (((hugs))) 🙂 🙂 🙂
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Poor CL. My sister feels the same way & unfortunately she’s needed a few of ’em over the years. I’m not sure I’d be too comfy in that thing either & I’m not claustrophobic but I luckily haven’t been in need of one yet.
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Ber, I kinda sorta know who Mr. Cody is but I think the height of his fame was a little before my time.
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Thanks for all the warm greetings! I’ve missed y’all but have had other things occupying my mind the last few months.
CL, it didn’t take me long to figure out that IM is really SG (based on the length of a couple of his posts)!!!! (insert smiley face here)
Good luck with that MRI tomorrow. I hope all turns out well.
BTW, SG, errrr, I mean IM, since I’ve been gone liquor cost at Klobber’s Knob Creek Saloon have been out of control. That Kahlua in all those white Russkies is killing me!
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You do know that he let BAS have the key & go in there unsupervised, right?
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FBG, I know you and CL aren’t the reason for the high costs. Diet Coke is cheap. Maybe it was Gil. Jameson isn’t cheap either.
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I hadn’t noticed any erratic behavior from Gil but he could just hold his liquor well.
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Of course having my now-retired dad underfoot all the time may yet drive me to drink. On the flip side, he can go to Tiger anytime. Looks like he & I will spend 6 weeks in the spring, by far the longest we’ve stayed up there.
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I was wondering if you had relocated to your new palace in NE Ga yet.
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No. The way real estate is going here it’s going to take a lot longer than we hoped. Plus the work being done there is moving at a half-dead snail’s pace.
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Real estate is in the dumper here too. We’re seeing small business close almost every day here too. THe restaurant biz seems to be hit especially hard and THAT is just killing my business.
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I think the only thing saving a lot of the restaurants down here is that the snowbirds are here in full force. You’d think some of ’em would stay home in Michigan & Ohio to save money.
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Even though the economy is horrible, cheap gas prices are bringing the snowbirds down. That’s actually a good thing for the economy in FL.
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Still seeing stores close though. Thank goodness Mom & Melissa are in health care, people will always need that.
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Closed all the Circuit City stores here, 3 FYE music stores closed as well..
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Without sounding like too much of a Debbie Downer, I expect things to get much, much worse at least the first half of the year. FBG, be grateful that your Mom and sister are in a relatively recession-proof industry.
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Retirement is recession proof too, not inflation proof though. Good to see you Chris… The good thing about alcohol is you can switch to the cheaper stuff in a pinch.
Ber, the rest of the Circuit City stores may close this week. If something does not happen by Tuesday, they will be put on the auction block. Did you know Car Max is owned by Circuit City too? I may be able to get a HD TV yet. Just waiting to swoop in like a vulture.
FBG, Aside from Michigan, I think Florida and Georgia are two of the hardest hit states when it comes to real estate prices. If you look at it though, the home values are about where they should have been all along.
The bad thing about the bail out was it allowed banks to withstand the downturn. If the government had stayed out of it, they would have been forced to negotiate with people in restructuring their mortgages. Now they are not worried as they have enough capital to weather any storm. They can foreclose on a house and wait it out.
SG… I take it CL explained the joke well enough….
I forget that only Josie can read my mind most of the time. 🙂
We had a very pleasant evening at our oldest son’s home tonight. The youngest grandson, Hunter, has to be the happiest baby I have ever seen. 10 months old and all ready walking everywhere.
And oh by the way, CL, the new open sided MRIs are pretty airy. Still noisy but airy. Josie is claustrophobic too so I always had to go in the room with her and hold her hand during the test. Funny how married people are…. 🙂
I found valium to be effective but it always brought out the beast in me when it wore off… Did you know all valium does is erase the memory of a bad experience? It’s still unpleasant but you don’t remember it. Absolutely the worse stuff to take before a big test… Sure you are calmer but you cannot remember the answers… 🙂
Looks like my spring training plan is coming together. Wow, just when I am not crazy about the team anymore. JoAnn finally decided she needed a vacation so I told he to book a cruise tomorrow. Looks like it will be the first week in March. When we get back I am going to drive to Sarasota to spend a little time with my youngest son and his family.
FBG… Maybe you can get together with Josie and I when we come through? Will have firmer details later.
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Klobber, we were getting short on Kahlua and the Skyy vodka so I called the distributor and had a few more cases delivered to your saloon. I didn’t want you coming back to a poorly stocked saloon and all. By the way, the saloon hasn’t been making much money tho. I’ve been, uh, giving drinks away so that we could build a loyal customer base and get the big crowds in there. The patrons all seem very happy.
While I was at it, I ordered a few more incidentals on the Klobber’s Knob Creek Saloon line of credit. Pretty cool… the delivery man was so nice and said you don’t have to pay ’til you get back. Hope you don’t mind. Small stuff, you know… saloons must be stocked, right? Here’s the list:
Pretzels, Diet Coke (real and that lead-free stuff that CL drinks), peanuts, Goldfish snacks, customized Klobber bar naps (got a deal on the printing), little umbrellas for those FBG and Josie drinks, olives (man cannot live by white rooskies alone), light bulbs, Kleenex tissue, four 50″ screen HD TV’s, soap, lemons, limes… you know, just the small stuff every good bar needs.
Hope that was Ok.
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Gil writes very long posts.
CL… good luck on the MRI and hope you don’t get claustrapho, uh, clostro, er, classtrefob…
Hope you don’t mind the partially enclosed tube thingy.
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Here’s an interesting article about loyalty in baseball. It’s largely about Smoltz, Glavine and the Braves. I don’t remember how to do a link so I’ll just cut and paste the url.
http://www.murraychass.com/?p=429
IM, just the small stuff, huh?
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be grateful that your Mom and sister are in a relatively recession-proof industry.
Does my real estate related business count? 😦
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By the way, great to see ya Klobber! 😀
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Very interesting article, Chris! I thought the Braves said that WREN would be doing the negotiating – but here is Schuerholz (sp?) in the middle of the Smoltz deal. I thought I smelled a rat!
Chris, we LOVE having you amongst us where you belong!!! 😀
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Thanks for the good wishes, everyone! H-Hour is 1:00 – 3:00.
Gil, glad to get your input on that thing.
FYI: the poll results came up negative so I’ll just leave it as it is.
Gil, your email comment this morning was right on, but one is enough, I think.
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Hey! How about this!!! I just got notification that I have been selected as the winner in a Free Lotto drawing and I’ll receive $10 Million within 3 business days of the time I send them my banking information. Pretty nice of them, isn’t it? 😆
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CL, I have had 2 MRI’s in the past. One on my right shoulder (they found my torn rotator cuff) and one on my head (they didn’t find anything 🙂 )
When I had those, I drew on a relaxation technique I learned in a Speech class back in college. Basically, just focus on a “place” – your “place”. It should be a place you desire to be, where you can kick back, relax and just simply enjoy being. For me, it was poolside at the beach. I envisioned laying on a poolside deck chair, with a cool drink (not Diet Coke at that time) at my side, with the sound of the surf, birds, splashing, the smell of the salt air, the feeling of a warm breeze, everything. If you really close your eyes and focus on all the things that all 5 senses are experiencing, you can almost transport yourself there. It worked well for me. The doctor told me he had never had a better picture of a shoulder than mine. And this was 19 years ago, when they didn’t have the more open equipment.
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Thanks for the tip, Raisins. One of my favorite places is on the ferry between Cedar Island and Ocracoke. That 3-hour ride brings out the seafaring side of my ancestry, I think!
I think that I’ll mostly be praying, though! 😀
(I think about that tube and my heart starts racing….)
I’ll be SO glad when it is over!!!
They’re doing one of my left shoulder and one of the lumbar spine. The second one will be nothing, but the shoulder 😯 ….well….. I think a really good xray would do just as well!
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This lady does an outstanding job – 99% at her own expense – of taking in injured animals. If you’re interested:
http://wildlifebabies.org/index.htm
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So… what is my avatar today? I still see the Braves cap. 😕
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Raisins, it’s a RHP. Not sure exactly who though.
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I see a pitcher, also. Raisins, you may have to clear the cache; your computer seems to be using that instead of actually reading what is on the server.
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Looks like Lowe.
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It’s down to 40 degrees here this morning (the cold front arrived, Ber!) and one very spoiled cat wants me to warm it up so he won’t get his dainty, little feet cold!
They truly believe we are all-powerful, don’t they?? 😆
Any baseball news this morning?
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Gotta scoot. Meetings, meetings and more meetings.
Klobber, I hope the incidentals meet with your approval. Just little stuff.
CL, just tell’em to give you headphones so you don’t hear that ticking sound. Maybe some Led Zepp or Rolling Stones music to calm the nerves.
Later gators… and bulldogs and razorbacks and tides and tigers and all other beasts of sports…
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Ticking???
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you may have to clear the cache
Boy, there is an analogy there that I won’t even begin to explore, but good advice indeed! 😀
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I just cleared my cache and boy do I feel better!!! 😀
And I can now see Lowe…
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Raisins, IM cleared me of my cash but I DON”T feel better!
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😆 Klobber
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“They truly believe we are all-powerful, don’t they??”
Uh, you are the one who operates the can opener, right CL? 🙂
Great link Chris… Thanks
IM/SG.. I’m learning from the best 🙂
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Slow news morning…
Braves probably haven’t yet presented Lowe with a formal offer, but it should come today or tomorrow. Let’s hope it’s realistic enough show the Braves are serious.
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This in email from Paladin:
“This is hysterical!! Please read the whole text. I wish I had taken the same “creative writing” class as his staff.
Judy Wallman, professional genealogy researcher here in southern California, was doing some personal work on her own family tree. She discovered that Harry Reid’s great-great uncle, Remus Reid, was hanged for horse stealing and train robbery in Montana in 1889. Both Judy and Harry Reid share this common ancestor.
The only known photograph of Remus shows him standing on the gallows in Montana territory. On the back of the picture Judy obtained during her research is this inscription: ‘Remus Reid, horse thief, sent to Montana Territorial Prison 1885, escaped 1887, robbed the Montana Flyer six times. Caught by Pinkerton detectives, convicted and hanged in 1889.’
So Judy recently e-mailed Congressman Harry Reid for information about their great-great uncle.
Believe it or not, Harry Reid’s staff sent back the following biographical sketch for her genealogy research:
‘Remus Reid was a famous cowboy in the Montana Territory. His business empire grew to include acquisition of valuable equestrian assets and intimate dealings with the Montana railroad. Beginning in 1883, he devoted several years of his life to government service, finally taking leave to resume his dealings with the railroad. In 1887, he was a key player in a vital investigation run by the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency. In 1889, Remus passed away during an important civic function held in his honor when the platform upon which he was standing collapsed.’
NOW THAT is how it’s done folks! That’s real SPIN.”
😆
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The bad thing about the bail out was it allowed banks to withstand the downturn. If the government had stayed out of it, they would have been forced to negotiate with people in restructuring their mortgages. Now they are not worried as they have enough capital to weather any storm. They can foreclose on a house and wait it out.
Gil, that’s a very good point! Of course we HAD to bail out the banks. If we hadn’t, why credit would be real tight right now as well….oh, wait….
It’s funny, people got all ape poopy over 30 Bil to the auto industry(Not saying they don’t need reforming) but that 700 billion made not nearly the same upset….
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And CL, I forgot to mention the MRI thingy…they have gotten much better thru the years! And besides, you are used to being in cramped tubes that you can’t move around much in anyway, right???
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But THEY have lots of windows, Ber. You can see OUT. Don’t be puttin’ me in no BOX! (shudder)
Gotta go get dressed. Don’t know why; once you get there, they just take your clothes away. Should just put on my bathrobe and be done with it. 😆
OK. As McArthur said……
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After 3 days of a grueling trip sequence where NOTHING had gone right, a fellow Flt Attendant said, “There are only 3 things I don’t like about this job: airplanes, pilots and passengers!” 😆
At that point in time, after SNOW, delays, running hours late, cancellations, grumpy pilots, balky airplanes, little sleep, no food, and disgruntled passengers who held the crew personally responsible for all the above, that was funny!
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Windows? Both of my MRIs were in narrow windowless tubes.
Another piece of advice, don’t drink coffee before going… I guess it’s a bit late for that one, huh?:D
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Chris, that Murray Chass article was very interesting!
The Braves, however, know Smoltz much more intimately than the Red Sox or any other team that was interested in Smoltz, including the Yankees, who had preliminary discussions with his agent. Considering that the Red Sox had a pretty decent rotation already, they weren’t going to throw millions at a pitcher with a questionable future.
If they felt comfortable with the offer they made Smoltz, why weren’t the Braves willing to offer a higher guarantee, especially since their manager, Bobby Cox, had watched Smoltz throw and was impressed with where he was at that stage of his rehabilitation.
A good question with no answer. Funny, JS sounds just like Wren…wonder why??? 🙄
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You are just a great big help V! 😡
bet your Mom said something to that effect more than once to you! 😛
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Bill Madden, NY Daily News:
As for the Nationals, the Lerner ownership continues to do everything possible to kill baseball in Washington for a third time. After non-tendering their winningest pitcher, Tim Redding (10 wins) because they didn’t want to pay him $3 million, they made a frivolous and futile run at Teixeira and were likewise spurned by Milton Bradley. Thus, nothing has been done to improve the worst team in baseball last year. It’s only a matter of time before respected Stan Kasten, whose talents have been wasted by the Lerners, leaves to take the Toronto Blue Jays’ presidency.
Wow. It’s good to know that a team not named The Braves can catch some heat this offseason.
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Someone across the street said he heard Wren on 790theZone (a crappy local sports radio channel) this morning and said Wren let it out that he had a trade proposal on his desk right now that has been 6 weeks in the making.
Well, that kicks the door wide open for speculation, doesn’t it? 😯
(By the way, he also said a Peavy deal is no longer an option… )
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As I sit and ponder that statement – has been 6 weeks in the making – it occurs to me that it can’t be a passing random offer if it has been “in the making”. That says to me that he has been involved in its making. It must be under serious consideration.
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And if they are seriously pursuing Lowe, the trade proposal has to be for a LF, doesn’t it?
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I guess so V…hmmm….I still don’t feel like the braves trust Josh Anderson(though it might have made sense to play him for more than a month in a 90 loss season, but what do I know?) and Heyward might be 2 years away…Dye??? Delmon Young , who the Twins keep wanting to trade after giving away way too much to get him from the Devil Rays??? I would think they’d want a bat back though….
So much is riding on Frenchy rebounding. In case you didn’t know that. 😕
Heyward could play right in a year or so if he doesn’t bounce back, but if he does, why trade for a younger left fielder??? Why not just give Dunn or Abreu a decent (though lower every day) 2 year contract, instead of trading away more of the farm???
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Don’t even know why I tossed in Josh Anderson’s name! We know they are not going to have Anderson and Schafer each start….perhaps my silly brain was thinking Schafer might still be traded, but Anderson still wouldn’t start, so we would need two outfielders??? I’ll ask my brain later when it wakes up.
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Anderson, while a decent OF, doesn’t have the pop the Braves want/need so badly. And Schafer will be the guy in CF, IMO.
If it is a trade that brings the LF, it likely won’t be for a young guy. It’ll be for Dye or someone like that. Else, they’ll go the FA route with a 2-3 year deal.
Realistically, Heyward may not be blocked by an outfield acquisition anyway. I do not know exactly when FrenchBraid becomes arbi or FA eligible, but it could coincide with the arrival of Mr. Heyward, who is a RF in the minors.
Just sayin’…
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Here’s the audio (and transcript) from the 790 interview:
http://multimedia.790thezone.com/m/21750200/braves-general-manager-frank-wren.htm
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So.. in the actual interview, he stated he has a trade proposal for a pitcher on his desk right now. Sounds like a back up plan to Lowe. That reduces the adrenaline level a bit…
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HOF results:
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090112&content_id=3740171&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
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Braves Sign Omar Infante To Extension
By Tim Dierkes [January 12 at 2:11pm CST]
According to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Braves signed Omar Infante to a two-year deal with a club option. Troy Renck says the deal is worth $4.35MM. The club 2011 club option is for $2.5MM with a $250K buyout. I believe that would buy out one free agent year.
Infante, 27, hit .293/.338/.416 in 348 plate appearances in ’08 while playing second base, shortstop, third base, left field, and center field. The Braves acquired Infante and Will Ohman a year ago from the Cubs for Jose Ascanio.
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Can’t argue with those two choices V!
Don’t know when Andre Dawson ,
Bert Blyleven and Tim Raines will get in. Soon I hope. Dale Murphy got 62 votes. 🙄
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Jayson Stark on the HOF candidates(Makes a good case for Dale Murphy)
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/hof09/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=3818624
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OK. As McArthur said……
CL, you mean when he said, “Pilot, I want you to fly this damn tin can around this podunk airport until you see that damn Truman land, get out of his plane and be standing on the asphalt with him arms crossed. Then and ONLY then will you set this thing down. I don’t wait for Harry… Harry waits on me. Let’im put that in his pipe and smoke it”.
Was that what you were referring to? 😆
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If anyone has any doubts of the absolute hatred of Israel, and Jews in general, check out the photos of these progressives in San Fran….
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Gosh, a link might be helpful….
http://zombietime.com/gaza_war_protest/
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Something like that, IM……. 😆
Gil. Please define ‘airy’.
I survived. Not as bad as I imagined; not as good as I hoped. But it’s done. (We need an icon for totally frazzled!)
Home Sweet Home
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I would comment on the rally you linked, Ber, but I won’t waste perfectly good energy on the cesspool of the human gene pool! NYC was setting up for the very same rally when I visited this weekend (in and out before the snow!). It struck me that, for cities that are low on $$, they spend a lot on allowing rallys/parades to happen so other organizations can collect funds! 🙄
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Very good move to extend Infante. Now, if they can just take care of that with another certain infielder… 🙂
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I know you all suffered considerable angst over our friend Smoltzy! Now…I’m a fan of his bullheaded never say die attitude…an admirable warrior. Still, I’ve never been overly struck that he’s a team first before a ‘me first’. That puts me in the minority, but the man’s a walking interview and pub seeker in my view.
I still think he’ll be good in broadcasting when he hangs up his cleats…maybe as soon as early summer. He may well take the call to the post…but I’m not so sure he’ll stay long. Remember this: he’s always looked outstanding every time he’s returned…yet each return was shorter and shorter. Curse Wren & Co if you want, I did initially, but someone has to be pragmatic, and an athlete on his last ego run isn’t the best judge. Just sayin…
If you want the true team man, I nominate Chipper. Interesting…when Smoltz called him out a couple of season back, they seem to have let bygones be bygones. I wonder, though, if Smoltz would have been as disappointed in Chipper leaving if the shoe had been on the other foot.
Yikes…I must have contracted NYC cynicism on my trip! 😯
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VOR…your avatar: you gettin’ low with Lowe?!? 😆
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The last MRI I had done was open on each side with only like four columns supporting it. Very wide open.. Of course it was brand new too so that may have had something to do with it. Glad you survived …
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Yeah, Saltman… that’s the Lowe-down, anyhow…
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Looks like KK will be announced tomorrow at 3:30p press conference.
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Salty, It’s hard to have a guy who wants to be “The Guy” when it comes to pressure situations also be the shy retiring type too. John is the ultimate A type personality. He would not be the competitor that he is were it not so. Like I have said many times, I don’t want the guy who comes to a team so he can play on a winner, I want the guy who wants to come to a team to make it a winner.
Okay, enough about Smoltz, what the odds that the deal Wren is referring to is either to KC involving Frenchy or New York for Swisher or Nady?
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More likely for Maholm in Pittsburgh…
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Glad you survived CL! Howdy Salty!
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Salty, NYC will make you cynical if you stay too long. Welcome back to the civilized world, where cynicism is replaced by ‘callin’ it like it is’ and where “you’re fired, clear out” is replaced by, “I love ya like a brother, but, shucks y’all, hate to break it to ya and all, but, well, you know, it’s like this…” 😆
Now, I have a little philosophical baseball bone to pick, not with you per se, but with the avalanche of negative sentiment regarding “the ego of Smoltz”. It’s almost as though the spin machine has unleashed a story that can only work to the advantage of Frank Wren and the Braves management and diminish Smoltz. I’m not buying it for one second.
Whether it was wisdom or folly letting Smoltz go (or Smoltz going) as awkwardly as it turned out can be argued on both sides by reasonable people. However, I believe that bringing “ego” into the argument is being shallow, unfair to Smoltz and is a red herring, missing the point of the issue… I really do. It seems that the “ego albatross” has been hung around John Smoltz’ neck, which is uncalled for and just happens to be very convenient for Wren and company. I’m not saying that Wren’s PR machine is responsible, but it does suit them just fine.
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Evenin’, everybody!
Gil, this was one definitely a TUBE. Maybe a little wider than the previous models, but a tube, nevertheless. I am so glad to have that behind me! 🙂
Hey, Salty! Glad to have you back!
One point I find interesting is that John Schuerholz hasn’t uttered a peep for a year. Now, suddenly, HE’S in on the Smoltz ‘negotiation.’ That tells me a lot. It’s still between those two and Smoltz told him what he could do with it. Now we’re hearing the platitudes from the front office.
So what did Schuerholz accomplish?
*He got rid of Smoltz – and we do need pitching, do we not?
*He royally ticked off Chipper, the team leader, who will now finish his career elsewhere. Hide and watch.
*He absolutely broke Bobby’s heart. He’ll retire after this season.
*The rest of the team knows each is just fodder for trades or whatever. They’ll just bide their time in ATL, knowing they’ll be leaving at some point in time on the meat wagon.
*Players from other teams really don’t want to come to ATL now.
Saloon open?
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IM…I haven’t read the first article about Smoltz and the Braves…only saw headlines and that’s it. My comments come simply from glossing over (I mean that in a good way) the comments of some Stuff-villians (not villains) and the headline banners. That’s it. My opine was of my making from what I’ve seen and heard through the years.
The Braves management, frankly, ‘screwed the pooch’, as the saying goes. I think it was evident to all what their approach was, but heck, come out and say it. Remaining silent only played the Smoltz’s advantage, both in the deal he got, and public perception. They were never gonna win, but at least they’d have forced dialogue and commentary in the court of public opinion…perhaps enough to forge a tie! 😆 I’m pretty confident had they told Smoltz their plan of action, he’d have ‘buffooned’ his way through the media looking for sympathy.
At day’s end, loyalty goes both ways…greed only sends you one way. My humble opinion, naturally. Still, if Smoltz wanted to be a Brave forever more, it was his call…solely. If he was sitting in management’s chair, he knew darn well their concerns. He can’t have it both ways. He wants the Braves to field a winner…and pay him guaranteed money…with no guarantee he can even go to the post? Uh uh…homey don’t play dat way. The very money given Smoltz might be the difference in acquiring the very talent needed.
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IM and CL, tellin’ it like it is!!!
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Hey, anyone got 10 Mil in their seat cushions???? Perhaps we can help the braves out here. Sounds like one pitcher is getting lowballed….
Mets Make Offer To SP Perez?
By Ben Jones [January 12 at 7:19pm CST]
According to Matthew Cerrone of SNY.tv’s MetsBlog.com, Jon Heyman of SI.com reported on the MLB Network’s show Hot Stove that the New York Mets made an offer to starting pitcher Oliver Perez.
The offer, apparently, is three years worth close to $30MM.
\
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/01/mets-make-offer.html
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You make some valid points, Salty. Ultimately, John COULD have chosen to accept Schuerholz’ offer, but it became a ‘point of honor’, if you will.
And, John believes in his heart that he CAN pitch and win. Bobby was really impressed with what he saw John do from the mound. McCann (I think it was) said he was already throwing in the 90s, the curve had a real bite, vintage Smoltz.
I’ll have to chalk this one up to Schuerholz ego, and an old war-horse who has earned his stripes refuses to be dissed.
I’ll still love ya even if we don’t agree on all points! Next drink is on my tab!
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Howdy folks. CL, the saloon is ALWAYS open for you!
There is only one “true” Brave left. That’s Chipper, of course. Anyone want to wager that this is his last year with Atlanta?
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BTW CL, and I apologize for not saying this a moment ago but I’m glad to hear you survived your time in the torpedo tube!
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Hey Chris!!! I can be just a wee bit pessimistic at times( I know, hard to believe!!!) but, I can also be completely, irrationally optimistic as well(I think I heard Jessica Biel is single right now, we should get together! 😀 )
IF we get Lowe, and a big bopper behind Chipper, he might just want to return. Of course, the Braves will want a hometown discount…again…
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Thanks, Chris! Torpedo tube is the perfect adjective for that contraption!
Ice cold Diet Coke, pretty please?
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Ber, you’re probably right about the hometown discount. I wonder if Chipper’s in the mood to give one. Rather doubt it.
There are still a ton of free agents out there. Providing Frenchy makes it back to what he was, we still have a chance. The Phillies will be tough. THe Mets are the Mets. They’ve choked the last two years away. I don’t see Florida or Wash doing much (sorry Gil). The season’s not over yet!
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I think with Bobby gone, Chipper will playing a lot closer to his Texas ranch in ’10. He’ll have no reason to stay with the Braves.
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I just hope this year the Braves wind up with people whose names we recognize!
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Wonder what kind of music Kamakazi will choose? Cherry Blossoms in the Wind or something? 😆
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Klobber, set me up with a rooskie. I’ll be sittin’ on this side o’ the bar tonight. Hey… we need some new bar stools. 😆
On the Smoltz issue, which is even bigger than any single Brave, including Smoltzy: Look at how many of “Braves fans” have instantly turned on John Smoltz, the consummate warrior for so many years.
Say what you will about the negotiating situation, surmise all you want about who did what to whom in the ‘he said, he said’ scenarios and calculate until your fingers bleed with the dollar amount offered vs. value expected vs. what Smoltz staying could have meant in incremental revenue, “good will”, pitcher recruiting and fan appreciation… even if he sat in the dugout and never threw a single pitch in 2009.
The money we would have spent on Smoltz would not have made one single difference in whether we could also sign another ace and a big bat in LF. None. The view of “either keep and pay Smoltz or make the team younger and better so we can win in 09” is either narrow or disingenuous.
It’s not a well-reasoned argument to take a simple math approach and say that any money that went to Smoltz would be less for another arm or a bat. That’s fair. Simple and shortsighted, but fair. The difference in money was $2-3 million. In baseball terms, that’s chump change. Simple black and white perspective about saving the money is ludicrous. But to throw John’s ego into the conversation just adds emotion and slander into the situation. I’m still scratching my head about how so many “Braves fans” could even go there. Perhaps there’s a certain naiveté or ignorance around what we expect from those that excel in sports.
Now, if one thinks that Smoltz had the kind of bloated, narcissistic, overwhelming ego that goes beyond the norm for superstars and that Smoltz was completely unmanageable, that’s another issue… but that is not the case. I challenge anyone to prove otherwise.
Further, what has ego got to do with anything? Ego is relative. Ego is measured by degrees and by people that bring their own ego into the measurement. What normal, functional human being doesn’t have an ego? What major league ace doesn’t have ego? Hell, Wickman had an ego the size of his Sumo suit. Scheurholz, Wren, Cox and Pendelton have egos. Glavine and Maddux had healthy egos. Want more? Cy Young and Christy Mathewson had egos, as did Koufax, Drysdale, Aaron, Mantle, Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, all of your favorite players and certainly all HOF players.
So, when you put a value judgment on the Wren-Smoltz argument, try to refrain from ego as an issue, because it’s not. Even if it were, Wren and Smoltz would have canceled that issue out with each other. If Wren didn’t try harder to sign Smoltz because of his own ego or John’s, then he should be fired as quickly as he got fired from the Orioles for being such a jerk to Cal Ripken and others.
People, there’s a lot more to baseball and this situation than simple math, rigid stats, rules of thumb about dismissing Cy Young winning, HOF bound, loyal, lifelong franchise stars when they have surgery, one more year to play and the city and fans love them, come to see them and buy jerseys with their name on the back… ego and all.
Otherwise, baseball is nothing more than horse racing and betting the odds… and we know what happens to horses that are retired. Hey, if you think the move by Wren and the Braves was a good one, fine… but I’ll just ask you folks to show some respect for the good guy that was a major reason your team saw the postseason all those years.
That has to be worth something even to the “just shoot the horse now because we’ve already won the tournament of roses” crowd.
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I’ll take an unpopular but honest stand before heading to bed.
All of these guys, Smoltz, Wren, Bobby, Chipper, etc. are all professionals. They know what they are doing and why they are doing it. I shed no tears for any of them individually, but only as part of the team I root for. I harbor no ill feelings toward Smoltz for leaving because it was what he felt he needed to do. Likewise, I harbor no ill feelings toward the Braves management because they did what they needed to do. In reality, both are better off.
In my opinion, this will not play into Bobby’s decision to stay or go. He has stayed around because he loves to manage. It is in his best interests. If Wren went to Chipper tomorrow with a reasonable extension offer, Chipper would probably take it because it is in his best interests.
Like I said, these guys are professionals. Whether we like it or not, that’s the reality. I’ll love the 2009 version of the Braves as much as I did 1999, 1989, 1979 and will in 2019, God willing.
That’s how I roll. 😀
G’night…
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IM, sounds like we agree.
BTW, I guess it’s good that Smoltzie isn’t a horse. They would have put him down years ago!
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Chris, they might have tried, but I think he would have kicked the stuffings out of them! 😆
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Time to call this one a day! Chris, FBG will be along shortly.
‘Night, y’all!
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Raisins, you are… we all know… a good, sensible and fair man. You are factually correct in your “fairness” but sometimes you have to take a stand on a situation. Not black and white but actually very gray… my only difference with your opine, substantively, is that I DO have ill feelings against what the Braves organization has become and what it is doing. No ill will towards anyone personally, mind you, but ill feelings toward Liberty, Wren (who I now believe is a jerk), JS (who has always been a jerk (albeit our jerk) behind the scenes, and the things they do that are so shortsighted and calculating… saving 2 million on Smoltz and squandering many millions by doing so.
So, that’s my decision, my belief and my cause. Dump Wren, Liberty please sell and retire Scheurholz as soon as possible. The management suits have become the story and that is not why I watch baseball and follow the Braves.
I follow the Braves because of the Tomahawk and because they have been my team for so many years due to geography… but also because of the players and the organization.
Wanna hear something else? Glavine was crucified by the Braves machine and the homers that hate players that leave. How about JS’s role in that? Glavine was dissed by JS even when he wanted to stay. We owe Tom some loyalty now. Most “blog fans” don’t believe that but I do.
I have much more respect for Glavine and Smoltz than I ever will for the suspenders and suits of Scheurholz and Wren. No contest.
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Sleep well CL!
Hi FBG!
IM, as far as those new bar stools go, well, you spent all my money on frivolous stuff like napkins and soap so you can sit on this stack of beer boxes.
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Klobber, I was thinkin’… maybe we go ahead and spring for a Mercedes for the the one and only Stuffville bar, Klobber’s Saloon. The we can take the citizens of Stuffville home when they’ve had one too many Diet Cokes and such. It’s a safety thing. Public service and all.
We can just take cash out of the register to pay for it. No problem. What think?
Maybe a soft top… convertible for after summer game time shuttles? 😀
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Maybe a HD satellite TV for the Merc? What if a good, loyal Stuffvilee patron has to go home in the 8th inning?
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Hi Chris! 🙂
Glad to see our fearless leader survived her dangerous mission today. I knew you were tougher than that ol’ tube, CL.
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Oh sure, it’s easy to spend someone else’s money. Maybe you could help me market this place and draw some new customers in?
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Now, IM, we’re a friendly small town. We can walk ’em home.
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CL was right. I knew it was ’bout time for you to show your red velvet, errrrr, I mean face! Hope all is well!
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Yeah, I just don’t get much computer time ’til everyone else here heads to bed.
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BTW, I chose a bakery name : Sugarplums.
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Now, baseball. Glad to see Omar stay, he’s a very handy guy to have on the team.
I never liked Henderson much but you can’t argue with his selection to the HOF. Dad is very happy about Rice finally getting in. And now Jerry Remy can stop fretting about it on NESN.
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Marketing equals a nice cushy ride to and fro. They’ll come in droves. We’ll make a fortune. Plus we’re located conveniently beside the Sugarplums bakery. First we have to rob the cash register and get that Mercedes jitney.
Two good reasons to visit downtown Stuffville. 😀
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Gil, I would be delighted to see you & Miss Josie. Maybe at a game? My dad is going tomorrow to pick out seats at McKechnie Field. First time he’s ever been able to buy season tickets, due to there being day games only there. Of course now they put in lights for this year. Not sure I’d want to be in that neighborhood after dark. But we should make it to Ed Smith Stadium a few times too.
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I hear Sugarplums is gonna be a big hit!
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Awww, thank you. I did a pretty good business over the holidays. Got a birthday cake order the other day too.
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Good morning folks, my legs are on a 4 AM feeding schedule it would seem. Great name FBG… By the way, my youngest son and his bride were telling me about attending the games in Sarasota this past summer. Might have been the Florida State League. Said they loved it. JoAnn did not call AAA like I told her to. She said she wanted to make sure which sailing she wanted to take… DUH!!! I don’t care, just get me on the ship…..
Chris, it’s so good to see you back again. I’ll take my Jameson straight up…
Does everybody else here get the new MLB channel? It has been able to feed my baseball Jones for the past week. So much better than having to sit thru ESPN….
Ricky Henderson… Now that was/is a dude with an ego…..
Folks, we might not want to be neighbors with the guys with the big egos but something I’ll always remember was once told to me by a local politician. He said, “Gil, if you don’t blow your own horn once in a while, other folks will use it for a funnel”.
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G’morning all.
No MLB Channel for me. I’m on Dish Network, and they don’t carry it. Some sort of sabre rattling, as I understand, between Dish Network and the powers that be. They’ll probably have it before the season…
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DOB from ajc:
Braves made [their offer to Derek Lowe] on Friday. Not sure what it was, but do know it’s almost certainly gonna have to be increased. However, when I asked Boras about it tonight he didn’t act dismissive or indicate at all that it was way below his expectations, anything like that.
I’m guessing they made a three-year offer for more per season than the rumored $36 mill that the Mets were talking about offering (which Boras says was not an offer the Mets actually presented to him).
But I’m also guessing the AAV (average annual value) is probably going to have to be $15 mill or so in at least a three-plus-an-option deal, if not a four-year deal. We’ll see. He wouldn’t say how many teams have made offers or when a decision might be made.
Wow… so they made the offer on Friday. Very interesting in that most “experts” expected an offer on Monday or today. That is a pretty aggressive action for a team that doesn’t usually make aggressive actions. I guess that’s what it’ll take, though. Move quickly and aggressively. It’s really the only way to compete with teams that have more money and sway.
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‘Morning, everyone!
Man, is it great to see the lights on over at the Saloon or what!!??
Sugarplums! Perfect, FBG!!
A dark gray, rainy morning, 39 degrees. Perfect for getting a lot of work done on the computer today! (Except for the hours when I have to take Mother out to her appt this afternoon…)
Lowe: now Wren & Co will have to spend whatever it takes to lure Lowe into the web. Would love to know HIS thoughts on the Smoltz treatment. But, maybe Salty’s ‘own interest’ perspective will kick in if the money if big enough. Are we paying Mercedes bucks for a Chevy?
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This is neat! http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4696315n
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Yepper, it is great to see the lights on and Klobber manning the Saloon again.
Must start marketing. I just ordered a big neon sign, new bar stools, a pool table, dart boards and an indoor BBQ grill with copper vent. Still need to pickup the Mercedes Bus but they needed Klobber’s signature for that item.
Now, the marketing plan… Free drinks and food for everyone!!! 😆
Cold and rainy here too. It’s only 45 degrees but it goes right through to the bone… that wet cold. Brrr…
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Bar stools? Those old ones are kinda raggedy looking. I’d nix the BIG neon sign, though. Don’t want to overpower that superb bake shop next door!
Free food and drinks? Gee, I had no idea Chris was a multi-millionaire!
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Salty’s ‘own interest’ perspective will kick in 😕
I’m gonna round this discussion off, then move on…as in over it. Everyone’s an ego in the sport’s world…heck, even in Stuff-ville! Still…I am not bashing Smoltzie’s ego…I did question his motives. As stated…$2-3 million is the spread. In light of that…and the unknown of whether he can actually pitch, it was totally his decision to remain a Brave for life, or not. Heck…from what I know, he ultimately could have ‘performed his way’ to meeting what the Sox offered. Nope…not Smoltzie. He deemed himself above such conditions. Meeting his expectations wasn’t enough…he wanted final say on the gift wrapping and presentation.
Like I mentioned yesterday…each time he’s returned, everyone simply raves about the ‘old Smoltz’…yet each time, his return has been shorter and shorter. We know Smoltz will do everything he can to ‘show the Braves’ brass’…but it will be June before it’s known, apparently. Absent any other moves by Atlanta, by the time he’d have been ‘ready’, would it even matter?
I’m out!
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Gee, I had no idea Chris was a multi-millionaire!
Nor did Chris!
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Salty, who said anything about Smoltz. That is so yesterday.
OK, no neon for the Saloon. Maybe a nice hand carved teak sign with gold leaf letters. Could hang alongside the Sweet Plum’s sign.
Klobber doesn’t need to be rich for those few things… just a credit card or some blanks checks are all that’s needed. Besides, if things get a little tight then our government can, you know, give the saloon a bailout.
Now, I’m thinking that Klobber can get the saloon Mercedes bus in the same color scheme as the helicopter that CL is gonna buy for Stuffville. Color coordinate the transportation system, so to speak.
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Salty, what I meant was I hope Lowe will find it in his own best interest to sign with the Braves. It surely wasn’t a negative reference. There’s a lot of merit in what you wrote. Ultimately, we each have to decide what is best for ourselves.
Hey, while I’m at it: since you haven’t had a THING to do lately 😆 , did you ever get some thoughts together for a lead?
I’m gonna buy a what??? As someone said, “If something isn’t wrong with your chopper, it’s about to be!”
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Well, the Invisible Man sure knows how to make my money go missing! I was hoping that CL might bankroll the saloon for me. You know with all that lottery money that she constantly has rolling in!
Baseball: Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com is reporting that Lowe is “leaning strongly” to signing with the Braves.
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Dang…. Hillary looks rough… I think I would have spent a bit more time in make-up before appearing for her confirmation hearing this AM. Going for the Madeline Albright look no doubt…
Hey, like the old saying goes… It pays to advertise.. or at the least, it takes money to make money…. You can only rely on word of mouth to carry you but so far.
Now baseball… Does anyone else think the Tigers will rebound this year?
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The Madeline Albright look is soooo hot!
Don’t know about the Tigers this year. Still have a lot of bats but the same pitching, right?
What a miserable day here. Rainy and 45. Yuck. Of course, we could be under a blizzard warning like Chicago!
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Anyone want a cheep thrill? Dig the gal over Hiliary’s left shoulder. Poor woman is bored out of her gourd….
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Well…VOR…here comes Lowe! Sea change…finally?
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http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/braves/stories/2009/01/13/braves_lowe.html
Probably filter-bound, but…it’s a new year. New karma, too? 😆
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Gil…is the bored young lady not Chelsea…or am I looking over the wrong shoulder? John Kerry is enough to bore anyone…maybe use him as a form of verbal torture in Guantanamo?
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Lowe is a Brave… if he passes the physical.
Maybe Raisins can now change his ava/gravatar to a desired big bopper for LF. Seemed to work for Lowe.
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Yep…new karma! 😯 In the words of ‘The Jerk’, “I’m somebody now!”
OK…domination is concluded!
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Are flip flops allowed at Guantanamo?
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IM….:mrgreen: That’s a good ‘un! Flip-flops! 😆
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Kerry-boarding… could work.
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Chris, I’ve transferred a couple of mil to the saloon account – but it’ll have to last at least until the first of Feb.
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Whoooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaa yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I am thrilled. I know Lowe has his detractors, but in more spacious Turner Field, with the immaculate infield grass and strong infield defense, Lowe will have his first 20 win season. Mark it down as an “I said it in January”. The Ted is perfectly built for a sinker balling pitcher.
Now, on to LF… Whose picture goes up on the avatar? I’m taking suggestions.
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It’s the return from the abyss… Braves were looking into a very dark hole. Still, not championship caliber yet but may be able to stay out of the cellar. Does anyone think the Marlins are going to be worse? That is a pretty strong pitching staff returning.
Looks like the folks in Gwinnett will get to see Hanson this year.
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Tell Wren to pick Manny… Will drive in 140 runs… for that amount of production he can play nakid if he wants to…
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Gil: If Hanson wins the 5th spot, then he is ready. Otherwise, he needs one more year in AAA to hone his craft. And as much as I hate people who do this, looking at 2010 – Lowe, Hudson, JJJ, JV, KK, Hanson… that’s 6 very strong pitchers right there.
Now, to outfield. I keep flip-flopping on Dunn, but as of today, I’m back off his bandwagon again. I have been reading “Tales From The Mound” by Leo Mazzonne. Great read so far. The mantra from day 1 of Bobby’s return to Atlanta (as GM first) was pitching and defense. Alot has changed in MLB in 24 years, but that one thing remains true. Pitching and defense, along with an adequate offense, will win alot of games. The Braves are obviously showing a renewed commitment to the pitching, and to the defense as well. I think Dunn’s ham-handedness will keep him out of Atlanta.
By the way, I strongly recommend that book to anyone who is a fan of baseball and especially the Braves. The first couple of chapters is a great look into the years preceeding The Run.
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That book is on my Christmas Wish List, Raisins! I’ve heard so many people recommend it.
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Guess who was the first pitcher Leo worked with after he was hired by the Braves?
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Dunno, Raisins. Smoltz??
A really good interview with McCann:
http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090113&content_id=3741991&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl
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Give the Lady a Diet Coke!
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I’m thinking Tommy Glavin while they were both here in Richmond…
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Leo was hired by Bobby as a “pitching coach” with no specific team/level affiliation at first. Bobby basically told Leo that he had a crop of very young and talented pitchers that he wanted him to “bring along”. Glavine was actually a little ahead of Leo. They did unite in Richmond, but Leo and Smoltz arrived in the organization about the same time.
I’lll briefly recap: Bobby called Leo and told him they had acquired John from the Tigers organization, and that he had one pitch – a great fastball – and a “live arm”, but was wildly inconsistent. Leo met him in West Palm, and they began to talk. He asked John to throw a few pitches – not “pitch”, but throw naturally. John did, and Leo raved about his throwing motion. Then he asked John to “pitch”, to which John began a very mechanical approach. He told Leo that was how they were teaching him in Detroit. Leo told him to forget everything they taught him in Detroit and to just pitch naturally. Second, he asked him about a breaking pitch. John said he didn’t throw one, so Leo taught him a low-stress curve that he learned from Johnny Sain. John learned it immediately and began snapping off breaking balls with ease. Bobby called to get an update on John, and Leo tells him he’s got a terrific fastball and good curve. Bobby tells him John doesn’t throw a curve, to which Leo responds, “He does now. I taught it to him and he’s throwing it.”
😀
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Great, Raisins! Thanks!
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Smoltz is supposed to be on with 680theFan in their next segment, if I heard correctly. I’ll post a link to their streaming audio in a minute…
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Here’s the link to their site; the “Listen Live” button is on the upper right.
http://www.680thefan.com/
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’bout damn time! (Pardon the language ma’am(s) )
I was reading down the list of posts today(more than 5 since midnight for once!) then got distracted, now back up to speed.
Still not as excited as I would have been a month or so back…it speaks well of Lowe though, cuz he knows he’s the man, the numero uno. Of course, after pitching in world series games for Boston, nothing can really be pressure, can it????
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V, that is great(the book recap! Well, and the heads up on the 680) Sounds like the tigers had a pretty crappy coaching staff in the minors….
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😡
Bait and switch. Only sound bites from the Boston presser earlier today…
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And if Hanson has great spring training(And clearly DOB hasn’t seen a young pitcher like him with the braves) and he’s sent down, I will be PO’ed. Don’t try to start his arbitration clock late….
Did I just catch the tale end of that Smoltz “interview”?
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Only the tail of the tale will tell.
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D’Oh! 😳
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their should be a program that picks up these kinds of errors! Is my face read!
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Just read a (poorly done) transcript earlier today of the press SmoSox (blog first) press conference a while ago. Not much there… nothing particularly interesting or surprising. Still… strange and sad. For me anyway.
Heeeeere’s Johnny…
Then, another bit of background for the Wren profile and character folder…
Strange bird, that Wren…
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ave we budgeted for the heliport, heated swimming pool and Tiki Bar on top of Klobber’s Saloon? Just wondering.
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Bear, it’s just a pronunciation, southern dialect thing, not a misspelling.
Old English: William Tell.
Southern: William Tale.
Deep south: Billy Tail.
Alabama: Bubba.
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We ‘aven’t, to my knowledge, bloke.
😀
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SI’s Jon Heyman says:
The White Sox have been asking teams for top pitching prospects for Dye but aren’t necessarily insisting that those prospects be within a year of the big leagues, as teams often do when they dangle stars. But no one has bitten yet. The Chicago Sun-Times reported the Angels could now be in the mix for Dye.
How about Charlie Morton? A package of Morton and Brandon Jones might it that done… maybe?
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aye, matey… I were waitin’ for some bloke to catch that! 😆
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Oh those two would do just dandy with Hugo Chavez as their manager! 😛
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Almost forgot… rooftop Tiki Bar needs an HD TV too. Klobber, add that to the saloon remodeling purchase requisition form please.
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Yankees are looking for cheap bullpen help for Swisher or Nady. I don’t want Swisher. Yeah, he’s younger and under contract for a few more years, but he’s never driven in 100 runs and his career BA is .248. Bleh!
Nady walks after ’09 unless you resign him, and his agent is the suddenly friendly Boras. So, do you give up a significant piece for one year of Nady? He’s still not a 40 HR guy, but there is only one of those, and he (Dunn) couldn’t catch a virus in a Vietnamese… er, nevermind.
I still like Dye, who’s set to make $11.5M this year with a mutual option for ’10 for $12M. He hit 34 HR’s last year for Ozzie’s circus. He’s right handed, has hit 4th more than any other spot in the lineup, and still fields well. He has played mainly RF, but has played LF and could easily do so at the Ted.
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… restaurant?
I like Dye but I like Dunn too. Dunn, Dye, Dunn, Dye… Hmmm…
I’d be happy either way but it would be kinda cool to have Otis’s old roomy back.
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Dunn, Dye, Dunn, Dunn.
Dunn, Dye, Dunn, Dunn, Dunn!
You know… the theme for Dragnet..? C’mon… help me out here… 😐
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I thought it was Beethoven. 😆
Some teams would die for Dunn,
Our trades are all done with Dye.
Dunn, Dye… Die, Dunn.
Dunno buy dyeing’ to find out.
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A what? and a what?? and a WHAT??? on the WHAT???
Do we have a town banker??? Where do I file for a bailout??
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What?
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A radio site I occasionally check out says the Braves will announce their new radio broadcast team within a few days. He gives no names, but hints that the pickin’ is done, the ink just needs to be applied…
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Yep…. it’s the economy ….. I’ll be surprise if MLB doesn’t ask for a bailout too. Could not possibly be the fault of poor management by the clubs like Pittsburgh or Kansas City to have such poor fan support. Of course the Mets already received theirs with Citi….
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Mark Bowman: “The Braves rotation will include Lowe, Vazquez, Jair Jurrjens and Kawakami. Jo-Jo Reyes, Charlie Morton, James Parr, Tommy Hanson and Tom Glavine could potentially compete for the fifth spot in the rotation.”
Who is James Parr??
Lowe got 4 years, $60m? Almost as expensive as IM’s ‘marketing’ plans.
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James Parr pitched far below that in Richmond last season, that said, some pitchers are a bit behind others in their development, he’s one… However, the Braves seem to be pretty impressed with him. I think he will start the season in Gwinnett. If he is the number five, a lot of things went pretty bad in spring training…
Personally, I was not overly impressed with him but what do I know, I’m just one of those abnormal fans who likes to write to see his own words…. 8)
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And more words….. Does anyone else feel like Frank Wren paying Lowe $15 million a year is like he’s trying to buy forgiveness from “normal” fans for letting Smoltz go?
Detroit pitchers had arm problems last year, much like the Braves… I think they are going to be a much better team this year.
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This is a link to a nice piece on Smoltz’s signing with Boston.
IM/SG… You must be very conflicted with this… 🙂
http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090112&content_id=3741510&vkey=hotstove2008&fext=.jsp
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Nothing like a little Wednesday evening blog domination…..
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Nice article, Gil. Thanks!
Wednesday??
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Gil must be living in a parallel universe that exists one day before our universe.
Smoltz is supposed to be on Dan Patrick’s radio show tomorrow. Don’t know when but the show runs from 9am to noon.
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Smoltz is supposed to be on Dan Patrick’s radio show tomorrow. Don’t know when but the show runs from 9am to noon.
Uhm…from 9 to noon! 😛 He likes ‘air’ time!
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Wow. Hilliary looks like she’s been on a month-long drunk! Wow!
Chris, did you get the bank credit for the Saloon?
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Hey, Salty! Welcome back to civilization!
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Gil, meant to say earlier (a few days ago)… you offered to do some scouting reports on Washington (wasn’t it?) if anyone was interested.
Yes, I am… please do. Always good to get your take.
Oh, and if you are in an alternate universe one day ahead, please send us some lottery numbers for tomorrow night (tonight for you).
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Elvis Andrus is going to get invited to Rangers spring training, he may be their SS next year. It won’t be Michael Young. Elvis is 20…I think we might as well bring up Heyward and see what he can do! 😉
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Oops… Not Wednesday…. I thought it was strange my TV shows were not showing up….
Folks, after 40 years of working rotating shifts and then no longer having to punch a time clock at all, this having seven different days in a week to keep track of throws me.
One real advantage to working shifts was you could always get tee times. The disadvantage was always being tired…. It like always having jet lag, only different.
Okay, will give some scouting reports soon.
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CL, no I did NOT get the loan. My banker said that we’re over extended. Says there has been some suspicious activity in the account with some very, very large purchases. Why would I buy a beach front home on Tybee Island and a Lear Jet? All of our vendors are about to cut us off because apparently no invoices have been paid in months!
Maybe Hillary’s been in here and IM’s been giving here free drinks. I’d always thought he was a conservative. Guess I was wrong.
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having seven different days in a week to keep track of throws me
A state calendar confusion and bliss that we all aspire to.
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Ber, my understanding is that the Rangers have asked Young to move to 3rd to make room for Andrus. Sounds like a done deal to me. Rangers screwed it up and ticked Young off and now he’s requesting a trade. Their front office is the same as Braves front office, only different.
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Klobber, that is not true!!!
I….DID…NOT…..GIVE….FREE….DRINKS….TO….THAT….WOMAN……..MS. HILLARY.
But, uh, were we s’pozed to be sellin’ ’em to everbudy else while you were gone?
Oh, and about the home on Tybee and Lear jet… thought the denizens might like an island outpost to fly to during the slow months. They were both on sale for 10% off with this economy. Saved lots of money!
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A state calendar confusion and bliss that we all aspire to.
Should be: A state ofcalendar confusion and bliss that we all aspire to.
Funny how one single little two letter word can clarify a thought.
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I’ll bet Salty is banging out a new lead right now. I can just sense it.
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Listen here Invisible Man. Don’t you go waggin’ your finger in the faces of Bravesandstuffville Nation denying you had drinks with that woman! I found the blue Gap dress with a white stain on it. Forensics will prove that the substance was WHITE RUSSIAN! And there’s only one denizen I know that drinks those!
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He’s either banging out a new lead or he’s banging his head on the keyboard in frustration!
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Depends on what the meaning of “is”, is.
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“Is”, as in, you is guilty of comforting the enemy!
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Comfort Hillary. Yikes. 😆
Just saw an interesting line on a Canadian website, in an article about Smoltz’s move from Atlanta to Boston. “From plan A to plan B”.
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American Idol is on…. Folks, baseball season cannot possible get here fast enough!!!!!!
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American Idol? Oh, my. Gil… we may have to deprogram you in April.
Maybe hop the Stuffville jet and fly down to Tybee. Or maybe you can be the first to visit that place we just saved money when we bought it today. It’s in the Abacos. Yep, Treasure Cay, 5 BR, 6 BTH condo overlooking the Caribbean. And a boat came with!!! Saved lots of money buying in this economy. Plus, we needed a place to take advantage of the jet and the helicopter. Just a short hop and voila, you’re in paradise!
Am forwarding the bill of sale to the Mayor of Stuffville c/o Klobber’s Saloon tomorrow. I’ll keep my eye out for more deals. 😀
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Sounds like the perfect retirement home to me.. No need for the plane or helicopter beyond the initial trip. Can throw away the calendar too. May just drop out permanently…
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Maybe we could bring this guy into the Saloon on Friday nights to bump up biz a little bit……….
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Too many posts!!! 😀
Chris, yep…a fellow on the jazz forum who is a rangers fan, really HATES management, especially the owner….Hicks????
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Tom Hicks is the knucklehead that gave that ridiculous contract to ARod when no one else wanted to give him near that much money.
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WHere’d everyone go? Must be watching Biggest Loser or Idol……..
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Chris, the credit came from an advance I made to the Saloon from the Stuffville treasury. Only a few mil, but it’ll have to last at least until the first of Feb! (You might want to get the keys from a certain someone and HIDE them!)
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And yes, meeting my parental obligations of Jan-May: watching AI with the resident daughter. 🙄 😆
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That money has already been cleaned out of the account. Right now I’m not sure I can make payroll on Friday. Someone’s been taking great liberties with my cash flow…
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Uh-oh. Time for a prayer meeting, I think. OK, here’s another $10m from the last Lottery we won. Get the checkbook back!
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A few that could sing & a bunch of clowns, as usual. Gil, at least you must have enjoyed Bikini Bimbo? Can’t believe they put her through.
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Dang! Keep IM out of my bakery!
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I think she’s the show’s ‘joke’ this year. Openly slutty. Is that the new ‘standard’?? yech!
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I’d have gritted my teeth & held my tongue if she could sing well…. but she can’t.
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I think we need to invest in some new locks, don’t y’all???
😆
Another day done. Got a lot accomplished but not nearly as much as I’d hoped. I’ll make another run at it tomorrow!
Y’all have a great evening! (And watch out for….you know…)
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Gil, that would be the Reds’ FSL team. Used to be the Red Sox, we saw Nomar on his way up.
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Behold the power of T and A. I happened to walk into the living room where the rest of the fam was watching. You should have seen the look on my 11 yr old son’s eyes!
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Good night, Madam Mayor! ( CL is Mayor-for-Life, right?)
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FBG, don’t let IM try to run your business. He’ll be buying yachts and mansions and Park Avenue penthouse suites if you give him half a chance!
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I can forgive him for it, Chris. The hormones are cranking up & 11- yr. old boys wouldn’t go for subtlety.
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Ugh. I just saw a picture of Smoltzie in a Red Sox cap. I think I may be sick. It’s kind of like seeing an old girlfriend that you dated for a long time with another guy.
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No, no, if I need business help, I’ll ask my dad. He’s very practical & has a good head for numbers ( & he’s ..ahem… frugal).
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😦 I’ve been avoiding reading about it.
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FBG, trust me, I have no problem with it. That’s what boys that age do. I just thought it was funny.
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Do you have a logo for Sugarplums yet?
BTW, some friends of mine just opened a place called Sugar Mama’s!
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All right, see you kids tomorrow. IM, stay out of the Ruskies, ya hear!
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Oh no. The name occured to me over Christmas. You know… ” while visions of sugarplums danced in their heads”. I thought it was cute, kinda whimsical & had the added benefit of being able to incorporate my favorite color. Y’all would laugh at all the purpleness of my life.
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http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=bee1721e6104e365c313
Fantastic! Amazing bird!
Now I’m really off to bed! 😆 Just had to leave this link!
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FBG… My ears could not stand more than a few minutes of Idol… I waited patiently and then switched over to the Mentalist… Good show.
No need to watch Idol for eye candy when it’s so readily available in my own home. Josie is very easy on the eyes… All the looking I need to do.
read O’Brien’s piece on the player’s reaction to the signing of Lowe and Kawakami, I am trying to feel good about it but the pain of Smltz leaving is still to fresh….
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OK, I was against the idea of bringing Andruw back but I just saw video of him taking a little hitting practice with Mac & Chipper. He looked good, much more in shape than the past few years. Maybe?….
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You didn’t miss much. There were about 4 who I thought really sounded good.
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I feel the same about the Braves’ moves. Pleased with the acquisitions but…
I bet Miss Josie already knows this but she is a lucky lady. You are a sweetheart.
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While everyone else was watching American Idol fluff, I was watching something with significant cultural impact – Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. It was most excellent, dudes.
Be excellent to everyone, and party on dudes! 😀
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OK, I was against the idea of bringing Andruw back but
FBG, I know you won’t see this for another 13 hours, but I am coming around to this way of thinking myself. As long as the Braves still address the left field void with a credible hitter, I wouldn’t mind seeing Andruw signed to a minimum deal, and have to fight for a spot on the roster. Then if he actually wins a spot, fine. If not… well, the sun always sets in the west. (I really don’t know how that phrase ties in, but it sounds kinda cool, anyway.)
Be excellent to everyone, and party on dudes!
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Medieval Dude: Take them to the Iron Maiden! 😡
Bill and Ted: Excellent! 😀
Medieval Dude: Execute them! 👿
Bill and Ted: Bogus! 😦
That is so classic…
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… and educational too!
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Dye, I assume V???
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Raisins, to this day I can’t look at Keanu Reeves without thinking about that movie.
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Where else can you listen to most excellent music and learn about Billy the Kid (Mr. The Kid), Socrates (So-crates), Sigmund Freud (Mr. Frewd), Joan of Arc (Ms. Of Arc), Genghis Khan (Genghis Dude), Beethoven (Beeth-oven), Abraham Lincoln (Mr. President Dude) and Napoleon (General Dude)?
Party on, dudes!
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Klobber:
Everything my wife and I see with him in it, we always finish every line he says with, “Dude.”
😆
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Good morning Stuffians!
Got to thinking… after sprucing up Klobber’s Saloon a bit and all and then joining the public sector by making a few little transportation and resort investments for Stuffville, I decided that the condo in the Bahamas was unfair.
Never occurred to me that Stuffians may not even like the beach.
So, Good news! I also found a nice mountain lodge over in Maroon Bells area of Colorado, overlooking Aspen! 20,000 acres, private road, 12 bedrooms, landing strip and heliport (nice for our jet and chopper!), butler, chef, masseuse and ranch hand. Now we have choices… tropics or mountains!
Best part… saved over $10,000 dollars on the deal!!! Yep, they came off 5% from their asking price. I worked’em hard too. All for Stuffville. They’ll need a check by this friday but I told’em that Stuffville’s credit was impeccable.
Hope you all like it. My work is never done when it comes to Stuffville. Oh, almost forgot… just heard there was a nice little villa in Italy that I should check out. In a grape orchard. Has a little castle too. More later…
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Yes, B… it’s Dye. Trying for a little B&S karma, ya know?
Party on!
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Correction: we actually save a lot more than that! Yes, we saved $10 million dollars, not 10k. Think of what we can buy with the savings!!!
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IM! 😯
Ix-nay on the edit-cray!
(I am a typical small business owner. My credit is shot to #@$%^&^.)
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Now, baseball, dudes (dudes includes bith genders, by the way):
Bill Shaikin of the LA Times says the Angels have no interest in Dye at all since the re-signed Juan Rivera. That’s a good thing for folks like me who’d like to see Dye brought here…
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Bith? 😳
My typing sucks… how ’bout both?
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Dye is good but may break the bank or cost us some kids we don’t wanna lose.
But who cares. Just spend cash. Liberty has money to burn.
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Ya know…
Yesterday’s headlines included Braves Sign Derek Lowe and Mets Sign Alex Cora.
Can I just laugh at that a little bit? 😆
😆
😆
Am I enjoying that a little too much?
😆 😆 😆
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Goooooooooooooooood Morning, Stuffville!!!
Best of the best! That’s y’all!!! 😀
We can thank Gil for this legitimate warning: PLEASE READ
There is a new computer bug going around that claims to be Barack Obama’s acceptance speech. It was started by a bunch of criminals in the Ukraine. All it will do is send them all your pertinent information. If you receive an e-mail claiming to be Barack Obama’s acceptance speech or similar, DO NOT OPEN IT. DELETE IT IMMEDIATELY! Spread this around to everyone you know. It is true and has been validated on the Snopes Web Site.
http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/obamaspeech.asp
Snopes has even more on it, worth the couple of minutes to read it!
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Wow… Padres signed Mark Prior to a 1 year minor league deal.
Who would have ever imagined his career would take the turns it took?
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Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports says the Orioles have an interest in Adam Dunn, but only as a DH. Dunn isn’t interested because he wants to play OF. He wants to play OF. Kinda surprising. I know he isn’t exactly the next Willie Mays, but I have to respect the fact he wants to do more than just come up to bat 4 times a night. Hmmm…..
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Smoltz is going to be on Dan Patrick’s radio show. If you are interested you can listen online at danpatrick.com.
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Two good reasons NOT to read an Obama acceptance speech. 😯
Too bad for all those vulnerable pc’s out there. So many viruses, worms and bugs. Must be scary. 😛
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Must away now… much work today. Back later. Y’all behave.
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I used to like Dan Patrick, but Dan Patrick began to like Dan Patrick a little too much. Now I don’t much care for Dan Patrick.
Plus, hide your ears friends, Smoltz is old news. I am over it. I am more concerned about where we’re going than where we’ve been.
I’m sorry, that’s just where I am…
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Nice stat from across the street:
Derek Lowe is tied with Johan Santana for third-most wins in the majors since 2002 (106), behind Roys Oswalt (115) and Halladay (113).
Wow…
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IM, stay away from real estate sales, etc! And we have enough equipment to start our own Air Force!
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Chipper Jones, when he first heard that Lowe was supposed to be signing:
“I’d feel better than I did 48 hours ago. I still think that can be a really good rotation with John Smoltz in it, but no sense crying over spilled milk. What we got is what we got. We’ve just got to go out there and play better. We were without Smoltzy for a long time last year, so we’re used to that at least. We’ve just got to go out and play better.”
“But I do like — if this is true — I do like having two guys that you can pretty much count on are going to go out there and throw 200 innings [Lowe and Vazquez] because that was a big part of our problem last year. We had too many instances where a starter went three or four innings and the bullpen got overtaxed and overused and ultimately overexposed.”
As I have said, the guy’s a professional.
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Also, DOB notes that Kawakami, criticized for pitching in a 6-man rotation, did pitch in a 5-man rotation in 2006, pitching 215 innings. That’s a comforting piece of information. I, like many, had some concerns as to whether he could easily adjust to a 5-man rotation.
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KJ answers a question about the Braves all-RH rotation:
“In my opinion, no, because I feel like a lot of the best left-handed hitters, the Howards and Utleys, seem to do just as well against lefties, I’ve seen Utltey hit a home run against Pedro Feliciano, one of the toughest lefties out there, and I’ve seen Howard do that. I think it’s a little different now. I think the bigger part of left-right matchups is the bullpen.”
Wow… what a great point.
KJ on Lowe’s groundball tendencies:
“I’m lobbying that they keep the grass where it is right now, nice and long and thick.”
😀 Awesome!
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KJ on the team in general:
“We’ve got a lot of depth everywhere. If you get Frenchy back to where he was, or you get Matt Diaz back to where he was, then you get a surprise out of someone like a Brandon Jones, then all of a sudden you’re the Tampa Bay Rays. If Josh Anderson gets on base all the time, and all he’s stealing 70 bases … hey, this team suddenly is pretty good.”
KJ likes Anderson! Schafer who? 😀
Could Anderson win the CF job and leadoff? Steal some bases? Hmmm…
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OK, I give: who is KJ?
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Kelly Johnson! My favorite 2B!
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I am really beginning to get excited about 2009 now. i know htere’s still alot of room for improvement, but at least we can compete where we are right now. Add one more bat, and we’re legit.
Prevailing early thought is that Dye will be too expensive in both return players and $$$. I felt his $11.5M was in line, but apparently not. I suppose I didn’t count on both Lowe and Kawakami being signed. Maybe Frank can pull a rabbit out of his hat…
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Now, stuff.
From the completely ridiculous collective minds at PETA:
Renaming fish “sea-kittens” to repair their image. Really. I’m not kidding. The link is here:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2009/01/sea-kitten-peta.html
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What a bunch of idiots.
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I think PETA should be renamed ABOPSIWRNTGAGOR.
A Bunch Of Publicity Seeking Individuals Who Really Need To Get A Grip On Reality.
Doesn’t exactly roll of the tongue, does it?
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Kelly is the only one I could think of, but I’ve never thought of him as being that loquacious.
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Yep… and he was really talkative, too.
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😆
Avatar – birds?
Gotta run an errand. Keep an eye on IM. He’s single-handedly trying to fix the world economy. With our account. 😦
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Avatar = Bullwinkle pulling Rocky out of his hat.
Like I said, I hope Frank can pull a rabbit out of his hat for LF, as there is seeming no easy fit there at the moment…
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Intereting article about the Braves’ offseason moves from Buster Olney:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=3831815&name=olney_buster
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(loquacious) blog first… right? 🙂
A spin around the league… Much interest in Swisher, not as much for Nady, The Yanks are pushing the idea of Nady for a reliever… Something the Braves may have a surplus of.
The Yanks apparently want to get rid of Nady for the same reason most teams shy away from him, large contract, summer rental, Scott Boras….
To me it’s about the same for Dye although I am not sure of what the Sox want in return. Who gets bumped off the 40 man roster to make room for Lowe?
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Yeah, Klobber, I read the Olney article…
Olney is more of an opinion guy than a fact guy. I don’t really share in his opinion. One fact he pretty much glossed over was that SD wanted Tommy Hanson. Hanson was going nowhere, and rightly so. He’s part of the next wave, and I am looking forward to him wearing the tomahawk for a long time. Locke wasn’t the sticking point, the sticking point was in totality. Escobar? Hernandez? Locke? Hanson, too?
Nah… I advocated Lowe from before the end of last season, and I still think its the best thing we could have done. I got caught up in the Peavy-fever like most did; but in the end, I think the organization is better off today than they would be having given up the top players/prospects to get Peavy.
Olney has to create buzz…
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I can hardly wait for Hanson to move up. Sounds like he’s really something special.
They report in less than a month, don’t they?
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Another Chipper quote from MLB.com:
“I would call Lowe an ace. He was the No. 1 in Los Angeles, and they were a playoff team. He’s certainly No. 1 for our team. He’s not the hard-throwing strikeout guy that 100 percent of the teams want as their ace. But he works hard, throws strikes and gets ground balls. Some guy named Maddux did that around here for a while, and it worked out pretty good.”
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CL: Pitchers and catchers report February 14. Not sure about the “early season throwing program”.
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From ajc:
Braves pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to spring training on Feb. 14, with their first workout the following day. The rest of the Braves players report on Feb. 17, with the first full-squad workout the following day.
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The “Braves Early Throwing Program” typically runs 10 days and wraps up about 5 days prior to the P/C reporting date. Dunno if that applies to 2009 or not. I’m efforting to find the info…
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Don’t even get me started on PETA. That’s the sorriest, most worthless excuse of an organization in the history of mankind. Like Ted Nugent said:
“Every time I hear the words ‘animal’ and ‘rights’ in the same sentence, I vow to kill 100 more of something. Every time they open their mouths, I make sure to make the point of, “Bloody your hands, because 100 of something is going to die. I’m going to kill them in your name.”
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The Nuge…
I love it. 😀
Great White Buffalo
I love that song…
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Looks like Feb. 1 is the starting date for the BETP.
That was a difficult date to dig up!
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I’m efforting to find the info… 😆
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Not quite 13 hours, VOR. Dad’s golfing on the Wii.
I agree with Chipper. Not happy about what happened but it’s time to move forward.
Peta… (shakes head) I love animals ( reptiles don’t count) & I admit to having a little tendency towards the conservationist/tree-hugger side of things but those people are just lunatics.
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I heard Harold Reynolds on a radio interview a bit ago. He stated that he thought Bobby Abreu was a better fit for ATL than Dye. No specific reasons, just that he felt that way. Interesting…
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Hi, FBG
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Hmm. Abreu’s one of those guys you never hear about. But he’s good.
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Now he’s playing baseball. His team of Miis has me batting 3rd so he called me “Chipperette”. OK, Dad. 🙄
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Woohoo! I doubled off the wall.
Is blog running slow or is it my computer?
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Slow blog.
Nice hit! 😀
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If your Dad called you Chipperette, I am sure you’d be proud to have us call you that, right??? 😛
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Chipperette… too many letters. I’m too lazy for that, as you know, B.
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Does anyone ever wonder if with all your grammatical and spelling errors if you could write for say, AP??? Dig the first line on a story drudge has a link to, so you know millions have read it, and they still haven’t bothered to correct it!
WASHINGTON (AP) – President-elect Barack Obama says he expects Timothy Geithner to win Senate confirmation as treasury secretary revelations of tax problems.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D95N3Q080&show_article=1
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V, all I know is FLB will give me one of 🙄 for suggesting it! 😉
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Anything to catch a girl’s eye, huh B?
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Finally!!!!
SPIDER-MAN creator Stan Lee is to unveil the world’s first gay superhero.
http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/article2128530.ece
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oooooooooooo…. gush gush… I can hardly wait for the first issue… Buns of Steel… right?
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Bet he will be a real hard a**
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Let me share my experience on the isle of Lesbo…. Early in my career with the evil empire We Say So… I was assigned to a shift that was largely populated with women who were always trying to prove they were a better man than me…. Was very enlightening. Needless to say, it was alright to be drawn to those of similar sex but fraternization between those of opposite genders always led to some type of disciplinary procedure.
The company also suspended support to the Boy Scouts of America because they had a policy that was considered anti gay because they did not allow gay scout masters…
Crazy upside down world we live in… No pun intended….
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Hello Stuffvillians, Stuffites and Stuffettes!
Just saw Mr. Invisible Man near my orange grove. It’s not easy to see Mr. Invisible. It took all of my hundreds of eyes and special fly sonar to make him out. There he was, meeting with some business people about buying a golf course or two for the citizens of Stuffville or something like that… dunno.
I think they were gonna look at some waterfront property on the gulf side near Tampa and another course over in Palm Beach. He said something about reduced property values, saving millions and that everyone should be really happy to have a Stuffville resort in Florida to play in. He looked like an invisible kid in an invisible candy store. That’s all I got.
I’m getting out of this grove today before they turn on all the smudge pots and sprinklers with this cold wave coming. All my blossom buddies have been, uh, visited and they’re all as happy as flies at a Braves buffet.
Was gonna meet with Mr. Wren the other day to fly over to San Diego for new trade talks with a Mr. Towers and a Mr. Peavy. I told Mr. Wren that we had quite a bit of trade material, so we could work a deal and have a really good starting staff without a lot of cash. He liked the idea, but before I got to the airport he told the plane to leave… so they left without me just because I got caught in traffic and was just a few minutes late. That’s no way to treat a sleuth reporter. Mr. Wren could use my investigative reporting on future trades and stuff. Oh, well…
May head back up to Savannah and see if Mr. Guy is around. He has a nice warm house with lots of tasty food… maybe even my favorite cheese soup. Mr. Invisible borrowed his laptop so he could do business deals, so he may be lonely. You know how he likes to go on and on… so I’ll prolly hear hours and hours of stories and all. 🙄
(this message sent by iPhone-flyPhone)
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IM! Your fly is open!
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Raisins, going back to your comment on Peavy early this afternoon, I agree. I thought that all those guys going to SD for Peavy PLUS ATL was going to pay his salary was ridiculous.
Hey Fly, tell IM that he’s starting to sound like my wife. She always buys stuff for great deals even if we don’t need it and explains it by saying, “But look how much money I saved!”
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AP – PALM BEACH – January 14, 2008
This sunny Florida haven for the rich and famous was abuzz today, as an anonymous entrepreneur hosted parties on Worth Avenue, treating all of his guests to dinner, extravagant shopping sprees and helicopter tours over the ocean between Palm Beach and Singer Island.
Word quickly spread among the community that a “discreet gentleman” was in this seaside community, looking to buy the Breakers Hotel and Golf Resort. There has been much speculation about where this generous and anonymous stranger hails from. It has been speculated that he is from an ancient, small European community named Stuffville. At the time of this report our editors have not been able to confirm the whereabouts of this quaint village.
Tomorrow, this secretive stranger who has yet to be seen by anyone, is hosting the Mayor of Palm Beach at Donald Trumps home in the old Post mansion. Mr. Trump’s spokesperson has confirmed this gathering. Mr. Trump has denied reports that he was selling the estate to the “invisible stranger”, but a local banker who wishes to remain anonymous has confirmed the imminent sale, saying, “Mr. Trump is always ready to make a sale. Since he’s been impacted by the economy, he’ll probably reduce the $475 million price by as much as ten percent”.
Our reporters have searched all of the local hotel registries but, as of this writing, have not seen this savvy, nameless businessman. We will be outside the Post Mansion gates tomorrow in time to interview the “invisible stranger” and take his photograph. These are exciting times in Palm Beach.
Palm Beach resident and attendee of the dinner and helicopter tour, Sheik Shalala Kabala Babalababa from Dubai, talked to our reporter this evening. When asked to describe the stranger he said, “never did I lay my eyes upon this kind generous gentleman. He gave one of my wives a huge diamond necklace just after dinner. He is like the Lawrence of Arabia concealed in the desert, he is like a black stallion in the night, he is like the Great Gatsby, he is like, like, uh, like an invisible man”.
After so many in this community have lost fortunes in the Madoff ponzi scheme, it is a blessing for a wealthy investor to be spreading so much joy and wealth around Palm Beach.
Our reporters will bring you more information on the European village of Stuffville after our investigators locate it, and an exclusive tomorrow on “The Invisible Palm Beach Stranger”.
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(faint)
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So, do we have to call him IPBS now?
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Call him on the carpet!
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WOW… Would be tough for a sailor to spend that much no matter how drunk he was… Spending much like the Federal Government, not much different. 🙂
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In related business news, chrisklob, proprietor of Klobber’s Knob Creek Saloon in Stuffville, has declared bankruptcy. He cites unethical business decisions by a partner in the bar. chrisklob took several months off due to personal reasons and left the bar in the hands of someone that he believed to be an honest businessman and trusted friend. When asked what he found when he returned this week, chrisklob replied, “Well, I found that my partner not only spent every dime we had, he also took out multiple lines of credit which were also completely exhausted. He bought four big screen tv’s, new furnishings, and a huge neon sign. The mayor made me take it down because it didn’t meet town code so it’s just sitting in the backroom so it’s not even doing me any good!”
An investigation by the palmbeachtimes has discovered that this partner has also made several large purchases recently. A private jet, beach house in Georgia, ski lodge, property in the Bahamas are among the purchases that we’ve discovered.
When asked about the whereabouts of the partner, chrisklob replied, “I don’t know where he is, it’s like he disappeared off the face of the earth. I don’t see any sign of him, like he’s gone invisible. Oh, and he must not have cleaned much because the place is full of flies”!
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I was driving earlier today, talking to my BFF on my cell phone, while looking at a map…don’t you just hate people like me???
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Sounds like if there is any non payment of taxes involved by the partner, they might just make a dandy treasury secretary! 😀
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Something about that long sentence doesn’t flow worth a darn. Been reading too much of that AP Obama, it’s messed with my mad grammar skillz.
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Sounds like IM has some ‘splainin to do.
Ber, my dad rarely calls any of us by name. He’s got all kinds of nicknames. For some reason, ever since I was little he’s called me Finn. Don’t know how he got that out of Jennifer.
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Spell ‘Jennifer’ backwards…’Finn’ is right in the middle! Don’t ask me why/how I figured that out…tired eyes, I s’pose! 🙄
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Wow & here I thought no one else was like my dad. Got family in Cherryville, NC, Salty?
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Not to my knowledge…but ya never know what’s danglin’ in the ol’ family tree! Bedtime…g’night!
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This is from mlbtraderumors.com. I found it interesting, especially the bit about the hat. How do y’all feel about a possible return to ATL for Andruw?
8:29pm: Several e-mailers have pointed out that Andruw Jones is in attendance at the Duke-Georgia Tech men’s basketball game and is wearing an Atlanta Braves hat. Interesting, eh?
7:46pm: According to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, the Dodgers are expected to officialy release Andruw Jones Thursday morning.
Jones, you’ll remember, agreed to defer the $21.1MM remaining on his contract back in early January to open up payroll for the Dodgers, and for a chance at a fresh start with a new team. The Dodgers have reportedly discussed a few potential trades this week, but all talks have apparently fallen flat. He has expressed interest in returning to the Braves.
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Ber, you have a BFF? Suddenly I am very worried.
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You mean since he’s not a 12 yo girl, Chris?
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FBG, that is exactly the reason. Unless, maybe he’s been fooling us all along! (Insert smiley face here)
Sorry, I’ve forgotten all my html skillz.
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It would have been a firm No on Andruw from me ’til I saw the clip of him hitting with Chipper & Mac.
1. He’s working with the guys who know how to hit.
2. He looked much more in shape than at any point in the past few years.
Maybe LA was a humbling experience for him?
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Gotta hit the sack kids. Been a long day.
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Do what I did – print the smiley cheat sheet.
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FBG, regarding AJ, I have very, very mixed emotions. If the Dodgers release him the Braves would be able to sign him for league minimum. I’d bring him back for that. From what I’ve read he’s lost weight and looks good. He may be very motivated to ressurect his career and Atlanta may be the perfect place to do it since he’s used to the city, team, stadium, etc. and lives there. With a few more dominant years he may well be a HOF’er and that may be his motivation.
One thing that does concern me is that he may become too comfortable and fall back into some old, bad habits. The last two and a half seasons were absolutely dreadful for him. I know he had an elbow injury in 07 and a knee injury in 08 that probably played into his poor performances. That really makes you wonder if he’s not done. IMO, a $400k price tag would be a heck of a good gamble on a guy that could possibly be a very important piece for this team.
Don’t know if anyone here has MLB network. They’ve been running a series on the 9 best players in each position through history. I saw the one on CF’s the other day and was surprised that AJ didn’t make the list although Jim Edmonds did. I always thought that the difference (defensively speaking) between the two was that AJ made spectacular catches look easy and Edmonds made spectacular catches look hard.
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What, the youngsters say BFF, are you saying I can’t??? Sounds kind of sexist, ageist, etc…I may sue, since I have found out what deep pockets we have.
As for Andruw…I must be getting soft with age…I guess we can give him a try…and of course that’s what will happen. Sorry Josh, sorry Jordan….you will get a chance in June, July if Andruw can’t stop swinging at that low outside pitch.
As for Edmonds. I know a lot of people think he’s a faker, but I think seeing on tv most of the time, vs on the field plays a part in it as well. I think Edmonds has been better left to right, and Andruw is better shallow and deep….
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That’s the concern for me too, Chris.
Ber, Edmonds is very good but the showing off thing always has colored my perception of him.
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Those deep pockets have been fleeced by someone we all know.
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Good morning all… If LA is footing the bill on Andruw then I say give him a shot. Nothing like a bit of humble pie to get a player motivated. Of course having $21 million in your back pocket is a pretty good salve for the soul.
Andruw didn’t make the list for center but Maddux was number 5 in pitching for his 1995 season…
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And for you folks who do not have the MLB Network… Here is a link
http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?mid=200901143744640
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___________________________________________________________________
PALM TELEGRAPH & COURIER
____________________________________________________________________
A Palm Beach telegram, money order and courier service since 1929
____________________________________________________________________
TO: Mayor of Stuffville
CC: Stuffville Bank & Trust Loan Dept.
FROM: Invisible Man
Re: Stuffville Municipal – Capital Expenditures
MESSAGE:
Am on an investment mission for Stuffville…….stop
Running short on cash…….stop
Helicopter fuel, incidentals and lodging is expensive……..stop
Forward open unlimited line of credit to Wells Fargo Acct. No. 1929……stop
Am finding too good to pass up deals on property……..stop
Saving millions for Stuffville……..stop
Will save receipts. More detail later……..stop
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Goooooooood morning, Stuffville!!!!!!!!
😀
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Back in a few… gotta send some work out to some folks…
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I hope that heart attacks aren’t diagnosed in those MRI tube thingy’s. The mayor might not make it through a second one in the same week!
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Whew… finally back. I hate it when work gets in the way of my play time!
😀
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As Mayor-Treasurer-and-Official Streetsweeper of Stuffville, I am formally issuing an APB on IM, aka SG. Bound and gagged, hog-tied, or handcuffed, doesn’t matter. The reward is relatively small since he has blown through most of our account, but you can have whatever is left. (Never thought I’d be looking for more Lottery wins/offers! 😆 )
FBG, seems that he’s down in your territory. Bake up a Red Velvet Cake and you might have a chance at capturing him!
Hillbilly is good at tracking. Might have to call on him to help out!
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How do y’all feel about a possible return to ATL for Andruw?
Well… glad you asked, Chris.
I have reversed field on this one after an initial reaction of “No way!” Now I think that the Braves might be in an advantageous situation with this. First, Andruw has made it more than known – at the GT game with a Braves cap on, for cryin’ out loud – that he wants to come home to Atlanta. This is without a doubt where he wants to be, and he is highly, highly, motivated. Second, this is not just a second chance for AJ, it’s his only chance. Nobody will give this guy a wooden nickle ever again if he flops this time around. He’s not getting much more than that now.
If the Braves will sign him to a minimum make good contract, where he has to perform and make the team, how can they lose? Even give him some incentives, but pay him to produce. And if he can’t, or doesn’t, adios mi amigo. That’s the key, though. Bobby can’t treat him like a youngster and keep trotting him out to work out his problems. He either plays well, or he goes. Kinda like Mondesi and Jordan. They played, they sucked, they were gone.
So there is history on our side. The Braves have proven they can send a guy packing, even a beloved one (Jordan), if he isn’t cutting it.
The bigger question really is, does anyone believe Andruw can come back? Can he ever again tap into that wealth of God-given talent and resurrect a career that not too long ago seemed HOF bound? Now he’s not even in the conversation of top 9 at his position. I never would have thought that possible a mere 2 years ago.
So maybe he can come back home, with little or no pressure other than the inner will to succeed. He’s not the man, and isn’t expected to be the man. He isn’t expected to be anything, really. And he obviously doesn’t need the money. It’s about pride now, pride as a professional.
Yeah… I think it’d be OK to invite him to camp to compete for a spot. To me, there’s not much downside, but alot of upside.
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Now this is a neat video of an F16 making a dead-stick landing in Elizabeth City, NC. (An F16 only has one engine.)
http://www.patricksaviation.com/videos/SUPERGT/3384/
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___________________________________________________________________
PALM TELEGRAPH & COURIER
____________________________________________________________________
A Palm Beach telegram, money order and courier service since 1929
____________________________________________________________________
TO: Mayor of Stuffville
CC: Stuffville Bank & Trust Loan Dept.
FROM: Count Von dePorbeck (aka: Invisible Man)
Re: Replacement computer needed
MESSAGE:
Still awaiting line of credit approval……………………………..stop
Lost computer during helicopter tour…………………………..stop
Telegraph’s are getting expensive………………………………..stop
Need new computer for blog purchase orders………………..stop
Apologies to Mr. Guy for lost borrowed mac……………………stop
Wasn’t my fault it just slipped when pilot turned……………..stop
Hotel restaurant cut me off………………………………………….stop
Need breakfast money for I-HOP…………………………………..stop
Must have strength for meeting dignitaries later………………stop
Will have new Stuffville beach, uh, cottage contract today….stop
Feeling faint……………………………………………………………….stop
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Per CL today AM:
APB on IM a/k/a SG.
Need ASAP.
Alert B and his BFF.
ETA – today PM.
CU L8R
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I’m just too leery of Andruw. He had chances. And chances. And he blew all of them. He’s too rich, too complacent and won’t make the continued effort, IMHO. I don’t ever want to see him flailing at that low outside pitch again.
Reports I’ve read say that he didn’t look good playing in the DR this winter. Scouts wrote him off.
I’d look to spend that money on another, more promising player.
The Braves are not going to compete for any top spots this year. Break in some new kids. Andruw had his shots, now it’s time for someone else. My 2 cents. 😀
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Raisins, 😆
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CL, I am inclined to go along with what you say…I keep thinking he might come back, and if he just hit .260, hit 20 homers, 85-90 RBI’s, that’s the best any of the CF’ers will do.
But, that’s will be what gets him on the team, is that potential, and knowing Bobby, IF he had a decent week or so, then slumped, he’d keep running him out there, time and time again…all of us gnashing our teeth….
I just don’t know that it’s smart to have 2 outfielders with such question marks as he and Frenchy have. Clearly, you have to give Frenchy a good long look(Or trade him) If neither of them hit in April…well, you can write off another year, a year that it would have been just as well to play some kids…so much is riding on who we get in left, but you have to have someone behind McCann…would it be Casey Kotchman 6th, Frenchy 7th, Andruw 8th??? Weird…
Of course, if Andruw tears the cover off the ball in spring training, hittin’ .400 bat him cleanup! 😛
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Quick trivia question. Blanco had 430 AB’s Yunel 514. Who had the higher on base percentage??? No peaking at the numbers! 😡
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Ya know, CL, I realize I am a very “glass half full” kinda guy. Even unreasonably so at times when it comes to the Braves. But I do believe that the Braves can compete with NY and Philly this year, given the new pitching additions. I honestly believe we are only 1 bat away from being firmly right in the mix.
Think about the pitching, where it all starts. The Mutts have Santana and who else? Maine? Pelfrey? Maybe OPerez?
The Phils? The have Hamels and who else? Moyer? Blanton?
The Fish, er, Sea-kittens? Ricky Nolasco and a bunch of unknowns? Please…
Nats? Who the heck is Lannan? That’s their #1…
The Braves will trot out Derek Lowe – tied with Santana for third in victories in the Majors since 2002, JJJ – should have been considered for ROY in 2008, Javy Vazquez – in Ozzie’s doghouse late, but dominant at times last season, KK – former Japan Cy Young equivalent winner, and one of Glavine/Hanson/Morton/Reyes. That’s strong. Real strong.
Seriously, top to bottom the Braves now have the best rotation in the NL East. Back that with what was already one of he best ‘pens in the Majors, and even better given the inning-eating history of the starters, and the Braves’ pitchers can stand toe to toe with any team.
Do we have enough offense to keep our staff from losing a bunch of 2-1, 3-2 games? That remains to be seen. 1 more big bat would erase alot of those doubts, and that bat is now the priority. We’ll know by the season opener, I suppose.
I like our chances. Anything can happen, as we learned last season. What if David Wright tweaks a knee early on a wet surface? What if Hamels experiences elbow soreness in May? What if Raul Ibanez can’t adjust to a new league? What if Carlos Beltran experiences the hamstring problems that have dogged him before? There are so many variables…
I like our chances. I really do.
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By the way, Gil asked a very good question yesterday. Who gets dropped from the Braves 40-man to make room for Lowe? Currently the 40-man is full, with 24 being pitchers. Surely the drop will come there, and I would think a guy like Jeff Bennett, Buddy Carlyle or Jeff Ridgway might be on the bubble. They are established. You know what you have there, and they may become expendable with the addition of the new starters, and the return of the key relievers. Plus, there’s a chance those are guys who could pass through waivers and re-sign a minor league deal. That’s my best guess, anyway.
Also, there is a glut of middle relievers, which is something NYY is seeking for Nady/Swisher. I wouldn’t be surprised to see that trade match.
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Hey, Raisins! Take a look at your rotation! It looks pretty good and you left out JJ, to boot! Put him in and you’re rockin’!
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Good points, Raisins. I’ll go with your optimism over my glum.
(I’m just not happy with the Braves right now. Couldn’t tell, could ya?) 😆
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How ’bout that Andruw Jones interview on 790 The Zone? Was that riveting or what?
-First of all, he sounded like he was hung over or suffering from bronchitis.
-An e-mailer sent a message to the DJ’s that said something to the effect of “Congratulations, you booked Yoda.”
-He said he would not accept a minor league deal.
-He said he’s in better shape than last year, and being overweight and out of shape is what caused his struggles.
-He said he came in overweight in 2008 because he felt too light the year before and it caused him to lose strength over the season.
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Thanks, HB. I missed that one.
Yoda 😆
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Work calls… back later.
Be excellent to everyone; party on, dudes!
😀
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Gosh, but there were a bunch of responses to the trivia question! 😛 to you all! Anyway, you were wrong, it was a tie, Blanco and Yunel both had a .366 OBP. To the stats only freaks, I am sure that means Blanco must start. I don’t see anyone suggesting that though, do you???
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An interesting(and somewhat depressing to me-since guys will be so go they will have to be traded eventually) story on arbitration eligible players from Stark.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/hotstove08/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=3834458
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Drudge headlines, pt 1
CHICAGO COLDEST IN DECADE
Chicago has most consecutive days of snowfall since records began in 1884…
Flint, Michigan breaks 95-year-old record…
Blowing snow, frigid temps pound nation…
40 BELOW ZERO…
Frigid air, perhaps coldest of winter…
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PT 2
Waxman promises quick action on climate…(It’s no longer called global warming, for some unknown reason)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090115/ap_on_go_pr_wh/climate_hearing_2
And check out this photo of Waxman, if you have the stomach for it(Ugliest man ever???)
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It’s no longer called global warming because there is no warming.
It’s all a bunch of political manipulative nonsense. The earth’s climate has been cycling for millions of years. These goobs want to take a sample of less than 100 years of recorded data and throw it at the general public hoping they’ll make uninformed judgments on that basis – which many sheep have.
Typical bureaucratic bull$#!+.
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AP – PALM BEACH – January 15, 2008
Continuing our story from yesterday, we have breaking news on the mysterious stranger that is buying up coveted property in Palm Beach. Our news crews were tipped off and we reported yesterday about a meeting between a Count, the Mayor of Palm Beach, Donald Trump and other dignitaries.
Our staff reporter and photographer were camped out all morning at Donald Trump’s Post Mansion to interview the Count, but he eluded our crew. They reported a very strange occurrence. About 12:00 pm EST, without fanfare, the guard gate to Trump’s estate opened on it’s own. Minutes later an empty car drove itself into the complex. Moments later, the gate closed.
Adding to the bizarre events, several paparazzi perched over the wall and witnessed Mr. Trump, the Mayor and several other guests seemingly talking to thin air. The reporters immediately began to discuss that the group seemed to be talking to an invisible object or maybe a tree. Their photographs showed no evidence of the Count.
After the meeting, Mr. Trump and others seemed to be shaking hands in thin air. Several photographers have rushed their stories and photos to file with the National Enquirer in Lantana, Florida, just south of the Palm Beach area.
When the luncheon ended, several guests and Mr. Trump left in a the car with no driver. As usual, Mr. Trump said hello to our producer on the way out the gate. When asked who was driving the car, he just smiled and said, “can’t talk now, we’re going for a helicopter tour”. When pressed on the whereabouts of the elusive Count, Mr. Trump brushed his hair out of his eyes and said, “no comment”, then rolled up his window as the car drove out of the gate and north towards Flagler Avenue.
We have called in our top investigative reporters, psychic and psychiatric consultants, infrared imaging photographers and our science editor. As soon as our crack team locates “The Invisible Count”, we will file a new report.
For now, many in Palm Beach are scratching their heads.
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___________________________________________________________________
PALM TELEGRAPH & COURIER
___________________________________________________________________
A Palm Beach telegram, money order and courier service since 1929
___________________________________________________________________
TO: Mayor of Stuffville
CC: Stuffville Bank & Trust Loan Dept.
FROM: Count Von dePorbeck (aka: Invisible Man)
Re: Replacement computer needed
MESSAGE:
Ms. Mayor, all is well now………………………………………………………stop
No need for wire transfer………………………………………………………stop
Found some Klobber’s Saloon checks………………………………………stop
Contacted bank and said Mayor approved municipal line of credit……stop
Bank wired money…………….…………………………………………………stop
Got a great deal on a little getaway cottage and property………………stop
Can’t go into details at this time………………………………………………stop
Made new friend named Donald………………………………………………stop
Am busy. Have Mr. Guy send another computer…………………………..stop
Hope he’s not mad about his stolen, er, lost computer………………….stop
Also hope he’s not mad about me stealing his identity………………….stop
If detectives come to Stuffville, tell them you haven’t seen me………..stop
Have to go fill up helicopter now for tours…………………………………stop
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John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer has this to say about Ken Griffey, Jr.:
“Griffey, 39, is coming off a year in which he hit .249/.353/.424 with 18 home runs and 71 RBI in 490 at-bats. One of his selling points to teams is that he played most of year with a bad left knee, but the knee is healthy now after surgery immediately after the season. Griffey hit .277/.372/.496 with 30 home runs and 93 RBI in 2007.
Griffey will make $9 million in 2009, even if he doesn’t play. He gets $4 million from his option buyout and his deferred payments from his Reds contract begin.
He would likely being willing to sign a relatively cheap contract — $3 or $4 million — for one year. Remember, Juan Rivera, who hit .246/.282/.438 last season, signed for $12.75 million over three years.
In a vacuum, Griffey would be a good short-term solution for the Reds. He could play left field and not cost a lot.”
Could he be a good short-term solution for Atlanta? Hmmm…
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Griffy in left field is almost not fair… Can still cover a lot of ground. Would also sell a lot of seats in Atlanta. Would make Terrence happy anyway…
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US Air passenger plane ditches in the Hudson River after a bird strike….
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Didn’t I see that on Mythbusters?
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Back to Griffey… Gil, you’re right that Griffey might sell some seats. I never thought of it that way.
And it’d certainly be a novel way to attract some support for a playoff drive with folks wanting Junior to get to a World Series before he retires. At $4M, he might be a real attractive option.
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I wouldn’t mind Griffey in left…of course, another lefty…someone must be suppressing the actual number of lefties like myself. 11% my arse! 😉
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As much as I hate the stat heads, this is relevant.
For his career, Griffey’s BA/OBP/SLG is .296/.387/.567 vs. RHP, and .270/.342/.504 vs. LHP.
Not too shabby…
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How long until PETA sues USAir for killing birds?
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I think Abreu has good numbers against lefties as well…Thats one reason why I have scratched my head as to why he hasn’t been considered.
Plus, is Griffey still a cleanup hitter??? I can see Abreu, not so sure about Griffey.
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Just saying, it’s an option, not likely though….
Sometimes however, you need players with whom part of your fan base can identify.
Only trouble is I don’t think he is really a four hole guy anymore. Braves do need a ligament big bopper. There was a reason the team caught fire when the Crime Dog was brought in….
Otherwise they pitch around three guys and wait for Frenchy to hit into a DP….
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A “ligament” big bopper? 🙂
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The Braves were very good at getting men on base last year, very bad at getting them home however. There is a reason you lose so many one run games…
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oopsss
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Something I read today that we have not considered. Unless Andruw signs a minor-league deal, he has to be put on the 40-man roster, costing someone a spot. Apparently on a radio interview this morning, Andruw said he won’t sign a minor-league deal.
Adios mi amigo…
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Good article on Braves/Andruw if you haven’t already seen it.
http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090115&content_id=3745731&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl
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The Braves were very good at getting men on base last year, very bad at getting them home however. There is a reason you lose so many one run games…
Gil, right you are, and about the most frustrating aspect of the team, the last few years.
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V, I agree….I think Glavine has the same viewpoint…
CL, thanks for the article. I feel a bit better about it…he should sign with the Reds, IMHO. Won’t be a past, not a lot of hope either, so anything he does will be gravy. And Dusty is clearly a players manager, as well.
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And Gil, I think a guy that walked a lot, a-la Dunn or Abreu, would be an excellent addition for the guys behind them as well. Clearly, they try(and fail a bit with Dunn) to only swing at good pitches.
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Andruw is officially an ex-Dodger:
http://www.insidesocal.com/dodgers/2009/01/andruw-jones-re.html
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Derek Lowe is officially signed, sealed and delivered. The press conference is tomorrow at 10:30a.
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Hope I’m not playing a repeat, but Andruw is officially an ex-Dodger:
http://www.insidesocal.com/dodgers/2009/01/andruw-jones-re.html
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I am and idiot…
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Ya know, the avatar looked alot better when it wasn’t microscopic… it’s the hitter from “Baseball Bugs”.
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Raisins, you having short term memory problems?
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Raisins, you having short term memory problems?
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About what?
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WHat what? What are you talking about?
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Hope I’m not playing a repeat, but about what?
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Hey Raisins, did you hear the AJ was released by the Dodgers today?
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No, but Andruw is officially an ex-Dodger:
http://www.insidesocal.com/dodgers/2009/01/andruw-jones-re.html
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Smoltz signed with the Red Sox. Not sure if you heard.
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AP – PALM BEACH, FLORIDA – 9:46 PM – EST
The editor’s desk has just learned of a sports celebrity car auction, to be held at Palm Beach Gardens. Andruw Jones, a pro baseball player for the Los Angeles Dodgers and former Atlanta Brave, will arrive with his entourage tomorrow to auction his car collection which includes classics, sports and limited edition automobiles.
Christie’s is conducting the auction, which is scheduled to begin at 4:00 pm Friday. No word yet on why the athlete is selling his collection or whether he’ll give any press interviews.
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Don’t know if anyone has discovered Pandora radio yet or not. Awesome sight! You type in the name of a song or artist that you like and it automatically starts playing similar songs/artists. I listen a lot with it running in the background. I know we’ve got some real music heads in here so you’ve probably found it or something similar but I just wanted to pass this on.
The best thing is that it’s completely free!
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Braves have resigned Matt Diaz on a one year deal for 1.2375m for 09.
Is he going to be the LF this year? While I was a fan of his, it seems that he was overexposed last year before he got hurt in MIL. Or is he going to be on the bench with Norton? How does Infante figure in?
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He’s still running amok, I see. Palm Beach is the other side of the state & a bit south of me. Think the smell of a fresh-baked Red Velvet Cake would waft that far? Hillbilly, got any tranquilizer darts?
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You might need to get in the car and try to seduce him. With some freshly baked goods, of course. You know what a sucker he is for those.
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😯 What kind of girl do you think I am?
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I specified BAKED GOODS, silly! 🙂
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Seriously, FBG, I said BAKED GOODS. I know you’re a nice girl!
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Well, that first sentence was a doozy. 🙂
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You’ve got to read the whole post, silly!
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After I pull my eyeballs back in?
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They shouldn’t have been out in the first place!
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Well, I wasn’t expecting to read that.
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Lord have mercy, this thing is sloooooww.
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Sorry to shock you FBG. You know that I’m a gentleman and would never make any insinuation about you.
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Perhaps the servers are cold….it’s awfully cold, I bet even in your neck of the woods by say Saturday night, you will be close to freezing.
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I know, Chris, & I wasn’t really shocked. I’m used to El Grincho after all.
Ber, it is quite chilly by Florida standards. Never got above 50s today.
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How is Grinch anyway? Does he ever come around any more?
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Busy with school & looking after Elder Grinch. I don’t know if you heard but his stepmother passed away on Christmas Day so they had a very sad holiday season. I’ll have to try to get him to pop in here sometime.
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And he’s supposed to come visit when while I’m up at the house this spring. Think Tiger’s ready for him? 😉
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I’m sorry to hear about is stepmom. Please pass my condolences to him. I suspect that Tiger will be completely upside down after his visit.
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Good morning folks, I would still give Andruw a shot…. I just don’t think he is done yet…
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From Savannah Guy (using Mr. Fly’s iPhone):
Good… chilly… mornin’ Stuffville! Long time no see.
It’s like this… some invisible dude stole my computer and is now running amuck all over creation. He also stole my identity! The WP Security Force has told me I’ll have to stand in a long line to “refresh my browser”, “clear the browser’s cache and “delete my cookies”.
Whaa??? All that because somebody stole my ID and my Avatar? Sheesh. Plus, why would they want MY cookies? Maybe FBG could send them some so I can keep mine. Oh, well… guess I’ll have to try it this weekend. For a TI, that’ll be a challenge.
On Andruw, based on what I already thought about him (and have opined too many times) and then hearing his recent comments/attitude about no minor league contracts… I can’t even muster any energy to discuss… or think of any reason to waste time with him. Even at minimum, he’s a costly distraction.
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SAAAAALLLLLTY! You got that lead ready yet??
Somebody??
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22 degrees.
9 with the wind chill factor.
Somebody has confused eastern NC with Alaska.
And it wasn’t Sarah.
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While I truly believe we have screwed up the environment in many ways, I would doubt Al Gore needs to worry about drowning Polar Bears at the moment. 26 below zero when we got up this morning. I’m just not seeing any diminishing glaciers up our way. But what the heck-car started the first time.
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13 here. 0 with wind chill. My power flicks off/on about every 17 minutes. Makes it hell trying to do work on a network. It’s worse trying to keep my coffee warm. 😦
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Gil: Andruw went to the DR to get his game in tune for spring. He struck out 8 times in 16 AB’s before leaving for “personal reasons”. Dude is whacked in the head now. Where is Dr. Llewellan when you need him?
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Hi Lew! I was thinking about you this morning wondering how cold it was up there. Yikes! -26! That’s ridiculous.
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If the Braves have enough money to throw away on a ‘minimum’ contract with AJ, I wish they’d just send it to me! It would go to MUCH better use! Heck, it they need somebody to flail away at the plate, I can do that! Soon as I get this shoulder fixed. 😆
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Chris-At least it’s not snowing, too. High temp today is supposed to be 4. Same goes for tomorrow. The predicted high temp for the week? CL’s 22 degrees. Polar Fleece would be a great stock purchase right now.
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It’s amazing how a goose can see and flare off of a shiny Coke can sitting in my well-camouflaged boat while I’m trying to hunt them, but he can’t get out of the way of a bazillion-ton Air-Bus raoring through the wide-open sky…Amazing
David Wright must have been on the Hudson yesterday; no other explanation for the efficient rescue of the passengers other than someone walking on water.
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CL, if the Braves sent it to you I’m sure that “someone” would just spend it on “bargain” property in Florida!
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Yes, were it not for global warming we would all freeze to death…
Yo… Lew, are you going to spring training this year?
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Chris, “Somebody” is grounded for LIFE!
Hillbilly, a jet engine runs from rapid airflow. There are multiple banks (rows) of fan blades that take the air in, build the velocity to incredible speeds, then it enters a combustion chamber where it is mixed with fuel and ignited – which then blasts out of the engine producing thrust. Interrupt this process and it fails. A bunch of 20 lb Canadian geese suddenly ingested will do that, as graphically demonstrated yesterday.
Sully did an absolutely PERFECT job of handling that jet. I would have seriously doubted that you could keep a fully loaded, maxed out jet of that size airborne AND under control as he did. I’ve talked to several other pilots since it happened and they are just shaking their heads. God has His hand on them all.
Gotta go get the MRI results in a few minutes. I don’t think I own enough coats to go outside!
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Gil-Afraid not this time around. Been helping the kids out a good bit and we’ll fly down to Atlanta for the Hank Aaron presentation (staying with The Grinch). That’s about all we can deal with until the car’s paid off in August.
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According to Rosenthal this morning, our outfield hopes may have to wait:
The Braves, at least for the moment, are pulling back in their search for a hitter.
Money is tighter following the team’s combined $83 million commitment to pitchers Derek Lowe and Kenshin Kawakami, and the club is content to wait for potential bargains to develop on the free-agent market.
A trade remains a possibility, but the Braves are unwilling to meet the Yankees’ price for outfielder Xavier Nady, knowing they might get better deals in July.
If they can hold off that long.
The outfielders on the Braves’ 40-man roster — Josh Anderson, Gregor Blanco and Matt Diaz; Jeff Francoeur, Brandon Jones and Greg Norton — are largely undistinguished. Jordan Schafer, a non-roster possibility, has only 297 at-bats above Class A.
The Braves’ preference is for a right-handed hitter, but they could settle for a left-handed bat. Their left-handed hitting regulars — Brian McCann, Kelly Johnson and Casey Kotchman — all hit lefties well.
Andruw Jones? The Dodgers released him Thursday, making him available at the minimum salary. However, the Braves are torn about whether to sign him, knowing his arrival might put manager Bobby Cox in a difficult position. Cox might feel obligated to play Jones out of loyalty, but Jones might not merit the opportunity.
Meanwhile, left-handed hitters such as Bobby Abreu, Garret Anderson and Adam Dunn are problematic for the Braves because of their respective prices and/or defensive inadequacies.
😐
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Too bad Lew… Josie and I are going to Sarasota the first week in March to see my youngest. I am hoping Jennifer will still be in town that week.
IM/SG/Fly… Josie and I will be staying in Savannah on the 27th of Feb, lets do dinner…
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If I had to guess, the outfield will most likely be addressed in spring when teams start looking for pieces (bullpen, maybe?) to complete their rosters.
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As much as I’d like to see that one very big piece added right away, I think this is the right approach. There really isn’t a perfect fit – RH, cleanup hitter, decent glove – out there. No reason to spend money or give away prospects for the sake of “close enough”. I would guess there will be greater availability after camps start and teams see what they have and need.
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VOR-Don’t worry. Wren was on XM Home Plate this morning and said there are five potential trades in the works and there is money to sign whoever is traded for.
Gil-Would be great to get together. We’ll just have to hope we’re all still here for 2010’s Spring Training.
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Lew: Who do you see as a potential fit? I can’t seem to get a good track on whom I feel fits.
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VOR-I have no more idea than you do who they may have targeted. I just heard they signed Matt Diaz to a one year extension, so I’m thinking maybe a good LH power bat to platoon with him in left? I just don’t know. I plead cluelessness right now and will have to adopt a wait and see attitude (probably one of my better attitudes, actually).
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CL…the lead is coming! It will be the shortest in Stuff-ville history, but heck, someone has to own the record! 🙄
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Klobber: Thanks for the tip on Pandora. Gonna give it a shot here in a minute…
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Oh that is way cool…
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Spring is in the air!!!! 😀
Sadly, it shouldn’t have been in the air this early, and froze to death. R.I.P. Spring. 😦
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B 😆
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I have to say I was a bit surprised by the Matt Diaz signing. I was all for him getting a real chance….. last spring.
We only really have one legit cleanup kind of hitter, and that’s McCann, but no one seems to want to put him there because he should only play 130 games a year.
There are so many corner guys out there, it shouldn’t be a real problem. If the team gets past wanting a right handed bat.
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Chris, this Pandora radio is pretty cool!!!
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I’m not so surprised by the Diaz move. He’s a pretty good RH part of a platoon, but not an everyday player. Should the Braves actually acquire an everyday LF by trade, Diaz could be part of the return package.
I’ll tell you who I wonder about a little is Brandon Jones. If the Braves can’t find a slugging LF, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a BJones/Diaz platoon in LF.
But, geez, if they open with BJones/Diaz>Anderson>Francoeur as the outfield, it could be a long summer…
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New blog is up!!!
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Thanks, Raisins. I couldn’t make connection with the wordpress server. 😦
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