Mechanicsville, VA – For a lot of folks, Freddi Freeman’s early season struggles had some wondering if this rookie was indeed ready for “Prime Time”. Could the Braves really be so lucky as to pick another one-two punch out of the first year draft in Heyward and Freeman? Looks like the answer to that question has been answered with a resounding “YES”.
Perhaps the most pleasant surprise has not been his prowess with the bat as he is still adapting to big league pitching but with his nifty glove work around the bag. At least a dozen or more throws by various infielders have not been recorded as throwing errors but as outs because of his quick reflexes and long stretches for some pretty close tags.
In the next to the last play of Sunday’s final against the Giants, he almost completed another amazing hook up with Alex Gonzalez that would have resulted in a final out that would have made the “Web Gems” for sure. The kid has displayed a deft touch that not only gives the Braves’ pitching staff the confidence to pitch to contact but also allows the other infielders to not worry about having to be too fine with their tosses to first.
The Braves have had a revolving door at first base over the past twenty years. In fact the only real mainstays have been in the pitching corps, at third base with Chipper and in centerfield for the ten years that Andruw Jones occupied the spot. While the Braves have employed some really great first baseman in the past with the likes of Andres Galarraga and Fred McGriff, it has more often than not been the position of necessity filled with players like Sid Bream and Gerald Perry with a few years of Adam LaRoche and Mark Texiera thrown in.
Rather than having a guy around whom you could build a franchise like a young Derrick Lee or Albert Pujols, the Braves filled the slot with the likes of Scott Thorman and Randell Simon or converted past-their-prime third basemen like Troy Glaus and Ken Caminiti.
Freeman has a long way to go before he reaches his full potential as a hitter. To get anything above .270 from a rookie in his first full season is always a plus but Freddi has shown flashes of what we might come to expect. He is a big strong player who “gets it” and does not always try to pull every pitch but has enough power to drive the ball the other way and is willing to take what the pitcher is giving him. For sure, just squaring up on the ball and hitting it hard somewhere appears to be the MO of this kid rather than being pull happy which results in a lot of weak ground balls to the second baseman.
While those majestic, towering big flys into the bullpen can inspire a lot of oohs and ahhs, it was the line shot to left center that made me really sit up and take notice. That is the sign of a player who is not trying to hit a five-run homer but one who is trying to make solid contact and has enough power to hit them out to all fields.
It is a welcome sight to an old Braves fan like me to see the Braves bring up a homegrown player who is likely to become an everyday fixture on the line-up card. There are a lot of All-Star first basemen playing in the majors right now if you only consider their bat but very few are the total package of being MVP type players with both the glove and the stick. It is my most humble opinion that Freddi Freeman is a player with that same potential. For sure, he is going to be at the top of most every writer’s ROY list by the time he has made the rounds to different cities.
As for hitting, he is yet another young player who “gets it”. Let’s be honest folks, anything above .270 for a first-year rookie is really gravy. He has shown power but he also has shown that he understands that he does not have to try to pull everything to right field. I don’t expect to see any radical infield shifts as we have on players like Brian McCann or Ron Howard of the Phillies. He will have his share of O-fers this season because he is a contact hitter who is still learning the game but he is only going to get better with the stick.
~Gil~
Great, Gil!! Again, many thanks! Isn’t it a terrific feeling to have young players like this on the team?? (Now if the braves would just pick up the W’s!)
LikeLike
Gil, excellent work and very good timing. As I was reading, JJ threw a ball in the dirt to Freddie on a throw over keeping the runner honest. It bounced in the dirt and off the back of his forearm but he kept it in front of him. I’m sure it hurt like hell, but hey, that’s part of the job!
On a totally different note, is anyone else as uneasy when DLowe takes the mound as I am? I have absolutely zero confidence in him. Looking at the numbers from last night’s game he looked pretty good but it sure didn’t look that way on tv.
LikeLike
Thanks folks, and a special thanks to the editor for her always excellent work with the graphics department.
As for DLowe, I thought he looked a little shaky in his start on short rest in LA but he looked good to go night before last in San Diego. He had excellent movement movement on his pitches. I think and problems he may have experience were from pitch selection rather than location.
I hope y’all saw the outstanding performance of JJ last night. That is Jair we saw two years ago. Most of his pitches clocked in around 89 to 91 MPH but they were moving and other than Dan Uggla, the defense behind him were making plays.
About Uggla, I am beginning to think his offensive woes are trickling over to his defense, at least three plays looked sloppy last night and a fourth would have ensued had it not been for Freddie’s excellent glove work at first.
Time to give ‘Popeye’ a couple of days off. Sometimes you just have to reset the clock.
LikeLike
Excellent work as always Gil! 🙂 🙂 🙂
Caught the last few innings last night, and that did look like J.J. Circa 2009, didn’t it??? Really wish we carried a 3rd catcher, David Ross would be a swell right handed bat off the bench….
Did you hear about Brent Lillibridge making not one, but 2 game saving catches….in right field last night??? 😯
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=310426110
LikeLike
Nice work, Gil, as usual…
Heads up! Day game 2day. 3:35p start time.
LikeLike
2day’s lineup:
1. Marteen, LF
2. JHey, RF
3. Chipper, 3B
4. Mac, C
5. Uggles, 2B
6. Fab 5 Freddie, 1B
7. Gonzo, SS
8. McDouble, CF
9. Tommy Gun, P
LikeLike
5-0 in the 2nd inning and still batting. Me likey… 😀
LikeLike
I was kind of hoping Uggla would get a day off today.
LikeLike
Gil, it sure would have made sense, wouldn’t it??? Has Brooks played any defense this year??? Would make sense to do it on the road…also, Brandon Hicks is on pace for 37 AB’s had he played any defense before today????
LikeLike
I guess Freddi got tired of being compared to Bobby Cox.
LikeLike
That said, Brooksie and Brandon still have options so they could get time in Gwennett. Pretty sure George Sherril is in Freddi’s dog house, I expect Luis Valdez to be sent back to tend his coffee crops.
LikeLike
Glad they did beat up on the Padres though! 🙂
I sure hope Hillbilly and Wildcat are safe, some really terrible storms in Alabama right now, tornado very near Birmingham as we speak….a few prayers couldn’t hurt right now…
LikeLike
Batten down the hatches, folks, it could be a heckuva night! 😯
LikeLike
We have been lucky so far with our mean weather to the west of us. Location is everything….
The wife and I had that very discussion today. When your time is up, the Lord will find you no matter where you are. When he still has work for you to do, you will be protected.
The Good Book says “no man know when I shall return” but it tells us to always be ready and to pray for His return, not for ourselves but for the millions of other who are suffering.
I think that one might tie into the “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle that for a rich man to enter into heaven” Contrary to what some think, I do not think it is evil to be rich, it is just evil to die that way….
On a lighter note… Looks like Roger McDowell has really stepped in it this time…. When will these guys learn to just ignore the taunts? Stress is like that folks. It can cause you to make poor judgements. When the mobs want blood, there is often some fool virgin who is cast upon the altar to appease the masses.
Perhaps the best line is form house. When told he and his new hire had a collective IQ of 300, he replied, so do five morons….
Now baseball…. Heck of a road trip if yu ask me.
LikeLike
Hey, all; Grinch here.
Hope everyone’s OK; I sent off some prayers to the storm gods today and two tornadoes went right by my house on either side an hour ago…yikes! It was interesting to say the least. Still just heavy rain and lightning; the worst is past. Are y’all all safe?
As for McDowell, I’m GLAD we finally got a Braves coach with a little fire; if this was 15 years ago there’d be no story. Notice there’s no mention of what was said to him to start it, only “I was minding my own business and he just called me a homo threatened me with a bat” from that guy’s lawyer. Riiight. Too bad nobody got the whole thing on tape; they were in SD and there probably weren’t any Braves fans in the section. I hope a good man doesn’t get too roasted over this non-story (IMO). Slurs and dealing with hecklers in baseball is as American as apple pie.
LikeLike
And what a GREAT road trip, Gil. After looking how we looked going into it and having all those games with no night off, missing Moylan and extra innings? We swept the Giants and went 6-4, and are fixing to hit a MUCH easier part of the schedule. Prado and Uggla will hit. I still think we got a shot at the division. I smell a 28-9 run here in a bit.
LikeLike
A Grinch siting ! 😯 🙂
Don’t you just know McDowell will lose his job over some words said to those that had been heckling him???
I see Gloria Allred is involved….ugghh…
I too sure hope everyone is ok…. Isn’t FBG in Tiger right now??? There have been some just horrible tornado’s this A.M. in both north and south Georgia. The TV folks say to expect the death tolls to rise quite a bit…
LikeLike
She’s fine; just talked to her. The tornadoes got close but no cigar, and they got a great storm cellar anyway, though I’m sure it was nerve-wracking for a while. Y’all be safe and thank your blessings. G’night.
LikeLike
J-town survived with little threat last night; I was worried about you good folks on the south side. Great to hear from you, Grinch, and I am very thankful the tornadoes decided to go around you!
LikeLike
Actually, I pretty sure if “The Grinch” were sucked up into the belly of the beast, it would spit him out post haste… 🙂
But I am glad all are safe. They say our worse storms are on the way. Yesterday was just a preview. Soooo, if the UN is allowed to grant “Mother Earth” human rights status, will that mean folks will be allowed to bring charges against her for damages caused by tornadoes and the like?
Miss Josie has been keeping an weary eye out for falling houses all day… Uh, I didn’t just say that out loud did I?
Actually, McDowell was in San Francisco when the alleged incident occurred. Personally, I think they want the Braves to forfeit the three game sweep.
Oh well, the politically correct crowd will have their way in the end. It is not the exchange with the hecklers that seems to be the real problem, it is supposedly what was said to the fellow at the game with his wife and daughters. I guess I would be pretty upset about it too if it had been my family.
One piece of advice my mom passed along to me I try to heed. “There will be enough troubles to befall upon you in this world without bringing more upon yourself”… Sound Biblical but I am pretty sure it was handed down to her by her mom after one of her many misadventures.
LikeLike
Gil, you and I are on the same boat with this McDowell thing.
I too cannot stand the ultra-sensitive in this world, and have a particularly strong dislike for “attorneys” like Gloria Allred who are nothing but publicity whores. She will use her celebrity to extort every last possible ounce of shame and sympathy out of this, and then turn it into a nifty sum of dollars in the end. It’s what she does…
That said, Roger stepped in it big time with this family. It was completely uncalled for. It is wrong, yet somewhat understandable to engage a heckler. Yet he should have known better. It is way out of bounds to then refocus on a father trying to shield his family from the fray.
The exchange with the heckler alone would likely cost Roger a hit in the back pocket… possibly even a suspension. This additional element could cost him his job. Baseball is already in a full scale battle to gain the attention of youth. These youngsters are critical in cultivating the future fan base of a sport already seeing a decline in popularity. Bud will not let this go lightly. And we all know how steadfast the Braves organization has been in weeding out players who are not viewed as doing things “the Braves way”. Why should that standard change with regard to coaches? Nope, it would come as no surprise to me at all in this age of political correctness if this bonehead act costs Roger his job. As a father – if the allegations are accurate – I cannot say that I will lose any sleep over such a punishment.
LikeLike
Upon further review, I agree kids shouldn’t be subjected to that sort of thing. If it’s true, Rodger was definitely a fool. But has anyone seen the way that family’s posing in the AJC photo? They look like an acting coach was telling them off camera “Now pretend you just spent your whole life getting whooped like Toby on “Roots,” and that you’re now on the witness stand at Marse’s trial.” I mean come on. If it were my family I’d be ill, but I’d settle for a private apology and some signed bats and jerseys for the kids. No way I’d pimp them out like that in public.
LikeLike
On a lighter note, this may be the most beautiful day ever created. I’m gonna go out in it for a bit. Glad everyone’s safe!
LikeLike
Welcome, Green One!
I hate that Roger got tangled up in that. And naturally the picture-perfect family was right there and instantly grabbed at the chance for some big bucks. I hate it. I fully agree with you, Grinch.
LikeLike
I watched a bit of the Pirates vs Giants game this afternoon… Pirates were cruising along and then it happened, Overbay dropped a pop up to first base, Pitcher proceeds to walk the batter, opposing pitcher puts down a sac bunt, Overbay trying to be a hero, throws to third for the force, ball is late, dropped, now the bases are loaded, no outs, Rowan hits a double to the left field corner… Well, you get the idea.
I was so reminded of why Kelly Johnson got run out of town.
Errors do matter, they give the other team extra outs, makes your pitcher throw more pitches, generally ruins everyone’s day.
All of a sudden, you pitching staff begins to believe they have to strike everyone out, just cannot be done and not have to throw 140 pitches in a game.
Yes ‘O Green One’ enjoy the out doors while you are young and can enjoy it. Storms are coming up the coast so I expect CL will catch some of this fury too.
LikeLike
I’m totally with you on the money grab. Really, I am.
But the Braves might be over a barrel on this. It’s a hot button item. It’s got Gloria Allred pushing the buttons. It’s the kind of thing the media will glom onto for a while,
It could potentially become a major, major distraction for a team trying to make a move. I’d rather see them overreact than let it derail a potentially solid season.
LikeLike
Gloria Allred makes me want to – nevermind.
Let’s see – in which state has all this transpired? Oh, yes. The ‘great’ state of California, the state where any lawsuit is just waiting to happen.
LikeLike
Yes CL. and an additional person has now come forward citing an incident which occurred last year, reminds me of the old joke about the city bus involved in an accident, only two people were on the bus but 38 showed up at the ER claiming whiplash.
LikeLike
DLowe… dang, buddy.
Not a stellar week for Los Bravos. 😦
LikeLike
http://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-braves/braves-pitcher-derek-lowe-929396.html
Can’t gives these guys a day off for nothing…
At $15 million a year, you would think these guys could afford cab fare. Oh well, they are baseball players, not saints…
LikeLike
Oh, lord. Where are their brains???? Well, at least the team face matches now: TWO black eyes.
GOOO Braves!! 🙄
LikeLike
While I never had a DUI, I did have my share of traffic offenses when I was young. Then I assumed a position in the community where by I could no longer afford to be guilty of being stupid in public.
While I have as much or maybe even more reason to frown upon DUIs, I am also mature enough to know these things happen in the best of families. Lets hope DLowe learns a valuable lesson form all this. Nothing will be done before court but I expect Lowe will have to make a pretty sizable contribution to a Braves’ charity to gain atonement from the club.
That and likely some type of public apology for being a dumb-ass….
I must say, Lowe does not take a bad mugshot. No Nick Nolte’ moment and at least he didn’t scream obscenities at the arresting officer.
LikeLike
CL I still have the “right to remain silent” video you sent out last year, maybe you should link it to the Braves…
My favorite “Gilism” is , “you have a right to remain silent, if you give up that right, you are too stupid to be allowed to reproduce and deserve whatever punishment the judge gives to you so I won’t have to run into you somewhere along the way…”
Josie and I worked pretty hard outside today, I’m not sure trying to stretch out the time between grass trimming pays off in any savings. I suspect the mower uses as much or more gas trying to cut the longer blades.
LikeLike
Roger placed on “administrative leave”…
http://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-braves/mcdowell-placed-on-administrative-929835.html
LikeLike
Gay groups both locally and nationally are also demanding action by the Braves and Major League Baseball.
Can we put together a group and make demands? I have some actions I’d like taken, too. I’d like lower ticket prices. I’d like better parking options. I’d like to pay less than $5 for a soft drink.
If we have a “group”, you think my demands will be given some consideration?
LikeLike
And I am not enamored by Dave Wallace…
LikeLike
Gilism 😆
V, what don’t you like about Dave Wallace??? I don’t know a thing about him….
I know it will never happen, but if just one person in a position of power would stand up to Allred, she would go away….or at least wouldn’t get the press she does now…
Now…baseball…ummm, err….well…..Has anyone seen the 2011 version of Charlie Morton???? 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA (7.57 ERA last year) and he seems to be a Roy Halladay clone, sinker wise, and pitching motion wise…
lookie!
LikeLike
Yep, nothing like a little “Righteous” Indignation from a bunch of amoral individuals to stir up some hype. Now, before I say something I will regret, I will review my right to remain silent.. but, You Know….
Just saying, I shall not be casting the first stone…
And Charlie Morton, he sure has fared better than Kyle Davies of KC.. A lot of times, it is just a matter of allowing a guy to mature. I’m glad the kid is having some success, eh, who do you think the Pirates would like for McClutchen?
LikeLike
So, with Superman renouncing his US Citizenship, does it make him an “illegal” alien? I think I will start accumulating kryptonite, for sure, no more comic books for me, Truth, Justice and the UN… which of these three do not belong?
LikeLike
Man, Nate really tattooed that last ball, but the Cards were playing soooo deep…drat….
LikeLike
Well, I would say last night’s game did not work out exactly as planed. Was anyone surprized when Gearrin thew that heater straight down the pike after the visit to mound by the interim pitching coach? Unfortunately, the game changed much earlier when BMac failed with the bases loaded to make the Cards pay.
Defensively however, he made one of the best throws to second to nip Cody Rasmus in the eight I think I have ever seen him make.
Oh well, it’s April and the Braves are playing like it….
LikeLike
Early game today, all you folks in the south will get the Braves and Cards, I’m pretty sure I will get the Phillies and Mets…
LikeLike
Gee Gil, bet you have to root for….shudder…the Mutts! 😯
BOP and C car show in Marietta today…nice weather for one! 🙂
LikeLike
Yep, just as I predicted, Phils and Mutts… At least I can get a radio feed.
Yep, beautiful day today, finished up our yard work. Had to trim broken cedar branches from recent storm. My back is really letting me know about it too. Let’s see: pain pill, check; aspirin, check; double shot of Jameson, check… Now wait for effect to kick in.
So, pitchers duel today. Everywhere…
LikeLike
Well, I don’t know what else to opine so… BOOOOOOOO!!!!!
Got to score some runs boys… you’re letting the pitchers take the brunt….
LikeLike
Boo indeed! Today not much going on offensively either.
Note to braves hitters, Jamie Garcia doesn’t throw many strikes, everything is in the dirt, stop swinging at those balls! Thank you!
Then Uggla pounds a ball, and it hits the top of the fence and bounces back in, so just a double… ugghla…or something! 😉
LikeLike
And Brooksie is officially out of the dog house…
LikeLike
Yeah Brooksie!!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂
You can tell how much his teammates care, the way they beat him up….
LikeLike
I had been busy outside and missed the start of the game, by the time I turned on the set it was the bottom of the second and the Bravos were already down 3-zip. I thought, rats, that’s all we need is to get swept by the Red Birds at home, I can hear it now.
Like a good fan however, I toughed it out and YEAH…
This evening, I went next door to read the comments that took place during the game…. You know what, I would not want one single one of them in my foxhole…
LikeLike
Gil, I just wanted to read the comments leading up to and after Conrad’s hit…well, lets just say I was not impressed….there are a few decent souls, but like you said…in my foxhole? No thanks…
LikeLike
So, Bin Laden is dead, must be Bush’s fault….
LikeLike
Unfortunately, there is still one smell of a hess it the middle east. Still say they should just deliver a huge tank of Windex and instructions to “keep it clean” right after we nuked them…
LikeLike
Classic! 😆
LikeLike
Julio Teheran is IL player of the week this week. Incredible stats. Oh, and last week’s IL player of the week? Uh, that’d be Mike Minor. Pitching studs!!!
I’ll still bet that one of our current starters gets traded at the deadline. Gonna need a SS very soon. Time to go shopping.
Yessir, the future is a rosy place…
LikeLike
Then again, as I perused the potential shopping list, I see that Mr. Salcedo is pretty high on the prospect page, and is being compared to some pretty lofty names. Perhaps SS isn’t as high on the wish list as I may have imagined… 😯
LikeLike
Love the video! 😆
LikeLike
Great game tonight folks, Good job by JJ and some timely hitting with men on base. David Ross has got to love this once a week gig. A homer and a single and another double stolen by Hart…
LikeLike
I wonder if the freaks across the street might start to let the whole “Yunel trade” stuff go now. Alex is having an All-Star season.
LikeLike
Great vid! 🙂
V, nah…Did you all see during the game where they showed Alex’s homers and RBI’s since start of 2010? Only shortstop with better numbers was Troy Tulow..Tulowis…that shortstop for Colorado.
Not too shabby!
LikeLike
After watching Gonzo’s work this season, you have to wonder if Alex had some trouble adjusting when he first came to the Braves last season. He sure looks a lot smoother and more confident this year.
Maybe some of it comes form becoming familiar with his infield mates or perhaps the feeling he can just heave any sort of throw towards fist base and have Freddie (stretch) Freeman complete the play.
Now the downside… Does anyone else besides myself who really misses the defense Andruw Jones displayed when he roamed center field? I don’t think I ever remember him missing a ball “by inches” if he got to it. Just saying…
LikeLike
Oh well, can’t have it all can we?
LikeLike
or perhaps the feeling he can just heave any sort of throw towards fist base and have Freddie (stretch) Freeman complete the play
I’ll betcha there’s alot more to that than most folks will acknowledge. Freddie has made both Gonzo and Uggs look like Gold Glovers this year.
LikeLike
Hoo boy, twin bill today beginning at 4:30 PM, not sure Josie can take that much baseball all at one setting. May have to DVR one of them.
So, bin Laden is dead, why do the changing stories the White House is putting out creating a buzz kill for me? Funny, Josie and I talked about what hearing that bin Laden had been killed made us feel. Joy was not a word we could use. Relief was more like it.
We both gave high marks to the President for taking action but the incompetency factor keeps creeping in. Sigh, you would think maybe they would have taken a page from the SEALS’ playbook and planned what to do based on outcome.
It just scares the piddle out of me these folks can’t seem to plan past their next golf date….
LikeLike
Two statements… Might even get me banned by CL..
Josie thinks this bin Laden thing is horse hockey… Says it’s like “something washed up on the beach and you want to claim you caught it.”
Says more likely, Pakistan gave UBL up after he had died, she does not believe the US could have flown that deep into another country stay 40 minutes and then fly off just as Pakistani jets are scrambled.
Personally, I don’t know. Just reminds me of the old joke, “How do you know when a government official is lying? Their lips are moving…”
Oh well, time to put it all behind us. Braves play two this afternoon. First pitch at 4:10 PM.
LikeLike
Gil, not releasing the photos is going to keep this in the news for quite some time…part of Obama’s plan to make Republicans seem kooky(Kookier?)than ever, not believing he was really killed??? Of course some Republican leaders don’t want the image released either…don’t want to upset the radicals that are no doubt planning more attacks as we speak…that makes sense, right? 🙄
there is one fairly gruesome image out there that I thought was him from several days ago, but now it looks photoshopped to me…
Now baseball…well, in 15 minutes! 😉
LikeLike
Nice story from Tim K about the fact Ankiel has the best outfield arm, and how rare that is for a lefty.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=kurkjian_tim&id=6477509
LikeLike
Pretty nice game today… 8-2 Braves in the bottom of the seventh
LikeLike
Wow! When was the last time the braves swept a double header??? Ok, earlier this year, they just said…hmmm, alrightly then!
And very glad Freddi left Hudson in there to complete it…dollars to donuts, Bobby would have taken him out after 8, for no good reason…
LikeLike
Yes Ber, pretty impressive performance by Hudson tonight. His delivery looked fluid and his breaking balls were crisp. Have to say, the Nate McLough we saw tonight looked like the same guy I saw in spring training. Not sure what happened to him for a month in between my first reports and now but this is exactly the guy I saw in March.
Freddi Freeman might be struggling with the bat a bit but it sure has not affected his fielding. He completed several plays tonight that the last couple of years would have gone for errors. Just an observation but I’ll bet Freddie is/could be a heck of a table tennis player…
It is good to see the team win both ends of a twin bill when you don’t have your starting eight in the line up for both games. It says there is depth in this team.
Remember a couple of years ago when the team could not win without Chipper in the line-up?
LikeLike
What a very impressive complete performance on both ends of that twin bill yesterday.
A handful of observations:
Index finger) Nate McDouble is certainly living up to his “Pittsburgh Nate” self. What a boost it is to have him playing so well. Yes, it is in essence a contract year, but I don’t care what the motivation is. I’m happy to see it.
Bird finger) With all the talk about the “new young guns” – being Hanson, JJ and Beachy – I felt all along that the best pitcher on the staff was still Huddy. That gem he tossed last night was as dominating a game by a Braves pitcher as any I have seen since the glory days of Maddux, Smoltz and Glavine.
Ring finger) This is the offense we all expected coming out of spring. It should be of no surprise to anyone who has followed the team more than casually. And to think, Uggs still hasn’t flipped the power switch yet.
Pinky) As good as Casey Kotchman was with the glove, Freddie makes him look like Roberto Durán. (For those who don’t know who that is – Roberto Durán was a boxer in the ’70’s and ’80’s whose nickname was “Hands of Stone”.) Freddie’s smooth glove work is making the other 3 infielders all look like Brooks Robinson. Perfect example… the great play Chipper made late in the 1st game ranging far to his left, spinning and making the throw. Except that the throw was in the dirt. If not for the exceptional pick by Freddie, which looked quite effortless, that goes for an error. Yet, Chipper was lauded as the “Good Hands Play of the Day” on the TV broadcast. Amazing what effect 1 guy can have on an entire infield.
Thumb) Can we finally put the whole Gonzo vs. Yunel debate to rest? Alex looks like he did as a youngster out there this season. Who was the last SS the Braves had that could play the position defensively like Alex is doing this season? Maybe Rafael Belliard… maybe. And we don’t even need to begin to compare those 2 offensively.
LikeLike
In today’s AJC:
Pakistan warns America not to stage any more raids
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan warned America Thursday of “disastrous consequences” if it carries out any more unauthorized raids against suspected terrorists like the one that killed Osama bin Laden…
Can we just go over and level off a few of their mountains and remind them of their relative position on this globe? How about we just go ahead and level the whole place and make a wide airstrip to park our jets and helicopters in the middle of the rest of the trouble makers? I am getting sick and tired of being warned by the pimples on the world’s arse. I really am. When will our so-called leadership really show some gonads instead of the staged dog-and-pony shows we get now?
Grrrr… 😡
My fear is that we are no longer capable of substance, only style. The goobs on Capital Hill need to get their self-serving mitts out of the war business and give the authority back to those trained to take care of business. You can’t legislate military strategy. You just can’t…
LikeLike
And now for something completely different:
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=292589
This is a MUST READ.
LikeLike
environmentalism has become a new, false religion Or Shinto when given a name. It is the religion of the Japanese where by they believe every object has a spirit.
Excellent comments on the team by the way Raisins. I was opining the same thoughts this morning as I agree with your astute observations.
This is the team all Braves fans were looking for coming out of spring training. Yes, we still have a few holes in the line up but what team doesn’t?
Possibly bad news on the horizon with regard to Peter Moylan but perhaps a new star will arise. Gearrin’s “stuff” does not look as lively as it did in his first appearance in San Diego. It that game, it looked like he could make the ball do all sorts of tricks, I’m not sure if it was because he was really amped up or the heavy air.
LikeLike
I like 4 game sweeps. I like 5 in a row. I like those things alot. They won’t mean much if we don’t get at least 2 of the 3 against the Phils…
LikeLike
You are correct sir….
LikeLike
Pitching matchups:
DLowe vs. Cliff Lee – The toughest of the weekend matchups, but we handed it to Lee in ATL. I like history.
JJ vs. Roy Oswalt – I’ll take JJ all day long.
Hanson/Huddy vs. Cole Hamels – Regardless of who gets the start for the good guys, it’ll be a battle of the “H’s”. Hamels is kind of Jeckyl/Hyde. If he’s on, he’s really tough. I still like our guy, regardless of which H we trot out there.
Couple of thoughts… First, we don’t see Halladay. Thank you, Lord. Second, it’ll be a good weekend for Uggs to start bopping some homers. What better place than a glorified Little League stadium?
LikeLike
Bad news…
Stephen Marek is headed for season-ending elbow reconstruction surgery
http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-braves-blog/2011/05/06/gwinnett-reliever-marek-headed-for-tommy-john-surgery/?cxntfid=blogs_atlanta_braves_blog
LikeLike
I was thinking last night, who does Uggla remind me of? Answer… Andruw Jones… He is so oriented to trying to pull everything to left field, he is constantly getting himself out. Look, I’ll give him a couple of hard swings if the ball is in his happy zone but the book is so out on him right now, everything away and bending… He just keeps hitting weak ground balls or into the teeth of the defense.
You would think that Chipper would put a bug in his ear about driving the ball. Doubles are good…. He might mentioned it to Heyward too while he’s at it.
Frustrating….
LikeLike
Dadgummit!!!
Braves reliever Peter Moylan has continued to feel pain in his lower back despite two weeks of rest and an epidural and is resigned to the fact that surgery is likely.
http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-braves-blog/2011/05/06/braves-reliever-moylan-says-back-surgery-is-likely/?cxntfid=blogs_atlanta_braves_blog
LikeLike
Rasins… That is why I hate to trade pitchers, you just never have too many.
LikeLike
So, who is next in line? Proctor? Mike Minor?
Moylan… who would have thunk it? That his back broke down before his arm fell off. One thing about Bobby Cox, he believed in getting his money’s worth out of a pitcher.
LikeLike
Well, there isn’t another guy to fit Moylan’s role. It ain’t Sherrill. It ain’t Linebrink. It ain’t Proctor. Martinez? Uh, I’d rather just use him in long relief. Gearrin has been good, but he’s awfully green. Tough to count on too many youngsters. Marek would have been a good candidate, but last I checked you needed an intact ulnar collateral ligament to be effective.
It looks like Frank may have to dangle Lopez for a reliever.
LikeLike
Good Grief! Moylan and I have the very same back it appears. Well, I have only had one surgery, but two blown discs…Actually, if he had surgery in 2001, and 2003, he will be one ahead of me…one disc, but two surgeries…he can stay there…wish I had his surgeon though…if he had cut me open a few short decades ago, I’d be still pitching…cuz I am a lefty, and everyone wants a lefty! 😉
Well, it’s one way to rest a tired arm, eh what???
LikeLike
and if you haven’t checked out the pic of my broken toe on facebook, you really ought to! 😛 Pic really doesn’t do it justice, it’s much darker in person.
Had a very long wisdom tooth pulled on Tuesday, and that didn’t hurt like this toe…No tap dancing or ballet dancing this week!
LikeLike
Revised pitching matchups:
Tonight: DLowe vs. Cliff Lee
Saturday: Julio Teheran vs. Kyle Kendrick
Sunday: JJ vs. Cole Hamels
LikeLike
Spot start for Teheran so that neither Huddy nor Hanson have to go on 3 days rest on Sunday. Can’t wait!
LikeLike
And JHey is getting a night off tonight. Just “resting”. And just a coincidence that it’s against lefty Cliff Lee.
Right…
LikeLike
Wow Ber, getting you going and coming….
Who’s spot on the roster is Teheran taking?
LikeLike
That hasn’t been announced yet… but it is widely speculated that he will be optioned back on Sunday anyway. Could be that Mather goes down on Saturday, and Young comes back on Sunday? Maybe they’ll just pull the plug on Linebrink or Sherrill. Linebrink has been terrible lately.
Maybe there are some other elements in the equation that we aren’t aware of yet. After all, we need a capable replacement for Petey.
LikeLike
2night’s lineup:
1. Prado, LF
2. Gonzo, SS – interesting…
3. Chipper, 3B
4. Mac, C
5. Uggs, 2B
6. Fab 5, 1B
7. Mather, RF
8. McDouble, CF
9. DLowe, P
LikeLike
Oh boy, going to be one of those games..
LikeLike
It’s saying something when a guy strikes out sixteen and he was out pitched…
LikeLike
I must say, O’Flaherty was the difference maker last night for the Braves. Not to take anything away from the rest of the team but to me, that is about as gutsy as it gets to come in with runners on 2nd and 3rd with no outs and strike out three very good hitters. I conceded the Phils would score at least one in that situation but WOW, he way just spectacular.
Strike outs are sexy, that is why the pundits always fawn over a performance like Cliff Lee’s but really, didn’t Hudson pitch better the other night?
Lowe certainly did not lose his sense of humor in it all, when asked about the lineage of his recurring foot blister problem, he said “I blame my parents” … Ah, spoken like a true smart a**.. 🙂
LikeLike
2day’s lineup:
1. Marteeen, LF
2. JHey, RF
3. Chipper, 3B
4. Mac, C
5. Uggs, 2B
6. Fredo, 1B
7. Gonzo, SS
8. McDouble, CF
9. The One and Only Julio Teheran, P
LikeLike
Going to be a Teh party tonight…
LikeLike
If I were Freddi, I think I would instruct him to throw the first pitch to the backstop, maybe clonk the Fanatic… Just to keep the Phillies from digging in… 🙂
LikeLike
@Gil – 😆 😆 😆 That would be so perfect!!!
@Miss Josie – Happy Mother’s Day!!
LikeLike
Going to be a Teh party tonight…
Gil, you so funny! 😉
And if anyone missed O’Flaherty the game before, that was truly amazing, what he did!
Well, I guess Julio still pretty green. Brandon Beachy was talking about the first game he went to as a brave(couldn’t be in uniform yet) and how 17 year old Teheran was tossing 96-98, then Kimbrel came in to close…think this was rookie ball, and Beachy thought with arms like that, he would be gone in a few weeks! 😉
I saw a few at 96, but mainly in the low 90’s.
I do see Pedro in him, and if he could be half as good, he will be just fine…glad we don’t really need him just yet!
Makes you marvel all the more that Dwight Gooden went 24-4 with a 1.53 ERA at 20….
LikeLike
Yes Ber, and it reinforces my hesitation in bringing up a pitcher while his arm is still maturing.
I thought Teheran pitch okay for a first time, twenty year old kid. Certainly not the kind of “stuff” we see with Hudson or Lowe. He just seemed a tad bit off to me.
I think people forget there is a huge difference between Triple A and the majors. Of course, if the Braves had managed to score some runs off Kendricks, the nature of the discussion would be completely different this morning.
LikeLike
That was a complimentary taste of the bigs by Fredi & company. I think it is a good strategical move to say, “You get a start, and then you go back to finish developing.” Everyone knows the score from the get-go, there is no real pressure, and the kid gets a first hand experience of what his end goal is like.
The reality is, he didn’t pitch badly. Heck, with a modicum of run support, he still could have gotten a “W”. He made a couple of mistakes, and they cost him. That is a tremendous learning experience. For my money, the next time he appears in the bigs, it’ll for good and he’ll be better for this experience.
LikeLike
Well, that was special…. Nice win for the Bravos tonight, I think Freddie Freeman should keep wearing those pink shoes until he has an 0-fer….
The kids made it interesting there at the end but then, ESPN needed to sell a bit more beer to the Phillies Fans.
LikeLike
Good win, yes, but not real happy about this…
http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-braves-blog/2011/05/09/gonzalez-thinks-groin-strain-will-only-cost-him-a-day-or-so/?cxntfid=blogs_atlanta_braves_blog
LikeLike
Nor should you be Raisins. Gonzo has been a real difference maker for the Braves.
If you ever wondered what a pitcher who is ‘laboring’ looked like, then all you have to do is watch video of Jair’s performance last night. Honest, he looked off from the start of the first inning. His velocity was way down too.
I guess it goes to prove that you don’t always have to have your best stuff. The term ‘crafty right hander’ keeps sticking in my head…..
I think something is bothering him and that is the real reason for the extra day of rest they gave him and bringing up Teheran for that spot start.
For sure, he was really grinding out that performance.
And before I forget, Nate showed why it is so important to catch the ball with both hands, I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who noticed the ball he caught for the final out hit the heel of his glove and would have popped free had he not sealed the deal with his right hand.
LikeLike
O’Flaherty has really stepped up into the 7th inning role hasn’t he? Two really impressive performances in Phillie by the Seattle Slew’… The Braves’ bullpen is just much weaker without the Aussie. I am thinking Medlin will be a sorely needed addition to the pen when he returns in August.
In the meantime, guys not named Kinbrell, Venters and O’Flaherty have got to step up too.
That said, Sherrill really has looked much improved. That could be a real plus.
LikeLike
Boy, hope AGon(does anyone call him that?) is right, and it’s just a minor tweak…we really don’t seem to have anyone who can fill in that well…only good thing would be Nate wouldn’t bat 8th all the time…
LikeLike
If Gonzo’s groin “tweak” is remotely serious, such that it would keep him out for any real amount of time, you can bet that Frank would open the pitcher market and start taking calls.
LikeLike
Old friend Ryan Langerhans has been DFA’d again. Can’t the guy take a hint?
LikeLike
Speaking of former Braves…
Arizona is looking at moving Kelly Johnson – .175/.256/.317 – for a starting pitcher.
(Wait for it…)
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha 😆
LikeLike
Baseball is rift with guys who appeared to have career years with the Braves. Actually, one could play “The six degrees of Bobby Cox” pretty easily.
I’ll not fret too much about Gonzo quite yet. Nothing I can do about it. I have experience groin pulls before and I can sympathize with the guy. Makes it real tough to walk down stairs.
Some more observations about last night’s game. The game did not go at all like the producers of ESPN had anticipated. Every accolade the talking heads came up with suffered from failed expectations.
Both the first hit to the off field and the homerun by Freddi Freeman happened while they were yapping about something totally unrelated to the game. That and they are still mystified by the fact that Cliff Lee struck out 16 and lost… DUH!!! It’s baseball, it happens…
Prado is much better suited to hit in the two hole, too bad the Braves’ project lead-off guy is Nate McLough who apparently can’t function in that role. I don’t think Jason Heyward really likes to two spot all that much either but you have to bat him somewhere.
LikeLike
Gil, I was checking out Nate’s numbers in different positions in the order…interesting (at least to me! 😉 )
Last year, in 51 AB’s batting leadoff, .151! Batting 8th, 129 AB’s , .171. Here’s the weird part. Batting 6th?? 44 AB’s 3 HR’s 7 RBI’s and .250. Wonder if Bobby was aware of that?
In 2009, 338 Ab’s 11 HR’s 37 RBI’s .260 BA batting leadoff, his best numbers…
Ok, last year I am going to check…2008, last full year in Pittsburgh.
326 AB’s 17 HR’s 55 RBI’s .273 BA.
Hit .284 batting 3rd, but had much less power, for some reason. (3 HR’s in 200 + Ab’s)
So, I guess the question is…he used to be able to bat leadoff, what happened?? Or should they move him up now that is is fairly hot???
I agree Heyward doesn’t seem comfortable batting 2nd. In theory, you should see more fastballs, but as the folks on ESPN mentioned Sunday , the braves have zero base stealing ability, at least so far this year. Nate would at least be a threat to steal in front of him…but then where does Prado hit?? 6th???
LikeLike
Heh, forgot, spent so long reading up on Nate’s stats…
Prado 2nd, JHey 6th….
LikeLike
Uh…hi, everybody! Has the season started?
LikeLike
2night’s lineup:
1. Marteeen, LF
2. JHey, RF
3. Chipper, 3B
4. Mac, C
5. Uggles, 2B
6. FreFree, 1B
7. McDouble, CF
8. Diory Hernandez, SS Dadgummit!
9. Huddy, P
LikeLike
Salt-meister! ‘sup!
LikeLike
I kinda expected Gonzo to sit this one out tonight.
Heyward is going through a transition right now, that is, trying to live up to expectations while still learning on the job. A lot of pressure for a 21 year old… Of course, Uggla is not really doing all that much better.
Until Jason learns to hit to the off field with authority, he is going to be pitched high and away and low and in….
Uggla just abhors a breaking ball… Guess what he is going to get until he hits them?
I sure hope Diory can bunt….
Washington is struggling without Zimmerman in the line up, the Braves need to take care of business while they can.
Of course that only makes Moylan that much more frustrated, knowing his personal nemesis is not playing….
I think Frank Wren is going to play musical chairs with the forth outfielder/infielder slot until either someone proves they can hit or they make a trade at the deadline.
LikeLike
The Salt Man! Great to see you!!
LikeLike
You know what folks, you just had to have a bad feeling about last night’s game when Freddie dropped that ball in the first inning. Then the bobble by Diory… Just an ugly ugly game.
Jason now complaining about his shoulder/arm/neck… That is not a good sign. Does explain a lot but still, not a good sign.
LikeLike
Crimeny!
http://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-braves/braves-rally-falls-short-941955.html
😦
LikeLike
I am more than a little concerned about JHey’s shoulder injury. If it is causing numbness, there’s a nerve involved, and I have dealt with both shoulder and nerve injuries. (In fact, 21 years post-surgery, my shoulder is currently giving me alot of trouble.)
Anyway, the initial report says a MRI is scheduled for tomorrow. The radio dude just said it is today. Either way, it’s serious enough to have an MRI.
If JHey is out any significant amount of time, what do we do for RF? I don’t really want to think about it…
LikeLike
I expect they will go with what the MRI reports (my money is on a disk injury) If it is short term, Joe Maher will play right, if longer (15 day DL) will bring up Rameriz most likely.
That said, can’t really be any less productive than J-Hey right now.
Job one, catch the ball… Another night like last night and, well… you know….
LikeLike
oR WOULD IT BE SPELLED DISC?
LikeLike
At least Gonzo is back in the lineup tonight batting 2nd. Hinske gets the nod in RF. I have a bad feeling about this. Either that, or gas. (Either way, I lose…)
LikeLike
Read this on MLBTR:
Royals GM Dayton Moore is pleased with Jeff Francoeur’s production so far and says the outfielder does a lot of things well, though he “doesn’t have a knack for getting on base.”
😆
That just makes me laugh…
LikeLike
From Bowman:
Heyward did provide some encouragement when he said he is no longer feeling the numbness that plagued his right hand and forearm when he left Tuesday night’s game in the eighth inning. But the 21-year-old right fielder said he is still feeling right shoulder discomfort.
“It feels like it’s loose, like there is space in there,” Heyward said. “There’s a lot of discomfort.”
Heyward will undergo an MRI exam Thursday. While he would like to return as soon as possible, he said he might need more than just a couple days of rest.
“A couple days of rest is probably not going to be it,” Heyward said. “Something may need to be done. I don’t know what. I might need to sit and let it rest. But I don’t think that will be it.”
Dadgummit! 😡
LikeLike
Better news from the beat writer:
Heyward said numbness in hand is gone today, but shoulder still feels awkward or uncomfortable Strength tests they’ve done indicate it’s not anything structural. Could be inflammation of some kind, but they just don’t know.
😯
LikeLike
JHey really, REALLY needs to stop sliding head first…thought he was going to get his fingers/hand again sliding in to home the other night….
LikeLike
I am getting really tired of Atlanta being Washington’s B*****…
Earth to Kimbrel, you can throw 98 mph heaters, stop trying to be cute and fool guys with sliders. Throw strikes, if they hit it, so be it…. Don’t get beat with walks. The defense cannot help you.
LikeLike
Scott Podsednik requested and was granted his release from the Blue Jays after being stashed in AAA because the Jays are well stocked in their OF. The dude is no all-star, but he could be an ideal 4th OF for a team sorely lacking in speed and base-stealers.
LikeLike
… and can we PLEASE call the Scott Linebrink experiment a bust and move on? The dude has given up 10 ER in just 12 IP, including 3 bombs. I feel like I could be more effective than that, and my right shoulder is such a mess that I can’t lift my arm 90 degrees at the moment. (I am angling for a cortisone shot, not sure if my doc agrees.)
LikeLike
Raisins, I’d opt for the shot… It is recommended that you get no more than three per year. The real trick is the shot has to be placed in the spot where it actually hurts, cortisone does not flow. If you don’t get it in the right place to begin with, it dos no good.
Ask CL about the surgery route, the pain never goes away… Just doesn’t.
Now baseball…. I’m embarrassed…. Braves should be too….
LikeLike
Unfortunately, Gil, I am 21 years removed from the surgery. It went relatively well for 10 years, then I had my 1st cortisone shot. I think it may be time for another. The pain is getting worse than watching Scott Linebrink enter a game…
LikeLike
Yep, a hard-nosed SS/3B at the time, I had rotator cuff surgery on my throwing shoulder back in 1990. It completely ruined my chances of playing at the next level.
Well, that and a lack of talent…
LikeLike
Check it:
Great play…
LikeLike
I need a periodic reminder of why I no longer reside across the street, only visit periodically and look for the blue highlited entries. 2 losses to the quite-improved Nats, and we have folks who are ready to trade all the veterans and bring up the AAA team, folks who are ready to fire Fredi, and folks who are convinced that JHey is the second coming of Frenchy.
That to go along with the fresh batch of boutique stats that mean little more than that some folks have WAY too much time on their hands.
I kind of feel sorry for Mr. O’B. He has to tend and engage the herd…
LikeLike
V, sorry the shoulder is bothering you…you know, some of them are terrible, but some are good, and can help you… ever gone to a Chiropractor ?
Now baseball…ugh….
V, I know what you mean…I wish there was a way to just read what DOB says and not have to scroll thru 2000 other posts…
LikeLike
Raisins, that was a web gem for sure.
Sadly, I have found that Jamesons works best for my pain. Just titrated to effect.
I can understand the medical marijuana but stuff never worked for me. Gave up on it 40 years ago. Pall Malls on the other hand would knock me for a loop And you could light either end… 🙂
And yes, the Nats are much improved, if only they didn’t roll over for the Phillies…
LikeLike
The bone cracker actually did me a world of good until the one day he undid a years worth of progress in 5 seconds… I think they work best if there is no real underlying injury.
LikeLike
A little bit of a change for 2night’s lineup:
1. Marteeen, LF
2. McDouble, CF
3. Chipper, 3B
4. Mac, C
5. Uggles, 2B
6. Hinske, RF
7. FreFree, 1B
8. Gonzo, SS
9. Huddy, P
LikeLike
According to the radio dudes on 680theFan, the results of JHey’s MRI are in the Braves officials’ hands, but will be announced during the game tonight.
Hmmm… I’m not sure how that sits with me. I would think that if everything is OK, they’d want to announce that right away.
I don’t like it..
LikeLike
Thanks for posting that video, Raisins. Just an amazing play!
And, you got it right, Gil – the pain never goes away. And now the RIGHT shoulder needs it. But it will have to reach the unbearable stage before I go through that again. Most of a year with the use of my right arm?? I don’t think so. If I could only take aspirin, I’d just keep going. But, Doc Gramley says (via the last endoscopy) that I have a “chemical burn” in my stomach from taking so much aspirin previously. 8 mos later, it doesn’t feel any better either. Another appt with him on Tuesday. 😦
I think I need to trade me in on a new(er) model.
Frank, I could use some good news right about now. Tell me JHey is gonna be fine!
Gil, Jamesons is too expensive for me. And alcohol puts me to sleep faster than a sleeping pill! zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz I would never make it as a party animal. Would either be put out to pasture or sold to the glue factory.
LikeLike
Like I said, titrated to effect.
Cost vs value…. Jameson is a little more expensive but fewer side effects… 🙂
Yep, I expect they (Braves) would like to drop the bomb all at once, fewer questions asked during the game…
Must be something wrong though, after all, he’s not playing.
LikeLike
CL, I was going to ask you about your shoulder, sorry your other one is now barking! 😦 You know, liquor might burn you too, but couldn’t hurt to ask the doc if in moderation it would be ok.
LikeLike
some good news on Jhey! 🙂
http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-braves-blog/2011/05/12/heyward-gets-cortisone-shot-but-shoulder-isnt-serious/
LikeLike
Well, the Braves have restored my will to live…
LikeLike
“no SIGNIFICANT damage…” Well, that is encouraging. Many of us instantly recognize that pain in the forearm, etc.
Is it just me or couldn’t this headline have used a little better editing: “MLB looking into operation on Yanks’ Colon”
I have long thought that MLB needed to look into things more – but isn’t this going a little too far??? 😯
LikeLike
“MLB looking into operation on Yanks’ Colon” Oh, the humanity…. 🙂
Now baseball… Remember when we have seen players go through a transformation into a real star before. With Andruw Jones, it was hitting two homeruns in the World Series, For Brian McCann, it was hitting a dinger off of Roger Clemons. Well folks, I think we saw the same thing happen Wednesday night after Craig Kimbrel blew a save and gave up two runs in the ninth to the Nationals. Like Billy Wagner used to say, sometimes you just have to “bow your neck”.
Kimbrel has done just that, he struck out the next two batters he faced with fastballs in Wednesday’s game and tonight, when he came in, he struck out the side. He threw thirteen pitched, all except the last one in the 97 to 98 mph range. The pitch he struck out Lance Nix with was an 81 MPH change up. It was patently unfair. That is nearly 20mph difference.
It was like he just said, I’m not going to give up anymore hits, if you think you can hit this, go ahead. No nibbling, just gas that was at the knees. It was about as dominating performance as I have seen from the young righty. Awesome….
LikeLike
Okay, it is way past my bed time. I feel worn out but cannot sleep. All that fast living I suppose.
Will try to lie down for a bit in hopes that the sandman will do his thing but lately, the old cuss has just kicked dirt in my face. I guess as long as I’m not being covered completely, I should not complain.
Raisins, It has to be tough playing music with a bum shoulder. Nagging pain is a bummer. Only problem is once they get your shoulder to stop hurting, you will discover that you have pain somewhere else.
LikeLike
Looks like we’ll see Scott Proctor on Sunday. Who goes? I hope it is Scott
Linedrive, er, Linebrink.http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-braves-blog/2011/05/12/reliever-proctor-to-rejoin-braves-on-sunday/?cxntfid=blogs_atlanta_braves_blog
LikeLike
For you folks, who like me, don’t have Fox Sports South, here is a link to the after game interviews…
http://www.foxsportssouth.com/pages/video?PID=5OJhHpd3hjVad47GIQlYczPD6A4hW4ag
LikeLike
Thanks for the links! I really enjoy them!
LikeLike
2night’s lineup vs. the Philthies:
1. Marteeen, LF
2. McDouble, CF
3. Chipper, 3B
4. Mac, C
5. Ugh, 2B
6. Fredo, 1B
7. Gonzo, SS
8. Joe Mather, RF (??? Why?)
9. Beachy, P
LikeLike
I like McDouble in the 2 hole. I do not like Joe Mather in any hole. (That really sounded alot better in my head than it looks in type…)
LikeLike
Actually Rasins, it might be because Mather has been much better against Hammels than Ski. Besides, Henski is much more of a weapon coming off the bench.
LikeLike
9 against 10 is some pretty tough odds.
LikeLike
9 against 10??? Must be dense tonight….
Now baseball…bleh…I really HATE giving up batters to move a runner along….I’d love to see stats of runs scored in those innings vs. teams like the Red Sox that almost never bunt runners along…and McCann should have held on to that ball…Bleh!
LikeLike
I have to admit, missed a bit of the game…didn’t see that horrible call made by the home plate ump… Eric O’ struck out the flyin’ Hawaiian, only blind as a bat somehow missed it, then he singled up the middle! Grrr!
Also on baseball tonight, no less an expert on SS than Barry Larkin, said Alex Gonzalez was his favorite SS to watch! 🙂
LikeLike
Well, I watched the whole game and I have to say the ump was all over the place with his strike zone. I don’t mind if you give 6 inches outside to a pitcher as long as both clubs get it. The call on Vitorino however was so blatantly missed, one has to wonder if the umpiring profession isn’t getting too thin. It was not even close.
Now Uggly…. The guy is starting to P***** me off. Epic failure after failure cannot be because he is just a little off. He is the reincarnate of Andruw Jones and Jeff Francouer come back to haunt the Braves… Time to move him down to a spot that does not hurt the Braves as much.
Freddie Freeman I can give a pass to, after all, he is a rookie. He is not going to get anything close, he is still a puppy out there. Uggly on the other hand should get his head out of his a** and make the adjustments necessary to at least hit above his weight.
The Braves had their chances last night but failed miserably. Note to Fredi Gonzalas… Time to manage, time to kick butt and take names, it is more important to be respected than to be liked….
LikeLike
Ever have one of those days??? I seem to have those days all the time…was supposed to see some cool cars at Truitt Cathy’s (Mr Chik Fil A ) at 10 am, but was running late after moving a car out of the driveway(A friend left it here for a week) to get mine out, but caught the tail end of the car caravan, at least I thought so. Apparently, not…some other older car was leading our progression, then did a U-Turn…so me and 5 others followed…then a police car came by and seemed to be leading the way, followed and was going the right direction, then the 40’s car made a left into a sports facility(Mr Cathy lives right up the road from us, but we were told we had to be in a car caravan) and the other cars whizzed past his place, and (closed) front gates…
Never could fall asleep after 5 am…so was getting tired. Oh yeah, Dad and I both woke up for no good reason after about 4 hours sleep…so he missed going on the ride to nowhere…but that’s ok, we had yet another car event, a MOPAR (Chrysler vehicles) annual show at a dealer 15 miles away…it was going til 3 pm. so went back home to wait for Pa to wake up…well, since I had only slept 2 1/2 hours the night before, once I got back home, I was toast…so Dad went to the MOPAR event, I went to sleep around 1 PM.
Whaaa! Poor me, I missed 2 car events that happen once a year, and another very rare event, a braves victory over the Phillies!
At least they did beat the filthies! 🙂
LikeLike
Ber, I don’t think your molecules have recovered from being transported from California to Georgia yet. Time travel has its drawbacks….
LikeLike
Gil, you may be right! I should have at least bought some gold for $40 an ounce when I did go back in time! 😉
And re-reading my previous post, man, that’s as poorly written post as I have ever made, yea for me! 🙄
LikeLike
You know what folks? It looks like the old Braves and Stuff once again was on the leading edge in calling out Dan Uggla for his failure to live up to expectations…. Results, he has stepped up his play in the effort to get back into our good graces. Okay, he can stay one more week….
LikeLike
Gil, 😆
I do wonder why Freddi hasn’t given him a day off…I KNOW they fear Conrad playing 2nd at home, and making an error, but they ought to have him start on the road and give him a day off…can’t tell me you don’t feel more worn down when you play every day, and aren’t hitting a lick…
LikeLike
Sux about Chipper’s right knee. Not a huge deal, but still sux. We need JHey to get back and step up.
Also, with Marteeen slipping back into 3B likely for a few weeks, Hinske/Mather is not the answer in LF. My vote goes for a callup of Wilken Ramirez.
But what do I know..?
LikeLike
V, I’d go for that happening! Does Mather look…lanky? Sort of the body type we saw back in the 70’s??? I would have though rehabbing, he would have bulked up just a little…
LikeLike
Does Mather look…lanky?
I dunno, but we can look at him tonight in RF and decide. He’s starting over there tonight with the Ski moving over to LF. I’ll be honest with you, I don’t care for that a whole lot. But then again, that should come as no surprise to anyone as I have not tried to hide my disdain for Mather. He brings nothing special to the table, as far as I can tell. Nothing personal, just not a fan.
On a semi-related note, why don’t they go ahead and let Chipper get the knee cleaned out now? Why wait? Wouldn’t you want to go ahead and start the 2-3 week clock now when we have the Astros, D’backs and Pirates coming up? And I believe Chipper himself asked the same question.
Oh, well… I’m just a modest blogger bloviating about my team. What do I know?
LikeLike
2night’s lineup:
1. Marteen, 3B
2. McDouble, CF
3. Mac, C
4. Ugh-la, 2B
5. Ski, LF
6. Gonzo, SS
7. ROY, 1B
8. Joe Mather, RF
9. Big Red, P
You know, even the dude’s name is bland. Joe Mather. Bleh.
LikeLike
Ber, Mather is on the lean side of things. He looks a lot like Frenchy but with more patience at the plate. Not as strong an arm either.
Raisins, I think they will DL Chipper retro back to Saturday when they add a pitcher (Teheran) on Wednesday. I guess the Braves feel like they can get away with being two players short against the Stros.
Who knows how the minds work in the Braves front office? Maybe they are hoping Chipper will change his mind. I know a torn meniscus can be a trifling thing. Sometimes hurts like all get out and other times does not hurt at all.
Mine first flared up when I was 12 years old. Dealt with it until I was 50… Now I wish I had just continued to deal with it. I so should have sued that quack….
LikeLike
Still say the other guys need to step up in the absence of Chipper. Time for Uggla to be a force.
Jason worries me a tad, I don’t want a guy playing injured but playing hurt is part of the game.
Biggest warrior on the team has to be Prado, I suspect Uggla is the same. Biggest wus??? Might just be Mrs. Heyward’s little boy…
Prado reminds me of a guy who would have two broken legs and would still crawl into battle…
LikeLike
Way to go Mather!!!
(I’ve always liked that kid…)
LikeLike
😀
LikeLike
Good one Raisins….
LikeLike
Okay folks, 1 PM game today….. Don’t forget
Some comments about last night contest.
Prado, how can this guy not be chosen for the All-Star game, even if it’s as a Super Utility guy?
Made two great plays at third last night and air mailed a throw to first that even Freddie couldn’t reach (that took some doing by the way) that led to an unearned run.
I think this bases loaded with less than two outs thing is getting a little extreme. Really, I cringe now when it happens, I think it is getting in the heads of the players. Time to lay down a safety squeeze or something to snap them out of it.
Hanson should have been cruising along with a 5 run lead by the third inning.
Tommy Hanson looked really good last night, easy delivery. The big O has become a strike out machine and Kimbril has looked like a changed man since his last blown save. Bow your neck young man, bow your neck…..
One thing for sure, the Braves need to keep the concession stands open in the late innings because it is not like they are putting people away early.
The Nationals close up shop in the 7th inning so you are on your own after that.
LikeLike
Sad news, Harmon Killebrew has died…..
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=caple_jim&id=6549955
LikeLike
Hmmm…
DLowe is pitching great. Bet he’d like a run or 2…
LikeLike
Is it my imagination, or does Wandy Rodriguez seemingly own the Braves?
LikeLike
Or does he just own them TODAY?
LikeLike
… or does Mac own THEM? 😀
LikeLike
I cannot tell a lie, Miss Josie predicted to me that Brian McCann would be a better player than Jeff Francouer. This was when they first came up and Frency was dubbed the”Natural” by Sports Illustrated. Goes to show me how much I knew…
Go BMac, you earned it today.
LikeLike
Well, watched the first few innings, but having been up since 6 am (after falling asleep at 2 am) I couldn’t watch any more…man, great game by Mac! 🙂 Josie sure can pick ’em Gil!
V, I do wonder why so very many starters own the braves, it’s just weird…guys you could see the Yankees or Red Sox knocking out after 2-3 innings…
Well, the braves sent down Gearrin, to make room for Julio T on Weds. So…the braves just don’t want to admit they screwed up on Linkbrink, and eat, what, 1.5 MIl? so we will be without our 7th inning guy for 10 games…smart!
LikeLike
Ber, I think it is the Braves idea to have Scott Proctor take Gearrin’s spot in the pen. Perhaps the Braves see some value in Linebrink that we as fans cannot yet detect. A calming influence, a sacrificial lamb, cord wood for the fire…. I am not really sure at this point but I do know you can’t have all rookies in the pen. We’ll see if somebody is willing to take him off our hands in July. Or maybe he turns it around. Perhaps he has a nagging injury no one is talking about.
Still, not like he is at the top of the ATT Call to the Bull pen speed dial list.
With great delight, I watched the final 3 inning of the Phillies/Cardinals game. Yeah Baby, they are finding out what it is like playing good teams.
I don’t believe the Braves are going to find the going any easier on this trip. Going to be a rough week for me, getting to sleep so late each night.
LikeLike
VOR, Magic Wandy is a good pitcher. One I would not mind having on the Braves staff. Can always use a lefty and who knows what kind of changes the Strohs will be making with new ownership.
Little chance of it happening but just saying, the little guy was impressive today. Of course, that old war horse D Lowe wasn’t half bad either.
Chipper looked lost at the plate yesterday, not sure why. I guess it is tough to see pitches over the plate when you have your head up your butt….. Just saying….
LikeLike
Ber, I honestly believe that Gearrin needs another year at AAA. He is talented, but not quite there yet.
As for Linebrink, my opinion of his pitching is well documented. But from the the things I read, he is a tremendous positive veteran influence on a mostly young bullpen. That does have value, even if he gets whiplash on the mound.
And I firmly believe that the Braves will look for another ‘pen arm as we creep closer to July. Petey going down was a big blow.
LikeLike
Well, in a perfect world, Linebrink would have pitched like he did last year…but he hasn’t. Proctor could be valuable as well, but he sure wasn’t in spring training.
just looked, Gearrin is 25….what is so good about him, is he was death to righties just like Moylan. Linebrink, Proctor…just guys that throw low 90’s which is almost below average for a reliever.
The race for the east and the wildcard is going to be very close…we might lose out to the wildcard to the Marlins! We don’t need to give up games because someone doesn’t want a guy who we got for quite a discount anyway, to be paid while not playing for the bravos…
LikeLike
Who knows Ber? I saw Proctor and I thought he looked pretty good. Not so much in spring training because he was all over the place with his control but it appears that his control and speed are back to what his was pitching pre Tommy John.
His fastball is not completely flat. I think his slider/change (I’m not sure which he throws) is about 15 mph slower than his fastball.
I think Gearrin still needs to develop some more. The movement of his breaking pitches/cut fastball is not nearly as great as the first time I saw him pitch in LA.
I believe the Braves have to keep Proctor on the roster now or they lose him. Only way he gets sent back to AAA is for him to clear waivers and that is not going to happen. Actually, I think DOB reported the other day that Proctor signed a contract with the Braves that guaranteed he would be brought up on the 15th of May or he would be given his free agency or if another team was interested in him, he would be allowed to go but opted to stay with the Braves because they had essentially told him he would be assigned to the Atlanta roster on the 15th of May.
Frank Wren has shown a perchance for being very hush hush about any possible trades after the Furcal debacle. Smart man for that. That said, anyone heard of how Tyler Flowers is doing?
LikeLike
Dadgummit! 😡
LikeLike
On Teheran… Sorry folks, I just don’t see it….
Not like he was really fooling/challenging hitters last night. Lots of balls hit hard at people. Yes, he has a future but it is not yet arrived.
Anyone else notice that the Braves Pen is starting to get worn down?
On Kimbrel, bad luck more than bad pitching…
On the team… Ran themselves right out of the game.
LikeLike
Gil, I was forever hearing how Teheran had an easy 96-98 fastball…where is it??? And have they soured on Minor??? He’s the one that played with the big club last year, and was thought to almost be handed the 5th starter role.
LikeLike
Okay, here is the scoop, remember, you heard it here first…
Josie has soured on Freddi Gonzalas… Yes, the sage of Mechanicsville has informed me that in her opinion, the problem is our new manager. It is her opinion that he is not showing enough emotion. Okay, before you start throwing brickbats at me, (whatever a brickbat is) I am just a messenger.
She says he is a little too ho-hum about things. She was particularly upset that Freddi didn’t come out when the ump blew the call on the strike three thrown by O’Flaherty, that was called a ball. She says there is no way Bobby would not have gotten thrown out after that call after seeing how upset Brian was. Hey, just passing along the message….
Now, my opine, Freddi is very close to wearing out his bullpen in June…. At some point, you have got to use someone besides O’Ventbrel… If you cannot trust a guy to get you three outs, I think it is best you get a new guy….
I do not blame Kimbrel one bit for last night’s loss. Poor base running and over use. Look, Kimbrel is not some 30 year old with stamina built up from years of use, he is a 20 something year old kid who is being set up to fail.
LikeLike
Ber, Minor is having a great season, but just threw 90+ pitches a couple of nights ago. The slot in the rotation just lined up better for Teheran than for Minor or Lopez. Teheran definitely has some killer “stuff”, but he’s just a baby. He just needs a little more time to percolate. The pitch he threw to Upton prior to the home run ball was absolutely unhittable. But the next pitch was up… and gone.
He will be all that he is supposed to be, but not this year.
LikeLike
Here is the message I would offer up to all of the bridge jumpers across the street:
2011 is not the year the Braves win the World Series. Nobody with any real sense of observation would think it is. 2011 is a big step forward. And in any step forward, there are elements that must grow.
Remember:
* Jason Heyward is only 20 years old. He is allowed to struggle while becoming a perennial stud.
* Julio Teheran is only 20 years old. He is allowed to struggle while becoming a top of the rotation stopper.
* Craig Kimbrel is only 23 years old. He is allowed to struggle while becoming a dominant door slammer.
But next year… hoo-dawgy! Next year… 😀
In the mean time, I am going to enjoy watching this team mature into the class of the league.
LikeLike
Is that V, or glass half full? 😛
I’m just saying, if Julio Teheran was throwing 96 to 98 as a 17 year old, why not now??? Someone telling him not to throw so hard anymore??? I mean, I too have seen him throw filthy pitches that tale back across the plate(truth be known, I was at trivia last night, and the tv was at an inconvenient angle, so just saw bits of his work) and sure, it makes sense to sometimes throw softer to get more movement…I guess I would feel better for his future if he was throwing 98 and getting beat. One strikeout last night. Obviously green. I just wonder if they don’t want to bring Minor up for fear he would get made about getting sent back down, easier to sent you know Julio back down….
Uggla hit .202 in April, .203 in may..and as far as I can tell, not a single day off. Would it kill the team to have Brooks play one game at 2nd??? Even if he made an error, he might also go 2 for 4. Uggla has exactly 3 multi hit games this month, one since the 4th. I’d think a day off would do him a world of good, but I can almost hear the managerial ghost of Bobby Cox saying, kids always coming in with a ton of energy.
Kimbrel has pitched 6 of the last 8 days. That’s a bit much, in case use guys didn’t know that!
Is FBG still in Ga and not able to post here???
LikeLike
Get made…or even worse, if Minor would get mad! 😯
I know about the timing of starts, but I don’t know, just seems weird.
LikeLike
Gee, JJ looked so go til the 6th, then everything was up! And where has the offense gone???
LikeLike
Lollygagging Ber, lollygagging….
And on that note, I’m pretty sure Miranda is crying that the Braves are leaving after only two games.
Truthfully, I did not mind losing as much tonight as last night. At least the defense did what they could. Two mistakes and poof… There goes a really nice performance by JJ. Maybe he just lost his concentration for a moment.
LikeLike
Gil, sleep is truly overrated, isn’t it??? Who needs more than 4 hours in a row? 😕
Hey, how about a cheer for an old man???
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=310519122
First time in his career he had 3 homers in a game. And I heard during the game, he hadn’t had a hit since mid April!
And it helped the Rockies beat the Phillies! I read in the above story that the Phils aren’t hitting either. And on the baseball portion of a jazz forum, a Nats fan said… “Our team has scored ONE run in support of Livan Hernandez’s last 4 games on the mound. Incredible. He’d have to be throwing shut outs all the time to win any of these games. Today’s 1-0 loss to the Mets, in which Hernandez himself broke up a no-hitter by no-name pitcher Gee in the sixth inning, really alarms me, though I tend to be among the most optimistic of Nationals fans. ”
Something in the air for NL East teams???
Oh, and Gil, Miranda??? Who dat???
LikeLike
Oh and did anyone see the swing Justin Upton took against JJ in the 6th??? He about killed himself both swinging and missing a hanging nothing ball(as red sox fans say) and afterwards for missing it! 😛
LikeLike
Why, oh why do I continually go across the street to see what the chatter is about? It amazes me the level of arrogance the pervades most of the contributors. One actually said,
“But you and all the foolish major league managers who believe such a thing can just go ahead believing that you should…[blah blah blah]. It’s pretty obvious that this is a foolish strategy.”
I suppose by this train of thought, not only are there a long line of foolish managers, there is also a long line of foolish general managers who have passed over this strategical wunderkind in 30 major league cities. How dare they!!!
This same brilliant guru asserted that Fredi should bat Chipper leadoff because he has the highest OBP on the team, and that without exception that is the single most important criteria for batting leadoff. Never mind that #10 couldn’t go 1st to 3rd on a hit unless it was a ground rule double.
Yet he belittles all who challenge his acumen. What an ass.
LikeLike
Watch while I impart some brilliant analysis on how to “fix” the Braves:
JHey needs to hit higher than .214
Uggla needs to hit higher than .193
.
.
.
.
.
Aren’t you glad you tuned in for that deep analytical assessment?
😐
LikeLike
I’m a simple man. 😀
LikeLike
Raisins, not all of us are blessed with the degree of perfection and acumen of the guru. We lesser beings just have to accept the superiority of a very few (vocal) others. Just ask them. 😆
LikeLike
Funny thing is, the Braves are 12-6 in May. That is, ahem, the best record in the NL for May.
Why is everyone jumping off the ledge?
Here… let me answer my own question. This current generation lacks the capacity to look at anything from any greater perspective than what resides in their short term memory. It’s a sad state of affairs. Baseball is a game that requires time to percolate and develop. It’s a season that requires months to complete. It isn’t a 16 game schedule, or an 82 game schedule… it’s 162. That’s alot of games. And every team is almost always gonna lose at least 62 of them. Even the WS champs. Folks who fall on their own dagger with every single loss simply have no grasp of the marathon.
I blame Obama. 😀
LikeLike
Or the fact (I use the term loosely) the world will end tomorrow… Hey, you have to go out on top don’t you?
By the way, if you in fact agree the world will end, please send me the power of attorney for you bank account… After all, you won’t need it. Me? I’m always ready….
Now baseball… How appropriate, the Brave will be playing the Angels.
LikeLike
Well, I reckon the times they are a-changin’…
2night’s lineup:
1. Prado 3B
2. Uggla 2B,
3. Mac C,
4. Chipper DH,
5. Hinske LF,
6. Freeman 1B,
7. Gonzalez SS,
8. McLouth CF,
9. Mather RF
LikeLike
Well, it’s a crying shame I couldn’t stay up past 6-0 Angels! 😕
I liked the lineup Freddi put in place…oh well…the Angels are overdue to turn things around, why not against the braves? 😦
V, good Idea, I too blame Obama! (heh, caught it just in time, I typed first typed Omama! )
LikeLike
I typed first typed??? Blog first I am sure! Fingers are still asleep…
LikeLike
Greeting Braves fans….
Well, at least the Braves did me a favor last night by putting me out of my misery early and allowed me to get to sleep before mid-night. Yep, when you are down buy 6 runs early, the way the Braves have been hitting, well, just turn off the set and go to bed.
Had to work on the “old” John Deere, (as opposed to the “new” John Deere) today anyway. I had just finished mowing yesterday when the mower deck belt gave up the Ghost. The wife said it was good I could still work on the mowers myself and I said that would likely be the signal for us to move when that was no longer possible.
What is really stupid is for me to look at new chain saws while the clerk was retrieving my mower belts. Like I need another chain saw….. I liked to killed myself using the one I have Friday, nothing dramatic, just my back saying, HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND???? Got to admit, it was pretty tough just standing upright. I wonder if they make an attachment to fit a chainsaw to a wheelchair?
Now baseball… So, Washington gets shut out by a rooking one night and comes back with 17 runs the next… Yep, that is baseball for you. Like I said, the goal has to be gaining one game a week in the standings on the team ahead of you. So many weird things can happen of which you have no control.
LikeLike
2night’s lineup:
1. McLouth CF,
2. Prado 3B,
3. Chipper DH,
4. Mac C,
5. Hinske LF,
6. Uggla 2B,
7. JHey RF,
8. Freeman 1B,
9. Gonzalez SS
LikeLike
Well, the “Beave” came through… 3:30 game today. Thank Goodness, I will be able to get some sleep..
LikeLike
Everyone loves the Beave! And for once, I get what you are saying Gil! 😉 You and V have made me feel quite dumb this week, hope you guys are happy about that! 😦
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
😛
I was soooo tired last night, I went to bed after the 11th…figured I had seen enough close and late losses..so naturally they won, but good, great!
Now, about JHey….I’m guessing something really is wrong, and “they” missed it….sorta like last year when the Red Sox’s Jacoby Ellsbury kept trying to play with broken ribs, ribs “they” kept saying were not broken. I bet the braves will put some dye in then an MRI (Why not start off with that?) and will find what is torn/frayed, whathaveyou….
LikeLike
OK…
I am big enough to admit when I am wrong, and I was dead wrong.
Voice of Raisins
13/05/2011 at 5:21 pm
I like McDouble in the 2 hole. I do not like Joe Mather in any hole.
Voice of Raisins
16/05/2011 at 3:37 pm
[Does Mather look…lanky?]
I dunno, but we can look at him tonight in RF and decide. He’s starting over there tonight with the Ski moving over to LF. I’ll be honest with you, I don’t care for that a whole lot. But then again, that should come as no surprise to anyone as I have not tried to hide my disdain for Mather. He brings nothing special to the table, as far as I can tell. Nothing personal, just not a fan.
The fact is, Mather has done a pretty good job this year in the role he’s been given. He’s come through for this team more than once. He’s earned my respect, and I’m very glad we have him to lean on when we need to.
LikeLike
Sad…. Just sad…. Pretty tough trying to win games while only scoring one run.
And now Nate is out… and Huddy…
LikeLike
So, I turn my head for one day and everybody gets hurt!!! What in the wide wide world of sports is a-goin’ on here?
LikeLike
At least the Phils and Fish lost yesterday too…
LikeLike
I have a feeling that it’s about to be Jordan Schafer’s time to prove whether or not he is in the plans. He needs to step up. His numbers at AAA are pretty pedestrian (.256/.309/.323) and certainly nothing to be excited about. But then again, neither are those for Wilkin Ramirez (.248/.294/.513), who just got the callup with JHey going on the DL, except that he does have 7 HR’s.
I’ll be honest with you, though… I won’t be surprised if they bypass Schafer for speedy CF Jose Constanza. He boasts a sporty .292/.342/.326 line. No power, but 10 stolen bases. And a high OBP. Leadoff material if you ask me. ANd he deserves a callup.
But I guess it will depend on what Fredi wants for the lineup. If he wants power, they could go with newcomer RF Stefan Gartrell who has knocked 7 dingers thus far and has a decent .314 OBP.
What will hold back Constanza and Gartrell is that neither are on the Braves 40-man roster. And they already used their move of Petey from the 15-day to the 60-day DL to accommodate Ramirez. (They do still have that trick in hand for Medlen, too.) But those kind of roster move only delay somebody being dropped. I’d be very nervous if I were Matt Young…
LikeLike
And Heyward…. and Chipper…. and, well, right before our eyes, the Braves have become the Nationals and the Phillies and the Mets…. Yes, it is that time of the year when you see who can grind it out.
The bad thing is McLouth has actually been playing pretty well. Yes, I know that the duffusses across the street will disagree but the truth is the truth.
All the call ups from triple A are not really going to help. Not like Gwinnett is loaded…. Diory is a disappointment but it is apparent that Freddi is scared to put Brooks Conrad on the field.
Biggest reason for Braves lack of production? Dan Uggla. Sigh, who knew? The big boy has got to make some adjustments and take the ball to right field.
Every team in the NL East lost yesterday….
LikeLike
Yes, Jason Heyward has shown himself to be a bit on the fragile side. I will give him a pass however, he is only 21… Lets, hope the medicos can find out what is really wrong, If it means shutting him down for a month, better now than in September.
Play hurt is part of the game, playing injured however, cuts short careers.
Yesterday, it looked like D Lowe was pitching on fumes…. turns out he was according to his statements to the AJC. For sure, we can’t be blaming the pitchers.
For sure, the day off today is much needed.
LikeLike
Crikey:
All the reports say he is relatively OK. The eyesight is fine; the eye itself was not involved.
Dadgum… 😯
LikeLike
Wow, glad Marlon Byrd is ok! that could have been terrible. I did hear he went on the DL, didn’t know why.
Now, lets talk about the braves…bleh….
Well, I did think DOB made some good points here…
But in the bigger picture, the Braves seem to have placed less emphasis on walks this season under new hitting coach Larry Parrish and manager Fredi Gonzalez, and more on being aggressive and looking for any hittable pitch. (Maybe I’m wrong; if I am, I’m quite certain Fredi will tell me as much.)
When the Braves fall behind early, rarely do they chip away at leads the way they did a year ago and stage late-innings comebacks. A lot of that has got to be due to the fact that they just don’t put many runners on base.
They almost have to hit home runs to mount rallies, since they struggle to manufacture runs (despite their frequent bunts). While the Braves are tied with Texas for fourth in homers, there were 29 players in the majors with more than seven homers before Saturday, and none of them played for the Braves.
In other words, right now at least, they don’t have a huge home-run threat in the lineup, not until Uggla gets going like he has in the past, or Heyward starts swinging as he did before his thumb injury last season.
Oh, yes, the Braves also rank rank dead last in the majors with seven steals, and last in stolen-base success rate at 37 percent (7-for-19).
Santana threw a four-hit, no-walk shutout against the Braves on Friday.
The OBP situation came to a head, for me, Friday night while watching the Braves struggle against Santana. And then this morning, I saw a breakdown of Santana’s performance by ESPN’s Stats & Info department, via Buster Olney’s blog.
He noted that the Braves swung at nearly half of Santana’s first pitches, the highest rate of any of his starts in the last three years. The Braves put only nine of their 15 swings in play on the first pitch, getting one base hit.
Santana’s first-pitch eight outs tied for the most by any major leaguer starter this season.
And once again, the Braves allowed a pitcher with previously modest numbers – Santana came in at 1-4 with a 4.85 ERA – to pitch well and way deep in the game. Or, in this case, the entire game.
Now, I remember the TV folks last year talking about the patience shown by the hitters, and “they” had talked to Bobby and asked if he and TP had placed an emphasis on drawing walks…he said no, the players kind of did that on their own…
I don’t really like watching Yankee/Red Sox games, but those teams do pretty well not being overly aggressive…wearing down starters, then getting into teams weak underbellys….
LikeLike
Braves Sign Julio Lugo
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2011/05/braves-sign-julio-lugo.html
They must be more worried about Chipper than they have let on…
LikeLike
This one is not quite so surprising:
Braves disable McLouth and recall Schafer
http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-braves-blog/2011/05/23/braves-to-disable-mclouth-and-recall-schafer/?cxntfid=blogs_atlanta_braves_blog
LikeLike
According to Mr. O’B, Chipper “said his hamstring wasn’t serious, he expects to be back in lineup Tuesday”.
Chipper? Hamstring?
Is that how 2011 unravels? And in May? Chipper’s legs, JHey’s shoulder, Nate’s oblique, Beachy’s oblique, Huddy’s back… None of those are things that get 100% well. They will all linger throughout the season.
I’m usually Mr. “Glass Half Full”, but I think I just spilled mine…
LikeLike
You forgot to mention that Chase Utley is now back with the Phillies…
Now the Braves, ever think they should just hit the “Easy” button and restart the month?
Beginning to look like Washington’s signing of Jason Werth for all that money may not have been such a bad idea after all.
Oh well, it is not like I have any money invested, other than the MLB package, but hey, it’s baseball. The Braves just might not be as good as we all think they should be but at least our jobs are not the ones on the line.
LikeLike
Raisins, maybe you just need a bigger glass, or a sippy cup….
LikeLike
For some reason, I feel more comfortable with Lugo on the bench than Diory…. That and Freddi seems absolutely terrified of actually having to play Brooksie in the field.
LikeLike
Gil, your 7:36 was right on the nose…
LikeLike
A sippy cup with a Braves logo…..
😆
LikeLike
Well, like they say, the team you break camp with is seldom the team you wind up with. Did not think it would change so quickly however.
As I have said before, just try to make up 1 game per week on the team ahead of you….
Saw the end of the Dodger/Astro game last night on MLB. One of the best slides ever by Michael Borne to score the winning run in the bottom of the ninth.
LikeLike
Jose Bautista has 19 HR’s already. That is amazing…
The Braves co-leaders in HR’s with 7 each are the struggling and injured JHey, and the struggling and pressing Dan Uggla.
The Braves team total of 44 HR’s, however, ranks them 8th out of 30 ML teams and 4th in the NL. That doesn’t seem right, but it is accurate.
They are 4th from the bottom in OBP in the NL, though, and dead last in stolen bases with 8. That compares to 50 SB’s for league leader San Diego. Uh, it should be noted that while the Fathers may steal alot of bases, they don’t win alot of games. They are currently in last place in the NL West. Only the Royals have as many SB’s as San Diego, also having 50. They are currently 2 games below .500 and 8.5 games behind division leader Cleveland.
So while it’d be nice to have a burner in the lineup to swipe a few bases and put a little pressure on the opposing pitcher, is it really as important as some make it out to be? Not so sure…
I think I’d just like to have a few guys just get on base. KnowhatImean?
LikeLike
Anyone else remember the good old days when Furcal would lead-off in the first inning with a walk, steal second, go to third an a sac bunt and score on a fly ball out to center? The Braves would be up a run in the first inning without benefit of a hit. Whenever Furcal would get on base it was like an automatic double because you knew he was going to steal.
Oh well, those days are gone for sure…. What’s the over/under on how far into the season Larry Parish makes it before being fired as the hitting coach?
LikeLike
I watch the highlights of the Twins game and the two dingers Jim Thome’ hit. Gosh, It really does seem like yesterday when I saw him play for the Charlotte Knights against Richmond. He was a beast of a first baseman then too. Nearly 600 homeruns, will make it to the Hall for Fame for sure….
LikeLike
Gil, I saw that slide, amazing!!!
V, it’s funny about speed….Angels haven’t been very good this year, but their speed sure made our lack of speed very obvious.
I am hearing about Coco Crisp being a candidate. A no OBP guy with speed. Sigh…really?? The best we can get??? Let’s give Schafer a chance again then…shoot, does he even have speed???
LikeLike
Boy, loved the second and third slast night, it was just like I drew it up in the playbook… That Jordan Schafer is a speedy little cuss.
LikeLike
The sad fact for a lot of speedsters still plying their trade in the minors, you can’t steal first base.
LikeLike
And in the “Hey rookie, don’t get too cocky department” David Ross on Jordan Schafer’s “Little League” helmet…
“It looks like Marvin the Martian.”
LikeLike
How long before somebody “punks” Schafer’s batting helmet and attaches antenna on it?
Of course, we now discover that it is not because Jordan’s helmet is so big, it is because it is that his head is too small.
I think it is Larussa who will not draft a guy with a small head….
LikeLike
I am going to go out on a limb and say that this is truly the final audition for Schafer.
Here’s my reasoning:
I believe that unless Nate goes on an unbelievable tear (he’s been good; not great, but good) that he will be traded before the deadline. He’ll go in return to a salary related move… like a Hunter Pence, maybe. Nate is owed a chunk next season that the Braves will in no way pay. The alternative is a “relatively cheap” $3MM buyout. I think Frank will trade him in a package, along with the $3MM buyout money, in return for another offensive piece. CF is the only logical place for that piece.
RF? Nope. That’ll be JHey’s domain for the next 10 years.
LF? Nope. Marteen is going nowhere and must have a home until Chipper retires. And we have too much $$$ invested in 2B for that to be a possibility.
2B? See above.
1B? Freddie is the present and future.
3B? Not until Chipper can no longer walk without a walker, or he decides to give it up. Not sure which will come first.
C? No comment needed…
SS? Well, it’s possible, but not likely. Alex should be an All-Star. He has saved our bacon in too many games already this season. Plus, he’s very affordable for a veteran leader. And he has NO buyout for 2012, so the options line up in the Braves favor.
So CF is the very likely place for an upgrade, and I just do not believe Frank will stand pat. If Jordan suddenly becomes a leadoff guy with a respectable OBP, then the move is already made internally. If not, then his chances are done.
This is it for him. It’s truly now or never. If he doesn’t carpe the diem, he’ll find himself in Kansas City quicker than you can say “Jeff Francoeur”.
LikeLike
That said, it was good to see him take a walk and score from 1B on Marteen’s double. That is what we have been missing, and that is a good formula. If he can keep it up – be decent and consistent even if not great – he might just find himself a steady job.
LikeLike
Day game today. 12:35p start…
2day’s lineup:
1. Schafer- CF
2. Gonzo- SS
3. Chipper- 3B
4. Mac- C
5. Big Ski- LF
6. Uggla- 2B
7. Freddie- 1B
8. The Beaver- RF
9. Lefty Mike Minor- P
LikeLike
BTW – Jairo Asencio was optioned to AAA to make room for Minor. Did anybody even notice?
LikeLike
Jayson Stark (one national guy that I actually pay a small amount of attention to):
One team that’s actively stepping up its search for bats: The Braves, who have been looking for a right-handed-hitting outfielder for a couple of weeks but just put two left-handed-hitting outfielders (Jason Heyward and Nate McLouth) on the disabled list. Also on the Braves’ shopping list: a utility infielder who can back up Alex Gonzalez at shortstop. [Hello, Lugo…]
I’m tellin’ ya, Nate’s days are numbered…
LikeLike
And as if on cue… Jordan leads off with a hit. Good boy! 😀
LikeLike
Schafer’s helmet… 😆
LikeLike
And he’s on base again to lead off the 8th with a perfect drag bunt single up the 1st base line. Just what the doctor ordered in this tie game…
LikeLike
Wow… he takes 3B on a ball that pops only a few feet away from the catcher. Great baserunning!
LikeLike
Shades of 2010! Brooksie does it again!!!
LikeLike
Conrad is great! 😛
LikeLike
Holy cow! Andruw Jones is playing for the YANKEES??? What rock have I been under???
PHI vs CIN 4-4 top of the 16th 🙂
FLA vs SF 3-2 fish at the top of the 7th. :-\
and it takes the Braves 11 innings to beat the Pirates. ok.
LikeLike
CL, this have you been under this one??? 😉
Also, Frenchy, while cooling off a bit, is hitting .279 with 9 homers, and 29 RBI’s for the Royals.
Melky Cabrera, also of the Royals, is hitting .281, with 6 Hr’s and 29 RBI’s. He only had 4 homers all last year with the Braves.
Methinks the hitting coaches for the Braves sucked then, and still do!
LikeLike
Methinks the hitting coaches for the Braves sucked then, and still do!
Hmmm… could be. I think that Francoeur wilted under the home grown pressure. He similarly wilted under the NY microscope. But things are easy in KC. There is no pressure to do anything because no one expects the Royals to do anything. I will submit also that the quality of pitching in the AL Central is not quite on the same par as the pitching in the NL East, which appears to be the best in baseball.
That said, Larry Parrish has thus far not exactly wowed me with his results. TP emphasized patience, almost to a fault. Last year, Braves hitters allowed too many fat pitches to sail by and got to 2 strikes often. This year, they are flailing at everything in the same area code of the plate. Seems to me there is a happy medium somewhere.
LikeLike
Noooo, wasn’t that one. I was just sitting there in the dark by myself, Ber.
I’m thinking a dish of strawberry ice cream would be really good about now. Yep. Pretty sure!
LikeLike
News from under the rocks:
“DUI charges against Braves’ Lowe tossed for lack of evidence
CBSSports.com wire reports
May 26, 2011
ATLANTA — DUI and reckless driving charges have been dismissed against Braves pitcher Derek Lowe.
One of Lowe’s attorneys, Cory Yager, said Thursday that solicitor Raines Carter, the chief prosecutor in Atlanta Municipal Court, agreed to dismiss the charges for lack of evidence.
Yager says police video following the April 28 arrest showed Lowe “did remarkably well” in his field sobriety tests after declining a breath test.
Yager told the Associated Press the reckless driving charge, which stemmed from an allegation Lowe was racing, “was absolutely unfounded.”
Lowe, 37, did not contest a traffic violation for making an improper lane change.
Lowe apologized following the arrest.
The Braves were off on Thursday and open a home series against Cincinnati on Friday.”
LikeLike
Wow, it’s really great when you have “people”…
And what of Buster Posey? Don’t think he will be making the trip to the All-star game after all… bad break…
LikeLike
Shades of Greg Olsen…
LikeLike
I saw the Posey play yesterday… nothing dirty about it. Just plain ol’ hardnosed baseball. Of course, Posey’s agent is crying like a newborn baby. Then again, his cash cow was just put to pasture for a few months.
What about the Rodrigo Lopez trade? I was not aware of the June 15 deadline to promote him or let him go. It’s pretty common these days, though. Mixed reports on the prospect we picked up. If you haven’t read about it, we got a young (24, not really young) lefty with a great fastball, but not much else. “They” say that if he can develop a good secondary pitch, he could be really good. Well, the Braves have about as good a minor league pitching instruction as there is in the game. I’d say the kid(?) landed in a mighty good place. Secondary pitch? Well, there are a more than a few folks in this organization that know a thing or two about changing speeds. Yep, I’d say the kid(?) must have been living right.
Now, offense. (Homage to the scribe.)
I am seeing a little more chatter around that the Braves are shaking the bushes for a RH outfielder. It’s a familiar tune, eh? Not sure where they’d put him, though. It does give me a little concern over JHey’s shoulder. It should give Nate a little concern over his future wearing a tomahawk. To the best of my knowledge, MLB won’t let you play 4 OF, and I don’t think either JHey or Marteen are shopping TJ Maxx for luggage.
LikeLike
I don’t know Raisins, Collins clocked him pretty good. Catchers and second basemen always appear to get the brunt of those. I understand how and why, just like hitting a receiver who is stretched out to catch a pass. It is why I never respected Yunel Escobar. He was afraid of getting hit making the turn at second.
Good move for Lopez, not much the Braves could do about it either. Use him or lose him…. There have been some pretty good pitching prospects come out of the Cubs organization, too bad the Cubs cannot seem to get them to the bigs or keep them there.
What’s the old adage? You can teach control, you can’t teach power… Sliders, cut fast balls, change ups and curve balls are all about grip and finger pressure. Well, maybe not curve balls so much. you can either spin the ball or not, but change ups and cutters for sure.
Being 24 seems old because we are use to seeing young Latinos who are really 24 say they are 18. Takes some guys longer to mature, remember Buddy Carlyle?
I think Jason Heyward might have come along too soon but it’s not my call.
Oh well, like my old football use to say, it is not the team with the best 22 players who win championships, it’s the one with the best 44… It is all about depth. Injuries are part of the game and you better have somebody available to fill the holes when they occur.
LikeLike
Right handed outfielder? Braves should have signed Josh Willingham when they had the chance…
I hope the Braves are alert this weekend, I don’t know if they can out slug the Reds the way the Phillies did. I predict a split this 4 game series and will feel lucky doing it.
LikeLike
Oops, only three games, it may be a push….
LikeLike
Yep, the Reds’ 57 homers lead all of MLB…
But 34 are in that joke of a home park affectionately called the Great American Smallpark. Their 22 road dingers are exactly 1 behind the Braves’ 23. Yep, they can win pretty good at home on their Little League field (15-11), but not quite as good in a real baseball facility (11-14).
Matchups:
Tommy Hanson (5-3, 2.72 ERA) vs. RH Mike Leake (3-2, 5.70)
Derek Lowe (3-4, 3.53) vs. RH Bronson Arroyo (3-5, 5.28)
Jair Jurrjens (6-1, 1.56) vs. RH Johnny Cueto (2-1, 2.19)
Advantage Bravos…
The Reds’ team ERA of 4.46 is 5th worst in all of MLB. Even worse than the Mets. It’s the kind that gets ill bats healthy. This could just be the weekend that the vintage Danny Uggla makes his Atlanta debut.
LikeLike
2night’s lineup:
1. Schafer, CF
2. Marteeen, LF
3. Chipper, 3B
4. Mac, C
5. Ski, RF
6. Struggla, 2B
7. Fredo, 1B
8. Gonzo, SS
9. Big Red, P
LikeLike
According to DOB, someone posted a picture of “Marvin the Martian” on Jordan Schafer’s locker…. Welcome back to the big leagues kid…
LikeLike
Lots of choices from which to view tonight’s game, ESPN2, MLB network, aside from the Fox or Peach Tree whichever carries the game locally.
LikeLike
I hope since they’re back home that they get Jordan a real helmet. You know the story behind that one he was wearing, right? His head is so little, they didn’t have anything to fit him while on the road. He had to wear the bat boy’s helmet. Too funny!!!!!!! 😆
LikeLike
Sigh, sometimes this team is just too painful to watch….
LikeLike
Observations:
1) Not a very pretty game, yet they had their chances all night.
2) Schafer got on base 3 out of 5 times including 2 hits and a walk. That’s exactly what we need out of the leadoff spot. Marteen hit many balls to the SS behind him.
3) To me, the game was decided by a distance of 2 feet. Uggla’s drive to left-center with 2 on was 1 foot short of a 3-run homer. Hernandez’ 2-run homer to RF only cleared by 1 foot. Ballgame.
Got the national audience today on FOX… need to play better. If nothing else, I am excited to see what Schafer is doing with his chance to play. If you’ll pardon the pun, he is “stepping up to the plate”. And now he even has a proper helmet…
LikeLike
Actually, I was encouraged by Uggla’s at-bats last night. He struck the ball well a couple of times, he looked a bit more in control and did not look completely clueless.
Chipper is not getting full swings on the ball, knee/hamstring/something must be bothering him….
Prado was safe at second but I’ve seen it go either way, Freddi should have at least come out to back Prado up. Marteen was still fuming when he went out to play left the next inning. That’s twice in the past week Freddi has failed to “have the back” of his players.
Gonzalaz does not have to get thrown out but he needs to take up for his players.
What is with Uggla and Gonzo on covering 2nd base on DPs hit back to the pitcher?
This team is in danger of lollygagging……
And yes Raisins, it seems like all the breaks are going the other way right now.
LikeLike
Well, I’m blacked out from the Braves game tonight… Guess I will watch a movie.
LikeLike
6-6, bottom of the 9th. This has been an entertaining game to say the least. FOX got their money’s worth. Mac has 2 homers – one was a monster shot, too – and the Braves look like a different team today. Once again, Cristhian Martinez was brilliant, and Venters was nasty. I just hope we can come out on top…
LikeLike
Nice win. Schafer had another good game. We may have a leadoff guy after all…
LikeLike
Could only read about it afterwards… No matter how hard the local Fox affiliate tries, I will not become a Red Sox fan…
LikeLike
Gearrin’s comin’ back tonight. Somebody’s gotta go, but no announcement yet. Stay tuned…
LikeLike
2night’s lineup:
1. Schafer, CF
2. Marteeen, LF
3. Old Man Chipper, 3B
4. Big Ski, RF
5. Fredo, 1B
6. Struggla, 2B
7. Gonzo, SS
8. DRoss, C
9. JJ, P
LikeLike
Wilkin Ramirez was sent back to AAA to open a spot for Gearrin. I have an idea we’ll see him back before too long…
LikeLike
Thus far (7th), Schafer has a single, a walk and a run scored. I like him leading off!!! He’s getting the job done while he’s here, for sure.
LikeLike
And JJ is pitching his butt off into the 8th. Just what the doctor ordered for a worn out bullpen.
LikeLike
Good win Bravos!!!!!!!!
LikeLike
That was a real heart thumper last night…
LikeLike
2day’s lineup:
1. Schafer, CF
2. Marteeen, LF
3. Mac, C
4. Big Ski, RF
5. Struggla, 2B
6. Fredo, 1B
7. Gonzo, SS
8. Brooksie, 3B
9. Huddy, P
LikeLike
Nice story on Schafer:
http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-braves-blog/2011/05/30/talk-with-chipper-helps-schafer-identify-as-leadoff-hitter/?cxntfid=blogs_atlanta_braves_blog
LikeLike
JScha is on base again! In case you couldn’t tell, I am really pulling for this guy…
LikeLike
DADGUMMIT!!! Yhe ump blew that call bad. JScha clearlyhad his hand on the bag when the tag was made. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! 😡
LikeLike
Can we cut Scherril now? 😡
LikeLike
… and Sherrill too?
LikeLike
^*&^*#&%$#&)*&$&%$#^*%$*^#!!! 😡
LikeLike
OH FUDGE!!!!
LikeLike
The NHL stole our franchise from us. It’s that simple. Commissioner Gary Bettman publicly campaigned for Phoenix when Winnipeg tried to take their team. All we got was lip service… and not much of that. I think it stinks. 😡
LikeLike
OK… back to the real pro sport in ATL. What would this team look like if their bats would come alive like they are capable of? I am deeply concerned that Chipper won’t make it the whole season. He is already looking tired. I like what Schafer is doing in the leadoff spot. If Uggla and JHEY were just hitting close to their potential…
LikeLike
2night’s lineup:
1. JScha, CF
2. Marteeen, 2B
3. Chipper, 3B
4. Mac, C
5. Big Ski, RF
6. Gonzo, SS
7. Fredo, 1B
8. Conrad, 2B
9. Minor, LHP
LikeLike
Wow!!! they really don’t trust Conrad at 2nd, that has to be embarrassing having Prado play there too! :p
LikeLike
😀
😆
LikeLike
Vote early, vote often!!!
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/all_star/y2011/ballot.jsp
LikeLike
Crikey! Now chipper looks like his groin is barking! 😯
LikeLike
Was just saying the same thing to the wife
LikeLike
Looks like Henski needs a breather, how long before Heyward comes back?
LikeLike
Sigh, another scoring opportunity wasted…
LikeLike
Hot one here today, still 98 degrees at 7:30 PM
LikeLike
Trying to make up my mind on Mike Minor, lots of giddy up on his pitches but they appear kind of flat…
LikeLike
2 out walks’ll kill ya… 😐
LikeLike
I couldn’t take it… I bailed during Gearrin’s inning. I was too distressed to watch anymore. 😦
LikeLike
Nothing like playing the
Pirates,Nationals, Braves to make you look like world beaters.LikeLike
That said, a couple of really nice at bats by Freddi Freeman wasted last night.
I think Tom Glavin is a pretty sharp guy, I hope Frank Wren actually listens to him.
He echoed Ber’s observations that Ludwyck would be a good fit for the Braves seeing how well he hits at Turner Field.
LikeLike
This may bore some, but the amateur draft is only 6 days away. I have no idea what Frank and the boys are looking at. One draft site has them taking another Vandy left-hander in the 1st round. A kid named Grayson Garvin. Never heard of him. Then again, I never heard of Mike Minor prior to the draft, either.
I would think given the strength of pitching in the minors, they might go position player.
Another mock draft has them taking an OF… a HS kid named Brandon Nimmo out of Wyoming. I didn’t know they played baseball in Wyoming. I didn’t think anyone did anything in Wyoming. I never really gave a whole lotta thought at all to Wyoming.
And for grins and giggles, The Bleacher Report has them taking Vandy 3B Jason Esposito. Here’s what they say about him:
At the plate, he’s a very seasoned hitter. He doesn’t offer as much power potential as [former Vandy 3B and current Pirates’ 3B Pedro] Alvarez did, but he should be able to generate 15-20 home runs per season as a pro, about on par with what the Braves have gotten out of Chipper during the past three to four seasons. He’s also going to be pretty capable of hitting for a decent average, and his plate discipline is good enough that he should be able to move pretty quickly through the minors.
He’s also got great speed for a third baseman, and that was another reason the Commodores tried him at SS. He stole 31 bases in 2010 and could have 15-20 steal potential in the pro ranks.
Vandy products seem to move pretty quickly (see Alvarez, David Price and Mike Minor), so the hope for the Braves should be that Esposito would be ready by the time Jones’ contract options run out in 2013.
Now that is a pick I could get on board with…
LikeLike
I should have included these paragraphs about Esposito also:
Down in the minors, the Braves have very few legitimate third base prospects. They have a wealth of shortstops in their system, many of whom could likely stand to make the move over a few feet, but none with the exception of maybe Edward Salcedo has the bat to stick there.
Enter Esposito, one of the most seasoned third baseman available in this draft, both at the plate and in the field.
Esposito’s glove is about as solid as they come. He obviously had enough athleticism to play a little shortstop, so you know he won’t have trouble making all the plays. He has a very strong arm and looks very comfortable at the position.
LikeLike
After his start yesterday, which was not all that bad in my estimation, Minor is sent back to AAA. If I understand correctly, we won’t need the “5th spot” for another couple of weeks, by which time Beachy is expected back.
We were a position player short, with Gearrin having been needed recently, so OF Michael Young has been recalled. I don’t quite get that one, except that Wilkin Ramirez has not yet been in AAA for the required 10 days before he can be brought back. I liked him in his short stead here. I think he shows decent potential. Young is just… meh. The prototypical AAAA player.
LikeLike
Oh, and as Gil, Mrs. Josie and I all observed, Chipper indeed suffered a slight groin pull yesterday. Fredi is gonna sit him tonight so that he gets a couple of days (with tomorrow’s off day) to rest it.
He has my utmost respect, and I think it’s amazing how he has come back from last year’s knee injury. But man are those legs fragile. Left knee, right knee, hamstring and now groin. Next it’ll be a quad…
A small part of me wishes he’d go ahead and have the right knee scoped so that he can be on the shelf a couple of months and be fresher for the September playoff push. My gut tells me that with those legs, he’s gonna wilt down the stretch. We have precedent. Look at Troy Glaus last year.
Just sayin’…
LikeLike
Raisins, you can already see the wilting taking place before our very eyes. Tis why we are seeing Chipper slap the ball to the outfield rather than those long pokes in the seats. He is using all arms and torso, no legs in his swing. I recognize the swing as it is what I had to do when I pulled a groin/hamstring/ankle/knee… Major league ball players, like golfers, generate most of their real power from the legs… Otherwise they become Raphael Belliard…
I was a little taken aback by some of the comments made by Freddi G last night. A little but of throwing, if not under, at least in front of the bus by citing the lead off walk by Mike Minor. Hey, he is a 23 year old kid. I thought he pitched well enough to win if the Braves had any sort of offensive threat.
C’mon Freddi, get yourself thrown out of a game and get it over with…. All that anger needs to be vented. Who is better to vent at than Blue?… Open up a can of whomp ass and let it all out, sometime the team needs some emotion…
LikeLike
2night’s lineup:
1. JScha, CF
2. Marteeen, LF
3. Chipper, 3B although that is not what Fredi said earlier…
4. Mac, C
5. Fredo, 1B
6. Gonzo, SS
7. Struggla, 2B batting this low for the 1st time this season
8. The Beaver, RF
9. Big Red, P
LikeLike
… you can already see the wilting taking place before our very eyes. Tis why we are seeing Chipper slap the ball to the outfield rather than those long pokes in the seats. He is using all arms and torso, no legs in his swing.
I agree completely. No legs, no power. And there is no denying it. As the old saying goes, you can’t fire a cannon from a canoe.
I love the guy, but is he helping us? Hard to say. Yes, his AVG and OBP are respectable. But we need more oomph. We have enough slappers. And if he’s gonna play the small ball game, he needs to be able to run a little. Right now, I turn my head every time he runs the bases because it makes me hurt just to watch. Heck, my legs are better than his, and that’s saying alot.
But what do you do? You can’t bench him; you can’t release him. You do pretty much what he wants to do. He’s earned it. I get that. But dadgummit… with Struggla uggling and JHey subluxated, we really need some pop somewhere.
Right now, we got nuthin’…
LikeLike
… except Mac. Of course, he has exactly 0 homers on the road. 😐
LikeLike
Don’t know what to make of this team. Teams with the best ERA in baseball, shouldn’t look overmatched by the Padres. Even with Shafer, the team really looks….slow.
Clearly, no one could imagine Uggla hitting .178 after 200 AB’s. Or Heyward being hurt…again (has anyone heard anything about his injury??? I still bet something is way wrong, and undiagnosed. It seems to happen so much in baseball.
Really, McCann looks like the only real hitter, only guy to fear, on the team.
And V, yep, I too would like to see Chipper get his knee fixed. I thought I heard only 2 weeks for recovery. Did I mishear??? If that’s the case, we could limp along with a terrible offense. 2 months??? I don’t know. But I think like Gil mentioned, that weak put it in play swing we have seen before, and I think it might be how he got into bad habits before. A .270 singles hitter we could replace. But looking so very bad at the plate (the team) I am sure he is trying to gut it out.
And let me keep patting Gil on the back. As you have mentioned several times, Freddi doesn’t seem to want to get kicked out of a game, why??? That was one thing I liked about Bobby, and it did help pump some life into the team.
LikeLike
Oh Dr. Gil…a question if you don’t mind. I have a weird pain in my neck…in fact, it feels like a headache,(back of my head) but the pain will surge when I bend forward, or lift up in bed or turn(that is usually when the pain really acts up) it will go away, not bother me most of the time.
I get “cricks” in my neck, once or twice a year, where for a week I can’t really turn my head to the left or right(it’s always a delightful surprise which side I can’t turn towards) then it goes away.
This is different. I feel like I have a dull headache right now. this has been going on for about a week. I can do some accupressure stuff on a really sore spot on my neck, it helps. But the pain up the back of the head worries me a bit…pinched nerve???
Can’t really swing seeing a doctor right now….
LikeLike
has anyone heard anything about his injury???
Yes.
LikeLike
I suppose I should expound.
He has a subluxation of the right shoulder simply due to a hard sing and miss he experienced in spring. The subluxation is literally a mild and short dislocation. In other words, he swung so hard, his shoulder popped out and back in. Crazy, huh? But the lasting result is just what JHey is experiencing – inflammation, pain and weakness in the joint.
Typical treatment is ice, anti-inflammatories and strengthening exercises. I am sure that the training staff has him doing everything he needs to be doing, and I am equally sure he is diligently doing all that he can to get back.
I also am sure that this will likely bother him to one degree or another throughout this season.
LikeLike
Ber, most likely you have a disc problem in your neck pinching a nerve. I’ll bet you are experiencing a lot of stiffness and that is resulting in a tension headache. Honestly, there is no go answer, at least you are not getting the numbness in your hands and arms yet, or are you? Like my daddy always said, “You’ve got to be tough to get old”.
Most likely, after recommending an MRI, the doctor will prescribe flexeril or some other muscle relaxant to ease the tension in your neck.
A good Cervical collar can also help temporarily take some of the pressure off the offending site.
LikeLike
Glad to know what J-Hey actual injury is, he is going to hate getting old…
LikeLike
Maybe Jason should learn to bat right handed….
LikeLike
Ber,there are also some stretching exercises that can help but you really have to be careful you are not dealing with something that is unstable.
LikeLike
Din’t watch the action, but followed the last half of the game on the internet summary.
Good win… they won and that’s good. 😀
LikeLike
If you didn’t see it, you missed a good one…
LikeLike
V, thanks for expounding! I missed all that…funny, I went to the AJC and you know how they often have links that are many days old??? Didn’t see a link talking about the JHey kid(Man, I should of registered that, copyrighted it, somethin’!)
I did see it took a 2nd MRI, I would look so brilliant if I had said that, you know, before the story had come out! 😳 Well, I think I did say something about it being more serious than first thought…
anyway…here is a bit more I found this A.M. sounds like it will be awhile before we see him in right…
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110528&content_id=19691958¬ebook_id=19692046&vkey=notebook_atl&c_id=atl#comment_container
LikeLike
Ok, thats weird…scoll up a bit for the Heyward story.
And Gil, thanks for the suggestions! Yeah, I do wish I could skip the middle man and say, give me some muscle relaxants! Oh well…somewheres me may still have a Cervical collar. I also need to sit much more upright while in front of the computer. Pretty sure that is a least part of the problem.
LikeLike
I guess I will work on writing a new lead, I think this one is getting pretty dated and it appears to have gotten Freddi going so my work is done on that front. Maybe something on Uggla… Yeah, that’s the ticket….
LikeLike
One note on Heyward, I don’t look for him back before the All-star break. The kid is made of glass… who knew?
Chipper needs to get his knee fixed before he blows everything else out.
Look for Nate to be the fourth (or fifth) outfielder when he returns. I think Mather stays, Young goes back to AAA.
LikeLike
I thought Mike Minor put in a pretty nice performance the other night, not as poised as Beachy but a kid with a pretty bright future.
A thought to ponder, it always seems that folks are concerned, or have been as long as I can remember, about the Braves having or drafting a replacement for Chipper.
It has been my limited experience in the matter to observe that the two positions played most often by the best athletes or pitching and shortstop. I have noticed that guys with good arms who can’t hit are converted to pitchers. Guys with good arms who can hit are shortstops. Kids who can play at short can play third but guys who can play third, second and first cannot always play short.
Most organizations draft what they know. The Indians, Tigers and White Sox always seem to have good position players in the system, the Braves have pitching. The rest are a crap shoot….
LikeLike
Nate coming back would allow for Chipper to get repaired and Prado to play third. I think the Braves could survive Chipper being down if Uggla could at least show a glimmer of regaining his form. As it is now, if I were a major league manager or pitcher, I would be looking at Uggla’s spot in the line up as a place to go for an out. McCann would not see fast ball one until Uggla proved he could beat me.
LikeLike
At least if Chipper had the knee scoped, he would be forced to go on the DL and allow the Braves not to play shorthanded.
LikeLike
Yes, yes and yes.
I don’t look at JHey as “glass”. More like a Ferrari. Finely tuned, you know. When your body is so tightly wound, it’s so much easier to tweak it.
Me, on the other hand… I couldn’t get a tweak if I tried. Just aches. Same, but different.
LikeLike
As to the details on JHey’s injury, I heard Frank on the radio a day or so ago expounding on it. Horse’s mouth, so to speak…
LikeLike
Wrong… just wrong. And on so many levels. 😀
http://lockerz.com/s/106908521
LikeLike
Congrats JJ!!!
NL pitcher of the month for May. Not too shabby.
LikeLike
VOR, I am at a loss for words on Moylan…. the boy has far to much time on his hands….
LikeLike
Moylan looked WAY to comfortable dressed like that! 😆
LikeLike
Speaking of high maintenance, reminds me of the ’66 Triumph GT6 I once owned, it had 3 Weber side draft carbs on it and I could never seem to get them in snyc. After all, what can you expect when the manual shows that you tuned them by listening to the end of a rubber hose for proper pitch. It was a trip to drive but it always seemed as if somebody was on strike in England and I could never get parts for the dang thing…
I sold it to a buddy because I got tired of being run off the road by semis..
Anywho, I feel for the kid, Jason, but you really need someone who can go to the post everyday. I guess you cannot expect to hook up a thoroughbred to a plow but a lot of folks would be eating horse meat once rather than corn every year had they not used a little common sense and bought something reliable.
“Consistent adequacy often out performs occasional excellence” Bromide handed down to me by a sage….
LikeLike
Mine was yellow with wire wheels. Should have suspected something when the entire front end lifted out of the way to service the engine…
http://allnews-in.blogspot.com/2008/08/1966-triumph-gt6.html
LikeLike
Yankees are beginning to look for starting pitching. You know the profile of the type pitchers they will look for, and one Derek Lowe fits the bill to a tee.
Frank has stated numerous times that DLowe is going nowhere, but do you believe it?
I don’t. I think for the right price, he’s a goner. What with the great season JJ is having, Big Red and Huddy being themselves, the emergence of Beachy, and the capable left arm of Minor, we could lose him without too much of a bump in the road.
And don’t forget Medlen. He is going to extended training to finish his rehab and to stretch out as a starter. (His expected return date is right around the end of July/beginning of August – coincidentally right around trade deadline time.) Why stretch him out? We have 6 starters already not counting Teheran. I guess we’ll see…
Yeah, I know “you can never have too much pitching”. I get that. But you can have too little hitting, and that’s exactly what we have right now. It has placed us exactly in 3rd place in our division.
I just think that we could extract a good return on DLowe in a deadline trade, and we could certainly use his $15MM in the offseason.
What say you?
LikeLike
I had thought the same thing in an earlier opine that Lowe was prime trade bait. If you are going to trade pitching, trade the guy who is basically a 5-6 inning guy who is costing you a ton.
Across the street they are always clamoring to trade JJ but he is going to be a bargain for a while yet.
Lowe has become a number 3 guy. Sure, he can give you a stellar performance 2 out of 3 starts but an ace gives you a quality start every time out.
Even Huddy has slipped a bit in that regard.
LikeLike
Moylan is a hoot!! My only problem with it was that he and his fiance wear the same dress size???
You gotta grin at somebody who is that confident in himself with who he is and enjoys having fun – even at his own expense.
(I still can’t believe she let him put on her dress! What kind of fabric was that, anyhow??)
😆
LikeLike
What kind of fabric was that, anyhow?
Not sure, but it’ll never be the same for sure… 😀
LikeLike
I’m pretty sure when he told her, “I’d like to get into your dress” it wasn’t exactly what she thought he had in mind… but I digress…
Pretty satisfying, if costly win for the Braves Friday night. Hopefully nothing more serious than a broken nose for Jordan. I kept thinking about the injury Francouer suffered while in Myrtle Breach when I saw it.
Baseball is a full contact sport, like it or not.
Poetic justice is the thought that comes to mind when the ball Alex hit went under his glove to allow the tying run. While I hate for the ump to miss a call on the great play at third, I have to be fair and say that maybe that was just the baseball universe evening things out for the play at the plate the Braves got an out on against the Reds.
Missed calls are a part of the game, we may not like them but then again, MLB should not allow for shoddy work either. The majority of those calls are signaled correctly. Still, it was for good reasons that Bobby got thrown out of so many games, at least in his mind.
LikeLike
Gil, I sure hope he is ok…even in a best case scenario, he’s going to be out for several days, right???
Man, that homer Chipper his was the best one I have seen from him in a long, long time. Did you see he even had a bit of a hop, after hitting it??? 🙂
guess he can still hit pretty well from the right side….
Oh, and Gil, like your old Triumph! Funny, I thought I had seen most of the English cars of that era, but don’t recognize that body style. Bet you didn’t see yourself coming and going in that car!
LikeLike
heres some rare footage of Walter Johnson, perhaps the best pitcher ever…
LikeLike
We got outfielders dropping like snowflakes. A “non-displaced sinus fracture”. Dadgummit!
I realize that Schafer is not Ricky Henderson at the top of the lineup, but he did have a cool .357 OBP. As Chipper said, “Jordan is really playing well, setting the table at the top.” He’s doing his job. And he’s playing really good CF defense – much better than the average Nate McLouth.
Now what? Matt Young? He is not even a decent #8 hitter… 😐
This is a big loss… both defensively and offensively. Does Prado go back to leadoff? Do you realize that the much acclaimed (and deservedly so) Martin Prado sports only a .327 OBP? That doesn’t cut it as a leadoff hitter. It just doesn’t. In fact, guess who leads all of MLB in outs made? Martin Prado with 196. Weird stat, but telling. When your leadoff hitter leads all of MLB in outs made, the table is NOT being set.
We have problems. Multiple problems.
LikeLike
Shoot, well, it could have been worse. Dropping like snowflakes??? Man, I really wish I was seeing snowflakes dropping right now! 😉
Stupidly went to the AJC to read what must be no doubt NYC braves fans comments after the story on Schafer. Good grief. I feel the need for a bath. Apparently, Chipper, JHey and Schafer are all fragile girly men that just need to man up. 🙄
About Prado, did y’all know he leads the club in Homers and RBI’s??? 😯
If Joe Maddon was the Braves manager, he’d probably have Uggla leadig off, and Prado batting 5th for awhile. Could it honestly hurt to try it??? Uggla is 1-18, which is really amazing since he wasn’t hitting before this stretch…. .160 for the month of May. In case you didn’t know…and wanted that info…
LikeLike
What a deeeelightful game! Actually, I just woke up in time to see Proctor come in a 1-0 game and see it go to 5-0. Nothing like being shut out by the vaunted Mutts! 😕
Well, this Gee guy has actually had a good season, still.
Anyway, my question for those that did watch. Was J.J. on fumes?? Did you agree with taking him out???
Oh something else I meant to mention before, but forgot.
V, I agree, “we” should consider trading DLowe. Part of me feels bad about doing it, he’s got real heart, and I’m sure he’d rather stay here, but we could use the freed up moola. Now, from what I read there are cheaper options for the Yankees, so I think the Bravos should offer to pay part of his salary for this year and next, hopefully to get a better prospect back as well.
I just wonder if Braves GM’s would rather die than have to in a way admit that they overpaid for a player. I know exactly why he did it at the time, but now the lack of talented starters bridge has hopefully been gapped, something should be done.
The Phils and Marlins have a lot of issues this year, shouldn’t just say we’ll get them next year.
LikeLike
Ber, the horrible eight inning all starter with an error by Alec Gonzalaz. He dropped the ball while making the transfer from his glove to his throwing hand. For some reason it seemed to unnerve JJ. He then gave up a single, then hit a batter. Bases loaded, no outs… They brought in Proctor, sac fly, then a triple, then another sac fly… It was over.
Did I mentioned the Braves had loaded the bases the prior inning but failed to score? JJ had only thrown about 75 pitches going into the the eight. Braves just could not push across any runs…
Okay, on ESPN tonight, I hope Huddy brings his A game.
LikeLike
Well, he didn’t bring his A game….Sinker pitchers can be a bit annoying at times….
Scored 4 runs, but does it really count if Manny Acosta allowed 2 of them? 😕
Did anyone hear Bobby Valentine talking about what was wrong with Uggla’s swing??? No fan of Bobby, but he’s not a complete idiot when it comes to the game.
He said Uggla’s swing is messed up and his front foot was pointing right back to the pitcher, and it should come down pointing between 1st and 2nd, like it does with Chipper when he’s batting right handed.
If he can spot that, why doesn’t Larry Parrish, Freddi, or any of the other coaches????
LikeLike
I went to bed after the 5th inning, it was all too much for me. Yep, I’m a fair weather fan… and it was raining on my parade.
Huddy has not looked right since that one hitter a month ago, he has become very pedestrian if you ask me as far as his heritability. Something is wrong but I am not privy to it.
LikeLike
Happy D-Day, everybody! Thank you, Greatest Generation!!! ❤
LikeLike
A handful of observations on a Monday
morninger, afternoon (it was morning when I started this):Index finger: Gil, I believe that Huddy’s back is probably still barking. That can directly cause his pitches to stay up, which they are. Pitches up are deadly for a sinkerballer.
Bird finger: I am perplexed about this team. They look as though they should have a formidable lineup, yet the lineup is quite anemic. Hard to fault the pitching – which is currently a bit beat up – because they for the most part keep us in the game. But, dang… they have to be a little bit disheartened that they can’t get any run support, don’t ya think?
Ring finger: The most dangerous bat in the lineup right now is easily McCann, who is as consistent as they come. But aside from him, it’s gotta be Hinske, who isn’t even a starter. Sad commentary.
Pinky: I love so many things about Martin Prado. He works harder than anyone else out there, is the epitome of “team player”, and is likely the team “spark plug”. But when you look at his offense, he’s kinda “meh”. He has a flair for getting big hits a big times, but he also makes alot of outs. How many DP’s has he hit into from the 2 hole behind Schafer? A bunch. No doubt he is a very good player and a guy that we depend on. But his overall offense is really pretty average. He was a standout 2B. He would make a good 3B, but in all honesty with too little power. He is an average LF who makes alot of outs. If Uggla was doing his usual thing, it would balance out. He ain’t, and it doesn’t.
Thumb: What do we do? The rising star can’t stay healthy, and the fading star can’t stay 100% healthy. The bridge star is mired in a horrendous slump. You can’t touch any of those golden spots in any improvement plans. The SS is an All-Star defensively, but wildly inconsistent offensively. The 1B is a young’un with a magic glove who is showing potential, but is not yet giving you the prodigious production you expect from that corner of the IF. But they are both necessary defensively and aren’t going anywhere. LF is manned by a beloved player who isn’t really in the elite of OF, but would cause a PR nightmare if replaced. We’re stuck with him. The regular CF is hurt – again – and makes too much $$$ to jettison. His replacement has potential, but is still unproven. The organization has to see if he is indeed in the future plans. An upgrade is slightly possible there, but not likely. We already have the best C in the NL, and arguably in MLB. Can’t improve there. What do we do? Man am I glad I don’t have “General Manager” on my door…
LikeLike
V, that would have made a nice lead!
I think part of Prado’s problem is trying too hard. Did you hear how after one bad game last week, he went into the cage for quite some time??? That’s great, great he wants to improve…but he knows the team isn’t scoring, he knows the offense is terrible, he knows Chipper can’t play every game…he knows we are missing our Regular CF and RF…I think he would go back to hitting near .300 if someone else besides McCann(truly a man amongst boys) was hitting.
And why do we have another off day??? Is it just me, or does it seem we get every Monday and Thursday off?? This isn’t the time of year for that….The Red Sox had to play 20 straight days, but will probably have every Monday and Thurs off in August or September. I smell a conspiracy! :p
I guess we can hope with the off day, most of the big relievers get 2 days off, Chipper gets 2 days off…
LikeLike
Thanks, Ber. If one of the powers that be would want to lift it for a new lead, then OK by me.
Now Braves. (… homage to the Scribe…)
I am more than a little befuddled by the lack of hitting by this team. So much potential, so little production. Last year at this time, we’d have been all over Pendleton. (In fact, we were…) Why is Parrish getting a pass? Honestly, I cannot think of another good reason why so many of our hitters – aside from Mac who only listens to his old man – seem to be clueless at the plate. They all have forgotten everything they ever knew about getting deep into counts. If Joe Mather ever sees more than 8 pitches per night, it’ll be news to me.
And I know this has already been talked and retalked ad nauseam elsewhere, but it bears repeating here. If the ESPN numbsculls can take a video splitscreen and compare Uggla last year with this year, and point out noticeable differences, why can’t Larry Parrish? Get that toe pointed correctly, Danny. We need ya!
Speaking of toes, there has been an actual and verified journalist jimmy smith sighting on Jeff Schultz’ blog. Yep, nothing like the talk of a player’s toe to bring out the esteemed jjs.
I wouldn’t mind a jjs sighting on the ol’ B&S…
LikeLike
It still amazes me that the Bravos are only 3.5 games outta 1st, and only .5 games behind the Fish. Kinda gives this series a little more buzz, I think.
They actually had a decent May. Wonder what could be if they could just get a couple of hits with men in scoring position..?
LikeLike
Braves 1st round pick: LHP Sean Gilmartin
Sean Gilmartin, the ace of Florida State’s pitching staff, was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the first round of the major league baseball draft Monday night.
The left-hander was taken with the 28th overall pick.
After helping the Seminoles beat Alabama 9-5 in the Tallahassee NCAA Regional on Saturday night, Gilmartin’s record improved to 12-1. He has a 1.83 ERA with 122 strikeouts in 113-1/3 innings. – SunSentinel.com
A top college lefty… interesting…
LikeLike
DOB: He’s considered a “safe” pick as a proven winner, with a good fastball and a plus change-up. He grew up admiring Braves left-hander Tom Glavine and Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels.
Kinda reminds me of Mike Minor. 🙂
LikeLike
When you get pick number 28 out of 30, the best player out there is long gone. Still , out of a couple of thousand young players, you are bound to mine a gem or two. That said, there is always the fools gold too….
Sigh, I think we all know JJS was a superstar, too bad he thought so too. Can’t insult the hostess of the blog but so many time without thought their wouldn’t be repercussions.
On your points, unless you are willing to eat about $50 million, you better come up with a plan B. That plan looks more and more like having to fire the messenger. (Larry Parrish)
Heyward coming back could be a boost but for how long? Prado is trying to carry the team and often falls victim to the notion that if he dose not drive in the runs, no one else will either.
It is sad when you have a team that for all intents and purposes appears it should be better than it really is. Truth is, you can’t keep getting lead-off doubles and not score at least one run…
Until Uggla hits at least his weight, there are too many places for opposing pitchers to go for outs.
LikeLike
I kind of like the pick. First, he’s a lefty. And for all the touted pitching prospects we have, the only lefty is Minor. He’s a college guy, so he’ll likely be on the same accelerated time track that Minor was. And as Gil says, unless you’re picking in the top 5, it’s all a crap shoot anyway.
I was the first one to say we need a 3B prospect, but in all honesty, a prospect is probably too far away anyway. What we do have, and apparently are adding too, is pitching depth in the minors. And when you have pitching depth in the minors, you can go go get position players.
I’m a believer that a move is going to be made before the deadline to address a position. That means some starter is going to be in for a surprise, and so are we. It also likely means we’ll let go of one of our prized pitchers.
A couple of things really need to fall into place first. #1, Beachy needs to be healthy. By all accounts, he’s had no setbacks and will rejoin the rotation soon. #2, the real Dan Uggla needs to stand up. It doesn’t matter what rabbit Frank may pull out of his hat. If Struggla doesn’t pull up from his tailspin, the BRaves are going nowhere.
THose are really the 2 main things.
OK, I hear you. You’re asking “what about JHey?” We have been and can continue to mix and match in the OF to get by. CAn’t do it with Danny-boy, though. He’s the key.
Frightenin’, ain’t it?
LikeLike
This is how you paint a big ol’ target on your batting helmet:
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/fantasywindup/post/2011/06/bryce-harper-homers-blows-a-kiss-to-opposing-pitcher/1
Million dollar talent, 10 cent head.
LikeLike
When was the last time the Braves took college players with their 1st 4 picks?
Following yesterday’s 1st round pick of FSU LHP Sean Gilmartin, today they have picked (thus far) UConn SS Nick Ahmed at pick 85, Texas State 3B Kyle Kubitzo and RHP J.R. Graham out of Santa Clara U.
A college SS and 3B… Interesting…
LikeLike
2night’s lineup:
1. JSchar, CF
2. Gonzo, SS (too much of a free-swinger to bat #2, IMO)
3. Marteeen, LF
4. Chipper, 3B
5. Fredster, 1B
6. Struggla, 2B
7. DRoss, C
8. The Beaver, RF
9. Big Red, P
LikeLike
JSchar? I coulda sworn I typed JScha. Reckon not…
LikeLike
Hello..? tap tap Is this thing on?
LikeLike
No, I don’t think it is on! :p
V, you are very correct…Larry Parrish needs to take blame, just like T.P. did(well, from fans only it seems)
I read somewheres that teams that give up outs (bunting) tend to score fewer runs than teams that don’t…facts to back this up??? I have NONE. Just saw some moneyball geeks saying that…but it’s one time I agree with them crazy folks.
The braves are hitting .243 as a team. One hit every 4 + ab’s. So…a braves player hit, great! Now, with 0 or 1 outs, give up an out, to move a runner up one base. Yes, of course the runner is closer to home, but as Dr Phil would say if he was consulting the team…and hows that workin’ for ya???
I’d LOVE to see some geek come up with the % of times a team(Or just the braves) scores a run…there has to be someone doing this.
It seems like the last decade the team has had the worst time scoring runs, after leadoff hits. I HATE watching Yankee/Red Sox games, but as I have no doubt said before, it’s the way to win these days…they very rarely bunt guys over…they get a hit, and they work the pitcher for a walk or a fat pitch…makes sense…but it ain’t gonna happen here, is it???
LikeLike
V, I see ESPN is making a big deal out of the Harper thing as well…I don’t get it. The only thing I saw him do wrong was stand and admire his homer. He shouldn’t do that. LOTS of hitters shouldn’t do it, and do it as a 32 year old.(How old is Soriano, 35?) He’s 18. Ok…a mistake…but clearly the pitcher who gave it up to him was barking at him…Harper keeps looking back at him…I visualized a dramatic 2 hands blowing kiss like Judy Garland would have given. It wasn’t. It didn’t even look like a kiss, IMO.
If the camera wasn’t on him, (In low A ball)who would even know about it???
Oh, I checked (at least on DOB’s lead) why o why isn’t McCann in there??? Is he hurting???
LikeLike
It was a distinct puckered up kiss, and very unprofessional. I hope he takes a heater to the ribcage. Nothing I hate worse than a prima donna who thinks he’s above the other players and exempt from established etiquette. Jeff Passan over at yahooSports actually thinks he’s great for doing it because he represents the current pop culture of disrespect. I think Jeff Passan needs to pull his head out of his arse.
LikeLike
Well, Passan sounds like an….you know what…still, who knows what the pitcher was saying to him??? Sure, he could have ignored it, but when you see just the video, you(we) are just getting half the picture.
LikeLike
OK… if you aren’t watching the game and see that Uggla hit into a DP in his first AB, you might think “here we go again”. But you didn’t see the whole picture. He just missed a long homer to LF, hitting one foul but deep into the stands. Then he hit a rope to RF, that was hit so hard it got to Stanton quick enough for him to double Freddie off 1B.
All in all, it was a decent AB. I guess you look for anything positive in his game right now.
LikeLike
I had the answer to the trivia question… woohoo….
Braves were getting handled tonight…
Still, Alex guessed right on one. Raisins, I said the same thing to Miss Josie about Uggla’s at-bat . Looked pretty bad in his last at-bat however.
LikeLike
Wow, 2 hits and the braves win, 1-0! That’s not easy to do!
Gil, what was the question???
And any reason why McCann was given a day off???
LikeLike
And any reason why McCann was given a day off???
Just a 2 day rest… that’s all.
LikeLike
Ber, the question was, “Besides Chipper Jones, what other active player has over 200 hits against the Florida Marlins”?
Answer: Jimmy Rollins
LikeLike
NEW BLOGGAGE UP
LikeLike