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© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
818 comments Add your comment
TnBrian
March 29th, 2009
6:10 pm
Ed, you’re right…it just doesn’t work. Bobby is stubborn and really believes his patience will pay off 99% of the time. Maybe, or hope is more like it, Cox will realize this soon and put Schafer there come opening day on.
PWHjort
March 29th, 2009
6:11 pm
Ed, everything you said in that post is pretty much 100% wrong.
Frank from KS
March 29th, 2009
6:17 pm
Ya know, Earl Weaver only won 1 World Series and never has gotten as much crap as Bobby has. There’s a lot of similarites(sp) between Bobby and Earl Weaver.
On another note….Weaver also had 3 damn good starters to go to the hill for the O’s as Bobby has had for the Braves…..Jim Palmer, Dave McNally, and Mike Cuellar. They were the Tom Glavine, John Smoltz and Greg Maddux of that time as far as the job they did on the mound.
spotts
March 29th, 2009
6:18 pm
the last 2 posts:
TnBrian“Ed, you’re right”
PWHjort“Ed, everything you said in that post is pretty much 100% wrong”
richbrave
March 29th, 2009
6:19 pm
A hit. The MAKERS MARK afternoon. Roll on DOC.
And RANDOM. Me too good buddy. McFANN was promising at the end of last season to provide the great unwashed here some of that kind o’ thing from GWINNETT. How about that young lady. Gonna’ get us up to speed on the AAA happenings?
Chop Chop
March 29th, 2009
6:25 pm
spotts,
Flip a coin. That’s what I do.
PWHjort
March 29th, 2009
6:25 pm
I almost peed my pants when I saw this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itgcNy3L_Xc
spotts
March 29th, 2009
6:29 pm
haha, Latarian….check YouTube. I’m pretty sure there’s another news video of him getting into trouble again.
keylargo
March 29th, 2009
6:29 pm
I think it is wrong that some posters were “laughing” at Dontrelle Willis and his problems. He was one of the most promising pitchers to come throught the Marlins system until Jack McKeon and Joe Giradi completely ran the man into the ground in 2003 through 2006. He was and still is a good teammate and person.
You people out there demanding that the Braves rush Hanson through the minors and into the rotation should take a look at what 1000 innings in your first five years can to you both physically and mentally.
Boring Sunday
March 29th, 2009
6:31 pm
Golf quotes that sound dirty but aren’t:
“He’s buried under the lip”
“He’s got a look at it from below the hole.”
“There’s nothing like being in position and performing. You can’t be at your best unless you’ve been there before.”
“He went back to the basics that his dad taught him.”
“Some guys finish more naturally than others, ya know. You just have to get good at it.”
As heard on NBC’s coverage of the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. (Okay, so there was some subtle paraphrasing)
Boring Sunday
March 29th, 2009
6:34 pm
4:37 post: “Some of you are very sensitive.”
TnBrian
March 29th, 2009
6:40 pm
PWHjort, how is Kelly a good leadoff hitter. Besides the fact that when he changes his approach from being too aggressive, to not aggressive enough, to really screwing up his game at the plate and defensively, he’s just not a speedy “leadoff type” hitter. He runs the bases very well, and we haven’t seen nearly enough of Schafer to know much, but Schafer is faster, doesn’t hit for much power, but seems to k too much. KJ needs to be in the 7-8 spot so he can be more aggressive which should raise his power #’s.
The Most Interesting Man in the World
March 29th, 2009
6:40 pm
keylargo,
You intrigue me.
Dale Murphy's Mole
March 29th, 2009
6:41 pm
OK, PWH, we may disagree on Norton vs. J. Anderson, but we can agree that Latarian Milton rocks. Now I’m of to do some hoodrat stuff.
Boring Sunday
March 29th, 2009
6:44 pm
Damn, that mole talks alot. I’d have had it removed by now!
f.n.hale
March 29th, 2009
6:44 pm
Anyone here have a subscription to Bill James website? I don’t mind paying $3 a month for quality and Bill James is one of the smartest guys around, but does that translate to value on his site?
PWHjort
March 29th, 2009
6:44 pm
Anyone that gets on base a lot is a good leadoff hitter. I don’t think Kelly’s our best leadoff hitter, I think Escobar or Blanco is, but KJ is certainly a better hitter than Martin Prado, no matter where you bat him. Batting order doesn’t really matter all that much.
Chop Chop
March 29th, 2009
6:45 pm
Oklahoma is 0-for-14 behind the arc today. They are shooting 57% from the line and 38% from the field. Yikes.
PWHjort
March 29th, 2009
6:47 pm
I subscribe to Bill’s site. You get a very extensive statistics section, some of which can’t be found anywhere else, you can ask Bill questions that he’ll respond to about 20% of the time. You get to see his articles and columns first. There’s a few other writers that do great work that publish their stuff there. There’s also a really good community there. Overall, I say it’s well worth the 36$/year.
PWHjort
March 29th, 2009
6:48 pm
Bill James isn’t nearly as smart as a ton of people in the sabermetric community. But, he started it all and he’s the most creative, innovative, and level-headed writer I’ve ever read. Talk about a guy who sifts through the bullsh*t and tells it like it is.
Doc Holiday
March 29th, 2009
6:49 pm
When will cox understand that KJs place is 6th or 7th? I wonder …………If Anderson and Schafer are both in the lineup……..where will KJ hit? 8th is my guess but Im not cox (thank god)
Chop Chop
March 29th, 2009
6:50 pm
I’ve never seen it before, but I’ll predict that Bill James has a 0.78 ROR for his website.
(ROR = Rip-Off Rate)
David O'Brien
March 29th, 2009
6:52 pm
The game itself isn’t quite as one-sided as the Griffin-Hansbrough matchup.
But seriously, the “dunk” attempt while ago by Hansbrough … what WAS that?
PWHjort
March 29th, 2009
6:54 pm
I like Kelly Johnson hitting 5th.
spotts
March 29th, 2009
6:56 pm
at least I’ll have ONE team in the Final Four (UNC)
David O'Brien
March 29th, 2009
6:58 pm
Just saw the Guitar Hero Metallica commercial with the pants-less coaches. Very funny.
PWHjort
March 29th, 2009
7:04 pm
Another thing that’s come from my BJOL (Bill James Online) subscription: I’m in a very unique fantasy baseball league with 9 other BJOL readers. We made up a far out set of rules and it should be very interesting. Although I drank too much last night and overslept for about 2/3 of the draft. I still don’t hate my team, but that was disappointing.
Chop Chop
March 29th, 2009
7:06 pm
That’s the first time I’ve seen that commercial, DOB. The sad thing is that the guys in Metallica are all in their mid-forties. When “Guitar Hero: Jonas Brothers” comes out, I’ll just check myself into rehab.
Chop Chop
March 29th, 2009
7:07 pm
On second thought, why should I check myself into rehab when my reaction would be perfectly normal?
Boring Sunday
March 29th, 2009
7:08 pm
More golf quotes:
“He’ll be surprised to find out where his ball is.”
Sean O’Hair: “Do I have to do anything with it?”
His caddie: “Yeah, you have to hit it!”
And then he chokes.
f.n.hale
March 29th, 2009
7:09 pm
PWHjort, thanks for the info. I might question whether a lot of those guys are smarter than Bill though. There may be guys more advanced in sabermetrics, and I think there are, but I’ve read thing he’s written about other stuff and he seems like a pretty well rounded intelligent guy. $3 a month isn’t a lot of money to spend but more and more we’re seeing people charging for a service which may or may not have value and often you can’t know until you’ve spent the money. Can I assume it’s ad free since I’m paying for the service?
Boring Sunday
March 29th, 2009
7:11 pm
LOL! “ad free”, good one!
KC
March 29th, 2009
7:11 pm
I don’t know who the hell Gennaro Filice is. I only know 2 things about him. 1) He decided the Power Rankings for SI.com, and 2) He’s an idiot.
He ranks the Braves 24th out of 30 teams. That’s probably the most F**king idiotic thing an a national sports media person will say all year.
I think the Braves are now, on paper, on the level with Phili and NY… I really do. But I don’t have a problem with those who don’t feel the same way. That’s fine. And while I may disagree, I understand where people are coming from in the way they view the Braves.
But 24th out of 30??? This guy is either not paying attention (even though that’s what he gets paid to to)… OR he’s an imbecile.
Rachel Ray
March 29th, 2009
7:14 pm
What do you mean I can’t eat it?
PWHjort
March 29th, 2009
7:14 pm
yes, it is an ad-free site. Bill is street-smart. He’s not trained in advanced mathematics or economics, though, like a lot of the super-smart ivory tower genius sabermetricians.
David O'Brien
March 29th, 2009
7:19 pm
Chop Chop: What is Jonas Brothers, a clothing company?
Dontrelle Willis
March 29th, 2009
7:19 pm
I dont need nobody to feel sorry for me. you try smokin weed for 6 months and then stoppin cold turkey. it anziety stuff
f.n.hale
March 29th, 2009
7:19 pm
“I drank too much last night and overslept for about 2/3 of the draft.” – PWHjort
Hope that teetotaler guy that got on me this morning didn’t read that post. Could get ugly.
I sooo don’t have time for fantasy baseball but find the concept fascinating. Just interested in intelligent opinions.
Chop Chop
March 29th, 2009
7:22 pm
I believe that Jonas Brothers is a manure wholesaler.
Tiger Woods
March 29th, 2009
7:24 pm
I’m so stupid! Geez, anywhere but the bunker!
McFann :Ô:
March 29th, 2009
7:24 pm
Richbrave–
Gonna try my best! And we should be at Opening Night on April 17!
PWHjort
March 29th, 2009
7:26 pm
Here’s my admittedly amateur rankings:
1) Red Sox
Angels
2) Yankees
3) Rays
4) Cubs
5) Diamondbacks
6) Mets
7) Phillies
9) Braves
10) Dodgers
11) Twins
12) A’s
13) Indians
14) Reds
15) Giants
16) Tigers
17) Rangers
18) Cardinals
19) Brewers
20) Marlins
21) Royals
22) Nationals
23) Rockies
24) White Sox
25) Astros
26) Mariners
27) Orioles
28) Blue Jays
29) Pirates
30) Padres
f.n.hale
March 29th, 2009
7:28 pm
“I think it is wrong that some posters were “laughing” at Dontrelle Willis and his problems” – keylargo
I’ve always liked Dontrelle and feel for him and truly hope he can overcome his problems whether that translates to continuing success in baseball or not. I’ve known people with anxiety issues and have some minor ones myself, and I agree he was way overused by the so-called braintrust in Florida when he came up which damaged him physically. Having said all that, I feel guilty sometimes but I get a lot of laughs from sick humor. Not proud of it but I do. Remember a few years back one of the Phillies had some kind of emotional problems and his teammates called him Dahmer?
KC
March 29th, 2009
7:37 pm
PWHjort, those rankings look reasonable to me. I haven’t paid close attention to many teams outside of the NL East. The only thing I feel supremely confident in saying is that the Braves are now at least in the same neighborhood as the Phils and Mets, and that the Braves certainly belong in the top 8-10 in any power ranking. I think your rankings make a hell of a lot more sense than the one put together by that douche at SI.com.
Salamander
March 29th, 2009
7:38 pm
Music:
The new Yeah Yeah Yeahs album “It’s Blitz!” is pretty good… they have transitioned well into making pop records apparently.
On a more interesting note, the new Tombs album “Winter Hours” is awesome… if you’re into metal of course.
I kinda like the new Zu album – “Carboniferous.” Its a decent blend of noise rock with metal elements. Not brilliant (wtb more vocals), but it has its moments.
And for the third time on this blog – I’m plugging the Black Lip’s latest, “200 Million Thousand.” It took me a while to get in to, but now its stuck on my playlist permanently.
The latest Mastodon album is good and will almost certainly propel them to rock-god status (if they didn’t have that already). However, I prefer their sound from about 5 year ago when they released “Leviathan” (seriously, maybe my favorite metal record of all time), but the new album “Crack the Skye” is still great – if a bit too clean for me with nice vocals and lots of actual singing, etc.
You can really hear Mastodon’s southern-rock roots on “Crack the Skye,” which is not a bad thing. Also, they released a special edition of the album with an all instrumental version of every song – very cool.
spotts
March 29th, 2009
7:39 pm
Chop Chop – kudos on your 7:22. Very funny
PWHjort
March 29th, 2009
7:44 pm
The CHONE power rankings/standings: http://www.baseballprojection.com/2009standings.htm
Tom O'Hawke
March 29th, 2009
7:47 pm
PWHjort (7:26), I thought your rankings were pretty good. Personally, I would have the Diamondbacks lower, and both the Marlins and Cardinals higher. But that’s just my opinion. I also thought Ethiopia was a lock to win the gold in the men’s hockey, during the last winter olympics.
PWHjort
March 29th, 2009
7:49 pm
There’s probably a lot of problems with my rankings. Don’t use them for anything you put money on or quote me on them, lol.
Tom O'Hawke
March 29th, 2009
7:54 pm
Tiger Woods is unbelievable!!!
jonatuga
March 29th, 2009
7:55 pm
TIGER wow
Norm MacDonald as Sean O'Hair
March 29th, 2009
7:55 pm
Note to self:
Shoot par on Sunday.
Metropolitan Man1
March 29th, 2009
7:56 pm
As a braves blog reader and partime poster but lifetime Mets fan, I think its fitting for the philthies to raise the W.S. banner in the braves precense. Will the philthies give honorable mention to the braves for laying down for them in 08′? One has to wonder. When Boston finalyl won it all, they recieved their WS rings before a game against the stankees and it was priceless. Lets see how much the philthies rub it in as reigning champs.
Tom O'Hawke
March 29th, 2009
7:56 pm
Thanks for the warning, PWHjort. I’m still in hock from that hockey bet.
PWHjort
March 29th, 2009
7:58 pm
Metropolitan Man1, you haven’t heard about the conspiracy the Braves were in on in order to make sure the Mets didn’t make the playoffs last year? Lay down for the Phillies but put our best effort forward against the Mets. That’s been our MO for the last 2 years.
KC
March 29th, 2009
8:02 pm
There seems to be something of a consensus in the national media that the Braves now have a very good, and very deep. rotation.
Some don’t think much of the bullpen. Some think a lot of the bull IF HEALTHY, but aren’t certainly whether it can remain healthy.
And most in the national media think the Braves are offensive lightweights.
In my opinion, they are correct that the Brave have a very good rotation. And the people who say “very good bullpen IF HEALTHY” are right on target. However, I think they are wrong about this offense.
This Atlanta offense is going to be better than many think.
No, there’s no 35 HR guy here. BUT… If Schafer wins the CF job, the Braves might not have a single slot in the lineup from which they don’t get at least .280, and 15 or so homeruns.
Assuming Schafer holds his own, the Braves have quality, professional hitters with pop all the way up in down the order. This is a lineup that very well could get .280 35 homers, 160 RBI, 75 doubles from the bottom to slots in the order (combined, of course). You’ve got a pretty damned deep lineup when you have choose your 7th and 8th hitters from Schafer, KJ, Escobar, and Kotchman.
Truthfully, this is same type of lineup the ‘98 Yankees featured. No 30 HR hitters anywhere on the team, but professional hitters all the way up and down the order. Guys who could hit for average, and could take you deep if you weren’t careful. That’s exactly what ATL has. Now… the Yankees ‘98 team was better offensively than this team, primarily because they also had a good bit of speed… but I their offense was particularly highly thought of heading into the ‘98 season, because they didn’t have that 30-40 HR guy in the lineup. Sound familiar?
Tom O'Hawke
March 29th, 2009
8:02 pm
PWHjort, you mean it’s OK to tell them about that now?
PWHjort
March 29th, 2009
8:04 pm
Agreed, KC. We also have the best bench in the NL. Which the media completely ignores because it’s a bench. However, the bench is sometimes the difference between playing golf or baseball in October.
Tom O'Hawke
March 29th, 2009
8:05 pm
Well said, KC.
pryguy
March 29th, 2009
8:13 pm
Hansborough’s dunk attempt is the new form of dunking as seen in the dunk contest by Dwight Howard in 2008. A new aged way to score a flashy, risky, stupid bucket. I was entertained by his efforts nonetheless.
BravesFan InRockies (IbleedCarolinablue)
March 29th, 2009
8:18 pm
This Tar Heel team looks awfully good heading to Ford Field. Roy’s Boys played some pretty good D. Made Griffin work hard and for the most part shut down everyone else. Nova could smoke ‘em — those guys really can defend — but the Heels look strong.
dogsbrekky
March 29th, 2009
8:18 pm
PWjort – Angels just know how to win, I rate them near the top
Bosox
Angels
I think are top 2 with that exciting Tampa team 3rd
Yanks are the big ??
Nl East – I seriously have no idea
fn hale – going to test drive the Taurus and Edge tomorrow, the missus hates Jeeps so that narrows the range somewhat
BravesFan InRockies (IbleedCarolinablue)
March 29th, 2009
8:19 pm
The good news about that stupid dunk attempt by Hansbrough … no one will remember the dunk that Danny Green muffed.
TexasBrave
March 29th, 2009
8:23 pm
Well I just found out that you can’t win with one good player, it takes a team. Have to give props to the UNC boys for their defense, but my Sooners just couldn’t hit the jump shots tonight.
I know it’s a pipe dream, but I hope Blaine Griffin comes back for another year. Perhaps we could give him some support to make a run at a final 4.
Metropolitan Man1
March 29th, 2009
8:25 pm
PWHjort: Mets fans had that figured out. We just want to make sure that the secret alliance/conspiracy isn’t in effect for 09′. What do those initials stand for?
dogsbrekky
March 29th, 2009
8:26 pm
KC – I would love to agree yet I continue to see us failing (and flailing) against higbh quality nos 1-2 type pitchers and in the NL EAST we have the 2 beasts in Hamels and Santana to beat plus a good Fish rotation etc etc
I really like the new rotation, am terrified by our closer and some of the bullpen are very shaky (MOYLAN should close, and no I am not saying that because we are from the same town) ….. plus KJ worries me defensively……..
PWHjort
March 29th, 2009
8:26 pm
Eh, the Angels seem like they’re going to have injury troubles this year. And I don’t trust their on-field strategies will work this year.
richbrave
March 29th, 2009
8:30 pm
McFANN:
Tip of my cap and many thanx to you in advance. Looking forward to it. Maybe you can build this into a tradition throughout the BRAVES farm system. I’ll do what I can from NORFOLK and DANVILLE. GIL in MECHANICSVILLE and I are gonna’ be in D.C. for the APRIL 21 game. DADGUM is here in town also. Maybe between us a few games here and there. I’ll see if there’s any radio reception here in RICHMOND from either city too. How about MISSISSIPPI, MYRTLE, ROME and GULF COAST? Anybody wanna’ do stats and updates on the farm system’s games and personnel for the regulars here?
winterville
March 29th, 2009
8:34 pm
PWHjort
Who all did you end up with in your fantasy league? I just made a trade in mine. I traded Joel Hanrahan for Pablo Sandoval. Do you know anything about Sandoval. I had plenty of closers.
richbrave
March 29th, 2009
8:36 pm
TexasBRAVE:
Gonna’ be a lot of disappointed NBA fans and bloggers if he doesn’t.
richbrave
March 29th, 2009
8:37 pm
DOGS:
Did you see my recommendations on the previous DOB blog re: AMERICAN autos.
Doc Holiday
March 29th, 2009
8:37 pm
PWHjort,
If Mc is hitting 4th I think KJ cant hit 5th……JF is the righty that should go there. I never thought I would say this………but by the way JF is hitting…….we might get to see him hitting 4th behind chipper. That would be the perfect scenario and Mc 5th
dogsbrekky
March 29th, 2009
8:39 pm
richbrave – no, I will go back and check, I had to go to a 50th birthday party for the g/f’s best g/f
Doc Holiday
March 29th, 2009
8:40 pm
PWHjort,
I like your rankings……..but I think braves have a good chance to be ranked at least 5th by the end of may
richbrave
March 29th, 2009
8:40 pm
Cool. Made three seperate posts as I remember.
Gibby
March 29th, 2009
8:41 pm
Winterville, I am a long time fantasy geek having played fantasy games long before the internet and you needed baseball weekly to track your stats.
You made a good deal getting Sandoval, and a very good deal if he is eligible as a catcher in your league, He will help you in Average, hits and RBI. Possibly in HR’s. The kid rakes
PWHjort
March 29th, 2009
8:41 pm
Trading pitching for hitting in general is a good fantasy strategy since pitching is a lot more volatile and really easy to find on the waiver wires. I think that was a good trade for you. Sandoval is a legit and he’s eligible for 1B, 3B, and C, I believe.
McFann :Ô:
March 29th, 2009
8:41 pm
Richbrave–
You’re welcome. I’m excited! Hope we luck out and Hanson pitches–that would be sweet!
We drove by the stadium a couple weeks ago after we made our monthly trip to the bird food store. It looks really cool1 Couldn’t see the field from the street, though.
Salamander
March 29th, 2009
8:42 pm
KC
You make some good points, and it does seem like the media looks at the Braves and blows off their offensive potential… that said, I’m not nearly as optimistic as many on this blog. The NL East is a tough division, and the Braves absolutely have a legitimate shot at winning the division/wild card, but I could write that same sentence for at least two other teams in the division, and it would be foolish to ignore the Marlins as well (the Nationals can go ahead and start digging their graves because they will be DOA).
Washington aside, the rest of the division will be locked into a tooth and nail fight to the finish, and ultimately, pitching depth may very well win this division.
For me the biggest questions for the Braves are:
(1) The bullpen – I’m wary of the Braves RP unit. It looks injury-prone and reliant on guys coming back from surgery. No, signing Ohman doesn’t fix the problem. I see issues up and down the bullpen roster – mostly because of injury potential.
(2) Can Chipper play more than 120 games? This is a no-brainer question. He makes everyone better and his mere presence assures that other guys in the lineup will see better pitches to hit.
(3) A combination of players “taking the next step” (KJ, Kotchman, and Esco in particular) or bouncing back (in Francoeur’s case).
(4) Perhaps the most important – how well will the Braves play within their own division. They have to beat the Phillies and Nationals more than they did last year… It was just ugly to watch some of those games against “the players in red jerseys.”
The braves were the Phillies prison bit–es last year. That has to change.
PWHjort
March 29th, 2009
8:47 pm
If Frenchy really has improved his game and will draw walks and hit for power, I don’t have a problem with him hitting 5th. I personally like the following line-ups:
Casey Kotchman
VS LHP:
1) Yunel Escobar
2) Jordan Schafer
3) Chipper Jones
4) Brian McCann
5) Jeff Francoeur
6) Kelly Johnson
7) Matt Diaz
and against RHP:
1) Jordan Schafer
Casey Kotchman
2) Yunel Escobar
3) Chipper Jones
4) Brian McCann
5) Kelly Johnson
6) Jeff Francoeur
7) Garret Anderson
Random
March 29th, 2009
8:47 pm
PWHjort (4:39 pm): “The notion of November baseball is silly.”
That’s rather borealocentic, don’t you think?
In fact, the next WBC oughta be during Jan/Feb, in Sydney, Capetown, Rio and Honolulu.
Smyrna Jim
March 29th, 2009
8:49 pm
Richbrave,
You asked last week (very late one night) about my Old Dominion connections, and I don’t know if you saw my answer. I graduated from W&M in ‘76 (MEd from VCU), lived in Richmond and/or Mechanicsville (taught at L-D for nine years) until I moved here six years ago (it was a trip here to see Maddux pitch that inspired my new (at the time) wife and me to relocate here). I caught Smoltz’s first game at Shea 20 years ago as a fortuitous conjunction of following him with the R-Braves and being in NY at the right time.
dogsbrekky
March 29th, 2009
8:53 pm
richbrave – who owns BUICK ?
just found your old posts…… I will check it out tomorrow
thanks
Salt life
March 29th, 2009
8:55 pm
Drunken poster. I will apologize now for being offensive. Hard to type drunk on an iphone. DOB…….musicwise Whiskeytown and Allison Krause are perfect. Mason Jennings ain’t bad either. I’ll be at the Ted on the 11th and 12th in the Chophouse. With my new wife who just happens to be the greatest person to ever occupy space on this earth. No offense meant to anyone. I have finally started to post. Coach, Lew, Ns, Random. Mcfann…….I enjoy your perspectives. You too 18. Anders….. I hate Laguardia but I love Manhattan. I have to finish cooking dinner. Hope I don’t boil myself. The absolute best words I have ever read on this blog…….your and idiot. Classic
dogsbrekky
March 29th, 2009
8:56 pm
PW – Garret hits 2,4 or 5 me thinks
Tom O'Hawke
March 29th, 2009
8:57 pm
Random, that’s rather what???
bravesfan54
March 29th, 2009
8:58 pm
Be mindful, bloggers, that there are lies, damned lies, and statistics.
(Just one example: The 1959 Chisox went to the World Series with a team BA of around .221 – of course, they didn’ win, and, I know that the the LA Dodgers had great pitching, the mound was higher, blah, blah, blah…).
Doc Holiday
March 29th, 2009
9:04 pm
PWHjort,
I have to agree on lineups except………I wouldnt switch Jordan ever with Yunel……..you leave your speedy guy hitting 1st always.
On second thought……..yunel is such an aggressive runner, that it might not be a problem doing that switch……maybe its a very good call.
Random
March 29th, 2009
9:09 pm
Boring Sunday (6:44 pm): “Damn, that [Dale Murphy's] mole talks alot. I’d have had it removed by now!”
Yeah.
Plus, we’d prob’ly get a more balanced perspective from David Justice’s Mole.
TooBusy?
March 29th, 2009
9:12 pm
TIN BRAIN
Is that you baby cursing on the blog again? You sure are a crude rude punk, but that’s how I love ‘em. I wonder if anybody else on the board loves to get talked dirty to all the time like I do. What do you think sweetie. You must think they all like it since you do it so often to others and have just ignored me, your greatest fan, after teasing me with nasty talk and getting me all hot and bothered. It seems like you not only have a nasty temper, but you’re fickle too. But such is my curse I have always had such rotten taste in men. Sigh. C’mon darling, you know I’m never too busy for you.
Random
March 29th, 2009
9:13 pm
Tom O’Hawke –
Sorry — I was showin’ off.
I meant something like “Northern Hemisphere-ocentric” (’cause the seasons are reversed south of the equator), and snagged “borealo-” from the Northern Lights’ Aurora Borealis (vice Aurora Australis — Southern Lights).
Mea culpa — I won’t do it (much) again.
anyonerememberlimelight
March 29th, 2009
9:14 pm
DOB,
Thought you might like to know that Breaking Bad, has a very similar plot to a real life scene in Atlanta from 1987 to 1990. Seems that a certain Chem Professor from UNC was manufacturing the most potent pure Meth that anyone had seen. Pure white and no burn. It was flown in from Charlotte and made its way to the public via Dudleys off Old National Hwy and a few select trucking firms located in the outskirts of Hartsfield. The brewer never got caught, but the trucker did when he had an accident in PA and the FEDS discovered his product in the Diesel tank. It was quite a day when the old professer was coming to town..
McFann :Ô:
March 29th, 2009
9:22 pm
Um…Thanks, Salt Life.
Tom O'Hawke
March 29th, 2009
9:27 pm
Random, I thought it was a term for people that had a major fixation with pig’s feet.
Only kidding. That was a hell of a word. It comes from Boreas, the Greek god of the north wind. Myself, I would have used, anti-australocentric. See, I can show off, too. By the way, you had a typo. You left out the ‘r’.
richbrave
March 29th, 2009
9:28 pm
TOO BUSY?
Avast there TOO BUSY? Well blow me down mate-ie.
Random
March 29th, 2009
9:29 pm
KC (7:11 pm): “I don’t know who the hell Gennaro Filice is. I only know 2 things about him. 1) He decided the Power Rankings for SI.com, and 2) He’s an idiot.
“He ranks the Braves 24th out of 30 teams. That’s probably the most F**king idiotic thing an a national sports media person will say all year.”
Well, at least it’s not as bad as BP’s Davenport predicting that Kawakami would be “an above average NL pitcher” when we all know he’s gonna be “WELL above average”.
richbrave
March 29th, 2009
9:35 pm
SMYRNA JIM:
I did JIM, but life called, and I got sidetracked after and it slipped my mind. Thanx. Sorry for the no response. Always wanted to go to WILLIAM and MARY. Never had top drawer grades and in the end I didn’t even try. No money anyway. Ended up working two jobs forty-five hours a week and going to FREDERICK COLLEGE in PORTSMOUTH, Va. full-time. Finished in four years though. Wanted to take a COLONIAL HISTORY major at W&M. Did you know VCU just broke 40,000 enrollment this academic year? Biggest school in the state.
Random
March 29th, 2009
9:38 pm
PWHjort (7:49 pm): “There’s probably a lot of problems with my rankings.”
You mean like your sickly manlove for the
Angels?
(You and dogsbrekky.)
(JK)
PS: And what’s with you and
Kotchman???
Salt life
March 29th, 2009
9:39 pm
Mcfann. Sorry. Didn’t mean to be creepy. That’s what I got from the um. I love Baves basball and all who share the Sam passion.
KC
March 29th, 2009
9:42 pm
Salamander, yes… bullpen health is an issue. However, the Braves are sound at the closer position, both in terms of health and performance. And that’s obviously huge. As for the setup position, it appears that Moylan is just fine, and the Braves say they expect Soriano to be ready (though, I agree with most of you that he’s the shakiest element health-wise).
Personally, I think that if the Braves have just one of those two healthy at all times, the bullpen will be very good. IF the Braves are fortunate enough to have BOTH healthy most of the year, this could be the best ‘pens in baseball. IF…
Anyway, in short, I think they’re strong and sound at Closer, and have solid pieces for the lesser bullpen roles. If they can’t bank on Moylan OR Soriano, they might have to deal for a quality 8th inning guy later in the season. I think they’ll be ok, but they might have to do that, and if they do, they’ve got plenty of trading chips.
So I’m not really worries about it the ‘pen. The health of Soriano and Moylan will determine whether this is a good enough bullpen… or a great one. But either way, I think will be adequate at the least.
As for the offense… is there really any doubt left about Francoeur? And I don’t think they necessarily need anyone to “take the next step” (though that would obviously be a huge plus)… They just need to do what we know they’re capable of.
If KJ and Kotchman each give us .280+, 15-20 RBI, and 75+ RBI… and .280+ and 13 HR or better from Escobar… that’ll be just fine. And we know for a fact that they’re capable of at least those numbers.
If everyone in this lineup does what we know they’re capable of doing, this is going to be a very solid offense. Certainly adequate if the pitching performs up to exceptions.