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© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
1,327 comments Add your comment
Garret Anderson's personal trainer
April 20th, 2009
5:24 pm
Garrett won’t be able to play if it’s raining a little tonight.
The linament is likely to wash off and his legs will get all achy again.
richbrave
April 20th, 2009
5:24 pm
MS. ROGERS:
GIL and I will be in section 206 for the night-cap. Come on by. I’ll bet you and MR. RICHMOND will find copious seating available. I’ll spring for food and drinks.
Holly Woods
April 20th, 2009
5:25 pm
If Torey Spelling married Tory Hunter, then divorced him and married Joe Torre, you’d have
Torah Torah Torah.
Steve from OH
April 20th, 2009
5:26 pm
Coach, what do you think of our new replacement for Josh Anderson? Dude supposedly has plus speed and can cover CF well. Plus he gets on base and can slug better than 12-year old…
RC
April 20th, 2009
5:27 pm
Here’s an interview with Barton from about a month ago. Seems like an interesting guy…I hope he has a bright future with the Braves.
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=8670
Hurricane Corky
April 20th, 2009
5:27 pm
Brian Barton was on the same Miami teams as Ryan Braun. Fun trivia.
Carroll Rogers
April 20th, 2009
5:27 pm
One of the reasons Barton was attractive, according to Frank Wren, was he’s a right-handed hitting outfielder and much of their minor league outfield talent (Brandon Jones, for one) hits left-handed.
Lineup: Escobar is back in, Garret Anderson is still out with the quadriceps strain
1. Johnson 2B
2. Escobar SS
3. Jones 3B
4. Kotchman 1B
5. Francoeur RF
6. Diaz LF
7. Schafer CF
8. David Ross C
9. Derek Lowe P
Steve from OH
April 20th, 2009
5:27 pm
Carroll, do you know if Barton has any options remaining?
bravos2249
April 20th, 2009
5:28 pm
Steve from OH
I’m just assuming since he made his debut last year that he does have some left
Steve from OH
April 20th, 2009
5:28 pm
It looks like he should have two left…which is great. I really think he’ll be a useful player for us.
mbatl
April 20th, 2009
5:30 pm
and on Barton… I’m pretty sure that “rule 5″ just means that he has to be on the 40-man roster, not that he’s out of options (if he was out of options, he’d probably not be in the minors right now.)
RC
April 20th, 2009
5:30 pm
Steve,
Barton should have all of his options remaining, since he was a Rule 5 draft pick last year. Being a Rule 5 pick means he wasn’t placed on his former team’s 40-man roster, and thereby had never been “optioned” prior to this season (as a Rule 5 pick he spent all of last season in the majors). So including this year, he should have 3 options left.
RC
April 20th, 2009
5:31 pm
When I say 3 options left, I mean 3 option years. I’m pretty sure you can be sent back and forth in the same season and only use one option.
Blaine Boyer: working class hero
April 20th, 2009
5:33 pm
Blaine Boyer has several options left:
baggage boy, school crossing guard, sandwich technician
Shamus Thacker
April 20th, 2009
5:34 pm
Boyer being in demand ANYWHERE, says tons about the sorry, diluted, state, of ML pitching. It also says dyna-whoppin mega-volumes bout the guy we got in return. What a grave-yard-dead slug-of-a-stiff he must be. Yes, I’ve got hyphenitis, I’m sorry.
buzzmeat
April 20th, 2009
5:34 pm
Kotchman is cleanup????
vabravesfan
April 20th, 2009
5:34 pm
RC you are right about being able to go up and down as many times in a year and only use up one option.
By the way Mr. Medlin is on the hill tonight for Gwinnett
richbrave
April 20th, 2009
5:35 pm
STATS for KRIS MEDLIN:
RECORD: 1-0; 0.00 ERA; 8.2 IP 1 H; 0 R; 1 BB; 10 SO; 0.23 WHIP.
sticking up for Barton
April 20th, 2009
5:36 pm
re: Barton: “What a grave-yard-dead slug-of-a-stiff he must be.”
Not necessarily. St. Louis has more outfielders than Starbucks has lattes.
cvbraves
April 20th, 2009
5:37 pm
Barton was already in Triple A this year.
mbatl
April 20th, 2009
5:37 pm
Medlen. There is no I in team, and there is none in Medlen.
PWHjort
April 20th, 2009
5:38 pm
Steve from Ohio, to misquote the Simpsons:
“It’s an online class, oh wait, they canceled that. There’s a fee, but you can get around that. Congratulations, you’re a Sabermetrician.”
Mr. Whipple
April 20th, 2009
5:38 pm
“Kotchman is cleanup????”
For a moment, I thought you said: “Catsup! Cleanup in aisle 4.”
Chop Chop
April 20th, 2009
5:39 pm
I just saw that “prejudiced” comment. Since I posted the Barton pic, I better let ‘er rip…
My posting of Barton’s picture had nothing to do with prejudice. I just happened to go over to check out his stats and, voila, there was a dude who looked high. I already knew who Brian Barton was. I had heard about his aerospace engineering exploits before. He is a very intelligent and open-minded dude. He likes to travel, likes to explore, digs music, etc. In fact, if he’s ever up with the big club for any length of time, I think he’d be a hell of a blog guest (if DOB could somehow manage it). The picture I posted is goofy as hell. You don’t have to be racially prejudiced to think that the man looks high. You just have to be prejudiced to think it funny that dudes who look high because they’re wearing a big, goofy smile actually are high. I’m guilty as charged there.
Anyway, here are some other ridiculous pictures…
Take a look at Gregg Zaun. He has Bitter Beer Face.
How about Youk? Take the hat off (or leave it on…why not?) and he looks like he’s just been arrested for DUI.
This is one I’ve posted before, but it still makes me sick: C.J. Wilson
How could someone not want to punch that dude in the face?
nolie
April 20th, 2009
5:39 pm
Kudos to the poster who mentioned the Cards as a possible spot for Boyer. I’m sorry I forget who it was, but you know who you are.
Jason
April 20th, 2009
5:40 pm
To answer your question of whether it was a mental thing or not with Chipper not in the lineup, I think you have to look at the performances of the players during those games. How many pitches did our guys take each at bat compared to the opposition. Our starters were pushing 60 pitches it seemed in 2 innings.
I don’t see how one guy can make up for what appeared to be a lack of coaching on our hitters part.
And let’s be honest, Terry had a few good seasons with the Braves, but I think it’s pretty evident that doesn’t qualify you to actually coach hitters who need coaching(ex. Francour, Andruw)
McFann =Ô=
April 20th, 2009
5:41 pm
Brian McCann has a scheduled visit to the eye doctor at 8 a.m. TOMORROW. so no updates there.
ARG!!! Another day then??
Thanks, Ms. Rogers.
Blaine Boyer: working class hero
April 20th, 2009
5:42 pm
And I’ll mention again that a supermarket job is another possible spot for Boyer.
I’ll accept my kudos in a year or two.
Ed Glennon
April 20th, 2009
5:43 pm
Why would anyone pitch to Chipper with Kotchman hitting behind him?
PWHjort
April 20th, 2009
5:43 pm
Chop Chop, I don’t use UZR because a) I don’t know where to find it b) I don’t know how it works (I think you should probably understand something if you’re going to use it in a debate, even in senseless blog debates) and c) when I heard how John Dewan’s +/- system works I thought “that makes a whole heck of a lot of sense”. Plus Dewan’s one of the smartest people in baseball right now and I trust he knows what he’s doing as well as anyone. Not to say UZR is useless, or even inferior, I just prefer +/-. No real excuse. You’re the only person whose brought up the fact that I exclusively used +/-, and it was working very well for arguing on the blog. You’ve outed me. Keep it quite.
richbrave
April 20th, 2009
5:43 pm
Well, we got JEFF TREADWAY off RULE 5 and he was the best #2 hitter I’ve seen on the BRAVES. He disappeared though. Don’t know why.
Shamus Thacker
April 20th, 2009
5:44 pm
Even if St Louis HAS lotza outfielders, why trade for Boyer? If the guy can breathe unassisted, he’s worth more than Blaine Boyer…
Tomas
April 20th, 2009
5:44 pm
I wonder if Barton can play CF, if he does then if Schafer keeps struggling, specially against lefties then they could platoon. Barton had a good OBP last year, and has very good speed.
Chop Chop
April 20th, 2009
5:44 pm
There’s no “I” in Medlen, but there is a “me.”
(Other words are there, too, including a good ol’ newspaper term: “lede”)
richbrave
April 20th, 2009
5:46 pm
Sorry coach I’ll try really I will.
Signed,
BLAINER BOYER
StingerSplash
April 20th, 2009
5:46 pm
Isn’t Wisconsin-Stevens Point where former NBA star Terry Porter went to college? Damn good guard.
And what of this travesty from the Pulitzer committee? DOB and CR shut out again. Damn them!
Reg Mackworthy
April 20th, 2009
5:46 pm
Barton should be a solid bench option whenever we need him. He’s nothing special, but it’s certainly better than getting nothing for Boyer.
Il Cattivo
April 20th, 2009
5:48 pm
brian
welcome back carroll. It was more fun to think of DOB complaining of a bad hair day though
brian – DOB doesnt have bad hair days. He’s like The Fonz – leather jacket and all.
zmerk13
April 20th, 2009
5:51 pm
So I live in St. Louis and I have already given each and every one of my friends and family crap for this move. I went on and on for the last two years about how much I didn’t like Boyer and they constantly made fun of me. On the other hand most of the people here in St. Louis liked Barton. What a move for Frank Wren to get ANYTHING with nothing.
By the way, where are all of the people that want Wren to be fired??
Goldenglove002
April 20th, 2009
5:52 pm
were there actually enough teams interested in Boyer where we were able to get that good of a prospect? Barton doesn’t look like any pushover to me, just one of many more OF’s to add to the list of guys who could get a call up at any point this season. Now all Wren needs to do is trade some of these guys for a top guy and we’ll be set.
Shamus Thacker
April 20th, 2009
5:52 pm
Boyer had a great name for fans too. Best thing I could come up with for a Boyer rooting section was “Boyer’s Foyers,” where e’body dressed-up like small entrance-ways and yelled “slam the door, slam the door!!”
Course the door was blown off the hinges this year…
TnBrian
April 20th, 2009
5:53 pm
McFann, you need to call Mac and see what the doc told him. I’m a little worried about our all-star catcher. Give him a ring and fill us in, ok?
MFin04
April 20th, 2009
5:54 pm
You know a team is hurting when Casey Kotchman is your cleanup hitter. Bobby really loves KJ in the leadoff spot…wont move him.
N Nine
April 20th, 2009
5:54 pm
Lineup: Escobar is back in, Garret Anderson is still out with the quadriceps strain
good. I don’t think a Diaz/hurt Loaf will get the job done all season. We need to fix this problem, but i’m afraid we won’t..
richbrave
April 20th, 2009
5:54 pm
Player W L ERA G GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR HB BB SO WHIP HLD GF
Tommy Hanson 0 2 2.45 3 3 0 0 0 14.2 12 5 4 0 1 5 23 1.16 0 0
Charl Morton 1 0 3.27 2 2 0 0 0 11.0 09 4 4 0 1 2 17 1.00 0 0
Interesting comparative stats.
cleve99
April 20th, 2009
5:59 pm
Good For Boyer,
Now he gets to go to a real baseball town. I hope he gets the last laugh. All you haters show your baseball ignorance every time you spit your hate.
Calvin
April 20th, 2009
5:59 pm
Steve from OH
I would imagine since he made his major league debut last year that he has all his options available.
Chop Chop
April 20th, 2009
5:59 pm
Just wondering, PWH. I’m not going to pretend that I understand the formulas that go into determining all of these different ratings. I like baseball, but not enough to obsess over that amount of detail. I just figure that, as in most things in life, it’s a good idea to try to take the different views and see if there’s any way to reconcile them.
I’ve read that the main problem that defensive metrics have is in gathering the data on the amount of hang time on batted balls. That’s going to be a really tough nut to crack.
Shamus Thacker
April 20th, 2009
6:00 pm
Though it would take a stats savant to decipher them…
Shamus Thacker
April 20th, 2009
6:01 pm
I don’t hate, I joke. Big difference…
bigchiefrg
April 20th, 2009
6:03 pm
i just posted and it didnt look like it worked…did i hit a wrong button? (more testing than an actual question)
PWHjort
April 20th, 2009
6:03 pm
Here’s some interesting bits about Barton. Before his 2006 knee injury he hit 300+ at every level he played except for hitting .274 in 223 ABs in the Carolina League (Class A Advanced). We have a team in the Carolina League (Myrtle Beach) and the league is known as a pitcher’s haven. Additionally, before the 2006 knee injury, he posted an OBP of 400+ every season (including the .274 BA season) and also acomplished the feat in 2007 at AA (.333 OBP in 25 games at AAA in 2007). He slugged 500+ every step of the way before his 2006 knee injury except for the dreaded stint in the aforementioned Carolian League in which he slugged .435 despite hitting only .274 (ISOP of .140, a healthy ratio). He hasn’t been the same since that injury, but if he ever regains his pre-injury form, we could have something very special coming forward.
mixxo
April 20th, 2009
6:04 pm
Lead story on ESPN…..the Red Sawx……’magine nat!
Not that I was expecting “Breaking Barton News” or anything.
Heath (Cleveland)
April 20th, 2009
6:05 pm
I may have missed it….sorry if I did. Who is taking Boyer’s place on the roster?
bigchiefrg
April 20th, 2009
6:06 pm
ok, 2nd try….You have to ck out this kid Alex Raz i think it is if you havent already. Amazing. Wish I could get my 10 yr old nephew to do something like this. Guitarist extraordinaire. I know there are a bunch of guitar aficionados out there. http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=steveraz&view=videos
PWHjort
April 20th, 2009
6:06 pm
Ya, Chop Chop. I agree. It’s not because I don’t want to learn more about it, it’s just that I’m comfortable with +/- (explaining it, context, usage, etc.) and that’s all I really need to know to get by. It’s a rapidly advancing field.
Chop Chop
April 20th, 2009
6:07 pm
Yep, Shamus.
Math isn’t really my thing, but I understand the reasoning behind what guys are trying to do. It’s just nearly impossible to allow for every factor. A game that is affected by weather and different heights above sea level and different times of day and different park dimensions and enigmatic people will never be figured out by statistical analysis. It’s just possible to figure out enough of the game to help a team gain that winning edge. That’s interesting to me, so I can dig the statistical analysis. Besides, it gives us something to argue about.
Mekons
April 20th, 2009
6:07 pm
Barton is 28 and not much of a hitter. But he could be a good bench part. In any case, we were going to lose Boyer for nothing, so he’s a plus.
I don’t know what happened to Boyer, but he was just awful. He has a great arm, good motion on his pitches. He just seems to have forgotten how to throw strikes and had to throw a bunch of cripples on the numerous 3-1 counts he got into.
N8
April 20th, 2009
6:08 pm
“I know everybody thinks Boyer is garbage but Barton is hitting .107 right now in AAA” vabravesfan
Hmmm. Seems like a pretty “even” trade to me. We very well might have STILL got the better end of that trade.
Mitchell
April 20th, 2009
6:09 pm
Please don’t let another Derek Lowe start get rained out.
I think the Braves can win without Chipper. They seem to have pretty bad luck when he’s out though. Obviously the third game in Philly should have been a win. But I think they can win just as easily, well maybe as often I should say, with or without him, it just hasn’t been happening recently… nor has it been happening much in the last two years but that’s totally irrelevant.
McFann =Ô=
April 20th, 2009
6:10 pm
TnBrian–
Ha! I’d sure like to! I’m about ready to lose my mind!
But, Ms. Rogers informed us that his appointment is tomorrow at 8 am, so we’ve got another day to wait.
Welp, we’re just about done here, so we’re gonna head out to dinner. Talk to y’all soon(er than you cann say what’s wrong with BMac’s eye!)
N8
April 20th, 2009
6:12 pm
“Bobby thinks they’ll be able to get the game in, based on what he’s being told, so we shall see.”
Yeah, because just like the leadoff hitter, rain only comes up once in a game.
NBG2
April 20th, 2009
6:12 pm
Just In: The Braves are nearing a deal for Prince Fielder. Going in the trade are Kotchman, SP/Rohrbough, 1B/Freeman! Sources say Mil. will flip one of Kotchman or Freeman in a seperate deal. There’s our power hitter, folks!!
Chop Chop
April 20th, 2009
6:14 pm
Damn right, Mitchell. I feel ya.
ground_fog
April 20th, 2009
6:16 pm
I thought Boyer was waived. How did we trade him?
zmerk13
April 20th, 2009
6:16 pm
sure NBG, sure…
brian
April 20th, 2009
6:16 pm
Cattivo – I thought you were going to say no bad hair days due to lack of hair. The Fonz sounds much better. Hey
N Nine
April 20th, 2009
6:17 pm
NBG2, You don’t need to post your fantasy baseball trades here!
MVH
April 20th, 2009
6:17 pm
NBG2: I’m certain you’re messing around, but if you’re not, where’d you get that from?
NBG2
April 20th, 2009
6:19 pm
Sorry folks! I have a bad habit of sleep typing. I’m on medicine for it though.
Latenight Bailbond Guy
April 20th, 2009
6:19 pm
Boyer Designated for assignment not waived.
Coach (Skip and Pete will be missed)
April 20th, 2009
6:20 pm
Well, Frank Wren reads the blog, that’s for darn sure.
I blogged about picking up Brian Barton several weeks ago. Apparently the front office agrees that the young outfielder can help.
Barton won’t hurt. He adds depth, plays all three outfield spots, leads off, bats right handed and is still considered a legit five tool prospect. And more thing, he sports a .400 OBP during his minor league career.
NOW, where is my damn commission check ????? LOL
No, for real, it’s a nice trade. Good job.
AR Brave
April 20th, 2009
6:21 pm
There is no way the Brewers flip that deal to us. What’s the source?
vabravesfan
April 20th, 2009
6:22 pm
He was just kidding
N Nine
April 20th, 2009
6:23 pm
blogged about picking up Brian Barton several weeks ago. Apparently the front office agrees that the young outfielder can help.Coach
Nope, don’t believe that.
Lew
April 20th, 2009
6:23 pm
RichBrave-Are you certain Treadway was a Rule 5 acquisition? Dude played in over 100 games for the Reds the year before and Baseball Reference says he was purchased by the Braves.
AS for what happened to him-Mark Lemke.
AR Brave
April 20th, 2009
6:24 pm
Cmon now sleep writer. Over here in Arkansas we/I are starving for Braves info so that wasn’t cool. I would love to get any kind of bat for Krotchman. Id even take Nick Swisher over Krotchman.
stoked
April 20th, 2009
6:24 pm
Boyer for Barton. Good trade. Barton is young. Say he gets hot, could be the power we need.
PWHjort
April 20th, 2009
6:25 pm
I love the trade. Barton’s “Francoeur/Diaz insurance”. If he pans out, he can play every day next year or fetch some value in a trade while we wait on Heyward.
jbutler
April 20th, 2009
6:25 pm
cleve99 – I’m w/you on this one…at least in the sense that Boyer is going to a decent team; I hope the 2nd chance is what he needs. He’s got the talent- not sure if he has the mental accumin.
But…can we at least lay off the Boyer bashing?? There’s a wide variety of dead beat players to choose from (not necessarily on the Braves roster) that deserve to get whacked around. A decent person but a struggling pitcher like Boyer isn’t one of them. Think he like being booed at the Ted? Drop it.
18 Wheels of Love
April 20th, 2009
6:25 pm
So did Boyer pass thru waivers and we traded him or did we trade him before he had an attempt to get thru?
Coach (Skip and Pete will be missed)
April 20th, 2009
6:26 pm
The skinny on Brian Barton:
http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/players/Brian_Barton/
vabravesfan
April 20th, 2009
6:26 pm
N8:
Hmmm. Seems like a pretty “even” trade to me. We very well might have STILL got the better end of that trade.
I’m not saying we didn’t get good value for nothing but just got to keep things in perspective and know that Barton will probably not be on 25 man roster unless there is any injury or two.
Lew
April 20th, 2009
6:26 pm
ground fog-A player is put up for waivers, but until they clear waivers (I believe a week later), a deal with another team can be worked out. That’s what happened in Boyer’s case.
ground_fog
April 20th, 2009
6:27 pm
Thanks Lew
Coach (Skip and Pete will be missed)
April 20th, 2009
6:28 pm
N nine, I don’t care if you believe the earth is flat. I did and yes, Frank Wren agrees with me. Ask the blog about Greg Norton. I called that one too.
vabravesfan
April 20th, 2009
6:29 pm
Power? he has hit 39 career HRs in minors in 1300 ABs and had 13 XBH in 153 games last year with St. Louis. I am not hating on the guy but he isn’t a power threat
mbatl
April 20th, 2009
6:29 pm
“I love the trade. Barton’s “Francoeur/Diaz insurance”. If he pans out, he can play every day next year or fetch some value in a trade while we wait on Heyward.” – PWHjort
Yeah, I think it’s a nice acquisition. If nothing else, he might replace Diaz next year as a backup corner OF… Diaz will be in his 3rd arb year and probably (if he stays healthy this year) due for a pretty big raise. (and I’m not running Diaz out of town… just saying it might be an option).
N8
April 20th, 2009
6:30 pm
vabravesfan, just being sarcastic, and taking one last parting shot at the goo-boy (can’t believe I just typed that).
But I agree with you. Highly unlikely Barton has much impact on the Braves this year.
vabravesfan
April 20th, 2009
6:32 pm
O its cool N8 I understand taking shots at Boyer, he deserves it
tvsportscaster
April 20th, 2009
6:32 pm
A couple of answers to questions, Heath asked who’s roster spot was filled after Boyer was DFA’d, the answer, JoJo Reyes. And for others, when a player is DFA’d, a team has 10 days to either trade him, waive him, or send him to the minors if clears waivers. In this case, the Braves got a warm body for him and traded him.
Wayne in Utah
April 20th, 2009
6:33 pm
I guess Joe Mather was not available. He has more power than Barton, and has played some corner infield too.
Tomahawkin
April 20th, 2009
6:34 pm
For the Braves offense to continue from where they left off, they need to make Zimmerman work and not chase the first pitch every at bat…If they do this we will get into the Nats bullpen and be able to exploit them as much as the Marlins did
The Nats Blow-pen blew 2 of those games to the Marlins, and hopefully they will continue to struggle if we get them into the game in the 6th inning…
Wayne in Utah
April 20th, 2009
6:34 pm
N Nine
Hey, you were right about Boyer. I still would have given him at least one more shot, but that’s me. You were right, I was definitely wrong.
bravos2249
April 20th, 2009
6:35 pm
Saul Rivera was DFA by the NATS…no problem here…Chipper can’t hit the side of a barn off him
Tomahawkin
April 20th, 2009
6:35 pm
And BTW, I wouldn’t be suprised if Manny Acta Gets the Ax before June 1st…
Jim
April 20th, 2009
6:36 pm
Chipper’s hurt again. Ho hum. Maybe he needs to hire a trainer.
PWHjort
April 20th, 2009
6:38 pm
The Nats pen is on edge right now. Don’t know if that’s a disadvantage or advantage.
Carroll Rogers
April 20th, 2009
6:39 pm
Hm, they’re rolling the tarp back out there. Not a good sign…..
vabravesfan
April 20th, 2009
6:39 pm
Don’t think anybody posted this but here is the nats lineup:
1. Hernandez, A 2B
2. Johnson 1B
3. Zimmerman 3B
4. Dunn RF
5. Dukes CF
6. Willingham LF
7. Flores C
8. Gonzalez, A SS
9. Zimmerman P
Don’t know if yall got this but Lastings got sent down to minors so now Dukes is the everyday CF