Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
1,495 comments Add your comment
Knowitall
April 27th, 2009
3:54 pm
DAP,
I thought I was the only one who caught that about Kotchman’s mom. I wasn’t going to say anything though.
Lew
April 27th, 2009
3:56 pm
Bobby’s Cox-Different kind of steroids. These are used more like they use cortisone injections in baseball-just for swelling-there’s no performance enhancing involved.
ncscoots
April 27th, 2009
3:57 pm
ease, Capt Caveman was a catcher, as was nolie, I believe. I was a pitcher. nolie has said that any worth I had as a pitcher was only because I probably had a good catcher, LOL, and some days, I tend to concur.
Bobby's Cox
April 27th, 2009
3:59 pm
Yes Lew, that was a joke, as indicated by the wink…How about diagnosing them all with asthma then? Heard those inhalers have steroids too
Kim
April 27th, 2009
4:00 pm
Run Heap Run – I totally got what you meant on yesterday’s blog about the girl from Twilight pitching like Arroyo! In fact, I had just made the same statement myself a few minutes before I read your post yesterday. When I told my husband, he just rolled his eyes!
Lew
April 27th, 2009
4:00 pm
njbarves-It’s a bit early to say that Kawakami was a bad signing. Disappointing to this point? Absolutely. As for his stuff-are you kidding? Average? I don’t think so. His control has been bad, but the Dude has stuff many ML pitchers would love to have. Let’s see if adjustment to a larger baseball helps his control before we decide to ship him back to the other side of the planet.
Lew
April 27th, 2009
4:02 pm
Bobby’s Cox-No, ADD diagnoses are what’s needed. That Ritilin might just provide the spark-legally.
TM
April 27th, 2009
4:02 pm
Lew – Kotchman’s numbers are 12th amoung 24 first baseman in mlb right now. .281 avg with 4 rbi & 6 runs scored is not very good. his hits are weak singles with little production in rbi & runs. Also, if you look at some of the names in the bottom of the league, their numbers will improve (like Berkman, Lee, Texeria, Feilder…), while Casey’s will at best continue to be the same.
I said I didn’t have a problem with the staff except Hanson not being here. Don’t think i ever said he would make a difference vs. KK or anyone else.
I contend they should be getting Hanson MLB experience now so he will be ready to dominate in a year or two. All pitchers struggle out of the gate in the majors, i want them to get Hanson the experience now vs. next year.
This team 2-3 years from contending again. The focus should be that and getting your youngsters ready to compete in 2-3 years. I’m sure most Braves fans would except that while losing vs. the alternative which is what has been the last 3 years and most likely this year.
TnBrian
April 27th, 2009
4:03 pm
njBraves, Reyes had a real good spring and did ok in AAA, plus he’s a lefty. I guess the Braves see that and are still hoping he can at least be an average #5 starter. And I can see the Cards tee off of him in game 2 as well unless he mixes that fastball and curve like he showed in a few starts last year.
Kawakami sucks right now and I don’t know why he isn’t throwing that cutter like we saw in the youtube video. I think him hanging the curve is because the size of the ball. Seems like that would be the pitch to give him trouble because of that. The rest of his pitches…who knows why he can’t hit his spots.
varoadrunner
April 27th, 2009
4:04 pm
Bravesfan885
I am an avid Braves fan and have been through thick and thin – BUT – I do want TP either gone or in a different position – Bench Coach maybe – people are always suggesting that he will be Bobby’s successor, well give him the bench coach job. HE IS NOT a hitting coach. As mentioned, funny how Frenchy and Andruw were “fixed” by other than TP. The whole team could use a different approach to hitting. I like TP, I would like to keep TP with the Braves – JUST NOT AS THEIR HITTING COACH.
Lew
April 27th, 2009
4:04 pm
B’s C-That little emoticon wink is just the kind of thing I miss because of the swelling they give me the steroids for.
Chop Chop
April 27th, 2009
4:04 pm
I see that Terence Moore’s last column has been posted. Say what you want about Mr. Moore, but he always knew how to get people riled up. His columns often provided me with the greatest gift of all: laughter. He’ll be missed.
Now, regarding the column…
A lot of fans have wondered the same thing about Atlanta pro teams. Unfortunately, there’s not a damn thing any of us can do about it. As always, we’ll just be fans and hope we get to see greatness once in a great while. We’ll also criticize and idolize and crucify and deify all the while. Such is the life of a fan.
Run Heap Run
April 27th, 2009
4:04 pm
I wish “News” would pop in again.
Daniel
April 27th, 2009
4:05 pm
Here is my current positive spin on the Braves. Started off the season with a bad bullpen (starting to get better), Anderson, Chipper, McCann, Glavine, Escobar have been injured. Very poor hitting, etc. And after all that we are 500 and right in the mix.
Run Heap Run
April 27th, 2009
4:05 pm
Kim! Thank you!
MFin04
April 27th, 2009
4:06 pm
I love when Youtube…is being used for scouting lol. That and all facts are from Wikipedia.org (rolls eyes)
McFann =Ô=
April 27th, 2009
4:06 pm
Run Heap Run–
Yeah, that’d be good.
He said if it was bad news, he wouldn’t post…
…
…Wish I had finger nails to bite!
njbraves
April 27th, 2009
4:07 pm
Lew…come on man..really? You think other major league pitchers look at Kawakami and say “wow..wish I threw like that.” Give me a break. I’m not impressed…would have taken my chances with Smoltz any day over this guy.
DAP
April 27th, 2009
4:07 pm
TM….281 avg with 4 rbi & 6 runs scored is not very good….their numbers will improve (like Berkman, Lee, Texeria, Feilder…), while Casey’s will at best continue to be the same.
oh yeah, youre right. im sure kotchman has maxed out his run production at 4 RBIs.
Steve from OH
April 27th, 2009
4:07 pm
I think other major league pitchers might wish for a curveball like his…
TnBrian
April 27th, 2009
4:08 pm
I should’ve said Reyes can pitch well against the Cards, or any team, if he works the fastball in and out, and if he keeps the curveball down. Keep ‘em off balance. Like I said earlier, I really hate this series. Pujols makes me nervous… and watch out for Ludwick too.
MFin04
April 27th, 2009
4:08 pm
Let’s be a little more realistic…with the positive spin.
- Bullpen will be average at best
- Chipper is going to be hurt a lot…and will cause us to lose more games being out
- Garret Anderson is most likely done and isnt the power hitter we need in left field anyways
- Glavine is retiring next week
- McCann is missing a lot of games…but I hope he will return to be a top five player in NL…but that remains to be seen.
So none of those problems are really fixing themselves…might not ever get fixed at all.
Run Heap Run
April 27th, 2009
4:09 pm
I see that Terence Moore’s last column has been posted. Say what you want about Mr. Moore, but he always knew how to get people riled up. His columns often provided me with the greatest gift of all: laughter. He’ll be missed.
Yeah I hate to see anyone lose their job, he wasn’t my favorite by any means but man the comments left for him are brutal. I mean, how can you hate someone so much? It’s not that serious if someone disagrees with you, people..
TennesseePaul
April 27th, 2009
4:10 pm
Jo-Jo Reyes has a 7.94 ERA after one start and you have to figure that’ll lower
No. You don’t have to figure that will lower. I could see it staying right about there until Glavine hangs it up and they think Hanson is ready.
I hope KK gets it together. He planted those pitches right down the middle to Bruce. Almost anyone in the league would have nailed them out of the park. I’m not sure if it will be warm weather helping him any more than finally being comfortable in the MLB and communicating with his teammates.
MFin04
April 27th, 2009
4:10 pm
Kotchman and Frenchy look like the same .300 hitter. Very little power and lots of weak singles. I like Frenchy a lot more than Kotchman…whoever made the statement that he has been weak for us…is correct. I dont see his run production going up either. Time to start looking for a LF and 1B.
Renegator
April 27th, 2009
4:10 pm
Carroll:
I thought DOB told us last week that Joe Borchard was released. Am I wrong?
McFann =Ô=
April 27th, 2009
4:10 pm
MFin04 but that remains to be seen.
”
”
Not the best choice of words, man…
Fleming
April 27th, 2009
4:11 pm
TM – I don’t want to wait 2-3 more years for this team to be competitive. I don’t have any guarantees that I’m gonna be around in 2-3 years and sorry, neither do you. If you aren’t trying to be competitive this tear, then why not just DFA Chipper and Javy and Lowe now and save a bundle. We don’t need them. While we are at it we might as well DFA Frenchy and Kotchman now two because they will be gone by them. We can just bring up the AAA team and play them since they’re doing so well.
TnBrian
April 27th, 2009
4:11 pm
MFin04, I was using the YouTube video as an example because there’s no other way to analyze KK’s past. It’s also clear as the fu*** day that his comand is nowhere near as good as we saw on the video.
Lew
April 27th, 2009
4:12 pm
TM- If a heavy hitting first baseman is so integral, then why didn’t we win with Teixeira here for as long as he was? How come the Brewers with Fielder couldn’t make it through the first round of the playoffs. How come the Astros suck even with Berkman? I think you’re attaching way too much importance to one position. Could it be because pitching and defense makes a bigger difference and we had none while Tex was here, the Brewers have little now and the Astros have not much after Oswalt?
If Hanson wouldn’t have made a difference to this point, then why should he have been called up? That makes no sense whatsoever. Let the Kid get his work in on a regular basis and let him work the kinks out at Gwinnett. Bringing him up because it would make fans happy is not a good enough reason.
Run Heap Run
April 27th, 2009
4:14 pm
He said if it was bad news, he wouldn’t post…
Wait..who said that? News? I think News was just …. someone who gets press wires or a lucky guesser. Definitely do not believe it was anyone who really knows Mac very well because of the harsh words. I mean say if Mac was your brother or your friend and you knew he had fans on a site wanting to know how he was doing would you go over and say “Hey idiots, Heap is fine.” or something like that?
MFin04
April 27th, 2009
4:16 pm
TnBrian – I wasn’t knocking you. It just sucks that all the videos have to come from YouTube…and we dont have a better source.
Tomahawkin
April 27th, 2009
4:16 pm
Why is everyone hating on KamaKaze after one bad outing, He was Due…Apparently Many who are on here Hating on Kamakaze Haven’t been watching the games he’s pitched in…That 1-3 record is decieving…2 of those starts he should’ve won if it wasn’t for our Anemic offense…And I believe one of his starts the Blow-pen F-d up his fate as well…
If Fingers need to be pointed, They need to be pointed at our Feast or Famine Offense…
MFin04
April 27th, 2009
4:17 pm
If the Braves had Teixiera or anyone like that they would win….the pitching here is WAAAAYYY better than when Tex was around.
McFann =Ô=
April 27th, 2009
4:18 pm
Run Heap Run–
Yeah, I don’t know who that was…
and you knew he had fans on a site wanting to know how he was doing would you go over and say “Hey idiots, Heap is fine.” or something like that?
No.
Willy Wally
April 27th, 2009
4:20 pm
The baseball season hasn’t truly started until 10Paul slaughters JoJo
Tomahawkin
April 27th, 2009
4:20 pm
Jo-Jo Pitched Good in his outing as well…If the Damn Offense would’ve spotted him some runs early, He wouldn’t be a topic of bashing…Plus in that Game Jo-Jo Pitched against Pittsburgh, The Blow-pen didn’t help him out either…
You can base a man’s season based on only one start as is with the case of Jo-Jo…
Original Jon
April 27th, 2009
4:20 pm
Tomakawkin. Kamakaze??? Really?? Thats kind of offensive dont you think?
ncscoots
April 27th, 2009
4:21 pm
The baseball season hasn’t truly started until 10Paul slaughters JoJo
True, but, it’s good to see him awaken from his slumber.
TennPaul, not JoJo.
Carroll Rogers
April 27th, 2009
4:22 pm
No word yet on BMac, sorry McFann. We’re told he won’t be here until right before game time. The Braves are in their regular season-opening scouting meeting at the moment but hopefully after that Bobby or Frank can give some insight.
Glavine is here and ready to chat with the media after batting practice. So you gotta wait on that one too. Sorry kiddos.
Mitchell
April 27th, 2009
4:22 pm
Carroll, you’re not doggin’ on my boy KK too?
Nowhere in DOB’s story on yesterday’s game did he mention that the six run inning by the Reds was complete bulls***. You can say bull*** in the newspaper can’t you?
KK got completely ripped off. Okay, he hit a batter, that’s not good but then he gets a perfect double play ball from a good hitting Owings (or however you spell it) that hits off the guy’s foot (I wonder if he did that intentionally cause it worked out rather well in their favor). Let’s say it doesn’t hit the guy’s foot and in fact we only get one out and runners are on 1st and 3rd. Then Taveras hits a weak little single which to my naked eye he was out on at first and yet called safe. Much to my lack of surprise he was clearly out on the replay. So that’s a second out we don’t get. The next guy lines out to Jeff and if the runner had gone *he* would have been out on the throw. And then finally with two strikes he gives up the double and the homerun. Fine, that’s on him.
But that was the complete inverse of giving a team extra outs. We had one out after another taken from us. That was a bunch of bs. Had any of those calls gone our way they would have scored one run at the most.
Plus, he didn’t give up a hit until the third inning. The problem with this team lies almost entirely on the offense. Our fundaments leave a lot to be desired as well.
I think Kawakami will be a big piece for us as the old season progresses and hopefully things will start to go his way.
How bout that analysis!
Loaf Garret on a blackberry from the DL
April 27th, 2009
4:22 pm
The Braves do have somebody like Teixiera. Me. Don’t worry kids, I’ll be back soon.
Carroll Rogers
April 27th, 2009
4:23 pm
Ah, but I do have a lineup, and no Cody Ross to be found (aha), but I hear he is quite the Johnny-on-the-spot if you need a late-inning pitcher.
1. Kelly Johnson 2B
2. Yunel Escobar SS
3. Chipper Jones 3B
4. Kotchman 1B
5. Francoeur RF
6. Brandon Jones LF
7. David Ross C
8. Schafer CF
9. Jurrjens
MFin04
April 27th, 2009
4:23 pm
Loaf Garret when are you going to upgrade to an iPhone?
ncscoots
April 27th, 2009
4:24 pm
It’s not that serious if someone disagrees with you, people..
RHR, meet Coach. Enjoy.
MFin04
April 27th, 2009
4:25 pm
Carroll you are joking right? Can you give Bobby the link to this blog so he can pick out a better $#@$#@ lineup?
Amanda
April 27th, 2009
4:25 pm
So is it bad news that Glavine isn’t going to talk to the media until after batting practice? Or should we not read anything into that?
Random
April 27th, 2009
4:29 pm
getnathan (10:42 am), (11:40 am), (11:49 am): “Kawakami is getting done in by one bad inning in his starts, so that says to me that the teams catch up to his pitching pattern and hit him. . . . It looks like he’ll pitch 4 scoreless innings and give up 1 or 2 hits, and then in the 5th he’ll give up 3 or 4 runs. . . . It seems like he’ll pitch scoreless ball for four or five innings, but then give up 3 or 4 runs in an inning, thus making his whole start when in actuality he didn’t pitch that badly. . . . “
Doc Holiday (11:50 am): “He has good stuff but second time around he is getting hammered.”
No, not really.
Actually, not at all.
In his first start, against Washington (4/11), Kawakami went 6.0 IP and gave up earned runs in the 1st (1 ER) and 3rd (2 ERs) innings (3 total ERs).
He faced 25 batters. First time thru the line-up, he gave up 2 Hs, 2 BBs and got 3 Ks; 1 ER. 35 total pitches, or 3.88 pitches per batter.
Second time thru, he gave up 2 Hs, 2 BBs and got 3 Ks; 2 ERs. 31 total pitches, or 3.44 pitches per batter.
He pitched to the first 7 batters in the Nats line-up a third time — 0 Hs, 0 BBs and 2 Ks; 0 ERs. 23 total pitches, or 3.29 pitches per batter.
. . .
In his second start, against Florida (4/16), Kawakami went 6.0 IP and gave up earned runs in the 2nd (2 ERs) and 6th (2 ERs) innings (4 total ERs).
He faced 27 batters. First time thru the line-up, he gave up 2 Hs, 1 BB and got 1 K; 2 ERs. 29 total pitches, or 3.22 pitches per batter.
Second time thru, he gave up 2 Hs, 1 BB and got 2 Ks; 0 ERs. 41 total pitches, or 4.56 pitches per batter.
Third time thru, he gave up 1 H, 1 BB and got 4 Ks (the top of the order — batters 1-4); 2 ERs. 39 total pitches, or 4.33 pitches per batter.
. . .
In his third start, at Washington (4/21), Kawakami went 5.0 IP and gave up earned runs in the 2nd (1 ER) and 6th (1 ER) innings (2 total ERs).
He faced 24 batters. First time thru the line-up, he gave up 4 Hs, 1 BB and got 1 K; 1 ER. 40 total pitches, or 4.44 pitches per batter.
Second time thru, he gave up 0 Hs, 2 BBs and got 1 K; 0 ER. 38 total pitches, or 4.22 pitches per batter.
He pitched to the first 6 batters in the Marlins line-up a third time — 3 Hs, 0 BBs and 0 Ks; 1 ER. 15 total pitches, or 2.50 pitches per batter.
See DAP for analysis.
. . .
In his fourth start, at Cincinnati (4/26), Kawakami went 4.2 IP and gave up “earned” runs in the 4th (2 ERs) and 5th (6 “ERs”) innings (8 total “ERs”).
He faced 23 batters. First time thru the line-up, he gave up 0 Hs, 1 BB and got 0 Ks; 0 ERs. 32 total pitches, or 3.56 pitches per batter.
Second time thru, he gave up 4 Hs, 0 BBs and got 1 K; 4 “ERs”. 27 total pitches, or 3.00 pitches per batter.
He pitched to the first 5 batters in the Marlins line-up a third time — 4 Hs, 0 BBs and 0 Ks; 4 “ERs”. 19 total pitches, or 3.80 pitches per batter.
As previously discussed, it was the worst of bad luck that prevented Kawakami from completing a scoreless 5th.
. . .
. . .
Conclusion, throwing out yesterday’s fluky fifth inning, in his first four starts Kawakami has been as good or better the second time thru the opponent’s line-up as he is the first time.
First time — 8 Hs, 5 BBs, 5 Ks, 4 ERs, 3.78 pitches per batter.
Second time — 7 Hs, 5 BBs, 7 Ks, 4 ERs, 3.81 pitches per batter.
And his third time thru the line-up is no worse than his first time (throwing out yesterday’s fluky fifth inning). Thru his first three starts, in which he pitched a third time to 7, 9 and 6 batters respectively (ie, he missed the 7th batter once, and the 8th and 9th batters twice each):
First time — 8 Hs, 4 BBs, 5 Ks, 4 ERs, 3.85 pitches per batter.
Third time — 4 Hs, 1 BB, 6 Ks, 3 ERs, 3.50 pitches per batter.
In this case, familiarity does not breed contempt.
PS: Somebody oughta check my math.
Run Heap Run
April 27th, 2009
4:29 pm
ncscoots – Coach’s posts are too long to hold my interest so if he ever wants to argue with me I’ll probably never see it. All you have to do to get the gist of what Coach’s post is going to be about is read whatever he has in parenthesis out by his name for that day (or that post) and keep moving. No offense, Coach.
I do, however, know that you hate pitch counts. But that’s about it…
Sandlot
April 27th, 2009
4:29 pm
So is it bad news that Glavine isn’t going to talk to the media until after batting practice? Or should we not read anything into that?
I’m wondering the same thing, Amanda. Probably we shouldn’t read anything into it, but… it seems like if things were ok he’d just say so, right? Or is he waiting because he’ll actually be throwing during BP?
MFin04
April 27th, 2009
4:31 pm
Random…I’m sure I would be more enlightened after reading that…but does that mean KK is good?
McFann =Ô=
April 27th, 2009
4:31 pm
Ugh…thanks, Ms. Rogers.
So the waiting continues…why won’t he be there till game time?
Bobby's Cox
April 27th, 2009
4:32 pm
The season doesn’t start until….As Scoots can attest to….I begin to slaughter KJ.
So, in my eyes, the season has started.
And as Tomahawin’ says, you point the fingers at the offense, and at that, you point you fingers at the worse offensive players during the famine. So there, the season is underway…
Breaking News
April 27th, 2009
4:32 pm
This just in….Glavine is done.
Bobby's Cox
April 27th, 2009
4:32 pm
McFann,
Go take a nap and come back in a few hours…
Andy K.
April 27th, 2009
4:32 pm
Bowman says he think Glav has decided not to call it quits and keep comin back.
Tomahawkin
April 27th, 2009
4:36 pm
—Origional Jon—…
“Tomakawkin. Kamakaze??? Really?? Thats kind of offensive dont you think?”
Uggghhh, No…I’m not hating on him, but if he turns out be Atlanta Braves Version of “Hideki I-Rob-U”, Then expect the whole blog to be calling him that…
MFin04
April 27th, 2009
4:38 pm
Who think Pujols Runs+RBIs = more than the Braves runs for the series?
Random
April 27th, 2009
4:38 pm
McFann (2:20 pm): “(You voted for Corky? Dang…and you had me believing all that time that you were voting for McCann…oh, this hurts…)”
Nah, not really — just funnin’ witcha.
No, voting for Corky would’ve been a wasted vote — actually, I went with Giovanni.
Tomahawkin
April 27th, 2009
4:39 pm
Dammit KJ, Leading off Again…! Not Good, KJ will probably continues to struggle leading off…WTF, Bobby Put KJ down in the Order NOW!
Braves will probably score less than 3 tonight…
Macon Braves (RIP)
April 27th, 2009
4:39 pm
Good grief can we PLEASE do something with the lineup to shake things up a bit at the top!!! This is like freaking Groundhog Day. Kelly and Yunel are RUN PRODUCERS, they should be hitting in spots where they can produce runs. Move Schafer and Kotchman up to the top where their OBP’s can set the table for RUN PRODUCERS!!
Schafer .380 OBP
Johnson .307 OBP
Kotchman .361 OBP .375 SLUG
Escobar .358 OBP .459 SLUG
Johnson and Escobar should be hitting in the meat of the order, where they would be up more often with runners on.
Kotchman is not a freaking cleanup hitter or a middle of the order guy. He should be in the 2 hole where his patience and low strikeouts are most effective in setting the table for the middle of the order.
ncscoots
April 27th, 2009
4:39 pm
Bobby’s, well put, my man, LOL. KC predicts, n8 complains, you rip KJ
. In other news, sun to rise in the east, LOL.
Don’t think I would have it any other way, to tell you the truth.
Leah
April 27th, 2009
4:40 pm
McFann =Ô=:
Just a thought, but if Mac’s just had something that amounts to anything done to his eye then I’m sure he can’t really do anything that he would normally do pertaining to baseball. He probably wants to take extra precaution, too. And he might not be able to drive himself either. Like I said, though, just a thought.
McFann =Ô=
April 27th, 2009
4:42 pm
Bobby’s Cox–
Haha…but I never sleep during the day.
And even if I did, at a time like this it would be impossible!
Random actually, I went with Giovanni.
NNOOOOOOOOOooooooo…
Chop Chop
April 27th, 2009
4:42 pm
Bowman made a comment under that blog that stated the same thing Carroll did (about Glavine talking to the media after BP). He opined that maybe Glavine isn’t hanging them up.
Who knows? In my mind, Glavine has been retired ever since he left the Braves the first time.
McFann =Ô=
April 27th, 2009
4:42 pm
Leah–
Yeah, good point…
MFin04
April 27th, 2009
4:42 pm
This same kind of idiot decisions by Bobby is why he needs to be let go. You dont keep putting the same lineup out there and expect different results! That makes no sense! Now we are all going to have to watch the game….until the Cards score 2-3 runs…and we shut the game off because we know we arent going to be able to match the juggernaut of 2-3 runs.
AndyC
April 27th, 2009
4:43 pm
I’m not hating on Kotch like some people here…but there is no way that he should be hitting cleanup. I would move Frenchy up to fourth. He isn’t a cleanup hitter either but is a better fit than Kotch.
Random
April 27th, 2009
4:44 pm
MFin04 (4:31 pm): “does that mean KK is good?”
Better than he would seem at first glance. He’s had some hard luck.
But the major point I was trying to make is that he does NOT get worse and worse as he goes thru the opponents’ line-ups a second and third time. (Though he does probably tire toward the ends of his starts. Like most pitchers.)
Random
April 27th, 2009
4:46 pm
McFann =Ô= (4:42 pm): “NNOOOOOOOOOooooooo…”
No.
MFin04
April 27th, 2009
4:48 pm
How about this logic…put the guy with the most HRs at cleanup. I go to Braves.com…I look it up….
K Johnson 3, Frenchy/Esco/Ross have 2….hmmm….Ross has played the least amount of games….I conclude we hit any of the four….especially KJ or Ross.
Tomahawkin
April 27th, 2009
4:48 pm
—AndyC— Your Quote
“I’m not hating on Kotch like some people here…but there is no way that he should be hitting cleanup. I would move Frenchy up to fourth. He isn’t a cleanup hitter either but is a better fit than Kotch.”
I will co-sign on that…I like the 09 version of Frenchy hitting 4th…But Bobby C. May be afraid that he starts trying to do too much and revert to his 2008 ways therefore that’s why Bobby C is reluctant to do so…
But, Man Kotchman scares no one hitting 4th…he’s a 6th or 7th place hitter on a good offensive teams lineup…That’s why I’m still P’d off we didn’t go after Raul Ibanez…He is Clowning in Philly while we put up with slop in LF…I hope B. Jones Impresses the hell outta me…
Knuckle Sandwich
April 27th, 2009
4:50 pm
Teixeira, like A-Rod, is the type of player that always seems to compile his stats when his team is way ahead, or way behind. It’s almost as if he is anti-clutch. Does anybody else see this? I mean, if he is so much of a game changer, why couldn’t he elevate us to a contender before the trade deadline last year?
MFin04
April 27th, 2009
4:50 pm
Bobby might also be afraid of trying to score runs…since this lineup hasnt scored any yet this year!!!!
MFin04
April 27th, 2009
4:52 pm
Knuckle….true about Tex….but Id rather have a guy that anti-clutch with a homer….than anti-clutch with a bunch of singles. On the odd chance he is clutch…your team will score more runs.
Chop Chop
April 27th, 2009
4:53 pm
What did the radar gun look like for Kawakami yesterday? I don’t recall seeing him going higher than 85-86 on fastballs. Of course, the radar gun could have just been screwy.
Chop Chop
April 27th, 2009
4:54 pm
Or I might not have been paying much attention.
Leah
April 27th, 2009
4:55 pm
McFann –
With him not coming to the game until around game time, it makes me wonder if they did do something to his eye. Not sure if that’s the case, though. It could be just that he’s on the DL, but I wouldn’t figure that that would cause him to not come to the game until right before it started.
I do know that extensive eye surgeries can take a lot of out you, depending on the severity of it and what surgery it was. My mom’s had two detached retinas in the same eye (like a decade apart), but her recovery from that was not a fast one and it involved a lot of eye drops several times a day (plus an air bubble that had to dissolve into her eye). It wasn’t slow, but not one of those that is an “up and moving the next day” recovery either.
My brother had a nerve in his eyes adjusted on both sides to keep one of his eyes from moving a certain way that it’s not supposed to (4th Nerve Palsy, I think it’s called). I think he recovered from that in like three or four days, but had stitches in his eyes and what not. Along with the eye drops several times a day also.
But hopefully Mac didn’t have to have anything done that severe or extensive to his eye. Hopefully it was just, at the worst, the Lasik procedure redone/enhanced. I hope we hear something soon, though.
JasonInFL (Formerly ME)
April 27th, 2009
4:56 pm
Hindsight is 20/20 as they say, but I don’t there is any question that the money that went to KK would have been much better served on offense.
Bobby's Cox
April 27th, 2009
4:58 pm
“Don’t think I would have it any other way, to tell you the truth” Scoots
That’s refreshing to hear Scoots. I tried laying off of the subject as long as possible for you, but my temptations got the best of me….Glad you’re accepting me for me…wish the girl would do the same…lol
Bay Area Steve
April 27th, 2009
4:59 pm
Reds feed had KK at about 85, and Owings at 88. I thought it might be off. Anybody know what the Braves side had him at? Same gun?
‘Cause if he can’t locate, at 85….well, we wasted a lotta cash. Actually, if he can’t locate at 90, we wasted a lotta cash.
Bobby's Cox
April 27th, 2009
5:02 pm
Chop Chop,
the radar gun will always be 3-5 mph slower on the road…meaning that if they pointed the thing at Kotchman running to 1st, it would show a negative.
Chop Chop
April 27th, 2009
5:03 pm
Fangraphs.com has him at an average fastball velocity over 90 mph for yesterday’s start. I’ll just split the difference (because I can) and say he was around 87-88.
Chop Chop
April 27th, 2009
5:04 pm
Yeah, Bobby’s Cox. That’s because the radar gun is no longer allowed to take greenies.
Bobby Cox, aka... "Stubborn Donkey"
April 27th, 2009
5:08 pm
HEEEE HAAAWWWW….. the Kellster leading off while Esco behind him, plus having Schaf bat 8th reminds me of the “27 Yanks lineup!! HEEEE HAAAWWWW….. the Kotchster makes one HECK of a cleanup hitter if I may say so my self. He just misses homers 95% of the time he’s up to hit and really stings the tar out of the ball too. HECK of a cleaup guy!!!
Slugger
April 27th, 2009
5:09 pm
I vote everyone on this blog take two weeks and follow another team.
Things found to be universal about MLB:
-Your team has guys that aren’t hitting or aren’t producing.
-Your team has a guy on the farm they want to bring up now (Hanson, ATL; Price, TB; Beckham, CWS; Wieters, BAL)
-Your team’s bullpen blows a game (see FLA against Philly this past weekend)
-Your team sometimes signs a FA starter that sometimes gets off to a rough start
How would you all respond spending 200 MM on players only to have them give up the most runs to start a season nearly ever?
Bobby's Cox
April 27th, 2009
5:09 pm
Bobby’s history with the runs, and with a bottle that rhymes with Atlanta, may have translated to the strategy of wanting to not score much runs while on the baseball field. Brings new perspective to Bobby wanting to improve his pitching staff this past offseason.
BravesfanfromBirth
April 27th, 2009
5:10 pm
I wish for at least one game Bobby Cox would bat Schafer leadoff.. Put KJ in the 8 hole and see if he can drive some runs in from there.. I wish Cox would learn how to shake things up a bit..
Ron Roberts
April 27th, 2009
5:12 pm
For what it’s worth… the fact that NOBODY has gotten off to a torrid start at this point in the season makes me all the MORE encouraged about the Braves’ chances this year. WHEN Brian McCann returns from the DL with his vision corrected, and WHEN we get Garrett Anderson back from his DL stint, knowing that we IMPROVE from a .500 squad, with the bullpen woes (hopefully) in our rear-view mirror, I have to think we’re in good shape at being only 2 games back of the lead.
Furthermore, Jeff Fnracoeur seems to have regained his form, and Jordan Schafer doesn’t seem overwhelmed. Yunel, to me, seems to be more valuable to this team with more experience, and heck, neither Kelly Johnson nor Matt Diaz hasn’t even gotten their bats warmed up, yet. KJ WILL hit – Diaz I’m more concerned about, btu all-in-all, I’m encouraged that we’re hanging in there despite the health woes.
Bobby Cox, aka... "Stubborn Donkey"
April 27th, 2009
5:13 pm
The most beautiful sweet swing in the universe is hitting rockets line drives in the tunnel, by the way. Garret looks like he should be back to form here shortly and our cleaup guy once he gets back. The Kotchster is holding his spot until he feels ready to play and doing a terrific job…. WONDERFUL job!!
richbrave
April 27th, 2009
5:14 pm
Did you have any contact with LAWRENCE SIDBURY JR. DE 4th round? A fellow alum from the UNIVERSITY of RICHMOND and a genuinely good guy. And he’s a math minor specializing in statistics. He’s going to be heard from in A-town. Give up some love for a great football player and kudos to the FALCONS staff for recognizing it….
Glen W
April 27th, 2009
5:16 pm
Everyone could relax a little. I know they are not scoring runs, but the one thing that is hardest to fix in the middle of the season is the lack of starting pitch depth which overexposes a bullpen… not an issue this year. And the one thing that tends to become more valuable (re: the trade market) as the season progresses is starting pitch depth. Look at all of the teams looking for starting pitching now. The bullpen has not been overexposed at all… at all.
I would much rather be 9-9 and not hitting… trying to figure out how to create more runs than to be 9-9 and not pitching and already fatiguing your bullpen
Phiiles problem: SP
Mets problem: SP
Marlins problem: bullpen
Braves problem: offense
Which of these is easiest to address mid-season?
Bobby's Cox
April 27th, 2009
5:16 pm
Have you guys been paying attention? Bobby always shakes things up at least 20 games after fans thinks he should. So, by the end of May, we may have our wish. Be patient….It’s a long season.
McFann =Ô=
April 27th, 2009
5:17 pm
Lew–
Makes me wonder that, too. Yeah, hopefully it was nothing as severe as the surgeries you mentioned…(those sound pretty brutal!)
I hope we hear something real soon, too. If we do, and I’m not on here right away, just assume I’m eating dinner.
Bobby Cox, aka... "Stubborn Donkey"
April 27th, 2009
5:17 pm
fan from birth, shake yo money maker…. sh..sh..shake yo money maker!! This lineup is ready to break out once we face a below average pitche….I mean, once they start hitting like me and Terry know they can.
Choppinmama
April 27th, 2009
5:21 pm
RunHeapRun
re: Terence Moore. He’s been running out to the left coast, appearing on Jim Rome’s show a lot lately. Maybe he’ll go to work out there and we really won’t have to deal with him and his rants unless we really try.
McFann: if you’re chewing your short nails waiting on Slim’s news, you must be up to your elbows right about now.
Can’t blame you, I’ve checked in about 3 times today already to get the 411. Patience is a virtue, right??!!
Slugger
April 27th, 2009
5:22 pm
Knuckle Sandwich -
Actually, you’ll see a pretty negative trend line in relation to Tex’s departure from Atlanta and Atlanta’s W/L ratio.
We blamed Tex because it was easy. Surely he took walks, but do you want him on base or do you want to see him strike out and fall over. There’s a reason Tex get’s paid what he gets paid – he’s not a FLA Marlin.
If Tex was like some of the Marlins, he’d strike out 50-80 more times a year and be a sure 50-60 HR guy every year.
Teams obviously value his .OBP more than the arbitrary ‘clutch’ argument that everyone likes to bring up.
I would have loved to sign Tex to a long term deal, but I’m not going to subvert my dissapointment by knocking his performance as a Brave.
After ‘the run’ ended (playoffs/division title), the Braves had to decide whether to start over or whether to try to keep winning each year. They’ve put is in a good position, as fans, while we wait for the arrival of another generation of talent (while hopefully the ‘baby braves’ generation grow into men/ the lord blesses Brian’s eye).
I like what our Braves have done because anything’s better now than being a Washington Nationals fan. If trends follow, though, the Nationals could be set up to make an eventual run like the Rockies, Marlins, Rays and Braves of 91′ did.
Chop Chop
April 27th, 2009
5:23 pm
I was talking to a fellow student today about the Braves. I told him about some of what goes on over on this blog. He checks out the message boards over at the Braves’ website. As you can imagine, the postings aren’t that different. As far as the team goes, he told me that he’s concerned about middle relief. I told him that I’m more concerned about the similar negative traits (streaky, not much speed, not much power) of the hitters in our lineup. I didn’t have to yell at him in ALL CAPS or bold or italicize my remarks. It was nice to talk to a non-hothead for a change.
One of the main things we both agreed on was that people think of minor league talent like backup QBs in the NFL. Since those kids aren’t up in the big leagues and screwing up, they’re perfect. The backup QB isn’t screwing up when he’s got that clipboard in his hand. It’s also a little (a lot?) like college football recruiting.
For example, we both like Hanson (big strikeout arm, intimidation factor, etc.), but neither of us knows if the guy will be the real deal because he hasn’t had the opportunity. The same goes for Heyward, Freeman, Medlen, or any of our other guys who have never played a big league inning. It’s fun to speculate, but we really don’t have a guarantee. Maybe that’s why I’m infinitely more interested in what’s going on with the big club.
Carroll Rogers
April 27th, 2009
5:23 pm
McCann is home resting his eyes. According to Bobby he’s been at the doctor’s much of the time trying out new contacts, trying to find something that works. The take-home at the moment is that McCann did not have lasik surgery today. Hope to get more info as we go here.
And no, if Glav were about to announce his retirement, I suspect there would be a press conference, not a hey, grab me after bp. I bet he’ll be giving his shoulder another test of some sort. Will update you within the next little bit here.
Bobby's Cox
April 27th, 2009
5:23 pm
Glen W,
Obviously, the offense is easiest to tinker with, especially with guys in-house, by rearranging the lineup or trying some back up guys. That’s why I’m such a stickler on my favorite subject…the bipolar offense, some bipolar bats, and rearranging the lineup in ways that may make some sense to produce more offense (whether it does or not is besides the point, but trying new things is no worse than something already pitiful).
Nonetheless, nice bit of optimism flashed by yourself and Ron Roberts. Wait, is optimism a word? What is optimism anyway?