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© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
1,709 comments Add your comment
David O'Brien
May 11th, 2009
3:47 pm
BLOG IS COMPLETED NOW. Nice pic of the new ballpark
going down to find out about chipper now
MFin04 (The Hopeless Romantic)
May 11th, 2009
3:51 pm
flange we need another CF/speed guy. Last night Greg Norton running for himself and almost costing us a HUGE run? And no day off for Schafer in CF in sight because no one is quick enough to play there, that isnt good. Blanco is really the only guy that could play there, maybe Brandon Jones? We do have some worthless guys in the bullpen (i.e. Jeff Bennett) but brining up Blanco for a pitcher isn’t exactly a great move at this point in the season since he isnt exactly killing it in AAA.
RHR
May 11th, 2009
3:51 pm
Hurry DOB, the Mets fans are waiting.
Big Easy
May 11th, 2009
3:52 pm
Still say that Taxpayer Field reminds me of Comerica Park in Detroit. But that is a nice ballpark, too.
~E~
vabravesfan
May 11th, 2009
3:52 pm
Diory Henandez has committed 2 errors today to give him 9 on the year in 22 games. Just in case anybody wonders why his .357 average isn’t on the big league club
Necromancer
May 11th, 2009
3:53 pm
I guess Mr. “Double Pits to Chesty’s” little bit of freedom has come to an end.
The mental hospital must have found out where he was at and took him back home! LOL!
flange1
May 11th, 2009
3:53 pm
MFin04,
Blanco is not really an answer (if he is I really want to know what the question is!!)
I was thinking about maybe a small trade? Joey Gathright? Ryan Freel? (for you Wayne!)
Eric B
May 11th, 2009
3:53 pm
Where are they playin Diory…still in the infield? If so then that’s the problem imo, he’s an OFer.
sri
May 11th, 2009
3:55 pm
flange1,
How about our old pal Andruw Jones?
jonathan friedman
May 11th, 2009
3:56 pm
Great column, do the Braves still stay at he Grand Hyatt, i wanted to try to get some auto’s tommorow say around 11:00. Going to the game that nite and thought i would give it a shot
cabravesfan
May 11th, 2009
3:56 pm
McFann-
a stand up triple? You know I love our guy but I don’t think the new park it that big
mbatl
May 11th, 2009
3:57 pm
“Where are they playin Diory…still in the infield? If so then that’s the problem imo, he’s an OFer.”
Eric, I guess you mean that since he’s a bad infielder, he should be an outfielder. He’s never actually played outfield in pro baseball.
vabravesfan
May 11th, 2009
3:57 pm
Since when has diory played OF? Where you want them to put him at Gwinnett. They have blanco,jones, and barton.
MFin04 (The Hopeless Romantic)
May 11th, 2009
3:58 pm
Blanco is the answer to giving the bench some speed and giving Schafer a day off once in a while, but that is about it. He hasn’t proven to be much more than that, but does Jeff Bennett or Gregor Blanco have more value to this team? That really is the question. I wouldn’t mind seeing someone on the bench that could pinch run, we obviously don’t have anyone or Norton wouldn’t have run last night.
REFMan
May 11th, 2009
4:00 pm
NL East went from having the worst stadiums… Philly (Veteran’s), NY (Shea), Montreal (Crap Dome), Florida (Crappy Dolphin Stadium) to having all new stadiums. Philly (Citizen’s Bank), NY (Citi), Washington (Nationals Park), and Florida is getting a brand new stadium soon in Miami. In fact Turner Field will be the old stadium in this division very soon.
PWHjort
May 11th, 2009
4:00 pm
Marietta Derek got locked up in Philly? In his words, that’s not double pits to chesty. Wow, I can’t believe I actually said that.
vabravesfan
May 11th, 2009
4:01 pm
But what would Blanco add to the team. He isn’t that good of a base stealer and it isn’t exactly Bobby’s MO to put runners in motion. So would he have scored easy on that double yesterday? Yea but don’t know if that is worth a spot on the bench
Reality Check
May 11th, 2009
4:02 pm
DOB, where is AAA INF Derrick Arnold? He’s still on Restricted List. We need our Braves. Can anyone help me?
bravos2249
May 11th, 2009
4:02 pm
PWHjort
Oh nonononon…LOL…In the 2nd game @ Philly a fan ran on the field like a dummy…no less while Hamels threw a pitch to Chipper and the fan ran around , he was fast for like 5 minutes before they caught him. We all joked it was Marietta Derek…in fact I don’t think he’s been on here since…lol…I hope it wasn’t him…lol
Flushing 9 First Pitch: Mets/Braves @ 7:10 p.m. | Flushing9.com
May 11th, 2009
4:03 pm
[...] News: Chipper Jones is 5-for-11 vs, Johan Santana in his career. Good News: Dave O’Brien reports “… we’re not expecting Chipper to be in the lineup after leaving Sunday’s game with [...]
Lew
May 11th, 2009
4:05 pm
Flange-The BNraves’ starters have gone five or more innings in all but three starts this year-and TWO of those were the two+ hour rain delays that lost a start for Lowe and one for JJ. Last year after 30 games, there were eight starts that were less than five innings.
The first 29 IP by the pen this year, they gave up 28 earned runs. In the past 20 games, they have pitched over 56 innings and given up 12 E-an ERA of around 1.9.
Lew
May 11th, 2009
4:06 pm
The one start where Kawakami was pulled before five for performance reasons-he went 4 2/3 innings.
flange1
May 11th, 2009
4:07 pm
Reality Check,
I have it on good authority that DERRICK ARNOLD was NOT found in a grave he dug for himself outside of Athens. He had been despondent because folks don’t know WHY he was on the restricted list..
Steve from OH
May 11th, 2009
4:08 pm
flange, if they do that, it’ll probably be Brian Barton rather than another trade.
Woogidy
May 11th, 2009
4:08 pm
Medlen coming out of the game in Gwinnett after 6.2 scoreless. He lowered his ERA to 0.96, and kept his scoreless inning streak alive at 19.2. He does own the runner at first with Acosta coming in…
13 and counting
May 11th, 2009
4:08 pm
Here’s hoping Marrietta Derrick hit puberty this weekend and now thinks the DP to C is pretty lame himself.
ease19
May 11th, 2009
4:08 pm
I believe that it was mentioned earlier, but Gorkys is tearing it up in Mississippi…back-up for Schafer perhaps. Probably a bad idea so soon in the season as it would take away at-bats, but other than B.Jones (who I thought looked very well while he was up)…Blanco is just not any answer.
Eric from MO
May 11th, 2009
4:09 pm
DOB good blog except for one thing. Our ace aint pitching tonight. Im pretty sure Jair is our ace, not Lowe.
MFin04 (The Hopeless Romantic)
May 11th, 2009
4:09 pm
Can Brandon Jones play Center Field?
vabravesfan
May 11th, 2009
4:10 pm
Medlen’s day is done. 6.2 IP 2H 0R 3BB 6K 103 pitches. His scoreless streak is at 20 2/3 innings. His era is down to 0.97 on the year
mbatl
May 11th, 2009
4:11 pm
Medlen pulled after 6 2/3… probably a pitch count thing (103). 2 hits, 0 runs, 3 bb, 6 K’s. ERA now at 0.96.
You could make a very strong case that he’s been the best pitcher in the Int League this year (better than Hanson, better than Price). Strikeout numbers not quite as gawdy as Hanson’s, but still over 11 per 9 IP, and everything else is just … better.
Willy Wally
May 11th, 2009
4:11 pm
Until Jair pitches 200 innings in a major league season, he’s no one’s ace. Lowe is the ace right now
vabravesfan
May 11th, 2009
4:11 pm
woogidy you forgot an inning from his 4/25 start
PWHjort
May 11th, 2009
4:11 pm
Haha, I remember that. That was hilarious. They couldn’t catch him to save their lives. I’m sorry I missed the “that must be Marietta Derek” conversation.
vabravesfan
May 11th, 2009
4:12 pm
MFin04 I think Brandon could fill in at CF for a day. I don’t think he could play there everyday though.
TJ
May 11th, 2009
4:12 pm
I wonder if the Braves bring up Medlen 1st, or spark fan interest by bringing up Hanson first. Medlen has better control, although yesterday was Hanson’s 1st start where he was able to limit himself due to his high pitch count.
Hanson took about a month in AA before he started to excel last year. Maybe he’s turning the corner now after a month in AAA. Medlen sure does seem ready though right now.
MFin04 (The Hopeless Romantic)
May 11th, 2009
4:13 pm
I’ve never understood the love of the strikeout, it’s good in some situations but also kills your pitch count, and could make you pitch less innings. Not sure if the strikeout is as important as people/networks make it?
ncscoots
May 11th, 2009
4:14 pm
You could make a very strong case that [Medlen has] been the best pitcher in the Int League this year
Certainly the best one who could also be mistaken for a Hobbit, LOL.
MFin04 (The Hopeless Romantic)
May 11th, 2009
4:14 pm
It seems like the AAA pitchers are being allowed to go deeper into games now, seems like they were all getting pulled at 5 or 6 early on no matter how many pitches they had thrown.
flange1
May 11th, 2009
4:14 pm
Lew,
Good numbers from our starters! I think those will continue. DO we really need 7 relief pitchers if our starters are going so deep into games? ESPECIALLY if 4 of those guys (Gonzo, Soriano, EOF and Moylan) get most of the 7th 8th and 9th inning work.
I almost think we consider dropping Bennett to Richmond to work on control, drop Parr to Richmond to get some work, bring up Medlin and get a RH OF that can play CF. Someone cheap that is fast and can play defense.
RHR
May 11th, 2009
4:15 pm
According to the media guide from 07, Jonathan, that is where they stay. I wouldn’t bother them for autographs at their hotel but you might get lucky.
CB
May 11th, 2009
4:15 pm
RHR I miss your summaries of overnite blogs. McFANN another reason we love you,you are clarvoiant.
vabravesfan
May 11th, 2009
4:15 pm
ncscoots, he definitely isn’t a big guy but he brings big man stuff to the plate. Don’t know how he gets it from that small frame but he does.
Chop Chop
May 11th, 2009
4:16 pm
We should cut Vazquez and Jurrjens right now. I want to see Hanson and Medlen as our top 1-A and 1-B starters. I’m sure Lowe can handle the demotion to the third slot.
RHR
May 11th, 2009
4:17 pm
I love Jair but this:
Until Jair pitches 200 innings in a major league season, he’s no one’s ace. Lowe is the ace right now
is true. You need a little seasoning to be a true ace. Jair will be there someday soon, hopefully in a Braves uni but probably not.
Eric from MO
May 11th, 2009
4:17 pm
Lew good to see that. In the offseason I said the Braves and Mets had the two best pens in the NL. I looked pretty foolish after the first week or two.
mbatl
May 11th, 2009
4:18 pm
so, you’re one of those tall guys, eh scoots?
As to the bench/bullpen. NO WAY do you go with a 6-man pen. That’s the best way to end up over-using guys (isn’t that the point of having good starters?). To add to the pen’s workload in order to let Gorkys or Brandon Jones rot on the bench makes no sense. (IMHO, of course).
Steve from OH
May 11th, 2009
4:18 pm
Man, short or not, Medlen has straight dominated since he became a full-time starter. Gotta love it.
Going to have some tough decisions this offseason, I think. Gotta think we’ll keep Medlen around, though…
vabravesfan
May 11th, 2009
4:18 pm
MFin04 I don’t think it was that they weren’t allowing them to pitch deep. Hanson was having pitch count problems early on and couldn’t get passed 6 with more than 100 pitches. Medlen is being slowly strung out with his pitch count because he had been in the relievers role in spring.
ease19
May 11th, 2009
4:19 pm
MFin04 – from a pitchers perspective, if you cannot trust your fielders, then the strikeout is a pitchers best friend. And strikeouts are the true rally killer. For starters, you may be right to look at pitch counts, but for relievers, hell, strike them all out!
Anders
May 11th, 2009
4:19 pm
Any truth to the rumor Chipper trying to get a game going out in the parking lot where Shea stood?
RHR
May 11th, 2009
4:19 pm
Thanks CB, I only summarize when I notice something from overnight worth mentioning lol.
vabravesfan
May 11th, 2009
4:21 pm
ahha I don’t really like Mets fans but Anders comment gave me a good laugh
Chief Nock A Homa
May 11th, 2009
4:21 pm
Anybody else in here thinking we should have signed Adam Dunn??
.311 average, 11 homers, 28 RBI’s !!! 8 million…
Who cares if he can’t get to a couple of balls in the outfield… It would have been money well spent for sure for the production….
Eric from MO
May 11th, 2009
4:21 pm
Willy Wally and RHR so far they have thrown the same amount of innings. Last year as a rookie JJ threw over 180. He is our ace. He will throw 200 innings this year.
Bobby's Cox
May 11th, 2009
4:22 pm
Going to have some tough decisions this offseason, I think. Gotta think we’ll keep Medlen around, though… Steve
I hope we do too. The Dodgers once thought Pedro Martinez was too small to be on the mound. They traded him for an even smaller Delino DeShields.
Jim
May 11th, 2009
4:23 pm
The disturbing thing about Francouer in his recent ABs is his failure to make solid contact when he gets a good pitch to hit. The last fly-out to CF yesterday came on a pitch that looked pretty hitable but resulted in a weak fly. This was the pattern last year, and this is the pattern that has emerged again in the last week. It’s not just revisiting poor pitch selection, but getting poor results when he does get his pitch.
Chop Chop
May 11th, 2009
4:23 pm
I couldn’t be wrong, but Kris Medlen appears to have the best mechanics of any pitcher to ever play the game. I don’t believe in hyperbole (that’s mainly because I don’t how anything can be more amazing than the Super Bowl), but Medlen is most assuredly the second coming of no one. They broke the mold with this kid. He is perfection.
Braves73
May 11th, 2009
4:23 pm
Again, we can’t seem to catch a break in the injury column. Love Chipper, but dude gets hurt all the time. He definitely believes that he has to “100%” physically or he refuses to play, believe he stated one time that it will foul up his swing. While I clearly get it, it would be nice if could just show up some games to just be in the lineup. His prescense alone makes the entire lineup better…guess we can only hope to field our entire team for more than a few games.
vabravesfan
May 11th, 2009
4:24 pm
I don’t know about that Chief. Granted he would be the pop we needed in the middle of the lineup but his strikeouts and poor defense would drive everyone nuts. I watch a couple of nats game here and there because I get their channel for free and he is horrible out there in the outfield. People complained about diaz and anderson having their problems just think what would be like with Dunn
RHR
May 11th, 2009
4:24 pm
OK sure, that’s fine. You think of him as an ace, I think of him as a #2. I’m not mad either way.
ncscoots
May 11th, 2009
4:25 pm
Oh, I love the kid, too, how can you not? I think I’ve said it before, he’s like a waterbug on meth, LOL. You can tell the dude loves to play baseball. ‘Course, a K/inning plus will do that for a pitcher. I’m not knocking him, at all, it’s just that his stature and that high-energy demeanor combine to make me chuckle. In a good way.
Jim
May 11th, 2009
4:25 pm
Whitey Ford, Harvey Haddix, and Ron Guidry were also small pitchers. It seems that small lefties are more the norm than small righties. Lincecum is no physical giant.
Efrim
May 11th, 2009
4:25 pm
Steve from OH, good to have tough decisions like that. Braves will have needs this offseason(and by the trade deadline), so my guess is that they will trade from a strength.
Renegator
May 11th, 2009
4:26 pm
Anders – good one at 4:19.
Chop Chop
May 11th, 2009
4:27 pm
Of course, if Medlen comes up and has a bad game, I will hate his stinking guts forever. You can best believe that.
Andy K.
May 11th, 2009
4:27 pm
ugh
Steve from OH
May 11th, 2009
4:28 pm
Efrim, I think they will too. My guess is that they keep Hanson, Medlen and Reyes, and trade Morton and Redmond, and maybe Vazquez too.
DAP
May 11th, 2009
4:28 pm
ease19And strikeouts are the true rally killer.
i disagree. you only get one out with a K, but a groundball DP gets you two outs. much more deflating for a team.
Buffalo NY Braves Fan
May 11th, 2009
4:30 pm
Eric from MO,
Lowe started the season opener and the home opener…. he’s the ace just based on that.
ncscoots
May 11th, 2009
4:30 pm
Of course, if Medlen comes up and has a bad game, I will hate his stinking guts forever. You can best believe that.
Amen, brother, LOL. Good smack.
vabravesfan
May 11th, 2009
4:31 pm
ncscoots, I hear exactly what you are saying. Before spring training I looked up some prospects that I wanted to get autographs from and I wrote down Medlen’s name then went down there and saw this kid that honestly looked like a bat boy walking around. Then when he came over you could see the happiness and excitement in him and he would carry on a conversation with anybody that wanted to talk. Very nice kid with awesome stuff
CB
May 11th, 2009
4:32 pm
Everybody keeps trying to decide who is an ace. My definition of an ace is when you hear that guy is pitching I feel very comfortable. I feel that way with Jurrgens.
flange1
May 11th, 2009
4:33 pm
STeve,
Forgot about Barton, he might be the guy…
mbatl
May 11th, 2009
4:33 pm
I heard that Medlen and Lillibridge got in a fight last year, before Lilli was traded.
No one was hurt.
Eric from MO
May 11th, 2009
4:34 pm
Oh Buffalo why didnt I think of that? I mean if they pitch the same amount of innings and Jair has an ERA of 2.0 and Lowe is 3.9 Lowe woud clearly be the ace since he started the season and home opener.
Il Cattivo
May 11th, 2009
4:34 pm
Chop Chop
What are you on? My sarcasm detector is overheated and is going to blow.
Eric from MO
May 11th, 2009
4:34 pm
Thank you CB.
Tomahawk210
May 11th, 2009
4:35 pm
I have a question for Braves fans: I was looking at the team’s stat offensively and was wondering, we are a game under .500 and we have only 2 players hitting over.300 and one isn’t even a regular who will probably be hitting under .300 soon(Infante) after more at bats. So based on that are we feeling good because we’re only 2.5 games out and not doing much offensively as a team right now and we will get better, and will have someone other than Mac and Chipper break out this year, or do we have a team of mediocre MLB hitters who we costantly are waiting to break out year after year(Francoeur, Johnson, Schafer-rookie but way too many strikeouts, Escobar, Kotchman).
Chop Chop
May 11th, 2009
4:35 pm
Lil’ Bridge got tired of the constant…Medlen.
chris w
May 11th, 2009
4:36 pm
Enter your comments here
chris w
May 11th, 2009
4:36 pm
whats the lineup tonight
Il Cattivo
May 11th, 2009
4:36 pm
CB
…….. when you hear that guy is pitching I feel very comfortable. I feel that way with Jurrgens.
Thats because Jurrgens will make you all soft and moisturized. Perfect remedy for that dry and itchy skin.
Eric from MO
May 11th, 2009
4:37 pm
Steve I believe you are correct that Hanson and Medlin will be kept. However I believe Reyes could be traded just like Morton and Redmond. Unless they cant find a taker, which may be the case.
RHR
May 11th, 2009
4:37 pm
So I was just looking on the facebook wall and noticed how many of the old regs aren’t coming around any more.
vabravesfan
May 11th, 2009
4:38 pm
CB you so comfortable with him that you don’t know how to spell his name??
mbatl, where did you hear that?? Not saying it didn’t happen just hard for me to imagine those two going at it. Although maybe Kris was tired of Lilli swinging at the slider off the plate as well haha
KC
May 11th, 2009
4:38 pm
Jim, Francoeur’s swing looked just fine until this last Phili series. With that short porch in left field, and the fact that he hit a HR to left there earlier in the season and just missed one in game-one of this most recent series… it messed with his head. As Joe Simpson put it (and I think he’s right), Frenchy went into launch mode. He was thinking about pulling the ball over the left field wall, and it screwed up his swing.
This last series is the only time all year I’ve seen Francoeur pulling off the ball and swinging at bad pitches as he did last year. I wouldn’t worry about it though. If he’s still doing that 3 weeks from now… THEN it’ll be time to get concerned. But as of now, it was just one bad series. It’s a long season, and there are always ups and downs.
Macon Braves (RIP)
May 11th, 2009
4:38 pm
I would say that K’s aren’t that big of a deal for a starter since it can rack up the pitch count. There are spots where a K is preferable to a ball being put into play (i.e. fly ball with runner on third and less than 2 outs), but for a starter I would prefer ground balls early in the count to any other type of outs.
Look at what Maddux used to do to teams, complete games throwing only 80 or 90 pitches. That is the perfect pitcher in my opinion, unfortunatly that guy is a once in a lifetime pitcher (or fortunatly I guess I should say for those of us that got to enjoy watching the guy his whole career).
monty
May 11th, 2009
4:38 pm
They have their stud going tonight, and while many of you will scream “it’s early!” We need to win 2 of 3. We have sent messages to Phillies and the Marlins, we can’t have the Muts whipping us at home and away in back to back weeks. It tends to put ideas in team’s heads. Now, would any team ever admit this? Of course not, they are going to say like many of you, “It’s a long season.” But realist know better. I can’t deny it’s a long season and no team is going to be eliminated till September, but you surely don’t want your opponent thinking they own you.
ncscoots
May 11th, 2009
4:39 pm
Lil’ Bridge got tired of the constant…Medlen.
Medlen should have given him a left hook to the knee.
Steve from OH
May 11th, 2009
4:40 pm
Eric, I figure they keep one of Morton/Reyes around for pitching depth. Locke/Rohrbough probably won’t be ready to go next year and I’m not really confident in anyone at AA Mississippi.
Bobby's Cox
May 11th, 2009
4:40 pm
mbatl,
Is this the reenactment of the fight?
MFin04 (The Hopeless Romantic)
May 11th, 2009
4:41 pm
I remember watching Glavine and especially Maddux….when they need a doubleplay…they would throw the ball exactly where they wanted to and you’d swear they’d get a doubleplay everytime.
vabravesfan
May 11th, 2009
4:42 pm
mbatl,
Also kind of hard to imagine since Lillibridge was in Richmond while Medlen was in Mississippi unless it was in Spring Training on the back fields somewhere
mbatl
May 11th, 2009
4:43 pm
vabravesfan, I was kidding (2 smallish, young-looking guys, etc). sorry I missed…
chc4
May 11th, 2009
4:43 pm
Chipper is officially out. That’s shocking. 50-50 for CJ really means 2%. When’s the last time he played at 50-50?
Duke
May 11th, 2009
4:44 pm
1. Infante CF
2. Prado 3B
3. Escobar SS
4. GA LF
5. Mac C
6. Frenchy RF
7. Kotchman 1B
8. Kelly 2B
9. Lowe P
Macon Braves (RIP)
May 11th, 2009
4:45 pm
RHR–any chance that some of the regulars stopped coming (or at least stopped posting) due to the infestation of Trolls on the ol’ blog? I’ve only been coming here for about 2 years now (rarely posted until a year or so ago and until a month or two ago posted under a different moniker) but I’ve had moments where the Trolls made me stay away for a week or so at the time. However, the fact that this is the best sports blog (along with other great topics) going keeps me coming back eventually.
And on the subject of the greatest sports (and other great topics) blog there is and the stupid comments from one of the Trolls (one lacking reality) aimed at the blog writer…..Great job as always so far this season DOB, this blog is one in a million (in a good way of course) thanks to you, and Carrol of course when she steps in for ya.
Buffalo NY Braves Fan
May 11th, 2009
4:45 pm
Eric from MO,
Sorry, let me try that again…..
Lowe has a proven track record of success and has pitched over 200 innings in multiple seasons over his career. He also started the season as Atlantas #1 pitcher. If JJ had been the ace, he would have started the opener.
I’m not saying the JJ is a bad pitcher, but you do not look at someones stats 1/8 of the way through the season and say who is your teams ace. Based on that philosophy, Brett Myers is the Ace in Philly…. because his numbers are better than Hamels. Or if you want to look at the hitting side of things, Francoeur should be hitting clean-up because his BA is higher than McCanns, and his RBI numbers are way better.
McFann :Ô:
May 11th, 2009
4:45 pm
cabravesfan–
Hmm…yeah, maybe not…
CB–
Haha, thanks, but–well, if BMac hits a standup triple in this new ballpark,then I’ll have no argument against you.