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© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
2,078 comments Add your comment
joe
June 14th, 2009
6:26 pm
escobar plays short, half of third and half of second.
Jake W.
June 14th, 2009
6:26 pm
Then turn the channel Escodog becuase every team has them. If you’re gonna try and point out every bad thing Esco has ever done at least get it right. The umpire said that Esco’s bat tipped the ball and the cacher caught it. Well the ump was wrong and Escobar was actually right. Remind me, but he reigned himself in and didn’t get kicked out the game and eventually delivered the big hit to win it. I mean yes he’s had a bad week, but what about the weeks before that. Most of these errors are not from a lack of trying. Most of the baserunning was him being overagressive and so where some of the throwing errors by him trying to make a play he can’t.
TnBrian
June 14th, 2009
6:27 pm
If we keep losing don’t be surprised to see Escobar traded. Talent or not, he doesn’t seem to get it and watching Bobby’s post game interview I have to say, he’s about had it with the kid. Yeah, you build a team around a young talent like Yunel but not with that attitude. Bobby doesn’t neccessarily bech guys for sucking like KJ/Frenchy etc. but the bone headed, BS errors get to him, as it should. Think, imagine how much we’d get for him? He better get it quick or I feel he’s gone.
Shamus Thacker
June 14th, 2009
6:27 pm
Didn’t Andruw whiff on a soft bouncer to the outfield; rolled to the wall?
kirkinga
June 14th, 2009
6:27 pm
Um, Bobby is really tough with the Latin players. Maybe that is why Furcal screwed us over this offseason?
The way to discipline a guy for cumulative errors is to keep his butt on the bench for awhile, not showboating and taking him out of the game. Again, this wasn’t and Andruw situation which was about one play, that was appropriate, if it’s one play. But if it is about something more, then the way to handle it is bench him, or send him down.
I admired how Cox is loyal to his players, but he has only thrown two players under the bus publicly and I find it troubling that they were both Latin players. I find it odd that in all these years that Andruw and Yunel are the only players whose performance merited such action.
JD
June 14th, 2009
6:28 pm
Anybody notice they got rid of Chop Chick?
bravos2249
June 14th, 2009
6:29 pm
rob from sc
That’s my point. You don’t expect Chipper to play outstanding D…so you wouldn’t bench him
joe
June 14th, 2009
6:30 pm
Speaking of Benching….Bennett needs to be benched for not being able to throw strikes at the major league level. Francouer needs to be benched for being an out 1 out of every 8 times at the plate for two years.
Doc Holiday
June 14th, 2009
6:31 pm
Chipper plays 3B, half LF, half SS,half C and half 3B coach for the opposing team.
the hope of the braves nation rests in your hands mr hanson
June 14th, 2009
6:31 pm
yeah, i think if the braves were moved to vegas people would actually show up to the games….
we are only 3.5 out of the wild card? wow! the rockies are only 3.5 out of the wild card coming into play today….
playoff teams will be getting there act together soon and while i cant promise you that the braves wont make the playoffs, i can promise you that if the braves are 2 games under or even .500 at the end of the year they will be more than 3.5 games out of the wild card race….
joe
June 14th, 2009
6:32 pm
KirKinga, that is an ignorant statement. Andruw did deserve it, and so does yunel. Bobby also benched LaRoche, a WHITE boy for being lazy. Are you satisfied, or are you going to spread more of your Bobby is a racist gossip. I’m so sick of that crap.
bravos2249
June 14th, 2009
6:32 pm
kirkinga
You make a good point. Bobby pulled LaRoche from that game..we all know what happened. But did not once call him out. It turned out Adam had ADHD..or ADD..don’t remember. But still it was something that warranted getting called out.
bravos2249
June 14th, 2009
6:33 pm
joe
He didn’t throw him under the bus though.
unbelievable
June 14th, 2009
6:33 pm
was Kotchman taken out in the 5th inning of todays game? did he get reinjured?
Shirtless Joe Buck
June 14th, 2009
6:33 pm
If you think that the picture of Dave O’Brien in his leather jacket is cool, imagine how he would look if he were shirtless like me.
Jake W.
June 14th, 2009
6:33 pm
More like stuck in your ways Escodog. It’s that whole my way or the highway type of thinking. You may not like it but apparently a lot of fans do or they wouldn’t do it. Different cultures, different mindsets. Escobar comes from a culture that embraces his behavour and he’s probably done it all his life. 2 years with Bobby isn’t going to change a lifetime of doing things another way.
JD
June 14th, 2009
6:34 pm
I don’t see how benching someone will fix split-second mental errors. The next time a similar situation occurs, will Escobar be thinking
hmm, the runner from 3rd is trying to score. But the last time I tried to throw him out I got benched. I just wanted to prevent a run from scoring but I made the wrong decision. I don’t want to get benched again, so I’d better throw to first
*Escobar throws to first while Roberts slides in at third*
Shamus Thacker
June 14th, 2009
6:35 pm
If Escobar responds unfavorably to Bobby’s public lashing, he won’t be long for here…
JD
June 14th, 2009
6:36 pm
I want to see Francoeur benched for swinging at ridiculous first pitches…make him take some, Bobby! Imagine how much better (or less bad) he would be hitting ahead in the count.
Doc Holiday
June 14th, 2009
6:36 pm
joe,
I didnt realized JF was hitting .875 for the last 2 years……………man…………..fax frank immediately, tell him to abort trading JF. I new something was wrong with that decision.
Tommy Hanson
June 14th, 2009
6:36 pm
If they move the Braves to Vegas then I can spend my off days sitting on my large rear end playing the slots!
joe
June 14th, 2009
6:36 pm
The difference is that the Braves were winning then, and they aren’t now. Escobar made a bad play and bad plays lately. I’m in total agreement. But if we were more or less winning, he probably would not have been called out. Let’s not forget that without Escobar, we are way under .500.
Shamus Thacker
June 14th, 2009
6:36 pm
Put your shirt on Joe Buck, that jiggling beer-gut is making me sick….
kirkinga
June 14th, 2009
6:36 pm
joe, I didn’t call Bobby a racist, so why talk about “white players”? I just said he’s publicly thrown two players under the bus and they are both Latino. I find it hard to believe they are the only two deserving of that distinction. Save the race baiting for someone else, I fully explained myself and my comment was not directly about race.
bravos2249
June 14th, 2009
6:37 pm
Cox, who earned his 120th career ejection while arguing the call in the middle of the fifth inning, met with LaRoche in his office, and the third-year first baseman came away with hope that he had learned his lesson. He also came away fully understanding the fact that there’s a reason Brian Jordan will be starting at first base in Monday night’s game against the Marlins.
That’s not what Bobby did this time!!!!!!!!!
unbelievable
June 14th, 2009
6:37 pm
Esco shouldve paid attention to the runner before chasing him back to 1st. The guy already crossed the plate before the runner got there. Either way, Bobby was more pissed about not turning the DP in the 1st when Esco didnt put anything behind his throw and the runner beat it out
Escodog
June 14th, 2009
6:37 pm
“Escodog
Hey smart one he argued with the ump that he DIDN’T hit the ball…not that he did. He just didn’t realize the 3rd base ump called him out.”
Glad you didn’t say all that other stuff didn’t happen because it did.
Jake W “Then turn the channel Escodog becuase every team has them.”
No, not every team has them. If every team had them, then teams wouldn’t be getting ticked off at the Braves because of Esco. It’s even been reported on this blog and in AJC stories that other teams have taken exception with Esco’s approach. If those teams had their version of Esco, they wouldn’t be getting ticked about OUR Esco.
Some teams do have their hotdogs. Mets hotdogs cost them the playoffs 2 years ago with all their antics on the next to last day of the season. They showed the Marlins up on Saturday and the Marlins were determined to beat them on Sunday the final day of the season.
AndyC
June 14th, 2009
6:38 pm
4th place. How does it feel? The next 15 games will decide the season. If the Braves are 10+ games out after the next 15 games they are done and it will be almost impossible to win the wildcard because there will be 5-6 teams in front of them. Doesn’t look good.
Doc Holiday
June 14th, 2009
6:39 pm
unbelievable,
CK was participating in a rundown but suddenly he decided to come home and try to prevent a runner from scoring with 2 outs…….They decided to bench him and called him airhead.
joe
June 14th, 2009
6:39 pm
Nevermind that it was Lowe’s off day that had runners continually rounding the bases. You can’t assume double plays Bobby, especially on a play like that with more moving parts (pitcher covering, etc). Lowe absolutely did not have it today, but no mention of that by Bobby. That missed double play and the late throw home was not what lost us the game.
PWHjort
June 14th, 2009
6:40 pm
I think this team is dysfunctional. We’ve got all the bricks (except for an outfielder or 2) but none of the mortar. Underachieving losers through and through.
bravos2249
June 14th, 2009
6:40 pm
Shamus Thacker
He didn’t. If you would bother to read the write up Carroll did you’d know that. It’s not the fact Bobby called someone out, it’s the fact that Escobar was the one. Yes he’s had mental mistakes, but god bless he’s not the most retarded player on the field.
Escodog
June 14th, 2009
6:42 pm
‘Let’s not forget that without Escobar, we are way under .500.+
With Esco we are 2 games under and in next to last place.
The Braves aren’t going anywhere this year. This IS the team and sub .500 seems their lot.
NOW is the time to adjust Escobar’s approach. You’re losing so why not do it now instead of letting it go until his approach can’t be adjusted? If he stays a Brave, he will be well served and so will the Braves with a guy who uses his head for something besides a place to put his cap!
bravos2249
June 14th, 2009
6:43 pm
I don’t remember the DP…but not to blame Kelly, but if anyone for heavens sake taped this or whatever. Was he late in getting the ball to Escobar….and I thought the runner ran into Escobar as well? IDK can’t remember.
joe
June 14th, 2009
6:44 pm
bravos, it was canizares that made a good play fielding the ball, then made a slow throw to 2nd to get the force
Ricky Ricardo
June 14th, 2009
6:44 pm
YUNEL! YOU GOT SOME SPLAINING TO DO!
Colin
June 14th, 2009
6:44 pm
move to VEGAS!!!!!!!!
Interested Observer
June 14th, 2009
6:45 pm
I have to say that I didn’t notice anything about the DP that I would pin on Escobar. I wish I could go back and look at it again. Now the baserunning errors and the rundown I do pin on him. He had no shot at the guy coming home today. He might have been able to make the tag before the run crossed the plate, but even if not, you still end the inning with only the one additional run and limit the damage.
But Escobar isn’t the only one who doesn’t hustle all the time. Everyone was laughing at Luis Castillo’s error the other day. But how many Braves do you think would have scored from 1st on that play. A lot of them would have probably been jogging after seeing the popout and only make it to third.
Carroll Rogers
June 14th, 2009
6:46 pm
Enter your comments here
San Francisco Giants
June 14th, 2009
6:46 pm
Four games up in the wild-card, boys.
Jake W.
June 14th, 2009
6:46 pm
Escodog, we are talking about people who hotdog and/or make stupid plays right. I can think of one person on every team that does one of those things. The problem with the bat is not that he flips it but where he flips it. He’s not doing it on purpose but it doesn’t matter. You’ve made up your mind that you don’t like him so thats that.
kirkinga
June 14th, 2009
6:48 pm
Trading Yunel Escobar is something the Braves of the 80’s would do. You don’t trade a guy because he is a young knucklehead who is overagressive at times. Unless there is more that we haven’t been told, I can’t see trading Escobar.
You certainly don’t trade him for show as some here have suggested. Some have even suggested he’s got an “attitude”. Well funny how some people have “fire”, while others have “attitudes”. Gary Sheffield can play for the Braves but not Yunel?
Unless he has alienated his teammates (didn’t we just hear how great the chemistry was on this team?), trading Yunel would send the wrong message to the Braves. It might be popular with those who like their young athletes to be attitude-free, but it also says we are don’t everything we can to put the best team on the field. The Braves are not going to compete with Diory at SS folks. They can “get by”, but they aren’t going to stay in competition for a playoff spot. Though they may not say it publicly, the players know that’s true too.
DirtyDawg
June 14th, 2009
6:49 pm
I’m pretty much a B Cox supporter, but I’m afraid I’m in agreement with those that say the man has a ‘thing’ about Escobar. KJ is not and never will be an adequate second baseman..and he makes not only physical but mental errors every game…and do you think BC has ever ‘called him out’? G Anderson is a loafing, ‘I don’t give a damn’ good-for-nothing…and do you think Bobby has ever called him out. The man has cost us game after game with his inability to get to balls, throw to bases or beat anything out – anywhere…and do you think BC calls him out?
As for Escobar, I still don’t think the play the other night was on him – in fact, if anybody should have been called on it it should have been KJ – he was standing right next to him and could clearly see the runner heading home – say something dammit. As for today, I didn’t see the first inning, so I don’t know if Lowe was late getting to the bag or not – at the least Esco probably thought he’d have had to hit a moving target and as hard as he throws the ball it would have hand-cuffed him at best or gone into the camera well at worst…and as for the run down, again, there was one other guy involved and although he may just be a temporary replacement, who’s in charge of teaching them how to execute that run down and/or when to throw it? I agree that Esco’s only chance would have been to go all out and dive to tag the faster man – he may have gotten him, but shoot, he probably couldn’t have gotten the runner at home even if he’d had thrown it as soon as he got it.
I think everybody has been on Esco’s case way too much. And what’s with Chipper’s comment that ‘Bobby must have thought…’, if he agreed with BC wouldn’t he have said, ‘Bobby saw what we all saw…’. We’re gonna lose this guy and with the brilliant trades over the past few years will be left with a mediocre SS with no offense and nothing to show for having had Esco in the first place.
Shirtless Joe Buck
June 14th, 2009
6:50 pm
When you listen to one of my broadcasts, you really should take your shirt off to get the full flavor of the event.
Jake W.
June 14th, 2009
6:51 pm
Oh and Esco is nowhere near as bad as the Mets hotdog players.
San Francisco Giants, Its been three years, bout time yall figured out how to score for your pitchers. Now if only my bravos could do that. Nice that you bring up the wildcard though, how’s it look in your division?
Reality
June 14th, 2009
6:51 pm
Four games up in the wild-card, boys. – San Francisco Giants
That should tell you all you need to know about this team’s chances to make the playoffs. Sell Shop.
kirkinga
June 14th, 2009
6:52 pm
Nevermind that it was Lowe’s off day that had runners continually rounding the bases. You can’t assume double plays Bobby, especially on a play like that with more moving parts (pitcher covering, etc).
Another good point that makes Cox’s public statements even more curious.
joe
June 14th, 2009
6:55 pm
Nice to see the San Franciso Girls made it on the Braves board. whats the matter Girls, still sore from the pounding the Braves gave you 15 years ago?
Escodog
June 14th, 2009
6:57 pm
“Unless he has alienated his teammates (didn’t we just hear how great the chemistry was on this team?)”
It was actually mentioned in the media recently that some of Escobar’s antics were wearing thin on some of the Braves. Funny how people don’t seem to hear that when it’s mentioned and act shocked when something like this happens.
Selective memory.
Shirtless Joe Buck
June 14th, 2009
6:58 pm
I like to eat peaches this time of year but I find that the juice always runs down my bare chest.
bravos2249
June 14th, 2009
6:59 pm
joe
thanks. I couldn’t remember what happened.
San Francisco Giants
June 14th, 2009
6:59 pm
Didn’t we sweep you?
Matt Cain is awesome
June 14th, 2009
7:01 pm
Giants are for real. The Braves wish they could play scrappy, fundamentally sound baseball like the Giants.
joe
June 14th, 2009
7:01 pm
escodog…provide a link to your claims.
Jake W.
June 14th, 2009
7:02 pm
What makes their memory anymore selective than yours. Brian McCann comes out of nowehere to compliment the teams chemistry which is what they are saying. Heard him say it on the postgame myself. I don’t remember any media source outside of those during the whole Peavy thing talking about Esco. Then Chipper Jones goes on live radio and says he doesn’t feel those “antics” should resort in him getting traded. Your top player said that and didn’t sound happy that they were even thinking about trading him.
TPM
June 14th, 2009
7:02 pm
It has been over 10 days since Glavine got cut. I guess his agent’s phone is not ringing as much as they expected.
Escodog
June 14th, 2009
7:02 pm
Jake W
We do agree on something after all. I feel Esco is TOO much of a hotdog. But we agree he isn’t as bad as the Met’s hotdogs.
joe
June 14th, 2009
7:03 pm
I remember that throw from Canizares to Esco was Grandma speed. Escobar always throws the ball as hard as possible. I remember thinking that with that throw to first it would be hard to get the DP, and that is indeed what happened. No fault on Escy there.
Theorem
June 14th, 2009
7:04 pm
Giants > Athletics, and
Athletics > Orioles, and
Orioles > Braves ==>
Giants >> Braves.
QED
Jake W.
June 14th, 2009
7:05 pm
San Fran guy, 4 games up in June and you have the nerve to brag? Anything can happen between now and October, I mean just ask the Mets. You swept us at your house but we have yet to host you.
Good Grief
June 14th, 2009
7:06 pm
I guess repeatedly swinging at a pitch that’s not only in the dirt but in the left handed batter’s box doesn’t count as a mental mistake (Frenchy). I guess closing your glove before it hits it isn’t a mental mistake (Kelly).I mean I personally think those are mental mistakes. I’ve seen Frenchy cause us to lose more games at the plate than the so-called “mental” mistakes that Escobar has had this week.
Carroll Rogers
June 14th, 2009
7:07 pm
joe, thanks. you’re totally right. it was a play in the field for andruw. thanks. sometimes i don’t know what i’d do if you guys weren’t here to keep me straight. thanks.
Adam Laroche was for not covering first, i thought. but I didn’t write that in any story just yet, so I haven’t messed it up yet!
ccrider
June 14th, 2009
7:08 pm
One fans(since 1966) opinion of getting the Braves to contender status for 2010:
1. Francoeur and Kelly; trade if a deal can be found, release if not: saves $6 Mill
2. Escobar can be great, but is often erractic, Trade to Boston for Michael Bowden
3. Trade Gonzalez and Soriano at the trade deadline for bullpen propsects. Resign Gonzalez in the off-season.
4. The most controversial move; Trade Derek Lowe(has nothing to do with todays start) to White Sox for Jermaine Dye. They Need pitching, we need a big right handed bat. Dye’s $12 Mil contract expires after 2010. The Braves would get Salary flexability Lowe is due $60 Mill thru 2013.
5. Free agency: sign Chone Figgins $24 mil for 3 yrs. X. Nady $12 Mil for 2 yrs.
Lineup: Figgins(2B), McLouth(CF), Chipper(3B), Dye(LF), McCann(C), Nady(RF), Kotchman(1B), Infante(SS)
Rotation: Hudson(sign him to 3 yr extension $36 mil. if he appears healthy this year, Vasqeuz ( Sign him to 3 yr extension $33 mil., Jurrjens, Hanson and the winner in spring training between Kawakami, Medlen, Bowden.
Bullpen: Gonzalez, Moylan (better a year after Tommy John surgery), Medlen or Kawakami or Bowden, O’Flaherty and two arms from trades of Gonzalez and Soriano.
Bench: Prado, Ross, Canizaires, D. Hernandez and B. Jones.
2011 lineup: Figgins, McLouth, Chipper, McCann, Nady or Dye at reduced salary( the other would be traded or become a free agent), Heyward, Infante, Freeman.
PS: I know some do not think Infante is adequate SS, but he catches want he can reach and always plays heads up. He will do until a long term replacement surfaces.
Escodog
June 14th, 2009
7:09 pm
Jake W
Were are disagreeing again.
Of course McCann is going on TV/Radio after a win and say the chemistry is good! After a loss, Bobby talks like every opposing pitcher is Cy Young! It’s PR! Yesterday is the first day I ever heard Bobby say he was tired of saying that. McCann isn’t going on an interview and call teammates out!
It was Joe Simpson just this week during a broadcast who made that statement about Esco’s antics wearing thin on some. Someone must have voiced that opinion to him. I don’t think he made it up.
As for trading Esco, Braves don’t have to trade him. Adjust his attitude. If his attitude can’t be adjusted, ship him out!
CorkylikesBeer
June 14th, 2009
7:12 pm
It is still early in the season..Frenchy and KJ’s hitting will come around.
Escobars
June 14th, 2009
7:14 pm
If you want a protein bar loaded with caffeine and sugar and guaranteed to make you antsy and have the jitters then try an ESCOBAR.
Shirtless Joe Buck
June 14th, 2009
7:16 pm
The Braves have a winning season?
I can’t get my shirt around that concept.
I don’t even know where my shirt is!
Doc Holiday
June 14th, 2009
7:16 pm
It funny to read from fans of a team that could not get to the WS is they dont pay lots of millions to drug users………..Sorry if you are reading this Mr. Barry Bonds, but you are the biggest cheater ever……..and your exteam has become crap once you left.
joe
June 14th, 2009
7:17 pm
I want nothing to do with eating a Escobar.
J-MAN
June 14th, 2009
7:20 pm
This Season is starting to look like the past 3. Where were oh so close yet so far. I Think now its time to sell we obviously have holes and its not gonna be solved this season so I think now its time to look to the future and get some salary off the books. Who should stay.
#1. McCann, obviously, even though he made a bone headed play #2.Escobar,
#3 Hanson,
#4. Jurggens,
#5. Lowe, even though he lost today and he is an older player we have him locked up for 3 more years and we can build off on that,
#6. KK for the same reasons as D Lowe,
#7 McClouth, we have him locked until 2012
Hopefully we can resign Mike Gonzolaz and Soriano
But I say we need to look into trading Chipper, so we can get some young bats and give him one more shot at the playoffs, now dont give me the loyality thing, just Smoltz and Glavine about that one.
Vazquez has good value to get some prospects for also.
We need to sell now because you know we aint going nowhere this year at best were a .500 team but we will probably finish with a 75-87 record.
I’m so bumbed out that we gonna have to wait until 2010 to be competive again!!!
Jake W.
June 14th, 2009
7:21 pm
Escodog the only point i’m trying to make is that Escobar is in the 3rd month of his 2nd full season here. There are things that I don’t like that he does but I feel he should be given more time to show if he will change. The idea that he should be traded just because he’s not Bobby’s protypical player is what i don’t like. I highly doubt his antics are that serious that it affects this team that much. Once again he’s had a bad week and I agree that a message needed to be sent to him, but he isn’t the only one who needs to be punished in my opinion. As a whole I don’t disagree with what bobby does a lot, but this time and based on his reasoning some other players deserved to be benched too.
AndyC
June 14th, 2009
7:24 pm
Bad time for an off day. I know they need the rest but they get to sit and think about this horrible game and being in 4th place.
Coach ( Moon Pie, Anyone?)
June 14th, 2009
7:25 pm
One third of this season is in the tank. We are in fourth place with a losing record.
CHOO CHOO! CHUGGA CHUGGA, CHOO CHOO!
June Freight Train, meet the Braves.
SPLAT!
dman
June 14th, 2009
7:26 pm
Escodog
“If those teams had their version of Esco, they wouldn’t be getting ticked about OUR Esco.”
Brian Bruney calls out K-Rod for his antics, yet the Yankees have Joba.
Shirtless Joe Buck
June 14th, 2009
7:27 pm
Are ESCOBARS juicy? I wouldn’t want it to drip down my bare chest and make my hair sticky.
jason
June 14th, 2009
7:30 pm
I just read the escobar benching. I agree. Escobar as good as he is has made more mental errors than anyone on the team. I like him. He is one of my Faves. But as Andruw so long ago, he needs this for future development. Everyone is in Francouer’s arse and rightfully so. It does not mean Escobar should be given a free pass. Enough is enough with the BS that our Braves are showing. I hope this is a message sent not only to Escobar, but to the whole damn team. This crap will not be tolerated.
Doc Holiday
June 14th, 2009
7:30 pm
AndyC,
They either need that or deserve it………..
Shirtless Joe Buck
June 14th, 2009
7:32 pm
My favorite band is the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS.
They often perform shirtless.
bigmacattack
June 14th, 2009
7:33 pm
I think karma did them in at 1:48
“Adam Jones was a late scratch today, by the way. That’s a break for the Braves”
karma doesn’t like overconfidence
Shirtless Joe Buck
June 14th, 2009
7:33 pm
I know that Bobby Cox reads this blog.
He likes when I talk about myself not wearing a shirt.
Shirtless Joe Buck
June 14th, 2009
7:35 pm
“karma doesn’t like overconfidence”
karma doesn’t like overdressing, either.
theriddler
June 14th, 2009
7:36 pm
Yunel ain’t the coldest beer in the fridge.
Colin
June 14th, 2009
7:43 pm
shirtless joe is a joke…does this person even watch baseball or just turn everything everyone says to something about no shirt?
YE19
June 14th, 2009
7:49 pm
Escodog et al.,
ESCOBAR was thrown out on the single by Mclouth because from his vantage point on the field he didn’t know if the ball was going to drop. He went halfway, then broke back to first (obviously erroneously), and was forced at second. Had he broken toward second and the ball been caught, you and everyone else would complain how dumb he was for not getting back to first in time. Damned if he does-Damned if he don’t. It’s easy for us at high camera angle view with use of replay to see what Yunel didn’t – that the ball was going to drop. I’d argue that if he didn’t know if the ball would be caught, he made the right choice and cost the team only one out, instead of two had it been caught and he doubled off first.
The bat flipping is presumably habit – Not intentionally poor showmanship. He finishes high with two hands on the bat in his follow-through swing; so instead of dropping the bat at his own heels before running, the bat is flipped away. He simply needs to do it with less aggression at times, but bad habits are hard to break. I used to flip the bat down and away toward the on-deck circle when I played ball, and never was able to fully break that habit.
On Yunel allowing what proved to be the winning run score from third against the Pirates, no one in the ballpark expected Monroe to round third and try to score. Furthermore, Escobar was probably the last player on the field to realize it not because of a mental lapse, but because he was shielded by the runner that had just arrived at the bag at second. He looked to see if he had a play at first and then went to call time, with his view blocked from the runner headed home. Plays like that with an element of surprise are great baseball plays when they work, and considered poor judgment plays when they fail. Take Escobar stealing second off the shoe-tying D-backs closer Valverde in Arizona in the summer of 2007, for example. That proved to be a heads up, great baseball play. When Willie Harris tried it one batter later and was thrown out at second, well, that wasn’t perceived as being too smart.
The culture of baseball in Cuba is not only to play the game, but to also entertain the fans. Yunel risked it all wen he fled his native country on a small boat and left behind his family for a chance to realize his dream of playing professional baseball in America several short years ago. In only his second full big league season, he’s undoubtedly still adjusting to the culture of baseball in America; and most would argue he has made tremendous strides in doing so since his early whistling days in the Braves minor league system.
Opposing teams don’t like Yunel because he’s a hell of a ballplayer. He’s an instinctive, clutch, aggressive (admittedly overly so at times, but that’s a hell of a lot more than can be said for every other LIFELESS player on this team not named B-Mac), cannon-armed, wide-ranging SS, who happens to be one of the top three position players on this Braves team. He’s arguably one of the top three NL shortstops, whose overall offensive numbers are eclipsed only by a couple of guys named Tejada and Ramirez. Yes. He has surpassed the apparently passed-his prime Jimmy Rollins and underachieving and at times equally-poorly perceived Latin Jose Reyes in that category. I imagine the language barrier does not help the way he is perceived by some, namely umpires, when he tries to argue calls like the alleged no-foul tip strike three that Joe Simpson and Boog viewed on replay multiple times and still came away inconclusively.
It would be an absolute shame if Braves brass let Bobby Cox – who is clearly passed his managerial prime (but I’ll save that argument for Robert and others for another time) – run Yunel Escobar out of Atlanta. Cox is in the middle of one victory lap too many, while Yunel is an up-and-coming future All-Star SS (who by the way deserves serious consideration for that honor this year). The outside linebacker-framed Yunel Escobar is just beginning to prove his tremendous potential and could lead the Atlanta Braves to the promise land in the very near future and for many subsequent years, with the help of a few other emerging and future Braves superstars in B-Mac, JJ, Hanson, and Heyward, to name a few. It would be an absolute shame if in two years from now Yunel Escobar is playing for a championship Boston Red Sox team while Bobby Cox is on the farm talking about how Jeff Francoeur and the 2005-20?? Braves’ struggles were a result of facing tough no-named lefty after tough no-named lefty.
Said Bobby on the good ole days of .500 ball, “You just have to tip your hat to ‘ole no-name in his first ever complete game shutout. Real good lookin’ kid that hides the ball real well out of his hand.” And on Moylan and Bennett? “Hell, I thought they both pitched just fabulous – a hell of a one third inning each. They threw the ball real well. A couple 76 hoppers, a bloop here, a dink there. There wasn’t a hard hit ball off of either of em. The umpires were really squeezin ‘em out there. And Kelly and Diaz mustv’e just missed those balls in the lights. Dusk is a really hard time to see the ball here. And I thought Frenchy showed patience and really battled out there after he fell behind in the count 0-2 (after chasing a ball in the dirt and one over his head) with the bases loaded and the game on the line in the ninth. He swung and missed strike three at what looked like a real nasty cutter that didn’t cut, to end the game. The ball is real tough to see out of that tough no-named lefty’s hand. TP has really been working with Jeffrey on those tough straight fastballs and hanging curveballs. And I hear Andruw has been giving Jeff some tips on those balls in the dirt. Frenchy is about to break out of this funk, I tell ya. Just gotta keep runnin’ him out there and giving him a chance.”
Yunel Escobar is part of the solution to the Braves’ woes – Most definitely NOT the problem.
Robert
June 14th, 2009
7:49 pm
I would have absolutely loved it if Escobar had pulled a sugar cube out of his pocket, fed it to Bobby, patted him between the ears, and trotted back out to play short
For the second time in twenty years, Cox gets on a player for lax play – and then he says “”We pride ourselves on doing things right, being in the game and [we] don’t do things lackadaisically,” Cox said.
You’re an IDIOT, Bobby Cox – your team plays lax every dang day. What? You notice once every twenty years?
That was a well-managed team on display this weekend. A WELL managed team
RHR
June 14th, 2009
7:54 pm
Don’t want to marry either of them but good points by both Escodog and YE19.
Robert
June 14th, 2009
7:54 pm
“When asked for his reaction to being benched, Escobar said through Gonzalez: Why does that donkey get to decide who plays? He knows nothing about baseball.”
brian
June 14th, 2009
7:54 pm
if the Braves can get a top prospect for Escobar such as Buchholz I would move him. Maybe the Phillies would take Kawakami for their top SS prospect in a package.
McFann :Ô:
June 14th, 2009
7:54 pm
Chop Chop McFann was probably in fourth or fifth grade when Andruw got pulled from that game.
What year was that?
J-MAN #1. McCann, obviously, even though he made a bone headed play
What boneheaded play? The fall into first?
Cock-a-Too
June 14th, 2009
7:56 pm
We bench one of our best hitters for a play that wasn’t even his fault. I mean what the hell was he supposed to do? Mean while The Golden Boy Jeff Francoeur floats along loafing it 50% of the time. I mean give me a freaking break. I wish Yunel went to high school in Atlanta, he’d be an icon in Atlanta.
Bobby Cox is just washed up plain and simple.
Robert
June 14th, 2009
7:58 pm
Someone said .”And what’s with Chipper’s comment that ‘Bobby must have thought…
Bobby shouldnt think. Bad things happen and the Braves lose baseball games when Bobby Cox starts to think
The Lammer
June 14th, 2009
7:59 pm
I don’t think it was a wrong move today, but only if it stays here and doens’t lead to anything else. If the team trades him because of these “mistakes” he’s made, that’s a huge problem. Normally Yunel makes mistakes out of doing too much. I’d much rather have someone screw up by being too aggressive than screw up by being lazy.(ala Garret Anderson)..
I think that there’s a huge double standard going on. Don’t tell me that this is the first time anyone’s been a candidate for being benched due to a “mistake” the player made during play
JeanE
June 14th, 2009
7:59 pm
I for one, am glad Bobby benched that bonehead Escobar! He deserved it, it has been one brain fart after another with Yunel & yes, he’s one of our best hitters but Bobby will put up with alot but when you are perceived as not trying hard, that’s it! Mistakes happen to everyone but I think Bobby had just finally had it & he’d apparently already spoken with Yunel (probably through an interpreter which much be interesting to reprimand someone through a 3rd party!!) I don’t like the way Escobar plays AT ALL, I’d rather have someone with less talent that plays hard all the time, I’d root for them but I find it hard to root for Yunel, I dislike his whole attidude. Serves him right, yeah, Bobby!!
Bravesteach
June 14th, 2009
8:00 pm
YE19: Well said…
Yunel Escobar risked his very life to be playing baseball in the U.S. Some of you need to read the stories & gain perspective. Perhaps Bobby Cox should too. He is the future. Don’t blow it. Chipper & McCann are my favorite players other than Yunel. However, they are the ilk that Bobby feels most comfortable & at ease with. Has Bobby really every been forced to read & UNDERSTAND where Yunel is coming from. It, my friends, is not Deland, Florida much less Duluth or Parkview High Schools.
jbutler
June 14th, 2009
8:00 pm
To shoot some sunshine on this particularly bleary blog today- I went w/the fam to see the Rockies play the Mariners. ‘Ol Griffey Jr. started in LF. Yikes. He is a skeleton of what he used to be. At least the Braves didn’t pin their hopes on that. It was sad to watch.
Robert
June 14th, 2009
8:01 pm
” Bobby doesn’t neccessarily bech guys for sucking like KJ/Frenchy etc. but the bone headed, BS errors get to him”
Which is real curious, since the boneheaded errors are the results of the manager and coaching staff doing a poor job. So Bobby gets mad when players reflect his inadequacy is basically what is happening. It would be a real shame if we let go of one of the best players on the team simply because the idiot manager is mad at hiom for reflecting the manager’s idiocy and inability to manage
RHR
June 14th, 2009
8:01 pm
Maybe the Phillies would take Kawakami for their top SS prospect in a package.
I want to respond but I’m laughing too hard. Good one.
brian
June 14th, 2009
8:03 pm
they were talking about moving him for Brad Penny from the Red Sox RHR – I would take Kawakami over Penny.
Though I meant to type Vazquez. Brain Fart.
jay
June 14th, 2009
8:03 pm
any opinions out there on who gets sent down Tuesday when Kotchman gets back? Maybe Medlen, since he is likely not available anyway for a few days after throwing 80 pitches today?
Jake W.
June 14th, 2009
8:06 pm
Some of you guys are really married to the idea of being bad. Would rather have a player with less talent than Escobar, lets package him for some trade that wouldn’t possibly bring back what we would lose. Lets just completely turn into the Washington Nats why don’t we. Trade away good players that are proven and hope these prospects pan out and if they don’t we have forced ourselves into a perpetual rebuliding cycle. Makes all the sense in the world.
By the way nice post YE19. Agree with so much of what you said.