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© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
3,333 comments Add your comment
dogsbrekky
July 26th, 2009
11:45 am
I like Escobar hitting 4th until we get another masher
Paul Lentz
July 26th, 2009
11:45 am
I said last night that I had no problem with the way Bobby managed the team as far as the bullpen was concerned. Eric O’Flaherty just didnt have it last night. There was no way that Bobby could foresee O’Flaherty walking 3 batters. Sure, he walked the first 2. However, that doesnt mean that O’Flaherty could not have induced a double play. I’ve seen him work out of jams before. He just didnt last night.
As far as Acosta was concerned. Acosta was an “eye seeing ground ball” away from escaping that jam.
What I do question Bobby for last night was him using Greg Norton as a pinch hitter to lead off the 8th inning……..as opposed to using Kelly Johnson. As I said before, I am a fan of NEITHER player. However, if the “reasoning” that Bobby used for keeping Norton was because of his “power”, then why not have Kelly lead off (who has the speed to possibly hit and run with…….with Nate McLouth coming up)? Using a “power” pinch hitter, with no one on base, even though you are down 2-0, doesnt make sense.
A better way of understanding it is to think of how Charlie Manuel uses Matt Stairs and Greg Dobbs. If no one is on base in a 2-0 game, Manuel will use Dobbs. However if a runner is on base in that situation, he brings in Matt Stairs. While I would NEVER put Norton and Kelly on the same LEVEL as Dobbs and Stairs………..the “theory” behind keeping both Kelly and Norton is “what they bring” to a team, at least as Bobby is concerned.
McFann :Ô:
July 26th, 2009
11:46 am
dogsbrekky I like Escobar hitting 4th until we get another masher
Sounds like a plan!
Jaglawyer
July 26th, 2009
11:47 am
Great points at 11:45 Paul reLentzless
Braveheart
July 26th, 2009
11:49 am
None of us really know what the deal will be with Heyward or what the right choice will be. Rational and irrational thoughts can be expressed whether you’re the optimist, the pessimist, or the realist. But the bottomline is no one knows. Some dudes are just so special that age and inexperience really doesn’t matter. Is he one of them guys? Hell, I can’t pretend to know. Andruw, Gooden, King Felix, Arod, Cabrera, Lebron, Kobe, Garnett, Busch, Logano, Tiger, and so many tennis stars were all ready to varying degrees when they were teenagers.
Daryl Strawberry was likely ready in his third year in the minors much like Heyward may be (although Straw had a full season in AA at a similar age (5 months older) and minor league experience after being drafted). If you look back it now, Straw was so dominant in AA that year, he likely could have been called up late in 1982 if the Mets were in contention. But they weren’t, so what would have been the point? Physically, Straw was ready from day one in the majors. Mentally and emotionally, well, unfortunately, I think we all kinda know the answer to that one, but that doesn’t seem like a concern with Heyward.
I’m glad I’m not a GM or a scout ’cause how the hell do you ever know? There are just as many sound arguments to be made for just calling him up now as there are for calling him up in June 2010 or June 2011. I’d like to say something cliched like “well, the truth lies somewhere in the middle”, but that’s likely not where the truth lies. It could be that he’s so good that there was never gonna be a difference between whether he got called up in June 2008 or June 2009 or whether he gets called up in June 2010 or June 2011. I guess we’ll see.
But if Heyward is so special that he can come up here now, and put a 134 OPS+ for the rest of the season like Straw did as a rookie in 1983, there’d be no need for the “big bat” in a trade. Just call up the big bat you got. ‘Cause, really, was the extra six weeks of minor league seasoning in AA followed by 6 months off during the 1982 offseason really the critical factor in helping Strawberry become more physically ready to put up a 134 OPS+ in 1983?
Jaglawyer
July 26th, 2009
11:50 am
Chipper out of the lineup?
Dude really needs to go see his gynecologist
dogsbrekky
July 26th, 2009
11:52 am
Those fillies are just animals.
I left for dinner happy to see LaRussa’s girls up 4-3 with Ankiel making some great OF plays.
I drive to dinner and check around 60 minutes later and see the score is 14-5… had to recheck several times to make sure the old eyes were not fooling me.
Braves73
July 26th, 2009
11:53 am
nolie – I fail to see your point. What does that have to do with bringing Acosta in the game one batter sooner? It’s a managers duty to put his players in the best position to have success. How does that move help the Braves?
Paul Lentz
July 26th, 2009
11:53 am
Carroll Rogers……….Kelly starting at 2nd. What a surprise. I’d love to hear what is up with Chipper. If he is hurt or nicked up where he cant play……..that is one thing. I’d have no problem with Bobby giving Chipper the day off.
However, I have a feeling that there is a chance that Bobby could use the “well, giving Chipper 2 days off (tomorrow is an off day) will do him some good” excuse…….in order to get Kelly Johnson in the line-up and some at-bats to “get him going”.
Also, I’m curious as to why Ryan Church isnt in the line-up to face the right handed Looper?
Piedmont Blues (x-BFIR)
July 26th, 2009
11:54 am
Braveheart (11:49),
Nice.
Paul Lentz
July 26th, 2009
11:54 am
Jaglawyer…………….I appreciate the props.
DirtyDawg
July 26th, 2009
11:55 am
I realize that this has probably been cussed and discussed, but instead of autographing those ‘unis’ from last night’s game and selling ‘em to raise money, I say say burn the SOBs and don’t ever agree to wear those things ever again.
Gov. Clinton Tyree
July 26th, 2009
11:56 am
Paul Lentz: There was an allusion to you (on one website) weighing 500 pounds prior to stomach surgery then losing 250 but developing an alcohol problem. Is that true, or is that another Paul Lentz?
Also, I noted that you won $5000 in a poker tournament. Don’t you have to win more than that to avoid a job and stay home and blog?
Just curious.
Braves73
July 26th, 2009
11:56 am
Paul Lentz – Once again, I agree with your posts/philosophy 100%. We both knew that one of “Bobby’s boys” would be back in just as soon as he could do it. Also, is it any surprise that our number 1 pinch hitter is Greg Norton…what the he!! logic is there in that??? You have David Ross, and any one of the not used outfielders to pinch hit, and still Bobby tries to defend his stupidity with the same old, same old.
Gov. Clinton Tyree
July 26th, 2009
11:59 am
Obviously, on this Norton thing, if Norton is really a .100 hitter and Conrad is really a .400 hitter keeping Norton was really stupid. The Braves probably think they’re both .260-.270 hitters and that Norton has a little more power and that they can hang on to both.
I don’t agree, I’m just sayin’.
Gov. Clinton Tyree
July 26th, 2009
12:00 pm
I also don’t agree with keeping KJ over Conrad. Or starting KJ over Conrad, as we’re doing today. I don’t think Conrad is THAT good, but I think he earned an extended stay here…
RHR
July 26th, 2009
12:00 pm
Lew – My uncle is not a blogger but I will ask him if he would like to contribute to the project, if he does I’ll pass it on to you. I was born in ‘70 and we lived overseas off and on until about 1980 so I missed the Hank Aaron era even if I had been old enough to pay attention. My grandparents and uncle are and always have been big time Braves fans, my uncle would’ve been in high school/college so I know he remembers it well. I’ll get with him in the next few days.
Buzzmeat
July 26th, 2009
12:00 pm
Norton was so last year Bobby Cox, Just face it!
Jaglawyer
July 26th, 2009
12:00 pm
Paul:
I assume I am in the extreme vocal minority that will readily admit I enjoy your posts. I think you offer intelligent points.
HOWEVER, you occassionally remind me of my pain in the ass wife who repeats the same obvious thing over and over. Just saying.
In any event, let’s hope Lowe continues to show he’s turned the corner, win the series, and keep plugging away . . .
DOB’s story about seeing Rickey Henderson in the hallway of the hotel made me laugh. Having heard Rickey’s recount of the story about Olerud and how he wore a batting helmet in the field and the “now I’m the greatest” I’m not quite sure what I would have said to him . . .
curtis jones
July 26th, 2009
12:00 pm
Another good 1-6 lineup. More automatic outs 7-8-9. Sure would have been nice to have Conrad in at 2B, and I still wish they would teach McCann or Ross to play 1B…
Salamander
July 26th, 2009
12:02 pm
Need to win today… KJ starting… he better contribute.
Lew
July 26th, 2009
12:04 pm
Paul Lentz-No the Conrad “situation” is nothing more than an excuse for bloggers like yourself to wring their hands, gnash their teeth or piss and moan about nothing of importance. Dude overachieved for all of 32 At Bats in a position where, at best, he was likely to see two or three at bats a week. It’s nothing but a case of malcontnets such as yourself to have something to gripe about and nothing more. It was not a major deal and is a basically meaningless move.
Let’s not have this become yet another case of your ceaseless attention to whatever cause du jour you decide upon. Like Francoeur (though nowhere near the level of importance to the lineup) it’s nothing but another excuse for you to pontificate like a madman and to browbeat the blog into thinking your response to anything is actually important or insightful.
Gov. Clinton Tyree
July 26th, 2009
12:04 pm
I was one of KJ’s staunchest supporters over the last three years because I’ve always felt that the natural progression for him was to develop into a .290/.370/.480 hitter and because I think he’s better at 2B than a lot of folks do (I think he’s slightly above average).
However, Prado’s emergence and KJ’s dismal extended performance changed my feelings on that. Now we’re starting KJ at 2B with Chipper out, Prado to 3B, and I just don’t like it. I think Prado needs to stay at 2B and I think Brooks Conrad would have been a better choice to play than KJ. He earned it.
RHR
July 26th, 2009
12:05 pm
If Bobby ever pitches Jeff Bennett, he’s a darn fool.
This is the only one I agree with. Sorry Braveheart, you’re losing your touch.
UNCBrave
July 26th, 2009
12:06 pm
**Carroll=Thanks not bad for a dookie
**dook poster (not Carroll)=UNC has 2 National Titles in 4 years, dook hasn’t made it past the Sweet 16 (and only made it that far 1 time)
**Chipper hasn’t had an off=day since the break=I like what Bobby is doing giving him essentially 2 days off
**I also like that line-up with Escobar hitting 3rd when Chipper’s out
**I like the fact that Chipper AND McCann are not out the SAME day…Bobby did this in the 1st half and it left our offense anemic. McCann rested last game of Giants series, Chipper played, not vice=versa
**Maybe KJ is getting a start so we can showcase him in a TRADE
**FINALLY, let’s WIN the SERIES today Braves which is all you can hope for on the ROAD…WIN SERIES
Mitchie-san
July 26th, 2009
12:06 pm
What is a “eye seeing ground ball” ?
The Lammer
July 26th, 2009
12:07 pm
Go figure that the team leader is taking a must win game off. Way to go, champ!
RHR
July 26th, 2009
12:08 pm
Conrad still had options and is only at Gwinnett (where he’s 1-10 since going down there)
Come on Lew, be fair. The Braves were his Brayan Pena.
Lew
July 26th, 2009
12:08 pm
RHR-THanks. I knew some were too young to have seen Hank, but I know for a fact that there are plenty of LOF’s in attendance on the blog. Never thought I’d have so hard a time getting people to express opinions, though.
Gov. Clinton Tyree
July 26th, 2009
12:09 pm
Curtis is right about Ross/McCann. One of those guys should be able to handle 1B against LHP. Ross is one of our 8 best hitters, SLG .500+ – we need to get him more than 150 ABs.
Braves73
July 26th, 2009
12:10 pm
Lew – You are making Paul Lentz’s point for him. There is no such thing as a “meaningless move”. By definition alone, you are stating that every move fits that category. If that’s the case, then your logic needs some fine tuning. EVERY PITCH, EVERY RUN, EVERY MOVE COUNTS!
UNCBrave
July 26th, 2009
12:10 pm
BTW, the only thing that doesn’t make sense to me is LH Ryan Church in the line-up against a Righty LOOPER…Maybe Church is getting TRADED??
Lew
July 26th, 2009
12:10 pm
Braves73-Still obsessing are we?
UNCBrave
July 26th, 2009
12:11 pm
Carroll,
Ask the ? to Bobby for bloggers…..Has McCann or Ross ever taken ground balls at 1B??
Gov. Clinton Tyree
July 26th, 2009
12:12 pm
Lew: Lentz irritates me, too, but I think the move was more important than that. Conrad should be up here – most probably ahead of KJ, certainly ahead of Diory (who is nothing special defensively at SS). And a run here and there does make a difference. This race is going down to the wire; we can’t throw away games in July.
Josh
July 26th, 2009
12:13 pm
The Lammer, you realize Chipper is 37 years old right? playing baseball every day is hard anybodys body especially someone thats 37! get a clue man I bet you never played baseball at any level!
Paul Lentz
July 26th, 2009
12:13 pm
I hope that the Blue Jays stick to their guns and refuse to deal Halladay to the Phillies unless they include Happ, Drabek and Brown in the trade.
Roy Halladay could easily win the National League Cy Young next year, playing on a Phillies team with that kind of offense.
Halladay is not only a winning pitcher, dude is a bullpen saver. He routinely goes 8 or 9 innings. He is a workhorse and the Jays would be damn fools for not “raping” the Phillies farm system.
I hope the Jays make the Phillies mortgage the future if they want a chance to win a second World Series title in 2 years.
Still, the Phillies will need to trade for one more starting pitcher, even if they get Halladay. Moyer and Blanton are still very hittable pitchers. Plus Hamels isnt the same pitcher as he was last year. This could end up being an expensive effort to repeat as champs.
RHR
July 26th, 2009
12:16 pm
Gov Clinton Tyree – wow dude, you’re creepy. Sure Paul is annoying and really dumb for using his real first and last name as a blog id but that’s not enough reason for you to go all stalker on him. Google him all you want (which…who cares that much?) but have the sense to keep it to yourself.
CJ10
July 26th, 2009
12:16 pm
Tar Hole Brave, Church is not getting traded!
chilidog75
July 26th, 2009
12:17 pm
Chipper is too valuable to this team to simply get a “day off.”
If he’s hurt or banged up, that’s one thing. But if it’s just for rest? With an off-day tomorrow?
His team is coming off a zero-run effort. They have a chance to win a series, against another Wild Card contender, on the road. And he’s being replaced in the lineup by Kelly Johnson.
That said, maybe KJ will go 3 for 4 with two doubles and five RBIs.
njbraves
July 26th, 2009
12:18 pm
Paul Lentz…I am assuming that Bobby used Norton instead of Kj so that he would have KJ for a double switch later on. The situation never arose, but I would think that was his reasoning.
Lew
July 26th, 2009
12:18 pm
Braves73 and Paul Lentz-Just because the two of you and a few other bloggers think that the wrong moves are constantly made by Bobby and the Braves doesn’t necessarily mean you’re even close to being right about it. ML Baseball is not your Fantasy team. You don’t make moves like the commercial says ” They’re like your summer family-only a family you can trade when they go 0-4.” Major league experience and a fairly decent track record as a pinch hitter counts for much more than 32 Big League At Bats-a massive overachievment after a mediocre (at best) NIne Year minor league career and a pitiful performance in his only other small Big League experience. The fact you are obsessing about the situation shows much more about you personal psychology than it does a manager’s with in excess of 20 successful managerial years.
Conrad is The Player Du Jour-NOT the second coming of The Power Hitter of Your Choice. It is a minor move, hardly worthy of notice except by obsessive malcontents like yourself.
njbraves
July 26th, 2009
12:19 pm
Cox loves to gives guys a day off right before a scheduled off day. It’s his way to get them two days off…he’s been doing it for years. Chip is a nice bat to have available off the bench late in the game.
Braves73
July 26th, 2009
12:20 pm
Lew – I am sure that you are just as passionate about the Braves as I am (and most bloggers). If you are defining “obsessive” as important, pivotal, key, crucial, then yes, I am “obsesive”. I don’t have the capacity to accept a “meaningless move”. I believe that you truly understand this, you are just obsessively pontificating your point.
njbraves
July 26th, 2009
12:20 pm
Lew…well said. Though you are talking to a brick wall as far as Lentz is concerned.
chilidog75
July 26th, 2009
12:21 pm
It’s odd, but if the Braves had won last night I would have no problem with Chipper having a day off.
Since they didn’t, I think he should be in there.
Which is admittedly stupid rationale on my part — because baseball seasons are so long that one game in July isn’t a “must win” by any means. For momentum’s sake, because this team has been playing so well lately, I’d hate to have any sort of losing streak (even a two-game one) heading into next week.
Gov. Clinton Tyree
July 26th, 2009
12:21 pm
RHR: Whatever. The guy’s an a$$hat. I’ve been wondering how one person could blog that much and somebody said overnight that he was a professional poker player and that it would come up if I googled him, so I did.
Don’t worry, I’m not a stalker and I won’t be googling RHR. Rather more appropriate to have a nice screen handle, don’t you think?
Mitchie-san
July 26th, 2009
12:23 pm
Chipper probably tweaked something making that double play late in the game last night….
Lew
July 26th, 2009
12:24 pm
Gov-I would have kept Conrad myself, but I’m sorry-two or three at bats a week are NOT that big a deal. Conrad wasn’t playing defense and his 32 AB stretch of success is much smaller than what KJ (or Norton) has put up during their careers-in fact, it’s such a small sample size as to be statistically insignificant..
Everyone here is looking at an extremely small, very isolated sample of Conrad’s body or work. What are you going to accept as the real Brooks Conrad- A 9 year, almost 4,000 AB career where he posts a .261 BA with a barely average OBP, a 19 AB stint in Oakland where he hit .158, .158, .218, or a 32 AB stretch of success? Me, I’m going with the career numbers and believe BConrad is nothing more than a mediocre talent who had a small stretch of success.
Gov. Clinton Tyree
July 26th, 2009
12:26 pm
Lew: Conrad’s had 100 HRs in the last four years at the high minor level playing a middle infield position. Sometimes guys get labeled and you accidentally get a jewel (or at least a very nice player at an advanced age). Look at Ludwick.
I’m not inclined to dismiss that. And you’ve pointed to his cup of coffee at Oakland in which he didn’t hit as support for burying him, while pointing to the small sample size of his performance this year to minimize his ability.
I think it’s possible to disagree on this guy, but you can’t totally ignore what he did over the last three weeks.
Braveheart
July 26th, 2009
12:26 pm
I’ve tried to put together some thoughts for Hank, but just can’t. The problem with Hank is that he was so great and so meaningful in so many ways, that it’s hard to find the words that express the depth of his greatness and meaningfulness. It’s like the way your mom, dad, brothers or sisters or some of your closest platonic and romantic friends have meant the world to you, but you can never express the depth of your love and appreciation for them until you’re standing alone over their grave talking to them. Even then, despite visit after visit to their grave, you never get to feeling like you’ve told them everything or that you said everything the right way, and you get to feeling so darn guilty about that. But, unfortunately, while they’re still alive, about the most you can tell them is “Thanks. Love ya!” because anything more than that is not enough or not said right. So you just tell them “luv ya!” and hope they know there’s a helluva lot more to it than that. Unfortunately, you also get to feeling so darn guilty that you don’t tell them more than that.
Paul Lentz
July 26th, 2009
12:28 pm
Lew…………do you think that the Phillies win the World Series last year if they had Greg Norton and Kelly Johnson as their key pinch hitters and Peter Moylan as their 7th inning guy?
Sending Conrad down, instead of cutting Greg Norton, is just a continuation of moves that not only have already been made……..but will continue to be made when it it comes to “Bobby’s guys” who need to GO.
Gov. Clinton Tyree
July 26th, 2009
12:29 pm
Lew: Your point for rational thought is well-taken. I’m just saying, the guy contributed mightily while he was up here, helped us win 3-4 games. I thought that deserved a little more weight when the time came to decide whether to keep him, Norton or KJ.
Guess we’ll have another interesting decision in a couple weeks when Infante comes back. That’s got to be Hernandez, doesn’t it?
Braveheart
July 26th, 2009
12:29 pm
RHR, I also never ever want to see Jeff Bennett pitch again for the Braves.
RHR
July 26th, 2009
12:29 pm
I think you should just send in what you just wrote, Braveheart.
nolie
July 26th, 2009
12:30 pm
How does that move help the Braves? (Braves73)
what move? I don’t remember suggesting a move. I tried to explain a possible reason, and show that not only is Bobby not the only one who stays with pitchers, but his fellow HOF manager LaRussa does so too and in yesterdays example to even worse consequence.
Now if you want my honest opinion, I think that hindsight micro-managing is a waste of time that only adds to the frustration level and as Bill James says-can never be proven one way or the other, but to each his own.
Paul Lentz
July 26th, 2009
12:30 pm
Braves73…………..thanks for backing me up with your 12:10pm posting.
UNCBrave
July 26th, 2009
12:30 pm
KJ goes 0-4 with 1 K, 2 fly/pop outs, 1 ground out and commits at least 1 error or doesn’t make a play Prado would have
Lew
July 26th, 2009
12:30 pm
Braves73-Dude, I’ve been here on the blog long enough to realize that most of what you post is nothing more than continual griping and complaining about what you perceive team problems to be (and sometimes you have a valid point despite your diatribes-but not now). Now you’re reduced to standing up and making a Federal issue of sending down a career mediocre player and leaving another mediocre player on the roster instead. You don’t consider this obsessive?
Have we mentioned that since the move, Conrad is 1-10 in the minors and Norton is 1-3 pinch hitting (and THAT in non-pivotal roles)?
RHR
July 26th, 2009
12:31 pm
I’m calling it right now – Kelly is going to have a day. The baseball gods will show you naysayers.
Lew
July 26th, 2009
12:33 pm
Gov-No, I’d cut Norton loose when Omar returns. The point I’ve been trying to make is that small sample sizes are not the equivalent of nine year careers and that neither Brooks nor Norton will make a major difference in our record..
JasonInFL
July 26th, 2009
12:33 pm
Braveheart, you are my hero for your 11:21 AM post…
Lew
July 26th, 2009
12:34 pm
Paul Lentz-Maybe not, but I don’t believe Brooks Conrad would have won it for them either.
njbraves
July 26th, 2009
12:34 pm
Paul Lentz…please…for the love of God..STFU!! We get it, you don’t have to post the same exact thing all day, everyday.
Braveheart
July 26th, 2009
12:36 pm
I used to have more of a problem with Chipper sitting so much because we needed him, but having seen him play so much this year day after day, I’ve come to the conclusion that the Braves are better off when his old body is fresher. He’s never gonna be 100% healthy ever again, but I’d rather see him as fresh as he can be. To me, Chipper is like Clemente after the age of 30. They were able to become more dominant when they actually played because their injuries allowed their bodies and reflexes to be fresher and sharper when they played.
Paul Lentz
July 26th, 2009
12:36 pm
Braves73………….some of these guys just dont understand the “playing the hot hand” concept. Why bench a guy when he is hot? Some of you have brought up the point that Conrad is 1 for 10 since he was sent to Triple A. Well, if you have had only 2 at-bats in 7 games……it’s kind of hard to maintain rhythm at the plate.
Do you remember what happened to Matt Diaz when he was benched after going 13 for 26 so Bobby could give Jeff Francoeur some at-bats to “get him going”? He went 2 for his next 16.
Bobby sure knows how to stop a hot streak from one of his own players.
Rodney Derrick
July 26th, 2009
12:38 pm
Lew– (Monk) Tony Shalhoub’s wife is Brooke Adams, whose first major movie was alongside Richard Gere in “Days of Heaven”, a film whose cinematography was breathtaking and considered one of the most beautifully photographed films of all time. She is a descendant of Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams and of course the amazing Abigail Adams, and she has also appeared in a number of Monk episodes in a variety of roles.
Lew
July 26th, 2009
12:38 pm
Braveheart-Dude, you have NEVER been at a loss for words (I refer to your Five Pages of comments to Skip a while back the last time we did one of these presentations). I’m certain you can get me a couple paragraphs. We need your participation. We need everyone’s participation willing to do so.
Paul Lentz and Braves73 are welcome to participate, too. Only thing is I need real names along with your blog names. Not so certain they’d be comfortable with that, though.
Braves73
July 26th, 2009
12:39 pm
Lew – I again appreciate your thoughts on my “continual griping”, but I just can’t bring myself to adhere to your philosophy on “meaningless moves”…that’s all. The challenge with all of this, is that your left with limited options as to who you can bring in to pinch hit. Greg Norton is not going to play in the field and is having a horrid 2009 season (see his current .125 BA). I think we can both agree that leaving Norton & bringing up KJ to the roster wasn’t based on performance. I am not stating that Conrad is the second coming of Babe Ruth, I am just not confident with either of the other two at the plate (in key game situations).
Lew if you were in the same position as Bobby/Wren what moves would you have made?
Gov. Clinton Tyree
July 26th, 2009
12:40 pm
Lentz: The decision on whom to keep is not Bobby’s, it’s Frank’s. I’m sure Bobby has input, but the GM makes roster moves.
And Frank has not exactly been warm and fuzzy when it comes time to make those decisions. I don’t think keeping KJ and Norton has anything to do with them being “Bobby’s Boys”, but I’m surprised that the decision doesn’t involve keeping Brooks Conrad at the major league level. I think he’s better than Hernandez, Johnson and Norton, small sample size or not.
Lew
July 26th, 2009
12:40 pm
Rodney-I did not know that. Sorry the Monk show is leaving. It was pretty funny most of the time. Tony Shaloub sure had the Obsessive Compulsive thing going on. Must have read Paul Lentz’s Francoeur posts for inspiration.
nolie
July 26th, 2009
12:42 pm
certainly ahead of Diory (who is nothing special defensively at SS). (SKINK)
I agree that he ain’t much, but at this time he is the only guy who can play backup SS with any kind of ability at all. Neither Prado or Conrad is worth a damn there.and If he stayed up,Conrad would be more likely to regress to mean and hit .200 for the next two weeks than to do anything else. I have never seen so many people obsess so much about the 25th guy on the team with no proven MLB record. Amazing.
Salamander
July 26th, 2009
12:43 pm
I’m calling it right now – Kelly is going to have a day. The baseball gods will show you naysayers.
Good luck with the baseball gods. KJ needs to have a good day, so hopefully you’re right.
Gov. Clinton Tyree
July 26th, 2009
12:43 pm
RHR, hopefully Kelly goes 3 for 4 with a double, two homers and 7 RBI. I guess I got tired of waiting for it this year. And last year, really (stats propped up by super September, when we were out of it).
The Governor is pissed at Kelly because the Gov spent $19 on Kelly at his auction draft this year. That’s a lot of jack for nothing.
JasonInFL
July 26th, 2009
12:44 pm
Lew, I will come up with something and send it to you by the end of today.
RHR
July 26th, 2009
12:44 pm
I like Chipper having 2 days off (hope thats all it is!) heading into the Marlins and Dodgers series. Its not like Greg Norton is starting in his place, Kelly will be fine. I’m definitely not a KJ fan club member but he’s playing for a job any time he gets in the game…I would be surprised if he’s not at his best for his first start since coming back up. Chipper has played a lot of games this season, more than most people predicted he would, we need him down the stretch more than we need him today.
Braveheart
July 26th, 2009
12:44 pm
Conrad is the new Beat the Meat.
boratman310
July 26th, 2009
12:44 pm
no more trades of players. If any one is traded it needs to be coaches.
for one Bobby Cox. In all of my baseball I have never seen managing as bad as the game last night against the Brewers.
(1) Why leave a pitcher in to walk 3 batters?
(2)Why not pench hit for the two left handed hitters in the ninth inning?
Cox needs to go and go now.
Lew
July 26th, 2009
12:45 pm
Braves73-That’s the thing-not you I or Paul Lentz (unless he finallky got through to Frank Wren and convinced him to listen) are making the decisions, so it’s kind of a moot point, isn’t it?
I would hope that if I was ever a ML manager (never will be), that I’d succeed anywhere near as often as Bobby, Schuerholz and Wren. Hell-what do I know-I told Ruben Amaro Jr, I though picking up Lidge last year and Ibanez this year were not very good moves. Shows what I know, doesn’t it? Luckily, I’m still considered a family friend and am not laughed at continually and that he even accepts my phone calls..
Gov. Clinton Tyree
July 26th, 2009
12:45 pm
Nolie, have you ever lived in the Everglades and eaten roadkill for breakfast, lunch and dinner? Of course I’m obsessing. I’m bored out here, and I’ve no toad sweat to smoke.
Shirley
July 26th, 2009
12:47 pm
Guys, what happend to JUST talking about the Braves instead of being mean to each other? I mean, come on now…. FREAKIN A!!
Paul Lentz
July 26th, 2009
12:49 pm
Gov. Clinton Tyree………..Diory Hernandez has to stay until Infante comes back. If Escobar gets hurt during a game, having Hernandez as a back-up is important. Kind of like having a back-up catcher. I like Conrad, however if it was just between him and Hernandez, I’d have to keep Hernandez, because of his ability to play shortstop.
Paul Lentz
July 26th, 2009
12:50 pm
nolie………..I would have liked to have seen Conrad “fall down to earth” on his own…….as opposed to Bobby Cox accelerating the process by not playing him before the Braves sent him to Triple A.
Carroll Rogers
July 26th, 2009
12:51 pm
Chipper’s just getting the day off. nothing wrong. Just could use back-to-back days to get a breather, including the off day Monday….I’ll get a new blog up in a little while
RHR
July 26th, 2009
12:51 pm
Gov Tyree – I don’t know what an auction draft is but I’m guessing it has to do with fantasy ball stuff. Anyway, you picked Kelly for your fantasy team? Dude.
And honestly, I want a win today so I hope he has the game of his life, but on the other hand, if we can win without him doing anything of note that will be the ideal scenario because I fear that if he does well Bobby will start platooning him with Prado and I do not want to see that.
RHR
July 26th, 2009
12:51 pm
Good news, Carroll. Thanks!
Salamander
July 26th, 2009
12:52 pm
Shirley – surely you’re not serious?
bam.
nolie
July 26th, 2009
12:54 pm
Of course I’m obsessing. I’m bored out here, and I’ve no toad sweat to smoke (SKINK)
actually I wasn’t refering to you, just commenting about the whole board, BTW ain’t the mosquitoes terrible out there, especially after you get greasy road-kill fat all over yourself? I always wondered.
Gov. Clinton Tyree
July 26th, 2009
12:54 pm
RHR, I agree 100%. In fact, I think that 2B is Prado’s job and that when Chipper needs a day off and KJ is the replacement, KJ plays 3B and Prado gets left alone.
KJ was a SS coming up and learned 2B. He can handle 3B once in a while.
As for 1B, I’m for giving Ross a 1B mitt and getting his .500 SLG in the lineup against tough lefties.
RHR
July 26th, 2009
12:56 pm
All I know is, since Rickey got in the hall then Josh Anderson is surely a lock.
Gov. Clinton Tyree
July 26th, 2009
12:57 pm
Nolie, I still have several boxes of EDTIAR mosquito repellent leftover from when I was a guinea pig for testing the stuff. It makes me see colors, but it’s effective. In fact, I like an EDTIAR/toad sweat speedball when I really need to drop out.
Also, the smoke from my campfire is pretty effective as a simpler measure.
nolie
July 26th, 2009
12:57 pm
.I would have liked to have seen Conrad “fall down to earth” on his own…….as opposed to Bobby Cox accelerating the process by not playing him before the Braves sent him to Triple A (Paul L)
I’d rather see him do it at AAA like he currently is. Nothing against the guy, he was a great help, I just can’t fathom all the obsessing over that particular situation, and I’m pretty damn sure that nobody in the clubhouse is giving it a second thought.
Shirley
July 26th, 2009
12:58 pm
Salamander— you should talk, lizard boy! Go eat a fly.
bam!
Braves73
July 26th, 2009
12:58 pm
Lew- As a fan, it’s human nature to put on your “general manager’s/manager’s hat” on…not saying that we are qualified. I believe that’s part of the point of blogging. It’s a platform for fans to speak their collective minds’ on all things sports related. We are all given this awesome venue to “act is if”. We have the ability to second guess, make our own managerial moves/decisions, and just have our own opinions and general ideas.
With that being said, I respect your thoughts on certain moves, I just don’t agree with them. I am willing to state things like “THERE ARE NO MEANINGLESS MOVES, NO MEANINGLESS RUNS, NO MEANINGLESS PITCHES”. To me every move (on the surface), will lead to other moves that WILL have an affect (either now or in the very near future).
I believe that we can agree to disagree and move on to different topics. Like you said “I am obsessing” this point to death.
RHR
July 26th, 2009
12:58 pm
Uh KJ at 3B? No. Unless he’s ever played a single game over there that I’m not aware of.
brian
July 26th, 2009
1:00 pm
KJ is being showcased today prior to the trade deadline
Lew
July 26th, 2009
1:01 pm
Jason-Thanks. We need to do dinner again next Spring. Maybe not at Downtown Disney this time?
Carroll Rogers
July 26th, 2009
1:02 pm
And Church is out of the lineup because he aggravated his elbow swinging at a 3-2 changeup friday night, he’d hyperextended it a couple weeks ago, falling after Ryan Howard stepped on his foot as he crosssed first base. he should be back Tuesday. but now i’m spoiling all my news for my new blog.
Gov. Clinton Tyree
July 26th, 2009
1:03 pm
RHR, Kelly played some third in Rookie, A, AA, and AAA. He was a SS coming up, converted to 2B. I, Gov. Skink, having played all of those, 3B is easier than the other two. He could play there today. Nothin’ to it.
Gov. Clinton Tyree
July 26th, 2009
1:03 pm
Brian: Dare to dream.