Sorry I missed the hoot regarding trading JURRJENS. Makes no sense unless you are a shill for some other team in our division hoping someone in the organization will buy the idea thus making it easier on the other team for 18 games, or the number of starts for JJ.
If we are out, mine is just fine…if we are in, she flings herself at my metal screen door and snarls like she hasn’t eaten in a week and the person at the door is food (she has scared armed cops and a Jevoha’s Witness off my porch- the Jevoha’s Witnesses have never come back )
Hey dudes…if you missed it last time here’s another ESPN magazine deal (free Insider access) you can renew with this as well. I just renewed for 4 more years. I’m pretty sure I have about a 15 year subscription for this now.
ESPN Magazine Blowout @ Surplus Magazines – 26 Issues for $1.17, 104 Issues for $3.44 AC!
Just found this blowout deal. Use coupon code MPSESPN to get the discounts!
lol soph, you must have seen my facebook post last night. It has been years since I’ve eaten whoppers but apparently I love them because I ate the heck out of some last night. UGH. Today at work we had a few employees bring their kids to trick or treat and I was like digging in my candy bucket trying to give away all those evil whoppers first. haha. But I also had a couple kit kats and snickers. I hate Halloween. Its a wonder I’m not in a coma from all the sugar, I NEVER eat stuff like that and its like I fill up that candy bucket to give away to the kids and it casts a spell on me or something. I’ll have to run 15 miles every day for a week to cancel that crap out. And I can’t even run 15 miles LOL. I only run about 3 on a good day!
You can renew, Soph. So if you already have 2 years this will just add 4 years or whatever onto the end of that. This is the cheapest I’ve ever seen it.
Oh and cab, did you get to see my friends puppy pics last night? OMG so freakin CUTE.
Oh I dont care jeffrey, lol. I don’t care who knows I made myself sick on halloween candy. Its not like I sit around eating candy every day lol. Apparently I have been starving for it ha ha!
Ha, RHR – I did see it on fb yesterday but yeah jeffrey & cab were talking about it earlier. Whoppers just make me sick – don’t know why. Not like they taste bad or anything.
cab – she made them public later, or tried to. Did you check again after she said that? Those dang puppies are so cute. It seriously made my day the morning she posted those pics.
Thanks for the info on the voting for the FB Awards. Sounds like it is mostly based on individual observation and opinion. Probably not a bad award.
Earlier I looked at the individual voting, and was a tad bit surprised that certain folks that are considered stiff’s actually got votes at some positions, and others who you would think would get a vote or two did not.
Max is really excited about trick or treater’s tomorrow night. He loves to bark at all of them.
A couple of questions. I don’t really watch some of these guys play, so I depend on the word of those I chat with or read to get my opinions.
Often times on the blog I will state that I have “heard” that so and so is not a good fielder, or doesn’t have good range, but truly I don’t know for sure.
Names that received votes that surprised me a bit: Miguel Cabrera at 1B, Chone Figgins and K Kouzmanoff at 3B, and Juan Rivera, Jason Bay, Raul Ibanez and Carlos Lee in LF.
Not saying these guys are good fielders, but that is what I was lead to believe. Curious.
And David Wright only got 1 vote? Chipper obviously sucked this year, so he didn’t get a vote.
I think cabravesfan has told me that Figgins wasn’t very good defensively.
And Juan Pierre and Johnny Damon got votes, so I guess having a noodle for an arm doesn’t preclude you from getting a vote.
Not saying any of this is wrong, just pointing out some names that took me by surprise.
did not plan to be down here but one of my best friends wife decided at the last hour not to go.
got talked into it around noon today and the wife gave me the all good.
just got back from the falcons nest at least i think that was name of the place where i marinated many ice cubes.
hope is high bulldog fans, then again it usually is the eve of this game.
talk down here is about urban meyer’s indirect direct harpoon of the georgia coaching staff.
quote, “i have been watchting film, watched it twice, and georgia has more talent and skill players on their defense then anyone we will face this season. their tackles are all seniors, curran might be the best in the conference and their corners are playmakers, I dont care that they have given up 194 points. i think they have the most talent on that side of the ball that we will see.”
well he said it.
probably accurate.
i know there are plenty of dawg fans on here, this is mark richt’s final chapter.
this pains me to say, but i think we lose and lose ugly.
i never thougt richt was a super genius, but his obtuse demeanor about the statistics is mind numbing.
LAST in defense in the sec.
Last in rushing offense.
117 in the nation in penalties.
-11 in turnovers which ranks around 115.
so coach how with all these 5 star recruits are we last in the conference in defense?
well say what you want to about the phills, but i bet few realized that howard was the only guy in the top half of the lineup that did not steal 20 bases.
smart enough to know when to let go of pat the bat.
signed ibanez, saw the five tool talent in jason werth, stole cliff lee, and picked up peeedro for basically naught.
on a subtle note some people dont realize how good of a third baseman pedro feliz is. defensively top notch. plus i think he hit around 13 dingers and drove in 85 runs.
Yeah whoppers are nasty as hell. There’s also those peanut butter things that don’t really taste like pb that come on black & orange wrappers… disgusting! I don’t really like Halloween, just the movies that come on. Love horror movies.
We’ve discussed Cruz to nauseum, so why not Ludwick. I don’t see much of a difference in power numbers & his D isn’t awful. Plus, read where the Cards might look to trade him this winter.
In watching the Phillies, there is nothing the Braves can do this offseason to catch them. The only hope the Braves have of making the world series next year is to face someone else in the first round and hope the Phillies lose to whoever they play in the first round so the Braves don’t play them.
mitel, are you aware of how the Braves and Phillies did when they played against each other this season? They did play quite a few games against one another. You know, head-to-head competition.
DOB , right on with that 9:49 ,way to go. I wish we had a chance with our pitching staffs, the TV crews have been discussing just that premise, they are 2 games deep now and the pitching is going to suck,hitting will prevail. So close but no cigar.
I’ve posted several times on this blog, but never addressed DOB’s question. I was one that mentioned trading JJ as an option. I’m not suggesting the Braves put him out there. But if, for example, the Brewers would trade Braun for him, I’d have to consider it if I’m Frank Wren. It would likely take Braun and a good prospect or two. We have an extra SP, two if you count Medlen, which is great, but doesn’t help us score runs. There are very few – VERY FEW – players I would consider trading JJ for, but to say you wouldn’t trade him under any scenario is insane. No one is untradable – there are, however, a few players that no one would offer what it would take to get them.
Again, to be clear, I am not suggesting the Braves trade JJ, but if someone will overpay you have to at least listen.
No one is untradable – there are, however, a few players that no one would offer what it would take to get them. — Thundersticks
Thundersticks, here’s a question I asked Frank Wren at the end of the season:
You are able to use surplus pieces from position of strength as trade pieces, but is there a group that’s close to untradeable?
AND HERE was his reply:
“I think we always have a list of players that, I don’t think anybody’s every completely off-limits, but there’s always a group that you don’t want to trade,” he said. “As we talked about last year with Hanson, when his name came up, we’re not going to trade him. The same goes for Heyward — we’re not going to trade him. I can’t see a situation where we would trade him.
“So, as rare as those kind of guys are, we’ve had a couple of them in the last year, which speaks a lot for our minor league system.”
keylargoSorry I missed you. UMMMMM I went for a ……………BLIZZARD
No prob. Sweeeet…
cabravesfanshe has scared armed cops and a Jevoha’s Witness off my porch- the Jevoha’s Witnesses have never come back
I’m sitting here dining on Nerds…
Boo-yah…sounds good to me!
As for Whoppers, I cann take ‘em or leave ‘em alone…they got nothing on Butterfinger BBs, though. I did win a pack of Whoppers from my Dad back in ‘06 when he said the Braves couldn’t beat the Mets by 12 runs for a second night in a row–I said they could, and the Braves won 13-1 (they had won 12-0 the night before). We were originally just playing around, but when I actually won, well…
BTW–CONGRATS to BMac and Nick Green on getting their HS numbers retired! Haha…but poor Duluth–1-8 in football…
Pretty damn impressive, the number of students who showed up at 6 a.m. for Gameday in the dark at U. of Oregon. There’s thousands, and they’re jacked up. (I’d guess a whole lot of them just stayed up and went straight there from bars and parties or whatever.)
The value you can put on a minor league prospect like Heyward is very difficult for a GM to determine. There are many factors that come into play- the drive of the player to improve,what happens to his psyche when he starts making big money,getting married or romance,thousands of things can change prospects outlook on life. When GMS have the decision to make on established MLB players they have a track record to use as a judgement. It has to be very difficult for a GM to decide when to trade prospects for that simple reason,you never know when the decision to give up on a prospect will come back to bite you on the butt.
Jeffrey D: What, you want them to retire Mac’s and Green’s numbers at a baseball game? First, they’d have to coordinate it to where both of them would be in Atlanta at the same time for a high school baseball game, rather than at spring training or on a road trip. Then they’d have a presentation in front of about 50 people. Have you seen how many attend high school baseball games?…
By the way, imagine if the Rockies had made the World Series. They just got a foot of snow in Denver — not in the mountains, but the city itself. This World Series would’ve presumably been delayed at least a few days, maybe more, everything pushed back. It might’ve been mid-November before it ended.
That’s exactly my point. Wren said it himself – “I don’t think anybody’s every completely off-limits”. Again, I don’t see another team offering what it would take to pry JJ away, but there is a price for every player.
PHILADELPHIA—The last time the Philadelphia Phillies brought a World Series title back to the City of Brotherly Love, the nation’s financial sector was in complete ruin, the cost of a gallon of milk was only $2.74, fans watched the Fall Classic while huddled around their slightly-less-streamlined high-definition television sets, and Philadelphia slugger Ryan Howard was just 28 years old.
This week Howard, 29, hopes to lead the Phillies to their first World Series championship in more than 360 long days and end a title drought that has been punctuated by several embarrassing losses, including a 2009 opening-day defeat by the Atlanta Braves and a June loss to the Atlanta Braves. During its infamous dry spell, the team has also come up short twice, winning both an NLDS and an NLCS title but having absolutely no World Series ring to show for it.
To put into perspective just how long the Phillies have gone without a championship, the earth has almost made one full orbit of the sun since the franchise last paraded through downtown Philadelphia holding the famed Commissioner’s Trophy. …
From Buster’s ESPN.com blog today, which is about the many arb-eligible players like Garrett Atkins who could be non-tendered this winter:
For example: Last year, the Braves paid second baseman Kelly Johnson $2.85 million, and with four years, 127 days of service time, he is eligible for arbitration after a season in which he slumped and lost his every-day job to Martin Prado. Rival executives expect the Braves will try to trade him, and if they are unable to do that, then to strongly consider cutting him loose rather than paying him $4 million to $5 million in arbitration. To put that salary in context: Last winter, Orlando Hudson signed for a base salary of $3.38 million, with incentives.
I agree with him, although I think Kelly would get closer to $3.5 mill in arb, rather than $4 mill to $5 mill. But that’s not really important. Either figure is too much for a team like Atlanta to pay for a guy who’s not expected to start and is not adept defensively at several positions.
The first time Gameday came out west (USC vs.Cal a few years ago)- we were there at 5:00 in the morning for the show…It was a lot of fun, but needless to say, with kickoff not until 3:00 that afternoon, it made for a really long day
From comments made by Cox and players, KJ seems like a good guy. But that is too much money for a bench player. I’d be very surprised to see him in ST in a Braves’ uni.
I believe Church falls into the same category. He’ll get a raise as well, but we have plenty of average OFs that are a lot cheaper.
Can we expect to get anything reasonable for either guy when other GMs know they are likely to be released?
Head-to-head record means nothing once get in the postseason.
Braves had the advantage, I think against every NL playoff team this year. It got them nothing.
The Braves had more to play for when they faced Philly during the regular season. Philly meanwhile did what they need to coast thru the season and get to the big picture – the championship.
With a clean slate and both teams playing for the championship, comparing Philly’s roster with the Braves, there is no comparison. There is nobody on the Braves that are as good as Ibinez, Utley, and Howard and there won’t be unless they create them or trade for them. On the free agent market, any player better then them will go somewhere else and get bigger pay.
Comparing top 3 starting pitchers on each team, I like Braves long term but they are arguably not any better than that of Phily right now.
They all do! It’s one of the rare cases where a national network got it right with all of the broadcasters. Corso, Herbstreit, Fowler, and Howard all have personality, humor, and can talk in front of a camera. And they have great chemistry too.
And seeing Lee ride off on a motorcycle with a duck head on was pretty dang hilarious.
2,392 comments Add your comment
McFann Ô
October 30th, 2009
10:23 pm
Night, cabravesfan!
keylargo
October 30th, 2009
10:31 pm
GNite McFann
Sorry I missed you. UMMMMM I went for a ……………BLIZZARD
jeffrey d
October 30th, 2009
10:34 pm
Am I the only person in the world who doesn’t like candy corn?
cabravesfan
October 30th, 2009
10:56 pm
jeffrey d-
and you called me a scrooge! How can you not like candy corn??
richbrave
October 30th, 2009
11:00 pm
Sorry I missed the hoot regarding trading JURRJENS. Makes no sense unless you are a shill for some other team in our division hoping someone in the organization will buy the idea thus making it easier on the other team for 18 games, or the number of starts for JJ.
richbrave
October 30th, 2009
11:04 pm
Not another wager between RANDOM and whomever.
jeffrey d
October 30th, 2009
11:08 pm
haha…I just never cared much for the stuff. But everyone seems to love it.
jeffrey d
October 30th, 2009
11:13 pm
But I don’t unleash my growling dog on helpless kids, so I wouldn’t call me the Scrooge.
Random
October 30th, 2009
11:32 pm
richbrave (October 30th, 2009 11:04 pm): “Not another wager between RANDOM and whomever.”
Nope, not unless we find an old one that might be floatin’ around from ST or thereabouts.
I’ve got no firm position either way of JJJ. I was merely offering my expertise and consulting services as they negotiated the terms of their bet.
cabravesfan
October 30th, 2009
11:47 pm
jeffrey d-
My dog loves kids- she just doesn’t like strangers knocking on my door
jeffrey d
October 30th, 2009
11:54 pm
My dog loves kids- she just doesn’t like strangers knocking on my door
Some kids were walking to the bus stop the other day and my dog barked at them like they were hoisting rusty chainsaws and wearing hockey masks.
cabravesfan
October 30th, 2009
11:59 pm
If we are out, mine is just fine…if we are in, she flings herself at my metal screen door and snarls like she hasn’t eaten in a week and the person at the door is food (she has scared armed cops and a Jevoha’s Witness off my porch- the Jevoha’s Witnesses have never come back
)
cabravesfan
October 31st, 2009
12:00 am
and of course I can’t spell that- I meant Jehovah’s Witnesses, not…whatever it was I typed
jeffrey d
October 31st, 2009
12:02 am
Hey, I’m not VJ here. You’re free to make typos unless they’re hilarious….then I’ll say something.
cabravesfan
October 31st, 2009
12:06 am
and VJ will not have internet access until tomorrow so he can’t mock my spelling
Soph
October 31st, 2009
12:07 am
I don’t like Whoppers either. Gimme a Kit Kat any day.
RHR
October 31st, 2009
12:08 am
Hey dudes…if you missed it last time here’s another ESPN magazine deal (free Insider access) you can renew with this as well. I just renewed for 4 more years. I’m pretty sure I have about a 15 year subscription for this now.
ESPN Magazine Blowout @ Surplus Magazines – 26 Issues for $1.17, 104 Issues for $3.44 AC!
Just found this blowout deal. Use coupon code MPSESPN to get the discounts!
26 Issues $1.17
52 Issues $1.95
78 Issues $2.70
104 Issues $3.44
http://www.surplusmags.com/espn.html
Ignore that ugly ass cover they used for the sample pic.
Soph
October 31st, 2009
12:08 am
If anyone wanted to know…
RHR
October 31st, 2009
12:09 am
Hey cab, not much time to read back but I take it Jim made it out alright?
Soph
October 31st, 2009
12:10 am
That’s cheaper than what you posted last time! $1.17?
jeffrey d
October 31st, 2009
12:13 am
Is Jim there for good??
RHR
October 31st, 2009
12:13 am
lol soph, you must have seen my facebook post last night. It has been years since I’ve eaten whoppers but apparently I love them because I ate the heck out of some last night. UGH. Today at work we had a few employees bring their kids to trick or treat and I was like digging in my candy bucket trying to give away all those evil whoppers first. haha. But I also had a couple kit kats and snickers. I hate Halloween. Its a wonder I’m not in a coma from all the sugar, I NEVER eat stuff like that and its like I fill up that candy bucket to give away to the kids and it casts a spell on me or something. I’ll have to run 15 miles every day for a week to cancel that crap out. And I can’t even run 15 miles LOL. I only run about 3 on a good day!
jeffrey d
October 31st, 2009
12:15 am
RHR – me and CAB were poking fun at the Whoppers thing earlier….Soph was just chiming in
And that was on FB? I thought it was on here or else I wouldn’t have brought it up. Ah well.
Andrew
October 31st, 2009
12:16 am
they need to hire someone to come up with some better poll questions here
RHR
October 31st, 2009
12:17 am
You can renew, Soph. So if you already have 2 years this will just add 4 years or whatever onto the end of that. This is the cheapest I’ve ever seen it.
Oh and cab, did you get to see my friends puppy pics last night? OMG so freakin CUTE.
RHR
October 31st, 2009
12:18 am
Oh I dont care jeffrey, lol. I don’t care who knows I made myself sick on halloween candy. Its not like I sit around eating candy every day lol. Apparently I have been starving for it ha ha!
Soph
October 31st, 2009
12:19 am
Ha, RHR – I did see it on fb yesterday but yeah jeffrey & cab were talking about it earlier. Whoppers just make me sick – don’t know why. Not like they taste bad or anything.
cabravesfan
October 31st, 2009
12:21 am
VJ had to change his flight- he’ll be here tomorrow (just in time to hand out candy so I don’t have to interrupt the USC game
)
RHR-
No I didn’t get to see them
Not sure if it was me or they just were not public…
jeffrey d
October 31st, 2009
12:22 am
Not like they taste bad or anything.
No, they do.
cabravesfan
October 31st, 2009
12:23 am
meanwhile, I’m sitting here dining on Nerds and chardonnay…stupid Halloween candy!
jeffrey d
October 31st, 2009
12:23 am
Soph – I see both our schools were involved in shutouts tonight.
Soph
October 31st, 2009
12:24 am
Do they? I haven’t had them in a while but I don’t remember them tasting horrible. They make my throat hurt though.
cabravesfan
October 31st, 2009
12:25 am
Soph-
They are horrible
Soph
October 31st, 2009
12:25 am
Awww, jeffrey – Dacula lost? To who?
jeffrey d
October 31st, 2009
12:26 am
I didn’t say we lost. I said we were both involved in shutouts. Not on the receiving end
Soph
October 31st, 2009
12:28 am
You butt. You knew I’d fall for it and think y’all lost too. Well, you got me.
Soph
October 31st, 2009
12:29 am
Dacula won 40-0?! You beat Berkmar though. It says they have one win the whole season.
Soph
October 31st, 2009
12:34 am
Ha, I just saw the “ugly ass cover” that RHR was referring to. jeffrey said he’s going to like him next year after dude’s done with college football.
jeffrey d
October 31st, 2009
12:34 am
It says they have one win the whole season.
So? Maybe they’ve been playing the NFC East.
jeffrey d
October 31st, 2009
12:35 am
I said maybe. Since I like Al Horford now, maybe I’ll like Tebow once he’s out of Florida.
cabravesfan
October 31st, 2009
12:36 am
I just looked at the cover…I think my eyes melted
Soph
October 31st, 2009
12:36 am
And, you know what? I bet that one win is vs. Meadowcreek. So, HA!
RHR
October 31st, 2009
12:37 am
cab – she made them public later, or tried to. Did you check again after she said that? Those dang puppies are so cute. It seriously made my day the morning she posted those pics.
See if you can see this? http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/photo.php?pid=2479810&id=663259872
Soph
October 31st, 2009
12:39 am
Yeah, and of course when I logged into FB just now, the first thing I saw was RHR’s link with King Tebow’s picture.
cabravesfan
October 31st, 2009
12:44 am
RHR-
PUPPIES! So freaking cute
How many were there- I counted 13 (?!?) Wow- especially love the yawning pup
cabravesfan
October 31st, 2009
12:44 am
Soph-
Look at the puppies- you will feel a lot better
RHR
October 31st, 2009
12:49 am
Oh good, I’m glad you can see them. Hee. So adorable. I think she said 13?
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/photo.php?pid=2479808&id=663259872
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/photo.php?pid=2479809&id=663259872
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/photo.php?pid=2592858&id=663259872
cabravesfan
October 31st, 2009
12:50 am
all right y’all- I gotta get to bed- been a long day
Good night!
Soph
October 31st, 2009
12:54 am
Night, cab! You were right about the puppies. Too cute.
nolie
October 31st, 2009
12:58 am
aren’t you glad you didn’t have that many kids?
Wayne in Utah (WWDOBD)
October 31st, 2009
1:21 am
DOB
Thanks for the info on the voting for the FB Awards. Sounds like it is mostly based on individual observation and opinion. Probably not a bad award.
Earlier I looked at the individual voting, and was a tad bit surprised that certain folks that are considered stiff’s actually got votes at some positions, and others who you would think would get a vote or two did not.
Max is really excited about trick or treater’s tomorrow night. He loves to bark at all of them.
Wayne in Utah (WWDOBD)
October 31st, 2009
1:30 am
A couple of questions. I don’t really watch some of these guys play, so I depend on the word of those I chat with or read to get my opinions.
Often times on the blog I will state that I have “heard” that so and so is not a good fielder, or doesn’t have good range, but truly I don’t know for sure.
Names that received votes that surprised me a bit: Miguel Cabrera at 1B, Chone Figgins and K Kouzmanoff at 3B, and Juan Rivera, Jason Bay, Raul Ibanez and Carlos Lee in LF.
Not saying these guys are good fielders, but that is what I was lead to believe. Curious.
And David Wright only got 1 vote? Chipper obviously sucked this year, so he didn’t get a vote.
I think cabravesfan has told me that Figgins wasn’t very good defensively.
And Juan Pierre and Johnny Damon got votes, so I guess having a noodle for an arm doesn’t preclude you from getting a vote.
Not saying any of this is wrong, just pointing out some names that took me by surprise.
Not that it really matters, either.
uga-brave
October 31st, 2009
2:06 am
greetings and salutations from amelia island.
did not plan to be down here but one of my best friends wife decided at the last hour not to go.
got talked into it around noon today and the wife gave me the all good.
just got back from the falcons nest at least i think that was name of the place where i marinated many ice cubes.
hope is high bulldog fans, then again it usually is the eve of this game.
talk down here is about urban meyer’s indirect direct harpoon of the georgia coaching staff.
quote, “i have been watchting film, watched it twice, and georgia has more talent and skill players on their defense then anyone we will face this season. their tackles are all seniors, curran might be the best in the conference and their corners are playmakers, I dont care that they have given up 194 points. i think they have the most talent on that side of the ball that we will see.”
well he said it.
probably accurate.
i know there are plenty of dawg fans on here, this is mark richt’s final chapter.
this pains me to say, but i think we lose and lose ugly.
i never thougt richt was a super genius, but his obtuse demeanor about the statistics is mind numbing.
LAST in defense in the sec.
Last in rushing offense.
117 in the nation in penalties.
-11 in turnovers which ranks around 115.
so coach how with all these 5 star recruits are we last in the conference in defense?
stubborn or stupid? maybe a combination
uga-brave
October 31st, 2009
2:20 am
well say what you want to about the phills, but i bet few realized that howard was the only guy in the top half of the lineup that did not steal 20 bases.
uga-brave
October 31st, 2009
2:32 am
dob,
reuben amaro jr. should be gm of the year.
smart enough to know when to let go of pat the bat.
signed ibanez, saw the five tool talent in jason werth, stole cliff lee, and picked up peeedro for basically naught.
on a subtle note some people dont realize how good of a third baseman pedro feliz is. defensively top notch. plus i think he hit around 13 dingers and drove in 85 runs.
uga-brave
October 31st, 2009
2:38 am
three in a row this makes four.
like bay area steve says, four in a row is too many. then again a chicken in the pot an a yugo in every driveway aint my dream.
bay area dont tell that to ms. pellosi or mr. reid.
Braveheart
October 31st, 2009
9:08 am
ugabrave, I believe urban myer clowned richt and willie with that comment
Braveheart
October 31st, 2009
9:14 am
candy corn, cotton candy, whoppers ……. hate them all
TnBrian
October 31st, 2009
9:30 am
Yeah whoppers are nasty as hell. There’s also those peanut butter things that don’t really taste like pb that come on black & orange wrappers… disgusting! I don’t really like Halloween, just the movies that come on. Love horror movies.
We’ve discussed Cruz to nauseum, so why not Ludwick. I don’t see much of a difference in power numbers & his D isn’t awful. Plus, read where the Cards might look to trade him this winter.
Bat Masterson
October 31st, 2009
9:30 am
ugabrave, I believe urban myer clowned richt and willie with that comment
He is just carrying on The Evil Genus’ tradition.
CB
October 31st, 2009
9:33 am
Man,I’m ready for some real trades and free agency signings. You wannabe GMS are killing me with your ideas. lol
mitel
October 31st, 2009
9:34 am
In watching the Phillies, there is nothing the Braves can do this offseason to catch them. The only hope the Braves have of making the world series next year is to face someone else in the first round and hope the Phillies lose to whoever they play in the first round so the Braves don’t play them.
I hate to admit this because I hate the Phillies.
Bat Masterson
October 31st, 2009
9:34 am
Genius. Damn, I need another cup of coffee.
Bat Masterson
October 31st, 2009
9:36 am
Come on, mitel, that’s a crazy statement.
jeffrey d
October 31st, 2009
9:47 am
Man,I’m ready for some real trades and free agency signings. You wannabe GMS are killing me with your ideas. lol
Amen!
jeffrey d
October 31st, 2009
9:48 am
I love how uga-brave only reveals himself late at night, like a vampire. Then quickly and mysteriously disappears, like a ninja.
David O'Brien
October 31st, 2009
9:49 am
mitel, are you aware of how the Braves and Phillies did when they played against each other this season? They did play quite a few games against one another. You know, head-to-head competition.
braves4ever
October 31st, 2009
9:54 am
DOB , right on with that 9:49 ,way to go. I wish we had a chance with our pitching staffs, the TV crews have been discussing just that premise, they are 2 games deep now and the pitching is going to suck,hitting will prevail. So close but no cigar.
brent a.
October 31st, 2009
9:55 am
I also saw how the Braves fared against Philly the last 9 times they faced-off.
It was nearly night and day between the first 9 and the last 9.
jeffrey d
October 31st, 2009
9:55 am
But if I recall, we played pretty poorly against Philly in the last few months of the season.
jeffrey d
October 31st, 2009
9:55 am
When they (the Phillies) finally got things together.
Thundersticks
October 31st, 2009
10:02 am
I’ve posted several times on this blog, but never addressed DOB’s question. I was one that mentioned trading JJ as an option. I’m not suggesting the Braves put him out there. But if, for example, the Brewers would trade Braun for him, I’d have to consider it if I’m Frank Wren. It would likely take Braun and a good prospect or two. We have an extra SP, two if you count Medlen, which is great, but doesn’t help us score runs. There are very few – VERY FEW – players I would consider trading JJ for, but to say you wouldn’t trade him under any scenario is insane. No one is untradable – there are, however, a few players that no one would offer what it would take to get them.
Again, to be clear, I am not suggesting the Braves trade JJ, but if someone will overpay you have to at least listen.
David O'Brien
October 31st, 2009
10:29 am
No one is untradable – there are, however, a few players that no one would offer what it would take to get them. — Thundersticks
Thundersticks, here’s a question I asked Frank Wren at the end of the season:
You are able to use surplus pieces from position of strength as trade pieces, but is there a group that’s close to untradeable?
AND HERE was his reply:
“I think we always have a list of players that, I don’t think anybody’s every completely off-limits, but there’s always a group that you don’t want to trade,” he said. “As we talked about last year with Hanson, when his name came up, we’re not going to trade him. The same goes for Heyward — we’re not going to trade him. I can’t see a situation where we would trade him.
“So, as rare as those kind of guys are, we’ve had a couple of them in the last year, which speaks a lot for our minor league system.”
McFann Ô
October 31st, 2009
10:30 am
keylargo Sorry I missed you. UMMMMM I went for a ……………BLIZZARD
No prob. Sweeeet…
cabravesfan she has scared armed cops and a Jevoha’s Witness off my porch- the Jevoha’s Witnesses have never come back
I’m sitting here dining on Nerds…
Boo-yah…sounds good to me!
As for Whoppers, I cann take ‘em or leave ‘em alone…they got nothing on Butterfinger BBs, though. I did win a pack of Whoppers from my Dad back in ‘06 when he said the Braves couldn’t beat the Mets by 12 runs for a second night in a row–I said they could, and the Braves won 13-1 (they had won 12-0 the night before). We were originally just playing around, but when I actually won, well…
BTW–CONGRATS to BMac and Nick Green on getting their HS numbers retired! Haha…but poor Duluth–1-8 in football…
David O'Brien
October 31st, 2009
10:37 am
Pretty damn impressive, the number of students who showed up at 6 a.m. for Gameday in the dark at U. of Oregon. There’s thousands, and they’re jacked up. (I’d guess a whole lot of them just stayed up and went straight there from bars and parties or whatever.)
CB
October 31st, 2009
10:42 am
The value you can put on a minor league prospect like Heyward is very difficult for a GM to determine. There are many factors that come into play- the drive of the player to improve,what happens to his psyche when he starts making big money,getting married or romance,thousands of things can change prospects outlook on life. When GMS have the decision to make on established MLB players they have a track record to use as a judgement. It has to be very difficult for a GM to decide when to trade prospects for that simple reason,you never know when the decision to give up on a prospect will come back to bite you on the butt.
jeffrey d
October 31st, 2009
10:47 am
BTW–CONGRATS to BMac and Nick Green on getting their HS numbers retired! Haha…but poor Duluth–1-8 in football…
Ugh…I was in Duluth all day yesterday too. If I’d have known McCann was gonna be there I would’ve looked into going to the game.
I did find it a little odd that they retired his baseball number during a football game.
David O'Brien
October 31st, 2009
10:50 am
Jeffrey D: What, you want them to retire Mac’s and Green’s numbers at a baseball game? First, they’d have to coordinate it to where both of them would be in Atlanta at the same time for a high school baseball game, rather than at spring training or on a road trip. Then they’d have a presentation in front of about 50 people. Have you seen how many attend high school baseball games?…
By the way, imagine if the Rockies had made the World Series. They just got a foot of snow in Denver — not in the mountains, but the city itself. This World Series would’ve presumably been delayed at least a few days, maybe more, everything pushed back. It might’ve been mid-November before it ended.
jeffrey d
October 31st, 2009
10:51 am
Gameday’s got Pollack on!
Rob from SC
October 31st, 2009
10:58 am
DOB
Does Luis Valdez fit into the teams plans. I found it odd that he didn’t get a long look in September
Thundersticks
October 31st, 2009
10:59 am
DOB
That’s exactly my point. Wren said it himself – “I don’t think anybody’s every completely off-limits”. Again, I don’t see another team offering what it would take to pry JJ away, but there is a price for every player.
jeffrey d
October 31st, 2009
11:00 am
True, it just would’ve seemed more appropriate at a baseball game.
Didn’t think about the logistics of timing, though.
David O'Brien
October 31st, 2009
11:23 am
Check out this article in The Onion about Phillies trying to end World Series “drought.” It’s very funny.
http://www.theonion.com/content/news/phillies_hope_to_end_364_day_world
This is just the first few paragraphs:
PHILADELPHIA—The last time the Philadelphia Phillies brought a World Series title back to the City of Brotherly Love, the nation’s financial sector was in complete ruin, the cost of a gallon of milk was only $2.74, fans watched the Fall Classic while huddled around their slightly-less-streamlined high-definition television sets, and Philadelphia slugger Ryan Howard was just 28 years old.
This week Howard, 29, hopes to lead the Phillies to their first World Series championship in more than 360 long days and end a title drought that has been punctuated by several embarrassing losses, including a 2009 opening-day defeat by the Atlanta Braves and a June loss to the Atlanta Braves. During its infamous dry spell, the team has also come up short twice, winning both an NLDS and an NLCS title but having absolutely no World Series ring to show for it.
To put into perspective just how long the Phillies have gone without a championship, the earth has almost made one full orbit of the sun since the franchise last paraded through downtown Philadelphia holding the famed Commissioner’s Trophy. …
Steve from OH
October 31st, 2009
11:26 am
“Man, whatever happened to Jamie Moyer?” Oliver added. “He’s got to be dead by now.”
The Onion is great.
David O'Brien
October 31st, 2009
11:41 am
From Buster’s ESPN.com blog today, which is about the many arb-eligible players like Garrett Atkins who could be non-tendered this winter:
For example: Last year, the Braves paid second baseman Kelly Johnson $2.85 million, and with four years, 127 days of service time, he is eligible for arbitration after a season in which he slumped and lost his every-day job to Martin Prado. Rival executives expect the Braves will try to trade him, and if they are unable to do that, then to strongly consider cutting him loose rather than paying him $4 million to $5 million in arbitration. To put that salary in context: Last winter, Orlando Hudson signed for a base salary of $3.38 million, with incentives.
I agree with him, although I think Kelly would get closer to $3.5 mill in arb, rather than $4 mill to $5 mill. But that’s not really important. Either figure is too much for a team like Atlanta to pay for a guy who’s not expected to start and is not adept defensively at several positions.
CB
October 31st, 2009
11:46 am
DOB,you have officially opened the Kelly debate from the KJ club.
Bat Masterson
October 31st, 2009
11:48 am
Jamie Moyer, the ghost of World Series past
RHR
October 31st, 2009
11:49 am
Trying to stomp on the hearts of the fan club early, huh DOB?
uga-brave – hope they keep it interesting…regardless….its great to be a gator hater.
cabravesfan
October 31st, 2009
11:53 am
DOB-
The first time Gameday came out west (USC vs.Cal a few years ago)- we were there at 5:00 in the morning for the show…It was a lot of fun, but needless to say, with kickoff not until 3:00 that afternoon, it made for a really long day
Thundersticks
October 31st, 2009
11:56 am
From comments made by Cox and players, KJ seems like a good guy. But that is too much money for a bench player. I’d be very surprised to see him in ST in a Braves’ uni.
I believe Church falls into the same category. He’ll get a raise as well, but we have plenty of average OFs that are a lot cheaper.
Can we expect to get anything reasonable for either guy when other GMs know they are likely to be released?
jeffrey d
October 31st, 2009
12:01 pm
it made for a really long day
When Gameday came to Athens last year we got there around 7. And the game was at night so I got to go home and take a nap
RHR
October 31st, 2009
12:02 pm
LOL @ Corso. He makes gameday.
Rob from SC
October 31st, 2009
12:02 pm
Speaking about Luis Valdez, he has pitched extremely well so far in the winter leagues
Rob from SC
October 31st, 2009
12:03 pm
DOB
Anything about Valdez?
David O'Brien
October 31st, 2009
12:03 pm
Oh, and happy 46th birthday to Fred McGriff.
cabravesfan
October 31st, 2009
12:05 pm
Jeffrey D-
My brother…ummm…”took a nap” in his truck but the rest of us managed to suffer through hours and hours of…well, use your imagination
cabravesfan
October 31st, 2009
12:05 pm
RHR-
Who’d Corso pick?
mitel
October 31st, 2009
12:07 pm
Head-to-head record means nothing once get in the postseason.
Braves had the advantage, I think against every NL playoff team this year. It got them nothing.
The Braves had more to play for when they faced Philly during the regular season. Philly meanwhile did what they need to coast thru the season and get to the big picture – the championship.
With a clean slate and both teams playing for the championship, comparing Philly’s roster with the Braves, there is no comparison. There is nobody on the Braves that are as good as Ibinez, Utley, and Howard and there won’t be unless they create them or trade for them. On the free agent market, any player better then them will go somewhere else and get bigger pay.
Comparing top 3 starting pitchers on each team, I like Braves long term but they are arguably not any better than that of Phily right now.
jeffrey d
October 31st, 2009
12:08 pm
LOL @ Corso. He makes gameday.
They all do! It’s one of the rare cases where a national network got it right with all of the broadcasters. Corso, Herbstreit, Fowler, and Howard all have personality, humor, and can talk in front of a camera. And they have great chemistry too.
And seeing Lee ride off on a motorcycle with a duck head on was pretty dang hilarious.
RHR
October 31st, 2009
12:09 pm
cab – the right team.