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© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
4,313 comments Add your comment
GboroBravo
January 25th, 2010
9:14 am
Why was there 12 men in the huddle coming out of a timeout?
DAP
January 25th, 2010
9:18 am
don Braves seem to emphasize power hitting – instead of placing emphasis on making conisistant solid contact, high BA, and high OBA – and then letting the power come with experience.
you know, you can hit for a good average and have a good OBP and still K quite a bit. based on minor league numbers, thats what schafer does. dont get hung up on K’s. as long as the OBP is good, Ks really arent that big of a deal.
RHR
January 25th, 2010
9:22 am
Oh hey…a new blog. I think Schafer will be traded this season…sorry Roman Gal. .. he seems like a good kid…or as good as a 21 year old who has experienced the things he has can be. Would like to see him rebound and make it .. with any big league team.
Nice photo….too bad Nick Markakis won’t give the braves one of those famous hometown discounts the blog is so found of. heh heh heh
And finally, I don’t care what none of y’all say I’ll always be a fan of Andruw for his Braves years. Sometimes when i read the blog comments about him I wonder if I’m the only one who is old enough to remember when he played for the braves lol…thanks for the history lesson for the kids, DOB.
RHR
January 25th, 2010
9:27 am
My roomate and I were just chatting about this…
I feel like the All State guy here but….you have a roommate?
You seem so much older to me, I mean, I knew you were a student but I thought you were like, an older student…like if I had to guess your age it would be in the 45 ballpark. And not that older guys can’t have roommates but…idk. I had you pegged all wrong, OH Steve.
RHR
January 25th, 2010
9:29 am
And me? I hope the braves don’t sign Damon. What a d-bag that guy is. I mean…I like my dirtbags but that guy is a whole ‘nother level of dirt bag.
NIck n Nash
January 25th, 2010
9:40 am
I think the Braves should get rid of Chip Caray, have Joe do the PBP, and get Conan O’brien to be the new CC. That way he has work until he is able to start doing late night again in early september. I can just pictureit now, the masturbating bear heckling ryan howard on the visitors dugout. Priceless
18 Wheels of Love
January 25th, 2010
9:46 am
OK, it’s ‘next week’, we got Damon yet? Hehe.
Lew
January 25th, 2010
9:50 am
Y’all need to realize that our Friend The Grinch is still upset that Favre left the Falcons and got good, while he was forced to watch Chris Chandler and countless bad Falcons teams all these years.
As to the whole Saito assassination by TommyP- Let’s look at his MLB career and assess.
06-08 with LAD, 09 with Boston
06 ERA 2.07, G 72, IP 78, H 48, K 107, BB 23, WHIP .91
07 ERA 1.40, G 63, IP 64, H33, K 78, BB 13, WHIP .71
08 ERA 2.49, G 45, IP 47, H 40, K 60, BB 16, WHIP 1.2
09 ERA 2.43, G 56, IP 56, H 50, K 52, BB 25, WHIP 1.34
Now yes, as TommyP says, his strikeouts are declining and his WHIP has risen. BFD. His numbers are still excellent (especially, as DOB says-he went from super pitchers parks in the NL West to super Hitter’s parks in the AL East (not to mention much better teams). Even with the rise in his numbers, he still had a 2-1 K to BB rate last year and gave up less than a hit per inning. I’d take my chances on the Dude- San. His numbers look pretty damned good to me-40 years old or 30.
Jeff R
January 25th, 2010
9:56 am
Lew…. nice post at 10:39 am, yesterday.
You’re right: teams have ifs. Will be interesting to see how the Braves’ ifs pan out.
Al for ATL
January 25th, 2010
9:57 am
Brett haters are not known for their rationality. Trust me, I live in Wisconsin. They cannot stop talking about him. They may devote more sports radio time to griping about him than they do to talking about their own team. I heard some person on a call in show today complaining that Brett was clearly overacting his injuries yesterday – the caller knew, because he could tell there was no pain in Brett’s eyes. W. T. F. people!?!?
As for the last drive, I don’t think you can say Brett cost them. His coach and his teamates put him in a bad position. You start the last series with two STUPID run-up-the-middle plays that net you zero yards and you’re looking at a 51 yard field goal if you get nothing else. But then, you get too many guys in the huddle, and suddenly, you’re looking at a 56 yard field goal. When Brett made that throw, he was several yards behind the line of scrimmage, so a run by him is not going to get them into realistic field goal range. Neither is a short pass.
I guess he gets to live with most of the finger pointing, as opposed to the kicker or the coach by making the play he did. But it was a risk worth taking under the circumstances, and I think it’s highly unlikely that it cost them anything, since you still would have had to depend on the kicker to get a 50ish yard field goal in a hostile environment. Ultimately, I think Childress did what a lot of coaches do and got too conservative at the point where he needed to go for the jugular. Let Brett throw on first and second and get some yardage instead of giving him just one thow in a situation where the ball has got to go downfield in order to give your team a chance.
Jeff R
January 25th, 2010
10:00 am
There’s no doubt about Wagner’s or Saito’s talent. My concern is their ages. How well are they holding up and pitching by August and September? If their healthy and not being over-used, they’re probably pitching well.
But there are always going to be legit questions about players and pitchers who are around the forty-year-old mark.
Lew
January 25th, 2010
10:23 am
Jeff R-Wagner, coming off of his injury is a bit of a question mark, though as our buddy KC is so fond of reminding us-the success rate after TJ sugery is excellent (hell, he even may be better with a strengthened elbow at his age).
AS for Saito-I haven’t seen much indication that his age (which wasn’t all that young when he started in the U.S. to begin with) has made any difference what soever. Yes, like Toomy P has pointed out, some aspects of his game have gone higher, but seriously, did anyone believe he would maintain a sub 1 WHIP past age 38?
Nah, I’m cool with Saito. He pitches quite well no matter what his age is – how many pitchers maintain a sub 3 ERA? Especially at Fenway and in the AL East or at age 39? Not worried about Takashi-san in the least, or our bullpen in general. No more questions than we had last year with three quite recent surgically repaired arms in play.
Jay Hey Kid
January 25th, 2010
10:32 am
As much as I wanted to believe in Favre, I couldn’t. You hear so many attack him, and you want to defend him, but it just feels pointless. You knew it would end the way it always ends with Favre. You knew he’d screw up yet again when it really mattered, and then subject everyone to 8 months of drama queen b.s.
Tomas
January 25th, 2010
10:32 am
Bobby is gonna have to use the bullpen a lot wiser than he has in the past. He can’t use the same guys everyday.
He has to extend starters longer, hopefully Derek Lowe will return to form. Tim Hudson may not pitch as much innings as Vazquez did though, but Kawakami really started to look good at the end, maybe he has finally adjusted to the bigger ball and the tighter strike zone. Hanson isn’t a rookie anymore, so there shouldn’t be a lot of limits for him. Jurrjens surpassed the 200 inning mark so there is no longer any concerns about his durability.
If Bobby keeps the bullpen guys with 70 apperances or less it’d be great. Exactly what he needs to do if he wants to keep this guys healthy, and effective.
Jim
January 25th, 2010
10:40 am
Nolie:
For about $1MM, Nady may be worth a gamble. I’m not saying that FW has a lot to spend – but does $1MM for Nady mean that Schaefer, for example, could spend a year really getting his act together at Gwinnett? In a peculiar way, there might even be a positive pay back for such a move.
screw foam tamohawks, lets bring in real ones
January 25th, 2010
10:57 am
k’s are not a big deal !?!? unless there’s fewer than 2 outs and a runner on 3rd!
18 Wheels of Love
January 25th, 2010
11:03 am
Montana, Marino and Favre – last passes all INT’s….and Favre did it twice!
DAP
January 25th, 2010
11:03 am
k’s are not a big deal !?!?
in the grand scheme of things, no, they arent.
pills91
January 25th, 2010
11:09 am
A little late to the party, but… Everyone is assuming that the Vikes make that 50yd FG to win the game if Favre doesn’t throw the pick. Not sure if I buy that. Favre trying to complete that pass to Rice would have put them in a MUCH better position to win the game.
Really is NO excuse for a pro team to come out of a timeout in that situation and have 12 in the huddle. That isn’t on Favre, but, Childress.
extra zero
January 25th, 2010
11:16 am
DOBOK, I think I’ve got it worked out now. Again, thanks for the heads-up Smack. As much as I hate having errors, I hate even worse when they’re not caught by anyone for days on end.
You mean like this one?:
“Anyway, back to Schafer. He won the 20009 opening-day starting job with a strong performance in the first weeks of spring training…”
Sorry to nitpick. I just read the blog again today and realized that typo was still in there.
DAP
January 25th, 2010
11:22 am
do you guys think that the price on free agents like damon, dye, nady are plummeting? we are getting pretty late in the game for free agents with name recognition.
personally, i would be willing to sign damon or dye for a cheap contract. i actually think dye would be an interesting gamble. we would need to shuffle the 25 man a little bit, but dye could really make the braves lineup deep.
Lew
January 25th, 2010
11:24 am
DAP_Damon might be worth trading Melky for a couple years of his services. Dye would not be. And I believe that if we re to get another outfielder, they will have to trade Melky. After Dye’s terrible second half? Not worth it. Melky has much more upside. Damon would be a good lead off hitter for us. Dye wouldn’t really give us anything we don’t already have. He \’s not a good defensive outfielder, has no versatility and is apparently on a downswing.
DAP
January 25th, 2010
11:34 am
lew, i dont really agree on that. while damon would probably be better, because he is more of a given, dye would allow heyward to stay in AAA for a couple of months, can provide power if we dont get as much as we need from glaus.
i think we NEED a bat like dye as much as we NEED a bat like damon. damon gets on base, has some speed, but dye hits for more power than damon, and is more of a middle of the order bat. as of now, we have a leadoff hitter, and we also have middle of the order bats…i guess its just a matter of where you are going to have depth.
this is assuming, of course, that dye isnt done. you seem to think he is, and i dont, which is probably the main reason our opinions differ on this. also, i think dye is actually gettable, and im doubtful if damon is.
when its all said and done, i bet no moves get made. but, it seems like there is a chance here to make a bunch of cheap additions, with the assumption something is bound to pay off.
Lew
January 25th, 2010
11:38 am
Dye played in 141 games last year-81 in the first half and 60 in the second half.
In those last 60 games, he hit .179 with an OBP of .293 an OPS of .297 with 7 of his 27 HR, 26 of 81 RBI, 6 of his 15 GIDP, 46 of his 108 K, 4 of his 19 @b and 38 of his 126 hits. Not to mention he had a meager .980 Fldg% and 5 outfield errors in 133 games,
A damned precipitous drop off to my way of thinking. There may well be a reason no one has even signed him that cheaply him for a DH role.
Lew
January 25th, 2010
11:39 am
Excuse me-that was 4 of his 19 2B hits.
rico43
January 25th, 2010
11:39 am
DOB confirming that Nady is also a Boras client convinces me that he is angling Yankees to pay he or Damon a nice deal first and the other will take the “piddling” $2 mil or so that the Braves or a similar team offers. Mark my words, Damon or Nady to the Yankees first.
Lew
January 25th, 2010
11:45 am
DAP-I don’t know if he’s done or not, but based on the end of his season he damned well could be-apparently no one else is convinced he isn’t or he wouldn’t be out there looking to sign for squat (by MLB standards)-and he certainly gave no performance indicative of NOT being through or of having anything left in his tank.
What I do know is I would not get rid of Melky (who can play defense well and all three OF positions which Dye can’t-even marginally) for a year of Dye- and I’m thinking we’d HAVE to trade Melky at that point to add Dye.
Damon would make us stronger. Dye would not. No matter what his price may be.
Jeff R
January 25th, 2010
11:46 am
Lew… Yep, my gut says Wagner and Saito will deliver. By the way, you’re on a roll:
“Y’all need to realize that our Friend The Grinch is still upset that Favre left the Falcons and got good, while he was forced to watch Chris Chandler and countless bad Falcons teams all these years.”
The career move that Farve had made for him was when the Falcons sent him packing. The Falcons were just the pits for so long…
Steve from OH
January 25th, 2010
11:49 am
RHR–no, I’m a young’un. Sorry to shatter your preconceived notions…
Lew
January 25th, 2010
11:50 am
Jeff R-You’re right. Trading Favre made his career. Grinch is likely the biggest (not just size wise) fan of the Falcons I’ve ever known-and he is quite knowledgable. However, this Favre thing really gets to him beyond all reasonableness. However, having been a long time Tampa Bay Bucs fan (from their stretch of 14 consecutive losing seasons and about five #1 in the draft picks), I understand his futility and frustration. Atleast in his favor, the Falcons finally had two consecutive winning seasons, while my Bucs are partying like it’s 1989.
Steve from OH
January 25th, 2010
11:50 am
BTW, if you’re 45 and entering grad school…that’s pretty intense. I don’t see how I would be able to do it at that age. Just too many other life things in the way, you know? That, and I’d be about 60 by the time I was all done, LOL!
DAP
January 25th, 2010
11:52 am
lew, dye’s OPS 2nd half was .590. thats awful, but not .297.
you know who else dropped off really badly at the end of last season? chipper jones. and he will be batting 3rd and starting at 3B for us.
obviously dye isnt chipper jones, but im not going to let 60 games tell me dye is done any more than i will let chipper’s last 60 games tell me. dye was playing like an MVP candidate in the first half, and 60 games later, he useless? i think we need a bigger sample size to know that for sure. honestly, it sounds like an injury bit him, to me.
Lew
January 25th, 2010
11:52 am
Steve-I think you’d be shocked how many middle aged persons change prfessional careers or go to grad school. MY Wife is Dean of Admissions at Law School and it is a quite common occurrence-even down to doctors coming back to become a lawyer.
David O'Brien
January 25th, 2010
11:52 am
when its all said and done, i bet no moves get made. but, it seems like there is a chance here to make a bunch of cheap additions, with the assumption something is bound to pay off. — DAP
A “bunch” of cheap additions? With what roster spots? Is this like Nebraska football in the 1970s, you just stockpile capable players, put them on the junior varsity team until you need to bring them to the big squad?
Steve from OH
January 25th, 2010
11:57 am
Lew–I don’t doubt it, I’m just saying that those folks have got to have a pretty doggone strong head on their shoulders to do it. It would be so much more difficult to do so than if you’re in my shoes, with no wife, kids, money obligations, etc. Like I said, that’s pretty intense. But if I was 45, to get fully done with the field(s) I want to enter, I’d either be 54 or 56 by the time I was completely done…and at that point, is it really worth it? I don’t know how well I’d handle 80-100 hour work weeks at age 50.
David O'Brien
January 25th, 2010
11:57 am
you know who else dropped off really badly at the end of last season? chipper jones. and he will be batting 3rd and starting at 3B for us. — DAP
Among notable differences between Dye and Chipper: The latter is entering the first season of a three-year, $42 million contract extension he signed with the Braves last March. Dye is unsigned.
Chipper also produced OPS totals over 1.000 for three consecutive seasons before last year’s .818, while Dye’s OPS for the past three seasons was .804, .885 and .793.
Did we mention Chipper is owed $42 million over the next three seasons?
DAP
January 25th, 2010
12:02 pm
DOB A “bunch” of cheap additions? With what roster spots?
“a bunch” is open to interpretation. the braves have already made several (also a gray term). there is one roster spot still available without having to trade anyone. it will likely go to a utility infielder, i would think, but it doesnt have to. also, trading melky to make room is an option. on my mock 25-man, ive got heyward already taking up a spot on the 25-man, so there is another slot if he starts the season at AAA. (of course, unless there was an injury, you would want that slot to be occupied by someone who could be sent to AAA)
Moe Berg
January 25th, 2010
12:04 pm
Steve–There are a lot of people who go back. When I started back to grad school after taking some time off, I was quite surprised to find that I was in no way the oldest–a player retired from the NFL, a former doctor, two professors who wanted to go back and get another Ph.D. A lot of people start over at a lot of different ages.
Steve from OH
January 25th, 2010
12:04 pm
Moe–yeah, for sure, there are quite a few folks in my class that are going back (ex-cop, for instance). Just saying it would be a lot more difficult that if you were coming straight out of undergrad like I was.
VaBraveFan
January 25th, 2010
12:05 pm
Another point of view i see is. When the Braves traded Vasquez to the Yanks, do you think they would have wanted another good prospect instead of Melky if they were planning on adding a Damon, Dye, Nady or some other veteran outfielder. The advantages Melky has over all the other OF options, is he clearly has the better arm and defense. Also being 25 years old with plenty of time for improvement. Switch Hitter as well, and can play all 3 outfield spots good.
David O'Brien
January 25th, 2010
12:06 pm
DAP, I was referring to 40-man roster spot. The 40-man roster is currently full. For each addition in the “bunch” you mentioned, you would need to move someone off the 40-man roster, unless you’re talking about signing scrap-heap guys to minor-league contracts, or signing more minor-league free agents like your Mitch Jones types.
DAP
January 25th, 2010
12:07 pm
DOB, chipper contract doesnt have anything to do with judging what he has left in the tank based on the end of last season. its relevant to why he will be starting next season, but not the weather or not he has anything left.
if you go back four seasons with chipper, go back four with dye. he OPSed over 1.000 four years ago.
heck, there are tons of differences between dye and chipper. chipper is one of the best ever. but, i think if we are honest, the principle applies that a bad couple of months doesnt spell doom for a baseball player. especially when it is immediately preceded by excellent performance.
DAP
January 25th, 2010
12:09 pm
DOB I was referring to 40-man roster spot. The 40-man roster is currently full.
ok, gotcha.
David O'Brien
January 25th, 2010
12:13 pm
DAP: No, $42 mill has nothing to do with judging what he has left in the tank. But it assures the Braves and Chipper are going to find out.
And the fact that Dye is unsigned means that, so far at least, no team has decided it’s willing to pay much to find out what he has left.
TnBrian
January 25th, 2010
12:14 pm
If we don’t get Damon or acquire another leadoff type guy, I’d like to see Bobby use this kind of lineup:
1- Diaz
2- Prado
3- Jones
4- Glaus
5- McCann
6- Escobar
7- McLouth
8- Cabrera
Nate will KILL us leading off with all his K’s. He doesn’t walk nearly enough, he can’t bunt, is a pull,fly ball hitter and he has a 90% stolen base rate because he isn’t that aggressive on the base paths. He seems timid at everything he does except swinging. He loves him some swinging. We’ll like him a lot more hitting 6th or 7th.
It’s not like Diaz is a prototypical leadoff guy either, but I bet he’s better suited there than Nate. He showed last year he’s good there.
JUST ASKIN'
January 25th, 2010
12:15 pm
I am not a Vikings fan but fair is fair. Does anyone else agree with me that every questionable call in the OT went in favor of the Saints?
As for overtime can anyone come up with a better system than the one Colleges use?
elldubya
January 25th, 2010
12:18 pm
Shafer is not ready for the majors. Try him in Gwinnett for a month, if he can’t handle that , send him to Mississippi or release the BUM
Lew
January 25th, 2010
12:19 pm
DAP-Sorry, That’s what happens when you grew up with Triple Crown stats. I meant SLG%, NOT OPS. a .297 SLG% sucks. Sucks Bad. Sucks REALLY REALLY bad. Sucks way worse than Bad Francoeur at his worst.
TnBrian
January 25th, 2010
12:23 pm
At least now Favre can get a head start on his wrangler commercials. Plus, he can begin typing out his “retirement” then “I’m back” speeches while not having to worry about Manning shaming him in the SB.
N8
January 25th, 2010
12:24 pm
“Does anyone else agree with me that every questionable call in the OT went in favor of the Saints?”
Serves them right (if that is the case), for their state government butting into the NFL’s business and not allowing them to suspend the Williams boys at the beginning of the season.
Fair is fair, right?
DAP
January 25th, 2010
12:24 pm
TnBrian, diaz doesnt strike out any less than mclouth does. their strikeout rate is roughly the same, with diaz K-ing about 20% of his ABs, and mclouth K-ing about 19% of his.
DAP
January 25th, 2010
12:26 pm
lew a .297 SLG% sucks. Sucks Bad. Sucks REALLY REALLY bad.
thats a fact.
TnBrian
January 25th, 2010
12:28 pm
DAP, lets just get Nate out of that leadoff spot, please. I know Bobby isn’t one of those stat guys and goes with his gut and his gut tells him “The Natester has speed and he’ll leadoff.”
Lew
January 25th, 2010
12:31 pm
DAP-Since you brought up Chipper’s second half, let’s do some comparison with Dye.
Second half stats-Chipper, 62 games, Dye 60 games
BA-CJ .236, JD-.179
OBP-CJ-.361, JD-..293
SLG%-CJ-.389, JD-.297
HR-CJ-( of 18, JD-7 of 27
RBI-CJ-30 of 71, JD-26 of 81
2B-CJ-8 of 23, JD-4 of 19
Hits-CJ-54 of 129, JD-38 of 126
Now no one is saying Chipper had a good 2nd half, but he kicked Dye’s behind-Bye quite a bit. Matter of fact-it wasn’t even close.
Lew
January 25th, 2010
12:32 pm
That was 9 of 18 HR for Chipper in the 2nd half of 09.
The Grinch
January 25th, 2010
12:33 pm
Lew, Chris Chandler took the Falcons to a super bowl in ‘98 (ironically beating the Vikings who were the highest scoring team in NFL history that year). The Bucs went 3-13 last year with the last loss being to the Falcons. You may now proceed to shut your pie-hole.
Al for ATL, in addition to his chronic bad decision-making, he gets the extra “finger pointing” because he’s a reprehensible human being. The same reason Bonds gets more hate than McGwire.
Now, baseball (there’ll be enough Favre talk all through the weeks leading up to the super bowl and probably during it, even though he won’t be in it). What’s with all the hate for the Melk Man? Like everybody else I wasn’t blown away by the aquisition, but the dude’s only 25 and a decent athlete who’s been pretty clutch on a high pressure team. We can use a few clutch guys after suffering through Francine, Norton and KJ.
Lew
January 25th, 2010
12:36 pm
Brinch-Pie hole? What does pie taste like? Haven’t had any for the past five months. As to the Bucs sucking. Obviously you didn’t read the entire post or you would see that I agree wholeheartedly. Like I said-partying like it’s 1989. Shades of Ray Perkins.
ADS to Chandler-didn’t they get him when he became too expensive to lead the Bucs to yet another 2-14 season?
DAP
January 25th, 2010
12:38 pm
TnBrian DAP, lets just get Nate out of that leadoff spot, please.
im not against that if there is a better option. but, i dont think diaz is a better option, and, i think nate is actually a pretty good leadoff hitter. gets on base at a good rate, gets himself in scoring position with SB and 2B, and has some pop. hes not the best leadoff hitter ive ever seen or anything. but, i think he is better than the oft mentioned former braves leadoff hitter rafael furcal.
some folks say (i dont know if you have or not) “we havent had a leadoff hitter since furcal…” what do you call nate, then? better OBP, better power, nearly equal SB ability with better success rates, really just a better player.
lexbrave
January 25th, 2010
12:39 pm
sounds like the a’s might be willing to give damon more than $2 mil. that’s bad news for any of us that were hoping his price would a.) drop that low b.) he would be too insulted to take that offer from the yanks and c.) the braves actually made him an offer for him to even accept.
Lew
January 25th, 2010
12:39 pm
DAP-Furcal had a better arm than Nate and better range at his position. I’d still rather have Furcal of Then than Nate of Now. Not even a contest. Furcal never hit as low as .214 at home.
DAP
January 25th, 2010
12:39 pm
lew, Now no one is saying Chipper had a good 2nd half, but he kicked Dye’s behind-Bye quite a bit.
yeah, i know it. i think the example still holds though. you cant assume based on 60 games that dye is finished, in my opinion.
how about chipper posting a .361 OBP in probably one of the worst extended stretches in his career? thats pretty amazing.
The Grinch
January 25th, 2010
12:42 pm
TnBrian, agreed Nate shouldn’t be leading off. He’s clearly not comfortable there and has said so out loud. Also agree Prado should be the man; he hits boat-loads of doubles. Speed doesn’t matter anyway; unless you’re a 40+ per year guy Bobby won’t play small ball. Diaz is a great mid to late order spark. Also agreed Peyton would totally school that other guy.
Lew
January 25th, 2010
12:42 pm
lexbrave-I think you nailed it on that last post. IF the Braves even make him an offer. I would, but I haven’t nailed a Wren move yet this winter.
Lew
January 25th, 2010
12:43 pm
DAP-Chipper is an amazing player. Dye is not, never has been and never will be.
TnBrian
January 25th, 2010
12:44 pm
DAP, ok, I won’t argue much with that. You know, aside from Nate having more power and not as much speed, he kinda reminds me of Victorino. Both guys can’t bunt for sh** and they both seem to get in the habit of going yard. Guess that’s why Rollins is their leadoff guy most of the time. We don’t have a Rollins on the Braves right now, so Nate is the guy, unfortunately.
DAP
January 25th, 2010
12:45 pm
lew I’d still rather have Furcal of Then than Nate of Now.
perhaps the only thing we have in common is that we like the braves. :- )
David O'Brien
January 25th, 2010
12:45 pm
MZ: Just announced that one of your favorites, Roman Candle, is playing the EARL here in Atlanta on March 12. I’d guess that if they’re touring in this area, they’ll be over your way just before or after that date.
TnBrian
January 25th, 2010
12:47 pm
The Grinch, DOB is LIVID about Favre not going to the SB. He loves the guy which is cool, but somehow I think he feels us Braves fans frustration when we lose one of those nail biters. And yes, Peyton IS better than Favre. Manning is the man …. the Vols haven’t been nearly the team they were since he flew off to the NFL.
The Grinch
January 25th, 2010
12:47 pm
What the hell’s a Brinch? If you’re referring to me, Lew, I saw that you admitted they were bad but only after I’d decided what I was going to say anyway. I’m stubborn like that. And Chandler was a good QB; the Bucs would have been 0-16 with a lesser one. And he would’ve been better when he left if your o-line didn’t net him 15 concussions. However, y’all have won a super bowl so I can’t insult them THAT much.
Lew
January 25th, 2010
12:49 pm
DAP-Nah. I am just NOT a Nate fan. Maybe if he has a much better year, but…….I’m certainly not convinced by his Atlanta performance of last year. Not at all. Quite disappointed actually, both offensively AND defensively. I felt he was the worst full time center fielder (by a large margin) we’ve had since the consecutive division streak started. I was not impressed with his route to balls, his range, his arm or the way he played the ball off of the wall.
The Grinch
January 25th, 2010
12:51 pm
McClouth a better leadoff guy than Furcal? NOT. I like Nate pretty well, and Furcal proved he’s an @$$ with that offseason stunt he pulled on Wren, but when it comes down to nuts and bolts that’s not even a comparison, IMO. Furcal made pitchers nervous when he was on base. Nate doesn’t scare anyone, even at the plate. Sometimes stats don’t tell you everything.
Salamander
January 25th, 2010
12:56 pm
yeah, for sure, there are quite a few folks in my class that are going back (ex-cop, for instance). Just saying it would be a lot more difficult that if you were coming straight out of undergrad like I was.
Not in my case – I’m glad I waited 5 years before going to grad school. My undergrad degree is in a field completely unrelated to my current focus, and I don’t think I would’ve had the stones when I was 22 to totally change directions. At 27, however, I was ready to make the leap from the liberal arts to science.
sri
January 25th, 2010
1:02 pm
Found this link on CNNSI, a radio call of Favre’s int.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/images/01/25/FavreINT.mp3
The Grinch
January 25th, 2010
1:02 pm
I didn’t know that about DOB, Brian.
David, I was not aware you were a huge Favre fan; I hopped on here last night right after the game and didn’t read the game-time posts first. Had I known, I would not have been so loud about it then or later. I just thought you were jumping on me for the hell of it. My apologies.
Manning is a freakin’ robot. I’m not a Colts fan, but you’ve got to respect the guy’s mental ability. Lots of guys can throw 60 yards; very few can scan the field at the line, audible into the right play, make multiple reads and then hum it right on target in three seconds.
TnBrian
January 25th, 2010
1:10 pm
Lew, yeah, Nate kind of got me ticked when he’d lob a throw to the cut-off man instead of making a strong effort to throw out the guy heading towards he plate. At first I thought he just didn’t trust his arm, but he made one accurate throw to nail a guy at the plate once and then I knew he’s just timid.
The Grinch, I agree with the Furcal/McLouth comparison … there really is none. Furcal in his prime and still to this day to an extent, made pitcher’s a nervous wreck.
Lew
January 25th, 2010
1:12 pm
Brinch-You assume I can type?
DAP
January 25th, 2010
1:15 pm
grinch Sometimes stats don’t tell you everything.
yeah, most often thats when they tell you what you dont want to hear. mclouth is a better player offensively, and the stats back that up. i agree furcal made pitchers more nervous than nate, but in the end, the results arent much better. and the other stuff outweighs it, like nate being on base more often than furcal….
dogsbrekky
January 25th, 2010
1:15 pm
Lew …………. doctors becoming lawyers..
I laughed bloody hard….
Lew
January 25th, 2010
1:15 pm
dogs-Yeah, scary, isn’t it (playing George Lynch’s Mr. Scary in the background), but it really happens frequently-you know, with all the Medical malpractice. Makes sense from a Dr.’s point of view. Represent yourself and save the attorney’s fees when you’re sued.
Julian Taverez, Esq.
January 25th, 2010
1:15 pm
DOB…
I don’t remember if it was part of your year end list, or just casually brought up on the ol blog, but I checked out The Hurt Locker over the weekend in part because of your ringing endorsement. That was the best movie I have seen in quite some time in any genre. Ended up chain smoking through the film since every second was an anxious one. Anyways, just wanted to say thanks for what you do with the Braves.. and now my apparently my movie collection.. and keep up the great work!
I look forward to another season of the Blog (despite sometimes having to sift through the sociopaths that occasionally litter it) and hope your visit in lovely Dark Star flies by.
Go Braves in 2010!
DAP
January 25th, 2010
1:17 pm
TnBrian Furcal in his prime and still to this day to an extent, made pitcher’s a nervous wreck.
furcal is 32, when would you say his prime was?
Lew
January 25th, 2010
1:18 pm
DAP-Obviously when he played for the Braves.
Lew
January 25th, 2010
1:19 pm
Wasn’t Furcal really 34 when he broke in? Gained a decade when he got nailed for underage drinking?
O.J.
January 25th, 2010
1:20 pm
It appears as if Oakland is now in the running for Damon as a “PlanB” of sorts. I sure wish this whole Damon situation was over with already, so we are not still wondering if Atlanta is going to sign him.
DAP
January 25th, 2010
1:28 pm
lew, TnBrian Obviously when he played for the Braves.
during those 6 years, he averaged 32 SB with 9 CS, a .347 OBP, .404 slg%, and an average of 10 homers, 53 RBI per year.
if yall love furcal thats cool, i liked him to, but slamming nate and wishing furcal was back? nate mclouth is a better baseball player, period. furcal has a slight edge on SB, which is aided by his bookend atlanta seasons where his SB spiked. i just dont see it.
lexbrave
January 25th, 2010
1:30 pm
its almost unbelievable to me that john smoltz is potentially going to go from being my all time favorite atlanta brave to being dead to me, just by signing a contract with the mets..but unfortunately if the does, then he will be. and it’s very sad to me.
tiger297
January 25th, 2010
1:32 pm
brekky you figured out what you are going to do for ST? The lady get business slowed down or you going to meet Lew and his crew?
Mike S
January 25th, 2010
1:33 pm
sri, that radio call link is hilarious. Thanks for passing it on. “This isn’t Detroit, man; this is the Super Bowl!!!”
Mike S
January 25th, 2010
1:37 pm
Grinch, you nailed it on Peyton. I went from not being a huge fan of his, to pulling for the Colts in most situations now just because of him. The guy is flat out amazing. When you add on top of that his funny commercials/presence/SNL stuff (for the most part), and the fact that he just seems like a genuinely good guy (by all accounts), it’s really hard to hate on him for very long.
ugaaccountant
January 25th, 2010
1:42 pm
“lexbrave
its almost unbelievable to me that john smoltz is potentially going to go from being my all time favorite atlanta brave to being dead to me, just by signing a contract with the mets..but unfortunately if the does, then he will be. and it’s very sad to me.”
I can’t blame Smoltz for this. When you get divorced by someone who’s apparently really sticking it to him financially, you take the best contract offer that comes regardless of who it’s from. Plus Atlanta hasn’t offered him a contract this year.
abwright
January 25th, 2010
1:43 pm
JUST ASKIN’, January 25th, 2010, 12:15 pm … “As for overtime can anyone come up with a better system than the one Colleges use?”
Just play one-two extra quarters during the reg season. If still tied at the end of two quarters, call it a tie. In the playoffs, keep playing quarters til someone ends ahead.
Anyone remember the Dolphins-Chargers playoff game those many years ago? Wheeen will it eeeever enddddd?
Lew
January 25th, 2010
1:47 pm
DAP-When Nate hits better than .214 in his home ballpark, let me know and maybe then I’ll really believe he was more than a one year wonder in a city with absolutely no pressure (or care, quite honestly) in a park that favors hitters in a less than stellar division. Then maybe I’ll agree that he’s “a better ballplayer” than anyone. He has yet to prove it.
RHR
January 25th, 2010
1:47 pm
Don’t be sorry, Steve. I uh…like young ‘uns.
I also like old ‘uns too. When that game started last night I wanted the saints to win…I don’t really care about either team, to be honest, but then midway thru the game I found myself pulling for the old guy. I kept expecting to see a camera fixated on bloody sock/ankle the way he was hobbling on and off the field there at the end. Sucks for him his teammates couldn’t hold on to the ball…and then there were a couple calls that didn’t go their way. No way should the loss be put on Favre. Without the season he’s had the vikes wouldn’t have made it all the way to championship sunday.
The Grinch
January 25th, 2010
1:47 pm
DAP, I make it a point not to argue with sabermatricians; I prefer to watch the games in order to judge who’s a better player. If I applied that to football, a sabermatrician would tell me Jeff George was a better QB than Steve Young. Both were first overall picks, but George had a stronger arm and threw for 32,000 yards as opposed to 27,000 for Young. Anyone who ever watched a single football game in the 90’s would tell you that George SUCKED in every way possible, while Young is going to the Hall of Fame. Everyone, that is, except a sabermatrician. Which is why I don’t talk to them about sports. Sorry. I’ll still discuss music, food or anything else with you though. No hard feelings.
Steve from OH
January 25th, 2010
1:48 pm
Smoltz has made around 140 MM in his career. His wife can take half of it and he can still afford to wipe his @ss with $100 bills. He’s fine.
P. W. Hjort
January 25th, 2010
1:48 pm
Frankie Piliere (MLB Fanhouse) Top-100 Prospects
Bad list, IMO. At any rate, the 6 Braves he ranked:
4. Jason Heyward
43. Mike Minor
49. Freddie Freeman
74. Julio Teheran
81. Craig Kimbrel
83. Zeke Spruill
Lew
January 25th, 2010
1:50 pm
And no one said they wanted Furcal back. You might notice that what I said was the Furcal of THEN and the Nate of NOW. Nate really sucked in Hotlanta last year. Not putting any spin on it. It is what it is and that wasn’t much at all.
I sure as hell hope he’s better than that, but he sure as hell didn’t show it last year and until he does, I won’t say anything good about him except he HAS to be better. Can’t be awhole lot worse.
Steve from OH
January 25th, 2010
1:51 pm
PWH–I don’t see how you can rank Teheran 74 and then not rank Vizcaino. Oh, and no way Minor is ahead of Freeman…
unbelievable
January 25th, 2010
1:51 pm
“”"sounds like the a’s might be willing to give damon more than $2 mil. “”"
Im not buying the A’s interest. They have 4 OF’rs and two Dh’s at the moment
Lew
January 25th, 2010
1:52 pm
Steve Young-Yet another stellar QB who couldn’t lead the Bucs to more than a few wins. And Vinny Testeverde, too.