Hudson’s in small group of Cy Young favorites
Sunday morning at the ballpark, Terry Pendleton and Brian McCann were busting my (chops) about not writing enough concerning Tim Hudson’s Cy Young Award bid.
Surging Braves ace has moved into the handful of contenders for the Cy Young Award.
I mentioned that Adam Wainwright and a couple others have been considered the front-runners for much of the season, mentioned the wins and strikeouts, and T.P. jumped on that, razzing me about knowing more about the other team’s ace than Hudson, etc.
We mention this incident because it in no way reflects upon what I’m about to write, which is that Hudson has, indeed, slowly but surely thrust himself squarely into the middle of the NL Cy Young conversation.
In fact, one might argue that he’s at least a co-favorite today, given how he has moved into the ERA lead while outperforming Wainwright, Josh Johnson, Ubaldo Jimenez and even Roy Halladay in recent weeks.
Of the perceived Cy favorites, only Chris Carpenter’s recent stats compare with Hudson’s.
Hudson is 6-0 with a 1.43 ERA in his past eight starts, with 46 strikeouts, 11 walks and only one homer allowed in 56-2/3 innings during that resounding run.
He has taken over the league ERA lead at 2.24, ahead of Philly’s Halladay (2.27), Florida’s Johnson (2.28), San Diego’s Mat Latos (2.29) and St. Louis’ Wainwright (2.30). Did we mention this might be the closest Cy race in a while? San Diego’s Latos (13-5) could also figure prominently.
Hudson (15-5) is tied for third in winning percentage at .750, behind Carpenter (14-4, .778) and Jimenez (17-5, .773). Wainwright is 10th at .654 (17-9).
Hudson is fifth in lowest opponents’ average at .220 (Latos is way ahead at .192, followed by Jimenez at .210 and Jonathan Sanchez and Wainwright at .215.
Hudson has the second-lowest slugging percentage allowed at .304, trailing only Latos (.299). This isn’t surprising if you’ve watched Hudson pitch this year – the dude might be throwing the most devastating sinkers and other pitches consistently below the knees that I’ve seen since Kevin Brown’s most dominant season with the Marlins, among pitchers that I’ve covered.
He leads the majors in percentage of grounders induced at 75.1, while St. Louis’ Jaime Garcia (71.2) and Braves teammate Derek Lowe (71.1) are the only other NL pitchers as high as 67 percent.
Tonight's starter Mike Minor has three quality starts to begin his career, something that Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, Hudson, Hanson and Jurrjens didn't do in their first three major league starts.
With runners on base, Hudson ranks seventh in the NL and eighth in the majors with a .199 opponents’ average, a ranking that includes all qualifying pitchers, relievers and starters. Who’s the leader? Young Jonny Venters, the Braves lefty reliever whose .168 (19-for-133) is just ahead of Latos (.169). No other qualifying pitcher in the majors is lower than .187).
The only stat that might lose some votes for Hudson is strikeouts. Some voters are inclined to give that stat more weight than it deserves in some cases. Because while strikeouts are important for power pitchers, Hudson is not going for them most of the time.
He’s trying to get the other team to put the ball in play, to keep his pitch count down, induce ground balls early in counts, let his defense work behind him and get deeper into games. And he’s done that, which saves a lot of wear on a bullpen that is starting to show some signs of fatigue after a busy season.
But if he keeps piling up strikeouts like he has lately, Hudson might get enough to satisfy voters who consider all his other stats.
The way he’s pitched lately, Hudson is definitely in the handful of favorites for the Cy Young. He’s never won the award, and how special would that be to do it in his first year back from Tommy John elbow surgery, at age 35?
Hudson could win the Comeback Player of the Year award and the Cy Young. Of course, he’d tell you he’d gladly skip either of those if he could get to the World Series with a chance to win his first ring.
Oh, almost forgot. Here’s what I was talking about, regarding the recent performance of the other top Cy Young candidates.
– Halladay is 3-2 with a 2.75 ERA and .268 opponents’ average in his past five games – still quite good, but not the overwhelming stuff he produced previously.
– Wainwright is 0-3 with a 5.21 ERA and .282 opponents’ average in hhis past three starts, with 20 hits, eighth walks and 20 strikeouts in 19 innings.
– Johnson is 1-2 with a 4.46 ERA and .275 opponents’ average in his past six starts, with 38 hits, 13 walks and 28 strikeouts in 36-1/3 innings. He lasted six or fewer innings in four of those six games.
– Jimenez is 4-4 with a 4.80 ERA and .237 opponents’ average in his past 12 starts, with 65 hits, 33 walks and 72 strikeouts in 75 innings.
– Carpenter, like Hudson, has stayed strong down the stretch, going 5-1 with a 2.23 ERA and .228 opponents’ average in his past nine starts. He has allowed 53 hits and 14 walks with 36 strikeouts in 64-2/3 innings, and the Cardinals have scored nearly six runs per nine innings he’s pitched in that period.
♣ Guess where Braves rank in NL offense this month: Considering the way some of us (my hand is raised) have criticized on the Braves’ offense in recent weeks, you might expect to find them in the bottom half of the league in terms of runs and home runs this month.
Well, that would be quite a bit off.
Would you believe the Braves lead the NL in runs and rank second in homers for the month? Well, they do.
They have a league-high 149 runs in August and rank second with 36 HRs, behind Arizona’s 38. As for the Phillies, they have 110 runs and a meager 16 HRs in August, 20 fewer homers than the Braves.
Resurgent rookie Heyward has helped Braves to highest runs total in NL in August.
But here’s what we mean by erratic: In 28 August games, the Braves have scored three runs or fewer 11 times, and scored eight runs or more eight times, including 10 or more five times.
The Phillies are a head-scratcher. I keep waiting for them to make power-fueled run, but I’m starting to wonder if they really have it in them anymore, what with their injuries and other issues.
In their last 12 games, the Phillies are 5-7 with a 2.62 ERA. Who’d have thunk their pitching would have to carry them through a stretch this late in the season. Because it has. In those dozen games, they’ve hit .184 with 28 runs. Yes, 28 runs.
♣ Freeman here Wednesday: Braves top first-base prospect Freddie Freeman leads a group of five September call-ups who’ll join the team Wednesday when rosters are expanded. The announced was made this afternoon.
And just to reiterate, anyone in the Braves organization before Sept. 1 is eligible for the postseason roster. A player does NOT have to be on the 40-man roster by that date to be eligible. Repeat, does NOT have to be on the 40-man roster by that date.
That rule changed years ago. Today, any player who’s not on the 40-man can replace a DL’d player, regardless of position, if the team decides it wants to have Freeman or any other player on the 25-man playoff roster. For example, Freeman could simply replace DL’d Chipper Jones if the Braves wanted to put him on the playoff roster.
Freeman, 20, has hit .319 with 35 doubles, 18 home runs and 87 RBIs in 127 games at Triple-A Gwinnett, with a .378 on-base percentage and .898 on-base-plus-slugging percentage (OPS). He was recently rated the best defensive first baseman in the International League in a Baseball America survey of league managers.
Freeman is expected to take over at first base for the Braves in 2011.
The Braves also announced that center fielder Nate McLouth and first baseman Troy Glaus have been recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett, with McLouth to be in uniform for Tuesday night’s game against the New York Mets and Glaus to be activated on Thursday.
Glaus has played third base for the past week at Gwinnett after being placed on the disabled list for chronic knee soreness. He was the Braves’ most productive hitter in May and part of June, but hit just .174 with two homers and 15 RBIs in his last 46 games before landing on the DL.
Pitcher Kenshin Kawakami was optioned to Danville in the Rookie League, a procedural move before he joins Freeman and four other September call-ups added to the roster on Wednesday.
The other call-ups from Gwinnett include relievers Mike Dunn and veteran Scott Proctor and catcher J.C. Boscan. Proctor had hoped to be in the majors in April or May, but his recovery from elbow surgery did not progress as planned.
♣ Tonight’s lineup: 1. Infante 2B, 2. Heyward RF, 3. Prado 3B, 4. Lee 1B, 5. Diaz LF, 6. Gonzalez SS, 7. Cabrera CF, 8. Ross C, 9. Minor P
♣ OK, gotta get to the ballpark. Let’s close with a pearl from the great songwriter Bruce Cockburn. Here’s a live, acoustic version of the song.
“LOVERS IN A DANGEROUS TIME” by Bruce Cockburn
Don’t the hours grow shorter as the days go by
You never get to stop and open your eyes
One day you’re waiting for the sky to fall
And next you’re dazzled by the beauty of it all
When you’re lovers in a dangerous time
Lovers in a dangerous time
♦
These fragile bodies of touch and taste
This vibrant skin this hair like lace
Spirits open to the thrust of grace
Never a breath you can afford to waste
♦
When you’re lovers in a dangerous time
Lovers in a dangerous time
When you’re lovers in a dangerous time
Lovers in a dangerous time
♦
When you’re lovers in a dangerous time
Sometimes you’re made to feel as if your love’s a crime
Nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight
Got to kick at the darkness till it bleeds daylight
♦
When you’re lovers in a dangerous time
When you’re lovers in a dangerous time
When you’re lovers in a dangerous time
Lovers in a dangerous time
1,560 comments Add your comment
DC Brave
August 31st, 2010
3:31 pm
1st
DC Brave
August 31st, 2010
3:32 pm
Yes! Wow. That was anti-climatic. At least now I can go on living.
Hillbilly
August 31st, 2010
3:33 pm
Salvation a la mode and a cup of tea.
Glen W
August 31st, 2010
3:34 pm
Freeman would be automatically eligible if he were called up today. Being called up after today, he would be eligible to replace a player put on the DL, which is not hard to do and the beginning of October.
Don’t sweat it, Freeman will be avialable to be on the post-season roster if they want him on it.
bravofan
August 31st, 2010
3:34 pm
lets get a W tonight and root root root for the dodgers
Trey
August 31st, 2010
3:36 pm
Let’s hope Freeman will do well!
Trey
August 31st, 2010
3:37 pm
Glen, he was just called up.
Trey
August 31st, 2010
3:37 pm
Well, tomorrow he is joining.
DC Brave
August 31st, 2010
3:37 pm
DOB, how has Proctor done in the past 2-3 weeks? Hoping for an indication that he turned the corner…
DC Brave
August 31st, 2010
3:38 pm
Personally I think it is great to have a 3rd catcher for a few weeks.
Nova Scotia Steve -
August 31st, 2010
3:41 pm
Pitcher Kenshin Kawakami was optioned to Danville in the Rookie League – Don’t know about anyone else – but i lol’d at this before i read the explanation.
CraZyTRaDeMaN ©
August 31st, 2010
3:41 pm
That means hes getting called up tomorrow.
Glen W
August 31st, 2010
3:41 pm
Great stuff on Huddy, DOB. Thanks!
Brightside
August 31st, 2010
3:42 pm
What about Kimbrel????????
timthebrave
August 31st, 2010
3:42 pm
Sorry to post again but don’t want it lost. Here is top WAR for 2010. Some make sense but others seem really out of place
Miguel Cabrera
Josh Hamilton
Joey Votto
Adrian Gonzalez
Jason Heyward
Jose Bautista
Aubrey Huff
Albert Pujols
Shin-Soo Choo
Kevin Youkilis
Ryan Zimmerman
Robinson Cano
Paul Konerko
Corey Hart
Scott Rolen
Carlos Gonzalez
Brian McCann
ParkerOverThere
August 31st, 2010
3:42 pm
16th
Tale of Woe
August 31st, 2010
3:42 pm
Bobby loves to carry 3 catchers in September. He has done that quite regularly.
Trey
August 31st, 2010
3:43 pm
CraZy, it sure does. I just hope he comes close to the hype that people expect.
timthebrave
August 31st, 2010
3:43 pm
Albert Pujols might win the triple crown and still be #8 on the year
RC
August 31st, 2010
3:43 pm
Didn’t realize that J.C. Boscan was Venezuelan. Can we bring back Andres “Big Cat” Gallaraga for 1 game to field the first ever all Venezuelan infield?
RC
August 31st, 2010
3:47 pm
timthebrave,
That list is not up-to-date. The current top 6 are:
1. Hamilton
2. Zimmerman
3. Cano
4. Votto
5. Cabrera
6. Pujols
Zimmerman is the one that really sticks out to me there, but he is having a good year at a premium defensive position, so I understand why he’s there. I really don’t see a problem with any of the others…Cabrera and Pujols are actually tied at 6.0, and Votto is just barely ahead of them at 6.2.
Not sure where that other list came from.
N8
August 31st, 2010
3:48 pm
DOB, I admit that I don’t know much about Bruce Cockburn or the song chosen for today’s blog. But I absolutely LOVE the photo selected of Peter Gammons playing guitar. He looks good with his hair grown out.
What’s that? Oh… never mind.
ParkerOverThere
August 31st, 2010
3:49 pm
yea, now that McLouth is back on the team we have our postseason pinch runner.
timthebrave
August 31st, 2010
3:51 pm
RC, found it online but still why would a possible triple crown winner be #6
Glen W
August 31st, 2010
3:51 pm
There is a couple of guys Braves fans should be showing some love for. These are guys that can very unnoticed by fans while making significant contribuitions to an organization. Give it up for…
Jaime Dismuke (Gwinnett Braves hitting coach)
Kent Willis (Myrtle Beach Pelicans pitching coach)
Big contributions to the organziation this year!
GT Fan
August 31st, 2010
3:52 pm
DOB, didn’t you write in that earlier Cy Young discussion that Hudson could find himself right in the middle of contention if some of the other front-runners struggled down the stretch? I know I read that somewhere, so whoever wrote it looks quite prescient now.
N8
August 31st, 2010
3:52 pm
DOB, what’s your sense of how Cox will use Freeman? Obviously, with Lee on board he’s not going to get many starts. But do you think Cox will treat him (Lee) like he does Mac and maybe throw Freeman a start on an afternoon game after a night game to give his back a rest?
Or do you think Freeman is purely being called up for the occasional PH duty and more to be “around” the club for the stretch run? If I recall correctly, Chipper was a September 93 callup and only got a handful of AB. Don’t remember how early in September he was called up.
I do remember Klesko getting a huge PH HR against the Giants down the stretch that year. Just don’t really recall Chipper even being with the team that much that year.
NO MORE BOBBY
August 31st, 2010
3:52 pm
Dear AJC,
Those Georgia vs Florida ads are annoying as crap!!!!
CraZyTRaDeMaN ©
August 31st, 2010
3:52 pm
Glad they made the right choice for back-up to the back-up catcher I was afraid they may go with Sammons. Boscan was more deserving than Sammons.
CraZyTRaDeMaN ©
August 31st, 2010
3:53 pm
Those Georgia vs Florida ads are annoying as crap!!!!
What’s the point in going everyone knows the outcome!
chin music
August 31st, 2010
3:54 pm
should have been matt young instead of mclouth. and would love to have seen canizares up after the season he’s had at gwinnett, though freeman makes him redundant.
N8
August 31st, 2010
3:54 pm
For the record, just to remind everybody that didn’t know or perhaps forgot.
I predicted a MONSTER season from Tim Hudson around the time Wren signed him to the extension and never backed down from that sense.
Sun’s gotta shine on a dogs ass once in a while, right?
Tale of Woe
August 31st, 2010
3:55 pm
Just saw a report that Francoeur could be headed to the Rangers….
tenn braves fan
August 31st, 2010
3:55 pm
WAR = Witless And Ridiculous.
I love baseball, but the ever increasing lists of stats is annoying. I’ll stick with a grizzled old scout that looks at a guy and says he a gamer.
Bobby Hill
August 31st, 2010
3:55 pm
Tim,
It all goes back to position scarcity. The theoretical replacement player at 1B is a lot better than the theoretical replacement player at 2B, SS or CF. If Pujols was a 2B he would be at the top of the list.
Glen W
August 31st, 2010
3:56 pm
N8, you are correct to ask DOB. But my prediction is that Freeman will get a look to see how he handles major league pitching while not playing every day. Got to assess how he might perform coming of the bench in the post-season.
Shaun
August 31st, 2010
3:56 pm
I think the idea with Hudson and strikeouts is that he is getting extremely fortunate in terms of how often he is getting outs on balls in play. Now some of that is due to his remarkable ability to get groundballs. He leads the majors in groundball rate by a pretty significant margin. But many would argue that he is getting outs too often on batted balls for it to be completely because of his abilities to induce groundballs. And rewarding him the Cy Young is rewarding him for something that is not entirely because of what he’s done; that his defense and getting breaks deserve a lot of credit for his performance more so than other pitchers.
To put this argument in statistical terms, Hudson’s batting average allowed on balls in play (BABiP) is .244, the third-lowest in baseball. A typical batting average allowed on balls in play is .300. Lots of batted balls are finding gloves, some because of Hudson’s groundball inducement. But a BABiP that low indicates he’s also getting very lucky. Therefore some view Hudson getting the Cy Young as rewarding him for being lucky.
John
August 31st, 2010
3:57 pm
Where is Kimbrel?
Does anyone know Dunn and Proctors stats from AAA from the past month?? We need fresh arms!
T for Texas
August 31st, 2010
3:57 pm
Can we bring back Andres “Big Cat” Gallaraga for 1 game to field the first ever all Venezuelan infield?
Wouldn’t it make more sense to acquire Miguel Cabrera from the Tigers to round out the all Venezuelan infield? I have heard he is a good player.
cabravesfan
August 31st, 2010
3:57 pm
Kimbrel has to stay at least 10 days or until Gwinnett’s season is done…he will be back on the 7th!
RC
August 31st, 2010
3:57 pm
RC, found it online but still why would a possible triple crown winner be #6
Because he’s behind another possible triple crown winner, and a CF and 2b who are tearing up the other league, and he plays 1b, which is the easiest position to get offense from. Hamilton is batting .359 with 31 HR….if he was in the NL, Pujols wouldn’t have a shot at the triple crown.
N8
August 31st, 2010
3:57 pm
What’s that? I use “what’s that” in every post? I’m limited!
timthebrave
August 31st, 2010
3:57 pm
I like Zimmerman but I wouldn’t think he is having a better year than the guys underneath him
cabravesfan
August 31st, 2010
3:58 pm
Freddie Freeman named International League Rookie of the Year. He and Barbaro are named to the IL Postseason All-Star team. Congrats.
Awesome
GT Fan
August 31st, 2010
3:58 pm
N8, yeah, I don’t know how many people saw a season like this coming, but I definitely thought that signing Huddy to a bargain contract and trading either Lowe or Vaz was a no-brainer.
timthebrave
August 31st, 2010
3:58 pm
I wouldn’t put Cano or Zimmerman that high
chin music
August 31st, 2010
3:59 pm
timthebrave’s list isn’t war rankings; it’s win probability added. and fwiw, heyward leads all rookies in war (his total is the 36th best in the bigs, according to fangraphs).
Bobby Hill
August 31st, 2010
3:59 pm
Look like Chipper got 3 AB’s in 1993 and appeared in three games at SS but didn’t ever start a game.
JC Bravo
August 31st, 2010
4:00 pm
Sunday morning at the ballpark, Terry Pendleton and Brian McCann were busting my (chops) about not writing enough concerning Tim Hudson’s Cy Young Award bid.
Guessing ball-busting is frowned upon?
CraZyTRaDeMaN ©
August 31st, 2010
4:00 pm
and he plays 1b, which is the easiest position to get offense from
Tell that to the Braves
timthebrave
August 31st, 2010
4:00 pm
How can Zimmerman or Cano be there? They seem out of place to me
TnBrian
August 31st, 2010
4:00 pm
I hope they can find a permanant place for Glaus, but don’t see one.
Sadly, I think his role will be reduced to a bench spot.
Glen W
August 31st, 2010
4:01 pm
But a BABiP that low indicates he’s also getting very lucky.
Theyve got a long way to go before they get me interested in that stat. I’m not against this statisitcal development, this is what progress looks like. But they’ve got a long way to go on this one, to me.
A batted ball is not a batted ball. And the quality of the pitch has a whole lot to do with how solidly that batted ball is hit.
RC
August 31st, 2010
4:01 pm
AVG HR R RBI
1. Hamilton .359 31 92 95
2. Zimmerman .301 25 78 76
3. Cano .325 26 92 90
4. Votto .325 32 92 94
5. Cabrera .332 33 94 107
6. Pujols .318 35 92 95
The only guy that sticks out there to me is Zimmerman, and I really don’t know why he’s that high except for possibly defense. But in looking at their other numbers, I don’t see any reason that Pujols WOULDN’T be below these other players.
timthebrave
August 31st, 2010
4:02 pm
I know how they are there….Just don’t think they beliong
RC
August 31st, 2010
4:02 pm
timthebrave, I don’t have an answer for the Zimmerman thing….I am really suprised he’s up there, and don’t really agree with him being on this list at all.
Glen W
August 31st, 2010
4:04 pm
I don’t have an answer for the Zimmerman thing
3B is pretty down as a position right now, in terms of talent level. A lot of utility players have played a lot of 3B this season.
RC
August 31st, 2010
4:05 pm
Here’s the list sorted by WAR….it looks like Zimmerman does get WAY too much credit for defense.
http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=y&type=6&season=2010&month=0
Taking defense out of the calculation, the list looks like this:
1. Cabrera
2. Hamilton
3. Votto
4. Pujols
5. Bautista
I’d say that’s a pretty accurate representation of hitting skill this season.
timthebrave
August 31st, 2010
4:05 pm
RC, I agree that most of them belong there. If I am to recognize the WAR stat as a really valuable tool it would have to make sense to me all the time. Zimmerman at #2 above a guy in the same league that is beating him in all categories. Pujols is very good defensively as well
Hillbilly
August 31st, 2010
4:06 pm
Proctor has been pretty good recently. Zero runs allowed in 8 of his last 9 appearances.
Plate Appearance
August 31st, 2010
4:06 pm
THE LEE FACTOR
Could it be that Derek Lee’s presence on the Braves has had a positive effect on Jason Heyward? It seems so.
Heyward’s really taken off since Lee’s joined the team.
GT Fan
August 31st, 2010
4:06 pm
Shaun, based on that argument, Maddux wasn’t all that good, he was just extremely lucky for a very long period of time.
The reason they’ve had so much success isn’t because they got lucky that all the balls were fielded. They made the hitters put the ball in play where they want them to hit them, which is generally weakly and near an infielder. Especially this season, it’s not like the Braves have played spectacular defense. Honestly, they’ve played mediocre at best defense. The great plays they’ve made are balanced out by the plays they haven’t made or have botched.
Strikeouts alone are a glamor stat, like HRs are for a batter. They have more meaning when looked at from the perspective of a stat like K:BB ratio.
Bobby Hill
August 31st, 2010
4:08 pm
Pujols and Zimmerman do not play the same position. You can’t just ignore that fact when you’re talking about WAR values.
TennesseePaul
August 31st, 2010
4:08 pm
Thanks for the work D.O’B
– Garcia is 2-1 with a 0.00 ERA and a .213 opponents average in his past three starts, with 16 hits, 7 walks and 19 strike outs in 20.1 innings. Opponents are slugging .267 against him.
McFann ♥ ;Ô; ♥ ;Ô; ♥
August 31st, 2010
4:09 pm
Thanks for the new Blog, Chief! Timmy for Cy Young!!!
Ha, yeah, guys, I gave up on that Fillies dude (for now…). Used my time a little more wisely…
GCT Brian still doesn’t block balls consistently as well as I’d like (vision? weight?)
I go with vision on that one if I had to pick…he’s not that fat.
DAP
August 31st, 2010
4:09 pm
shaun But many would argue that he is getting outs too often on batted balls for it to be completely because of his abilities to induce groundballs.
and they would be wrong.
is it possible that there is too much emphasis on the importance of striking out batters?
it is possible to induce weak contact as a pitcher, and it has very little to do with luck.
timthebrave
August 31st, 2010
4:10 pm
RC, I just don’t need stats to be broken down that much so that you assign a guy a single number. Why not just give them all letter grades if you are going to break it down like that? Give them all A+ on the year and be done with it
RC
August 31st, 2010
4:10 pm
Why is Lowe being allowed to “pitch through it”? It seems to me that he’s potentially hurting the team by going out there for 5 or fewer innings every 5th day, and with an acceptable replacement in Kawakami I don’t know why he wouldn’t skip a start or two and see if a little rest can correct the problem. We need Lowe to be healthy in October, not burning out our bullpen in August and September.
ncscoots
August 31st, 2010
4:10 pm
it looks like Zimmerman does get WAY too much credit for defense.
Run prevention and run creation are just two sides of the same coin. Frankly, it’s easier to prevent runs defensively than generate runs offensively, so I don’t think high credit for defense is out of line (at least, in the context of which you guys are speaking).
Take defense out of the calculation, and you’re not talking about the same thing, anymore. Nothing wrong with that, just different.
Jinx
August 31st, 2010
4:11 pm
Uh… Zimmerman? You mean the best 3B in the NL? On offense and defense? Oh, that guy! Yeah, he doesn’t get mentioned enough in my opinion. The guy gets better every year too.
Shaun
August 31st, 2010
4:11 pm
Glen W, the idea is that, yes, some of Hudson getting outs extremely often on batted balls is due to his skills in inducing groundballs. But for him to be getting outs as often as he is on batted balls, it seems very unlikely that it is all because of his skills in inducting groundballs.
Hudson’s career batting average allowed on balls in play is .286. That is somewhat lower than the typical BABiP. Over the course of over 2,000 innings in the big leagues, it’s safe to say Hudson’s groundball inducement leads him to have a somewhat lower than typical BABiP. But this season he’s at .244, which is extremely lower than a typical BABiP. The difference between .286 and .244 is striking. Is it all because of Hudson’s skills at inducing certain types of batted balls? Seems unlikely but tough to speculate, admittedly.
RC
August 31st, 2010
4:11 pm
timthebrave, that’s a fair enough point. I think some people just like to feel like they have a concrete number they can assign to a player’s value, and this is as good of a number as any for that.
McFann ♥ ;Ô; ♥ ;Ô; ♥
August 31st, 2010
4:12 pm
No BMac tonight, eh? I cann live with that…he’s never faced this lefty before and he’s had a good thing goin’ these last few days. Don’t need some idiot lefty to come along and spoil it.
Plus, he could use the rest…
And, it’s like Hillbilly said on the last Blog (dude, you read my mind)—he’s gotta get rested up for PELFREY!!!
timthebrave
August 31st, 2010
4:13 pm
RC, I’m not saying that Zimmerman isn’t a great player…..
TennesseePaul
August 31st, 2010
4:13 pm
To put this argument in statistical terms, Hudson’s batting average allowed on balls in play (BABiP) is .244, the third-lowest in baseball. A typical batting average allowed on balls in play is .300.
So go back over the last 20 seasons and list all the players you think should have won the Cy Young, and then how many of those players had oppBABiP’s below league average. I think what you’ll find is that just about all of them had “statistical outlier” numbers in various categories. That’s generally what makes their season great. Basically, they win the award because they themselves best represent the statistical outlier. They are far and away from “norm” or the “mean.”
JC Bravo
August 31st, 2010
4:13 pm
timthebrave
August 31st, 2010
4:05 pm
RC, I agree that most of them belong there. If I am to recognize the WAR stat as a really valuable tool it would have to make sense to me all the time. Zimmerman at #2 above a guy in the same league that is beating him in all categories. Pujols is very good defensively as well
This just means that Pujols isn’t as far above an average first baseman as Zim is above an average third baseman. In other words, overall position strength affects this as much as a player’s ability.
N8
August 31st, 2010
4:14 pm
GT Fan
I didn’t expect his ERA to be as close to 2.00 as it’s been. But two things factored into my thinking he was going to have a great year. It really was pretty simple to deduct.
1) He was having a monster season in 2008 before being shut down, WITH his elbow killing him. In fact he pitched 6 shutout innings in his last start before having the surgery.
2) He looked fine last season in his handful of starts after needing only 12 months to recover from TJ surgery and stated many times that his arm felt better than it had in years.
The only real question was if he would hold up and how deep he could go in games. But it was clear to anybody paying attention that when he was going to be able to pitch, he was going to be very good.
I don’t claim to be a genius. But many people argued with me over the winter that expecting Hudson to come back strong was a mistake.
What’s that? Oh. Never mind. I’m limited according to the N8 imposter at 3:57.
Gotta love douchebags that are afraid to mock other bloggers using their usual moniker. You know…. because being on an anonymous internet blog isn’t enough of a place to “hide”.
Brian from SC
August 31st, 2010
4:15 pm
I don’t think things like BABIP should be taken into account for things like Cy Young voting. Despite the low BABIP, Hudson has done what a pitcher’s supposed to do this season: get guys out and not allow runs to score. BABIP has more predictive value…I would use it to make the projection that Hudson will not be able to maintain a 2.24 ERA next season.
TennesseePaul
August 31st, 2010
4:15 pm
it seems very unlikely that it is all because of his skills in inducting groundballs
Nice straw man here Payne, but I read Glen’s post. Nowhere in it did he say it was all because of his skill.
timthebrave
August 31st, 2010
4:15 pm
JC Bravo, When assigning value position shouldn’t matter that much. If I had 2 Pujols I could probably trade one for a pretty great third baseman
ncscoots
August 31st, 2010
4:15 pm
That’s generally what makes their season great. Basically, they win the award because they themselves best represent the statistical outlier. They are far and away from “norm” or the “mean.”
Exactly correct, and a point well made.
JML
August 31st, 2010
4:15 pm
Plate Appearance. I think you are correct. While watching the game last night, I saw Lee and Heyward talking and I thought the same thing.
Glen W
August 31st, 2010
4:17 pm
Shaun, so what would Hudson have to do to have a good year for which he gets credit?
He is having one of his very best years. He is pithing some of the best baseball of his career. And hitters are not hitting the ball as squarely against him. This does not seem that hard to me.
His best years prior to this year were 2000 and 2003 (if you look at Cy Young voting) and those are the only other seasons where his BABIP was under .260. Was he lucky then too?
mike jay
August 31st, 2010
4:17 pm
shaun,
based on your argument Glavine nor Maddox should have ever won a Cy young. That is crazy. The players are behind the pitcher to catch the ball and throw people out. it’s what they do. Getting a player to hit into a ground ball when you want them to can be incredibly diffilcult.
mr baseball
August 31st, 2010
4:18 pm
Not sure if I get all the roster moves over the last few days. The Braves send Kimbrel & Martinez back to AAA, recall Kawakami and send him back to the minors for a day, The Martinez/Kawakami swap was supposed to give the team an extra arm for a day, but what about tonight’s game.
If Minor doesn’t have it and the Braves need to go to the ‘pen early, who are they going to bring in? Ankiel?. Moylan just got a cortisone shot & 3 relievers worked at least an inning last night. Maybe Saito can go 3 innings tonight if needed. No problem.
As for the September call-ups, are the Braves going to bring up anyone who might can score from 2nd base on a single if the team needs a pinch-runner? Guess that’s going to be McLouth’s designated role. World’s most expensive pinch-runner.
timthebrave
August 31st, 2010
4:20 pm
I understand why people like WAR and I like stats as well but I think it over simplifies a season. For example Cano is having a really good season but some of that has to do with him seeing better pitches compared to Pujols where teams go into the game “trying to not let Pujols beat them”. Just my opinion
Piedmont Blues
August 31st, 2010
4:21 pm
is it possible that there is too much emphasis on the importance of striking out batters?
DAP,
That’s a great topic for debate. When the statheads started looking at BABIP, they were wondering why high-strikeout pitchers seemed to produce more consistent seasons than those who “pitched to contact.” Or, the “who would you rather have in their prime, Smoltz or Glavine” debate.
Unless you were Greg Maddux, contact pitchers tended to put up wildly inconsistent seasons, because it seems that if batters put the ball in play, they can elude even the best defenses.
Now I haven’t followed this debate for several years, so perhaps contact pitchers have figured out ways to even out their performance. (The end of the steroids/greenie eras may have something to do with it too.)
But it’s a good debate.
Me, I’d rather have a guy who can throw a 70-pitch complete game. But we’ve only seen one Bulldog, and we may never have another one.
TennesseePaul
August 31st, 2010
4:22 pm
mr. baseball Guess that’s going to be McLouth’s designated role. World’s most expensive pinch-runner.
You’re selling the man short. That is just one of his secondary roles. I believe his main role was to light a fire under Lew’s feet so that he actually picks a Braves player to blast for an entire season. Another was the role of holding the ball while standing in the outfield. Nate has dominated both of those roles this year.
ncscoots
August 31st, 2010
4:23 pm
are the Braves going to bring up anyone who might can score from 2nd base on a single if the team needs a pinch-runner?
Yeah, but who is gonna replace the player run for, in the field? You’re already playing three-fourths of the bench every day, LOL.
timthebrave
August 31st, 2010
4:23 pm
I hope Tim Hudson gets the cy young but it will be hard because voters like the strike out. He will have to get to 20 wins to have a chance. I know it shouldn’t matter for who DESERVES the cy young. He defintely deserves all the accolades he gets
Hobo
August 31st, 2010
4:24 pm
Her’s a recent Rob Neyer post on BABIP where both Hudson and Maddux are mentioned
http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/4996/the-meaning-of-trevor-cahill
“Lately, every week in my Tuesday chat, at least one person asks me about some pitcher with a low ERA and a lower BABiP. As gently as I can, I explain that a .217 (or a .223, or a .235, or a whatever) BABiP simply isn’t sustainable. Not for Trevor Cahill or Tim Hudson or Cy Young or Greg Maddux or anyone else …It’s not sustainable, and it doesn’t matter who’s doing the pitching. Trevor Cahill is an incredibly talented young man. I would trade my left arm for his right arm (well, most of my left arm; I need some of it to do the Jim Abbott thing). But if can consistently keep his BABiP below .250 — let alone .220 he’ll be the first since the 1970s.”
This is not to say Hudson shouldn’t win the Cy Young award, it is just putting what he is doing in perspective.
Snotboogie
August 31st, 2010
4:26 pm
Why do people think Lee has been a great influence on Heyward? Because they are both tall, muscular and black? Rubbish.
Chipper has been with Heyward the entire season and is as good an influence as any for a hitter. Do you assume Chipper never gave Heyward any tips and that Lee suddenly did? Just because Heyward is feeling a little better now and is coming out of his slump, you want to attribute it to Derek Lee? Please.
Glen W
August 31st, 2010
4:26 pm
The purpose of WAR as a stat is not so that players can be ranked. The goal of trying to progressing thie stat is so that we can actually mathematically consider what a player means to the bottom line: wins (and losses).
When Hamilton has a WAR of 6.0 or so, it means that the team will win 6 more games as a result of him being on the roster when compared to an average replacement.
Not about ranking players, but rather about measuring their contribution to the bottom line.
Its not perfect yet, but it is a worthwhile development in my view.
Shaun
August 31st, 2010
4:26 pm
TennesseePaul, it’s not just below league average BABiP. It’s that Hudson is extremely below average. Tim Lincecum, for example, had a BABiP of .310 in 2008 and .288 in 2009. Hudson’s is in the .240’s. I haven’t dug into this much but I would bet Hudson’s BABiP this season is extremely low even for a Cy Young contender.
Obviously players who win awards are great players having great seasons. I agree with you there. But that’s not the argument here. The argument here is that Hudson’s defense and luck are more responsible for him getting outs more so than for other pitchers. That’s not to say Hudson is some scrub that is only good because of luck and defense. It just may mean that Hudson is a very good pitcher having a very good season and that luck and defense are making him look even better than how he himself has performed.
Hyperbolic Headline Of The Day
August 31st, 2010
4:26 pm
Ahhh the dreaded WAR debate.
Something I meant to follow up on the other blog was something that was mentioned by a couple of folks defending WAR. The point was that Zobrist’s numbers last year that put him ahead of Pujols last year would even out over the life of a career.
Probably would work out that way, but the fact is that Zobrist’s WAR rating in 2009 rated his value as higher than the NL MVP Pujols. WAR rating for 2009 should stand on it’s own if it can stand on a career. WAR rated Zobrist at a higher value. WAR rating discussion seemed to start on the previous blog based on using WAR to argue that Heyward should be the leader in the ROTY race.
WAR in a vacuum is not very convincing.
If the stats don’t bear out some folks argument, then they start tweaking the numbers themselves.
Bobby Hill
August 31st, 2010
4:27 pm
Looks to me like Maddux led the league in WAR for pitchers in 1992, 1994, and 1995. And Glavine led the league in 1991.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/WAR_pitch_leagues.shtml
eric the elder
August 31st, 2010
4:29 pm
Loved this quote from the NY Post:
The Braves continue to be the cream of the crop in the NL East, and the Mets are the fertilizer.
Hyperbolic Headline Of The Day
August 31st, 2010
4:29 pm
“Not about ranking players, but rather about measuring their contribution to the bottom line.”
so Zobrist in 2009 was a better contributor to his team’s bottom line than Pujols?
flawed stat
LPad
August 31st, 2010
4:31 pm
Why the emphasis on the amount of strikeouts a pitcher gets, when today’s hitters care less about strikeouts than hitters from any other era?
Hitters want to put the sweet spot of the bat on the ball. in other words, hitters bat with the objective to make solid contact, not to avoid a strikeout. If a pitcher forces a hitter to make weak contact, he did his job. Case in point, hitters don’t consider a softly hit ground ball to second a good job.
StingerSplash
August 31st, 2010
4:31 pm
Listening to DOB’s podcast with the atlantabaseballtalk.com guys.
Gives me the sense, listening to them, that I’ve got NPR on and they’re discussing baseball. They’ve got those NPR voices and intonations. But … they do love the Braves and it’s obvious they are fans and knowledgeable.
ended last night’s drive home with Mojo Nixon’s “Stuffin’ Martha’s Muffin” on the iPod. Saw him eons ago and he put on a terrific show.
VOR
August 31st, 2010
4:33 pm
WAR is hell…
Shaun
August 31st, 2010
4:33 pm
mike jay, Maddux’s career BABiP was .286. He was also underrated as a strikeout pitcher.
Glavine’s career BABiP was .285. He supports your argument a little better than Maddux but he never had a BABiP in the .240’s.
Glen W
August 31st, 2010
4:33 pm
The argument here is that Hudson’s defense and luck are more responsible for him getting outs more so than for other pitchers.
I hear what you are saying Shaun. But for me, this is an oversimplified position. Until the stat can account for the quality of the batted ball (dribbler in front of the plate vs. a rope down the line) it is lacking.
Brian SC is correct, an abnormally low BABIP does indicate that the ERA is not as likely to be sustainable over the long haul. This is generally true.
But it does not equate to luck. It doesn’t.
It equates to this: pitchers than can get batters to swing and miss have more room for error… pitchers than can’t get guys to swing and miss have less room for error.
Thus, the ERA is not as likely to be sustained. But that does not mean that Hudson is lucky this year. It means he is pithing his rear end off despite having less room for error.
timthebrave
August 31st, 2010
4:34 pm
Shaun “The argument here is that Hudson’s defense and luck are more responsible for him getting outs more so than for other pitchers.”
Defense…yes
Luck……no
He has done this consistently over his career. He has been having a season that is better than his norm but so would any of the cy young winners from the past.
MZ
August 31st, 2010
4:34 pm
DOB —-
You picked up the new Bingham disc? What about the new Eels record?
RC
August 31st, 2010
4:34 pm
so Zobrist in 2009 was a better contributor to his team’s bottom line than Pujols?
.297, 27 HR, 91 R, 91 RBI, while playing Gold Glove caliber 2nd base? Yes, I’m going to say he was more valuable last year.
Chop Chop
August 31st, 2010
4:35 pm
Everything has come together for Hudson in 2010. I don’t think anyone here can dispute that.
What makes Huddy appear so lucky to stathounds, including myself, is that he’s a groundball pitcher getting away with that low BABiP. It doesn’t take anything away from his season, though. The man has been putting the ball on the bad parts of bats all year. The fact that he has a relatively low career BABiP is a testament to his ability to avoid the barrel, so it isn’t all just luck. A lot of it is, but not all. In my opinion, his ERA+ (179…a career-high by 14 points), his record, and the team he plays on are all likely to help him win his first, and probably last, Cy Young award.
timthebrave
August 31st, 2010
4:36 pm
Any sinker ball pitcher is going to have to rely on their defense
TennesseePaul
August 31st, 2010
4:36 pm
Why the emphasis on the amount of strikeouts a pitcher gets, when today’s hitters care less about strikeouts than hitters from any other era?
This is a classic, circa 2006/2007.
It’s probably why we’ve seen three guys reach 4,000+ K’s in the last 20 years when in the 110 years prior only 1 guy had reached that mark.
ncscoots
August 31st, 2010
4:37 pm
Anyone who looks at the infielders used by the Braves this year and considers that a contribution to Hudson’s BABIP, has not been paying attention.
RC
August 31st, 2010
4:37 pm
Now for a serious topic:
Should the Braves throw Francoeur a few fat pitches tonight so that he will look good for the Rangers’ scouts, prompting them to trade for him? That way, if the Braves face the Rangers in the World Series, they might mistakenly send Francoeur to the plate in a key situation!
Play the long con, Bobby!
ParkerOverThere
August 31st, 2010
4:37 pm
Chipper’s best advice to Heyward is which Hooter’s restaurants to avoid.
McFann ♥ ;Ô; ♥ ;Ô; ♥
August 31st, 2010
4:37 pm
What I seriously want to know about WAR—and I mean, this is a for real question, not some kind of smart-alecky thing—is does it somewhat depend on what the team’s record is? Because, for example, BMac’s WAR this year is 4.4 (really shot up since last Tuesday), which is better than his 2008 WAR of 4.0, and his WAR in 2006 was 4.5. 2006 was much better than this year in a lot of ways except defense, and 2008 was very solid. But the Braves had crummy records those years, so does that effect the WAR?
That might be worded rather poorly, but I am very curious to know the answer. Thank you!
Wayne in Utah
August 31st, 2010
4:37 pm
I once went to WAR, but couldn’t stay because my BABIP was too short!
Chop Chop
August 31st, 2010
4:37 pm
Hudson should have a BABiP of .054, but that damn D has let him down
TennesseePaul
August 31st, 2010
4:38 pm
BABiP in the .240’s
What I’m looking at has Hudson at .248. So if it goes up .002 points, or in other words, if he’d allowed one more hit up to this point, it’ll be a little easier for you to swallow.
ParkerOverThere
August 31st, 2010
4:39 pm
good one wayne
TennesseePaul
August 31st, 2010
4:39 pm
Anyone who looks at the infielders used by the Braves this year and considers that a contribution to Hudson’s BABIP, has not been paying attention
HA! But on the other hand it could make for a strong case for “luck”
DAP
August 31st, 2010
4:39 pm
a .223, or a .235, or a whatever) BABiP simply isn’t sustainable.
tim hudson has sustained a .244 bapip for 27 starts. how long until he gets credit, instead of blaming it on luck?
ground balls are one thing, but the type of balls put in play on huddy are perfect for the infielders. he is getting WEAK contact, not just contact. he is doing something right.
shaun It just may mean that Hudson is a very good pitcher having a very good season and that luck and defense are making him look even better than how he himself has performed.
he himself is the reason all those groundballs are so playable. hes getting weak contact, and its on purpose.
Wayne in Utah
August 31st, 2010
4:39 pm
Are we going to be broadcast on the MLB network tonight?
Bartholomew (Bat) Masterson
August 31st, 2010
4:40 pm
are the Braves going to bring up anyone who might can score from 2nd base on a single if the team needs a pinch-runner?
Sorry that makes no sense, Heap can score from second on a single. No offense, McFann.
Glen W
August 31st, 2010
4:40 pm
What I seriously want to know about WAR—and I mean, this is a for real question, not some kind of smart-alecky thing—is does it somewhat depend on what the team’s record is?
That is an excellent question. And the asnwer is no.
Mac’s having a very good year. he’s just been more up and down this season than he normally is. But his overall productiveness is right on par with a normal season for him.
Also, he is a little better defensively this year in terms of the measurable stats. So that helps him a little.
timthebrave
August 31st, 2010
4:40 pm
got to go….go braves!!!
J-Hey the Hero
August 31st, 2010
4:41 pm
DOB- knock on wood… we don’t need the Phillies showing us that they actually do have a come back left in the tank
timthebrave
August 31st, 2010
4:41 pm
It was fun blogging today. thanks for interesting discussion
RC
August 31st, 2010
4:41 pm
McFann,
The team’s record doesn’t have any affect on a player’s WAR value. What would have an effect is the baseline “replacement” numbers for catchers. So if the calculations used say that there are better or worse replacement catchers available in any given year, then BMac could have a lower or higher WAR, respectively, even if his performance was identical from year to year.
Shaun
August 31st, 2010
4:42 pm
timthebrave, he hasn’t consistently allowed a BABiP in the .240’s. And the argument is not that Cy Young winners don’t have better seasons than norm. The argument is that Hudson’s very good season looks like a Cy Young-worthy season largely because of luck and/or defense. The argument is also not that Hudson is having a bad season or that Hudson would be nothing without defense and/or luck. Hudson is the best starter on the Braves. The argument is that defense and/or luck push him into Cy Young candidacy more so than other candidates. So if one votes for Hudson, they may be overlooking someone who has performed better. Not that Hudson has performed poorly at all.
Bartholomew (Bat) Masterson
August 31st, 2010
4:42 pm
I go with vision on that one if I had to pick…he’s not that fat. _ McFann
Why the qualifier? Are you saying Heap is sorta fat? tsk tsk
ncscoots
August 31st, 2010
4:43 pm
HA! But on the other hand it could make for a strong case for “luck”
That would be a slightly different kind of “luck” than that being bandied about in this WAR conversation, LOL.
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
4:43 pm
McFann called Mac fat? Oh my.
Glen W
August 31st, 2010
4:43 pm
RC excellent point. offense is down at the catcher position this year. Some of the top guys from the last five years have been hurt (Posado, Martinez) and other guys that have put up some good numebers in previous years (Soto) have not this year.
Which is why we should all LOVE Mac all the more. His consistency.
Chop Chop
August 31st, 2010
4:44 pm
Here’s a discussion that I fully expect, but do not want to see here, next season:
“Why is Hudson’s ERA 1.3 runs higher than last season? What’s wrong with him? He’s getting old.”
It will be true that he’s getting old, but the other part might just be the baseball gods doing a little market correction.
Wayne in Utah
August 31st, 2010
4:45 pm
I am 6′1″ and 235 and I am NOT fat! I am sturdy.
So no, Mac is NOT fat either. I will let you guys know if he gets fat!
Glen W
August 31st, 2010
4:45 pm
The argument is that defense and/or luck push him into Cy Young candidacy more so than other candidates.
Again, a serious over simplification. A low BABIP = lucky pitcher.
Dead wrong.
Can you at least ackowledge the shortcomings of the stat given that it does not measure the quality of the batted ball?
RC
August 31st, 2010
4:46 pm
Shaun,
I wouldn’t say any pitcher has performed “better” than Hudson….simply that their performance is more sustainable. However, what has happened, happened, and whether by luck or anything else, Hudson’s results show that he has been one of the best pitchers in the National League this year. Since luck cannot be measured, the only fair evaluation (in my mind) is to base the voting on what the player has actually done, and Hudson has recorded outs and prevented runs at a rate which should put him in the Cy Young discussion.
BravePack
August 31st, 2010
4:47 pm
Well said Snotboogie, well said.
Wayne in Utah
August 31st, 2010
4:48 pm
Too many stats guys!
It’s kinda like the judge said about pornography. I can’t define it, but I know it when I see it.
Huddy is pitching great this year. I can see it!
RC
August 31st, 2010
4:49 pm
Francoeur is batting 4th tonight….man, the Mets must really hate the Phillies
Bobby Hill
August 31st, 2010
4:49 pm
The WAR stat is not a offensive “power ranking.” The bar is set differently for each position, and it has to calculated over a set period of time. Its never an instantaneous ranking. Pujols is a superior hitter to Zobrist in almost any measurable way. But that doesn’t necessarily make him a more valuable players. There’s a lot of 1B who can put up big offensive numbers. How many guys can put up numbers like Zobrist did last year while also playing 1B, SS 2B, and CF. Zobrist’s skill set (for 2009 and only 2009) was harder to replace than Pujols.
The same argument can be made for McCann. If he was a 1B his offensive numbers would be pretty pedestrian. But he’s a catcher. His value come in his ability to put up offensive numbers while also playing at position that’s historically weak offensively.
DAP
August 31st, 2010
4:50 pm
yeah, the babip stat doesnt allow for a difference in type of ground balls. huddy has like a 75% groundball rate, and it logically follows that more of those balls would turn into outs then they would if they were line drives. if your groundball rate is high and you babip is low, i think that indicates alot less luck than if your linedrive rate was high and your babip was low.
RC
August 31st, 2010
4:50 pm
But Wayne, how do you know which porn is the best porn out there? You need all kinds of stats for that
Glen W
August 31st, 2010
4:50 pm
My boss told me that my sales numbers are artificially high this year because my sales per contact rate are down. I’ve become more efficient in managing my contacts so that I can make more contacts. But he’s not going to give me the bonus I should get because he thinks I’m lucky.
I feel pretty angry about it.
Snotboogie
August 31st, 2010
4:52 pm
Can you at least ackowledge the shortcomings of the stat given that it does not measure the quality of the batted ball?
Good luck with that one!
RC
August 31st, 2010
4:52 pm
DAP,
I’ve generally been avoiding the BABIP conversation, but there is a stat called “xBABIP”(expected BABIP) which takes into account ground balls, line drives, fly balls, etc. For what it’s worth, groundballs tend to have a much higher BABIP than fly balls, which makes what Hudson is doing that much more remarkable.
Wayne in Utah
August 31st, 2010
4:52 pm
Glen W
Amen!
BTW, had anybody heard if Manny got a haircut?
Alabama Brave
August 31st, 2010
4:53 pm
Another stat to consider when talking about the perceived lack luster or inconsistent Braves offense: OBP (yes, it is a stat and yes it is on the scoreboard). While the Braves are eighth in the NL in team batting average (.260) they are first in OBP at .342. They lead the league in walks with 33 more than the next closest team.
Interesting note: The Diamondbacks are 2nd in the NL in walks and first in the NL in K’s. First in K’s by a large margin: 137 more K’s then the Marlins, who are second on that list. So I guess we can assume Arizona doesn’t swing at anything, balls or strikes.
Glen W
August 31st, 2010
4:54 pm
Good luck with that one!
Right. A low BABIP does not equate to a lucky pitcher. It equates to a pitcher pitching with equal effectiveness despite a smaller margin for error.
So I agree it means the ERA is not as likely to be sustained… because of the margin for error… not luck.
I’m right. And I’m pretty sure I’m right…. pretty sure.
Wayne in Utah
August 31st, 2010
4:55 pm
John Heyman is saying the Rangers might be making a play for Francoeur.
Rob from SC
August 31st, 2010
4:56 pm
DOB
Is there any reason why Stephen Marek did not get a callup? I realize the Kimbrel can’t come up until the 7th, but Marek was awesome during the season.
ncscoots
August 31st, 2010
4:57 pm
I mean, we’re talking here as if luck is something to be denigrated, reviled, cast to the curb with a sneer, and treated like the ugly girl at 2AM, LOL. I assure you that success is merely the meeting of good luck and available opportunity, and Hudson has had his share of both this year. It’s what career years are made of, after all. You don’t get penalized for being good AND lucky…you go home with the prom queen, instead.
Huddy won’t be able to sustain that BABIP in the future? Absolutely, and who gives a bleep? He’s having a magical year on a magical team (because I sure can’t figure this year out, otherwise), and this is the year he’s in CY contention. And luck has EVERYTHING to do with it.
Snotboogie
August 31st, 2010
4:57 pm
Glen W
I was just indicating that asking Shaun to acknowledge the weakness of a stat he is so rabid about (is there one he isnt rabid about?) has about as high a chance of success as a weakly hit groundball when Huddy’s pitching.
Shaun
August 31st, 2010
4:57 pm
DAP, it happens regularly that pitchers go 20-30 starts with a low BABiP. But a BABiP much lower than .290 is not sustainable.
Yes, Hudson is getting weak contact and deserves credit for that. That’s not the issue. The issue is that he’s getting outs so often on batted balls that it is extremely unlikely that it is all because of weak contact and groundball-inducting skills. If he’s able to sustain a BABiP this much lower than .290-.300 for the rest of this season and into next season, he has figured something out that literally nobody has since probably the Dead Ball Era, if then.
This begs the question, if Hudson’s skills are what is allowing him to post a BABiP that low, why hasn’t he done it every year? I understand his skills allowing him to post a BABiP in the .280’s versus the .290-.300 range. But the .240’s? If his skills are allowing him to do that, you’d think he would have done the same thing in the past and he would have posted a BABiP in at most the .250’s or .260’s over the course of his career. The fact that he hasn’t done that is a good indication that a BABiP as low as his this season is probably not entirely due to his skills.
Why is this so hard to understand?
I know it’s hard for sports fans to be objective. As a fan, I would like nothing more than for Hudson to win a Cy Young and win the next 4. I hope he does. But reality is that Hudson is more fortunate this year than his skills indicate. I’m glad for that. It means the Braves are winning and as a fan that’s all I care about. But I can’t sit here and say I think Hudson deserves the Cy Young, as much as I want it to be true.
RC
August 31st, 2010
4:58 pm
My point with the Hudson thing is who cares if it was lucky….luck is a part of the game. They don’t retroactively give the batters hits or the teams runs because Hudson was “lucky”. I don’t think that Cy Young voting should be based on K’s because “the pitcher was lucky”. There is no way to know how lucky he was. Again, if I’m running a team and looking to sign a free agent, I’m definitely paying attention to K-rate and BABIP. But if I’m voting for awards….what happened, happened. Give it to the guy who did the best job preventing runs from scoring and giving his team innings. No matter how he went about it.
UKUGA
August 31st, 2010
4:59 pm
Shaun arrives to place a statitistical damper on Huddy’s stellar season.
Jo-Bu
August 31st, 2010
4:59 pm
They have a league-high 149 runs in August and rank second with 36 HRs, behind Arizona’s 38. As for the Phillies, they have 110 runs and a meager 16 HRs in August, 20 fewer homers than the Braves.
The Braves are only 2nd to the CHI-SOX in the Majors in the month of August with runs scored: CHW have scored 151 runs and ATL with 149.
In August, the Bravos are 4th in the MLB in Homers with 36, DBacks 38, Jays 40, and the Yanks with 41. 3rd in Slugging Percentage, 6th in On-Base Percentage, but 14th overall in batting average in the Majors.
RC
August 31st, 2010
5:00 pm
Shaun,
Don’t you think it’s less accurate for prognosticators to try to separate out “luck”, than to simply base the award on the events that occured?
P-Town Brave ©
August 31st, 2010
5:00 pm
Nice group of callups…
A good lineup to play v Pelfrey would be:
Infante
Heyward
Prado
McCann
Diaz
Freeman
Gonzalez
Ankiel/McLouth
I would also consider this lineup Thu. against Santana:
Infante 2b
Diaz lf
Heyward rf
Lee 1b
McCann c
Glaus 3b
Ankiel cf
Gonzalez ss
Coach (2011 or Bust)
August 31st, 2010
5:00 pm
Calling Tim Hudson’s performance this year lucky is just pure stupidity defined. Or we could just say the Shaun has dumb cornered. Hey Shaun, when you attempt to sound smart, you just reveal your ignorance when it comes to real baseball and not some fantasy league drivel.
I’m not sure as to why Scott Proctor was added other than he’s got the “veteran designation”. Also, Craig Kimbrel and Cristian Martinez deserve to be on the September roster. J.C. Boscan was a surprise too.
As for adding Freddie Freeman, he has earned it but this is as much a public relations move as anything. The kid won’t play much if at all.
Derek Lowe, 14 seasons with 2300 innings piled up while never hitting the DL, and his elbow is barking. Add the three up and TJ surgery isn’t far behind. So it’s a good thing that Kenshin Kawakami is still around.
Frankie Wren
August 31st, 2010
5:00 pm
AGon ever going to have a day off? Guy could probably use it. He played nearly every game with Toronto. Why not give Diory a spot start? Alex isn’t the youngest guy on the team.
Shaun
August 31st, 2010
5:01 pm
RC, the question is how much credit does Hudson deserve for all his outs? It seems that, yes, he deserves a great deal of credit. But also an unusually high number of his outs are because of his defense and because of balls being hit in the right spot.
Hudson #1
August 31st, 2010
5:01 pm
Hudson should be the leader for the Cy Young………..no other starting Pitcher has a lower Era and if I remember correctly from what was broadcast the other day…..he hasn’t lost a game in which the Brave’s have scored 3 or more Runs…..they get him 3 and it’s almost over.A couple more wins and it should be a no-brainer.
RC
August 31st, 2010
5:01 pm
It could be that Hudson knew he had a stellar shortstop playing behind him, so he focused less on K’s and more on getting deep into games (which to me, is the most overlooked stat of all).
bravito199
August 31st, 2010
5:01 pm
DOB
Will the Braves try to add a backup infielder/utility guy before tonight’s deadline or are they comfortable with Diory Hernandez?
P-Town Brave ©
August 31st, 2010
5:01 pm
Prado would get the day off Thu. as he is only hitting .167 v Santana w/ 0 RBI in 18 AB
Derrek Lee is .333
Rick Ankiel is .444
Matt Diaz is .533
Wayne in Utah
August 31st, 2010
5:02 pm
Rob
If I might take a guess at your question? My thoughts would be that we have a very strong bullpen right now. Obviously with it being the beginning of September, some guys are a bit tired or banged up (Moylan?).
Bobby has always relied on veterans more than rookies. It took him some time in the early part of the year to get to a point where Venters got more and more important innings.
So, my guess would be Marek would be a back of the bullpen guy IF he were brought up, but we have a boat load of those guys already in Farnsworth, Martinez, Kimbrel, Proctor and Kawakami. Then you have guys like Moylan and O’Flaherty as middle guys, and set up guys are Venters and Saito.
My guess is it is just due to the numbers and the overall success of our pen this year.
Bay Area Steve
August 31st, 2010
5:03 pm
scoots, I don’t know about anyone else, but I tend to treat ugly girls quite well at 2AM.
They need a stat for quality of treatment in relation to time.
Snotboogie
August 31st, 2010
5:03 pm
As for adding Freddie Freeman, he has earned it but this is as much a public relations move as anything. The kid won’t play much if at all.
I have a feeling he will play a lot more towards the latter part of the month. Bobby will give him his usual garbage time ABs initially and once he proves he can hit ML pitching, he might find himself getting more meaningful ABs. More so if Lee or Glaus dont hit well.
RC
August 31st, 2010
5:04 pm
Shaun, how can you know how much credit he deserves for his outs? Until there is a concrete way to determine that, the voting should simply be based upon what happened, in my opinion.
My example is that if McCann wins Game 7 of the World Series with a wind-aided HR, they aren’t going to take it away because the wind was blowing out that day. It’s all a part of the game, and if you separate some random factors and not others you are unfairly punishing players for randomness that isn’t fully understood. Either figure out a way to eliminate all of the noise, or none of it. There can’t be any in between if you are trying to be fair.
Shaun
August 31st, 2010
5:04 pm
Coach (2011 or Bust), when did I ever say Hudson’s performance is lucky? I’m saying an unusually high number of his outs are due to factors that have little to do with his performance and therefore it is making his overall numbers look good and therefore making him look like a better Cy Young candidate than he actually is. I’ve repeatedly said Hudson has been very good and said he was the best pitcher on the team. My argument is that his performance, though still very good, probably isn’t Cy Young-worthy; it just looks that way because of factors that are beyond his control.
Hudson #1
August 31st, 2010
5:04 pm
Oh…and the people who say Hudson is lucky haven’t watched many games this year…….Brave’s or otherwise…I know…I have watched hundreds of games of any and all teams….not much too do while waiting for job offers!
Rob from SC
August 31st, 2010
5:05 pm
I guess this means that MArek doesn’t fit into our long term plans.
Jeff
August 31st, 2010
5:05 pm
Mets blog and phillies blog are goin after both there managers haha..
Wayne in Utah
August 31st, 2010
5:05 pm
P-town
That just means he is due…. (Prado, that is)
Snotboogie
August 31st, 2010
5:06 pm
AGon ever going to have a day off? Guy could probably use it. He played nearly every game with Toronto. Why not give Diory a spot start?
Tough to do in such a tight race. Can possibly afford it when Glaus plays 3rd someday (if at all) so that Infante can play SS. Probably get him some early showers in the blow-outs.
TennesseePaul
August 31st, 2010
5:06 pm
Why I did this? I don’t know. But here it is.
National League
1990 Cy Young BABiP .248
1991 Cy Young BABiP .259
1992 Cy Young BABiP .254
1993 Cy Young BABiP .271
1994 Cy Young BABiP .252
1995 Cy Young BABiP .245
1996 Cy Young BABiP .281
1997 Cy Young BABiP .257
1998 Cy Young BABiP .276
1999 Cy Young BABiP .289
2000 Cy Young BABiP .330
2001 Cy Young BABiP .320
2002 Cy Young BABiP .287
2003 Cy Young BABiP .248
2004 Cy Young BABiP .280
2005 Cy Young BABiP .283
2006 Cy Young BABiP .287
2007 Cy Young BABiP .777
2008 Cy Young BABiP .309
2009 Cy Young BABiP .288
Glen W
August 31st, 2010
5:07 pm
Why is this so hard to understand?
Look, Shaun this does not have to be explained by luck.
A power pitcher has more margin for error. If you throw 97 MPH and have a nasty slider that sits as 88-89 with late break, you can miss your location by even 3-4 inches and get away with it. And that is why your performance is more sustainable over time.
If I hit 91-ish with my fastball, etc. etc. etc. I don’t have the luxury of missing my spots by 3-4 inches. I have to dead on with my location. And I better be really concistent with my mechanics to ensure I get the late break I need.
It is not likely that either of us are going to be perfect over our careers. Thus you will probably have more consistent performance across a longer range of time.
That does not mean that you can call me lucky if I have a season in which I pitch my rear end off, hitting my spots, getting late movement on my pitches, consistently.
Have you seen Hudson pitch much this year? Guy has been Maddux-like it terms of location and late movement. How many times have you seen a guy crush a ball off of him only to have it caught?
How many times have you seen him go 4-5 consecutive innings where no one is putting good wood on the ball?
It doesn’t have to be explained by luck. Hudson has been very good this year.
RC
August 31st, 2010
5:07 pm
It’s similar to trying to judge players that played in the “steriod era”. Unless you know for certain who did and who didn’t, it’s unfair to try and make thin slices. The only option for comparison is to simply look at what happened on the field, and leave it at that. Punishing a pitcher for an abonormally low BABIP is no different to me than dismissing a player’s numbers because you “think” he may have used steriods.
Shaun
August 31st, 2010
5:08 pm
RC, there are park factors that account for wind-assisted homers and the like. That’s what the dreaded park-adjusted stats are all about. Adrian Gonzalez has the 8th-best OPS in the NL. Would he be 8th if he played his home games in a more hitter-friendly park? Probably not. Should this matter when the voters consider him for MVP? Absolutely.
Okefenokee Brave
August 31st, 2010
5:08 pm
Shaun is an idiot!!
TennesseePaul
August 31st, 2010
5:08 pm
And that is obviously a typo for 2007.
Jo-Bu
August 31st, 2010
5:09 pm
It could be that Hudson knew he had a stellar shortstop playing behind him, so he focused less on K’s and more on getting deep into games (which to me, is the most overlooked stat of all).
Well, Huddy has always said he’s never been a strikeout pitcher. And with his GO/AO, why would he want to strive for that. He can go longer into games that most strikeout pitchers by pounding the strike zone with breaking pitches to keep his count between 8-12 pitches per inning.
LPad
August 31st, 2010
5:09 pm
Can someone explain how BABiP measures luck, if no defensive metrics indicate your team is playing incredible defense?
Snotboogie
August 31st, 2010
5:09 pm
I guess this means that MArek doesn’t fit into our long term plans.
I dont think that’s the message here. He has shown enough to be a good bullpen arm for the future – just not filling a particular need right now. Plus if you notice, we seem to be using pitchers who have already used up an option this year and so this callup and subsequent send- down will not use up any extra ones. With Marek, it will (I think).
Coach (2011 or Bust)
August 31st, 2010
5:09 pm
Hey Shaun, you do realize that Tim Hudson’s career .663 winning percentage is better than that of Maddux, Glavine and John Smoltz…….right?
A word for the ignorant one among us, Tim Hudson is not only a Cy Young caliber pitcher, he’s headed to Cooperstown.
Bartholomew (Bat) Masterson
August 31st, 2010
5:09 pm
scoots, I don’t know about anyone else, but I tend to treat ugly girls quite well at 2AM. _ BAS
There are no ugly girls at 2 am.
Wayne in Utah
August 31st, 2010
5:10 pm
@Rob: I guess this means that MArek doesn’t fit into our long term plans.
Why would you think that? It’s all a numbers thing. Unless he is dealt over the winter, my guess is Marek gets every chance to make the club next spring. Not being called up in September doesn’t send any sort of statement that a guy is not important. Sometimes it is due to the arb clock. Other times it’s due to the numbers of guys on the big club.
After eventually getting Boscan, McLouth, Glaus, Freeman, Kawakami, Proctor and Kimbrel; Bobby will be bringing up about 2 more guys than he usually does.
Gil Garrido
August 31st, 2010
5:10 pm
I guarantee you, no one has ever won the Cy Young or MVP award based on his WAR or BaBip …. or won a world series game, for that matter.
It is almost comical to hear the discussions.
Glen W
August 31st, 2010
5:10 pm
Coach (2011 or Bust), when did I ever say Hudson’s performance is lucky?
We’re only on page two.. shouldn’t be too hard for you to go find your own references to luck. I don’t mean for that to sounds as DB-ish as it does.
N8
August 31st, 2010
5:11 pm
“RC, the question is how much credit does Hudson deserve for all his outs? It seems that, yes, he deserves a great deal of credit. But also an unusually high number of his outs are because of his defense and because of balls being hit in the right spot.” shaun
To which I reply….
Imagine how impressive his season would be if he actually had a good defensive team behind him. What the hell would his ERA be? 1.25?? He might have 20 wins already if this team could catch the ball like the Rockies do.
I can remember 2 games where the defense let him down in tight games.
MiaBchBravesFan
August 31st, 2010
5:11 pm
I’m kind of surprised that Stephen Marek didn’t make the callup list. Equally surprised that Scott Proctor did.
Shaun
August 31st, 2010
5:11 pm
RC, I could see your point if Hudson’s BABiP was .280 or maybe even in the .270’s. But when it gets down into the .240’s, maybe you don’t know for certain, but it’s a strong indication that factors besides his own skills were responsible for outs at an abnormally high rate.
TennesseePaul, see. Hudson’s BABiP is low even for a Cy Young candidate and potential winner.
Snotboogie
August 31st, 2010
5:12 pm
I dont mind so much when WAR or BABIP is used as a crutch to lean on and assist. But when some people deem it so important that they use it as a pogo stick, I think its ridiculous.
Alabama Brave
August 31st, 2010
5:13 pm
I am instituting the work place WAR here at the office based on how good the day is when someone is out. Whoever replaces our pain in the butt receptionist will have an AWESOME workplace WAR.
Shaun
August 31st, 2010
5:13 pm
N8, the Braves are actually above average at turning batted balls into outs. The Rockies are actually worse than the Braves. The Braves are 7th in the NL in defensive efficiency. The Rockies are 9th.
Bobbeeee's Cox
August 31st, 2010
5:13 pm
re: getting ground balls vs. luck.
I’m calling BS on Shaun, again. Greg Maddux induced many, many, many ground balls, and I don’t think it was luck. In fact, when a grounder found a hole in the infield, I thought that was luck, and the reason why Mad Dog never threw a no-no or perfect game.
It’s BS. A pitcher can manipulate where the ball is hit. That isn’t luck, especially for a guy who throws an insane amount of sinkers.
Glen W
August 31st, 2010
5:14 pm
Shaun’s not an idiot. Not even close. Could he be little more open-minded to other explanations of phenomena? I think so. But he’s not an idiot.
Bobbeeee's Cox
August 31st, 2010
5:14 pm
Snotboogie….Amen.
Wayne in Utah
August 31st, 2010
5:16 pm
Miami Beach
Probably all about arb clock and numbers. Proctor has been in the bigs, and if he doesn’t have it, it’ll be just a nice bonus for him to ride the pine on the big club.
How many stellar bullpen arms do you really need? Wagner, Saito, Venters, O’Flaherty, Moylan, Martinez, Kimbrel, Kawakami, Farnsworth, Proctor……… Marek wouldn’t get much use at all.
ncgary
August 31st, 2010
5:16 pm
go braves
Shaun
August 31st, 2010
5:16 pm
Name one pitcher who has sustained a BABiP under .250 (post Dead Ball) for more than 1-2 seasons, then maybe I can believe that inducing batted ball outs is as much a skill as some of you think.
N8
August 31st, 2010
5:16 pm
shaun you want to say in one post that the Braves are better at turning batted balls into outs than the Rockies, but a couple posts earlier you’re talking about park adjustments or park factors?
Ever think that the Rockies batted balls into outs ranking has to do with the fact that they play in the Grand Canyon of baseball parks?
Did you watch the Rockies play defense in that series last week? Have you watched the Rockies play defense all year long? Have you watched the Braves play defense all year long?
Sorry dude. Just another case of me using my eyes and common sense rather than what the numbers say.
Bobbeeee's Cox
August 31st, 2010
5:16 pm
Hey Shaun, tonight’s game starts at 7:10 pm EST. I invite you to WATCH the game tonight, and not the stat sheet…
Lew
August 31st, 2010
5:17 pm
Is there medication for a Fluctuating BABIP?
Glen W
August 31st, 2010
5:17 pm
WAR is not the be all end all.
But I do find it admirable (maybe too strong a word) to see people try to map individual ofensive performance mathmatically to the team’s bottom line of wins and losses. A very worthwhile endeavor.
TennesseePaul
August 31st, 2010
5:17 pm
Payne: See, the majority of Cy Young winners in the NL over the last 20 years have had BABiPs lower than .290…. “But a BABiP much lower than .290 is not sustainable.”
Keep telling yourself that.
Second, Hudson’s BABiP isn’t the lowest on that chart. Maddux beat him a couple of times and that’s assuming it doesn’t change from here on out.
Wayne in Utah
August 31st, 2010
5:18 pm
We need to have a segmented blog: A Haters Segment, A Stats Segment, and An All Others Segment.
Sign me up for the “All Others Segment!”
P-Town Brave ©
August 31st, 2010
5:19 pm
Also, Hinske may deserve a go in LF tomorrow against Pelfrey…he is 4 for 8 against him, while both Diaz and Ankiel have the same amount of hits in 15 AB’s…
I would almost wanna get both Nate and Freddie some AB’s…
So why not go with Freddie in the 6-hole, Alex 7th, and Nate 8th tomorrow?
Keeping the top portion the same
TRADE
August 31st, 2010
5:19 pm
OT – With Masoli out at Ole Miss and Ingram out for Bama, pretty clear road for Auburn to win the SEC West IMO
UKUGA
August 31st, 2010
5:20 pm
I can’t believe DOB didn’t tell Terry Pendleton and Brian McCann about Huddy’s lucky BABiP.
Alabama Brave
August 31st, 2010
5:20 pm
“We need to have a segmented blog: A Haters Segment, A Stats Segment, and An All Others Segment.
Sign me up for the “All Others Segment!””
For the record, I am against segregation.
Lew
August 31st, 2010
5:21 pm
Wayne-You’re just upset that they never came up with a stat that took “running into a wall for the team” into consideration.
Coach (2011 or Bust)
August 31st, 2010
5:21 pm
Shaun wrote:
Name one pitcher who has sustained a BABiP under .250 (post Dead Ball) for more than 1-2 seasons, then maybe I can believe that inducing batted ball outs is as much a skill as some of you think.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
It’s called pitching to contact dumbass.
TennesseePaul
August 31st, 2010
5:21 pm
Payne (8/31/2010 5:16): Name one pitcher who has sustained a BABiP under .250 (post Dead Ball) for more than 1-2 seasons
Seriously!!?? That’s what you are resorting to? This whole discussion was based on Cy Young Merits. Why bring up 2+ years of work? Are you now saying that award should be given on the basis of performance over multiple years? I thought it was a single year? Argue all you want about the ability of a player to sustain any level of performance day in day out for more than 2 years…. The awards are for single seasons. SINGLE SEASONS Payne.
MiaBchBravesFan
August 31st, 2010
5:21 pm
When the inevitable blowout (one way or the other) or ineffective start happens, I like the idea of a bullpen with Martinez, Kimbrell, Proctor, Marek, Kawakami, Farnsworth, and Dunn. The use of O’Flaherty, Saito, Moylan, and Venters must be restricted to winable games.
Steve McP
August 31st, 2010
5:23 pm
I am really looking forward to the reaction of one or two bloggers when McLouth or Glaus come to the plate.
Snotboogie
August 31st, 2010
5:23 pm
You remember in the movie Matrix, there is this scene where Neo suddenly creeps up on Cypher who is sitting watching the code on his screens and he proceeds to tell him that once you get used to it he can just look at the code and see “blonde.. Brunette and redhead”.In my mind I see Shaun’s evening of baseball consisting of a live-updated advanced stat sheet, similar to that.
Snotboogie
August 31st, 2010
5:25 pm
Tn Paul
Payne – Why?
Lew
August 31st, 2010
5:25 pm
Steve McP-You mean you haven’t already figured out what the reaction will be?
Chop Chop
August 31st, 2010
5:26 pm
I did a post a few weeks ago comparing Hudson’s 2010 with a number of Hall of Fame-caliber pitchers over the last 25 years, including Pedro, Clemens, Maddux, Johnson, Glavine, and Smoltz.
Here’s a link to it:
http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-braves-blog/2010/08/14/braves-need-to-make-the-most-of-august-schedule/comment-page-3/#comment-748534
Suffice it to say that what Huddy’s doing this year is magical. The hows or whys matter more when you’re projecting what Hudson will do going forward. The reality of this particular season is that he’s putting everything (luck, skill, mechanics, and determination) together.
monty
August 31st, 2010
5:26 pm
Greg Maddux probably had more groundball outs him back at him than any other pitcher I can think of. Not a coincidence. And not luck.
Bobbeeee's Cox
August 31st, 2010
5:26 pm
McCann’s bunt yesterday…total luck.
Every time Infante or Prado exploit a hole in the infield due to the double play shift: absolutely lucky.
According to Shaun that is, because players just swing and hope the ball finds a hole. Maybe Jeff Francouer does that and that’s why he’s one of the worst hitters in baseball, but some players know how to handle the bat. You have to watch the games to find those players. Good thing GM’s and managers watch games.
richbrave
August 31st, 2010
5:27 pm
hEY nova scotia steve:
Just blew through your beatiful city on the way to the Atlantic south shore of NOVA SCOTIA. Tasted a sample of rush hour in 98 degree heat. SWEET!!!! Here in some resort – spa which everyone except AAA feels is a mistake. Anyway its called OAK ISLAND RESORT and SPA. Anything around we should eye-ball tomorrow?
Oh and GO BRAVOS. Play ‘um one game at a time. MANHATTEN-time. Later. You know I got a PEACHTREE feed in CHARLOTTETOWN, PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND. Can you believe it? Got to see the BRAVOS for once.
P-Town Brave ©
August 31st, 2010
5:27 pm
Just read that the Rangers are close to a deal with the Mets for Francoeur…
INTE-RESTING
GT Fan
August 31st, 2010
5:27 pm
TennesseePaul, that’s gotta be mis-typed. Peavy had a 777 BABiP in 2007?
Snotboogie
August 31st, 2010
5:29 pm
Just read that the Rangers are close to a deal with the Mets for Francoeur…
Please- let him be traded after this series. At least let him be in the lineup today – Minor should have the luxury of a couple of easy outs. Please.
Bartholomew (Bat) Masterson
August 31st, 2010
5:30 pm
Does anyone keep the DOB blog commenters WAR?
njbraves
August 31st, 2010
5:30 pm
Shaun is a perfect example of a modern day stat guy.” If the stats say so, it must be true” I like all the new ways to look at a players performance, but it gets out of hand. Watch Huddy pitch, he has been brilliant all year long.
Bartholomew (Bat) Masterson
August 31st, 2010
5:32 pm
SB_
Didn’t Jeffey have a couple of hits last night?
P-Town Brave ©
August 31st, 2010
5:32 pm
Snot-
He would have to be traded by midnight tonight or he isn’t eligible for postseason with the Rangers…
That rule has not changed.
Snotboogie
August 31st, 2010
5:32 pm
Bat:
Dont worry – yours will be quite high.
Coach (2011 or Bust)
August 31st, 2010
5:33 pm
Greg Maddux quote:
My idea of a perfect game is twenty-seven pitches.
Read between the lines people.
Shaun
August 31st, 2010
5:34 pm
Bobbeeee’s Cox, Maddux’s career BABiP was in the .280’s. Even the shining example of a pitcher manipulating weak contact wasn’t anywhere near a BABiP in the .240’s. Doesn’t that tell everyone something?
Snotboogie
August 31st, 2010
5:34 pm
Didn’t Jeffey have a couple of hits last night?
Pure luck. And so now he shall regress to the mean.I am digging for a 4 letter stat to prove it.Just wait.
Glen W
August 31st, 2010
5:34 pm
I don’t think there is anything wrong with Shaun or anyone else enjoying stats. I think there useful. And if he enjoys them… then great for him.
I just don’t understand how some explanations for stats take root. If it has to be explained to that degree, the stat needs to be matured further, its lacking, its incomplete.
There is no statistical evidence to support that lower BABIP is the result of luck. None.
P-Town Brave ©
August 31st, 2010
5:34 pm
Like I have said previously, I’m not too big on those computer/fantasy guy stats…
Then again, I actually did and am still playing…I’m not the team manager type
Snotboogie
August 31st, 2010
5:35 pm
My idea of a perfect game is twenty-seven pitches.
Read between the lines people.
That just means he wants to get 9 Ks and go hit the showers after 3 innings. Right?
Shaun
August 31st, 2010
5:35 pm
Coach (2011 or Bust), so if pitching to contact means getting batted ball outs so often that a pitchers BABiP is lower than .250 over the course of more than a season or two, I’m sure there are many example, right?
Nova Scotia Steve -
August 31st, 2010
5:35 pm
Steve McP – I am really looking forward to the reaction of one or two bloggers when McLouth or Glaus come to the plate.
I’m excited for the return on Glaus.
Chop Chop
August 31st, 2010
5:35 pm
By the way, 2000 Pedro posts a .237 BABiP on Baseball Reference. FanGraphs has him down for a .253 BABiP. Does anybody know why?
FanGraphs has Hudson at .244, while Baseball Reference has him at .248.
There must be some kind of conspiracy. Somebody is messing with our minds. It’s like the stats have taken on lives of their own. They must be stopped.
Nova Scotia Steve -
August 31st, 2010
5:36 pm
Steve McP – I am really looking forward to the reaction of one or two bloggers when McLouth or Glaus come to the plate.
I’m excited for the return *OF Glaus.
LPad
August 31st, 2010
5:36 pm
Shaun, Maddux isn’t a god. Every year there are pitchers with low BABiP. There are four with BABiP lower than Hudson this year, only two are Cy candidates doesn’t that tell you something?
Shaun
August 31st, 2010
5:37 pm
Glen W, if a pitcher keeping his BABiP well under the .290-.300 range is a skill, why aren’t there pitchers who have done it over the course of more than 1-2 seasons? There are pitchers who consistently strike out a lot of batters. There are pitchers who consistently avoid walks and homers. Why aren’t there pitchers who consistently keep their BABiP well under .290-.300?
LPad
August 31st, 2010
5:37 pm
If people can have lower ERAs, a higher K/9 then why can’t they have a lower BABiP than Maddux?
Bobbeeee's Cox
August 31st, 2010
5:38 pm
Shaun: No.
Coach (2011 or Bust)
August 31st, 2010
5:41 pm
Right Snotboogie, and not twenty-seven ground ball outs over the course of nine innings.
Here is just a bit of insight into the brilliance that was Mad Dog on the mound. Maddux had the ability to deliberately induce a batter to hit the ball on the ground exactly where Greg wanted it. That is why Maddux was called the professor. He saw the game in three dimensions, and intimately understood the “game within the game”.
LPad
August 31st, 2010
5:41 pm
Glen W. Exactly, why has luck become an excepted explanation to this stat? I have never seen any stat explained by luck. Stats are always used to prove a guy isn’t lucky.
Bartholomew (Bat) Masterson
August 31st, 2010
5:42 pm
Dont worry – yours will be quite high. _SB
I did not expect to be a qualifier, thanks. ( high is good, right?)
Glen W
August 31st, 2010
5:43 pm
Glen W, if a pitcher keeping his BABiP well under the .290-.300 range is a skill, why aren’t there pitchers who have done it over the course of more than 1-2 seasons?
Shaun, you are not listening to me. I have said that I agree it is unlikely to be sustained. But why does it have to be explained by luck?
Why can’t the explanation be that Hudson is pitching amazingly this year, hitting his spots, keeping the ball down, getting good late movement, etc?
I don’t think he’ll have an ERA uner 3.00 next year. But why does that have to mean that he is lucky this year?
Gary O
August 31st, 2010
5:46 pm
As for adding Freddie Freeman, he has earned it but this is as much a public relations move as anything. The kid won’t play much if at all. .
If I’m not mistaken, Gwinnett’s season ends on September 7. So if the Braves dont have Freeman on the bench, he will be at home watching TV on his couch.
Being called up allows him to take BP with the big boys, get a better feel for the travel etc, so I think it has nothing to do with public relations.
glove51
August 31st, 2010
5:46 pm
Great post Chop Chop. It is very improbable that Hudson can sustain what he has done this season. I have said that since early on.
On the oteh rhand, we don’t know for certain that Hudson hasn’t discovered a new way of gettting batters to ground out consitently to less dangerous (to Hudson) spots on the field or that he isn;t just in some sort of hertofore unseen “zone” that won’t last forever, but that he can sustain for 1-2+ seasons.
We can assume it is unlikely, but we do not know it for certain. Therefore, I think it unwise and un”fair” to penalize Hudson for his seeming good fortune. Many past winners of awards have experienced phenomenal staistical achievements due to seemingly improbable anomalies in their stat lines, a lot of which occurred before the advent of stats such as BABIP and other more advanced statistical measures. How does one say with absolute certainty that freakish performance, even over a full season, is largely the result of luck?
BTW, those of you pulling Maddux into the discussion as an obvious example of soemone who “got a lot of groundballs and therefore proves Hudson hasn’t been lucky”, don;t know what you’re talking about. maddux’s career BABIP is nowhere close to Hudson this year. I posted this awhile back. Maddux had like one season (without going back to look it up again, but the stats are readily available if you want to know) even approaching what Hudson has done to date. Also, Maddux at his peak was MUCH more of a strike-out pitcher than Hudson.
Gil Garrido
August 31st, 2010
5:49 pm
Do you think a single Braves pitcher knows his BaBip?
Or any player knows his WAR?
Do you think Bobby Cox knows?
Do you think Frank Wren knows?
Do any of them care?
By guess, the answer is no, no, no, no and no
GT Fan
August 31st, 2010
5:50 pm
Actually, another baseball nerd’s indictment of Tim Hudson’s abnormally low BABiP actually helps contradict that contention that it is the source of Hudson’s success this year. The article (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/421658-the-impending-tim-hudson-implosion-an-example-of-luck-in-baseball), written on July 17, says that Huddy’s BABiP then was 232, 16 points lower than what it is now. Yet, over that same period of time, he’s put up a 2.13 ERA.
Over that same period of time, his strikeouts have increased, but he’s still behind his career pace for strikeouts per IP. Actually, his very low BABiP could be an indication that players were putting more pitches that he normally would’ve gotten SOs with in play, but they were getting such weak contact that very few of them were getting through.
brian
August 31st, 2010
5:51 pm
just had to youtube my favorite commercial again: Chicks Dig the Long Ball. Classic
Glen W
August 31st, 2010
5:52 pm
Gil – I do think front office folk are looking at stats like WAR. I do think they are increasingly using these advanced stats to help make financial decisions.
For example, should I sign Jermaine Dye for $2M if I have a rookie that will give me 90% of his performance for $400k?
Things like that.
Gil Garrido
August 31st, 2010
5:52 pm
only a GT fan could have made that last post
and i say that with all due respect to the fact that you are much smarter than the average bear
Chop Chop
August 31st, 2010
5:52 pm
Let’s just hope Huddy doesn’t have a .400+ BABiP in the postseason.
FEAR
August 31st, 2010
5:53 pm
WAR is a great band but a useless stat
Gil Garrido
August 31st, 2010
5:55 pm
War may be an advanced stat — thought i dispute that — but it is an unproven stat.
It much more theory than stat.
And it changes depending on what formula you use.
so i would guess that no, they don’t pay too much attention to it, any more than they do BaBip and Izar and every other manufactired “stat” that exist just to sell a book or a theory
Gil Garrido
August 31st, 2010
5:56 pm
Glen –
I don’t think they need WAR to make that determination.
these people were making those judgements long before WAR came aloing
mike jay
August 31st, 2010
5:58 pm
Shaun,
This will be a slow response because this blog has exploded but….
Unless you can provide a formula to quantify the amount of luck a pitcher has recieved then it is not fair to judge the worthiness of a cy young award from it. Now every great success in sports has a littel bit of luck involved with it but since is unqualafiable you just can’t us it. Especially in a game that comes to inches and when tryign to hit a round bat wit ha round ball.
Anyhow I knew nothing about this BSASIASBS stat before reading so Iam certainly enlightened in that regards but Hudsun has been too consistenly good at what he has done to belittle his accomplishments with ‘luck’. Just my 2 cents.
Chop Chop
August 31st, 2010
5:58 pm
When is somebody going to come up with the GWAR stat?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHHoJTrdrjE
They deserve a stat.
Coach (2011 or Bust)
August 31st, 2010
6:00 pm
War is a certain state of organized violent conflict that is engaged in between two or more separate social entities.
Mickie, Minnie, Goofy and BABiP. There ya go!
@ Kim Fang as Chin Ho
August 31st, 2010
6:00 pm
Hawaii 5 O…..I figured out your screen name….
DogsBrekky
August 31st, 2010
6:01 pm
Johhny “rock n roll” Venters, lowest BAA woo hoo
Toots
August 31st, 2010
6:01 pm
Gil Garrido
August 31st, 2010
5:49 pm
Do you think a single Braves pitcher knows his BaBip?
Or any player knows his WAR?
Do you think Bobby Cox knows?
Do you think Frank Wren knows?
Do any of them care?
By guess, the answer is no, no, no, no and no
182 comments about WAR BABiP Luck
And by the way….I bet 90% on this blog don’t care…. WAR BABiP…Luck….XBABiP yikes
FEAR
August 31st, 2010
6:02 pm
Chop Chop – YES!
Scumdogs!
Toots
August 31st, 2010
6:03 pm
Mike J….. Now we have BSASIASBS Holy Shipro
DogsBrekky
August 31st, 2010
6:03 pm
The leading WHIP in mlb in 2010 by SP is Latos with around 0.99
In 4 years of his Cy Young dominance Maddux’s WHIP was under 1… for 4 straight years..
put that 1 in your books stats heads
GT Fan
August 31st, 2010
6:04 pm
Oh, and Maddux’s SO/9 during his prime was about 7, and Huddy’s career SO/9 is 6.1. I wasn’t going to crunch the numbers to get exactly Maddux’s SO rate during his prime, but his career avg was exactly 6.1. Not sure how much of a difference that 1 SO/9 innings makes statistically. Assuming about 200 IP in a season, that’s about an extra 22 SOs a year.
Glen W
August 31st, 2010
6:04 pm
I don’t think they need WAR to make that determination.
these people were making those judgements long before WAR came along.
I disagree. The market for LH/DH types has really changed over the last 5 years or so. And I think part of that is because organziations have changed the way that they value players. I didn’t mean to place too much credit on the WAR stat specifically, but I do think part of it is credited to advanced statistical analysis in the industry.
Gil Garrido
August 31st, 2010
6:05 pm
Toots, if you are agreeing with me, yes, that is exactly my point.
They are manufactured stats made up to entertain numbers-crazy baseball fans (myself included)
But I don’t think people in the game pay them any attention.
I would be interested in hearing from DOB –
Have you ever heard a player, coach, manager or GM mention WAR or BaBIP or IZAR or any such stat>
Toots
August 31st, 2010
6:06 pm
Man.. I don’t know nothing about baseball.. I just like to watch the game.. What’s with the WAR>> BABiP Go Braves…. Isn’t that the idea
David O'Brien
August 31st, 2010
6:06 pm
6 Braves prospects will be on ArizonaFall League’s Phoenix Desert Dogs team: 1B Freddie Freeman, OF Cory Harrichak, RHPs Michael Broadway, Brandon Beachy, Erik Cordier, Kyle Cofield.
The team will be managed by Don Mattingly and includes players from five organizations: Braves, Yankees, A’s, Dodgers, Marlins.
The Desert Dogs have won the AFL title for five straight years.
Bartholomew (Bat) Masterson
August 31st, 2010
6:07 pm
BSASIASBS ?
What ………. bull sht a stat is a stat bull sht
Toots
August 31st, 2010
6:07 pm
The only stat I need is for my heart to still beat? Doc tells me that I’m good to go….
Braint
August 31st, 2010
6:07 pm
WAR — umph — good God — what is it good for? Absolutely nothing — say it again.
Boricua
August 31st, 2010
6:07 pm
If anyone know it this called up Player stay it in Atlanta today or they travel with Gwinnett today?
VOR
August 31st, 2010
6:08 pm
“WAR does not determine who is right, only who is left.” ~Bertrand Russell
What about center?
Chop Chop
August 31st, 2010
6:10 pm
Shaun would simmer down if Huddy’s FIP/xFIP wasn’t 3.74/3.86 this season.
“This does not compute” are the words that echo in Shaun’s brain.
He’s right. It doesn’t compute. Some amount of luck has to be involved in that.
It’s happening, though. Therefore, if you’re just a Braves fan like me who’s sitting back and enjoying the ride (and feeling like he stole something after many of these wins), why don’t we just let the baseball gods get back at us after a World Series title in 2010?
glove51
August 31st, 2010
6:10 pm
Gil Garrido: I am sure you insisted the cassette tape would never supplant the 8-track.
Your argument about what stats players pay attention to represents the worst kind of ignorance. Which do you think the vast majority of players pay more attention to: OBP or batting average?
Glen W
August 31st, 2010
6:11 pm
If you read into Theo’s comments, you can basically see that they were using a statistical analysis along the lines of WAR to decide whether to cut jason Bay loose or not.
http://www.i-yankees.com/?p=17997
AdirondackDave
August 31st, 2010
6:12 pm
DOB — You mentioned the Phillies “injuries and other issues…” Man, I’d like to hear more about those other issues.
Toots
August 31st, 2010
6:12 pm
OMG …… my 8 track is out dated.. I hate that.
GT Fan
August 31st, 2010
6:12 pm
Oh, Maddux’s BABiPs from ‘92-’95, when he was winning Cy Young awards:
1992- .258
1993- .277
1994- .258
1995- .249
So, he benefited from some well below avg BABiPs in winning his Cy Youngs. His ‘95 number almost matches Huddy’s for this season exactly.
FEAR
August 31st, 2010
6:13 pm
AdirondackDave – how bout the bullpen?
Toots
August 31st, 2010
6:13 pm
Well…. At least I still have my leisure suit
Bravefaninok
August 31st, 2010
6:13 pm
OMG …… my 8 track is out dated.. I hate that.
Cassette tapes …….you have to keep up with technology!
Gil Garrido
August 31st, 2010
6:14 pm
Ask 100 major league players their batting average or their OBP
I would bet the house the vast majority know their average, not their OBP
Steve McP
August 31st, 2010
6:14 pm
The 8-Track was better than the cassette tape.
Betamax was also better than VHS.
Just because a product does not pay off does not necessarily mean that it is a lesser item than it’s rival.
Daybed Wagmoe
August 31st, 2010
6:15 pm
Regarding hudson and strikeouts — I think that when Brandon Webb won the cy young a few years ago, he didn’t have an overwhelming amount of Ks. Something like 178 in 235 innings. How many does Hudson have at this point? Isn’t it something like 110?
Steve McP
August 31st, 2010
6:15 pm
Have we had a line up for tonight yet?
Bartholomew (Bat) Masterson
August 31st, 2010
6:15 pm
My 8 track tape player is good to go.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTKn0PqJM44
Gil Garrido
August 31st, 2010
6:16 pm
And, the worst kind of ignorance?
I’ll give you, i may be ignorant about a lot of things.
But itt’s hardly the worst kind …
Steve from OH
August 31st, 2010
6:17 pm
Why should Hudson’s BABIP even matter in the Cy debate? Has nothing to do with what’s already transpired on the field. The only use I have for BABIP is telling me if a certain pitcher is likely to perform at a similar level next year (or, if it’s April, for the rest of the year).
Don’t forget that he’s had Yunel and A Gon playing behind him, though. Having 2 of the best defensive SS in the league behind him every day may artificially decrease his BABIP a little. Prado is +5 at 2B and +2 at 3B this year. Chipper was (surprisingly, given the tone of the blog) +8 this year at 3B, so Huddy’s had some pretty solid D played behind him. That’ll sure help the BABIP.
Huddy’s career BABIP is .286. That’s what he’s likely to revert toward next year, like it or not. Is that the difference between Cy-caliber Huddy and Derek Lowe Huddy? Nope. Not even close. So don’t worry about it.
But like others have said, you can’t sustain that. You can call it “pitching to contact” or “hitting the weak part of the bat” or whatever, but I simply point to Hudson, Maddux, and Glav’s career BABIP numbers. They pitched to contact. And their numbers are the same as everyone else’s. Funny how that turned out just like the statheads thought it should’ve, huh?
jeffrey d
August 31st, 2010
6:17 pm
Wow, I didn’t realize Wainwright had hit a rough patch like that. In my (probably biased) opinion, if the Cy Young was decided today, I think Hudson should win it. I wasn’t saying that a week ago, but Hudson’s leading in ERA and has a half the losses of Halladay
mike jay
August 31st, 2010
6:17 pm
Coach 2011,
I remeber a story Smotlz told where Maddox was sitting next To smoltz in the dugout and he told him to watch out. Smoltz looked at him funny and the next pitch was hit and flew into the braves dugout about 2 feet from Smoltz. The ‘Professor’ could not only dictate where his pitches would get hit but he understood the game so well he could figure that out with everyone.
Bartholomew (Bat) Masterson
August 31st, 2010
6:18 pm
I’m saving up for the new technology now though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=su6_0v5TEAY
LPad
August 31st, 2010
6:19 pm
testing
Steve from OH
August 31st, 2010
6:19 pm
Harrilchak is an interesting pick for the AFL. Didn’t see that one coming. Freeman will tear that league up, and will benefit from the extra AB.
Glad Cordier got the call. Hopefully he can use the AFL to break out. He can still throw really hard.
glove51
August 31st, 2010
6:20 pm
Dogsbrekky: apparently you think you proved something with your quote about Maddux and WHIP. In fact, you proved the opposite.
Thanks for playing.
Ease® in Woodstock
August 31st, 2010
6:21 pm
Is there medication for a Fluctuating BABIP?
I believe that Nova Scotia Steve is the go to guy on that one…
Nick
August 31st, 2010
6:22 pm
Go look up career BAPIP leaders and you will find pitchers who had long careers that have career BAPIP’s of under 280 (Jim Palmer .255, Catfish Hunter .251, Charlie Hoguh .258) so apparently it IS sustainable!
McFann ♥ ;Ô; ♥ ;Ô; ♥
August 31st, 2010
6:22 pm
Thanks for the explanation of WAR, guys…I think I get it now…but I’m not gonna lose any sleep over it.
Bat, Sopheeee, Wayne—
I didn’t mean to come off as calling BMac fat.
Sure, he’s not skinny, but he sure as heck ain’t fat!
Oh, and Bat, I do believe your suspicions were correct—Christopher Chance is PL. He accused me of saying last year that BMac should bat 8th.
David O'Brien
August 31st, 2010
6:26 pm
Braint: Hilarious comment at 6:07 p.m.
jeffrey d
August 31st, 2010
6:26 pm
How many skinny men do you know that take 90 seconds to round the bases after a homerun? None, that’s how many.
David O'Brien
August 31st, 2010
6:26 pm
Boricua, the call-ups were told today because Gwinnett was traveling today and they didn’t want the players to make that trip. So no, they didn’t travel with Gwinnett today.
LPad
August 31st, 2010
6:27 pm
The blog keeps eating my post about BABiP fluctuations. But for those arguing that BABiPs aren’t sustainable from one year to the next should keep in mind that a 30 point increase has little affect on the player’s other stats. A very good example of this is Bronson Arroyo who is 2nd this year in BABiP and finished sixth last year. He has experienced a 31 point decrease from 2009 to this year and it has had an insignificant affect on his performance.
Ease® in Woodstock
August 31st, 2010
6:27 pm
Hey, those were my suspicions…Well now I want them back…
glove51
August 31st, 2010
6:27 pm
GT Fan: when I looked at Hudson vs. Maddux about 3-4 weeks ago (I think that si abotu right), Hudson’s BABIP was then in the .220’s.
Maddux’s unreal achievements in his peak years were due to the combination of freakish K/BB ratios (which a pitcher can have a great deal of control over) and very low HR allowed rates (which a pitcher can have a pretty substantial amount of control over).
FEAR
August 31st, 2010
6:28 pm
well so much for that strasburg guy
AdirondackDave
August 31st, 2010
6:29 pm
FEAR — Yup, Phillies bullpen is a liability for sure. I was wondering if there were personality-clash issues behind the scenes that we haven’t heard about yet…
Chop Chop
August 31st, 2010
6:30 pm
The number I still can’t figure out is this:
.325
Pedro Martinez posted that BABiP in 1999.
He went 23-4 with a 2.07 ERA, striking out 313 in 213.1 IP.
I do believe that’s one o’ them statistical anomalies.
Snotboogie
August 31st, 2010
6:30 pm
So Freeman wins the IL player of the year. Not bad at all.
Ease® in Woodstock
August 31st, 2010
6:31 pm
How many skinny men do you know that take 90 seconds to round the bases after a homerun?
If the question was 2min and 36 sec, then the answer is one…
LPad
August 31st, 2010
6:31 pm
Chop Chop I guess Pedro was unlucky that year
Bartholomew (Bat) Masterson
August 31st, 2010
6:31 pm
At a meeting of the college faculty, an angel suddenly appears and tells Shaun, the head of the philosophy department, ” I will grant you whichever of three blessings you choose: Wisdom, Beauty _ or ten million dollars.”
Immediately Shaun chooses Wisdom.
There is a flash of lightning, and Shaun appears transformed, but he just sits there, staring down at the table.one of his colleagues whispers, ” say something.”
Shaun says, “I should have taken the money.”
FEAR
August 31st, 2010
6:31 pm
AdirondackDave – wouldn’t doubt it. whenever I catch one of their games they just seem like they are not playing as a team. I don’t know. It’s hard to explain. The Braves actually seem like a cohesive unit
David O'Brien
August 31st, 2010
6:32 pm
I would be interested in hearing from DOB –
Have you ever heard a player, coach, manager or GM mention WAR or BaBIP or IZAR or any such stat — Gil Garrido
Honestly, I’ve never heard a player, coach, manager or GM so much as mention any of those stats you listed. Not once. Not saying that they absolutely never use something like VORP behind closed doors in discussing players, but I’ve never heard one mention any of those stats publicly.
And as far as a player using them — be serious. I’d be shocked to ever hear a player use any of those stats. They never, ever talk in those terms. They talk about average, RBI, OBP, doubles, etc. Not WAR or BaBIP or whatever. Those just are not in the vernacular in the clubhouse. Maybe that’ll change at some point, but it sure hasn’t yet. (I also don’t hear them in any pressbox, either, for what that’s worth.)
Snotboogie
August 31st, 2010
6:32 pm
oh no – it was an ROY not player of the year.
Jeff R
August 31st, 2010
6:32 pm
Hudson and the Braves need to finish strong. I think that would up Hudson’s chances at a Cy Young.
Steve from OH
August 31st, 2010
6:32 pm
so apparently it IS sustainable!
Sigh.
Wayne in Utah
August 31st, 2010
6:33 pm
@Lew: Wayne-You’re just upset that they never came up with a stat that took “running into a wall for the team” into consideration.
Is it that obvious?
Boricua
August 31st, 2010
6:33 pm
Thanks DOB..Another ???..If Those player been in Uni tonight in the Dogout????
Patrick
August 31st, 2010
6:33 pm
DOB,
Erik Cordier….is he the guy that we got from Kansas City that was recovering from Tommy John surgery???
Bartholomew (Bat) Masterson
August 31st, 2010
6:34 pm
McFann_
Ease was the detective on the PL case. Well done Ease.
Wayne in Utah
August 31st, 2010
6:35 pm
Then it looks like the players, coaches, managers, GM’s and all other baseball people need to get with the times, huh!
Ease® in Woodstock
August 31st, 2010
6:35 pm
Not saying that they absolutely never use something like VORP behind closed doors
Is that like, when they hit the showers and start whipping each other with towels?
David O'Brien
August 31st, 2010
6:36 pm
Sounds to me like the Braves are listening seriously to trade offers for Troy Glaus. Not sure if anything will happen before Wed. (Sept. 1), the deadline for a team that wants to get him in so he’d be eligible for the postseason roster. If not, a team could trade for him later just to help in September.
Wayne in Utah
August 31st, 2010
6:36 pm
All callups will definitely be in the “dogout” tonight!
FEAR
August 31st, 2010
6:37 pm
dogout…..is that where yunel was?
Boricua
August 31st, 2010
6:38 pm
Huddy should got Five More Outing..question is with the Day off on sept 16..If Huddy will Pitch twice again The Phillis (sept 22 & Oct 2)..
jeffrey d
August 31st, 2010
6:38 pm
That’s good to hear, DOB. I get talked down to by the sabermetric guys sometimes because I’m only using BA, OBP, or HR instead of using stuff like TATER (Total Average Times Earned Runs) or WOMP (Weight Over Monday Plate appearances)
Ease® in Woodstock
August 31st, 2010
6:38 pm
There is a certain smelliness about him…fairly easy to detect. But thanks for my props, I called it didn’t I…(I jest
)
Wayne in Utah
August 31st, 2010
6:39 pm
The Troy Glaus situation has to be a difficult one for the Braves, as he was so important during our early season surge, and played dinged up for a long time until relief was obtained.
I can see where there might be a crowd of folks to consider for the post season if Glaus is kept. I still hope he stays.
Steve from OH
August 31st, 2010
6:39 pm
WAR is kind of a stupid stat, I’m coming to think more and more. First off, I don’t like UZR much at all. So there goes half of the stat.
Second off, they weight wOBA (a good stat) and UZR (an “eh” stat) equally. Come on.
It’s got the right idea–you can’t just look at a dude’s OBP and say he’s good. You’ve got to get a complete picture of his offensive game (wOBA) and, oh yeah, see if he’s good at defense or not. And I like how they argue that position matters. I think it does. Just don’t like how they get to the numbers. Not practical as a hard-and-fast stat like the classic BA/OBP/SLG.
VORP is fine if you want a measurement of offensive production. Everyone is on the same scale and it’s raw offense. If you don’t like it, fine, but it is what it is. And it’s not harmful to look at it. But it doesn’t take defense into account, so it’s certainly not the be-all and end all.
Personally, I just like OPS because it’s quick, easy, and most people understand it. wOBA and EqA are a lot better stats, but how many people have heard of them? Just easier to save everyone the trouble and use OPS. If I was in a front office, you can damn well bet I’m using every stat, scout and videotape available before I sink millions of dollars of someone else’s money into a player, though. To suggest that major league front offices don’t use the saber stats is silly. The only thing that differs among the different clubs is how much emphasis they place on them.
Of course, thinking players talk in VORP is silly, too. Why would that even be on your mind?
Ease® in Woodstock
August 31st, 2010
6:39 pm
I am sure McCann has a pretty high WOMP (hehehe!)
Bartholomew (Bat) Masterson
August 31st, 2010
6:40 pm
Those just are not in the vernacular in the clubhouse. Maybe that’ll change at some point, but it sure hasn’t yet. (I also don’t hear them in any pressbox, either, for what that’s worth.) _ DOB
Well they generate a lot of comments here, increasing you page hits, at least i think that is how this works. Therefore increasing your WAR.
Steve from OH
August 31st, 2010
6:41 pm
Erik Cordier….is he the guy that we got from Kansas City that was recovering from Tommy John surgery???
Yep. Got him from KC for Tony Pena, Jr.
Wayne in Utah
August 31st, 2010
6:41 pm
jeffrey
I see it as a major accomplishment that I understand OPS and WHIP!
Chop Chop
August 31st, 2010
6:41 pm
LPad,
I think it proves that it’s nice to be able to strike out 313 guys in 213.1 IP. You can make up for a lot of bad luck when you can do that.
Danga
August 31st, 2010
6:42 pm
We got something for Tony Pena, Jr.?
Wow.
jeffrey d
August 31st, 2010
6:42 pm
“You think Pujols deserves the MVP because he leads in HR and RBIs?? He’s got the fewest lowest IBB/SAT ratio in the NL, STUPID!”
GT Fan
August 31st, 2010
6:42 pm
glove51, not that I disagree with you, but freakish K/BB ratios shouldn’t have any impact on BABiP. Low HR rate would, but would a handful fewer HRs really explain why Maddux had BABiPs 40-50 points below avg 3 of those 4 years?
I’m not trying to argue that BABiP is pointless, just Shaun’s assertion that it somehow makes what Huddy’s done less legitimate or less deserving of being recognized.
FEAR
August 31st, 2010
6:42 pm
I’d say keep Glaus. Probably not going to get much for him. Plus if he keeps hitting as well as he has in AAA then he is a good bat off the bench,
jeffrey d
August 31st, 2010
6:42 pm
Pardon my redundancy
glove51
August 31st, 2010
6:42 pm
Chop Chop, re, Pedro in 1999. A: he allwoed very few balls in play, with 13.2 K’s/9, coupled with a very high K/BB ratio (8.46), and an INCREDIBLY low Hr allowe % of 0.4X. Basically the same formual that Maddux used in his best years amped up by a much higher K rate. pedro led eiteh rhis league or all of MLB in all those stats in 1999 (and led in each of those stats many times in his career), and allowed a slugging % of just .288.
Rob from SC
August 31st, 2010
6:43 pm
DOB
Any thoughts on Stephen Marek not being called up
bravito199
August 31st, 2010
6:43 pm
DOB are the Braves looking to acquire a middle infielder/utility guy before this deadline?
TennesseePaul
August 31st, 2010
6:43 pm
Snotboogie: Because, while I may spur long debates with Payne that could be misconstrued by others as hostile, the truth is they are not hostile from my perspective, I believe he knows this, and he has been on the blog for quite some time… dating back to his bachelor days… I remember those days. He’d roll in here in the wee hours blasted out of his mind VORPing all over the place. Then he got married, straightened his tie, park adjusted his demeanor and went on with business like a professional.
Bartholomew (Bat) Masterson
August 31st, 2010
6:44 pm
Ease_
He was disguised, no random quotation marks……… sneaky so n so.
noleeee
August 31st, 2010
6:44 pm
Hamilton is batting .359 with 31 HR….if he was in the NL, Pujols wouldn’t have a shot at the triple crown RC
not so sure I agree with that, he is hitting 330 OPS points lower away from Texas. His 886 away is good but wouldn’t threaten Pujols in the least.
Wayne in Utah
August 31st, 2010
6:44 pm
But then again, I ain’t paying players millions of bucks to hit or throw a baseball either!
glove51
August 31st, 2010
6:45 pm
GT: Freakish K/BB ratios help explain why a pricher can have a HIGHER BABIP but still produce a comparatively lower ERA, ceteris paribus.
Mr. Turnip-Green Jeans
August 31st, 2010
6:45 pm
Monstrosity pitches for the Dodgers tonight; he ain’t bad. Dodgers play well at home too. +4!
noleeee
August 31st, 2010
6:46 pm
Then he got married, straightened his tie, park adjusted his demeanor and went on with business like a professional. TennPaul
except unlike PWH, he has never gotten the fact that real baseball is not only about stats. Has just never moved on to the next level of integration
Steve from OH
August 31st, 2010
6:46 pm
I get talked down to by the sabermetric guys sometimes because I’m only using BA, OBP, or HR
Those are the stat guys that really know nothing. They give themselves away with statements like:
“Scouting is stupid.”
“I only use OBP to measure my hitters!”
“Defense?”
I dunno. I simply think the most useful things sabermetrics have given baseball fans, as a whole is the concept that wins and losses for a pitcher are stupid, RBI are not something you want to use when evaluating players, Batting Average ain’t all it was once cracked up to be, OBP is, in fact, useful and that stolen bases are generally not useful over the long haul.
Brave4life-1995 all over again??
August 31st, 2010
6:47 pm
Jerry Manuel does NOT know how to talk to the media
ummm uhhh he uhhh pitched well but ummmm his uhhhhh location was ummmmm kinda uhhhhh off.
Snotboogie
August 31st, 2010
6:48 pm
We got something for Tony Pena, Jr.?
Wow.
Well – at that time he was an injured A baller. The Braves organization and its patience won tihs deal for us I think.
FEAR
August 31st, 2010
6:48 pm
go LA!!!!
Wayne in Utah
August 31st, 2010
6:49 pm
Does Omar and Jerry have incriminating pictures of the Wilpon’s?
Steve from OH
August 31st, 2010
6:49 pm
except unlike PWH, he has never gotten the fact that real baseball is not only about stats. Has just never moved on to the next level of integration
I like Shaun, and think he contributes more to the blog in one post than 100 in-game posts do. He offers a well-reasoned argument that allows for intelligent debate about the game. That said, I think he looks at the game too analytically and is too black-and-white in his thinking. But that’s just me. I still read his posts and consider carefully what he says, and enjoy blogging with him.
PWH has really done a good job on his blog, too. You all should check it out (Capitol Avenue Club).
jeffrey d
August 31st, 2010
6:50 pm
RBI are not something you want to use when evaluating players
I think a lot of RBIs is a sign that you’re a good (and usually clutch) hitter. But not a lot of RBIs doesn’t mean the opposite. Maybe you’re a leadoff hitter. Maybe you’ve had bad luck. Maybe you play for the Royals.
If someone knocks in 150 runs, it’s a safe bet that he’s a good hitter. If someone gets 30 RBIs, though, that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s not a good hitter.
Vote for Prado
August 31st, 2010
6:51 pm
DOB, I love that song. Barenaked Ladies does an awesome version of that on their greatest hits album. Such a classic.
jeffrey d
August 31st, 2010
6:51 pm
I think it’s okay to judge using AVG, RBI, etc. if you take a step back and consider the whole picture.
Brave4life-1995 all over again??
August 31st, 2010
6:51 pm
I hate my life
college work sucks
noleeee
August 31st, 2010
6:52 pm
.But for those arguing that BABiPs aren’t sustainable from one year to the next should keep in mind that a 30 point increase has little affect on the player’s other stats LPad
if it has such small correlation, then what good is it???
Danga
August 31st, 2010
6:53 pm
He offers a well-reasoned argument that allows for intelligent debate about the game.
Agreed. Dude always gives something to think about and does it without being rude. That is all I ask for out of a blogger.
hootdaddy-18
August 31st, 2010
6:53 pm
Hootdaddy in da house !!!!!!!
noleeee
August 31st, 2010
6:54 pm
(I also don’t hear them in any pressbox, either, for what that’s worth.) DOB
cause they are only important on baseball boards
Jeff R
August 31st, 2010
6:54 pm
Interesting about Glaus. Any rumors what the Braves’ could get for Glaus?
BravesFanChris25
August 31st, 2010
6:54 pm
Unless something of good quality is gotten for Glaus, I’d rather him stay. That’s how important Glaus has been for the Braves. Without him dare I say Braves wouldn’t be in 1st?
GT Fan
August 31st, 2010
6:54 pm
glove51, agreed, but he didn’t have high BABiPs when he was putting up those freakishly high K/BB numbers. And, at least the first two Cy Youngs he won, his K/BB ratio wasn’t that high – good, but not outstanding.
Steve from OH
August 31st, 2010
6:55 pm
I think a lot of RBIs is a sign that you’re a good (and usually clutch) hitter. But not a lot of RBIs doesn’t mean the opposite. Maybe you’re a leadoff hitter. Maybe you’ve had bad luck. Maybe you play for the Royals.
RBI are a record of what has happened. However, they offer almost no predictive value going forward. As they are so context-driven, you can’t assume that the hitter in question will produce the same number of RBI when placed in a different contex in a different season. There is too much going on that he can’t control.
Or, like you said, maybe he plays for the Royals. But all those reasons you listed (and others) matter. But what it really comes down to, in the end, is this: if you’re a GM, are you gonna be 10M on a player’s RBI total? I wouldn’t. Or I’m gonna end up with a pink slip pretty quickly.
hootdaddy-18
August 31st, 2010
6:55 pm
Hope Dan Kolb’s mom is here, she sure is a joy to hear from
GovClintonTyree
August 31st, 2010
6:55 pm
Anybody else think DOB’s explanation of the rules regarding playoff eligibility (in the org, not on the 25) is gonna take on a life of its own? Kinda like Skip Caray and the infield fly rule?
Steve from OH
August 31st, 2010
6:56 pm
Agreed. Dude always gives something to think about and does it without being rude. That is all I ask for out of a blogger.
I’d add not being a comple neanderthal during gametime, but I agree!
Me mad! Team Braves lose! Me throw beer at TV!
noleeee
August 31st, 2010
6:57 pm
I like Shaun, and think he contributes more to the blog in one post than 100 in-game posts do Steve
me too, he’s just not willing to admit that stats are not the be-all and end-all
Snotboogie
August 31st, 2010
6:57 pm
Tn Paul
I was just wondering why the name Payne. I’ll take that anyway, thanks.
shmoe
August 31st, 2010
6:59 pm
i was at the game last night!
Brave4life-1995 all over again??
August 31st, 2010
7:01 pm
Looks like another “packed” house tonight
McFann ♥ ;Ô; ♥ ;Ô; ♥
August 31st, 2010
7:01 pm
Bat M. Ease was the detective on the PL case. Well done Ease.
Ah, yes! You’re correct!
Sorry, Ease! Nice goin’…[ahem] in a matter of speaking.
TennesseePaul
August 31st, 2010
7:01 pm
the call-ups were told today because Gwinnett was traveling today and they didn’t want the players to make that trip
“I’ve had it with this nickel and dime stuff“
Brave4life-1995 all over again??
August 31st, 2010
7:02 pm
No Angel Pagan
Very Happy
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
7:02 pm
McFann – the hearts are a bit distracting.
GovClintonTyree
August 31st, 2010
7:03 pm
OMG, I’m being VORPed and BaBIPed to death. Enough. Let’s get back to dingers and ribbies, shall we? OBP and SLG are OK. There. I’ve drawn a fair and reasonable line.
Chop Chop
August 31st, 2010
7:04 pm
Andruw Jones has a .258 ISO this year.
He also has a .211 BABIP to go along with a .214 BA.
If you check out the relevant stats (and have a good idea about which players have posted at least 250 ABs), it would appear that Andruw Jones is doing the most damage with the least luck of any player in the majors.
Crazy stuff.
jeffrey d
August 31st, 2010
7:04 pm
I think they’re cool
TennesseePaul
August 31st, 2010
7:04 pm
he contributes more to the blog in one post than 100 in-game posts do
C’mon SteveOH, you’ve set the bar far too low.
Steve from OH
August 31st, 2010
7:04 pm
DOB, what’s the rule for guys like Minor who get optioned but don’t report to the minor league club? Are they allowed in the clubhouse/on the field for the one or two days where they’re technically not part of the club? Or do they have to stay away for the time they’re down?
Will the guys that get called up today get to hang out in the clubhouse or do they have to wait a day too?
McFann ♥ ;Ô; ♥ ;Ô; ♥
August 31st, 2010
7:05 pm
Sopheeee the hearts are a bit distracting.
jeffrey d I think they’re cool
Oh great…
TennesseePaul
August 31st, 2010
7:06 pm
Chop Chop: good stuff. good stuff.
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
7:06 pm
They’re fine but they catch your eye when you’re skimming through comments. I guess that’s a good thing though.
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
7:06 pm
jeffrey, you should add a few to your name.
TennesseePaul
August 31st, 2010
7:07 pm
Are they allowed in the clubhouse/on the field for the one or two days where they’re technically not part of the club? Or do they have to stay away for the time they’re down?
Basically, they get less access then Bonds’ or A-Rod’s groupies.
GovClintonTyree
August 31st, 2010
7:07 pm
This board is starting to look like a convention of Bill Shanks’ board with all the obscure stats.
GovClintonTyree
August 31st, 2010
7:08 pm
Sophia, isn’t it time to remove the extra eee’s. He started the allstar game.
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
7:08 pm
Wait, do they represent your ♥ for the turtles or Mac?
SoWeGa Fanatic
August 31st, 2010
7:08 pm
With all these great new stats, it kinda makes you wonder how the manager knew to put Ruth in the lineup everyday.
Steve from OH
August 31st, 2010
7:08 pm
I was under the impression that Shanks allows only unabashed praise of all things scouting and, in particular, those things related to Braves scouting.
I feel like I’d get banned for using OBP instead of RBI and grit quotient.
McFann ♥ ;Ô; ♥ ;Ô; ♥
August 31st, 2010
7:08 pm
Sopheeee they catch your eye when you’re skimming through comments. I guess that’s a good thing though.
Not necessarily.
They’re not gonna stay forever, though…sometime when I’m really upset I’ll prob’ly kill ‘em off. But let’s hope that’s not for a while.
Frankie Wren
August 31st, 2010
7:09 pm
How do you measure intestinal fortitude? Brooks C doesn’t have great stats but has won a lot of games. Seriously, some of you folk are really impressive with stats in all and I have learned a lot.
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
7:09 pm
GovClintonTyree – campaigning for AS 2011. It never ends, Gov.
By the way, I liked your post in the AM about how all the non-southerners can kiss our ass.
Rob from SC
August 31st, 2010
7:10 pm
College work does suck
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
7:10 pm
Nah, McFann – I’m just messing with you. Seriously, they’re fine.
McFann ♥ ;Ô; ♥ ;Ô; ♥
August 31st, 2010
7:10 pm
Sopheeee Wait, do they represent your ♥ for the turtles or Mac?
I just kinda put ‘em there.
But they’re for BMac…his resent surge deserves much love!
Bartholomew (Bat) Masterson
August 31st, 2010
7:11 pm
Lowe gets cortisone shot for arm problem
McFann ♥ ;Ô; ♥ ;Ô; ♥
August 31st, 2010
7:11 pm
Sopheeee–
Haha, no sweat.
jeffrey d
August 31st, 2010
7:11 pm
Speaking of obscure stats, here’s an alarming number – Brian McCann hits 5% of his homeruns on Tuesdays (1 of 19).
Yes, that number is researched and accurate.
FEAR
August 31st, 2010
7:11 pm
McFann – what’s all that crap after your name?
njbraves
August 31st, 2010
7:11 pm
Another good looking crowd at the Ted……what a joke.
Rob from SC
August 31st, 2010
7:11 pm
we sure do give up a lot of cheap hits
FEAR
August 31st, 2010
7:11 pm
lowe gets talent injection for pitching problem
McFann ♥ ;Ô; ♥ ;Ô; ♥
August 31st, 2010
7:11 pm
Hey, what’s with the mask, David?
noleeee
August 31st, 2010
7:12 pm
don’t see Shanks site that way at all Gov. dude loves prospects, knows nothing about how to evaluate players, and once a rospect becomes an established player he will throw him under the bus for another prospect. Good cheerleader though even without pom-poms
cabravesfan
August 31st, 2010
7:12 pm
I like the hearts
David O'Brien
August 31st, 2010
7:13 pm
To clarify on the playoff roster matter: A team has, in effect, as many playoff roster spots as it does players on its 25-man roster plus DL as of Sept. 1. The Braves effectively have 28 spots, which will be those players on the current 25-man roster plus DL (Glaus, Chipper, Medlen). Two of those DL spots (Chipper and Medlen) will be available for them to plug in any other player who’s not currently on the roster, say if they decided they wanted Freeman on the playoff roster, or a third catcher, or whoever.
Glaus will be activated Thursday, so that DL spot won’t be available to sub in another player. But if a Brave were injured during the rest of the regular season, they can sub another player from anywhere in the organization for that injured player. But such injuries have to be legit, approved by commissioner’s office, etc.
That means that the Braves can substitute any two other players in their entire organization for Chipper or Medlen, if they want to add someone to the playoff roster who’s not currently on the 25-man roster.
They made the move of McLouth on and KK off the roster today because, frankly, they believe McLouth has a good chance of being on the playoff roster and didn’t want to have to use one of the two current DL spots to add him later. They like what he could add to the bench or, if he plays a lot better than Ankiel in September, maybe he’d even be the CF regular. Point is, they think he’s got a good shot at being on the playoff roster, so they activated him now.
Confusing? Hopefully not. Hopefully it clarifies things a bit.
McFann ♥ ;Ô; ♥ ;Ô; ♥
August 31st, 2010
7:13 pm
That’s BMac’s mask…seriously, give it back.
FEAR–
jeffrey d–
Dan-82ndAirborne
August 31st, 2010
7:13 pm
how long has wright been hitting 2nd for the Muts?
McFann ♥ ;Ô; ♥ ;Ô; ♥
August 31st, 2010
7:14 pm
Thanks, cabravesfan!
OK, David…enough. Take it off…where’d your other one go?
noleeee
August 31st, 2010
7:14 pm
Brian McCann hits 5% of his homeruns on Tuesdays (1 of 19). jeffrey
that’s terrible, he should average 14%. gotta sit him on Tuesdays from now on…
McFann ♥ ;Ô; ♥ ;Ô; ♥
August 31st, 2010
7:14 pm
Maybe if you just went with the dark blue one like Corky used to wear…
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
7:15 pm
That is Mac’s mask. He looks like Mac back there.
McFann ♥ ;Ô; ♥ ;Ô; ♥
August 31st, 2010
7:16 pm
Sopheeee He looks like Mac back there.
He should be so lucky…
McFann ♥ ;Ô; ♥ ;Ô; ♥
August 31st, 2010
7:16 pm
Joe’s onto it now…
McFann ♥ ;Ô; ♥ ;Ô; ♥
August 31st, 2010
7:17 pm
Story time with BMac…
Bartholomew (Bat) Masterson
August 31st, 2010
7:18 pm
That is Mac’s mask. He looks like Mac back there. _ Soph
You’re just setting McFann up for a fat joke there. What’s got into y’all.
SoWeGa Fanatic
August 31st, 2010
7:18 pm
Lowe has now peed me off (like he cares). Not telling the team about a physical issue that affects your pitching and thus WINS is a rookie move. A 10-15 year guy like him knows better. Selfish.
Rob from SC
August 31st, 2010
7:18 pm
good save by Jason
McFann ♥ ;Ô; ♥ ;Ô; ♥
August 31st, 2010
7:18 pm
Cann we end this inning so David cann change his mask already?
Rob from SC
August 31st, 2010
7:19 pm
Francoeur owns us
McFann ♥ ;Ô; ♥ ;Ô; ♥
August 31st, 2010
7:20 pm
Bat M.–
You mean something like—”Yeah, maybe a fat BMac…”?
SoWeGa Fanatic
August 31st, 2010
7:20 pm
Funny, but Troy could be playing for the Twins in November, but voted a full WS share by the Braves. I would if I had a vote.
Bartholomew (Bat) Masterson
August 31st, 2010
7:20 pm
SoWeGa Fanatic _ try again
Lowe (11-12, 4.53 ERA) said the problem is actually behind his elbow but affects his ability to grip the ball. He told the Braves about the pain three weeks ago and had been caring for its with anti-inflammatory medication and treatment.
MIBraveeeeesFan
August 31st, 2010
7:20 pm
Not a bad inning by Mike considering the extra days between starts
McFann ♥ ;Ô; ♥ ;Ô; ♥
August 31st, 2010
7:20 pm
Yeah! Now give back BMac’s mask, David…
Bartholomew (Bat) Masterson
August 31st, 2010
7:21 pm
McFann
McFann ♥ ;Ô; ♥ ;Ô; ♥
August 31st, 2010
7:21 pm
That should say, “Yay!” not “Yeah!”.
FEAR
August 31st, 2010
7:21 pm
SoWeGa Fanatic – agreed. Lowe seems like a douchebag. He gave us crappy pitching for the money. He got all butthurt about the trade rumors this winter and now this crap with his elbow. What a bum!
McFann ♥ ;Ô; ♥ ;Ô; ♥
August 31st, 2010
7:21 pm
Bat M.–
Josh from NY (not NYC)
August 31st, 2010
7:22 pm
Hey, I gotta sit up here and be tortured by SNY tonight, are they sayin anything about y Rossy went away from the hockey mask?
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
7:22 pm
Happy, McFann?
David O'Brien
August 31st, 2010
7:22 pm
Ike Davis apparently specializes in striking out with two runners on to end innings.
McFann ♥ ;Ô; ♥ ;Ô; ♥
August 31st, 2010
7:22 pm
Nice going, David!
Now, BMac, go wash your mask…
MIBraveeeeesFan
August 31st, 2010
7:23 pm
“David O’Brien
August 31st, 2010
7:13 pm
To clarify on the playoff roster matter:
…. Confusing? Hopefully not. Hopefully it clarifies things a bit.”
I thought it clarified things pretty well.
McFann ♥ ;Ô; ♥ ;Ô; ♥
August 31st, 2010
7:23 pm
Sopheeee–
Yes!
Josh from NY–
Not yet…they weren’t sure why he wore it, there. But he’s getting his other one back.
MIBraveeeeesFan
August 31st, 2010
7:24 pm
Yay Omar!
menlobrave
August 31st, 2010
7:24 pm
infanteeeeeee
McFann ♥ ;Ô; ♥ ;Ô; ♥
August 31st, 2010
7:25 pm
That was the worst impression of fielding I’ve ever seen! It’s like he didn’t even try…
Bobbeeee's Cox
August 31st, 2010
7:25 pm
The top of the lineup is really coming together….
BravesFanChris25
August 31st, 2010
7:25 pm
Stay hot OMAR!
McFann ♥ ;Ô; ♥ ;Ô; ♥
August 31st, 2010
7:25 pm
Snap…OK, no more picking on their defense, McFann…
FEAR
August 31st, 2010
7:25 pm
omar!
Josh from NY (not NYC)
August 31st, 2010
7:26 pm
Gotcha, thanks McFann
SoWeGa Fanatic
August 31st, 2010
7:26 pm
Bat, he said he’s had problems with it 6 weeks. Uh, that’s longer than 3.
DogsBrekky
August 31st, 2010
7:26 pm
noleee – seeing we rest many Mondays his average on Tues should be closer to 16%… BMac that is
Guy sucks on Tuesdays… lets send him to McDonalds for the day
ATLcracker
August 31st, 2010
7:26 pm
Wayne in Utah, while we are on stats- if a person is 6′1″ and 235 pounds he has a body mass index of 31.0 normal = 18.5-24.9/ overweight = 25-30/ obese = greater than 31.
FEAR
August 31st, 2010
7:27 pm
damn it jason!
Bartholomew (Bat) Masterson
August 31st, 2010
7:27 pm
Ike Davis apparently specializes in striking out with two runners on to end innings. DOB
Gotta be good at something to be a Big Leaguer.
ijonathan
August 31st, 2010
7:28 pm
I love Omar. Really do. But the guy is a horrible slider. hits the ground too early and more often than not comes to a grinding halt before the bag.
Tomas
August 31st, 2010
7:28 pm
SNY broadcasters are pretty dumb sometimes. They’re saying they don’t know how Glaus is gonna fit because Infante is playing so well…..Obviously the move is Infante to left field.
hootdaddy-18
August 31st, 2010
7:28 pm
What did JHey do? GIDP? haven’t tuned in yet
Bartholomew (Bat) Masterson
August 31st, 2010
7:29 pm
SoWeGa Fanatic _
And how often do you hear everybody has some kind of pain this time of year.
McFann ♥ ;Ô; ♥ ;Ô; ♥
August 31st, 2010
7:30 pm
Awesome…
You’re welcome, Josh!
Brave4life-1995 all over again??
August 31st, 2010
7:30 pm
Is Minor a fly ball pitcher???
McFann ♥ ;Ô; ♥ ;Ô; ♥
August 31st, 2010
7:30 pm
DogsBrekky–
I should have those stats up by tomorrow!
Brave4life-1995 all over again??
August 31st, 2010
7:32 pm
That was funny by Matty D
JasonInFL
August 31st, 2010
7:33 pm
D-Lee going to get his first HR as a Brave…this upcoming AB
Brave4life-1995 all over again??
August 31st, 2010
7:33 pm
uhhhh Matty D
Rob from SC
August 31st, 2010
7:33 pm
NO REASON to do that with 2 outs……
ijonathan
August 31st, 2010
7:33 pm
oh boy, is Mitchell on the ole blog tonight?
hootdaddy-18
August 31st, 2010
7:33 pm
Question: Can Lee catch up with a Niese fastball? How about a Niese knuckler?
Nick 2.5
August 31st, 2010
7:33 pm
And thats why Diaz should never start.
Josh from NY (not NYC)
August 31st, 2010
7:33 pm
I was kinda hopin Rossy would keep the old mask, I was a catcher in college and they made us use the hockey masks and I hated them haha
McFann ♥ ;Ô; ♥ ;Ô; ♥
August 31st, 2010
7:34 pm
A SINGLE and a 2-base error?? No way…
Brave4life-1995 all over again??
August 31st, 2010
7:34 pm
ifthar time
cabravesfan
August 31st, 2010
7:34 pm
And some people on the blog still complain when players don’t dive for balls…exhibit A on why that is not really the best idea…
N8
August 31st, 2010
7:34 pm
Yup. The defense sure helped Minor with that ball “put in play”, huh?
That’s right shaun. The Rockies could only DREAM of having a guy like Diaz in LF covering all that ground. LOL
On a side note, looks like another packed house at the Ted. Too bad this team hasn’t been in first place since May.
McFann ♥ ;Ô; ♥ ;Ô; ♥
August 31st, 2010
7:34 pm
Josh–
I don’t like the hokey masks, either, but that’s what David is supposed to wear.
Brave4life-1995 all over again??
August 31st, 2010
7:34 pm
Nasty
MIBraveeeeesFan
August 31st, 2010
7:35 pm
No harm done
njbraves
August 31st, 2010
7:35 pm
To everyone who says Diaz should play everyday, there’s the reason he never will.
JasonInFL
August 31st, 2010
7:35 pm
I good M squared
Josh from NY (not NYC)
August 31st, 2010
7:36 pm
Haha I know how ya feel McFann, growing up Javy was my hero and I hated when Eddie or any of our other catchers played
N8
August 31st, 2010
7:36 pm
Is it just me or does it look like somebody to a Bedazzler to McFann’s name?
Liberace would be proud.
SoWeGa Fanatic
August 31st, 2010
7:37 pm
Bat, who pissed in your corn flakes? Lowe said he couldn’t even grip the ball. They stuck a needle in his elbow – that ain’t normal this time of year type pain. He should have gotten it seen about 9 starts ago when it first started. Bush league stuff.
JasonInFL
August 31st, 2010
7:37 pm
seriously, i don’t even know what that was supposed to say. my keyboard is hosed.
Good job by M squared.
Tomas
August 31st, 2010
7:38 pm
Matty is a spark no doubt specially against lefties. But I like him as a pinch hitter because his defense has never been good. Well I say this because I prefer Omar in left field and Glaus at third base.
But I need to see how Glaus is playing 3B.
MIBraveeeeesFan
August 31st, 2010
7:38 pm
Way to go D Lee!
N8
August 31st, 2010
7:38 pm
Diaz would actually be a fine everyday LF for a team like Boston, Philly or Houston. Any of those teams with “short porches” in LF.
McFann ♥ ;Ô; ♥ ;Ô; ♥
August 31st, 2010
7:38 pm
Yay, D-Lee!!
MIBraveeeeesFan
August 31st, 2010
7:39 pm
As always, all gifts greatly appreciated
McFann ♥ ;Ô; ♥ ;Ô; ♥
August 31st, 2010
7:39 pm
Josh–
Haha, I KNOW the (similar) feeling!
TM
August 31st, 2010
7:39 pm
Do agree with the official scorer.
Don’t agree with Joe Simpson.
To give a triple on the Diaz play is wrong.
It was Diaz’ mistake that let him get to 3rd.
Just glad no damage.
cabravesfan
August 31st, 2010
7:39 pm
Thank god for the brain cramp there…DLee would have been out by 15 feet if Niese had thrown to 3rd
Tomas
August 31st, 2010
7:40 pm
Derek Lee has been hitting the ball hard lately
ijonathan
August 31st, 2010
7:40 pm
Matty D reminds me of an “idiot savant” — he’ll do some really amazing stuff and for stretches make you think he’s a hall of famer…then he does some things to emphasize the “idiot” part of that moniker.
Jay Dubu
August 31st, 2010
7:40 pm
Gonzo does that a lot. A sac fly is all you needed there.
N8
August 31st, 2010
7:40 pm
Jeeez whaddya know? My PT-TV broadcast on mlb.tv froze up with a “media error”….. AGAIN! Nothing annoys me more.
Guess I’ll listen to the Mets announcers cry in their beers.
MIBraveeeeesFan
August 31st, 2010
7:42 pm
Shoot!
Bartholomew (Bat) Masterson
August 31st, 2010
7:43 pm
SoWeGa Fanatic _ Nobody pissed in my cornflakes. You said he was hiding an injury and I pointed out he told the team and was getting treatment. My point is, a guys arm or elbow can bother them some this time of year without it be something to worry about.
Couch Tater
August 31st, 2010
7:43 pm
I tend to treat ugly girls quite well at 2AM.
BAS – Kinda depends on your range factor. If the weighted average is too high, you may want to consider the VORP.
Frankie Wren
August 31st, 2010
7:43 pm
Playing small ball in the 2nd inning, dunno. I will take my chances with Matty driving the ball to the right side in hopes for a big inning. Oh well.
TM
August 31st, 2010
7:43 pm
Dag-gummit Melky!
David O'Brien
August 31st, 2010
7:44 pm
With callup of catcher J.C. Boscan, Braves have 5 Venezuelans. Others: Prado, Infante, Alez Gonzalez, bullpen coach Eddie Perez.
“And I think they’re trying to adopt Melky,” Frank Wren cracked.
ScottBravesfan
August 31st, 2010
7:44 pm
Man it’s going to a lot of traffic tonight getting out of the Ted. It’s got to be hard competing with all 2,000 people that are at the game. This is embarrassing and I’m a die hard fan. Atlanta get out and support the team! Regional fans can only do so much the actual fans in the city need to start showing up for the weekday games.
jeff
August 31st, 2010
7:45 pm
yet another leadoff double. runner to 3rd and 1 out and we cant stinkin hit a fly ball .. little things win u games. come on boys.
Josh from NY (not NYC)
August 31st, 2010
7:46 pm
Did anyone see the highlights of the Rays game last night? Best record in baseball and they had an announced crowd of 11,000…thats pathetic
MIBraveeeeesFan
August 31st, 2010
7:46 pm
“Bobby Dews is Old Testament”
MIBraveeeeesFan
August 31st, 2010
7:47 pm
That was a classic from EJ on Peachtree for those who didn’t get to hear it!
TedR
August 31st, 2010
7:47 pm
Why is Joe Simpson telling blatant lies? Its obvious this team does not in the practice time defensively, and it will hurt them in the playoffs. Mark my words.
richbrave
August 31st, 2010
7:48 pm
GO BRAVOS. Kick azz.
Leeeeeee
August 31st, 2010
7:48 pm
Is D.Lowe gonna go on the DL?
N8
August 31st, 2010
7:49 pm
The Mets announcers just took a jab at Francoeur.
With the Mets making 2 outs on 2 pitches to start the inning, they were talking about the 3rd guy taking the first pitch of his AB and what not.
Then they were talking about if a guy makes an out in the first pitch of his first AB, he likely wouln’t swing at the first pitch of the 2nd AB, not wanting to take a chance on making 2 outs on 2 pitches. To which the other announcer said “Unless it’s Francoeur”.
Made me smile.
David O'Brien
August 31st, 2010
7:49 pm
Bravito199: No, I don’t think so.
menlobrave
August 31st, 2010
7:50 pm
TedR Any data there on how much time Braves practice vs. Others? Thought not…
Cap
August 31st, 2010
7:50 pm
Derek Lowe is gay?
Rob from SC
August 31st, 2010
7:50 pm
Why did the Braves skip Julio Teheran’s spot after the rain delay yesterday
N8
August 31st, 2010
7:50 pm
Josh from NY, yes I saw it and yes it is pathetic.
Can’t be much more than that at the Ted tonight. Equally as pathetic.
ScottBravesfan
August 31st, 2010
7:51 pm
Josh from NY,
Braves attendance isn’t that much better. Less that 16,000 last week for a Nats game and 18,000 last night. Probably around the same tonight. It’s sad.
BravesFanChris25
August 31st, 2010
7:51 pm
ROSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MIBraveeeeesFan
August 31st, 2010
7:51 pm
Run Ross run!
ijonathan
August 31st, 2010
7:51 pm
Is that Willie Mays out there in CF?
Rob from SC
August 31st, 2010
7:51 pm
Ross with the wheels
cabravesfan
August 31st, 2010
7:52 pm
Holy *@%! Did Rossy just TRIPLE????
Leeeeeee
August 31st, 2010
7:52 pm
Rosssssyyyyyyy
N8
August 31st, 2010
7:52 pm
If healthy, there is no doubt that Beltran makes that catch. Good for us. Too bad for him. The game needs good players like him to be healthy.
jeff
August 31st, 2010
7:53 pm
ok lead off triple and now 1 out.. can we score him?
MIBraveeeeesFan
August 31st, 2010
7:53 pm
Geez!
Rob from SC
August 31st, 2010
7:53 pm
bad display of the fundamentals
jeff
August 31st, 2010
7:54 pm
this game should be 2 -0 … unfreakin believable…..
MIBraveeeeesFan
August 31st, 2010
7:54 pm
Come on J-Hey
N8
August 31st, 2010
7:54 pm
Yup. There’s the team that we all recognize. Not the team that’s one of the statistically best offensive teams in August.
Grant
August 31st, 2010
7:54 pm
Oh, no. Not this sucking with RISP again.
Rob from SC
August 31st, 2010
7:55 pm
have to swing the bat kid
jeff
August 31st, 2010
7:55 pm
just pathetic display of fundementals and basics. runner at 3rd less than 2 outs . JUST PITIFUL
MIBraveeeeesFan
August 31st, 2010
7:56 pm
Another lousy umpire!
cabravesfan
August 31st, 2010
7:56 pm
Ummm…no.
N8
August 31st, 2010
7:56 pm
Ball never even came close to catching the plate.
ijonathan
August 31st, 2010
7:56 pm
That. Was. Not. Even. Close.
JC from DR!
August 31st, 2010
7:56 pm
Amazing. Leadoff triple. No runs.
McFann ♥ ;Ô; ♥ ;Ô; ♥
August 31st, 2010
7:56 pm
DANGIT!!! Not. A. Strike.
Neight Is it just me or does it look like somebody to a Bedazzler to McFann’s name?
What now?
jeff
August 31st, 2010
7:56 pm
THATS TWICE… hey guys ever heard of a FLY BALL..
Peachtree Hobby TV (almost like the big boys)
August 31st, 2010
7:56 pm
So does PTV have a high def broadcast or not? This is two nights in a row that there has been no high def on my cable system. This happened before when PTV broadcasts early week games. Whats up with that? Does TBS steal all the high def gear for their Sunday game of the week and can’t get it back to ATL for the Peachtree broadcast early week?
ijonathan
August 31st, 2010
7:56 pm
Too bad we don’t have Fox-trax, Fox-mo or K-zone tonight…
N8
August 31st, 2010
7:57 pm
But yeah, Heyward has to turn on that pitch and hit it 30 rows deep in the RF seats. Ball just hung and spun on the inner half.
Too close to take. But it wasn’t a strike, so whaddya do?
Jay Dubu
August 31st, 2010
7:57 pm
Tough inning for the Braves’ hitters there.
jeff
August 31st, 2010
7:58 pm
who cares if it wasnt a strike thats twice in the last 2 innings a runner at 3rd and less than 2 outs. and we cant even hit a freakin fly ball…
Peachtree Hobby TV (almost like the big boys)
August 31st, 2010
7:58 pm
Minor just got the same pitch that Heyward had called k 3. I can live with that.
David O'Brien
August 31st, 2010
7:59 pm
Braves have failed to score after leadoff single in 1st, leadoff double in 2nd, leadoff triple in 3rd. Leadoff homer anyone?
clicker
August 31st, 2010
7:59 pm
That clicking sound you hear is thousands of folks with a brain logging off now that the in game whining has started
Brian from SC
August 31st, 2010
7:59 pm
jeff, why is it that you have posted the same thing about 8 times in a row? Give it a rest, take a deep breath, count to 10…
Peachtree Hobby TV (almost like the big boys)
August 31st, 2010
8:00 pm
So does PTV have high def tonight or is MLB network a Mets feed?
Leeeeeee
August 31st, 2010
8:00 pm
Jeff, you forget.We don’t like those early runs.No runs til the 7th!
ijonathan
August 31st, 2010
8:00 pm
Wow…how the hell is that not a strike fo rMinor???
N8
August 31st, 2010
8:00 pm
Minor thought he had him struck out. This ump is HORRIBLE.
BravesFanChris25
August 31st, 2010
8:01 pm
MLBN has Braves feed.
Wayne in Utah
August 31st, 2010
8:01 pm
What’s the story with this umpire? Is he calling a small zone or a large zone. Maybe a variable strike zone?
I like the leadoff HR idea, then another 6-8 hits after that for a good inning.
Leeeeeee
August 31st, 2010
8:02 pm
Yeah DOB, leadoff Jack’ll work!
Peachtree Hobby TV (almost like the big boys)
August 31st, 2010
8:03 pm
BravesFanChris25
August 31st, 2010
8:01 pm
MLBN has Braves feed.
Thanks for the info
Then I’m ticked that my local Charter cable hasn’t picked up the high def feed the last two nights. grrrr
N8
August 31st, 2010
8:03 pm
COME ON MATT!!!! Dive for that ball.
Wayne in Utah
August 31st, 2010
8:03 pm
Chris25
Not out my way. Doing the gameday audio thingy tonight.
At least Minor is getting his pitch count down since the first two innings. I guess if we get 6 out of him that would be OK.
Mr. Turnip-Green Jeans
August 31st, 2010
8:04 pm
Folks here are so laid-back, I think lots of them are just too damned lazy to leave the couch. Also safer for drunks to watch from the comfort of a Lazy Boy, Lawd knows they’s plenty’a them heeuh..
Leeeeeee
August 31st, 2010
8:04 pm
At least the Mutts aren’t bringing their guys home!
jeff
August 31st, 2010
8:04 pm
just basic fundamentals and the coach in me sorry… and yes thats true its not the 7th… and the game isnt on MLBNetwork in NY.
menlobrave
August 31st, 2010
8:04 pm
Positives: Minor looks good (I say as he gives up a bloop); Ernie Johnson is so much better than Chip; Our catcher hits a triple; I just finished my second glass of wine and life is good.
BravesFanChris25
August 31st, 2010
8:05 pm
Wayne in Utah
Oh.
Well for me MLBN is Braves feed and MLB Extra Innings feed. I think whatever feed MLBEI has then that is what MLBN has (only if it’s scheduled to be on MLBN).
N8
August 31st, 2010
8:06 pm
Mets announcers ragging on him for bunting there. Called it a TERRIBLE play. With the pitcher on deck.
Even the home team announcers in NY rag on their team. I love it.
Nothing like to epic ex-Mets players (Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez) ripping on you on the air.
Wayne in Utah
August 31st, 2010
8:06 pm
Minor has a high WHIP, let’s deal him after the game!
jeff
August 31st, 2010
8:07 pm
yes im lazy today and tonight its hot up here in western ny near Lake Ontario. my bad people just shakin my head and want minor a W thats all.
Leeeeeee
August 31st, 2010
8:07 pm
Minor’s good for 6 or 7 tonight.
njbraves
August 31st, 2010
8:09 pm
Minor should take Lowe’s spot in the playoff rotation.
Jay Dubu
August 31st, 2010
8:09 pm
Minor has thrown a lot of pitches already, so, I don’t think he goes past 6.
Leeeeeee
August 31st, 2010
8:09 pm
Wayne, you are joking. Right?
MIBraveeeeesFan
August 31st, 2010
8:10 pm
Maybe the third time will be the charm
Wayne in Utah
August 31st, 2010
8:10 pm
N8
I was wondering about that. On the one hand, he got the pitcher up so they can start the next inning with the leadoff man. On the other hand, you reduce your chance to score to about 10% at that point. I would be OK with a weak hitter doing what he did.
What happened to that leadoff dinger?
Jay Dubu
August 31st, 2010
8:10 pm
The Braves have to get this run in.
jeff
August 31st, 2010
8:10 pm
haha lead off double again.. can we score here LOL…
N8
August 31st, 2010
8:10 pm
Mets got the Braves hitters right where they want them after the leadoff double.
JC from DR!
August 31st, 2010
8:10 pm
Oh cr*p, another leadoff double…
Leeeeeee
August 31st, 2010
8:11 pm
Somebody, please bring Martine home!
Rob from SC
August 31st, 2010
8:11 pm
DLEE comes through
Trey
August 31st, 2010
8:11 pm
Braves lead!
MIBraveeeeesFan
August 31st, 2010
8:11 pm
Yay D Lee!!!
Josh from NY (not NYC)
August 31st, 2010
8:11 pm
D-Lee!!!!!!
McFann ♥ ;Ô; ♥ ;Ô; ♥
August 31st, 2010
8:11 pm
Hooray!!!
JC from DR!
August 31st, 2010
8:11 pm
They score!!!!!!!!!! Finally!
Leeeeeee
August 31st, 2010
8:11 pm
Thank you!
jeff
August 31st, 2010
8:11 pm
FINALLYY. Thank you Derek Lee..
Bravefaninok
August 31st, 2010
8:11 pm
RBI machine….D lee
ijonathan
August 31st, 2010
8:11 pm
Holy Jonny Damon arm batman!
N8
August 31st, 2010
8:12 pm
Mets are lucky that hanger didn’t get deposited in the upper deck.
Nice job Lee.
Wayne in Utah
August 31st, 2010
8:12 pm
Lee
You figured me out!
BravesFanChris25
August 31st, 2010
8:12 pm
A Run!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
N8
August 31st, 2010
8:12 pm
Barry Bonds is sitting somewhere laughing at that throw from LF.
Chris from the Rock
August 31st, 2010
8:12 pm
Vizciano was pulled after 1 inning tonight in WV. I wonder what happened.
Rob from SC
August 31st, 2010
8:13 pm
Heyward will punish Niese next time
JC from DR!
August 31st, 2010
8:13 pm
Beautiful swing!
N8
August 31st, 2010
8:14 pm
He does have a nice curveball when he keeps it low in the zone.
David O'Brien
August 31st, 2010
8:14 pm
Consecutive two-hit games for Lee
Wayne in Utah
August 31st, 2010
8:15 pm
I’d still rather have Ankiel hitting here instead of Melky, though he has come up clutch on occasion. I just like Ankiel’s bat better.
Josh from NY (not NYC)
August 31st, 2010
8:15 pm
In the words of the worst announcer in baseball history, Michael Kay “The Melk Man Delivers”
ijonathan
August 31st, 2010
8:16 pm
Give me some Melky any day over Ankiel.
Wayne in Utah
August 31st, 2010
8:16 pm
Ross is still out of breath from that triple…….
N8
August 31st, 2010
8:17 pm
Is there anything more pitiful than actually hearing 3 fans distinctly participating in the Chop? Doesn’t quite have the same feeling to it as when 45,000 people are doing together.
Reminds me of those 3 guys in the OF bleachers on Major League doing the 2-man “wave”.
Leeeeeee
August 31st, 2010
8:18 pm
I’ll have to remember Wayne not playing with full deck!
bgvt
August 31st, 2010
8:18 pm
Chris from the Rock — I’m hoping Vizciano was only scheduled to pitch one inning as part of his rehab. The fear, of course, is that he had a set back.
Wayne in Utah
August 31st, 2010
8:19 pm
MLB Gameday audio had that second ball easily in the strike zone.
JC from DR!
August 31st, 2010
8:20 pm
That was so cool.
McFann ♥ ;Ô; ♥ ;Ô; ♥
August 31st, 2010
8:20 pm
OK, David, NO need for that kind language…
Wayne in Utah
August 31st, 2010
8:21 pm
Both pitchers with fairly high pitch counts for 4 innings: Niese at 66, Minor at 71.
That could be a good thing for us……..
David O'Brien
August 31st, 2010
8:21 pm
David Wright is now 3-for-45 vs. Braves this season. He has as many errors (3) as hits or RBI in his 13 games vs. ATL.
David O'Brien
August 31st, 2010
8:22 pm
Wright is 0-for-27 at Turner Field this season
TTTT-Thumbody Thed Thats Thupid
August 31st, 2010
8:26 pm
Since Niese is pitching, wonder where da nephew is? (O.K. at least Smoltz would like it)
jeff
August 31st, 2010
8:27 pm
uh oh trouble. those 2 innings might burn us here.
Dan Kolb's Mom
August 31st, 2010
8:27 pm
evening folks
Minor in a bit of a jam, eh?
Jay Dubu
August 31st, 2010
8:27 pm
Gotta get someone up in the bullpen.
Bravissimo
August 31st, 2010
8:27 pm
For a brief second, Minor looked like Avery from the back….taking my mind back to 91
Jay Dubu
August 31st, 2010
8:32 pm
stall for time, and get someone else into the game. The kid has tired out. Has thrown a lot of pitches.
TedR
August 31st, 2010
8:34 pm
That is the worst throw I have seen in quite some time. You wanna talk about not even close. Whoa!!!
Trey
August 31st, 2010
8:35 pm
He is definitely struggling.
Peachtree Hobby TV (almost like the big boys)
August 31st, 2010
8:35 pm
Squeezing the rookie pitcher by the ump ain’t a good circumstance for the Braves
njbraves
August 31st, 2010
8:35 pm
This ump blows.
jeff
August 31st, 2010
8:35 pm
just pathetic. minor walks 3 guys and hes still in there. lets let this game get out of reach reall quick.. hes done COX. hello..
Jay Dubu
August 31st, 2010
8:35 pm
A couple of those pitches to Davis that were strikes, and called balls.
Innocent Bystander
August 31st, 2010
8:36 pm
3 walks in the inning. Not gonna get it done tonight, I’m afraid.
Ed
August 31st, 2010
8:36 pm
derp
BravesFanChris25
August 31st, 2010
8:37 pm
Not a big deal here.
Mitchell
August 31st, 2010
8:37 pm
Come on Mikey.
Dammit.
Mike, you’re killin’ us with the walks.
Dan Kolb's Mom
August 31st, 2010
8:37 pm
killed by walks
Salty Dawg
August 31st, 2010
8:37 pm
What a revolting development this is.
Walks Will Kill Ya
August 31st, 2010
8:37 pm
Enter your comments here
SoWeGa Fanatic
August 31st, 2010
8:37 pm
Strange, even the Blog is poorly attended tonight.
Chris from the Rock
August 31st, 2010
8:37 pm
I’m at the Rome game tonight, but arrived late and missed Vizciano pitch altogether. Bummer.
Mitchell
August 31st, 2010
8:38 pm
Come on Mike.
Trey
August 31st, 2010
8:38 pm
Too bad, he needs to get out of this inning and the Braves need to score for him.
Rob from SC
August 31st, 2010
8:38 pm
GO to EOF now
Tomas
August 31st, 2010
8:38 pm
Beltran is stealing signs.
Salty Dawg
August 31st, 2010
8:38 pm
just pathetic. minor walks 3 guys and hes still in there. lets let this game get out of reach reall quick.. hes done COX. hello..
I take it you didn’t see the bullpen warming up after the second walk. They can’t just pull a guy in there cold you know.
Dan Kolb's Mom
August 31st, 2010
8:38 pm
the ump is terrible. he was calling those corners every inning until now
Rob from SC
August 31st, 2010
8:38 pm
All in all, nice damage control…SO far this is on the offense
MIBraveeeeesFan
August 31st, 2010
8:38 pm
That could have been much worse
SoWeGa Fanatic
August 31st, 2010
8:39 pm
A couple of runs on one hit.
Brian from SC
August 31st, 2010
8:39 pm
Good job by Mike to get out of there alive…pitcher’s spot leads off the next inning. We needed him to finish the inning.
Salty Dawg
August 31st, 2010
8:39 pm
Wright is 0-for-27 at Turner Field this season
As he should be.
Innocent Bystander
August 31st, 2010
8:39 pm
Not too bad, kid
N8
August 31st, 2010
8:39 pm
That was quite possibly the worst inning of home plate umpiring I’ve seen all year. Embarrassing for MLB.
SoWeGa Fanatic
August 31st, 2010
8:40 pm
Why do I still ooze confidence? The Mets, I guess.
Rob from SC
August 31st, 2010
8:41 pm
This ump is helping the Mets
Salty Dawg
August 31st, 2010
8:41 pm
That was quite possibly the worst inning of home plate umpiring I’ve seen all year. Embarrassing for MLB.
That’s saying a lot. There has been some very bad umpiring this season.
Daniel
August 31st, 2010
8:41 pm
Why can’t our starting pitchers not throw strikes all of a sudden???? Lowe couldn’t throw strikes the other day. JJ was having trouble throwing strikes. And now Minor is having trouble throwing strikes. It’s like we are walking everyone all of a sudden. Come on, guys. Tighten it up!!
BravesFanChris25
August 31st, 2010
8:41 pm
Nate is up!!!!!!!!
Mitchell
August 31st, 2010
8:41 pm
Check it out.
It’s Nate Francoeur.
N8
August 31st, 2010
8:42 pm
McLouth against a tough lefty, huh?
OK.
Fols
August 31st, 2010
8:42 pm
Lets see if Nate is any different…come on boy!
Salty Dawg
August 31st, 2010
8:42 pm
Sucks the way that inning went down for Minor, but all in all you can’t really complain about a 5 inning 2 run outing. Well you could, but you shouldn’t.
Salty Dawg
August 31st, 2010
8:43 pm
Look at that! Nate getting on base already.
SoWeGa Fanatic
August 31st, 2010
8:43 pm
“The Dodgers pulled Ted Lilly back off of waivers after the Yankees won the claim on the left-hander”
BWAHAHAH! $260 million payroll is begging for starting pitching. Go Dodgers!
BravesFanChris25
August 31st, 2010
8:43 pm
Not a comfy way to get on base there
MIBraveeeeesFan
August 31st, 2010
8:43 pm
Tough way to get on base there for Nate
N8
August 31st, 2010
8:43 pm
Way to take one for the team Nate-Dawg.
Welcome back.
RHR
August 31st, 2010
8:43 pm
Finally, a productive at bat from the leprechaun.
Fols
August 31st, 2010
8:43 pm
What a great at-bat…he should wait till he gets hit every time up!
Brian from SC
August 31st, 2010
8:43 pm
Nice at-bat for Nate. Good start.
jeffrey d
August 31st, 2010
8:43 pm
Nate McLouth?? Man, I need to keep up with the headlines more. I had no idea he was back
SoWeGa Fanatic
August 31st, 2010
8:43 pm
Attaboy, Nate. You have inmproved!
Salty Dawg
August 31st, 2010
8:44 pm
BWAHAHAH! $260 million payroll is begging for starting pitching. Go Dodgers!
I gotta say, that does make me smile.
Mitchell
August 31st, 2010
8:44 pm
Get ball four kid!
Is there an echo in here?
Mitchell
August 31st, 2010
8:44 pm
Come on Omar.
Make it happen.
MIBraveeeeesFan
August 31st, 2010
8:45 pm
Yeeeah!
BravesFanChris25
August 31st, 2010
8:45 pm
OMAR!!!!!!!!!!!!
STAY HOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dan Kolb's Mom
August 31st, 2010
8:45 pm
HAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHA
MUTTS
Mitchell
August 31st, 2010
8:45 pm
Casty never makes an error.
cabravesfan
August 31st, 2010
8:45 pm
Excellent D by the gold glover…
hootdaddy-18
August 31st, 2010
8:45 pm
dang, McLouth is good for something
N8
August 31st, 2010
8:45 pm
THERE’S the Mets we love. LOL!
Yikes.
Innocent Bystander
August 31st, 2010
8:46 pm
hahahahahahahahahaha
SoWeGa Fanatic
August 31st, 2010
8:46 pm
Jeffrey, you think that would be a headline?
Dan Kolb's Mom
August 31st, 2010
8:46 pm
YES YES YES YES
BamaDude @ CowCollege AL
August 31st, 2010
8:46 pm
let’s do it Jason !!
BravesFanChris25
August 31st, 2010
8:46 pm
J HEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Trey
August 31st, 2010
8:46 pm
J-HAY!!!!!
BamaDude @ CowCollege AL
August 31st, 2010
8:46 pm
Jason is on FIRE !!!!!!!!
Salty Dawg
August 31st, 2010
8:46 pm
Boo yah! Who is the Heyward kid? Is he any good?
Mitchell
August 31st, 2010
8:46 pm
God, it’s got to suck to be a Met.
That had to hurt to watch that as a Mets fan.
Now we’re talkin’.
Dan Kolb's Mom
August 31st, 2010
8:46 pm
BABY HEYWARD!!!!
I DIDNT EVEN HAVE MAH PANTS OFF
N8
August 31st, 2010
8:47 pm
Damn does he hit the ball hard. Stayed on that pitch against the lefty.
RHR
August 31st, 2010
8:47 pm
anyone else having trouble with the blog loading?
yay hey! two thumbs up!
GovClintonTyree
August 31st, 2010
8:47 pm
Man, Heyward hits the dogsh!t out of the ball.
cabravesfan
August 31st, 2010
8:47 pm
Jason!!
jeffrey d
August 31st, 2010
8:47 pm
Well, it is a headline
•McLouth recalled from Gwinnett Tuesday, more likely to get postseason nod
TedR
August 31st, 2010
8:47 pm
Rook is rounding into form at just about the right time. Hope he has 2 months of this in him.
McFann ♥ :Ô: ♥ :Ô: ♥
August 31st, 2010
8:47 pm
Heyward is on a ROLL!!!!!
BamaDude @ CowCollege AL
August 31st, 2010
8:47 pm
Mitchell …I hear ya !!
Fols
August 31st, 2010
8:47 pm
Gawd the kids bringing it! Holy crap!
Trey
August 31st, 2010
8:48 pm
We got so lucky with that error by the second baseman!
SpazzHH
August 31st, 2010
8:48 pm
Nate scores the tying run. McLouth for MVP!!!
Salty Dawg
August 31st, 2010
8:48 pm
anyone else having trouble with the blog loading?
YES
Leeeeeee
August 31st, 2010
8:48 pm
J-Hey it wouldn’t hurt you to smile, every now and then.
BravesFanChris25
August 31st, 2010
8:48 pm
MARTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
RHR
August 31st, 2010
8:48 pm
marteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen
MIBraveeeeesFan
August 31st, 2010
8:48 pm
Good job Marteeeen!
N8
August 31st, 2010
8:48 pm
Minor made that pitch 3 times and never got the call.
Mitchell
August 31st, 2010
8:48 pm
I feel bad for Niese.
His defense is failing him pretty miserably.
BamaDude @ CowCollege AL
August 31st, 2010
8:48 pm
Marteen !!
Tomas
August 31st, 2010
8:48 pm
Braves were really lucky there…. God who needs to get on base for bobby to steal. One run ball game. Infante hit a taylor made double play that Castillo misplayed. Mclouth is supposed to be the best base stealer in the team isn’t he?
MIBraveeeeesFan
August 31st, 2010
8:48 pm
Yes Salty
GovClintonTyree
August 31st, 2010
8:49 pm
Jason, I’m wondering why Snit stopped you, too.
chilidog75
August 31st, 2010
8:49 pm
It just ain’t right how hard Heyward hits the ball. Those aren’t normal line drives.
cabravesfan
August 31st, 2010
8:49 pm
Anyone else’s blog running at sloth speed? This is really annoying…
Trey
August 31st, 2010
8:49 pm
I am having trouble.
Salty Dawg
August 31st, 2010
8:49 pm
So, Kendrick pitching for the Phils tonight huh. Could bode well for the Braves.
MIBraveeeeesFan
August 31st, 2010
8:49 pm
Or RHR rather, sorry
Rock On..........
August 31st, 2010
8:49 pm
Oh my…..this blog should be taken down in-game. Whoever mentioned that last year is so correct. ” ump blows”, “minors in a jam”, “melkey”!……really really grade school commentary overwhelming a great blog.
Trey
August 31st, 2010
8:49 pm
cab, mine is slow.
TM
August 31st, 2010
8:50 pm
This Homeplate umpire blows.
He is so inconsistent.
I’m sure he is driving both teams pitchers crazy. I know he is pissing off some of the batters.
BravesFanChris25
August 31st, 2010
8:50 pm
DLee!!!!!!!!!!
Trey
August 31st, 2010
8:50 pm
LEE-O, LET’S GO!!!!
MIBraveeeeesFan
August 31st, 2010
8:50 pm
How many lengthy comments do you expect while people are watching the game?
Dan Kolb's Mom
August 31st, 2010
8:50 pm
DOB you guys need to clear your wordpress caches or something. this loading is ridiculous.
Don
August 31st, 2010
8:51 pm
Jason getting hot just when we need him most. Glad to see it.
jeffrey d
August 31st, 2010
8:51 pm
Mine loads right away…no problems
Salty Dawg
August 31st, 2010
8:51 pm
I’m not gay, but I might go a little gay for Heyward if he keeps this up.
chilidog75
August 31st, 2010
8:52 pm
Diaz needs to get something done here. Because Gonzo has looked horrid lately.
Salty Dawg
August 31st, 2010
8:52 pm
DOB you guys need to clear your wordpress caches or something. this loading is ridiculous.
Funny thing is, it only appears to be this blog. I can click through the rest of the ajc website with no delays.
Trey
August 31st, 2010
8:52 pm
Diaz, ruined everything.
Jk, but let’s keep it up Braves!
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
8:53 pm
Damn blog, cooperate. You’re not letting me Marteeeeen or anything.
RHR
August 31st, 2010
8:53 pm
Well, it is a headline
Reads more like a punchline.
Jeffrey – I’ve been looking over trophies for the fantasy league. Heh. Got it narrowed down to a couple different ones for the winner, got the loser one picked out already and maybe will do an MVP, which will of course be awarded to either me or Soph.
Mitchell
August 31st, 2010
8:53 pm
Matt sucks.
I said I would give him a break for a day or two after the home run.
The statute of limitations has expired. He sucks again.
Daniel
August 31st, 2010
8:53 pm
Geez. Strike out with the sacs juiced and 0 outs. That’s sad.
Leeeeeee
August 31st, 2010
8:53 pm
The baseball gods are smilin on the Braves!! First McOut gets on base, then Mutts error.
Dan Kolb's Mom
August 31st, 2010
8:53 pm
what the hell was that
cabravesfan
August 31st, 2010
8:53 pm
Seems to be better now
MATTEEEEEE!!!
No pushing Marteeen!
Trey
August 31st, 2010
8:53 pm
That was aweful, but one run scored.
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
8:53 pm
That was strange.
McFann ♥ :Ô: ♥ :Ô: ♥
August 31st, 2010
8:54 pm
Oh snap…dangit, Pardo!
chilidog75
August 31st, 2010
8:54 pm
Nice job Gonzo …. but how, how, HOW do you get a runner thrown out at home by THAT much with less than two outs? Bases should still be loaded.
GovClintonTyree
August 31st, 2010
8:54 pm
On the rare occasions when you get into the Braves’ bullpen early, you face Cristhian Martinez and Eric O’Flaherty. When you get into the Mets’ pen, you get Elmer Dessens and Oliver Perez.
RHR
August 31st, 2010
8:54 pm
lol at marteeeen.
holy crap, niese, if new guy can get a hit off of ya….
BamaDude @ CowCollege AL
August 31st, 2010
8:54 pm
blog be sloth-like tonight
BravesFanChris25
August 31st, 2010
8:54 pm
Insurance
cabravesfan
August 31st, 2010
8:54 pm
Mitchell
August 31st, 2010
8:54 pm
Wow, it seems like we should have scored five runs by now.
Not exactly putting them away are we?
I Miss Ted Turner (formerly I Love Derrek Lee)
August 31st, 2010
8:54 pm
We need more runs to win this game.
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
8:55 pm
Ooh, I’ve never gotten a trophy before.
Dan Kolb's Mom
August 31st, 2010
8:55 pm
should have lowered the shoulders and trucked him.
Tomas
August 31st, 2010
8:55 pm
DOB is Marek getting a call up?
TedR
August 31st, 2010
8:55 pm
What was Marteeen doing there….the hokey-pokey….lmao
True that on watching the game rather than making long drawn out comments.
jeffrey d
August 31st, 2010
8:55 pm
Sounds good RHR….let me know if you’d like me to help with anything.
Salty Dawg
August 31st, 2010
8:55 pm
At least the Braves are winning. If we had the routine whining and Phillies trolls blowing it up tonight the blog would really be slow.
SpazzHH
August 31st, 2010
8:56 pm
Trey – How is Citi Field these days?
Salty Dawg
August 31st, 2010
8:56 pm
ROSS the BOSS is going to get it done.
RHR
August 31st, 2010
8:57 pm
lol it looked like marteeen was trying to climb blanco or something haha
BravesfaninMD
August 31st, 2010
8:57 pm
WTF was Snitker thinking sending Prado on that?
SpazzHH
August 31st, 2010
8:58 pm
Come on Rossy, show us how a real catcher gets a double!!!
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
8:58 pm
Oh joy. We may get to see lucky charms twice in the same inning.
BravesfaninMD
August 31st, 2010
8:58 pm
What was Snitker thinking sending Prado on that?
Leeeeeee
August 31st, 2010
8:59 pm
Ross needs to go yard here.
Salty Dawg
August 31st, 2010
8:59 pm
The BOSS!
BamaDude @ CowCollege AL
August 31st, 2010
8:59 pm
BOOM !!!!!!!!!!
Dan Kolb's Mom
August 31st, 2010
8:59 pm
D ROSS SUPERTATER
cabravesfan
August 31st, 2010
8:59 pm
ROSSY!!!!
Pameeeeeee
August 31st, 2010
8:59 pm
Yes, my blog won’t change pages or refresh
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
8:59 pm
Way to go, dumbfounded!
I Miss Ted Turner (formerly I Love Derrek Lee)
August 31st, 2010
8:59 pm
Yay – more runs!
BravesFanChris25
August 31st, 2010
8:59 pm
David Ross
chilidog75
August 31st, 2010
8:59 pm
Best set of catchers in baseball, folks.
McFann ♥ :Ô: ♥ :Ô: ♥
August 31st, 2010
8:59 pm
RALLY KILLER!!
DiamondbackMac
August 31st, 2010
8:59 pm
WOW
bp
August 31st, 2010
8:59 pm
rossy
Tomas
August 31st, 2010
8:59 pm
Minor in line for the win and be 3-0…..Way to go Rossy
MIBraveeeeesFan
August 31st, 2010
8:59 pm
How’s that for building the lead?!
Leeeeeee
August 31st, 2010
8:59 pm
Never mind!!!!!
Trey
August 31st, 2010
8:59 pm
Folks, not going to lie. I had grand slam in my head, but I didn’t type it here because my computer was in hibernation mode, as the battery is about to die.
Mitchell
August 31st, 2010
8:59 pm
I definitely feel bad for the Mets right now.
Sorry Mets.
RHR
August 31st, 2010
9:00 pm
did david ross save a family of 11 from a burning building today or something?
……….
i won’t erase that after he hit the slammy but wow. and i just thought he was getting a lot of admiration before that. something tells me i aint seen nothing yet.
BravesfaninMD
August 31st, 2010
9:00 pm
Well, it doesn’t matter now!! Way to go, Rossy!!
cabravesfan
August 31st, 2010
9:00 pm
McFann-
I nearly choked on my wine at that comment!
RHR
August 31st, 2010
9:00 pm
you would, mitchell.
BamaDude @ CowCollege AL
August 31st, 2010
9:00 pm
I do believe Leeeeee might have called that Slam !! …nice
Salty Dawg
August 31st, 2010
9:00 pm
I hate to say it, but they need to trade Ross this winter. He’s too good to be a backup.
Trey
August 31st, 2010
9:00 pm
You were saying Mitch?
BravesFanChris25
August 31st, 2010
9:00 pm
That’s GS number 6 of the year right?
Mitchell
August 31st, 2010
9:01 pm
I would be pissed as hell if I was that guy.
Luis totally cox blocked him with that ridiculous error.
Leeeeeee
August 31st, 2010
9:01 pm
I called that one.
brian
August 31st, 2010
9:01 pm
this probably has been debated here, but why is McOut likely to get a post-season nod. He hit .234 – at AAA! He is a defensive liability in that he will not try to throw runners out. Why waste a needed roster spot on a pinch runner?
DiamondbackMac
August 31st, 2010
9:01 pm
And, that puts Minor in line for another win.
RHR
August 31st, 2010
9:01 pm
congratulations, trey. you should play the lotto.
bravofan
August 31st, 2010
9:01 pm
I was thinking as I watched He is going to hit a salami right here and sure enough he did!!
BravesFanChris25
August 31st, 2010
9:02 pm
McClouth going for a HR too? >_>
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
9:02 pm
Leprechaun.
Again.
Yay.
braveslifer
August 31st, 2010
9:02 pm
Ross is the Man! We have to get the most production out of our catchers then any team in the league…
.580
August 31st, 2010
9:02 pm
Couldn’t buy a slam last year…..now six!
Sweet!
geauxbraves2000
August 31st, 2010
9:02 pm
Good stuff McFann
I Miss Ted Turner (formerly I Love Derrek Lee)
August 31st, 2010
9:02 pm
McLouth being McLouth. He’ll always suck.
BravesfaninMD
August 31st, 2010
9:02 pm
Hope we see KK tonight!! Let ‘em pitch the rest of the game.
BravesFanChris25
August 31st, 2010
9:02 pm
I meant McLouth >_>
It’s moot now though >_>
RHR
August 31st, 2010
9:02 pm
i was just thinking ‘i bet JJ is going to be really goofy and annoying in the promo’ and walla. he was.
Jinx
August 31st, 2010
9:02 pm
I sure hope we don’t run out. (of whoopass)
McFann ♥ :Ô: ♥ :Ô: ♥
August 31st, 2010
9:03 pm
RHR and i just thought he was getting a lot of admiration before that. something tells me i aint seen nothing yet.
Haha, seriously…
cabravesfan I nearly choked on my wine at that comment!
Leeeeeee
August 31st, 2010
9:03 pm
Thanks Bamadude, I was posting just as he hit it.
Doc Holiday
August 31st, 2010
9:03 pm
What is the McClown doing here?
RHR
August 31st, 2010
9:03 pm
how many slams do the phillies have this year mixxo?
bp
August 31st, 2010
9:03 pm
Mclouth did his job.Making another out.
Chris from the Rock
August 31st, 2010
9:03 pm
Salcedo just laid down a beautiful bunt for a single. Rome still up 3-1.
FEAR
August 31st, 2010
9:03 pm
damn ross!!! We love the GS this year!
McFann ♥ :Ô: ♥ :Ô: ♥
August 31st, 2010
9:04 pm
geauxbraves2000—
Thanks!
TedR
August 31st, 2010
9:04 pm
Probably is a competition right now between McLouth and Ankiel, I would think. Will be an interesting side battle to watch.
David O'Brien
August 31st, 2010
9:04 pm
First career slammage for D. Ross.
Can’t believe he left Niese in that long.
There are reasons the Mets have won back-to-back games only once in the past 60 games. Many reasons. We’re seeing a few.
bravofan
August 31st, 2010
9:05 pm
McClouth is back to his old ways. He is hustling and running hard though I bet aaa did he some good and he takes over in center
Salty Dawg
August 31st, 2010
9:05 pm
i was just thinking ‘i bet JJ is going to be really goofy and annoying in the promo’ and walla. he was.
It’s actually “voila”.
FEAR
August 31st, 2010
9:05 pm
David O’Brien – indeed! How does manuel still have a job?
ijonathan
August 31st, 2010
9:05 pm
Don’t y’all think back fondly to the likes of…Corky Miller?
.580
August 31st, 2010
9:06 pm
RHR – Don’t know….don’t care.
But, I’m sure you’ll let me know when you find out!
Now STFU!! …and let me enjoy this ballgame ok?
Jay Dubu
August 31st, 2010
9:06 pm
Monir is the new D. Lowe when it comes to run support.
Salty Dawg
August 31st, 2010
9:06 pm
Salcedo just laid down a beautiful bunt for a single. Rome still up 3-1.
A bunt? He’ll never make it in this organization.
bravofan
August 31st, 2010
9:06 pm
dont even remind me of corky and I know he wasant a catcher but what about Greg Norton anyone??
BravesfaninMD
August 31st, 2010
9:06 pm
If this remains a 6-run lead, I will not be happy to see Wagner AGAIN!
Dan Kolb's Mom
August 31st, 2010
9:07 pm
if we can get through the order 2 more times Ross will have a shot at the cycle
Rob from SC
August 31st, 2010
9:07 pm
Good to have Eric back
TM
August 31st, 2010
9:07 pm
hahahah… I just love pounding the Mets.
It just makes me feel good all over. lmao
CaptainMudderland
August 31st, 2010
9:07 pm
Whatever has been said regarding the offense–good and otherwise; this team seems to have a propensity for the grandsalami
bravofan
August 31st, 2010
9:07 pm
root root root for the dodgers possible 4 game lead?
Tomas
August 31st, 2010
9:08 pm
Nate if given a chance to throw a base runner he better take it. That really bothers me about him.
DiamondbackMac
August 31st, 2010
9:08 pm
McFann
Now we know why he was wearing Brian’s mask. He wanted some of the HR mojo to wear off on him. Looks like it worked.
BamaDude @ CowCollege AL
August 31st, 2010
9:08 pm
Leeeeee …I just love it when that happens (you’re welcome) …hehe
RHR
August 31st, 2010
9:08 pm
by all means, enjoy it, mixxo.
salty, no, its walla. do i look like and idiot to you?
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
9:08 pm
Go sit down
Salty Dawg
August 31st, 2010
9:08 pm
I really hope we hold on to win this game. Puts a lot of pressure on Philly tonight.
BamaDude @ CowCollege AL
August 31st, 2010
9:09 pm
Go Dodgers !!!!
BravesfaninMD
August 31st, 2010
9:09 pm
Hessman has been around a looooong time it seems.
Leeeeeee
August 31st, 2010
9:09 pm
Sorry Frenchy, you thought we was gonna give you one more win at the Ted. Not going to happen dude!
Rob from SC
August 31st, 2010
9:09 pm
DOB
How did Eric catch Mono?
Bravissimo
August 31st, 2010
9:09 pm
I hope we have “slammage” against the phillies and rub in their nose
Tomas
August 31st, 2010
9:09 pm
Minor has been getting some serious run support.
RHR
August 31st, 2010
9:09 pm
i hadn’t heard the rangers wanted frenchy until joe said it earlier.
he fits in so well with the mets.
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
9:10 pm
Good job, EOF!
BravesfaninMD
August 31st, 2010
9:10 pm
Sweet job there.
Salty Dawg
August 31st, 2010
9:10 pm
hahahah… I just love pounding the Mets.
It just makes me feel good all over. lmao
Meh. It’s almost not fun anymore. The Nats are more of a challenge.
BamaDude @ CowCollege AL
August 31st, 2010
9:10 pm
I could never, never feel sorry for the mets …hehe
FEAR
August 31st, 2010
9:11 pm
hahaha Agreed! Screw the NY Mess!!
CaptainMudderland
August 31st, 2010
9:12 pm
In retrospect…perhaps that debacle in Colorado was a blessing, or a motivator for our Bravos!
McFann ♥ :Ô: ♥ :Ô: ♥
August 31st, 2010
9:12 pm
DOB First career slammage for D. Ross.
Cool! Congrats, David!
DBackMac–
Haha! I think you’re right!
bravofan
August 31st, 2010
9:12 pm
can anyone else believe we could have a 4 game lead at the end of tonight??
MIBraveeeeesFan
August 31st, 2010
9:12 pm
DiamondbackMac
August 31st, 2010
9:08 pm
McFann
Now we know why he was wearing Brian’s mask. He wanted some of the HR mojo to wear off on him. Looks like it worked.
I like that explanation!
brian
August 31st, 2010
9:13 pm
WIth Heyward, Ankiel, Melky, Diaz, and Hinske, why do we need Nate in the post-season? I would rather have Freddie or Glaus as a bench player than have Nate as a bench player. No they are not OF but we do not need another OF on the bench especially one that can’t hit and doesn’t throw
Calvin
August 31st, 2010
9:13 pm
It’s strange. Minor is in line for another win….
FEAR
August 31st, 2010
9:13 pm
bravofan
hope so…..but dont jinx it!
bravofan
August 31st, 2010
9:13 pm
this is from mlbtrade rumors
The Rangers and Mets are discussing a deal that would send Joaquin Arias to the Mets for Francoeur, according to Heyman (on Twitter). The Rangers designated Arias for assignment last week to make room for former Met Alex Cora, of all people.
Leeeeeee
August 31st, 2010
9:13 pm
Alright, just for you stat junkies: What is the most slammer jammers ever hit in a season by a single team?
RHR
August 31st, 2010
9:14 pm
oh thats bad about frenchy’s agent’s little girl. i didnt see that happen.
BamaDude @ CowCollege AL
August 31st, 2010
9:14 pm
bravofan …counting before hatching, yes ??
jeff
August 31st, 2010
9:14 pm
wow and who starts it off the bum himself Nate Mclouth and then the Slam by Ross wow. way to pick up Minor Boys. punish these hosers called the Mets ..
Tomas
August 31st, 2010
9:14 pm
Oh come on Venters…..let him rest bobby, use Kawakami
McFann ♥ :Ô: ♥ :Ô: ♥
August 31st, 2010
9:15 pm
Yikes! I didn’t see that foul ball, either…Hope she’s gonna be alright!
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
9:15 pm
oh thats bad about frenchy’s agent’s little girl. i didnt see that happen.
What happened?
FEAR
August 31st, 2010
9:15 pm
yeah hell, get KK some time in.
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
9:15 pm
Oh, yikes. Hope she’s ok.
I Miss Ted Turner (formerly I Love Derrek Lee)
August 31st, 2010
9:16 pm
Bobby is hellbent on ruining Venters’s arm.
N8
August 31st, 2010
9:16 pm
“Can’t believe he left Niese in that long….. There are reasons the Mets have won back-to-back games only once in the past 60 games. Many reasons. We’re seeing a few.” DOB
Now, I would never argue with you just for the sake of arguing, you know that right?
Anyhow, I was thinking the same thing. But if you’re going to think that way, then you have to feel the same way about Cox leving Minor in.
Niese had thrown less pitches. The mess that was started by the HBP, was compounded by the error.
Minor was one bad pitch away from giving up 4-5 runs that inning as opposed to just the 2.
Niese could have EASILY been out of that inning without giving up any runs without the error.
Stizz
August 31st, 2010
9:16 pm
I’m with you Tomas. And for that reason plus the higher batting average plus the laser arm, i’m guessing Ankiel gets the nod.
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
9:16 pm
I’m gonna Marteeeeeeen now since it wouldn’t let me Marteeeeeen earlier.
brian
August 31st, 2010
9:17 pm
maybe Wren thought the blog was getting stale so he brought Nate back up and announced that they are planning for him to be on their post-season roster
bravofan
August 31st, 2010
9:17 pm
I never said it guys im changing my name if the phills win tonight ha
Gil In Mechanicsville
August 31st, 2010
9:17 pm
Hit by a foul ball, they only showed it for a few seconds last night
MiaBchBravesFan
August 31st, 2010
9:18 pm
You just have to laugh. Bobby sure does love to fit square pegs into round holes.
He actually gave McLouth an at-bat and is letting him play CF! Good grief!
Or better yet, “In the Name of Greg Norton!”
Dan Kolb's Mom
August 31st, 2010
9:18 pm
Venters again? really?
BravesfaninMD
August 31st, 2010
9:19 pm
I hate the way Bobby totally disregards the lead and just goes with his “automatics” every frigging night…. IT WILL CATCH UP WITH HIM!!!
N8
August 31st, 2010
9:19 pm
Forgot to add DOB, sometimes a manager can find out a lot about a young pitcher in an outing like this, moving forward towards next year.
Sometimes just gotta let a kid take his lumps. Only way how to learn how to get out of messes like that and pick up your teammates is to be given the opportunity to do so.
I can remember Glavine and Smoltz both being left in too long early in their careers. But the Braves were 10, 15, 20 games out of first place.
So why not? What better time to do it?
Bravissimo
August 31st, 2010
9:19 pm
McFann…if we keep going like this…your turtles will be driving a car with a boat and trailer on the back!!
I Miss Ted Turner (formerly I Love Derrek Lee)
August 31st, 2010
9:19 pm
I think the only way to get rid of McLouth would be to kill him. There’s an idea…
braveslifer
August 31st, 2010
9:19 pm
Everyday Venters no lead to big or no situation to meaningless for his use…
Mitchell
August 31st, 2010
9:21 pm
Ah yes. Venters.
He is badly needed in this situation.
Why can’t we run Farnseworth into the ground? Why’s it always gotta be JV?
It’s just pointless.
brian
August 31st, 2010
9:21 pm
what a waste of Venters tonight
Tomas
August 31st, 2010
9:21 pm
SCOTT PROCTOR WILL GET A CALL UP with a 7.08 ERA in AAA in 31 games and Stephen Marek won’t with a 1.51 ERA in 46 games AAA.
The only logic I can think this would make sense is that Marek has pitched a lot and is showing signs of fatigue, and Proctor is fresh finally getting in a groove and he has the experience etc.
tvsportscaster
August 31st, 2010
9:21 pm
Tomas they can’t use Kawakami because he was optioned out for one day to make room for McLouth on the roster
FEAR
August 31st, 2010
9:22 pm
jeez venters again?!! Is his arm made out of wolverine’s skeleton?
Stizz
August 31st, 2010
9:22 pm
KK in minors for the night. Setting up for a Farnsworth/Dunn 8th and 9th.
TM
August 31st, 2010
9:22 pm
“Bobby is hellbent on ruining Venters’s arm.”
Totally Agree. Everyone talks about how great BC is managing players and getting people in and out of the lineup…. B.S.
When Venters’ arm falls off late this year or next year, we will have Bobby to blame because of nights like this.
J-Hey
August 31st, 2010
9:22 pm
Venters being used … chances of seeing Wagner, increasing?
Trey
August 31st, 2010
9:22 pm
RHR, I’d play the lotto, but I would lose my abilities to predict anything.
Gil In Mechanicsville
August 31st, 2010
9:23 pm
Bobby is just giving the New York press guys a look at Venters.
Rob from SC
August 31st, 2010
9:23 pm
In all fairness, Johnny needed some work…He has been a little shaky lately.
BravesfaninMD
August 31st, 2010
9:23 pm
I forgot that KK wasn’t up yet…. as long as Wags doesn’t pitch, then I won’t bitch.
Goldenglove002
August 31st, 2010
9:23 pm
DOB, aren’t the Braves going to have to make some roster moves in order to bring up Proctor and Boscan? Neither are on the 40 man. Also, any chance we see Marek, Hicks, or Canizares (also not on 40) up at any point in September for some depth?
McFann ♥ :Ô: ♥ :Ô: ♥
August 31st, 2010
9:24 pm
Sopheeee I’m gonna Marteeeeeeen now since it wouldn’t let me Marteeeeeen earlier.
Were you having trouble reloading the Blog earlier, too?
Bravissimo–
Hahahaha!
Rodney Derrick
August 31st, 2010
9:24 pm
It is great to listen to Mets announcers, especially Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez. They question and criticize everything and call the umpires, players, and managers wrong no matter which team is screwing up or being burned. When the Braves play them, listen as it is far more informative. Of course when the Braves play the Dodgers in LA, you have to listen to the incredible Vin Scully. Otherwise, the Braves guys are cool, especially when Smoltz or Glavine are doing the color and analysis.
MiaBchBravesFan
August 31st, 2010
9:24 pm
What are the chances we see Martinez in the 8th and Farnsworth in the 9th?
Tomas
August 31st, 2010
9:25 pm
Since acquiring Derek Lee Braves offense has exploded. In 10 games they’ve scored 70 runs. 7 runs per game not counting this one.
I Miss Ted Turner (formerly I Love Derrek Lee)
August 31st, 2010
9:25 pm
He’s been shaky because Bobby’s overused him. Buster Olney said he thought Venters looked gassed in his last few outings.
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
9:26 pm
Yes, McFann. It wouldn’t load at all for a few minutes. Right when all the good stuff was happening too!
MIBraveeeeesFan
August 31st, 2010
9:26 pm
D Lee is really heating up!
I Miss Ted Turner (formerly I Love Derrek Lee)
August 31st, 2010
9:26 pm
Derrek’s coming around.
BamaDude @ CowCollege AL
August 31st, 2010
9:26 pm
DLee warmin’ up !!!
McFann ♥ :Ô: ♥ :Ô: ♥
August 31st, 2010
9:26 pm
Nice! DLee for cleanup.
BravesfaninMD
August 31st, 2010
9:26 pm
Nice to see Lee getting his swing back.
BravesFanChris25
August 31st, 2010
9:26 pm
Lee getting hot?
Tomas
August 31st, 2010
9:27 pm
Moylan had shoulder fatigue
Tomas
August 31st, 2010
9:27 pm
Rick Ankiel warming up
I Miss Ted Turner (formerly I Love Derrek Lee)
August 31st, 2010
9:27 pm
Take your base.
DiamondbackMac
August 31st, 2010
9:27 pm
MIBraveeeeesFan
If the mask worked for Ross, I wonder what might happen if they made McClouth wear Heyward’s jock.
BravesfaninMD
August 31st, 2010
9:27 pm
Let’s get some more!!!
MiaBchBravesFan
August 31st, 2010
9:28 pm
Good time to bring in Diory, no? Give Gonzo a breather.
MIBraveeeeesFan
August 31st, 2010
9:28 pm
“McFann ♥ :Ô: ♥ :Ô: ♥
August 31st, 2010
9:26 pm
Nice! DLee for cleanup.”
He’s doing a pretty good job supporting your campaign
MiaBchBravesFan
August 31st, 2010
9:29 pm
Ah, Diory, right on cue! D. Lee is making me look like a FREAKIN’ GENIUS!!!
chilidog75
August 31st, 2010
9:29 pm
Man. It sure is nice to see D Lee actually driving the ball.
Those swings don’t look like any he’s had since he’s been here. Very nice to see.
I Miss Ted Turner (formerly I Love Derrek Lee)
August 31st, 2010
9:30 pm
Let’s get some more runs. Pour it on, boys.
jeff
August 31st, 2010
9:30 pm
Lets goo Braves and 30 mins till game time in LA. Lets go Dodgers. hopefully Kendrick is his bad self and give up 10 runs and Monasterios can hold them down
McFann ♥ :Ô: ♥ :Ô: ♥
August 31st, 2010
9:30 pm
Sopheeee It wouldn’t load at all for a few minutes. Right when all the good stuff was happening too!
I think that’s when mine acted up, too…came back on shortly before Ross’ slam.
bravesgrl4lifeeeee
August 31st, 2010
9:31 pm
Another night of ministry-related stuff, so not getting to watch the game, except on gamecast now. Listened to what I could on the way home from the church. Got out of the car and we’d just scored the 3rd run. Come in, turn on the laptop and pull up Facebook. Whatya know it’s 8-2. Gosh, I love these Braves!!!!
McFann ♥ :Ô: ♥ :Ô: ♥
August 31st, 2010
9:31 pm
MIBravesFan—
And BMac’s going against it!
Who cares, so long as they’re hitting now!
chilidog75
August 31st, 2010
9:31 pm
You guys hating on McLouth …. well, it’s with good reason. He’s been god awful. But that was a VERY GOOD at-bat to start that last inning … got down 0-2 and worked a walk off a tough lefty. Started the whole inning. Give the dude some credit at least. For that.
MiaBchBravesFan
August 31st, 2010
9:31 pm
(AHEM!) LET’S REMEMBER WHO ADAMANTLY CALLED FOR D. LEE TO BE A BRAVO!!! WELL OVER A MONTH AGO!!!
Good or bad, I am riding the D. Lee-#1-fan-train ’til the end of the season!
MIBraveeeeesFan
August 31st, 2010
9:32 pm
“DiamondbackMac
August 31st, 2010
9:27 pm
MIBraveeeeesFan
If the mask worked for Ross, I wonder what might happen if they made McClouth wear Heyward’s jock.”
I’m sure a lot of people on here can come up with a lot of creative responses to that, but I’m not going to be one of them.
I Miss Ted Turner (formerly I Love Derrek Lee)
August 31st, 2010
9:32 pm
The gelatinous one!
BravesFanChris25
August 31st, 2010
9:32 pm
MELKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BamaDude @ CowCollege AL
August 31st, 2010
9:32 pm
Melky again !!
Rob from SC
August 31st, 2010
9:32 pm
THe Braves will move Chipper and Medlen to the 60 day DL and will have the required 3 open spots on 40 man
MIBraveeeeesFan
August 31st, 2010
9:32 pm
Good job Melky!
McFann ♥ :Ô: ♥ :Ô: ♥
August 31st, 2010
9:32 pm
Enjoying the game, BMac?
Yay, Melky!
tigeeeeer297
August 31st, 2010
9:32 pm
there going to hold speedy up at 3rd…man I love this guy
BravesfaninMD
August 31st, 2010
9:33 pm
I really like Melky, he adds another dimension to this team and rarely gets cheated at the plate.
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
9:33 pm
I really can’t be mean to Melky these days.
Dan Kolb's Mom
August 31st, 2010
9:34 pm
Manny Ramirez is a piece of trash
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
9:34 pm
Ho sit down!
That was for McFann.
Stizz
August 31st, 2010
9:34 pm
Keep adding on fellas. Let’s make Philly miserable. Meanwhile, here’s a spot for Nate to prove himself.
MIBraveeeeesFan
August 31st, 2010
9:34 pm
“McFann ♥ :Ô: ♥ :Ô: ♥
August 31st, 2010
9:31 pm
MIBravesFan—
And BMac’s going against it! Who cares, so long as they’re hitting now!”
That’s true! No one can argue with these results!
MiaBchBravesFan
August 31st, 2010
9:34 pm
AND of course Ross had to kill my buzz.
Trey
August 31st, 2010
9:35 pm
Washington, Florida top of 9th. 0-0, Florida is getting 1 hit.
McFann ♥ :Ô: ♥ :Ô: ♥
August 31st, 2010
9:36 pm
Sopheeee–
MIBravesFan—
Yeah, I think I’ve officially reached that point this year.
MiaBchBravesFan
August 31st, 2010
9:36 pm
They’re gonna rename it the McLouth / Mendoza Line!
BravesfaninMD
August 31st, 2010
9:36 pm
Man I hate McClouth…. he’s always squinting like he can’t see a darn thing.
Doc Holiday
August 31st, 2010
9:37 pm
Wonder what Frecnchy is thinking
Dan Kolb's Mom
August 31st, 2010
9:37 pm
that pig had him some pinwheels
Stizz
August 31st, 2010
9:37 pm
Another out generated by Nate. Here’s hoping San Fran pulls it out tonight. I want no part of Colorado in the playoffs.
Rob from SC
August 31st, 2010
9:37 pm
I don’t like using Takashi today because that means he will be unavailable tomorrow
Tomas
August 31st, 2010
9:38 pm
I think the Braves should keep Troy. Good pinch hitter, can play 1B and 3B, could be the DH if they get to the WS, Prado could get an occasional day off let that pinky breath, Infante can also get a day off or two. And with all the September call ups Bobby could sub Glaus and get the best defensive team out there.
Dan Kolb's Mom
August 31st, 2010
9:38 pm
I think I rather be run over by a tank than go to a toby keith show.
I Miss Ted Turner (formerly I Love Derrek Lee)
August 31st, 2010
9:38 pm
Nate McLouth sucks. There’s nothing newsworthy about that.
Rob from SC
August 31st, 2010
9:38 pm
Stizz
August 31st, 2010
9:37 pm
Another out generated by Nate. Here’s hoping San Fran pulls it out tonight. I want no part of Colorado in the playoffs.
I AGREE
bravofan
August 31st, 2010
9:38 pm
saito
Freddie
August 31st, 2010
9:38 pm
I see McLouth learned absolutely nothing during his stint a AAA. He’s still got that ridiculous uppercut swing. Dude must not be too bright.
BravesFanChris25
August 31st, 2010
9:39 pm
Rob from SC
True, but by tomorrow there will be more troops in the bullpen.
Stizz
August 31st, 2010
9:39 pm
Grief, why is Saito out there now? The man’s 40 we’re gonna need every ounce we can from him down the stretch.
MiaBchBravesFan
August 31st, 2010
9:39 pm
On Gameday, the third pitch in the sequence is low and outside. So what does McLouth do? He pulls a short lazy fly to Francoeur.
Apparently, he learned nothing from his pennance at Gwinnett. Lord, strike that poor boy down!
Leeeeeee
August 31st, 2010
9:40 pm
I like the Melk-man. He seems a little shaky on D sometimes.
roja
August 31st, 2010
9:41 pm
That was just McOut being McOut!!!!!!
Glad to see they didn’t do anything to mess with his Mojo at Gwinnett.
chilidog75
August 31st, 2010
9:41 pm
Geez. Saito aint exactly foolin em.
Outs are outs though, I guess.
MiaBchBravesFan
August 31st, 2010
9:41 pm
Saito instead of Dunn, Martinez or Farnsworth???
The Old Man is a bigger idiot than McLouth!!!
Stizz
August 31st, 2010
9:42 pm
That’s harsh DKM. You’re almost guaranteed a shot at the Dixie Chicks.
roja
August 31st, 2010
9:42 pm
Did KK waste his time at Gwinnett like McOut did?
UKUGA
August 31st, 2010
9:42 pm
Braves’ Magic Number soon to be 28, and then there’s the matter at Chavez Ravine . . .
Go Braves!
cabravesfan
August 31st, 2010
9:43 pm
MiaBchBravesFan-
Dunn doesn’t get back until tomorrow and they sent Martinez down this afternoon…
MiaBchBravesFan
August 31st, 2010
9:44 pm
The only thing left is for The Old Man to bring in Hudson in the ninth!
Steve McP
August 31st, 2010
9:44 pm
Assuming Freeman plays 1B next season and Glaus and Lee are released (Saito might also be released) would we get draft picks for them?
I Miss Ted Turner (formerly I Love Derrek Lee)
August 31st, 2010
9:44 pm
“Did KK waste his time at Gwinnett like McOut did?”
If you’re asking whether he still sucks, all signs point to “yes.”
BIOMASS
August 31st, 2010
9:44 pm
Halcyon. That’s what Joe Simpson gives you. Beautiful.
MiaBchBravesFan
August 31st, 2010
9:44 pm
Why the hell did they send Martinez down?????????????????????????????
DJ
August 31st, 2010
9:44 pm
Anyone else on MLB Gameday seeing this Citi Bank ad with the headline, “This year’s lineup is pretty Amazin’.”? Yet another sound analysis by the folks at Citi.
roja
August 31st, 2010
9:44 pm
Don’t take much to fool the Mutts. If the the Braves hadn’t had to play games with KK to make room on the roster for 24 hours, even he may have had a 1-2-3 inning tonight.
cabravesfan
August 31st, 2010
9:45 pm
MiaBchBravesFan-
Because he pitched 4 innings yesterday and would not be available for a few days…the team wanted a fresh arm
Stizz
August 31st, 2010
9:45 pm
Looking at an outfield of Melk, Ankiel, Diaz, Heyward come postseason. Hopefully both Glaus and Hinske make it. I’ll be damned if they choose the lost Hanson brother over Troy.
chilidog75
August 31st, 2010
9:45 pm
MiaBch … you’re certainly well within your rights to criticize the fact that Saito and Venters were used tonight … but at least know who is in the actual bullpen before you go calling the HOF manager an “idiot.”
Steve McP
August 31st, 2010
9:47 pm
Saito has only pitched 2 innings and Venters 2 2/3 in the last week, these guys probably just need a bit of work, as Wags did yesterday.
chilidog75
August 31st, 2010
9:48 pm
So there’s a chance that Albert Pujols will win the NL Triple Crown. And NOT be named MVP.
It looks to me as if Votto has that on lockdown right now.
Stizz
August 31st, 2010
9:48 pm
And I’m talking umm bop Hanson not Big Red.
bravofan
August 31st, 2010
9:52 pm
lets cut mcclouth a little break give him a couple of games I dont really like him either but you know
Stizz
August 31st, 2010
9:52 pm
Looks like a great win tonight. Here’s hoping the guys that deserved to be here are come postseason. i.e Martinez over KK and Ankiel over Mclouth
Jimmy Beam, you are my friend
August 31st, 2010
9:52 pm
Howdy Braves Nation, did anybody else get that terrible explanation Joe Simpson tried to give on the Home Depot question of the game — keeping your “hands inside the baseball”? WTF? Of course your hands are going to be “between you and the baseball”. Where else would they be, behind your back?
Have another long pull on my friend, Joe.
OK, so maybe he meant “more centered”. Fine. Say it that way.
BravesfaninMD
August 31st, 2010
9:53 pm
OK, it’s Moylan, I’m happy.
BravesFanChris25
August 31st, 2010
9:53 pm
Moylan needs that diet Diaz and Prado (not sure if he was on it) was on.
Mitchell
August 31st, 2010
9:53 pm
Peter Moylan?
This is truly pointless.
cabravesfan
August 31st, 2010
9:53 pm
My deepest hope and wish is that one day, the good people of the blog will learn to spell Nate McLouth’s name properly… (OK, maybe not my deepest hope, but it would be nice
)
cabravesfan
August 31st, 2010
9:54 pm
Mitchell, Peter hasn’t pitched in 4 or 5 days…
Steve McP
August 31st, 2010
9:55 pm
Good time to bring in Moylan to test his arm in a low stress situation.
BravesFanChris25
August 31st, 2010
9:56 pm
Good play Omar!!!!!!!!
MIBraveeeeesFan
August 31st, 2010
9:56 pm
Good play Omar!
Leeeeeee
August 31st, 2010
9:56 pm
Omarrrrrrrr
chilidog75
August 31st, 2010
9:56 pm
Mitchell … you’d rather Moylan pitch in a one-run game?
Dude needs to get work and get confidence back.
This is the PERFECT time for him to pitch.
BamaDude @ CowCollege AL
August 31st, 2010
9:56 pm
nice play by Omar behind da bag
groundfog
August 31st, 2010
9:57 pm
are the braves really getting rid of Glaus?
MIBraveeeeesFan
August 31st, 2010
9:57 pm
“Steve McP
August 31st, 2010
9:55 pm
Good time to bring in Moylan to test his arm in a low stress situation.”
Agree with you Steve McP
BravesFanChris25
August 31st, 2010
9:57 pm
Again!!!!!!!!!!!
BALLGAME!!!!!!!!!!!!
BamaDude @ CowCollege AL
August 31st, 2010
9:57 pm
Omar again for the WIN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MIBraveeeeesFan
August 31st, 2010
9:57 pm
Nice way to end it, Omar!
Stizz
August 31st, 2010
9:57 pm
Cabravesfan, it doesn’t matter the man is irrelevent. BRAVES WIN.
BravesfaninMD
August 31st, 2010
9:57 pm
Omar is Outstanding…. Way to go Braves, Great Win!!!
TM
August 31st, 2010
9:57 pm
Jimmy- “Hands inside the baseball” means that your hands go through the hitting zone before (or at the same time) as the barrel of the bat. Joe said it at the end, but confused in the beginning.
It is not uncommon for people to not do this. Andrew Jones comes to mind his last 2 years here in atlanta. When you are pulling everything, especially outside pitches… your hands are not staying inside the baseball. It’s a stupid baseball term that is confusing to the average person.
hope that helps.
I Miss Ted Turner (formerly I Love Derrek Lee)
August 31st, 2010
9:58 pm
Let’s go Dodgers!
Leeeeeee
August 31st, 2010
9:58 pm
BG
BamaDude @ CowCollege AL
August 31st, 2010
9:58 pm
GO Dodgers !!!!!!!!!!!
McFann ♥ :Ô: ♥ :Ô: ♥
August 31st, 2010
9:58 pm
Yay!! Great win!
We gotta win 9-1 tomorrow, now.
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
9:59 pm
That was fun.
Mitchell
August 31st, 2010
9:59 pm
Holy S***.
That was awesome. I didn’t think he was going to get that.
I love Omar. There I said it.
Anybody get Chop Talk? They had a picture of his wife/ladyfriend in the recent issue.
Hot.
MIBraveeeeesFan
August 31st, 2010
9:59 pm
Come on Dodgers!
bravito199
August 31st, 2010
9:59 pm
It was good to see Derrek Lee hit the ball with authority today
bravesgrl4lifeeeee
August 31st, 2010
10:00 pm
Go Braves!!! Now, if the LAD can do their job, we’ll be 4 up by Thursday morning. Well, after 3 nights of activity, guys and gals, I am off to bed. Maybe I can get 7 hours or so of sleep
You don’t know how happy that would make me. Good night, and a good night it is.
braveslifer
August 31st, 2010
10:00 pm
Great game boys… Way to get it done!
Trey
August 31st, 2010
10:00 pm
Magic # 28
Mr. Turnip-Green Jeans
August 31st, 2010
10:01 pm
Our team has become a Juggynawt.
Leeeeeee
August 31st, 2010
10:01 pm
Cab, you mean all this time I was wrong? I thought it was McOut.
A-Ville Ranger
August 31st, 2010
10:02 pm
Themath is really starting to favor The Braves. After we win tonight we’re 3.5 up with 30 remaining for us and 31 for The Phils pending their game which starts shortly. If we only go 16-14 the rest of the way (.533 or a 86 win pace over a full season) The Phils would have to go 20-11 ( .645 or a 104.5 win pace for a full season).
Ok, we’ve seen how quickly these leads can evaporate. but if we can match their pace awhile the math gets better and better, quicker and quicker.
Stizz
August 31st, 2010
10:03 pm
Let’s sway up the Dodgers and San Fran tonight folks.
McFann ♥ :Ô: ♥ :Ô: ♥
August 31st, 2010
10:03 pm
Nice ending.
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
10:03 pm
Good shot of your mann having fun there, McFann.
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
10:06 pm
Dugout was crowded but fun to watch.
MitchC
August 31st, 2010
10:09 pm
Dave, Hudson is Comeback Player of the Year in a runaway, I think. As for Cy Young, maybe.. Halliday might be hurt in the Cy Young, in that he has double figures in losses, and, unless he has a great month of Sept, he wont get to 20 wins either. That, combined with the fact that the Phillies may not win the NL East…. hopefully…. lol.
It seems like the Braves have just kind of been piddling along, yet, they won two of three over the weekend, and the first two against the Metropolitans. We need one more in this series.
I say.,.. The Washington/Philly/ NY road trip in Sept, may well decide the NL East. Its too bad that the Braves have to make such a trip at this time of the year. Playing Philly and the Mets at home, makes me very uneasy, because, even though the Mets are very mediocre, they are very good at home, and, at Citizens, anything can happen.
Unless the Braves fatten their lead by a few games before that trip, I fully expect that will be the trip that decides the NL East.
BamaDude @ CowCollege AL
August 31st, 2010
10:09 pm
great classic …”What Is Life” …George Harrison ….wow
Mr. Turnip-Green Jeans
August 31st, 2010
10:09 pm
If the playoffs started tomorrow, Minor would be in my rotation. He may look like a schoolboy, but he’s rock-solid and tough.
.583
August 31st, 2010
10:09 pm
I quite enjoyed this one.
.583
August 31st, 2010
10:10 pm
Mr. Turnip-Green Jeans – Yup, I like the kid’s make-up. Impressed!
ncgary
August 31st, 2010
10:12 pm
chapman from the reds looks like the real deal
noleeee
August 31st, 2010
10:14 pm
If the playoffs started tomorrow, Minor would be in my rotation. He may look like a schoolboy, but he’s rock-solid and tough. Turnip
really? that’s unlikely to happen without an injury. wouldn’t be my choice
JC Bravo
August 31st, 2010
10:14 pm
Phils have two on and one out in the first…
Trey
August 31st, 2010
10:16 pm
We lost that seven game lead, but by the looks of it we can have hope to rebuild a nice lead!
Stizz
August 31st, 2010
10:17 pm
Roughly two hours to wait and see what will become of Glaus. Gotta pull for the guy to stay, We wouldn’t be here without him.
Dumbfound
August 31st, 2010
10:17 pm
@Sopheeee, you rang ?!? (Wink)
JC Bravo
August 31st, 2010
10:17 pm
Wow, lefties are hitting .321 off of Kyle Kendrick…
Trey
August 31st, 2010
10:18 pm
Nolie, he may not be playoff ready, but you have to admit that he’s pretty good.
Brava
August 31st, 2010
10:19 pm
I’m not going to be happy if they trade Glaus.
noleeee
August 31st, 2010
10:19 pm
Chapman is wild and he is another inverted W power pitcher, at least at times…think Strasburg,Prior, Woods etc
JC Bravo
August 31st, 2010
10:20 pm
Leadoff double for Podsednik. Love to see LA put a crooked number up in the first.
David O'Brien
August 31st, 2010
10:21 pm
Sounds like Francoeur is about to be traded, before midnight.
Dumbfound
August 31st, 2010
10:21 pm
Let me tell you, when Ross hit that grandslam everyone jump up at Outback ! I almost knotted over my Primerib ! Baseball is fun again as long as the Braves win ! Blow another 9 run lead, We will be mad again ! (wink)
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
10:21 pm
Same here, Brava. I really like Glaussy.
.583
August 31st, 2010
10:22 pm
Jeffy headed to Texas?
ncgary
August 31st, 2010
10:22 pm
wild and a 102 makes one remember wohlers
Trey
August 31st, 2010
10:22 pm
Brava, I also hope he is not traded.
McFann ♥ :Ô: ♥ :Ô: ♥
August 31st, 2010
10:22 pm
Sopheeee Good shot of your mann having fun there, McFann.
Yeah!
Dugout Watching is so much fun.
Dumbfound
August 31st, 2010
10:22 pm
Knocked !
JC Bravo
August 31st, 2010
10:22 pm
Who the hell wants Frenchy?
hootdaddy-18
August 31st, 2010
10:23 pm
C’mon Kemp!!
Brava
August 31st, 2010
10:23 pm
I like him too, Sopheeee, and think he deserves to play in the post-season with the team, should we make it. We wouldn’t be in contention were it not for him.
MIBraveeeeesFan
August 31st, 2010
10:24 pm
Brava – I also agree about Troy. I still think he could contribute to this team down the stretch and possibly also in the postseason.
JC Bravo
August 31st, 2010
10:24 pm
Bases juiced, one out for Loney…
hootdaddy-18
August 31st, 2010
10:25 pm
bases loaded Dodgers !!
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
10:26 pm
Agreed, Brava. May & June Glaus really helped us get turned around and on the right track. I felt like he was starting to hit the ball again before he was DL’d too. Just my opinion though.
McFann ♥ :Ô: ♥ :Ô: ♥
August 31st, 2010
10:26 pm
I hope Glaus stays, as well!
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
10:26 pm
I thought Jeffy wanted to play everyday. He wouldn’t get to play everyday in Texas though, would he?
McFann ♥ :Ô: ♥ :Ô: ♥
August 31st, 2010
10:27 pm
1-0 Dodgers!
Dumbfound
August 31st, 2010
10:27 pm
What’s up Trey ?!? What did you think about Bobby pinch hitting McOut down a run ! Is Bobby that loyal ?!? To send Nate to pitch hit behind a run ?!? Did they tell Bobby McOut’s stats in AAA ?!? I’m going to say my name, Dumbfounded !!
JC Bravo
August 31st, 2010
10:28 pm
Kendrick walked in a run. The pitching coach went to the mound and looked rather irritated. Lovin’ it!
Stizz
August 31st, 2010
10:29 pm
Thanks for co-signing
JC Bravo
August 31st, 2010
10:29 pm
F’n double play. 1-0 LA at the end of 1.
.583
August 31st, 2010
10:29 pm
I thought Jeffy wanted to play everyday. He wouldn’t get to play everyday in Texas though, would he? – Sopheeee
Not sure about the reasoning behind it Sopheeee, just heard Joe S. mentioning Texas during the broadcast.
Trey
August 31st, 2010
10:31 pm
Dumbfound, believe it or not I was actually somewhat glad to see him and I was looking forward to see what he could do after that stint in the minors.
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
10:31 pm
I heard it on 680 earlier today too, Mixxo. They were pretty sure something would get done by tomorrow. Maybe he came to his senses and realized he had a chance at a playoff berth with Texas.
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
10:32 pm
Fish won.
Trey
August 31st, 2010
10:33 pm
For the first time I actually felt bad for McLouth when he was HBP.
J-Hey
August 31st, 2010
10:33 pm
Cardinals lost (and more specifically Carpenter lost), he’s now 14-5 with a 2.92 ERA
Tomas
August 31st, 2010
10:35 pm
Whats the harm in trying Glaus at Third, Prado at second, and Infante at left field.
I mean maybe defense is a little bit worse, and Matt Diaz becomes a full time bench player. But offense gets better, and it’s a lineup you would get scared as a pitcher.
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
10:36 pm
I was wondering why David Pollack wasn’t on FSS anymore. He got a better gig on ESPNU.
Trey
August 31st, 2010
10:36 pm
Phillies homered.
Trey
August 31st, 2010
10:37 pm
Phillies up 3-1.
VOR
August 31st, 2010
10:37 pm
Yep… looks like Jeffy’s going to Texas. What an opportunity for him. He’ll have way more baserunners to strand down there…
McFann ♥ :Ô: ♥ :Ô: ♥
August 31st, 2010
10:37 pm
Curse me kilts…
JasonInFL
August 31st, 2010
10:38 pm
DOB, I remember reading (on here?) that some coaches think Infante’s best position is CF. Do you think there is any chance they would play Omar in CF? I have to agree that, if Glaus is somewhat healthy, it may be worth a shot putting him at 3rd, Marteeeeeeen back at 2nd, and Omar in the OF.
J-Hey
August 31st, 2010
10:38 pm
a homer to the 8th place hitter? really LA?
JML
August 31st, 2010
10:38 pm
According to broadcasters for the Texas Rangers game, Francouer is cleaning out his locker and is advising teammates he’s on his way to Texas.
Stizz
August 31st, 2010
10:38 pm
Co sign Tomas. That way we can just keep Ankiel in that 8 hole. If nothing else, he provides speed and aint nobody runnin on him in the field.
Trey
August 31st, 2010
10:39 pm
Time for Francoeur to piss off another city.
J-Hey
August 31st, 2010
10:39 pm
“Sounds like Francoeur is about to be traded, before midnight”
looks like it happened, to Texas for Joaquin Arias
JML
August 31st, 2010
10:40 pm
And now they are confirming Frenchy is on his way to Texas. Done deal.
Yunel's Frosted Tips
August 31st, 2010
10:40 pm
3 1 Phillies
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
10:40 pm
Robot Heyward –
TEAM METS APPEARS TO BE CONSTRUCTED OF FORMER TEAM BRAVES USELESS SPARE PARTS
Brava
August 31st, 2010
10:42 pm
Trey, I didn’t like seeing McLouth get hit either. I noticed his swing hasn’t changed, though. Guess his time at Gwinnett was a waste.
Tomas
August 31st, 2010
10:43 pm
Tim Hudson is having an awesome year, no doubt. But right now I have to think Halladay wins the award.
A perfect game, 3 shutouts, 8 complete games, a 16-10 with a 2.27 ERA in Citizens bank ball park.
I’m rooting for Hudson obviously but as an objective view I think Halladay has the edge.
Dumbfound
August 31st, 2010
10:44 pm
I understand Trey ! Everyone should be given the benefit of the doubt. But you know what Bobby did with Norton last year.
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
10:44 pm
Faux Frank Wren’s a trip too -
RT @mlbtraderumors “Rangers Considering Jeff Francoeur” Evidently sucking is more acceptable in the American League.
Playoffs!!!!
August 31st, 2010
10:45 pm
I hope Francoeur goes to Texas. He’d be out of the NL East. He’s already got the game-winning hit against us twice this year.
McFann ♥ :Ô: ♥ :Ô: ♥
August 31st, 2010
10:46 pm
I didn’t realize the Mets had gotten rid of Barajas…
That’s weird…’cause at the beginning of the year everyone was acting like he was so totally awesome. Did he really fall that far, or were they just ready to hand stuff over to Thole?
noleeee
August 31st, 2010
10:46 pm
great hitters park might help the lil’ French fella
Dumbfound
August 31st, 2010
10:47 pm
Wow ! St.Louis has just about played themselves out of the postseason. Cincy a 7 game lead. Wow !
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
10:47 pm
Barajas is on my fantasy team. He went on the DL a few months ago so I DL’d him too but I forgot to take him off. Oops.
David..(Athens, AL)
August 31st, 2010
10:48 pm
Kinda feel sorry for Frency …. but he is so stubborn … like Andruw … you got to make adjustments
Dumbfound
August 31st, 2010
10:49 pm
@ playoffs!!! We could see Jeff Francoeur in the World Series ! (wink)
Trey
August 31st, 2010
10:49 pm
Brava, yeah, I just feel like I shouldn’t be as harsh with him. I know when he got hurt when Heyward crashed into him, I was happy because I knew he wouldn’t play. I mean, I don’t want him in the starting line up, but I am going to try and be more patient with him.
Dumbfound, believe me I know.
McFann ♥ :Ô: ♥ :Ô: ♥
August 31st, 2010
10:49 pm
Sopheeee–
Haha, whoopsies!
Guess you kinda had to scrape the bottom of the barrel of catchers, eh?
Nah, Rod’s not that bad…I don’t think…though I never much cared for the guy…
chilidog75
August 31st, 2010
10:52 pm
I’d prefer Francouer to stay in the NL East forever.
Anybody that cheers for the Braves should prefer the same thing. Game-winning hits or not, over the course of the season he hurts a team much more than he helps it. And we should want the Mets to keep him for the next five years.
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
10:52 pm
Ha, McFann. My starting catcher is Posada but he hit the DL earlier this season so had to pick up a backup. Barajas was actually playing well then – I didn’t realize he had been traded either. Just recently found out.
All of us aren’t blessed enough to have Mactastic on our team.
JC Bravo
August 31st, 2010
10:53 pm
Well, LA is useless to us tonight.
Trey
August 31st, 2010
10:54 pm
Well good news is we won. Bad news, looks like the Dodgers can’t silence the Phillies for two straight nights.
McFann ♥ :Ô: ♥ :Ô: ♥
August 31st, 2010
10:54 pm
Sopheeee All of us aren’t blessed enough to have Mactastic on our team.
That’s why I don’t do fantasy baseball.
My luck I’d get stuck with Mauer…
Yeah, Barajas was doin’ good earlier this year ’cause I remember some people thought he could/should make the AST over BMac. But, around the 7th inning of that Game, everybody took that back.
DJ
August 31st, 2010
10:55 pm
Linda Cohn doesn’t know how to say Marteeeeen… that’s annoying. She said his name like she’d never heard of him before, which, sadly, is probably true.
Bartholomew (Bat) Masterson
August 31st, 2010
10:55 pm
So the Rangers have found their Ankle…………
Trey
August 31st, 2010
10:56 pm
Damn, Torre is quick to take out the pitcher.
Stizz
August 31st, 2010
10:56 pm
What’s up with the Mcclouth sympathy? The man played himself out of position. Classic case of a guy coming from a non pressure situation to a pennant run and being unable to handle it. Chipper even said it himself when he’s letting it affect his defense being timid and whatnot. I’m sure he’s a great guy, but this city is starving for a title and he shouldn’t be anywhere near factoring for one.
JML
August 31st, 2010
10:57 pm
Wow, they have already replaced LA’s starting pitcher.
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
10:57 pm
Oh no she din’t. How did she pronounce his name? Please don’t say Martun Praydo.
Trey
August 31st, 2010
10:57 pm
Ouch, 6-1.
JoeBrave
August 31st, 2010
10:57 pm
If Mac can lay off the moon pies,and go see the Hair Doctor about some implants for that BALDINO he has working, he will probably finish with 30 HR! Just joshing ya ther McFann!
Trey
August 31st, 2010
10:59 pm
On another blog, I have found the most ignorant comment in a long time. I do not believe Nick or Mitchell or even some of my comments can compare to this.
ScottBravesfan
August 31st, 2010
7:37 pm
Heath’s an idiot. They pay for what they get? Atlanta has had a first place team for most of the season and they have 18,000 fans at the game yesterday and probably less than that tonight. Against the Nats they had less than 16,000 fans at one of the games.
Seriously it’s time to move the Braves to another city that appreciates them. Maybe Charlotte deserves a chance.
Dumbfound
August 31st, 2010
10:59 pm
still early…
noleeee
August 31st, 2010
11:00 pm
the whole city is starving? I kinda doubt that as more than half of them are fans of other teams
Sopheeee
August 31st, 2010
11:01 pm
Trey, tell that ho to sit down.
McFann ♥ :Ô: ♥ :Ô: ♥
August 31st, 2010
11:02 pm
JoeBrave–
Yeah, watch it, buddy!
JoeBrave
August 31st, 2010
11:03 pm
Attendance is only a stickly prickly for some ignorant antagnist, that has no home team to root for.
If the braves Attendance is bothering some folk here as badly as they keep harping about, then maybe the morons that have no JOB, No Children, and No Future, should Hop a Bus, Plane, or Taxi and pay their way into the Ted themselves or just STFU about it!
Stizz
August 31st, 2010
11:04 pm
I doubt they are fans by choice noleee. Probably tired of the playoff disappointments from previous years from the Bravos, weak ownership of the Hawks, and the incarceration of the former king of the city turned dog fighter.
JoeBrave
August 31st, 2010
11:04 pm
McFann ♥ :Ô: ♥ :Ô: ♥
August 31st, 2010
11:02 pm
JoeBrave–
Yeah, watch it, buddy!
Thought that would gitcher attention!!! lol
McCann is one of the top 4 catchers in MLB today, anyone that states differently is a RETARD!
Trey
August 31st, 2010
11:05 pm
Sopheee, I would love to, but that was a couple of hours back. I was just browsing through Bradley’s comments.
JoeBrave
August 31st, 2010
11:06 pm
Seriously it’s time to move the Braves to another city that appreciates them. Maybe Charlotte deserves a chance.
Maybe when PIGS fly, Bobby Cox grows ears and Hooves, and Elvis fills that pristine lil Hick City then they’ll get a chance!
Trey
August 31st, 2010
11:07 pm
The Phillies fans were going on about attendence, but someone did shut them up by getting stats since 2001, ours were consistant, but the Phillies went up like 20,000 since 2001. Coincedence, makes you think how many real fans fill up their stands.
DJ
August 31st, 2010
11:07 pm
Soph, it sounded like there was a slight pause before she started his name where she was thinking, ‘I think I know this guy’s name is pronounced differently,’ but she went ahead and said Martun Prado. The last name was basically right, but it still sounded weird in Cohn’s New York accent.
Also, “Super Soph?” is one of the things on the side of the screen on sportscenter now… but they might pronounce “Soph” differently than you do.
Steve from OH
August 31st, 2010
11:07 pm
Hey! I have no job, no wife, and no children!
I guess I’m going to the Ted…
JoeBrave
August 31st, 2010
11:07 pm
And David Ross would be in the TOP 10 for me! specially after tonight
-"The Boss" G-
August 31st, 2010
11:07 pm
DOB, what are you hearing about my boy boss glaus? you think he will go tonight??
Trey
August 31st, 2010
11:08 pm
JoeBrave, I’d be pissed if they moved the Braves.
Bravefaninok
August 31st, 2010
11:08 pm
according to MLBTR francouer to the rangers is done.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2010/08/rangers-considering-jeff-francoeur.html
chilidog75
August 31st, 2010
11:09 pm
How in the world could Glaus ever field a bunt?
Or a slow-roller down the line?
JoeBrave
August 31st, 2010
11:10 pm
I just love Jon Daniels, thank goodness I don’t have to see Snout Francouer anymore!
-"The Boss" G-
August 31st, 2010
11:11 pm
chilidog..suck a chilidog, how dare u talk about my boy like that, after all he did for that month, he won us so many games, seriously, go naw on a raw dog u homo
Stizz
August 31st, 2010
11:11 pm
Atlanta is one of the top 5 major cities in America. No way we lose the Braves and if we do, we’ll gain another faster than Kawakami on his Ferrari down 85.
Steve from OH
August 31st, 2010
11:11 pm
chilidog–I was wondering that myself. However, I think I can safely say he’ll give it a damn good effort. Dude plays hard, and plays every day. I respect him for that.
JoeBrave
August 31st, 2010
11:12 pm
Trey,
I don’t think the braves will ever be moved, maybe a new stadium in the future( Hopefully at the Old GM site) but not out of Atlanta, some people need to stop wetting on themselves over one of the NL’s crown jewels!
Now Tampa that may be possible for Chitlotte!
-"The Boss" G-
August 31st, 2010
11:12 pm
last time i checked that guy your making fun of chilidog is still leading our club in rbi, he deserves to play every day bobby get him in ther!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! he carried our teams butt for a whole month, we would not be where we are today with out him.. How dare u chilidog what is your problem, go jerk off u jerk off
David O'Brien
August 31st, 2010
11:13 pm
Link to GAME STORY: http://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-braves/ross-grand-slams-mets-603970.html
noleeee
August 31st, 2010
11:14 pm
I doubt they are fans by choice noleee. Probably tired of the playoff disappointments from previous years from the Bravos, Stizz
it’s a transient city. half the folks are from other places and they already have favorite teams from there and have little or no interest in the Braves. Combine that with the Southern tradition of football and Nascar and the urban sprawl of the city spread out all over and voila small attendance.
I simply have no clue why it is such an obsession on this board. Y’all get ego points if your team sells out?
Trey
August 31st, 2010
11:14 pm
Stizz, oh I know we won’t. I would hate it, in response to that dude’s comment on Bradley’s blog.
-"The Boss" G-
August 31st, 2010
11:14 pm
watch it steve, ure walking a thin line
JoeBrave
August 31st, 2010
11:14 pm
I would even say the Mayor of Charlotte would get a resounding GOTOHELL if they even asked!
Trey
August 31st, 2010
11:15 pm
JoeBrave, even though I know they won’t leave Atlanta, I am kind of paranoid and I have that “What if”, especially after comments like that one dude said about moving them to another city.
McFann ♥ :Ô: ♥ :Ô: ♥
August 31st, 2010
11:16 pm
JoeBrave anyone that states differently is a RETARD!
Well, that’s a bit harsh, but yes, I would TOTALLY say BMac is in the top 3!! Though not sure who 2 and 3 are.
-"The Boss" G-
August 31st, 2010
11:16 pm
nollee – ive lived here my whole life, and ive never known more than 2 people, ever who like nascar
JoeBrave
August 31st, 2010
11:16 pm
Either buy a ticket, take that b*tchin ass to the Ted or shut the hell up about it!
Steve from OH
August 31st, 2010
11:17 pm
Well i bettur b careful then bc i dont wanna make u mad u seem to def like glaus!
JoeBrave
August 31st, 2010
11:17 pm
Why, McFann haven’t you heard Ruiz is 1! LMAO
JoeBrave
August 31st, 2010
11:17 pm
And Thole is 2
David O'Brien
August 31st, 2010
11:18 pm
Link to QUOTES: http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-braves-blog/2010/08/31/braves-quotes-after-tuesday-win-over-mets/
noleeee
August 31st, 2010
11:19 pm
and ive never known more than 2 people, ever who like nascar
I’ lived there off and on for twenty and knew at least a hundred who loved Nascar. Drove me crazy. how much skill is there in turning left for a few hours?
uga-brave
August 31st, 2010
11:19 pm
francoeur sent texas, only problem is they did not tell the rangers.
JoeBrave
August 31st, 2010
11:19 pm
Trey, I would’nt even entertain being worried about that, I would imagine once Ted passes on, Beau Turner will make a push to buy the Braves.
Stizz
August 31st, 2010
11:20 pm
Noleee, I agree trust I’ve been living here my mere 20 years but the Bravos gained fans throughout the entire southeast with TBS and insanity clouded in ATL to go and see the one who cant be spoken of play QB at the Dome. The city can pretty much feel it now, but pandomonium will hit if we get past the NLDS.
Steve from OH
August 31st, 2010
11:20 pm
uga-brave: did you read those documents leaked by Deadspin regarding the Marlins’ and Pirates’ finances?
Can you explain, please?
noleeee
August 31st, 2010
11:21 pm
I also would say that less than 30% of the folks I knew had any interest at all in the Braves. I knew more Chicago and New York fans than I did Braves fans. Haven’t lived there for a while but I doubt it has changed all that much
JoeBrave
August 31st, 2010
11:21 pm
Beau will in fact have Hunt Oil money, Ted Turner Money, and Jane Fonda Money! I think he might be rich enuff!
Trey
August 31st, 2010
11:22 pm
Nolie, I knew two Nyers that liked the Braves. One liked the Braves because she had a crush on Ryan Klesko and her son liked the Braves because Ryan Klesko had his first name.
JoeBrave
August 31st, 2010
11:23 pm
KaLa’s Brah at bat for the Royals.
noleeee
August 31st, 2010
11:24 pm
sure the Braves have fans all over, like this board proves. problem is that so many are too far away to go to games
I’m really just commenting because it always amazes me that so many talk about it so often Stizz
JoeBrave
August 31st, 2010
11:24 pm
And he strikes out!
Stizz
August 31st, 2010
11:25 pm
Trey, you shouldn’t be worried. If nothing else, it’s bad business for MLB if a top 5 city loses a team. If it reaches tha point, it could become a situation like Texas where they are supported financially by the League until a local buyer buys them out.
Trey
August 31st, 2010
11:25 pm
JoeBrave, very true. Atlanta Braves have plenty of fans, but unlike Philadelphia they are spread all over the country and not just in one city. Also, I think Phila has many fans in one city is because they are majority bandwagoners!
JoeBrave
August 31st, 2010
11:25 pm
And how does Manny Delcarmen get to the Rockies?
Trey
August 31st, 2010
11:26 pm
Stizz, I am more worried about the Designated Hitter taking over the NL.
I am pissed that the Gwinnett Braves have the Designated Hitter, since I found that out, I do not plan on going to any future G Brave games.
Trey
August 31st, 2010
11:27 pm
I take that back, I enjoy the G Braves, and I do plan on going back in the future, but I am not happy about the DH.
noleeee
August 31st, 2010
11:27 pm
KaLa’s Brah at bat for the Royal
who was it that was such a huge fan of our Ka’aihue, Scoots or Braveheart maybe? The KC guy was the one with the most promise, though he ain’t done much yet
uga-brave
August 31st, 2010
11:28 pm
steve from ohio,
no i did not, but i bet it had something to do with the luxury tax.
JoeBrave
August 31st, 2010
11:28 pm
Trey,
You keep an eye on Beau Turner, dude is steeped in MONEY! Married a Hunt oil heiress, gonna get all of Ted’s bling, and maybe he will get even with that worthless scumbag Brother-In-Law of his for selling Ted up the river in 96 to Time Warner! Rutherford Seydel is one dirty sonofabitch!
Stizz
August 31st, 2010
11:28 pm
I agree Noleee. I just love everything ATL. And with the city only having one title in its history, in which I wasn’t even old enough to know what was going on, I just believe you’ll see the city erupt once we capture that second one whomever it may be.
JoeBrave
August 31st, 2010
11:30 pm
In fact I hope Beau does purchase the Team!, or either David McDavid. stick it to Time, and the ASG!
Steve from OH
August 31st, 2010
11:30 pm
uga: here’s the link if you’re interested:
http://deadspin.com/5615096/mlb-confidential-the-financial-documents-baseball-doesnt-want-you-to-see-part-1?skyline=true&s=i
Trey
August 31st, 2010
11:30 pm
JoeBrave, never heard of Beau Turner. I guess I will need to look him up.
uga-brave
August 31st, 2010
11:30 pm
anyone else not a big fan of the rosters expanding in september?
definetely changes the way a manager can manage.
JoeBrave
August 31st, 2010
11:31 pm
That being said, I don’t think Liberty has been all that bad, If only Stan kasten was here instead of that McJerk fella!
JoeBrave
August 31st, 2010
11:32 pm
Beau Turner is the son of Ted Turner and Jane Fonda!
Tomahawkin
August 31st, 2010
11:32 pm
“Get Out The WAYYY! Pretty Boy Coming Through, Me And My Crew, We Swaggin In The Room!”
Whats Up All…
Trey
August 31st, 2010
11:33 pm
Oh wow, I didn’t know their kids names.
JoeBrave
August 31st, 2010
11:33 pm
And is Married to the Great granddaughter of H.Lamar Hunt!
uga-brave
August 31st, 2010
11:33 pm
steve, thanks for the link.
Bobby Hill
August 31st, 2010
11:35 pm
Ranking cities by population of the metro areas, Atlanta is 9th behind New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Philadephia, Houston, Miami, and Washington DC, in that order.
If you rank the cities by TV market size Atlanta is 8th behind New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Fransisco, and Boston in that order.
noleeee
August 31st, 2010
11:35 pm
Ted had a thang for Janes I guess, I think Beau’s mother was named Jane too IIRC
JoeBrave
August 31st, 2010
11:35 pm
and McDavid just cleaned Turner Sports proverbial clocks for them! McDavid is a Texas Billionaire car dealer, got screwed out of buying the Hawks, Thrahsers, and Philips rights!
chilidog75
August 31st, 2010
11:35 pm
Just for the record … and for the people with the IQs under 100 …. I wasn’t “making fun” of anyone.
If Troy Glaus was at 3B, how could he possibly field a bunt? Or make a play charging toward the plate on a slow-roller? The guy can’t move. Doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate his contributions this season — I do. He’s the reason the Braves took over first place three months ago.
But 3B seems like a terrible idea. He can’t move. And people that can’t move probably don’t have much range.
RHR
August 31st, 2010
11:36 pm
AP headline:
The first-place Texas Rangers have acquired outfielder Jeff Francoeur for their playoff push.
Uh….is this opposite day?
menlobrave
August 31st, 2010
11:37 pm
I see no possibility of Atlanta losing the Braves. I do see a possibility (10 years out) of the Braves moving north of the Perimeter. The population has been moving that way for 40 years. Marta could extend up 400, and they could build a stadium near 400/marta. Gwinnett operation may be a beta site for moving that way, although it appears to be a little off the beaten path. If the city wants to keep them where they are, it will probably require some commercial development and a Marta extension to make it work. That will require private investment, as the city has not had decent leadership since the 70’s.
JoeBrave
August 31st, 2010
11:37 pm
Just two names to watch when the Team comes up for sale. Not to worry Trey, MLB would not allow the Braves to be moved.
Stizz
August 31st, 2010
11:37 pm
You might be on to something Trey. Speaking to an MLB source, he claims with Selig having a flair for controversy that you could see the DH position tradeable in the distant future. With those 15 spots being coveted, a team could decide to trade away the spot if they could recieve player(s) they deem could alter the franchise for some time. Example being KC trading their DH for their former farmhand Pujols to STL. Gamewise, we’re looking at a scenario where one team in the NL could have a DH while their opponent is still using a pitcher in the 9 hole. Interesting, but it would create quite a stir.
TedR
August 31st, 2010
11:38 pm
Just curious; what is Atlanta in the top 5 category in?
JoeBrave
August 31st, 2010
11:38 pm
menlo, precisely the GM site or up 400, but not out of State!
noleeee
August 31st, 2010
11:39 pm
Beau Turner is the son of Ted Turner and Jane Fonda! JoeBrave
nah he ain’t
Bobby Hill
August 31st, 2010
11:40 pm
Ted,
It isn’t population or TV market size.
JoeBrave
August 31st, 2010
11:40 pm
Can I hope that Lowe is done, and GULP retires at season end? closes eyes and wishes!
menlobrave
August 31st, 2010
11:40 pm
Ted and Jane Fonda did NOT have a child together-geez, she was in her 50s when they married and he’s probably been shooting blanks for years.
Stizz
August 31st, 2010
11:40 pm
And I’m guessing very distant since we spoke some time ago and it still hasnt come close to fruition.
tigeeeeer297
August 31st, 2010
11:41 pm
come on either..
Trey
August 31st, 2010
11:42 pm
Joe, do you know if Arthur Blank is still interested? I could have sworn that I heard that he was talking about buying the Braves before.
Stizz, to me the DH just ruins real baseball. I mean, the pitcher is a player like everyone else, and if everyone else hits, I believe he should, as well. It just makes it more fun to watch a pitcher bad. That’s just me, though.
JoeBrave
August 31st, 2010
11:42 pm
noleeee, you are right it would be Ted Turner and Jane Smith Turner, I stand corrected., Still the Lad should be LOADED!
noleeee
August 31st, 2010
11:43 pm
Menlo-Beau’s mother was Jane too, that prolly confused some
Tomahawkin
August 31st, 2010
11:44 pm
Game Over At Chivez Ravine…Phils will still win that series….
.583
August 31st, 2010
11:44 pm
Mitch Williams just said ” ….we’d better be looking in our rear-view mirrors……”
Trey
August 31st, 2010
11:44 pm
a pitcher bat*
Bobby Hill
August 31st, 2010
11:44 pm
Looks like Glaus is staying put.
McFann ♥ :Ô: ♥ :Ô: ♥
August 31st, 2010
11:45 pm
JoeBrave Why, McFann haven’t you heard Ruiz is 1!
Ah, yes! My bad…
Tomahawkin
August 31st, 2010
11:45 pm
Listened to that 5th inning at work…And It fiured that Rossy was due…
The Braves have hit 5 or 6 Grand Slams this Year…?
That is odd because it seemed they did not hit any GrandSlams from 2008-2009…
Bartholomew (Bat) Masterson
August 31st, 2010
11:46 pm
The USA is more likely to be nuked by the Soviet Union than for the Braves to leave Atlanta. And considering there is no longer a Soviet Union, well…………………..
noleeee
August 31st, 2010
11:47 pm
maybe he drives backwards Mixxo
Trey
August 31st, 2010
11:48 pm
Bat, trust me I am sure they won’t leave Atlanta, but that comment from that one “Braves fan” kind of irked me.
Steve from OH
August 31st, 2010
11:48 pm
Talking Chop says Pastornicky going to the AFL too. Good to hear.
Stizz
August 31st, 2010
11:48 pm
Wow. Bobby Hill, I find that extremely hard to believe but I guess stats are stats. When you think top 5 population wise, NY, LA, Chi, and ATl come to mind first especially with the recent boom of the city but you would surely see a team from DC or Houston lose a team before Atlanta. Houston is not even ten years removed from getting a football team and the Tree freshner scent is still on the Nats.
N8
August 31st, 2010
11:49 pm
Trey, your problem with the DH in the minor leagues stems from you wanting to be entertained by the minor league games and what not.
When in reality, the minor league teams (while trying to be family friendly and entertaining) are nothing more then tools for the big club to use to prepare guys to either come up for the first time, or get back after an injury.
The DH in the minors is a perfect tool for the big club to get some guys on rehab asignments some AB without making them play the field.
I’m about as anti-DH as it gets. But have zero problem with it in the minors.
In fact, what would annoy me more, would be if a guy like Prado went on rehab asignment and got hurt by a take out slide around 2B, when the likely only reason for him to go on a rehab stint to begin with would be to get some AB to get his timing back down.
JoeBrave
August 31st, 2010
11:49 pm
menlo I already stood corrected, the name Jane threw me.
Steve from OH
August 31st, 2010
11:49 pm
Cole Rohrbough back for Myrtle…2 scoreless innings with no walks and a K. Good to see.
Steve from OH
August 31st, 2010
11:50 pm
Salcedo 2-3 with a HR tonight…back over the Mendoza line for Rome.
JoeBrave
August 31st, 2010
11:50 pm
C’mon Dodgers mount a comeback on these damn Philthies!
Bartholomew (Bat) Masterson
August 31st, 2010
11:51 pm
Trey _
A lot of people claim to be Braves fans, that does not mean you have to take them seriously.
MIBraveeeeesFan
August 31st, 2010
11:51 pm
“Steve from OH
August 31st, 2010
11:49 pm
Cole Rohrbough back for Myrtle…2 scoreless innings with no walks and a K. Good to see.”
That is good to see. Hope he can get back on track.
DJ
August 31st, 2010
11:53 pm
DOB, is Derrek Lee really as huge as he looked when he stood up after that single today? I know he’s 6′5″, but he made Glenn Hubbard look tiny. Something about him standing up after lying on the ground… he’s a big fella. Wouldn’t want to get on his (or Heyward’s, or Glaus’, or Hinske’s even) bad side
Stizz
August 31st, 2010
11:54 pm
Trey, I’m with you bro. Just passing on a little info on what I heard. And whatever that “fan” was trying to accomplish he certainly has created quite a stir. But the Chops will only be active at FSU and the Ted.
Trey
August 31st, 2010
11:55 pm
N8, I don’t know I just wish the DH rule never came to effect.
Bat, oh no by his comment you could tell he is serious.
Trey
August 31st, 2010
11:56 pm
Stizz, the chop is also done at Gwinnett!
fastasballs
August 31st, 2010
11:57 pm
Steve, It wasn’t long ago Cole was one of the gems in the Braves farm system. I hope he can get back on track as well.
Stizz
August 31st, 2010
11:57 pm
Giants winning tonight. And talk about a choke job, those STL fans deserve a better run but hey one less Albert we’ll have to see in postseason.
Mitchell
August 31st, 2010
11:58 pm
Trey
August 31st, 2010
10:59 pm
On another blog, I have found the most ignorant comment in a long time. I do not believe Nick or Mitchell or even some of my comments can compare to this.
ScottBravesfan
August 31st, 2010
7:37 pm
Heath’s an idiot. They pay for what they get? Atlanta has had a first place team for most of the season and they have 18,000 fans at the game yesterday and probably less than that tonight. Against the Nats they had less than 16,000 fans at one of the games.
Seriously it’s time to move the Braves to another city that appreciates them. Maybe Charlotte deserves a chance.
What do I always say? Games count if there’s 50,000 people there to see it or 5,000.
Or 5. Zero. Doesn’t matter.
What matters is what happens on the field of play.
Bartholomew (Bat) Masterson
August 31st, 2010
11:58 pm
Trey _
Maybe the guy is serious………. That does not mean is not seriously an idiot.
noleeee
August 31st, 2010
11:58 pm
got lotsa tall players no doubt. Lee Glaus Heyward. big boys all
Trey
August 31st, 2010
11:59 pm
6-4 Phillies.
Bobby Hill
September 1st, 2010
12:00 am
Stizz,
Houston is a huge city. Houston is not a multi-state hub the way Atlanta is because of the other large cites near by (Dallas, Fort worth, San Antonio, Austin, New Orleans) but Houston is a huge city. In fact is you rank cities (not metro areas) by population houston is 4th. History is a funny thing. Houston had the Oilers until the city refused to build the team a new stadium and so the owner moved them to Tennessee and became the Titans. When the NFL expanded Houston got a team over LA. And the Astros are celebrating their 45th anniversary this year.
Trey
September 1st, 2010
12:01 am
Oh Mitchell, I am just raggin’ on you. You say nothin’ bad.
Bartholomew (Bat) Masterson
September 1st, 2010
12:01 am
The dude on ESPN was funny tonight. On Heywards line drive he said something like ……. He hits the ball like that all the time, I’ve never seen anyone hit the ball that hard……… he’s gonna hurt somebody…….
Trey
September 1st, 2010
12:01 am
Bat, I guess.
menlobrave
September 1st, 2010
12:02 am
JoeBrave. Sorry-didn’t mean to pile on.
Stizz
September 1st, 2010
12:02 am
Sorry, I forgot how important they were. Saw a game on Css the other day. There was better attendence at the annual swim meet at the Y. Meanwhile, LA is mounting a comeback.
Yunel's Frosted Tips
September 1st, 2010
12:02 am
Dodgers cut it to 6-4…Loney HR
Dumbfound
September 1st, 2010
12:03 am
Told ya, it’s early in La, La land !
Trey
September 1st, 2010
12:04 am
I hope the Dodgers can do to the Phillies the same thing what the Rockies did to the Braves.
fastasballs
September 1st, 2010
12:06 am
Well the Phillies pen is responsible for holding a 2 run lead with 11 outs to go. Anything can happen.
Stizz
September 1st, 2010
12:08 am
Forgot about the Oilers B Hill. My fault. Point being, if you were to hand me that list of who would gain another proffesional team, I don’t think DC or Houston would be ahead of ATL. Miami can join that group as well, with the lack of attendance even WITH a recent title in 2003.
Tomahawkin
September 1st, 2010
12:09 am
“It’s The First of Da Month!”
JoeBrave
September 1st, 2010
12:09 am
I am also hoping Warren Stephens is a Braves fan! #97 on Forbes list of Billionaires
JoeBrave
September 1st, 2010
12:11 am
Trey, I am not sure on Arthur anymore, dude is 67 now, and heavily invested in the Falcons.
JoeBrave
September 1st, 2010
12:12 am
When I get my Billions I will buy the Team, and have an all-star at every position, just to piss the Yankees off!
JoeBrave
September 1st, 2010
12:13 am
Bedtime for me guys, North Carolina is the route for the AM!
Trey
September 1st, 2010
12:14 am
JoeBrave, yeah I just wish corporations would quit buying baseball teams and it would be individual owners.
Trey
September 1st, 2010
12:15 am
Joe, have a good night.
Bobby Hill
September 1st, 2010
12:15 am
The Braves aren’t going anywhere. They would have to lose money over a period several years before they seriously considered leaving. I don’t see that happening. But it is possible that poor attendance forces the team to cut payroll. Its not impossible to compete with a small payroll but it ain’t easy. It sure would be nice for the team to have a stadium thats closer to the people who are most likely to attend games, and in an easily accessible location with sufficient parking.
J-Hey
September 1st, 2010
12:18 am
Pads about to lose 6 in a row and yet the Giants are still 5 games back, if they lose they’ll only be percentage points ahead of the Braves/Reds for the best record.
Stizz
September 1st, 2010
12:18 am
B Hill, Absolutely. Good night all, good chatting with you. Here’s hoping for a LA comeback and a Giants win.
Trey
September 1st, 2010
12:20 am
Man, no wonder why the Dodgers are horrible this year.
MIBraveeeeesFan
September 1st, 2010
12:21 am
“J-Hey
September 1st, 2010
12:18 am
Pads about to lose 6 in a row and yet the Giants are still 5 games back, if they lose they’ll only be percentage points ahead of the Braves/Reds for the best record.”
That’s good news.
Trey
September 1st, 2010
12:25 am
Torre trying to blow the game? Broxton, seriously?
J-Hey
September 1st, 2010
12:26 am
so um … go Kershaw! (unless LA has a big rally in them …)
Trey
September 1st, 2010
12:27 am
I do not like Broxton all too much against the Phils.
David O'Brien
September 1st, 2010
12:36 am
DJ: yes, he’s very large. A little taller than Heyward.
David O'Brien
September 1st, 2010
12:38 am
Jason: No, CF is not Infante’s best position. Or else he’d have played out there a lot more.
I’ll be surprised if Braves play Glaus at 3B, unless it’s an emergency or late in a blowout or something.
David O'Brien
September 1st, 2010
12:40 am
Goldenglove: Hicks has a broken finger, out for the season. Canizares? I don’t know, maybe if Glaus is traded, but don’t see why they’d bring him up otherwise. Bobby Cox doesn’t want more players than he needs, especially with team in a pennant race. Wren said tonight when I asked him that it would be harder to get young guys (like Freeman) playing time in September in a pennant race then it would be otherwise.
David O'Brien
September 1st, 2010
12:42 am
N8, no I didn’t have to feel same way about Cox leaving Minor in. And I didn’t feel the same way.
Bobby Hill
September 1st, 2010
12:44 am
Any news on Glaus?
Tomahawkin
September 1st, 2010
12:48 am
Phillies…Will Win This Series, Bank On It!, They Own The Dodgers!
haggardeeee
September 1st, 2010
12:50 am
Frank Wren and his moves to tweak this year’s team sorta puts me in the mind of Johnny Cash; he got it “One Piece At A Time”
Razorback Red
September 1st, 2010
12:50 am
Don’t know if it was mentioned earlier or not but Vizcaino made his return tonight with Rome. He started and went 1 inning with 1 hit and 1 K. Here’s hoping he feels better.
Tomahawkin
September 1st, 2010
12:51 am
The Thought of Trouble T-Roy at 3rd base in the Playoffs Scares me…The Braves already suck on the defensive side of the ball as it its, no need to make it worse…
haggardeeee
September 1st, 2010
12:51 am
Thanks DOB
“When it’s sleepytime down south”
Goodmight good folks.
Tomahawkin
September 1st, 2010
12:54 am
I have Questions for the House Regarding Our Logjam of OF’s…
Who stays on thepostseason roster assuming we win the Division or WC…
And Who gets released/traded in the offseason, because face it, Since 2007 The Braves Have probably ranked last annually in OF production? I’m Glad B-Macc’s Production counters that…
My Big Boy Gut Tells me that we dump 2-3 of our current OF corps in the offseason…
Tomahawkin
September 1st, 2010
12:55 am
D.O.B., myself among others who are on here late nights have F’d up sleep schedules
Bobby Hill
September 1st, 2010
1:01 am
Melky would be a great 4th outfielder if the Braves can sign him to a cheap deal. I think left field could best be served by finding a platoon partner for Diaz. Centerfield is a mess. There are not legitimate in house candidates. McLouth is still under contract though, and with money tight the team will be hard pressed to bring in a big free agent. Maybe the Braves can use McLouth as the fourth outfielder and sign a descent starting CF. That would have to make McLouth the best paid 4th outfielder in all of baseball.
Ray Parker Jr.
September 1st, 2010
1:03 am
McCann has become everything Francoeur was supposed to be for the Braves. Maybe Jeff could have done the same if front office didn’t put the Superman cape on him after one season and let him just play ball like Brian got to do.
noleeee
September 1st, 2010
1:06 am
@ 6.5 mil next year they either trade McNate or give him every chance possible to win the starting CF job
Ray Parker Jr.
September 1st, 2010
1:06 am
No one talks about it anymore but do you guys still think TP will be next manager? My thought is no way and I hope he gets a good job offer for another team so we wipe the slate clean of anything to do with Bobby baseball. Just for a fresh start.
Ray Parker Jr.
September 1st, 2010
1:08 am
McNate is one of those people you would hate going on a road trip with. He looks like he talks everyones head off on the bench.
Ray Parker Jr.
September 1st, 2010
1:08 am
Goodnight white people.
Tomahawkin
September 1st, 2010
1:09 am
R. Parker Jr
Co-Sign about that post about TP
Tomahawkin
September 1st, 2010
1:10 am
Nolie
The Braves will Cut Nate-Dawg In the offseason “Bank On It!” The Braves F.O. are just gonna have to eat his contract, since we already did it this year…
That might Have been the worse trade over the last 2+ years…
I don’t know anyteam that would want to take his contract
noleeee
September 1st, 2010
1:13 am
how come TP gets absolutely no credit for the hitters Prado and Infante have become? I followed Marteen throughout the minors watching him every year, and I thought he could start here and said so b4 it was popular, but I never thought he’d be an 850+ hitter. even though voting him as the third best hitter in the NL was pretty silly.
Tomahawkin
September 1st, 2010
1:13 am
Bobby Hill
The Melk-Dud Makes WAYYY too much money for a 4th OF Next Year…I’d rather have Schafer or another OF up here next year in a #4 OF role other than the Melk Dud to save money and thats saying something…
The Melk duds defense SUCKS! and is well, just a .5 higher ranking that Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez…
noleeee
September 1st, 2010
1:13 am
They ain’t gonna cut 6.5 mil T’Hawk
Tomahawkin
September 1st, 2010
1:15 am
Nolie
TP has grown on me as a hitting coach after hearing of his interviews early this year but lets face it, he’s too much like Bobby (No dis-respect intended)
Wayne in Utah
September 1st, 2010
1:16 am
McLouth will get every chance to start in 2011. Unless we deal him for another bad contract. Just don’t see the Braves eating that much salary.
Nite folks.
noleeee
September 1st, 2010
1:19 am
actually there is a 1.25 mil buyout too so they would be throwing away almost 8 mil. ain’t gonna happen
Wayne in Utah
September 1st, 2010
1:20 am
TP might make a great manager. Lots of folks rip him because certain hitters don’t hit, but is that the hitting coach’s fault? Like nolie says, doesn’t he get some credit for the players who DO hit well on this team.
Come to think of it, he’d make a great manager, since some folks don’t appreciate the positives a manager brings, but likes to diss him for the Jeff Francoeurs and Nate McLouths. He’ll fit in just right as the manager.
Tomahawkin
September 1st, 2010
1:20 am
Nolie…
I was saying the same thing at the A-Star Break, but we are already paying Nate Dawg for his lost 2010 season…The F.O. Will Suck it up and cut their losses, “Watch!
noleeee
September 1st, 2010
1:20 am
I wish everybody was like Bobby. Most of the best managers are
noleeee
September 1st, 2010
1:21 am
Bet??? T’hawk
Wayne in Utah
September 1st, 2010
1:21 am
No way do they eat almost 10% of their annual salary budget……
Your gonna be wrong on this one T.
Wayne in Utah
September 1st, 2010
1:23 am
nolie
What is it about folks that can’t seem to appreciate what we have in BC? I’ll never understand it.
Hope all is well with ya, but I gotta get off to bed. Long, early day tomorrow.
noleeee
September 1st, 2010
1:24 am
nite Wayne
Tomahawkin
September 1st, 2010
1:31 am
The main Reason I say that they Eat his contract is that just about every Ofer we have regardless on position has produced better than Nate Dawg…Do you seriously think if he has another S. Training in 2011 similiar to the one he had in 2010 that we’d start himopening day…?
noleeee
September 1st, 2010
1:37 am
I seriously think they will not throw away 9% of their allotted salary man. They will try to trade him, but c’mon they scrimped to pay guys like Glaus and Hinske a few mil, the are not gonna waste almost 9 mil. Other teams have done it once in a great while, and nothing is impossible, but I’ll be damned surprised if the Braves do it.
David O'Brien
September 1st, 2010
1:48 am
Tomahawkin, you can’t be serious about rather having Schafer than Cabrera. Based on WHAT? People made their judgments on Cabrera have his first month, and refuse to let his numbers since then change their opinion.
Same for Schafer, in reverse — some have made up their minds early on that he was a really good player, and have refused to let two bad, injury-plagued, unproductive seasons stand in the way of the judgments they made based on one strong (though later PED-suspension-tainted) season in the minors, one good spring training and one great week to start the season, that he’s still a top-rated prospect who can just shake off the past two years and be good in the majors in 2010. The guy was demoted from Triple-A this year. Think about it.
Oh, and the others are right about McLouth: Braves are not going to eat the remaining money he’s owed and release him. No way.
David O'Brien
September 1st, 2010
1:52 am
how come TP gets absolutely no credit for the hitters Prado and Infante have become? — noleeee
Come on, you know TP’s only responsible for the guys who’ve failed to develop in the majors, not the ones who have actually become better hitters as Braves than they were in the minors or in other organizations. It only makes sense.
Like Francoeur. So many here blamed Pendleton after Francoeur went bust here, then hit well for a month or two in NY. Now that he’s been a bad hitter for almost an entire season in New York, apparently it wasn’t Pendleton who messed him up, right? I mean, unless he’s still messing him up more than a year later? Francoeur worked with the vaunted Rudy Jaramillo in that one offseason, right? And Rudy got him straightened out, so a bunch of folks here said TP failed where Rudy was able to succeed. Just like Rudy got Andruw straightened out. Riiight.
How’s Andruw done with three or four different hitting coaches and three organizations since he left the Braves?
Tomahawkin
September 1st, 2010
1:56 am
D.O.B.
I was seriously Skeptical about Schafer before he won that starting job in 2009 because of his PED use…
But Seriously…The Melk Dud only got the recognition he did as a Yankee because of BSPN…Not to Mention That he hit 9 of his 13 homers at that Bandbox in The Rotten Apple (New York) I told everyone on here when we acquired him that his offense and defense would both be subpar playing half his games in a larger stadium
I know Its still 7 months until opening day 2011 but do you seriously think that the Braves F.O. have it high in their priority list to Make Nate-Dawg Their opening day CF next year…
I’m Banking on Nate Getting traded or released, His 2010 season is a current version of Reggie Sanders 2000 season as a brave, the 2 players have parallels…
noleeee
September 1st, 2010
2:04 am
I fail to see how you can even possibly think that a cash strapped team like the Braves is gonna throw away 8.million dollars
N8
September 1st, 2010
2:09 am
“N8, no I didn’t have to feel same way about Cox leaving Minor in. And I didn’t feel the same way.” DOB
OK. Fair enough. But I bet had Minor given up a grand slam that inning, plenty would have questioned why Cox left him in. That’s all I was saying.
I’m actually glad Manual left him in. What Braves fan isn’t?
N8
September 1st, 2010
2:13 am
Like wise, if Niese hadn’t given up the slam and Ross made an out, nobody would have been questioning Manuel leaving him in.
It’s classic case of the end result causing second guessing. Kind of like many do here on the blog when a move (or non-move) by Cox “leads” to something bad happening.
I realize it’s only a matter of opinion, and being the blog master, you’re certainly entitled to yours. But I didn’t really think that he was any more on the ropes than Minor was having labored through 100 or so pitches in 5 innings, in the top half of the inning.
The path they were on was about the same (walking a few too many guys). Like I said, only the end result was different. Which of course, in the end, is ultimately what matters.
Bay Area Steve
September 1st, 2010
2:29 am
I know I sure woulda pulled Mr. Minor. I may have even hurled a epithet or two at ol’ 6. Worked out good, though.
Mel Gibson
September 1st, 2010
2:31 am
Whoo-WHAT?
N8
September 1st, 2010
2:33 am
DOB and nolie, I think with every coach (hitting or pitching), there is going to be guys that respond to their methods, and guys that don’t.
If a team (organization) is behind said coaches, then the GM will find guys that respond, or fit the mold of those. Guys that don’t are gone. It’s a good strategy.
Unfortunately, sometimes there are guys that get bumped out of town that go on to find success elsewhere with another coach. Maybe it’s coincidence. Maybe it’s spite on the player’s behald. Maybe it’s motivation because they thougth they were above getting dumped. Maybe some of them are simply late bloomers.
For every guy that TP has helped, there have been others that he has not. His fault? Hard to say. I found it interesting that Chipper publicly stated that some of the advice that TP was giving Heyward was different advice than he would give him. No intent or accusation by Chipper, and none by me implying that there was. Just found it interesting.
But you can say the same for both Leo and Roger as well. Young flame throwers like Marquis and Odalis didn’t respond well to Leo. Neither did Jason Schmidt. All found limited (and short lived success) after leaving the Braves. But clearly none of them (besides Schmidt) went on to be superstar “Aces”. Also, Leo’s methods didn’t have the same succes in Baltimore as in Atlanta.
It’s hard to argue with the end results for the TEAM with the trio of Bobby, TP and Roger. First place team playing well and winning.
But what if Heyward (or even Freeman) doesn’t have sustained success with TP as hitting coach? At what point is the player above the coach as far as who has to go?
You see it more in the NFL where OC’s and DC’s move on and a replacement is brought in to bring out their best. Baseball is a longer grind.
For Andruw I think some of the best “improvement” from one season to another was his first with Don Baylor. But don’t discredit what the Big Cat meant to Andruw as well. Add to that, it could have just been the right “time” for Andruw to step up his game regardless of who the hitting coach was.
Certainly Prado and Infante’s success has to be credited to TP. How can it not be?
But I think the problem lies more when the superstars (Francoeur and Andruw) fail, then it is magnified on the hitting coach. Fans ask if a guy is so talented and hyped as such a “can’t miss” prospect/young player, why can’t the hitting coach bring that out of them?
So at the time of those two guys failing, it seemed easy to blame TP. But in hindsight, seeing how they’ve failed upon moving on, the real blame was in the fans, media, scouts and GM assessing them as can’t miss guys in the first place.
That’s what’s so impressive about Heyward. At least for one complete (near complete) rookie season at a young age. He’s lived up to the hype and seems to be adjusting just fine.
Where with guys like Prado and Infante, nobody expected much. So it’s easier to NOT give TP credit, because most people think its a fluke. Just listen to other broadcasts by the Braves o