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© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
4,361 comments Add your comment
Chef Tomahawkin
November 30th, 2010
6:16 pm
ryan c
[“With that said I can Taste Kevin Gregg Wearing a braves uni in a few weeks…”]
“kinda like sucking on a turd, dont ya think? kevin gregg is not that good…”
OUCH!
All we need is a cheap veteran arm in the pen since we are already stacked…
What Do you want us to do? Go out and make a stupid offer to MFIKY?
Chef Tomahawkin
November 30th, 2010
6:17 pm
And You Probably don’t know who MFIKY is but I was talking about Rafael Soriano…
That was his nickname on the blog when he was here, and no I didn’t make that name up…
Bill
November 30th, 2010
6:18 pm
Enter your comments here
nolie
November 30th, 2010
6:18 pm
Putz or Wheeler in that order
Tomas
November 30th, 2010
6:21 pm
Lew, I said he realllllllly needs to work on defense for him to play some CF.
Look the Braves are potentially looking at 12 pitchers, 13 position players, standard.
13 position players:
1. LF Martin Prado
2. CF Nate Mclouth
3. 3B Chipper Jones
4. 2B Dan Uggla
5. C Brian McCann
6. RF Jason Heyward
7. SS Alex Gonzalez
8. 1B Freddy Freeman
Bench:
9. C David Ross
10. UTIL Joe Mather
11. “2B/3B” Brooks Conrad
Assuming this is true the Braves have two roster spots open for bench players. I know Joe Mather is a great athlete who can play all three outfield positions, 1B, and 3B. Brooks Conrad can play “2B/3B”, and Ross is the backup catcher.
One of the 2 spots to be filled needs to be able to play SS. And the other needs to be able to play the outfield.
Now if the Braves sign Hinske you can say sayonara to Diaz. If they don’t sign Hinske, Matty’s chances increase.
I assume the backup SS is gonna be Diory Hernandez, making the bench overly right handed, and that’s why Braves first choice is Hinske. Second choice has to be Matty, because of team chemistry, and how productive he has been as a platoon guy and pinch hitter.
If the Braves keep Diaz I expect him to get the occasional start in LF, move Prado to 3B, and rest Chipper. It would be nice Diaz learned to play some 1B to occasional sub Freeman, and Mather can play CF in some sort of a platoon depending on how Mclouth fares next year vs lefties, and some RF to give Heyward rest.
That would improve the left handedness of the bench, keep everyone fresh, and good team chemistry.
Steve McP
November 30th, 2010
6:21 pm
Bill Hall would be great as an uber utility guy, but he was paid $8 mill last season and you to think he is looking for a multi year contract in the $5mill per range.
Cannot see the Braves shelling that sort of money out when they have other needs to also fill
nolie
November 30th, 2010
6:22 pm
DOB have you ever watched The Good Wife ? It’s a pretty darn good show
Justafan
November 30th, 2010
6:28 pm
Joe Mathers is great? Give me a break.
Tomas
November 30th, 2010
6:32 pm
The bullpen worry’s me more than the bench since Billy, Saito, and Dunn are leaving.
They need to sign a quality veteran reliever, ideally it would be Kerry Wood because he could be the closure and give Kimbrel a couple of years of MLB experience before jumping in as the closer.
DS1
November 30th, 2010
6:32 pm
Actually, Ryan Freel is great! Joe Mather is pretty good.
spinelli
November 30th, 2010
6:33 pm
To re[lace Infante FW needs to look into aquiring Willi Bloomquist from the Reds. He spent the last few years in KC and can play everywhere. He is a .260 carrer hitter. Not as good as Infante but would be someone to consider
DS1
November 30th, 2010
6:35 pm
We are getting closer to our closure concerning our closer.
Justafan
November 30th, 2010
6:36 pm
DSI :
Keep talking……….
Eric from MO
November 30th, 2010
6:36 pm
Tomas Venters will probably be the closer and if you dont think he is ready after last year, you are nuts. The bullpen is fine. Dunn was in the minors most the year, Saito was hurt quite a bit, and Venters and Kimbrel can easily replace Wagner. With Venters, Kimbrel, and Moylan the bullpen already have their 7, 8, and 9 innings guys. Thats more than most teams. EOF vision hopefully will be fixed by then. The bullpen is still stacked.
atlwolf
November 30th, 2010
6:37 pm
DOB, the Phillies are the FORMER NL Champs. The Giants are now NL Champs.
nolie
November 30th, 2010
6:43 pm
not so sure I agree with your premise that the pen will automatically be fine Eric.
Losing Wagner who had arguably the best year of an all-star laden career is not gonna be all that easy to replace, and Venters and Kimbrel are very young and could easily regress some. In fact I’d be willing to bet that neither are quite as effective next year.
There is such a thing as too much youth especially in pivotal positions. I would really like to see a decent RHer brought, just as insurance if nothing else.Movinf V & K up to replace W & S means moving the next layer up a notch higher and that I’m not as comfortable with.
Joker
November 30th, 2010
6:44 pm
Personally, Nothing would thrill me more than seeing the Melk-Dud Wearing a Phillies Uniform…
But with that Said They’d sign him for a 1 year 1 million deal and he’d hit 15 homers in that ballpark
Thats why we need to keep Matty-D because If he leaves Then My Big Boy Gut tells me that he signs with the Phillies once Werth Walks…That would not be good….! And that is On The Real!
Joker AKA Tomahawkin
November 30th, 2010
6:45 pm
I couldn’t resist the name change after watching clips of Next Friday on Youtube…
DS1
November 30th, 2010
6:45 pm
Sometimes I look down at the bottom of the blog where the pages are listed and see the “Show All” box and think, “No way you pervert!”
Joker AKA Tomahawkin
November 30th, 2010
6:47 pm
My 6:44 post is filled up with straight up nasty Irony…?
Did AnyOne Catch Chuck and Matt Today on 680AM?
Especially the Part about Vince Young and Text Messaging is the purest for of self-centeredness/rudeness/lazyness, etc?
I was pretty much Co-Signing on just about everything they said about people who text as a way of life…?
DS1
November 30th, 2010
6:48 pm
Joker
per Diaz, EXACTLY!
nolie
November 30th, 2010
6:51 pm
what is with the proliferation of Tomahawks on the blog lately? Imposters, adoring imitators…or split personality??
P'cola Brave
November 30th, 2010
6:59 pm
I still think Jon Rauch is a good option for this pen. Hinske makes the most sense of the bench. Seems like a lot think that Mather will have a spot on the 25 man and I don’t believe thats so. Hes never stayed up a whole season before and spent very little time up this year. I personally believe he will have to win his spot on the 25 man and could possibly battle out with Conrad for it.
Tomas
November 30th, 2010
7:00 pm
Eric from MO, I prefer Kimbrel to Venters………I’m not saying that they’re not ready, but the Braves would be smart to get somebody else with more experience.
Out of seven possible relievers the Braves have 4 quality guys in Kimbrel, Venters, Moylan, and O’flaherty.
What about the other 3? Marek I hope is one of them……..Who else? Martinez, Proctor, Brandon Beachy.
Beachy should be the long reliever, and I’m comfortable with Marek as a middle reliever. So there’s one spot open, are you really counting on Proctor or Martinez? Those guys suck, they need to sign a quality veteran reliever.
The bench doesn’t matter as much as the bullpen.
Matt Young who by the way is left handed, plays all three outfield positions and can run, could fit perfectly on the bench. While Diory Hernandez is the other bench guy.
The team relied heavily on clutch hits, pinch hitting, etc, because the team kept games close with great pitching. With the addition of Uggla the Braves will have some offense finally, and if they keep the great pitching they had which included one of the best bullpens in the MLB, they’ll be able to win the East and hopefully the WS.
Thats why bullpen is more important than pinch hitters, who are horrible defendors and can’t steal bases.
Mr. Turnip-Green Jeans
November 30th, 2010
7:04 pm
What’s the latest on Schafer?
Did his wrist ever completely heal?
Still believe he’ll be a really good MLer one day.
I know it was a tiny sample size, but his play before the injury was all-world.
nolie
November 30th, 2010
7:20 pm
I think tiny sample size describes it well, which = meaningless sample
unbelievable
November 30th, 2010
7:20 pm
Putz please
P'cola Brave
November 30th, 2010
7:23 pm
Putz will probably be to expensive. Wheeler wouldn’t be a bad idea. Him or Rauch would fit well.
DS1
November 30th, 2010
7:26 pm
nolie
Yes, but there’s something nostalgic about pulling for a skinny, big ear’d baseball player!
You know you want him to pull for him!
Murph
November 30th, 2010
7:27 pm
Shouldn’t Schafer be playing winter ball someplace? Or is he on some sort of rehab program or something? You’d think a guy who got demoted from AAA to his local little league would be motivated to prove something
Jeff R
November 30th, 2010
7:30 pm
I like Diaz. I think he’s been a generally solid contributor. I also think, free of injuries, Diaz will rebound in 2011.
And I hope Wren retains Hinske. Good bench guys are hard to find.
unbelievable
November 30th, 2010
7:31 pm
Schafer hasnt played a full season since 2007. Id be surprised if he sees the majors at all in 2010.
unbelievable
November 30th, 2010
7:31 pm
2011 I mean
nolie
November 30th, 2010
7:31 pm
Hey I just thought of something Eric, didn’t we have somethhang going about 96 wins last spring? Weren’t we s’posed to fess up concerning 96 wins over/under?
Joker
November 30th, 2010
7:33 pm
nolie
“I think tiny sample size describes it well, which = meaningless sample”
Co-Sign! Why are people still sold on Schafer…? He’s in the same boat as Rick Ankiel, another player who hasn’t produced after getting busted for HGH
nolie
November 30th, 2010
7:34 pm
oh I’m rooting for him DS1, no doubt about it. I’m just saying that you caint judge the extent of his ability from one ST and a few games. I’ll be awful surprised in he makes the bigs this year though. If he does we likely will be in deep doodoo.
nolie
November 30th, 2010
7:37 pm
JOKER
I agree that the odds are very long, but there is still some hope…we just shouldn’t count on it at this point
Murph
November 30th, 2010
7:44 pm
Schafer’s chances of producing at the MLB level aren’t that far behind McLouth’s at this point, which I guess would make Matt Young the front runner for a CF that can hit over .200.
Eric from MO
November 30th, 2010
7:46 pm
Nolie yes, and you b!tched out and said you wouldnt do it. I would of done it if you had some balls but you didnt.
Tomas you are talking about the 7th spot in the pen. How often does the 7th reliever pitch in games that arent blow outs?
nolie
November 30th, 2010
7:46 pm
don’t agree with that at all Murph.
jeffrey d
November 30th, 2010
7:47 pm
Here’s 30 fake Jeter baseball cards if he played for other teams. I think my favorite is “Strasburg Who?” for the Nats
http://blogbeckett.wordpress.com/2010/11/24/totally-fake-baseball-cards-29-derek-jeters-you-wont-see-in-2011-and-one-you-just-might/
Eric from MO
November 30th, 2010
7:47 pm
So Nolie your answer is NO!
richbrave
November 30th, 2010
7:47 pm
nolie
November 30th, 2010
6:18 pm
Putz or Wheeler in that order
We can’t put PUT – Z in the pen, we won’t be able to tell the JJ’s apart without an explanation. LOL.
Actually, PUTZ might do the trick. I like it.
nolie
November 30th, 2010
7:48 pm
aha I bitched out huh? whatever you say Eric, I don’t remember it being exactly that way, But anyway I was right and you were wrong, even if I have to be the one to say it instead of you
nolie
November 30th, 2010
7:49 pm
poooor loooser
nolie
November 30th, 2010
7:49 pm
no class at all
Eric from MO
November 30th, 2010
7:50 pm
Nolie I am getting ready to go to work but I will go back to that blog tomorrow and show where you said you wouldnt do it.
richbrave
November 30th, 2010
7:50 pm
Murph
November 30th, 2010
7:44 pm
Schafer’s chances of producing at the MLB level aren’t that far behind McLouth’s at this point, which I guess would make Matt Young the front runner for a CF that can hit over .200.
Well, hitting over .200 at the ML level for MY is yet to be proven. But hitting .300 over a season at GWINNETT, and .382 in MEXICO is a good indication of the potential at least.
nolie
November 30th, 2010
7:50 pm
still the anger issues, huh?
nolie
November 30th, 2010
7:51 pm
I might not have agreed but there would have been a reason. I was still right
Joker
November 30th, 2010
7:52 pm
David O’Brien
“November 30th, 2010
6:01 pm
Chef Tomahawkin: As Nas said, “sleep is the cousin of death.””
I’ll Co-Sign On That!
nolie
November 30th, 2010
7:55 pm
when you do that Eric, post a link to it ok?
jeffrey d
November 30th, 2010
7:57 pm
Is Joker Tomahawkin?
Eric from MO
November 30th, 2010
7:58 pm
Will do Nolie. It was from the blog from the weekend right before the season started with the cubs. I believe it was the Saturday.
Murph
November 30th, 2010
7:58 pm
There’s only one way to find out, nolie, and that’s to let them battle it out in ST and hope that whoever comes out on top actually does something during the regular season.
McLouth was about as bad as bad can be last season, Schafer is worse, and Matt Young is unproven. We’ll see what happens, I just hope Fredi has plan D somewhere in case they all suck.
Murph
November 30th, 2010
7:59 pm
So far Matt Young hasn’t proven he can hit above .200, but then again, the other 2 have proven they are capable of hitting below .200, so there ya go.
nolie
November 30th, 2010
8:00 pm
There’s only one way to find out, nolie, and that’s to let them battle it out in ST and hope that whoever comes out on top actually does something during the regular season.
no matter what Schafer does in ST the odds of his starting the season in Atlanta are astronomical
Joker
November 30th, 2010
8:02 pm
D.O.B.
Check Out some old Souls of Mischief “93 Til Infinity….”This is how we chill from 93 til”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5BZom3vY0g
Very Slept On Track back in 93-94 but that song was Soooo Good Dick Wolf Had to Put it on old New York Undercover
richbrave
November 30th, 2010
8:03 pm
Tomas
I gave MATT YOUNG’s MEXICAN stats earlier. BTW, DIORY HERNANDEZ hit .319 in GWINNETT in 116 AB’s and is currently has a .337 BA in 86 AB’s MEXICO, but hasn’t played in a week.
nolie
November 30th, 2010
8:04 pm
Nate has 3000 or so at bats in the bigs, most of which were just fine. Schafer ended up in A ball last year after failing in two higher stops. There is a big difference in the odds at this point no matter which way it turns out.
Like i said earlier i really hope Schafer comes back, but your statement was a real stretch IMO,
nolie
November 30th, 2010
8:06 pm
Diory has hit well the last few years, at least for average(he hit 319 the year B4 too IIRC). Much better than his limited production in the bigs would indicate.
nolie
November 30th, 2010
8:07 pm
oops, that was a typo on Nate. should have been 2000 at bats. sorry
richbrave
November 30th, 2010
8:07 pm
Also, HERNANDEZ had 4 E in 30 G.
Frankie Wren
November 30th, 2010
8:09 pm
Diory had all of 9 at bats last season being called up the first week of August. Still don’t understand why Bobby didn’t give this guy a occasional start to rest Gonzalez. Not one start. Gonzalez had close to 600 at bats and hadn’t reached that many AB’s in over 5 years. Pretty obvious the guy was tired in September and it showed. Hopefully Fredi doesn’t make the same mistake.
richbrave
November 30th, 2010
8:13 pm
nolie
November 30th, 2010
8:06 pm
Diory has hit well the last few years, at least for average(he hit 319 the year B4 too IIRC). Much better than his limited production in the bigs would indicate.
Correct nolie. He also hit .319 in 204 AB’s in 2009 in GWINNETT and .287 in ‘08 split between AA and AAA. He also had 536 AB’s that year (2008).
nolie
November 30th, 2010
8:14 pm
Maybe because Gonzo is a much better defensive shortstop than Diory is Frankie?
That and the fact Diory didn’t look good the year b4 in a callup are the only reasons I can think of.
Still a bit surprising that it never happened at all I guess
richbrave
November 30th, 2010
8:15 pm
Frankie Wren
November 30th, 2010
8:09 pm
Diory had all of 9 at bats last season being called up the first week of August. Still don’t understand why Bobby didn’t give this guy a occasional start to rest Gonzalez. Not one start. Gonzalez had close to 600 at bats and hadn’t reached that many AB’s in over 5 years. Pretty obvious the guy was tired in September and it showed. Hopefully Fredi doesn’t make the same mistake.
Agreed. It really showed.
nolie
November 30th, 2010
8:17 pm
I’m not sure it was tired, just possibly regressing to his mean at bat. His Atlanta totqals were very close to his career A%s. or do y’all mean in the field?
richbrave
November 30th, 2010
8:18 pm
FYI:
DIORY has been playing 3B exclusively in fall ball this year.
Frankie Wren
November 30th, 2010
8:19 pm
Gonzo was a hack in September but IMO he was a little gassed. With leg injuries hampering him the last couple of previous years it probably was a lot to ask him to play as much as he did at 33. Diory was pretty brutal when called up the previous year, still he should see more time PT this year off the bench.
Frankie Wren
November 30th, 2010
8:22 pm
Nolie, I know his totals were close to his career avg’s but he did hit pretty well in August and had some clutch hits. He was absymal in September. If he could duplicate what he did in August he will be fine. Again, not having played nearly as much the past 5 years caught up to him I think.
nolie
November 30th, 2010
8:22 pm
he’s an OK 2nd baseman, a bit less at third, much less at SS. or at least he was when I was watching him come up.
richbrave
November 30th, 2010
8:23 pm
DIORY has gone 15 for 38 over his last ten games in the DOMINICAN REPUBLIC for a .395 BA, 2 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, for a .605 slugging percent, but only 1 BB with 7 SO lowering his OBP to .410 and 1.016 OPS.
P'cola Brave
November 30th, 2010
8:23 pm
FW
I agree. Once Omar went into an everday role the occasional day off for Gonzo was history. He looked a little worn down and that may have had something to do with it.
nolie
November 30th, 2010
8:24 pm
yeah you are likely right about that Frankie. I’m not sure he is gonna duplicate August over a full year here though it would be nice. I just hate that BA/OBP
richbrave
November 30th, 2010
8:25 pm
nolie
November 30th, 2010
8:17 pm
I’m not sure it was tired, just possibly regressing to his mean at bat. His Atlanta totqals were very close to his career A%s. or do y’all mean in the field?
Field, at least in my case.
P'cola Brave
November 30th, 2010
8:25 pm
Diory may not win the job. From the looks of the things the Lucas kid out of the Royals org. might rival him.
Frankie Wren
November 30th, 2010
8:27 pm
Nolie,
I realize his OBP is poor. All I asked for the guy when he came over is too play solid(didn’t expect great) defense and get some occasional big hits. I think he did that last year. Outside of the cluster of errors he made early I thought he played solid D. He also had some big hits(some were pretty ugly but big nonetheless). Keep him down in the lineup(8th preferrably) and he can be a asset.
nolie
November 30th, 2010
8:31 pm
Frankieyeah he is solid defensively no doubt. I’m just such a believer in OBP
P’C You’re right. actually they picked up about three interesting guys, though the odds are a little long on all of them. One or two might provide a pleasant surprise.
richbrave
November 30th, 2010
8:34 pm
Speaking of ED LUCAS, anybody hear of vhim playing fall or weinter ball anywhere? He hasn’t showed up on my radar, or SHAWN MET either.
nolie
November 30th, 2010
8:38 pm
MiLB shows him as a Gwinnett Brave and no winter ball rich
David O'Brien
November 30th, 2010
8:40 pm
nolie: Agree entirely about The Good Wife. One of my favorite shows. Just started watching at end of last season, and haven’t missed an episode.
nolie
November 30th, 2010
8:40 pm
I doubt Lucas is a legitimate 800+ hitter especially in the show
P'cola Brave
November 30th, 2010
8:41 pm
Nolie
Yea most of them seem like longshots. The only one I thought could rival for a spot on the 25 man this year was Lucas. Considering our need for an IF who can play all over. Diory has struggled so far and this guy may have finally found a place to break through. I’m not sold on him but to me out of all of them he has the best chance.
NORRIS
November 30th, 2010
8:41 pm
Even before Chipper got hurt last year he was not playing all the time and was not playing that well. So, here we are again…
When Chipper is out and Prado goes to third we once again are left with Mclouth in center and WHO in right. Either way, it is not good.
Mclouth was horrible last year and mather is worse than him.
How stupid can a person be to think that this is going to work. geez
nolie
November 30th, 2010
8:42 pm
good DOB, if anything I think it got a bit better this year than last.
NORRIS
November 30th, 2010
8:42 pm
oops that should have been WHO in left
nolie
November 30th, 2010
8:43 pm
Mclouth in center and WHO in right Norris
I assume you mean who in left, cause Hey will be in right. at that point it will likely be a platoon in LF
Frankie Wren
November 30th, 2010
8:44 pm
Wow. Berkman thought to get 7M for one year. Still think the guy has at least one pretty good year offensively but lot of cabbage for a guy his age. What’s D Lee going to get?
Frankie Wren
November 30th, 2010
8:45 pm
P Brave- Did we get Lucas with the Ankiel deal? Not familiar with him.
Efrim
November 30th, 2010
8:47 pm
So….like everyone declined arbitration….
Some poor organizations are going to waste a first round draft pick on Scott Downs and Grant Balfour. Maybe Jason Frasor as well, if he decides to decline.
If you’ve already signed a Type A that has erased your first rounder, than I guess it makes sense, but certainly not for a team that hasn’t gone that route.
richbrave
November 30th, 2010
8:49 pm
FALL BALL:
C WILKIN CASTILLO is performing adequately in the DOMINICAN REPUBLIC averaging .269 in 31 games (104 AB) with 6 doubles and 2 HR’s. .306 OBP, .385 SLG, .691 OPS. He appears to be a work in progress. He hit .256 for the BATS last season in 317 AB’s, .287 OBP, .417 SLG, .697 OPS but at 26, he’ll have to step it up considerably over the next couple of years to have much chance of playing any extended period in the majors. Pretty much now or never for him. I think the BRAVES see some power in his bat. I see a pretty poor BB-SO ratio (12 BB-50 SO) vaguely along the lines of CODY JOHNSON. He’s doing much better in fall ball in that regard; now 6 BB – 13 SO. He’s also playing tonight, so far he not been up. I’ll get back to you on that.
Frankie Wren
November 30th, 2010
8:50 pm
What contract is worse, Colorado and Tulo or GT and Paul Hewitt? GT is a sorry basketball team. Looks like Northwestern might make their first ever appearance to the Big Dance in March. They are pretty good basketball team.
nolie
November 30th, 2010
8:51 pm
no they signed him to a minor league deal after he was cut by KC I believe. They also signed a couple of other players with pretty decent AAA numbers who fot what they are looking for. Long odds, but hey…..
Efrim
November 30th, 2010
8:54 pm
What contract is worse, Colorado and Tulo or GT and Paul Hewitt?
Philly and Ryan Howard and/or Chicago and Alphonso Soriano.
Wait….that wasn’t apart of the question, was it….
Kat
November 30th, 2010
8:54 pm
David and anyone else on here, http://www.casttv.com/shows is a good site to watch streaming episodes to catch up on a series if you miss an episode or season. Or like me, your DVR screws up and doesn’t record correctly
Frankie Wren
November 30th, 2010
8:55 pm
Yeah those are pretty bad. Soriano has what, 4 more years? That team is going to be really bad this year. Maybe Sandberg caught a big break not getting the job for the Northsiders.
nolie
November 30th, 2010
8:56 pm
I don’t think the Tulo contract is bad at all Frankie , 8 years would have been better though
P'cola Brave
November 30th, 2010
8:57 pm
FW
No he was a minor league FA signing. DOB just did an article on all the guys who were signed. Has good career minor league numbers. Seems suited for a guy to compete for backup role.
richbrave
November 30th, 2010
8:58 pm
FALL BALL:
One game in – PUERTO RICO. CAROLINA’s catcher ORLANDO MERCADO has a hitless game (0-4) as his average falls to .259, but there’s free baseball as the two teams are tied going into the bottom of the 10th. MERCADO might get another shot at a hit tonight.