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© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
1,315 comments Add your comment
CB
June 27th, 2011
12:13 pm
Uggla’s OPS is .299 below last year. Wow
Shaun
June 27th, 2011
12:16 pm
As we get closer to the deadline, I’m sure there will be pretty good players out there who the Braves could acquire without giving up a ton. Michael Bourn comes to mind as a likely candidate. Not necessarily him, but someone in that mold.
AtlYnkHtr
June 27th, 2011
12:17 pm
Yes, they are broke – They had to get speical dispensation from the Ownership to do the Lee deal?
So, they are broke because they had to get the owner to approve going over budget. So any team that goes over budget where the owner OKs it is considered broke? Or do they have an ownership that listens to the GM and says OK this makes sense, lets redo the budget. Maybe what you think is broke is not what I think is broke. Perhaps you look at debt and say oh well they have no $. I tell you what, if/when the Phillies need something at the deadline they will find the $ to get it.
As for your constant name calling, it really is the mark of an intellectual bully that has to resort to what you think are personal attacks at me. This is like the 3rd or 4th time you have resorted to it, normally I just shrug it off as an example of a person losing the debate because when a person cannot articulate their points without disparagement it usually means they are hiding something or compensating.
Shaunian tunnel vision? That comment is the height of hypocrisy, you dig your heels in like no other even in the face of an avalanche of evidence. I love being proven wrong, because it means I learned something. I have an open mind, now I realize you may be old and its hard to have an open mind when life is changing so fast, but that is not my problem, that is your problem and the people that have to deal with your amazing personality on a daily basis. So to them I say all apologies and to you I say good day.
Bobby Hill
June 27th, 2011
12:19 pm
The Braves have some great pitching prospects, and young pitching has been the coin of the realm now for awhile. I think part of the problem with making a trade during this season is that these prospects are TOO valuable. I mean do we really want to give up a young pitcher with significant upside like Minor for a mediocre rental player like Span or Willingham. On the other hand the Braves prospects are either not polished enough or not good enough to land a guy like Kemp in a trade. I think Wren’s kind of stuck in no-mans’-land here. He can either overpay for a rental player than may or may not make a difference, or alternatively he can trade MLB talent for MLB talent. That second option is better left to the off season.
Lew
June 27th, 2011
12:21 pm
Intellectual Bully. Right.
Dude, keep stroking yourself and maybe something pleasant will happen.
jeffrey d
June 27th, 2011
12:21 pm
CAB/VJ – did you give AG a standing O?
cabravesfan
June 27th, 2011
12:22 pm
jeffrey d
Not this time. We did at dodger stadium earlier
Lew
June 27th, 2011
12:23 pm
Old? Yeah, I guess to an immature teenager, anything over 13 seems old.
VaBravesFan
June 27th, 2011
12:24 pm
Bobby Hill
Well, Denard Span or Michael Bourn wouldnt be rental players. Span’s contract last til 2015 and Bourn is under team control for the 2012 season.
Matt Kemp wont be moved regardless. Alot of teams have the prospects (including us) and pieces to land Matt Kemp they just dont wanna trade away there future. Trading for Kemp would be just like the Tex trade.
jeffrey d
June 27th, 2011
12:24 pm
He really didn’t deserve it, did he?
Bobby Hill
June 27th, 2011
12:24 pm
Do the Braves have the money to really take on salary this year? They are petty tight lipped about the budget, which regardless of what they may say has been shrinking in recent years.
N8
June 27th, 2011
12:24 pm
Lew, earlier you said something along the lines of “either you believe or you don’t believe….”
Isn’t “believe” a relative term?
I believe that the Braves can and will win the wild card as their 25 man roster stands. Too much pitching already on this club (and coming from either the minors or return from injury later in the summer) to fail more than they succeed. NOBODY (including the Phillies) can keep up with our pitching depth through September.
However, I also believe that without an offensive upgrade (either via trade or via guys returning to their norm), we will not catch the Phillies in the standings, and will ultimately fail to win a championship come October.
What is it that you “believe”?
Mudge
June 27th, 2011
12:24 pm
In general, what do you give a team with a bad offense, when you want one of their better offensive players? Houston (Bourn, Pence), LA (Kemp), Oakland (Crisp) and Pittsburgh (McCutcheon) come to mind. I’m not so sure you can make a deal wihout “giving up a ton”. Picking up a huge contract (Carlos Lee in Houston) or a free agent (Reyes in NY) may be possible, but they are either costly or a rental (or both).
Hugo Z Hackenbush
June 27th, 2011
12:25 pm
C’mon Lew, there are ladies present.
CrαZy
June 27th, 2011
12:25 pm
Dan Uggla is hitting .177, Jason Heyward is hitting .227, Derek Lowe
got a DUIand a 3-6 record, Jair missed the 1st month of the season, Tim Hudson has an un-Hudson like 6-6 record, Peter Moylan has only pitched 4.1 innings through June 26th, Prado is on the DL, McLouth still sucks, Schafer who people seem to love is only hitting .222, Joe Mather is gone, we’ve had to use Mike Minor, Randal Delgado and Julio Teheran because of injuries to our starters yet we’re only 5 games behind the Phillies, we’re 9 games over .500 and a few days ago we had the 4th best record in baseball. I’ll never understand why so many people spend there whole day bitching about something they have no control over just enjoy the season. Hopefully some of the problems get worked out and if so watch out!! Though I’m sure people will still bitch about something.AtlYnkHtr
June 27th, 2011
12:26 pm
Mudge, I am not suggesting they will make big moves. The blog was asked to give an example of the Phillies “Going for it all this year” and I pointed out Lee signing for 5/120. Then like a mental midget normally will want to do the arguement changed to the phillies are broke. Then I pointed out they are not broke, then the arguement will change to Lee isn’t good, then someone could point he is, then the arguement will change to he is left handed. Then someone will say what does that have to do with anything, then that person will be called Shaun in disguise, because he wants me to be identified that way so that everyone else goes oh yeah Shaun is a jerk so AtlYnkHtr is a jerk and we are all on Lew’s side. He it seems has never grown out of the kindergarten mentality. Oh wait, I digress.
Yes, I agree with you Mudge I think the Phillies hold tight and make minor additions to the pen and bench at the deadline.
Lew
June 27th, 2011
12:26 pm
Hugo – What? He isn’t stroking his ego?
Nathan – I believe that between the two of us, there is likely no subject that has not been done to death in more column inches by any two others.
cabravesfan
June 27th, 2011
12:26 pm
jeffrey-
I was still thinking about my tacos that I had for lunch when he came up the first time. And it was very warm in the sun…
N8
June 27th, 2011
12:27 pm
“Though I’m sure people will still bitch about something.” CraZy
Am I allowed to bitch about you bitching about people bitching?
N8
June 27th, 2011
12:28 pm
Well played Lew.
jeffrey d
June 27th, 2011
12:28 pm
I was thinking about tacos….
jeffrey d
June 27th, 2011
12:29 pm
I believe that between the two of us, there is likely no subject that has not been done to death in more column inches by any two others
I’ll bet you haven’t discussed belly buttons
George
June 27th, 2011
12:29 pm
Last year on this date BOBBY’s team was 44-32. FREDI’s team is 44-35. BOBBY’s Braves 1.5 games better, and the topper BOBBY had us in 1ST PLACE.
cabravesfan
June 27th, 2011
12:30 pm
jeffrey-
best ballpark food I’ve had.
Doc Holliday
June 27th, 2011
12:30 pm
Hugo Z Hackenbush
June 27th, 2011
11:59 am
The Dodgers owe Andruw 11 million.
+++++++++++++++++++
Technically Andruw is the one that owes the Dodgers money.
Lew
June 27th, 2011
12:31 pm
Nathan – Well, better than using Kevin Costner’s Bull Durham speech.
Bobby Hill
June 27th, 2011
12:31 pm
Neither Bourn or Span would have much of an effect on the Braves expected win total. Kemp would be an impact player at arguably the Braves weakest position, and he wouldn’t be a rental either. But he would cost several prospects, and probably isn’t going anywhere regardless because of the Dodger financial issue. (Maybe if Frank offer to help McCourt make payroll this month?) If I was McCourt I would ask for Minor, Teharan, Schafer, a couple B prospects, for Kemp and Casey Blake. That’s a pretty steep price.
AtlYnkHtr
June 27th, 2011
12:32 pm
Old? Yeah, I guess to an immature teenager, anything over 13 seems old. So I am a teenager that thinks anything over 13 is old? So wouldn’t I by definition think myself old? I know you will have to read that a few times because your getting really pissed now and when you get this way you start not thinking, not that you do much of that anyway, but now you are really pissed so it takes you a few times to read it. Now I ask you do these sound like the ruminations of a teenager? What’s next I live in my mom’s basement and I am a virgin? Is that what is next in the cyber bully handbook?
Are we done now? I mean I can continue eviscerating you, its fun for me and I am sure others get a kick out of it too, but this blog is about the braves. So I will ignore your rants for the near future, I cannot committ to 100% ignoring you because your opinions are so often the lowest hanging fruit and well I am human, 13 years old, living in my mom’s basement, shaun or not.
ncscoots
June 27th, 2011
12:32 pm
AYH, my advice is that you post what you want to post; you get cred here with good content, and that’s the only way. Nobody here makes up anybody else’s mind on the matter. Trust me on that one.
keylargo
June 27th, 2011
12:33 pm
Yea, it’s expected but it’s still not good. I understand he plays good defense and isn’t one of our chief worries, but he’s got a sub-.290 OBP. That really drags down a lineup after a while.
Yea, it’s really rough from your #7 hitter. Imagine how terrible it would be if it were someone like the leadoff man. Sooner or later you whole team could be hitting .199.
Lew
June 27th, 2011
12:33 pm
Mental Midget? Intellectual Bully? Old? Intractable opinions? Griping about Name Calling? Nah, couldn’t be Shaun. There’s absolutely no similarity. None whatsoever.
Hugo Z Hackenbush
June 27th, 2011
12:35 pm
Can’t we leave the term “stroke” alone unless we’re talking about Dan Uggla’s non-existent hitting one?
Old Reliable
June 27th, 2011
12:36 pm
Arguing on here is like competing in the special olympics. Even if you win, you’re still retarded.
Hugo Z Hackenbush
June 27th, 2011
12:37 pm
Doc, I think the judge should award joint ownership of the Dodgers to Manny and Andrew, so that they can have to deal with players for awhile.
jeffrey d
June 27th, 2011
12:37 pm
I believe that between the two of us, there is likely no subject that has not been done to death in more column inches by any two others
You’re right, so what’s the point? It’s not just in this blog, but everywhere. A Democrat will never convince a Republican to convert. A Muslim will never convince a Christian to convert. And on a much more trivial scale, someone on here will never convince me that Schafer is better than McLouth. My mind is made up.
So what’s the point?
Lew
June 27th, 2011
12:39 pm
Nah, not getting pissed – you wouldn’t like me when I’m pissed. Evisceration? Nah, laughing way to hard to be pissed. You’re the best joke I’ve heard in quite some time.
Lew
June 27th, 2011
12:41 pm
And I’m certainly not the one to be discussing your virginity with.
VaBravesFan
June 27th, 2011
12:43 pm
Bobby Hill
I think Span and Bourn are realistic options that can improve this team. Matt Kemp of course would be a huge upgrade but your dreaming. Span/Bourn would fill our leadoff spot with someone who can hit and steal bases. Bourn has the defense and speed advangtage over Span, but Span is a better overall hitter and has a longer contract.
If you dont think having a CF who hits 290. 360. obp 25-30 SB and good defense (Denard Span) or
270. 340. obp 45+ SB and elite defense doesnt improve the team you dont know baseball.
Soph
June 27th, 2011
12:44 pm
Feisty
Lew
June 27th, 2011
12:44 pm
jeffrey d-There is no point. It’s all useless.
jeffrey d
June 27th, 2011
12:45 pm
I feel like I’m on a playground…
cabravesfan
June 27th, 2011
12:46 pm
tacos
Lew
June 27th, 2011
12:47 pm
Dude – You work at a carnival. You are on a playground.
ncscoots
June 27th, 2011
12:47 pm
feel like I’m on a playground…
This place would indeed make for an interesting study on social phenomena, LOL.
VaBravesFan
June 27th, 2011
12:47 pm
ESPNs Steve Berthiaume did a article on comparing Chipper and Griffey Jr. Pretty good read if anyone is interested. Here’s the link.
http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/12915/better-career-griffey-jr-or-chipper
Arkansas Transplant
June 27th, 2011
12:47 pm
Before we go breaking the bank on our prospects, I’d much rather take a fly on someone like BJ Upton which has the talent to turn things around so it would be a buy low high reward type move, plus he brings speed, defense and youth. Not to mention might come at a much lower cost. If he doesn’t workout, what have you given up? The Rays are looking for more production from CF just like we are… maybe we see about a swap.. change of scenery type deal, all at the same time hanging onto our good young prospects.
George
June 27th, 2011
12:48 pm
I can’t believe MANNY is still getting paid and he is retired. Ballplayer sure have it good money wise, it is a wonder any owner makes a profit.
ace
June 27th, 2011
12:49 pm
It’s a really sad trend in our culture – people sitting at a computer spewing anger at each other. On this particular blog, it’s not just the “hater, crybaby” crowd that appear during games to overreact and whine. Some of the “regulars” also stoop to some pretty low levels. Makes the blog hard to plow through. I mean, really, find a hobby, get a life, get some anger mgt. training, go outside and get some excercise, whatever. I’m pulling for you.
Soph
June 27th, 2011
12:49 pm
yummy tacos
ncscoots
June 27th, 2011
12:50 pm
And on a much more trivial scale, someone on here will never convince me that Schafer is better than McLouth. My mind is made up.
It’s not the destination that’s important, my man, it’s the journey.
On this journey, of course, you have to step lively and avoid the horse-poop along the road, but still…
Mudge
June 27th, 2011
12:50 pm
One aspect that few around here consider is exactly what an “improved offense” means. Cincinnati, St. Louis and Arizona have the three best in the National League. St. Louis will suffer now that Albert is gone, but every Braves fan knows that when you play the Cardinals, you try not to let Albert beat you (or Votto in Cincinnati). Every Braves fan knows that JJ could easily throw a shutout at the Reds, he just has to face Votto and Bruce and Phillips rather than lesser player that, for example, San Diego has. JJ can get those three out. The best offense will often be shut down by a good pitcher. So, will a nominally improved offense allow the Braves top beat Hamels, Halladay and Lee consistently? Probably not. Will it improve their chances to beat Kendrick? I’d say yes.
So trade a pitcher to Cincinnati for Drew Stubbs. Helps both teams.
Arkansas Transplant
June 27th, 2011
12:52 pm
ace, OH SHUT THE _______ up!!
Just kidding…
Doc Holliday
June 27th, 2011
12:52 pm
Braves are on pace of scoring 631 runs, you have to go back to 1989 to find a braves team that scored fewer (584).
On the other hand, stop thinking about a championship. Braves are doomed. They won 1 championships as the Boston Braves and 1 as the Milwaukee Braves, so they have already given the city of Atlanta their share………LOL………..will have to wait for them to make their next stop. Maybe the Buffalo Braves could win it all in 2019
cabravesfan
June 27th, 2011
12:53 pm
Soph-
Sooo yummy.
Shaun
June 27th, 2011
12:54 pm
“Last year when the offense was struggling, we were all calling for TP’s head; now with the offense still underperforming, many of us are calling for Parrish to be fired. While the hitting coach certainly must have some impact on his players (if not, why even have one?), it seems to me that the task of “getting the job done” falls with the players whose very job it is to produce results. Our 2011 offensive numbers are, well, offensive, but what’s the answer? We have new management, and a new hitting coach – the things many of us (including me) seemed to think would be the fix-all. But still we struggle. The bottom line, at least for me, is that the players need to find a way to step it up. That’s what they’re paid (very well) to do.”
Reality Check, first of all, Terry Pendleton didn’t seem to be, by any means, a bad hitting coach, contrary to what some commented over the last few seasons. These are the same folks or the same type folks who wanted Roger McDowell gone his first season. This is why I’m glad most fans don’t work in front offices.
The Braves were among the top NL teams in runs scored during Pendleton’s tenure. I’m not sure what you mean by “still we struggle.” The thing is the Braves didn’t really struggle while Pendleton was the hitting coach. Look it up. Anyone who tries to convince us otherwise is either ignorant or they are lying.
I doubt public outcry had anything to do with Pendleton not being retained as the hitting coach. Him not being retained probably had more to do with Fredi Gonzalez wanting to bring in his own guy, which is fine.
As of right now, the offense is clearly under-performing expectations, especially from on on-base perspective, which of course is the key aspect of any offense. I’ve read that Parrish teaches an aggressive approach, which may not be working. None of us can probably say for sure if and by how much Parrish’s coaching is causing the Braves’ hitters to under-perform from an on-base perspective. Seems like it may not be a coincidence, given so many hitters are under-performing, so Parrish probably shares some degree of the blame.
It’s sad for Larry Parrish and I take no pleasure in holding this view, but perhaps changing hitting coaches is worth a shot. If Parrish isn’t the problem, perhaps the players will realize that their inability to get on base has cost a man his job and they need to get better.
The harsh reality is that professional sports at the highest levels is about results and winning. This should be the Braves’ front offices’ primary goal. Whether Pendleton was a good hitting coach and Parrish was a bad one, is secondary to some degree. It’s about whether the team is getting on base and scoring runs. Braves’ teams did this under Pendleton. So far they haven’t under Parrish.
Old Reliable
June 27th, 2011
12:54 pm
Bourn or Span would certainly improve the team. But realistically how much would the excepted win total increase over the last half of the season by adding Bourn or Span as compared to playing McLouth Prado and Heyward. Those guys would probably add 1 to 1.5 wins over McLouth. 1 or 2 wins is not insignificant in a tight playoff race. It might make all the difference in the world in that sense.
VaBravesFan
June 27th, 2011
12:55 pm
Arkansas
The thing with BJ Upton is the Rays wont just give him away, and because of that I say no. In my opinion BJ is just like Jeff Francour, who we just traded away for Ryan Church… But I dont see the Rays doing anything like that.
Arkansas Transplant
June 27th, 2011
12:55 pm
Good gosh Shaun, do you have to write a novel?
Ronald Millsaps
June 27th, 2011
12:59 pm
Trading McCann would make more sense than moving him to first. Could he play defense as well as Freddie Freeman? I doubt it. McCann’s market value never has been higher, and if we don’t want him catching, we need to trade him for a bat. (Uggla’s defense’s being pretty good is due in part to Freeman’s assistance over there.)
Yesterday’s game was terrible and typical. Atlanta went to San Diego and lost a series to a dismal team and ended the series with a terrible performance. I had no optimism Saturday night that Atlanta would win Sunday because the format is all too familiar.
One headline today was quite disturbing. The police should’ve tasered the lady in question, perhaps.
Adrian Dantley was fired in Denver, huh? The Hawks, who have a great head coach in Larry Drew, should sign him, one of the purest and most-prolific scorers in NBA history—- and to think Mark Aguirre tried to pass himself off as the better player.
Bat Masterson
June 27th, 2011
12:59 pm
I’m pulling for you. _ ace
Thanks ace
phil
June 27th, 2011
1:00 pm
ace
June 27th, 2011
12:49 pm
“It’s a really sad trend in our culture – people sitting at a computer spewing anger at each other. On this particular blog, it’s not just the “hater, crybaby” crowd that appear during games to overreact and whine. Some of the “regulars” also stoop to some pretty low levels. Makes the blog hard to plow through. I mean, really, find a hobby, get a life, get some anger mgt. training, go outside and get some excercise, whatever. I’m pulling for you.”
Ace – Thanks for sharing your concerns and interpretations. It’s good to have people like you around to enlighten those not as worthy as you because they might actually be upset about something or might even overreact and dare make it known….
An option to help with your concerns would be to light a campfire tonight, strum a guitar and sing a few songs….it’s just a thought. It would help with your overreaction in the other direction to what gets posted here. I’m pulling for you.
Tom O'Hawke
June 27th, 2011
1:02 pm
Mornin’, LAdy.
Looked like you were witnessing a very exciting game until Venters, uncharacteristically, made some boo-boos in the bottom of the 8th.
Next year, you should take in 2 games in San Diego, if on the weekend. It’ll increase your chances of a better ending.
Hoot
June 27th, 2011
1:02 pm
Lew,
I agree that a trade for a single bat won’t necessarily right the Braves’
offensive ship per se; however, consider:
Prado’s coming back shortly, I hope, as what? an average corner outfielder who is expected to move to third base, probably within the next two years;
Heyward, is by many accounts, a slightly above average right fielder with some improving to do;
no sure thing in Center for the immediate future, barring a major improvement by Schafer, or a trade.
I would say that moving Prado back to “super utility” until he is needed at third, (or elsewhere) would improve bench strength greatly.
A trade for Pense, or someone like him (not Kemp),would improve both corner outfields,maybe even allowing the moving Heyward to left during the off seasson if Wren abd Gonzolas see a fit.
Keep Schafer in center and Nate as the 4th outfielder. Let 2012 take care of center during the off season when there are more options.
Of course Wren has access to infinitely more information and evaluations than we do, so ultimately we will all have to depend on him making the best decisions for the Braves…maybe he will.
Just some thoughts as to how trading for a single good bat could positively impact the 2011 offense.
VaBravesFan
June 27th, 2011
1:03 pm
Oh here we go……..once again someone brings up Trading Brain McCann, I guess thats my que to go do something else.
Ronald Millsaps
June 27th, 2011
1:03 pm
George–Owners make tons of money. Percentage-wise, players get exploited a bit.
People need to back off complaints about athletes’ salaries unless they’re going to bash society’s fueling salaries of entertainers. Hollywood is trash, and how many people aside from me do you hear bash this type of thing? Probably almost never, whereas we always hear about how athletes, who actually work and contribute something edifying to society, are allegedly overpaid. The Oprah Winfreys, Jimmy Kimmels, Conan O’Briens, Brad Pitts, Tom Cruises, etc. don’t deserve minimum wage, let alone millions.
ncscoots
June 27th, 2011
1:03 pm
It would help with your overreaction in the other direction to what gets posted here. I’m pulling for you.
Sorry, phil, old ace didn’t “overreact” there, just made an observation. An astute one, I’d say.
Doc Holliday
June 27th, 2011
1:03 pm
SOME PAINFUL HISTORICAL FACT:
Braves have a .237 BA and .305 OBP.
Their worst batting season in the last 20 years was in 1995 when they hit for .250 and a 326 OBP.
You have to go all the way back to 1989 to find a team that did worse than what they are right now, when they hit .234 and a .298 OBP.
Man thats a long way back. Braves have never been this bad in 21 seasons.
RED ALERT !!!
Ronald Millsaps
June 27th, 2011
1:05 pm
“va”– I’d trade him before I’d move him to first.
This offense misses Prado, and though he’s not the ideal leadoff man, I’d put him there. I’d even consider giving Heyward a shot there.
Doc Holliday
June 27th, 2011
1:06 pm
Hoot,
When you said ” Pardo is coming back shortly” you just lost a friend (LEW). He believes Staph is about to kill him and will be lucky to be back before Aug.
LOL.
Lew,
Im just joking there.
Shaun
June 27th, 2011
1:06 pm
“So trade a pitcher to Cincinnati for Drew Stubbs. Helps both teams.”
Stubbs is not worth the quality of pitcher the Reds would want for him unless they value him much less than I think.
phil
June 27th, 2011
1:07 pm
I’m not sold on Prado as being the second coming either – we struggled mightily offensively with him this season – but put him on the bench? Huh?
And the idea of moving McCann so that Ross can play every day? It didn’t make sense 2 months ago after Ross had 2 great games. Why is this coming back up? Ross is obviously a backup catcher and no more.
Maybe moving Heyward to ballboy would help our outfield defense (see that horrible play yesterday on the pop fly to right), but benching Prado and moving McCann? No.
Unless you put Martin at second and benched Uggly. THAT I could easily live with.
Doc Holliday
June 27th, 2011
1:08 pm
Even the 1990 Braves did better offensively than what we have right now………………OUCHHHHH
Ronald Millsaps
June 27th, 2011
1:08 pm
“doc”– Yeah, that boring ‘95 team didn’t hit particularly well. Their passive approach of waiting for the phone to ring was decent enough that year because they didn’t have that much speed and because they had several bombers on the team (McGriff, Justice, Klesko, Lopez), so you might as well wait for the three-run homer.
The ‘95 team won a ring, but the ‘91 team was better. The latter truly missed Deion and Otis in the postseason. Lonnie Smith played well, but we missed the defense and speed of those two. You can’t always judge the best team by who wins it all, and that ‘91 team was such an example. Besides, the Twins cheated during that series, a documented fact.
Doc Holliday
June 27th, 2011
1:09 pm
1990 BRAVES better offensively than the 2011 Braves , you know, from worst to 1st? Ring a bell?
Snotboogie
June 27th, 2011
1:11 pm
Braves are on pace of scoring 631 runs, you have to go back to 1989 to find a braves team that scored fewer (584).
Funny. Take most hitting stats for the Braves and look up the last time it was that bad and you keep ending up with 1989.
Ronald Millsaps
June 27th, 2011
1:11 pm
People rant and rave about Hank Aaron still being the home-run leader. I’m much more enthused about defending the real champions of 1991.
Doc Holliday
June 27th, 2011
1:11 pm
Ronald,
Im just trying to give a picture of where do we stand right now.
phil
June 27th, 2011
1:12 pm
ncscoots
June 27th, 2011
1:03 pm
It would help with your overreaction in the other direction to what gets posted here. I’m pulling for you.
“Sorry, phil, old ace didn’t “overreact” there, just made an observation. An astute one, I’d say.”
Perhaps so to an extent but rantings on a blog don’t automatically require each such poster to get a hobby, get a life, get some exercise and so forth….that’s the overreaction to me and a bit of a limit on the ole astuteness factor….i do get what he’s saying though. At times, even I am amazed at what I see here….
Ronald Millsaps
June 27th, 2011
1:13 pm
The 1990 Braves actually were pretty good; they just had a dismal bullpen. Their offense from August on that season was especially good. (Didn’t Justice hit 20 out that month?)
Ronald Millsaps
June 27th, 2011
1:14 pm
“doc”– I didn’t miss your point, buddy. You apparently missed mine plus my elaboration.
Hugo Z Hackenbush
June 27th, 2011
1:15 pm
Ronald, seriously, Conan O’Brien deserves at least minimum wage for what he does.
Fish Bisch
June 27th, 2011
1:16 pm
how did the twins cheat in ‘91? I was only 10 so I dont remember
Ronald Millsaps
June 27th, 2011
1:16 pm
In defense of the offense, strike zones really seem to expand/contract within games. Perhaps our esteemed commissioner has instructed umpires to widen strike zones if games aren’t moving “fast enough.” In all seriousness, I think I just nailed it.
Mixxo
June 27th, 2011
1:19 pm
how did the twins cheat in ‘91? I was only 10 so I dont remember
Kent Hrbek owns us.
brian
June 27th, 2011
1:19 pm
on this page it has been suggested to trade McCann and in a different post to move Prado back to super utility guy. Is thid a bizzaro world? I just don’t get the anti-McCann sentiment expressed here by some along with the lack of respect McCann is given here by many. I am speechless as to the suggestion of moving prado to a super utility guy (actually i could say quite a bit about that suggestion but it would get sensored)
Afan
June 27th, 2011
1:20 pm
Hrbeck only picked up Ron Gant and set him off the bag to tag him out. The ump did nothing.
Ronald Millsaps
June 27th, 2011
1:23 pm
O’Brien is trash. Same for Jimmy Kimmel, etc..
The Twins tampered with the vents during that series. When they batted, the vents blowing out toward the fences were on; when Atlanta batted, they were off. I also have a serious issue with the combination of a white ceiling, a white baseball, and white towels.
Likewise in the NFL, how does Adam Vinatieri get to kick a heated football in Foxboro as opposed to the same cold one that has been getting used? Commissioners had better realize that protecting a sport’s credibility is, to say the least, quite important.
Ironic also how Monday Night Football games typically were boring. I heard a rumor in 1999 that the league offered Vince McMahon $100 million to move “Raw” to Tuesday night. In 2000, we suddenly had incredible games almost every week? Coincidence? I’d like to think so.
Snotboogie
June 27th, 2011
1:23 pm
Try this:
Amongst all regular NL catchers Brian McCann has the best AVG,OBP and SLG (if you discount Ramon Hernandez who has only 152 ABs to Mac’s 250).He also leads in ABs, HRs and RBIs.
Thank goodness he leads the AS voting for catcher.
Murph
June 27th, 2011
1:24 pm
So, if TP was such a good hitting coach… why did the team feel the need to go in a new direction?
brian
June 27th, 2011
1:24 pm
I agree that I don’t see the Dodgers moving Kemp. He would likely cost us Prado (to play 3B for them) in addition to Schafer and a top pitching prospect – at least that much. I guess the Braves could then move Minor, etc, to try for Pence, but those are really unlikely scenarios.
Upgrading CF will be our main priority in the next month. Other than that, the other positions are spoken for. The players just have to start hitting (starting with Heyward and Uggla)
Ronald Millsaps
June 27th, 2011
1:24 pm
“Owns” is such a cheap, lewd, irreverent verb in that context, and no, Hrbek didn’t “own” the team.
Throwing around the term “second coming” isn’t good, either.
Last post: period after “week.”
ace
June 27th, 2011
1:25 pm
build a campfire, strum a guitar and sing some songs – phil
I’m on it phil, I’ll sing Kumbayah over and over and over and over and over:) That way I can stop sitting at a computer telling others how to live their lives lol
Ronald Millsaps
June 27th, 2011
1:28 pm
Theoretical lineup: Heyward-Prado-Chipper-Uggla-McCann-Freeman-Gonzalez-Schafer. Heyward typically hits for a nice combination of power and average, and he usually does so to all fields as well. He’s left-handed, tall, fast, etc.. Having a multi-dimensional leadoff hitter might present a problem for opposing pitchers. I’d be willing to try it for a week or so.
phil
June 27th, 2011
1:28 pm
Afan
June 27th, 2011
1:20 pm
“Hrbeck only picked up Ron Gant and set him off the bag to tag him out. The ump did nothing.”
But umps often do nothing or screw up. We had how many chances to plate one run and win game 7 in 1991? A chance every single inning, just like the Twins. We didn’t get it done. We lost. It stinks. It’s not the umps fault. It’s not the air conditioning’s fault. It’s not Charlie Liebrant’s fault.
We got beat because, just like has happened often this year, we couldn’t score. Yes, Hrbek “cheated”. Yes, he got away with it. Yes, Lonnie Smith was a dolt. Yes this and yes that.
We lost because we couldn’t score.
Shaun
June 27th, 2011
1:29 pm
Murph, new managers often bring in new coaches. And I’m not sure Pendleton was “such a good hitting coach.” All I know is that the Braves were 4th in the NL in runs scored over his tenure as hitting coach. Two of the teams who scored more runs (Rockies and Phillies) played their home games in parks favorable to hitters. So Pendleton got results. If the team made the change because they didn’t see results, the team made a horrible decision. But Fredi Gonzalez probably wanted his guy, which is fine. Managers do that all the time and it’s their right.
Lew
June 27th, 2011
1:30 pm
“Someone’s crying Lord” – Oh get over it.
Ronald Millsaps
June 27th, 2011
1:30 pm
“ace”– Nothing wrong with what I said, my friend. Maybe you should log off and think about that one for a while. Your response is plenty wrong, though.
phil
June 27th, 2011
1:30 pm
Ace – sing Swing Low as well….please. lol
Fire FG…
Tom O'Hawke
June 27th, 2011
1:31 pm
So, if TP was such a good hitting coach… why did the team feel the need to go in a new direction? — Murph
hmmm………..Masochism?
David O'Brien
June 27th, 2011
1:31 pm
Just got to my hotel in Seattle. About 68 degrees, cloudy but not raining. Feels nice. Supposed to rain tonight, but not till late. Doesn’t matter anyway, since they have the roof.