You’ve got to be in the right mood to argue numbers with shaun. I’m not in that mood today.
But he was just being a dick to Lew when he asked him to clarify the actual HR per 9 IP (acting as though Jurrjens has somehow miraculously pitched WAY more innings in his last 6 starts that wouldn’t skew those numbers).
If shaun every actually watched the games or just simply chose to look on the surface once in a while, it doesn’t take a scout, GM or even anything more than a casual fan to realize that something is “different”.
Shouldn’t saying Jair gave up 5 HR in his first 17 starts and 9 HR in his last 6 be “enough” information to conclude that he’s been worse in those 6 games than he was in the previous 17? Why on earth would you need inning totals to come to the “real” conclusion?
Like I said. Shaun might be stubborn, and I can appreciate that when he’s in the depths of a deep conversation over one’s production.
But this time he was just being an ass because it was Lew. Ridiculous.
But from my angle, it’s looking a little hairy right now.
Which is why you should probably refrain from forecasting October from August. They don’t start the playoffs tomorrow, so why worry about how it might go, if they did?
Too many things can happen in a month, good, bad, and indifferent.
Gwinett is on the cusp of making the IL playoffs as the wild card. If that happens, they may not get called up until they win or are eliminated in playoffs.
To me Jair’s hits per game/hits per 9 innings doesn’t really matter. The extra base hits, and how hard those balls are being hit (even the outs), tells the story. Especially when you factor in the HR.
By realizing that Jair has given up more HR in his last 6 starts than he did in his previous 17, you don’t NEED the hits per game or hits per 9 innings to determin he’s “off”.
He’s getting rocked. It really doesn’t get more simple than that.
Hugo – I did read that article about the callups Carroll posted, but I was a little bit confused by it. I only read it once but it seemed like Wren was going to bring up seven or eight guys, which is really different from the past. Did you get that impression?
sure things don’t look great for the postseason NOW. and the Brewers are on fire NOW. But realize that the Braves know they’re going to the playoffs. There’s no pressure to be outperforming the Brewers (or phillies) NOW. They still have time to get it together and peak at the right time. I could say what I THINK will happen, but i think it’s still a little too early for that to be an “informed” opinion. Also, with the exception of the starting pitching probs (which still has time to be mended) the Braves have only been bad in their last 2 games. Looking good before that for a long time…
That’s a nice little pickup for the Braves. Nothing major. But could allow for them to have another bat on the bench for the stretch run. Not sure who he’d replace on the active roster come playoff time.
First guess would be Lugo and perhaps with Prado’s flexibility in the event of an injury to an infielder, that makes sense. But they still have to have a viable backup to Gonzo on a post-season roster, don’t they?
Well, Jean E will be thrilled. Matt’s back. Hope he goes on one of his tears against LHP – an area he’s improved on in recent weeks. – he’s up to .295, .343.
scoots – You are right on about things possible changing significantly (or drastically, as they did last year) over the final weeks of the season. Obviously, injuries to significant players can (and do) affect their team (again, see Braves in 2010). Also JJ, Hanson, Heyward, and Prado could have Uggla-type turnarounds, even if less dramatic. Even Gonzo could get “hot” at the right time. On the other hand, injuries and slumps could also happen. Fortunately we have some depth, especially at pitching, to (hopefully) weather a storm, if needed.
I’m so great that we got Matty back.Not only can he hit.But he was also a fan favorite .With that said let hope that we did up a good player to get him
Matt Diaz! Sweet, another backup OF! Now the team has Diaz, Constanza, Heyward, and Hinske, all of whom are more than capable of playing an excellent 4th OF position.
Look out Brewers, y’all are in trouble now!
Let’s hope Matt Diaz can hit 3 bombs a game ’cause he’s going to have to if JJ and Lowe are starting in the playoffs.
Nathan – Not so sure Prado works as a replacement for Lugo, having not played SS but one game in the minors and one game in the bigs. Without Lugo, we have no other backup at SS.
Yeah, I see 9 AAA names on this list said to be coming up. Is this not s.o.p.? the roster exands to 40, correct? They have to come from somewhere right? IDK…
Hey DOB, random, unrleated question, thoughts on the band Dr. Dog? I am sure you’ve heard them and I was just curious of your opinion. If not, I couldn’t reccommend a band more.
They normally only bring up only two or three guys that they know will get playing time or have been up earlier in the year. I don’t think there’s any way they can give that many guys PT in a middle of a pennant race.
Matty D is good pickup. Yes, he’s a 4th outfielder type, but they didn’t get him to play outfield. Sure, he’ll play some, but they needed a RH bat off the bench. Matty kills LH pitching. Good clubhouse guy. I like him in the role I was afraid they were gonna try to fill with Wes Helms. It’s not a powerplay, but this is a good move i think. I swear, some people would complain about anything they do…
Brewers will likely cool off some. If AZ catches them, that means snakes will be red hot. Whoever we play will be good, and probably on a roll. Hopefully we will be the same. If it was easy, we would have won more than 1995. Still, I’ll take our chances. Pitching depth and superior bullpen are golden.
Yes, Diaz signed a two year deal. So he’ll be a Brave (unless traded) going into next year.
I just thought of something in terms of the post-season bench if Diaz is intended to be part of it.
Brooks Conrad could be left off. Because of Prado’s availability to play 2B or 3B if needed, along with Lugo’s ability to play all 3 infield positions (beside 1B), that leave Brooksie and his .239 average as a possible dump off the playoff roster. Hard to say at this point.
If you think about it with the Heyward/Constanza situation (one can only assume they’ll both be on the roster), that leaves two LH hitters on the bench every night. Hinske and whoever is not playing out of George and Jason.
It would also leave Lugo to backup SS and he’s a faster runner to come in and PR in a close game as well.
I hate to see Brooks’ bat leave the bench, but if it’s for Diaz? How do you argue with that?
Then again, Brooks is actually hitting way better RH and is pretty similar in results to Diaz against LHP.
Might be one of those moves that doesn’t do much for the playoffs itself, but helps us get there, with a little bit of next year in mind as well.
Whoever mentioned we should check out our trainers is right on.
How many oblique injuries can one team have in two years?
We’ve had around 10. In the old days, that didn’t disable you.
Now, it’s taken Medlin longer than the customary time for rotator cuff surgery.
Our pitching staff has had so many disable list appearances I can’t count them.
Our fat players and their list of muscle pulls is ridiculous.
Maybe it’s our rehab people or the players are just whimps who are
afraid to further damage themselves and lose money.
“One down summer you could lay at the doorstep of a lack of quality films, audience indifference, whatever. But more than one or two years becomes a trend, and we’re seeing this downward trend in attendance,” said Hollywood.com analyst Paul Dergarabedian.
even if they don’t get playing time, isn’t it a good idea to have them there just in case? Or are you saying they should put them on the 40man, but leave them with the G-Braves so they can actually play until they may be needed?
Whoever they send down has to stay there 10 days, or until the team finishes season, whichever is sooner, I believe. As I said, Gwinett will likely make the playoffs.
Lew, I’ve mentioned Berkman once today.. and probably a total of 3 times all season. I wouldn’t exactly put me in the same category as Shaun.. although my suggestion of Berkman made much more sense then the garage that Shaun quates day in and day out.
ncscoots – I’m not convinced that JJ outings since the DL is a true indicator of regression yet. He could just be in a funk (it is the dog days) or it could be because he didn’t get any rehab starts in the minors and I think he is one of those guys that needs a lot of action to keep his mechanics right.
btw, I don’t even like the term “regression”. I think it gets used too much to explain simple hot/cold streaks that players naturally go through.
Shaun (August 31st, 2011 11:02 am): “the point is that his underlying performance indicated that Jurrjens was an solid mid-rotation or back-end starter, even in the first half. No one should be that shocked with what’s gone on, unless you ignore underlying performance. Many probably do; they just look at stats, very basic stats and not the ones that tell them about underlying performance. That’s why those folks thought Jurrjens was something like a poor man’s Maddux.”
So you’re saying that Jurrjens’ “underlying performance” has remained the same after the AllStar break as it was before the AllStar break, but is only now being more truly manifested in his performance on the field?
Prove it — show us how JJ’s “underlying performance” after the break is anywhere close to his “underlying performance” before the break.
I think we are all missing the big picture on JJ. There is no bite on his slider. It almost looks like a lazy slurve and if throw that too hard. It break right to the middle. Go back and watch the location and pitches on Nat hits. JJ needs to figure out what happened to his slider.
Another question on interest to me. How is it DLowe with 2486 innings pitched suddenly loses his ability to throw a sinker. That is like Maddux or Glavine saying that they lost there ability to throw the circle change.
If I were JJ I’d have just my knee may not be 100% and it’s improving instead of saying everything with it is fine. Dude, you looked AWFUL! You had the Nats looking like 5 year olds on Christmas morning in their dugout.
If that’s all JJ has left at this point in the season than the team is in trouble. Hanson, gone for the year, Lowe might turn it up, who knows, and Beachy/Minor are real young and inexperienced.
Every player called up must be paid prorated portion of Major league minimum salary. It can get expensive. That’s one reason teams limit their callups. That said, I believe the Braves are going to make a major push for post season, and will call up anyone they believe can contribute.
Diaz is coming to a winning team, and he has hit .303/.346/.364/.709 in wins so fart his year, so he’ll be great as a Brave.
I’m certain of this analysis. It is flawless.
transplant – And why shouldn’t I go back and forth with Shaun if I want to? You ( and anyone else that doesn’t like it) can scroll right on past. Aren’t you feeding the attention demon by bitching about people engaging him?
Hugo – I don’t think it could hurt their development, but from logistical point it could hurt the team. Less bp for the regulars because more people need bp in the same amount time. The locker room becomes cramped, more hotel rooms are needed for road trips, etc.
Also, they could be better off playing in Gwinnett since their in the playoffs.
Lew, right. Jurrjens has pitched fundamentally worse. But he wasn’t as good as his basic numbers suggested in his first 11 starts. That combined with the fact that he’s actually pitched worse, and you get what Jurrjens has done in his most recent starts. I’m not trying to be tough on you. I’m more trying to make a point to all those who thought Jurrjens was something like a poor man’s Maddux.
tiger297 (August 31st, 2011 11:20 am): “how much worse? do you have the stats? I’m curious not trying to be argumentative (I feel like I have to qualify that for some reason)”
The stats are here (you should be able to paste URL into your browser, if it gets posted intact):
Seems like the Braves will probably just option someone, essentially deactivating a player with options for a game. Remember, tomorrow rosters expand anyway.
They could option Martinez and greyhound Julio Lugo. Call up Brandon Hicks to make him post-season eligible. Long reliever won’t be needed in the play-offs with the 5th starter available out of the pen, so not having Martinez on the roster tonight shouldn’t have any major implications.
It probably won’t happen that way, but that’s what I’d consider.
I’m guessing Constanza goes down until they can bring him back.
Yeah, I’m curious about this. They have 12 pitchers, but not many that can be freely moved about. Lugo is pretty useless overall, but does offer a warm body to stand at short. And rosters expand tomorrow…
Shaun, in fairness since I was pretty harsh on you. I just scrolled back and realized that your initial “argument” with Lew was about hits per 9 IP, rather than the HR.
I still stand by my argument that how hard he’s been getting hits and the HR totals being signifcantly raised tell more than the hits per 9 IP, because some “luck” factors in with the overall hits per 9 IP.
But as Lew has said, the walks and the HR spiking up a lot, pretty much tell what is needed to be told about his command. Sometimes the eyes don’t lie.
Phillies and Braves were neck and neck in the pitching dept. at the break. Phils and Braves were on pace to allow 520 and 550 runs this year. Something the Braves haven’t done since 1995, and the Phillies haven’t done at all, at least in modern baseball, I don’t believe. Phils have maintained their pace in the 2nd half. Braves have slipped to a pace of 599 since the break and not getting any better it would seem. What was a given in early July (that our pitching would be an improvement over last year) is no longer that.Our run scoring is well down from last year too. In fact it could even be argued that with run scoring well down throughout baseball this year that our pitching was actually better last year, than this year.
I said at the beginning of the season that the additon of Cliff Lee would more than offset the loss of Werth, and that they they would win over 100 games. Almost everyone thought that was highly unlikely, a few said it was crazy talk, that the loss of Werth would make them at best a mid 90’s win team. Well, call me crazy.
diazfoundation Matthew Diaz
Heading back to Atlanta, enjoyed playing with the pirate players so much, but id b lying if I said I wasn’t excited. Time to go back home
Martinez would make sense since he can be brought back so soon (doubt the ten day rule matters in September), since he pitched a couple innings last night.
N8, right. I understand he’s been getting hit harder. But he also wasn’t as good as his first-half numbers seemed to indicate. So it’s not all that shocking that his results are as bad as they’ve been. Yes, it’s probably a little shocking that it’s been this bad. But the underlying performance of Jurrjens in the first half was that of a pitcher that should have had an ERA approaching 4, if not higher.
I don’t see that happening. Lugo will get sent down. Can’t you recall a guy from the minors in the playoffs if an injury occurs? No need for Lugo to back up, unless an inury and he could be recalled if that happened. Maybe I’m wrong.
10Paulhe has hit .303/.346/.364/.709 in wins so fart his year
Why? I thought those were pretty good numbers…
cabravesfandiazfoundation Matthew Diaz
Heading back to Atlanta, enjoyed playing with the pirate players so much, but id b lying if I said I wasn’t excited. Time to go back home
1,671 comments Add your comment
N8
August 31st, 2011
11:30 am
You’ve got to be in the right mood to argue numbers with shaun. I’m not in that mood today.
But he was just being a dick to Lew when he asked him to clarify the actual HR per 9 IP (acting as though Jurrjens has somehow miraculously pitched WAY more innings in his last 6 starts that wouldn’t skew those numbers).
If shaun every actually watched the games or just simply chose to look on the surface once in a while, it doesn’t take a scout, GM or even anything more than a casual fan to realize that something is “different”.
Shouldn’t saying Jair gave up 5 HR in his first 17 starts and 9 HR in his last 6 be “enough” information to conclude that he’s been worse in those 6 games than he was in the previous 17? Why on earth would you need inning totals to come to the “real” conclusion?
Like I said. Shaun might be stubborn, and I can appreciate that when he’s in the depths of a deep conversation over one’s production.
But this time he was just being an ass because it was Lew. Ridiculous.
ncscoots
August 31st, 2011
11:31 am
But from my angle, it’s looking a little hairy right now.
Which is why you should probably refrain from forecasting October from August.
They don’t start the playoffs tomorrow, so why worry about how it might go, if they did?
Too many things can happen in a month, good, bad, and indifferent.
Hillbilly
August 31st, 2011
11:31 am
TennPaul, Here’s a little more on the Lynchburg incident, via Joey Terdoslavich’s twitter:
well this guy on their team was running his mouth earlier in the year took Bethancourt out on a dirty play, Masters hit him then…
he was running his mouth some more and the benches cleared and there was pushing and stuff but no fight cause there team knew…
his truck at home was about as dirty as it gets look it up online the lynchburg news website local news.
raleighbravefan
August 31st, 2011
11:32 am
Gwinett is on the cusp of making the IL playoffs as the wild card. If that happens, they may not get called up until they win or are eliminated in playoffs.
Lew
August 31st, 2011
11:33 am
tiger- I’m with Nathan on this one. Shaun is just wrong.
Ease
August 31st, 2011
11:34 am
Braves just re-acquired MATT DIAZ!
N8
August 31st, 2011
11:34 am
To me Jair’s hits per game/hits per 9 innings doesn’t really matter. The extra base hits, and how hard those balls are being hit (even the outs), tells the story. Especially when you factor in the HR.
By realizing that Jair has given up more HR in his last 6 starts than he did in his previous 17, you don’t NEED the hits per game or hits per 9 innings to determin he’s “off”.
He’s getting rocked. It really doesn’t get more simple than that.
Patrick
August 31st, 2011
11:34 am
BRAVES ACQUIRE….MATT DIAZ…for a PTBNL
David O'Brien
August 31st, 2011
11:34 am
Braves just got Matt Diaz back from Pirates in trade for a player to be named later
Patrick
August 31st, 2011
11:35 am
Matty signed a two year deal w/Pittsburgh right? So, he’s on the team next year too-I’m sure he’s super happy with that
Lpad
August 31st, 2011
11:36 am
Hugo – I did read that article about the callups Carroll posted, but I was a little bit confused by it. I only read it once but it seemed like Wren was going to bring up seven or eight guys, which is really different from the past. Did you get that impression?
Hugo
August 31st, 2011
11:37 am
N8
sure things don’t look great for the postseason NOW. and the Brewers are on fire NOW. But realize that the Braves know they’re going to the playoffs. There’s no pressure to be outperforming the Brewers (or phillies) NOW. They still have time to get it together and peak at the right time. I could say what I THINK will happen, but i think it’s still a little too early for that to be an “informed” opinion. Also, with the exception of the starting pitching probs (which still has time to be mended) the Braves have only been bad in their last 2 games. Looking good before that for a long time…
N8
August 31st, 2011
11:37 am
That’s a nice little pickup for the Braves. Nothing major. But could allow for them to have another bat on the bench for the stretch run. Not sure who he’d replace on the active roster come playoff time.
First guess would be Lugo and perhaps with Prado’s flexibility in the event of an injury to an infielder, that makes sense. But they still have to have a viable backup to Gonzo on a post-season roster, don’t they?
TnBrian
August 31st, 2011
11:37 am
Had a feeling since we were supposedly looking for a RH bench bat Diaz would be back. That’s cool for me. Everybody like Matt.
Lew
August 31st, 2011
11:38 am
Well, Jean E will be thrilled. Matt’s back. Hope he goes on one of his tears against LHP – an area he’s improved on in recent weeks. – he’s up to .295, .343.
N8
August 31st, 2011
11:38 am
I agree Hugo.
raleighbravefan
August 31st, 2011
11:38 am
scoots – You are right on about things possible changing significantly (or drastically, as they did last year) over the final weeks of the season. Obviously, injuries to significant players can (and do) affect their team (again, see Braves in 2010). Also JJ, Hanson, Heyward, and Prado could have Uggla-type turnarounds, even if less dramatic. Even Gonzo could get “hot” at the right time. On the other hand, injuries and slumps could also happen. Fortunately we have some depth, especially at pitching, to (hopefully) weather a storm, if needed.
BravesfansinNC
August 31st, 2011
11:39 am
I’m so great that we got Matty back.Not only can he hit.But he was also a fan favorite .With that said let hope that we did up a good player to get him
Murph
August 31st, 2011
11:39 am
Matt Diaz! Sweet, another backup OF! Now the team has Diaz, Constanza, Heyward, and Hinske, all of whom are more than capable of playing an excellent 4th OF position.
Look out Brewers, y’all are in trouble now!
Let’s hope Matt Diaz can hit 3 bombs a game ’cause he’s going to have to if JJ and Lowe are starting in the playoffs.
Venice Jim
August 31st, 2011
11:39 am
Welcome back, Matt!!!
Lew
August 31st, 2011
11:40 am
Nathan – Not so sure Prado works as a replacement for Lugo, having not played SS but one game in the minors and one game in the bigs. Without Lugo, we have no other backup at SS.
Maybe Constanza’s ankle is worse than we know.
Hugo
August 31st, 2011
11:40 am
Yeah, I see 9 AAA names on this list said to be coming up. Is this not s.o.p.? the roster exands to 40, correct? They have to come from somewhere right? IDK…
David O'Brien
August 31st, 2011
11:41 am
Diaz hit .259 (56-for-216) w/12 2B, 1 triple, no HR, 19 RBIs, 44 K, .303 OBP, .324 slugging.
He’s fared considerable better vs. lefties: 31-for-105 (.295) w/ .342/.362
TnBrian
August 31st, 2011
11:41 am
That’s rediculous how we play the Nats. I’m sure they step it up on us, but that’s more reason to step it up yourselves. We’re better. Now show it!
Dr. Knockahoma, Esq.
August 31st, 2011
11:41 am
WELCOME BACK MATT!!
Hey DOB, random, unrleated question, thoughts on the band Dr. Dog? I am sure you’ve heard them and I was just curious of your opinion. If not, I couldn’t reccommend a band more.
Lpad
August 31st, 2011
11:42 am
They normally only bring up only two or three guys that they know will get playing time or have been up earlier in the year. I don’t think there’s any way they can give that many guys PT in a middle of a pennant race.
Arkansas Transplant
August 31st, 2011
11:43 am
N8, you do realize that Shaun just does that for attention and it seems everyone is willing to oblige.
Lew
August 31st, 2011
11:43 am
Maybe they just return Vizcaino to the minors for a day to make room for Matt.
JRW
August 31st, 2011
11:43 am
George – They must have lost their focus on baseball.
**************************************************************
It must be they can’t focus when facing the “Gnats” That team gives this team fits for some reason. Doesn’t matter who’s hot, cold or anything.
Lew
August 31st, 2011
11:43 am
Maybe DL or DFA Linebrink
Hugo
August 31st, 2011
11:44 am
Matty D is good pickup. Yes, he’s a 4th outfielder type, but they didn’t get him to play outfield. Sure, he’ll play some, but they needed a RH bat off the bench. Matty kills LH pitching. Good clubhouse guy. I like him in the role I was afraid they were gonna try to fill with Wes Helms. It’s not a powerplay, but this is a good move i think. I swear, some people would complain about anything they do…
raleighbravefan
August 31st, 2011
11:44 am
Brewers will likely cool off some. If AZ catches them, that means snakes will be red hot. Whoever we play will be good, and probably on a roll. Hopefully we will be the same. If it was easy, we would have won more than 1995. Still, I’ll take our chances. Pitching depth and superior bullpen are golden.
Lew
August 31st, 2011
11:44 am
Transplant – Kind of like you and your continual mention of Berkman?
N8
August 31st, 2011
11:45 am
Yes, Diaz signed a two year deal. So he’ll be a Brave (unless traded) going into next year.
I just thought of something in terms of the post-season bench if Diaz is intended to be part of it.
Brooks Conrad could be left off. Because of Prado’s availability to play 2B or 3B if needed, along with Lugo’s ability to play all 3 infield positions (beside 1B), that leave Brooksie and his .239 average as a possible dump off the playoff roster. Hard to say at this point.
If you think about it with the Heyward/Constanza situation (one can only assume they’ll both be on the roster), that leaves two LH hitters on the bench every night. Hinske and whoever is not playing out of George and Jason.
It would also leave Lugo to backup SS and he’s a faster runner to come in and PR in a close game as well.
I hate to see Brooks’ bat leave the bench, but if it’s for Diaz? How do you argue with that?
Then again, Brooks is actually hitting way better RH and is pretty similar in results to Diaz against LHP.
Might be one of those moves that doesn’t do much for the playoffs itself, but helps us get there, with a little bit of next year in mind as well.
David O'Brien
August 31st, 2011
11:46 am
Diaz is signed through the 2012 season, signed 2-yr, 4.25 mill deal with Pirates last winter.
b
August 31st, 2011
11:47 am
Whoever mentioned we should check out our trainers is right on.
How many oblique injuries can one team have in two years?
We’ve had around 10. In the old days, that didn’t disable you.
Now, it’s taken Medlin longer than the customary time for rotator cuff surgery.
Our pitching staff has had so many disable list appearances I can’t count them.
Our fat players and their list of muscle pulls is ridiculous.
Maybe it’s our rehab people or the players are just whimps who are
afraid to further damage themselves and lose money.
TennesseePaul
August 31st, 2011
11:47 am
“One down summer you could lay at the doorstep of a lack of quality films, audience indifference, whatever. But more than one or two years becomes a trend, and we’re seeing this downward trend in attendance,” said Hollywood.com analyst Paul Dergarabedian.
Trend? pish-posh.
Hugo
August 31st, 2011
11:47 am
even if they don’t get playing time, isn’t it a good idea to have them there just in case? Or are you saying they should put them on the 40man, but leave them with the G-Braves so they can actually play until they may be needed?
raleighbravefan
August 31st, 2011
11:47 am
Whoever they send down has to stay there 10 days, or until the team finishes season, whichever is sooner, I believe. As I said, Gwinett will likely make the playoffs.
ncscoots
August 31st, 2011
11:48 am
If you think about it with the Heyward/Constanza situation (one can only assume they’ll both be on the roster)
Why?
TennesseePaul
August 31st, 2011
11:48 am
Braves just got Matt Diaz back from Pirates in trade for a player to be named later
YES!
Love Diaz. Glad to see him back in the fold. He’ll certainly help with depth on the bench and platoon arrangements in the outfield.
Arkansas Transplant
August 31st, 2011
11:49 am
Lew, I’ve mentioned Berkman once today.. and probably a total of 3 times all season. I wouldn’t exactly put me in the same category as Shaun.. although my suggestion of Berkman made much more sense then the garage that Shaun quates day in and day out.
David O'Brien
August 31st, 2011
11:50 am
Diaz is expected to join Braves in time for tonight’s game and will wear No. 23
Hugo Z Hackenbush
August 31st, 2011
11:50 am
Wow, let’s hope Matt “regresses” to his 2009 level. HIs current OPS+ is 74.
O.J.
August 31st, 2011
11:50 am
YES!!!!! Matty D is back in the house!!!!!!!
Arkansas Transplant
August 31st, 2011
11:50 am
you and Shaun go back and forth almost daily now.
Lpad
August 31st, 2011
11:50 am
ncscoots – I’m not convinced that JJ outings since the DL is a true indicator of regression yet. He could just be in a funk (it is the dog days) or it could be because he didn’t get any rehab starts in the minors and I think he is one of those guys that needs a lot of action to keep his mechanics right.
btw, I don’t even like the term “regression”. I think it gets used too much to explain simple hot/cold streaks that players naturally go through.
Random
August 31st, 2011
11:50 am
Shaun (August 31st, 2011 11:02 am): “the point is that his underlying performance indicated that Jurrjens was an solid mid-rotation or back-end starter, even in the first half. No one should be that shocked with what’s gone on, unless you ignore underlying performance. Many probably do; they just look at stats, very basic stats and not the ones that tell them about underlying performance. That’s why those folks thought Jurrjens was something like a poor man’s Maddux.”
So you’re saying that Jurrjens’ “underlying performance” has remained the same after the AllStar break as it was before the AllStar break, but is only now being more truly manifested in his performance on the field?
Prove it — show us how JJ’s “underlying performance” after the break is anywhere close to his “underlying performance” before the break.
Arkansas Transplant
August 31st, 2011
11:51 am
DOB, any word on how they make room for him?
RemoW
August 31st, 2011
11:51 am
I think we are all missing the big picture on JJ. There is no bite on his slider. It almost looks like a lazy slurve and if throw that too hard. It break right to the middle. Go back and watch the location and pitches on Nat hits. JJ needs to figure out what happened to his slider.
Another question on interest to me. How is it DLowe with 2486 innings pitched suddenly loses his ability to throw a sinker. That is like Maddux or Glavine saying that they lost there ability to throw the circle change.
T for Texas
August 31st, 2011
11:51 am
Diaz in, Biff out. Thanks for the memories Georgie, it was fun.
Lew
August 31st, 2011
11:51 am
Transplant – But it got you attention, right?
TnBrian
August 31st, 2011
11:51 am
If I were JJ I’d have just my knee may not be 100% and it’s improving instead of saying everything with it is fine. Dude, you looked AWFUL! You had the Nats looking like 5 year olds on Christmas morning in their dugout.
If that’s all JJ has left at this point in the season than the team is in trouble. Hanson, gone for the year, Lowe might turn it up, who knows, and Beachy/Minor are real young and inexperienced.
raleighbravefan
August 31st, 2011
11:52 am
Every player called up must be paid prorated portion of Major league minimum salary. It can get expensive. That’s one reason teams limit their callups. That said, I believe the Braves are going to make a major push for post season, and will call up anyone they believe can contribute.
TennesseePaul
August 31st, 2011
11:52 am
Diaz is coming to a winning team, and he has hit .303/.346/.364/.709 in wins so fart his year, so he’ll be great as a Brave.
I’m certain of this analysis. It is flawless.
JRW
August 31st, 2011
11:52 am
Wonder if Diaz will get the “dreaded Locker”
Lew
August 31st, 2011
11:52 am
transplant – And why shouldn’t I go back and forth with Shaun if I want to? You ( and anyone else that doesn’t like it) can scroll right on past. Aren’t you feeding the attention demon by bitching about people engaging him?
timthebrave
August 31st, 2011
11:53 am
I always liked Matt Diaz. It will be nice to have someone on the bench that can hit lefties
ncscoots
August 31st, 2011
11:53 am
btw, I don’t even like the term “regression”. I think it gets used too much to explain simple hot/cold streaks that players naturally go through.
Overused, I’d agree. Unfortunately, much of the overuse comes from misuse.
Lpad
August 31st, 2011
11:54 am
Hugo – I don’t think it could hurt their development, but from logistical point it could hurt the team. Less bp for the regulars because more people need bp in the same amount time. The locker room becomes cramped, more hotel rooms are needed for road trips, etc.
Also, they could be better off playing in Gwinnett since their in the playoffs.
RemoW
August 31st, 2011
11:54 am
So who is getting bumped from the roster for Diaz?
Shaun
August 31st, 2011
11:55 am
Lew, right. Jurrjens has pitched fundamentally worse. But he wasn’t as good as his basic numbers suggested in his first 11 starts. That combined with the fact that he’s actually pitched worse, and you get what Jurrjens has done in his most recent starts. I’m not trying to be tough on you. I’m more trying to make a point to all those who thought Jurrjens was something like a poor man’s Maddux.
TennesseePaul
August 31st, 2011
11:55 am
Too bad it took this long to get Matt Diaz back. It didn’t take near as long to realize Joe Mather was not a viable replacement for him.
David O'Brien
August 31st, 2011
11:55 am
Diaz could help Braves a little against lefties; they rank dead last in the NL in avg (.227) and OBP (.296) vs. lefties
Diaz is 11-for-44 as a PH this season. Braves PHs rank 12th in NL with .196 avg, though lead NL in homers (8).
Braves also receive some cash from Pirates to help offset remainder of Diaz’s salary, which was $2 mill this season and $2 mill in 2012
O.J.
August 31st, 2011
11:55 am
Well, rosters expand tomorrow so it will probably be someone with the inclination that they will be back in 10 days. Georgie maybe?
Nova Scotia Steve
August 31st, 2011
11:55 am
What happened to Matty’s power???
Glad to have him back. It’s just odd.
Lew
August 31st, 2011
11:55 am
Shaun – Whatever. Point made. Who cares?
raleighbravefan
August 31st, 2011
11:56 am
I’m guessing Constanza goes down until they can bring him back.
TennesseePaul
August 31st, 2011
11:57 am
Wonder if Diaz will get the “dreaded Locker”
Lugo sits there now, so I’d assume if Matt gets it, it’s because Lugo is gone and that would be a positive sign.
BFChris26
August 31st, 2011
11:57 am
Diaz is back
Random
August 31st, 2011
11:57 am
tiger297 (August 31st, 2011 11:20 am): “how much worse? do you have the stats? I’m curious not trying to be argumentative (I feel like I have to qualify that for some reason)”
The stats are here (you should be able to paste URL into your browser, if it gets posted intact):
http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=117955#sectionType=gameLog&statType=2&season=2011&gameType=‘R’
Sorry that I don’t know how to TennPaul charts on here.
Small sample (Mar, Apr, May, Jun // Jul, Aug):
IP — 5.2, 28.0, 33.1, 34.2 // 27.2, 28.0
ERA — 0.00, 3.86, 4.86, 4.41 // 5.86, 5.14
WHIP — 0.88, 1.43, 1.38, 1.36 // 1.70, 1.61
AVG Against — .158, .279, .238, .265 // .325, .296
Lpad
August 31st, 2011
11:57 am
I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a relief pitcher that went down to make room for Diaz. You need less bullpen guys in the playoffs.
Shaun
August 31st, 2011
11:57 am
Seems like the Braves will probably just option someone, essentially deactivating a player with options for a game. Remember, tomorrow rosters expand anyway.
Arkansas Transplant
August 31st, 2011
11:57 am
Constanza might be headed to the DL.
ncscoots
August 31st, 2011
11:58 am
if Matt gets it, it’s because Lugo is gone and that would be a positive sign.
…offset by the negative waves engendered by giving the locker to a player one might actually want to contribute.
Fish Bisch
August 31st, 2011
11:59 am
Matt Diaz sucks. Simmer down fangirls.
Shaun
August 31st, 2011
11:59 am
…Oops. Didn’t think about having to send a guy down for 10 days. So there’s that.
Hillbilly
August 31st, 2011
12:01 pm
AT,
They could option Martinez and greyhound Julio Lugo. Call up Brandon Hicks to make him post-season eligible. Long reliever won’t be needed in the play-offs with the 5th starter available out of the pen, so not having Martinez on the roster tonight shouldn’t have any major implications.
It probably won’t happen that way, but that’s what I’d consider.
Lew
August 31st, 2011
12:01 pm
They’ll probably DL someone – that way he’ll still be eligible for post season.
TennesseePaul
August 31st, 2011
12:01 pm
I’m guessing Constanza goes down until they can bring him back.
Yeah, I’m curious about this. They have 12 pitchers, but not many that can be freely moved about. Lugo is pretty useless overall, but does offer a warm body to stand at short. And rosters expand tomorrow…
N8
August 31st, 2011
12:02 pm
Shaun, in fairness since I was pretty harsh on you. I just scrolled back and realized that your initial “argument” with Lew was about hits per 9 IP, rather than the HR.
I still stand by my argument that how hard he’s been getting hits and the HR totals being signifcantly raised tell more than the hits per 9 IP, because some “luck” factors in with the overall hits per 9 IP.
But as Lew has said, the walks and the HR spiking up a lot, pretty much tell what is needed to be told about his command. Sometimes the eyes don’t lie.
McFann :Ô: :Ô:
August 31st, 2011
12:02 pm
HOLY COW!! MATTE’S BACK??
Hooray!!!
TennesseePaul
August 31st, 2011
12:03 pm
Constanza might be headed to the DL.
That would solve all the “issues” and still allow him to be eligible for the post season, should they want him.
monty
August 31st, 2011
12:03 pm
Phillies and Braves were neck and neck in the pitching dept. at the break. Phils and Braves were on pace to allow 520 and 550 runs this year. Something the Braves haven’t done since 1995, and the Phillies haven’t done at all, at least in modern baseball, I don’t believe. Phils have maintained their pace in the 2nd half. Braves have slipped to a pace of 599 since the break and not getting any better it would seem. What was a given in early July (that our pitching would be an improvement over last year) is no longer that.Our run scoring is well down from last year too. In fact it could even be argued that with run scoring well down throughout baseball this year that our pitching was actually better last year, than this year.
I said at the beginning of the season that the additon of Cliff Lee would more than offset the loss of Werth, and that they they would win over 100 games. Almost everyone thought that was highly unlikely, a few said it was crazy talk, that the loss of Werth would make them at best a mid 90’s win team. Well, call me crazy.
Shaun
August 31st, 2011
12:04 pm
Speculation on Twitter is that it’s Christian Martinez.
Mixxo
August 31st, 2011
12:06 pm
Welcome back Matty D. !!!
cabravesfan
August 31st, 2011
12:07 pm
MATTE! So happy he’s back
He seems happy too:
diazfoundation Matthew Diaz
Heading back to Atlanta, enjoyed playing with the pirate players so much, but id b lying if I said I wasn’t excited. Time to go back home
Shaun
August 31st, 2011
12:07 pm
Buster Olney: “Rival evaluator says Braves working on more than Diaz deal. Jamey Carroll? We will see.”
monty
August 31st, 2011
12:08 pm
Welcome home, Matty D !!
Lew
August 31st, 2011
12:09 pm
Martinez would make sense since he can be brought back so soon (doubt the ten day rule matters in September), since he pitched a couple innings last night.
O.J.
August 31st, 2011
12:09 pm
Buster Olney tweets:
Rival evaluator says Braves working on more than Diaz deal. Jamey Carroll? We will see.
BFChris26
August 31st, 2011
12:10 pm
I can see Diaz in the lineup tonight against Lannan (a tough lefty) with Constanza getting day off with his ankle issue.
If Braves are working on more than just a Diaz deal, I can see a back up SS option that’s better than Lugo.
Hillbilly
August 31st, 2011
12:10 pm
Matt Diaz on twitter:
Heading back to Atlanta, enjoyed playing with the pirate players so much, but id b lying if I said I wasn’t excited. Time to go back home
Hillbilly
August 31st, 2011
12:11 pm
Shoulda refreshed, damn it. You got me, cab.
Shaun
August 31st, 2011
12:12 pm
N8, right. I understand he’s been getting hit harder. But he also wasn’t as good as his first-half numbers seemed to indicate. So it’s not all that shocking that his results are as bad as they’ve been. Yes, it’s probably a little shocking that it’s been this bad. But the underlying performance of Jurrjens in the first half was that of a pitcher that should have had an ERA approaching 4, if not higher.
Lew
August 31st, 2011
12:12 pm
BFChris – You could be right.
monty
August 31st, 2011
12:13 pm
“Brooks Conrad could be left off.”
I don’t see that happening. Lugo will get sent down. Can’t you recall a guy from the minors in the playoffs if an injury occurs? No need for Lugo to back up, unless an inury and he could be recalled if that happened. Maybe I’m wrong.
Hillbilly
August 31st, 2011
12:14 pm
Yeah, Lew (12:09), that’s what I’m thinking. Don’t have to have him as a long man for the next 10 days with Teheran and/or Delgado coming up.
TennesseePaul
August 31st, 2011
12:14 pm
I can see a back up SS option that’s better than Lugo.
That’s not hard to see. Lugo stinks.
McFann :Ô: :Ô:
August 31st, 2011
12:14 pm
10Paul he has hit .303/.346/.364/.709 in wins so fart his year
Why? I thought those were pretty good numbers…
cabravesfan diazfoundation Matthew Diaz
Heading back to Atlanta, enjoyed playing with the pirate players so much, but id b lying if I said I wasn’t excited. Time to go back home
Aw! ♥ MattE!!