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© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
3,788 comments Add your comment
TnBrian
October 19th, 2011
12:13 am
I wonder if the jays would trade Bautista? I bet Wren would be all over that in a heartbeat.
TnBrian
October 19th, 2011
12:17 am
And he is really fast. Kinda lead baseball in steals last year.
TnBrian
October 19th, 2011
12:26 am
I like Lew, but he is really snooty. He needs to calm his butt down and quit worrying about what Shaun is writing here too. And then I joke with him about how he would be lost without a Shaun post and he calls me out. I was just kidding, but now I’m not kidding. He made me mad.
TnBrian
October 19th, 2011
12:29 am
Lewie
He gets so mad when you call him that.
TnBrian
October 19th, 2011
12:32 am
Ok ok! Everybody stop posting a second and get this lineup:
Bourn/Jones/Bautista/Uggla/Mac/FF/Heyward/AG
nolie
October 19th, 2011
12:33 am
IMO steals are overrated.
and just a few months ago you were expounding the virtues of Lew…..
He’s an old f@rt like me with health issues who has his good days and his bad days
Take a tip from Chipper’s daddy and don’t get too high or too low
nolie
October 19th, 2011
12:34 am
no money for Bautista
TnBrian
October 19th, 2011
12:40 am
noliee, I have good days and bad ones myself. And I do still like Lew and respect his knowledge of this game. Really smart guy. Softy lately though. Mercy is he ana*.
Well what about if they can deal Lowe and have that team pay half or almost half of his remaining contract and possibly involve JJ in a trade for Bautista? Would money still not be there.
nolie
October 19th, 2011
12:45 am
I really see no reason that the Jays would trade such a force as he has been the last coupla years.
they just signed him to a five year contract that is not all that different from Uggla’s IIRC.
of course we can always dream
tiger297
October 19th, 2011
12:52 am
nolie – didnt you hear he was sleeping with the Rays GM’s wife and there was tension over it…
lets get that rumor started and maybe give them a reason to trade
although I’m not sure we need another GM
nolie
October 19th, 2011
12:55 am
From what I hear Frank is a pretty analytical cold fish. He might be willing to let his wife keep Bautista happy……….
nolie
October 19th, 2011
12:56 am
as long as he stays productive anyway
ccrider
October 19th, 2011
1:11 am
The player to get from the Blue Jays is Brett Lawrie. He would be the replacement for Chipper and a star player
nolie
October 19th, 2011
1:18 am
he certainly has a great 2011.
nolie
October 19th, 2011
1:19 am
by why in the world would they trade him?
ccrider
October 19th, 2011
1:34 am
nolie, I would like to see the Braves go young if they trade any of their pitching. Lawrie, Mc Cutchen, Jesus Montero(If the Braves figure he could play C,1B or LF)
ccrider
October 19th, 2011
1:37 am
Toronto, Pittsburgh, Yankees all need pitching. Maybe they would , maybe not
nolie
October 19th, 2011
1:41 am
Toronto is so far out of being a real player in that division, i find it hard to fathom that they would trade such a promising hitter who will cost next to nothing for the next three years. No matter what they get in return they are very unlikely to have a shot at anything post season. JMO.
nolie
October 19th, 2011
1:45 am
my thought is that teams like the Yanks and Boston can afford to do way better than Lowe over the winter and teams like the Pirates can’t really afford him and would not give up a good cheap player because of economic interest. again JMO
ccrider
October 19th, 2011
1:53 am
Oh, I never even think about trading Lowe anymore. The Braves might get more out of him pitching out of the pen. I think the Yankees would move Montero for pitching, but the question with him is can he find a postion. His bat will get to the big leagues, but maybe only at DH.
I think realistically, he might not be that much worse than McCann defensively, but i don’t think Brain is going anywhere. He might could play 1st, but could Freeman play LF
I haven’t seen him play much to make a judgement, but he can sure hit!
nolie
October 19th, 2011
2:09 am
you know that McCann was voted third or fourth best defensive catcher thsi year. and a link that somebody posted earlier showed him to be one of the best at blocking pitches in the dirt over the last several years I think. McFann would likely remember the details.
As an ex-catcher and scout I think Mac is a better catcher than most here give him credit for being.
He does get a little sloppy in his mechanics at times and he runs around out in front of the plate too much
nolie
October 19th, 2011
2:10 am
GG. TTFN ccr, and anybody else lurking around
Ward High Hopes back
October 19th, 2011
2:17 am
Hello every one! I hope the Braves can trade Lowe? It’s the 15 million that the teams wont want.
ccrider
October 19th, 2011
2:17 am
Just us nolie
Ward High Hopes back
October 19th, 2011
2:19 am
nolie: I’d have to say that I think Wren,will get The Braves an out fielder,but It’s going to be along the budget,or it will be a trade for one?
Ward High Hopes back
October 19th, 2011
2:21 am
Here’s what I would do! Give Pastornicky the SS job. Sign Scutaro for back up. Try for Quentin like hell,but If that doesn’t work out? Get Mark Delrosa,nand Wison Betimet.
ccrider
October 19th, 2011
2:23 am
Ward, Lowe is untradeable, unless they pay 90% of his salary. I think under those circumstances, it would be better to use him in the bullpen. He was a closer for the Red Sox once, maybe he will have a flashback and remember how to pitch again, well at least for 1 inning a game
Ward High Hopes back
October 19th, 2011
2:26 am
ccrider: The first year I thought Lowe might live up to his contact,but last my hopes drained,because of his performance.
Ward High Hopes back
October 19th, 2011
2:27 am
meant to say contract.
Ward High Hopes back
October 19th, 2011
2:31 am
Do we stay with Lowe,and hope for the best,at least until the All Star break,or trade him immediately?
keylargo
October 19th, 2011
2:34 am
Ward
Pastornicky 447 chances 26 errors 49 DP
Gonzalez 633 chances 12 errors 79 DP
Tell me if these two SS continue fielding at the rate they did last year, what kind of numbers will Pastornicky have to put up to make up for his vastly inferior defense?
I really would like to see a line on him that you think he can maintain.
ccrider
October 19th, 2011
2:35 am
Ward; It happens, look at John Lackey and Carl Crawford on the Red Sox, Barry Zito with the Giants, Chone Figgins with Seattle, Soriano with the Cubs.
I will forgive Frank Wren that signing, because of the Jair Trade, the Uggla trade, the Bourn trade, the Vazquez trade, the Infante trade! Just one more year of Lowe and probably Chipper and we will have a chance to upgrade some positions
Ward High Hopes back
October 19th, 2011
2:35 am
According to the articles if The Braves trade Lowe? They would have to eat up half his pay check.
Ward High Hopes back
October 19th, 2011
2:37 am
Keylargo, Can’t go with Agon,just can’t support him anymore I would go with the Rookie.
Ward High Hopes back
October 19th, 2011
2:39 am
I’m thinking, save up some money for 2013 Free Agent Market. Much better field…..
ccrider
October 19th, 2011
2:41 am
keylargo; I do remember some comments about the fields Pastornicky had played on affecting his stats, that came from a Braves organizational report that I believe Carol sited. Probably, wouldn’t be quite as bad on major league fields. I am not a big fan of Alex Gonzalez, but he can pick it. Would love to see Simmons turn into something special!
Ward High Hopes back
October 19th, 2011
2:43 am
Who’s this Simmons kid everyone’s been talking about. Don’t have access to the Minors?
Ward High Hopes back
October 19th, 2011
2:46 am
Can he run like Mays?
ccrider
October 19th, 2011
2:46 am
Ward: just my opinion, but I think the Braves will never get an offer for Lowe that the Braves don’t have to pay at least 12 million!
Ward High Hopes back
October 19th, 2011
2:46 am
Enter your comments here
ccrider
October 19th, 2011
2:50 am
Ward, Simmons is a very good defensive SS, with a arm so good the Braves wanted to make him a closer. But, Simmons only signed with the Braves if they would let him try to be a fulltime position player. Most experts thought he wouldn’t hit enough, but so far he has proved them wrong.
Ward High Hopes back
October 19th, 2011
2:50 am
ccrider,leave it to me on that 2:46am post comedy.
ccrider
October 19th, 2011
2:51 am
Well, goodnight all.
Ward High Hopes back
October 19th, 2011
2:52 am
As long as they make contact with two outs,and runners in scoring postition.
Ward High Hopes back
October 19th, 2011
2:53 am
Runners in soring position was terrible?
ccrider
October 19th, 2011
2:54 am
Ward; by the way, thanks for your well wishes for my daughter’s acting career , the other day. She will need all the good Karma she can get. It is as competitive as professional sports and sometimes down and dirtier.
Signing out!
keylargo
October 19th, 2011
2:55 am
ward – try milb.com for minor leaguers. That’s the site for Minor League Baseball. It’s a good site, not as good as mlb.com but you can find a lot of information.
Ward High Hopes back
October 19th, 2011
3:02 am
ccrider,thats how you start out in small acting rolls,and than you get bigger ones. She should do fine.Thanks keylargo for the Imfo………
Ward High Hopes back
October 19th, 2011
3:04 am
Information helps,and will look into that!
Ward High Hopes back
October 19th, 2011
3:07 am
Hang around for a while……
Ward High Hopes back
October 19th, 2011
3:34 am
All, have a good one,and peace…………
nolie
October 19th, 2011
4:17 am
baseballreference.com also has the minor league stats of players
Ward High Hopes back
October 19th, 2011
4:47 am
Have a good one nolie,and thanks for the Info buddy,and peace……
nolie
October 19th, 2011
6:55 am
Once upon a time there was a tavern
Where we used to raise a glass or two
Remember how we laughed away the hours
And dreamed of all the great things we would do
Those were the days my friend
We’d thought they’d never end
We’d sing and dance
Forever and a day
We’d live the life we’d choose
We’d fight and never lose
Fore we were young
And sure to have our way
La La La La La La La La La La La La
La La La La La La La La La La
La La La La La La La La La La La La
Those were the days, my friend those were the days
Then the busy years went rushing by us
We lost our stary notions along the way
If by chance I’d see you in the tavern
We’d smile at one another and we’d say
Those were the days my friend
We’d thought they’d never end
We’d sing and dance
Forever and the day
We’d live the life we’d choose
We’d fight and never lose
Fore we were young
And sure to have our way
La La La La La La La La La La La La
La La La La La La La La La La
La La La La La La La La La La La La
Those were the days, my friend those were the days
Just tonight I stood before the tavern
Nothing seemed the way it used to be
In the glass I saw a strange reflection
Was that lonely person really me
Those were the days my friend
We’d thought they’d never end
We’d sing and dance
Forever and the day
We’d live the life we’d choose
We’d fight and never lose
Fore we were young
And sure to have our way
La La La La La La La La La La La La
La La La La La La La La La La
La La La La La La La La La La La La
Those were the days, my friend those were the days
Through the door there came familiar laughter
I saw your face I heard you call my name
Oh my friends were older but no wiser
Fore in our hearts the dreams are all the same
Those were the days my friend
We’d thought they’d never end
We’d sing and dance
Forever and the day
We’d live the life we’d choose
We’d fight and never lose
Fore we were young
And sure to have our way
Those were the days my friend
We’d thought they’d never end
We’d sing and dance
Forever and the day
We’d live the life we’d choose
We’d fight and never lose
Fore we were young
And sure to have our way
Those were the days my friend
We’d thought they’d never end
We’d sing and dance
Forever and the day
We’d live the life we’d choose
We’d fight and never lose
Those were the days
My friend those were the days
jeffrey d
October 19th, 2011
7:36 am
Everybody don’t forget to visit Bobby Cox’s Baseball Reference page, sponsored by his biggest fan, Robert!
http://www.baseball-reference.com/managers/coxbo01.shtml
haggard
October 19th, 2011
7:53 am
nolie
Mornin’ good man
Those Were The Days….what a blast from the past I hadn’t thought of in a while. Had the Mary Hoskin 45 as an eight year old, (along with Otis Redding, Elvis Presley, The Young Rascals, The Lovin’ Spoonful, Santana, Bo Diddley, BB King–oldest brother was 7 years my senior and I spent many an hour spinning his influences in the living room, listening on my parent’s Magnavox). A couple of nights ago I watched Once Upon A Time In America and, though that song wasn’t in the soundtrack, while reading the words I could almost see an old, scratchy kinescope flickering image instead of the pristine DVD I viewed. And–as an eight year old–that song always put me in a pensive mood; probably due to the minor key it was written in.
Man….the high here in Atlanta is to be just 52 today, following yesterday’s 82. And I’m out in it in about ten minutes.
Thanks again for the song.
haggard
October 19th, 2011
7:54 am
jeffrey d
“Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone”
haggard
October 19th, 2011
7:56 am
jeffrey d
Just saw the Cox page and its’ “sponsor” LOL !
haggard
October 19th, 2011
8:00 am
jeffrey d
About “Sunshine”; I’m a big time Bill Withers fan, ( recognized him at a Waffle House a few years back and had a great conversation with him and his wife following the meal) and, if you haven’t heard it, check out his “Live At Carnegie Hall”
haggard
October 19th, 2011
8:24 am
David O’Brien
Just getting back in town and catching up with the latest “goods”. Thank you. And after the kind of malaise that invaded following the haggard ending of our Braves’ season, I watched just bits and pieces of the playoffs. However, I find myself keenly interested in the series and think it’ll be a good one.
haggard
October 19th, 2011
8:25 am
Lew
How’s John and what’s the latest?
Lew
October 19th, 2011
8:45 am
haggard – He’s doing fine – Tn Brian? Not so well. He will pay.
flange1
October 19th, 2011
8:50 am
Morning Lew,
So John is doing well? Did the get all the bad stuff when they removed the toe?
Lew
October 19th, 2011
8:58 am
Flange – He’s doing much better and yes, they think they got it all when they did the surgery. He’ll have a full body MRI in early December just to check. If he can make it through cancer with only losing a toe and not having to have chemo or radiation…..well, I think most cancer survivors would take that any day.
He’s back to work and taking karate again – working on re-qualifying for his black belt.
flange1
October 19th, 2011
9:01 am
Wasn’t it his big toe?
Lew
October 19th, 2011
9:02 am
So Tn Brian thinks I’m snooty and shouldn’t comment to Shaun anymore. Wonder what he thinks of Murph, who engaged Shaun for several hours yesterday.
And as for not understanding when he’s joking? Well, so was I. Maybe not anymore, though. But I’m really glad he thinks I’m knowledgeble and likes me. Guess I have more than my son’s health to be happy for, right?
Lew
October 19th, 2011
9:04 am
faknge – toe next to the little toe on his left foot. He has a bit of a balance issue barefoot in the dojo he needs to work on – had to get special shoes (for foot support – losing a digit can lead to Sharko syndrome – something TnBrain knows about as I believe he mentioned his GF has it). No full contact at this point, though.
RC
October 19th, 2011
9:22 am
So the Red Sox pitchers were drinking Bud Light during games? Whew…I thought they were drinking beer.
Patrick
October 19th, 2011
9:28 am
DOB: I have a question I’m curious about that I’m hoping you’ll answer.
I have been hearing about the new collective barganing agreement that should be agreed upon soon.
One of the new changes is the wild card. I am little confused on how this is going to work (or how MLB wants it to work) in the future.
So, my question is: If MLB does impliment this new Wild Card provision…how would that have affected the Braves this season? So, in a hypathetical world, if the new wild card changed had already exsisted and the braves blew their lead, would the new change have changed the outcome of the Braves chance to reach the postseason?
I hope what I’m asking makes sense.
Thanks
Arkansas Transplant
October 19th, 2011
9:29 am
Lew, Speaking of Karate… Just tested for my next belt on Monday. Guess I’ll find out if I passed this coming Monday. Great news about your son, hopefully he’ll continue down the road of recovery, each day better than the last.
Arkansas Transplant
October 19th, 2011
9:30 am
oh, and quit being so snooty and snotty it’s getting all over me.
RC
October 19th, 2011
9:33 am
Interesting interview with Kelly Johnson up on Fangraphs. Not super excited about this particular line though:
DL: You were originally with the Atlanta Braves. Coming up through their system, was a specific hitting philosophy espoused, or did they mostly let guys be themselves?
KJ: There was no philosophy, that I [saw]. I felt like it was more, for them, either you can do it or you can’t.
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/qa-kelly-johnson-sabermetrically-savvy-fa/
Lew
October 19th, 2011
9:33 am
Transplant – Well, it’s so hard to change a lifetime habit…..
What discipline do you take? My son has taken Shorin Ryu since he was 15.
Lew
October 19th, 2011
9:34 am
And sometimes Kelly could and many times, he couldn’t.
Arkansas Transplant
October 19th, 2011
9:35 am
I’m taking Goju ryu.
Lew
October 19th, 2011
9:37 am
Transplant – Probably some similarities, I’d imagine.
jeffrey d
October 19th, 2011
9:52 am
“Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone”
haggard – you been following our band? I’m been meaning to find out who our fan is.
jeffrey d
October 19th, 2011
9:54 am
I’ve**
Arkansas Transplant
October 19th, 2011
9:57 am
Lew, I believe there are a few similarities, we have a few guys in our class that has taken that style and there is quite a few things that are close to the same or so they say. The hardest part for me, besides the fact I’m getting too old for all the physical workouts, would have to be learning everything in Japanese.
flange1
October 19th, 2011
10:08 am
Lew,
I am glad it is not the big toe, that would really cause some balance issues.
And I am glad for the good news.
Hope that more good news comes in December! Hopefully Santa can bring John a clean bill of health and the Hartman family can have a Happy Christmas!
Couch Tater
October 19th, 2011
10:11 am
Elvis Andrus – Good luck, tonight! Here’s your tune from that little ol’ band…
Z Z Top – “I’m Bad I’m Nationwide”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96K6Fvpbk3Q&feature=related
CrαZy
October 19th, 2011
10:14 am
I’m sorry, but I really hope Tony LaRussa gets swept!! I mean the Cardinals get swept!! A total embarrassment for LaRussa along with some bad managerial calls would be perfect and fine by me!
McFann O O o
October 19th, 2011
10:19 am
flange1 @ 10:08—
Yes!
Lew
October 19th, 2011
10:22 am
Thanks Y’all – I hope so, too. Looking pretty good to this point.
Lew
October 19th, 2011
10:25 am
Transplant – I can make it through a French menu or understand much what is written in French when I head to eastern Canada, but Japanese? Not even.
Lew
October 19th, 2011
10:27 am
Crazy – I understand the sentiments, but with Pujols (and the rest of that offense) and Carpenter? Not seeing a sweep.
McFann O O o
October 19th, 2011
10:29 am
Lew @ 10:22—
That’s great!
Lew
October 19th, 2011
10:34 am
McFann – I’ve lost parents, grandparents, a brother and lots of friends. A sick childhurts worse than all others combined.
Bat Masterson
October 19th, 2011
10:35 am
Lew_
Echoing the blog sentiments regarding your sons health.
Braveone
October 19th, 2011
10:37 am
From the previous blog which had 5,809 comments, nolie led the way with 358 posts. There were 371 different poster names. Here are the Top 25:
Rank Poster Frequency
1 nolie 358
2 Efrim 351
3 cabravesfan 307
4 McFann O O o 284
5 Bat Masterson 248
6 Lew 246
7 Ward High Hopes back 176
8 jeffrey d 134
9 Arkansas Transplant 131
10 T for Texas 131
11 Shaun 128
12 ncscoots 120
13 DAP 113
14 CB 95
15 Snotboogie 95
16 richbrave 86
17 phil 84
18 Venice Jim 83
19 Murph 76
20 Tom O’Hawke 76
21 VaBravesFan 72
22 TnBrian 69
23 Trey 68
24 keylargo 68
25 George 66
Lew
October 19th, 2011
10:39 am
Thanks Bat. With all the good wishes, maybe we get out of this in pretty good shape, all things considered.
DAP
October 19th, 2011
10:40 am
dang nolie, 358?
McFann O O o
October 19th, 2011
10:45 am
Lew—
I believe you. I can’t even imagine…
Prayers will of course continue for him and you and your wife.
Shaun
October 19th, 2011
10:46 am
Shaun, you seem to miss the point that Heyward’s poor performance was the source of the disappointment.
You brought up whether a player deserves credit for the team’s record… do you think Heyward contributed to many victories this season?
Murph, No one ever denied that Heyward performed poorly or disappointingly. That’s a separate issue from whether he was benched too often. That’s what doesn’t seem to be sinking in.
The team’s job is to play the best available players. Heyward was the best available outfielder against right-handed pitching and should have rarely, if ever, sat against right-handed pitching while he was on the roster. That has nothing to do with whether or not he played poorly or whether or not he was disappointing. Those are separate issues.
As far as contributing to wins, ask yourself what that means? Players contribute offensively by avoiding outs, getting on base and gaining bases. They contribute defensively by getting to balls and making plays. That’s really all they can do. Outside of hitting homeruns or a pitcher striking every hitter out, creating runs or preventing runs is interactive.
So all a hitter himself can do to “contribute to wins” is go up to the plate and do everything in his power to get on base, avoid outs and gain as many bases as possible in one fell swoop (i.e., hit the ball hard when he gets his pitch). There are other things that make a minimal impact, but these are the biggies. With players, it’s sort of silly to view it as whether they “contributed to wins.” That really doesn’t say or mean much. It’s more appropriate to view them in terms of bases and outs, because essentially that’s all players can control on an individual level. One player, through his powers can create wins. Essentially stats like Wins Above Replacement are attempting to convert bases and outs to wins above what the worst possible major leaguer at the position would contribute. But really playing baseball is all about doing things that contribute to or prevent the opponent from avoiding outs, getting on base and gaining bases.
Heyward wasn’t particularly good at any of these things but unfortunately he was the best option against right-handed pitching amongst all the Braves’ outfield options.
This is the argument for why he got benched too often. Now, we can have a separate discussion about whether he performed poorly or whether he was disappointing, but it won’t go very far or be all that interesting because no one has denied that. We can discuss whether Heyward’s benching hindered his development. But that’s a completely separate topic. We can go around and take a survey on who are Heyward fans and who are not. But that is something completely subjective and won’t help to answer anything about whether he was benched too often. So if we focus like a laser beam on the point about whether Heyward was benched too often, something many fans and many members of the mainstream media refused to do, we simply need to ask whether Heyward was the best outfield option against right-handed pitching. All the other stuff about whether he was disappointing, whether he performed poorly, whether his development was hindered, whether people are Heyward fans or not…that’s all straying from the relevant issue in terms of his playing time. I’m not sure why that’s so hard for so many to get. There is and was clearly a misunderstanding about why people argued that Heyward was benched too often. Many just didn’t and still don’t understand why people like myself and some bloggers argued that he was being benched too often. If you think it had something to do with us denying that he performed poorly, denying that he was disappointing this season, with us being Heyward fans or against any other player, thinking the Braves were hindering his development, you were or are either ignorant about the game (not realizing that Heyward was indeed the best outfield option against right-handed pitching), have your own biases regarding Heyward and other players (you wanted the Braves to stick it to Heyward for not living up to his hype or for being over-hyped) or you weren’t paying attention to the arguments or some combination. The arguments were all about the Braves playing their best available options. Nothing more, nothing less. Only folks who fall into the aforementioned categories tried to make it about something else.
Couch Tater
October 19th, 2011
10:46 am
RC –
Thanks for the link. I thought Kelly gave good responses and his tone didn’t seem vindictive to either ATL or AZ.
McFann O O o
October 19th, 2011
10:47 am
284? Hot dang…that might be a new record for me…
What could I have been discussing in that many post? BMac hasn’t even been in any stories!…
McFann O O o
October 19th, 2011
10:48 am
Great jumpin’ gosh almighty! I think he’s got you beat, Neight!…
Lew
October 19th, 2011
10:53 am
Shaun’s back.r
I’m out of here – got errands to run and besides, TnBrian doesn’t want me commenting to Shaun anymore. Later.
Murph
October 19th, 2011
10:54 am
It took 12 hours for my troll of Shaun to work, but it was worth the wait. The time he spent typing that reply is time he will never get back. I have pushed him 5 minutes closer to his own demise.
DAP
October 19th, 2011
10:55 am
if ryan theriot gets non tendered, i wont if he would be a good bench candidate? he can back up all INF spots and really hits lefties well.