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197 comments Add your comment
john
October 18th, 2011
10:39 am
How about Terry Francona for manager, and move Fredi to hitting coach
BravesFanSince80's
October 18th, 2011
11:00 am
I’m not so sure Francona would even want the job, he might stay out for awhile, but we’ll see…Mako: I agree with all you said except for Chipper, he has weathered the storm for us too many times to give up on him or show him the door, fix the other problems and he looks very different…
old timer
October 18th, 2011
11:07 am
OK Truth2. Maybe you can raise the money to sign a significant free agent who can hit. Maybe you can talk some general managers into making the silly trades proposed here. The reality is, the Braves have done what they never used to do. They have hamstrung themselves with bad contracts, Lowe especially. They are not the Yankees or Red Sox. They don’t have unlimited money to spend. So options are a little limited, don’t you thinK?
DawgDad
October 18th, 2011
11:18 am
The two teams in the World Series each have multiple reliable big guns in the middle of their lineups and lineups solid from top to bottom. They have balance in the lineup, and they have players who can do a lot of different things to help win a ballgame. They may not have the best pitching staffs, but they have enough pitching and they have guys who perform well in big games.They also have managers and team leaders who don’t lose focus while the pennant race hangs in the balance.
There is a LOT of room for improvement before the Braves are serious contenders. Chipper, AGon, McCann, Bourn, Hinske, Hudson, Hanson, JJ, Lowe, O’Flaherty, Venters, Sherrill, Linebrink — there is little if any upside in this group, and although Uggla should be “better” the improvement is likely to be marginal offensively and he’s likely to backslide defensively. The kids, good collection they may be, are likely a year or two away from grasping leadership and they can’t cover all the holes in this team (like left field). And the budget is blown. I sense (and saw, in September) a backslide coming.
David O'Brien
October 18th, 2011
11:57 am
DOB…what do you think of Moe’s BBQ at 14th and State Street? — RC in the ATL
Haven’t been. Is that the one I pass on way to Antico Pizza, on 14th a half-mile or so West of I-85?
P Rose
October 18th, 2011
11:57 am
BravesFanSince80’s, I didn’t mean anything personal by the insult the other day; I was just trying to be funny, but it was in bad taste. I apologize, buddy.
But as for Chipper, I know you love the guy, and I have always been a big supporter of his, but let’s face it: it is what it is. He has had a Hall of Fame career, no doubt. His regular season statistics undeniably make him a shoe-in on the first ballot. But his post-season stats are just okay. He cools off when the weather cools down. He has been the team leader throughout this 16-year run of autumn chokes, and this last one was a doozy. He lost that final out in the lights, causing Kimbrell to meltdown. He told a reporter that the Braves could take the Phillies (providing them with bulletin board fodder), and that the fans could kiss his [expletive deleted]. He called out Heyward publicly for not playing hurt, then excused himself from a game for flu-like symptoms. He staged a pep rally before the final game and then went 0 for 5 with 3 strikeouts.
I have come to the conclusion that he is a great baseball player who shows poor judgement off the field, including in the clubhouse and dugout, and tightens up when the chips are all on the line. I’m not suggesting the Braves don’t honor the final year of his contract; again, it is what it is. He will remain the face of the team for one more year; but I predict that when he is gone, the last of the Braves’ ho-hum, business-as-usual leaders will be gone, and a fresh new era will finally begin. He’ll be in the Hall of Fame when the Braves next win a World Series.
STRETCH
October 18th, 2011
12:16 pm
Clearly the OF needs work. Can anyone tell me that last time the Braves had an outfielder hit .270/30/110???
Prado is NOT the answer in LF.
Chippers my boy, but he’s holding the teams bank hostage. And for the life of me, im i the only one who thinks that once a player gets older, his numbers go down and that shouldn’t the salary go as well?
These owners are the idiots. Case in point, look at the NBA lockout.
Chipper makes way too much money for what he contributes, but if it were me i would probably take it too! So with that said, its the owners who are at fault.
Maybe next year with his and Lowe’s coming off the books, they can make some moves. But until then, this offseason is gonna be another thrift store binge for Wren and company.
DOB, isnt KK and McClouth coming off the books this season? What will they have to work with after that?
Birdman
October 18th, 2011
12:25 pm
We are the same Braves we were last year in terms of payroll flex so nothing huge is coming from this administration, don’t believe the hype. If Rollins will take anything less than 5 years he is worth a look. He could play SS until someone is ready or acquired, then move to 3rd to replace Chipper after this year. He is not a game changer anymore, but a solid bat in the lineup. Add a Willinham to LF and consider platoon in RF and your lineup should be stronger, Prado will play 3 days a week giving Chipper, Uggla or Willingham a day off. Its all about the pitching at this point, and I expect 2 new starters in the rotation, with Lowe getting the boot somehow. When we turned it around in ‘91 with young stud pitching we didnt sign any huge hitter, Pendelton was middle of the road, Bream was middle of the road, but incremental improvements to support the rotation. I expect the same pattern here, although would love to somehow land a superstar bat.
BravesFanSince80's
October 18th, 2011
12:51 pm
Terry Pendleton was middle of the road? That must be one HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE road then…
The Truth....
October 18th, 2011
1:04 pm
I am now dumber for reading all these stupid suggestions.
BravesFanSince80's
October 18th, 2011
1:13 pm
the truth: dont ya just love all the wildly fantastic trade ideas for people who are WAY better than we’d be sending to the other team like our GM is the only GM who knows that JJ is an injury liability? Hee Hee Hee…
Birdman
October 18th, 2011
1:41 pm
Pendleton when signed from St. Louis was not considered a superstar pickup. He became the MVP when we got him, just like anyone else we pick up could do. My point is we will not sign someone already at the top, but someone with potential to help and could attain excellence, i.e. a little bargain shopping, not in the clearance isle, but not at Bloomingdales either.
Competant
October 18th, 2011
1:43 pm
The quality of comments on this board is terrible.
1. Martin needs to change his attitude? what in the world? you ignorant tool! he’s the hardest working and most humble player on the team.
2. We need an “Ace”. Anyone who’s said this has more than proven their ignorance. Aces cost money, we have other needs that are 10x as big. We potentially have 3-4 aces in our rotation that can grow into that status in the next few years. So to you who think we should reach deep into Liberty Media’s shallow pockets, and waist money on 2-3 years of an “ace” that bumps one of our prospects out, instead of letting them develop into cheap aces: go read a book, I feel sorry for you and your ignorance
3. Chipper needs replaced. Wrong. If anyone deserves to be kept around, chipper does. he may only play in 120-130 games, but those are high-output games, he’s still better than most other 3rd basemen.
90% of you disappoint me. You are superficial, ignorant, fair-weather (if not fair-weather, you just don’t pay attention, therefore you appear to be a fair-weather fan) fans.
Get your facts straight, and stop stinking up the boards. Capitolavenueclub.com can help educate you. AJC is great, but capitol avenue can educate y’all.
Mike#1
October 18th, 2011
2:02 pm
Fire Fredi, Fire Fredi and Fire Fredi…
Package Prado and JJ and get someone like Carlos Quentin. Eat whatever part of salary it takes to offload Lowe. Sorry to this Wren…but Lowe stays this will be your THIRD dead contract in so many years. McClouth, Kawakami, now Lowe. Not to mention trading away two stud shortstops and closer along the way.
Good work, Frank.
Mike#1
October 18th, 2011
2:05 pm
Let’s just get rid of everyone minus Delgado, Teheran, Kimbrel, Venters, Minor, Beachy, Hanson and Freeman and rebuild. We’re not competing in the NL east next year. WAS will be better.
Mike#1
October 18th, 2011
2:06 pm
Oh and keep Arodys too.
BravesFanSince80's
October 18th, 2011
3:27 pm
Competant: Amen man, amen:)
BravesFanSince80's
October 18th, 2011
3:31 pm
I also love how many think just because Martin Prado had one down season, he’s a “super utility” guy and nobody on here criticizes Ugly Dan much at all even though he couldn’t even keep his average over .200 for the first half of the season. I look for more of the same from him next year (tons of strikeouts, dp’s-the kind he hits into not turns at second base, and a homer here and there), so if we’re stuck with that, I say, once again, get him some work in LF over the winter and spring training, move him out there and let Prado play an entire year at second with somebody else who doesn’t usually contend for the LEAGUE LEAD in BA! backup the rest of the guys who can’t play every day!
Bobby's Cox
October 18th, 2011
3:36 pm
DOB,
Gotta disagree with you on the impact of the hitting coach. You don’t go from nearly the best in baseball in OBP one year, to nearly the worst with pretty much the exact same players. The approach at the plate was totally different this year, and for what? The main purpose nowadays in baseball is to get on base. We did that last year and had some new guy come in and try to change that. Wren knows this. He fired Parrish because he couldn’t get the guys to battle at the plate with RISP, move runners along, or bring guys home with situational hitting. The approach was atrocious, and Frank knows that’s the difference between our team and our competition like Philly. You add in the lack of “getting the message” across and that’s icing on the cake, especially when it’s the wrong message. No one’s brought this up, but why not bring back TP?
VABravesFan
October 18th, 2011
3:38 pm
Prado had an off year, but if they’re going to trade him or move him to super utility, it better be for more than Josh Willingham. The Braves need to sign a proven innings eater that can be slotted into the top half of the rotation. They need a proven veteran still in his prime to fill a bullpen slot and mentor the young guys and give them extra rest throughout the season. A power hitting left fielder would be nice, but isn’t an absolute necessity if the changes above are made.
BravesFanSince80's
October 18th, 2011
3:41 pm
Bobby’s Cox: most of your complaints about a hitting coach are actually “ingame strategy” which is completely up to the manager and as has been well-established at this point, we don’t have a manager who is very good at that, the difference in OBP from 2010 to 2011 is Bobby Cox to Fredi Gonzalez, and I’ll be the first to admit I’m no Bobby Cox fan:)
BravesFanSince80's
October 18th, 2011
3:43 pm
oh and if you’ve not read the other blogs, tons of people have asked why TP hasn’t been asked to take over his old job, but obviously they aren’t gonna do that, it would be a pretty big slap in the guy’s face…
Tom G
October 18th, 2011
4:21 pm
Bring back a very solid OF guy(Frenchy), if he would choose to come. All KC would want is a young prospect.
GaTruth
October 18th, 2011
4:24 pm
Time to left Chipper go. At this age, he is too injury prone. Use his cash to go get PRince Fielder. The people I talk to say he is a down-to-earth, no problems guy that can perform. Plus he’s young. It’s time for the Braves to get in the same conversations we see the Yankees, Sox, Phillies, and Cards in. Pay for the talent and let Freddy manage.
John
October 18th, 2011
4:27 pm
Willingham really??? He is the type of signing we always make and then regret 6 weeks into the season.
DawgDad
October 18th, 2011
4:29 pm
“Sorry to this Wren…but Lowe stays this will be your THIRD dead contract in so many years. McClouth, Kawakami, now Lowe. ” . . . and Uggla? He’s not even close to being worth what he’s paid, and it gets worse . . . for . . . a . . . long . . . time.
Go Go you Pilots
October 18th, 2011
4:29 pm
Well we could get ryne sanberg as Hittin coach How about a New GM first Wren was ask question kissy butt by media of ajc…why blame hurts players on DL n same fact St.louis had same as us and look where they at thanks to Wren and freddi cowtippin gonz. here….they do nothin keep same and every game freddi screws up he tip his hat when Tony Larussa comes town as 2011 world series champs…they might even send all the braves for chokin aBone!
Tom G
October 18th, 2011
4:31 pm
GaTruth – We owe Chipper $14 million for one more season, he will not walk away from that, would you? Now get real with your response? Prince is a great idea, but would cost too much? Fredi Freeman(very athletic) could go to LF? What do you think?
Go Go you Pilots
October 18th, 2011
4:33 pm
We could fix first base get prince fielder as are new 1st baseman be first choice help alot with Uggla and get LF too and couple of young starters and we be contenders with Prince fielder here..But of course are stupid press no ask Wren that at all just hear his lies and Dave O Brien kiss ass
C from Marietta
October 18th, 2011
4:38 pm
LOL. Reading these posts you would think the Braves are the worst team in Baseball. Dissappointing yes, but terrible no.
just a suggest'n
October 18th, 2011
4:40 pm
stick a fork in Hinske, Diaz,and Lugo. Trade Lowe to AL team & eat some of his salary. Have a “come to Jesus meeting” with Chipper and ask him to retire. Use his $, part of Lowe’s that’s dumped ,JJ & Hanson to get a frontline starter, LF & SS.
what?
October 18th, 2011
4:42 pm
I am glad 99% of u blogger are not anywhere near the Braves management. Some of the stupidest comments I have read.
This blog is meaningless.
Real Baseball
October 18th, 2011
4:42 pm
Hasn’t it been refreshing watching the playoffs? They are all hungry, and actually playing Real Baseball. Not that mediocore crap the Braves have been dishing up all year. First, get rid of what they call the “manager.” He is way out of his league. Next comes lowe, duh. Maybe they need guys that really want to play. Hope the boys have watched the playoffs, and are not sitting in a deer stand someplace. They might learn something.
Real Baseball
October 18th, 2011
4:50 pm
Atlanta is the only area I know of that is afraid to do a real interview. They kiss up, and repeat the lies of Wren and the rest of the gang. Read what Boston or Cincinnatti writes. They are real sports writers. I am not over the lack of enthusiasm from the Braves, or the way they were “managed.” No wonder they never felt comfortable, gonzalez was changing them around all the time. They will not get another dime out of me for quite some time.
BravesFanSince80's
October 18th, 2011
4:59 pm
Real baseball: I agree with most of what you posted, just stay away from the deer hunting comments please, there’s been a ton of that crap here lately and it just starts something we don’t need to. Fredi needs to go and we need somebody more like Larussa, just not as much like an archvillian as he seems to be:)
The Truth
October 18th, 2011
5:00 pm
Anyone that thinks Prado should be platooned or used in a utility role should turn off their computer, cancel their cable subscription, and never show up at another Braves game again. You clearly know less about baseball than Bristol Palin knows about abstinence.
joe
October 18th, 2011
5:03 pm
dump the manager
Trazy
October 18th, 2011
5:06 pm
Unless you pull up some talent from your farm system, you gotta open up the wallet to land high caliber players. The Braves want to keep the payroll to low to land a couple of stud hitters, so we’ll keep a sad offense until we get lucky with a farm player or two.
Glenn
October 18th, 2011
5:15 pm
Trade for Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies and get a decent hitting coach to get Jason Heyward and Martin Prado back in a “groove”.
Real Baseball
October 18th, 2011
5:18 pm
I agree, BravesFanSince80’s, it is beating a dead horse. Just like the Braves management doing what they need to do. It’s not gonna happen. The fans say what needs to be said, Wren beats around the bush, and DOB lets him do it. Never goes for a true statement. He always leaves plenty of wiggle room.
bvillebaron
October 18th, 2011
5:25 pm
I am infinitely dumber for having read 90% of the suggestions on this blog.
Florida Guy
October 18th, 2011
5:25 pm
Get a human owner from the Atlanta area who actually cares about the team and their performance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A bunch of satellite geeks from Colorado are not going to get this team into the World Series—They’re too busy crunching numbers, looking at profit margins, and paying their lobbyist to care about that “baseball thing” in Atlanta
Done
October 18th, 2011
5:27 pm
Get rid of Heyward! Gonzo! Gonzo II, Wren! and Liberty Media!!!
Robert Ross
October 18th, 2011
5:33 pm
Why don’t you see if you can get Rafael Furcal back? He seems to be doing a good job in STL
Around The Horn
October 18th, 2011
5:38 pm
FREDI NEEDS TO GO
I heartily second the comments made on the need for a new manager!
I can see Fredi as a competent 3rd base coach. But after watching him for a full season this year, I no longer believe he’s qualified to be a major league manager.
DCBravesFan
October 18th, 2011
5:45 pm
I am amazed at the lack of basic baseball knowlege in these comments. Shaking my head while counting down to Opening Day 2012.
Lobosolo
October 18th, 2011
5:58 pm
P-headed blogger experts are certainly not in short supply… you crackuhs are gonna keep me entertained for the winter with your grandiose, self-appointed genius… hey, dipsticks… get a jump start now on polishing up your resumes for the coming season… I’m sure any team would welcome y’all’s extensive knowledge… start with the manager spot and batting coach for the Braves… y’all think you’re John mcGraw and Charlie Lau all rolled into one, anyway… surely the Braves must give consideration to such as you…. HAHAHAHAHAHAA…. Love the way some of you start out these inanities, like you’ve already been hired… HooHooHoo!!!! Stop it… you’re killing me!!!!
FREDI IS THE MAN
October 18th, 2011
6:02 pm
Yall are a bunch of idiots! These are the most obserd suggestions ive ever seen or heard.The braves are not gonna trade jj there not gonna trade hanson there not gonna trade heyward and there not gonna sign reyes or rollins.first reyes does not have the personality to be a brave and there not gonna pay him.second rollins is gonna sign with the phills he has already said he wants to stay.also you cant go out spend all this money on FA you still have to pay venters you still have to pay bourn you still have to pay kimbrel you still have to pay freddi freeman you still have to pay jj you still have to pay hanson and if heyward comes back to form your gonna have to pay him people dont understanmd how many minor league contracts we have on our roster right now.you can not blame the collapse on frieddi G he is a good manager we had injurys that you can not stop.jj and hanson stay healthy we make the playoffs easily and most likely where getting ready to play for the world series.(I think). what we do at short im not sure thats what you have wren for.when hiring a hitting coach idk what you do i few people i had in mind not sure if they would want too or be right for the job (Klesko,Kevin Long,Jim Skaalen,Rick Eckstein,Rudy Jaramillo,Don Long,Joe Vavra, Derek Shelton).Just a few i dont know if freddi would want them or if they would even want to come to the braves.THE BRAVES WILL BE FINE PEOPLE NEED TO CALM DOWN TRADING AWAY THE HOLE TEAM WILL DO NOTHING BUT THROW AWAY EVERYTHING WE HAVE BEEN BUILDING HERE SINCE THE EARLY 1990′S.
Fred McGriff's flat bill hat
October 18th, 2011
6:19 pm
I say hire Tom Emanski for hitting coach. You hopefully remember that I gave him my FULL endorsement.
Tom
October 18th, 2011
6:19 pm
@Phil, release heyward after one bad season? a young tom glavine went 7-17 his first full year in the majors, wish they had followed your logic?
AG
October 18th, 2011
6:25 pm
I have to agree with bvillebaron… dumber for having read this blog.
We aren’t bringing in any huge free agents and we aren’t making a trade for Andre Ethier. Frank Wren didn’t trade Andrus, Harrison and Feliz, JS did. Pendleton was the hitting coach for quite some time and really the only person he couldn’t figure out was Francouer who was quite frankly, uncoachable (he has since matured and figured out he needs to wait on his pitch).
Bottom line. Hanson and Jurrjens stay healthy and we are in the playoffs. Prado and McCann staying healthy and continuing at their career ~.300 batting average pace and we are in the playoffs. A full year of Michael Bourn and we are in the playoffs. Jason Heyward hitting like his rookie season and we are in the playoffs. Any ONE of these scenarios and we are in the playoffs.
On a positive, “straight fastball” Linebrink and his $4.5 million are coming off the books and I believe KK is close too. We will have some money to sign a decent hitting outfielder. Medlen will be back and should be given a chance at the starting rotation (Braves 11-1 in his starts the previous year). With our abundance of starting pitching talent, we are in a good position to make some trades for offense if some of the above mentioned players don’t back bounce and we should have some leverage to make other teams eat some salary and any potential trades.
Things are looking up.
Steve
October 18th, 2011
6:26 pm
Some fielding percentages from the minors for those thinking Pastornicky is horrible.
.961 – Yunel Escobar
.955 – Jimmy Rollins
.954 – Diory Hernandez
.953 – Tyler Pastornicky
.943 – Ozzie Smith
.943 – Elvus Andrus
.941 – Alex Gonzalez
.930 – Rafael Furcal
These numbers are just for chances while playing Shortstop. Does this mean that Pastornicky will be a better glove than Ozzie (who was vastly overrated), or Furcal? No. What it does mean is that anyone who is saying he has a brick for a glove is a bonafide IDIOT at this point. The stats prove otherwise, and there is no reason to automatically assume he can’t field.
Steve
October 18th, 2011
6:37 pm
Oh .. and I have no problems with TP being the hitting coach .. but lets get some contact guys in here instead of the old .260/25hr’s types.
As for LF, give Constanza a chance.
As for SS, we will be offloading a few salaries (Kawakami and McLouth for certain) which should cover our arb-eligible increases and Bourn’s salary with a little to spare. If we can move Lowe or possibly JJ or Hanson and bring in youngsters making under 500k, then we could conceivably go after a guy like Rollins (shouldn’t be more than $7-8 million with his last few injury plagued years bringing his value way down). Rumor has it he is looking for 5 years at $10 a year, but I would think someone would be nuts to pay that for someone averaging 230 games and just barely over .250 with no power the last three years. Rollins only real upside over A-Gon is his speed, and that is deteriorating. I would rather sign A-Gon for $4 million that is rumored what he will get for 1-2 years than Rollins long-term.
BravesFanSince80's
October 18th, 2011
7:24 pm
Fredi is the man: I agree with all you said save Fredi Gonzalez. He was clearly a large part of the collapse and too many camera shots showed him in the dugout with that “deer caught in the headlights” look on his face. He couldn’t come up with ANYTHING that helped down the stretch and by the end, it was pretty clear he was actually contributing to the problem with his “we’ll get ‘em next time” attitude. He’s not a good enough leader to fill the role we need and I hope they unload him before next season, but if they don’t I hope we get one hell of a personality in a hitting coach that could offset Gonzalez’ lack of leadership!
panamajack
October 18th, 2011
7:28 pm
Would love to trade JJ, Hanson and J Hey but who would want them?
BERNIE
October 18th, 2011
7:31 pm
h
Trade JJ Hanson and Heyward. JJ AND Hanson will never pitch the whole year. Chipper will be back and sure his blood runneth a BRAVE he won’t be very solid next year. Lowe was a big bust and all the media couldn’t see why the Braves aquired him. Let’s hope he is somewhat better next year. As far as Prado if the team can get something for him pull the plug on him.
Ralph
October 18th, 2011
7:33 pm
Thanks Steve, very en-lightning.
bobbymahlon
October 18th, 2011
7:34 pm
John @4;27pm and 5:00pm I could not agree with you more and that is what I have been saying all along.
BravesFanSince80's
October 18th, 2011
7:34 pm
just notices that my good buddy Lobosolodonkey showed up on here, letting everyone know that he and only he is “in the know” where baseball is concerned:) The rest of us just watch the local tee ball game with our mommy’s and daddy’s and only he watches the real thing. The rest of us just think we know a little something, but only he knows a lot:) We’re all better for having known Lobosolodonkey in this life, bask in the glory of this, just for a moment…
BravesFanSince80's
October 18th, 2011
7:36 pm
Oh and Lobosolodonkey: hoo hoo hoo?
BravesFanSince80's
October 18th, 2011
7:36 pm
more like hee yaw, hee yaw, hee yaw!
MiamiBrave
October 18th, 2011
8:27 pm
Alex Gordon in LF
Luv 2 Hate Me
October 18th, 2011
9:00 pm
Some dude said trade JJ for Ethier. What are you smoking! Ethier sucks and people with sense would get Kemp before even blinking an eye at Ethier. Ethier thats funny!
mpimentel
October 18th, 2011
9:11 pm
WE DON´T NEED TO RUSH … the last time we did so wnt to the trade market to find an outfield with speed (m bourn), just to see that we allreaddy have it in the minors (j constanza)… we definetly need an upgrade in the outfield…but why don´t give a chance to mauro gomez, he´s from he minors, is cheap, and have power from the right side…we cannot do nothing this winter with the contract´s issues of lowe and chipper…the next season have to be just a rebuilding season, frank wren need to figure out what to do with jj before he get FA …he´s a boras client…let´s see how healthy can be hanson before do a stupid move…hayward need minor or winter ball gaming…it will the chipper´s last season…we have to find the correct position to m prado, he got the bat, but don´t have a position (remember deRosa),..if i have an interview with wren I definetly will say to him that…donñt waste monney in fA this season, trade lowe in the winters mettings and hudson in july…start the season with vizcaino, delgado, minor and tehjeran in AAA…save the money from kk and mclouth and add it in 2013 after lowe , hudson (assumig a trade of him) and chipper been out of the books by 2013…it will be a pack of nearly 50 mills to spend smart in 2 players…GOOD PLAYERS…
ab initio
October 18th, 2011
9:14 pm
A management team that places so much emphasis on pitching and defense that they go out and hire a “hitting coach” that has never been a hitting coach at any level of the sport, should tell anyone what and where the issues the Braves need to address reside.
FREDI IS THE MAN
October 18th, 2011
9:26 pm
yall are the craziest people ive ever had the pleasure to meet none of this non sense will happen!
benchwarmer
October 18th, 2011
10:27 pm
Competant, I agree totally. Will somebody pleas explain to me why Martin Prado should be a “super sub”. He is aan allstar starter who due to illness had a sub par hitting year. The man rates high in all areas not the least of which is character. This is an example of some really dumb ideas popping up on this blog. DOB, do something with the lighting on your next video. You look kinda weird on this one.
BravesFanSince80's
October 18th, 2011
10:28 pm
ab initio: defense? we play good defense? I will always be a Chipper Jones fan, but he’s just a solid 3B always has been, never been anything outstanding, Alex Gonzalez has a lot of people fooled on how well he plays SS, his defensive stats are very “middle of the pack” from tons of articles and various sources, Ugly Dan, well that speaks for itself, McCann as we all know isn’t a very good defensive catcher, he’s an offensive catcher, period, Prado has been interesting in LF this year if you just want to see how many positions the guy can play, but he certainly didn’t wow anybody out there, which pretty much only leaves Heyward in RF, Bourn in CF, and Freeman at 1B where any good defense is getting played. Three positions out of nine isn’t very good by anyone’s standards. We’re a pitching organization, period, paragraph, end of statement and subsequent rant…
BravesFanSince80's
October 18th, 2011
10:29 pm
one more point before I fall off of my soap box: the fact that we signed Dan Uggla to a FIVE YEAR FREAKING CONTRACT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! should be a pretty big indication that defense rates as a secondary consideration for our upper management!
Sparky
October 18th, 2011
11:01 pm
Man, DOB, that is the widest skin space between eyebrows I have ever seen – did you over kill the uni-brow. I’d stand down on the plucking for a good while.
RC in the ATL
October 19th, 2011
12:46 am
DOB…
You have missed out my friend, and fellow connoisseur of BBQ, if you have not tried Moe’s. Great pulled pork and some nice side items to complement. They vary them each day. And yes, it is a half mile or so west of the connector.
And about this pizza place, I have read some about it on the blog. I would like to try it. Where is it? Is it down off Northside?
REALLY?
October 19th, 2011
2:14 am
1. Remove dead weight. McLousy, Conrad and Diaz are a joke.
2. Trade Hanson and Freeman for a real LF. Before you freak over Freeman see number 3.
3. Sign Prince to play 1B and have a real superstar on this team that will bring fans back to Turner Field. I smell another Frenchy with Freeman.
4. I agree with poster that said start Prado at third and count on Chipper for 200-300 at bats.
So if you gamble and make some really crazy moves that shock everyone we could look like this in 2012. Something even fat Fredi can’t mess up.
Bourn – CF
Prado – 3B
Uggla – 2B
Fielder – 1B
McCann – C
New Solid Bat – LF
Heyward – RF
Not Gonzo – SS
bravesfaninNashville
October 19th, 2011
2:54 am
FREDI IS THE MAN???????
I don’t know what your smokin’ but come on you blame the collapse on the injuries to JJ and Hanson? Tony LaRussa lost Adam Wainwright the first week of the season for the whole year and he finished top 3 in Cy Young balloting last year. We lost Hanson and JJ the second half only. That means the Cardinals lost just as many starts from an Ace because they lost a whole year of Wainwright vs. two 1/2 seasons from JJ and Hanson.. Then on top if it the Cardinals had to track the Braves down 10 – 1/2 games with 5 weeks to go. All we had to do is win ONE more game somewhere and we are in the Post Season. Fredi let lead after lead get away because of his terrible bullpen management. He got lots of serviceable starts out of Delgado, Teheran and Minor. LaRussa is finding a way to win through the playoffs and his starters aren’t getting deep into games because they are all tired. He’s just plain and simply a better manager than Fredi and it is showing how much of a difference that makes. He has a pulse for the game and just knows what to do to pull out a win.. Fredi shows NO PULSE for the game and just seems to get out managed consistently. When the Braves still had a 5 game lead ESPN did a piece on the remaining 8 managers in Playoff contention and they ranked Fredi last place in managerial skills. They said he was most likely to make mistakes in the post season. They even mentioned if the Cardinals could run the Braves down that LaRussa would be in the top 2 managers of the final 8.. What do you know he is 1 of 2 still standing as the Cardinals are in the WS…. Pretty good reporting they were spot on. He’s winning with 1 Ace pitcher and that’s Carpenter and he’s tired too. Tony knows how to be creative and see a way to a win and Fredi doesn’t seem to ever be up to game speed.. He’s always behind and makes moves that are almost unexplainable.
bravesfaninNashville
October 19th, 2011
3:03 am
I want to say that Fredi G. seems like a very nice man and probably was a great 3B coach. I’m a huge fan of his as a person but he’s not smart enough to manage a big league team over 162 games and it showed. Being a big league manager takes a lot more intellect than knowing the game of baseball. I couldn’t understand the # of times that Ventors was used when we were up 4 runs or more and there was no reason to pitch him unless the game got tight. It’s a hard job and there’s only about 10 really good ones in the game today.
Tomahawk Squawk
October 19th, 2011
7:40 am
In mid july there was a story of JJ going to Texas for Nelson Cruz.
Hmm…..whos laughing now?
BravesFanSince80's
October 19th, 2011
8:00 am
bravesfaninnasheville: I agree man, keep it going, why did we sign a career .260 hitter for five years, trying to improve our offense? home runs don’t count for much when they’re the only occassional outburst the guy can manage, he’s a joke and we’re gonna reap the awfulness of that move for YEARS now thanks to our idiot GM. I sincerely hope that Liberty Media sells the team in the coming months to an owner who takes accountability seriously and starts afresh with several FO people with drive and passion for the game, not ho hum, gap-plugging attitudes:)
poolcue
October 19th, 2011
8:44 am
Quit dreaming . Chip and Lowe will stay and get the big money coming to them.All we can do for players for another year is pick up players off the scrap pile and hope to get a good year out of somebody. What we could do is get rid of the person that cost us 12 wins this year,and if you dont know who that is, SHAME ON YOU. FG COST US A CHANCE TO GO TO THE WS. Let him be accountable for the job he did.
BravesFanSince80's
October 19th, 2011
8:50 am
I agree poolcue, Fredi didn’t make all THAT many mistakes, the real problem lay in his lack of decisions period, he was too much an observer of the game instead of a manager of the game, with the exception of yanking starters too early in the game in favor of an overworked bullpen I guess.
Dandy Randy
October 19th, 2011
9:29 am
Top priority? A new manager!
Don
October 19th, 2011
9:37 am
There is NO QUESTION about what the top prioity should be.
Is everyone BRAIN DEAD??? PITCHING is still the name of the game.
The Braves cannot expect to win or be competitive as long as almost EVERY Starting Pitcher they develop or acquire BECOMES INJURED.
For EVERY Starting Pitcher they have had since McDowell became the Pitching Coach (with few exceptions) it has not been a quest of IF they will be injured but only WHEN they will become injured.
MR. O’BRIEN, in the 6 0r 7 seasons since McDowell has been the Pitching Coach, HOW MANY of the Starting Pitchers have been injured in each of those seasons??? (List the number in each season – if an injury lasts for parts of two seasons, count it in each season.)
HOW MANY total Starting Pitchers have the Braves had during those years (count only those who have been in the rotation a reasonable length of time)???? And HOW MANY of those (IF ANY) have not been injured ???
I keep asking these questions, but no one seems to be willing to answer them.
BravesFanSince80's
October 19th, 2011
9:56 am
that’s and interesting point Don, you may have something there. Hmm, maybe something in the way McDowell conditions the pitching staff isn’t up to muster perhaps? Hadn’t really thought about it from that angle, I’d always assumed that would be more on the trainers, but maybe he has some say in this regard? I don’t know enough about that stuff to say one way or the other, but maybe there’s something to it….
David O'Brien
October 19th, 2011
11:30 am
And about this pizza place, I have read some about it on the blog. I would like to try it. Where is it? Is it down off Northside? — RC in the ATL
Antico Pizza, it couldn’t be easier to find. Just keep going down 14th to Hemphill and turn left, then it’s a couple of blocks up on your left side. As good or better than any pizza I’ve had in any city, ever.
David O'Brien
October 19th, 2011
11:30 am
Sparky, thanks. Nobody’s ever said that before to me. Honestly, I’ve never plucked an eyebrow in my life. If I had a uni-brow, I would. But fortunately, I don’t have to. Sorry, dude.
Bob Davis
October 19th, 2011
11:33 am
Hey, “Mako,” you are now free to go back and play in your sandbox. Without question, one of the most idiotic posts I’ve read on here….
Mitchell
October 19th, 2011
12:27 pm
DOB says not to blame Larry Parrish entirely for the Braves offensive failures.
Can’t get on board with that.
Braves went from 1st in on base percentage in 2010 to 11th.
Every other offesive category, save for home runs, they just literally fell off the map.
But whatever. This whole organization is a joke.
Henry Aaron's Ghost
October 19th, 2011
12:49 pm
All you folks keep making up all these Christmas wish lists. But you need to remember, THIS IS THE ATLANTA BRAVES OF THE 2000’s. They ARE NOT going to spend any money for good players. Frankly there are very very very very few players out there that are worth all those millions and millions. DO YOU THINK the Yankees might wish they had a way to dump ARod? Maybe even Tex’s contract is going to strangle them. They have NO pitching, but will have to pay an OVERWEIGHT FAT C.C. millions just to keep a decent pitcher. But CC’s legs are going to pot due to his gut going to POT!!! The nickle and dime route will not do it either. The Braves threw millions at the 18 game loser, $15 million per year and they are still stuck with that rock around their neck next year also. Millions upon millions does not buy championships. Ask the Yanks and the over paid Sox!!! The owner denies even wanting the $147 million dud in LF, Crawford. Basically, save the money on the huge millionaires and just pay the smaller $2 to $5 million two year contracts and not be strangled for years with the Lowe type contracts. At least if they go dud, you are not stuck with them.
BravesFanSince80's
October 19th, 2011
1:34 pm
Ghost: I’m with you, if I were a GM I would never sign anyone beyond 3 years. The problem with that is it would only work if every GM agreed to that which I believe would coersion? Which I believe would be illegal? I’m with you though…
Mixxo
October 19th, 2011
2:58 pm
Fire FG…
Release Wayward….
A good start right there.
Absolutely THIS!!!!
Kentavo
October 19th, 2011
4:27 pm
If we’re talking about reaquiring ex-Braves, I’d like to see Wilson Betemit back in the fold as a bench guy. I never understood why he was traded.
David O'Brien
October 19th, 2011
5:00 pm
DOB says not to blame Larry Parrish entirely for the Braves offensive failures.
Can’t get on board with that.
Braves went from 1st in on base percentage in 2010 to 11th. — Mitchell
Actually they went from 1st to 14th in OBP.
Larry
October 21st, 2011
4:45 am
test
dap01
October 21st, 2011
8:57 am
DOB: Looking forward to your next blog with the latest tidbit of info. Thanks.
Jared From the Ville, AL
October 21st, 2011
10:22 pm
The Braves are very close to being a World Series team. They had 2 major flaws to their baseball team that hindered any chance of being a premier team. The first was situational hitting. Atlanta was last in the majors driving in runs with runners on third and less than two outs. Thats not solved with power, speed, or managerial changes. It’s corrected with having players up and down the line up with that can handle the bat. Sac. flies, grounding to the right side of the infield, anything basically than striking out. The second is dumping the over priced Derek Lowe. Prado is and should be an everyday player. There isn’t a guy on the roster who handles the bat better in our lineup. (Moving guys over from first, bunting, solid defense wherever he plays on the diamond, and of course timely hitting.) Heyward to me is a wait and see player to me. I believe that he will live up to the expectations that were given to him by the media (a pressure that most talk about with young athletes but really don’t understand the impact it actually has) besides trading him now in what will be his upcoming third season will net no return. He’s cheap, and has an unique skill set that needs to be cultivated before we find out 2 years later.. oops, shouldn’t have traded him. The shortstop hole seems to me the only real hole. Though I would love to see Reyes in a Braves uniform, his price tag and the question marks to me anyway, that he brings in a playoff scenerio makes me feel a little hesitant on pulling the trigger on that deal. Rollins on the other hand is a player that not only carries with him a ring, but a respect and personality that fits right in with the personality of the team, not to mention he will be cheaper. He and Bourn at the top of the lineup would change the landscape for the rest of the league in how to face our lineup. Lowe is a tricky one…. thank god there are teams like the Yankees and Red sox who have very deep pockets so they wouldn’t surprise if they took on the contract of a guy like Lowe, and to me we wouldn’t need a thing in return, just the salary space. With the wiggle room provided you can strengthen many areas.
Jack Lill
October 23rd, 2011
8:35 am
Wren shows that he does not know what it is all about. Sign Bourne!!!!!
John
October 24th, 2011
12:50 pm
OK, here’s my 2 cents worth:
Pitching is generally very good and all of the obvious trades or releases will happen. BUT, the Braves need to stop experimenting with position players and use some quality, proven talent to lead the offense and bolster the rookies (or sophmores). In my opinion 4 of the starting 8 positions are in serious question. Left & right field, short stop, 3rd base.
We can tolerate a mediocre bat at SS if the defense is great and we bolster the outfield offense.
Chipper will not play a full season and someone (Prado) will fill in unless we trade for a proven player.
Left field needs to have a quality REAL player who has a monster bat (Let’s try and get Carlos Quentin). Prado to the bench.
Right field: Put Heyward on the bench until/unless he rebounds. Get a solid fielder with an above average bat for everyday. (Not one of our current bench players). MAYBE Josh Willingham.
If this were to happen, our line-up would be pretty darn good.
Bourne
Ugla
Chipper/Prado/Someone
McCann
Quentin
Freeman
Willingham
Gonzo
Bernie
October 26th, 2011
11:55 am
The hitting ain’t going to fix itself. They need to go out and get some proven hitters. Heyward isn’t going to hit and never will. As far as Chipper he’s dead weight to the team. I’d keep Freeman, Hudson, Minor and Beechy and consider offers for everyone else.
Bernie
October 26th, 2011
11:57 am
I forgot I would keep Bourn