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© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
4,215 comments Add your comment
beekay
January 10th, 2012
9:09 pm
kenhotlanta
You have no clue what types of people are in these camps…one of 10 is what you described the other are a bunch of spoiled punks who want handouts and have never worked hard in their life. Do some research and quit watching MSNBC before you make such a stupid comment . These 40-60 year olds arent the majority. The majority at these occupy events are between 20-25 yrs old and are useless. Go to Zuccotti park and go downtown DC and check for yourself
cabravesfan
January 10th, 2012
9:10 pm
Why is there never anything good on TV at this time of night??
brian
January 10th, 2012
9:12 pm
Efrim – agree with you on Bourjos
brian
January 10th, 2012
9:13 pm
UNC basketball is on cabravesfan
cabravesfan
January 10th, 2012
9:14 pm
brian-
I did say “good”
(ducks and covers, fearing the wrath of Sopheee. IT WAS A JOKE, SOPH!!)
cabravesfan
January 10th, 2012
9:15 pm
Besides, it’s not on here
nolie
January 10th, 2012
9:17 pm
NCIS LA is worth watching IMO though not great
Flashpoint and Body of Proof at 10 are pretty good, especially Flashpoint
Henry Aaron's Ghost
January 10th, 2012
9:28 pm
DUNN!!!! Oh, yeah, right. He REALLY helped Dunn get out of that oh for the summer slump. Yup, great work. Hire the Mariners hitting coach. They hit like .086 for the year. Another improvement. Yup.
kenhotlanta
January 10th, 2012
9:30 pm
beekay: If I answer your reply, I will be getting into politics and that is a no-no on this blog. I was referring to the specific group of people that you and murph referred to as “hippies”. The hippie movement was in the 60s and 70s, and what is happening to a lot of those folks in the past few years is what I was describing and what ’some’ of the people and ’some’ of the occupy movement is about, but certainly not all and I made that clear. I totally agree with you about “spoiled punks, etc.”
cabravesfan
January 10th, 2012
9:32 pm
You’re really going to use a career .242 hitter that strikes out an average of 187 times a year to claim a hitting coach is doing a poor job? Perhaps you should use a different tactic.
Bat Masterson
January 10th, 2012
9:33 pm
Beekay_
Maybe a bunch of them are people that bought into what they were taught. That we are all equal under the law and then looked around realized its just not so. Maybe they…….. Ah hell, never mind
Hippies
kenhotlanta
January 10th, 2012
9:36 pm
Yeah, what Bat said! Thanks
Robertson hunting for a good cause, plus some notes and links | The Lohud Yankees Blog
January 10th, 2012
9:40 pm
[...] I linked to Olney’s notebook earlier today, and that notebook included a link to this Q & A with Chipper Jones, who addresses the impact of becoming an older player in baseball. It’s pretty good stuff from [...]
Bat Masterson
January 10th, 2012
9:43 pm
You bet, Ken.
Sopheee
January 10th, 2012
9:45 pm
Sing it with me, cab.
UNC for you and me
Tarheel blue for me and you
cabravesfan
January 10th, 2012
9:46 pm
Soph-
I don’t sing
(Besides, VJ would leave me if he caught me singing that song…)
Sopheee
January 10th, 2012
9:47 pm
So ready for March.
cabravesfan
January 10th, 2012
9:48 pm
Wait…what’s wrong with March??
cabravesfan
January 10th, 2012
9:49 pm
Sorry- I have no idea why I thought that said “so much for March”
I am so ready for March too. It’s a good month. Probably my favorite
richbrave
January 10th, 2012
9:50 pm
Sopheee:
Can’t believe my grandson scored 21 with 11 boards last night. Didn’t go to the game because of icey rain. Dang! His best game to date in b-ball.
richbrave
January 10th, 2012
9:51 pm
H.S. Baseball in less that a month away. hard to believe.
brian
January 10th, 2012
9:52 pm
keep teaching Sopheee. Hopefully Atlanta will see the Heels take the ACC championship there in March with Carroll in attendence!
brian
January 10th, 2012
9:54 pm
I did give you a softball there cabravesfan. Unfortunately there are 3 ACC teams that are entertaining to watch – UNC, Duke, and UVA. Although I am not a Cavalier fan, I love their coach. He can outcoach anybody – fun to watch his game preparations and the in-game adjustments
brian
January 10th, 2012
9:55 pm
great game richbrave – same grandson who plays baseball?
ChattTownBrian (CTB)
January 10th, 2012
9:55 pm
Early spring mornings are the best. Especially after a long, cold winter. I used to work at a rec park and there was nothing better than being in that pretty place on a early April morning.
cabravesfan
January 10th, 2012
9:57 pm
brian-
That you did
But UNC really isn’t on here. We get Ohio State/ Illinois on ESPN…
I don’t really mind UNC, but I have always enjoyed watching Duke more- no real reason behind it…
cabravesfan
January 10th, 2012
9:58 pm
CTB-
I imagine that would be lovely. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), our early spring days are a lot like our “long, cold winters,” which is to say, warm and sunny…
ChattTownBrian (CTB)
January 10th, 2012
9:59 pm
I’m watching a show called Shipping Wars on A&E. Damn there’s some weird people out there.
ChattTownBrian (CTB)
January 10th, 2012
10:02 pm
cab, yeah, birds chirping, 70 degrees with a cool breeze. Also it’s so quiet there.
richbrave
January 10th, 2012
10:02 pm
WINTER BALL
DOMINICA
ESCOGIDO LIONS
C JOSE YEPEZ [.176 BA] 0-3, 1 PB [1], 2 E [2, 2 throwing], 3 SB against [ many ].
LICEY TIGERS
No BRAVES played.
VENEZUELA
ZULIA EAGLES
1B ERNESTO MEJIA [.240 BA] 0-3, hat trick! This guy needs some time off.
richbrave
January 10th, 2012
10:05 pm
brian
January 10th, 2012
9:55 pm
great game richbrave – same grandson who plays baseball?
Yes. half-way through his junior year, his game is really starting to kick in.
ChattTownBrian (CTB)
January 10th, 2012
10:07 pm
Oh and there’s a lake surrounding you. Now I’ll stop with that talk …
richbrave
January 10th, 2012
10:10 pm
brian:
Maybe he can walk on and play some in practice, but no way he can play SF in the ACC at a short 6′ 2″ 190. When he grows a bit more, he might be effective at a D III school like HAMPDEN-SYDNEY or RANDOLPH-MACON.
McFann O O o
January 10th, 2012
10:13 pm
Spring is the greatest season ever Created—except for the storms/possibility of tornadoes…
Sopheee
January 10th, 2012
10:24 pm
rich – double double for your grandson. That’s awesome. Sorry you missed it.
Sopheee
January 10th, 2012
10:25 pm
More dreams coming true.
Peace out, Mularkey.
AussieBrave
January 10th, 2012
10:26 pm
To Effrin and D1. Right-o. Couple of things… I may not agree with all that BravePack says but it’s sort of, well, arrogant and typical bull behaviour to imply that your point is valid and his is ignorant and baseless. I would imagine that none of us on this blog are professional players or administrators of the game so we’re all in it for the fun of the ‘what ifs’ and stats.
Now – lastly – I’m pretty sure since the movie Moneyball made it all the way to little ole Australia that you lot have watched it and along with a few good franches racked up on MLB The Show now have all the knowledge one can accumulate on the game, trades and potentials – but let me make an point here as well… for all the kurumphing you lot do about those bloody, pesky little things called AVG, RBIs and SOs, the other stats you all quote so often to look so bright would be nothing. I may be “ignorant” but I believe if your batting average is low you are rarely hitting with any regularity; and if your RBIs are low you are rarely driving in runs and are either very unlucky to always come up with no one on base or never show up in the clutch; and if you strike out every fourth or fifth at bat that probably doesn’t make you the hope of the side either. I guess I’m old school and all that, but I’ll go with the HoF and let those pitiful players stay in the Hall who hit .400 and drove in heaps of runs while making contact with the bat. “Just sayin’…”
AussieBrave
January 10th, 2012
10:27 pm
Bloody helll – “bully” and “franchises”…
beekay
January 10th, 2012
10:36 pm
Ken
No offense, I do feel bad for the hard working people that have lost jobs due to corporate greed. The people that we see on TV unfortunatley are not a good representation of the ones that work hard and were victims of the economy and the wall street big wigs. Let’s hope everyone can enjoy the upcoming season which begins in just 6 weeks.
Efrim
January 10th, 2012
10:38 pm
To Effrin
You lost me here. You’re typing, not pronouncing it. There is no reason really to shoot an air ball on the spelling of my name. In and out, or a rim shot, hell even hitting the back board. Two f’s? An n? I did not read the remainder of your post. I’ll go to bed, and hopefully I’ll feel up to it tomorrow. But you lost me at “Effrin”. Good day, mate.
Steve
January 10th, 2012
10:51 pm
The Kool-Aid I would drink
If Wren would only think
The fans want a winner
Not left-over dinner
Why leave the team on the brink?
Fred
January 10th, 2012
10:52 pm
K.Conway- You are 100% right, the Braves need to move on without Chipper. I can see another fifth or sixth place finish. The money they keep paying him could make for a nice line-up on the field for us this year. I will give him his props, but now it’s time for him to move on. This was one of the most boring team to watch last season. I could not see spending money to watch them play at all last year. It would be nice to see an owner who care about team like some of the other owners. Let’s start with a new GM, and Manager. They both have to go, we need to start rebuilding a team like we had back in the early nineties.
cabravesfan
January 10th, 2012
10:55 pm
How do you propose the Braves “move on without Chipper”? If you cut him, you still have to pay him…
cabravesfan
January 10th, 2012
10:59 pm
Also, it would be very hard to finish 6th in a division with only 5 teams…
AussieBrave
January 10th, 2012
10:59 pm
Sorry Efrim, I have to admit laziness at not wanting to scroll around and get the proper spelling, but I had enough faith in you that you could figure out who I was writing to. I was not rude to you and was really only trying to make a point about AVG, RBIs and SOs… It’s a shame that you got no further than your name, but I do understand the temptation to be solely concentrated on self. I will in the future endeavour to be as good as you in all things – baseball and typing. Good night to you too bubba.
Bat Masterson
January 10th, 2012
11:00 pm
Paying Chipper to move on might be better than finishing sixth in a five team division.
cabravesfan
January 10th, 2012
11:02 pm
Bat-
But if the reasoning is that you could use that money to improve the team this year, well, that’s just not going to happen.
cabravesfan
January 10th, 2012
11:02 pm
It’s about as likely we will finish 6th…
Bat Masterson
January 10th, 2012
11:06 pm
Really excederine, whats in a name. Bubba
Sopheee
January 10th, 2012
11:07 pm
I’d say Kool Aid deserves a bingo slot this year. doo doo, make note.
cabravesfan
January 10th, 2012
11:07 pm
SOPHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
brian
January 10th, 2012
11:09 pm
cool rich – there is also the JV at UNC that is a cool program and there are always some juniors and seniors that get to walk on varsity after good jv play
Blog Monitor
January 10th, 2012
11:10 pm
Fred
January 10th, 2012
10:52 pm
K.Conway- You are 100% right, the Braves need to move on without Chipper. I can see another fifth or sixth place finish.
Fred, you just lost whatever credibility you might have had with that statement…
cabravesfan
January 10th, 2012
11:10 pm
TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM
cabravesfan
January 10th, 2012
11:11 pm
TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
NoWay
January 10th, 2012
11:11 pm
Fred had cred? no way
Bat Masterson
January 10th, 2012
11:11 pm
cab_
Don’t try to muddy the water with all that 2+2=4 BS. Sixth place! We can’t have that
cabravesfan
January 10th, 2012
11:12 pm
Bat-
No. No we can’t. Literally. It’s impossible. Actually, really, legitimately impossible.
Sopheee
January 10th, 2012
11:12 pm
cabaliciousssssss
Promise me if y’all win you’ll find an arrogant saints fan and chant who dat 764 times in their face.
cabravesfan
January 10th, 2012
11:13 pm
Sopheee-
I don’t know any arrogant Saints fans. Or any humble ones. Not many out this way. But I promise you I will bask in the greatness of the moment if we do win
cabravesfan
January 10th, 2012
11:14 pm
And probably be forced to apologize to many, many people who will be forced to listen to me scream at the TV for 3 hours…
AussieBrave
January 10th, 2012
11:15 pm
Nothing wrong with Bubba, I find it a compliment. My father is from Alabama.
Bat Masterson
January 10th, 2012
11:19 pm
Never said there was matte.
nolie
January 10th, 2012
11:23 pm
Bowden on Barry Larkin ESPN Insider
I spent 14 seasons in the front office of the Cincinnati Reds from 1990 to 2003, the final 11 as the team’s vice president and general manager, and was blessed to watch Barry Larkin roam the left side of the diamond as the Reds’ regular shortstop during my entire tenure. It was an honor not only because Larkin was a future Hall of Famer, but because he represented everything on and off the field that was right about baseball. A man of high character, Larkin was a leader, teacher, motivator, big brother and most of all, a winner. All of those qualities were rewarded today with the news that Larkin has been inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame.
On the field, he won National League MVP in 1995, participated in 12 All-Star Games, won nine Silver Slugger Awards and four Gold Glove Awards. In 1996, Larkin became the first shortstop in baseball history to hit at least 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in a single season, and just two other shortstops in history have played in more All-Star Games — Cal Ripken Jr. and Ozzie Smith.
The Cincinnati Reds drafted him with the seventh overall pick of the 1985 draft out of the University of Michigan. The signing scout was Gene Bennett, who referred to him as a “seven-tool” player, as opposed to the typical “five-tool” scouting nomenclature. This was because Larkin was above average in the following categories: running, hitting, hitting for power, throwing and fielding, as well as in makeup and leadership. Indeed, Larkin was the full package of athleticism, body control, range, first-step quickness, sweet-spot contact, rhythm, path to the ball, baseball intellect and instincts.
Despite today’s advanced statistical analysis and sabermetrics, there still are some elements to the game that simply cannot be clearly defined without watching the games. With a runner on second and nobody out and Larkin at the plate, I could always go get a cup of coffee in my GM suite, knowing that if Larkin couldn’t get a hit he could be relied on to at least get the runner over to third with a grounder to the right side.
His selflessness was evident in the clubhouse as well. Larkin was a mentor to practically every young player during his tenure, from Aaron Boone to Sean Casey to Mike Cameron to Dmitri Young, among others. He knew when to give a teammate a kick in the butt, a pat on the back, a motivational lecture, a lesson on work ethic or a tip on how to improve his fielding, hitting, throwing mechanics or base running. He was such a leader I named him team captain.
He took the captainship seriously and led by example. But he could be vociferous when needed. And when he felt another voice was needed, teammate Lenny Harris did the talking for him in some clubhouse meetings. When a young player didn’t know how to dress, Larkin would take him to the mall while on a road trip and buy him a new wardrobe. When a player didn’t know how carry himself as a professional, Larkin taught him. When a player needed to work on his leads and breaks, Larkin was out early to work with him. As Casey once put it to me: Larkin was like having an extra coach and teacher on the field; it was always team first, Larkin second.
As his GM, Larkin helped me in many ways. The franchise always was financially challenged and to compete we had to sign inexpensive free agents. Thus, he helped recruit free agents such as Ron Gant, Tony Fernandez, Benito Santiago and many more to sign with the Reds.
I also consulted with him on some player moves over the years, because I always wanted to make sure that players I was thinking about bringing in would fit in the clubhouse, as well as basic player evaluations. I remember an instance early in my GM career in which we debated a particular young player’s value because we had an opportunity to make a trade, but I didn’t want to put that player in the deal. Larkin said he agreed with my initial assessment that the player was an above-average defender who was capable of 25 home runs and 100 RBIs a year.
However, he told me to watch the player carefully in the eighth and ninth innings of one-run games to see what the player would do both defensively and offensively, suggesting to me the player wasn’t able to get it done with the game on the line. I watched that player carefully for two months after our conversation and eventually traded that player. The deal helped our club significantly, thanks to Larkin’s wisdom and advice.
Loyalty counts
Larkin signed a five-year, $25 million extension with the Reds during the prime of his career even though he knew his market value was closer to $30 million. He preferred to let the team put the difference toward other players to give the Reds a better chance to win. The Reds’ world championship in 1990, and first-place finishes in 1994, 1995 and 1999 wouldn’t have happened if it were not for Larkin’s selflessness.
He kept his cool and remained loyal to the team, taking the high road in 1993, when team owner Marge Schott made racially insensitive remarks. Schott was suspended for those comments, and Larkin, an African-American, was pulled in many different directions by organizations such as the NAACP and Major League Baseball and the fans and media.
Of the 206 former major league players inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame, just 47 of them spent their entire careers with one team and just two of them with the Cincinnati Reds, Johnny Bench and Bid McPhee. On two occasions I tried to get him to wear a different uniform. Toward the end of his career, with the Reds going nowhere in the standings, the team’s COO asked me to trade Larkin. I orchestrated a deal with the New York Mets and left the decision up to Larkin. He loved New York; he even named one of his children after Shea Stadium. After careful thought, he rejected the deal because of his loyalty to Cincinnati. He graduated from Moeller High School, which was just 20 minutes from Riverfront Stadium.
When I joined the Washington Nationals in 2004 as their GM, I came to Larkin and offered him the chance to finish his career at shortstop in the nation’s capital. Again, after serious consideration, he declined, instead joining me as a special assistant to the general manager, a position he held until he moved over to the TV side of things, first at the MLB Network and now at ESPN. I’m glad he declined both times; he deserves to go into the Hall of Fame with one jersey, one hat and one legacy from one team.
cabravesfan
January 10th, 2012
11:28 pm
nolie-
that pretty much says everything you need to know about Barry Larkin. Good man…
keylargo
January 10th, 2012
11:32 pm
Barry Larking looks, talks and acts a lot more like a front office type than a ball player. He really impressed me with the MLB Network. He is as polished as an announcer as he was playing SS for Cincinnati.
danny charles
January 10th, 2012
11:35 pm
i would love to see chipper play another five years. when i watch a braves game on tv it’s because i want to see chipper, first and foremost. he definitely is a sure fire hall of famer, i really hope he gets his 3,000 and 500. keep playing chipper as long as you enjoy the game. you are the BEST!!!!
keylargo
January 10th, 2012
11:35 pm
Barry Larking – Drop the “G”. I better correct it before someone else does.
keylargo
January 10th, 2012
11:37 pm
Danny Charles – I think CJ will play in hopes of hitting 500 HR’s unless his average is in danger of dropping below .300.
nolie
January 10th, 2012
11:40 pm
do you?
I think it’s out of reach and he will quit B4 2014 no matter how many homers he has,
just a feelin’
AussieBrave
January 10th, 2012
11:41 pm
Bat – I hate it when people do tit for tat, and at the extreme risk of doing just that, I feel… ‘compelled’. I wasn’t implying that you did say there was something wrong with it. In fact, I didn’t actually understand your email and didn’t get the reference to ‘excederine” – It was just a comment in case you (or anyone else) had thought I was using the word Bubba as an insult. A rather juvenile and “won’t you all please like me, I have southern roots, please accept me” attempt at not getting people offsides since I rarely post on here. But honestly – people do tend to take things pretty seriously sometimes.
nolie
January 10th, 2012
11:43 pm
always was a huge Larkin fan
kenhotlanta
January 10th, 2012
11:43 pm
beekay:
thanks and agreed…looking forward to Spring Training, one of the best times of the year.
keylargo
January 10th, 2012
11:44 pm
454 Nolie. I don’t think he could do it until 2014. But I would not like seeing him looking like Willie Mays did for the Mets..211 .303 .344 .647 in Mays’ last season.
P'cola Brave
January 10th, 2012
11:46 pm
Gammons on hot stove tonight discussed the Braves. Says the Braves will probably head to spring w/ team they have. Very unlikely that Prado gets moved, reiterated that teams are weary of Jurrjens knee. Said Braves will have to go into season believing in the strong pitching. If Jurrjens has strong spring he could possibly be moved, though I find this very unlikely.
brian
January 10th, 2012
11:52 pm
I would agree that I think the Braves will head into spring training with the team they have with the addition of someone like Izturis for Martinez type trade. I still would like to see them sign Cody Ross. If the BRaves find they have way too much healthy starting pitching and Teheran/Delgado prove they need to be in the majors, they can always make a deal in June/July for a needed player and prospects
brian
January 10th, 2012
11:56 pm
reading MLB traderumors, the Orioles will likely have one of the weakest rotations in baseball. Why they got so greedy with Jones, I don’t know. Jurrjens would have been their #1/#2 starter assuming he is healthy.
P'cola Brave
January 10th, 2012
11:57 pm
brian
Keeping my fingers crossed on Izturis. Been wanting that to happens since early in the offseason. I worry that adding Izturis may push Ross out of price range and I think hes a really good fit for this team. Adding Ross and Izturis would make this a very deep, talented team.
nolie
January 11th, 2012
12:10 am
Adding Ross and Izturis would make this a very deep, talented team….P’c
I like the idea, but can we afford it?
ChattTownBrian (CTB)
January 11th, 2012
12:11 am
I wouldn’t fool with Jurrjens either. Damn, look at how bad his velo dropped within one year. I’m sure him hiring Boras doesn’t help either.
P'cola Brave
January 11th, 2012
12:16 am
nolie
Thats why I stated adding Izturis may push Ross out of consideration. I know its been debated on how much we actually have to spend this year so at the top of the speculation we could probably afford both which would add somewhere in the 8-10 mil range. If we are to believe the low end of the speculation then we could probably only afford one.
ChattTownBrian (CTB)
January 11th, 2012
12:17 am
Is Izturis a good defensive SS, or better suited for 2nd base?
P'cola Brave
January 11th, 2012
12:19 am
CTB
Using UZR hes considered a plus defender at SS but he plays 2nd and 3rd also and I believe is a plus defender at all three.
Fred
January 11th, 2012
12:20 am
So I made a mistake haha, but I still stand by my word. It’s time for Chipper to go, i’m not going to change my mind about that. Let him go to an american league team, and become a DH. The one thing different between the Braves and the Falcons, at least the Falcons get you all pumped up and then let you down, but the Braves are boring from the beginning to the end. I’m not a Cardinals fan, but I was praying that they overtake the Braves.
TomahawkChoppin'
January 11th, 2012
12:22 am
Chipper is a class act. Great candid interview with the Legend himself. Give me Chipper at third until he doesn’t want to play anymore.
nolie
January 11th, 2012
12:24 am
Fielding Bible says about average, but he has not really played short all that much. he would likely be back up and that is why I doubt they get him. 3.8mil is more than they want to pay starters.
actually I don’t see him or Ross in our future……
nolie
January 11th, 2012
12:26 am
sure let him go so we can pay 14million dollars and get absolutely nothing from it . sigh
P'cola Brave
January 11th, 2012
12:26 am
nolie
I sure hope your wrong. I think they need to add at least one of Ross or Izturis or someone of their nature. Why the starting lineup doesn’t present many holes the bench is quite weak and the Braves are a team that will rely on the bench heavily.
nolie
January 11th, 2012
12:29 am
hope i’m wrong too
Venice Jim
January 11th, 2012
12:31 am
Fred – you are clearly an expert on baseball – what kind of fool would disagree with you when clearly you know so much more than these people who recognize that Chipper is still one of the best third basemen in the league…
nolie
January 11th, 2012
12:31 am
unfortunately what i have bees saying about jj all along seems to be coming true. i have also been skeptical about them adding a decent bat
nolie
January 11th, 2012
12:41 am
TTFN y’all
cricket
January 11th, 2012
1:05 am
I’m not a Cardinals fan, but I was praying that they overtake the Braves.
you are clearly not a braves’ fan either, no fan prays for the demise of the team they support.
so what do you think of this braves blog? cool, right? does your baseball team have such a blog?
Efrim
January 11th, 2012
1:06 am
Aussie, sorry if I was a bit over the top there. Hope there is no hard feelings.
Fred
January 11th, 2012
1:10 am
Dream on Venice Jim, Dream on, and no i’m not an expert. Just because you like someone, you still have to know when to say it’s over. He will be lucky to make through half the season. Everyone one have there on opinion, he was a good third baseman ,but not anymore.
nolie
January 11th, 2012
1:12 am
Fred the genius
Efrim
January 11th, 2012
1:15 am
A baseball source has confirmed to MLB.com that the Reds have agreed to terms late Tuesday on a one-year, $10 million contract with free agent closer Ryan Madson.
That’s a very good team in Cincy……
LF Heisey, CF Stubbs, RF Bruce
3B Rolen/Frazier, SS Cozart, 2B Phillips, 1B Votto, C Mesoraco/Hanigan
SP Latos, Cueto, Leake, Bailey, Arroyo, Chapman
RP Madson, Marshall, Bray, LeCure, Masset, Arrendondo, Ondrusek
Deep roster and I’d say they are really close to the Cardinals, if not surpassing them.
I still think my rankings are…..
NL East: Phillies, Braves, Marlins, Nationals, Mets
NL Central: Cardinals, Reds, Brewers, Cubs, Pirates, Astros
NL West: D-Backs, Giants, Dodgers, Rockies, Padres
Mets, Cubs, Pirates and Astros with no shot.
Rockies and Padres with slightly more of a shot.
Brewers(w/o Braun for 50 games), Dodgers, Marlins, and Nationals on the cusp.
Braves, Giants and Reds battling it out for the Wild Card till the end.
Phillies, Cards, and D-Backs as division winners.
Efrim
January 11th, 2012
1:23 am
Reds payroll figures to be around 85 million. Braves slightly more if they do nothing.
I gotta say, I’ll be pretty heated if the Braves don’t make ANY additions prior to spring training. And if they take the same team to Turner Field with Jose Constanza as the 4th outfielder and Drew Sutton as the backup SS, I’ll be pretty frustrated. Trying to stay positive. Still think Wren has something up his sleeve……other than trading Jurrjens for a nice prospect package……
Efrim
January 11th, 2012
1:26 am
And for anyone that followed mlbtraderumors this evening, one thing you can bank on in the rumor mill is Jon Heyman knowing Scott Boras clients. He is keyed in with Boras and will probably break Fielder, Pena and E-Jax signings…..
…and I do believe him on his Jurrjens stuff too, another Boras client.
Mitchell
January 11th, 2012
1:28 am
I really wish there was some reason to believe that the Braves 2012 season won’t end pretty much the same way 2011 did? Any reason.
I mean, unless you’re just one of countless pathologically optimistic Braves fan blind to reality and recent history.
No really, don’t you wish you could just flash forward to September to find out if we make the playoffs or not?
If somebody was able to tell me right now that we don’t make the playoffs, that would be such a relief.
Wouldn’t that save everybody so much trouble? I think so.
There’s nothing worse that watching a team with the best rookie first baseman in the National League, the best base stealer in the major leagues, the best offensive catcher in baseball, a 2010 All Star Game starting utility infielder/outfielder, Hall of Fame third baseman, best rookie closer in the game and possibly the best closer period and of course an elite pitching staff and constantly being made to believe you’re rooting for one of the have-not’s in the game.
As if we shouldn’t expect them to make the playoffs because they’re not in the top five in payroll.
Meanwhile, the Rays are in the post-season for the third time in four years.
Incidentally, I’d trade managers with them if they’re interested. Just a thought.