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Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
3,779 comments Add your comment
Tom O'Hawke
January 21st, 2012
1:23 am
Unfortunately, VJ, I WILL be able to sleep tomorrow night.
cricket
January 21st, 2012
1:40 am
NTTAWWT – one of the best episodes
MIBravesFan
January 21st, 2012
2:05 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADDigK8LwyE
Ward
January 21st, 2012
2:11 am
How’s it going everyone? Tom how you doing now? I’m a bit nervous,because you could get the good,or the bad from Eli,but I’m trying to chill down,and think of a beach some where on a island,and having some Pepsi.
Ward
January 21st, 2012
2:19 am
I’ve been very low keyed,and try to say not too much until the game…….Giants,can beat 49rs,but Niners are dangerous with their “D”,which causes great concern for me. It will be an interesting game,and I’m looking forward to see it.
Ward
January 21st, 2012
2:31 am
Also reading from Yahoo Sports Braves site,and Wren,Plans to keep all the young pitching,because he believes it will be geat depth. I think thats the smart approach. Don’t trade unless have to trade.
Ward
January 21st, 2012
2:47 am
Well,all have agood one! Talk tomorrow,and Does anyone think that Gieco commercial with the pig is annoying? I would like to see a hunter standing in the distance,and blast the pig off the wire. The pig is so annoying………Peace My Friends…….
nolie
January 21st, 2012
3:34 am
I think it became pretty obvious at the deadline last season that Wren was not gonna trade any of his pitching prospects.
Ward
January 21st, 2012
4:03 am
nolie,before I go. You have a good point there,and peace………
Jarryd
January 21st, 2012
6:09 am
nolie, Tom, cab, hag, RG. Alive and well. DOB, hope CR covers that AZ series ’cause I got your ticket to Galactic at Variety.
richbrave
January 21st, 2012
7:35 am
Ward:
That’s the idea. Annoying pig, unforgettable ad. BTW, for those of you with GEICO, good luck.
richbrave
January 21st, 2012
7:39 am
WINTER BALL
AUSTRALIA
PERTH HEAT
C MATT KENNELLY [.297 BA] 3-6, 1 R, 1 2B [6].
Disgusted
January 21st, 2012
8:06 am
The bullpen was not one of the problems lat yr but can you expect the same from Venters, Eric O and Kimbrel (until he tired out in September).
Hope the starters are able to put in more IP down the stretch, otherwise the best relievers will show wear and tear like September.
The Braves just might pull off some fools gold and contend for five months then comes September and the choke re-runs again just like last year.
There is no reason to be optomistic in Atlanta Sports, we are cursed, so I expect another disappointing season.
VaBravesFan
January 21st, 2012
8:14 am
Disgusted
I think if Fredi uses Vizciano more in high leverage situations and trust other relievers with 3 runs leads late in games we should be ok.
Blind Squirrel ( AKA CB)
January 21st, 2012
8:21 am
WheeeeeWheeeee,Wheeeee. I love that pig.
Lew
January 21st, 2012
8:48 am
We no longer have Proctor, Sherrill or Linebrink. WE now have Martinez, Medlen and Varvaro (for a whole season) who are capable of pitching multiple innings. We’re getting Moylan back. We will have Vizcaino for an entire season and we have several more bullpen arms at AAA.
There is depth to this pen that was lacking last year and the new pieces should more than take the extra innings from the big three. Venters has been great for two years – O’ Flaherty for three. No reason to believe they can’t repeat their performances. And Kimbrel is just a stud.
Some people just aren’t happy unless they aren’t.
VaBravesFan
January 21st, 2012
8:53 am
Lew- Agreed, we have the best bullpen in all of baseball to go along with the most depth as well. You add that to our top 10 rotation and best rotation depth were lookin mighty fine when it comes to pitching.
IVAN ...
January 21st, 2012
8:55 am
How ya been Lew?
Rainy day on Lake Hartwell……….
Lew
January 21st, 2012
8:59 am
IVAN – Doing pretty well – trying to get some art together for blogers to take to Spring Training.
Three degrees and snowing up here right now. Been going below zero at night, but should be up to 40 tomorrow or Monday. Heat wave. Better break out the shorts.
Lew
January 21st, 2012
9:05 am
VaBraves – With the pitching we have, if Heyward, Prado and Uggla can raise their stats by .020 in Batting average, and .020 in OBP, you’re looking at a playoff team.
All we hear is how much Washington and the Marlins have improved, but most seem to forget that though the Nats ended up 8.5 behind us, they were 18 games behind us on September 1 and the Marlins were 21 games behind us on that date. The only reason they even got as close to us as they did (which was NOT that close) is because we had one month that is unlikely to be repeated.
ChattTownBrian (CTB)
January 21st, 2012
9:06 am
That damn pig geico commercial is just rediculous. No reason for all that screaming. Lots of commercials are plain terrible and annoying and I always wondered if it’s like a bad prank on people anyway. We have some bad local ones here and the worst is the comcast commercial with the young married couple who “switched” back from EPB. That one and that goofy ass guy makes me want to punch a hole in a wall.
Lew
January 21st, 2012
9:13 am
Tn Brian – I’ve always wanted to take some characters from commercials and ban them to a deserted island somewhere – Flo the car insurance Lady, the Burger King, the Cean Moyuth and Glade Ladies and that fool who drives his cars up poles all need to go. Very soon. They can take the pig with them.
Lew
January 21st, 2012
9:14 am
That was the Clean Mouth Lady from the gum commercials. Still can’t type worth a damn.
old man
January 21st, 2012
9:20 am
I still think it is 50/50 JJ gets dealt. It will happen if a “starting pitcher-shallow” team shows up at spring training with one of their starters who did not stay in shape and tears a rotator cuff on the first day of hard throwing, or needs TJ surgery because of something stupid they did in the off season and didn’t tell anyone, or is coming off surgery and something is not right with it, etc. There are about 150 starting pitchers on other teams. At least half of those teams don’t have depth in starting pitching. The odds are at least 50/50 that one or two of those 75 pitchers can’t go because of injury that becomes apparent early in ST.
Disgusted
January 21st, 2012
9:35 am
“I think if Fredi uses Vizciano more in high leverage situations and trust other relievers with 3 runs leads late in games we should be ok.”
Vizcaino is a welcome arm to the bunch whom we really do not know what he can do. Improvement in his control and he can be one of those real low WHIP guys.
I like that Moylan is back, and with Martinez and Varvaro there is BP depth.
But the starters are going to have to give these guys a break, will be more comfortable if we know that Hudson, Hanson and JJ are healthy and right.
Once Wren sees to it that the rotation is right and healthy, I can see JJ possibly being dealt then. I do not see a JJ trade until we know just how well Hudson and Tommy are. And that is the correct decision to make.
Still, I cannot and will never forgive last September because there was no excuse for that. I can accept an early playoff exit but cannot accept choking away a chance to get to the dance.
I can forgive the Falcons for what happened, but not the Braves. As a fan I demand a team that gets to the playoffs at least. I realize only one can win a championship, but not making the post season in any of the 3 major sports we have in unacceptable.
I would rather have him then Proctor and Linebrink.
VaBravesFan
January 21st, 2012
9:36 am
old man
That makes sense and all, but that doesn’t mean any team is gonna meet Wren’s asking price.
Disgusted
January 21st, 2012
9:38 am
Edit the last sentence, I would rather have Vizcaino etc than Proctor and Linestink.
Lew
January 21st, 2012
9:38 am
A fan who demands only playoff teams isn’t really a fan of the team or the sport – they’re a fan of playoff games.
VaBravesFan
January 21st, 2012
9:44 am
JJ will most likely be dealt next offseason. He’ll be due another raise and Wren would be wise to get a couple prospects and his salary off the books. You can’t count out any deadline deal this season either. Right now Teheran and Delgado are slated to start the year in AAA, if there having terrific season’s down there its gonna push Wren to make a spot. Wren standing his ground this offseason was the right call. Needs more time to see how Hanson and Huddy are doing and how the young guns progress for a few months.
Lew
January 21st, 2012
9:45 am
And if you only want to see playoff games, you’re bound to be unhappy and Disgusted, because it’s an unrealistic expectation most of the time – although the Braves have a bettrer record of making the playoffs than almost any other team the past 20 years.
Disgusted
January 21st, 2012
9:48 am
No Lew, a fan who demands a team provide a high quality product is as much of a fan as one who will support garbage.
This past September was garbage with a capital G and no, Braves fans should not have to “get over it”.
Who the H are you to judge. I am not going to judge anyone as to what kind of fan they are, but rest assured that places like NY and Philly would not have put up with this as politely as ATl has.
I wish Braves fans were more like Philly fans. But they are not, but that is just how it is. And no I am not jumping off to the Philly bandwagon, but if the Braves cannot be in the post season I would rather see the Nats in there than Philly or Fla.
I am mad as H over September and am not going to just get over it, I shall vent on this until they make up for it and give us a good playoff run. We deserve it.
Bat Masterson
January 21st, 2012
9:53 am
Still, I cannot and will never forgive last September because there was no excuse for that. _ Disgusted
Might as well give these guys a call and get it over with.
http://www.berkandmoss.calls.net/
Disgusted
January 21st, 2012
9:58 am
If the young guns really come on strong the one salary they could dump off the books is Hudson’s given that he is not such a great big game pitcher.
He pitched poorly down the sttretch in September in both 2010 and ‘11, remember that is was the villified D. Lowe who was the stud down the stretch that was a big help in 2010.
Of course since guys like Timmy and Mc Cann (a big part of the ‘11 collapse) are native Georgia boys they do get more of a pass than most Braves do. Look, it took two and half yrs before Braves fans finally realized that Francoeur was not going to cut it here, and it took a couple of trades to get Jeff to realize he was not a good as he thought he was.
We need Hudson of course, he has been overall pretty good but not the stud he was in Oakland. But Hudson has not been great as a Brave.
VaBravesFan
January 21st, 2012
10:02 am
Disgusted
Its a game, anything can happen. Can you imagine how the RedSox fan’s feel? Just look at that roster and the money they spend…Now thats unacceptable to miss the playoffs.
I think were totally different. Middle of the pack in payroll, Alot more younger players here being depended on. Look at all the injuries that killed this team last year but yet miss the playoffs by 1 game. Alot of bad luck.
VaBravesFan
January 21st, 2012
10:08 am
Disgusted
Huddy has been good as a Brave. He’s been with us for 7 seasons. Here’s the numbers.
89 Wins 58 Losses 3.51 ERA 1262 Innings ( Four 200+ Seasons)
Webster
January 21st, 2012
10:09 am
Lew–couldn’t agree more with your 9:38 post. we had a suprior run for 16 years and are still competitive enough to contend each year. Would some of these peolpe (not true fans) rather go back to the mid ’80’s and watch guys like Terry Harper, Oddibee McDowell and ed Olwine?
Disgusted
January 21st, 2012
10:10 am
VaBraves–I realize its just a game, but its the way that September went down that is hard to take.
Had they been around .500 all yr and would up with 89 wins and missing the playoffs by one game I could tolerate that alot better.
ITs how you finish that counts, that is what stays in the minds of some fans through the off season.
The middle of the pack payroll is what concerns me because not they are run like a small market team (other teams are spending it more) how many windows of opportunity do we have ?
The Red Sox are a different story because they have some lazy overpaid pitchers who failed to stay in shape, all you have to do is look at Josh Beckett and Dice-K and Lackey and you can tell those guys do not stay in top shape.
At least we do have athletes who stay in shape. Our pitchers do not look fat.
nolie
January 21st, 2012
10:12 am
Hudson had a 3.79 ERA in Sept/Oct, hardly disgusting, Disgusted.
Just man up and deal with it all. instead of whimpering like a spoiled little thang
Disgusted
January 21st, 2012
10:12 am
I agree that Huddy has been good as a Braves, he had one bad year, but he was ineffective down the stretch in 2010.
He was up and down in Sept 2011.
I meant to say that he is not a Halliday or Cliff Lee, that is all. He has been good to very good but not great.
VaBravesFan
January 21st, 2012
10:16 am
I was pissed about it too. I didn’t start watching the Braves until about 1997 when I was 10 years old. So all I really know is how good the Braves are year in and year out. But I’ve adjusted. Every team has up’s and down’s and you can’t be good forever. Kinda like how I’m a Redskins fan, I don’t get upset about them losing because I’m used to it lol They haven’t been great since I was in diapers.
Tomahawkin (The Godfather)
January 21st, 2012
10:16 am
@Disgusted
“I wish Braves fans were more like Philly fans. But they are not, but that is just how it is.”
“Get Out The WAYYYYYYYYYY!” I Got To Intercept!
My Man, LOL Obviously you have not seen me on here during the games when I’m “In Full Effect Mode!…?
The Same can be said for TnBrian/CTB, and a Few others on here…
We drink the Kool-Aid Mixed with other substances during the game and seriously are On Edge!
Disgusted
January 21st, 2012
10:16 am
It was not good enough Nolie.
Plain and simple And just because some of you find losing a 10 game lead at the end of the season acceptable, well, some do not.
Being unhappy with losing a big lead at the end does not make you not a true fan. If you tell your kid he is on the wrong path, and discipline him or her, does that make you love your kids any less.
I am dealing with it–by internet venting, nothing else more. Free speech, fair and square.
I do not like what happened.
Webster
January 21st, 2012
10:19 am
Disgusted–that is what Hudson has always been, good but not graet. In Oakland he had 2 great seasons. Like you, not knocking the guy, but he is not HOF pitcher.
nolie
January 21st, 2012
10:19 am
the Braves did not lose it because Hudson had a 3.79 ERA. and exactly what good does whining do?
Disgusted
January 21st, 2012
10:19 am
Tomahawkin–Sorry I do not mean to put you or Tenn Brian in the group I am taking about.
Ifs the Lews and Nolies who try to tell people Iindirectly of course) they are not a real fan if they do not put up with garbage play.
Glad there are fans like you around.
Disgusted
January 21st, 2012
10:21 am
I agree with you Webtser and Va Brave. Its as if some want to crown him as great when he is pretty good and he did have a bad Sept 2010.
For an ace of the staff he could have given a bit more of a lift when they really really needed it in Sept. One game he game up 8 runs I think. He was drilled hard in a couple of games when they really needed the lift.
Tomahawkin (The Godfather)
January 21st, 2012
10:21 am
Ok, Lets Play Head of The Class…???
What Grade Does Frankie Wren Get for The Offseason??? Assuming he’s Done…
I’m Going with a B-
He Dumped Blowe, Signed Jack Wilson, which I’m starting to like more and more…He “Ol Yellered” Parrish which was 3 Months to late hence the B- Grade I gave him
He Stood Pat which Is what I wanted him to do since I didn’t get My Matt Kemp X-Mas Present…But If he Had Traded Both Martini and Double J for SLOP like Seth Smith…I swear His grade would’ve been in the D Range…
And Wren Gets Extra Credit for Brining Back Petey-Pablo for Cheap…!
nolie
January 21st, 2012
10:22 am
he has one of the highest w/l % of all time, and a career 3.40 ERA through the PED era, but yeah maybe not a HOFer IMO, but still a damn good career
nolie
January 21st, 2012
10:23 am
never said you weren’t a real fan so stuff that crap right away, just said you were a crybaby
Tomahawkin (The Godfather)
January 21st, 2012
10:25 am
@Disgusted…
I’m Not Sure About TnBrian/CTB abt being an SEC Fan
But I’m Part of the Hardcore SEC/Crowd who hasn’t seen A Title in Atlanta since I was in Grade School…And Hasn’t Seen The Braves in The World Series Since The Last Century when I was 15 (1999). Hell Its Been 11 years since we were in The NLCS…
I’m Still P’d about that Epic FAIL Last Season…! And I’m Grinding My Teeth as I’m Typing This!
Lew
January 21st, 2012
10:27 am
It’s always made me laugh my somewhat substantial rear end off when people “Demand” results or find team’s performances “Unacceptable”. Positiviely hilarious.
If you Demand results and find things unacceptable, then maybe you’d do well to become a biollionaire and buy your own team and then fire those who disappoint you. Otherwise, you’re whistling into the wind, cause they honestly don’t care if you demand results or find them unacceptable. If youtruly ffeel that way then your only true recourse is to not go to games, not buy merchandise and have nothing whatsoever to do with the team. Otherwise, all you’re doing is bitching to fans.
Not so sure that will get you what you want and likely all you end up with is fans tired of hearing it.
Lew
January 21st, 2012
10:29 am
And who am I to judge? I’m one of those who constantly have to ghear you and others gripe interminably about something you have no way to change. You either support your team or you don’t. Period.
Webster
January 21st, 2012
10:32 am
Tomahwkin– i would give Wren an A-. true he didn’t get a big LF, but he held onto the young pitching. If the rumors were true, he didn’t succomb to media and fan pressure to make any stupid moves. I’m sure he tried to move JJ, but you have to have a trade partner.
McFann O O o
January 21st, 2012
10:35 am
Of course since guys like Timmy and Mc Cann (a big part of the ‘11 collapse) are native Georgia boys they do get more of a pass than most Braves do.
What world are you in? People aren’t giving BMac a pass…BMac’s certainly not giving BMac a pass. You read articles about the collapse, they all mention BMac slump.
But we (well, most of us) also know that BMac’s better than that. That wasn’t him at all—he was obviously still injured to some degree. But that’s healed, now, and he’ll be himself again in 2012.
Webster
January 21st, 2012
10:37 am
Francouer is a GA boy and he never got a pass
Couch Tater
January 21st, 2012
10:37 am
I am among the many who’ve found large live events aren’t worth the hassle. At least, the Braves offer 162 games to choose and you have more options on game date and seating. I usually purchase Braves tickets at the gate.
Here’s a couple of interesting opinions on live event ticketing and strategy..
Op-ed from The New York Times regarding paperless tickets…
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/20/opinion/who-owns-my-ticket.html?_r=2&emc=eta1
Back in October, Bill Simmons talks to Ticketmaster CEO, Nathan Hubbard, about paperless tickets as well as, the future of live event marketing.
http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=7126430
nolie
January 21st, 2012
10:39 am
pay em little mind McF, same folks would be bitchin and moaning if the Braves had taken the World Series to game 7 and lost.They won’t admit it, but they would.
Webster
January 21st, 2012
10:40 am
Kyle Davies never got a pass either
McFann O O o
January 21st, 2012
10:40 am
nolie—
Haha! True that…Heck, they’d even complain if the Braves took it to Game 7 and won— “Shoulda had it in the bag in Game 5!!”…
Disgusted
January 21st, 2012
10:41 am
Who is doing the whining now Lew? Seems like you are doing the whining because you do not want to hear some fans rip the team over a dismal Septemberr.
Guess what???? This board has people of diffrent opinions and maybe there are some fans who tired of your being an apologist for the team.
No, I am not going to shut up for you or anyone else. I do not know you (do not want to)and do not answer to you.
I like the fans who piss and moan about Liberty Media and when the Braves do not do well.
I don’t care for the people like you who indirectly demand that everyone should just accept it.
If you love LM, and the Braves chances that is your choice. I don’t. In spite of my disdain for LM will still go to some games because not going to he games is counterproductive.
I am a baseball fan, so I will support the game as much as I can afford.
LJ
January 21st, 2012
10:42 am
I am glad that Atlanta fans are not like Philly or NY fans. All that hate just makes th hater sick, doesn’t do anything to change anything. Nothing wrong with acting like a human being and not a mad dog.
Lew
January 21st, 2012
10:42 am
nolie – Like I said earlier – some aren’t happy unless they aren’t happy.
nolie
January 21st, 2012
10:42 am
Heyward has been ripped plenty here too
McFann O O o
January 21st, 2012
10:46 am
Lew some aren’t happy unless they aren’t happy.
Like the song says:
It’s like I love this pain a little too much
Love my heart all busted up
Something ’bout her, we just don’t work
But I can’t walk away
It’s like I love this pain…
Tomahawkin (The Godfather)
January 21st, 2012
10:47 am
I’m Co-Signing With McFann
And I’m Adding to it
Huddy Held His Own During the Last 6 Weeks…You can’t Ripp Huddy…It was The G-Damn Awfense who F it up The Last 6 weeks…
@ Disgusted, The Team Playing with Carefree/No Sense of Urgency until the Last Series Against Philly is What P’d Me off…
It Should’ve Been A Wake Up Call when They Got Clowned In Philly in that Labor day Series, But They employed the “Oh Its Just One Loss” Mantra… SMDH
McFann O O o
January 21st, 2012
10:50 am
Tomahawkin—
Thanks! Yeah, I remember Timmy had a couple off-starts, but for the most part, he was good, I think…yeah, that offense did squat, pretty much…
Tomahawkin (The Godfather)
January 21st, 2012
10:50 am
OK…I’m, Staying out of the Whos At Fault for the Collapse Debate…I’m getting Hyped Up Thinking abt it…Because It Should’ve been us in the W. Series since the NL Was weak this year…
@Couch Tater
January 21st, 2012
10:37 am
“I am among the many who’ve found large live events aren’t worth the hassle. At least, the Braves offer 162 games to choose and you have more options on game date and seating. I usually purchase Braves tickets at the gate. ”
Co-Sign…You Can’t Go Wrong with buying the Dollar Skyline Seats and then just Spending the Whole Game Hanging on the 2nd Level Chophouse Patio Railing by the Scoreboard
JasonInFL
January 21st, 2012
10:50 am
So, opening day lineup:
Bourn
Prado
Chipper
Mac
Uggs
Freeman
J-Hey
Pastor
How do you folks think Fredi will fill out the opening day lineup?
JasonInFL
January 21st, 2012
10:52 am
I think it should be:
Bourn
Chipper
Freeman
Uggs
Mac
Prado
J-Hey
Pastor
Tomahawkin (The Godfather)
January 21st, 2012
10:53 am
McFann O O o
January 21st, 2012
10:50 am
Tomahawkin—
“Thanks! Yeah, I remember Timmy had a couple off-starts, but for the most part, he was good, I think…yeah, that offense did squat, pretty much…”
Co-Sign! And There were Several Starts the last 6 weeks where R-Delgado, BB, And Teheran Pitched Well Enough to win but either lost or got No Decisions…That was Totally on the offense for not providing run support! Like Totally,
And Regarding Lowe, He Got the Run Support abd Still pitched like Crap, SMH
Tomahawkin (The Godfather)
January 21st, 2012
10:54 am
@JasoninFL
What Heyward does in S. Training will influence a lot of the lineup decisions and where he hits, Bank on it!
Lew
January 21st, 2012
10:54 am
Exactly, McFann.
And some need to realize that the past is just that – the past. It’s over and you can’t change it no matter how much you want to do so. All you can do is accept it and hope for better next time around, or, like Disgusted, keep whining about it and demandeing better (as if anyone cares) and become bitter to the point of wanting to be known as “Disgusted”.
The collapse was terrible. It was stunning and like a punch to the face. But it’s over and it’s not as if your mate of 40 years has cancer or your beloved dog died. There will be more baseball this year and if you don’t like how the Braves are playing, well, there’s always 29 other MLB teams and tons of minor league clubs that might just provide you with what you’re looking for.
Blind Squirrel ( AKA CB)
January 21st, 2012
10:55 am
You remember yesterday we discussed black and white and gray areas? Why are we not allowed to love the Braves and still see the reasons to be disappointed about no real offseason moves other than the trade of Lowe? Yes, I know we have a good team and will be competitive but one good addition in LF would really have helped.
JasonInFL
January 21st, 2012
10:57 am
T-Hawkin…same with Prado. Just bored on a Sat morning and thought it would be fun to dust off the ‘ol lineup debate.
Lew
January 21st, 2012
10:59 am
Squirrel- Nothing at all wrong with trying to figure pout what went wrong, what moves might be made and disagreement is fine on all topics. The argument yesterday with Efrimwas an argument about approach and a bona fide argument, no matter which side was taken.
However, this is nothing more than continued, constant vitriol and griping about what can’t be changed – it’s not a discourse and oopinion about where we go from here. Big difference. And it’s not a matter of black and white – it’s a constant barrage of negativity and nothing else. It’s not an argument – it’s a warped state of mind.
Lew
January 21st, 2012
11:01 am
And i wanted them to trade for Swisher. He would be the piece that pushes us over the playoff edge. Wasn’t happening thoguh, unrealistic to believe it would and I got over it.
Tomahawkin (The Godfather)
January 21st, 2012
11:02 am
@JasonInFl
A Pre Nate Mclouth/2010 Version of Heyward is your ideal 2 hitter. Martini didn’t look right when he hit 2nd last year especially after getting The Bourne Identity…
Both are Ideal #2 hitters because they work the counts, but i like a 2010 version of Heyward there better because of his speed… but good point
nolie
January 21st, 2012
11:03 am
I wish they had picked up a good OFer too, but what good does constant whining about it do?
I stated my desires a few times in a reasonable manner, I’m sure nobody wants to hear me go on and on about it now. It’s not like we weren’t all disappointed by the way the season ended.
Lew
January 21st, 2012
11:06 am
nolie – Right. It sucked. One of the worst baseball experienes of my life.
But we are apparently going into the new season with what we got. Would have been nice to get what we wanted, but this is the team we have. Love em or leave em. Griping won’t change it.
Disgusted
January 21st, 2012
11:08 am
Based onbaseball history, most of the time, if a team goes through a collapse like the Braves and RS went through, it generally has a long term effect on the samw group of players and those teams usually win nothing until the manager and most of the core players are broken up.
Examples,
1969 Cubs–Never won anything in the Durocher era
1964 Phillies–Did not win anything till the late 70’s
1978 Red Sox–Did not win anything till 86 with most of the core players and manager gone
1987 Blue Jays–Their best would come under Cito Gaston and most of the core players were around in the 92 and 93 champ teams, but Jimy Williams was the one replaced
1995 Angels–Would not win anything for 7 yrs
2007 Mets–Still recovering
This is a list of examples where a bad collapsse effected the culture of the team for some time.
Only team I can think of that recovered is the 2009 Tigers who won the AL Central last yr.
Remains to be seen how the Braves and RS are affected.
Maybe the younger guys can forget about it, hope so.
The worst thing about it is that they had a 3 game lead entering the last weekend of the yr, and just completely dripped six in a row.
BTW, I stand to be corrected on Hudson for his Sept of 2011, it was Sept of 10 that he was hit hard.
Yes its over, hope this does not hangover through the season. If the do well, I will give them credit for it. But once September comes around, it should be a nervous time of the yr. if they have a big lead.
Couch Tater
January 21st, 2012
11:11 am
You Can’t Go Wrong with buying the Dollar Skyline Seats and then just Spending the Whole Game Hanging on the 2nd Level Chophouse
Just depends on the mood and company. Sometimes, I do that. Other times, I sit close to infield, so I can heckle David Wright or Ryan Howard.
McFann O O o
January 21st, 2012
11:11 am
Tomahawkin—
For sure…
Lew—
Exactly. Life goes on. I used to let games and stuff get to me more than they should have…but then it got to the point where it was like, hey, if this is gonna affect my attitude in every day things, then it’s no fun (and if I do say so myself, I was never as bad as these people). So yeah, I still get upset when they lose and when BMac has a bad stretch, but when the game is over or when morning comes, that’s done with—new day, the Wrennies are singing, and there’s another game on later…sure, I cried a little after the last game this past season, but I stepped away from the Blog and got on with it…
That came off sounding more “Holier Than Thou” than I wanted it to…
But it’s over and it’s not as if your mate of 40 years has cancer or your beloved dog died.
Right! There’s a lot worse things going on in the world than the Braves missing the playoffs…Heck, even within the Braves there’s been worse stuff—what the Porter family just went through makes losing the playoffs seem like losing a tooth! And there’s been other stuff, too.…
Blind Squirrel ( AKA CB)
January 21st, 2012
11:11 am
Lew, agreed on the constant whining doing no good like Disgusted does. I also think it is ok to question the moves Wren makes without a person’s ability to be a Braves fan questioned. It happens on here way too much. I think a lot of people here lose their objectivity to look at the overall picture.
Tomahawkin (The Godfather)
January 21st, 2012
11:15 am
Couch Tater
[You Can’t Go Wrong with buying the Dollar Skyline Seats and then just Spending the Whole Game Hanging on the 2nd Level Chophouse]
“Just depends on the mood and company. Sometimes, I do that. Other times, I sit close to infield, so I can heckle David Wright or Ryan Howard.”
I do that Too… Remember you are talking to a Fan That Got Kicked out of the Chophouse for Yelling “F U Pestorino!” To Shane Victorino during a game against the Phillies
Kat
January 21st, 2012
11:20 am
After watching NO Saints- specifically Jimmy Graham this year I was wondering if any of the Braves played another sport in high school or college that they were great at that has assisted them in their baseball success….. (Graham played college basketball for Miami – now in NFL)
VaBravesFan
January 21st, 2012
11:27 am
I’m giving Wren a C+
Good things Wren has done. 1. Firing Larry Parrish 2. Not trading Prado or Jurrjens for low value returns 3. Dumping Derek Lowe 4. Not trading top prospects
Things I didn’t like is Wren stating that Pastornicky isn’t ready and we’d be looking for a stop gap shortstop. Then weeks later saying Pastornicky is our guy and that we’d want to add a veteran backup.
Also Wren stated multiple times that we don’t have to make a trade to free up money to sign a player. But all we hear is there is no money and so on. Leading to only signing Jack Wilson and Peter Moylan for a combined 2 mil…
If money was so tight why did we exercise Eric Hinske’s 1.5 mil option? Coming off a terrible year for us you’d figure we would have saved that money to make a better addition such as Cody Ross. Now if Chipper misses more time than expected or Prado/Heyward struggles and/or gets hurt were screwed.
All offseason we’ve known were gonna have alot of depth in the rotation and bullpen, our biggest concern is the bench and having depth behind our main guys. But yet we go and spend some of our limited funds on another reliever in Peter Moylan.
David Ross, Jack Wilson, Eric Hinske + some combination of Diaz/Constanza/Durango/Sutton
Tomahawkin (The Godfather)
January 21st, 2012
11:29 am
@VaBravesFan…
We Had to Keep SKE…The Dude is a Hell of A Pinch Hitting Threat and is a Fan Favorite!
VaBravesFan
January 21st, 2012
11:31 am
Start the year off
CF Bourn
RF Heyward
3B Chipper
2B Uggla
C McCann
1B Freeman
LF Prado
SS Pastor
Hopefully by mid-season Heyward is batting 3rd.
Lew
January 21st, 2012
11:32 am
Suirrel – Questioning what Wren did or didn’t do is a valid topic. Personally, I’m glad he didn’t overreact and dump Martin or JJ (though I feel that the kids would have replaced Jurrjens in good fashion).
What happened last September was a result of several different factors – Lowe losing it totally (he’s gone so he can’t do it again and a Kid will do better), Martin’s staph infection leaving him very weak the rest of the season (We know his work ethic – he’ll be motivated to come back strong), Mac’s oblique injury and coming back too soon (He’ll be fine this spring) and losing Hanson and Jurrjens, lev=aving the work load to a couple of kids who were at the end of their allowed IP (they’ll have more innings in them this year), a tired pen (addressed earlier this morning with more and better depth)and Fredi not using Ross to replace Mac when he was struggling (one hopes he learned his lesson.
The teram has a very deep rotation and can weather injuries better this year and has a pen oif epic proportions. It’s unreasonable to believe that (as raleighbravesfan says) a perfect storm of issues will arrive in September again this year and that payers having off years won’t bounce back.
And in addition, April’s schedule is pretty easy, which should allow us to get off to a strong start (for a change).
monty
January 21st, 2012
11:35 am
McFann O O
Wise beyond your years.
TJ Lambert
January 21st, 2012
11:35 am
Yes September was ugly, but as Chipper said it wasn’t that they were not playing hard (maybe too hard). But Spring is around the corner and we have a team that can contend. My love of baseball is that you loose so much ( 3 out 10 is a great hitter), that it makes appreciating success all the better.
VaBravesFan
January 21st, 2012
11:36 am
Tomahawkin
Hinske’s Pinch Hitting Stats 12 for 61 3 HR 9 RBI 25 K’s 197. AVG 640. OPS
Late&Close Games stats 11 for 67 552. OPS
Lew
January 21st, 2012
11:36 am
VaBRavesfan – Good question about Hinske. I dounted he would have his option exercised and was surprised when he did. Thing is that I think he was the fall back position on a Diaz/Hinske RH/LH hitting outfield platoon for when Martin is at third.
Not the best idea I’ve ever heard of, but I bt it’s why they did it. Hinske fades after the All Star break and Matty lost all his power. Might work out all right. But might not, too.
Lew
January 21st, 2012
11:38 am
Should hace added fallback position fi they din’t get a better outfielder – whih they didn’t. Yet, anyway. Not holdng my breath, though.
Lew
January 21st, 2012
11:40 am
VaBraves – Had they not taken HInske’s option and not signed Moyla, the savings would only have been a bit more than $2 mil.
Seriously. Would that two mil spent on a very poor to mediocre outfielder have helped the Braves more than Hinske and Moylan? I’m not really seeing it – any more than Wrten aparently did.
VaBravesFan
January 21st, 2012
11:42 am
Jack Wilson is our plan if Pastornicky isn’t ready and struggles. Since 2008 Wilson has hit
256/292/335/627
Matt Diaz is most likely our 4th OF and in the last 2 season’s has hit
257/302/377/679
Lew
January 21st, 2012
11:49 am
Well, I’m not so concerned over Pastornicky. He won’t hit as bad as Ginzo (and Wislosn won’t be much worse – if at all – minus the power). Wilson ahs also been tutoring Padtornicky this winter, even though he didn’t even have a contract. We’ll be fine.
Re: A Diaz/Hinske platoon (when Martin plays third). Diaz vs. LHP – .295, .336, .356 Hinske vs. RHP – .260, .345, .451
Now as I mentione before, no power from Matt, but their respective platoon numbers aren’t that bad.
VaBravesFan
January 21st, 2012
11:49 am
Lew
Who know’s… Wren said he didn’t need to make any trades to free up money. A solid backup OFer who could back up all 3 spots would make more impact than Hinske who is mainly a pinch hitter and Moylan who might not even make the club with all the arms we have.
Prado is gonna play a good amount of 3rd base, atleast 30 games most likely more. Bourn and Heyward will prolly have around 10 days off a piece. Do we really wanna run Diaz/Constanza(HAHA)/Hinske out there that much?
VaBravesFan
January 21st, 2012
11:52 am
Lew
I do like the platoon splits tho. That would be a solid duo, I’m just not confident in Diaz. Guess Spring Training will give us a good idea when we see em gets some ABs.
Tomahawkin (The Godfather)
January 21st, 2012
11:53 am
Man!
Nasty Lightning Storm Here In Loganville! I cant believe its doing this in Mid Winter