On Bourn’s impact, Pastornicky’s arrival, full-squad start

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1,086 comments Add your comment

eskippy

February 25th, 2012
1:08 pm

braves4life

February 25th, 2012
1:09 pm

David O'Brien

February 25th, 2012
1:14 pm

For second year in a row, Fredi had his team meeting in center field before first full-squad workout. This was 15 minutes ago:

http://twitpic.com/8oko14

nolie

February 25th, 2012
1:16 pm

pretty deep comments thar guys…..

George

February 25th, 2012
1:20 pm

Repost from old blog.
George

February 25th, 2012
1:14 pm
Wonderful, We have two NO GOOD SHORTSTOPS and one of them is hurt already. What a season this is going to be. FRANK you should have kept A-GON.

cabravesfan

February 25th, 2012
1:23 pm

And that, ladies and gentlemen and other life forms, human, subhuman, or otherwise, is EXACTLY why the Braves signed Jack Wilson.

ncgary

February 25th, 2012
1:24 pm

getting close to play ball time
go braves

Bayou Brave

February 25th, 2012
1:24 pm

Quote of the Day?

nolie

February 25th, 2012
1:26 pm

“Go Braves!”

David O'Brien

February 25th, 2012
1:28 pm

OK, just added a couple of things to the blog, for I had posted it without finishing it before. Please re-read. Sorry to do that to you.

George

February 25th, 2012
1:29 pm

Quote of the day
GO BRAVES!

TOMY FOURNIER

February 25th, 2012
1:32 pm

BRAVE’S….WHAT?????

nolie

February 25th, 2012
1:32 pm

hard to remember when Wilson actually could hit
hey I already said that George ;)

Braveone

February 25th, 2012
1:33 pm

From the previous blog which had 1,368 comments, Lew led the way with 78 posts. There were 151 different poster names. Here are the Top 25:

Rank Poster Frequency

1 Lew 78
2 nolie 74
3 Tom O’Hawke 71
4 cabravesfan 62
5 VaBravesFan 53
6 Tomahawkin (The Godfather) 52
7 richbrave 40
8 MIBravesFan 38
9 Billy 35
10 David O’Brien 32
11 Ray 31
12 Venice Jim 29
13 ncgary 26
14 ncscoots 25
15 DAP 24
16 Anders 23
17 Jarryd 23
18 MiaBchBravesFan 22
19 RC 22
20 Murph 20
21 brian 19
22 Brava 18
23 Bravo_F 52 18
24 Ward 18
25 jeffrey d 18

cabravesfan

February 25th, 2012
1:34 pm

I’m slipping…

Sharkfinhat

February 25th, 2012
1:37 pm

All right, we may have to take up a collection and get some Antico’s delivered to DOB down there.

TexasBrave

February 25th, 2012
1:37 pm

So Dave since you obviously put your body through a lot during ST, do you have any pre-ST rituals to get yourself prepared for the daily grind?

George

February 25th, 2012
1:38 pm

Hope FREDI was jokeing about CHIPPER backing up PASTORNICKY at SS, CHIPPER does not have the range to play SS anymore, it will have to be MARTIN. We sure are thin at SS.

nolie

February 25th, 2012
1:40 pm

Hey hey, Lew is da man!

nolie

February 25th, 2012
1:41 pm

29? wow Venice Jim just fell apart under the pressure…….

ncgary

February 25th, 2012
1:41 pm

Manny Ramirez: I Found God During Retirement

nolie

February 25th, 2012
1:41 pm

I didn’t know God was lost

George

February 25th, 2012
1:47 pm

WOW I did not notice LEW is number 1. That is so fitting because LEW has always been number one in intelligents.

ncgary

February 25th, 2012
1:51 pm

must have been on the la freeway nolie

jeffrey d

February 25th, 2012
1:51 pm

ncgary

February 25th, 2012
1:52 pm

maybe he took a wrong turn in malibu

nolie

February 25th, 2012
1:52 pm

yeah maybe summa them Kalifornia Heathens grid locked him

jeffrey d

February 25th, 2012
1:52 pm

Wow, 25th? I knew losing at home to The Godfather was going to drop me, but not this much.

cabravesfan

February 25th, 2012
1:53 pm

There is no freeway in Malibu. ;)

jeffrey d

February 25th, 2012
1:53 pm

Whoops…these are the intelligence ratings? I hope it’s not by IQ points….

ncgary

February 25th, 2012
1:53 pm

dookies and va tech tied at 55

ncgary

February 25th, 2012
1:54 pm

he turned off

George

February 25th, 2012
1:54 pm

DUKE in a heck of a game, could lose at home again. Sure hope not.

Fastball

February 25th, 2012
1:55 pm

Don’t count too quickly for good things from Bourne or Pastornicky. I just don’t see it.

ncgary

February 25th, 2012
1:56 pm

duke down by 1, 48 seconds

cabravesfan

February 25th, 2012
1:57 pm

You don’t see good things from Bourn? Based on what??

nolie

February 25th, 2012
1:58 pm

terrible OBP he had in Atl

George

February 25th, 2012
1:58 pm

ncgary

February 25th, 2012
1:58 pm

va tech misses 2 shots at the buzzer
ot

George

February 25th, 2012
1:59 pm

Please do it DUKE.

nolie

February 25th, 2012
2:02 pm

who could root for a team called the dookies????

Soph

February 25th, 2012
2:02 pm

Duke’s going to win.

George

February 25th, 2012
2:03 pm

hopein so Soph

Soph

February 25th, 2012
2:04 pm

I’m hoping not.

George

February 25th, 2012
2:04 pm

cabravesfan

February 25th, 2012
2:07 pm

VJ will be happy if they hang on

Soph

February 25th, 2012
2:07 pm

So many Plumlees.

nolie

February 25th, 2012
2:08 pm

if the only thang you are good in is bouncyball then you might as well not be good in anythang IMHO…..

jim

February 25th, 2012
2:08 pm

It seems like Chipper has penciled himself in to the 3 hole already. If the Braves are to contend, Heyward will have to return to the form he showed before the thumb injury in 2010 and Freeman will have to at least duplicate his rookie year numbers. If that is the case, the best lineup would be:
Bourn, Prado, Heyward, Uggla, Freeman, Jones, McCann, Pastor, Pitcher. It keeps right left balance and groups the speedier guys (with wrap around). If Heyward can put up 280, 25, 100, 825 OPS with 15+ SB or better, these are numbers Chipper can no longer attain, but are needed in the 3 hole (I will not argue with those who would swap Freeman and McCann, but like this lineup better predicated on the initial assumptions.)

cabravesfan

February 25th, 2012
2:08 pm

PLUMLEES! And there is another one…

nolie

February 25th, 2012
2:10 pm

bah, all the millions of different permutations amount to about a one or two game difference over a season and no way to know which one that will be……

Soph

February 25th, 2012
2:11 pm

Duke’s been winning these close ones so they’ll likely continue the trend.

nolie

February 25th, 2012
2:12 pm

Bayou Brave

February 25th, 2012
2:12 pm

Josh Hamilton in 2013….

So after Hamilton had a relapse 3 weeks ago, the Rangers broke off contract talks with him. He’s going to make $13.75M this year and then become a free agent. Hamilton is a LF…

So IF Chipper retires after this year, and his $13M comes off the books, and Prado moves from LF to his more natural position of 3B, might the Braves make a serious run at Hamilton?

Maybe.

Or what if Chipper can’t stay healthy enough early in 2012 and it is obvious that he won’t play enough games to vest his 2013 option… and what if the Yu Darvish experiment is a bust in Texas, and the Rangers collapse… would they consider trading away Hamilton’s remaining 2 or 3 months in exchange for a couple of Braves pitching prospects? (The Braves hopefully making a contract extension a part of the trade deal.)

Two months of Hamilton’s 2012 contract would cost about $4.5M and its been reported that the Braves have about $4M available to spend on payroll.

ncgary

February 25th, 2012
2:13 pm

ballgame dookies win

Soph

February 25th, 2012
2:13 pm

nolie

February 25th, 2012
2:14 pm

Texas is rated the #1 team to have the best future over the next 5 years, they are not gonna trade away talent over one poor season if it does happen.
No way the Braves invest in hamilton even if he is available and they have the funds. too unsafe an investment for them

nolie

February 25th, 2012
2:16 pm

sorry Soph, I was just seeing what it felt like to root for a dookie. kinda left a funny taste in my mouth

jim

February 25th, 2012
2:16 pm

If Hamilton is such a risk that Texas has no interest in resigning him, why should the Braves want him? With their overall payroll they can’t afford to pay D Lowe money or more to a guy that could flame out and be a much bigger burden than Lowe ever was — and that burden became huge last year and again this.

Largo

February 25th, 2012
2:18 pm

The braves are doing a lot of hoping and wishing. It sounds like Bourn is their savior with his speed … least they think so. But, he can’t steal first base. They have the same old offense as before or I should say, the same old lack of offense. What a bunch of crap they’re feeding the fans.

cabravesfan

February 25th, 2012
2:18 pm

Hamilton’s inability to stay healthy makes me very concered- would be very hard to commit a large sunk long term to someone who’s body is so fragile. There is no doubt his talent is special, but the risk is just too high

nolie

February 25th, 2012
2:18 pm

I won’t be too surprised if Texas re-signs him if he stays clean and has another great season

ncgary

February 25th, 2012
2:18 pm

dookey 70
va tech 65

cabravesfan

February 25th, 2012
2:19 pm

*sum, not sunk

George

February 25th, 2012
2:20 pm

thier is another Plumlee redshirting

George

February 25th, 2012
2:21 pm

DUKE! DUKE! DUKE!

nolie

February 25th, 2012
2:21 pm

Hamilton might be onea them rich-get-richer guys. Only a well off team can afford the risk and if he produces for them he is a bid help

nolie

February 25th, 2012
2:21 pm

Hamilton might be onea them rich-get-richer guys. Only a well off team can afford the risk and if he produces for them he is a big help

Bayou Brave

February 25th, 2012
2:22 pm

Nolie,

If the Rangers are having a bad season and it becomes apparent that Hamilton wants more $ than they are willing to pay over the next 6 or so years, AND they can trade him away in return for some top pitching prospects, I definitely think they would do it. They’ve done it before, with the Braves no less.

nolie

February 25th, 2012
2:22 pm

hmm. not sure that was worth repeating again right away..

cabravesfan

February 25th, 2012
2:22 pm

I’m sorta bummed PLUMLEE the Youngest is redshirting. I love the idea of an all PLUMLEE front court. I could drive VJ crazy with all the PLUMLEES.

Tomahawkin (The Godfather)

February 25th, 2012
2:24 pm

@Jim…

Chipper is the 3 Hole Hitter By Default…Because he’s Chipper

but I would like to see him hit 2nd a few games when Martini doesn’t start in LF…He knows how to work counts and let The Bourne Identity do his Thang on the bases…

But I dunno, I’m not Bobby Lite

nolie

February 25th, 2012
2:24 pm

yeah it could possibly happen, but what they did and the place that they were with the Braves trade is nothing like their current situation at all.

nolie

February 25th, 2012
2:26 pm

Chipper hit worse in second slot last season than in just about any other

Bayou Brave

February 25th, 2012
2:26 pm

jim,

In Hamilton’s 5 year career he has a .909 OPS, two World Series appearances, and and MVP award. That’s hardly a burden.

Blog Monitor

February 25th, 2012
2:27 pm

Tomahawkin (The Godfather)

February 25th, 2012
2:27 pm

Bayou Brave

L. Media is Cheap…

What Makes you think that they would want to pursue a Big Free Agent OF when we can’t even sign Michael Bourn?

Assuming that Bourn walks The Braves will go Cheap next offseason and trade for Slop like Seth Smith or someone else of his caliber…or settle for a OF Hitting prospect once they trade both Big Red and Double J. That Timeframe is ticking between now and next March…

cabravesfan

February 25th, 2012
2:28 pm

Hamilton has also missed 221 games over the last 5 years.

jeffrey d

February 25th, 2012
2:28 pm

sorry Soph, I was just seeing what it felt like to root for a dookie. kinda left a funny taste in my mouth

Well when you root for a team, you’re not supposed to taste them

Tomahawkin (The Godfather)

February 25th, 2012
2:29 pm

I meant to say what makes you think that the braves are gonna go after Josh Hamiliton or any other Big Name Free Agent OF when we can’t even sign Michael Bourn…?

nolie

February 25th, 2012
2:29 pm

and has played more than 138 or so games just once IIRC, usually less than that. the guy is definitely a risk, in both health and drug related

Tomahawkin (The Godfather)

February 25th, 2012
2:31 pm

cabravesfan

“Hamilton has also missed 221 games over the last 5 years.”

Co-Sign…

Hamiliton is an injury risk at the High Roller Money he makes now…Thats why I’m not Lusting for him

Bayou Brave

February 25th, 2012
2:31 pm

cabravesfan,

I agree, Hamilton gets hurt a lot. But he is one helluva player when he is healthy. Over the last 2 years he has averaged 127 games, 503 ABs, 88 Runs, 29 HRs, 97 RBIs, .329 Avg, .379 OBP, .585 Slg

cabravesfan

February 25th, 2012
2:31 pm

Played 121 last year
133 in 2010
89 in 2009
156 in 2008
90 in 2007

cabravesfan

February 25th, 2012
2:33 pm

Bayou Brave-

He certainly is extremely gifted. But he’s hurt way to much to invest a large long term deal in AND his body is going to continue to break done due to his past. Just not a wise way to spend money.

George

February 25th, 2012
2:36 pm

LEW does not know yet how good he did. Think it is a first for him.

jeffrey d

February 25th, 2012
2:37 pm

He’s probably out celebrating the accomplishment with his family

George

February 25th, 2012
2:39 pm

Good one jeffery.

Bayou Brave

February 25th, 2012
2:39 pm

Tomahawkin,

According to another article on this website, the Braves earn about $200 million in revenue each year, and only barely make a profit. It also states that Liberty Media believes they have an large unrealized capital gain in owning the Braves. Which means Liberty Media reinvests its Braves revenue back into the Braves organization in the hopes that the value of the organization will grow and become worth more.

So, no I don’t think Liberty Media is cheap. I think they are unemotional investors.

And if the Braves know that they won’t be paying Chipper next year and won’t be paying Lowe $10M to play for another team next year, then they will have enough money to pay someone like Hamilton.

Tomahawkin (The Godfather)

February 25th, 2012
2:42 pm

Largo

“The braves are doing a lot of hoping and wishing. It sounds like Bourn is their savior with his speed … least they think so. But, he can’t steal first base. They have the same old offense as before or I should say, the same old lack of offense. What a bunch of crap they’re feeding the fans.”

And Attendance is gonna take a big hit this year, Watch!

ncgary

February 25th, 2012
2:43 pm

money wisely spent somewhere else bb

Bayou Brave

February 25th, 2012
2:43 pm

cabravesfan,

What is a wiser way to spend that money? Won’t the Braves; #1 need be a LF and/or a CF either next year or 2014?

LAG

February 25th, 2012
2:43 pm

I’m not surprised we lost to Duke. I am, however, surprised we hung around that long.

Anyway…
1) I put $1 on Hicks making the Opening Day roster with Wilson going down.
2) Someone of Hamilton’s caliber would be an ideal pickup for LF. But like many have said, Hamilton himself has shown to be injury-prone, and we already have a few of those…
3) We’re a little thin on top OF prospects, it seems.

Tomahawkin (The Godfather)

February 25th, 2012
2:44 pm

@BayouBrave

“So, no I don’t think Liberty Media is cheap. I think they are unemotional investors.”

Co-Sign and Good Point…And They like “Making Money Honey!” at the fans expense in which they don’t care abt the fans…Thats my biggest beef with those turds

Bayou Brave

February 25th, 2012
2:44 pm

ncgary,

Where?

cabravesfan

February 25th, 2012
2:46 pm

Bayou Brave-

It would be wiser to spend money on someone that is not such an injury risk. If I am investing $20+ million a year in a marquee player for 7+ years, I want that player to average more than 117 games a year.

Zing

February 25th, 2012
2:48 pm

It’s not a matter of “can’t even sign Michael Bourn.” I think Bourn is going to be overpaid, and the Braves can’t afford to overpay. Hamilton, if he’s healthy, on the other hand, is worth the big money.

Buckeye Brave

February 25th, 2012
2:48 pm

Maybe I’m crazy, but I expect the Braves to give the Philthies all they can handle this season. I think we’ll make a run at 95 wins. That’s only 6 more wins than last year with that terrible offense and no Tommy and JJ for most of the 2nd half. Yep, 95 wins is not an unreasonable expectation.

Zing

February 25th, 2012
2:49 pm

But with the Braves’ payroll, there’s no way there going to pursue somebody like Hamilton anyway, so it’s all moot.

Zing

February 25th, 2012
2:52 pm

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