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Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
1,404 comments Add your comment
JAFO
March 12th, 2012
1:24 pm
Quick lead.
Fredi Will Screw It Up Somehow
March 12th, 2012
1:29 pm
You HAVE to put the elite defensive player between 40 year old Chipper and defensive liability Uggla.
Alas, my name is my name.
Lee in S GA
March 12th, 2012
1:31 pm
I’m pulling for Simmons to win the position.
TJ
March 12th, 2012
1:33 pm
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Murph! Still one of my all time favorite Braves.
hammerinhomer
March 12th, 2012
1:34 pm
FIRST
Shelbyflash
March 12th, 2012
1:36 pm
Somebody sign that boy up!
Ijiwaru Sensei
March 12th, 2012
1:36 pm
It’s good to have options.
Mister Frisky
March 12th, 2012
1:36 pm
Nice belly Chipper welcome to 40.
George
March 12th, 2012
1:37 pm
Could starting SS be SIMMONS instead of PASTORNICKY?
Jack Wilson
March 12th, 2012
1:37 pm
Hey Guys! What about me?
I spent all winter ruining Pastornicky so I could get the job. Not sure I have enough time to do it with Andy.
Fols
March 12th, 2012
1:37 pm
It’s innings like that 2nd that just make you shake your head…hit, 2 walks…no runs. Two base running outs and Ross doesn’t make contact with runners on base.
noleee
March 12th, 2012
1:38 pm
so IF Simmons does win it does Tyler have a shot as backup IFer?
bravesgrl4life
March 12th, 2012
1:39 pm
Uh-oh. Come on Beach.
David O'Brien
March 12th, 2012
1:40 pm
This is split-squad game for #Cardinals (not for Braves). Freese just hit 3-run HR for Cards team that’s facing Nationals in Viera.
David O'Brien
March 12th, 2012
1:41 pm
Braves shot self in foot that last inning, with Freeman getting picked off 2nd and Hinske thrown out at 3rd on strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out DP to end it
Andrelton Simmons to break camp with team.... - Blowout Cards Forums
March 12th, 2012
1:42 pm
[...] Andrelton Simmons to break camp with team…. Not likely, but is drawing rave reviews while Pastornicky is struggling…. Braves shortstop prospect Simmons is causing stir | Atlanta Braves [...]
Misspelled Tea-Bag Signs
March 12th, 2012
1:42 pm
How are we scouting offensive players? We continue to fail miserably at souting hitters… more recently evidenced by Schaffer, Heyward, etc.
Virginia Brave
March 12th, 2012
1:42 pm
Not that any of you care, but count me in the Simmons’ camp.
Also, thanks as always, DOB. You do a great job allowing this VA desk jockey to feel like he’s at spring training. Much appreciated.
ChattTownBrian (CTB)
March 12th, 2012
1:43 pm
“Braves shot self in foot”
Hey, we’re in mid-season form already!
beekay
March 12th, 2012
1:44 pm
Chipper does look heavy in that photo
David O'Brien
March 12th, 2012
1:44 pm
Beachy’s command has left the park — he just walked Komatsu to bring in a run, third walk of inning.
gordonguy1969
March 12th, 2012
1:45 pm
Waiting for the naysayers to show up. I’m excited about either of these guys. It’s so amazing to think that the folks who are going to blast Gonzalez or either of these shortstops, or Wren, so easily forget that everyone on the team was, at one time, a rookie.
Mark (another one)
March 12th, 2012
1:48 pm
I would bet that if Simmons wins the position, Tyler will be playing every day in the minors. No matter what the Braves want both of these guys to play somewhere and keep improving. Jack Wilson will most likely be the major league backup SS.
Misspelled Tea-Bag Signs
March 12th, 2012
1:49 pm
Defensively we’re fine. I also think we’ll be fine from a pitching standpoint. That said, I think we’ll see yet again that we can’t our way out of a paper bag and yet we’ll stand firm with the hitters we have because of our payroll ceiling. So frustrating…
ChattTownBrian (CTB)
March 12th, 2012
1:49 pm
What in the world is wrong with these guys? Nobody seems to be doing anything right.
Murph
March 12th, 2012
1:50 pm
Just like with the rotation, it’s always good to have a plan B. I’m starting to hope that Simmons works his way up to being the starter out of ST, but if not, at least he’s there in case The Rev struggles mightily out of the gate.
How long would they give Pastornicky before making the change, though? June? July?
David O'Brien
March 12th, 2012
1:51 pm
Simmons leads off 3rd with walk, then steals 2nd –
firstSB of spring for Braves.(Make that second steal of spring — Pastornicky got the first one Sunday in the split-squad game over at Dunedin)
BravePack
March 12th, 2012
1:52 pm
Does anyone else think Fredi might be too easy on these guys and too laid back? Just a thought.
steve brown
March 12th, 2012
1:53 pm
Both young SS’s are facing the same pressure (due to the lack of funds available to sign an experienced SS due to the wasted money in Chipper’s pocket)-pick the one that performs best under this pressure-it sure won’t get easier in a pennant race.
SeATLite
March 12th, 2012
1:53 pm
David, yesterday Buster Olney posted a vague but ominous comment about “scouts raising early red flags about what they’re seeing from the Braves.” I know you’ve made reference to the fact that the Braves aren’t playing well or scoring — anyone can see that, obviously — but are you aware of any whispers of the sort Buster referred to? Can you possibly shed any light on what he meant? (I’d ask him, but unfortunately he’s a good deal less accessible than you are.)
Thanks!
Hunter
March 12th, 2012
1:53 pm
Oh God….
I just had a flashback to Chris Pittaro. The second coming of Shortstops as Deemed by Sparky Anderson!!!!
Don’t rush the kid!!!
Disgusted
March 12th, 2012
1:53 pm
The Braves might be better off with a healthy Jack Wilson for a while.
Simmons has done better than expected, if he is better, he deserves to play. But, you do not want to rush him too fast.
The hole at SS is on ownership, plain and simple.
ChattTownBrian (CTB)
March 12th, 2012
1:55 pm
BravePack, nobody outside the players and Braves people know if Fredi is too easy or whatever on these players. In my far out opinion I don’t think there’s a huge respect for him there. Most is because the man he replaced was as respected a manager you’ll ever find.
Murph
March 12th, 2012
1:55 pm
Prado’s looking really good this spring… pretty much the only bright spot so far.
Kentavo
March 12th, 2012
1:55 pm
I would much prefer a defensive dazzler at SS than a defensive question mark – say yes to the new Curacao Kid!
David O'Brien
March 12th, 2012
1:55 pm
Prado single drove in Simmons from 3rd to put Braves up 2-1
Jeff R
March 12th, 2012
1:56 pm
Surprising development if Simmons out plays Pastornicky for the shortstop job. But it’s still early. We’ll see.
Murph
March 12th, 2012
1:58 pm
Freeman with an RBI single… Braves up 3-1.
David O'Brien
March 12th, 2012
1:59 pm
Freeman RBI single put Braves up 2-1, still have 2 on with 2 out and Hinske up…. Hinske 3-1 groundout ends it
BravePack
March 12th, 2012
1:59 pm
No I like Fredi so I don’t want it to seem like I don’t and you are right who knows what goes on behind the scenes but it seems like the team is making a lot of mental mistakes and whatever can go wrong is going wrong. All I’m basing my opinion is what I see from interviews and dugout demeanor.
noleee
March 12th, 2012
2:00 pm
no we caint win, that isn’t allowed
abeeewright
March 12th, 2012
2:01 pm
“I used to, but now I just go with the flow, take it one day at a time,” he said “Just try to do what I can and let them make whatever decision is best for the team and me.” – A. Simmons
Dude must have watched Bull Durham. That’s every banal quote combined into one.
Felix Millan
March 12th, 2012
2:02 pm
I’m amused that Hinske was thrown out attempting to steal —-THIRD!!!
bravesgrl4life
March 12th, 2012
2:06 pm
Beachy not doing so well right now.
wrestler
March 12th, 2012
2:07 pm
Gooo God, I hope that the Braves get there act together before the season start. Right now, they are getting smoked in spring training.
beekay
March 12th, 2012
2:07 pm
i predicted 10 runs for Bravos today…this will be the beginning of an offensive rally from now till end of spring
phil
March 12th, 2012
2:07 pm
LOL at yet another picture of a fat Chipper! I love the guy like few others, but come on. He’s huge!
We’ve scored three times today.
When’s the parade?
phil
March 12th, 2012
2:08 pm
Make that 2 times…still parade-worthy.
phil
March 12th, 2012
2:09 pm
FG is in so far over his head that light from above can’t be seen through the water…
That said, we’re stuck with him for now apparently.
jeffrey d
March 12th, 2012
2:09 pm
Alas, my name is my name.
Deep. Also, a donut is a donut
Billy
March 12th, 2012
2:10 pm
Excellent info on Simmons. Nice to have so much talent at SS. With all the young pitching and the addition of Heyward, then Freeman, and now one or both of those SS being added to the team is testament to Wren re-stocking team with youth.
I like how the team is adding a rookie each of the last 3 seasons, be it Pastor or Simmons. For those not familiar with the Furcal story he made the roster as a backup SS to Walt Weiss, so anything is possible. Furcal skipped AA and AAA to earn a bench spot as a rookie. Tough decisions for Braves if Simmons is as good defensively or better than Jack Wilson.
DAP
March 12th, 2012
2:10 pm
disgusted The Braves might be better off with a healthy Jack Wilson for a while.
welp, we know thats not a possibility, so what else you got?
bravesgrl4life
March 12th, 2012
2:10 pm
Too many walks. TOO MANY WALKS.
ChattTownBrian (CTB)
March 12th, 2012
2:11 pm
Yeah if we win what the the hell will a lot of these people have to talk about, nolie? It’s almost as if it ruins their days.
kenhotlanta
March 12th, 2012
2:12 pm
The broadcast crew (or the radio station) needs Spring Training, too. The game keeps going off the air for minutes at a time and coming back for just a minute, then off again. Very irritating.
Happy Birthday to the great player and even better person, Dale Murphy. He’s the definition of the word Hero.
abeeewright
March 12th, 2012
2:12 pm
Seems like the Braves are doing to the Cardinals what everyone has been doing to the Braves. Lots of Cardinals out on the base paths, not so many scoring.
bravesgrl4life
March 12th, 2012
2:12 pm
Damage control, thank heavens.
abeeewright
March 12th, 2012
2:14 pm
It would be an interesting footnote to this blog to actually get an injury update on Jack Wilson. Is he in Orlando at all or still back in California rehabbing in his back yard? The injury didn’t seem to be so bad that it should keep him out for this long.
Rick
March 12th, 2012
2:14 pm
kenhotlanta,
Are you talking about on 1230am? Guess I’m not the only one having that problem, I assumed it was something with my radio. I turned it off because I got tired of it.
phil
March 12th, 2012
2:14 pm
Winning ruins my days. I for sure hope we lose…
ChattTownBrian (CTB)
March 12th, 2012
2:15 pm
I like Beachy, but I feel some of his success came from his deception. MLB hitters can and will make adjustments and his pitches outside that great fastaball, aren’t that good. Kind of wild with the curve and changeup. Flat slider as well from my memory. All I’m saying is he needs to fine tune his secondary pitches or he’ll get smacked around.
phil
March 12th, 2012
2:16 pm
The problems with the broadcast are not at all unlike what must happen inside Chip Caray’s head….
Ease
March 12th, 2012
2:17 pm
Ask and so you shall receive…
David O’Brien
No, not supposed to play till last week or so. (Calf strain) RT @TuxOnMadisonAve: Dave, has Jack Wilson had any AB yet in ST? @ajcbraves
Billy
March 12th, 2012
2:17 pm
Jack Wilson is here, at Lake Buena Vista, and hopes to play the last week of ST
Bruce Benedict
March 12th, 2012
2:18 pm
1-9 huh? Boy these guys sure have shown up in 2012 angry and with sometime to prove after their historic collapse last year haven’t they? Worst spring training record in the league! This should inspire the fans to sellout opening day.
Stanley
March 12th, 2012
2:18 pm
Is this the main blog for the tweaters? I hope the Braves start playing better before the games start counting for real. If not, I might start cring.
phil
March 12th, 2012
2:19 pm
I am asking for Wayward to someday start playing like the hall of famer we were all essentially told he would be….mostly by bloggers, admittedly, but still….
Still waiting to receive.
Rick
March 12th, 2012
2:19 pm
CTB,
It seems today his issue was location, not getting smacked around. Last season he had trouble staying in games late because his pitch count would go up fast. Despite his success and great SO rate, it took him a lot of pitches to put guys away.
JAFO
March 12th, 2012
2:20 pm
Jason K eyward?
phil
March 12th, 2012
2:20 pm
Yes, Bruce, they’ll be there in droves…
Sadly, they WILL be.
Until FG is canned, not me. Looking forward to saving the money this season.
David O'Brien
March 12th, 2012
2:22 pm
Beachy: 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 5 BB, 3 K. Braves up 3-1 headed to bottom of 4th, Cristhian Martinez to pitch
phil
March 12th, 2012
2:22 pm
And glad to hear that Hack Wilson is on the rebound from his sore pinkie toe suffered a month ago….
These guys are more fragile than the finest china at the Biltmore House.
Mississippi McCann Fan
March 12th, 2012
2:22 pm
It would be an interesting footnote to this blog to actually get an injury update on Jack Wilson. Is he in Orlando at all or still back in California rehabbing in his back yard? The injury didn’t seem to be so bad that it should keep him out for this long .@abeeewright
If I remember correctly, he’s supposed to begin the season on the DL. Not sure about the details of the injury.
Billy
March 12th, 2012
2:23 pm
Bottom of 4th Braves leading 3-1
jeffrey d
March 12th, 2012
2:23 pm
Too many walks. TOO MANY WALKS.
You’ll never hear that from a dog
phil
March 12th, 2012
2:23 pm
Nice to have a rare lead.
5 walks for Beachy? We seem alarmingly able to walk a few this spring.
Felix
March 12th, 2012
2:24 pm
It has been crying time since the end of August 2011.
kenhotlanta
March 12th, 2012
2:26 pm
Rick: yes I am trying to listen to the game on 1230AM, but not having much luck. They could not broadcast any of the game on Friday (I think) and I called the station and was told they were having “technical difficulties”. Maybe it’s those solar flares from the Sun.
phil don't Jack
March 12th, 2012
2:28 pm
Jack strained a calf muscle, days before heading to Spring Training, while working out with Tyler Pastornicky
bravesgrl4life
March 12th, 2012
2:30 pm
jeffrey d, you are right about that. Dogs can go on unlimited walks. I am sure cabravesfan and her pup would agree
Walks not bad for dogs, bad for Braves pitchers.
Billy
March 12th, 2012
2:32 pm
Prado and Uggla have both looked good early on
David O'Brien
March 12th, 2012
2:32 pm
Prado singles up the middle to lead off the fifth, his third hit in three at-bats today
bravesgrl4life
March 12th, 2012
2:32 pm
Just lost the freakin audio for mlb on my iphone. What the heck???
phil
March 12th, 2012
2:33 pm
Apparently those workouts with Pastor Icky did little to help him…
Does Heyward have a hit today? A measley bouncer anywhere? Something that could be interpreted as a good sign?
I think those solar flares are what’s been wrong with us offensively and help explain the wildness of the starters…we’ll be fine soon.
David O'Brien
March 12th, 2012
2:33 pm
Prado is 7-for-9 with 2 doubles and 3 walks in his past 3 games after that leadoff single
phil
March 12th, 2012
2:34 pm
Good to see Prado hitting like this.
Of course, it’s just as meaningless as the 1-9 record.
abeeewright
March 12th, 2012
2:36 pm
For those wondering, Braves are actually leading this game against the World Champion Cardinals (split-squad) in the top of the fifth. Prado is at third (after a wild pitch) with one out and Uggla at the plate.
jeffrey d
March 12th, 2012
2:36 pm
That’s the spirit, phil
abeeewright
March 12th, 2012
2:37 pm
Uggla doesn’t get-r-done with a hard hit ground ball.
Freeman to the dish.
DAP
March 12th, 2012
2:37 pm
abeeewright The injury didn’t seem to be so bad that it should keep him out for this long.
didnt they say 4-6 weeks from the start? that was at the very beginning of spring training, which menat at best we were looking at no jack wilson for the first 2 weeks of the regular season.
phil
March 12th, 2012
2:37 pm
Means nothing though, abeeewright….
I wish it did…thanks for the word, though – seriously.
jeffrey d
March 12th, 2012
2:38 pm
It’s such a beautiful day today.
Of course we’re all going to die eventually, though
David O'Brien
March 12th, 2012
2:38 pm
Venters to pitch 5th for Bravos
abeeewright
March 12th, 2012
2:38 pm
Freeman flies out to end the top of the fifth, Braves lead 3-1.
brian
March 12th, 2012
2:39 pm
DOB – thanks for yet another great blog and especially for the updates. I am sneaking peeks at work and want to make sure I read it right. We manufactored a run??? Walk, SB, advance the runner to 3rd, single???
I like the way this new week is starting for the Bravos
David O'Brien
March 12th, 2012
2:40 pm
Vizcaino (inflamed elbow ligament) still being evaluated. More will be known in couple of days, Frank Wren said.
abeeewright
March 12th, 2012
2:40 pm
“didnt they say 4-6 weeks from the start?”
I missed that. I thought it was a minor strain. Losing your back-up SS with an unproven rookie starter seems to be big news.
jeffrey d
March 12th, 2012
2:41 pm
We manufactored a run??? Walk, SB, advance the runner to 3rd, single???
That’s somewhat true. All of that happened, but it was when defense stopped to take a juice break
TJ Lambert
March 12th, 2012
2:41 pm
I would rather them not hit in ST and find it in the regular season. This team will do better than last years.
GAtor
March 12th, 2012
2:41 pm
Being from Curacao he’s probably around 25 instead of 22, so he’s ready.