Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
2,256 comments Add your comment
Soph
March 24th, 2012
11:00 pm
Fine, we suck. Michael’s psychic and knows all. Shut it down.
Venice Jim
March 24th, 2012
11:00 pm
Zero improvement – did you watch yesterday?
Venice Jim
March 24th, 2012
11:02 pm
But, no, let’s moan after a shutout…
jeffrey d
March 24th, 2012
11:03 pm
What’s your point of Chip’s production compared to other 3rd baseman anyways?
You complained that even if Chipper played all 162, the Braves would still suck. I said that Chipper has been one of the better performing 3B in the league, even at 39.
You see, the same offense is in tact and showing zero improvement, aside some from JHey, this spring
I mean, aside from the fact that McCann, Uggla, and Prado are having great springs.
Soph
March 24th, 2012
11:03 pm
What’s cab up to? I don’t think I’ve seen her name the whole day.
Michael
March 24th, 2012
11:06 pm
Oh yeah, we beat the lowly Mets staff. I think we have a few more wins against them this spring before we can call it even. What’s that, 6-13 record again? Yeah, I can’t wait to see them struggle when it matters. As long as I get to watch BMac and all my favs battle it out and see Uggla belt 30 homeruns when nobody is on base, and he hustles. OH they ALL get along too! The Brady Braves!
Venice Jim
March 24th, 2012
11:07 pm
cab decided to go with the SF Giants since she’s already down with the ‘Niners…
jeffrey d
March 24th, 2012
11:07 pm
The Brady Bunch didn’t always get along. Remember when Jan got hit in the nose with a football??
jeffrey d
March 24th, 2012
11:08 pm
If they always got along, where’s the plot?? Come on, man. Sitcom 101
Soph
March 24th, 2012
11:09 pm
I’m going to go with the Pawtucket Red Sox.
Venice Jim
March 24th, 2012
11:09 pm
Michael – why in the world did you not become an MLB general manager, since you are so much smarter than Frank?
Michael
March 24th, 2012
11:13 pm
Well Marcia is Heyward who doesn’t play through a injury and Chipper is Peter who says “he needs to toughen up”. Whoo! Some kind of fire showing there!
B-F_52
March 24th, 2012
11:14 pm
Our fire showing is a little off
Venice Jim
March 24th, 2012
11:15 pm
I’m still kicking myself for choosing teaching over the offer I had from the Cincinnati Bengals – and look how that turned out for them…
B-F_52
March 24th, 2012
11:16 pm
Chipper Jones is tuff as a pine knot
Venice Jim
March 24th, 2012
11:16 pm
Mikey starting to lose it…
WaltCoogan
March 24th, 2012
11:17 pm
DOB, Chipper hit 42 doubles at age thirty-five (2007), not thirty-six. Also, his on-base percentage at age twenty-four in 1996 proved even higher than what you reported: .393.
Obviously, your point is unaffected, but just to be precise …
Venice Jim
March 24th, 2012
11:21 pm
Well done, Walt!
B-F_52
March 24th, 2012
11:23 pm
Lofton signed with the “aints”I guess he wanted some bounty money but just like his coverage skills he’s just a little to late
B-F_52
March 24th, 2012
11:25 pm
The rev heating up at the plate good sign
Trey
March 24th, 2012
11:30 pm
That’s it – Michael convinced me – I’ll join George as a Reds’ fan…
I think I’ll go Phillies!
Playoffs!!!
March 24th, 2012
11:37 pm
it’s obvious now Kris Medlin should be the 5th starter. Don’t really need him that much in April in the bullpen with all the off days.
Delgado and Tehran simply dreadful—send them to AAA they get it togther .
Hudson will be back by May I and Medlin can head to the pen. Don’t see how anyone can disagree with me on this one.
noleee
March 24th, 2012
11:40 pm
mikey is the same idiot back again under a different name
Need to feel important
March 24th, 2012
11:41 pm
I am a miserable person and I have a miserable existence and this blog gives me a chance to feel important. By criticizing players and management and by putting them down it raises me above them in other peoples minds. I am more important if I can pick out their shortcomings even if it is a figment of my imagination. In between needing my inhaler and not having any friends I can bash important successful people on a blog.
I need help.
noleee
March 24th, 2012
11:43 pm
Detroit might be a good choice this year
Billy
March 24th, 2012
11:43 pm
Nurse Rachet says lights out at midnight.
abeeeewright
March 24th, 2012
11:45 pm
I see the blog went ahead and signed up for a little bit of crazy.
Yikes! The last two pages were just weird.
Sad to see the Chipper news. Clearly, the decision to bail on 2013 was a great one. Guy is going to be hurting throughout 2012 with repaired meniscus in both right and left knees.
Venice Jim
March 24th, 2012
11:46 pm
mikey is the same idiot back again under a different name
Probably better than being the same idiot back under the same name like me…
Venice Jim
March 24th, 2012
11:47 pm
Billy – I am loathe to correct anyone other than Tom and jeffrey, but it’s Nurse Ratched…
phil
March 24th, 2012
11:48 pm
Fire need to feel important!
Billy
March 24th, 2012
11:49 pm
VJ she has a sister?
Venice Jim
March 24th, 2012
11:49 pm
Sad thing is that here on the West Coast it’s looking like lights out at midnight EDT since cab headed out and about much earlier this morning than usual…
jeffrey d
March 24th, 2012
11:49 pm
I see the blog went ahead and signed up for a little bit of crazy.
Sign-ups ended years ago. We’ve got a lifetime membership to crazy with an extended warranty
Billy
March 24th, 2012
11:50 pm
Damn 2 more and the nurses station is full.
Venice Jim
March 24th, 2012
11:51 pm
The actress who played Nurse Ratched just finished a run as Bill Macy’s mom on Shameless – possibly a less flattering portrayal than the earlier one…
phil
March 24th, 2012
11:52 pm
Poor Chipper….
Injured stretching….unreal.
When i used to lightly stretch before running anywhere from 3 to 10 miles or so, i would tend to feel worse than when I stopped stretching a year ago and just went out slowly for a mile or more before ticking up a bit.
I thought not stretching was nuts. I was wrong, at least for me. Much better not doing it.
phil
March 24th, 2012
11:53 pm
Crazy? These blogs? This blog?
Nah
tiger297
March 24th, 2012
11:57 pm
VJ – funny I was typing similar comment (crazy under the same name) regarding myself
Venice Jim
March 24th, 2012
11:57 pm
I have made it almost 90 years with very little stretching, with thousands of basketball and softball games and running interludes and tennis and golf and the worst muscle pull I ever had was when I woke up in the middle of the night, got some water, and pulled a muscle in my chest while shivering as I drank the water (leading to the story of how I pulled a muscle drinking water)…I had to stop playing golf halfway through the round the following day…
Venice Jim
March 24th, 2012
11:59 pm
With that, I am off to see what’s on the DVR in the outer chamber…should be good for PBP for the first 2:15 of tomorrow’s game…
phil
March 24th, 2012
11:59 pm
That’s quite an account there VJ….
No more water for phil.
tiger297
March 25th, 2012
12:00 am
when its sleepy time down south…
phil
March 25th, 2012
12:01 am
Make sure Lew and Haggard know that Mercer has made the final of the CIT postseason basketball tournament. An amazing thing for our small mid georgia university.
abeeeewright
March 25th, 2012
12:13 am
I have a feeling that the meniscus in both chipper’s knees is paper thin. Probably won’t take that much to tear it anymore.
I can’t help but think of Sandy Koufax, Mike Schmidt, and Nolan Ryan. All great players.
Sandy called it quits so that he could have some utility in his arm for the remainder of his life.
Schmidt realized that he didn’t have any more in the tank and called it quits in the middle of a season.
Ryan injured his arm in a game and realized that he didn’t want to rehab at 40+, so he retired.
I also remember the Hawk hobbling around the outfield with no cartilage in his knees due to the astro-turf in Montreal.
I guess 2012 is going to add another memory to that batch, as Chipper struggles through the year.
abeeeewright
March 25th, 2012
12:18 am
I saw Coach (and others) were opining about the Braves early injuries …
Huddy … back in May, better than ever
Vizcaino … might have pitched in AAA anyway, sad to lose a good bullpen arm
Venters … soreness, not an injury. We prolly wouldn’t have heard about this in years past.
Chipper … misses a week of the season and has to play in more pain than previously expected.
Honorable mention …
Hanson … concussion, seems to be on track
Freeman … knee problem & hand injury … doesn’t seem to be a problem
If we get these ouchies out of the way in Spring, that’s a week of games during the season where the guys are healthy. Look on the bright side.
abeeeewright
March 25th, 2012
12:20 am
Nurse Ratchet was the spoof of Nurse Ratched in Mad Magazine’s “One Cuckoo Flew Over the Rest.”
Yes, I still remember that issue of Mad Magazine, prolly thirty years later.
abeeeewright
March 25th, 2012
12:22 am
Sorry, it was Nurse Wretched, not Nurse Ratchet. Memory’s not as good as I thought.
benchwarmer
March 25th, 2012
12:23 am
Phil, you’re right about stretching. A study showed that runners who stretch are more prone to injury than those who just warm up slowly.
uga-brave
March 25th, 2012
12:34 am
macc is the perfect six hole guy. he aint a 3 or 4 hole hitter.
Salt life
March 25th, 2012
1:26 am
Braves people…….I have not read the conversations that are happening
I have just returned from seeing “Jersey Boys”. And let me just say if the show ever comes to your neighborhood….do yourself a favor and go see it……fantastic….this from a very unsophisticated human….four seasons have sold more music than Elvis….great show
Mitchie-sand
March 25th, 2012
1:28 am
Its 0700 here. No lights out for me!
uga-brave
March 25th, 2012
1:34 am
salt frankie avalon, huh?
Salt life
March 25th, 2012
1:39 am
uga…..or Valli
Salt life
March 25th, 2012
1:42 am
uga…..i get the irony…too drunk and sleepy
uga-brave
March 25th, 2012
1:48 am
salt me too.
Salt life
March 25th, 2012
1:53 am
my wife is dead asleep….i could play “All the Single Ladies” right now and she would get up and dance….she is so funny
Thank you ….I love you all…good night!!!!
David O'Brien
March 25th, 2012
4:25 am
By the way, you should have added that when Chipper played in 140 games as a rookie in 1995, the schedule was only 144 games because the 1994 strike spilled into the start of the next season. Overall, Chipper played in 97.01% of the games (1,397 of 1,440) over his first nine full major league seasons from 1995-2003, prior to suffering a partially torn hamstring in April 2004, and he never missed a playoff game until 2010, when he was out for the season with the second ACL tear of his career. — WaltCoogan
Great points.
ncgary
March 25th, 2012
5:02 am
thanks muchael , guess i will root for the nationals
at least they have a lit of ex atlanta personnel there
Couch Tater
March 25th, 2012
6:00 am
Richbrave – Tater’s Beer Battered Pancake recipe (Sauced Saucier)…
Items needed: Box o’bisquik, fresh egg, Bic lighter, fresh milk, poptart.
Yield: at 3.
kneed door knob until keyhole is found.
enter kitchen (giggle liberally).
Fire up the gas range.
Put out eyebrow flambe.
Grab the bisquik box and sift for weevils.
Sweep floor.
Pour 1 part bisquik in bowl.
Sweep floor.
smell milk.
smell, again.
Pour 1 part milk in bowl.
wipe floor and cabinet.
break 1 egg in bowl.
chase eggshell with spoon.
chase eggshell with spoon.
chase eggshell with spoon.
chase eggshell with spoon.
Refridgerate and throw poptart in toaster.
CB
March 25th, 2012
7:22 am
Reminder: don’t accept invite to Couch’s for breakfast.
Couch Tater
March 25th, 2012
7:28 am
Lunch!! Beer battered onion rings mmm…
Couch Tater
March 25th, 2012
7:38 am
Don’t we have a Braves fan blogging from Vidalia? I need some Onions. Real onions. Wally World only sells Sweet Vidalupe brand onions engineered in China. I’m getting tears just thinking about it.
Couch Tater
March 25th, 2012
7:50 am
uh oh… I typed China. I’m on somebody’s watch list. “Genuine Rolex for $30.00! Two for $50!”
Lew
March 25th, 2012
8:43 am
What? No posts in almost an hour? I would have thought from some of the commentary that the crazies hadn’t slept in a couple of months, judging by their hallucinatory posts..
VaBravesFan
March 25th, 2012
9:09 am
good morning everyone
Dadgum......
March 25th, 2012
9:32 am
I haven’t paid much attention to ST really. Kinda letting the boys work out the kinks without getting too tied up in the results etc. Bowman keeps me up to date with his stories so I glean what I need from those. Very excited for opening day but I don’t need to tell you that our pitching is just north of worrisome.
I will assume Hanson gets the opening day start. Of any tenured starter he is probably the most spot on to this point. Jurrjens is just having a rough go of it and it may be well into spring before he shows signs of hope. Hudson out till May. Minor and Beachy look fine but won’t get the opening honor over Hanson. As for the back end of the rotation, Delgado probably has the edge slightly. Thankfully we have Medlen for long relief as I suspect we will see him a lot early on. He is a nice insurance policy to be an emergency starter if say Hanson or Jurrjens has recurring problems.
Bravefaninok
March 25th, 2012
9:34 am
VaBravesFan
March 25th, 2012
9:09 am
good morning everyone
Good Morning..
David O'Brien
March 25th, 2012
9:46 am
Fredi Gonzalez said today that Teheran had some arm soreness, that’s reason he threw side session Sat. instead of starting vs. Toronto as had been originally planned. Team didn’t say anything until today. Said soreness was minor and Teheran felt good in his 25-pitch session yesterday.
Plan is for him to another bullpen Tuesday and start Friday in one of the split-squad games.
David O'Brien
March 25th, 2012
9:51 am
Venters will throw bullpen session today after long-tossing past 2 days and having no problems with his previously sore upper arm
Jeff R
March 25th, 2012
9:54 am
Chipper was close to an Ironman until ‘04. Thereafter, his playing time took a hit and his numbers diminished. From ‘04 Through ‘11, that’s eight seasons of mostly reduced playing time. That’s about 123 games on average per season (if my math is correct).
Simple stats for Chipper during his “down” period (averages): 22 Hrs, 77 RBIs, 74 Rs, and a very strong .296. I’ll let others do the more complicated averages (OPS, etc).
Certainly, Chipper’s ‘04-’11 averages are solid for a major league third baseman, but well below his earlier averages, without which we wouldn’t be speaking of Chipper as a HOF shoe-in.
jeffrey d
March 25th, 2012
9:59 am
I’ll do OPS
jeffrey d
March 25th, 2012
10:00 am
.919 OPS between 04-11
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/jonesch06.shtml#2004-2011-sum:batting_standard
Lew
March 25th, 2012
10:02 am
Jewff R – Chipper’s career is very similar in that regard to those of Mickey Mantle and Ken Griffey, Jr.
Makes me wonder what they might have accomplished if they hadn’t had leg issues. They may have been the three most prolific players in baseball history if they had remained healthy the second part of their careers, considering they were among the elite, anyway.
Venice Jim
March 25th, 2012
10:03 am
You can tell how unusual rain is here – they lead off the 7 a.m. newscast with the approach of the rain which is expected to reach us in a couple of hours…(not that I am complaining about seeing Bri Winkler at the top of the show, since I’m about to go buy bagels)…
jeffrey d
March 25th, 2012
10:04 am
How are the bagels related to this?
VaBravesFan
March 25th, 2012
10:05 am
2004-2011 for Chipper
123 GM 512 PA 296/399/520/919 OPS+ 141 28 2B 22 HR 77 RBI 75 BB 72 K
VaBravesFan
March 25th, 2012
10:10 am
1995 to 2003 for Chipper
155 GM 674 PA 309/404/541/945 OPS+ 142 34 2B 31 HR 105 RBI 95 BB 87 K
Venice Jim
March 25th, 2012
10:15 am
I won’t be around for the usual 7:19 forecast…(as Nala and I walk out the door now)…
VaBravesFan
March 25th, 2012
10:17 am
Chipper’s numbers are very similar, The only major difference is games played and such. With declining power which is expected in all players as they age in there late 30s. I mean if Chipper would have played 140+ games from 2004 and beyond he’d still be one of the best complete players in the game by the numbers.
Even tho Chipper missed tons of time over the years, his presence in the lineup was crucial and when he did play he still managed to put up a great batting line, He maintained his BB/SO rate, the man has never struck out more than 100 times in a season. Many middle of the order bats don’t have that aspect. Chipper has only struck out more than he walked in 6 seasons. Very Impressive. His numbers are just amazing.
Jeff R
March 25th, 2012
10:25 am
.919 OPS for Chipper… very strong.
“Chipper’s career is very similar in that regard to those of Mickey Mantle and Ken Griffey, Jr.”
Lew, yes, in fact. Imagine if Chipper had been able to average 20-25 more games per season in his “second” MLB career?
Lew
March 25th, 2012
10:31 am
Jeff R – He probably would have broken the 500 HR plateau and quite possibly would have 3,000 Hits, too.
Trey
March 25th, 2012
10:47 am
I’m quite certain Jones would have hit 500 HR’s if he wasn’t injury prone.
cabravesfan
March 25th, 2012
10:47 am
Why am I awake before 8:00 on a Sunday??
VaBravesFan
March 25th, 2012
10:50 am
He definitely would have had a great shot at those milestones. Even if he just averaged 140 games over the past 8 years that would be another 136 games. Could easily have been another 30 homers and 150 hits or so.
Venice Jim
March 25th, 2012
10:59 am
If anyone wants to read one more piece on Furman Bisher, Schultz posted this link to Dave Kindred’s remembrance, which is excellent:
http://sportsjournalism.org/sports-media-news/a-life-gone-too-soon-a-sportswriting-legend-that-lives-on/
Trey
March 25th, 2012
11:11 am
Thank you, VJ. What a wonderful piece on Bisher.
David O'Brien
March 25th, 2012
11:24 am
Braves will pitch Hanson 5 innings in a minor league game Monday, the team’s only off day of spring training. After that he’ll have one more start before the season. And it’s worth noting, the way it’s lined up he could start Opening Day.
VaBravesFan
March 25th, 2012
11:33 am
Hanson should start opening day, he needs to step up and be our ace
Juan
March 25th, 2012
11:50 am
The lost yesterday kept some guys out the blog on early sunday.
Roration: hanson , minor, JJ,beachy…and ????
ChattTownBrian (CTB)
March 25th, 2012
11:50 am
Wish JJ would get his act together soon. He may never throw the fastball with the velocity he did before last year, but he showed early last year if he can locate he can win. I know he threw a ton of sinkers early last year and he won a lot with it.
haggard
March 25th, 2012
11:52 am
Venice Jim
Thanks so much for the link to Dave Kindred’s piece on Furman Bisher.
Jeff R
March 25th, 2012
11:52 am
Lew, good bet that Chipper would have made it to 500HRs and 3K hits with more games played in his later period.
ChattTownBrian (CTB)
March 25th, 2012
11:57 am
i guess Dickey is the Mets opening day guy? Good, a knuckler to kick off our offensive struggles.
flange1
March 25th, 2012
12:01 pm
I totally agree that Hanson needs to step up and claim the number 1 slot.
Same with Heyward, he needs to step up and grab the 3 hole slot.
If this Braves team is going to become exceptional, Heyward and Hanson need to become stars.
ChattTownBrian (CTB)
March 25th, 2012
12:02 pm
Today is the day JJ makes a step forward. It’s time he shows something of his old self. He’s surely had enough work in to get used to the mound again and the brace thing he’s wearing. Damn, we don’t have him then I don’t see how they can let Delgado or Teheran get that last spot with the way they’ve pitched. JJ is himself it’s probably ok to let them get experience in ATL, not otherwise imo.
ChattTownBrian (CTB)
March 25th, 2012
12:06 pm
flange, it’d be good to see those two become what they were projected coming to the bigs. Hanson has been really good, but hasn’t taken that ace step yet. Mostly I think because he doesn’t pitch deep enough into games.
Travis
March 25th, 2012
12:12 pm
Chipper is a HOF baller and an even better person. It has been a real honor to watch Chipper and Dale play ball, only wish they could have been in the same lineup.
Thanks Chipper, your the greatest!
flange1
March 25th, 2012
12:13 pm
CTB,
I agree with you on JJJ too. He needs to pitch well at least once before the season starts to give him some positive re-enforcement.
glord1
March 25th, 2012
12:23 pm
Couple of points -
Im not a Chipper Jones fan. Im just not. I obviously do not know him personally but something about the guy rubs me the wrong way. It does not really matter why. Im quite sure he does not care. But I am a baseball fan and a Braves fan and I appreciate watching a great hitter and he is one of the most talented of his generation. I wish the Braves had made the playoffs and he retired after a somewhat productive season last year. Im afraid we are about to watch a truely great player become a 13 mil dollar assistant hitting coach this season. His body may be done and its not the way a guy like this should go out.
I think the Braves are going to regret not putting Medlin in the rotation. Right now if Hanson is healthy they have only three solid guys. JJ is getting killed and so are the young guys. Insert Medlin and hope JJ figures it out. Get well soon Huddy.
I saw Heyward play twice in ST and he still looked a mess. The Braves need him to figure it out quickly. If Chipper misses significant time (pretty good bet) the Braves will already be playing a bench player in LF. They wont survive an unproductive season by their RF.
I was really impressed by Simmons and Bethancourt. Saw Bethancourt play against Toronto and he squared up his first three ABs all against MLB pitching.
Braves seem a little out of sync this Spring. Hopefully they pull it together.
McFann :Ô: :Ô: :ô:
March 25th, 2012
12:25 pm
jeffrey d Remember when Jan got hit in the nose with a football??
That was Marcia…