Minor reminded me of vintage Glavine – and don’t say you weren’t thinking that! So that makes Beacy, you-know-who and I won’t even say that. And Delgado, if he develops his slider could be the third member to take us back to those thrilling days of yesteryear. Venters and Kimbrel are better than what we had back then, if Fredi can resist the urge to overuse them. How is Teheran coming along? Of course, Hanson, if healthy, will be good. Jurrgens appears to be weakest starting pitcher at this point. And we’ll see if Hudson is the Huddy of old. Braves will go as far as this pitching staff will take them, so Fredi use them wisely. Actually, FG did a great job with Minor, Venters, Kimbrel on Sat. And using Durban with a six-run lead didn’t hurt even though he gave up 1/2 the lead. Why did we sign him? He is not even effective as mop up.
Apparently Jason has righted his approach and his swing and Bourne will be good if not great. McCann and Prado are alright. Ffeddy has gotten into bad habits and Uggla appears to have reverted. Even so, with Chipper chipping in when he can, Braves may be alright in hitting. So season will depend on :
1) Pitchers staying healthy
2) Young pitchers continuing to improve
3) FG not mismanaging the pitching staff like he did last year.
I said BEFORE Spring training that Beachy and Minor are our two best young SP’s. I would take either over Hanson and certainly Jurrjens.
I hope their manager doesn’t blow too many games before he acknowledges that our rotation should become: Hudson, Beachy, Minor, Medlin and Hanson or Delgado. While we have to pay him, put JJ in the role that the walrus, Hernandez, is occupying and either Hanson or Delgado could easily replace Durbin’s role.
Think about that starting and relief lineup for a moment!
No lead is safe when Durbin’s in the game. He’s awful !! Surely he’ll be gone soon and we’ll bring up a young gun that needs some experience in the bigs for mop up duty.
Minor in no way resembles Glavine other than being a lefty. Glavine was an artist of deception and nibbling at the corners; Minor goes right after hitters and challenges them to hit his good fastball.
The best comparison to Minor is Steve Avery…their approach is/was identical!
Great win, and great series. Beachy and Minor were really painting those fastballs the last 2 games. This is what the Braves need to pull off long winning streaks and go deep into the playoffs. Hanson, Beachy, Minor, and Hudson when he gets back, need 7 strong innings every start, and once we get to Venters and Kimbrel its over. I have lost a lot of faith in Jurrjens, he is just not the same pitcher as the last few years. He’s had like 10 bad starts in a row, at the end of last year and this year combined, so its not a rough patch….this has been months and months of bad pitching from Jurrjens, including this spring. The big question is the offense….I believe Minor, Beachy, Hudson, Hanson, and even Delgado are really going to pitch lights out this year, and I am expecting BIG things from all of them. However, if the offense gets shutout or scores one run consistently it won’t matter, but if they can consistently hit against pitchers that aren’t on the Brewers or Astros (two staffs on the lower end of the NL in my opinion) then we will be fine. And why is Durbin still on this team? I mean seriously, he has an 18.00 ERA after 3 games…this guy is horrific. He has a career 5.12 ERA and Wren forces him onto the roster like he just picked up Mariano Rivera? I know Wren has made some bad moves especially in the bullpen, but this is beyond belief bad….with both him and Livan. I don’t understand, but does anyone think (hope) Durbin will be gone before we wake up in the morning? I mean every appearance garauntees several runs for the other team, why not just have a 14 year old blind kid with one arm go out there? And the worst thing is, Wren had PLENTY of options with Flande, Gearin, and Ascencio pitching great in spring training. So he trades Ascencio, the Dominican MVP this year for nothing, and demotes Flande and Gearin to AAA. I know Linebrinks and Sherril were headscratchers, but at least they were respectable. Livan and Durbin are hands down the two worst pitchers on ANY ML roster right now. Livan was cut from the worst team in the major leagues, the Astros, and Durbin has a 18.00 ERA, enough said…
All Durbin needs is a good sinker ball pitch. To bad no one on the braves staff has the knowledge to teach him. One day he will devlope a sinker and become a good pitcher, but not with the braves.
Durbin is probably not long for this team. I can’t imagine any GM or Manager keeping Durbin when there is at least 3 better relievers waiting in the minors.
I heard Freddy before the game today and he said he was stressing forcing the other team to make a play. Being aggressive on the base paths even if some guys get thrown out. He said he would not jump on his guys when the other team makes a play. This is great and makes for fun baseball.
Chad Durbin has a 18.00 ERA and Livan Hernandez has a 4.91 ERA…Come on Frank Wren, this is ridiculous!!! To let these horrific pitchers even sniff an Atlanta Braves uniform is dispicable, they are hands down the 2 worst active pitchers in Major League baseball. The worst part is we have a handful of studs in AAA that would run circles around these clowns, like Yohan Flande, Cory Gearin, and Buddy Carlyle. Yeah and we would have Ascencio, if Frank Wren didnt trade him for nothing. By the way, Buddy Carlyle has a 0.00 ERA at Gwinnett, 8 2/3 innings pitched, 2 hits, 0 runs, 7 K’s.
-P.S.- For ALL THE CONSTANZA HATERS, he is hitting .368 (7-19), .500 OBP, 3 triples, 1 double, 6 RBI, and 1 stolen base. I just can’t believe how many haters there are for SUCH a TALENTED kid. Thats all the kid does is hit .300 every year, for every team and organization he plays for, and he gets so much hate I just don’t understand it. Hits .319 in 2010 in minors, hits .312 in 2011 minors, then comes up to majors last year and hits .303, now in 2012 minors he is hitting .368 and people HATE ON HIM??? Can a knowledgable braves fan explain this to me? How a career .300 hitter that steals 25-30 bases a year and plays terrific defense can get so much hate?
cowdogit quote…”All Durbin needs is a good sinker ball pitch. To bad no one on the braves staff has the knowledge to teach him. One day he will devlope a sinker and become a good pitcher, but not with the braves.”
REALLY?? One day he will become a good pitcher? Chad Durbin is 34 years old and on his last legs and rightfully should be out of the game by now. He has pitched 13 terrible years in the majors and has a career 5.12 ERA (that was before this years 18.00 ERA). So I don’t think he is “going to become a great pitcher” after 13 terrible seasons at the age of 34. Just to show you how bad Durbin is here are his season ERA’s (and sadly he is occupying a Braves roster spot)…
2000- 8.21 ERA
2002 -11.88 ERA
2003 – 7.27 ERA
2004- 6.97 ERA
2011 – 5.53 ERA
2012- 18,00 ERA
Is this guy extorting major league teams to stay in baseball?? Does he have some evidence on Wren or something?
The decision to keep him on the roster is the sole responsibility of the manager that picks/retains his top 25 players. Don’t get upset with Durbin or Hernandez..they are just men willing to play in the majors as long as someone is dumb enough to pay them when better options are on hand.
I agree. Durbin & Livan are not better than Gilmartin & Teheran. That’s like hiring Sean Connery & Clint Eastwood to do action movies in 2012 instead of The Rock & Jason Statham. Just plain stupid.
Veterans schmeterans. So what if Durbin and Livan have experience. Results should dictate who plays only. Gimme the young live arms instead of those two BP arms.
Ascensio was out of options so at least we got some cash !!!!! I agree with Durbin being let go. The suggested trade for Francouer would be acceptable. I would hold on the Hernandez just in case. Remember last year. One more win and we were in. Not our fault Gonzalez put Lowe in last game, hell I’d rather have Hernandez Wouldn’t you ?
I don’t get the lack of respect for Constanza’s game, either. He was hitting close to .400 for awhile last year…obviously he’s not going to do that for the long term, so he had to slump a little, which he did, which got the average to .303 for the year.
A .300 hitter with speed, good glove, above average arm? He’s in the minors??? I don’t get it, either.
The fact that we can rely on only 4 arms in the bullpen in late game situations, is as big a strain on Venters and Kimbrel as starters not going more than 5 innings. We lucked out today because of the starter going a solid 7 innings and having a big lead in the 9th that it was deemed safe to use the likes of Durbin. What would Fredi have done if Hinske had not delivered the two extra runs? Would he still have brought in Durbin, or stretched out Medlen for a second inning?
BP arms? Ok let’s be honest. THat is the perfect situation to use Durbin. He is on the roster this second nothing can be done about it. He was used perfectly today. And the MANAGER has no say in who is on the roster. That job is the GMs. Funny to be complaining after winning 5 straight with 2 great dominant pitching performances back to back. Wouldn’t it be nice to just enjoy the win and move on to hating the Mets for tomorrow night?
It’d be nice to mind your own business John and blog your own opinions instead of worrying about what others blog. Everyone’s entitled to their own opinions.
WWFD
“What will Fredi do?”
In tomorrow’s game against Santana will he use Diaz’s career stats against Santana to get him into the lineup? If so, who will sit? Which of these 4 players will fill 3 lineup spots — Diaz, Prado, Chipper, Heyward? (Can Chipper still play SS? — just kidding)
I hate the way it MUST be O’Flaherty 7th,Venters 8th,Kimbrel 9th. Fredi leaves O’Fluuckerty in there after two straight hits with no outs. Yank him outta there and put in another reliever (Martinez or Medlen,or Venters) but he doesn’t even have a reliever warming up. Its O’Flaherty’s inning whether he gives up no runs or if he gives up 1,2,3,or 4 runs. Stupidity.
Chipper Jones should be MVP because since he has came back this team looks a 1000 times better. Also How Chad Durbin has a big league job is beyond me especially when we had a young minor leager pitching lights out during spring training. But if you look at any roster from start to finish they are never the same, with trades, waiver claims, and September Call- Ups. Also Jason Heyward has his stroke back and I’m for 1 am glad for him I especially though it was short-sided to pile on a 22 year player as a bust especially since most minor leagers dont come up until their 24 or 25. Fredi Gonzalez needs to thank Chipper for deflecting the heat off of him. I still doont have confidence in Gonzalez, because he tends to mismanage the bullpen, and that collapse that happened last year. Now if he makes the playoffs this year I will get off his case
Just enjoy the voyage and move on? Sorry, mixing story lines. Durbin is 3 for 3. Three appearances, three souvenirs. That’s not good even for a mop up guy. There is a young guy or two at Gwinnett who would both benefit himself and the team by being on the big club. And if this club is going to challenge as it has shown it can, sometime or another we’re going to need a shortstop with some range who can hit over a buck fifty.
All these trade rumors are just that, Wren is not going to trade for anyone that gets paid more than the person they are trading, he will continue to do as he always has and keep digging in the dumpsters. Francoure and Byrd both make way too much money for Wren’s budget.
I wouldn’t put much stock in Constanza’s average last year since half of them were the infield variety. Which means he wasn’t really scary with the bat, just pesky.
Constanza is/was on the way to becoming a AAAA player much like Gregor Blanco and Charles Thomas.
J-Man, If I may. I personally support Fredi. I am an old school baseball guy. I am a fan of the game first and foremost. I liken the glory days of 2-1 and 1-0 games. I am happy that a gentleman that is critical of Fredi was articulate about their complaint of him. That said….I tend to agree that the bullpen was overused last year, but you cannot forget how many extra inning or close games were played all year which would tie any manager’s hands in that regard. I was so excited to see Kimbrel and Venters not used today (thanks to the offense) after 4 straight games. This year is looking promising. I am not scared of the Mets and the Nationals keep talking about an inning limit for their best pitcher. Season is just starting and it is looking like a good one.
Yes John I read an article to day that the cubs were trying ti trade him and the braves were interested. But I havent heard any more. Just thought somebodt might no
Jim, I would play Diaz on Tuesday definately. Career .500 against him. I can only assume, since I am a mere fan that he just simply sees the ball out of Santana’s hand like a beach ball. Who sits? I am not sure. Not Heyward though. That is a tough call, but I would give Diaz that game for the full week.
I guess what will happen when Hudson comes off the DL Chad Durbin will be the odd man out and Randal Delgado will go to the bull-pen. Even though I think Jurrjens needs to be demoted or traded because he hasnt been consistant since late June. And he has lost 5 mph on his fastball. He usually throws between 85-88 mph where he used to throw 92-94 mph
J-Man I would have a fit if they put Delgado in the pen instead of AAA. If he is the one to go that is. He is a starter not a reliever. Durbin is here for now and hopefully he is only used when we have a 4+ run lead while he is here. JJ had his fastball back up to 92 his last outing and what happened? He had no movement on it. In my opinion, I would think more movement with a slight loss of velocity is better than velocity with no movement. Unless of course he throws 96+ which he never has done.
Matt Diaz benched by Pirates rarely pinch hits in 2011, Braves sign him in 2012
Chad Durbin released by Nats in ST 2012,Braves sign him.
Livan Hernandez released in ST by pitching poor Astros in 2012,Braves sign him.
Thank you for the compliment, but how do you know what I lok like Ralph
I know you have to be very pretty because you told me you work in a nite club and as a previous club owner I never hired anybody but the prettiest girls, ugly girls didn’t have a chance.
So, those who were digging a team grave after the first four must be leaning on their shovels about now, eh?
I worked for 32 years in a job that involved a great deal of public scrutiny and comment. I can’t count the number of times I wanted to reveal all the stupid issues with which I had to cope that made life hard for everyone. Human issues! My job was to please everyone all the time, and yet to hold people accountable without undermining their confidence and effectiveness.
I mention all that because I can sympathize with, and maybe understand just a little, what Fredi Gonzalez deals with every day. If you want to be hyper-critical, try walking in his shoes. He’s doing fine. It’s not as though he has only to press the right buttons; he’s dealing with people, not widgets.
I don’t know whether we’ll end up in the Series, but I do know this team has a good bit of potential. Fredi, like doctors who take the Hippocratic oath, must first do no harm, and he not only is doing that well, but he also is doing a great job of helping mold an excellent team.
It’s a long season, but so far, we’re doing just fine.
Chipper Jones shouldn’t be MVP because since he has became a new back this team looks a 1000 times better. Also How must Chad Durbin has a bigger league job is beyond me and you especially when we had a young lady minor leager pitching lights out during spring training. But if you look at any man’s roster from start to finish they are never the same, with trades, waiver claims, and September screw- Ups. Also Jason Heyward has his stroke 9 back and I’m for 1 am not glad for him I especially though it was short-sided to pile dung on a 22 year player as a bust especially since most minor leagers dont come up until their 124 or 125. Fredi Gonzalez needs to thank Chipper for deflecting the heat off of him with a metal mirror. I still doont have confidence in Alex Gonzalez, because he tends to mismanage the bullpen, pass gas,and that collapse that happened last year. Now if he makes the playoffs this year I will get off his case and on the airplane.
Samantha: Great big belly laugh! You’re doing a great job of making some folks look like the shallow thinkers they are. Deeper thinking seems not to be too common here.
exotic:
foreign; not native..strange or different in a way that is striking or fascinating; strangely beautiful, enticing, etc
Is that you Samatha? Holy Man in Black!
190 comments Add your comment
Alex
April 15th, 2012
8:10 pm
First!!! Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Alex
April 15th, 2012
8:11 pm
sorry, I’ve never posted before, and I couldn’t resist when i saw no comments had been posted yet >.<
Craigger
April 15th, 2012
8:14 pm
GO DAWGS!
Steve
April 15th, 2012
8:15 pm
What to do about Chad Durbin?
bravesgrl4life
April 15th, 2012
8:15 pm
thanks, Carroll!
reckingball
April 15th, 2012
8:16 pm
I wonder what Freddi thought about Durbin’s turn on the hill.
Carroll Rogers
April 15th, 2012
8:17 pm
y’all are welcome….packing it up and heading home….DOB will be picking it up tomorrow…..cheers.
My Thoughts
April 15th, 2012
8:26 pm
So any updates on the Jeff Francouer rumors ?
athensmatt
April 15th, 2012
8:26 pm
Steve – do what we did today: save him for the 9th inning when we’re up by 6.
Brava
April 15th, 2012
8:28 pm
Thanks for all your hard work, Carroll. We appreciate it.
nashvillewill
April 15th, 2012
8:30 pm
Minor reminded me of vintage Glavine – and don’t say you weren’t thinking that! So that makes Beacy, you-know-who and I won’t even say that. And Delgado, if he develops his slider could be the third member to take us back to those thrilling days of yesteryear. Venters and Kimbrel are better than what we had back then, if Fredi can resist the urge to overuse them. How is Teheran coming along? Of course, Hanson, if healthy, will be good. Jurrgens appears to be weakest starting pitcher at this point. And we’ll see if Hudson is the Huddy of old. Braves will go as far as this pitching staff will take them, so Fredi use them wisely. Actually, FG did a great job with Minor, Venters, Kimbrel on Sat. And using Durban with a six-run lead didn’t hurt even though he gave up 1/2 the lead. Why did we sign him? He is not even effective as mop up.
Apparently Jason has righted his approach and his swing and Bourne will be good if not great. McCann and Prado are alright. Ffeddy has gotten into bad habits and Uggla appears to have reverted. Even so, with Chipper chipping in when he can, Braves may be alright in hitting. So season will depend on :
1) Pitchers staying healthy
2) Young pitchers continuing to improve
3) FG not mismanaging the pitching staff like he did last year.
Samantha
April 15th, 2012
8:31 pm
Bravesgirl4life, Back to murphy. Did He actually win a MVP on a bad club
B-F_52
April 15th, 2012
8:37 pm
Back at ya CR
Larry
April 15th, 2012
8:38 pm
I said BEFORE Spring training that Beachy and Minor are our two best young SP’s. I would take either over Hanson and certainly Jurrjens.
I hope their manager doesn’t blow too many games before he acknowledges that our rotation should become: Hudson, Beachy, Minor, Medlin and Hanson or Delgado. While we have to pay him, put JJ in the role that the walrus, Hernandez, is occupying and either Hanson or Delgado could easily replace Durbin’s role.
Think about that starting and relief lineup for a moment!
Samantha
April 15th, 2012
8:39 pm
Carroll if you are still here I need a favor
evadayjonny
April 15th, 2012
8:41 pm
No lead is safe when Durbin’s in the game. He’s awful !! Surely he’ll be gone soon and we’ll bring up a young gun that needs some experience in the bigs for mop up duty.
Larry
April 15th, 2012
8:42 pm
nashvillewill,
Minor in no way resembles Glavine other than being a lefty. Glavine was an artist of deception and nibbling at the corners; Minor goes right after hitters and challenges them to hit his good fastball.
The best comparison to Minor is Steve Avery…their approach is/was identical!
Styrofoam Fritter
April 15th, 2012
8:43 pm
Durbin should have never been signed.
I’d love to see Jeff Francoeur return to Braves. Trade Royals Matt Diaz and a top AA pitcher and make it happen !
The Monger
April 15th, 2012
8:45 pm
Great win, and great series. Beachy and Minor were really painting those fastballs the last 2 games. This is what the Braves need to pull off long winning streaks and go deep into the playoffs. Hanson, Beachy, Minor, and Hudson when he gets back, need 7 strong innings every start, and once we get to Venters and Kimbrel its over. I have lost a lot of faith in Jurrjens, he is just not the same pitcher as the last few years. He’s had like 10 bad starts in a row, at the end of last year and this year combined, so its not a rough patch….this has been months and months of bad pitching from Jurrjens, including this spring. The big question is the offense….I believe Minor, Beachy, Hudson, Hanson, and even Delgado are really going to pitch lights out this year, and I am expecting BIG things from all of them. However, if the offense gets shutout or scores one run consistently it won’t matter, but if they can consistently hit against pitchers that aren’t on the Brewers or Astros (two staffs on the lower end of the NL in my opinion) then we will be fine. And why is Durbin still on this team? I mean seriously, he has an 18.00 ERA after 3 games…this guy is horrific. He has a career 5.12 ERA and Wren forces him onto the roster like he just picked up Mariano Rivera? I know Wren has made some bad moves especially in the bullpen, but this is beyond belief bad….with both him and Livan. I don’t understand, but does anyone think (hope) Durbin will be gone before we wake up in the morning? I mean every appearance garauntees several runs for the other team, why not just have a 14 year old blind kid with one arm go out there? And the worst thing is, Wren had PLENTY of options with Flande, Gearin, and Ascencio pitching great in spring training. So he trades Ascencio, the Dominican MVP this year for nothing, and demotes Flande and Gearin to AAA. I know Linebrinks and Sherril were headscratchers, but at least they were respectable. Livan and Durbin are hands down the two worst pitchers on ANY ML roster right now. Livan was cut from the worst team in the major leagues, the Astros, and Durbin has a 18.00 ERA, enough said…
evadayjonny
April 15th, 2012
8:45 pm
Larry @8:38 you just may be on to something there. Minor and Beachy are gonna be the future of this staff.
cowdogit
April 15th, 2012
8:45 pm
All Durbin needs is a good sinker ball pitch. To bad no one on the braves staff has the knowledge to teach him. One day he will devlope a sinker and become a good pitcher, but not with the braves.
JWOOD
April 15th, 2012
8:46 pm
Durbin is probably not long for this team. I can’t imagine any GM or Manager keeping Durbin when there is at least 3 better relievers waiting in the minors.
YELLOW BRITCHES
April 15th, 2012
8:49 pm
I heard Freddy before the game today and he said he was stressing forcing the other team to make a play. Being aggressive on the base paths even if some guys get thrown out. He said he would not jump on his guys when the other team makes a play. This is great and makes for fun baseball.
myside
April 15th, 2012
8:56 pm
I can not see one reason to keep Durbin on the roster, even if you never let him pitch again. He is a loser and should go now.
The Monger
April 15th, 2012
8:57 pm
Chad Durbin has a 18.00 ERA and Livan Hernandez has a 4.91 ERA…Come on Frank Wren, this is ridiculous!!! To let these horrific pitchers even sniff an Atlanta Braves uniform is dispicable, they are hands down the 2 worst active pitchers in Major League baseball. The worst part is we have a handful of studs in AAA that would run circles around these clowns, like Yohan Flande, Cory Gearin, and Buddy Carlyle. Yeah and we would have Ascencio, if Frank Wren didnt trade him for nothing. By the way, Buddy Carlyle has a 0.00 ERA at Gwinnett, 8 2/3 innings pitched, 2 hits, 0 runs, 7 K’s.
-P.S.- For ALL THE CONSTANZA HATERS, he is hitting .368 (7-19), .500 OBP, 3 triples, 1 double, 6 RBI, and 1 stolen base. I just can’t believe how many haters there are for SUCH a TALENTED kid. Thats all the kid does is hit .300 every year, for every team and organization he plays for, and he gets so much hate I just don’t understand it. Hits .319 in 2010 in minors, hits .312 in 2011 minors, then comes up to majors last year and hits .303, now in 2012 minors he is hitting .368 and people HATE ON HIM??? Can a knowledgable braves fan explain this to me? How a career .300 hitter that steals 25-30 bases a year and plays terrific defense can get so much hate?
The Monger
April 15th, 2012
9:05 pm
cowdogit quote…”All Durbin needs is a good sinker ball pitch. To bad no one on the braves staff has the knowledge to teach him. One day he will devlope a sinker and become a good pitcher, but not with the braves.”
REALLY?? One day he will become a good pitcher? Chad Durbin is 34 years old and on his last legs and rightfully should be out of the game by now. He has pitched 13 terrible years in the majors and has a career 5.12 ERA (that was before this years 18.00 ERA). So I don’t think he is “going to become a great pitcher” after 13 terrible seasons at the age of 34. Just to show you how bad Durbin is here are his season ERA’s (and sadly he is occupying a Braves roster spot)…
2000- 8.21 ERA
2002 -11.88 ERA
2003 – 7.27 ERA
2004- 6.97 ERA
2011 – 5.53 ERA
2012- 18,00 ERA
Is this guy extorting major league teams to stay in baseball?? Does he have some evidence on Wren or something?
McFann :Ô: :Ô:
April 15th, 2012
9:11 pm
Thanks for the quotes, Ms. Rogers!
Larry
April 15th, 2012
9:20 pm
The Monger,
The decision to keep him on the roster is the sole responsibility of the manager that picks/retains his top 25 players. Don’t get upset with Durbin or Hernandez..they are just men willing to play in the majors as long as someone is dumb enough to pay them when better options are on hand.
Styrofoam Fritter
April 15th, 2012
9:21 pm
I agree. Durbin & Livan are not better than Gilmartin & Teheran. That’s like hiring Sean Connery & Clint Eastwood to do action movies in 2012 instead of The Rock & Jason Statham. Just plain stupid.
Ralph
April 15th, 2012
9:21 pm
I just hope that when Durbin walked of the mound into the dougout Fredi told him to clean out his locker.
Styrofoam Fritter
April 15th, 2012
9:24 pm
Veterans schmeterans. So what if Durbin and Livan have experience. Results should dictate who plays only. Gimme the young live arms instead of those two BP arms.
Livan Durbin
April 15th, 2012
9:26 pm
Durbin must have nasty photos of Fredi or something ? 3 appearances and 7 runs. Unreal.
My Thoughts
April 15th, 2012
9:26 pm
Ascensio was out of options so at least we got some cash !!!!! I agree with Durbin being let go. The suggested trade for Francouer would be acceptable. I would hold on the Hernandez just in case. Remember last year. One more win and we were in. Not our fault Gonzalez put Lowe in last game, hell I’d rather have Hernandez Wouldn’t you ?
Monger, I'm with ya
April 15th, 2012
9:27 pm
I don’t get the lack of respect for Constanza’s game, either. He was hitting close to .400 for awhile last year…obviously he’s not going to do that for the long term, so he had to slump a little, which he did, which got the average to .303 for the year.
A .300 hitter with speed, good glove, above average arm? He’s in the minors??? I don’t get it, either.
jim
April 15th, 2012
9:27 pm
The fact that we can rely on only 4 arms in the bullpen in late game situations, is as big a strain on Venters and Kimbrel as starters not going more than 5 innings. We lucked out today because of the starter going a solid 7 innings and having a big lead in the 9th that it was deemed safe to use the likes of Durbin. What would Fredi have done if Hinske had not delivered the two extra runs? Would he still have brought in Durbin, or stretched out Medlen for a second inning?
John
April 15th, 2012
9:28 pm
BP arms? Ok let’s be honest. THat is the perfect situation to use Durbin. He is on the roster this second nothing can be done about it. He was used perfectly today. And the MANAGER has no say in who is on the roster. That job is the GMs. Funny to be complaining after winning 5 straight with 2 great dominant pitching performances back to back. Wouldn’t it be nice to just enjoy the win and move on to hating the Mets for tomorrow night?
Livan Durbin
April 15th, 2012
9:28 pm
A 5.00 era for a 1 inning reliever is like a 15.00 for a 6 inning starter.
John
April 15th, 2012
9:29 pm
JIm, Fredi wouldn’t have used Durbin if Hinkse hadn’t gotten that hit. Common sense please
panamajack
April 15th, 2012
9:30 pm
Neither Gearrin or Flande have allowed a run yet and we are stuck with Durbin and his 18.00 era
Livan Durbin
April 15th, 2012
9:31 pm
It’d be nice to mind your own business John and blog your own opinions instead of worrying about what others blog. Everyone’s entitled to their own opinions.
Samantha
April 15th, 2012
9:31 pm
Has anyone heard about a Marlon Byrd trade?
John
April 15th, 2012
9:32 pm
Livan, isn’t it ironic to make that comment yourself?
John
April 15th, 2012
9:34 pm
Who is he with right now Smantha? He left the Cubs, I am probably wrong, haven’t thought of him in the past 2 years, but you got me curious now.
jim
April 15th, 2012
9:36 pm
WWFD
“What will Fredi do?”
In tomorrow’s game against Santana will he use Diaz’s career stats against Santana to get him into the lineup? If so, who will sit? Which of these 4 players will fill 3 lineup spots — Diaz, Prado, Chipper, Heyward? (Can Chipper still play SS? — just kidding)
Chipper's Choppers
April 15th, 2012
9:37 pm
I hate the way it MUST be O’Flaherty 7th,Venters 8th,Kimbrel 9th. Fredi leaves O’Fluuckerty in there after two straight hits with no outs. Yank him outta there and put in another reliever (Martinez or Medlen,or Venters) but he doesn’t even have a reliever warming up. Its O’Flaherty’s inning whether he gives up no runs or if he gives up 1,2,3,or 4 runs. Stupidity.
John
April 15th, 2012
9:37 pm
Gee pitches tomorrow unless the Mets changed in the last hour. Santana is game 2
J-MAN
April 15th, 2012
9:40 pm
Chipper Jones should be MVP because since he has came back this team looks a 1000 times better. Also How Chad Durbin has a big league job is beyond me especially when we had a young minor leager pitching lights out during spring training. But if you look at any roster from start to finish they are never the same, with trades, waiver claims, and September Call- Ups. Also Jason Heyward has his stroke back and I’m for 1 am glad for him I especially though it was short-sided to pile on a 22 year player as a bust especially since most minor leagers dont come up until their 24 or 25. Fredi Gonzalez needs to thank Chipper for deflecting the heat off of him. I still doont have confidence in Gonzalez, because he tends to mismanage the bullpen, and that collapse that happened last year. Now if he makes the playoffs this year I will get off his case
braves20
April 15th, 2012
9:41 pm
Just enjoy the voyage and move on? Sorry, mixing story lines. Durbin is 3 for 3. Three appearances, three souvenirs. That’s not good even for a mop up guy. There is a young guy or two at Gwinnett who would both benefit himself and the team by being on the big club. And if this club is going to challenge as it has shown it can, sometime or another we’re going to need a shortstop with some range who can hit over a buck fifty.
jim
April 15th, 2012
9:41 pm
Santana does go Tuesday night, but the question for that game is still valid.
Ralph
April 15th, 2012
9:42 pm
All these trade rumors are just that, Wren is not going to trade for anyone that gets paid more than the person they are trading, he will continue to do as he always has and keep digging in the dumpsters. Francoure and Byrd both make way too much money for Wren’s budget.
LAG
April 15th, 2012
9:44 pm
I wouldn’t put much stock in Constanza’s average last year since half of them were the infield variety. Which means he wasn’t really scary with the bat, just pesky.
Constanza is/was on the way to becoming a AAAA player much like Gregor Blanco and Charles Thomas.
John
April 15th, 2012
9:46 pm
J-Man, If I may. I personally support Fredi. I am an old school baseball guy. I am a fan of the game first and foremost. I liken the glory days of 2-1 and 1-0 games. I am happy that a gentleman that is critical of Fredi was articulate about their complaint of him. That said….I tend to agree that the bullpen was overused last year, but you cannot forget how many extra inning or close games were played all year which would tie any manager’s hands in that regard. I was so excited to see Kimbrel and Venters not used today (thanks to the offense) after 4 straight games. This year is looking promising. I am not scared of the Mets and the Nationals keep talking about an inning limit for their best pitcher. Season is just starting and it is looking like a good one.
Samantha
April 15th, 2012
9:48 pm
Yes John I read an article to day that the cubs were trying ti trade him and the braves were interested. But I havent heard any more. Just thought somebodt might no
John
April 15th, 2012
9:49 pm
Jim, I would play Diaz on Tuesday definately. Career .500 against him. I can only assume, since I am a mere fan that he just simply sees the ball out of Santana’s hand like a beach ball. Who sits? I am not sure. Not Heyward though. That is a tough call, but I would give Diaz that game for the full week.
John
April 15th, 2012
9:51 pm
Does DIaz contract end this year or next year?
Ralph
April 15th, 2012
9:52 pm
Byrd is batting .065 in 31 at bats, if the Cubs threw him in the dumpster Wren would dig him out for sure.
Samantha
April 15th, 2012
9:56 pm
HI Ralph I really enjoyed my first game today. It was awesome. I even winked at Freeman
John
April 15th, 2012
9:57 pm
Oh so you were the reason Freeman didn’t get a hit? You distracted him Samantha. Shame on you.
Scrub Dumpster Diver
April 15th, 2012
10:01 pm
Yeah, Fredi’s like Bobby. He tries to polish turds into diamonds…
Samantha
April 15th, 2012
10:03 pm
I thouht if I winked at him it would help him, but didnt work so I will save wink for someone else
Ralph
April 15th, 2012
10:03 pm
Samantha, I probably saw you there, the camera man always scans the crowd for the prettiest girls.
John
April 15th, 2012
10:05 pm
Hint wink at the Mets for the next 3 days lol especially Wright.
Ralph
April 15th, 2012
10:05 pm
Please don’t wink at me, my luck is bas enough as it is.
Scrub Dumpster Diverz
April 15th, 2012
10:07 pm
Yeah, some dads get to see their daughters being camera violated by dirty old cameramen…
Samantha
April 15th, 2012
10:09 pm
Thank you for the compliment, but how do you know what I lok like Ralph.
John
April 15th, 2012
10:10 pm
This has turned into the dating game apparently here lol
Samantha
April 15th, 2012
10:10 pm
I will save all my winks for all the mets OK John
J-MAN
April 15th, 2012
10:11 pm
I guess what will happen when Hudson comes off the DL Chad Durbin will be the odd man out and Randal Delgado will go to the bull-pen. Even though I think Jurrjens needs to be demoted or traded because he hasnt been consistant since late June. And he has lost 5 mph on his fastball. He usually throws between 85-88 mph where he used to throw 92-94 mph
DRmaryB
April 15th, 2012
10:12 pm
You probably saw me Ralph. I was the chick with the side burns and light mustache.
Ralph
April 15th, 2012
10:14 pm
Yes. It WAS you.
John
April 15th, 2012
10:15 pm
J-Man I would have a fit if they put Delgado in the pen instead of AAA. If he is the one to go that is. He is a starter not a reliever. Durbin is here for now and hopefully he is only used when we have a 4+ run lead while he is here. JJ had his fastball back up to 92 his last outing and what happened? He had no movement on it. In my opinion, I would think more movement with a slight loss of velocity is better than velocity with no movement. Unless of course he throws 96+ which he never has done.
Samantha
April 15th, 2012
10:17 pm
I was just curios since he has never sen me. He doesnt even know what my profession is and that might surprise all of you
John
April 15th, 2012
10:19 pm
Now you are baiting us Samantha. BTW where was that article on Byrd?
Taters N Liverwurst
April 15th, 2012
10:19 pm
Matt Diaz benched by Pirates rarely pinch hits in 2011, Braves sign him in 2012
Chad Durbin released by Nats in ST 2012,Braves sign him.
Livan Hernandez released in ST by pitching poor Astros in 2012,Braves sign him.
Do you see a bad trend here ?
Ralph
April 15th, 2012
10:20 pm
Samantha
April 15th, 2012
10:09 pm
Thank you for the compliment, but how do you know what I lok like Ralph
I know you have to be very pretty because you told me you work in a nite club and as a previous club owner I never hired anybody but the prettiest girls, ugly girls didn’t have a chance.
Samantha
April 15th, 2012
10:22 pm
I’m a crane operator for a construction company.
John
April 15th, 2012
10:23 pm
nice. I work on tower cranes for a company that rents them.
Samantha
April 15th, 2012
10:23 pm
It was an article that the cubs were interested in trading Byrd and the braves were interested,but is weas dated March2012.
insider
April 15th, 2012
10:24 pm
Hell no to Frenchy.’Byrd is looking to be traded..but Braves have not showed interest in any of them. Cain with Royals would get Wrens attention fast.
Samantha
April 15th, 2012
10:26 pm
Not me 1022. Just someone being a jerk AGAIN. Where did you go ralph?
Samantha
April 15th, 2012
10:26 pm
I was the construction worker band member in the imfamous Village People group. They called me Sammy.
Malph
April 15th, 2012
10:28 pm
Ralph had to change his diaper.I’m here Sammy !
insider
April 15th, 2012
10:31 pm
Constanza is a good everyday player but not a go bench player are pinch hitter type. Some players can and so can’t.
Samantha
April 15th, 2012
10:31 pm
I dont know what this jerk has against me, but I wish he would get over it.
Ralph
April 15th, 2012
10:32 pm
insider
Why do you say that, because he is batting .133 or because he is making niniimum or both?
John
April 15th, 2012
10:32 pm
You are right insider. A manger and gm has to know the roles that each man CAN play and which roles they are best at.
Alaska Braves Fan
April 15th, 2012
10:33 pm
So, those who were digging a team grave after the first four must be leaning on their shovels about now, eh?
I worked for 32 years in a job that involved a great deal of public scrutiny and comment. I can’t count the number of times I wanted to reveal all the stupid issues with which I had to cope that made life hard for everyone. Human issues! My job was to please everyone all the time, and yet to hold people accountable without undermining their confidence and effectiveness.
I mention all that because I can sympathize with, and maybe understand just a little, what Fredi Gonzalez deals with every day. If you want to be hyper-critical, try walking in his shoes. He’s doing fine. It’s not as though he has only to press the right buttons; he’s dealing with people, not widgets.
I don’t know whether we’ll end up in the Series, but I do know this team has a good bit of potential. Fredi, like doctors who take the Hippocratic oath, must first do no harm, and he not only is doing that well, but he also is doing a great job of helping mold an excellent team.
It’s a long season, but so far, we’re doing just fine.
ABF
John
April 15th, 2012
10:33 pm
Samantha best is to just ignore the children and not give them the attention they want.
J-man
April 15th, 2012
10:34 pm
Chipper Jones shouldn’t be MVP because since he has became a new back this team looks a 1000 times better. Also How must Chad Durbin has a bigger league job is beyond me and you especially when we had a young lady minor leager pitching lights out during spring training. But if you look at any man’s roster from start to finish they are never the same, with trades, waiver claims, and September screw- Ups. Also Jason Heyward has his stroke 9 back and I’m for 1 am not glad for him I especially though it was short-sided to pile dung on a 22 year player as a bust especially since most minor leagers dont come up until their 124 or 125. Fredi Gonzalez needs to thank Chipper for deflecting the heat off of him with a metal mirror. I still doont have confidence in Alex Gonzalez, because he tends to mismanage the bullpen, pass gas,and that collapse that happened last year. Now if he makes the playoffs this year I will get off his case and on the airplane.
Billy
April 15th, 2012
10:34 pm
What is this tonight–As The World Turns–BS night
Samantha
April 15th, 2012
10:34 pm
Well thank you Ralph. I am 19yrs old. 5FT 5IN Long Red hair and green eyes. I am an exotic dancer Does that help you.
RedFox
April 15th, 2012
10:36 pm
I don’t think Delgado will go to the bullpen when Hudson comes back. That doesn’t make much sense.
Ralph
April 15th, 2012
10:39 pm
Enough already, I can’t take anymore of this, i’m outta here!
Alaska Braves Fan
April 15th, 2012
10:41 pm
Samantha: Great big belly laugh! You’re doing a great job of making some folks look like the shallow thinkers they are. Deeper thinking seems not to be too common here.
ABF
bustersonly
April 15th, 2012
10:41 pm
Gearrin should be called up and Durbin released, immediately.
Samantha
April 15th, 2012
10:42 pm
Sorry to upset you
Alaska Braves Fan
April 15th, 2012
10:44 pm
Samantha: Do you think you have upset ME? Not so. I love it!
ABF
bustersonly
April 15th, 2012
10:44 pm
I feel that if we could get anything at all for JJ they would trade him but I don’t think anyone would pay his salary or want him on their roster.
John
April 15th, 2012
10:44 pm
Buster before calling up Gearrin, what does that do to his contract and arbitration status? I hate it, but that is what Wren has to wrestle with.
Billy
April 15th, 2012
10:45 pm
exotic:
foreign; not native..strange or different in a way that is striking or fascinating; strangely beautiful, enticing, etc
Is that you Samatha? Holy Man in Black!