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
248 comments Add your comment
Dan
May 31st, 2012
2:24 pm
Big difference from Cox. If you do not perform everyone is on a short leash. JJ, Tyler, Minor next???
Me
May 31st, 2012
2:27 pm
Pastor 3B next year?
Possible atlanta keeps Prado in LF and left pastor try 3B?
I personally feel 2B is best but Uggla is there. He has speed to play Center but dont see that happening.
Hope to see Pastor up again. Shot hope to see Jurrjens too but lets not get started on Pitching… Except
Might i say the only reason this team is so bad right now. Hudson, Hanson, Minor, Jurrjens, O’Flaherty, Venters.
The iconic team built on pitching has had a relapse and somebody completely screwed up somewhere.
Should have used 4M and got Oswalt…. sigh….
Moeman
May 31st, 2012
2:31 pm
@me rev does not have arm to play 3rd. Prada most likely to 3rd next year. Don’t see Uggla moving but think he could play 3rd better than 2nd.
bostonbravo
May 31st, 2012
2:34 pm
glad to see most agree that Tyler & Muscles McGirk made a horrible ss/2b combo…
Jo Nicca
May 31st, 2012
2:37 pm
Maybe no one watched games. I saw Pastor had a good arm in the hole. I agree hes better suited for 2B. If Bourn leaves Pastor would be good leadoff hitter. Watch and see
Moeman
May 31st, 2012
2:59 pm
Jo Nicca – get your eyes checked!! Trust me you never saw what you think you saw. He can’t get to hole and his arm is weak. That’s why he’s headed to AAA.
Boxer
May 31st, 2012
3:26 pm
Time to send Frank to AAA
BravesFAN
May 31st, 2012
3:26 pm
Simmons is a hugeeeee upgrade over Pastornicky defensively and defensively this move will pay off immediately. However, he will struggle at the plate and it’s going to take sometime for him to become accustomed to major league pitching.
Wouldn’t be surprised if he was batting in the .220’s for a little while, but he will improve and I think by the end of the season he will be a much better SS offensively than Pastornicky would’ve been, he’s already 100000x better on defense than Pastornicky. Overall it’s a smart move imo and I think it’s obvious this move has Frank Wren all over it.
This basically shows that the Braves admitted they made the wrong decision coming out of spring training….
Dirty Dawg
May 31st, 2012
3:52 pm
Sorry, but if the kid doesn’t have an adequate arm to play SS, he damn sure doesn’t have one for third. Those that said ‘utility’ are probably right…move him around and see what he can do, and hope that he picks up his hitting.
Braves Recall Andrelton Simmons, Demote Tyler Pastornicky | MLB.Fans-Talk.com
May 31st, 2012
4:14 pm
[...] Andrelton Simmons, who will be making his Major League debut in Washington on Friday. The most basic of comments to describe the move came from the Braves [...]
IowaBravesFan
May 31st, 2012
4:16 pm
Shouldn’t have traded Sutton, really hated that move. I liked Simmons more than Rev just for the good defense in spring training, but I liked Rev’s nickname possiblities more, which is what counts.
Profiler
May 31st, 2012
4:19 pm
Great news! I certainly like Partornicky and hope he does well enough to return in some capacity. However, his defense has been poor. How much is Uggla’s fault, I don’t know. What I do know is that his range is about that of my computer chair. Hope he can work on that!
Bob the Blogger
May 31st, 2012
4:39 pm
Simmons has the potential to do it better than any Brave since the Braves moved to Atlanta. Furcal had the cannon arm, but was sometimes wild in his yonger day. Escobar could do it, but lacked consistency. Blauser wasn’t terrific. Belliard was steady, but with an average range and arm. Sonny Jackson and Gil Garrido were so-so. There really hasn’t been anyone I can recall who could play D like Simmons.
Bob the Blogger
May 31st, 2012
4:41 pm
Enter your comments here
john31
May 31st, 2012
4:42 pm
pasternicky just doesnt have the look of a big league ss when hes making plays given he is a good ball player he would be a better outfielder with his speed and good arm just my opinion
john31
May 31st, 2012
4:45 pm
wish they would have kept gonzo… hes a great ss
Braves-a-Go-Go
May 31st, 2012
5:02 pm
Anybody remember Raphael Belliard? He was a slick-fielding, weak-hitting SS who lasted several years as the Braves every-day SS. Simmons could be the modern day Belliard, although I really think he has the potential to a better hitter than Raphie.
Ken Stallings
May 31st, 2012
5:15 pm
Just reviewed the stats for the team. There is another hitter in the everyday lineup who is hitting a cool .247, and another who is hitting a cooler .233. One of those hitters has seven home runs and is on pace to finish the season with 20 HR and 75 RBI. The second is on pace to tally 15 HR and 60 RBI.
One is Brian McCann, who is supposed to be one of the best hitters on the team, but has a batting average and slugging percentage below Dan Uggla. The other is Jason Heyward who is not looking much better than last season’s paltry performance. McCann is a catcher, but his defense is not that great. He’s never been known as a superior defensive catcher. He has had passed balls this year but also has failed to block several pitches in the dirt, which is what a superior defensive catcher does.
Heyward looked so out of sorts in one game last week that the ESPN broadcasters were making excuses to explain the pathetic fielding, and that was a game one day after he allowed a single to turn to a double through lack of hustle.
Pasternicky got sent down. No one is saying McCann should — that would be stupid of course! Heyward will not be sent down either. Perhaps he should. The rookie got treated like a rookie. He’s not the reason this team struggled. The Braves better hope they don’t lose him!
GaryinBham
May 31st, 2012
5:20 pm
Yunel is hitting .250 with a .300 OBP and 2 hrs and 16 ribbies, just for perspective. I think we’re fine with ss.
2 games out of first, the last place Philllies a winning record only three back. It’s going to be a heckuva horse race!
ohhhhYEAH
May 31st, 2012
5:29 pm
Oh my god will you people get off Uggla and his “terrible” defense already? How many times last year did he fling his body into shallow right to make a diving catch? how often does he dive around just to knock down balls most wouldnt get to while you sit and complain that hes terrible for not making the play? The worst youve ever seen? Come on. the only reason people even keep saying that is the freakin all-star game a couple years back. Sure, he absolutely misses routine plays right at him every now and then but guess what, so has EVERY major leaguer. Statistically hes in the bottom offielding this year, but Ian Kinsler is actually worse, but no one ever says hes terrible. In 2011, Ugg was one of the lowest in fielding percentage, but he also was the leader in total innings played at second, and fourth in total chances. So yeah, when you play that manny innings per season with that many balls hit at you, youre bound to make errors, IT HAPPENS. He has always been one of the hardest working players in the bigs since he got up there, and he ALWAYS hustles, something you cant say for a ton of major leaguers. So why dont you all shut up about your whining just bc he isnt freakin Joe Morgan out there and appreciate what he DOES bring to the team.
Terry McClain
May 31st, 2012
5:51 pm
Uh oh. Here comes the second coming of Yunel.
Mazeroski
May 31st, 2012
5:55 pm
Doesen’t matter. The pitiching isn’t there to take this team to the playoffs.
bfred
May 31st, 2012
7:04 pm
I don’t think Prado will move back at 3B next year. I’m hoping some of that Chipper money will go to bringing in someone with a little more of a traditional third baseman’s pop.
kyle
May 31st, 2012
7:24 pm
This should have happened out of the gate….a comparison of Simmons and Pastornicky’s defensive metrics demonstrate as much with Andrelton being able to provide very similiar at-bats in the 8-hole since day one! The Braves pitcher’s need this more than anything right now!!!
Pastornicky’s approach at the plate is top notch for his limited big league experience…but his long term role on the Braves or another team is becoming a very talented and versatile utility player.
Waffle House or Bust
May 31st, 2012
8:54 pm
Once again the bloggers are smarter than Wren. How long have you guys been saying make this move? I find it crazy Frank still has a job. Dude is horrible!
Atlanta Braves Promote Top Positional Prospect Andrelton Simmons
May 31st, 2012
10:06 pm
[...] has special talents [at shortstop],” Braves general manager Frank Wren told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Once the reports started coming in so glowingly that he was handling [Double-A] so well, we [...]
Steve
May 31st, 2012
10:31 pm
LOL. Anyone who’s says Gonzalez defense last year is wearing rose-colored glasses. He had one of the worst range factors and UZR rattings of any starting SS in the majors. Sure, he had a .980 fielding percentage on what he got to, but Pastornicky’s range is FAR better and he would save more runs than giving up over ‘A-Gone-Right-By-Me’.
Simmons has the better upside, but Uggla did have an absolutely DIRECT impact in two of Tyler’s errors. Not covering the bag at all on one play and missing a slightly off throw that still should have been easily caught. He also got two errors on one play where a throw hit a runner. Anyone who says Uggla didn’t impact Tyler is a fool, and anyone who looked strictly at the numbers on Tyler’s defense is a bigger fool. You obviously haven’t been watching.
All that being said .. Tyler needs to go down and be ready for when he has to come back up when Simmons falters. It’s pretty frickin obvious the Braves current regime has no concept of building confidence in young players. Up, down, up down, .. bullpen, starter, bullpen, starter .. MORONS.
Jamsterman
May 31st, 2012
11:29 pm
Fine… trade him to KC and get Frenchy back!
Shawn
June 1st, 2012
12:19 am
We have had more infield singles and extra base runners due to poor fielding this year than I can ever remember. I’ll bet the team ERA goes down by half a run in the next few weeks because of this move. The bats will cancel each other out as I’m sure Simmons will have some rough patches to get through. At least the infield will be shored up defensively!
old man
June 1st, 2012
7:20 am
Sutton is gone and Wilson is still here? That seems sort of stupid.
old man
June 1st, 2012
7:22 am
In ST, I was pulling for Simmons and Sutton, and got Pastor and Wilson instead.
bill
June 1st, 2012
7:26 am
Our two short stops are playing in St. Louis and Texas. Furcal is one of the leading batters in the NL and Andrus is at least among the 3 best short stops in the american league. Next we will lose McCann and go searching for the next 5 years for a catcher.
bill
June 1st, 2012
7:34 am
I like Uggla but he has horrible footwork . He makes Darrel Evans look like a ballerina. He also is the pop out king when you need a hit but he is the second baseman for the next 4 years so get over it.
bill
June 1st, 2012
7:39 am
I am prety sure that cox was banging Kelly Johnson’s sister cause thats the only reason I could see that would keep him on the roster. Now it must be Fredi and the Wilson girl but he is no improvement over the rev. Do not hit the ball to Wilson in a pressure situation unless you want to hear the words…He had trouble getting it out of the webbing so we lost the double play. Two outs now and its a long drive ……..
Moeman
June 1st, 2012
8:33 am
Co-sign, ohhhYEAH @5:29, Uggla will never be a slick fielding 2nd baseman but he is good enough and hustle is a big part of his game. i think Braves should consider moving him to 3rd. He has the body and head for the hot corner.
rico43
June 1st, 2012
9:29 am
Haven’t read every post, but there are enough brain dead folks on here who, I guess, forgot that Simmons had a muscle pull or a quad injury at the end of spring training, causing him to miss the final week of camp and the first 10 days of the regular season. Pastornicky won the job by default, and was OK at the plate. But he and Uggla looked at times as if they’d never worked together around the bag. There was no excusing his defensive lapses.
BTW, watch how the pitchers’ ERAs will drop now that someone over there actually can makes plays.
Kash
June 1st, 2012
11:25 am
Who did we get from Toronto for Yunel Escobar? Gonzo who is gone and who else?????
Rick
June 1st, 2012
12:11 pm
Steve, Gonzo’s RF last year was rated significantly higher than Rev’s this year. Anyone who thinks Rev has better range is crazy. I like him and am surprised they sent him down so soon, but I don’t think I was ever impressed by a play he made.
Kash, Pastornicky was part of that deal. I think there might have been some minor league pitcher too.
Scott from Fairburn
June 1st, 2012
12:45 pm
Tim Collins was part of that deal. They flipped him as part of the Rick Ankiel deal to Kansas City.
BrandonLee49
June 1st, 2012
1:53 pm
“Defensive “Whiz” .. gimme a Break – DOB.. Your Worse than these other No-brainers who Live in a FANTASY LAND !!!
Golf-One
June 1st, 2012
1:56 pm
They sebt the wrong one down,should have been the manager and the pitching coach
BrandonLee49
June 1st, 2012
1:59 pm
So While the OFFense is Reeling in Anemia, they Trade-off a Solid .280 hitter for a .150 hitter… brilliant !!!
Golf-One
June 1st, 2012
2:00 pm
If the Braves ever want to compete they need a manager with a little fire and a new pitching coach,Bring back the rocking man,
Has the Braves Manager ever moved other than take the lineup card to the Umps
Golf-One
June 1st, 2012
2:12 pm
Jamsterman
I am with you on that but not Pastornicky,they have alot of talent to trade for Frenchy
Put Frency in left and play Prado at third full time, Let Chipper fill in
And fire the Manager and hire some one that will get his butt off the bench and at least try an argument every once in a while
Or let Pastornicky play third at AAA and learn the position so When Chipper retires we will have a 3rd baseman ready to step in,Put Prado bacck in left and platoon French with JH in right
BrandonLee49
June 1st, 2012
3:04 pm
You definitely got the “Sink’ing Ship” part Correct… Send Captain FG Down to Class A , maybe he can figure out some Baseball Strategy.. Cruise Ship – Atlanta is Headed for the Rocks ! Simmons makes about as much since as Livan Hernandez !
Morning Reads for Thursday, May 31st
June 2nd, 2012
10:22 am
[...] few that I like… – Braves: 10, Cardinals: 7 – Tyler Pastornicky was sent down to the minors after last night’s game. Andrelton Simmons is being called up. – How to cure a hangover. – Todd [...]
Morning Reads for Thursday, May 31st
June 2nd, 2012
10:22 am
[...] few that I like… – Braves: 10, Cardinals: 7 – Tyler Pastornicky was sent down to the minors after last night’s game. Andrelton Simmons is being called up. – How to cure a hangover. – Todd [...]
Andrelton Simmons Changed Everything | FanGraphs Baseball
November 13th, 2012
5:12 am
[...] Pastornicky’s defense, Frank Wren simply said, “We need more.” Enter Andrelton [...]