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Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
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© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
2,709 comments Add your comment
Lee in S GA
June 21st, 2012
1:55 pm
CONSTANZA….kinda grows on you the more you hear it.
nolie
June 21st, 2012
1:57 pm
he is one of them guys who is easy to root for from an emotional standpoint, less so from a rational one
nolie
June 21st, 2012
1:57 pm
he is one of them guys who is easy to root for from an emotional standpoint, less so from a rational one
Shaun
June 21st, 2012
1:57 pm
David, I don’t see “haters.” I just see honest assessments of the guy.
I don’t think he deserves a roster spot over guys like Hinske, Diaz or Jack Wilson. He may be on par with Francisco (although I would rather have a bench bat who can hit the ball out of the park every now and then and who can play thirdbase, if we are choosing between two fringe-type players). He may be on par with someone like Boscan, although Boscan’s ability to catch may make him a little more valuable.
TheOnlyBravesFan
June 21st, 2012
1:58 pm
Rays Claim Brooks Conrad
The Rays claimed Brooks Conrad off of waivers from Milwaukee, the Brewers announced.
Conrad, 32, has appeared in 25 games for the Brewers this year, playing all four infield positions. He has just three hits and three walks in 44 plate appearances, however. His career numbers — a .212/.287/.406 line in five seasons with the A’s, Braves and Brewers — are much better. Conrad joins a Rays infield mix that includes Elliot Johnson, Carlos Pena, Will Rhymes, Sean Rodriguez, Drew Sutton and the injured Jeff Keppinger and Evan Longoria.
Nice to see RawDog getting picked up, been a “bad” year and a a half for him though…
Waffle House or Bust
June 21st, 2012
1:58 pm
I bet it is amazing to play for Joe Maddon. He seems so laid back but still demands his players to give 100%. Love the 70’s Rays throwbacks and wish Braves would lose the red jersey for 70’s uniform. Still my favorite old jersey followed by the powder blue 80’s jersey.
nolie
June 21st, 2012
1:59 pm
I just GOTTA get another mouse.all that scrolling has done wore thisun out. double posts all over the place, but I still couldn’t beat Efrim…..
Waffle House or Bust
June 21st, 2012
1:59 pm
TheOnlyBravesFan – Conrad never recovered after blowing the Giants series for Bobby two years ago.
Efrim
June 21st, 2012
1:59 pm
Was sort of hoping Signable would be in the Futures Game – but the U.S. Roster is just too loaded and so is the overall landscape of American born pitchers.
CrαZy
June 21st, 2012
1:59 pm
the 70’s Rays throwbacks
Something doesn’t seem right????
Waffle House or Bust
June 21st, 2012
2:00 pm
nolie is awake? I thought vampires slept all day.
nolie
June 21st, 2012
2:00 pm
Maddon and Davey Johnson in a big brouhaha…..
Waffle House or Bust
June 21st, 2012
2:00 pm
CrαZy – What I thought but they came up with one for series against Tigers. Looks like 70’s padres but in blue.
CrαZy
June 21st, 2012
2:01 pm
I bet it is amazing to play for Joe Maddon.
Plus he has no problem with you trying to cheat!!
Efrim
June 21st, 2012
2:01 pm
By the way, here is the little bit on Bethancourt:
Christian Bethancourt, c
Team: Double-A Mississippi (Southern)
Organization: Braves
The Scoop: Bethancourt was one of the Braves’ stars of spring training as he showed off a special throwing arm and soft hands behind the plate. He still has work to do as a hitter, however, as he chases too many pitches out of the zone.
nolie
June 21st, 2012
2:01 pm
got all the lights off in my basement so I’m ok thanx
Waffle House or Bust
June 21st, 2012
2:01 pm
Here is article on Rays 70’s throwback uniform.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/rays-turn-back-clock-uniforms-party-1979-213700184–mlb.html
nolie
June 21st, 2012
2:03 pm
how can the Rays “throwback” to the 70s?????
tiger297
June 21st, 2012
2:03 pm
can we teach pete/eric/jonny to play LF…then we can have a hella good LOOGY/ROOGY group
Robert
June 21st, 2012
2:06 pm
“He said it was uncanny to see the similarities between his career and that of the great switch-hitter Mantle, whose career was hampered greatly in the latter years by injury”
Mantle and Chipper are similar but not even close to equal.
Shaun
June 21st, 2012
2:07 pm
He would help this team win games which he has shown in the past he can do.
Relative to whom? We need some baseline. Yes, anyone would help the Braves win games relative to nobody. But relative to your typical Triple-A corner-outfielder that pretty much any team can pluck off the scrap heap, how much is he going to help? That’s the question. Guys as valuable as Constanza are a dime a dozen. That’s not being a “hater.” That’s just the way it is, no matter whether we want to root for him or if we can’t stand him or if we are indifferent towards him.
nolie
June 21st, 2012
2:07 pm
thats what he said…similar
Efrim
June 21st, 2012
2:09 pm
Mack (Brooklyn)
Harvey, Famiglia, Wheeler where do you see their ceilings?
Klaw (2:07 PM)
2/3 starter, reliever (he’s not Italian, though; if he was, I’d like him more), 1/2 starter.
Mets are going to have a legitimate starting rotation at some point in 2013 – Dickey, Santana, Niese ,Gee, Harvey or Wheeler.
ncscoots
June 21st, 2012
2:11 pm
Plus he has no problem with you trying to cheat!!
Ah, well, I’m not a big Maddon fan, but I did think Johnson was the tiniest bit bush in that whole deal. Not as if Peralta is leading the world in all pitching categories, ya know?
Efrim
June 21st, 2012
2:12 pm
I have this weird, optimistic feeling that we are going to have a very good 10 game homestand vs. the D-Backs, Nats and Cubs. Just sayin…..
Robert
June 21st, 2012
2:13 pm
“Teheran for Garza? that’s crazy talk,”
No it’s not. Teheran might someday be as good as Garza is today. On the other hand you have to pay Garza a lot today while Teheran is still cheap. It’s a perfect trade between a rebuilder and a contender that makes sense for both sides
nolie
June 21st, 2012
2:13 pm
exactly how are we breaking up a guy’s body into 2 thirds of a starter? I can see one half, or even 3 quarters (one arm starts, the other one and both legs relieve) but 2thirds is stumping me….
Shaun
June 21st, 2012
2:13 pm
TheOnlyBravesFan – Conrad never recovered after blowing the Giants series for Bobby two years ago.
I thought Troy Glaus should have been playing third for that team, at that point, with Infante playing second. The team was decimated by injuries. What did they have to lose, even if Glaus wasn’t some stud player at that point in his career?
Efrim
June 21st, 2012
2:13 pm
What’s happened to Jon Lester? He looked like a Top arm in sport. Just hasn’t really been the same since mid-2011.
nolie
June 21st, 2012
2:14 pm
Garza is not good enough for that to make sense
George Stein
June 21st, 2012
2:14 pm
Hopefully your new prediction will go as well as your last one, Efrim. I don’t suppose you give money back guarantees, though, do you?
George Stein
June 21st, 2012
2:15 pm
Too much fried chicken, Efrim.
ncscoots
June 21st, 2012
2:15 pm
Hopefully your new prediction will go as well as your last one, Efrim
Efrim is recently married, George. Thus, his predictions are still in the “honeymoon” period: he can do no wrong.
Efrim
June 21st, 2012
2:15 pm
No it’s not.
1.5 years of Garza for 6 years of Teheran is steep, Robert. If you think it’s fair, then you’re probably down on Teheran.
nolie
June 21st, 2012
2:16 pm
Efrim’s new wife lets him eat fried chicken?
Brian from SC
June 21st, 2012
2:16 pm
The Gamecocks’ Roth with a 2 hour, 2-hitter over Kent State. Arkansas awaits.
Ease
June 21st, 2012
2:17 pm
nolie, that would be “unsuccessful” Tommy John surgery…
nolie
June 21st, 2012
2:17 pm
Robert is prolly thinking about sponsoring Teheran’s BBRef page too, Efrim….
Efrim
June 21st, 2012
2:17 pm
Hah! Funny people. It really doesn’t feel that different. Sort of hit when the checkbook came in and her name was underneath mine. Hah!
ncscoots
June 21st, 2012
2:18 pm
Efrim’s new wife lets him eat fried chicken?
I don’t know that the marriage is far enough along that we can ask that kind of personal, intimate questions.
Efrim
June 21st, 2012
2:18 pm
new wife lets him eat fried chicken?
Only after a Braves win.
nolie
June 21st, 2012
2:18 pm
at least it ain’t above yours….yet
Efrim
June 21st, 2012
2:19 pm
I really like Matt Garza, too. But that’s just not worth it.
CrαZy
June 21st, 2012
2:19 pm
Fast forward 3 years and Robert will be the 1st one bichin about the Teheran / Garza trade!!!
nolie
June 21st, 2012
2:20 pm
oh well, your cholesterol level is safe then….
Efrim
June 21st, 2012
2:20 pm
Excellent point, noles. “Yet” being the key word there.
ncscoots
June 21st, 2012
2:20 pm
at least it ain’t above yours….yet
Spoken like a man who was young and in love and lived to tell about it, LOL.
nolie
June 21st, 2012
2:20 pm
and blaming it on Bobby, CraZy….
Ease
June 21st, 2012
2:22 pm
when the checkbook came in and her name was underneath mine.
That will change in all due time…
nolie
June 21st, 2012
2:22 pm
outta be a law against off days after day games
Efrim
June 21st, 2012
2:23 pm
Among qualifiers, Polished is 16th in ERA among Left handed pitchers in the National League…………… http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/pitching/_/hand/left/league/nl/order/false
Sigh….
nolie
June 21st, 2012
2:24 pm
but we coulda had a Trout
Hillbilly
June 21st, 2012
2:26 pm
I have this weird, optimistic feeling that we are going to have a very good 10 game homestand vs. the D-Backs, Nats and Cubs. Just sayin…..
I this like one of those “a couple into Yankee Stadium’s right field porch from Heyward”-type feelings?
ncscoots
June 21st, 2012
2:27 pm
but we coulda had a Trout
Coulda had both, though we fans would have missed the thrill of Casey Kotchman.
Efrim
June 21st, 2012
2:28 pm
I think Mac is close, and the offense is going to surge. Not a huge fan of the offenses of the Snakes, Nats and Cubbies.
George Stein
June 21st, 2012
2:28 pm
If that’s the case, scoots, I’m gonna hope like hell he gets one of those feelings for my beloved Jackets this fall.
Efrim
June 21st, 2012
2:29 pm
Not as strong as the Heyward home run prediction, though. I felt that one after seeing him face Kuroda in Atlanta. Just seemed like he had his number and while it didn’t produce HR’s, Hughes was the perfect RH pitcher the following day.
Him hitting one off of Logan was icing on the cake.
nolie
June 21st, 2012
2:30 pm
a My Morning Jackets fan, huh?
ncscoots
June 21st, 2012
2:30 pm
one of those feelings for my beloved Jackets this fall.
September might be stretching it for “honeymoon” period, George.
nolie
June 21st, 2012
2:30 pm
was that the first off Logan by a lefty?
Efrim
June 21st, 2012
2:31 pm
And I’m staying away from the Red Sox series. They are starting to hit a little and it’s going to be hot this weekend up in Boston. Could be a fun weekend. I’ll be there for the Saturday game. Franklin Morales looked really good last time out.
George Stein
June 21st, 2012
2:32 pm
WORST HONEYMOON EVER!
nolie
June 21st, 2012
2:32 pm
wifey in tow?
Hillbilly
June 21st, 2012
2:32 pm
The Gamecocks’ Roth with a 2 hour, 2-hitter over Kent State. Arkansas awaits.
Brian, tonight, right? Bad news (for me) is SC was tough to beat the first time with our ace on the mound, and chances of beating them twice are minimal.
Good news is, we won’t have to face Roth.
Efrim
June 21st, 2012
2:33 pm
Yes, nolie. LHB are hitting him .220/.266/.339 – not sure what it was before the Heyward homer.
nolie
June 21st, 2012
2:33 pm
not looking all that doable for the Noles
Brian from SC
June 21st, 2012
2:34 pm
I think the game will be 9:00, Hillbilly. Freshman Montgomery getting thrown into the fire. But Tanner has a lot of confidence in him. The bullpen is fully rested for both teams.
Efrim
June 21st, 2012
2:35 pm
wifey in tow?
Yup. And she is wearing Braves gear. I will have to protect her from those houligans in Boston.
Never been to Fenway either. Which is insane given that my brother has lived there for something like 15 years and I’m a huge baseball fan.
Always just end up going to Shea/Citi.
nolie
June 21st, 2012
2:37 pm
I think you’ll enjoy it. get us a win
nolie
June 21st, 2012
2:37 pm
I think you’ll enjoy it. get us a win
Efrim
June 21st, 2012
2:39 pm
Thanks, nolie. I’m pumped to see Delgado as well. Was hoping for him or Polished………….sorta.
TheOnlyBravesFan
June 21st, 2012
2:41 pm
Hey nolie: what’d you think about John Holland getting arrested? does it really matter to you for the CWS?
David O'Brien
June 21st, 2012
2:43 pm
Series preview: Braves at Red Sox
http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-braves-blog/2012/06/21/series-preview-braves-at-red-sox/
Hillbilly
June 21st, 2012
2:47 pm
The bullpen is fully rested for both teams.
Yeah, the Hogs will use them tonight with Randall Fant on the mound. It wouldn’t hurt my feelings if Van Horn changes his plans and throws Baxendale.
ncscoots
June 21st, 2012
2:53 pm
Just to show you how homerism can affect observation…
Teixeira says the ball Heyward hit off Tex’s heel might be the hardest ball ever hit at him. A Yankees’ fan watching this play said:
“Heyward followed and hit a sharp grounder at Mark Teixeira, but the ball bounded off Tex’s foot towards the middle of the diamond and the Braves took the lead. We’ve seen Tex make that play too many times to count, so it was disappointing, despite the difficulty, to see that play result in anything but an out. “
David O'Brien
June 21st, 2012
2:56 pm
Bethancourt named to play in the Futures Game, if you missed Tweet earlier (I was on the train)
ncscoots
June 21st, 2012
2:57 pm
I’m guessing that some editor changed the original wording from “…sharp grounder that left smoke trails from the burning stitches…” to just “…sharp grounder…”
David O'Brien
June 21st, 2012
3:00 pm
Sure don’t get views like this on a plane. America needs more trains. This was in Connecticut today, from my seat on Amtrak en route to Boston.
http://yfrog.com/h7ndtrzj
Hillbilly
June 21st, 2012
3:06 pm
Sure don’t get views like this on a plane. America needs more trains.
He was a runaway locamotive, out of his one-track mind…
Ease
June 21st, 2012
3:06 pm
Yeah, and Chipper misplayed an Upton liner off his leg…
Ric Flair to Right
June 21st, 2012
3:08 pm
Amazing Stats….Brian McCann
Last 96 games .193 AVG, with a red hot .668 OPS!!!!!
Ric Flair to Right
June 21st, 2012
3:13 pm
McCann last 96 games….71 hits and 60k’s..wow!!!!
Brava
June 21st, 2012
3:15 pm
Wow. David, sorry you chose Constanza as the subject of your first post. If I’d been here, I’d have warned you that you were about to get ambushed. You’re right, there are a lot of haters here when it comes to him. I hope that won’t keep you from posting in the future. Just don’t mention that you’d like to see Constanza with the Braves and you should be safe. Most of the animosity stems from Fredi playing him instead of Heyward last season. The ones responding to you so harshly are the charter members of the Heyward Man Love Club.
Ric Flair to Right
June 21st, 2012
3:16 pm
The amazing thing about McCann is how far he has fallen and how quick..prior to rib injury he ws without question the best offensive backstop in baseball…did he really pickup that many bad habits nursing his ribs?
Ward
June 21st, 2012
3:24 pm
Hello every one! I know I said I might not come on, but this is pretty good talk. I think you can’t hold on to prospects for ever. I like Delgado more than Teharan, and Minor is showing signs of getting it back together. Braves want to make it to the post season they will have to trade somke one. Braves will have to trade some one to get to the Post – Season.
kenhotlanta
June 21st, 2012
3:26 pm
Efrim: Fenway is the only other ML park I have been to besides the ATL and it was about 20 years ago. It was an amazing experience: the first thing that hits you is you don’t even realize where the stadium is as you walk up to it…it looks like you are entering a warehouse in downtown Boston and then you walk through the concession stands and the first time you see the field is an unforgettable experience.
Just sitting in your seat looking at the Green Monster is amazing. I was in heaven the whole game, the sounds and smell are pure baseball. The steamed hotdogs they bring around are great, too. That was a day I will never forget, and I hope you enjoy it to the full effect.
ChattTownBrian
June 21st, 2012
3:26 pm
If they can’t get a really good SP then I’d rather them just forget it and go for a big bat and a bench guy.
Bat Masterson
June 21st, 2012
3:26 pm
Wow. David, sorry you chose Constanza as the subject of your first post. If I’d been here, I’d have warned you that you were about to get ambushed.
10 to 1 he was trolling just to get some action going on the blog.
TheOnlyBravesFan
June 21st, 2012
3:27 pm
Brava: I’m not part of the Heyward Man Love Club… I had no problem with Constanza starting over Heyward last year. I just wished it was more temporary and that we would’ve gotten Pence or some RF to play over him… I like Constanza as a player, but he’s not starting material for the Braves.
Ward
June 21st, 2012
3:27 pm
Braves need starters to go 7 innings, or 8 innings. Can’t keep putting your bull – pen in the 5th inning all the time. You will put ware, and tear on the arms, and have a another collapse at the end.
Ward
June 21st, 2012
3:28 pm
Chatt – What’s more important for the Braves? A Bat, or pitcher?
ChattTownBrian
June 21st, 2012
3:29 pm
Ward, post twice. What? Post season is where it is. I like Wren more than most though. See we need a hitter and a pitcher. Prospects are just what they are – prospects. See I know …
Frankie Wren
June 21st, 2012
3:29 pm
Tigers release Eric Patterson.
Hometown Patterson boys from Marietta never did much in the bigs once there.
ChattTownBrian
June 21st, 2012
3:30 pm
Ward, right now I’d say a starter is more important. In a month a hitter might very well be more pressing.
Frankie Wren
June 21st, 2012
3:32 pm
When Delgado throws this weekend against the Bo Sox, chance of seeing J Hey, Freeman, Simmons along with Randall all of them 22 years old.
Lew
June 21st, 2012
3:33 pm
I’m not a Constanza hater – I just really don’t care one way or another.
Brian from SC
June 21st, 2012
3:34 pm
Did you know…the last NL team to average 7 innings per start from their starting pitchers was the 1977 Dodgers. That rotation was Don Sutton, Tommy John, Rick Rhoden, Burt Hooten, and Doug Rau.
And they still had Charlie Hough appearing in 70 games and pitching 127 innings out of the pen. Only two other pitchers pitched in more than 25 games, though.
Ward
June 21st, 2012
3:35 pm
Todd Cunningham is playing pretty well, and if Braves sign Bourn? You could put Todd Cunningham in Center, and Bourn in right for next year, but that doesn’t help for this year, and no on trading Cunningham.
CrαZy
June 21st, 2012
3:36 pm
Braves will have to trade some one to get to the Post season
Yes… but if they’re gonna trade Teheran it better be for something better than Garza. If that’s not possible then I’d rather stick with the options we have. I know that would cause people to bash Wren even more than they do now, but it would probably be the right call.
David O'Brien
June 21st, 2012
3:36 pm
Confident defensive prodigy Simmons showing he can hit, too
http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-braves-blog/2012/06/21/braves-defensive-whiz-simmons-showing-he-can-hit-too/