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Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
1,748 comments Add your comment
Woody Woodward
July 1st, 2012
6:28 pm
On this date last year we were 48-35. We’re at 41-37 today. Were we a better team last year?
Lew
July 1st, 2012
6:29 pm
Nick B – WAR -what is it good for – absolutely nothing.
Jake W.
July 1st, 2012
6:30 pm
nolie
You expect it from them though, you don’t really expect it from the more veteran players. Freeman has been a little unlucky in terms of the injuries and honestly starting the season at ss we didn’t expect that much. Heyward was the biggest question mark for most and he has made progress.
Like Chipper said with the young ones you expect inconsistencies which is why some of the the more established players not doing as much hurts.
Jerry
July 1st, 2012
6:30 pm
There was a time when getting Sheets would have been huge news. I just hope he has turned that corner after Tommy John and can get back to where he was. Of course, if he doesn’t, it’ll be another Frank Wren dud. And if he does, he won’t be here long because we won’t show him the money. I don’t expect much because our reclamation projects don’t generally pan out.
keylargo
July 1st, 2012
6:30 pm
The Cubs are in last place and are going to stay in last place this year. Do you really think it would take a pitcher the Braves are still hoping to be a rotation pitcher (Minor), a high prospect( Spruill) AND a low level prospect for us to use Dempster the rest of the year and pay him $6 million too? And the Braves get no draft choices either. :wow:
I gotta check on inflation.
Woody Woodward
July 1st, 2012
6:30 pm
Showin yer age, lew.
TheOnlyBravesFan
July 1st, 2012
6:30 pm
Some bad throwing…
http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=22759575&c_id=mlb&partnerId=aw-8021320585417854548-996
NickB
July 1st, 2012
6:32 pm
Woody
hmm, well 48-35 is a .578 wiin% 41-37 is a .526 win% so i reckon the answer is yes! tho only 4.5 games back….
lousy starting pitching has done it to us
Trey
July 1st, 2012
6:32 pm
usnavyvolfaninva, that’s awesome that you have five years left. I have a potential 15 years left, depending if I re-enlist or not.
Woody Woodward
July 1st, 2012
6:33 pm
Agree, nick. Starting pitching, especially. Can live with this years pen if we had better starting pitching.
Lew
July 1st, 2012
6:34 pm
Woody -0 I prefer to look at it like I;m showing my inteiigence. WAR is a basically stupid stat that even the experts can’t fiure out which one is better. Forget them both.
Tomahawkin
July 1st, 2012
6:35 pm
@FEAR
We better take 3 out of 4 from the AAA Iowa Cubs…I still cant get over the fact that we made them look playoff caliber at Wrigle earlier this season
its gonna be hard though because we made Jeff Samarditz looks like Randy Johnson Cy Maholm owns Us
Jake W.
July 1st, 2012
6:35 pm
On this date last year we were 48-35. We’re at 41-37 today. Were we a better team last year?
The pen was much better, much. Not to mention a healthy Hanson and JJ, Hudson, Beachy, and even Lowe made us better. This team has great upside though.
Woody Woodward
July 1st, 2012
6:36 pm
Temptations cut the original of that tune.
MIBravesFan
July 1st, 2012
6:36 pm
For nolie and Lew – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGAuYBfYJjI&feature=related
NickB
July 1st, 2012
6:37 pm
Lew
War works, it’s referenced by almost everybody who covers the game now , analysts, journalists, bloggers…etc. It’s not perfect, but it’s a good ,solid number to use as a reference for player performance comparisons
Lew
July 1st, 2012
6:38 pm
MIBraves – Thanks but my sound card is shot.
Tomahawkin
July 1st, 2012
6:39 pm
TheOnlyBravesFan
Matt Chernoff Said it Best on Friday, The Braves Suck in Big Series…And they proved it again this weekend. It seems that they just cant play sound fundamental baseball in big series dating back to 2006
Lew
July 1st, 2012
6:39 pm
Nick B – So what – doesn’t make it worthwhile.
I use lots of stats – BA, OBP, SLG, OPS, WHIP, K/9, BB/9, HR/9, BAA -even BABIP upon occaision.
WAR and UZR just dont cut it.
Lew
July 1st, 2012
6:40 pm
But you go right ahead and attach whatever importance to any stat you desire. Not my problem.
Tomahawkin
July 1st, 2012
6:41 pm
We were 48-35 last year at this time with a bad offense???
Wow and now offense so far this year has been so much better than a year ago…funny how baseball works
Powder Blue
July 1st, 2012
6:42 pm
So glad the powers that be dug down deep to snag Ben Sheets. Our problems are solved!
Jerry
July 1st, 2012
6:42 pm
Mark Bowman @mlbbowman
Many of you have touted Uggla as a candidate for the HR Derby. He said he would love to participate and is hoping to receive an invite
Has anyone ever struck out in the HR Derby? Uggla would be the first.
Lew
July 1st, 2012
6:44 pm
Powder Blue – How is picking up Sheets a mistake or a problem? Doubt he cost all that much – low risk and high reward acquisition that liely does nothing to hinder us from making additional deals. Haven’t heard anyone refer to him as our saving grace.
Tomahawkin
July 1st, 2012
6:44 pm
Sheets is gonna be huge! he will be our 2004 Jaret Wright, or our 2005 Jorge Sosa
Watch! And Bank On It!
Love the Sheets deal
Jake W.
July 1st, 2012
6:45 pm
Something tells me Wren is looking to do a little more than just get Sheets.
TheOnlyBravesFan
July 1st, 2012
6:45 pm
We were 48-35 last year at this time with a bad offense???
Wow and now offense so far this year has been so much better than a year ago…funny how baseball works
Which is why we need pitching, not a bat this deadline. A bench bat or two would be great, but we really need a good pitcher who can eat up innings.
NickB
July 1st, 2012
6:46 pm
what is your evidence to back up your assertions of said worthlessness?
my evidence is the success of the Boston Red Sox after years of crappy seasons, they went to a saber system of player evaluation and won with a rather ramshackle group of players. and increased their runs scored dramatically.
My other evidence is that nearly every team in baseball has added a saber statistician wing to their scouting dept’s to try and keep up .
WAR isn’t a subjective stat neither is UZR, it’s all based on mathematical formulas that hold up under scrutiny.
Seriously, y’all, do you think that all of the baseball scouting departments are wrong and you are right? Do you think the way in which these new stats are creeping in to the popular nomenclature is wrong and you are right?
Just because they didn’t use to put these numbers on baseball cards doesn’t mean they have no merit.
Tomahawkin
July 1st, 2012
6:46 pm
@Jerry
LMAO
I bet you will be throwing stuff at the TV During the homerun derby???
Woody Woodward
July 1st, 2012
6:48 pm
We haven’t passed the trade deadline yet, but some fans want to know IF wren will make a run at a proven, healthy starter. I’m not one of those complaining that he hasn’t, but it’s an interesting question. Personally, I’d like to see Teheran get a sustained shot. Just think that we would have to give up way too much for the sort of starter some are calling for.
Powder Blue
July 1st, 2012
6:50 pm
Lew,
Time will tell if the Braves will allow Wren to actually spend the money necessary to improve the club. And I’m not talking about Kyle Farnsworth.
Tomahawkin
July 1st, 2012
6:50 pm
Well we Got Punked in a Statement Series Against The Curley W’s!
Its official, the Nats are in the Braves heads now, Like the Phillies were from 2006-Present….
Gonna Check Philly.com/philliesforum.
A Sweep on that Forun: All Hell Breaks Loose
Their Fans Call Cholly, Mumbles, lol
smallmouth6
July 1st, 2012
6:50 pm
To answer the question of long ago, if it doesn’t get too political (Harper has been a media darling in a media town), then yes—I think the Brave’s young shortstop will have the numbers.
NickB
July 1st, 2012
6:52 pm
I think it’s gonna be interesting to see what pitcher goes first and how much he brings in return. This will kinda set the market.
brian
July 1st, 2012
6:53 pm
nolie – great point at 510
Tomahawkin
July 1st, 2012
6:54 pm
Man We Should’ve beat Gio and The Curley W’s Today, I’m getting Madder the more I think abt it…It must be the heat, brb
Jerry
July 1st, 2012
6:59 pm
Tomahawkin,
Chances are I’ll only watch the all star game when Uggla is batting so I can see him strike out again. So funny! As for the HR Derby, I never watch it. Never saw the point in watching someone hitting less than batting practice pitches over a fence. Pointless.
Lew
July 1st, 2012
6:59 pm
And what proof do you have that it works? All of Billy Beane’s successful seasons? The two years out of the past tern that the Red Sox won with a payroll twice what almost everyone else except for the Yankees spends?
Whatever. Believe what you want – your decision. But maybe they should find a way to standardze the stat vefore claiming it’s all that. Kind of hard to believe in something even the “experts” can’t agree on.
MikeY
July 1st, 2012
7:02 pm
Right now my choice for NL ROY is Wade Miley, 9-4, 2.87 ERA.
He has performed best, in my opinion.
StingerSplash
July 1st, 2012
7:02 pm
Well, the game was as bad as Struggla’s enduring slump.
But at least DOB reached back for a great song of the day. It was one of the first 45s I listened to over and over.
MIBravesFan
July 1st, 2012
7:03 pm
Find anything the “experts” can agree on in almost anything, let alone baseball.
NickB
July 1st, 2012
7:05 pm
Lew
the difference is two different sites use two different metrics, so there is fWAR (fangraphs) and bWAR(baseball reference) from what I have read, the standard used by the teams is fWAR as they prefer UZR to TZ (total zone) .
I like WAR because it compares all players at each position to each other and not to all other players in the game. Since the exact same metric is applied to each player, the result is a fair judge of how one player performed individually as compared to another at his position. When everybody at 1st is compared to everybody else at 1st then we can truly see who had the best year at first base that season.
NickB
July 1st, 2012
7:08 pm
Lew
Beane’s method worked amazingly considering his payroll imitations, until the other teams started using it too AND had higher payrolls to work with. I think it’s pretty obvious that his drafting system produces some of the best players. It’s not his fault he has to trade them for value after 4 years consistently
NickB
July 1st, 2012
7:12 pm
dang another extra game in Boston
NickB
July 1st, 2012
7:23 pm
is the blog dead?
Efrim
July 1st, 2012
7:30 pm
Freeman is on fire. Very good to see. Wouldn’t mind seeing Chipper batting cleanup between them, though.
Powder Blue
July 1st, 2012
7:30 pm
NickB,
Yes. Yes it is.
MIBravesFan
July 1st, 2012
7:31 pm
If Eddie likes Ben’s arm, Mr. Sheets might be really good for the Braves. Time will tell.
Woody Woodward
July 1st, 2012
7:32 pm
Giants game good.
George
July 1st, 2012
7:32 pm
Tough game to lose, 4.5 back WAS looks real good. VOTE, VOTE, VOTE! Get CHIPPER in ALL-STAR game so season will not be a complete ruin.
Woody Woodward
July 1st, 2012
7:32 pm
Giant come back in the ninth to win.
Woody Woodward
July 1st, 2012
7:34 pm
Bruce misplayed the ball. SF is a tough place to play
Powder Blue
July 1st, 2012
7:34 pm
Cabrera’s “Melkmen” Are Alive In San Fran:
http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/fandom/post/_/id/5494/cabreras-melkmen-are-alive-in-san-fran#more
George
July 1st, 2012
7:39 pm
Where were the people? annonuced attdendence 18,796, but a whole lot less than that there,, hardly anyone in outfield seats . This on a Sunday afternoon. Very sad, but the way team is playing, can’t really blame the folks.
nolie
July 1st, 2012
7:41 pm
WAR ain’t really a stat at all, and you are wasting your time Nick. folks here have been inundated with all the sabermetrics known to man for years and have each one established their own belief level. Unless you stumble on to a newbie you ain’t likely to change anybody’s mind much at this point
nolie
July 1st, 2012
7:43 pm
WAR is subjective though if by nothing else than the choice of what components have been decided on. so subjective that some heretics went out and created their own that does not agree with the original……
jeffrey d
July 1st, 2012
7:45 pm
George, it was 105 degrees today.
nolie
July 1st, 2012
7:45 pm
Beane was not about WAR at all, in fact he was not really about stats rer se, he was about finding an asset that was underappreciated and undervalued. OBP was basically Billy ball, certainly not WAR
David O'Brien
July 1st, 2012
7:47 pm
Nats get four in 1st inning, beat Braves for 8th time in past 10
GAME STORY
http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-braves-blog/2012/07/01/nats-score-four-in-first-inning-beat-braves-again/
nolie
July 1st, 2012
7:47 pm
FCS George it was over a hundred degrees, anybody but extreme fans were watching at home. I’ve read some silly attendance comments here B4, but that one kinda ranks way up thar…..
jeffrey d
July 1st, 2012
7:49 pm
Were you there, George?
nolie
July 1st, 2012
7:49 pm
gNats own us……
MIBravesFan
July 1st, 2012
7:51 pm
Thanks for the game story, DOB
Efrim
July 1st, 2012
7:51 pm
Team By Team International Forecast
By Ben Badler
July 1, 2012
Atlanta Braves
The Braves have not been tied to any of the top 20 prospects in Latin America, although some teams feel that Venezuelan righthander Yeralf Torres is one of the better pitchers in the market. Atlanta has done a fine job finding pitchers in Latin America (Julio Teheran, Randall Delgado) the last several years, and sources think Torres is one of the arms the Braves will try to sign. Beyond him, it’s hard to say what the Braves will end up doing. They are always busy in Panama, where they have signed Delgado, catcher Christian Bethancourt and lefty Dismaster Delgado, among others.
Frankie Wren
July 1st, 2012
7:52 pm
Ben Sheets? Pick up John Thomson again and good enough with the starting rotation.
MIBravesFan
July 1st, 2012
7:53 pm
They don’t own anything except the lead, and it’s not that big a lead – let them think they do. It’s a long way from July to October.
ChattTownBrian
July 1st, 2012
7:54 pm
As negative and bitchy as I am today after a bad game, I hafta admit I really do like the Sheets signing. This could be one of those situations when other teams are kicking themselves not giving him another chance. Also could turn out to be a “I knew it” situations too. Doesn’t matter though. We gave up zero and paid cheap I’m sure.
Sopheee
July 1st, 2012
7:58 pm
Reeduckulous George. Seriously, it’s getting old.
David O'Brien
July 1st, 2012
7:59 pm
QUOTAGE (including a few just-added quotes from Bryce Harper)
http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-braves-blog/2012/07/01/braves-quotes-after-sundays-loss-to-nationals/?cxntfid=blogs_atlanta_braves_blog
Trey
July 1st, 2012
8:00 pm
Powder Blue, that Melk Men thing seems to be spreading over there faster than a CA wildfire.
Trey
July 1st, 2012
8:01 pm
nolie, I would have gone to today’s game, but living out of Georiga….Well, you know how that is.
nolie
July 1st, 2012
8:05 pm
gee considering what is going on in Colo, not sure wildfire is the best simile
MIBravesFan
July 1st, 2012
8:05 pm
I don’t even know what to say about that. He’s trying to be gracious and grown-up. To his credit. He’s a high school kid in the major leagues.
brian
July 1st, 2012
8:06 pm
sheets is a good sign. High reward and low risk. he has had over a full season to recover from Tommy John and let the rest of his ailments heal. He was once an ace himself. We simply need him to be a 4/5 type guy in the rotation.
That still leaves the top of the rotation lacking. Do they go for it, trade for Greinke after getting Greinke to agree to an extension? Or do they go for a Liriano or Vargas alternative?
Trey
July 1st, 2012
8:06 pm
nolie, ay, absolutely right. My apologies.
nolie
July 1st, 2012
8:07 pm
most would not and to complain that the attendance was sparse on the second straight day of record temps is pretty silly IMO Trey
nolie
July 1st, 2012
8:08 pm
no apology needed, I prolly would not have said anything if that was not one of my old stomping grounds
brian
July 1st, 2012
8:09 pm
I think the hot stove heater will be cooking with Braves rumors over the next few weeks with no place having more rumors than this blog…
Greinke, Garza, Dempster, Liriano, Vargas, Willingham, McCarthy………..
Sopheee
July 1st, 2012
8:10 pm
Harper said all the right things there. Good on him.
Jake W.
July 1st, 2012
8:10 pm
I always find it ironic that those most concerned by attendance are never the ones at the park. Much credit to the fans that did tough out the heat to watch the braves play less than stellar ball the last few days.
nolie
July 1st, 2012
8:10 pm
maybe, if they really like what they see in Sheets, he may be it
Trey
July 1st, 2012
8:10 pm
It is extremely silly, nolie. George needs to focus more on the team’s performance rather than the attendance, IMO. last I checked, we watched the game for the game, not to see which team has the most folks attending.
jeffrey d
July 1st, 2012
8:12 pm
George needs to focus more on the team’s performance rather than the attendance
He’s got that covered. All on Fredi.
Trey
July 1st, 2012
8:12 pm
I would have mostly gone, as I haven’t gotten a chance to go to a game this year and I haven’t gone to many in the past few years.
Anyway, glad you did say something. It’s probably not the most appropriate thing to say, considering what is happening over there. We have some reservists who are evacuating their families from CO.
MIBravesFan
July 1st, 2012
8:12 pm
He might also being an arrogant punk. Given his track record, that’s more likely. I have to learn to stop giving people the benefit of the doubt!
nolie
July 1st, 2012
8:14 pm
I think he is making an effort to be less punky, but who really knows?
jeffrey d
July 1st, 2012
8:14 pm
Harper’s what…19? And he was even younger during that blowing a kiss incident. Given that he’s immensely talented and that talent had suddenly catapulted him into the national spotlight, I can understand a kid like him being cocky.
As far as I know, he’s done good at keeping to himself since his callup
Disgusted
July 1st, 2012
8:15 pm
We are not getting another ballpark, we have to deal with the Ted, location, no MARTA line and all.
Some of the ideas of blowing up the Ted and starting another stadium are either sarcastic or silly.
It would be nice to have a rail line, that would help attendance a little but not enough that it would be cost efficient to put a rail to the stadium, so it is what it is.
They tried to make the surrounding area better and for a while it looked like it was on its way but it is what is is, an area where you do not want to get lost in at night.
brian
July 1st, 2012
8:15 pm
no kidding nolie – 106 degree temps in that ballpark???
even if I was there and had a good seat in the sun, I would have left my seat and found some shade there for most of the game
nolie
July 1st, 2012
8:17 pm
many moved up high where there is some shade, making it look even barer than it was
Venice Jim
July 1st, 2012
8:17 pm
As long as George didn’t blame Fredi for attendance I think he’s taken a step in the right direction…
McFann :Ô: :Ô: :ô:
July 1st, 2012
8:18 pm
Jeff R The pen was much better, much. [at this time last year] Not to mention a healthy Hanson and JJ, Hudson, Beachy, and even Lowe made us better.
We also had a guy batting .311/.386/.521 with 14 Doubles, 14 HR, and 47 RBI in the heart of the order…
Disgusted
July 1st, 2012
8:18 pm
Sheets has not pitched at all in two of the last 3 seasons but this sign might be a diamond in the rough.
First of all, he is pitching right away, so Ben has to be in good baseball shape.
Something tells me this sign will reek success. Seriously, the Braves did something that I like for whatever its worth.
Sheets was very good for a few yrs. Too bad he was on some poor Milwaukee teams.
Efrim
July 1st, 2012
8:18 pm
Well, at least the Cubs are coming to town for four games…..
…there is that…..
Jake W.
July 1st, 2012
8:18 pm
Starting to see some more blue at Citizen’s Bank Park, no worries though, they have their “sellout” streak intact.
On another note how about the braves break that little streak of theirs that they have going. Winning on Monday is allowed and its not impossible. Miracles have been known to happen, I mean Francisco and that swing got a hit yesterday. Lets get the second half of the season started off with a Monday win.
Venice Jim
July 1st, 2012
8:18 pm
Keep in mind that before the kiss-blowing incident the pitcher had been mocking him…
Trey
July 1st, 2012
8:18 pm
I think he’s stopped just short of that VJ. He’ll probably do that eventually.
Disgusted
July 1st, 2012
8:19 pm
I really do not get the hate of Harper, he is not a bad kid.
Is it some jealousy from opposing fans who wish he was on their side?
jeffrey d
July 1st, 2012
8:21 pm
Is it some jealousy from opposing fans who wish he was on their side?
I think it’s the same as Tebow…people don’t have a problem with him, it’s the media’s obsession with the guy. And they turn that into hate against Harper.
keylargo
July 1st, 2012
8:21 pm
This isn’t real encouraging for Sheets and his health the last 8 years.
2005 22 games
2006 17
2007 24
2008 31
2009 0
2010 20
2011 0
2012 0