CHIPPER JONES
On his night:
“Yeah that was fun, that was a lot of fun. Just another one to file in the memory bank from my last year. It’s been pretty special up until this point. It’s the first time I’ve gotten five hits at home. I’ve done it a couple times on the road, but the first time in Atlanta you remember it. The fans were into the game, but we fell behind early. We started swinging the bats there in the fifth and sixth inning and the game is fun when you do that.”
On Bourn’s triple:
“Huge knock. And that’s what you need to kind of snap out of things. Bases loaded double, triple, things such as that have a tendency to pump people up. I don’t know how many hits we got. I know we got a couple walks and a bunch of hits there in those two innings that really kind of put the nail on the coffin.”
On if he remembers the last five-hit game against the Astros:
“Yeah there was one in Houston and one in Phoenix. Five hit games. It’s happened to me three times in 19 years, so they’re pretty special when they come along. I just feel fortunate that I’m swinging the bat really good right now when the team needs it.”
On if finding out about All-Star game put him in good frame of mind:
“I’ve felt it coming on for a while. I don’t often say that the swing’s right on par, but I felt it coming and I knew that I was going to start getting some hits because I was centering balls. I was centering eight or nine balls out of 10 in batting practice and it was starting to carry over into the game. Tonight was just one of those dream games. I’d be hard-pressed to find another game where I played better.”
On Tony La Russa probably not going to want to keep him on bench for nine innings:
“Hey, you’ve got to compete for starting time and all, or playing time in the All-Star game, so hopefully tonight will help that a little bit.”
On leading by example:
“I’m less of rah rah guy than I am a lead-by-example guy. I’d much rather pull people aside and talk to them and fix things that way. I get excited when my teammates do well. Obviously when Jhey hits a home run or Mike B gets a three-run triple, things such as that, it pumps me up. In that situation tonight I just tried to start stuff when there wasn’t anybody on base and I tried to mop up when there were guys on base. Like I said it was just one of those dream games, those games that kind of reinvigorate you a little bit.”
On Bad News Bears early, if fifth inning changing game:
“After that third inning you were thinking, oh my goodness, here we go again. You could sense the frustration building but our MVP up to this point stepped up with a big knock. They gave us a couple runners via walk and Barney made a bad decision, spinning to try to throw to second, threw too late to first, walk, now all of a sudden the table is set for a big inning. The bottom three guys did their job, getting on base, setting the table for the top of the order and the top of the order delivered.”
On ovation, start to think about this is the beginning of the end:
“I’ve been thinking about that for a long time. Every time something cool happens I cherish it because it could be the last time. That more than likely is my last five-hit game. I’m glad that it happened here at home. I’ve never done that before. As we get down to the end of the season, each homer I’m going to be saying, ‘That could be my last one.’ And I cherish each and every one of them. I don’t know. I just take it as it comes and keep trying to do my job every day.”
FREDI GONZALEZ
On Chipper:
“5-for-5, what a night for him offensively, and he made a couple great plays defensively also. JJ deserved a little better. I know he got three unearned runs in five innings. We didn’t play particularly well that third inning behind him and probably taxed him a little bit. We get first and second no out in the bottom of the fifth and you feel like you can take a shot at it, and we did, and the bats responded in back-to-back innings.”
On what impressed him the most:
“Wow. He’s been swinging the bat pretty good coming into tonight’s game. He impresses me every day for a guy who’s 40 years old. He goes out today and steals a base and goes 5-for-5. What will impress me is how he feels tomorrow morning. That’s going to be the key. But he was terrific. I don’t even know why you guys are talking to me here.”
On fifth inning, something could spark the team:
“I hope so because the first three or four innings we didn’t play particularly well. We made some mistakes that we hadn’t made – fundamental stuff. Anybody is going to make an error, somebody is going to throw a ball away, which you can live with or a ball that goes between your legs. But the fundamental mistakes to get the outs, the comebacker that we didn’t get an out at second base. Those are the things that really tick you off as a manager. But we responded. The guys responded in the fifth inning and put a big number there in the fifth. We had three shutdown innings during the course of the game which is big. And that takes the energy off the opposition when you can do that. Come back in the sixth and put another big number up and Medlen did a terrific job giving us those three innings there to bridge the gap to Jonny, and Jonny looked like his sinkerball was really really working there in the ninth inning also.”
On fifth inning decision not to bunt Jurrjens:
“It’s one of those things the way the game was progressing at times. You felt like trying to get another inning through JJ might have been a little difficult. And we got first and second there with nobody out and try to take a shot with it. I had nothing to do other than put Hinske there, and he had a big base on balls and we kept the line moving for five runs.”
JAIR JURRJENS
On his night:
“I felt good. I threw a lot of strikes and that’s my job, to throw strikes and try to keep the team close enough for us to get a W.”
On play second, if he’d go for that again if he had it to do over:
“Yes. I hooked the ball a little bit, and if I had made an easy toss right to his chest I think we would have gotten the out at second base, it’s just he surprised me a little bit by taking off so quickly to go back to second. I thought he was going to try to stay in a rundown for the guy to get to second base. When he made the break to second, I got surprised a little bit.”
On Gonzalez’s decision to pull him for a pinch hitter:
“A starter always wants to try to go deeper in the game. He told me if guys are on second and first, he might let me bunt or he might let Ski go hit. Everything happened for a reason.”
MICHAEL BOURN
On Chipper’s game:
“He had one hell of a night. You don’t see those nights happen often. He was the player of the game tonight. He took us to another level. He gave us some breathing room, and gave us some extra breathing room after that. It was a good win for us all the way around.”
On if wanted to be aggressive with fifth-inning at-bat:
“I saw the ball out of his hand, and I was able to turn on it and keep it fair. That was it. It was a pretty good pitch, but I just happened to see it out of his hand.”
On the momentum shifting:
“The thing is we kept pouring on after that. That was the big thing about it. We kept battling. (Martin Prado) ‘tin had a good at-bat after that, Chipper had a good at-bat after that, then everybody just kept going on, we kept pouring it on. That’s where the free fall happened and we were able to take over the game.”
104 comments Add your comment
The Cap Tipper
July 4th, 2012
12:14 am
What gets me this game is the official scorer, who only recorded ONE error for the Braves tonight, and by my count if should have been 4…can someone explain this to me?
1. Freeman was eaten up by a bad ball…it was hard hit, and it appeared to make a somewhat unfavorable bounce, still it hit and hopped over his right shoulder straight to the outfield. This one is somewhat questionable, and a tough call, but gets called an error every now and then.
2. Uggla commits a 2 base error, throwing the ball into left field, and the guy scores from 1st on a groundball to 2nd base…thats sadly not very easy to do, but Uggla made it possible with one of the worst throws I have seen this decade. That 3 error All-Star game can only be made possible by Uggla and his sub-par defense. His hitting 2-24 in the last 7 games isn’t helping either…
3. Jurrjens has an easy groundball to him, fields it cleanly, and doesn’t get an out ANYWHERE… And how is this not an error? Is a routine comebacker suddenly ruled a hit? Jurrjens threw a very questionable ball to Simmons who couldnt apply the tag to Castro sliding back into 2nd, so both runners are safe and no outs recorded on a comebacker to the pitcher… and no error is recorded?
4. Chipper has a routine ball hit to him, and the ball gets stuck in his glove. He loses it in the leather, and he doubles, and then triple clutches and by that time the runner just made it to the bag by less than half a step….COME ON….IS THAT NOT AN ERROR?? THIS is TRULY INSANE AT THIS POINT…. I mean this is 4 errors by my count, and I wouldnt be mad at only 3 recorded or something, because everyone misses one now and then, but missing 3 errors, and only recording 1 in a game where there were arguably 4, and 3 of them are definate textbook errors in the Uggla throw and Chipper grounder and Jurrjens poor throw/decision… was the scorer high tonight or what?
The Cap Tipper
July 4th, 2012
12:14 am
I know this is nitpicking, and I should be a little more encouraged that the Braves FINALLY WON a game…and at home no less. But the fact still remains the Braves are now 2-3 against the worst team in the league…and are coming off some pretty bad losing streaks. The offense scored 2 runs in the first 13 innings of this series, and had 2 really good offensive innings this game. They are still far from good offensively, and their defense right now is atrocious. But when you only score a run a game, and your defensive miscues alone give up 2…that’s loss after loss after loss unless they can get this turned around and QUICK!! I hope they do, but I have VERY little faith with the way they’ve played the last month and a half that they ever will…
Michael Colquette
July 4th, 2012
12:17 am
First…..first time ever…
Im excited to see Chipper in the allstar i just question Larussa’s motives with Freese in a close second and know leading the way in the final vote….. should have been Bourn or Harper to replace Kemp for Center Field……
Michael Colquette
July 4th, 2012
12:19 am
False alarm…. 2nd again….. so close!!
ACE
July 4th, 2012
12:26 am
I can’t believe someone asked Fredi about not bunting. A great quote by Fredi that should be used the rest of the season. I don’t even know why you are talking to me.
Who Me?
July 4th, 2012
12:27 am
JJ’s still shaky – anybody have his First Pitch Strikes tonight? This team will STRUGGLE without Chipper next year. How big a lift did he give them tonight? Bet he can’t get out of bed in the morning after stealing second tonight.
The Cap Tipper
July 4th, 2012
12:27 am
The sad facts remain:
1. Fredi is the worst manager in the league…32 out of 32..completely over his head and lost. period.
2. Chipper and every player on this team in not clutch. This is fact….the proof is that not a single player on the Braves is hitting .300 or better with RISP. The late and clutch stats are even more pathetic…Mac is hitting like .083 in late and close situations and Freddie is hitting .160, and these guys are in the heart of the order…no wonder we get shutout or score one run in so many games… Chipper got 5 hits tonight, and will promptly go 0-10 the next 3 games…so that will look like 5 for 15 in the stat book and Chipper will be hitting .333 in that 4 game stretch, but all 5 hits come in a blowout win, and then when we need him in the clutch in close games the next 3 he will go 0-10 when we need him the most, and 6 or 7 of those at bats will be with men on base or close games. Thats what he has done most of his career.
3. This team is full of headcases and chokers that can’t get it done when it matters. Minor melts down on the mound. Uggla, Freeman, McCann, and the “sluggers” go 0 for 4 in way too many games, and choke in every close situation. Venters and other relievers cant throw strikes in the late innings. They make stupid plays in the field, and then their manager makes an even stupider decision.
4. This team doesn’t have the heart to win big…its that simple. They whine, complain, and make excuses after every lose, just like their heartless manager. Then they sit out games with weak excuses….like McCann sitting out a week with the “flu”…because his “tummy hurt”…and Freeman sitting out almost a month because “he has dry eyes” and “his eyes hurt”….then their leader Chipper sitting out a month with “a bruise”…yes those same bruises that kindergartners get on the playground caused this grown man to miss a month of baseball…Just sad…I don’t want to even write anymore on these losers…
ACE
July 4th, 2012
12:28 am
I knew there was no way that DOB asked that question. Don’t want to miss the Harley ride and cookout with Fredi.
Dan_in_NC
July 4th, 2012
12:28 am
In response to the very first post about the errors that should have been called…
1. Can’t put Freeman at fault for a ball that went from knee-high to shoulder-high. That’s a hit 8 out of 10 times.
2. Totally agree that Uggla stunk it up on that particular play. That’s the kind of stuff that the nay-sayers said about Uggla when we signed him.
3. Ever heard of a “fielder’s choice”? That’s exactly what JJ did.
4. The one call I do agree was Chipper not getting the ball out of the glove…that should have been an error.
Brandon
July 4th, 2012
12:29 am
@Cap Tipper – i definitely don’t believe that the play on freeman was an error. that was a wicked bounce.
uggla made the error…which they counted as the only error
on the jurrjens ground ball, you can’t call that an error the same way you can’t call the darwin barney play an error( where he thought about going to 2nd and then simmons made it to 1st safely)
As for chipper, i could see that possibly being called an error, but if i remember correctly, his pause was pretty brief. he grabbed the ball, didn’t realize he had it, then did realize, then threw it to first. It was a fast runner running.
Slips
July 4th, 2012
12:31 am
Freddie definitely doesn’t get charged with an error in any ball park for that play. That was hit incredibly hard and took a wacky bounce. Official scorers take that into consideration. An error is when a routine play is botched, not when a highlight isn’t made.
The Uggla one is an error 100 times of a 100.
Jurrjens is a fielders choice that goes 1, 6 with no put out. Not an error.
Chipper had five hits and he’s 40 years old and he’s been my idol since I was 6 years old during his rookie season. He can do no wrong.
Brandon
July 4th, 2012
12:32 am
@Who Me – i don’t know about first pitch strikes, but he did throw 59 strikes in 80 pitches
The Cap Tipper
July 4th, 2012
12:34 am
This team reminds me (sadly) so much like the Hawks before Danny Ferry came to town. They have so much faith in this “core” group of players just like the Hawks did. Always taking the band-aid approach just to squeeze two more wins out of a mediocre, barely make the playoffs if they are lucky team. The Ben Sheets approach is delusional. The Braves front office is completely delusional for believing this group will win a championship. They were so sure, they didn’t even make a move to better the roster this notorious offseason. Then they do make a move….mid-year….for Ben Sheets. Sadly, this is what we can expect from the Braves front office, with Liberty Media and Frank “cheapskate” Wren at the helm. They would rather slick talk Braves fans into believing how good their 85 win team is , rather than taking the time to deconstruct this team, trade off the overpaid and under-producing players, and really start to acquire the pieces that a championship team is made of…. See the Atlanta Hawks of the last 2 days for an example..
Brandon
July 4th, 2012
12:34 am
@Slips – i suppose we’re about the same age in that case. I’ve gotten to see chipper from the beginning too since i was 5-6 years old
Who Me?
July 4th, 2012
12:39 am
@Brandon – thanks. But i think he pitched behind in the count to almost every hitter he faced. And as someone else has already pointed out, our RISP numbers SUCK. (Ace?)…had it not been for painfully poor Chicago pitching we wouldn’t be sitting here with a W.
The Cap Tipper
July 4th, 2012
12:39 am
I do know “fielder’s choice” , but doesn’t an out have to be recorded for there to be a FC. I have never heard of a no-out fielders choice. There has to have been a poor play that occured to not get an out on a groundball to the pitcher. In my opinion, Jurrjens made a somewhat wild throw to Simmons that pulled him towards 3rd and caused him to miss the tag on Castro. How is that not an error? And how is that different than if he pulled Freeman off the first base bag and the runner made it in there?
Who Me?
July 4th, 2012
12:43 am
Agreed Cap Tipper. The whole “betting the farm on a has-been that hopefully we can recycle” thing is really getting tired. Find new ownership with a budget and let’s build a winner again. FG does not inspire confidence in the dugout, and Wren – well – he’s doing what the bosses tell him to do.
Brandon
July 4th, 2012
12:51 am
@Cap Tipper – an out doesn’t have to be recorded on a fielder’s choice. It just means that you “try” to get an out with a lead runner. If the lead runner is safe, and there was still ample time to have gotten the batter out at 1st base otherwise, then it will still be considered a fielder’s choice.
JC Boscan III
July 4th, 2012
12:53 am
No, it can be a fielder’s choice without an out being made. It would be a rarity for an error to be given on a play like Jurrjens’ throw. It wasn’t a truly bad throw, just somewhat off target if everyone knew that the runner was going to dive back in to the back side of the base. Had the runner not made a very good dive to the back of the base, Simmons would have had him out.
On the grounder that Chipper had, it was a back-handed short hop, with an extremely fast runner. While it could have been called an error, the difficulty of the back-hand short-hop, with no extra time due to the runner’s speed, factor into it being ruled a hit. If the Cubs’ catcher is running, Chipper could afford to take the extra second and still throw him out by 2 steps. Good score-keeping has to factor in the runner’s speed.
Rowsdower
July 4th, 2012
12:54 am
@The Cap Tipper – The Freeman ball was correctly called a basehit. There is no way you can charge him with an error on a bad hop. It hit the lip of the grass and exploded.
Uggla’s ridic throw is obv an error.
The JJ ball is a fielder’s choice. The runners didn’t advance, thus, no error.
I’m on the fence about Chipper’s grounder. I called it an error because he clearly thought he dropped it. I was already thinking 3 more unearned runs with Rizzo up…thank god he got jammed.
Mr. Enigma
July 4th, 2012
1:03 am
How exactly are they “betting the farm” on Ben Sheets? They signed him to a minor league deal. If he makes the team, he gets a prorated MLB minimum salary. Not a risk whatsoever.
ACE
July 4th, 2012
1:21 am
Just the usual hoping Sheets is the cheaper alternative. They need to make a move for a top of the rotation starter and if this situation with sheets comes to fruition so much the better.
Rowsdower
July 4th, 2012
1:25 am
The Sheets deal is a no-brainer. If he’s healthy, he’s one of the best pitchers in baseball. If not, jettison his ass. No worries…
Price
July 4th, 2012
1:27 am
And how exactly does the organization ” Find new ownership with a budget and let’s build a winner again”, if the current owners do not wish to sell.
On a night when a Braves Legend has a game for the ages, some so called fans just have to moan and groan.
GO BRAVES!!! Thanks #10!!! Hall of Fame Brave
Army Strong
July 4th, 2012
2:00 am
budget he has. If he doesn’t have money, he’s got to be thrifty. The Ben Sheets signing was very low risk and high reward. If he pans out, he’s a solid number 2. If not, you cut him and lose very little. I think it’s one of the more brilliant moves he’s made so far personally. I think if you wait until late July, he will have made a move to satisfy your longing for an all-in GM by trading for Zach Greinke for a Mike Minor and a mid level prospect. Be patient. If you knew the game, you would know it’s a marathon. Need a reminder? Rewind to September ‘11.
Quit nit-picking the “should-be” errors. You missed the headline. They won 10-3.
Army Strong
July 4th, 2012
2:06 am
(C&P cut me off)
@Cap Tipper: You have forgotten that baseball is more of a game of failure than success. You are considered successful if you fail 7 out of 10 times. These guys are humans. They’ll get their 4-5’s and their 0-5 nights. Sometimes you see the ball better on certain days; it’s the way it is. If you’ve played the game before, maybe you can relate. If you expect them to be machines going 2-5 every night with a 162 game hitting streak, then sorry, maybe you need to find a different sport.
Frank Wren is doing what he can with the budget he has. If he doesn’t have money, he’s got to be thrifty. The Ben Sheets signing was very low risk and high reward. If he pans out, he’s a solid number 2. If not, you cut him and lose very little. I think it’s one of the more brilliant moves he’s made so far personally. I think if you wait until late July, he will have made a move to satisfy your longing for an all-in GM by trading for Zach Greinke for a Mike Minor and a mid level prospect. Be patient. If you knew the game, you would know it’s a marathon. Need a reminder? Rewind to September ‘11.
Quit nit-picking the “should-be” errors. You missed the headline. They won 10-3.
clay
July 4th, 2012
4:21 am
I just don’t know why they are waiting to make a move when they say they are going to make one…Why wait before it gets to late? I mean you are 5 games back of the division and Washington isn’t going to choke it up because they have such good pitching.
NorCal Brave
July 4th, 2012
6:27 am
I’m happy for Chipper, nice he’ll have one special memory from his final season.
PaulG
July 4th, 2012
7:06 am
Boy, there are some negative bloggers here like cap tipper. I think DOB should have at hand some mood medication as well as access to psychological therapy for some of the misanthropes here.
Buddy Landel
July 4th, 2012
7:17 am
Posts of the day:
Army Strong
July 4th, 2012
2:06 am
Quit nit-picking the “should-be” errors. You missed the headline. They won 10-3
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me
July 4th, 2012
2:49 am
@cap tipper: what the hell are you doing here in this blog???? you only comes to insult the team?
if you dont have anything good for say close your stinky mouth
the braves won the game and you comes to say only garbage???’
THEY ARE NOT A LOSERS ,,,THE ONLY LOSER HERE IS : YOUUUUU
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Chopper
July 4th, 2012
7:51 am
@ cap tipper… You are the biggest example of an fan we would rather not have. Why dont you take your negative comments somewhere else! The braves won 10-3 and all you want to talk about is should be errors. Errors dont go in the runs column of which we had ten and they had three. You really sound like a yankees fan who expects to win it all every year. News flash moron, we cant buy any player we want and as the yankees have proved even if we could it still doesnt mean you win all the time. Thanks CR and GO BRAVOS!!!
Jason's Sweet Cheeks
July 4th, 2012
8:25 am
Wow It’s 1 game. Same people who cut them down yesterday are praising them today. It is the same sorry team people. Realize it. They still stink.
a fan
July 4th, 2012
8:26 am
on every blog there’s one A** hole this one belongs to Captipper
ncbravesfan
July 4th, 2012
8:43 am
Great win for the Braves, but the reality is that it means absolutely nothing if they don’t follow it up with wins the next two nights. Can’t lose this series or even split it – have to win 3 of 4 against these guys. However, with Delgado and Minor on the mound, that could be a tall order.
Jason's Sweet Cheeks
July 4th, 2012
8:49 am
Forget it, Won’t happen. Why? Because they don’t know how to go on a long winning streak. THEY WILL FIND A WAY TO LOSE.
Southernboy
July 4th, 2012
8:51 am
CR, Please check into this before we lose McCann. Javy Lopez worked out at the same gym I did. After a great year he switched to a trainer that specialized in pro football players. He never hit a lick again. He was soon traded. After Francoeur’s rookie year he went to a facility in Duluth that specializes in football conditioning. He never hit again for the Braves and was soon traded. McCann went to this same facility last winter and he hasn’t hit again. I think DeRosa went with him and he is hitting .125. Identifying the problem is half the battle, Please help keep McCann.
Ekim
July 4th, 2012
9:04 am
@ACE – If you think that Fredi Gonzalez quote about “I don’t know why you’re talking to me” is something you can use for the rest of the season, then you’ve got a potential career as a political operative. You apparently like to take words out of context and twist them to your petty purposes.
Ekim
July 4th, 2012
9:09 am
@Cap Tipper — “I don’t want to even write anymore…”
Best thing you said all night. Bye.
Jason's Sweet Cheeks
July 4th, 2012
9:11 am
Cap Tipper is right. THIS TEAM IS NOT A GOOD TEAM. THEY STINK.
only once
July 4th, 2012
9:32 am
Just hope they don’t do what they usually do after scoring 10 runs in a game, score near 0 the next five games
No. 1 Braves Fan
July 4th, 2012
9:33 am
Cap Tipper is the worst example of a Braves fan I have seen on an AJC blog . I also rate him as one of the best bloggers who says absolutely nothing meaningful or of substance. Sometimes people are considered smart when they say nothing.
Le Fan
July 4th, 2012
9:34 am
What does “Jasons Sweet Cheeks ” mean???
Jason's Sweet Cheeks
July 4th, 2012
9:37 am
They will. Guarantee, They got their 1 win for the week. They are still celebrating. Wrap them up and call UPS to ship them away. Send them right to last place where they belong. They STINK.
Jason's Sweet Cheeks
July 4th, 2012
9:39 am
@ Le Fan My nickname is Sweet Cheeks. I like Jayson Heyward. GET IT!
CRMAC300
July 4th, 2012
9:43 am
Let’s trade Cap Tipper to the Yankee’s blog for a future draft pick. Sounds like a typical New Yorker. Hope Mom’s basement has AC, CT!
Yogi Berra
July 4th, 2012
9:43 am
Le Fan..you get it? we do.
only once
July 4th, 2012
9:48 am
Our All Star Cripper has so few at bats he was able o raise his BA 22 points in one game. the Popless Twins, McCann and Uggla again went 1 for 9, at least Fruti has moved them down in the order. Medlen proves once again that he belongs in the rotation.
Yogi Berra
July 4th, 2012
9:50 am
McCann’s trade value is going down?
Jason's Sweet Cheeks
July 4th, 2012
9:54 am
Trade Fat Mac now while you can. You might get a bucket of balls for him. That’s about all he is worth.
panamajack
July 4th, 2012
9:56 am
All eyes on Mississippi tonight, don’t get your hopes up though.
panamajack
July 4th, 2012
9:56 am
All eyes on Mississippi tonight, don’t get your hopes up though.
Rick
July 4th, 2012
9:58 am
only once, so far this season they’ve only lost two games that proceeded a 10 or more run game.
Jason's Sweet Cheeks
July 4th, 2012
9:59 am
Just another reject of Frank Nothing Wren.
Rick
July 4th, 2012
9:59 am
Southernboy, several players on the team worked with the same trainer as McCann this offseason. I know Freeman is one, and he’s still hitting.
cornjolio
July 4th, 2012
10:01 am
Aren’t Dan Uggla and Brian McCann on the team for their bats ?
Their batting averages are comical !
Jason's Sweet Cheeks
July 4th, 2012
10:02 am
@Rick Their still celebrating. They are done. Stick a fork in them they are done. They could not get on a long winning streak if they tried. WHY? They don’t want to.
panamajack
July 4th, 2012
10:03 am
McCann still has great trade value especially in the AL, I agree we should trade him now because at the end of the season his value probably will be zero. We could probably get two very high prospects for him plus the money saved would buy us a very good hitter or pitcher off the free agency market this winter.
Brandon Phillips
July 4th, 2012
10:03 am
How is Dan Uggla an All Star and I’m not ?
Rick
July 4th, 2012
10:04 am
If you think they are done can you stop commenting then? One less clueless person’s post I need to remember to scroll past.
Rick
July 4th, 2012
10:07 am
Well Brandon, you got off to a slow start this season and by the first voting tally release Uggla had already amassed a large lead while putting up some pretty good numbers. It wasn’t until a few weeks ago that Uggla stopped being productive and by then his lead was too great. It’s very surprising that you didn’t get in as a reserve, but completely understandable that Uggla was able to hold the lead for starter.
Jason's Sweet Cheeks
July 4th, 2012
10:08 am
Ha Ha You are a joke for still believing in this so called team. THEY STINK.
Rick
July 4th, 2012
10:17 am
You must have a pretty sad life if you believe that yet still spend so much time and effort watching, reading, and commenting on them. Get a hobby dude.
Jason's Sweet Cheeks
July 4th, 2012
10:19 am
You too Rick. I am not a DUDE. Have fun with your losers.Bye.
Yogi Berra
July 4th, 2012
10:28 am
You never know, Uggla might hit a homer etc and be All-star MVP..u never know.
But agree all-stars game is a joke..fans pick favorites instead of best.
Stupid also to let it determine home field advantage for ws.
Yogi Berra
July 4th, 2012
10:34 am
Everyone have a Happy 4th..and don’t forget why we have this day..thank a vet and all troops.. God Bless America! We need it…go Braves.
Larry
July 4th, 2012
10:57 am
Dan Uggla is just about to break loose! His smashes foul were as hard as they can be hit. When he does come thru, and I’m thinking tonite, Atlanta will be tough to beat for awhile.
henry tn
July 4th, 2012
11:15 am
“big deal” most any team can beat volstad—the braves will loose the next two better pitching
Brandon
July 4th, 2012
11:16 am
agreed Larry. he looked a lot different yesterday…a lot more contact was made
David O'Brien
July 4th, 2012
11:20 am
PaulG, re: your 7:06 a.m.: Most in-game and postgame blogs here now bring out largely caricature comments, many so completely over-the-top negative as to lose any credibility even if they contain some truth. But entertaining the way that caricatures can be.
Larry
July 4th, 2012
11:36 am
Chipper: I’m less of rah rah guy than I am a lead-by-example guy.”
Uh, Chipper, if the other players were to follow your lead we’d never have enough players that are either nurturing a broken earlobe or feel the desire to want to pay thus we’d be forfeiting probably 4 or 5 games a week.
No professional athlete should follow your lead, Chipper, if they have the remotest desire to play in the postseason.
Larry
July 4th, 2012
11:58 am
Enter your comments here
reckingball
July 4th, 2012
12:26 pm
Chipper playing 3 out of every 4, or 4 out of every 5 games, is better than no Chipper at all. Can’t ride that hoss into the ground, he be old.
Keep on drinking that Geritol, Chipper. haha.
He must of drank almost the whole bottle yesterday, before and during that game.
Keep giving Dan a few swigs off of that bottle, he looks like he might be ready to bust loose, I hope so anyways.
go braves
David O'Brien
July 4th, 2012
12:38 pm
Larry at 11:36: Momentarily speechless after reading that. No, really, that takes the cake. Shut ‘er down, nobody’s topping that comment on the absurdity scale.
Burgess
July 4th, 2012
12:59 pm
David, you do remember Smoltzie callling Chipper out about not playing hurt a few years ago, right ?
What is he on pace to play 100 games this year maybe ?
Gibson
July 4th, 2012
1:00 pm
The Cap Tipper is really good at concise lists.
TuffShhhtuff
July 4th, 2012
1:02 pm
I knew as soon as I saw where FG was asked about not bunting Jurrgens, that this Quotes Column was written by someone else. Sure enough, I checked and it was CR, not DOB. Even though FG basically dodged the question, it was nice that SOMEONE had the guts to even ask it. Thanks CR!
Ken Stallings
July 4th, 2012
1:02 pm
Any person who seriously thinks that grounder to Freeman should have been counted as an error on Freeman is delusional! That ball bounced nearly over his head! It was a serious bad hop — the kind where the only feeling you have about it as the fielder is you’re damn glad the ball wizzed by your head rather than hit you between the eyes!
As Dale Murphy commented, the real effect is your mindset on the next hard grounder hit your way. Your mind has a hard time allowing your body to get in front of the ball as Freeman properly did. Your mind remembers what the last one did! Freedy is one of the best fielders on the team, and prior to Simmons’ arrival, he was the best fielder. Every other infielder on the team at the end of the season should be collecting money to buy Freedy a Rolex watch for saving them about 20 errors with his excellent picks on bounced throws to first.
arizona brave
July 4th, 2012
1:10 pm
Cub announcers called Hinske when he came up to pinch hit the Braves best pinch hitter. What a laugh,the only reason he reached base was he was walked.
Ken Stallings
July 4th, 2012
1:11 pm
And the reason the grounder to Chipper was not ruled an error is because he did not drop the ball. The ball getting lodged in your glove is a common occurence and is not by itself ruled an error. If that small delay keeps you from throwing out the runner, then the runner was in a position where only an excellent play would have gotten him. Therefore, not an error per the rule book.
The assertion that Jurrjens’ play should have been ruled an error is even more stupid.
Guess we have someone starving for attention. Hope you enjoyed getting some!
Whiskey River
July 4th, 2012
1:12 pm
Hello everyone Hope you are having a great 4th of July. Great Braves win last nite. MAYBE they can keep it going.
ACE
July 4th, 2012
1:32 pm
How about this caricature question WITH THE MAKEUP OF YOUR BENCH WAS THERE ANYTHING YOU COULD HAVE DONE OTHER THAN LET SKI SWING AWAY. That took the cake.
Whiskey River
July 4th, 2012
1:39 pm
I don’t understand ACE. Did you want Hinske to bunt? If so Why?
ACE
July 4th, 2012
1:47 pm
Down by one run and Freeman on second with no one out. Instead of bunting him over Fredi PH Hinske and he hits a fly ball that Freeman could not advance on. Should have had Hudson or someone who could bunt PH and then had a runner on third with one out and a chance to tie the game.
Whiskey River
July 4th, 2012
1:52 pm
Oh you are not referring to last nite. I agree with what you say. Last nite he used Hinske and he walked. I wondered why he didn’t let JJ bunt. It worked out OK,but why doesn’t he like to bunt? I just think it is wrong but That is just me. I completely agree with what you are saying.
ACE
July 4th, 2012
1:56 pm
I agree Whiskey seems like Fredi would want to play small ball and get a run anyway that they can.
Yogi Berra
July 4th, 2012
1:57 pm
Happy 4th DOB.
Larry
July 4th, 2012
2:05 pm
David at 12:38,
What more “takes the cake” is this: The Atlanta Braves, all games played since September 1, 2011, under your pal, Fredi Gonzalez, are an impressive 62-77 (10-21 last September, 10-18 in the Grapefruit League and 42-38 YTD).
Now, David, this is much more important than the juvenile shots at your customers whom patronize your column and your employer, the AJC. We are the reason your employed David, thus some gratitude for those that are responsible for your paycheck is in order.
Do your job, sir, and as opposed to taking juvenile shots at your patrons, try to focus by seeking answers for the more pertinent issue here…why is such a talented team continually led by a buffoon of a manager?
Whiskey River
July 4th, 2012
2:06 pm
ACE I think he took a page out of Cox book. Wait on 3 run HR. That doesn;t always work. This team is built on speed and hitting the ball in the gap. They hit Hrs but overall not much power. Just my opinion. He needs to back off and manufacture runs. It seems to me that we are always behind. When you are behind, it is hard to use speed and gap hitting. IMO that is why we need to score first and early. Then we can use our speed. Then if we hit a HR that is just a plus. That is just my opinion, but maybe FG needs to realize that.
sburk
July 4th, 2012
2:08 pm
Nice win over a bad Cubs team. whats worse is the Braves are not that much better than the bad Cubs team. Fredi is by far the worst manager the Braves have since Ted Turner came out of the dugout back in the 70’s. Fredi killed that young kids arm ( Beachy) by making him throw 120 pitches a game. What a goob you are Fredi. I do think you are the perfect manager for a team owned by Liberty Media. You suck as bad as they do.
Steve
July 4th, 2012
2:39 pm
The Braves ought to consider Uggla as trade bait to upgrade the club. Uggla lacks plate discipline, and is a below-average defender. The Braves could move Prado to second, and get an outfielder. Or, use Uggla has a chip to trade for a pitcher.
Whiskey River
July 4th, 2012
2:51 pm
I completely agree Steve, but I don’t think they will.
davidputty
July 4th, 2012
2:52 pm
Larry at 2:05 p.m., since we’re nitpicking here today, you incorrectly used “whom” in your post.
Rick
July 4th, 2012
2:57 pm
sburk, Beachy has only thrown 120 or more pitches once, and that was this year in his CGS. When he had his TJ surgery, Dr Andrews said he had been pitching with the tear for months, possibly years.
Whiskey River
July 4th, 2012
3:00 pm
Why are we nitpicking today. We live in the greatest country in the world. We are Free. We are sopposed to be happy. Thank you Vets both living and not for everything you have done for us. God Bless America. Be happy guys. Thank you. Go Braves!
DetroitBraves
July 4th, 2012
3:02 pm
Uggla is an aging hitter with a big contract and no defense. The ability to move that contract, if the Braves were so inclined, is questionable. Of course, his power at a non-power position and his ability to draw walks shouldn’t be so readily dismissed due to a low batting average, a somewhat meaningless stat. As for Chipper being traded, as a 10-5 guy that’s an impossibility even if it were warranted. DOB is correct, there are legitimate criticisms to be made against the Braves but the outlandishness of their constituency serves to undermine meaningful discussions. If Jack Wilson is allowed to hit for himself in a close and late situation does the dissenter have his/her voice heard in the verbose fandom forest of “Heybusts” and “McCants”?
Whiskey River
July 4th, 2012
3:12 pm
DetroitBraves You make about as much sense as a old mule stuck in a mud hole.
David O'Brien
July 4th, 2012
3:42 pm
Braves lineup: Bourn cf, Prado lf, Heyward rf, Jones 3b, Freeman 1b, Uggla 2b, Ross c, Simmons ss, Delgado p
David O'Brien
July 4th, 2012
3:44 pm
Folks still want Oswalt in the rotation?
Lobosolo
July 4th, 2012
4:42 pm
Larry the Legend in His Own Mind strikes again… quintiple threat…. player, manager, general manager, baseball writer, and last, but certainly least, grammarian (specializing in multiple uses of the word “your”)… why aren’t we reading anywhere about this formidable human being? He’s an expert in everything and such a nice guy to boot… Larry, there is more to life than just being a whining prickola… why don’t you and Cap-Tipper set off on a llll—oooo—nnnnn—-gggg journey in search of YOUR perfect world… Geezus, dude, don’t you EVER get tired of CRYING?????
Whiskey River
July 4th, 2012
5:06 pm
Lobosolo I understand your concern. I really can. Today is not the day for all the arguing and bickering. Let’s all be nice and be happy. Root our Braves on to victory and thank God for America. Go Braves!!!