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© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
1,472 comments Add your comment
Frankie
July 5th, 2012
5:19 pm
must not be a “Stripes” follower.
nolie
July 5th, 2012
5:19 pm
two or three more starters would be better…..
Skokie Dog
July 5th, 2012
5:19 pm
An insider told me that Venters injured his elbow tipping his cap to all those hitters who were getting hits and walks off him while he was pitching this year.
cricket
July 5th, 2012
5:20 pm
JJJ for Lincecum straight up
nolie
July 5th, 2012
5:20 pm
I didn’t even know there were stripes to follow….
Frankie
July 5th, 2012
5:20 pm
good call jeffrey,
Nolie just ordered his “Chipper” centaur to put in his living room and is distracted
Lil' Barry Bailout
July 5th, 2012
5:22 pm
The Braves have Phillyphobia.
They simply aren’t man enough.
ncbravesfan90
July 5th, 2012
5:22 pm
Well at least Chipper agrees with us on here about acquiring at least one starting pitcher. Now all he has to do is convince Wren.
Shaun
July 5th, 2012
5:22 pm
I’m guessing there’s been something going on with Venters for a while but it didn’t seem all that serious to the Braves, they and Venters thought he could pitch through it and they wanted to keep it under wraps as best they could, which is why there are so many inconsistencies in their stories. But after pitching poorly in his most recent several outings, the Braves decided it was time to do something. It seems like this kind of stuff happens all the time around the majors.
All the secrecy and inconsistencies don’t concern me too much. It’s not surprise a team would want to keep an elbow issue to one of their key relievers a secret and that multiple parties wouldn’t have their stories straight because of this. What I’m concerned with is whether the injury is something serious or something that could turn serious down the road.
nolie
July 5th, 2012
5:23 pm
Chipper is a Centaur? I thought he was a son of Zeus.
Finklestein
July 5th, 2012
5:23 pm
Uggla to Gwinnett or trade him. Let Prado or Pastornicky play second, but get Uggla’s butt out of there.
Uggla an All Star? What a crock!
ChattTownBrian
July 5th, 2012
5:23 pm
Yes Chipper, we here have been screaming for another starter since BB went down. Thank you for speaking your mind. At least somebody on that teamand organization will.
cricket
July 5th, 2012
5:23 pm
stat heads’ favorite target as most overrated player, Howard, will be activated against braves and will proceed to drive in all RISP in front of him while producing nada when there are no runners to drive in..
Frankie
July 5th, 2012
5:24 pm
If Chipper is heard tell them “Ryan Dempster” for my last season.
nolie
July 5th, 2012
5:24 pm
Uts and Howie…here come the Phils
AZBravoFan
July 5th, 2012
5:25 pm
Venters hiding an injury is certainly not an isolated incident. I’m sure this stuff goes on in baseball way more than we know. Actually kind of smacks of Heyward and his shoulder last year. Baseball players are always trying to play through injury, even when it’s obvious that it’s affecting their play. I remember even Glavine in his book talking about doing it.
Danga
July 5th, 2012
5:25 pm
If Venter’s performance wasn’t reason enough hopefully this injury will add a little urgency to us adding some BP help.
cricket
July 5th, 2012
5:25 pm
this new blog must have broken record for number of new troll monikers created in shortest amount of time
Lil' Barry Bailout
July 5th, 2012
5:26 pm
Is McCann below the Mendoza line yet?
Good thing his defense is so awesome.
nolie
July 5th, 2012
5:27 pm
why do we want a pitcher with a losing record and a career ERA over 4.3?
Don’t we have plenty of them kind already?
The A Bomb
July 5th, 2012
5:27 pm
Maybe Uggla could catch what Venters has, and Bourn could slip right in as a rightful Braves All-Star.
nolie
July 5th, 2012
5:28 pm
NickB
July 5th, 2012
5:28 pm
Bowden sure likes to throw things out for the world to see doesn’t he?
Frankie
July 5th, 2012
5:29 pm
have you actually seen Dempster pitch this season? At all?
Murph
July 5th, 2012
5:29 pm
Seems kinda silly that they have a pitcher with a hurt elbow, who has a history of elbow issues, and they aren’t at least getting the guy an MRI as soon as freakin’ possible.
But yeah, go with the current plan of resting him, then bringing him back to give up another few leads, another few losses, then do the MRI when he can’t bend his elbow anymore and send him to get surgery in November, assuring that he won’t be back before Beachy next season.
Good plan.
The A Bomb
July 5th, 2012
5:31 pm
“Beachy should be good to go in a couple of weeks.” – Dr. Fredi, Medicine Man
ChattTownBrian
July 5th, 2012
5:32 pm
Murph, Braves will soon be known for this sort of irresponsibility, if they aren’t already.
Larry
July 5th, 2012
5:33 pm
From a man that always uses “you” when referring to others, I don’t see Fredi Gonzalez suddenly and mysteriously moving from a double to a triple digit IQ on “July 5.”
AZBravoFan
July 5th, 2012
5:33 pm
Seems to me that if Medlen were inserted into the rotation, just by being effective and eating 6-7 innings he could eliminate the need for himself in the bullpen. The reason they need him out there now is they can’t get Minor or Delgado through the 4th or 5th innings and they need a bridge to the late inning guys. Of course now they need some more late-inning guys as well. Maybe Pete will help? Maybe they can resurrect Fuentes? Or who knows? Maybe one of the Pearl or Gwinnett guys will step up. Varvaro is starting to strike me as a Manny Acosta clone…
nolie
July 5th, 2012
5:33 pm
I saw him give the Pads 6 runs in 4 innings and I saw him get hurt twice already, does that count? Three times is the charm you know, lets give up some prospects for a guy who caint stay off the DL, thats a great plan
Lew
July 5th, 2012
5:33 pm
Ease – Couldn’t find it on a map? Don’t know why you’d even go looking. Seems to me it tends to find you all on it’s own and to take your paddle away when it does.
AZBravoFan
July 5th, 2012
5:34 pm
DOB does the 15 day DL stint include the All-Star Break? Or will that tack on an extra 4 days of rest for him?
Frankie
July 5th, 2012
5:35 pm
He’s going somewhere and will make a difference, that will be a great plan.
We should stay pat though and have a nice season. sigh
The A Bomb
July 5th, 2012
5:35 pm
When the big club starts dipping to Double-A, might be a sign not to start trading young guys.
nolie
July 5th, 2012
5:36 pm
i didn’t say to stay pat did i?
Murph
July 5th, 2012
5:37 pm
I picture the Braves putting together an infomercial this offseason to try and recruit people to play in Atlanta:
“Doctors told you that you need Tommy John surgery? Do you hurt so bad that you think your career is over? Well, have I got the place for you! Come play in beautiful Atlanta, where your injuries will just magically disappear! So long as your arm is still attached, we’ll figure out a way to get you on the field, no questions asked!”
Efrim
July 5th, 2012
5:37 pm
Chipper Jones just told us he thinks the Braves HAVE to acquire another starter in addition to Ben Sheets in order to get to the playoffs”
A bullpen arm is probably going to be a must too.
nolie
July 5th, 2012
5:38 pm
shucks Efrim we just got a pen arm, fresh meat today
FEATURED BRAVES LINK: Braves hope July 5 is turning point again for Uggla | Atlanta Braves Dugout Online | Atlanta Braves Blog
July 5th, 2012
5:38 pm
[...] rest of the article can be found here: Atlanta Braves This entry was posted in Atlanta Braves News by Dugout Online Editor. Bookmark the [...]
The A Bomb
July 5th, 2012
5:39 pm
Is it true Dr. James Andrews plays the Tomahawk Chop on the speakers during all Tommy John surgeries these days?
nolie
July 5th, 2012
5:40 pm
nope. 24 guys for TJ this season already I think. no more than half are Braves…..
UTKBrave
July 5th, 2012
5:42 pm
I don’t even think we need another starter. Hudson and Hanson can handle those top spots in the rotation and Sheet will solidify that middle part when he is up. One of Minor, Jurjens and Delgado will easily take the other two spots and do just fine. Easily.
I love the team as it is, though maybe a bench player would be okay to acquire us. Some of these comments here are pure negative BS, if you want my opinion on it. I am MUCH happier with Fredi than I was with old Bobby Cox. Talk about stubborn. Also Fredi appears cool and calm and doesn’t make enemies with all umps with the silliness of barking at them when something goes wrong.
Frankie
July 5th, 2012
5:44 pm
Dempster might make a start on Sunday against the Mets. Doesn’t want to wait till after the break. Interesting
Lew
July 5th, 2012
5:45 pm
Thank you for the opposition view. Crossfire will now begin.
Frankie
July 5th, 2012
5:46 pm
yeah, that’s a brave man(no pun intended).
cliff
July 5th, 2012
5:46 pm
Uggla’s so muscle-bound that he’s lost his agility, and he’s just a swinger, not a hitter. Maybe Chipper can help him. Would like to see him traded.
The A Bomb
July 5th, 2012
5:46 pm
I would honestly like to see TJ surgeries under Leo vs. under McDowell. Seems like we’ve been keeping Dr. Andrews away from the golf course much more lately.
UTKBrave
July 5th, 2012
5:48 pm
@Efrim. yeah with Venters going down maybe a guy for the bullpen would be a smart thing, but you also wouldn’t want to deal away key future pieces for a relief pitcher, unless he is a real and proven star. Not reading any names out there that could be available.
Look, Chipper is frustrated. That is what prompted me to even say anything about getting a starter is I want to people to know he’s speaking out his butt right now. He needs to shut up and be thankful he’s on a competitive team even still after all these years. He, like tons of Braves fans, are spoiled rotten to the core.
nolie
July 5th, 2012
5:50 pm
so is everybody. from 2000-2011 there were an average off 11 per year b4 the all star break, this year there are twice that, way more all over baseball than there were years ago
stizz
July 5th, 2012
5:50 pm
You are up for a massive disappointment UTK.
The A Bomb
July 5th, 2012
5:51 pm
Thanks nolie — just seems like TJ surgery used to be big deal. Now it’s a badge of honor. But we seem to holding a lot of badges.
SNEAKY PETE
July 5th, 2012
5:52 pm
hey zzits is back. must have gotten tired of using all those other names
jeffrey
July 5th, 2012
5:52 pm
I like what you’re saying, UTK
(Rob from SC)
July 5th, 2012
5:54 pm
Here are the players I can think of who have had TJ with Braves during the past few seasons
Soriano
Gonzalez
Moylan
Medlen
Beachy
Hudson
Vizcaino
UTKBrave
July 5th, 2012
5:56 pm
@stizz, why am I up for that? Do you all actually think a MLB team DOESN’T fail most of the time during the course of a 162 game season? It happens. Slumps happen. Guys have down years and that is very common. No doubt we have the team to go far. Some things just have to fall in place and they will.
nolie
July 5th, 2012
5:56 pm
our fair share at least Frankie. they are discovering that some of the modern mechanics are not as good as was thought a dozen years ao for one thing.
I also think that they draft more mediocre pitchers and push them harder with tweeks to get ahead.
Lots of things adding up together I guess. perhaps the PEDs era put it off for awhile by helping bodies rebound better. sure seems to have gotten even worse since the testing began in earnest…
richbrave
July 5th, 2012
5:57 pm
,.{}
Frankie
July 5th, 2012
5:57 pm
spoiled rotton to the core? Let’s see the Braves have won 1 playoff game in 8 years. Enough of the 14 year run, nice and great history. Just that, it’s getting to be history. Win this year and sorry, won’t be with a starting staff of Huddy, Hanson and Sheets as your top 3. Get real my friend.
UTKBrave
July 5th, 2012
5:58 pm
Thank you Jeffrey.
ACE
July 5th, 2012
5:59 pm
Did any of these crack reporters question Jeff porter about what has been going on with Venters?
Trader Jack
July 5th, 2012
6:01 pm
nolie
July 5th, 2012
5:56 pm
our fair share at least Frankie. they are discovering that some of the modern mechanics are not as good as was thought a dozen years ao for one thing.
I also think that they draft more mediocre pitchers and push them harder with tweeks to get ahead.
Lots of things adding up together I guess. perhaps the PEDs era put it off for awhile by helping bodies rebound better. sure seems to have gotten even worse since the testing began in earnest…
Unfortunately, most of these young guys are expendable. If you burn one out or blow one up, there’s always another flame thrower waiting in the wings
UTKBrave
July 5th, 2012
6:01 pm
Grow up Frankie. You go to war with what you have. The pieces are all there to make a real run, just like I said. Hudson is a starter most teams would absolutely love to have. Same with Hanson. There were teams out there wanting Sheets services and I think we may very well have struck gold with him.
ACE
July 5th, 2012
6:01 pm
We know Fredi can’t manage or be a doctor, maybe a marriage counselor.
jeffrey
July 5th, 2012
6:02 pm
Why would Fredi be a doctor?
richbrave
July 5th, 2012
6:04 pm
b
ACE
July 5th, 2012
6:04 pm
Fredi could have a good business with all the arm injuries on the team.
Murph
July 5th, 2012
6:04 pm
One thing is certain… the Braves won’t go into the All Star break in last place. No matter how these last 4 games turn out, even if they lose all 4, the team can’t finish any lower than 4th in the division.
So…. we have that going for us.
NickB
July 5th, 2012
6:04 pm
along with what nolie said, i wouldn’t be surprised if one of the problems isn’t too many young pitchers throwing sliders and 95+ fastballs before age 20.
richbrave
July 5th, 2012
6:04 pm
Hasn’t VENTERS already had TJ?
Carl Farvman
July 5th, 2012
6:04 pm
Why is everyone so desperate for Bourne. Nice if the well-performing players make it–mostly for them–but who reallycares?
David O'Brien
July 5th, 2012
6:05 pm
Bourn on getting lot of support from fans (and teammates) but coming up short on the Final Vote tally:
“I want to tell them thank you, first of all. That meant a lot, having fans behind me the whole way. Everybody in the clubhouse, everybody that was on Twitter, even though I don’t have a Twitter page. Facebook. Whoever tried to vote for me, I just want to say thank you for all the support, for continuing to vote for me day in, day out. It didn’t work out, but it was a good run. Freese won it and he’ll be going to the All-Star game. I’m going to be taking four days of chilling and get ready for the second half.”
“It’s nice to know your teammates are behind you. They want you there just as much as you want to be there. They were coming up to me asking every day if I’d looked at [the voting results]. They said, we’re voting for you, man. I appreciate it. It just happened to not work out, but it’s all good.”
On Braves fan base: “They have a great fan base. That’s a good thing to know. Good fan base, they supported me the whole way through, and I appreciate it.”
On having his best numbers and not making it: “Well, somebody always gets left out, and I guess it was my time this time. Of course I wanted to go. Everybody wants to be part of the All-Star team; that’s a great honor. But this time it just didn’t work out. You can’t do anything about it. Just go to move on.”
Frankie
July 5th, 2012
6:06 pm
UTK,
Grow up? How bout grab some realization there fella. This pitching staff as currently constructed has no chance, NONE of making the playoffs. I agree this team is still built to win but it has to make some additions to get to fall baseball. I have been stating since EARLY MAY(when things were going well and Beachy was in the mix) that they still need a arm to get DEEP into the playoffs.
Your optimism is admirable but very misguided.
UTKBrave
July 5th, 2012
6:06 pm
Besides the fact pitchers like Dempster, Garza, Liriano and even Greinke aren’t really anything better than our top two starters, three of those pitchers will surely cost a team way too much. Braves have been built on developing their own guys and watching them shine in the majors. No different here.
Bat Masterson
July 5th, 2012
6:06 pm
Grow up Frankie. You go to war with what you have.
UTKBrave is Rumsfeld
Frankie
July 5th, 2012
6:07 pm
“So…. we have that going for us.”
Bill Murray could not have said it any better.
Tampa Gator
July 5th, 2012
6:07 pm
Did anyone post or write anything about Ben Sheets outing last night for Mississippi….(I hate typing that name)….He gave up consecutive triples to start the game and two runs in the first inning. Then settled down and pitched well for the first time in two years. 5 innings. 5 hits. 4 runs…and 6 strikeout. Not a bad start. Wishing him well….and the ability to get up to Atlanta and help the Braves out soon. It would be an amazing story if he can. Of course, he would then become a free agent at the end of the season and sign a 5 year, 10 mil a year contract with the Yankees.
Frankie
July 5th, 2012
6:08 pm
Is UTK really Ward????????
BravesQueen
July 5th, 2012
6:09 pm
Considering Sheets hadn’t pitched in 2 years, I’ll take that outing.
Frankie
July 5th, 2012
6:11 pm
Date night with the wife, no more dealing with knuckleheads.
Go Braves
richbrave
July 5th, 2012
6:12 pm
LUIS AVILAN has not favorably impressed me in his minor league career. So maybe he’s light’s out for one outing like all the one game wonders that everybody else throws at us……but I doubt it. He has a 21-30 minor league’s record [7 seasons]. 3.23 ERA and 1.32 WHIP in his second year in AA. 31 BB – 55 SO. 61.1 IP – 50 H. Why is he on the protected roster? He’s LH’d of course.
Carl Farvman
July 5th, 2012
6:12 pm
Uggla is a mini-popeye. No flexibilty, agility, etc., etc. A swinger, not hitter, and that is what you have.
Venters has struggled much, but should more than a second be spent on worrying about why we didn’t know about the injury…or if there is one. Are we going to all of a sudden start asking questions?
richbrave
July 5th, 2012
6:13 pm
BravesQueen
July 5th, 2012
6:09 pm
“……..Considering Sheets hadn’t pitched in 2 years, I’ll take that outing………..”
Me too!
UTKBrave
July 5th, 2012
6:14 pm
I was excited about Sheets outing. Bodes well for the Braves. This guy was one of the best in the business not long ago and he’s still pretty young. It would something if he came up and pitched our boys right into a world series. I remember his game against the Braves a few years back. Wow was he awesome!
BartnOrl
July 5th, 2012
6:14 pm
So…Heyward is okay today? He looked like he was in a lot of pain swinging last night.
richbrave
July 5th, 2012
6:15 pm
Tampa Gator
July 5th, 2012
6:07 pm
“……Did anyone post or write anything about Ben Sheets outing last night for Mississippi……”
I posted up his complete game line on the previous blog.
nolie
July 5th, 2012
6:15 pm
Chipper is 7 for 9 so of course Fredo sits him
keylargo
July 5th, 2012
6:18 pm
Y’all see how the Braves are with the phantom injury that turns out to be real. Venters healthy. Venters healthy. Venters healthy. Venters on the DL with probably a second TJ procedure.
What happened to Nate McLouth? Finally the sports hernia story comes out, but having your abdomen sewn back together is no 15 day DL trip
Who else has been passed of as finished but is really hurt in the last couple of years? Kawakami?
UTKBrave
July 5th, 2012
6:19 pm
Yet another negative comment. Chipper SHOULD be resting when necessary and another reason why he will be fresher later in the season when we will need his health more than ever.
richbrave
July 5th, 2012
6:20 pm
nolie
July 5th, 2012
5:20 pm
“…….I didn’t even know there were stripes to follow……..”
my all-time fav regarding ’stripes’
“What does three up and three down mean to you airman?”
“End of an inning” GOOD MORNING VIETNAM
ACE
July 5th, 2012
6:21 pm
Can’t wait to read the post game comments tonight. Fredi did you know anything about venters elbow problem You know you just have to keep running him out there.
keylargo
July 5th, 2012
6:21 pm
Chipper is 7 for 9 so of course Fredo sits him
Well, damn CJ has to play 2 innings in the next 3 days. You want to wear the man out? (sarcasm)
richbrave
July 5th, 2012
6:22 pm
m
richbrave
July 5th, 2012
6:22 pm
y
ACE
July 5th, 2012
6:23 pm
Later in the season won’t matter for Chipper if they don’t win some games now. Other than collecting presents and tributes.
ACE
July 5th, 2012
6:25 pm
Larussa has decided to pick Fredi for one of his coaches at the ASG due to all the help he gave them last september.
nolie
July 5th, 2012
6:25 pm
so let him rest when he cools off , not in the middle of a hot streal FCS
ACE
July 5th, 2012
6:25 pm
They also gave him a share of WS money.
nolie
July 5th, 2012
6:28 pm
Cox had made Jones the first pick of the 1990 First-Year Player Draft because he admired, not just his skills, but also liked the way he looked him in the eye and answered his questions.
Cox came away from their meeting convinced that Chipper was someone he could build a lineup around. That’s how it worked out. In 19 seasons, Chipper has been an eight-time All-Star and a National League Most Valuable Player.
NO MORE FREDI
July 5th, 2012
6:28 pm
1. Fire Fredi.
2. Trade Uggla and Minor
3. Let TP run the team rest of 2012. No long term deal off the top like Braves do. Make him prove what he can do first.
This season is another waste if Fredi remains. We all know it even if you like to get on here and fight with other bloggers just to be right.
stizz
July 5th, 2012
6:28 pm
How hard is it to spell a five letter name backwards sneaky Pete? How about you sneak your way to a dictionary.