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Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
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© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
2,718 comments Add your comment
Brian from SC
July 17th, 2012
11:42 am
Thanks for the link, Crazy. I don’t know why, but I had no idea this was happening.
Efrim
July 17th, 2012
11:44 am
Indeed, the Pirates will be in good shape. They already know they’ll have two first-round picks next year, one of them because they didn’t sign their Stanford pitcher Mark Appel, their first-rounder this year.
“We’d be picking [No.] 9, [and] wherever we’re picking based on our finish, so now we’re looking at three potential picks in the top 45 or so,” Smith said.
A very nice haul for the Pirates indeed. Not sure why the Cardinals would be ahead of our Braves. I guess we bring in less revenue than them, if I understand it correctly?
Efrim
July 17th, 2012
11:47 am
We are right on the cusp of that lottery. Probably just missed out if the Brewers, Cardinals and Tigers are in it but we are not. Sucks.
Brian from SC
July 17th, 2012
11:48 am
Someone tell me why Detroit receives revenue sharing, with their $130 million payroll…
Efrim
July 17th, 2012
11:48 am
Imagine 3 Lucas Sims added to your system? He’s currently our #4 rated prospect according to Keith Law. Be nice if we have an extra pick next year, although it’s going to suck to lose Bourn’s production.
ncscoots
July 17th, 2012
11:49 am
First place by end of month might be pushing it a little.
Hater.
first place by the end of August.
Double-hater.
Efrim
July 17th, 2012
11:49 am
Brian, I’m very confused by that. Why are they included and do the Cardinals and Brewers really bring in less revenue than the Braves? Confused, but maybe I’m not reading the rules correctly.
Brian from SC
July 17th, 2012
11:51 am
You’re reading the rules correctly, as far as I can see. The Cardinals and Brewers are either one of the ten lowest revenue teams, or the ten smallest market teams. I think they would fit in the “small market” category. I didn’t know St. Louis was that small.
The most confusing thing is that, according to this article, Detroit receives revenue sharing money. How on earth do they get a piece of that pie?
ncscoots
July 17th, 2012
11:52 am
two walks and 43 strikeouts in 24 innings
Nintendo.
Maybe that should be Kimbrel’s new nickname. Or X-Box, or something. Somebody help me here.
Capt.Mudd
July 17th, 2012
11:53 am
Yeah….John Lannan, WAR over last 4…..1.2, 1.4, 1.1, 1.3} and, WHIP over same period….1.42, 1.46, 1.56, 1.35. He’s got a 5 million salary and, of course, DC ain’t eating it so: any takers? Seems like a decent 5 guy.
Brian from SC
July 17th, 2012
11:54 am
I like Nintendo as a nickname.
Hillbilly
July 17th, 2012
11:55 am
Nintendo should get a few Cy Young votes if he keeps this up. Lord have mercy.
Capt.Mudd
July 17th, 2012
11:56 am
@ncscoots…..how about “Killerbrew?”
monty
July 17th, 2012
11:56 am
I said the other day after the trade that Redmond was the overall winner in the deal.
ncscoots
July 17th, 2012
11:58 am
how about “Killerbrew?”
You and I might like it, Capt, but half the people here wouldn’t get the reference, LOL. We need one of them new-fangled, video-game nicknames, for the youth among us.
Brian from SC
July 17th, 2012
11:58 am
Gagne won the Cy Young a few years ago, with that big saves number and other gaudy stats. But Kimbrel is actually pitching better than he did in terms of allowing baserunners and striking out batters. If Kimbrel had these numbers, and got to 50 saves (which he won’t), he would definitely have a shot at a Cy.
Lew
July 17th, 2012
11:58 am
scoots – The Instructional Video
Brian from SC
July 17th, 2012
11:59 am
All we need is for DOB or Jim Powell to tweet out the Nintendo nickname. Peter Moylan would seal the deal.
Lew
July 17th, 2012
11:59 am
Funny how we no longer hear how Kimbrel walks too many batters to be effective.
Hillbilly
July 17th, 2012
11:59 am
And I have to admit. I ease up to the edge of my seat when Kimbrel starts his inning. I’m sure I look like a little kid at the gates of Disney World for the first time. Wide-eyed and awe-struck…every time I watch him pitch.
ncscoots
July 17th, 2012
12:00 pm
Lord have mercy.
Yeah, exactly. If you even brought up the notion that a pitcher might, possibly, improbably produce such numbers, you’d get laughed out of the bar and they wouldn’t let you take your beer, either.
Brian from SC
July 17th, 2012
12:00 pm
Kimbrel actually is on pace for around 50…so I correct myself. He has a good shot to get there.
Hillbilly
July 17th, 2012
12:03 pm
Funny how we no longer hear how Kimbrel walks too many batters to be effective.
Yeah, Lew, that was a genuine concern when he first broke in. Don’t know if that’s all Billy Wagner in his ear or what, but he cured that ailment fairly efficiently.
ACE
July 17th, 2012
12:04 pm
I hope being back in Atlanta makes the Melkdud revert to the way he played when he was here.
ncscoots
July 17th, 2012
12:05 pm
I hope being back in Atlanta makes the Melkdud revert to the way he played when he was here.
Better hope he gains 30 pounds on the plane flight, then.
Murph
July 17th, 2012
12:06 pm
Craig “BFG” Kimbrel…
BFG is a term used in many online first-person shooters (I think it started with Quake) that stands for “Big F**king Gun”.
Capt.Mudd
July 17th, 2012
12:07 pm
Let’s see now…….Kimbrel, Kim’s b’s, ninjabig, theKimballers? Just braindumping
Brian from SC
July 17th, 2012
12:08 pm
I prefer nicknames that are a little less crass…
Frankie
July 17th, 2012
12:08 pm
Craig Kimbrel 2011 September ERA 4.74
Add a starter next couple of weeks and no way this guy duplicates last season and much stronger with only 60 something appearances year’s end.
Big ace in the hole the Braves have that others do not.
monty
July 17th, 2012
12:08 pm
I remember when JV and EO had lights out stuff.
Trader Jack
July 17th, 2012
12:08 pm
ncscoots
July 17th, 2012
12:05 pm
I hope being back in Atlanta makes the Melkdud revert to the way he played when he was here.
Better hope he gains 30 pounds on the plane flight, then.
Or a couple bottles of Jack Daniels
flange1
July 17th, 2012
12:08 pm
I like BFG to go with BMFT!
Frankie
July 17th, 2012
12:09 pm
I like it Murph
BFG Kimbrell
Hillbilly
July 17th, 2012
12:10 pm
Speaking of Wagner’s pupils, I watched Mike Dunn get his first career save lastnight. Man he’s got the stuff to be a really good reliever, but he’s got to keep that walk rate down.
Brian from SC
July 17th, 2012
12:11 pm
After all the ups and downs, we’re in mid-July and only four teams in the big leagues have a better record than Atlanta. Only one that really matters, though…
DiamondbackMac
July 17th, 2012
12:12 pm
Hillbilly
. Wide-eyed and awe-struck…every time I watch him pitch.
I’m the same way. The kid is amazing.
Fly on the Wall
July 17th, 2012
12:13 pm
ncscoots
July 17th, 2012
11:52 am
two walks and 43 strikeouts in 24 innings
Nintendo.
Maybe that should be Kimbrel’s new nickname. Or X-Box, or something. Somebody help me here.
I call him ROY.
Murph
July 17th, 2012
12:13 pm
I prefer nicknames that are a little less crass…
Do you talk baseball over tea and crumpets or something?
Cripes this country is over-sensitive.
Capt.Mudd
July 17th, 2012
12:13 pm
ncscoots 4 honeybuns….Murph likes big fries on the go…..Hillbilly soars by eagles….and, as usual, Capt.Mudd is in too deep.
TennesseePaul
July 17th, 2012
12:13 pm
How the picks are valued might vary from team to team, and trying to get a sense of their worth in an open market definitely falls under the “to be determined” category, but it does add something to the trading landscape.
Didn’t know about this, but it brings with it so many more questions. The valuation of the pick would seem to me at least to be based around the Commissioners Slot value. Perhaps a bit higher, or lower, but that, to me, would seem the logical place to begin the valuation of the pick. And secondly, how does winning or obtaining one or more of these picks impact the overall funds for the 2013 draft? Does the teams draft fund cap get expanded now that they have more picks or are they now having to squeeze in extra picks into their cap?
monty
July 17th, 2012
12:15 pm
I don’t guess K-K-K would be a good name for Kimmie.
Murph
July 17th, 2012
12:15 pm
Other video game terms that might apply:
Boss – The biggest/baddest enemy you fight at the end of the game
Frag – To kill
Zerg – Decimating your opponents with a rush-style attack
ncscoots
July 17th, 2012
12:16 pm
After all the ups and downs, we’re in mid-July and only four teams in the big leagues have a better record than Atlanta.
A good April, then muddled along at .500 in May and June with the slumps, injuries, and pitching, and now gassing it back up in July. There really haven’t been as many ups and downs as one might think. Just standard baseball season performance trajectories.
Frankie
July 17th, 2012
12:17 pm
“Do you talk baseball over tea and crumpets or something?
Cripes this country is over-sensitive.”
Classic.
Brian from SC
July 17th, 2012
12:18 pm
If the season ended today, Kimbrel would have the sixth-lowest season WHIP of any pitcher with at least 35 IP.
He would have the fourth-highest strikeout rate ever.
Put them together, and as I posted yesterday, Kimbrel would have the highest strikeout-to-baserunner ratio in the history of baseball, with at least 35 IP.
Frankie
July 17th, 2012
12:18 pm
Last time Braves team won 8 in a row?
Sopheee
July 17th, 2012
12:19 pm
I like BFG. MFIKY-like.
Brian from SC
July 17th, 2012
12:20 pm
I think we’re getting away from the correct “video game” concept. The whole point was that Kimbrel’s numbers are the kind you would think you could only do by playing a baseball video game. So all these nicknames dealing with shooting video games don’t click.
ncscoots
July 17th, 2012
12:20 pm
If the season ended today, Kimbrel would have the sixth-lowest season WHIP of any pitcher with at least 35 IP.
Geez louise, you’re saying there are five guys with better WHIP???
Check those guys for aliens.
Frankie
July 17th, 2012
12:20 pm
late May 2010
The Bravery
July 17th, 2012
12:21 pm
BFG is from Wolfenstein
ncscoots
July 17th, 2012
12:22 pm
Oh wait, Brian, you’re saying in history, not current season, right? My bad.
Brian from SC
July 17th, 2012
12:22 pm
Frankie, 9-game streak 5/26 to 6/03 in 2010.
Brian from SC
July 17th, 2012
12:22 pm
Sorry, Kimbrel…somehow the word “ever” got taken out of there.
The Bravery
July 17th, 2012
12:22 pm
Im sorry not Wolfenstein but Doom
Brian from SC
July 17th, 2012
12:23 pm
I mean…sorry, scoots…I need to slow down.
Bat Masterson
July 17th, 2012
12:23 pm
Wide-eyed and awe-struck…every time I watch him pitch.
Baby Face has me somewhat freaked out. I mean seven pitch saves with two strike outs and such. What was he in the All star game, seven pitches, two Ks?
Efrim
July 17th, 2012
12:23 pm
John (Tennessee)
Rumors abound regarding the Braves making a move for a top starter — Greinke, Shields, Dempster. Do you see that happening or are they more likely to go for a mid-rotation guy like Liriano or Garza?
Jayson Stark (12:12 PM)
I hear they’re only interested in a top-of-the-rotation starter, a difference-maker, an impact arm, etc. But who is that other than Greinke? Unless someone surprising pops onto the market in the next two weeks, Greinke is the only guy who fits their mold (assuming the Phillies won’t trade Hamels within the division). And he has all the dollar signs attached to him. Ben Sheets could make this whole discussion irrelevant if he keeps pitching the way he pitched Sunday.
Capt.Mudd
July 17th, 2012
12:24 pm
“Just standard baseball performance trajectories.”
Can I make an analogy for that? Attn. Warning two dozen raw oysters preclude this standard task!
Murph
July 17th, 2012
12:25 pm
There aren’t terms that are specific to baseball video games, though…
Things like BFG, Frag, Boss… those are pretty universal. Hell, the 4 year old says “frag” and she’s never played a 1st person shooter in her life.
Brian from SC
July 17th, 2012
12:29 pm
Also, if the season ended today, Kimbrel would be the second pitcher with over 35 IP to collect three times as many strikeouts as total bases allowed (62 to 18 right now). Al Albuquerque was the first last year.
Kimbrel’s strikeout-to-total bases ratio would be the highest of all time.
Brian from SC
July 17th, 2012
12:31 pm
“Nintendo” is a nickname that anyone would be able to instantly recognize what the reference is for. Ah, like a video game pitcher.
You call him Frag, and me and about a million other people would just scratch their heads. Even worse for an acronym like BFG.
Plus, Frag and things like that don’t do anything to convey the idea of “this guy puts up video game stats”.
brian
July 17th, 2012
12:33 pm
from Jayson Stark – this would be a dream scenario
Derek (Texas)
Any chance the Braves could pry King Felix away from the Mariners. What prospects would need to be included?
Jayson Stark (12:30 PM)
The Mariners keep saying he’s not available. Other teams say they’re not so sure. So we’ll find out who’s right. If they’re really willing to talk about Felix, that would change the entire market — for everybody. But I’m still dubious.
brian
July 17th, 2012
12:33 pm
from Jayson Stark – this would be a dream scenario
Derek (Texas)
Any chance the Braves could pry King Felix away from the Mariners. What prospects would need to be included?
Jayson Stark (12:30 PM)
The Mariners keep saying he’s not available. Other teams say they’re not so sure. So we’ll find out who’s right. If they’re really willing to talk about Felix, that would change the entire market — for everybody. But I’m still dubious.
come on wren
July 17th, 2012
12:33 pm
Frank Wren on 680 the fan.
Efrim
July 17th, 2012
12:33 pm
Shields seems pretty close to Greinke when discussing top of the rotation types. It’s gonna be pretty hard to acquire one. Those type of arms don’t come cheap.
Hillbilly
July 17th, 2012
12:34 pm
Including the All Star Game Kimbrel has struck out 8 of the last 9 batters who have stepped in the box against him. Ike Davis got him for a single.
He’s struck out 16 out of the 21 batters he has faced (All Star Game included) since his loss against Arizona.
Efrim
July 17th, 2012
12:34 pm
Any chance the Braves could pry King Felix away from the Mariners. What prospects would need to be included?
I do not believe we have enough to get that guy. No way. Just don’t have the bats in the system.
Brian from SC
July 17th, 2012
12:34 pm
Chris Young must have really gotten Kimbrel angry.
brian
July 17th, 2012
12:35 pm
for King Felix – we would be talking Minor, Teheran, Bethancourt, Salcedo and probably more. I would sure try and do that then lock him up for 5 years $100 million though I know he would probably get more
Brian from SC
July 17th, 2012
12:36 pm
Interesting that in the last 9 seasons, including this one, only once have the Braves won more than 7 games in a row. (That May-June 2010 9-game streak)
So the Braves can do something tonight that has been very rare in recent years.
Efrim
July 17th, 2012
12:37 pm
DOB, since you were talking minor league injuries earlier(Gattis), what’s the status of Matt Lipka? He’s been on the DL for a while now for Lynchburg….Thanks!
brian
July 17th, 2012
12:37 pm
agree Efrim – we would have to include 2 of Teheran, Minor and Delgado if not all 3 just to get things started
CrαZy
July 17th, 2012
12:40 pm
Forget using an acronym or a cute little kid friendly nickname!! Let’s just call him what he is!! (Craig “Bad Mother F-er” Kimbrel)
Brian from SC
July 17th, 2012
12:41 pm
Kimbrel’s given up a .151 slugging percentage this year. That would be tied for the lowest of all time by a pitcher with 35+ IP.
His .337 OPS given up would be the second-lowest. (Mike Adams in 2009 was .315; he’s also the other one with a .151 SLG)
Shaun
July 17th, 2012
12:43 pm
Efrim, agreed. I think the only way the Braves have a chance to get King Felix is by giving up a package that is something like Teheran, Delgado, Minor and Bethancourt…and even that may not be enough, since the M’s may not want a deal loaded with just pitching prospects.
CB
July 17th, 2012
12:46 pm
Why do we talk about trades for players their teams say are not available? I heard Dwight Howard is available.
phil
July 17th, 2012
12:47 pm
Lew
July 17th, 2012
11:59 am
Funny how we no longer hear how Kimbrel walks too many batters to be effective.
****************
Probably because he’s quit doing most of it?
I still want to see him get em out when we hit the make or break game later in the year. He can do it, obviously, but it’s a hump he needs to cross mentally. Meanwhile, as he’s doing it, I’ll be silently watching with one eye from behind a pillow!
Efrim
July 17th, 2012
12:47 pm
and even that may not be enough, since the M’s may not want a deal loaded with just pitching prospects.
Since they have three of them in Double-A and up(Danny Hultzen, Taijuan Walker and James Paxton). They’d need bats, and we don’t have many.
Brian from SC
July 17th, 2012
12:47 pm
Kimbrel’s FIP (according to Fangraphs) is 0.75. Hahahaha. Silly.
Efrim
July 17th, 2012
12:48 pm
Sort of interesting that you’re seeing teams with farm systems loaded with upside arms and a lack of position player prospects. It’s been the trend, imo. Gotta draft and develop those bats. Pitching prospects aren’t an equitable currency as they used to be, imo.
Jimmy
July 17th, 2012
12:50 pm
Mike Adams?
ChattTownBrian
July 17th, 2012
12:52 pm
We got Greinke?
Shaun
July 17th, 2012
12:53 pm
The Mariners keep saying he’s not available. Other teams say they’re not so sure.
I would guess every player in baseball is available to one degree or another. It’s just a matter of how much that player’s team can get and is willing to take. The Mariners saying he isn’t available can possibly increase the likelihood that a team blows them away with an offer, and it certainly doesn’t hurt. But if some team with a top farm system offered them, say, 3 of their top 5 prospects, I’m sure the M’s would listen.
Brian from SC
July 17th, 2012
12:54 pm
Just for fun, I went back to every game Kimbrel has pitched since May 8th and pretended the Braves played without an outfield. Any ball hit to the outfield, and I was a little nice to Kimbrel and gave the batter a double.
If you do that, Kimbrel’s ERA since May 8th would go up to 1.50.
ChattTownBrian
July 17th, 2012
12:55 pm
Wren just said he’s just fine with the rotation as is because Sheets is here. Sheets is you acquisition. Frank also says he loves Just For Men …
Memphis
July 17th, 2012
12:56 pm
What about Teheran, Medlen, Bethancourt, Salcedo, and Pastornicky for King Felix? You may have to include someone who is big league ready (Medlen)
phil
July 17th, 2012
12:56 pm
I wish I still had the capacity to truly pretend….
brian
July 17th, 2012
12:58 pm
I cannot believe that Stark also said the Marlins would listen on Stanton. I would listen only very briefly and if I didn’t hear Dylan Bundy and Manny Machado as the first 2 names on the deal I would hang up.
phil
July 17th, 2012
12:58 pm
All I keep hearing, without having checked or caring to check, is how awful Stinky Grienke has been the last month or so, aside from his well documented anxiety issues of the past….
Why would we want to sell off part of the farm for this guy?
brian
July 17th, 2012
1:00 pm
Wren is going to say he is happy with the rotation. What else is he going to say – I am desparate for a starter?
Sheets will give the Braves another solid arm, strengthen our rotation, and give Wren more solid footing when negotiating for a trade for another pitcher
phil
July 17th, 2012
1:00 pm
We should simply trade Hinske and Diaz for Giancarlo….
It’s fair, it’s two for one (or two and a half) and the Marlins would then be set in the OF corners for years to come….
ChattTownBrian
July 17th, 2012
1:00 pm
FW: “Sheets is an ace, he’s always been … when he’s healthy. He’s healthy, so there you have it. Also, he said he digs my hair.”
Memphis
July 17th, 2012
1:02 pm
Then we should trade Mike Minor for Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum.
Trader Jack
July 17th, 2012
1:02 pm
Brian from SC
July 17th, 2012
12:31 pm
“Nintendo” is a nickname that anyone would be able to instantly recognize what the reference is for. Ah, like a video game pitcher.
You call him Frag, and me and about a million other people would just scratch their heads. Even worse for an acronym like BFG.
Plus, Frag and things like that don’t do anything to convey the idea of “this guy puts up video game stats”.
Nah – There is only one nickname for him
“The Killer”
Justified by what he does when he enters a game
ChattTownBrian
July 17th, 2012
1:04 pm
phil, two players for one? Um, no. Would you trade two pieces of pizza for one piece? Damn, some of y’all kill me.
CB
July 17th, 2012
1:04 pm
phil,I actually like that trade scenario. It has legs.
tony austin
July 17th, 2012
1:05 pm
Reading all the “rumors” and I have to wonder who the Dodgers aren’t in on.
phil
July 17th, 2012
1:05 pm
Well, if has to be just one for Giancarlo, let’s dump Heavy Hinske since Diaz will smack a lefty around now and then…
Steve from OH
July 17th, 2012
1:06 pm
Wren considered Derek Lowe a top of the rotation starter. So, the definition can be fairly broad.
Of course Frank is gonna say that. If we acquire a pitcher at the deadline, Frank is gonna say he considers that guy a “top-of-the-rotation” starter, regardless of the veracity of that claim. What else is he gonna say…”well, he’s not great, but he’s sure better than Minor! World Series, here we come!!”
Whether he actually believes it will be an entirely different story. I doubt he did when he signed Lowe.