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Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
2,505 comments Add your comment
keyLargo
November 22nd, 2012
12:25 pm
‘Back when the Lakers were for sale, Mark Cuban specifically said he had no interest in owning the Braves. It was a point blank question from a reported and he mentioned the Braves by name, saying he had no interest.
Bill Clinton
November 22nd, 2012
12:38 pm
I am pretty sure no means, yes, keyLargo.
Ken Stallings
November 22nd, 2012
12:57 pm
Folks, the rightie/leftie thing isn’t what side of the plate the hitter hits from. It is entirely a measure of how the hitter himself hits righty and lefty pitchers!
Josh Hamilton’s value is that he hits left handed pitchers even better than he does right handed pitchers! But, his performance is similar for both. For his career, Hamilton’s BA against LH pitchers is .301 and against RH pitchers ..278. However, his OPS is even more the same. Against LH pitchers, Hamilton’s OPS is .924 and against RH pitchers is .933.
What does that mean? It means he crushes both RH and LH pitchers! Like I wrote, if Hamilton wants the money, the Braves haven’t a shot in the world. But, I think this is one of those very rare cases where money is not the entire objective. $18 million a year for five years is not chump change! Hamilton would have the opportunity to become vastly wealthy and happy playing in a more friendly southeastern environment.
BTW: he’s from Raleigh, NC. I think I may have wrote earlier he was from Kinston. I should have known better since I’m from Rocky Mount and graduated from NC State in Raleigh.
You plug Hamilton at the four hole and don’t give a care what arm the pitcher uses. The pitcher will be the one fearful!
George_George
November 22nd, 2012
12:59 pm
HAPPY THANKSGIVEING ALL
Venice Jim
November 22nd, 2012
1:48 pm
Everyone taking George’s advice…
keyLargo
November 22nd, 2012
1:52 pm
Bill Clintion – it all depends what you definition of “is” is. Is the team for sale? Is the owners committee going to approve Cuban if Cuban “is” really interested. It is what it is.
Venice Jim
November 22nd, 2012
1:52 pm
Watching the Thanksgiving episode of the old Bob Newhart Show, which includes watching a William and Mary football game on TV (definitely artistic license, as we have never played on a Thursday, let alone Thanksgiving)…
Blog Monitor
November 22nd, 2012
2:04 pm
just read this article from SI about the Rae Carruth story, it’s a very powerful read if you have the time.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1206007/1/index.htm
VaBravesFan
November 22nd, 2012
2:36 pm
Jonny Gomes who signed a 2 year 10 million deal will most likely produce a 20+ Homer season playing in Fenway. While I can understand why he took the multi-year deal, he most likely could have taken a 1 year deal (Like Cody Ross) have a very good year and cash in bigger next offseason. Even tho he would be 33 years old at the time I bet he would do better than 2 years 10 million if he produced similar numbers to what Cody Ross did in 2012.
Gomes is a part-time player and he was able to get 5 million a season. He produced a nice .868 OPS in 99 games with Oakland in 2012, this is the type of signing that will make someone like Cody Ross more expensive… While I’m not high on Ross at all, he’s better than Gomes for sure, he’s been a fringy everyday type for 5 consecutive seasons, has the ability to provide solid Defense at all 3 outfield spots, and can mash LHP. So if Gomes is gonna get 5 million a season it wouldn’t surprise me to see Cody Ross get close to 10 million a season.
Hell, Michael Cuddyer has been a solid everyday player for years and was able to get a 3 year 31.5 million deal. I view Ross a few clicks behind the player Cuddyer was at the time of the contract signing. But right now there basically the same guy, except Cody can play a OK centerfield.
Juan
November 22nd, 2012
2:43 pm
MLB Network 1995 World series
VaBravesFan
November 22nd, 2012
3:35 pm
Braves GM Frank Wren
Internal starting rotation options: Tommy Hanson, Mike Minor, Tim Hudson, Randall Delgado, Brandon Beachy, Kris Medlen, Paul Maholm, Jair Jurrjens, Julio Teheran
“We feel like our rotation is one of our strengths. In our rotation and our bullpen we’re basically returning everyone and we have some dynamic young pitchers that are one verge of being a part of our rotation or on our club, so we do have depth.
“I always cringe when people say you have too much pitching because you never have enough pitching. But you also have to look at your club honestly and say ‘where do we have pieces that we can deal from.’ I think our pitching will enable us to fill some of our needs if we want to move one or so of those guys. It’s something we’re open to; it’s not something we’re absolutely going to do.”
Mike McDermont
November 22nd, 2012
3:48 pm
Happy Thanksgiving
Mike McDermont
November 22nd, 2012
3:50 pm
…Well, so far, all I see is a lot of hot air, bargain basement shopping by Braves management. So far, our biggest move, other than wasting $12 mil picking up McCann’s 2013 option, was sign Laird to replace David Ross, which is a serious downgrade.
The Marlins have a fire sale, which Toronto and Arizona are happy to oblige. Detroit signs Tori Hunter to a 2 year, $26 mil contract, giving the Braves a much needed right handed power bat in left field. Toronto signs Melky to a 2 year, $16 mil contract.
The Braves are targeting B.J. Upton? OOH, AAH! The reality is that it’s going to take the Braves a lot more than 5 years, $75 mil to sign Upton. Upton and Bourn will both sign for contracts approaching $100 mil in value. Bank on it.
I remember when the bidding wars on A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe happened 4 years ago. Luckily the Yankees out bid the Braves for Burnett, who was given a 5 year, $85 mil contract, or we’d been stuck with a worse contract than the one we ended up giving Lowe at 4 years, $60 mil.
Mike McDermont
November 22nd, 2012
3:52 pm
We dont need Cody Ross to hit 30 homers a year in order for him to be productive for the Braves. We dont need him to mash right handed pitching either. Play good defense and hit righties ok, then smash lefties and provide some protection in our line-up hitting behind Freeman. He’s be worth $8 a year for 3 years doing that.
Blog Monitor
November 22nd, 2012
4:21 pm
queue Dentz…
Nowhere man
November 22nd, 2012
4:29 pm
Happy Thanksgiving to all the bloggers. The ones I have agreeded with and disagreeded with.
A special thank you to the troops.
PuddyCat
November 22nd, 2012
4:37 pm
I hate it when an organization isn’t newsworthy enough building their team still 4 months away from the season? How inconsiderate of them?
PuddyCat
November 22nd, 2012
4:40 pm
Did my dry and sarcastic sense of reality slap anyone in the mouth?
kenhotlanta
November 22nd, 2012
4:44 pm
No, it was the Incomprehensibility of your post that showed you for the troll you are.
Bobby's Cox
November 22nd, 2012
4:48 pm
Pretty sure Upton is a better gamble than Burnett/Lowe. Lowe we needed at the time with lack of depth. Same with Burnett, who might have pitched better here than in NY, just like he’s pitching well in Pittsburg now. Upton is a lot younger. He plays every day. He has some speed and some power, and is entering his prime. He’s not the top candidate fans would like, but if you get him you get him for the prime of his career. That would not be a bad signing. Not the best, but not bad.
PuddyCat
November 22nd, 2012
4:49 pm
Not very nice. My husband does not agree with you punk azz
Trypto Fan
November 22nd, 2012
5:17 pm
Do the chop.
…Tomorrow.
Trypto Fan
November 22nd, 2012
5:32 pm
My gut instinct is stuffed. I feel like I’m going to BABIP.
Venice Jim
November 22nd, 2012
5:34 pm
Thanks, nowhere man – back at you…
VaBravesFan
November 22nd, 2012
5:53 pm
How bout them REDSKINS!
Tumbledown
November 22nd, 2012
6:10 pm
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
kenhotlanta
November 22nd, 2012
6:22 pm
PuddyCat: My apologies, I may have mistook you for someone else who was posting under assumed names.
raffy
November 22nd, 2012
7:05 pm
Happy Thanksgiving DOB & All – let’s roll the dice with Hamilton ( he is the Natural) and put Juan on 3rd thus
Simmons
Prado
Heyward
Hamilton
Freeman
Uggla
Francisco
Laird/McCann
Pretty powerful lineup;sign Reid in case someone is injured or Juan falters
Replacing Bourn & Chip with Hamilton & Juan is a boost –
if Juan can’t handle it- Hammy to left – Martin to 3rd & Reid/ Constanza/ Pastornicky/ Schaefer to center
Let’s go Braves!!!!!!!!!
Powderfinger
November 22nd, 2012
7:05 pm
Best wishes to all this Thanksgiving. And special thanks to DOB and Carroll for putting up with all of us all year long. Consider this training for becoming a parent some day…
George_George
November 22nd, 2012
7:22 pm
HAMILTON sure would be nicem but I
George_George
November 22nd, 2012
7:23 pm
HANILTON would be nice,but I don’t see it happening.
TommyP
November 22nd, 2012
8:01 pm
A little shocked no MLB team sees Bryan LaHair as a nice piece in a platoon at either 1B or RF. While horrid vs. lefties, he raked against righthanders.
Powderfinger
November 22nd, 2012
8:05 pm
From what I’ve read, LaHair wanted to go to Japan…
TheOnlyBravesFan
November 22nd, 2012
8:14 pm
what a showing by those Skins… gonna be good soon.
Lew
November 22nd, 2012
8:39 pm
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and can still move after stuffing themselves.
brian_d
November 22nd, 2012
8:42 pm
Happy Thanksgiving Lew and all of the denizens. I am grateful for all of you, well most all of you. Thanks to Dave and Carroll.
jbill
November 22nd, 2012
8:51 pm
Cody Ross is not worth 3 yrs and 24 million per the new math stats on MLB post. More like 5 million a year and should go back to Boston with little park.
@3:52 dream on.
Disgusted
November 22nd, 2012
8:52 pm
Gomes is a part-time player and he was able to get 5 million a season. He produced a nice .868 OPS in 99 games with Oakland in 2012, this is the type of signing that will make someone like Cody Ross more expensive… While I’m not high on Ross at all, he’s better than Gomes for sure, he’s been a fringy everyday type for 5 consecutive seasons, has the ability to provide solid Defense at all 3 outfield spots, and can mash LHP. So if Gomes is gonna get 5 million a season it wouldn’t surprise me to see Cody Ross get close to 10 million a season.
@VA Brave — I agree and the 3 yrs at 25 – 27 mil that C. Ross is alledgedly asking for is about right in this market.
The cost of good talent is going up and up. And if you do not pay, you do not get your guy I have said that enough on the blog.
Hey, look at Dwayne Wise who is a replacement level player at BEST and he got a one yr $700,000 deal. Remember when we paid Jack Wilson a mil for basically nothing?
A good sub will go in the 3 to 5 mil range — do not be surprised if a good roving sub infielder like a Jeff Keppinger gets about what Johnny Gomes got. I say he gets in between what David Ross and Keppinger got — 2 yrs at 4 mil per yr.
What do you think blog.
richbrave
November 22nd, 2012
8:54 pm
I think you’re disgusted
richbrave
November 22nd, 2012
8:55 pm
Burp! HAPPY THANKSGIVING all.
richbrave
November 22nd, 2012
8:56 pm
Hail to the REDSKINS.
RHIII is awesome!
Disgusted
November 22nd, 2012
8:57 pm
Cody Ross is not worth 3 yrs and 24 million per the new math stats on MLB post. More like 5 million a year and should go back to Boston with little park.
@3:52 dream on.
The new math means nothing — Ross is a better player than both David Ross and Johnny Gomes and look at what they got.
Ross has been pretty much an everyday player and he will get his three yrs between the 20 to 27 mil he is asking for.
We can live with or without C. Ross. But someone will give it to him.
Look at what career subs are getting jbill. It is what it is — not saying I like it but business is business.
Scares me what Martin Prado will get — he is better than any of em.
I am not convinced that we are going to spend that $25 million that is supposed to be there.
Disgusted
November 22nd, 2012
8:59 pm
Yea Rich Brave — I am disgusted with the business of the game as it is today.
Disgusted
November 22nd, 2012
9:02 pm
“A little shocked no MLB team sees Bryan LaHair as a nice piece in a platoon at either 1B or RF. While horrid vs. lefties, he raked against righthanders”
Not enough of a track record. That he did not make the majors till he was 29 is that if you are pursuing that typd of player, you are not committed to win, you are hoping to win.
Disgusted
November 22nd, 2012
9:08 pm
Mike Mc Dermot — What people are forgetting that Cody Ross has hit and hit for some HR and double power before he played in Fenway.
They are caught up in these new math stats that are overrated.
And his OBP is not all that bad. He can give you 50 plus XBH and with decent enough D and a .325 OBP, you can do alot worse.
If subs are getting 5 mil — what are starters worth
Venice Jim
November 22nd, 2012
9:36 pm
Home from a big meal with cab’s family – I get to cook tomorrow and do it all over again…
Ken Stallings
November 22nd, 2012
9:37 pm
People are making good points about role and platoon level players receiving $1 to $3 million per year contracts. But, I think we lose sight of the relative value once something gets into the millions. For average Joe’s like us, it turns into Monopoly money!
Nevertheless, the salaries quoted fall right into line with BJ Upton getting something like $15 million a year, and Michael Bourn receiving something in the $16-18 million a year range (which I still think will end up closer to $15 million than $20 million).
It isn’t the money necessarily. It is spending that money for the optimal player who fills the need best. You’re a lot better off spending $18 million of the optimal fit vice $15 million on the partial fit.
The luxury the Red Sox have is plenty enough money to overcome bad investments. The Braves have to spend much more efficiently. No matter what you spend, you can only put nine players on the field at once, and you can only have a certain number in the pen and on the bench. After the disaster of failing to make the playoffs two straight years, the Red Sox are in mass rebuilding mode for the second time in two years. They are also now on their third manager in three seasons before the third season even started!
Billy Beane in Oakland has proven again and again that the numerical limit of a roster can allow a very well crafted team to compete on a very small budget, but only sometimes and with gaps in between. His genuis also shows that the best teams in the playoffs have the money to match talent for talent nearly every year. Beane sold the theory of on base average as the single most important offensive stat. Getting on base and advancing runners already on base is everything in baseball.
Doing that, you wear out the elite pitchers. You keep innings alive and never allow the opponent a place to tailor a rally to find the available unproductive out to limit the damage. Upton is a square peg trying to fit the round hole of Beane’s philosophy. He can hit the homer and drive in the RBI, but more often he’s going to kill the rally with unproductive outs.
I think Wren still adheres to the old school analysis of talent. I think he puts too much emphasis on power and insufficient emphasis on OBA. A bandbox like Yankee Stadium can allow a power laden team to win. But, the best Yankee teams that won WS titles also featured hitter like Bernie Williams, Jason Giambi, and Derreck Jeter who put the ball in play and wore pitchers down.
Some on this blog like to say the Atlanta media is part of the “problem” with the Braves and their lack of post season success. However, would it not be ironic that the “in your face” New York and Boston media was a prime reason why a team like the Braves got a player like Hamilton for a lot less money than the Yankees and Red Sox would have eagerly paid!
Because Josh Hamilton is that kind of rare player who combines all the power a team could desire with the consistent on base average that Billy Beane would covet.
Venice Jim
November 22nd, 2012
10:21 pm
RHIII is awesome!
Rex Harrison the 3rd?
Venice Jim
November 22nd, 2012
11:34 pm
Some nights seem made for padding…
Venice Jim
November 22nd, 2012
11:34 pm
And general inanity…
Venice Jim
November 22nd, 2012
11:35 pm
Which is, of course, the general tenor of my posts…
Mixxo
November 22nd, 2012
11:38 pm
Well, if that Pats/Jets game wasn’t the cat’s meow!
Jets looked like my Falcons for cryin’ out loud.
Venice Jim
November 22nd, 2012
11:57 pm
I suppose such alleged equality of the Jets and Falcons should not come as a surprise…
Mixxo
November 23rd, 2012
12:00 am
…especially if you’ve seen the way the Falcons have played the last two weeks.
Venice Jim
November 23rd, 2012
12:04 am
But they did manage to win despite 5 interceptions…
Venice Jim
November 23rd, 2012
12:26 am
And a pleasant good night to all…
uga-brave
November 23rd, 2012
12:35 am
tater, seven pars two birds, got cut, hit the ball solid all day.
played with reallly good sticks.
tippped it up and played pretty well.
jbill
November 23rd, 2012
12:36 am
Disgusted– with the new math and the way players are getting paid this year…wouldn’t it benefit the Braves to trade for a CF and LF instead of Free Agents…Woudn’t it be cheaper to trade for Justin Upton and Span or Flower are ??
About C Ross..he has his good and bad points but he still wants to go back to Red Sox …Bowman was the one that said that about CR.
uga-brave
November 23rd, 2012
12:39 am
skins game was a c note man .
everyone made par. birdie or better.
uga-brave
November 23rd, 2012
12:43 am
i stuck a wedge on # 3 and drained and maid it,
uga-brave
November 23rd, 2012
12:47 am
other birdie was on a par fiive.
hit a spoon. a four iron and a sand wedge.
jbill
November 23rd, 2012
12:48 am
0ps..Bowden spelling
uga-brave
November 23rd, 2012
12:55 am
actually, i need new gripps
victory cords. flange gets it.
got old ping e twos. black dots.
got a old callaway 13 d lofted club.
uga-brave
November 23rd, 2012
12:57 am
ping eye twos.
black dots.
standard lie. and loft.
richbrave
November 23rd, 2012
6:31 am
SOUTH OF THE BORDER
DOMINICA
LICEY TIGERS
3B JUAN FRANCISCO [.338 BA] 1-4, 2 SO.
C CHRISTIAN BETHANCOURT [.282 BA] 2-4, 1 RBI [2], 1 SB [1], 1 SO.
Our future catcher seems to be pulling it together at the plate.
RHSP JULIO TEHERAN [7.06 ERA] 5.1 IP, 6 H, 1 HR, 3 R/ER, 1 BB, 4 SO.
Is JULIO waking from his two year slumber?
LHRP YOHAN FLANDE [BS 1, 4.05 ERA] 0.2 IP, 1 H, blanks.
VENEZUELA
CARACAS LIONS
RF JOSH KROEGER [.309 BA] 3-3, 1 BB, 1 SB [5].
LARA CARDINALS
LHRP LUIS AVILAN [1.64 ERA] 1.0 IP, perfection.
ZULIA EAGLES
1B ERNESTO MEJIA [.340 BA] 2-5, 1 RBI 28], 1 SF, 1 SO, 1 E [5, fielding].
Man, ERNESTO has been on a tear. He just keeps raking.
LF EVAN GATTIS [.282 BA] 2-5, 1 RBI [24], 1 SO, 1 E [1, fielding].
The BRAVES must be happy. FRANCISCO, MEJIA, and GATTIS all pounding the rock in winter ball, and BETHANCOURT showing signs of getting it at the plate. Former GWINNETT and unsigned minor leaguer JOSH KROEGER has been on a tear as well.
On the pitching side of things, LUIS AVILAN is becoming intimidating.
JULIO hasn’t been completely awful down south. YOHAN FLANDE has struggled a bit as well.
All in all, pretty good sessions for our aspirants this winter.
richbrave
November 23rd, 2012
6:36 am
Oh…….time for the bicarb, then a redux as the second wave hits late today. More festive eating in store this evening.
TheOnlyBravesFan
November 23rd, 2012
6:44 am
Juan with some Ks. Expected!
Julio with a better performance… thank goodness.
CBet, my son!!!! Keep it up, kiddo. OD catcher, make Laird sit on the bench.
TheOnlyBravesFan
November 23rd, 2012
6:48 am
Finally get a chance to stuff myself today… after running a half-marathon yesterday, and some workouts this morning, it woulda been foolish to eat a lot last night. Mac n cheese, turkey, and some pie. Oh yeah!
Thanks richbrave for the winterball updates. Your work is greatly appreciated here.
richbrave
November 23rd, 2012
7:05 am
De Nada TOBF. Have a great day.
old man
November 23rd, 2012
7:26 am
Good morning all from Richmond, Va.
Picked up my son at Amtrak up here Tuesday from school, haven’t seen him since August. Boy, he looks great. I’m thankful for that.
Visiting family, so no cooking required. That’s nice too.
It’s been a great Thanksgiving. Back to ATL on Saturday, after giving the boy another good-bye hug.
Lots to be thankful for.
old man
November 23rd, 2012
7:40 am
There has to be some way to get Francisco to have just a little plate discipline. Someone needs to take him under their wing. It’ll be a shame if that effort isn’t made.
Maybe losing the weight and showing up in shape is the commitment they are looking for.
He is crushing the ball this winter. And there really isn’t word for what he is doing to RH pitching.
old man
November 23rd, 2012
7:44 am
But dang, he still has too many Ks.
TommyP
November 23rd, 2012
8:23 am
“Not enough of a track record. That he did not make the majors till he was 29 is that if you are pursuing that typd of player, you are not committed to win, you are hoping to win.”
That was one of the more idiotic statements made yesterday.
It’s called platooning players to their strengths, genius. MANY teams do it every year and have done so for about 30 years now. You can’t find All Stars at every position but if you play certain players to their strengths, you could get All Star production at a low price.
Say you have LaHair and pick up Chris Denorfia. These are two players that most will agree are probably not everyday players. However, play them in a strict platoon and you could be rewarded handsomely:
Denorfia vs. lefties: .337 BA, .390 OBP, .500 SLUG, .890 OPS (in 178 at bats)
LaHair vs. righties: .291 BA, .362 OBP, ..503 SLUG, .865 OPS (in 292 at bats)
You certainly don’t want to do this at several positions because you wouldn’t have enough players to play a strict platoon, especially in the NL. But at 1 position? Absolutely.
Jeff R
November 23rd, 2012
8:26 am
C CHRISTIAN BETHANCOURT [.282 BA] 2-4, 1 RBI [2], 1 SB [1], 1 SO.
Our future catcher seems to be pulling it together at the plate.
Dreadful. You’ve just ruined the holiday for the Bethancourt detractors.
Lew
November 23rd, 2012
8:57 am
He’s getting it together? Bout freaking time. But I think I’ll wait and see what he does in AA or at Gwinnett and not rely on a few winter ball AB’s.
Lew
November 23rd, 2012
9:04 am
Actually, we already know what he hit at AA last year – .243, .275, .291. No reason whatsoever to be skeptical.
Is Bethancourt going to spend another year at AA or has he been promoted to Gwinnett?
richbrave
November 23rd, 2012
9:04 am
“…..old man
November 23rd, 2012
7:44 am
But dang, he still has too many Ks…..”
AB vs. BB/SO ratios last season and this winter
FRANCISCO……..AB – 192; 11-070; AB – 068; 6-22
MEJIA……………..AB – 514; 34-132; AB – 141; 4-42
GATTIS……………AB – 272; 31-043; AB – 124; 9-19
BETHANCOURT…AB – 268; 11-045; AB – 039; 1-2
richbrave
November 23rd, 2012
9:09 am
Lew:
Prolly upped to GWINNETT. SHAWN McGILL and JOSE YEPEZ are as yet unsigned minor-leaguers and BOSCAN is a CUB.
old man
November 23rd, 2012
9:11 am
TommyP:
Agree. A lot of platoon situations, if you run the numbers, you end up with a .900 ops platoon, for half or less than you would pay for a single .900 ops player. And you end up with an automatic pinch hit move against a relief pitcher.
There seems to be a lot of knee jerk reaction against platooning, I suppose because you don’t get to make a big splash with a free agent. Platoons aren’t sexy, unless Kate Upton is part of your personal platoon.
richbrave
November 23rd, 2012
9:11 am
Aussie MATT KENNELLY appears to be the fall-back position this year at catcher.
Lew
November 23rd, 2012
9:14 am
Boscan signed with the Cubs? MY Gd – the Mayans are right and the world is coming to an end. What will we do for Spring Training catchers now?
VaBravesFan
November 23rd, 2012
9:16 am
Bethancourt’s defense has been MLB ready since the start of the 2012 season and the bat is in question. But the way I see it, the same was said about Andrelton Simmons. Depending on how our roster looks going into 2014 we could possibly be ok with a defensive first catcher. Assuming McCann signs elsewhere. But regardless Christian has a future in the big league’s with his defense alone as a backup. Who’s knows he could be the next Yadier Molina, who wasn’t much with the bat for his first 3 seasons.
richbrave
November 23rd, 2012
9:16 am
Hey guys isn’y it nice to have a little baseball discourse without the ‘phil’s’ of the world interjecting their falderal constantly?
Lew
November 23rd, 2012
9:16 am
But he’ll be back – he always has been whenever he’s left.
richbrave
November 23rd, 2012
9:18 am
Lew:
Chuckle. You sir are a funny man. How’s that bird going down today LEW? My grandson says hello.
richbrave
November 23rd, 2012
9:21 am
Do you guys realize that between myself, old man, VaBravesFan, and Lew there’s no one left in ATLANTA? Jeff R are you holding forth from home base?
Lew
November 23rd, 2012
9:22 am
VaBraves – Seriously? Diud you actually look up their numbers?
Simmons minor league career – .299, .353, .397
Bethancourt minor league career – ..265, .287, .356
Simmons AA – .293, .372, .420
Bethancourt AA – .243, .275, .291
Very similar numbers, right?
richbrave
November 23rd, 2012
9:23 am
And Tommy P
Lew
November 23rd, 2012
9:25 am
rcihbrave – We had a cable outage yesterday – no tv, phone or internet for 10 hours – I compnesated by eating way too much of that turkey with all the trimmings. I even made a squash casserole that was outstanding.
TommyP
November 23rd, 2012
9:25 am
Bethancourt has a ways to go, Braves friends. He really does.
Besides, there’s more to defense at the catcher position than throwing out runners and blocking pitches. There’s also handling the pitcher.
TommyP
November 23rd, 2012
9:26 am
Anyone else NOT excited about the possible acquisition of Denard Span?
VaBravesFan
November 23rd, 2012
9:27 am
Lew
Not minor league production, but projection’s on how they’d do vs MLB pitching. Most said Simmons wouldn’t hit much at all. But surprisingly Simmons kept hitting and matched his contact rates that he produced in the minors.
richbrave
November 23rd, 2012
9:27 am
I certainly didn’t think SIMMONS would arrive in ATLANTA until later in the 2013 season. He sure fooled me. Ya’ think maybe the BRAVES org knows something about players we don’t” After all, we are a collective of erudite baseball scholars, no?
Lew
November 23rd, 2012
9:29 am
You mean they do MLB projections and totally disregard the minor league numbers? That makes perfect sense. Sure it does.
If the Dude can’t hit AA piching, how in th world do they expect him to hit Matt Cain or Kershaw – much less R. A. Dickey?
richbrave
November 23rd, 2012
9:30 am
:….. I even made a squash casserole that was outstanding……: Lew
If comparable to your artwirk, I would consider it exquisite.
Lew
November 23rd, 2012
9:32 am
rcihbrave – Well, most of us didn;t think The Rev would suck it up that much either.
Jeff R
November 23rd, 2012
9:36 am
Jeff R are you holding forth from home base?
Negatory, richbrave. This Atlanta boy left Atlanta many moons ago for his career. Have managed to live across the country and now live in the northeast (or as I’m fond of calling it: “The Forbidden Zone”)
Jeff R
November 23rd, 2012
9:38 am
Is Bethancourt going to spend another year at AA or has he been promoted to Gwinnett?
Lew, I’d start Bethancourt at Mississippi and see how he does offensively. If he’s producing, I’d move him to Gwinnett, say, mid-season.
TheOnlyBravesFan
November 23rd, 2012
9:42 am
If that Doesn’t Hit (DH) and stone hands Salcedo can get moved up to AA, don’t see why Bethancourt can’t be moved up to AAA. Especially since he had a better winterball than Salcedo did in AZ.
I’d still send him to AA for the first 2 months at least… get him some seasoning in AAA to end the season. Didn’t think that Simba would be ready this summer, they brought him up for his D. Now, they’re considering having him lead off.
richbrave
November 23rd, 2012
9:43 am
In TYLER’s case, we were a lot closer to being correct. There were reservations aplenty amongst us between PASTORNICKY and SIMMONS.
I was always impressed by SIMMONS’ mental approach to things. Makes all the difference because the talent level with few exceptions is pretty even in MLB. The old noggin makes for outstanding.
I always tell my grandson,” look, forget all the adolescent bs about who’s better and not. You wouldn’t be getting the opportunities in baseball that you’re getting if you weren’t physically capable of performing. In that aspect, all you guys are pretty equal. It’s the mental side of things that will determine your future in ball. No one stands in your way, but yourself. So go have fun, and give it your best shot. You can live another life after baseball’s over.”