Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
2,505 comments Add your comment
Darkcow
November 19th, 2012
9:25 pm
Call me crazy, but I don’t think Simmons is really that good of a hitter. I think he had some early success but I don’t see him sustaining that kind of production, or anything close really. He really, really benefitted from A LOT of infield singles and bleeders. His swing is just ok and appears to have too many moving parts. It is a pretty short stroke but I just think he is due for some regression.
I really like him though and think eventually he will become a pretty decent hitter who could bat near the top of the order.
BFChris28
November 19th, 2012
9:25 pm
Ben Revere isn’t going anywhere. They’d trade Span before him.
old man
November 19th, 2012
9:25 pm
JNick:
Lefties make up about 30% of all MLB at bats each year.
BravesFanSince80s
November 19th, 2012
9:27 pm
trade an equal amount of major league payroll in pitching for Dexter Fowler (Hanson, JJ, whoever else is needed) and sign Hamilton, move Prado to 3B and play ball. Anything else Frank Wren might do scares the hell out of me…
old man
November 19th, 2012
9:27 pm
Darkcow, you’re crazy.
Jimiz
November 19th, 2012
9:27 pm
I had an idea what if the Braves signed Jeff Keppinger for next to nothing to play third leave Prado in left and trade for D. Span or sign Bourn. Jeff Had a good year playing for the Rays he’s no Evan but could be worth looking at it would give the Braves room to make a monster deal in July.
Disgusted
November 19th, 2012
9:27 pm
Being a UK basketball fan has taught me that the best team does not always win… and the SF loss last year is proof (2 Kyle Williams mistakes actually). I loved that SF-NO game, hated the SF-NYG game.
Heath — Great post — Just look at the 2007 Patriots. And in reverse, look at the 2001 Rams.
And the SF Giants were not a superior team to the Braves at all — but it was not to be. It could have been, But as fans who have watched sports for some time (I assume you have been a sports fan for a while), stuff happend in a playoff round.
We agree SF is a very dangerous team assuming health come playoff time.
Disgusted
November 19th, 2012
9:28 pm
I think that Jeff Keppinger will get about what Ross got — he is pretty darned good.
He will not be signed for next to nothing. He is more than a typical bench scrub.
Darkcow
November 19th, 2012
9:30 pm
I hope so, old man.
Yuuup
November 19th, 2012
9:32 pm
I wouldn’t mind seeing the Braves trade for Dexter Fowler for CF and sign Cody Ross for LF. The lineup would look like this.
Fowler- CF
Prado- 3B
Hayward- RF
Ross- LF
Freeman- 1B
McCann- C
Uggla- 2B
Simmons- SS
Pitcher
Not a bad lineup at all when you have a Uggla batting 7th and Simmons batting 8th. You know your lineup is deep then.
TheOnlyBravesFan
November 19th, 2012
9:33 pm
Dont have to trade Simmons for Upton. Theyre looking for vet pitching and a lefty reliever as well. Work on a 3team trade if the really want an SS as well. Upton is one guy to build our offense around. As for defense, errors dont tell the whole story. Simba made nearly 30 last year… look at him now. Range is the bigest key for OF. Justin has that, more so than his brother.
Revere wont be traded
Heath
November 19th, 2012
9:34 pm
Yuuup:
Change your guys to Span/Swisher… and you got a deal.
Mike
November 19th, 2012
9:37 pm
You gotta be kiddin! Another rally killer. We need someone to replace Chipper or Michael Bourne and he is not either.We need a couple of quality players. The Phils won’t be injured next year and we already dropped back on catcher.
Mike
November 19th, 2012
9:37 pm
You gotta be kiddin! Another rally killer. We need someone to replace Chipper or Michael Bourne and he is not either.We need a couple of quality players. The Phils won’t be injured next year and we already dropped back on catcher.
Mike
November 19th, 2012
9:37 pm
You gotta be kiddin! Another rally killer. We need someone to replace Chipper or Michael Bourne and he is not either.We need a couple of quality players. The Phils won’t be injured next year and we already dropped back on catcher.
Playoffs!!!
November 19th, 2012
9:37 pm
I don’t want Cody Ross hitting cleanup. .
Heath
November 19th, 2012
9:37 pm
“I also made you a video… probably shouldn’t watch it on the plane.”
Hilarious commercial.
Mike
November 19th, 2012
9:37 pm
You gotta be kiddin! Another rally killer. We need someone to replace Chipper or Michael Bourne and he is not either.We need a couple of quality players. The Phils won’t be injured next year and we already dropped back on catcher.
Mark
November 19th, 2012
9:39 pm
Man, I’m gonna have to rethink my partiocipation on the blog if some on here would trade Simmons for Upton.
Heath
November 19th, 2012
9:39 pm
4 drives, 4 scores… 20-0 Niners.
afan
November 19th, 2012
9:39 pm
Thanks Carroll for your reply….
TheOnlyBravesFan
November 19th, 2012
9:40 pm
And we’re not gutting the farm to do that either. We’d trade up to 2 quality pitchers, maybe a third throwin. We would still have Graham, Sims, Moore, 1 of Teheran/Delgado left.. in addition to our pitvhing staff. We’ll be setup to still have pieces to trade for an ace next winter if need be, and we’ll get a power RH bat to slot in between Heyward and Freeman for the next 3 years. The dude’s gonna be a beast. A great addition to the lineup
Larry30
November 19th, 2012
9:41 pm
It’s amazing to me to read articles like this and hear that a .240-.250 hitter that might hit 25-30 homers is a prize catch and worth $15 million a year. When Andruw jones was getting 90 RBI and hitting 30 to 40 homers all we heard from the braves front office was how dissatisfied they were with his average. We will get upton to keep up the wren tradition of overpaying for mediocre talent. Then we will have almost half the payroll committed to three of the most average players out there and squander money we could be paying to franchise players like Freeman and Heyward. I wish I could get Wren to buy my used Japanese sedan so I would have the money to buy the Aston Martin I’ve always wanted.
afan
November 19th, 2012
9:41 pm
nick C- vs -Peter…the winner Nick C…
Nowhere man
November 19th, 2012
9:45 pm
Thanks for the new blog Carroll and Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.
Darkcow
November 19th, 2012
9:46 pm
Just say no to Nick Swisher.
Heath
November 19th, 2012
9:48 pm
Holy cow… a Niners punt?
Heath
November 19th, 2012
9:50 pm
Aldon Smith is unstoppable tonight.. bulldozed the O-lineman to knock down him and the QB lol.
Yuuup
November 19th, 2012
9:51 pm
Heath,
I am all for that as well. I really think Fowler would be a better fit in Atlanta over Span because of his Atlanta roots and he is a true leadoff hitter. I would take Swisher over Ross as well. I wouldnt be disappointed in either to be honest.
Also, Ross doesn’t have to hit cleanup. Put whoever is raking in that 4 spot. So go ahead Wren, trade for Fowler and sign Swisher or Ross.
Darkcow
November 19th, 2012
9:52 pm
Heath, your attempts at dragging these folks in here into talking about the 9ers game are failing. Just go to the Ajc Falcons blog, dude…
Playoffs!!!
November 19th, 2012
9:52 pm
We need a righhanded presence in the middle of the lineup to put between Heyward and Freeman. We might have to accept BJ Upton in spite of his shortcomings. But I think the Phils will upbid us.
Is their any other righthanded bat with some power that is available.He can even be a 3rd baseman.
Heath
November 19th, 2012
9:52 pm
Darkcow:
Go look at Swisher splits the last 3 years home/away and right/left. If after that you still don’t like him to play LF, I’d like to know why. Especially if they can get Span for CF and lead-off
Mark
November 19th, 2012
9:57 pm
No Upton, Trade Uggla, Impeach Obama – Vegas odds would be the same for Numbers 2 and 3.
Darkcow
November 19th, 2012
10:02 pm
Mark for president
brian
November 19th, 2012
10:05 pm
If the braves #1 target is indeed BJ Upton and they sign him, I hope they put him in LF then trade for span/fowler/Cain to play CF and bat lead off. It would be a roll of the dice for Upton.
I don’t think it would be realistic but I agree with going all out for Stanton – minor, venters, Delgado/Teheran, and Ahmed. It will take a major package. If they use their money on BJ or whoever for CF so be it.
brian
November 19th, 2012
10:07 pm
Braves will not be trading Simmons for Upton. No way.
Simmons for Stanton – different story
Mark
November 19th, 2012
10:08 pm
No to Stanton. He changed his first name already once, next time its gonna be PED Stanton.
Mike S.
November 19th, 2012
10:09 pm
This is exactly what the Braves dont need. We have a few Upton’s already. What we need is someone who can be a legit leadoff and hit as well as Chipper and Bourn. Upton is neither and his bat isnt big enough to be what we need in the middle of the order. Failing that we need a big bat in the middle of this order, not a .240 hitter that might deliver 20 or so HRs. Hes happy alright. No one else will pay for him.
Who is this guy?
November 19th, 2012
10:10 pm
No to Stanton? Mark is apparently just stirring up trouble.
Heath
November 19th, 2012
10:12 pm
I don’t want to see either of the Upton brothers. Both would cost more than their worth… one in free agency and one via a trade. Braves can do better.
Mark
November 19th, 2012
10:12 pm
brian said Stanton for Simmons. I said no to PEDs. No stirring involved.
TheOnlyBravesFan
November 19th, 2012
10:19 pm
BJ will not be moving to LF, unfortunately. He will be playing CF if he’s signed.
Peter
November 19th, 2012
10:19 pm
nick C- vs -Peter…the winner Nick C… wow and someone is keeping score…..a joke !
I really not that interested……but mark my words, at the end of next season, as the Braves fade into the off season, and the fan base is more pissed then ever…Uggla, not worth the money, the Braves are in third place behind the Phillies, and the Nationals…. and Wren has given you another expensive piece of the losing puzzle.
Then they don’t have the cash to sign the young guns.
BravesFanSince80s
November 19th, 2012
10:20 pm
No to “name changer” Stanton! Out of this world egos need not apply…
Billvillebaron
November 19th, 2012
10:20 pm
Amber Girl:
If you are still on here you have all the evidence you red to confirm my earlier comments. Most of the geniuses on here ripping Wren forget the cupboard was basically bare when he took over after SCHUERHOLZ made the Texeira deal. They also conveniently ignore that the team won 94 games last year and is loaded with young talent, especially the most important commodity-pitching. Upton’s homers have steadily risen the last four years, he also has averaged more runs scores than Bourne and obviously has much more power. His lifetime OBP is .335. I for one think he would be the right handed power bat to balance out their left handed lineup. His steal success rate compares favorably with Born. Players with 30/30 potential entering their prime don’t grow on trees. You also don’t have to trade anyone if you sign him. For the poster who asked, Upton’s post season numbers are pretty good whereas Swisher has been terrible in the post season and would IMHO struggle once he leaves that short right field porch in Yankee Stadium. Then again what do I know? I was the dunce who applauded Wren when he signed Hudson when many of the same guys panning Wren’s interest in Upton wanted to keep “Career Year” Vasquez.
Heath
November 19th, 2012
10:24 pm
27-0
311-31 yards
That’s dominance.
Bill Donohoo
November 19th, 2012
10:24 pm
Stay away from both Uptons and other high price Outfielders. Other than Hamilton (no more than 3 years) I don’t see a big dollar outfielder that will make that much difference. I would have Pasternicky play CF.
old man
November 19th, 2012
10:25 pm
BJ is sort of the conservative thing to do. He has been highly rated in the press, and we sure can’t go into opening day not having spent a lot of the money we have. So BJ fills a lot of needs–baseball needs, financial needs, PR needs.
And I see a lot of the baseball logic in getting him. I would not be crushed like some if we got him.
More aggressive and less conservative things to do would be to trade for Stanton, or Wil Myers, or Olt, or Justin Upton, etc. These would be more exciting things to do. And would involve parting with some very good players.
In theory, we could do one of each.
Hamilton and Bourn are too expensive for what you are getting–known behavioral issues and aging legs.
brian
November 19th, 2012
10:25 pm
Stanton did not change his first name, he is simply going by his given first name Giancarlo. I watched Stanton play a full season in the minors. He is the real deal. Unbelievable power. Great arm. Great speed. Heyward and Stanton back to back would be a dream 3-4 hitting tandem.
Stanton will not be coming to the Braves. I still cannot believe people say no to Stanton though.
Bobby H
November 19th, 2012
10:25 pm
Billvillebaron
Make up your mind, man. You were just, bvillebaron , a few pages, ago.
BravesFanSince80s
November 19th, 2012
10:25 pm
who cares if we won 94 games man? the Giants won the WS!
old man
November 19th, 2012
10:27 pm
Where is the nonsense about Stanton having an ego problem or having a PEDs habit?
Nothing out there to support that.
Disgusted
November 19th, 2012
10:28 pm
Aldon Smith is unstoppable tonight.. bulldozed the O-lineman to knock down him and the QB lol.
Aldon Smith is a heck of a football player — keep up the Niners converstaion — I don;t like em but its good football talk.
With a game like this Kapernick can get himself a nice contract in FA if and when he gets there — look at Matt Flynn and Kevin Kolb. I hope for his sake he is better than those two.
Seattle has to be kicking themselves for giving that $$$$$$$$$$ to Flynn when a rookie Russell Wilson beat him out.
BravesFanSince80s
November 19th, 2012
10:30 pm
Stop harping on the technicalities of “name changing”. Who gives a rat’s ass if Giancarlo or however the hell you spell it is on the guy’s birth certificate? The POINT is that it waves a huge red flag any time you see a GROWN ASS man change the name he goes by for any reason, whatsoever…
Disgusted
November 19th, 2012
10:30 pm
Will Myers is taked about alot and he might be all that but remember all the Tim Wheeler talk from last yr.
What happened to Wheeler’s power in AAA this yr??????????
Prospects are what they are — prospects.
old man
November 19th, 2012
10:33 pm
Giancarlo Cruz Michael Stanton
He is Irish, African-American, and Puerto Rican in heritage. At some point he (or more likely his family) decided to call him Mike. He decided to honor some person are element of his heritage by reverting to his true first name.
So how does this mean he has a big ego?
Heath
November 19th, 2012
10:33 pm
I’m obviously a Niners fan but tonight’s performance against the Bears was not something I thought we’d see. The Bears offensive line does not belong on the field against the Niners defensive line. This is actually getting nuts.
old man
November 19th, 2012
10:35 pm
Actually, it’s a red flag whenever you see a grown up using the words GROWN ASS in all caps in a public forum.
If I had to pick someone right now to have a beer with, it would be Giancarlo, not BravesFanSince80s.
Bobby H
November 19th, 2012
10:35 pm
Stop harping on the technicalities of “name changing”. Who gives a rat’s ass if Giancarlo or however the hell you spell it is on the guy’s birth certificate? The POINT is that it waves a huge red flag any time you see a GROWN ASS man change the name he goes by for any reason, whatsoever… — BravesFanSince80s
That makes me wonder how you feel about a GROWN ASS man on this blog that has already changed his name over 100 times in only 5 pages.
old man
November 19th, 2012
10:36 pm
person or element
Darkcow
November 19th, 2012
10:36 pm
Heath is relentless. He just really wants you people to talk about football. His grandchildren haven’t told him that there are other blog sites out there.
http://www.ajc.com/falcons
Mark
November 19th, 2012
10:36 pm
No supporting evidence for Bonds either when he was playing other than his hat and shoe size was growing at age 40! Sometimes you just have to open your eyes and look at the guy and use some common sense.
Billvillebaron
November 19th, 2012
10:38 pm
Enter your comments here
Heath
November 19th, 2012
10:38 pm
Darkcow:
You still haven’t looked at the 3-year Swisher home/road and Left/Right splits and explained why you don’t like Swisher.
old man
November 19th, 2012
10:39 pm
He does not look any different than Tony Gonzalez, and I’m sure he’s using nothing at all.
The difference is that Bonds looked one way for 10 years, and then suddenly changed. Stanton has always looked big and strong.
BravesFanSince80s
November 19th, 2012
10:40 pm
ok Old Man, I’ll bite. You find nothing whatsoever unusual in someone in their ADULT YEARS going from being known as Mike, to being known as GIancarlo? SERIOUSLY? Can you just imagine some of those first conversations? RIDICULOUS…
Mark
November 19th, 2012
10:41 pm
The users start earlier these days.
Bob the Blogger
November 19th, 2012
10:43 pm
The Braves were in the bottom third of most offensive categories in 2012. With Upton’s career OPS+ of 105, which is just over MLB average, he is not the impact player we need to boost the offense, at least not for the money he’s seeking. It appears that the combination of home runs and stolen bases has been overrated, and the overall productivity has been underrated.
BravesFanSince80s
November 19th, 2012
10:43 pm
you ‘whiffed” Bobby H
TNScott
November 19th, 2012
10:44 pm
Upton is a very bad idea. I feel worse about this trade proposal than I did when I heard about the Uggla trade.
Bvillebaron
November 19th, 2012
10:46 pm
Bobby H:
It’s supposed to be Bvillebaron. Feel better now?
brian
November 19th, 2012
10:47 pm
MArk – did you see Stanton when he was 18?
He was huge then – Dave Winfield type big. Athletic as well. He never was the skinny guy that Bonds was.
Those accusations are completely unfounded.
LJS
November 19th, 2012
10:47 pm
I wish people would stop mentioning the d-bags Swisher and Cody Ross.
BravesFanSince80s
November 19th, 2012
10:48 pm
Ok, Old Man, ordinarily, I would agree with you on ethics, manners, etc, but it seemed ridiculous to defend an adult male for going for years and years and years as “Mike”, to asking his colleagues, all of a sudden and out of the blue, to refer to him as “Giancarlo”. Thought most other adults would find that as silly as I do. Guess I stand corrected. Guess some adults are fine with whatever ridiculous behavior an athlete performs as long as he’s a “masher”…
‘
Mark
November 19th, 2012
10:48 pm
Stantons weight
233 in 2010
248 in 2012
263 in 2014 ?
Bobby H
November 19th, 2012
10:49 pm
Bobby H:
It’s supposed to be Bvillebaron. Feel better now? — Bvillebaron (aka, bvillebaron, Billvillebaron)
If you feel better… then I fell better.
Heath
November 19th, 2012
10:50 pm
Did Chad Johnson change his name because he was on ‘roids? I forget.
nolie
November 19th, 2012
10:52 pm
some major silliness going on here for quite a while, but i can’t get on the blog? This can’t be DOB doing this I don’t think.
old man
November 19th, 2012
10:52 pm
BravesFanSince80s
Look, these guys are in the entertainment business. What was Cary Grant’s real name?
BravesFanSince80s
November 19th, 2012
10:52 pm
LJS, I completely agree. No to Cody Ross, no to Nick Swisher, not BJ Upton, no more “softball team” additions please!
Name change
November 19th, 2012
10:53 pm
Heath
November 19th, 2012 10:50 pm
Did Chad Johnson change his name because he was on ‘roids? I forget.
Nice
BravesFanSince80s
November 19th, 2012
10:55 pm
big difference between and athlete and an actor sir, no comparison…
old man
November 19th, 2012
10:55 pm
I don’t think he changed his name from Mike to Giancarlo to please you, BravesFanSince80s.
He probably did it because he is about 1000% more likely to pick up girls in a bar with a name like that.
Mark
November 19th, 2012
10:56 pm
Heath
To steal a phrase from Barney when describing Earnest T I think he did it because he is a nut
BraveDan
November 19th, 2012
10:56 pm
BravesFanSince80s
November 19th, 2012
10:48 pm
Ok, Old Man, ordinarily, I would agree with you on ethics, manners, etc, but it seemed ridiculous to defend an adult male for going for years and years and years as “Mike”, to asking his colleagues, all of a sudden and out of the blue, to refer to him as “Giancarlo”. Thought most other adults would find that as silly as I do. Guess I stand corrected. Guess some adults are fine with whatever ridiculous behavior an athlete performs as long as he’s a “masher
I agree with you on the ridiculous name changing.
Name change
November 19th, 2012
10:56 pm
He probably did it because he is about 1000% more likely to pick up girls in a bar with a name like that.
Ok… that was funny.
And probably true.
BravesFanSince80s
November 19th, 2012
10:57 pm
Heath, EXCELLENT example!
old man
November 19th, 2012
11:00 pm
The bottom line is that it’s sheer lunacy to say you would not want Stanton on your team. If there is a no brainer in all of this, it’s that in a vacuum, without considering what you would have to give up, Stanton is the top ten of all players in MLB. And among those who might even remotely be available, he is in the top 3. Maybe the top 1.
Name change
November 19th, 2012
11:01 pm
BravesFanSince80s:
Jason Williams changed his name to Jay so as not to be associated with a basketball player due to the murder trial. No wait… I am wrong, it’s because he was on ‘roids.
old man
November 19th, 2012
11:01 pm
I’m talking about via trade.
Heath
November 19th, 2012
11:02 pm
Good example too Name change
old man
November 19th, 2012
11:03 pm
If he changed his name to get girls, then that would be an affirmative reason to actually trade for him, right?
Especially if the girls came to Turner Field.
tc
November 19th, 2012
11:04 pm
The last BJ we had didn’t work out so well either.
BravesFanSince80s
November 19th, 2012
11:06 pm
and just look where the Marlins are Old Man, you wanna be a Marlins fan? I’m not saying he’s entirely to blame, but guys like that in the clubhouse are a problem, no matter how good they are, Upton falls into the same category to me. When you see Longoria in the dugout in a game, threatening to whip his ass, that’s a bad sign…
Bobby H
November 19th, 2012
11:06 pm
If he changed his name to get girls, then that would be an affirmative reason to actually trade for him, right? — old man
Heck, I’d change my name to, Adolf Hitler, if it was to get me some girls…
Hillbilly
November 19th, 2012
11:06 pm
I mentioned it that day but I will say again: Stanton changed his name the same day it was announced that Snooki was pregnant. This is how rumors get started.
richbrave
November 19th, 2012
11:08 pm
SOUTH OF THE BORDER
DOMINICA
EASTERN BULLS
PR JOSE CONSTANZA [.345 BA] 0-0
LICEY TIGERS
3B JUAN FRANCISCO [.310 BA] 1-4, 2 SO.
C CHRISTIAN BETHANCOURT [.258 BA] 0-3, 1 RBI [1], 1 SF.
ORIENTE STARS
CF FELIX PIE [.253 BA] 0-5, HAT TRICK!
VENEZUELA
CARACAS LIONS
RF JOSH KROEGER [.263 BA] 1-5, 1 SO.
ZULIA EAGLES
No game
Heath
November 19th, 2012
11:09 pm
Darkcow:
You ever check out Swisher’s last 3-year home/road left/right splits?
Heath
November 19th, 2012
11:12 pm
4.5 sacks tonight for Aldon Smith. Sorry Darkcow… this guy’s performance merits some mention. Owning whoever lines up on the other side of the ball tonight.
brian
November 19th, 2012
11:13 pm
Mark – are you surprised that a high school athlete gains weight when he goes pro and starts a pro training program? Or a college training program?
How many athletes are using the new, undetectable steroid cream that has been rumored that you also seems to get out of the system quickly nobody knows