January 10th, 2013
12:54 pm
I just made a request to be a member of FB page DOB/MIB fans. I did so because I am tired of this blogs IT problems. I am not tired of most of the bloggers here. Shaun can be a bit tireing lol. DOB most likely will black-ball me at DOB/MIB, we will see. DOB I promise not to mention your work there. I will post here but not as often.
taking a more admirable moral stand to vote against Bonds or Clemens but for Perry.
First, before we proceed, please work through your issue here. Define “taking a more admirable moral stand.” Also, point out when either one of us asserted such.
Shaun … “it follows that you think some cheating is acceptable and some cheating isn’t”
No it doesn’t. It follows that some cheating affects the very nature of the game and some doesn’t. HoF doesn’t have to celebrate the folks who made a mockery of the game.
Unchecked steroid abuse would eventually transform the game into one where no one could reach the major leagues without modifying their body.
Since MLB is “the national past-time” (codified in law), this could have a negative impact on all of American society. (That’s why I used dear Nancy’s quote earlier.)
There’s very little chance that unchecked spitball abuse will have any impact on society at all.
So Perry’s cheating wasn’t as bad because he played in a different era and he was a pitcher?
Shaun, you’re resorting to one of your old tactics: taking another’s remarks out of context, this to slip by flaws in your arguments or to try to divert from others examining your own tortured logic. I never said what you’re suggesting I said. Anyone can go through the back-chain on the blog to know what I wrote.
But I stand by what I said: There are most certainly degrees of cheating. A shoplifter hasn’t committed the same offense as an armed robber. Or do you think so?
Perry cheated, indeed, though his offense wasn’t on the order of Bonds’ cheating. As I stated earlier, when Perry was caught, he was tossed from games and, I believe, fined. Should the penalty for Perry doctoring the ball been tougher? There’s a fair argument that it should have.
But I’m sure any physiologist could explain just what PEDs do to muscle mass, etc., to significantly enhance a ballplayer’s performances. Do you think that when there was a power explosion in MLB it was a coincidence? That that dramatic climb in power numbers by chance happened to track Bonds’, McGwire’s, and Sosa’s (among others) power climbs?
That all spiked during the Rays early days right? When they signed a lot of HOF types at the end of their career and asked for the team induction? I don’t know if any player actually did such, or if the team actually asked as much, but I recall a lot of speculation and debate on the topic and then the rule changed negating it all.
or about guilt and trying to cover what the voters perceive as their own sins?
Yes, it’s perfectly reasonable to think that BBWAA members are engaged in a wide-spread conspiracy of hiding their own personal warts through the process of denying HOF entry to worthy candidates.
juan Babe Ruth eat few hot dog during the games. Does Hot Dog are stimulant?
yes, by shaun’s definition. per his post earlier on this thread, anything that keeps a player alive (like food) is a performance enhancer, thus, just as bad as steroids.
shaun said We have cholesterol medicine. If a baseball player took such a drug, to keep his cholesterol down, should that be considered a performance-enhancer. Maybe it’s the ultimate performance-enhancer because it’s keeping him alive to perform.
I’m sure the Braves would be comfortable going to the season with a platoon situation in left rather than a proven corner outfielder that can provide big offensive numbers. They do this almost if not every single season (with the inevitable result that they get plastered in the playoffs with no ability to score runs in the least)
The Braves organization is trying to be competitive enough to be there at the end so they can “make the playoffs” but they aren’t really trying to win anything, and that’s exactly what the message is to the fans if they go into the season without addressing left field. We know it, and they know it, but every media type paid by that team is going to act like it’s the best situation ever if they go with a platoon. They fail to address offense adequately every single year. Rinse Lather Repeat.
Didn’t Brandon Marshall of the Chicago Bears say most NFL Players are taking Viagra? That’s a performance enhancer! No wonder he has like 9 kids! But I guess the NFL players can kiss the HOF good bye now!
The Braves organization is trying to be competitive enough to be there at the end so they can “make the playoffs” but they aren’t really trying to win anything, and that’s exactly what the message is to the fans if they go into the season without addressing left field.
In other words, the other seven guys they’ll throw out there every day aren’t all that good, but the addition of just one…single…guy, would be enough to turn them into “winners”?
Craig Calcaterra @craigcalcaterra
Blue Jays were just given an award by the league for “Philanthropic Excellence.” Their charity work with the Miami Marlins is unsurpassed.
If the voters are going to start worrying about behavior that negatively impacts American society, I’m not sure there are going to be a lot of baseball players worthy of induction.
ncscoots, I think it may be more about what they feel was their own inabilities to properly investigate and uncover widespread steroid use and the guilt around that, not using the Hall of Fame vote to cover up their own warts. It could be more about trying to vindicate and redeem themselves more so than covering up warts.
TennesseePaul and Murph, please explain to me, oh, wise ones, why it is taking a more admirable moral stand to vote against Bonds or Clemens but for Perry.
If Perry were up for a vote today, he’d have to answer for what he’s done… but he’s not. So it’s a non-issue.
Murph, yeah, right. You think if Greg Maddux had been found to have doctor the ball and he admitted to it, it would harm his case all that much? I think some cheating is found to be acceptable if not charming.
Buster Olney @Buster_ESPN
Another sign of the erosion in the relationship between the D-Backs and Justin Upton: The Uptown signs are coming down, as @Gambo620 reports
Murph, yeah, right. You think if Greg Maddux had been found to have doctor the ball and he admitted to it, it would harm his case all that much? I think some cheating is found to be acceptable if not charming.
You bet he would have to answer to that. Guaran-frickin-teed.
The thing you seem to not understand is that Perry was elected, what, 20-something years ago? That was a very different time. Hardly anyone had email. There was no Facebook. Social media didn’t exist. The internet was but a baby, compared to what it is today. There was SportsCenter but Baseball Tonight had just started up and, if you remember the first days, wasn’t exactly a big priority for ESPN.
In other words, the dearth of information that we have now about every move a player has made from the moment they were born until the moment they went up for the HoF vote didn’t exist. Nobody debated a player’s actions day in, day out in an online forum in front of thousands upon thousands of people.
Perry, were he to come up for a vote today, after being caught throwing spitballs and ejected from games in front of the Facebook and Twitter universe, would have come under much different scrutiny than he did in 1990 in front of his one local beat reporter.
It’s a different world, Shaun. I know you don’t understand that, but it’s a fact.
The biggest change the Braves need to make is to fire Wren and get an aggressive GM who is the brains and the know-how to make the acquisitions we need to finally win the World Series again. Wren is too content with winning seasons to ever put together enough top-tier talent to bring another World Series title to Atlanta. Fire this bum and bring in somebody who isn’t so willing to go after losers like Derek Lowe, or sit on his hands year after year watching other teams make the blockbuster trades to give their teams a chance at the big prize.
scoots, no heart changing. still believes Gattis will be a bench bat. Merely found a description which encompasses bench bat while opening the door to all other possible outcomes in the event bench bat proves to be a gross underestimate.
Murph, yes, a different world in which a significant number of voters think they have moral omniscience, as far as which type of cheating is worse than others.
It’s also a different world in that more people than ever know how insane it is that writers refuse to vote in guys like Raines and think Jack Morris is a Hall of Famer. The fact that smarter people than a significant number of writers have access to more information is making the Hall of Fame more and more of a joke. And frankly, it’s sad for those who want the Hall of Fame to mean something.
But who did he read recently with a change of heart on Evan Gattis?
Beats me but I got a kick out of reading all that last night. Same with the ‘I don’t care about the HOF but I’m gonna bitch about it for a few days’ stuff.
It’s also a different world in that more people than ever know how insane it is that writers refuse to vote in guys like Raines and think Jack Morris is a Hall of Famer.
Again, with the Jack Morris hate. What is it about this guy that makes you so froth at the mouth?
For what it’s worth, I don’t think he’s HOF-caliber. But, then, I don’t think Raines qualifies, either. Everybody knows that my personal Hall is a closet, LOL. Any doubt, he’s out. And for any player for whom the discussion starts with, “You can make a case that…”, that’s doubt.
in which a significant number of voters think they have moral omniscience
While that sounds like a great supper power, I think Payne’s own omniscience is more impressive. It isn’t merely restricted to “moral knowledge.” It clearly encompasses the thoughts and minds and motives of at least 569 writers across the nation and throughout all history as well as every single online blogger, commenter, and reader and every single person who has ever had connection or interest, if only fleeting, to the game of baseball.
Murph, yes, a different world in which a significant number of voters think they have moral omniscience, as far as which type of cheating is worse than others.
Have you seen or read a single writer say this? If so, post a link.
You know what would happen if it were Perry who just came up for the vote and not Bonds? There would be 100’s of videos on YouTube showing every single suspected spitball thrown by Perry over his career. There would be analysts that measure the exact break and trajectory of every pitch Perry had ever thrown. He would have been run through the mill with every blogger, sports writer, etc hammering him with questions about his cheating. People would have spent way too many hours predicting what would have happened in game 142 if he hadn’t struck out those 4 batters with spitters. He would have been a major topic across social media… photoshops of him slathering entire jars of Vaseline on baseball would have popped up all over the internet. There would have been a fake Twitter account created talking about how he cheats during eye exams and scuffs his kid’s basketballs hoping to gain him an edge in his YMCA league.
That’s what would have happened. Instead it was a minor story that came and went… much as most stories did back before the interweb was in every pocket, on every desk, installed in every TV, etc…
BillShanks @BillShanks
Braves non-roster invitees for spring: Ryan Buchter, Yohan Flande, Sean Gilmartin, Dusty Hughes, Daniel Rodriguez, JR Graham, Wirfin Obispo
JIM BOWDEN @JimBowdenESPNxm
If I had a vote…this would be my 2014 HOF ballot: Maddux, Glavine, Thomas, Bonds, Clemens, Piazza, Bagwell, Biggio, Schilling, Morris
BillShanks @BillShanks
Continued… Gus Schlosser, Luis De La Cruz, Evan Gattis, Matt Kennelly, Matt Pagnozzi, Braeden Schlehuber, Jose Yepez, Nick Ahmed..
BillShanks @BillShanks
Continued… Blake DeWitt, Joe Leonard, Todd Cunningham, Joe Terdoslavich and Jordan Parraz. 21 total non-roster invitees to big league camp
Nice group. Show up big please Cunningham, Terdo, Ahmed, and Graham…. interested in Gilmartin the nole too
ncscoots, the irony is that I wouldn’t mind Jack Morris being in. It’s the Hall of Fame, and I wouldn’t mind it being about fame, literally, in addition to performance.
But there is just no way to objectively say that Morris’s performance should get him in, unless you think guys like David Wells, Tim Wakefield and Mickey Lolich should get in.
Brian Kenny did an excellent job comparing Lolich to Morris. Similar regular seasons and Lolich was a better postseason pitcher, essentially.
Maddux and Glavine will both get in next year… and I’d bet that they are it. Maybe Thomas, too, but I seriously doubt that they’ll elect more than 3 players for the HoF in a single year.
and yet I sincerely doubt that anyone did NOT know about Perry’s ball doctoring.
If Perry had thrown as many spitters as people often accuse, they’d still be wiping up saliva in ML parks.
What folks forget is that just the possibility of being thrown a spitter messed with hitters’ heads. That’s no different than putting into the hitter’s head that you might throw a changeup in a fastball count. That happens to be not illegal.
Perry was brilliant in that way. He ran through the same set of fidgeting on every pitch and hitters out-thought themselves in the box. This, boys and girls, is the art of pitching. The fact is that, once Perry had placed in the minds of hitters that he could throw them a loaded pitch, he didn’t have to load up. And, in the vast majority of his pitches, he didn’t.
I seem to recall some disquiet, at the time, regarding Perry’s HOF admittance
Retired in 83, not admitted until 91. So, third or fourth ballot, I guess. But I didn’t see any of the then-current HOF boycotting the induction ceremony for him. Bob Feller and Warren Spahn probably didn’t care much for it, though.
Gaylord Perry waited several years to get in, exactly because of the “doctored ball” issue. Many writers refused to vote for him. In the end, his record (over 300 wins, Cy young award in both leagues), won out. hat, and the fact that he was one of baseball’s best pitchers of his era, doctoring or not. He never really admitted to regularly doctoring the ball, but joked about wanting the other team to be thinking about it. He was actually caught ONCE (I believe), and was thrown out of that game…near the end of his career.
I will admit that my opinion is skewed. Gaylord was a good ole boy from eastern NC (peanut farmer), and at the time I was a big Giants fan due to him, Juan Marichal, the Alou brothers, andof course, my personal hero and greatest all around player of all time, Willie Mays.
I’ve never changed on Gattis. It seems to me he’s best suited for a part-time roll unless he proves himself as a major league catcher. But I don’t think he would absolutely kill at team in leftfield. Said team would just need to have plenty of offense in other areas.
A Willingham-type player is probably the absolute best we can hope for. But a player slightly better than Eric Hinske is probably what we’ll get.
Because his career and peak value are plenty good enough.
thats pretty vague and non informative. was checking his stats, wondering why you(and others ive read) think he is such an easy pick. for someone like me who weighs WAR and OPS+ fairly lightly in the equation, i dont see it.
Maybe not. But then again, if memory serves, you claimed he was in no way a prospect and could not play in the outfield, period. Seems you said if he could the Braves would have put him in centerfield.
Most here know I’m a baseball history fan, and thus the Jackie Robinson Dodgers hold a special place for me. And Preacher Roe is probably my all-time favorite “character” on those teams:
Although Roe achieved notice for a spitball, he had a variation that was perfectly legal — his fake spitball. One time, pitching against the Boston Braves’ Jim Russell, Roe went to his cap repeatedly. Each time Roe did that, Russell stepped out of the batter’s box. After this went on three or four times, Roe threw the ball. As he recalled it to Roger Kahn in “The Boys of Summer” (Harper & Row, 1971): “He’s waiting for that good hard drop. I touch the visor and throw a big slow curve. He was so wound up he couldn’t swing. But he spit at the ball as it went by.”
im sorry to go back to dale murphy on every HOF discussion, but i just wonder how shaun can think murphy is a borderline case but raines is an easy in. if someone thinks murphy is borderline, i can deal with that. but to think murphy is borderline and raines is definitely worthy (or rice, or dawson) doesnt make sense to me.
and i dont understand why raines can be worth so much more WAR than murphy, although his stats, in general, are worse.
Mark Bowman @mlbbowman
Braves list Joe Terdoslavich as an OF on list of non-roster invites. Further indication his days as a 3B could be complete. Likely 1B/OF
Man, if he could win the LF job… .315/.372/.480/.852
1. Mike Trout
2. Bryce Harper
3. Jason Heyward
4. Giancarlo Stanton
5. Stephen Strasburg
6. Clayton Kershaw
7. Manny Machado
8. Starlin Castro
9. Madison Bumgarner
10. Elvis Andrus
11. Brett Lawrie
12. Salvador Perez
13. Aroldis Chapman
14. Matt Moore
15. Jarrod Parker
16. Chris Sale
17. Matt Harvey
18. Anthony Rizzo
19. Freddie Freeman
20. Yasmani Grandal
21. Andrelton Simmons
22. Will Middlebrooks
23. Craig Kimbrel
24. Eric Hosmer
25. Chris Tillman
Wouldn’t mind that…. backup 1B, switch hitter w/ contact ability. Probably hard for him to move past Mejia and Schafer/Georgie though for that last bench spot
Seems you said if he could the Braves would have put him in centerfield
No, what he had stated was, Gattis isn’t any good, and if he were good, the Braves would have moved him to the outfield sooner. Like, perhaps while he was on his pilgrimage in his late teen’s and early 20s. As it was, Gattis was “too old” and therefore not much more than a bench bat. That has been altered to, he’ll be a bench bat but he could be very good… and he’ll be serviceable in the outfield.
It has changed in only one way, that the range of possible outcome has expanded considerably over the last 12 months.
Law shotened this list. It used to be Top 50 25 years old or under……but, ya know, then guys like Polished are on the list, and really, is that necessary?
Ummmmm… remember what happened when they moved him up last year?
.180/.252/.263/.515
shhhh… A+ to AAA and moved to 3B… much better now. The fact that he went to the level he should have been at and started raking again is a good sign to me
Quick movie note: I saw Looper last Friday night and absolutely loved it. One of the better sci-fi films I’ve seen in recent memory and an absolute gem of a screenplay. I was hoping it would get some Oscar love for Best Picture – however it did not, which I suppose is understandable given the genre.
1. Mike Trout
2. Bryce Harper
3. Jason Heyward
4. Giancarlo Stanton
5. Stephen Strasburg
6. Clayton Kershaw
That’s my cream of the crop right there.
He also had additional names in no particular order that just missed:
Others receiving consideration (in alphabetical order): Dustin Ackley, Brandon Belt, Trevor Cahill, Danny Duffy, Neftali Feliz, Starling Marte, Jesus Montero, Mike Moustakas, Jacob Turner.
I mean, how does Mike Minor not make that part of the list? Look at those 13 starts in 2013….he should be right behind Strasburg and Kershaw……………
Dude, Amazon turned on Auto-rip today. All this music should end up available through my streaming players. Must learn more. I’m sure there is a catch in there that cuts me out of this.
It frickin worked! I was watching my cloud player and bam, over 100 albums purchased via amazon.com over the last 15 years just appeared in my cloud. So sweet!
flange1, Couch, the Roku just got even more awesome.
Dude, Amazon turned on Auto-rip today. All this music should end up available through my streaming players. Must learn more. I’m sure there is a catch in there that cuts me out of this.>/i>
I’m just thinking aloud here, but maybe the Braves could sign Prado to a deal that includes a salary for 2013 roughly the same as what they’d pay in arb anyway (about $7.7 million through arbitration) then salaries of $10 million or so in the next 2-3 years. Or use a few million bucks of the $8 million or more they have left in their payroll this winter and give Prado something like $9 million-$10 million for each of the next three seasons.
Otherwise, it sure seems risky to sign Prado for just one year and then have him have the type of season he’s had in two of the past three years, in which case he might command a larger free-agent deal on the open market next winter. _ David O’Brien
1,547 comments Add your comment
ncscoots
January 10th, 2013
1:07 pm
Or, he could become a d**n fine guitar player.
Amen to that, LOL.
‘Course, his hat size might expand a little, too, but what the hey….
George_George
January 10th, 2013
1:10 pm
George_George
January 10th, 2013
12:54 pm
I just made a request to be a member of FB page DOB/MIB fans. I did so because I am tired of this blogs IT problems. I am not tired of most of the bloggers here. Shaun can be a bit tireing lol. DOB most likely will black-ball me at DOB/MIB, we will see. DOB I promise not to mention your work there. I will post here but not as often.
TennesseePaul
January 10th, 2013
1:10 pm
taking a more admirable moral stand to vote against Bonds or Clemens but for Perry.
First, before we proceed, please work through your issue here. Define “taking a more admirable moral stand.” Also, point out when either one of us asserted such.
abeeeewright
January 10th, 2013
1:10 pm
Shaun … “it follows that you think some cheating is acceptable and some cheating isn’t”
No it doesn’t. It follows that some cheating affects the very nature of the game and some doesn’t. HoF doesn’t have to celebrate the folks who made a mockery of the game.
Unchecked steroid abuse would eventually transform the game into one where no one could reach the major leagues without modifying their body.
Since MLB is “the national past-time” (codified in law), this could have a negative impact on all of American society. (That’s why I used dear Nancy’s quote earlier.)
There’s very little chance that unchecked spitball abuse will have any impact on society at all.
Jeff R
January 10th, 2013
1:11 pm
So Perry’s cheating wasn’t as bad because he played in a different era and he was a pitcher?
Shaun, you’re resorting to one of your old tactics: taking another’s remarks out of context, this to slip by flaws in your arguments or to try to divert from others examining your own tortured logic. I never said what you’re suggesting I said. Anyone can go through the back-chain on the blog to know what I wrote.
But I stand by what I said: There are most certainly degrees of cheating. A shoplifter hasn’t committed the same offense as an armed robber. Or do you think so?
Perry cheated, indeed, though his offense wasn’t on the order of Bonds’ cheating. As I stated earlier, when Perry was caught, he was tossed from games and, I believe, fined. Should the penalty for Perry doctoring the ball been tougher? There’s a fair argument that it should have.
But I’m sure any physiologist could explain just what PEDs do to muscle mass, etc., to significantly enhance a ballplayer’s performances. Do you think that when there was a power explosion in MLB it was a coincidence? That that dramatic climb in power numbers by chance happened to track Bonds’, McGwire’s, and Sosa’s (among others) power climbs?
Me don’t think so.
abeeeewright
January 10th, 2013
1:13 pm
scoots … “‘Course, his hat size might expand a little, too, but what the hey….”
LOL.
TennesseePaul
January 10th, 2013
1:15 pm
That rule changed about a decade ago.
–DOB
That all spiked during the Rays early days right? When they signed a lot of HOF types at the end of their career and asked for the team induction? I don’t know if any player actually did such, or if the team actually asked as much, but I recall a lot of speculation and debate on the topic and then the rule changed negating it all.
ncscoots
January 10th, 2013
1:21 pm
or about guilt and trying to cover what the voters perceive as their own sins?
Yes, it’s perfectly reasonable to think that BBWAA members are engaged in a wide-spread conspiracy of hiding their own personal warts through the process of denying HOF entry to worthy candidates.
You can’t make this stuff up, folks.
Brava
January 10th, 2013
1:26 pm
Dang, George. Way to take over the blog.
DAP
January 10th, 2013
1:30 pm
juan Babe Ruth eat few hot dog during the games. Does Hot Dog are stimulant?
yes, by shaun’s definition. per his post earlier on this thread, anything that keeps a player alive (like food) is a performance enhancer, thus, just as bad as steroids.
shaun said We have cholesterol medicine. If a baseball player took such a drug, to keep his cholesterol down, should that be considered a performance-enhancer. Maybe it’s the ultimate performance-enhancer because it’s keeping him alive to perform.
George_George
January 10th, 2013
1:33 pm
Hi Brava
I did not mean to do that. it scrared me , sorry. Have you seen the DOB/MIB fan page? It is nice and it works well.
PMC
January 10th, 2013
1:36 pm
I’m sure the Braves would be comfortable going to the season with a platoon situation in left rather than a proven corner outfielder that can provide big offensive numbers. They do this almost if not every single season (with the inevitable result that they get plastered in the playoffs with no ability to score runs in the least)
The Braves organization is trying to be competitive enough to be there at the end so they can “make the playoffs” but they aren’t really trying to win anything, and that’s exactly what the message is to the fans if they go into the season without addressing left field. We know it, and they know it, but every media type paid by that team is going to act like it’s the best situation ever if they go with a platoon. They fail to address offense adequately every single year. Rinse Lather Repeat.
Offense apparently is expensive.
Threadkiller
January 10th, 2013
1:36 pm
Didn’t Brandon Marshall of the Chicago Bears say most NFL Players are taking Viagra? That’s a performance enhancer! No wonder he has like 9 kids! But I guess the NFL players can kiss the HOF good bye now!
ncscoots
January 10th, 2013
1:45 pm
The Braves organization is trying to be competitive enough to be there at the end so they can “make the playoffs” but they aren’t really trying to win anything, and that’s exactly what the message is to the fans if they go into the season without addressing left field.
In other words, the other seven guys they’ll throw out there every day aren’t all that good, but the addition of just one…single…guy, would be enough to turn them into “winners”?
TheOnlyBravesFan
January 10th, 2013
1:46 pm
Craig Calcaterra @craigcalcaterra
Blue Jays were just given an award by the league for “Philanthropic Excellence.” Their charity work with the Miami Marlins is unsurpassed.
Shaun
January 10th, 2013
1:47 pm
If the voters are going to start worrying about behavior that negatively impacts American society, I’m not sure there are going to be a lot of baseball players worthy of induction.
ncscoots, I think it may be more about what they feel was their own inabilities to properly investigate and uncover widespread steroid use and the guilt around that, not using the Hall of Fame vote to cover up their own warts. It could be more about trying to vindicate and redeem themselves more so than covering up warts.
Murph
January 10th, 2013
1:55 pm
TennesseePaul and Murph, please explain to me, oh, wise ones, why it is taking a more admirable moral stand to vote against Bonds or Clemens but for Perry.
If Perry were up for a vote today, he’d have to answer for what he’s done… but he’s not. So it’s a non-issue.
TheOnlyBravesFan
January 10th, 2013
1:58 pm
TennesseePaul and Murph, please explain to me, oh, wise ones- Shaun
I thought he disliked, and was above these jabs….
Murph
January 10th, 2013
2:03 pm
I thought he disliked, and was above these jabs….
It was a preemptive strike for the eventual hair-challenged comment I’m due to make soon….
Shaun
January 10th, 2013
2:04 pm
Murph, yeah, right. You think if Greg Maddux had been found to have doctor the ball and he admitted to it, it would harm his case all that much? I think some cheating is found to be acceptable if not charming.
TheOnlyBravesFan
January 10th, 2013
2:05 pm
Buster Olney @Buster_ESPN
Another sign of the erosion in the relationship between the D-Backs and Justin Upton: The Uptown signs are coming down, as @Gambo620 reports
He gone
Bat Masterson
January 10th, 2013
2:08 pm
Ten to one one of Shaun’s heros used charming to describe Perry recently.
abeeeewright
January 10th, 2013
2:08 pm
“…(with the inevitable result that they get plastered in the playoffs with no ability to score runs in the least … “
This is really the Rally Stripper’s fault, not the Braves FO.
Once the Stripper invoked the Hanna Rule, third base is the best you can hope for.
Braves FO has obviously given in to the Hanna Rule as evidenced that their premium player is BJ.
ncscoots
January 10th, 2013
2:14 pm
Ten to one
But who did he read recently with a change of heart on Evan Gattis? That’s what I want to know.
TennesseePaul
January 10th, 2013
2:15 pm
I think some cheating is found to be acceptable if not charming.
Spoken like a cheater.
You have yet to answer my questions at 1:10…
TheOnlyBravesFan
January 10th, 2013
2:16 pm
Still has Gattis between a 99OPS+ guy (Hinske) and a 125+ guy in Willingham…. wide net
Murph
January 10th, 2013
2:17 pm
Murph, yeah, right. You think if Greg Maddux had been found to have doctor the ball and he admitted to it, it would harm his case all that much? I think some cheating is found to be acceptable if not charming.
You bet he would have to answer to that. Guaran-frickin-teed.
The thing you seem to not understand is that Perry was elected, what, 20-something years ago? That was a very different time. Hardly anyone had email. There was no Facebook. Social media didn’t exist. The internet was but a baby, compared to what it is today. There was SportsCenter but Baseball Tonight had just started up and, if you remember the first days, wasn’t exactly a big priority for ESPN.
In other words, the dearth of information that we have now about every move a player has made from the moment they were born until the moment they went up for the HoF vote didn’t exist. Nobody debated a player’s actions day in, day out in an online forum in front of thousands upon thousands of people.
Perry, were he to come up for a vote today, after being caught throwing spitballs and ejected from games in front of the Facebook and Twitter universe, would have come under much different scrutiny than he did in 1990 in front of his one local beat reporter.
It’s a different world, Shaun. I know you don’t understand that, but it’s a fact.
Steve Allen
January 10th, 2013
2:18 pm
The biggest change the Braves need to make is to fire Wren and get an aggressive GM who is the brains and the know-how to make the acquisitions we need to finally win the World Series again. Wren is too content with winning seasons to ever put together enough top-tier talent to bring another World Series title to Atlanta. Fire this bum and bring in somebody who isn’t so willing to go after losers like Derek Lowe, or sit on his hands year after year watching other teams make the blockbuster trades to give their teams a chance at the big prize.
abeeeewright
January 10th, 2013
2:18 pm
I was actually a little surprised that El Oso Blanco rose to 13 on the prospect list chart.
Good thing the Venezualan team doesn’t have a “screaming Gattis” on their hats or I might have to get offended.
abeeeewright
January 10th, 2013
2:20 pm
Murph … “It’s a different world, Shaun. I know you don’t understand that, but it’s a fact.”
One man’s facts are another man’s assumptions.
TennesseePaul
January 10th, 2013
2:23 pm
scoots, no heart changing. still believes Gattis will be a bench bat. Merely found a description which encompasses bench bat while opening the door to all other possible outcomes in the event bench bat proves to be a gross underestimate.
Murph
January 10th, 2013
2:24 pm
One man’s facts are another man’s assumptions.
That makes no sense in this context.
Shaun
January 10th, 2013
2:24 pm
Murph, yes, a different world in which a significant number of voters think they have moral omniscience, as far as which type of cheating is worse than others.
It’s also a different world in that more people than ever know how insane it is that writers refuse to vote in guys like Raines and think Jack Morris is a Hall of Famer. The fact that smarter people than a significant number of writers have access to more information is making the Hall of Fame more and more of a joke. And frankly, it’s sad for those who want the Hall of Fame to mean something.
Bat Masterson
January 10th, 2013
2:29 pm
But who did he read recently with a change of heart on Evan Gattis?
Beats me but I got a kick out of reading all that last night. Same with the ‘I don’t care about the HOF but I’m gonna bitch about it for a few days’ stuff.
O.M.G.
January 10th, 2013
2:30 pm
ab @ 2:08. “Now that’s funny, I don’t care who you are.”
ncscoots
January 10th, 2013
2:32 pm
It’s also a different world in that more people than ever know how insane it is that writers refuse to vote in guys like Raines and think Jack Morris is a Hall of Famer.
Again, with the Jack Morris hate. What is it about this guy that makes you so froth at the mouth?
For what it’s worth, I don’t think he’s HOF-caliber. But, then, I don’t think Raines qualifies, either. Everybody knows that my personal Hall is a closet, LOL. Any doubt, he’s out. And for any player for whom the discussion starts with, “You can make a case that…”, that’s doubt.
TennesseePaul
January 10th, 2013
2:33 pm
in which a significant number of voters think they have moral omniscience
While that sounds like a great supper power, I think Payne’s own omniscience is more impressive. It isn’t merely restricted to “moral knowledge.” It clearly encompasses the thoughts and minds and motives of at least 569 writers across the nation and throughout all history as well as every single online blogger, commenter, and reader and every single person who has ever had connection or interest, if only fleeting, to the game of baseball.
Murph
January 10th, 2013
2:33 pm
Murph, yes, a different world in which a significant number of voters think they have moral omniscience, as far as which type of cheating is worse than others.
Have you seen or read a single writer say this? If so, post a link.
You know what would happen if it were Perry who just came up for the vote and not Bonds? There would be 100’s of videos on YouTube showing every single suspected spitball thrown by Perry over his career. There would be analysts that measure the exact break and trajectory of every pitch Perry had ever thrown. He would have been run through the mill with every blogger, sports writer, etc hammering him with questions about his cheating. People would have spent way too many hours predicting what would have happened in game 142 if he hadn’t struck out those 4 batters with spitters. He would have been a major topic across social media… photoshops of him slathering entire jars of Vaseline on baseball would have popped up all over the internet. There would have been a fake Twitter account created talking about how he cheats during eye exams and scuffs his kid’s basketballs hoping to gain him an edge in his YMCA league.
That’s what would have happened. Instead it was a minor story that came and went… much as most stories did back before the interweb was in every pocket, on every desk, installed in every TV, etc…
Lew
January 10th, 2013
2:34 pm
A different world maybe (well yeah, it IS, but….) and yet I sincerely doubt that anyone did NOT know about Perry’s ball doctoring.
TheOnlyBravesFan
January 10th, 2013
2:37 pm
BillShanks @BillShanks
Braves non-roster invitees for spring: Ryan Buchter, Yohan Flande, Sean Gilmartin, Dusty Hughes, Daniel Rodriguez, JR Graham, Wirfin Obispo
Bat Masterson
January 10th, 2013
2:38 pm
At any rate, I like the logo & hope Bonds never makes the HOF.
TheOnlyBravesFan
January 10th, 2013
2:39 pm
JIM BOWDEN @JimBowdenESPNxm
If I had a vote…this would be my 2014 HOF ballot: Maddux, Glavine, Thomas, Bonds, Clemens, Piazza, Bagwell, Biggio, Schilling, Morris
our clean guys w/ those cheaters…
TennesseePaul
January 10th, 2013
2:39 pm
Gaylord Perry was not a first ballot hall of famer.
Brava
January 10th, 2013
2:40 pm
JIM BOWDEN @JimBowdenESPNxm
Billy Wagner just told us in his opinion Craig Biggio definitely should have been inducted in the Hall of Fame yesterday #SXM
TheOnlyBravesFan
January 10th, 2013
2:40 pm
BillShanks @BillShanks
Continued… Gus Schlosser, Luis De La Cruz, Evan Gattis, Matt Kennelly, Matt Pagnozzi, Braeden Schlehuber, Jose Yepez, Nick Ahmed..
BillShanks @BillShanks
Continued… Blake DeWitt, Joe Leonard, Todd Cunningham, Joe Terdoslavich and Jordan Parraz. 21 total non-roster invitees to big league camp
Nice group. Show up big please Cunningham, Terdo, Ahmed, and Graham…. interested in Gilmartin the nole too
DAP
January 10th, 2013
2:41 pm
why is tim raines such an obvious HOFer?
Shaun
January 10th, 2013
2:42 pm
ncscoots, the irony is that I wouldn’t mind Jack Morris being in. It’s the Hall of Fame, and I wouldn’t mind it being about fame, literally, in addition to performance.
But there is just no way to objectively say that Morris’s performance should get him in, unless you think guys like David Wells, Tim Wakefield and Mickey Lolich should get in.
Brian Kenny did an excellent job comparing Lolich to Morris. Similar regular seasons and Lolich was a better postseason pitcher, essentially.
TheOnlyBravesFan
January 10th, 2013
2:42 pm
Kevin McAlpin @KevinMcAlpin
#Braves non-roster pitcher invitees (cont’d): Gus Schlosser & Alex Wood.
Shanks missed Wood…. real interested in him too, guy was $$ lights out at Rome this year. Looked really good.
Shaun
January 10th, 2013
2:44 pm
why is tim raines such an obvious HOFer?
Because his career and peak value are plenty good enough.
Murph
January 10th, 2013
2:44 pm
Maddux and Glavine will both get in next year… and I’d bet that they are it. Maybe Thomas, too, but I seriously doubt that they’ll elect more than 3 players for the HoF in a single year.
Bat Masterson
January 10th, 2013
2:44 pm
I seem to recall some disquiet, at the time, regarding Perry’s HOF admittance
ncscoots
January 10th, 2013
2:44 pm
and yet I sincerely doubt that anyone did NOT know about Perry’s ball doctoring.
If Perry had thrown as many spitters as people often accuse, they’d still be wiping up saliva in ML parks.
What folks forget is that just the possibility of being thrown a spitter messed with hitters’ heads. That’s no different than putting into the hitter’s head that you might throw a changeup in a fastball count. That happens to be not illegal.
Perry was brilliant in that way. He ran through the same set of fidgeting on every pitch and hitters out-thought themselves in the box. This, boys and girls, is the art of pitching. The fact is that, once Perry had placed in the minds of hitters that he could throw them a loaded pitch, he didn’t have to load up. And, in the vast majority of his pitches, he didn’t.
Murph
January 10th, 2013
2:49 pm
How many voters are still around who voted back in the year that Perry got elected? Any way to know this?
Seems that’s the only way to lend any credence to Shaun’s hypothesis that voters view Bonds’ cheating as deplorable and Perry’s as charming.
If a voter voted for Perry but against Bonds… well, then you’re on to something Shaun.
ncscoots
January 10th, 2013
2:50 pm
I seem to recall some disquiet, at the time, regarding Perry’s HOF admittance
Retired in 83, not admitted until 91. So, third or fourth ballot, I guess. But I didn’t see any of the then-current HOF boycotting the induction ceremony for him. Bob Feller and Warren Spahn probably didn’t care much for it, though.
raleighbravefan
January 10th, 2013
2:51 pm
Gaylord Perry waited several years to get in, exactly because of the “doctored ball” issue. Many writers refused to vote for him. In the end, his record (over 300 wins, Cy young award in both leagues), won out. hat, and the fact that he was one of baseball’s best pitchers of his era, doctoring or not. He never really admitted to regularly doctoring the ball, but joked about wanting the other team to be thinking about it. He was actually caught ONCE (I believe), and was thrown out of that game…near the end of his career.
I will admit that my opinion is skewed. Gaylord was a good ole boy from eastern NC (peanut farmer), and at the time I was a big Giants fan due to him, Juan Marichal, the Alou brothers, andof course, my personal hero and greatest all around player of all time, Willie Mays.
Shaun
January 10th, 2013
2:51 pm
I’ve never changed on Gattis. It seems to me he’s best suited for a part-time roll unless he proves himself as a major league catcher. But I don’t think he would absolutely kill at team in leftfield. Said team would just need to have plenty of offense in other areas.
A Willingham-type player is probably the absolute best we can hope for. But a player slightly better than Eric Hinske is probably what we’ll get.
DAP
January 10th, 2013
2:52 pm
shaun why is tim raines such an obvious HOFer?
Because his career and peak value are plenty good enough.
thats pretty vague and non informative. was checking his stats, wondering why you(and others ive read) think he is such an easy pick. for someone like me who weighs WAR and OPS+ fairly lightly in the equation, i dont see it.
Bat Masterson
January 10th, 2013
2:57 pm
I’ve never changed on Gattis.
Maybe not. But then again, if memory serves, you claimed he was in no way a prospect and could not play in the outfield, period. Seems you said if he could the Braves would have put him in centerfield.
Mikega1965
January 10th, 2013
2:58 pm
Comparing Rome stats
Heyward 449 AB .323-11-52 .388 .871
Freeman 491 AB .316-18-95 .378 .899
Gattis 338 AB .322-22-71 .386 .986
raleighbravefan
January 10th, 2013
2:58 pm
scoots at 2:44 – Pretty much what I’ve been trying to say about Perry.
ncscoots
January 10th, 2013
2:59 pm
Most here know I’m a baseball history fan, and thus the Jackie Robinson Dodgers hold a special place for me. And Preacher Roe is probably my all-time favorite “character” on those teams:
Although Roe achieved notice for a spitball, he had a variation that was perfectly legal — his fake spitball. One time, pitching against the Boston Braves’ Jim Russell, Roe went to his cap repeatedly. Each time Roe did that, Russell stepped out of the batter’s box. After this went on three or four times, Roe threw the ball. As he recalled it to Roger Kahn in “The Boys of Summer” (Harper & Row, 1971): “He’s waiting for that good hard drop. I touch the visor and throw a big slow curve. He was so wound up he couldn’t swing. But he spit at the ball as it went by.”
Efrim
January 10th, 2013
3:02 pm
Not sure if this was posted, but Keith Law ranked his Top 25 players under age 25 and the Braves got FOUR players on that list:
#3 Jason Heyward
#19 Freddie Freeman
#21 Andrelton Simmons
#23 Craig Kimbrel
DAP
January 10th, 2013
3:03 pm
im sorry to go back to dale murphy on every HOF discussion, but i just wonder how shaun can think murphy is a borderline case but raines is an easy in. if someone thinks murphy is borderline, i can deal with that. but to think murphy is borderline and raines is definitely worthy (or rice, or dawson) doesnt make sense to me.
and i dont understand why raines can be worth so much more WAR than murphy, although his stats, in general, are worse.
TheOnlyBravesFan
January 10th, 2013
3:05 pm
Mark Bowman @mlbbowman
Braves list Joe Terdoslavich as an OF on list of non-roster invites. Further indication his days as a 3B could be complete. Likely 1B/OF
Man, if he could win the LF job… .315/.372/.480/.852
Efrim
January 10th, 2013
3:05 pm
Full List:
1. Mike Trout
2. Bryce Harper
3. Jason Heyward
4. Giancarlo Stanton
5. Stephen Strasburg
6. Clayton Kershaw
7. Manny Machado
8. Starlin Castro
9. Madison Bumgarner
10. Elvis Andrus
11. Brett Lawrie
12. Salvador Perez
13. Aroldis Chapman
14. Matt Moore
15. Jarrod Parker
16. Chris Sale
17. Matt Harvey
18. Anthony Rizzo
19. Freddie Freeman
20. Yasmani Grandal
21. Andrelton Simmons
22. Will Middlebrooks
23. Craig Kimbrel
24. Eric Hosmer
25. Chris Tillman
Bat Masterson
January 10th, 2013
3:05 pm
Not sure if this was posted, but Keith Law ranked his Top 25 players under age 25 and the Braves got FOUR players on that list:
#3 Jason Heyward
#19 Freddie Freeman
#21 Andrelton Simmons
#23 Craig Kimbrel
Well it’s not listed in the order they will be leaving the team is it? Heyward, Kimbrell, Freeman, Simmons
Murph
January 10th, 2013
3:06 pm
Not sure if this was posted, but Keith Law ranked his Top 25 players under age 25 and the Braves got FOUR players on that list
Pretty special to have 3 of them in the everyday lineup. No worry about sophomore slumps this year, these guys are going to take over.
Efrim
January 10th, 2013
3:07 pm
Braves list Joe Terdoslavich as an OF on list of non-roster invites. Further indication his days as a 3B could be complete. Likely 1B/OF
So, he’s a bench bat. Which is pretty much what everyone except the Braves said from day one.
TheOnlyBravesFan
January 10th, 2013
3:07 pm
2. Bryce Harper
3. Jason Heyward
4. Giancarlo Stanton
Switch 2-4…. then 3-4 are flip flop, both about equal to me
Murph
January 10th, 2013
3:08 pm
Man, if he could win the LF job… .315/.372/.480/.852
Ummmmm… remember what happened when they moved him up last year?
.180/.252/.263/.515
Hugo Z Hackenbush
January 10th, 2013
3:08 pm
His autobiography will be entitled “Terd in the Outfield.” (damn, I thought I had the willpower to avoid stuff like this!)
TheOnlyBravesFan
January 10th, 2013
3:10 pm
So, he’s a bench bat.
Wouldn’t mind that…. backup 1B, switch hitter w/ contact ability. Probably hard for him to move past Mejia and Schafer/Georgie though for that last bench spot
ncscoots
January 10th, 2013
3:10 pm
No worry about sophomore slumps this year, these guys are going to take over.
Let’s hope Heyward and Freeman used the offseason to remember how to hit LHP, then.
TennesseePaul
January 10th, 2013
3:11 pm
Seems you said if he could the Braves would have put him in centerfield
No, what he had stated was, Gattis isn’t any good, and if he were good, the Braves would have moved him to the outfield sooner. Like, perhaps while he was on his pilgrimage in his late teen’s and early 20s. As it was, Gattis was “too old” and therefore not much more than a bench bat. That has been altered to, he’ll be a bench bat but he could be very good… and he’ll be serviceable in the outfield.
It has changed in only one way, that the range of possible outcome has expanded considerably over the last 12 months.
Efrim
January 10th, 2013
3:11 pm
Law shotened this list. It used to be Top 50 25 years old or under……but, ya know, then guys like Polished are on the list, and really, is that necessary?
Bat Masterson
January 10th, 2013
3:12 pm
Let’s hope Heyward and Freeman used the offseason to remember how to hit LHP, then.
Looking forward to this……..
TheOnlyBravesFan
January 10th, 2013
3:12 pm
Ummmmm… remember what happened when they moved him up last year?
.180/.252/.263/.515
shhhh… A+ to AAA and moved to 3B… much better now. The fact that he went to the level he should have been at and started raking again is a good sign to me
Murph
January 10th, 2013
3:12 pm
Let’s hope Heyward and Freeman used the offseason to remember how to hit LHP, then.
Ain’t no thing but a chicken wing.
ncscoots
January 10th, 2013
3:14 pm
Gattis’ projection] has changed in only one way, that the range of possible outcome has expanded considerably over the last 12 months.
In that particular universe, that’s the same as now calling him a perennial All-Star.
Efrim
January 10th, 2013
3:14 pm
Quick movie note: I saw Looper last Friday night and absolutely loved it. One of the better sci-fi films I’ve seen in recent memory and an absolute gem of a screenplay. I was hoping it would get some Oscar love for Best Picture – however it did not, which I suppose is understandable given the genre.
Murph
January 10th, 2013
3:15 pm
shhhh… A+ to AAA and moved to 3B… much better now.
We’ll see how he does at AAA this season… pretty much a zero percent chance he wins a job out of ST.
Efrim
January 10th, 2013
3:16 pm
Jason (NJ)
Could you rank these 3 Atlanta pitchers on future value? Assuming good health for all. Beachy, Medlin and Minor?
Klaw (1:46 PM)
Medlen, Beachy, Minor, assuming Beachy comes back healthy.
Sounds right to me.
ncscoots
January 10th, 2013
3:16 pm
Ain’t no thing but a chicken wing.
Roger-dodger, cool codger.
Here’s hoping they light up LHP like a NASA night launch.
RC
January 10th, 2013
3:17 pm
2. Bryce Harper
3. Jason Heyward
4. Giancarlo Stanton
I think Harper being 20 while the other two are 23 probably has something to do with it. It’s pretty much semantics anyway….all 3 are studs.
Efrim
January 10th, 2013
3:18 pm
Klaw (2:02 PM)
Stats-oriented folks say: These eight players get in because of facts X, Y, and Z. Yesterday, the BBWAA said: No one gets in because screw you.
Heee.
Bat Masterson
January 10th, 2013
3:19 pm
.300/.400/.500+ for Heyward
.300/.360/.480 for Freeman
TheOnlyBravesFan
January 10th, 2013
3:21 pm
.300/.400/.500+ for Heyward
That OBP man…. after going .329 the last 2 years… wow, that’d be a jump! Would be glad to see that though…
It’s pretty much semantics anyway….all 3 are studs.
Yep… I’m just glad we’ve got 1 of them
Bat Masterson
January 10th, 2013
3:25 pm
after going .329 the last 2 years
So you’ve said. How about some context? What’s happened for the last two years?
RC
January 10th, 2013
3:25 pm
Two things about Law’s list jump out at me:
1. Hard to believe that Simmons is only one year younger than Elvis Andrus. The Tex trade (version 1.0) still hurts.
2. Also hard to believe that Starlin Castro is younger then Heyward, Stanton, etc. Seems like he’s been around forever.
Efrim
January 10th, 2013
3:26 pm
If I’m grouping that list:
1. Mike Trout
2. Bryce Harper
3. Jason Heyward
4. Giancarlo Stanton
5. Stephen Strasburg
6. Clayton Kershaw
That’s my cream of the crop right there.
He also had additional names in no particular order that just missed:
Others receiving consideration (in alphabetical order): Dustin Ackley, Brandon Belt, Trevor Cahill, Danny Duffy, Neftali Feliz, Starling Marte, Jesus Montero, Mike Moustakas, Jacob Turner.
I mean, how does Mike Minor not make that part of the list? Look at those 13 starts in 2013….he should be right behind Strasburg and Kershaw……………
TennesseePaul
January 10th, 2013
3:26 pm
Dude, Amazon turned on Auto-rip today. All this music should end up available through my streaming players. Must learn more. I’m sure there is a catch in there that cuts me out of this.
Efrim
January 10th, 2013
3:28 pm
2012*
Efrim
January 10th, 2013
3:30 pm
Going to see Silver Linings Playbook tomorrow night. Gotta catch some of these Oscar picks and they loaded up the awards ballots.
ncscoots
January 10th, 2013
3:31 pm
That OBP man…. after going .329 the last 2 years… wow, that’d be a jump!
That would be an extra six or seven walks or hits a month, over last year. Why would you think that’s so out of line?
Bat Masterson
January 10th, 2013
3:31 pm
I mean, how does Mike Minor not make that part of the list? Look at those 13 starts in 2013… Efrim
You sound like TOBF. What did you think of DOB’s Prado contract proposal?
TennesseePaul
January 10th, 2013
3:31 pm
It frickin worked! I was watching my cloud player and bam, over 100 albums purchased via amazon.com over the last 15 years just appeared in my cloud. So sweet!
flange1, Couch, the Roku just got even more awesome.
TheOnlyBravesFan
January 10th, 2013
3:33 pm
Joe Lucia @JoeCNC
Fredi called for 73 IBB in 2011. Down to 40 in 2012. Going the right way, at least, right around league average
What’s happened for the last two years?
Yeah, he was hurt last in 2011, but his 2012 OBP wasn’t great either… .335… OBP for power
Efrim
January 10th, 2013
3:34 pm
What did you think of DOB’s Prado contract proposal?
What was it?
Murph
January 10th, 2013
3:35 pm
Dude, Amazon turned on Auto-rip today. All this music should end up available through my streaming players. Must learn more. I’m sure there is a catch in there that cuts me out of this.>/i>
It only works for CD’s bought from Amazon, right?
Bat Masterson
January 10th, 2013
3:39 pm
I’m just thinking aloud here, but maybe the Braves could sign Prado to a deal that includes a salary for 2013 roughly the same as what they’d pay in arb anyway (about $7.7 million through arbitration) then salaries of $10 million or so in the next 2-3 years. Or use a few million bucks of the $8 million or more they have left in their payroll this winter and give Prado something like $9 million-$10 million for each of the next three seasons.
Otherwise, it sure seems risky to sign Prado for just one year and then have him have the type of season he’s had in two of the past three years, in which case he might command a larger free-agent deal on the open market next winter. _ David O’Brien