Archive for the ‘atlanta braves’ Category

From the Braves Vent …

“Millwood, Wainwright, Marquis 16 games over .500 this year. Kawakami, Vazquez, Lowe 3 games over .500 this year. Love the way we trade the bad pitchers.” and “The Cardinals have 16 game winner Adam Wainwright and the Braves have memories of overpaid J.D. Drew.”

YOU TELL US: While hindsight is always 20/20, how do YOU think the Braves’ history of trades and offseason dealings — especially regarding pitchers at both the major and minor league levels — has come to impact the club? Are the Braves less interested in cultivating young arms than in going after offense? Which would YOU rather have?

Continue reading Atlanta Braves: What if… the Braves HADN’T given up on pitchers like Wainwright, Marquis and Millwood? »

Two nights at the Ted, two losses to the last-place NL West Padres.

YOU TELL US: Have the Braves just blown their Wild Card chances? How can these playoff hopes be saved?

Continue reading Atlanta Braves: Another loss to the Padres… should we wave bye-bye to our Wild Card chances? »

The facts aren’t pretty: NL East-leader Philadelphia came to town and took two of three from the Braves. Philly slugger Ryan Howard dominated the series. Atlanta lost a chance to gain serious division ground.

YOU TELL US: What went so wrong this past weekend against the Phillies? Do the Braves still have a shot at the Wild Card? And what’s Atlanta got to do going forward to make the postseason?

Continue reading Atlanta Braves: Was weekend Philly series such a huge flop or do we still have a Wild Card shot? »

The Boston Red Sox cut John Smoltz Friday after the veteran pitcher, signed as a free agent this past January, managed only a 2-5 record in eight starts with an 8.33 ERA.

YOU TELL US: Do you think Smoltz, who racked up 154 saves from 2001-04 as Atlanta’s closer, should be re-signed to help in the Braves bullpen? Or is he, at age 42 and coming off shoulder rehab, simply out of gas?

Continue reading Atlanta Braves: Should John Smoltz be re-signed to help Braves bullpen? »

Mannywood: Hip or hype? (AP Photo)

Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez has been back from that 50-game suspension for use of performance-enhancing substances for a while now and Los Angeles appears a lock for the NL West division title. Sounds like life is good in Mannywood.

YOU TELL US: If the Braves and Dodgers can sneak in a game or two between downpours this weekend, how will you greet Manny at the Ted? Do you even care about his having been suspended in the first place? Better question — is Dodgers-Braves still the rivalry it once was?

Continue reading Dodgers vs. Braves: Mannywood Mania comes to Hotlanta — or not. Is Manny Ramirez overhyped? »

When former Braves outfielder Jeff Francoeur, recently traded to Atlanta’s NL East rival, the New York Mets, returns to Turner Field tonight for the Mets-Braves series, there’s sure to be mixed fan reaction.

YOU TELL US: Are you going to the game? If you are, how will you greet Frenchy? And even if you’re not going to The Ted, what’s your reaction to seeing Francoeur in Mets orange and blue?

Continue reading Atlanta Braves: Francoeur returns with Mets — what will your reaction be? »

   

Statue of Braves' winningest pitcher Phil Niekro welcomes fans to Turner Field. (AJC file)

 

The Atlanta Braves have had a storied history. Players have come and gone, but some still remain fixtures of the franchise. With so many standing out, we pose this question: Who makes up you All-Time Braves roster? We begin answering that question by asking you to vote on players — position by position.

And with that we begin with the pitchers. Many talented hurlers have graced the mound in an Atlanta Braves uniform, but only six — starters and relievers — will get the call.

Phil Niekro (1966-1983, 1987) Atlanta’s all-time leader in wins (266) had 13-straight seasons of 10 or more wins. Niekro also holds the team record for most complete games (226) and innings pitched (4,553).

Gene Garber (1978-1987) The Atlanta Braves’ leader in game finished (388), ranks second on the team’s all-time saves list behind John Smoltz with 141 saves. In 10 seasons with Atlanta, the sidearm …

Continue reading Pick the Braves’ all-time pitchers »

Frenchy swears by ‘turkey underwear.’ (AJC)

Braves right fielder Jeff Francoeur says the team is 7-0 when he wears his lucky ‘turkey underwear’ to Turner Field. And in Chicago, a die-hard Cubs fan says he’ll go on a post-All-Star game ‘hunger strike’ (actually, he’ll eat 500 calories a day) as a way of “shaming” the team until they win five in a row, something the Cubs haven’t done this season.

Photos: Ultimate Braves fans over the years

YOU TELL US: We KNOW the Braves should get more hits and play more fundamentally sound baseball. But we’re asking you what extreme measures you, as a fan, would take to get this team going on a hot streak — a hunger strike? Heading to The Ted in special skivvies? Getting a rally mohawk? What, just for fun, would be your ULTIMATE Braves Doomsday Plan? (Keep it clean, y’all.)

Continue reading Atlanta Braves: Turkey underwear, Cubs fan ‘hunger strikes’ – what’s your weird way to get Atlanta winning? »

Aye, Skipper: Sweet Lou or Bobby? (AP / AJC)

When AJC columnist Mark Bradley asked readers if the Braves needed to say goodbye to longtime manager Bobby Cox, he found that although most fans who responded to his poll said they would like a change at the team’s helm, it wasn’t by the large margin he’d anticipated.

“Sixty percent of roughly 2,000 respondents said the Braves do in fact need a new manager. I figured it would be 70-30, maybe even 80-20,” Bradley wrote in his June 23 blog.

And with the Braves at 35-40, in fourth place in the NL East and five games behind the division-leading Phillies, many AJC readers have complained on our blogs and in the Braves Vent about Cox’s calm, cool and collected “player’s manager” style; the yelling and insults appear reserved for umpires. Try to remember the last time you read a story including the phrase “Braves clubhouse controversy.” But some fans say the Braves lack fire, as does Cox, and a less player-oriented manager must take over …

Continue reading Atlanta Braves: Bobby Cox vs. Lou Piniella – Which managerial approach works best? »

Can anything salvage the Braves’ rapidly sinking season?

The team lost six of nine games and all three series on a trip that ended Sunday in Boston with manager Bobby Cox, third baseman Chipper Jones and reliever Eric O’Flaherty being ejected by home plate umpire Bill Hohn in the 7th after arguing a would-be strike-three call on an 0-2 fastball to ex-Brave J.D. Drew. 

Atlanta’s luck? On the next pitch, Drew singled in a run for a 5-4 Red Sox lead. Adding insult to injury, another ex-Brave — Boston’s Nick Green — nailed a 9th-inning walkoff homer off reliever Jeff Bennett for the 6-5 Red Sox win.

After a makeup game tonight with the Cubs (34-31), the Braves (32-36) finish their tough interleague schedule, hosting the AL East’s top contenders — the Yankees (38-31) and the division-leading Red Sox (42-27) — before rounding out the homestand against NL East-leading Philadelphia (36-31).

YOU TELL US: Can the Braves possibly pull off a winning homestand against the likes of New …

Continue reading Atlanta Braves: Will wretched road trip lead to horrible homestand vs. Yankees, Red Sox? »