I… I don’t know what to say. Except thank you, thank you, thank you Andrew for pointing this out. The rest of my reaction requires song.
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I… I don’t know what to say. Except thank you, thank you, thank you Andrew for pointing this out. The rest of my reaction requires song.
Use code “Journal” for a 5% discount.
Just call me Moses.
I’m truly shocked. As odd as it may sound, Millwood & Lockart for Estrada doesn’t feel so bad. I just hope we don’t have to trade Chipper to get rid of Vinny…
Praise be to thee, Andrew, and all the great tidings you bring.
Maybe that gives us room to bring up ither Travis Wilson or Wilson Bentimet!
….or trade for Rey Ordonez!
(hehe)
Not spoil everyone’s party, but I have this eerie feeling that either DeRosa or Giles will get a hangnail on April 30th, and the Braves will use it as an excuse to sign Keith on May 1st as “insurance.” Our “insurance” policy will then proceed to get about 60% of the at-bats at second base until the end of the season.
There will be no rest until he signs with another team.
Agreed, Craig, but that quote from Wren is music to my ears. Giles has been rumored to be trade bait for about a full year now, and I was not looking forward to that day. If they’re gonna give him another chance for a breakout season, I have a feeling he might just take it this time.
I’m going to get drunk tonight.
There will be no rest until he signs with another team
This makes you feel secure? Wait until he’s signed by Ed Wade and traded to Atlanta for Andruw.
Colin, the saddest thing about that comment was that until about three weeks ago I would have been 100% certain that you were joking.
I know that I’ve already said this, but I’d just like to reiterate HOW GREAT THIS DAY IS. Happy January 9th everyone.
However, I would just like to remind everyone that back in 1997 (yes, I know that was quite a while ago), Keith Lockhart hit .273 with a .337 OBP and .476 SLG in 147 at-bats for the Braves. Now, that doesn’t make up for the crap he has done for the Bravos since, but seeing as how he’s now an ex-Brave, I’d like to say that he did a good job for us that year and I’d like to thank him for that. The farewell may come a couple years and several hundred at-bats too late, but at least Lockhart wasn’t absolutely useless during the entirety of his tenure with Atlanta (like Dave Gallhager, Bill Pecota, Rico Brogna, Mark Davis, Albie Lopez and a few others were).
Now, bring on the Champaign!
Any chance of Bobby leaving with his departing lovechild? 😉
Throwing Albie into the useless category is a little rough. Overpriced? Absolutely, but blame JS for that one. Superfluous? Possibly, since Bobby only used him in blowouts. But Albie posted a 2.95 ERA as a reliever. And if you only consider the outings where he pitched less than 40 pitches (which seems like a reasonable number for a reliever), his ERA would’ve been an amazing 1.76. He wasn’t useless. He was simply used incorrectly.
Throwing Albie into the useless category is a little rough….He wasn’t useless. He was simply used incorrectly.
Hey, your right about Albie’s ERA being alright as a reliever, and that’s the same song KC was singing when they signed him, but lets just look at the games in which Albie racked up that sparkling ERA (starting with the most recent):
……
-Sept. 20: 6-2 loss (Albie entered at down 5-0 in the 3rd)
-Sept. 18 6-5 loss (Albie entered at 4-2 lead in the 7th)
-Sept. 16 5-1 loss (Albie entered down 5-1 in the 8th)
-Sept. 13 13-3 loss (Albie entered down 12-1 in the 5th)
-Sept. 11 5-0 loss (Albie entered down 5-0 in the 5th)
-Sept. 8 7-0 loss (Albie entered down 4-0 in the 8th)
-Aug. 22 9-2 loss (Albie entered down 4-0 in the 5th)
-Aug. 20 6-2 loss (Albie entered down 6-2 in the 8th)
-Aug. 17 10-3 loss (Albie entered down 10-3 in the 9th)
-Aug. 13 7-3 loss (Albie entered down 7-2 in the 9th)
-Aug. 10 8-5 loss (Albie entered down 4-1 in the 4th)
-Aug. 8 6-5 WIN (Albie entered down 5-2 in the 8th)
-Jul. 28 7-1 loss (Albie entered down 5-1 in the 9th)
-Jul. 24 WIN 10-0 (Albie entered with a 10-0 lead in the 8th)
-Jul. 17 WIN 10-0 (Albie entered with a 10-0 lead in the 9th)
-Jun. 25 loss 7-4 (Albie started game, let up 5 runs in 4 innings)
-Jun. 22 WIN 15-2 (Albie entered with a 15-2 lead in the 9th)
……..
I guss I could go on like this for the rest of the season, but it’s so darn depressing! So let’s break down the games in which Albie pitched:
………
1. 17 games, 4 victories 13 losses (Albie finished the season by pitching in 11 straight losses)
2. Of his last 13 games, he was asked to pitch with a lead only once
3. Of his last 17 games, Albie entered when the defecit was already 5 runs (or higher) 8 times, and when the defecit was already 4 runs (or highter) 13 times.(!)
4. Discluding his only start during this period, he pitched in only one game where the defecit was at 2 runs
5. Discluding his only start, Albie did not pitch in any game that was either tied or as close as one run
…..
In short, Albie Lopez racked up his crystal ERA by pitching almost exclusively in low (or very low) leverage situations. He was the definition of a mop-up man, and of the 17 games listed here, Albie seems to have only been in a position of real consequence four times (June 25, Aug. 8, Aug. 10, and Sept. 18).
That’s as close to useless as a pitcher on the 25-man roster can be.
FWIW, I think there’s a fair chance that Albie performs about the same in 2003 as Paul Byrd… Perhaps even better.