Live, from Tiny American Bandbox!
129 Comments
Advertisement
Use code “Journal” for a 5% discount.
Live, from Tiny American Bandbox!
Use code “Journal” for a 5% discount.
I bet somewhere Raffy Belliard is pissed he didn’t get a chance to hit in this park!
Bayless is up like 68-1. Alex needs to change his vote.
how is Boyer, I havent heard anything else about his back
I’ll be going to the Thursday game. I’m pissed that Eric Milton won’t be pitching.
Driving from Birmingham, I listened to the classic rock station and realized what Chipper’s problem is. It’s his theme song. He should switch from “Crazy Train” to “Iron Man” and then he’d never leave the lineup.
Lineup:
Furcal
Giles
Jones
Jones
LaRoche
Johnson
Francouer
McCann
Sosa
Two things Francouer should be behind LaRoche and Langerhans should be playing for Johnson. Johson is our 4th outfielder he’s been terrible at the plate and I dont think his defense is better than Ryan..just my thoughts!
I think Bobby likes to stack another lefty behind LaRoche to try to induce the other team to bring in a lefty so he can unleash Julio on them. I would prefer he just swap Johnson and McCann. Not a big deal, at least we got Johnson out of the top of the order, now if we can get him out of the order all together we might have something.
Furcal was safe there. Poor call.
Ortiz has zero control this inning.
“This inning”?
Sosa should have swung there. Everybody’s hitting this guy right now.
Put it away now, Marcus.
Explain this to me… Why is Sean Casey popular? He doesn’t hit like a first baseman and that was a pathetic effort at defense.
I HATE watching on the PC. I’m in LA and there is zero baseball on. Hopeless.
Ramon Ortiz is like the opposite of a “stopper”.
Team have a winning streak? Bring out Ortiz. He’ll kill that buzz.
Mac, I think Casey’s already given up. This game is already over.
“You’ll dig it.” Ha! I love those Bushwacked kids!
Why is Sean Casey popular? He doesn’t hit like a first baseman and that was a pathetic effort at defense.
The average fan doesn’t buy into the belief that a player should hit in a certain manner according to what position he plays. Casey is a good hitter and a nice guy, the reasons they like him should be obvious.
Johnson is pathetic. Free Langerhans.
He’s not a good hitter. He’s hit .307/.366/.404 this season. That’s not atypical, really. He hit better last year, but just about the same in 2003 and a lot worse in 2002. It’s like if the Atlanta fans had embraced Vinny or somebody like that. If Cincinnati fans think they’re going anywhere with Sean Casey in the middle of their lineup they deserve to lose.
Even if the average fan thinks that? Apparently, there’s a difference if their fanness is average.
My statement stands no matter what he just did.
Yeah, but it’s BA heavy, which most fans fall in love with. Remeber Dirty “He’s a .300 hitter!” sanchez.
Oooooooh.. gameday even has fancy strikeout graphics.
Please Sosa, give us more than 5 innings
Sosa seems to be able to turn it up a notch when he needs to.
Ball 4, Ball 5, Ball 6…
Feel free to let one go by Jeff.
lol francouer has swung at every pitch and theyve all been outside the strike zone
Once again, Sosa tempts DIPS fates.
Why am I not enamored with Jorge Sosa? Maybe it’s the 1.47 WHIP and 5 BB/9 innings. I need fake fingernails.
I don’t think Mr. Sosa is going to be around much longer.
Is he missing the K zone as badly as it seems on Gameday?
Just for the record, I never wanted Sosa to be the “team’s MVP” this year.
Games like these are the reason why.
Sheesh.
Train wreck avoided yet again. This guy drives me absolutely CRAZY.
Kyle S, for his next Sabernomics fill-in article, needs to investigate where Sosa’s 2005 ranks among THE LUCKIEST SEASONS EVER.
He was, yes. Strike one actually wasn’t anywhere near either.
Gameday licensing agreement strikes again. Guess they had to make it look like a strike. Luck again. Does he drink potions?
Earlier, Skip “sympathized” with Palmeiro for not knowing how steroids got into his system. Skip said, “Yeah, I used to drink martinis and I never could figure out how all that gin got in me.”
Why does everyone hate Kelly now!!!
First it was Furcal, then he picked it up and everyone loves him again.
Then everyone was anti-marcus, now hes back hitting.
Same thing with Johnny, LaRoche, etc. and now KJ.
I know KJ hasnt proven hes major league material yet, but hes shown he has potential to do it. Realize that players slump. It happens. And if you are an impatient braves fan, pick a new team, but Bobby Cox is pretty damn patient.
CHIPPER!
Mike, I second many of those sentiments. Especially with a rookie. I think the kid has shown that he could be a terrific player, but he just need to experience the growing pains.
“You’ll dig it.” Ha! I love those Bushwacked kids!
No!
Chipper is rapidly running out of limbs.
Hmm…I’d like to say Andruws due to homer…but I’m just not feeling it quite yet…he is in one of his trademark slumps here…but im sure he will hit 6 in a seven day stretch soon enough.
For those of you not watching, he dove for a ball and crumpled. He’s left the game, apparently with an arm injury.
No! NO! Nooooo!
why did chipper come out of the game?
OK, I left the room for one second and have no idea what happened. Chipper’s hurt? Skip and Pete aren’t talking about it.
Mike, I should point out that Andruw has hit a ball to the warning track and doubled.
Some kind of arm injury. It looked bad for a second, but he wasn’t showing any pain in the dugout, so they might just be looking at the scoreboard and being cautious.
“Some kind of arm injury. It looked bad for a second, but he wasn’t showing any pain in the dugout, so they might just be looking at the scoreboard and being cautious.”
Man lets hope so.
KJ has a hit!
I love this McCann guy. He is quickly becoming one of my favorite players.
BRIAN!
Well Im sure McCann and Franceur are everyones favorite players…until they slump of course…
but not to worry, KJ will be hitting then so we can all cheer for him!!
And as for Andruw, I dont have video of the game tonight, so I dont know how he looks, but based on my analysis of his tendensies over the last decade, hes due to pick it up in the next week and go on tear.
Nats are down 4-2 in the bottom of the 7th. Go Dodgers!
I’ve always been a KJ backer, Mike. He’s just in a slump, and he’ll figure out what to do soon. Actually, I think he’s figuring it out now.
I’m actually waiting for the same thing to happen to Francoeur. All rookies go through this as they get figured out and have to adjust. They’ll be fine.
I would hope that he does. He has great discipline. He jsut needs work on controlling it better. Its a good problem to have.
Its easier to learn to swing the bat more (KJ) , than it is to learn to take balls (Francoeur).
I don’t think we have to worry about the Nats. Dead team walking.
On the plus side, I picked up Weaver on my fantasy squad for a spot start against the Nats, and it worked out pretty well. They can’t hit anything.
They do Jenny, and it bothers me here and there that people jump all over them. Even the best slump. See: Chipper early last season, Jeter early last season, Beltran in ’05, Chavez earlier this year, etc. IT happens to everyone, and more so to rookies. I guarentee that Francouer drops under .300 by the end of August, just like Thomas, Charles of 2004.
I do however expect Jeff to have an excellent career, whereas im not so sure about Mr. Thomas.
I’m not worried about them, Joey. I take sadistic pleasure in watching them lose, that’s all, because it means the Washington Post publishes another “doom and gloom” article that brightens my day. I’m more worried about the other 3 teams.
🙂
Sadism update: 5-2.
Todd Coffey on GameChannel is as pale as half-and-half. Baaaa-zing.
Any update on chipper?
Why use Boyer with a 8 run lead? Doesn’t that seem like Kolb territory? Right now I’d prefer Boyer in the 7th, Farnsworth in the 8th, and Reitsma in the 9th, with Brower/Kolb in blowouts, and McBride/Foster lefties and an inning here or there.
Not that it matters much in the long run, I just wonder where all the confidence Bobby used to have in Boyer went.
Well, If we see Kolb, it will be to show him off, because I have a feeling he will be hitting the waiver wire (if he hasnt already)
That was a nice DP. It’s really looking like they let Furcal walk next year. Betemit’s pretty good, and there are too many shortstops in the minors.
At least, the way he’s hitting, they’ll probably get some nice draft picks for him. (Assuming, of course, Furcal declines arbitration. He’d be a fool not to do so.)
eh..the minor league shortstops are not standing out right now. Pena probly is not an option. Hernandez is the next closest and is not hitting well at mississippi. Furcal likely walk, but i expect a FA to be brought in…to at least platoon with Betemit.
If KJ can pick it up, I’d like to see him moved back to short.
Random Thought: I’d love to see James Jurries get called up. He is more of a DH, but I’d like to see him in there somewhere, maybe some work in left.
Isn’t Jurries a troublemaker? Juicing and fighting or something like that? Maybe I have the wrong guy, but I thought I heard that.
SS platoon with a switch hitter? Interesting theory…
I wonder if Jurries’ September callup will be at all contingent on the Palmeiro situation.
Jurries was suspended for steroids. He’s also not on the 40-man, but they may have an extra space there now since the trades.
LOL, spike.
I dont like Betemit as an everyday player. Hes better spot starting. I think we bring someone in. OR what other names in the system do you think would suffice?
Um, can somebody fill me in? When did Davies come up? I was out of town for a few days and I’m still feeling stupid.
He got called up to make a start on I believe it was Thursday. HE struggled early, surrendering 3 runs in the first on a hoemr by Jason Bay, but settled down and pitched well the rest of his outing.
Unless Betemit’s season is a total one off – certainly a defensible idea – he’s offensively as good right now as anyone out there. He’s cheap too. He would have to be the de facto first option next year as the everyday SS, unless Cox’ obvious distrust of him runs really deep.
Chipper: Posterior Rotator Cuff Strain.
No word on how long he’ll be out.
Chipper, first base is calling.
Thanks. And was Furcal pulled because we’re pulling all our defenders or did he get hurt on the HBP?
Posterior Rotator Cuff Strain
I got one of those doin’ the horizontal hokey pokey once…
What kind of world is it when Giles is the veteran player on the field (and we are still in first place!!!)?
Chipper is day-to-day.
I know y’all get tired of my “Orioles problem” (and I’m tired of it too right now) but Brian Roberts had the same rotator cuff injury in June and missed 6 games.
Just as a reference point.
Maybe Julio will come in for LaRoche later.
I’m totally with Mac. If the 2006 starting infield isn’t Chipper, Marcus, Betemit, and Marte, I’d be surprised.
Looking at the defense cracks me up. What’s the average age, 24? And that’s skewed because Marcus is an over-the-hill 27. Is anybody left down on the farm?
Here’s what Carroll wrote about the Roberts injury at the time:
But Chipper may well be a different case.
Haha yea…7 of the 9 in there are rookies. That sounds like a last place, rebuilding squad. Not a division leading team who is up 12-1 over one of the hottest teams in the NL.
Also, I wouldnt be so quick to kick LaRoche from first. I think they will try a way to keep him there. The braves management are geniuses. We all know they will be creative and work something out. I’m not worried.
Damn you, Brian, now our lead is only 10 runs!
Chipper may well be a different case, and Roberts’ problem was a flare-up from an injury he had in spring training that actually did keep him out for 2 weeks. I’d forgotten about that. Chipper doesn’t heal as fast as he used to. Let’s keep our fingers crossed…
“A. Dunn struck out swinging, R. Freel scored, L. Hudson to third on passed ball”
someone please explain how that happened?
There was a passed ball with first base open, but Dunn didn’t run because he’s a big lazy SOB. Well, and they’re down ten runs.
Where is Chipper going to play, then? Catcher? Unless the NL adopts the DH, there isn’t anywhere left for him to go. Third base is a struggle for him now, and Marte has a much better glove.
Well, that’ll the genius at work. A new position. We’ll call it the DL – Designated Larry.
Sorry.. but if you believe in Johnson and Francoeur, then there’s no place in the outfield. Then it comes down to Marte or LaRoche. There’s no way around that. I’m not completely sold on Francoeur’s readiness just yet, but I’m assuming he’s here to stay. So if I only get two between Johnson, Marte and LaRoche, I ain’t chosin’ LaRoche.
I’m not exactly sure what they will do, but I have a feeling that LaRoche will be in the plans. We will see though. Keep in mind that he has one of the better 1B gloves in the league as well.
I do suppose that Chipper at first, with Julio giving him days off would be formidle however. It will be interesting to see what they will do, but it is probably too early to speculate. Who knows what will go down in the next 2 months.
I think the Braves management has things WELL under control. If we’re the ones with all the bright ideas about who should be where and when then how come somebody isn’t writing US checks. I’m just enjoying the season and let those who get paid for them there headaches worry about the roster.
Laroche unfortunately doesn’t hit for enough power to sustain a low BA. Mark Grace type 1B’s need to hit .300 to apply. I just don’t see either the BA or the homers in him to be anything but ordinary. That’s fine, for this year, as he’s cheap, and is a lefty. I can’t see it long term though.
..and I’m not saying LaRoche is a definate to be back, but yous are talking like LaRoche already has one foot out the door. Its August. Like I said, nothings in stone and Jon, Bob and Co. arent predictable in what they pull off. We’ll just have to wait and see.
My point exactly Kalisi.
Should be, Pete, because no lead is safe from The Kolb!!!!
Sorry to but in to the roster discussions, but I would like to ask for a moment of silence.
Kolb has entered the game!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now, ten runs lead is the right now to bring in Kolb. Just great, I wonder if the Braves will pay me $3.4 million to blow leads and pitch with ten-run leads…
Kolb’s new duty: He can come in to try to get a double play whenever we’re up ten or more runs.
Sadism update: Nats mounted a comeback and lost by 1 run.
The irony is no longer funny.
Oh, wait. Yes, it is.
BOS and OAK winning, NYY losing. OAK is now in the WC lead. Would anyone besides me enjoy reading the NY Post if the Yanks don’t qualify?
Speaking of potential explosions on the mound, Ryan Dempster just walked 4 Phillies in a row to make the game 2-1 in the 9th. David Bell is up, however.
Can Kolb hold a 10 run lead?
I just learned that the NY Post is owned by Rupert Murdoch. I don’t know how obtuse you have to be not to figure this out *sheepish grin* but I will never read it again unless it trashes the Yankees.
…and he K’s the last two hitters to record the save anyways. Very Kolb-like save. Phils lose, in any case.
???? It was the 8th inning, Mike. No save, right? And how do you get 2 K’s after a double play? There are 4 outs now?
😉
Isn’t Jurries right-handed? It’s too bad Julio is superman, because a LaRoche/Jurries 1b platoon isn’t the worst thing in the world. Of course, it would probably work even better as a LF platoon, but Jurries’ glove is reputedly atrocious.
Platooning for a switch hitter is a pretty odd idea. No idea what Betty’s minor league splits are like. This year, he’s been much better as a LHB. Still, not sure if we can easily find a RHB shortstop who will hit better than .259/.281/.410 and play for cheap. Sad as it sounds, that’s probably above Tony Pena’s ability. I suppose we could get someone like Tony Graffanino.
99 MPH!
Well back to work for a bit. Sucks I know. At least we got a W.
Except that Mark Bellhorn is so bad that Theo is actually forced to think that Graffanino is a good player and has to keep him.
Jenny…what are you talking about? lol
He walked four in a row in the 9th and there was one out when he struck out two in a row.
Where do you see the 8th inning and where do u see a DP?
Jurries is a lefty.
Spike, the only thing better than watching the Yanks lose is reading the lamentations in the Post and Daily News the next day.
no..ignore me…he is a righty…duhh
Cuevos just won He is 5-0 1.89 46 K’s and 9 bb in 38 innings for a Danville team that is tearing up the league. Anyone heard of this guy?
Funniest headline in NY Daily News ever:
“Hell Freezes Over.”
Yankees suck!
Lets all read the WP, and the New York papers .
Isn’t he kinda old? Eric Campbell is crushing the ball down there. Wonder if he gets called up to Rome soon.
Stay tuned for Bushwacked . . . You’ll ‘dig’ it!
Cuevos is 21
http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050802&content_id=1154523&vkey=allstar2006&fext=.jsp
I am sorry, but that logo sucks…I could’ve drawn that. Bahhh.
Hey folks. I’m a new guy to the forum. Native Georgian living in NYC area. Love the spiel, hope to keep up with you. Right now, I’m watching the Mutts gag up another “Met Magic Moment.” (They were down 7-3, tied it, now they’ve given up their 5th HR of the game & they’re down 8-7 in 9th.) There’s nothing better than watching all the Mets’ false hopes get dashed by a team managed by Ned Yost. It’s like getting arrested by Robin, Kato or Superboy.
Ububba, welcome! Unfortunately, you jinxed the Brew Crew, Cameron homered in the 9th to tie it, and they won it in the 11th with a walk-off walk.