Figured I should put this up now before the hurricane hits. I should be able to post a recap tonight but I can’t guarantee it.
UPDATE: Alternative nicknames for the Washington National League Baseball Club:
Gnats
Expats
Les Ressortissants
Notionals
UPDATE: Rainout. Still, hang out, talk, root against the Phils and Marlins. I need a derogatory nickname for the Florida team. “Fish” is just generic.
I have always been partial to the Gnats. They are an annoyance, but ultimately pretty harmless.
LaRoche fans, Adam has the lowest OBP of any first baseman with the qualifying number of PA (408 as of today).
ESPN has him tied with Morneau.
Yup, but it’s still the lowest OBP 🙂
Calculating by hand (or calculator … whatever):
LaRoche – 125/406 – .30788
Morneau – 132/429 – .30769
Platooning has its advantages. LAROCHE RULEZ.
Don’t follow the Twins closely, but I don’t think Morneau is being platooned (at least not aggressively). Considering that LaRoche faces right handers the vast majority of the time, that’s pretty awful performance.
Yeah, I was saying “platooning has its advantages” meaning “for LaRoche in obtaining the elusive not-worst-OBP-in-the-league-at-his-position”.
Any word on Franco’s elbow? He was supposed to go today for either X-Ray or MRI.
He needs to see this guy.
I still can’t get over LaRoche’s home/road splits. They’re just unbelieveable. They would be unbelievable even if he played for the Rockies.
Wow, LaRoche’s home/road splits ARE ridiculous. Has there ever been a platoon based on WHERE a guy was playing?
Do his “intangibles” depend on the ballpark as well?
I was wondering, maybe not quite as sarcastically (just kidding!), the same thing. Does Turner Field have a great backdrop for the hitter or something? I have been too lazy to see if LaRoche has always had such a pronounced split, but you have to wonder if maybe there’s something physical about Turner- not its dimensions, it doesn’t seem particularly well-suited to lefties over righties- that is really aiding him. I can’t believe the road atmosphere is sufficiently hostile towards LaRoche to explain the disparity, seems hard to believe anyone cares much about him one way or the other, much less enough to boo him so vehemently that it turns him into Rafael Belliard on the road…
I think it’s just random clustering. He’s gotten hot (for him) during homestands and gone iceman during road trips. If you look at his stats last year, it actually skews the other way, fairly substancially.
Ah, the pitfalls of being too lazy to look up his history. Makes a pretty strong case for it being random.
I like either Gnats or Natspos.
Sosa tonight 7 IP 6 H 2 ER 1 BB 7 SO
Patterson 5 IP 8 H 4 ER 2 BB 2 SO
this might be wishful thinking, but I can at this point!
I was kinda thinking that maybe his strattera dosage was calibrated specifically for the climate and elevation in the Atlanta area. But I guess the history does make it look more like random weirdness.
I don’t think it’s random. Clearly, he LOVES the gigantic Hi-Def TV.
“Man, they just showed a huge picture of me with flowers around my neck! That’s hilarious! I’ll go 3-for-5 tonight!”
I think the chances of us knocking patterson out after 5 innings is about as good as the chance that LaRoche doesnt ground into another double play the rest of the year. (barring injury on either player of course)
Natspos haven’t scored in 21 innings. Let’s see if we can make it 30 and make Jim Bowden blow a fuse.
If something is really wrong with Julio, couldn’t we a least try Marte at first down the stretch? It’s only first base, how bad could he be? At least he has some upside. Maybe we could catch lightening in a bottle. Again.
Patterson’s major league high in IP coming into this season was 98 1/3. He’s at 159 now. He could start to fade.
For just a platoon role at first, I’d rather use Thormann or Jurries, who have played the position.
It’s intersting how the way the season unfolds affects your perceptions. If the Gnats had started out 15 games under (which most everyone would have expected), then put on a closing kick to get to 4 games over, then the tone would be very optimistic. Reading that piece on Bowden’s tirade really makes me appreciate the Braves’ organization even more. He seems to think he has assembled an amazing collection of talent, then blasts them in the press when they don’t perform up to his unrealistic expectations. He’s totally clueless.
Does anyone know what is wrong with the ageless wonder?
Mac, you getting a lot of rain yet? I’m not really sure where you are in Alabama, but it looks like the storm is breaking up and dumping a lot of rain over there.
Hope you are doing okay.
What’s the Atlanta weather like, is this game going to get in or not?
LaRoche is still good defensively and he still has a good batting average at home. Maybe he will perform down the stretch like he did last year. The last two games he seems to be more patient and is not swinging at everything.
Everyone might disagree, and that’s fine, but I think he will have a big series. Well wait and see!
per the ajc, the game has been rained out. rats…
Link: http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/0805/29weather.html
Game to be made up as a doubleheader Wednesday.
John in Austin, I’m in Birmingham and its just now starting to rain, but we are getting strong gusts of wind.
Weather channel is predicting a 50% chance for the game tonight.
He may not have a series. If it’s wet in Atlanta now, it’s just going to get worse tomorrow. Maybe it will clear off before gametime tomorrow or we’re looking at back-to-back doubleheaders. Actually, one DH on the last game of the series would probably play into the Braves’ hands a little, because the Natspos are limited in the number and quality of players they can call up on Thursday.
I am fine. Obviously, I can’t control the power situation but my apartment is well sheltered and I don’t get much wind, and I’m uphill a little so I don’t have to worry about flooding. Normally, the worst I get is ants, who try to get away from the water.
For just a platoon role at first, I’d rather use Thormann or Jurries, who have played the position.
Well the idea is for the platoon to be the gateway to taking over the job, as Franceour has. Obviously in any kind of fair fight, Marte is going to clean LaRoche’s clock.
Tuesday morning is suppose to be the worst for us hear. So if the game is already cancelled today tomorrow looks very slim. We will probably see back to back double headers!
When was the last time this occurred?
I am moving to Columbia, SC tomorrow and wondering if there is anybody around the area who might want to meet up to watch a game and have a beer down at Five Points
Will Franco stay w/ the Braves next year?
Smoltz on PTI. ESPNNEWS now.
Well, one person’s happy with the rainout.
Favorite part of the PTI interview: Smoltz started to say “cheated or gypped”, but changed it to “cheated or gy..yy..ilted”. That’s sensitivity, peoples.
Kolb won’t have to pitch. Not if there’s a couple of quality starts in day one and callups for day two.
Please, let that happen.
Kolb’s pitched once in the last ten days. McBride hasn’t pitched since he was recalled.
I had completely forgotten McBride was recalled. That might be a look-to-the-playoffs type move if they’re not using him right now. In case, you know, Foster stops hitting the strike zone and HR starts up with those darn homeruns again.
As for a “derogatory nickname for the Florida team”, how about the “Miami Marlins”? Sometimes the truth hurts.
I still like the Natspos. How about we call the Marlins the Tunas
How about the JEFF fLORIdA Marlins. Get that scumbag’s name in there and that’s as derogatory as you get.
Florida Filets? That’s a little too punny for my tastes, but it’s the best I can come up with.
So…read any good books lately?
I like Natspos too, it makes me laugh for some reason, unlike Gnats, which is just too obvious to be funny.
Suggestions for the Marlins: Maroons (if you don’t want to trigger the filters in the MLB forums typing “morons” that’s what you have to do), Filet-o-Fish, Shrimp Poppers (multiple meanings there), Blowfish, Chicken of the Sea, Illegal Seafood, etc.
And it will be hard to root against Philadelphia; I don’t think they play tonight.
I think that the stadium is actually in Broward County, and “Fort Lauderdale Marlins” takes too long to type.
You can always root against the Phillies. For whom I prefer “Philets” to “Philthies” but that would be confusing I suppose.
I like Natspos because it perfectly fits the situation. They took the Expos moved them to DC and intentionally gave them a dull and uninspiriing name, Nationals, so that nobody would get attached in case the real owners wanted to pick their own name. Besides, it really is still a joke of a franchise since it’s owned by MLB. The franchise is in limbo and Natspos captures it pretty well. As far as everybody else goes, I say let the disgruntled home fans come up with their own derogatory nicknames.
The Florida Mudfish.
The mudfish, or lungfish, can live out of water for many months in its burrow of hardened mud beneath a dried-up streambed. Description: Fins large and pointed. Head depressed; mouth with papillose outer lips.
Sounds like a certain sports reporter for the AJC.
Re: Smoltz
Still love him, even though he offered those ridiculous homophobic comments last year. I was seriously disappointed in him.
I’m trying to come up with a rationale for calling the Expos the Aureoles — something about their peripheral proximity to Baltimore….Something about tweaking Angelos….can’t quite get there, though
What about the Hanging Chads?
The Marlins are the Guppies.
Or the Minnows.
Or the Plankton.
I like Guppies best.