I’ve got things to do, might not make it back before the game starts. Enjoy.
I’ve got things to do, might not make it back before the game starts. Enjoy.
Totally off-topic, but I am so excited: PONSON WAS RELEASED! This is one of the only things Peter Angelos has ever done right. Thank you!
Isnt Armas, coming off from the DL. We need a good outing from Smoltzie. Furcal and Langerhans had better be in the lineup tonight.
who is getting called up today?
I’ll bite…
Today – Davies, Brower, Bernero and either Marte or TP, Jr.
Later – Devine, Lerew, Pena plus Snead and/or Robinson. And Marte if he isn’t up already.
I think Chuck James has a shot after the minor league season ends. (Your “later”, creynolds.)
Mets score but are still down 2-1. If the Phils win, they’re only 3.5 back, and that’s about where a lead starts to feel uncomfortable. The Braves can probably still win the division by playing .500 ball (a goal of 90 wins), but it could get very tight.
Also, it’d be nice for Glavine to pick up a win; he’s pitched quite well today, especially considering that he’s working in a tight strike zone.
I’d love to see Chuck James, but the fact that he still isn’t on the 40-man makes me wonder. I know there are plenty of people they could dump to make room, but I don’t know if they will.
Hmmmmmm… I guess E-6 and Kerry Robinson aren’t on there either.
Is Jordan gonna be called up?
Jordan was never sent down. He’ll probably be taken off the DL today.
looks like the Phils are going to win the series against the Mets
Phils are 3.5 back, need a win togight
Still no word that I can find on Braves callups, but Washington has purchased the contract of Ryan Zimmerman. I assume we’ll see him at either 3rd or short tonight. Hard to get too excited about another team’s player when they’re playing ATL, but it still should be interesting.
This next stretch of games could really ease the pressure if we handle our business. We’ve got the clear pitching matchup advantage tonight, and while the four stooges are beating up on each other this weekend, we’ve got the Reds. The lead needs to be at least five games Monday morning.
Two hours until gametime, an anxious Braves Nation wants to know, Langerhans or KJ?
Call-ups announced
http://presspass.mlb.com/pp_viewer.asp?d=25462
Jordan (acitvated)
Brower
Pena
Davies
ANDY MARTE!!!!!
Well, Langerhans and KJ are pretty similar in quality. Betemit and Furcal, however, bring different things to the table.
I wonder what Marte’s call-up says about Julio and Chipper’s injuries. I thought they’d wait until the end of the season, but they need a third baseman or a righty PH right now.
And by end of the season, I mean, of course, the Richmond season.
“What’s happening on the field dictates how he’ll be used,” manager Frank Robinson said. Comments on whether or not Zimmerman will play tonight
While Marte might be needed for injury purposes, I suspect it’s more of a reward. He’s really been a good sport this year, because in almost any other organization he would have gotten significant playing time with the year he put up in AAA.
Let’s just hope Hollandsworth doesn’t start much down the stretch. ouch.
I don’t know what field Frank’s been watching, but what I’ve seen dictates that somebody else get out there and play 3rd and short.
Of course, the Mississippi season is over now, but they don’t have any players left.
We need Jonathan Schuerholz, and we need him right now!
Jonathan Schuerholz has landed one of the Braves spots in the Arizona Fall League. Obviously it’s got nothing to do with his father and everything to do with the .165/.242/.195 line he’s rocking in Richmond.
nyb, for once, I completely agree with you.
Personally, I hope Hollandsworth starts.
At first base.
When Franco can’t go.
Lineup
Betemit
Giles
Jones
Jones
Hollandsworth
Franco
Francouer
McCann
Smoltz
Bobby has no confidence in Ryno! Good to see Franco in there tonight!
1. W Betemit, SS
2. M Giles, 2B
3. C Jones, 3B
4. A Jones, CF
5. T Hollandsworth, LF
6. J Franco, 1B
7. J Francoeur, RF
8. B McCann, C
9. J Smoltz, P
Interesting. Nice that Betemit gets bumped up top. Bad that Raffy’s injured. Nice that Franco’s starting. Bad that Hollandsworth is. Nice that McCann’s up. Nice that Chipper’s well.
How does someone with a .165 BA have a .242 OBP? You would think teams would just pitch to him instead of letting him walk. Weird…
The A’s called up Juan Cruz and Charles Thomas today. For some reason I liked both of these guys….
nyb, for once, I completely agree with you.
Thanks…I think.
So Bobby goes with C – None of the Above. Looks like Bobby hopes that Holly is the answer to both our left field and #5 hitter problems. Let’s just say I’m not optimistic.
I’ve seen little of L’il Jonny, but I’m guessing that he fouls off a lot of pitches and works the count. Also, that major league pitchers will knock the bat out of his hands.
Smoltz tonight
8IP 5H 1ER 1BB 7SO
off-topic: Miguel Ojeda, who is a .224 career hitter and has a .499 OPS in 83 AB this year, just homered to give the Mariners a one-run lead over the Yankees.
It’s crazy to see someone so overmatched. I don’t really have a problem with it, though. Let the kid have his fun. It’s not like he’s hindering the development of any other players with the at-bats he’s getting.
Watching MLB.TV, Miguel Ojeda, hitting in the .140s, homers off Tanyon Sturtze to give the M’s and lead on the Yankees. Oh that Yankees bullpen. Hilarious.
Is Armas coming off of the DL, if so how was he injured? Also has anyone heard anything about Jay Powell and how the surgery went? Will he ever play again?
Jonathan Schuerholz has landed one of the Braves spots in the Arizona Fall League. Obviously it’s got nothing to do with his father and everything to do with the .165/.242/.195 line he’s rocking in Richmond.
Now THAT’s funny stuff!
Okay, I’ll be fair (oh, it hurts!) and say that L’il Jonny did play well in Mississippi and probably was already slated for the AFL before the promotion.
Late scratch maybe…MLB is showing Furcal leading off!
Fox sports does as well!
It’s such a bizarro world that Jonathan lives in. He keeps moving up the ladder like a real prospect, despite the fact that his numbers don’t warrent it. He goes to the AFL like a real prospect, despite the fact that he belongs there about as much as I do. Where does the charade end? I can only think of one logical conclusion: Furcal to the Cubs, and Jonathan Schuerholz is your 2006 Atlanta Braves opening day shortstop. He proceeds to play everyday and make Mario Mendoza look like Alex Rodriguez. And as has become standard, everyone pretends not to notice.
Now, the other side of the coin is that there’s a guy who’s out of organized baseball because of L’il Jonny. And a guy who’s in A-Ball instead of AA, and a guy who’s in AA instead of AAA, and a guy who won’t get a chance to show his stuff in Arizona.
But he’s coming to the point where they’re going to have to put him on the 40-man or expose him to the draft. If they put him on the 40-man someone should be fired. I may write a letter to Time Warner about the Braves exploiting their shareholders.
I got to see Jonathan play a game a few weeks ago in Richmond and I noticed he did seem to do the little things right. Despite his horrible average, he hustled and played hard. He was up with a runner on second with no outs and fouled a bunch of balls off before finally moving the runner over with a groundout to second. He’s no Andy Marte but does look like he knows how to play the game.
In the ongoing comedy of Yankee relievers not named Rivera or Gordon, Ramiro Mendoza just gave up a two-run shot to Jose Lopez, who now has a .627 OPS in 90 AB.
That’s truly all well and good, but it reminds me of Rob Neyer’s line in his All-Overpaid column today: “…nearly every player wants to play well, and if players aren’t playing well, it’s because they can’t.”
Seattle 5-1 going to the top of the 9th. I hope the Yanks lose every game!
Gameday has Furcal where he should be: playing short and leading off.
Wha-wha-wha-whaaaaa? Betemit batting first???
“Woo hoo! [runs out] Hey, everybody: if you want to ask Burn…erm…Cox for a favor, now’s the time! He’s doped up, or dying, or something.”
Isn’t the game supposed to be on TBS? I have a black screen. Can it be blacked out in the DC area if it’s only on satellite?
should be on TBS
Yeah, this is infuriating. TBS is blacked out, but the game isn’t on any local DC stations. They just did this for spite. F^*&ers.
Well, could be worse, looks like I’ll just have to watch Spurrier lose to UCF (well, I can dream can’t I?).
Seriously though, this pisses me off.
dont think Spurrier will have any trouble tonight..doesnt mean we cant pull for UCF! Good start for Smoltz
Yeah, WTF? It’s not even on satellite and it’s blacked out? How is anyone supposed to WATCH THE DAMNED GAME?????!!!!!
Oh, well. To the Orioles we go.
Fortunately, spike, Furcal had a good BP, so he was stuck in leadoff at the last minute. We we dangerously close to having a .300 hitter start the game.
thatta boy raffy
that was a perfect example of a leadoff atbat.
knee looked ok on that hit
and marcus swing at the first pitch, allowing raffy’s 7-pitch at bat to average out as 2 4-hitters
Whee! It’s great not to own Tony Armas anymore!
“Apache” is quickly becoming my favorite song ever.
agree
Wasnt Byrd the leadoff for Washington yesterday, too bad he was successful and now is at the bottom of the lineup! Good job Frank
Chipper!!!!!!! 2Run HR
I’m new to this board and just wanted to introduce myself, I’m originally from florida and i play baseball for Tennessee, I ve been a die hard fan since as far as i can remember back (We didnt originally have a team in florida, we had TBS though) Ive been reading this site for awhile and have enjoyed it. Just want to thank Mac and everyone else for keeping this a class site.
I like Holly, but I wish Ryno was playing!
I like Holly… on the bench. Unless, as JoeyT suggested, it’s a 1B against a righty.
Actually, creynolds, that’s the lineup I would have tried tonight. Hollandsworth at first, and KJ in left.
How do you make up for giving up a game winning run?
Hustle.
Go go McCann.
Hey, I just looked it up, and great news for the Braves. The Reds send up Eric Milton, Luke Hudson, and Ramon Ortiz. Mr. Homerun, Mr. Walk, and Mr. … uh … Ramon Ortiz. And no Harang.
Davies is starting the second game of that series, too. Awesome.
Armas sux.
I’ll be at the game tomorrow night and on Saturday. My Brother-in-law is coming down from Nashville. He’s a Reds fan. I feel for him at times.
It’s good to see Andy Marte back.
Bad to see Hollandsworth starting 2 games in a row.
Seen it.
After all those one-run games, I’m really going to enjoy watching this one. Good job, Jeff.
Note to MLB: Never, ever get Francoeur on a 3-1 or 3-2 count. He will ownz you.
Seriously, have you looked at Francoeurs numbers with three balls? I know the sample size is small, but they are frightening. When you HAVE to throw him a strike, you lose. Period.
I don’t have to look up that trivia question.
Really? Who’s the other besides Grissom?
Wait, I’m a moron. Nevermind. I had completely forgotten where he played before Atlanta.
Vinny finally found a way to win games for the Braves!
I would pull Armas here but:
1. I am worried about my bullpen, and;
2. I am clinically dead.
I forgot today’s Fun Mets Fact:
Chipper Jones has as many 1.000+ OPS seasons as the entire Mets franchise (among player seasons qualifying for the batting title).
Jesus, John, what is the problem?
DUUUUUUUUH.
God bless the Nationals.
Francoeur with his tenth outfield assist is now 1 behind league leader Michael Cabrera
Just keep Boyer in. He can pitch two innings.
DONT WURY IF BRAUER GITS IN TRUBLE ILL SAIV THE DAYE!!!
McCANN STOLE A BASE? Hehe.
Re earlier comments about Jonathan Schuerholz: His daddy has been probably the best GM in baseball over the past 14 years and has put the club in a position to win it all since I was 3 years old. If he wants to be rewarded by exercising a little nepotism with his son, more power to him.
And now, back to my usual rants about Marcus swinging at the first pitch.
Boyer should have pitched two innings. Four runs isn’t enough for Brower.
BRAUER SUX! I WANT IN!!!!
McBride’s up! Finally!
They learn not to run on Frenchy.
I left the office when it was 7-1, just got in, so a coupla questions:
Why is Smoltz out of the game?
Why is Brower in the game (ever)?
I would not complain if Bobby brought out Farnsworth here.
Not at all.
Note to Alex R.:
Brower is worse than Reitsma. I think their names should be “Stupid Reitsma” and “Fucking Brower,” in that order.
Brower sucks. That is all.
Is Bobby trying to prove something?
Ball out of the pen. I knew McBride was throwing. I thought, “Hmmm … that’s weird.”
Then Joe mentions that Kolb is also in the pen. Aha.
Skip Caray: “Bobby Cox says, ‘Rackafratz! Throw a strike!’ Or words to that effect.”
But Jim Brower cleverly ignores this advice and walks in a run.
Hey, is Smoltz hurt? Why did he only pitch 5 innings.
C’mon McBride. You can do this.
This will seem like second guessing, but I couldn’t post earlier. Cox could have easily double switched for Hollandsworth and let Boyer pitch another inning. Just extremely poor decision making in my opinion.
One more time: What happened to Smoltz?
HEER I CUM TO SAIV THE DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He just wasn’t pitching well.
Smoltz just wasn’t sharp tonight, so he was pulled for Boyer.
THIS is why we all feel sick when Kolb comes in the game.
At least I have football I can watch…
guess mighty mouse didnt make it mac.
you gotta be shitting me why the fuck bring that pos brower back up
We know Brower is this.
We know Kolb is this.
Why does Bobby not know Brower and Kolb by now?
I just want to throw and break things.
I would gladly push Brower and Kolb off a cliff.
Ass fart hell damn!
This is mind-numbing.
Brower should never be allowed to throw another pitch in any Braves uniform, even a throwback uni during a children’s softball game. I thought we were done with him.
It’s so weird. People at this site argue about KJ and LaRoche. About Reitsma, Thomson, HR, and Sosa.
We all agree about Brower and Kolb, though. Every single one of us.
And we all knew Brower would get into trouble and be pulled as soon as he was warming up.
We all knew the lead was history as soon as Kolb came out.
GIT SUM RUNS SO I KAN GIT A WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!
NOW he frigging double switches. Just two innings too late.
This one is squarely on Bobby. There’s a reason why Brower got released by one of the worst teams in the league. There’s a reason why he was demoted to AAA. You wanna know why, Bobby? BECAUSE HE SUCKS, THAT’S WHY, FOR CHRIST’S SAKE!! To leave him in long enough to walk in a run is just criminal.
The Official Site had Davies starting Saturday.
http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/probable_pitchers.jsp?c_id=atl
Guess not.
deplorable Braves !
Hey, Langerhans shows the Braves how to play left field. Maybe he’s been watching old Charles Thomas videos.
I’m sorry I checked in. I’ll be back later.
Screw you, Jim Brower.
Wouldn’t it be great if the AJC had some real sports reporters?
“Bobby, were you drunk again?”
“Jim, do you know that you suck?”
“Dan, same question.”
“John, where are you going with that machete?”
Rage. Just rage.
Stanton’s warming up. If Davies can get this last out, there’s hope yet.
Time to nick up Stanton and end this damn thing.
Informal poll: If you could cause just one Braves reliever’s pitching arm to fall off, would it be Kolb, Reitsma, or Brower?
What I love about this situation is that Davies is a starting pitcher, so he can go six or seven innings, worst case.
The Nats didn’t call up any extra pitchers.
BROWER…MAC
Oh the irony.
Kolbb gives up his obligatory hit tonight except this time there’s BASES LOADED.
Proof that Kolbb is only OK when he starts an inning.
And by the way, I will chime in on Jim Brower.
Die you piece of shit scumbag. That feels better but we still are about to lose 3 of 4 at home to the FUCKING NATS.
I say Kolb’s arm should fall off, but Brower should be an organ-grinder’s monkey.
at this point, Mac…PIECE OF SHIT BROWER.
Definitely Kolb. It’d be pretty easy for them to release Brower without resorting to bodily injury.
I’m generally one who gives Bobby as much leeway as just about anyone out there (I’m not always really vocal about it on this site, but others generally make the points I’m thinking of, and better than I would, to boot) – but I have to agree with Steffen on this one. If the Braves lose (which, by all indications, looks like they will – they look to have just quit – hopefully I’m wrong), you can pin this one squarely on Bobby. Brower & Kolb should never have been allowed to wreak their havoc, it should not have got to that point. In his defense, though, there are actually very few people in the pen who I (and I would assume, Bobby & Leo) actually trust right now (not that I would presume to say the guys I’m comfortable with are the same guys Bobby & Leo are comfortable with).
Anyway, point is, Bobby gets the “L” (if applicable) tonight…
A nice professional AB from Jordan.
Nice walk, Jordan!
Please don’t bunt.
Nice sac, Furcal!
Where is the pinch hitter for Jordan? Aren’t his knees bad?
D’oh!
That ball hit Furcal’s helmet. Nice break.
They’re playing “Let’s Get It Started” instead of the chop song.
That should have been “pinch runner” of course.
CBS sportsline is actually reversing in time again…I will follow the game here.
fucking DC area Comcast. Fucking Selig. Fucking Angelos. Fuck fuck fuck.
This walk is the best thing ever. Chipper and Andruw with the winning run on second.
could someone give me an update? time seems to have STOPPED here and at CBS.
Alex R., seriously, MLB.com’s gameday is as real-time as it gets from the online gamecenters.
Use it here
Chipper GIDP.
Major suckitude there.
Repeat after me … it’s just a game … its just a game … it’s just a game …
thanks JoeyT…its great but JUST IN TIME to see Chipper’s heartbreaking double play.
More then fucking Brower…fucking Cox.
and unlike Jonathan…I have always been a Cox naysayer…too many games like this. I fucking am so angry right now that this thing is going extra innings.
And I fucking am so sick to death of the Nats. The only reason I am going in person to all 3 games next weekend at RFK is because of FUCKING COMCAST.
Tell us what you really feel, Alex.
Davies looks sharp now after he struggled a bunch when he first came in.
If he gets left off the roster in favor of Kolb, Bobby should be brought up on charges.
JoeyT…you are my hero now for saying that.
If onlt the fucking Braves front office will LISTEN TO REASON.
If we even make the post season, Kyle Davies needs to have a spot ahead of among others: Kolbb, Brower & Thomson though if Brower made the post season roster, it would become legal in the state of Georgia to beat Cox with a Baseball bat.
If we lose this game, I am going to set my copy of the Washington Post on fire tomorrow morning in the driveway. I don’t want to read another one of their smarmy articles on how crafty and skilled the Nats are. Here’s what we had today: an article on Brad Wilkerson’s “daring baserunning.” He scored because our rookie catcher threw the ball past our 5’7″ third baseman who had not played that position since 2002!. Yeah, real daring.
With Brower, they’d have to do the DL thing to maneuver him ON the roster. There’s zero chance of that.
Kolb, though, is already eligble.
Man, what a boring game baseball is.
I’m speechless.
An-DRUW!
Apache! Jump on it!
I thought you had to be on the 25-man as of 8/31 to be eligible for the postseason roster. Can someone explain?
yeah im without speech
Did Andruw ever bail Cox’s ass out or what.
GameDay froze. Home run? I love Luis Ayala. I wish he’d stay.
Oh, there it is. THANK YOU, ANDRUW!
MVP! MVP! MVP!
YESSSSSSSSSS
Thanks to JoeyT or I would be waiting another 10 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!11111
Ho-hum
And Andruw bails out Cox’ ass. Just a terribly managed game.
And let’s not forget Kyle Davies’ performance tonight. He was dealin’.
I wholeheartedly agree and for the 13th year in a row, I still say Cox is the most overrated Manager in Baseball on several levels.
He’s done some things great, year after year but there are TOO MANY GAMES LIKE THIS WITH INEXPLICABLE DECISION MAKING EVERY YEAR THAT MAKE ME WANT TO SMASH A TV OR SOMETHING.
THanks to Andruw, AGAIN.
Cox had a bad game, a remarkably bad game, but relax. He has way too much faith in people like Brower, sure. But he’s also very much the reason the Braves are where they are. The good far outweighs nights games like tonight, which BTW Atlanta won.
Alex R, I have never been a fan of Bobby too until a truly great job he did last year, but Bobby has returned to his terrible self this year…
I love Andruw. The guy deserves to be the MVP by far over Lee and Pujols, and I can care less about the stats.
I’m out & I’m exhausted. Whew.
This is probably a repeat from other posts, but I havent read any of them!
Langerhans the only outfielder who could have made that catch (needs to play more), thank you Davies (we’ll see you in the playoffs), Brower & Kolb (good luck next year), Boyer (needs to freakin pitch somewhere besides the 6th inning Bobby!!!!!!!!), Smoltz good outing (should have gotten the win)THANK YOU ANDREW…..Natspos go home!!
ANDRUW JONES IS THE BEST PLAYER OF ALL TIME IN MAJOR LEAGUE HISTORY!
Mac, to your question earlier about arms falling off. I think Smoltz should cut off their arms and beat them with it. He can beat down Brower w/ Kolb’s, he can beat down Reitsma and Kolb w/ Browers, and he can beat down Bobby w/ Reitsma’s.
This might solve all of our problems! Bobby needs his arms to keep him balanced while running back and forth to pull his pitchers. he had to run at least half a mile tonight!
Now we get the Reds, lets win a series!