Is it just me or is everyone getting a “the page you were trying to access no longer exists” and then a redirect to the home page? I’m on a Mac right now and I’m highly suspicious of them, so I wonder if it’s just me.
NMS
on February 7, 2006 at 11:47 pm
The page you were attempting to access no longer exists. /bravesjournal/archives/Salty2.JPG
If you are not redirected, please click here to go to the home page.
and im on windows jenny
ububba
on February 8, 2006 at 12:24 am
Same story here – no luck…
Stephen
on February 8, 2006 at 12:26 am
Me too…
Maxwn
on February 8, 2006 at 12:49 am
This is sort of a random question, but it’s something I have been thinking about after someone brought it up on another board. Where does Chipper Jones rank on the list of the all-time greatest switch hitters and where do you think he will end up on that list at the end of his career?
Just looking at it, I am not exactly sure where he would be right now, but I think that he could very possibly end up #2 behind Mantle. I am not much of a statistician and am admittedly making a pretty simple analysis, but Chipper looks like he was a better hitter over his career so far than Eddie Murray was at a similar point in his career. Murray had about 22 more homeruns at the end of his 33 year old season, but he also had played about 2 more full seasons at that time. Chipper’s Avg, OBP, and SLG all look better both during his prime and over his career. That’s all assuming that Murray is number two right now, which is sort of my initial rough conclusion.
I guess it partly depends on how long Chipper can continue to play and whether he can return and play at least a few more full seasons with numbers like he still seems to be capable of producing and then maybe a few more at a decent level of production.
Anyway, thoughts anyone? I may be forgetting some great switch hitter and I’m sure someone has more enlightend insight into this.
Maxwn
on February 8, 2006 at 12:55 am
Also, I apologize for the big spaces in the last post, I was experimenting with the paragraph tags and I don’t really know why it did that. I am not good at this text formatting business.
-Nate
ububba
on February 8, 2006 at 2:03 am
Off the top of my head, I’d have to say you’re right there. After The Mick & Murray, Chipper’s right there right now.
For the purposes of this discussion, I’m not sure how you’re supposed to evaluate Pete Rose, who was a completely different kinda player & one who played forever. The all-time hit leader has to be good for something, even if he did hit 3,000 singles.
From my lifetime, I seem to remember that most of the switchers were AL guys who benefitted from the DH, people like Murray, Mickey Tettleton, Chili Davis, Ruben Sierra. In the 1970s, you had Rose, Reggie Smith & Ted Simmons.
One guy who should be on the radar, but certainly not in the Top 3 is Bernie Williams. Curiously, his role this year will be the Yankees’ “new Ruben Sierra.”
I think you’re right; with the possible exception of Murray, Chipper tops all those guys.
ububba
on February 8, 2006 at 2:07 am
I love the “where-does-Chipper-fit?” historical questions. I think he rates high as all-time 3B, too.
Off the top of my head, I’d have to say you’re right on target. After The Mick & Murray, Chipper’s right there right now.
For the purposes of this discussion, I’m not sure how you’re supposed to evaluate Pete Rose, who was a completely different kinda player & one who played forever. The all-time hit leader has to be good for something, even if he did hit 3,000 singles.
From my lifetime, I seem to remember that most of the good switchers were AL guys who benefitted from the DH, people like Murray, Mickey Tettleton, Chili Davis, Ruben Sierra. In the 1970s, you had Rose, Reggie Smith & Ted Simmons.
One guy who should be on the radar, but certainly not in the Top 3 is Bernie Williams. Curiously, his role this year will be the Yankees’ “new Ruben Sierra,” a switch-hitting DH.
I think you’re right; with the possible exception of Mantle & Murray, Chipper tops all those guys. Eventually, he could be #2.
Sorry, I’ll fix it… Okay, should work now. Don’t ask me to do anything complex after 5 PM.
Stu
on February 8, 2006 at 7:59 am
Your daughter’s a cutie, second bass.
Marcus Giles is ridiculously short.
Kyle S
on February 8, 2006 at 8:07 am
Thanks, second bass. That’s the clearest picture of Saltalamacchia I’ve ever seen. I second Stu’s comments re: your daughter. What’s her name?
kc
on February 8, 2006 at 9:13 am
They are great pictures. Thanks second bass!
jenny
on February 8, 2006 at 9:36 am
Love the pictures! And your daughter is adorable, second bass. Thanks!
johnb
on February 8, 2006 at 9:42 am
Great pics. Good to see the Braves happy to pose with fans ….
Smitty
on February 8, 2006 at 10:08 am
Giles and Bill Cowher should have a contest to see who has the biggest chin.
ububba
on February 8, 2006 at 10:10 am
Yep, adorable.
Smitty
on February 8, 2006 at 10:11 am
Mike Tirico, Joe Theismann and Tony Kornheiser are going to be on Monday night football next year. I though AL Michaels was moving to ESPN, what happened? I think Kornheiser will be great.
bmac
on February 8, 2006 at 10:18 am
Thanks for posting the pictures second bass. What a cutie (your daughter, not Giles or Salty).
second bass
on February 8, 2006 at 10:24 am
Glad you like the pics! Natalie (my daughter) is learning to love the game because the players are usually nice to us about autographs and pictures. I’ve got pics of her with Francoeur, Brian Jordan, John Thomson, and just about the entire Rome team from 2005. I’ve actually got a better one of her and Salty from 2004 that he signed for her. That’s what I usually do…take a picture and bring it back to a game to be signed for her. They all say “to Natalie” or some such thing, which I find very cool.
Incidentally, I told Mac that I’ll be taking tons of pictures this year in Rome. Not all will be with my kids….I’m going to get into the hobby a little bit more and try and get some shots of the players…well, playing. I’m investing in a Nikon D50 (if that means anything to anybody), and it will have a nice zoom attachment. Anyway, I’ll let Mac know if I ever get anything worth seeing, and I’ll be glad to share.
Michaels backed out of the deal and is apparently leaving ABC (after something like 35 years) to join Madden at NBC.
Big D
on February 8, 2006 at 10:58 am
Kornheiser on MNF? Awesome! I’ve loved him ever since that funny column he used to write (forget what it was called) for ESPN Mag. Had one of the best jokes I’ve ever read – can’t remember exactly how it went (sorry), but it involved Jason Sehorn getting faked out of his underwear.
rb from across the country
on February 8, 2006 at 11:01 am
Oh god, why is brian jordan in one of those pictures?!
Another Alex R.
on February 8, 2006 at 11:08 am
Because he’s a nice guy, even if he can’t hit, field, run, or throw any more.
rb from across the country
on February 8, 2006 at 11:11 am
But he’s not going to be on the team this year. . .
Right?
johnb
on February 8, 2006 at 11:23 am
He’ll probably be batting lead-off ……
Stu
on February 8, 2006 at 11:46 am
Natalie bass. That’s a good name.
Kyle S
on February 8, 2006 at 11:51 am
D50s are sweet cameras, second bass. You should put up your pics on flickr and share them with us. I’d love to see pics of Elvis Andrus, Beau Jones, Eric Campbell etc…
The excerpt really doesn’t say that. However, the article contains a picture and caption that implies that this occurred in 1991.
Another Alex R.
on February 8, 2006 at 12:47 pm
One thing the excerpt does bring out, which Mac often mentions but few others do, is just how good of a general manager Bobby Cox was. He shouldn’t have signed Nick Esasky, but he drafted many of the key franchise players, and helped form the franchise from above as well as from below. In many ways, Bobby fits what Bill James once said about Rickey Henderson: “You could split him into two players, and they’d each make the Hall of Fame.”
bamadan
on February 8, 2006 at 2:46 pm
Enjoyed the pictures.
Other great switch hitters that should be added to what has already been posted above should include Tim Raines and Frankie Frisch. Unless I’m missing something, Red Scheondeinst, Ozzie Smith, and Cool Papa Bell are the other switch hitters in the Hall, but only Bell was a great hitter and his career was entirely in the Negro Leagues so its difficult to see where he’d rank.
I’d put Murray well above Chipper for now. Murray played about twice as long and fairly close to as well – 129 OPS+ versus 140 with Chipper yet to have his real decline years. There is a tremendous difference between Memorial Stadium and Chavez Ravine in the 70s and 80s versus the Launching Pad and the Ted in the 90s and 00s. That difference hides how great Murray was.
Back when I was in college, there was a trivia question that would always trump everyone: who was the last switch hitter to win the MVP? Since then Chipper, Caminitti, and McGee messed up the question. But back then, the answer was 1971 AL winner Vida Blue.
spike
on February 8, 2006 at 4:19 pm
Well, you could still say AL MVP, no?
spike
on February 8, 2006 at 4:33 pm
hmmm…I don’t think I can say Murray is “well above” Chipper at this point, but certainly ahead in terms of overall value – I think Chipper has him on peak right now. I don’t have access to WS totals, or Warp3 (or don’t know where they are), but it would be interesting to see those. A quick comparison of OPS+ has Jones with one season of 170+,1 of 160+, 1 of 150+, and 4 of 140+. Murray has 4 of 150+ and one of 140+. I know, arbitrary endpoints, but still, I’m just sayin’ Jones appears to have a slightly better peak, and these are park adjusted.
Kyle S
on February 8, 2006 at 5:37 pm
Chipper has really bad WARP3 totals (relatively speaking, at least) because Bpro’s defensive system hates his defense.
Wow. Didn’t realize how much it hated his defense. Chipper’s 1999, .345 EqA season was only 8.1 WARP1, 8.3 WARP3, because he was 28 runs below average on defense, apparently.
That seems fishy to me. The 1999 pitching staff didn’t have horrible BA/BIP except for Maddux and pitched pretty well as a whole, so where did all those runs that Chipper cost the team come from?
(1999 Braves. Look at that bullpen… wow. When the pen’s 5th guy had a 3.42 ERA and 9 k/9, you’re doing pretty good.)
Another Alex R.
on February 8, 2006 at 5:46 pm
Why does BPro hate him as a fielder?
Sorta just ’cause? Is he truly worse than average? How bad is he, and why is BPro skewed against him?
basil
on February 8, 2006 at 5:54 pm
I’m glad to see Marcus can pose for pictures with fans without violently colliding with them.
Kyle S
on February 8, 2006 at 6:05 pm
the braves have a weird BIP distribution at 3b which bpro’s fielding metric doesn’t understand. hence, vinny castilla (who was above average his whole career) sucked in ATL then miraculously recovered after he left.
Castilla full year defensive runs above average
Year Team FRAA
2000 TBD 11
2001 TB/HOU 6
2002 ATL -12
2003 ATL -6
2004 COL 10
2005 WAS 8
Kyle S
on February 8, 2006 at 6:06 pm
Summary:
Castilla with Braves, per season: 9 runs below avg
Castilla w/out Braves, per season: 9 runs above avg
mraver
on February 8, 2006 at 6:09 pm
Quick question about Ryan Zimmerman: Do people see him as such a stud prospect because of his defensive abilities? Or is he likely to develope into an elite hitter, as well?
What Kyle said. I have written to BP several times on the issue and never gotten a response. It’s obvious that there’s something wrong in the system (there have been oddities in the Braves’ defense at third and second going back to the Lemke days) which greatly hurts Chipper’s rating. Another problem is that BP compares defense to the average, instead of replacement level, which means that instead of having no defensive value Chipper has negative value.
'Rissa
on February 8, 2006 at 8:23 pm
Well, the Reds hired Wayne Krivsky for their GM job, so Frank Wern is staying for the time being. I hadn’t seen anybody mention that, so I thought I would?
Another Alex R.
on February 8, 2006 at 10:50 pm
Well, that’s a relief. Thanks, ‘Rissa.
Smitty
on February 8, 2006 at 11:19 pm
Congradulations to the Tennessee Volunteers on their 2006 SEC Eastern Division title.
Georgia could finish ahead of Kentucky. This is awesome
ububba
on February 9, 2006 at 12:40 am
Smitty,
As long as we’re talking about basketball, I can handle it.
sansho1
on February 9, 2006 at 7:46 am
My last name also happens to be Bass — I hope your daughter is equipped to handle lots of bad name-related puns!
JoeyT
on February 9, 2006 at 7:50 am
My grandmother’s maiden name is Bass.
Count it.
Smitty
on February 9, 2006 at 8:42 am
ububba, we are.
Bruce Pearl is the man! Go Vols!
Rob Cope
on February 9, 2006 at 10:14 am
We’ll see how good Tennessee really is when they come to Gainesville February 22nd. Florida is 15-1 at home this year, and totally dismantled Kentucky last Saturday. I just can’t figure out what those Gamecocks have on us.
ububba
on February 9, 2006 at 10:40 am
A better coach.
second bass
on February 9, 2006 at 10:51 am
Hey Kyle (and everybody)….
I set up a free account with flickr, and I’m planning to upload a few of last year’s Rome Braves pictures to it asap. I’m hoping ‘free’ means I can get several up there. I don’t have any great shots from last year, but they’re good enough for me. I know I’ve got one of Escobar hitting, and JC Holt, Matt Young, Will Startup….odds and ends here and there. I’ll let you guys know when they’re uploaded (hopefully by Saturday)
Josh
on February 9, 2006 at 11:01 am
Kentucky will rise again. At least a bad year for us is still a winning season.
johnb
on February 9, 2006 at 12:23 pm
Bad news …. baseball / softball definitely off the 2012 Olympic menu.
Rob, remember when Florida was undefeated and they went to Knoxville?
Rob Cope
on February 9, 2006 at 1:12 pm
Like it was yesterday…
Keep in mind though, it’s one thing to win at home. You still have to play at Georgia, at Florida, and at Alabama. Plus you still have Kentucky at home. Ya never know…
rb from across the country
on February 9, 2006 at 2:02 pm
I don’t know what the procedure is for getting an article put up here, or if the article is even worth a thread, but I thought a few braves fans might be interested in what he’s doing now.
ububba
on February 9, 2006 at 2:53 pm
At the risk of channeling the New York Post’s trashy Page 6, here’s some Braves-related dish via Milo Hamilton & the Caray family:
Thanks for the McGriff post …. I like to see than kind of item. I personally appreciate the references to articles, since it is not possible to check all sites ….
ububba
on February 9, 2006 at 2:54 pm
At the risk of channeling the New York Post’s trashy Page 6, here’s some Braves-related dish via Milo Hamilton & the Caray family:
Another double-post from hell. I think my PC is on acid…
second bass
on February 9, 2006 at 4:16 pm
Okay, a few of my pictures are at flickr.com. I have no idea how to tell you people how to get to them, but my screen name there is the same as here: second bass
Let me know if you can get to them!
Ububba, I know that I’ve heard Harry Caray was a terrible father, but I didn’t know that he was that much of a universal dick. Interesting article.
No matter who he was, though, the idea that the Cubs put up a statue of him before a statue of Ernie Banks is just silly, ridiculous, and indefensible.
Another Alex R.
on February 9, 2006 at 5:21 pm
That’s a really nice article about the Fire Dog, though. He’s a class act to the end. Of course, if we can’t get Dale into the Hall, then I’m sure Fred has no chance–apparently being a classy guy while turning in year after year of steadily excellent play isn’t Hallworthy. You either have to invent a pitch or have a song named after you.
Skip has a rather different take on the situation, AAR.
ububba
on February 9, 2006 at 5:55 pm
I make no judgements in this whole thing. But it struck me as odd that I feel like I have lifelong connections to these people.
I grew up listening to Milo call Braves games. I was 10 when he called #715 & I remember it very well. Of course, later it was Skip Caray calling Hawks & Braves games. (His solo Hawks broadcasts were often hysterical.) When I was a kid, I’d spend a couple of weeks in the summer visiting my grandma in Chicago & I’d watch Harry & Jimmy Piersall duke it out during White Sox games; then, of course, we had Harry with the Cubs WGN games. Later, Chip Caray & I attended UGA J-school at roughly the same time. I’m like Forrest Gump with these people.
The statue, I agree, is a bit much, but I gotta tell you: the latter-era Cub fans loved the guy. No avoiding that fact.
Another Alex R.
on February 9, 2006 at 9:12 pm
Mac, I’m reporting third-hand information; a friend of mine told me that, in private, Harry’s other children were not big fans of their father. I’ve never spoken to Skip or to any other Caray.
I loved the guy from afar as a nine-year old watching WGN in Atlanta, but I’m prepared to believe what Milo Hamilton says based on what my friend told me. I have no actual evidence, however, just hearsay.
Use code “Journal” for a 5% discount.
Is it just me or is everyone getting a “the page you were trying to access no longer exists” and then a redirect to the home page? I’m on a Mac right now and I’m highly suspicious of them, so I wonder if it’s just me.
The page you were attempting to access no longer exists. /bravesjournal/archives/Salty2.JPG
If you are not redirected, please click here to go to the home page.
and im on windows jenny
Same story here – no luck…
Me too…
This is sort of a random question, but it’s something I have been thinking about after someone brought it up on another board. Where does Chipper Jones rank on the list of the all-time greatest switch hitters and where do you think he will end up on that list at the end of his career?
Just looking at it, I am not exactly sure where he would be right now, but I think that he could very possibly end up #2 behind Mantle. I am not much of a statistician and am admittedly making a pretty simple analysis, but Chipper looks like he was a better hitter over his career so far than Eddie Murray was at a similar point in his career. Murray had about 22 more homeruns at the end of his 33 year old season, but he also had played about 2 more full seasons at that time. Chipper’s Avg, OBP, and SLG all look better both during his prime and over his career. That’s all assuming that Murray is number two right now, which is sort of my initial rough conclusion.
I guess it partly depends on how long Chipper can continue to play and whether he can return and play at least a few more full seasons with numbers like he still seems to be capable of producing and then maybe a few more at a decent level of production.
Anyway, thoughts anyone? I may be forgetting some great switch hitter and I’m sure someone has more enlightend insight into this.
Also, I apologize for the big spaces in the last post, I was experimenting with the paragraph tags and I don’t really know why it did that. I am not good at this text formatting business.
-Nate
Off the top of my head, I’d have to say you’re right there. After The Mick & Murray, Chipper’s right there right now.
For the purposes of this discussion, I’m not sure how you’re supposed to evaluate Pete Rose, who was a completely different kinda player & one who played forever. The all-time hit leader has to be good for something, even if he did hit 3,000 singles.
From my lifetime, I seem to remember that most of the switchers were AL guys who benefitted from the DH, people like Murray, Mickey Tettleton, Chili Davis, Ruben Sierra. In the 1970s, you had Rose, Reggie Smith & Ted Simmons.
One guy who should be on the radar, but certainly not in the Top 3 is Bernie Williams. Curiously, his role this year will be the Yankees’ “new Ruben Sierra.”
I think you’re right; with the possible exception of Murray, Chipper tops all those guys.
I love the “where-does-Chipper-fit?” historical questions. I think he rates high as all-time 3B, too.
Off the top of my head, I’d have to say you’re right on target. After The Mick & Murray, Chipper’s right there right now.
For the purposes of this discussion, I’m not sure how you’re supposed to evaluate Pete Rose, who was a completely different kinda player & one who played forever. The all-time hit leader has to be good for something, even if he did hit 3,000 singles.
From my lifetime, I seem to remember that most of the good switchers were AL guys who benefitted from the DH, people like Murray, Mickey Tettleton, Chili Davis, Ruben Sierra. In the 1970s, you had Rose, Reggie Smith & Ted Simmons.
One guy who should be on the radar, but certainly not in the Top 3 is Bernie Williams. Curiously, his role this year will be the Yankees’ “new Ruben Sierra,” a switch-hitting DH.
I think you’re right; with the possible exception of Mantle & Murray, Chipper tops all those guys. Eventually, he could be #2.
Sorry for the double-post. Damn Vicodins…
Sorry, I’ll fix it… Okay, should work now. Don’t ask me to do anything complex after 5 PM.
Your daughter’s a cutie, second bass.
Marcus Giles is ridiculously short.
Thanks, second bass. That’s the clearest picture of Saltalamacchia I’ve ever seen. I second Stu’s comments re: your daughter. What’s her name?
They are great pictures. Thanks second bass!
Love the pictures! And your daughter is adorable, second bass. Thanks!
Great pics. Good to see the Braves happy to pose with fans ….
Giles and Bill Cowher should have a contest to see who has the biggest chin.
Yep, adorable.
Mike Tirico, Joe Theismann and Tony Kornheiser are going to be on Monday night football next year. I though AL Michaels was moving to ESPN, what happened? I think Kornheiser will be great.
Thanks for posting the pictures second bass. What a cutie (your daughter, not Giles or Salty).
Glad you like the pics! Natalie (my daughter) is learning to love the game because the players are usually nice to us about autographs and pictures. I’ve got pics of her with Francoeur, Brian Jordan, John Thomson, and just about the entire Rome team from 2005. I’ve actually got a better one of her and Salty from 2004 that he signed for her. That’s what I usually do…take a picture and bring it back to a game to be signed for her. They all say “to Natalie” or some such thing, which I find very cool.
Incidentally, I told Mac that I’ll be taking tons of pictures this year in Rome. Not all will be with my kids….I’m going to get into the hobby a little bit more and try and get some shots of the players…well, playing. I’m investing in a Nikon D50 (if that means anything to anybody), and it will have a nice zoom attachment. Anyway, I’ll let Mac know if I ever get anything worth seeing, and I’ll be glad to share.
Michaels backed out of the deal and is apparently leaving ABC (after something like 35 years) to join Madden at NBC.
Kornheiser on MNF? Awesome! I’ve loved him ever since that funny column he used to write (forget what it was called) for ESPN Mag. Had one of the best jokes I’ve ever read – can’t remember exactly how it went (sorry), but it involved Jason Sehorn getting faked out of his underwear.
Oh god, why is brian jordan in one of those pictures?!
Because he’s a nice guy, even if he can’t hit, field, run, or throw any more.
But he’s not going to be on the team this year. . .
Right?
He’ll probably be batting lead-off ……
Natalie bass. That’s a good name.
D50s are sweet cameras, second bass. You should put up your pics on flickr and share them with us. I’d love to see pics of Elvis Andrus, Beau Jones, Eric Campbell etc…
There is an excerpt from a new book by Dayn Perry at the link below that discusses the formative years of the Braves dynasty: http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5314622?CMP=OTC-K9B140813162&ATT=49 One glaring error (I think): didn’t the “Sid Slid” game happen in the ’92 NLCS?
Yes, did he say 1991?
The excerpt really doesn’t say that. However, the article contains a picture and caption that implies that this occurred in 1991.
One thing the excerpt does bring out, which Mac often mentions but few others do, is just how good of a general manager Bobby Cox was. He shouldn’t have signed Nick Esasky, but he drafted many of the key franchise players, and helped form the franchise from above as well as from below. In many ways, Bobby fits what Bill James once said about Rickey Henderson: “You could split him into two players, and they’d each make the Hall of Fame.”
Enjoyed the pictures.
Other great switch hitters that should be added to what has already been posted above should include Tim Raines and Frankie Frisch. Unless I’m missing something, Red Scheondeinst, Ozzie Smith, and Cool Papa Bell are the other switch hitters in the Hall, but only Bell was a great hitter and his career was entirely in the Negro Leagues so its difficult to see where he’d rank.
I’d put Murray well above Chipper for now. Murray played about twice as long and fairly close to as well – 129 OPS+ versus 140 with Chipper yet to have his real decline years. There is a tremendous difference between Memorial Stadium and Chavez Ravine in the 70s and 80s versus the Launching Pad and the Ted in the 90s and 00s. That difference hides how great Murray was.
Back when I was in college, there was a trivia question that would always trump everyone: who was the last switch hitter to win the MVP? Since then Chipper, Caminitti, and McGee messed up the question. But back then, the answer was 1971 AL winner Vida Blue.
Well, you could still say AL MVP, no?
hmmm…I don’t think I can say Murray is “well above” Chipper at this point, but certainly ahead in terms of overall value – I think Chipper has him on peak right now. I don’t have access to WS totals, or Warp3 (or don’t know where they are), but it would be interesting to see those. A quick comparison of OPS+ has Jones with one season of 170+,1 of 160+, 1 of 150+, and 4 of 140+. Murray has 4 of 150+ and one of 140+. I know, arbitrary endpoints, but still, I’m just sayin’ Jones appears to have a slightly better peak, and these are park adjusted.
Chipper has really bad WARP3 totals (relatively speaking, at least) because Bpro’s defensive system hates his defense.
Chipper’s DT card on BPro
Wow. Didn’t realize how much it hated his defense. Chipper’s 1999, .345 EqA season was only 8.1 WARP1, 8.3 WARP3, because he was 28 runs below average on defense, apparently.
That seems fishy to me. The 1999 pitching staff didn’t have horrible BA/BIP except for Maddux and pitched pretty well as a whole, so where did all those runs that Chipper cost the team come from?
(1999 Braves. Look at that bullpen… wow. When the pen’s 5th guy had a 3.42 ERA and 9 k/9, you’re doing pretty good.)
Why does BPro hate him as a fielder?
Sorta just ’cause? Is he truly worse than average? How bad is he, and why is BPro skewed against him?
I’m glad to see Marcus can pose for pictures with fans without violently colliding with them.
the braves have a weird BIP distribution at 3b which bpro’s fielding metric doesn’t understand. hence, vinny castilla (who was above average his whole career) sucked in ATL then miraculously recovered after he left.
Castilla full year defensive runs above average
Year Team FRAA
2000 TBD 11
2001 TB/HOU 6
2002 ATL -12
2003 ATL -6
2004 COL 10
2005 WAS 8
Summary:
Castilla with Braves, per season: 9 runs below avg
Castilla w/out Braves, per season: 9 runs above avg
Quick question about Ryan Zimmerman: Do people see him as such a stud prospect because of his defensive abilities? Or is he likely to develope into an elite hitter, as well?
What Kyle said. I have written to BP several times on the issue and never gotten a response. It’s obvious that there’s something wrong in the system (there have been oddities in the Braves’ defense at third and second going back to the Lemke days) which greatly hurts Chipper’s rating. Another problem is that BP compares defense to the average, instead of replacement level, which means that instead of having no defensive value Chipper has negative value.
Well, the Reds hired Wayne Krivsky for their GM job, so Frank Wern is staying for the time being. I hadn’t seen anybody mention that, so I thought I would?
Well, that’s a relief. Thanks, ‘Rissa.
Congradulations to the Tennessee Volunteers on their 2006 SEC Eastern Division title.
http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/recap?gid=200602080210
Georgia could finish ahead of Kentucky. This is awesome
Smitty,
As long as we’re talking about basketball, I can handle it.
My last name also happens to be Bass — I hope your daughter is equipped to handle lots of bad name-related puns!
My grandmother’s maiden name is Bass.
Count it.
ububba, we are.
Bruce Pearl is the man! Go Vols!
We’ll see how good Tennessee really is when they come to Gainesville February 22nd. Florida is 15-1 at home this year, and totally dismantled Kentucky last Saturday. I just can’t figure out what those Gamecocks have on us.
A better coach.
Hey Kyle (and everybody)….
I set up a free account with flickr, and I’m planning to upload a few of last year’s Rome Braves pictures to it asap. I’m hoping ‘free’ means I can get several up there. I don’t have any great shots from last year, but they’re good enough for me. I know I’ve got one of Escobar hitting, and JC Holt, Matt Young, Will Startup….odds and ends here and there. I’ll let you guys know when they’re uploaded (hopefully by Saturday)
Kentucky will rise again. At least a bad year for us is still a winning season.
Bad news …. baseball / softball definitely off the 2012 Olympic menu.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/olympics/02/09/softball.baseball.ap/index.html
Rob, remember when Florida was undefeated and they went to Knoxville?
Like it was yesterday…
Keep in mind though, it’s one thing to win at home. You still have to play at Georgia, at Florida, and at Alabama. Plus you still have Kentucky at home. Ya never know…
Decent article on the crime dog.
http://tbo.com/sports/columnists/MGBHOYJLGJE.html
Strange that his son doesn’t play baseball.
I don’t know what the procedure is for getting an article put up here, or if the article is even worth a thread, but I thought a few braves fans might be interested in what he’s doing now.
At the risk of channeling the New York Post’s trashy Page 6, here’s some Braves-related dish via Milo Hamilton & the Caray family:
http://www.suntimes.com/output/sports/cst-spt-rap09.html
Thanks for the McGriff post …. I like to see than kind of item. I personally appreciate the references to articles, since it is not possible to check all sites ….
At the risk of channeling the New York Post’s trashy Page 6, here’s some Braves-related dish via Milo Hamilton & the Caray family:
http://www.suntimes.com/output/sports/cst-spt-rap09.html
Another double-post from hell. I think my PC is on acid…
Okay, a few of my pictures are at flickr.com. I have no idea how to tell you people how to get to them, but my screen name there is the same as here: second bass
Let me know if you can get to them!
Second bass photostream
Thanks, Kyle!
Ububba, I know that I’ve heard Harry Caray was a terrible father, but I didn’t know that he was that much of a universal dick. Interesting article.
No matter who he was, though, the idea that the Cubs put up a statue of him before a statue of Ernie Banks is just silly, ridiculous, and indefensible.
That’s a really nice article about the Fire Dog, though. He’s a class act to the end. Of course, if we can’t get Dale into the Hall, then I’m sure Fred has no chance–apparently being a classy guy while turning in year after year of steadily excellent play isn’t Hallworthy. You either have to invent a pitch or have a song named after you.
Too bad.
Skip has a rather different take on the situation, AAR.
I make no judgements in this whole thing. But it struck me as odd that I feel like I have lifelong connections to these people.
I grew up listening to Milo call Braves games. I was 10 when he called #715 & I remember it very well. Of course, later it was Skip Caray calling Hawks & Braves games. (His solo Hawks broadcasts were often hysterical.) When I was a kid, I’d spend a couple of weeks in the summer visiting my grandma in Chicago & I’d watch Harry & Jimmy Piersall duke it out during White Sox games; then, of course, we had Harry with the Cubs WGN games. Later, Chip Caray & I attended UGA J-school at roughly the same time. I’m like Forrest Gump with these people.
The statue, I agree, is a bit much, but I gotta tell you: the latter-era Cub fans loved the guy. No avoiding that fact.
Mac, I’m reporting third-hand information; a friend of mine told me that, in private, Harry’s other children were not big fans of their father. I’ve never spoken to Skip or to any other Caray.
I loved the guy from afar as a nine-year old watching WGN in Atlanta, but I’m prepared to believe what Milo Hamilton says based on what my friend told me. I have no actual evidence, however, just hearsay.