ESPN.com – MLB – Box Score – Braves at Brewers
I’m very depressed right now.
Jorge Sosa allowed four runs, none of them earned, in 5 1/3 innings, and the Braves spent most of the game acting like they had a flight to catch, striking out 12 times. Even so, they had a chance to tie it in the ninth but Brian McCann (who had three hits on the day) didn’t quite get enough of a fly ball and settled for a sac fly.
Unearned though the runs were, Sosa did allow a two-run homer to Corey Koskie (no homers or RBI all season, suddenly he’s Babe Ruth) in the fourth. Sosa is allowing far too many homers to succeed. The bullpen didn’t help allowing six walks but somehow were charged only one run (to Cormier, who was awful).
Langerhans and Betemit in particular look lost right now; Betemit was 0-4, struck out twice (once to end the game) and hit into a double play. He’s been asked to carry a lot of the load lately and getting Renteria back can only help. Chipper had a hit but struck out three times. Francoeur had a triple in the ninth but is still only at .190. McCann was the only regular who didn’t strike out. You get the idea.
A blessed day off, then the Mets. For fun.
Don’t be depressed! Go out and take a walk. Then you can be depressed.
The Braves have officially hit rock bottom.
In the rotation, no starter has been consistent, but at least between Davies, Smoltz, Hudson and Thomson, they all appear to be good enough to win games if we get some offense.
We need Edgar Rentaria back. I think he will come back & hit the way he did before and his addition at the top of the lineup relieves some pressure on Langerhans and will drop him back to the order.
I will say again that in the current state of the lineup, LaRoche and Francouer–overall–are a detriment to the team and if they are not going to be replaced, they absolutely have to be dropped down at the bottom.
On the flipside. Brian McCann is showing incredible maturity and should be rewarded by being moved to 5th in the order behind Andruw. He rarely has a “bad” at bat, even when he’s out.
The bullpen is worn out…the one guy Bobby never uses is Chuck james. If bobby would use him more (or better yet, flip him into the starting rotation for Sosa), he will be fine. But 9 days off could rattle anyone and shake a kid’s confidence…plus create rust.
I haven’t been posting on here because we don’t have wireless Internet here at college, but I run back and forth between innings to see what’s being said. This was the second time in two weeks I’ve skipped class to watch the Braves lose. I’m not saying I regret it, it’s just not fun.
I need a break. So do about 10 other guys wearing jerseys with “Atlanta” across the chest.
Well we did have an off day last Thursday and a day off because of the rain out. We shouldn’t be tired.
Here’s the tonic: A team that wears an inexplicable color scheme.
I didn’t go to F.I.T. or Parsons or anything, but I’ve always been told that black, blue & orange don’t really go together.
Work on your best material, folks. The Mutts are coming to town…
Shouldn’t home runs always be earned, unless an out not made would have caused the game to end before the home run? Otherwise, the batter-pitcher contest would have just been moved to the next inning. LaRoche didn’t have anything to do with Koskie’s homer, just when he hit it. Anyway, I understand that’s the rule, I’m just saying.
Anyone have a link to what was said about Francoeur in an Atlanta paper today?
umm… was something said? LOL… what?
I’ve read two articles today about his hair from Atl papers.
Until today, I thought Cormier was the most reliable reliever we had (with the possible exception of Villareal). Is anyone else concerned about Ken Ray? It seems like he has escaped major damage lately only because of a few lucky breaks or just plan bad hitting. As it stands now, Francooeur getting any kind of a hit is big news. Was his triple a hard drive or a lucky play?
I think our best reliever is Jorge Sosa
Barry Bonds just hit a pinch-hit game-tying two run shot in the ninth off of Billy Wagner. Moises Alou was on second and did not make the last out because David Wright made a throwing error. I must admit, as bad as it pains me to do so, I was rooting for Bonds there.
I think Billy Wagner just blew a save by giving up a 2-run HR to a pinch-hitting Bonds, with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th.
I’m a big Barry Bonds fan today. Let’s send them to The Ted on a downer.
maybe Bonds can play 1st – I would rather watch him than LaRoche!
In between Vizquel’s single, Alou’s reaching on Wright’s error, and Bonds’ game-tying shot, Wagner struck out the side. Go figure. Mr. Future of the Mets needs to work on his D, I believe.
question to all:
Who would you rather have more playing time?
1. Jordan
2. LaRoche
3. Perez (who might be a back-up at 1st?)
Well, not so fast…
Legendary choker Armando Benitez is trying to hold things down for the Giants. So far, not so good. He walked Reyes, who stole second & was advanced to third on a bunt. Need a couple strikeouts.
Of course, Armando Benetiz is working on giving it back to the Mets. Reyes on second with one out. Delgado intentionally walked. Time for Wright to hit into a clutch double play.
And David Wright down on strikes.
so far, not good. lol.
i’m throwing my hat in the ring for laroche, much to my chagrin. i’d rather have andy “.313 with power in AAA” marte, but he’s on a different roster these days *sniff*
He struck out Wright, 2 outs…
Cliff Floyd up, who’s 0 for 12 with 6 Ks vs. Benitez. Now it’s 0 and 2…
C’mon, you big donkey, strike him out.
I wish Gameday had both teams’ rosters, I don’t know who’s left in either pen. Must go look.
Man, Floyd’s battling for this one. Please get him.
walked Floyd
Damn it, he walked him. That was a really good at-bat on Floyd’s part from 0-2 to a 10 pitch walk. Stupid Floyd.
Good battle. Floyd worked a walk on a 10-pitch AB. Benitez on fumes after 44 pitches. Bases loaded, 2 outs, with Nady…
bttm 10th – lets go SF
Whew. Come on Giants.
Chad Bradford in for the Mets. Not quite Jorge Julio time…
is Thorman an option at any point for us – or would Jurries be ahead of him
Alright, leadoff man on base.
Feliz on 2nd, one out with Durham & Vizquel coming up.
C’mon Giants, break their hearts.
Why does Gameday’s animation show sacrifice bunts like they are high popups to the pitcher? That’s really goofy looking. Man on second, get him home.
Crap. Need a base hit now.
The Mets are paying Billy Wagner $10.5 million a year to do the same thing that we pay Reitsma $2.75 million to do.
Well, if SF doesn’t score perhaps we’ll get an 18-inning game that tears up the bullpen. Of course, there’s always Julio.
And then SF can win in the 18th inning.
Pitching changes are really boring to watch on Gameday.
Nnnnnngggggggg….
2 straight K’s. Thanks, Giants. You’re no fun.
11th – here we go
I’ll pull for Bonds to hit another one next inning!
The Giants are gonna have their best hitters coming up in the 11th.
Do the mets just have two pitchers left in the pen? I assume Oliver will go another inning, so doesn’t that leave Julio and Feliciano?
Well, Scott Munter sucks.
Danged Mets…
Yes.
Wow, he sucks some more.
Way to go, Scott Munter.
Does Carlos Delgado really deserve the automatic walk treatment with RISP? I don’t think so. Maybe they just think David Wright sucks.
And David Wright lives up to their expectations.
Ok, Alou and Winn get on base, and then cue Barry with the walk-off.
Winn wasn’t listening.
Oh well…Mets win.
So much for this.
Smoltz and Pedro tomorrow?
Make that Friday.
Yup…
You are all so funny talking about the mets. Are you all a little disappointed we won. Or how you are now 5 games behind the mets now? I love it!!!!! And some of you even rooting for berry bonds—you have lost all respect and have shown you have no class. You would rather a known cheater hit a homer and win the game? Well, I can’t wait until we play again. I think we will take 2-3 from you at home or maybe even a sweep. Hell even if you do somehow win the series you still will be behind the mets. Your team is horrid, putrid, just crap. This is by far the worst braves team I have seen take the field since I can remember. Not to be a jerk, but there is no way in hell you win the division let alone get the wild card. Stick a fork in the braves, your all done.
This reaction is only right since your all pulling for the mets to lose. I was pulling for the braves to lose and guess what….they did. Would you believe that.
I don’t care about the Mets. It will be the same old story by July.
Coming home will do the Braves some good. Smoltzie’s on the hill Friday…I’m feeling good about it. If there’s anybody in our rotation I want to go toe to toe with Pedro, it’s John. If you notice, our bullpen ERA’s, as a whole look pretty good right now. I think this is a typical Braves’ April and May is looking up. After all, There’s no where else to look.
Where were you after we took 2 of 3 from you, you coward? Go find some friends!
Hey Mac, you are depressed already? The last time I can sense you are this depressed was almost two years ago after a Marlins game in June 22, 2004 (my birthday!).
http://www.bravesbeat.com/bravesjournal/archives/2004/06/florida_4_atlan.html#comments
To be honest, nobody at that time had any hope on that team, and people are saying Andruw and Ortiz will be traded away for Magglio and Waunch (what a terrible trade that would be!). To me, that was indeed THE lowest REGULAR SEASON moment of the Braves in the last 15 years.
Hahaha thats funny. Guess who we’ve picked to lose the last decade in a half? The Mets. And they did! Would you believe that?
And yeah, he was mentioned earlier, but what has happened to Scott Thorman? Wasn’t he our top 1B prospect or something? I think he was left handed too though so that’s probably why he hasn’t been up to platoon with LaRoche or anything.
I think I am more depressed about this than the Braves’ loss today…
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/business/stories/0427bizbraves.html
…not another corporate owner…please…
What do you all know about Liberty Media? Are they another evil corporate conglomerate like Fox or ClearChannel? Are they going to force Turner Field to change the name of their concession stand to “I Only Have Freedom Fries For You”?
Or are they really not so bad, and just have a really cringe-inducing name?
Just want to share two quotes from Baker and Hendry on Maddux:
“If he tells you that [he doesn’t know], you gotta believe it. I believe whatever he tells me,” Cubs manager Dusty Baker said last weekend in St. Louis.
“If Greg has done something different or is thinking something different, or maybe changed a pitch or two, we’re not smart enough to figure it out,” Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said.
It’s funny to see those two guys almost admitting that they are stupid.
Anyhow, below is the link to the full article on Maddux:
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=Amu0icqrXAbQjHGnt1hrsbARvLYF?slug=cnnsi-steppingup&prov=cnnsi&type=lgns
AAR, when the main purposes and focus of the deal are tax-driven and shares transfer, that doesn’t sound like they care much about the Braves. The whole purpose is just not on the Braves from the Liberty Media’s front.
Of course, I hope I am wrong, but I just don’t like the smell of the transaction.
What would you prefer, a company named The People’s Socialist Media?
Decent primer on Liberty Media
Maybe I overlooked it while scanning, but I can’t believe I see no mention of the most depressing part of this game. The part that really was the worst.
We scored no runs off Dan Kolb.
This team owed him the worst kind of ass whuppin’. Instead he contributes yet again to a Braves loss, his specialty last year.
Wait, so if they buy the Braves, it could actually hurt us?
Well, the “People’s Socialist Media” didn’t bid for the Braves, so I guess I will save my opinion on them. Haha.
Thanks for the link Kyle. I still don’t see how the Braves will fit into Liberty Media’s operation. Liberty Media does not have a single sport channel except for JSky Sports in Japan…maybe John Malone will start a Discovery Braves channel. One good piece of information I can get out from the link is that John Malone has been referred as the “Darth Vader of cable” by Al Gore. I do like Darth Vader.
Anyway, isn’t any transaction or change of ownership of MLB franchise require approval from the other owners? I would think Liberty Media would need to present a plan for the Braves to win suppport from the other owners…maybe a plan on how to ruin the team so that the Mets can finally overtake the Braves.
“where were you when we took 2-3 from you coward”
STU:–You are a dumb ass. I came to this site and said you guys won fair and square and that I was very disappointed in how the mets played. Your are a true retard. Just when I thought you couldn’t be any more of an idiot you prove me wrong and say that.I hate to see anyone make a fool of them self, even if it is a braves fan.
Grawrst: –Who cares about the past? I thought we were playing for this season, not past seasons. So your little remark has little baring on the fact that you are behind the mets right now and we are gaining more games ahead of you. You must know your team is in trouble by having to resort to past seasons when I am clearly talking about 2006. All your wins from past seasons are not going to help you now.
I expect a great series from the braves and mets. Win or lose I love to watch them play on the same field. Again I wish no ill feelings I just like to poke some fun at you guys. Lighten up some. But then again loosing does put one in a bad mood, so I can see how your all a little upset.
Cheers
Dan
P.S
dont feed the trolls.–lol I love it!
Hey Dan, how do you like Wright’s defense at third recently? Bannister just got hurt today. Will Beltran play another game this season?
……dude this is weird… I went through facebook today searching for all of the MS Braves players… well I thought I found Wes Letson… sent a friend request and he accepted?!?! lol thought it was pretty weird! LOL shocked me but thats cool I guess! LOL
Wrights D needs a lot of work but he will be an all star, Bannister hurt his hammy, no big deal. Maybe he will miss a start or 2, no more then that. Beltran is just Beltran. He will never live up to the hype but he will come back this week, maybe in 2 weeks and be a productive player. Im surprised you would say a comment like that seeing how chipper was hurt, Hampton is still hurt and renteria just came back not to long ago. Do you wish the mets to be hurt? When we play you I want all your players healthy. I would never be happy that your players were hurt, or use that as a way to get at you in an argument. I want both teams healthy when they play. I want no excuses this year. I want a clean, fair game. Why would you want anything less. Just realize you made yourself look very bad, and I am disappointed anyone would be happy, or mock someone else over the fact their team is playing hurt. One more reason to not like braves fan’s I guess.
And before you reply KC Please don’t insult my intelligence by saying that’s not how you were trying to come across. It is clear what you ment by your comment so just do me that favor. Still shocked and amazed you would stoop that low to use injury as a way to get at me. Kinda funny really. That is when you know your at a loss of word to battle me in an argument.
Hey, isn’t you just say light things up a little bit. So, Beltran will not play in the coming series? I am not following the Mets that closely.
Well, injuries always happen. They seem to always happen to the Braves in the recent years, and they will happens to the Mets. This is when the depth of the team becomes important. I don’t think any team will survive the whole season without any injuries.
Step back everyone…
We have a battle.
here’s my theory:
liberty media wanted the braves because it allows it to essentially sell its share in time warner for them without paying capital gains. depending on the value put on the team, that many shares will go back to TW as “payment” (plus some others that LM gets to sell as well due to funky tax laws).
they end up with a pile o’ cash plus the braves in a LM controlled entity. they have to leave the cash there or pay tax on it if they bring it back inside LM. they are verboten from selling the braves for two years.
my prediction is that once those two years are up, they will attempt to sell the team. they will have to pay tax, but only on the capital gain on the value of the braves franchise while it has been under their control. so if they “pay” $450m in TW stock for the team now and sell it in two years for $500m to arthur blank, they only pay tax on the $50m in capital gains. however, they will have essentially sold 450m worth of time warner stock in 2006 for over 450m in 2008, paying no tax on the gain (i’m assuming there is a hefty difference between the cost basis of the TW shares they are selling and TW’s current price – otherwise, why not just sell the stock outright and take no hit?).
so, hopefully even if LM are terrible owners, it will only be for a few years. they have no real reason not to try to maximize the franchise resale value, but no real reason to work hard to maximize it either; if they push up the franchise value an extra $20m, they have to pay tax on that, and the difference is swamped by the gain they’ll get by avoiding taxes on the TW shares anyway.
what i find MOST interesting about this all is that when the sale is complete, the property owning the team will for the first time since the 70s not also control the entity owning broadcast rights.
Kyle, that’s a fascinating, and very appreciated, analysis.
What is the best way for a company to maximize the value of a team it owns? Would increasing payroll decrease or increase the sale price of a franchise?
I see no reason to be scared of Liberty. In fact, I feel much more comfortable with a corporate owner than an individual billionaire. Ted might have managed the team right towards the end, but he did put himself in the dugout and attempt to fix Dale Murphy’s swing. Think Jimmy James from News Radio (the best show that no one watched).
I remember when Dan Snyder bought the Redskins and the DC fans were so happy they finally had an active owner. What a disaster that has been.
Kyle, this is exactly what I hate about the Liberty Media transaction: knowing they will sell the Braves after that two-year period. This represents another two years of status quo which I am frankly tired of.
My understanding is that Liberty plans to flip the Braves to someone who has the cash to buy the team, hopefully Arthur Blank.
Though not any time soon, for tax reasons. Could be a lean couple of years. Could not be.
why is Pena still on the 25 man roster? will he be replaced by another arm in the next few days?
top prospect Delmon Young throws bat at an umpire and hits him in the chest!
http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story/5544858
The Yankees somehow managed to draw 14 walks in a 10 inning game and lose 4-2. That seems like it should be impossible. Apparently they take that whole plate discipline thing really seriously. Oh, and the best part is that none of the 14 base runners from walks actually scored. The two runs they got were off of a single and then a two-run homer. 14 walks that resulted in 0 runs. Amazing.
…comparing to the Braves who had 5 walks as a team in the entire series against the Brewers…
Haha NY METS, Im just saying you know, as well as everyone else on here, that it wont be long before the Braves get their $h!t together and are in 1st place for the year. Have you not kept up with us the last 5 years at least? It almost seems impossible that we’ve won with the teams and starts that we have had; like last years team. 18 rookies. I think if we can win with that, we can win with anything.
Report from Richmond…another poor start by Lerew…another shutout inning by McBride with one strikeout.
In case you guys forgot…
Four Horsemen
1 Shot of 151
1 Shot Peach Shnops
1 Shot of Everclear
1 Shot of Gold Slaggar
Alex, that’s a great question. the Yanks are the most valuable franchise even though they aren’t profitable at all; some of the most profitable (especially on a margin basis) franchises are the least valuable (royals, pirates, etc). That said, hemorrhaging money to raise the franchise value is silly.
One thing i don’t think LM will try is to slash payroll and rake in profits. The short term benefits from this strategy would probably be overwhelmed by the negative pressure on the franchise itself. What I suspect will happen is more of the same; set the budget at roughly the breakeven point in terms of revenue, and try to bring in as many fans as possible with those constraints. One positive note: now that the broadcasting entity doesn’t own the Braves, LM will be able to charge fair market value for the broadcast rights; hopefully this revenue stream will allow payroll increases. Probably not, but wishing never hurts 🙂
Now that the Nats are getting sold, I wonder if TW will get the $15m windfall gain from that, or if it’ll go to LM along with the team.
Throwing a bat is a stupid idea, but I have a favorite story about a bat thrower.
When Danny Murtaugh was in the minors he was batting with a full count and he took a called strike three. He tossed his bat high in the air in frustration and the umpire yelled, “You catch that bat before it lands or I’ll fine you $20.” Murtaugh judged the flight of the bat and caught it before it hit the ground, thus saving himself some money.
There’s another one about a guy named Ivy Olson who played for the Cleveland Indians. He watched strike three go by and got really angry at the ump. He said some harsh words then threw his bat in the air. This ump had a sense of humor and waited for the bat to land, then calmly picked it up and threw it in the air himself, much higher than Olson had thrown it. Then he said, “OK, you’re no good at throwing a bat, and you’re no good at judging a ball of a strike. Now shut up and sit down or I’ll throw you out of this game!”
Wtth the minor league umpires on strike it opens up a whole new world of heckling the umpire at games. I have a friend who is filling in and the other night I called him a scab and told him that he would never make it to the show.
After the game he came up to me and said, “Getting heckled at a professional baseball game is the greatest feeling in the world. Thanks!”
Smitty, why these shots in particular? Are they supposed to correlate to the Horsemen? Could you sub Jaegermeister in there for War?
In case you guys forgot…
Four Horsemen
1 Shot of 151 – War?
1 Shot Peach Shnops – Famine?
1 Shot of Everclear – Death?
1 Shot of Gold Slaggar – Pestilence?
The Mets fan who posts here sounds like a decent guy but I’m still left wondering the same thing I always have been; Why on earth would he want to post here?
I was always partial to
The Dirt Road
1 shot Fighting Cock
1 shot Virginia Gentleman
1 shot Old Crow
to be drunk in rapid succession.
ermoore, you an sub whatever you want.
>>The Yankees somehow managed to draw 14 walks in a 10 inning game and lose 4-2. That seems like it should be impossible. Apparently they take that whole plate discipline thing really seriously. Oh, and the best part is that none of the 14 base runners from walks actually scored. The two runs they got were off of a single and then a two-run homer. 14 walks that resulted in 0 runs. Amazing.
Mr. Met is a putz who doesn’t add anything to the conversation. He should be sent to military school.
My most memorable bat-throwing incident happened during the 1972 ALCS between Oakland & Detroit. Down 5-0 in Game 2, Tiger reliever Lerrin LaGrow hits Bert Campaneris (who was 3 for 3 at that point) in the ankle. Infuriated, Campy helicopters his bat at LaGrow, who ducks unscathed. Both are ejected.
I was about 9 years old & remember thinking that they’d never let Campy play again. It was the most shocking display of anger I’d ever seen on a ballfield. (I was too young to have seen the Marichal-Roseboro incident.)
Campy got suspended for the remainder of the ALCS (which Oakland won in 5), but was strangely reinstated for the World Series vs. the Reds.
But then again, Bowie Kuhn was an awfully strange commissioner.
But then again, Bowie Kuhn was an awfully strange commissioner.
Fixed.
Dammit. “ly strange” was supposed to be in strikethrough text. I suck.
test
test
test
4.5 games back is not really that bad considering how awful we are playing/injuries. The team is lacking an identity b/c of the lineup shuffling and poor starting pitching performances. Every year the Braves start slow, the only difference this year is the Mets got hot for ONE WEEK.
Braves should gain some ground this week and will be in first by May 10th.
JH
Folks, the Rockies lead their division (however bad it might be) and the Reds have the second best overall record. There are still three days remaining in APRIL, not the season.
Climb down from the ledge. The Braves haven’t hit the absolute bottom.
Good news, Mets coming to town. As Steve Earle said, “The revolution starts now.”
LMAO! NYMET you are a troll in the truest sense of the word. Wth are you doing on our board anyways? Go back to the zoo.