MACK CANT POST BUTT HEAR IS A OPON THRED!
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MACK CANT POST BUTT HEAR IS A OPON THRED!
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If I were going to move Renteria, it would be to first base.
If I were going to move Renteria, it would be to a spot where he doesn’t have to move, which is, um, nowhere. There is clearly something physically wrong with him, which I assume we should have noted in the trade but apparently didn’t red-flag. The list of people to be tried at 1B is now growing. I wouldn’t mind trying any of Renteria, Chipper, and Betemit there, just for kicks. We’ve been losing by a lot lately; garbage time is the perfect spot to try this. But I don’t know what to do with LaRoche; he is not a great 1B but he doesn’t suck, either. I’m more turned off by his OBP than anything else.
The bullpen is an unmitigated disaster. I would be up for trading HoRam and Langerhans for help and sticking Chuck James in HoRam’s spot, because while he might not be better, he wouldn’t be worse, either. I guess the decision we have to make is, can we climb back in this thing or should we be sellers at the deadline?
Re Kyle S’s comment about Roethlisberger in the other thread: I don’t blame those who are jumping on Big Ben for being stupid. Riding motorcycles is dangerous. In a collision with a car, a motorcyclist loses 100% of the time. Therefore, riding without a helmet is doubly stupid. I won’t claim to be a saint, as I ride without a seat belt more often than I should, but you can’t just fall off a car. And getting nudged from behind won’t kill you. Not so with a motorcycle. Plus, I’m not a multimillion-dollar physical investment.
jenny, of course he was being foolish. does that need to be said over and over? has anyone thought, “wow, riding a motorcycle without a helmet – that’s usually a great move, what went wrong this time?”
let me put it this way. if tom brady was badly hurt in a skydiving accident, i wouldn’t tell anyone who’d listen how dumb it is to go skydiving. i’d pray for his recovery and keep my trap shut otherwise.
Not to turn this into a whole football thread, but my issue is that not only was Roethlisberger riding without a helmet, he’s been on record before as being very adamant about not doing so, despite pleadings from Bill Cowher and Terry Bradshaw, among others, to be more careful with himself. So he obviously didn’t think it was foolish. And to many of us, it now looks like the guy who was the spokesperson for freedom to be stupid is now going to have to be the spokesperson for freedom to have others protect you from your own stupidity. I don’t think people would be harping so much if this exact discussion hadn’t already been had last year, when Ben claimed he didn’t need a helmet.
I was catching up on transactions, I hadn’t realized Chuck James was activated the same day that McCann was, and then optioned to Richmond. For some reason, I thought he had already been down at Richmond for a while.
If that is true, then James can’t pitch for the big club until next week – if a player gets optioned down, they have to stay down for 10 days. So, no Chuckie this week.
However, as others have said, if he is indeed healed and effective, he needs to be back up and replacing Sosa or Thomson in the rotation as soon as possible.
i knew renty wasn’t going to make the fancy plays that fooky made, so he has met or exceeded, expectations both offense/defense. I think not having a lead-off has the biggest effect on our whole team, when we play other teams we lose that intimadation factor, so right out of the gate before a pitch is ever thrown, opposing teams have a psychologic advantage and they know that! Another thing opposing batters own the plate that has to change, they just wait to tee off -pitching Coach job HELLO!
Go Braves
I haven’t posted in awhile because I have been so disgusted. This team is so hard to watch as it seems they just don’t give a crap (that may not be true, but it is how it looks to me).
From the description of the damage to the car that Ben collided with I’m guessing that it was an oncoming vehicle that didn’t see him and made a left hand turn right in front of him. One of the worst kinds of motorcycle wrecks and, sadly, a very common one, if not the most common one (I’d have to go look up the safety stats to be sure). Sure hope he is ok.
I’ve ridden motorcycles off and on for almost 30 years and would never, ever, ever ride with out a helmet and leathers, heavyweight denim, or kevlar. Not even to the corner store. I mentioned this a while ago when we were discussing Giles broken collarbone. But when I was younger I broke my collarbone flipping over the high side of my bike trying to avoid hitting a dog. I put out my hands to break my fall and snapped it, then proceeded to land on my head. Fortunately, I was wearing a DOT approved helmet and was able to get up, pick up my bike and ride home, then to the hospital with my hysterical Mom. So please, if you ride or plan on learning, wear a helmet. Preferrably a full face with a shield, that way you don’t get bugs in your teeth and you are less likely to have to scrape your face off the asphalt.
/off soapbox
The lack of a quality lead-off man is part of the offensive problem but not the whole problem. Giles is not the man for this slot. Drop him down and let him be his normally aggressive self, which would hopefully result in more doubles and runs batted in.
The lineup has way too many holes that are more easily exposed without McCann in the lineup, especially when Frenchy gets cold. Jordan and Pratt are not major league material. The excuse about Pratt calling a good game is invalid in my opinion-I believe McCann gets better results from the pitchers as well.
Not enough guys are getting on often enough and there is not enough situational hitting to advance them. One reason for this is the huge number of K’s. The other is a lack of speed coming out of the batter’s box on the grounder to shortstop that usually happens if contact is made with a runner on. The third is the routine infield fly that happens if the first two scenarios do not. We seem to be overly aggressive at times but then have horrible pitch selection when we need to advance a runner or knock one in.
We don’t have a lineup that can put pressure on opposing pitchers. There is no speed to stress them out and there are too many ways to get around the guys that might be hitting at any given time.
I’d love to see another Charles Thomas type call-up now. Stop trying to win with Jordan, etc. We need to take drastic measures NOW.
By the way, why can’t the Braves find stud offensive players to fill LF and 1B slots full time? I realize that when we had Franco we were getting excellent combined production from the 1b platoon, but I cannot recall a fulltime marquee 1b since McGriff…
Don’t let me start on my pitching concerns. We have the worst bullpen I have ever seen. There have got to be 5,000 available guys out there that can get more people out then some of our relievers.
galarraga?
Galarraga, yes, had 2 big years (’98–nearly 1000 OPS, ’00–nearly 900 OPS), which included about 250 Ks.
But that was back in the day when we could sign in-their-prime FAs.
I forgot about the big Cat. He was great when healthy.
It is really a testament to Cox’s coaching ability to look back at the success (albeit regular season) he has had with patchwork corner OF’ers, first basemen (Bream and Hunter, Klesko, Helms, and all the others since) and washed up relievers(Juan Berenguer anyone?).
James was doing a rehab assignment then was activated. They want him to start and he may not quite be ready to start in the majors (not because of his stuff, but we need starters that can go at least 7, because of the pen)
Go-o-o-o-o Georgia Bulldogs…..
What does everyone make of this?
“Atlanta and the Chicago White Sox both have interest in Pirates reliever Salomon Torres. The Pirates have reportedly been scouting the Braves’ Class AA Mississippi farm club recently while the White Sox have a gaggle of pitching prospects at the upper levels of their farm system.”
http://www.timesonline.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16771739&BRD=2305&PAG=461&dept_id=478568&rfi=6
U-G-A! U-G-A!
A trade for Salomon Torres will not make me excited…unless it is Torres being traded for Reitsma.
I’m liable to ignore that rumor, just because if you look below it mentions something about trading Adam Wainwright for Craig Wilson, if the Pirates will take him instead of Reyes. Now I don’t but it seems like the Cards wouldn’t be interested in trading either of those players for someone like Wilson, who quite frankly sucks half the time. I don’t know why we would trade for Torres either, regardless of how much better he could be than Retisma.
Re Pratt. I think he is there as a mentor more than anything, that veteran presence for a young catcher. They weren’t counting on him having to start as often as he did when McCann was out.
Let me echo Kyle’s sentiments and ask that everyone keep their mouth shut with respect to Big Ben’s injury. The accident speaks for itself as far as the danger of riding without a helmet–he doesn’t need his intelligence and character publicly bashed when he’s in serious condition in a hospital. Show some respect and class, folks.
This was the first I had heard of the extent of Ben Roethlisberger’s injury. Oh man, this is bad. Regardless of how it happened, my heart breaks for this guy right now. I can only imagine what is going in the hearts of his family, friends, and the Steelers. Man I hope he makes a full recovery.
Please, bikers, wear helmets. I won’t end a soapbox tag for that. Man, poor guy.
And we’re going to Omaha!!! WHOOOO!!!!!
Yeah Rob, seeing the scrolling list of injuries at the bottom of the screem during the UGA game was pretty frightening. My s.o.’s brother played pickup basketball and had classes with him at Miami of Ohio. Has nothing but great things to say about the guy.
For those who use the commissioner’s logon at AJC.com, please note that as of today, the only one that will work is with the first name as Bud.
F
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Thorman another solid night. 4 for 5 with a double and rbi. Average up to .326. He definitely deserves the call up.
As far as I know, my AJC login still works:
Name warliberal
Address mac at warliberal dot com
Password warliberal
One question:
How ’bout them Dawgs?
After that brutal Bama/UNC game it was nice to win this one.
Yes, I like UGA and Bama both.
Probably so, Mac. Apparently about a dozen different people had signed Mr. Selig up for AJC.com, so I had to choose one. I picked the most obvious.
Yes, I own that domain….
After looking at pitching prospects over the last few days and my crackpot – I mean crackerjack – prospect analysis, I think my preference would be to promote from within the organization for relief help. We have several pitchers in both AA and AAA that have done well and could definitely do better than some we have.
The funny thing is that most teams that are out of contention have lousy bullpens – there could be a correlation there. If you look at the careers for many of those pitchers that are doing well with subpar teams, this year seems like an anomaly. I don’t trust many of them to keep it up, but I’m sure the Braves scouts have some ideas.
I still say we need to trade Giles for an outfielder that can hit leadoff (Carl Crawford would be nice, but not likely), put Betemit at second and get rid of Langerhans and LaRoche for whatever we can get for them. A reliever would be nice, but isn’t absolutely necessary right now, and realistically won’t make a huge difference – the only huge difference we can make is to get Reitsma out of the bullpen! I know that Thorman’s career stats aren’t much better than LaRoche, but he doesn’t seem to have reached his peak yet and he deserves a shot. Moving Sosa to the pen and giving James a shot may also help.
Trading Giles for a leadoff hitter seems to be one of the lowest cost solutions and we don’t have 5 players changing positions. Whatever the case, we need to do something soon.
Just to chime in on the whole position switch-o-rama . . .
I generally think the idea of keeping the same guys and just moving them around, either on the field or in the lineup, has more appeal than actual value. Moving Renteria (to the outfield) seems like the only switch that makes sense to me. If he replaces Langerhans in LF, then that’s a defensive downgrade in LF and an upgrade at SS. Tony Pena then replaces Langerhans’ bat, and that’s a downgrade. The question is, what is the net effect? If it’s possitive, and I’m not sure that it would be, it’s still a small effect. I don’t see that really solving anything.
As for out and out replacements, I guess its time Thorman gets a shot at first. He’s playing great at Richmond, but you can’t expect a guy to move up a level and still be a .310/.390/.560 hitter. And what exactly do you do with LaRoche? I just don’t see other teams giving up quality (especially quality bullpen arms, which is what we need) for him.
Marcus is a candidate for replacement by Betemit, but . . . . I don’t know, he can’t really be this bad can he? I put absolutely no stock in the argument that moving him to leadoff has hurt him. Do you turn him into a bench player? Trade him? I still think he’d draw major interest in the trade market. I hate to say it because he’s one of my favorites, but we might be better off trading him.
On the bright side, I do feel confident that Chuck James is on his way up. The question isn’t if, but when and who he replaces.
Seems like td and I are thinking the same thing at the same time.
I disagree, though, about what we would want back for Giles. The Braves have to be looking for good bullpen arms, period. Wilson or Edgar can lead off, but we have to get someone who can get outs in our bullpen.
The problem is that no team is looking to shop quality bullpen arms now. We may have to readjust what we think of as “quality” (which the existing pen is well on the way to doing for us all). Otherwise we have to overpay, and I don’t like the idea of trading prospects for middle of the road relief pitching. That’s only going to hurt the team longterm.
I guess my point is that trading serviceable players for bullpen “help” like Solomon Torres isn’t worth it. I also just don’t see a lot of teams in contention with more bullpen help than they need and the bad teams are often bad with bad bullpens being a key factor – see Tampa Bay. I think overhauling mostly from the minors and adding a key piece later (just like last year) is the most logical solution.
Renteria, Chipper and Andruw are doing pretty well as 2-3-4 hitters and the Jones boys should improve. Having a good leadoff guy could be huge.
Realistically, if our starting pitching keeps going the way it has over the last few weeks, nothing will help us!
Go Yellow Jackets!
Bobby Felmy is a God
Go Yellow Jackets as in go home to Atlanta bc you dont have the pitching to play in Omaha? Yeah i can agree with that
For the record, Edgar Renteria is a shortstop & he’s never played outfield in his life. He’s not going to start now.
The biggest problem with this team is pitching. It’s the reason we get behind early, it’s the reason opponents get add-on runs, it’s the reason we’ve blown so many saves. Getting Betamit in the lineup doesn’t address that. Moving Renteria doesn’t address that. Moving Chipper to first doesn’t address that.
And if we’re worried about catching the ball better at various positions, I don’t see how switching our regular infielders to positions in which they’re unfamiliar addresses that notion either.
We’re grasping at straws, folks. The bullpen is lousy, the starters below average so far. We can drop players & call ’em up and/or trade for some, but it seems to me that the idea of mid-season position changes is a Little League approach, not a Major League approach.
And, in a previous post, someone mentioned Pete Rose to 3B as an example of an outfielder who successfully moved to the infield. Yes that happened & yes that bore fruit; however, it should be noted that Rose came up as an infielder (a 2B) and, in the 1975 Reds, we’re talking about one of the greatest teams in modern times. They were making room for Foster & Griffey in the OF; we have no such corner OFs. I don’t see the analogy.
Sure, it made their lineup better, but overall it didn’t make that big of a difference. I mean, they won 108 games. That team was going to win if Rose played 3B or if Darrell Chaney played 3B. We’re a long way from that bunch.
Our crappy guys gotta play better or get moved out & our superstars gotta start living up to that title.
urlhix,
Like you, I am also a UGA first, and then a Bama fan 2nd. We are a rare breed to love both teams (that are rivals though not in the same way as Bama-Auburn or UGA-Auburn, for example) but it probably doesn’t hurt that the Dawgs and Tide don’t play every year.
I love the idea I have heard on here (I don’t know who came up with it first) of trading Marcus for an actual leadoff guy who’s also an outfielder, like Carl Crawford. Kills 3 birds with one stone…we get a leadoff guy, we get Betemit an everyday job, and either Langy or Frenchy go to the bench or at least get moved into a platoon situation.
I would further that by saying if we got Crawford (though I doubt TB would do that–who wants Marcus now?) I would make Matt Diaz the other starting outfielder and move Langy to 4th outfielder and send Francouer to Richmond and pray that someone teaches that boy to take a walk.
So, if we made those changes, the other offensive changes I would hope to see:
1. Call up Lil’ Tony, Braya Pena and either Jurries or Thorman.
2. Turn Lil’ Tony (as I said yesterday) into Rafael Belliard and have him be a 7th or 8th inning Rentaria replacement.
3. DFA Todd Pratt–thanks for the painful memories, buddy. Allow Brayan Pena (Mac said this to me yesterday and I agree) to become Horacio Ramirez’s personal catcher–they worked well together and it follows the old Cox principle of developing a repoire between 1 starter and a back-up catcher.
4. DFA Brian Jordan or hire Brian to be a minor league coach or instructor or even a Major League coach, but get him off the active 24 man roster, ASAP. Make Thorman or Jurries the righty platoon with LaRoche.
My bigger preference would be to complete a tradewith Pittsburgh that would bring us Craig Wilson and either Saloman Torres or Mike Gonzalez.
It’s a 2 fold deal: C. Wilson is the best possible option and even if you don’t play him full time at first, at least he’s a better platoon option with laRoche then our Richmond players and certainly Jordan.
Second, Torres and/or Gonzalez are pretty much better then anything we have in the bullpen save for McBride against lefties for an inning and Kenny Ray.
So instead now, we have Betemit in the lineup every single day, and more experienced reliable outfield with Diaz, Andruw and Crawford (or someone like Crawford), a better platoon partner with LaRoche in C. Wilson, a late inning defensive replacement for Edgar in Lil’ Tony, and a more productive back-up for McCann in Brayan Pena.
Furthermore, when LaRoche is in the lineup, the only other request we all have is just don’t have him hit 5th. I can live with LaRoche playing 65% of the time if he’s at least not hitting 5th! (McCann has proven himself).
Also, we have improved our bullpen by adding either Torres or Gonzalez. Besides DFA’ing Chris Reitsma, I would do the same to Oscar Villareal and Tyler Yates and give kids like Stockman a chance also. If we can find an extra cheap veteran to trade for, great…but it’s worth trading some single A kids to teams like Pittsburgh if it improves the bullpen.
Anyway, I realize NONE of these things will ever happen but it’s never bad to dream.
Go Jackets!
Ideal Future Lineups for 2006:
1. Carl Crawford, LF
2. Edgar Rentaria, SS
3. Chipper Jones, 3B
4. Andruw Jones, CF
5. Brian McCann, C
6. Wilson Betemit, 2B
7. Matt Diaz, RF
8. LaRoche/C. Wilson, 1B
I know perople would poo poo this, but here’s something I like a bit more:
1. Carl Crawford, LF
2. Wilson Betemit, 2B
3. Edgar Rentaria, SS
4. Andruw Jones, CF
5. Chipper Jones, 3B
6. Brian McCann, C
7. Matt Diaz, RF
8. LaRoche/C. Wilson, 1B
I like Betemit higher up in the lineup personally and moving Chipper to the 5 spot behind Andruw from now on (instead of in front of him) gives us more power there and yes, i realize LaRoche had power but we all agree Chipper is a far more reliable hitter overall then Adam.
McCann has been the most reliable hitter so making him the 6th place hitter spreads our strength out even more but since he’s not a power hitter, then you put a power guy in the 5 spot.
I just love the idea of having a real lead off guy again, followed by guys like Edgar and Betemit who are both such professional Major League hitters and don’t just swing wildly at everything say like Francouer and Giles–one of whom is in Richmond and one of whom is in Tampa Bay at this point.
(the other reason I think Tampa maybe open to Marcus is that Jorge Cantu is a terrific young power hitter but even worse defensively and they would make him their permanent DH).
And Alex, I completely agree with all of your points except for acquiring Wilson or Torres (and UGA and bama, but that’s a different discussion). Let’s take a look at baseballreference.com:
Wilson:
http://www.baseballreference.com/w/wilsocr03.shtml
Torres:
http://www.baseballreference.com/t/torresa01.shtml
Neither of these guys look like someone I want on the Braves. And what the hell happened to Torres from 1997 to 2002? He was completely MIA.
And re: Crawford…I think he is only a dream. There’s no way they deal him, especially after signing him to an extension before the season. Having said that, if we could get him for Giles, Salty, and a couple other prospects, then we definitely make the deal.
I just noticed this.
Scott Thorman’s OBP: .398
Jon Schuerholz’s OPS: .390
Ububba;
Go Dawgs!
This is about doing something different when things aren’t working. The point about the most controversial player of my lifetime, Rose, is that Sparky came to him and said, for the good of the team, I’d like to see you playing 3b.
1) They didn’t have anubody who could really play third.
2) They weren’t one of the greatest of all then; they became so after that move. mostly because of what you said. They’d been embarrassed by the A’s in a World Series and beaten in a LC series by team that today’s Mets haters would gag to hear about.
If Rose could move, so could Chipper.
But you’re spot on about pitching. Unless we get some good starters–and quick–we’re toast.
In the interview with JS, he noted the Braves were a second half team. Where in this pitching staff does he see a rally?
Do something gutsy, John, you corporate stooge. The A’s have long been hot for Marcus; Giles and Salty for Zito! Let Hudson and Zito stare out at the NL East teams as Smoltz works them over.
I think Crawford could be had at a high price. That said, we don’t have any speedster, obp outfield guys in our minors that have put up good numbers, so it might be worth it. Unless you look at Myrte Beach. I would hate to trade Salty. He already knows how to take a walk and is still productive with a .222 average.
It seems obvious to me the LF spot could solve the leadoff problem. Here are some guys that could be had: Gathright(TB), E. German(KC). I am not sure why German doesn’t get more playing time, his last three years stats look positive without being given a full time shot. I think KC would want B. Pena, M. Giles, Sosa or Thomson. German leads off and plays left.
Here’s your lineup by OBP.
1. German (.363)
2. Renty (.403)
3. Chipper (.388)
4. Jones (.333)
5. BMAC (.405)
6. Betemit(.351) If Giles is dealt for German
7. Laroche (.336)
8. Frenchy (.266)
We have to bring up Chuck James, Stockman and Thorman. If this is not done in the next 10 days JS and BC dont’t care about this season. Jurries is back and doing ok also, he could be trade bait. Frenchy has to stay but we could at least bat him 8th. His presence in right has saved many a runner from going to 2nd or 3rd. Jordan is done.
Bullpen solution, get Gonzalez and Torres from Pittsburgh. Send them some Rome or Myrtle beach starters. They don’t need a closer or setup guy. Reitsma can join the Wholers and Rocker club wherever that is. If Sosa can be dealt then bring up Stockman.
Bullpen by inning:
6th. Villareal or Paronto
7th. Remlinger or Torres
8th. Stockman, Mcbride
9th. Ray or Gonzalez
I think these solution are somewhat realistic?
Kevin, As long as we could sign Zito, he would just be a high priced rental. He is likely to go for big dollars as a free agent, but I like the direction you are taking.
I would not want any part of Zito if we couldn’t sign him longer term. The fact is, if we would just put Chuck James (cheap, young, talented, in-house) in for Sosa or Thomson and then when Davies gets healthy, he replaces the other person, then I think we can leave the starting pitching alone.
This is dependent on seeing the old John Smoltz and not an OLD John Smoltz. I think despite the start on Sunday, I am hopeful we will continue to see the good HoRam and see a good Hudson.
But yes, we need to add a leadoff hitter in the outfield, 2 relief arms minimum, and call up at least 3-4 Richmond players who deserve a chance to be on the Major League roster—Lil’ Tony, Brayan Pena and Thorman, minimally. We may not need Thorman for now if we aquire the unhappy-in-Pittsburgh Craig Wilson. But Jordan & Pratt have to go NOW and Francouer needs to be back in Richmond.
New Bench: C. Wilson or LaRoche (whomever isn’t starting), Langerhans, Orr, Lil’ Tony, Brayan Pena
We might actually get to play tonight. Miami is only showing a 30% chance of rain/thunderstorms for the rest of the day. Who knows we might need more than a day off.
I dont like the pitching match ups for this series. The Marlins are playing very good baseball and this series scares me even more. Come on Alberto or John Smoltz!
Leeds – you own bselig.com? you actually read mail sent to bselig@bselig.com ? wow…
BTW – I’m pretty sure I created the AJC Bud/bselig@bselig.com/bselig login – hope that’s alright 🙂
http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/sportscolumns/entries/2006/06/12/time_not_on_bra.html
I wanted to post Jeff Schultz’s terrific column about the current mess that is the Braves.
The part that really chafes me in this article is this:
Schuerholz said. “We’re all befuddled by what’s happened. We came out of training feeling good about the team, though with the knowledge that we might have to do something to rearrange the bullpen. But if you look at the evidence now, it may suggest that more needs to be done than just that.”
On what planetary system did JS come out of Spring training feeling “good” about the bullpen and about Brian Jordan in a platoon role? Am I missing something?
This is also a head scratcher from JS:
“We never have to make a trade,” he said. “But we’d like to.”
That’s cute. But he does have to.
Yes, I second Schultz’s sentiments.
Seriously, maybe JS should write another book?
Sure, to be fair he couldn’t have predicted Marcus would be a disaster and that Francouer would regress even further–I mean, I think most of us could see this but it’s easy to get on pass on that.
But Jordan and the bullpen at minimum, anyone could see this was going to be a major, major problem.
Why is everyone so obsessed with puting Francouer back at Richmond?? What the hell does it prove? He never walked much to begin with and sending him back what don’t a thing except screw with his confidence.
Andy,
Leaving him in the lineup everyday isn’t working either. Sure, he may hit 27 homers this year, but he will strike out 200 times and have a ton of double plays with a horrible OBP.
That hurts the team. I mean, what do we do?
I have some news, I don’t think people are going to move possitions this season.
Francoeur is an especially hard case for the team because he’s such a star. I mean in the sense that he’s a celebrity. How many Francoeur jerseys do the Braves sell? There’s an economic incentive to keep him in the bigs that doesn’t show up in the stats or in the wins and losses. He’s popular, and that’s good business. I think he has to get really, really bad to get sent down.
Jay,
You make an excellent point, not to mention the fact that he has the best right field arm in Baseball now. There’s something to be said for that also.
So, if he stays and we keep him in the lineup, then maybe Pendleton is the problem.
But someone needs to shake this kid into some reality about becoming more patient because it’s a detriment to the team, all these strikeouts.
And unlike Marcus who’s already set in his ways (and is the most hyperactive Baseball player ever so he’s incapable of not swinging) Francouer is young enough that I feel he could take direction.
I think Francoeur has shown signs of being more selective at the plate. His play isn’t even in the top three of reasons we are sucking. In fact I am more worried about some of the throws he has messed up in the filed. He already has five errors.
Sorry I give his last error to Chipper – or at least it looked like Chipper could’ve kept that ball in front of him
Kyle, no problem at all. As long as people don’t sign him up for porn or newsletters, I’m good with them signing him up for web sites. And, yes, I get the emails and click on the links.
Best right field arm in baseball? I think Big Daddy Vlady would have something to say about that.
I’m interested to see what are lineup will look like tonight.
And as far as sending Frenchy down to Richmond, I have to disagree. He doesn’t hit into double plays much Alex, he just strikes out or flys out. We just need someone that can teach him better than Pendleton has.
Jay,
I, too, think you are right on the money, no pun intended. They will never send Frency down to the minors because of economic concerns. He is the star of a large ad campaign by one of the major sponsors of the team, the casual fan will come to the ballpark just to see him play no matter how many times he strikes out, selling merch, etc. I guess we are just going to have to deal with him learning on the fly for now. And I think he’s up for the task, hope so anyway. The guy is obviously no dummy and I’m sure he knows that with a little bit better pitch recognition he can be big time. Has anyone given the kid an eye exam? Wasn’t that what was wrong with Diaz? Just a thought…
Alex,
Yeah, it is a rare breed that can root for the Tide and the Dawgs. I grew up in Alabama and lived in T-town for 4 years as a kid (Dreamland!) and now I’ve lived in Athens and the surrounding area for, shoot, about 14 years now (man, I’m getting old, lol). That’s where I get it from, anyway.
As far as Frenchy ..you dont think Pendleton has told him to take some pitches ?? Sure he has .. but Frenchy is one of these guys that is going to do what he wants … Bobby still makes out the lineup so why would he listen to a batting coach who justs offers advice ..and has no real authority when decisions are made about lineups ??? Pendleton has the easiest jobs around .. make suggestions (thats all he can do ) and collect pay check ….
What they need to do is put Frenchy in the batting cage, tie a rope from the back of the cage to his bat and make him stand there and take pitches. I’m sure he has a deeply ingrained neuro-muscular habit of swinging that is obviously hard to break. So that my suggestion to help fix it. He doesn’t need batting practice, he needs taking pitches practice.
And I’m only half joking….