ESPN.com – MLB – Box Score – Red Sox at Braves
Miserable Braves Loss Type 4.2(b), “Starting Pitcher Is No Good And Doesn’t Even Pitch Five, Team Can’t Get Hit To Come All The Way Back.”
The pointless and inexplicable start of Lance Cormier was, unsurprisingly, a disaster, as he went four innings and allowed as many runs. How does seven hits, three walks, one strikeout, and a homer leading off the game sound? Like what you expected? I thought so. After Remlinger gave up a homer to Ortiz, the bullpen was actually pretty good, though Ray loaded the bases on a single and two walks (one intentional) before getting out of the ninth. McBride needed eight pitches (all strikes) to get through his inning.
Andruw singled home a run in the fourth. In the fifth, the Braves had the bases loaded, one out, and Renteria walked to score the second run. But Betemit (in for a banged-up Chipper) and Andruw popped out. With two on and two out in the seventh, Renteria and Betemit struck out. Andruw’ leadoff double did lead to a run in the eighth.
The horrible nightmare continues tomorrow in prime time, with Schilling v. Smoltz. Honestly, the 1988 club would kick this team’s ass. I hope they’re not trying, because if they are they’re completely incompetent.
The team is clearly just trying to reduce its own value until it falls within the range Arthur Blank is looking to pay for it.
So, when will Brian Jordan go to the DL and Thorman be brought up?
I think Betemit has money on the Red Sox. That swing on that 2-1 count in the fifth on a very high ball three for a pop out killed all the momentum it looked like we were having. He let balls go over his head and off his glove at third.
His stock fell dramatically today.
What is the explanation for Cormier’s start? It completely baffles me. Why was James ineligible? Was there nobody else on Richmond’s starting staff worth calling up for a spot start? Shuerholz might as well have conceded the game and saved us all the waste of time of watching it. Fortunately the US-Italy game was on at roughly the same time. When are we going to get some relievers who don’t immediately give back any runs our sputtering offense scores? Please somebody stick a fork in Remlinger.
Everybody’s pressing.
It ain’t Betemit’s fault.
WE NEED BLANK!
The 2005 Red Sox had the worst bullpen in the major leagues and they released Mike Remlinger. That should tell you all you need to know.
Tomorrow night’s matchup should be excellent, though. I’m looking forward to it.
I asked in the other thread, but how did Stockman look, if anyone watched? I know his stat line, but was he impressive?
Stockamn 2K’s, fastball a little wild at times, curve is okay. Looked okay, but he’s not our Paplebon
I’ve now changed my fantasy team name to BravesSUCK!! hopefully it’ll bring us luck, but I doubt it
I Dont Get To Watch A Lot Of Braves Since I Live In Indy And I Seem To Work When They Are On Tbs…but It Is Hard To Get Excited About This Team. There Is No Energy Out There. We Need A Spark Like Lets Say… C. Crawford Leading Off.
Stockman looked good to me. He just seems to throw the same 93-95 MPH fastball on every pitch.
P.S.: Stockman is a HUGE improvement over Chris Reitsma. Surely Cox won’t send him down to AAA when Reitsma’s 15 days on the DL are done.
If Reitsma has bone chips, his season is over.
Carl Crawford would be a good pick-up if he could be had.
Isn’t James going to start in Thomson’s place? It makes some sense for him to come up and start in the place of a pitcher who’s on the DL so he can make a few starts. Why call him up for the start today (HoRam’s spot, when HoRam should make his next start), then have to call up Cormier to make Thomson’s next start and have James sit out for a really long time until Thomson’s spot comes around again? This way, Cormier can be sent back down and James can take his spot on the 25-man roster and pitch every fifth day.
Also, are any other of Richmond’s starting pitchers on the 40-man roster? I think Lerew is, but he hasn’t exactly been anything to talk about this season. I think they were hoping to steal a few innings from Cormier today. Only problem was we couldn’t quite catch up, even after the bullpen came in a pitched rather decently.
What intrigues me is we haven’t really heard any quotes from McDowell, Cox, and Schuerholz. I mean, they have to have something to say. This is very frustrating. 16th loss in 19 games.
I’m new to this board. I’ve been reading the comments the past couple days and i’m suprised at all the negativity. I mean the braves have had a great run but a couple of those pieces that have been very huge during this streak are getting old and past their prime (chipper and smoltz as examples). We have some young guys that show promise of more division championships (mccann, francoeur)
Perhaps this isn’t our year, i mean it happens! The whole trade talk is garbage b/c you know it ain’t going to happen. When was the last time the braves picked up someone huge during the season? We have to continue to stick with our young talent and hope that the future is better then this year. You win championships from within, not going out and buying free agents.
Yes, Cox is getting old but geez guys he has been the manager for 14 straight division titles. I think the guy deserves a mulligan for some questionable decisions. Not to say that the braves shouldn’t consider a new manager in the next year or two, they should.
Also, all this Trade chipper, he sucks crap is funny. I mean the guy has done so much for the organization over the years. What did you expect, 40 hr and 120 rbi’s this year? He ain’t that player anymore, shoot for 20-25 and 90 rbis and it would be great year at this stage of his career.
Nothing personal “dan” but your comment that you made earlier about Betemits stock really dropped today is the DUMBEST thing i’ve ever heard. So what, one bad game. When you play two games a week at most you are going to press and try to make something happen. If anything he needs to be playing 3rd everyday with chipper at first.
Come on guys, we don’t have to be all happy but lets cheer for the team we have and quit this waste of time trade talk. Trade talk is funny, i believe it was early in spring training when some people were saying trade McCann and start salty b/c he hit a couple of homers. Funny how things work out.
Go braves and turn this thing around!
Oh yeah, Giles shouldn’t be leading off. Even I can see that. You can’t have your lead off batter batting .239. What do you guys think of this lineup?
Betemit 2B (last time he hit leadoff was a win agianst Astros)
C. Jones 3B (wonder if he could bat 2nd, would put rent. in the 5 hole like he was in St. Louis)
B. McCann C (perfect 3 hitter, high average, decent pop, get on base for RBI men)
A. Jones CF (when hot, our best hitter, rbi machine)
Renteria SS (he could be an RBI machine with runners in front of him)
J. Francoeur RF(wish he had more discipline, heck .250 , 30 hr, 100 rbi is better then most teams get out of RF or LF)
A. LaRoche 1B (ugh, apparently were stuck with him.)
Langerhans or Diaz (no comment, nothing exciting here)
Pitcher
Hey J,
You’re right that Francouer’s 14 homers and 47 RBI seem impressive, but those numbers are deceptive. Consider his OPS of .708 (as most of us know, OPS is a much better indicator of offensive production than home runs and the context-dependent RBI. Among the 13 right fielders in the NL with enough at-bats to qualify for the batting title, Frenchy ranks 13th in OPS. If you include left fielders, he ranks 23rd out of 24. The fact of the matter is, this season he has been one of the worst corner outfielders in the league.
What we need in the back of the ‘pen is a live arm. A guy who throws gas–a second pitch would be great, but in the 9th inning, there’s nothing better than good old-fashioned cheese. If Stockman is that guy (or can learn to be), I don’t see why a healthy Devine and Boyer can’t set him up.
No, the 1988 team WOULD NOT kick this team’s ass. I watched that team and this one, which I’m sure many others here did as well. Seriously, I doubt anyone on the 1988 team had a .750 OPS. Dale and Ron Gant must have had 250 Ks between them. Maybe someone should ask Smoltz.
Next year, I mean……….
I will be at the game tomorrow night and I personally guarantee a Braves win because I am wearing “The Hat”.
Pedro just gave up a HR to Kris Benson. 2-2 in bot. 3rd.
Also hilarious: Lo Duca’s perfect throw to 2B to get a stealing Brian Roberts. Problem? Nobody was covering the base. Only person even on the screen was Roberts, who of course wound up at 3B. Mets playing like crap so far. Of course, Kris Benson also sucks.
Actually, Gant had an OPS a little over .750, which was well over the league average at the time. Different era. The Braves’ team ERA of 4.09 was eleventh in a twelve-team league; today, that would be good for fourth.
And that’s before you take in the run-inflating effects of AFCS.
Marlins winning big against Blue Jays, so we’ll shortly be tied for last place.
Seriously, here’s a thumbnail comparison of the Braves of 2006 vs. 1988, even taking into account increased offense levels:
1B- 1988 Gerald Perry 300/338/400, today LaRoche 247/336/490 and Jordan 214/269/345. Overall about even.
2B- 1988 Ron Gant 259/317/439, today Giles 241/329/360. Advantage 1988.
SS- 1988 Andres Thomas 252/268/360, today Renteria 321/400/474. Advantage 2006.
3B- 1988 Ken Oberkfell 277/325/365, today Chipper 288/382/459. Advantage 2006.
C- 1988 Ozzie Virgil 256/313/372 and Bruce Benedict 242/296/271, today McCann 362/414/551 and Pratt 203/267/266. Advantage 2006, even with Pratt.
LF- 1988 Albert Hall 247/314/299 and Terry Blocker 212/250/283. Today Langerhans 246/333/383. Advantage 2006.
CF- 1988 Dion James 256/353/350. Today Andruw 267/335/502. Advantage 2006.
RF- 1988 Dale Murphy 226/313/421. Today Frenchy 246/265/448. Advantage 1988.
Rotation #1- Mahler (3.69) vs. Hudson (3.88). Even.
Rotation #2- Pete Smith (3.78) vs. Smoltz (3.78). Advantage 2006 due to increased offense level.
Rotation #3- Glavine (4.56) vs. Thomson (4.68). Slight advantage 2006.
Rotation #4- Zane Smith (4.30) vs. Sosa (5.35). Advantage 1988.
Rotation #5- Smoltz/ Coffman/ Jimenez (Combined 5.45) vs. Davies/ HoRam (5.71). About even.
Man, this is depressing.
Closer- Sutter (4.76) vs. Reitsma (9.11). Advantage 1988.
Setup- Assenmacher (3.06) vs. Ray (2.93) since Ray’s spent more time at setup than closing. Advantage 2006.
Other bullpenners- Alvarez/ Puleo/ Acker vs. Villareal/ Cormier/ Remlinger. Advantage 1988.
I have seven advantage 2006, five advantage 1988, three even. This isn’t a contending team unless several players step up dramatically.
Funny, I also whipped out my Total Baseball Encyclopaedia today to compare this team with the bad Braves. Looked eerily similar and not in a good way.
If You Can’t Own a Ria,
YOu are right. I also can’t stand watching him watch a strike right down the middle while he swings at crap on the third strike in the dirt. His plate discipline is awful because he guesses, he isn’t nearly fully developed as a hitter.
However, he’s 22 years old and has 40 hr, 120 rbi potential. He’s always going to be a streak hitter. But his ceiling is high and he is one of the very least problems we have. Perhaps Cox should bat him 7th to make his OPS less a factor. But who are you going to bat 7th? I’ll ask you this, who would you rather have playing RF?
I love the title of Jeff Schultz’s article on AJC:
“Braves are woefully inadequate and their GM just sits and signs books.”
This Braves team headed into the last offseason with the same damn problems which we are seeing today, but our GM decided to sit. Now, he is faced with the same problems, but the team is now 14 games back instead of zero game back. We have nobody to thank but out brilliant “writer” / GM.
I’m going to try to live blog tomorrow night’s game….(if I’m home)..it should be a sweet pitching mathchup between Smoltz and Schilling..
Hopefully we can avoid getting swept…again..
You know what’s tragic about this? I never thought I’d see the day where I’d enjoy watching soccer more than the Braves. But it’s finally arrived. When it’s not pitching, it’s offense. When it’s not offense, it’s pitching. Sometimes it’s both. Sometimes it’s defense. But it’s never none of the above. This isn’t a June swoon, it’s a June intracranial hemorrhage.
Nonetheless, I am pumped for tomorrow night. It’s a great matchup on paper. Of course, that usually means that one side scores 5 runs in the 2nd inning and the whole thing is ruined, but hey. It could happen.
I’ve always loved soccer…so I can’t say that Jen… but today I prefered to watch N.Y-Washington (ugh)
Ah crap..tomorrow night we’ll have to listen to Joe Morgan’s shit again. Aaaahh… he makes me want to stab myself in the eardrums.
Morgan has to be the Worst announcer ever..
Ron Gant,Tim McCarver,Michel Kay and Hawk Harrelson are very very close.. but Joseph Morgan makes me want to give up on life.
What the Braves need is a good LF and a good leadoff guy.
My solution? LF Carl Crawford from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He is a very good fielder, a good hitter, and he is VERY fast. We need someone like him.
I watch all Joe Morgan games on mute. It helps my blood pressure. It’s bearable when you don’t know the teams, but I know both of these teams, and all the misinformation and erroneous crap that’s going to come out tomorrow will drive me over the edge if I have to listen to it.
The last time he did a Red Sox game in 2005, he said the following:
“I’m surprised they have such a high team OBP, that really hasn’t been their model the last few years.”
WTF? Yes, that has been their exact model. But I forgot, you have a phobia of acronyms, because they mean numbers, and numbers are evil. Theo Epstein is an evil little punk with a dangerous computer that might kill you, and his team is a horrible bunch of people because it was racist back in the 1970s under an owner who’s been dead for a decade.
You just KNOW he will spend half the night talking about the Braves free-fall, get all his math wrong, harp on the Mets for 3 hours and make some retarded, incorrect remark about why they’re playing well, then talk about how he doesn’t actually watch games.
Just mute him. See? I’m already worked up, and he hasn’t even said anything yet.
One more thing: What kind of baseball fans are all of you? I mean, the Braves are terrible, but at least are more entertaining than football,I’m sorry, soccer.
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This just in:
The Braves are playing so bad that they have earned a spot in the US soccer team.
You can’t knock someone’s taste Pedro. I can’t stand watching golf..or Nascar..but I bet there are people here that enjoy either the former or the latter..
If someone prefers on one day..to watch the World Cup,..an event that’s even bigger than the Super Bowl.. that has more action, drama, storylines than the Yankees and Red Sox in game 7 of the ALCS.. it doesn’t make them any less of a baseball fan
I don’t know if a soccer game has more drama than a game 7 of the LCS, but I understand you and I’m sorry if I offended you.
My bad,
Pedro V.
It’s cool Pedro.
I didn’t mean all soccer games have more drama than a game 7 of the LCS..but some of them sure do.
World Cup games..World Cup qualifiers…Champiosn Leuague etc..they can be very fun and intense..
But..I guess every sport has that. The Masters or the Daytona 500 are also packed with goodies for their respective fans..but in my case, they don’t appeal to me
I think we have something in common:I don’t like nascar or any other kind of racing sport.
I have a good question:
Is it time to panic? Because I’m in panic mode for about a week or so. I don’t want to see the streak over. The last time the Braves missed the playoffs I was only one year old.
AJC Columnist, Jeff Schultz, speaks for me:
http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/sportscolumns/entries/2006/06/17/braves_need_maj.html
Davey & Pedro,
I am with you guys…I absolutely loathe Golf and Nascar. Neither has any interest to me. I would rather watch the TLC or Style channel with my wife than Golf or Nascar.
This is ridiculous. For all of you that live in Atlanta, you should really get out to the games. The crowd was rooting for the Red Sox? Absolutely pathetic.
Over on Espn.com in this insider’s article they’re saying it’s over..
http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/insider/columns/story?columnist=neyer_rob&id=2486956
They also got a big pic of Frenchy on their baseball page..with the headline “The Mighty Have Fallen”
But we know of Espn and their Brave bashing..so,it’s not surprising.
I don’t live in Atlanta, but can you blame people for not going to watch this team? I can barely stand watching them for free. Heck, these Red Sox fans for this three-game series are probably worth a few hundred thousand dollars, which is all the less payroll that Liberty will cut.
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!! You hate NASCAR that much?
I rather take my eyes out with my own hands than watch Golf or those two channels.
I agree Mac..
I don’t live in ATL..but if I did, I don’t think I would pay money to see this team play the way they are right now..
I imagine if I show up at the Ted..and Jordan and Pratt are playing..and Remlinger or Villareal make a cameo appereance.. I want a refund..
I want to see the Ted rocking aswell, when I’m watchin on tv..but I understand that the way things are going right now,it’s hard to watch this team..let alone pay for it..
Hey guys I have to go, but as a wise men once said: “I’ll be back!”
Jordan’s on the DL, Thorman’s up.
I’ll sleep somewhat better tonight..
Wow, too bad it took an injury to Jordan for something to happen. Honestly, I think Thorman should start tomorrow, but that wont happen. Maybe Jordan will pull the Eddie Perez of last year. We can all give him a standing ovation in his next AB, which should be the last game of the season. Can Pratt, Villareal, and Remlinger all go on the DL too. Will James replace Cormier tomorrow or Thomson?
Free Kevin Barry! Did we really have to have Cormier start? Not that it matters anyway.
Stockman is promising and, yes, maybe one day we will see Thorman. Barry. like Jurries, must have committed some heinous crime along the way…
The comparisons with the late 80s are apt–but this team should not be this bad. Anyway, the best thing now is to let the Braves young players grow and develop–just like the late 1980s. Give Francoeur his on the job training. The same with Betemit, Langerhans, Davies, James and McBride. McCann is great but will only get better. In the late 1980s, Smoltz, Glavine, Blauser, Gant, Justice (if you can count 1990) all gained valuable–that is, essential–experience, which came to good use in 1991.
The real danger (now that we are in freefall) would be to trade our future (which held promise in the late 1980s) for players to improve this team for this season.
With some luck and wise player development we will be in the hunt in 2007; our goal should be the World Series in 2008.
Right now the ride to the bottom can at least furnish us with gallows humor….
[WEAK]Yaaaay![/WEAK]
Well, two down, then. Only ten or so more to go. I guess, however, that LaRoche will play first every day with Thorman reserved for pinch-hitting duty.
Don’t you guys know the “miracle Braves”?
JS didn’t just sit back. He tried to sign Farnsworth, who decided to leave for NY. He made offers, apparently for other relief pitchers. Unfortunately, this team is no longer in position to sign big money players. That’s not JS’s fault. I’m sure he is trying to make trades now. But when you say Carl Crawford would be nice for the Braves, he sure would, but unfortunately, he plays for Tampa Bay and they are not required by law to trade him to the Braves. And just what would the Braves trade for Crawford; oh, that’s right, Tampa Bay would take Reitsma even up.
The Braves are a bad team, but in fact, they have been in decline for several years. The structure of the payroll makes it impossible for them to improve the team and they have been reduced to trying to survive with young, albeit talented, players. You can’t blame JS for this; the payroll was structured with $100 million in mind and now it’s $80 million.
Where is the news on BJ?
Marc, JS did just sit back. He thought Reitsma was good enough and we had no back up plan. We are spending useless money (hence Reitsma, Sosa, and Ramirez.) Chipper gave money back to the team and we waisted it on these three guys. How could JS honestly think that a starting rotation of Smoltz, Hudson, Sosa, Thomson, and Davies be good enough. He knew McBride, Foster, and Boyer were all injured in the off season and we did nothing to prepare for this. Yes we got Remlinger, Villareal, and Cormier and they all suck. Our pitching continues to decline every year and we do nothing to fix our pen. Didn’t the White Sox have a payroll under $80 mil last year? Look at their staff and look at ours. They are complete and we are crap!
You cant blame McDowell, look at the pitchers he is working with
Thorman called up; Jordan on DL.
Charles S. check out AJC.com they have the news
never mind check out Mac’s link
Word! I love how these injuries keep happening to the players we want gone. Reitsma, BJ. Tomorrow Schilling throws a pitch into the atlanta pen and knocks out remlinger
Don’t blame McDowell, blame Leo Mazzone. He left us!!!!
Leo’s not looking too good these days either. They just called up another pitching coach I think.
At least he is better than McDowell!!!!!!
Look at McDowell’s staff. He’s teaching AA quality pitchers to pitch in MLB. He could be better yes, but he is dealing w/ what JS gave him this year.
WE NEED BLANK!
Our travails are a result of not having the money we used to have and “YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.”
That being said, everybody’s pressing. Giles is way below his career averages, we don’t have any offense from the LF spot, and Renteria is a downgrade from Furcal — not a huge one but definitely a downgrade. Hudson is a good pitcher who is being paid to be a great pitcher and Thomson and Sosa are turning into pumpkins. We’ve also had a lot of key injuries, Chipper has started an inevitable decline that is surprisingly precipitous, and Andruw won’t be finishing 2nd in the MVP vote in 2006. Francoeur is a fabulous building block but we (nobody, really) shouldn’t be pinning our pennant hopes on a 22-year-old. David Wright is simply surrounded by more talent.
Let’s suck it up and keep cheering for OUR TEAM. I have been for 35 years and I’m not stopping now.
Just because the team is going through a bad stretch does not justify abandoning them and turning your home stadium into a home away from home for the visiting team. I’ve mentioned this before, but I was at the Cubs/Braves playoff series and there were just as many cubs fans there as braves fans. Hell, four were willing to come with me 700 miles from chicago in the middle of the night to see them play. I still have hope that we’ll turn it around and hope more of you can go to games and root them on.
Just A Thought: C. Crawford And SP M. Henrickson For Thomson, Langy And Either Betemit Or Giles Or Even Better Laroche. Ive Always Liked Giles, So I Dont Want To See Him Go. They Need A Spark At The Top And That May Do It.
I think the Braves miss Furcal a lot more than is recognized. Both offensively, defensively, and that “spark” that is often mentioned. He likes to play the game.
Okay, this is bull. I believe Reitsma is hurt, maybe has bone chips and what not. But that ball off Jordan was not enough for a 15 day DL spot. I believe they convinced Jordan to go on the DL or the team’s doctors lied to him about the extent of his injuries.
What game were some of you watching? There were, no-doubt, a lot of Red Sox fans at the game, but they were not even close to making a majority. I bet not even 30%.
When it comes to a trade, I hear/read the same two names all the time. Every blog, every newspaper article, every sports’ show talking about the Braves here in Georgia says the same two names, so I have to believe that the Braves are looking at these two. The two are Soloman Torres of the Pirates and Joe Nathan of the Twins.
Im Just Sayin I Think The Braves Need A True Leadoff Hitter And Crawford Is That. He Would Also Be An Upgrade In Left. And He Is Available From What Ive Read And He Is Not A FA Until 08…it Just Makes Sense…maybe Too Much!!!
Im Just Sayin I Think The Braves Need A True Leadoff Hitter And Crawford Is That. He Would Also Be An Upgrade In Left. And He Is Available From What Ive Read And He Is Not A FA Until 08…it Just Makes Sense…maybe Too Much!!!!
Im Just Sayin I Think The Braves Need A True Leadoff Hitter And Crawford Is That. He Would Also Be An Upgrade In Left. And He Is Available From What Ive Read And He Is Not A FA Until After 08…it Just Makes Sense…maybe Too Much!!!!
I Guess I Wanted To Make A Point…j/k. It Said It Didnt Go Through…sorry
Brian J, nice little comparo there. I agree advantage 2006. But, I would have compared Smoltz to Smoltz, just for the fun of it.
Panic time was when we we lost all those games on the previous homestand. Now we are just in depression time. Getting into the postseason seems a pipedream. What do we have to lose by replacing the garbage on our roster with young players who will hopefully get the experience they need to help us compete next year? Stockman and Thorman are a decent start although they are only here as a result of dubious injuries. Management’s continued indecision makes no sense. This year is done. Time to rebuild.
Not making the postseason one year is not the end of the world. Most teams make it a year or two in a row then injuries, free agency, etc. catches up to them and they disappear for a while. After 14 years in the playoffs, we can handle an off year or two. What frustrates is the sense that the manager and gm have lost their grip on the franchise and have no clue what to do anymore. It really started with last offseason when JS didn’t do what was necessary to get a top of the line closer and then wasted Marte trading for Renteria when we could have been fine with Betemit at short. I’m not knocking Renteria. He’s been one of our few bright spots, but shortstop was not one of our most pressing needs and shouldn’t have been what we spent our best prospect on. Surely JS could have figured out a way to get Baeys with Marte or heck made the trade that Boston ultimately did and got Coco Crisp which would have been a big help for left field and leadoff.
I couldn’t agree with you more. marte was a panic move, and just the opposite of what kept us on top (keeping our best prospects, and trading away the marginal ones).
I cannot say JS has lost it; he has made some moves that have worked out well (Diaz being one). But he has made a lot more bad moves than good, lately, and I wonder how stale he is. Has JS missed the whole revelation the past 5 years that walks are a good thing?
What he does at this trading deadline will have a 3-5 year impact; I hope he understands what he has and what he needs, and what the organization needs to do, to put a better team on the field. Based on what I have seen lately, I am a tad nervous. The .610 OPB veteran leadership just doesn’t cut it.
I still fail to see how trading Andy Marte was a bad thing. He looks like a Brad Komminsk to me. Kills AAA for a while and then boom, he stinks.
I don’t know much about Thorman, but is he much better than Hessman? Just asking because I really don’t know.
Salomon Torres = VIllareal = Cormier = Gryboski = every other crappy middle relief guy out there who will end up being a band-aid on a bloody gash.
For all those people claiming they wouldn’t go see the Braves this season, it’s not like that place has been selling out over the last 7-8 years either.
I cannot say marte will be a star, but I can say that judging him on his 57 MLB at-bats is just too quick.
He controls the strike zone; he takes walks; he has great power (yes, at AAA). He fields well, too; he is going to be a year-in, year-out all star.
I think one day it will look like at a Jeff Bagwell for Anderson trade, but I hope I am wrong.
Yeah …. Marte is stinking out AAA at the moment. He trade value is a lot less now that it was a few months ago. Crisp is having a much more inferior season than Reteria. Sure he is younger, but so is Laroche – and you don’t really want him on your team. And no, I don;t think Laroche is anywhere near as good as Crisp!
I think some of you are crazy to talk about dumping our team.
Maybe we won’t get into the postseason (it certainly looks bad) but I’d keep our bright spots. We have a no-doubt strong rotation next year with Smoltz, Hudson and Hampton.
Plus I hear Zito talk on the radio (though I don’t buy it.)
Marte is NOT stinking it up in AAA at the moment. He got off to a very slow start, but he’s on fire right now. I would not be surprised to seem him in Cleveland before the year is out. I still expect Marte to have a better career than Francoeur.
Thorman’s really gotten hot at Richmond of late- 324//395/570. He’s hitting for a much better averafe than Hessman ever managed- Hessman’s high BA was .287 in a half-season at Richmond in 2002, and his next best was .262 in 2000. Thorman’s pitch selection is pretty good (30 BB, 44 K in 256 PA), which Hessman never really figured out (BB/K from 1997 on: 41/167 at A, 30/172 and 47/135 at high A, 37/178 and 39/124 at AA, 24/87 and 28/65 at AAA). So Thorman is better than Hessman ever was, and should be an above-average 1B in the majors.
This season is going to do Bad Things to attendance. By September, Turner Field may be as empty as AFCS ever was, or Florida is now.
Marte is hitting better now … but what is his line? 268/333/440? Or something like that. I am sorry – but that isn’t what you’d expect from a #1 prospect last year. On top of that he has a whopping 14 errors – which is nothing short of disgraceful.
I am sure Marte will have a good career, but it is unlikely to be much more than an average ML player. Will he be in Cleveland at the year end? Yeah, probably when the roster expands, will he contribute. No. But saying that by doing nothing he automatically makes himself more valuable than Francoeur. Hell, even sat here typing this I am contributing more than Jeffrey at the moment ….
Well, time will tell on marte-I am on record as saying it will look very bad for the Braves, and we will see.
I do think it evidenced that JS thought he could get one more championship out of this core (Chipper; AJ; Smoltz), by putting a good SS on the field and giving up a prospect who was a year away.
it will be interesting to see whether JS tries to put a group together for next year, or dumps the vets and hopes for a contender in 2-3 years.
Right now, in OPS, we are better than average in only 3 positions-catcher; SS; and CF. With Chipper, sad to say, fading, and the great young 3B in the league, I don’t think we get 3B in the mix next year, as above average for the league (Chipper will not fade quickly, but 3B has become a very good offensive position in the league). If you don’t dump Giles, I think he can get above league average next year (he does so every year, and he is not past his prime). But what is worst is that among the 4 above-average, only McCann is really champion calibre (in the top 2).
That leaves an awful lot of holes to fix in the position players alone (and not even addressing pitching). We could get away with a below average 1B as long as we had super-star years out of Chipper and Andruw, but if that is not happening, to contend, we need to fix that one. Jurries for Jordan (assuming that not even JS can justify a .600 OPS out of a 1B forever) helps some, but still leaves us below league average.
LF maybe gets fixed with Kelley Johnson, if he can come back, but that is really betting on the come. RF is a black-hole of outs that we won’t address, but if your every day RF is last in the league in OPS, you need to make some hay at other positions.
So what do we fix? Tough one…
Here’s your big chance Braves fans. Now you can be Johnny Bravo!
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Can somebody answer me this? The news reports said Chuck James was suppose to take John Thomson’s next start. Isn’t that Tuesday? So why is James scheduled to start for Richmond today?
Off day on Monday. Sosa is starting on Tuesday. Basically Thomson’s strat is going to be skipped. James will start for Atlanta next Saturday against Tampa Bay.
I know it’s just me, but I could care less what Marte does at this point. He’s gone. He’ll either be a star or he won’t.
Still doesn’t address the fact that our bullpen was lousy at the end of last year, during the winter & spring. Can’t spend time beating yourself up about it, especially since the guy has done zero in the major leagues. Move on…
I’ve moved on. 😛
i was getting a little worried losing 2 in a row. Thank god we won today!!!!!