Whee, Joe Morgan! Is there a Joe Morgan drinking game? Could you get through tonight without going into a coma if there is?
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Just back from my Philly trip. Was having lunch on South Street at 3 pm Saturday & the clouds looked a little ominous. Got out to the car at 3:30 & the sky was downright menacing. By the time I hit I-95 for what should’ve been a short ride to the stadium, it was plain ridiculous.
Gigantic lightning bolts, sideways rain, no vision, cars going 15 MPH or pulling over completely. The Phillies pre-game show was hysterical. Not sure who the announcer was (not Kalas), but he was in mid-conversation, when you could hear the thunderclaps over the radio. He stopped, stammered and said, “Well, I’m not sure if we’re going to get this game in because it looks like the Wizard of Oz out there.”
Somehow, through the monsoon, I got to the park, did a couple circles around the whole complex and, as I hadn’t bought tickets, turned to my girlfriend and said, “Hell with this. Let’s get on the Turnpike…”
They waited awhile to call it, but if you saw that downpour, that wind and the flooding around the stadium, you knew they were never going to play that game. I was already around Exit 5 up the turnpike when the Phillier announcer guy (gotta find out who it was) said, “Well, the Doppler people say it’s going to stop raining at some point, but it may not matter as the on deck circle is floating away and the warning track looks like a lagoon.”
Does the hot hiting of Braves attract Thunder and Lightling? At least Philly did not suffer as much as St. Louis.
ububba,
I am heading to philly next weekend to catch a game in the new stadium, anything around it I should go to, restaurants, bars…
Ububba, it was probably Scott Graham. Could have been Larry Anderson, Chris Wheeler, or some new guy though.
1914 Update:
NY Giants 50-32 (–)
Chicago Cubs 50-37 (2.5 GB)
St. Louis Cardinals 49-40 (4.5)
Boston Braves 40-44 (11)
Cincinnati Reds 39-47 (13)
Philadelphia Phillies 37-45 (13)
Pittsburgh Pirates 36-46 (14)
Brooklyn Robins 35-45 (14)
Today’s Game:
Braves 100 010 000 – 2 4 0 WP- Tyler
Pirates 000 000 000 – 0 5 2 LP- Cooper
The Braves end their roadtrip at 12-4, having gained four notches in the standings, but only 2.5 games on the Giants since leaving on July 7th.
They’ll be tested immediately- the Cubs and Cards are the first two teams on their upcoming homestand.
oldtimer?
Restaurants? Not a lot by the stadium. If you like BBQ, Greg Luzinski has a place in the actual stadium called Bull’s BBQ. It’s in right field. And he’s often there signing autographs.
Within walking distance to the stadium: In the Holiday Inn nearby, there’s your basic, generic, overlit sports bar/restaurant (called Champs or Scores or First & Goal or something like that) with lotsa fried food & guys wearing NFL jerseys, etc. I wouldn’t call it good, but it’s a hangout that’s walking distance. (FYI – Dunno where you live, but in Pa. people can smoke it bars; I’m washing my clothes from the trip right now. Yuck.)
There’s also this place down the street from the stadium called The Turf Club. It’s basically an Off Track Betting place, but it’s really big and it’s got a functioning bar that’s cheap-cheap-cheap. (Dunno if it has food.) I don’t bet the ponies & I don’t get skeeved by degenerate gamblers (the place is full of them), and I sorta enjoy viewing the underside of life, so I’ll go in there for a couple brews before the game. They cost half as much as the Stadium fare.
If you head up Broad Street a little bit, it’s an old Italian neighborhood that has lots of Italian restaurants & neighborhood bars. Yes, you can get cheesesteaks in that area. But it’s about a 3/4 of a mile up the road.
Dunno what you like to do before or after the game, but I recommend South Street around 4th. My favorite restuaurant in that area is a place called Latest Dish (613 S. 4th Street). Funky, unpredicatable menu, but always good. It’s not a big place, but it’s got lots of vibe. If you like an adult beverage, I recommend the Josh Winkitini.
No Jones boys for the Braves tonight…hopefully the rest of the bats can pick up the slack.
DANNY is now closing in Milwaukee again, in place of Turnbow (who has collapsed this season). Let’s see how long that lasts…
Heilman pulled a LaRoche for the Mets today. They likely still would’ve lost, but that only made things worse.
Tonight….
Giles 2b
Renteria ss
Betemit 3b
McCann c
Francoeur rf
LaRoche 1b
Thorman lf
Langerhans cf
Ramirez p
Rollins ss
Utley 2b
Abreu rf
Burrell lf
Howard 1b
Rowand cf
Bell 3b
Lieberthal c
Myers p
“Does the hot hiting of Braves attract Thunder and Lightling? At least Philly did not suffer as much as St. Louis.”
The day before the storm in St. Louis, Philly got something similar: 500,000 homes lost electricity (some just got it back today).
A Rod’s four nicknames
Pay Rod
Ask it Seatle Mariners.
Hand Rod 2004
vs glove close-up
bonus shot
Dog Rod
2005 Division–he said “I played great baseball all player, I played like a dog the last five games”
Error Rod
2006 current best errors in 3B
I laughed aloud clapping my hans. That remark was not calculated to hurt A Rod or his fans feelings. Just someone’s witty was impressive. He called A Rod like that. So I added the comments and linked a picture and wmv. It’s not about The Braves. Enjoy!!!!!!!!!
Re: Kolb and the Brewers…
Turnbow has lost it. He has the same look in his eyes that Rocker had when he melted down, the same that Wholers had, too. Confidence is completely shot, he’s thinking too much out there.
Makes you wonder why we didn’t trade for him.
Ububba, thanks for the info. I live and bartend in NJ and have gooten used to the smoke free atmosphere myself. That law is following me, I moved to NYC, they enact it, I then move to NJ, they pass. Where should I move next?
All those sportsbars are the same crap, aren’t they.
Like the South Street idea/info.
thanks
JS isn’t going to make that mistake twice(we’d crucify him)…what happened the last time we treded for a Brewers closer? Although, Wickman is from Milwaukee, albeit through Cleveland. Hopefully his time in Clevenald is enough to protect him from the hex that affected Kolb.
Oldtimer – move to FL – we have the ‘no smoking in restaruants law’, but it is still allowed in bars if less than 15 % of their business comes from the sale of food.
Brett Myers really deserves booing. Good one for the Philly fans.
I’ll second that, Mac.
Don’t trade Betemit, Please
Look, Miller, Horacio is from California. He really doesn’t pronounce his name like that. Let up, will you?
Great play by WB
Nice play, Wilson!
Chipper would never made that play…
Especially not with his strained oblique…that’s why WB is valuable.
HoRam throws 94mph?!
What tapes has Miller been watching of Laroche?? Good fielding 1b? HA! Only when he is awake.
Wow, I just found out Danny Boy got a save today! Gave up two hits, surely made the ending exciting!
I picked up Kolb in the BravesJournal fantasy league (can you believe he was actually still available? :-)). Would be wonderfully ironic if he saves my season…
Let’s turn two…
I sure hope Horacio can work out of this – he’s making me nervous (reminds me of Sosa last year)
hmmmfff
I’ll take that. 1 run. Was expecting it to be much worse.
Hmmmmm,,, Langy lacks power.
Chase’s Chicks prove that we have no monopoly on cheesy fan clubs.
EDGAR!
Edgar!
Edgar…nice
Edgar!!!
Oooh, awful pitch on the HR. Nice to see…
tggrschult,
Where in Florida do you live? Also, what do you think of the “no smoking in restaurants” law? To be honest, it’s been quite a… breath of fresh air. OH! There I go again! I’ll be here all weekend! Two shows on Saturday! Try the fish! Tip your waitress!
I’m sorry for that. That was weak, folks. Just shoot me.
If Ireland can outlaw smoking in pubs, every state can outlaw them in bars & restaurants.
I don’t feel any less of a man by saying this: Ryan Howard scares me.
he must scare Edgar aswell…
nice 5-4-3
I live in Oviedo, just NE of Orlando, in Seminole county. I love the no smoking in restaruants – I just wish it was across the board in the bars as well. It has gotten to be taken for granted, though…I really appreciate it when I travel to a state that does not have the law and I have to endure smoke while eating.
I’m hijacking this last bit of posts. Please forgive me.
Am I being cocky, arrogant, a Braves fan, what have you, but is it really not scary that we’re behind 10 teams in the Wild Card? Jon Miller was just making a deal of it, but my thoughts were just, “Keep winning. We’ll play a lot of those teams. Just beat them, or else we don’t deserve to be in the playoffs.”
Is it just me, or does it seem like Atlanta is the only team that David Bell ever hits?
I appreciate the FL law when I have to endure smoke in restaruants in othr states, that is….it looked confusing when I reread that post…
Rob, I guess that’s the winning attitude that we all have built up in the last 15 years.
I hadn’t heard of Oviedo til I looked it up. It basically creates an isosceles triangle between where I live during the summer and where I go to school: Keystone Heights (near Gainesville) and Clearwater (near Tampa). How do you do with hurricanes?
I understood ya, tggr.
KC, I suppose so. It may be the part of me that just KNOWS that we weren’t as bad as the June team and that we can compete like the July team. 5 1/2 games really isn’t anything, especially when you’re playing a lot of the teams you’re competing against, and we get to play the Phillies, Nats, and Marlins.
Way to get it started, Adam…
Thorman can’t handle that curveball…not that a lot of hitters can handle that curve…
Rob, we may not be behind all that many teams anymore. Win tonight and the only teams ahead of us are Houston, San Francisco, and Arizona. (We’d be tied with four other teams.)
Wow, Myers made Thorman look foolish. Thorman was obviously hand-over-hand trying to get the runner to third, but dang.
I’ve never liked Pat Burrell…
Myers is snapping off a nasty one tonight.
That’s true. I haven’t checked today’s scoreboard but there were, I think, 3 teams at 5 GB and the Braves and Phils at 5 1/2. I can see where there could be a huge jump, but a lot of those teams would have to lose.
Good thing that this game is still tied. HoRam is pitching good tonight as well.
I’m in the Washington, DC area, and I’m thinking of taking some time off next week to drive to Pittsburgh to catch those games, and then maybe even on to Cincinnati before coming back for the games against the Nats. Anyone ever make this kind of circuit? Is it doable, and is it even worth going to see those two parks and/or cities? I haven’t ever been to either city. Thanks.
Rob –
We tend to do pretty well with the ‘canes – especially after Charley. He caused quite a bit of power outages and stuff, but since then it is just a lot of blowing and a little rain. We’re too far inland to get worked up about storm surge or ‘full strength’ hurricanes. By the time they get to us, they have weakened considerably.
tggrschult, that’s good to know. I am visiting Orlando in mid-August.
And we are above sea level, so we don’t have to worry about a NEw Orleans type occurance here.
kc – you should be fine. Hope you really enjoy your time here.
Will be staying at the Disneyworld complex. I am really looking forward to the trip as well.
good catch by Laroche
Cool! Business, or family trip? Which resort will you be staying at?
Betemit…seriously, he is really a great defensive third baseman.
My dad has a house in Orlando.. I was thinking of going with him this week but he didn’t make the trip anymore…
Flights from here to Miami have been packed during the summer…
It’s a family trip. We will be staying at the Grand Foridian. Another reason to look forward to the trip!
Wow, HoRam is really pitching a fine game tonight! The Braves will need a lot of good starts from him and Chucky for the rest of the year.
Pretty fortunate, tggrschult. In Clearwater, we’re relatively far below sea level. Add that to the fact that our campus is surrounded by Tampa Bay on two sides, we’re so fearful of flooding and hurricanes that we have to allot several “hurricane days” to our fall schedules. If we ever get nailed, Florida will have one less college.
The Grand Floridian. Great choice. Probably the top of the line resort here. You’ll love it. Tip- be sure to visit Disneys Boardwalk Resort while you are here. The ESPN club is on the Boardwalk, and there is a ‘back entrance’ to Epcot (to the world showcase, between France and England) also some great shops and restaruants. My favorite place onthe Boradwalk is Jellyrolls – a dueling piano bar that is a great place to go to drink and hear some great music – all requests.
Is Andruw available to pinch hit tonight?
Rob – which school in Clearwater? We also have been building in hurricane days to our school calendar, but have not had to use them.
Really?! That sounds great tggrschult. The last time I visited Orlando was in early 90s when I still lived in Atlanta. I bet a lot have changed at the complex since my last visit.
Ryan Howard is a fine looking hitter…gotta thank Ed Wade for keeping him in the minor league for so long.
Askia,
I did a Cleveland/Pittsburgh trip last year & caught 3 Braves games in Pitt. Really nice stadium & plenty to do right around the ballpark. Pittsburgh’s a nice town.
My recommendation: The Andy Warhol Museum. It’s right down the street from PNC. It’s kinda funny with the parking lots in that area. On the signs denoting that they are indeed a parking lots, they have a giant Pirates logo, a huge Steelers and an equally large Andy Warhol head—fairly incongruous elements, I say.
Early 90’s? Yeah – ALOT has changed. Heck, alot has changed since 2000. You have alot to see and do if it has been that long. It’s really an amazing place when you think about it. If you come to Disney and don’t have memories for you lifetime, something ain’t right.
Hey, guess what? Recap in the morning: I am totally NyQuilled up.
Wow, another nice play by Betemit.
Wow…Wilson’s with leather tonight folks…
Great play by Betemit, Marcus, and Adam all around.
Summer colds suck….sorry Mac.
Feel better.
Nice DP. For the record, that’s 2 big in-the-dirt scoops from LaRoche tonight.
Heck of a DP there! The Braves are playing really well, even without the Joneses. A lot of Vegas watchers have to be nervous!
Thanks ububba, I really want to make the trip, just want to make sure the wife will either: A) want to make the trip, or B) not mind the overnights on the road.
Clearwater Christian College. It’s a small liberal arts Christian college. Last fall we only used 3 of our hurricane days. The year before we used about 8. It was really bad that year with a lot of flooding.
Yeah, tggrschult, that’s why I am treating this trip as well first visit. I bet the experience will be something special to remember.
Chipper is hitting like a first baseman. Wilson is playing great defense at third. I wonder what we could get for LaRoche right now. As much as I like him, he’s got to have some decent value. He’s relatively young, cheap, and he plays good defense.
Rob – Yeah, I’ve heard of it. We didn’t use any last year. The year before, when we did not have any built in, we missed almost 2 weeks. (public schools)
…and suddenly, Adam is starting to hit like what I have expected from him…
I went to a public high school in Keystone Heights. In 2004, we missed a good two weeks as well. It’s a nice break, but cleaning up debris in your yard for a month is no fun, and your life gets put on hold, more or less.
Man, what a nice play by Rollins. Good contact by LaRoche, though. Man I hope Landogarner isn’t reading all of this “Huckleberry” praise.
Nice, thank Manual!!!
ok, seven innings and one run allowed…can’t get any better from HoRam, starting hitting!!!
We’re making some good plays tonight in the field. Betemit is looking like a short-term savior & I’m not hearing any defensive complaints about LaRoche tonight either—two picks at first & a perfect 3-6-3 DP.
ububba, I have no complain about Adam in the last two weeks.
man…I thought that was gone…
damn, nice swing by Thorman
Sigh…Langy…
kc,
I’m just joshing everyone.
LaRoche has made 3 Major League defensive plays tonight, but they’re also plays a “good defensive 1B” should make. They weren’t spectacular, just the kind that I mention because they often go unnoticed. They only get noticed when you don’t make them.
Uh-oh. Cue the bullpen…
Is it me or does Orr always hit a grounder to second…
hahaha….
Great play Jeffrey!
Davey, that applies to Langy as well…
Nice throw Frenchy!
ububba, Adam is pretty good at picking throw from the dirt. I have no doubt about that watching watching him in the last two years.
Damn skippy McBride…
Now if we could only score another run…
Excellent inning by Macey!!!
I want to see Wickman tonight!!!
kc,
And he’s good throwing to other bases, which a lotta guys can’t/won’t do.
“Bobby Cox doesn’t think like I do”…
No, not many people do Joe…
Ha!…
Edgar!!!
Edgar is having himself a night, isn’t he?
Man, i am so anxious to see Wickman now.
Edgar!
And boy, did we get a break. That ball got caught under the wall.
Let’s get some more…
I guess will get our chance to see Wickman tonight!
Not sure if anyone else mentioned: But is it just me or do Morgan(Blech!) and Miller(slightly less Blech!) keep mispronouncing Betemit’s name? They keep leaving off the T.
ububba, I truely believe if Adam can keep his attention focused, I am sure he will be a John Olerud type first baseman…maybe not as high batting average. He has just been a dissappointment for the last one and a half season. He starts to play well at the same time Thorman comes up. I guess he can feel the pressure.
Joe Morgan absolutely loves Beta-meat.
Make ’em pay, Jeffrey.
JEFFREY!!!!!!!!!!
HA!!!!
Boo-ya!
Frenchy owns Flash Gordon.
FRENCHY!!
I still don’t believe in clutch hitters, but Frenchy’s really making a case for himself.
Frenchy loves hitting against Gordon!!!
I still want to see Wickman!!!
me too…but he wont get a save…:-)
It’s a save in my book…
Amen.
I love the Braves keep acquiring fat pitchers.
Good control. That’s good to see.
Keep throwing strikes, big boy…
Mac,
Is this still an Atlanta save?
As long as the Braves are leading, it’s a save.
2 up, 2 down. This feels weird.
Duh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh…
WICK-MANNNNNNNNNNN
Maybe Danny Boy just wasn’t fat enough to be a good closer.
Send out the Wick Signal!
It cant be a save if its more than a 3 run lead.
Smoltzie seems to be very happy with Wickman…
…well, unless wickman had thrown the 7th and 8th inning as well…
Mike, I think they mean with this bullpen. I would say a 5 run lead is a save situation with this bullpen.
Come on Mike, don’t you think we know?
Max who?
And that’s that.
A win tomorrow night & it’s another series victory.
1-2-3 ninth inning!!! Awesome!!!
BUt an Atlanta save any situation where the Braves have a lead after the 8th and hold it.
Wickman looked really good. Can’t help but feel good about this win. Congrats Braves!
HoRam- A Real Starting Pitcher, Not A Simulation!
Wickman- Buy Him By The Pound!
Frenchy- Out To Prove Thirty Years of Analysis Proving There Are No Clutch Hitters Wrong!
The Braves- Back In The Playoff Chase!
My Use Of Capital Letters And Exclamation Points- Annoying!
Sweet!!
Eventhough it’s just one inning, I liked what I saw from Wickman. Let’s hope he can keep doing this for us.
WickMani running wild! I lnow its not a save but it was still a confidence inspiring 1-2-3 inning.
(Standing and clapping)
Wow…a real 1-2-3 9th inning. I had actutally forgotten what that was like.
Don’t know if it was mentioned in here but Jon Miller brought up Linebrink for Betemit tonight. Wish it was Linebrink for Giles…
Hey, shut up. Did Macay McBride throw YOU a baseball this weekend? Didnt think so.
No, but really. I Missed the sarcasm. I should know better from Smitty….
haha
Frenchy and Wicky getting together for some domination.
Have you guys noticed how Jeff is playing much better safter I adopted him?
I think we may have passed 2 or 3 teams in the WC
Besides the great news that we won and the Wifebeater got the loss (oh, and the 1-2-3 ninth, which I don’t think I’ve seen in months), the best news of the day was hearing that Joe Morgan will not part of the broadcast next week.
Although I am rapidly starting to find Jon Miller just as unbearable. Bay-tah-MEET! Bay-tah-MEET! Shouldn’t it be Weel-SONE Bay-tah-MEET? Huh? Huh? At least we didn’t have to listen to “Ondroo” Jones. Also, the continued reference by Morgan to “J-Ro” or “Jimmy Rawlings” got on my nerves.
Hmmm, maybe I should have stuck that in the rant thread. Too late. Nice win tonight. I guess Gordon missed the stat that Frenchy swings at the first pitch 53% of the time. Meaning you shouldn’t throw him a strike. Whoops, Tom!
Well with Kolb closing for the Brewers, we should pass them by Tuesday
Wickman is so boring, Where is the excitement. Half the problem with the relievers has been the walks. Wockman throws strikes.
Paul, that’s enough to make me excited after seeing the other relievers work this season.
Give some love to McBride, too for a solid no-BB, 2K performance.
Good to see the Braves get back on track in a tight ballgame. Oh, and no HR for Horacio in that ballpark is a nice victory. He’s been solid this year.
Let’s get a big effort out of Hudson tomorrow, take this series & head home with a 7-2 road trip—and, so far, it’s a 12-5 month.
Not that it’s a huge deal, I guess, but Smoltz is going to miss the Mets series next weekend. He’s slated for Wednesday against Florida.
That’s true ububa, I’d liket o see Smoltz out there
Now tied for fourth in the wild card
Forgot to mention that JS was on WFAN late last week. It came after the Wickman trade. He didn’t say anything earth-shattering, as I recall, but what makes it worth listening is the dread about the Braves from the Met-fan host, Joe Benigno. You can listen to it here:
http://www.wfan.com
According to the pregame discussion, Betemit himself said that his name is properly pronounced with the ‘T’ silent, so Morgan and co. were pronouncing it right and we have all been doing it wrong.
So I went browsing through the site archives and found Mac’s preseason predictions.
All I will say is this: LOL.
I know I am voicing the opinion of the minority here, but I enjoy Joe Morgan…caveat, when he’s talking about baseball. He gives good insight as to his opinions so agree or not, at least you know that his thoughts aren’t based on ‘gut’. I liked him as much as Al Leiter during last year’s playoffs. Now if Miller would just keep the topic on baseball and not try to be funny, I think they would be a great duo. Miller seems like he’s getting too ‘ESPN’ized.