ESPN.com – MLB – Box Score – Braves at Nationals
Two Braves had huge games. Chipper hit three homers, the last one into the upper deck. Matt Diaz had hits in his first four at bats, running it to ten AB in a row with a hit, tying a National League record. The game was close for awhile, but the Braves scored four in the fifth to take command.
Chuck James gave up a run in the first, but settled down from there. He was largely unlucky when he allowed two runs in the fourth, but then retired eight of the last nine men he faced, getting the other on a double play. He struck out five, walked only two, and didn’t allow a homer.
But enough of that, the offense was the show. Diaz got it going with a two-run rope homer in the second, coming after a long PA by LaRoche that eventually led to a walk. In the fourth, they intentionally walked LaRoche and Diaz singled Andruw home. In the fifth, Chipper hit an opposite field homer to score Marcus, McCann doubled home Andruw, and after LaRoche was intentionally walked again Diaz singled in another run.
Chipper hit a solo shot in the sixth, Diaz had his tenth hit a row with an infield single in the seventh. And with Marcus on again in the eighth, Chipper hit one a long way to make it 10-3. Paronto pitched the eighth because he’s the team’s second or third best reliever and you want to save Kali Yates for the close ones. Wayne “Waste of Space” Franklin got the Atlanta Save, allowing a solo homer in the ninth. Andruw had a couple of doubles.
Alex would like you to know that his Georgia Football Preview is now up. Anyone who thinks they’ve been left out, let me know.
Who gets sent down tomorrow to make room for Cormier?
Franklin or Yates?
Can’t wait to see the highlights.
They only have Mets & Yanks playing at my gym. Although it probably doesn’t help us, it was nice to see Pedro get bombed & the Mets get waxed.
Here’s to another week-long power binge…
Probably Franklin.
Yates is our “close game” specialist.
Might they go ahead and start Villareal instead of calling up Cormier here?
That’s what Bobby was saying before the game.
He was thinking about starting Villareal, and he was hoping that Villareal could go 5 innings..and he would see who else he would use in the 6th and 7th before getting to Baez and Wickman in the 8th and 9th…
Villarreal starting? Why not just feed a buzzard live prey.
You forgot LA Tech!…
and
6th Paronto/Villareal
7th Ray
8th Baez
9th Wickman
and
The Braves might have the “Power Pack” back….
Tyler Smith should be given another shot….
MNF, terrible
They need to bring Wilbon on and getrid of Thiesmann
Rich Gannon was 10 years old, as everyone else on that 2002 Raiders team.
4 years ago is a long time…..The Raiders reak.
Commitment to Excrement
No not Wilbon, he’s worse!!!
They need to put in the booth Ron Gant, Hawk Harrelson, and Tim McCarver!!!!
Gannon was 40 years old-correction
Wilbon and Tony would are good together
“Y-Y-Y-Y-OUUU C-C-C-C-ANNNN P-P-P-UTTT I-I-I-TTT O-O-O-NNN TH-TH-TH-EEE B-B-B-B-OARDDDD, Y-Y-Y-ESSS!!! Did y-y-you k-k-know I caught B-B-B-ob Gib-Gib-Gib-son?”- Ron Hawk McCarver
PI is horrible….
I like PTI
Well, I knew that.
What I don’t know is why Around the Horn is still on the air….
I like PTI also, but like most I can’t watch Around the Horn because I can’t look at Mariotti
Don’t you guys think that at the very least, Bobby should move Frenchy down in the lineup?
There are few things in this world more useless than NFL pre-season football, but the Pro Bowl comes to mind.
I have finally gotten some of the photos I’ve taken throughout the season uploaded for those who would like to see them. (Mississippi Braves)
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v313/m_dale8jr/Baseball%20Games%20Etc/
There is several different albums in there.
The password is “braves”
The pictures I took this weekend are MUCH better than my others. I borrowed a camera from a friend with a better zoom. I know someone had ask about some of Matt Harrison so I tried to take a few when he pitched this weekend.
The ones from Sunday are better since they were made during the day!
I thought The Vulture might make Barry’s start, not Cormier’s?
NFL preseason football is like the spring training time period for MLB. Its perfectly fien.
Its a tune up.
OMG!!!! I can’t beleive I missed this game….I leave and my favorite player of all-time hits 3 homers….
JC, what is Francoeur’s progress towards most outs made in a season? Is Horace Clarke getting nervous?
COuldn’t see the pics miranda
Matt Leinart signed this evening…6 yr. 50.8mill(max.) 14 guaranted.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2549668&campaign=rss&source=ESPNHeadlines
Pedro Martinez got pounded. 6 runs in the 1st and he left with an injury. Phils won 13-0.
What’s the record Sansho1?
Vinny Castilla is no longer unemployed.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2549470
Who wouldn’t mind having Freddy Garcia?
He says the WhiteSox are going to trade him.
I like him…He has a 4.79 ERA but he eats up alot of innings.
Bring back Vinny Castilla!
Miranda
I saw a small video of a guy htting a grounder, and a bunch of people yelling…
I don’t think that was it….
Under Amour commercial just aired on ESPN.
CLICK-CLACK!
What crap…..
Anyone else notice A.J. Hawk is goofy lookin’?
For all you gator fans.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2549540
Yeah but A.J. is getting paid and his fiance is hot.(Bradie Quinn’s Sister.)
4.79 ERA this year…… thats translates into a 4.40 NL ERA with our field and defense a 4.25 ERA.
That is SO MUCH BETTER JASON SHEILL, SO MUCH BETTER!
What do the White Sox want for him?
We finally have a starting QB!!!!!
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2548651
And he hasn’t held up one fast food restaurant that we know of!
“Yeah but A.J. is getting paid and his fiance is hot.(Bradie Quinn’s Sister.)”
ESPN trotted her out to waste time on NT before the Fiesta Bowl last year.
Hot is in the eye of the beholder.
Personally I don’t nitpick over ever thing I see.
I just notice everytime Hawk is on the TV-screen his nose looks opened up.
Or stepped on Elvis Dumerville’s bent leg….
I don’t know for sure…but I do have some ideas.
The White Sox could use a set-up man.
Braves Freddy Garcia
White Sox Danys Baez
Maybe a prospect
Any other thoughts and possible ways of getting him?
Well Frank Beamer decided to go with more of a pocket passer this year. Which I kinda like because I think the Hokies have their best receiving cores ever.
And by ever I mean in Hokie history.
Don’t you guys think that at the very least, Bobby should move Frenchy down in the lineup?
And at the very most send him to the bench? Absolutely.
Matt Diaz had hits in his first four at bats, running it to ten AB in a row with a hit, tying a National League record.
These Braves may not be any good, but they have managed to be statistically interesting.
Give up a member of the bullpen? Never!!!!
What prospect?
I would trade Yates, Orr, Smith, Berry, Shiell, Sneed, Pratt and Tony Pena Jr. for Garcia….
We trade a big useless bag of nothing for Freddy Garcia.
Get rid of all of our problems.
Just like the ’73 Braves.
That “click-clack” commercial is just a ripoff of the GREAT Saul Williams song “Twice The First Time”. One of my favorite hip hop songs ever.
/Don’t drop the beat, no.
Baez’s contract makes him a free agent after the season.
CWS could use another catcher…..Sandy Alomar Jr. is 40.
Would you give up Salty or Pena to get a solid starter in Garcia.
Chipper Jones getting some respect….King of the Night.
For Garcia?
Pena, yes. Salty, no.
I asked this question in an earlier thread. Do our minor league trade pieces have to clear waivers? It would be difficult to get even Pena all the way up to the White Sox.
Is Salty still a hot prospect?
My understanding is that players on the 40-man (which would include Pena but not Salty) have to clear waivers, but you can always make them PTBNL and move them after the season.
I think if we can get Freddy Garcia…we should go for it…if that means giving up Salty so be it.
Well I’m tired and going to bed…see everyone in the morning.
BTW here is the link where Bobby Cox addresses the Rotation and the Vulture moving into the rotation.
http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060814&content_id=1609966&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl
Salty is still too hot of a prospect to trade straight up for Freddy Garcia.
Thanks, Mac, for the answer.
Bobby is crazy to think Villarreal or Cormier should ever get any starts. What is wrong with him? Is he getting senile?
Who is Tyler Smith anyway? Is he any good?
Hey Miranda, nice pics.
Sean white looks like he has an explosive action, while Matt Harrison didnt seem to be using his legs much. was interesting to look at.
thanks for sharing
Tyler Smith is Tyler Smith…..and no he is not any good….
I want Freddy Garcia!
http://www.baseball-reference.com/g/garcifr03.shtml
although he kind of reminds me through his mechanics, delivery, and stuff of this guy…..
http://www.baseball-reference.com/o/ortizru01.shtml
“Alex would like you to know that his Georgia Football Preview is now up. Anyone who thinks they’ve been left out, let me know.”
Yeah..I feel left out…no one has commented yet on my Miami preview. 😀
I’m kidding, I know no one here likes Miami so that must explain it…
4 Seam are you talking about TRAVIS SMITH or TYLER SMITH. I know Travis didn’t accept his demotion back to the minors and he was cut from the team. I have never heard of Tyler….
Chuckie got the job done again last night and we need Smoltz to do his job and hopefully we can steal one of the other two.
Villareal sucks. Starting him isn’t any different than starting Cormier other than Oscar gets in the game in the 1st inning instead of the 4th. Is there any reason not to bring Davies up now? Let him rebuild arm strength at the ML level. A few innings of him would be better than a few innings of Cormier/Barry/Schiell/whatever other pitcher they pull off the scrapheap.
I understand that Cox is desperate and needs an emergency start from his bullpen…but he needs it two days in a row!!! Is it a horrible idea to go with a 4 man rotation for the next week and a half? Earlier in the season Smoltz started a game against the Mets on 3 days rest. If the aging Smoltz can do it then surely these other guys can. We have two days off at the end of the month (24th and 28th). If we can do that until then I think that would better our WC chances than starting Cormier and Villareal.
Hey Mac,
Can you take the football previews and post them as main threads, maybe one day a week or on an off day? That way everyone will know they are up and it will give us something new to talk about. We don’t want to take away from the Braves, but with off days it can get slow around here, just a thought.
Davies has not pitched that well in MS, and I do not believe he has gone more than 2 innings, in any one game, yet.
Signs it’s not 1995: Rolando Arrojo just got traded for Vinny Castilla.
Wait, what?
If the Braves were seriously in contention for the wild card still, then yeah a 4 man rotation would make a lot of sense. Since they’re not, you don’t want to risk injuring Smoltz by pitching him more often.
Ron,
I think they have to go four man on the road trip. If they can five or six games on the trip, they are back in it. Anything less, then call up the rookies.
I’m not sure if it is that much of a risk though. Smoltz has done it already this year. If all of the other starters did it once this week then that would get us back at home, where we have two days off waiting for us.
If we win five or six games on this trip, wouldn’t you like our chances with Smoltz getting an extra start every week if he can do it?
Amid more lurid new Lo Duca details (egad, another teen!), here’s an interesting take on pitching coaches via Ron Darling…
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/col/story/443609p-373588c.html
Was at the game, and boy was it fun.
1. Chipper’s last homer was the farthest hit ball I have ever personally witnessed. He CRUSHED it. It landed about 20-30 feet shy of the level of the Frank Howard seats that are painted white because Howard hit balls that struck them.
2. We saw a classic example of a manager following the book in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. And this time it wasn’t Bobby. Matt Diaz smoked the first pitch he saw from Ortiz, a line drive over the left field fence that got out of the park in about 1.7 seconds. Diaz having hit 4 doubles the night before sort of defined “locked in.” So Frank Robinson intentionally walks Laroche to get to Diaz for a righty/righty thing, and Diaz of course hits a RBI single.
Stupid? Just wait.
He does it AGAIN in the 8th to get to Diaz who is 9 for freaking 9 in his last ten ABs. So what happens? Duh, another hit, another RBI.
Frank is probably the worse in game manager in the league, and that’s saying something.
That’s interesting because Darling did the Nats games on TV here (the few times they were on) last year and, for most of the year, he was terrible. He spoke in a monotone that was very grating. If he had terrific insights into pitching, they were hard to hear because he was so annoying. He did get better toward the end of the year–maybe he is just happier being back in New York. I enjoy listening to guys talk about pitching because it’s much more interesting that hitting. Pitching involves a lot more intellectual activity than hitting, which is primarily mechanical. That’s why I actually like Don Sutton because he gives insight into how a pitcher thinks.
Marc,
I’m with you & I’m a big Sutton fan, too. When Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, etc., were in their glory, it was a great experience to hear Sutton explain what they were doing.
Don was saying on the radio last night that maybe Robinson was pitching to Diaz because ….”what are the odds that Diaz will continue the streak”. It made some sense, because you probably think that after 6 consecutive hits, there’s nooo way he gets 7 consecutive…even less 8 consecutive.
But, I didn’t think that Frank was thinking like that. I just blamed it on the fact that he’s a bad manager…
I like Don, hell I like Skip, Chip and Pete too! Joe Simpson is my favorite though. Chip can kind of get a little too homerish sometimes, but he is young and much better than Joe Buck.
Skip and Joe just tell it like it is. If the team is sucking, they say it. Don hardly ever talks about how good he was, like Morgan and McCarver. he does give you the insight about what the pitcher might be thinking. I know that Bobby asks him what to help pitchers from time to time with mechanics and stuff.
I don’t think anyone in the south knows more about the game than Pete. He has to be up there with Peter Gammons, but will never get the credit.
It made some sense, because you probably think that after 6 consecutive hits, there’s nooo way he gets 7 consecutive…even less 8 consecutive.
It’s the question they always ask you in statistics class. If a coin has been flipped nine times and come up heads all nine, what are the odds when the coin is flipped the tenth time it will be a head?
Answer: 50%. You are flipping a coin, the chances of heads coming up is 50%. “He’s due” is not a reliable prediction tool. But you already knew that.
We are now 7th in the wild card, moving from 9th.
Joe Simpson is my favorite though. Chip can kind of get a little too homerish sometimes, but he is young and much better than Joe Buck.
Waiting for my sarcasm detector to go off…
Skip and Pete are great, you can have the rest of them.
You have a point Robert…but still, flipping a coin and getting heads is not the same as getting a hit in a Major League game.
Considering the fact that a good hitter usually gets the “heads” only 3 times out of 10.
But yeah, I do agree with you. You can’t think that “somone is due” and use that as a reliable tool to pitch to him. Diaz was on fire, so walking LaRoche to pitch to Diaz, when he was on such a good streak, was just plain stupid.
Diaz was on fire, so walking LaRoche to pitch to Diaz, when he was on such a good streak, was just plain stupid.
Agreed. I mean if your going to challange the hot player because “he’s due for an out”, are you going to avoid the slumpling player because “he’s due for a hit”? Hopefully not.
Most analysis that’s been done indicates that hot streaks are basically random so pitching to a hot hitter doesn’t make a lot of difference. Cold streaks, however, can be caused by injury or illness…
Joe gets funny on end-of-game clutch hits. When JD Drew hit the walk-off in 2004 to beat the Expos (Braves trailed 6-3, Nick Green hit a 3-run 2-out homer, then Drew homered to end the game on the next pitch), Joe went crazy.. “For those of you who are in your cars, ha ha, you left too soon!!!”
Whatever happened to Rocky Biddle? I thought he was decent for them.. anyway
Joe also had a similar reaction to Frenchy’s walk-off on radio against the Nats earlier this year.
Only 10 days away from my start to the season calling HS football. Doing PBP for HS football at the age of 22 – it’ll stream live on the web, link to follow. Skip Caray started minor league baseball at the age of 24, so I’d better get a move on.. by the way, an infielder on Skip’s first season in minor league baseball? Bobby Dews.
But Mac…consider this.
If Diaz was 1 for his last 7..and they walk LaRoche to pitch to him, and Diaz gets a hit.,no one will question Robinson. He did the “logical” thing and Diaz just made them “pay”. It happens..
But, if Diaz is 7 out of his last 7..and you still walk LaRoche to get to him, and he gets yet another hit…people are going to ask why you made that decision
Bobby Dews must’ve been tearing it up back then. Just getting all sorts of respect…
Logic has its problems. It doesn’t lead to correct results when you start with faulty assumptions.
The first IBB maybe was justified. The second, after Diaz had homered and singled, probably wasn’t. You don’t have to believe in hot bats to think that Diaz could hit Ortiz, plus you’re already three runs down and don’t need to put another runner on base.
Frankly, I’m not a fan of the IBB anyway. I think it’s justified sometimes but is used far too often. Bobby, I think, walked Adam Dunn with a runner on second base in the Reds series. I ask you, how often does Adam Dunn hit a single? If all you’re interested in is the runner at second, wouldn’t you want to pitch to Dunn, who is a low-average hitter? If he hits a homer, his run doesn’t mean anything.
Wryn, that is awesome! I got to cover high school football for a weekly paper when I was 22. It was the most fun I ever had. A local TV show, that recpaed the games found out about me and had me come on and give predictions.
Last year a public access station called me in to be a panelist on a sports show. It was fun, but the producers were lazy. It could ahve been a lot better…
Good luck and when it gets clsoer, hook us up with the link. Make sure you get a copy of your braodcast so you can send it out to people.
I would walk Dunn to set up a double paly maybe.
The best reason to walk Diaz with two runners on and two outs is that Chuck James was on deck and Bobby wasn’t going to hit for him there. At least don’t give Diaz anything he can hit. I would take my chances with Chuck James hitting over Matt Diaz any day of the week.
Preston Wilson got DFA.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=mlb&id=2547846
Smitty, they never walked Diaz to get to James. They walked Roachy twice and then Diaz drove in Rbi’s w/ each AB.
Which is better….College or Pro?
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=pasquarelli_len&id=2549313
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=pasquarelli_len&id=2549313
I personally think College is better…I also prefer College BB to the NBA.
I know csg, but they should have
We should trade Francoeur for Preston Wilson. [JOKE FOR OLDTIMERS]
Diaz said the ball wasn’t exactly looking like a beach ball to him at the plate.
“That’s what people are asking,” he said “The first at-bat it did, and then I had two dinkers and a broken-bat hit.”
What about the broken bat, any remorse for losing something that helped you reach a record?
“The bat died a hero, as they say,” Diaz said.
I used to love Pete, but my appreciation for his broadcasting has not aged well with time. He–like Chip–is a little too “Francoeur has lots of 2-out RBIs, so people need to stop voicing problems with his play” for me. Same type of thing with the Andruw MVP talk last year. He kept talking about, in reference to Andruw’s detractors who pointed out his low average with RISP, how you could isolate any particular statistic to make a player look bad, but he used terrible examples. I think he knows a lot about the game–especially its history–but he’s a little too shaky with statistical analysis for me.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The Skip/Joe tandem is by far my favorite.
SKip and Joe are the best. I will take anyone over the two that we are forced to listen to now though….
Skip and Joe is the best combo
If the Braves sign Preston Wilson after he’s released, I’ll crack up for days.
I agree about the IBB. It’s too often used out of fear instead of legitimate strategy. Occasionally it makes sense when there’s a dramatic dropoff between the hitters AND you want to open up the DP possibility, but it almost never makes sense with two outs. A lot of things have to line up for it to make sense to give up a possibility for an out.
Didn’t Preston Wilson have a streak where he struck out in 10 straight at-bats?
Or something like that.
I agree Jay. I look forward to Saturdays in the fall when I can go to Knoxville, weasle into some tickets, and sit with 106,000 people all singing the same song at the top of our lungs. Much better than going to Nashville, shelling out $150 for terrible seats in a half full stadium.
Colelge football is all about the fans. IT is our answer to European Socer.
Wow!!! for some reason I never noticed this.
Lance Cormier
2-3 6.12 32.1 IP 40 H 22 R 13 K 25 BB
The wow is meant for the strikeouts and Walks. That is bad!!!
that is plain awful! Will Lerew get a call-up at the end of the month or will he finish out the year in Richmond?
Smitty,
I agree, but we don’t (usually) set fire to things or chant racist slogans at enemy players. Compared to soccer in some places (like South America), US college football fans are well-behaved.
I got stuck in this soccer riot in Buenos Aires a couple years ago & it was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen. The Argentina league crowned its champion that day & multitudes filled the center of town where I was staying. They were smashing glasses, dancing on cars, it was nuts. I was scared for a moment, but then I realized that they were just happy.
I’ve been around UGA people when they won the SEC championship on 4 different occasions, been to World Series-clinching games in New York (sadly), but I’ve never seen craziness like that.
In my opinion the thing I like about NCAAF is the passion and rivalries. There aren’t great rivalries in the NFL. I mean you have Dallas and Washington and stuff like that but there is no Ohio State v.s. Michigan etc.
Tony Kornheiser is going to be on Dan Patrick in an hour. I thought he did ok on MNF, but the rest of the crew sucks. Not that Kornheiser was great, but he is better the Theismann who goes off on these silly rants. I think Kornheiser will get better, but as a whole, the thing stunk. I will give it two regular season games before I decide if I like it or not.
Preston Wilson has been, for most of the year, the only guy standing between Frenchie and last place in OPS, among corner outfielders in the NL. If Preston doesn’t get picked up soon, he won’t have enough AB’s, and the honor of worst hitting NL corner outfielder is going to come down to Geoff Jenkins (who isn’t playing now, either-he has been benched) and Frenchie. This is one more exciting race to watch for Braves fans, if we are out of the WC.
I was in Knoxville after the Vols beat Florida in 2001. (The game was in Gainesville) I saw people running in the streets and evn one person light a couch on fire and pushed it off a three story balcony. That was kind of neat.
When Kornheiser was complaining that it was way past his bed time I was laughing. He didn’t do bad but Tririco and Theismann were very bad.
I like John Madden because he makes me laugh when he states the obvious. When he says stuff like “the only way to score is to put the ball in the endzone” or “your not going to move the ball if you keep getting sacked” I call that a Madden Moment.
Smitty,
The closest thing to that, that I have seen in person is one time I saw 2 cubs fans fighting 3 cardinal fans….They were all very drunk …awww good stuff.
Best sporting event I’ve ever been a part of was Alabama/Auburn 1989.
Alabama was 10-0, ranked #2 in the country. Auburn was 8-2, ranked in the top 15. Auburn beat Alabama 30-20 in the first Iron Bowl ever played in Auburn. Both teams had an off-week before the game and it was bedlam. Absolute bedlam. I am told that over 200,000 people came to town JUST to tailgate. After the game ended around 5:30 PM, fans proceeded to roll Toomer’s Corner .. and roll .. and roll .. and roll.. until dawn on Sunday.
That one game forever changed the layout of SEC football. Just by playing the game in Auburn, Auburn had claimed victory. The victory on the scoreboard culminated a streak of four wins in a row over the Tide and the surprise victory is still talked about today.
Oh, ESPN is actually showing the USA v.s. Korea game. USA is winning 19-9.
Jay, it’s already gone final. Been final for quite some time. Don’t look at sports.yahoo.com for the winner.
Oh, thanks Wryn.
I’m sorry, Smitty; At no time is being in Knoxville better than being in Nashville.
If your at Neyland, it is better than being at Dudley Field. At least on Saturdays, the rest of the time you are right. However, Memphis has them both beat.
Speaking of excitement, the BEST sports call I ever heard was Larry Munson calling Lindsay Scott’s 96 yd TD pass to beat Florida in the last minute in 1980. I still get chills when I hear it. The reason I mention this is that I saw that there was a roast for Munson the other day. And he was a Braves announcer their first year in Atlanta.
The thing I dislike about Pete is that he takes understatement to an extreme. If a guy is 1 for 98, it’s a “bit of a slump.” It just annoys me. In general, the two out crap with Francouer has gotten out of hand. It’s one thing to give him credit for it, but there is a certain shrillness in the way the announcers (other than Skip) defend him against any criticism.
The thing about walking LaRoche is, you have to decide who is the greater threat. It’s not as if Diaz is Willie Mays–he is just a guy having a hot streak. But, of course, LaRoche isn’t Ted Williams either. I like Frank Robinson as a personality and respect his contributions to the game, but he does some really, really odd things as a manger–such as batting Royce Clayton third when he was here. And not having guys warming up when the pitcher is struggling. And, if you question things like that, it’s because he manages by “instinct not by numbers.”
Granted, he doesn’t exactly have the 1998 Yankees to work with, but you just have to shake your head sometimes. I still say that Charlie Manual is the worst I have ever seen.
Best SEC game I ever attended was on the Plains.
1982: UGA vs. Auburn. Herschel vs. Bo.
Didn’t have a ticket & the game wasn’t on TV (due to some kind of Auburn recruiting malfeasance). So after a few adult beverages, two friends & I climbed a barbed-wire fence very close to a bevy of security guards. All 3 of us got over the fence, but the guards saw us & began to chase us up the ramp.
Luckily, we were 19 & they were all about 63. They didn’t have a chance. They gave up after about 100 feet. We ran all the way to the top of Jordan-Hare just in time to see Kevin Butler kick one of his rainbow field goals. We sat in the aisle on the very last row behind the endzone, right between a Georgia section & an Auburn section.
Saw Tony Flack stuff Bo Jackson headfirst into the turf like he was a garden hoe. Saw Lionel James zig-zag 87 yards like he was a orange-and-blue dot in video game. Saw the Dawgs come back & hunker down one more time at the end. Final, 19-14. Three straight SEC titles & another trip to New Orleans.
And we got to live that Munson Moment: “Look at the Sugar falling from the sky!” Tough to beat that & I’ll never forget it.
Marc,
That was a great call—and it was 93 yards.
In my opinion the thing I like about NCAAF is the passion and rivalries.
The rivalries in college football are unbeatable. I mean what does the NFL have to offer that could beat Notre Dame v USC on Nov 25? That’s a huge game every year, but both teams could be title condenders, building off of last year’s game, could be the latest game of the century. Then follow that up with the intercity battle of USC v UCLA on Dec 2.
No contest. Every game is must win in college football. It has a season long intensity that other sports can’t match.
The NFL may be America’s most popular sport, but, to me, compared to college ball (especially SEC) it’s tiddly winks.
So then, can it be said, let’s say Alabama and Auburn both go 11-0 going into the Iron Bowl this season.. for the athletes that play in that game, will that be their biggest came of their amateur or professional career? I say, even if they play in a Super Bowl, no doubt.
What’s everyones favorite teams in all sports(NFL,NBA,NCAAF,NCAABB,MLB etc.)
Mine are-
Cincinnati Bengals/Atlanta Falcons
New Jersey Nets/Chicago Bulls
Virginia Tech Hokies(Football)
Connecticut Huskies(Basketball)
Atlanta Braves(of course)
I am not a big Hockey fan but I do like the Colorado Avalanche.
Also what is everyones favorite players in those sports too.
NFL- Eddie George(all-time) Chad Johnson(current)
NBA- Vince Carter
NCAAF- Darryl Tapp, Jimmy Williams, Cedric Humes, Mike Vick, Kevin Jones, Xavier Adibi, Vince Hall(I think you get the picture)
NCAABB- Emeka Okafor, Josh Boone, Marcus Williams, Rudy Gay, James Anderson, Ray Allen, Richard Hamilton,(once again I think you get the picture)
MLB- Chipper Jones
NHL- Peter Forsberg
In order of being a fan:
Auburn / CFB
Atlanta Braves / NFL
Auburn, but for the ego, Duke / MBB
(long long long dropoff after this)
Jacksonville Jaguars / NFL
(long long long dropoff after this)
San Antonio Spurs / NBA
Dallas Stars / NHL
Oops I meant to say Rashad Anderson…I don’t know what I was thinking. 🙂
As a Vol fan I bias in favor of John Ward. Great guy! He retired after the 98 season. “GIVE HIM SIX!”
My two all time favorite calls:
1998 NC game: “Martin off the fake…throws down field to Price…COMPLETE! 25, 20, 15, 5…Give him Six, TOUCH DOWN TENNESSEE!”
1998 Arkansas- “Sterner under center…rolling left…fumbles the ball…who has the ball? THE BIG ORANGE HAVE THE BALL!”
Later in the game:
“YOu have to give it to Henry here Bill Anderson. Hand-off Henry…down to the three, down to the two, down to the end zone. TOUCHDOWN TENNSSEE!”
IF you guys want, you can give me a team that Tennssee played and I will come up with a great Ward call.
1998 Arkansas- “Sterner under center…rolling left…fumbles the ball…who has the ball? THE BIG ORANGE HAVE THE BALL!”
That was one of the strangest turn of events ever. Had them beat and he fumbles untouched. Unbelieveable.
DT Billy Ratliff pushed the center into Sterner’s leg. He triped and put the ball on the ground. Ratliff also fell on the ball.
If we win tonight… I say we get the 4 game sweep.
ATL-Lance Cormier WAS-Pedro Astacio
ATL-John Smoltz WAS-Billy Traber
ATL-Kevin Barry WAS-Jason Bergmann
I am not sure about the Barry start.
Smitty, if you actually think Memphis is an enjoyable place to be, then your opinions on other towns are completely irrelevant.
4 Seam…
sorry I went to sleep after I posted the link to my pics and then I’ve been at school today. It’s in the baseball album… the other one is video clips which I only have one uploaded and it’s of Salty… lol
Since we’re talking about favorite calls, here’s one of mine from last year:
(High School team goes 0-9, has 14 players, and is worthless. On the final game of the year, versus a 7-2 team, miraculously, we take a 41-14 lead into the fourth. When it becomes apparent we’ll win, the other team’s starting quarterback gets injured and gets replaced with a kid named Tony Rudolph. Seizing the opportunity, I pulled this Skip Caray-esque line out of my pocket..)
“Well, It’s a bitterly cold night here. Frost covers the field. It’s cold. It’s Homecoming. But the Warriors lead by 27 with 4:00 left and the defense will try and stop Tony Rudolph and his Lions on the 3rd and 17. You know, with it being Homecoming, the cold, the frost, not Rudolph in the game right now, what if the Warriors’ defense were (with emphasis) Blitzen right here?”
*now Rudolph in the game – wow, I typoed the mess out of that. I guess you can take the guy out of Auburn, but you can’t take Auburn out of the guy.
Oh come on Stu! Memphis is a great town!
The food is great (Rendezvous best ribs in the world), Beal Street is a blast, there is so much to do (Graceland, Sun Records, Memphis Zoo, Mud Island…) THey have a great downtown ball park and a state of the art basketball arena. Hell Rock and Roll was invinted there!
Georgia Bulldogs
Atlanta Braves
New Jersey Devils
Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Hawks
If I ever moved back to Georgia, I’d try to be a Thrashers fans, but I doubt it would happen. Once you get attached to a team, it’s hard to let go.
ububba,
Sorry about that–you are, of course, right, it was 93 yards. My memory if failing me.
Smitty,
I grew up in Chattanooga listening to John Ward. You are right about him–he was great. I can hear him saying after a fumble–GIVE IT TO THE BIG ORANGE–as if it were yesterday. He even m anaged to make SEC basketball–in the days when it was all white–interesting.
It was easy for me to let go of the Titans after they released Eddie, D-Mason, Samari Rolle, The FREAK and now they traded Steve McNair… I guess I should start to like the Ravens since they have most of my favorite Titans. 🙂
Marc, I am living in Chattanooga now. It is a huge mix of UGA, UT
Eddie could have stayed with the Titans
I’m not the only one here who doesn’t give a flying fart about SEC football, am I? Oh, well.
Didn’t the Titans offer him a 1 yr deal…and all he wanted was a 2 yr deal but they wouldn’t give it to him?
Jenny,
I am an ACC guy. And when It comes to BB I am a Big East guy.
Ah Jenny, showing where she is from 😉
Eddie looks like he can still play.
Jenny, I don’t give a flying fart about the SEC, but that’s because I am college-sports-illiterate, which is what will happen when you grow up next to Emory (with no football team) and go to Yale (whose greatest recent athlete was Chris Dudley).
“…if you actually think Memphis is an enjoyable place to be, then your opinions on other towns are completely irrelevant.”
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
I will have to agree that Autozone Park is the finest minor league stadium I have ever seen (better than some big league parks – total shame that it’s stuck in downtown Memphis), but I have different opinions on some of the other stuff. FedEx Forum IS a state-of-the-art facility, but it’s usually half empty. Also, at U of M games, they won’t let the students sit down low behind the benches. They are stuck at one end behind the goal, and it totally kills the home-court advantage. All of the prime seats are usually about 60% full, and the seats that ARE taken are old corporate types who get mad if you stand up and cheer. I personally think Beale Street is a d-u-m-p, and is infested with probably the skankiest people on earth, and while the BBQ is awesome, I think Rendezvous is without a doubt the most over-hyped, over-priced place in town. It’s totally a tourist attraction. When I lived there, locals gravitated to the smaller, lesser-known joints, like the BBQ Shop on Madison Avenue.
Jenny,
SEC football is a religion. You don’t have to participate. It’s alright. In fact, you might be better off.
AAR,
Don’t forget Calvin Hill.
I lived in Mid Town for a while. I could walk to about five diffrent bars. Beal Street can be a dump, but when there are a lot of people there it is a huge party. Corky’s is a good rib place, but it has become a chain.
I guess if you live there for a ong time it can wear on you, but for a place to visit, it is great.
I just watched Chipper’s three homers again and something I noticed is he swung his hip open more than usual.
The clips are under “More coverage”
http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060814&content_id=1610268&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl
I just saw Eddie George on OTL first report. 🙂
Smitty,
Do you live near UTC? Chattanooga is a MUCH nicer place now than when I grew up, especially downtown. When I was growing up, we all wanted to get the hell out and move to Atlanta.
I don’t remember a lot of UGA activity in Chattanooga when I was a kid, but when Herschel came, it seemed to pick up. Of course, that may have been because I went to grad school at UGA and started noticing more.
I went to college in Memphis in the 70s. I liked it ok because the school was in the suburbs. If you think Beale Street is a pit now, back then, it looked like Beirut. Going to the Rendezvous involved taking your life in your hands.
Marc,
I just graduated from UTC. I next to campus on the corner of Houston nad Vine. Now I live in North Chattanooga.
Chattanooga isn’t a bad town. There is a lot to see down here and do, but it gets old after a while.
Jenny,
Being in Iowa I’m a Big Ten fan, hate the Big Twelve, and could care less about the SEC.
Jenny, I am with you. I don’t get SEC religion. Of course I live in Indiana, which is not SEC country. For me the obessesion with the SEC reminds me of Nascar, I just don’t get it.
Has anyone noticed how far Renteria has fallen off? His August line is a horrific .170/.224/.226. Methinks he could certainly use a day off.
Not appreciating the SEC is your loss, folks.
Also,
GO UTES!!
*runs away*
I should note that people around here are obsessesd with the Big Ten in much the same way as SEC fan.
When I say ‘around here’, I am talking about Southern Indiana.
I live in Big 12 country…..sadly. 🙁
Big 10-“wishing we were the SEC”
I work closely with an Ohio State grad, and I’m often reminding him of the the Big 10’s bowl record vs. the SEC. It ain’t pretty.
The only reason I said I hated the big 12 is the fact that I’m only about 45 minutes from Nebraska, and our local tv is out of Omaha and its all Huskers all the time. Makes me want to puke.
and on a lighter note, the Dodgers are 13-0 with Betemit in the line-up
Outside of the linesmen that work at the sportsbooks down here, I don’t think more than 10 people even follow college football … sadly..
Don’t get me wrong, I understand and respect the SEC’s pcace in cfb, but I don’t have a horse in that race.
Here in NY, I’ve had people try to talk Hofstra football with me & I couldn’t help but start giggling.
does anyone in here want to start a fantasy football league? Much like we did with the fantasy baseball in the spring, I thought some people on here might be interested.
I’m in JoshQ.
Does anyone have suggestions or have an open league we could join?
I can create one real quick.
Sounds great…I have to run out of the office now, but I’ll check back on here tonite.
Mac: Most analysis that’s been done indicates that hot streaks are basically random so pitching to a hot hitter doesn’t make a lot of difference. Cold streaks, however, can be caused by injury or illness…
Ah, the follies of sabermetrics. How in the world can this (hot streak are basically random) possibly be scientifically determined?
This is horsefeathers, Mac. (This are horsefeathers?) Hot streaks in roulette are random. Hot streaks in baseball are not. I won’t deny that there is SOME random component to it, but an athlete swinging a bat is not a coin being flipped. I’ve seen hot streaks. I’ve lived hot streaks. And there is really such a thing as “being in the zone” where you simply can’t miss a shot or you see every ball like a beach ball. Almost every athlete will back this up. Given all the mechanical, psychological and physical components of an athlete, there are periods where it all peaks and you are en fuego.
If a cold streak can be tied to iphysical njury, you have to concede that a hot streak can be tied to physical peaking as well. Surely all the research about players who play better in day or night, lefty/righty, grass/turf, home/road backs up this theory that it isn’t random.
There is no such thing as “being due,” but a guy who’s had 10 consecutive hits is to be pitched around, regardless of what Bill James says.
Hot streaks in roulette are random. Hot streaks in baseball are not. I won’t deny that there is SOME random component to it, but an athlete swinging a bat is not a coin being flipped.
Usually I’m on your side of the argument here but I don’t think anyone believes hot streaks are truly random. Perhaps ‘largely random’ or even ‘mostly random’ but not truly random. The point is that studies of stuff like this using gross statistical tools usually doesn’t find much correlation. This doesn’t mean that non-random hot streaks don’t exist, just that there is enough randomness mixed in to make them hard to detect.
On a more theoretical level, if there are conditions that would lead to non-random cold streaks wouldn’t the absence of those conditions be, essentially, conditions that would lead to non-random hot streaks?
ROLLLL FREAKING TIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!