ESPN.com – MLB – Box Score – Dodgers at Braves
This game started off looking a lot like last night’s. The Braves took an early lead on a first-inning RBI single by Matt Diaz, then the offense got stuck in neutral. Kyle Davies looked great for four innings then had big trouble in the fifth, allowing two runs — and was lucky to allow just that. He came back in the sixth, but then allowed a two-run homer to Betemit — the guy stinks all year, suddenly he’s killing us — to make it 4-1, and was lifted for Paronto, who threw one pitch, a pitchout, on which Furcal was caught stealing.
The Braves had had a chance to take the lead in the sixth, loading the bases with one out on three singles. The third was Saltalamacchia’s first career hit, on which Diaz held up — rightly, it was a dinky little flare — so he wasn’t able to score. Chipper and McCann both had the day off and could have pinch-hit for the woeful Chris Woodward when Rudy Seanez entered the game as a reliever. Even Orr or Thorman could have. Instead, Bobby stuck with Woodward, who hit into a double play to end the threat, and I’m pretty sure that the game is over. The Dodgers hadn’t lost yet this year leading after six.
But Harris hit for Paronto and drew a walk. KJ doubled to make it second and third, and Renteria doubled in turn to cut it to 4-3. Francoeur, hitting in the three spot, popped up, but Andruw walked. Bobby finally put Chipper in, pinch-hitting for Diaz, but he struck out on a disputed check-swing call and both he and Bobby were thrown out for arguing. (You’re going down, McGraw!) Thorman hit for Wilson and came up big, tying the game on a single. Saltalamacchia gave the Braves the lead with another single, and Woodward actually got a hit to make it 6-4.
Soriano blew through the eighth, and Gonzalez allowed a single before getting two popups and a strikeout to end it. Paronto gets a win despite throwing only the pitchout.
I think McGraw gaves us one back on Kent’s just-foul liner up the line. On the replays, it looked like it hit the outside part of the line, even though no chalk flew up. Still, between the check-swing call against Chipper and the head-tag Salty applied on LaRoche, the Dodgers still got the benefit of the Umps 2-1. 🙂
Anyone else really impressed that Salty is 3-for-3 throwing runners out?
Oh, and Kent:2B Defense::Renteria:SS Defense
(With that said, Renty made a nice play on a grounder up the middle that saved a run. Then again, maybe it only looks nice beacuse it would have been routine for Furcal….)
I’m with Raver talking about being impressed with Salty’s arm. People keep talking about getting him to learn first base. Why not McCann learning first base?
Except for the obvious Salty being 7 feet tall and a huge target at first that is . . . Also, how speedy is the big man? Could he actually learn LF? (Not taking anything away from Wee Willie Harris’ performance of late.)
need to find a way to get salty into the lineup
Salty runs like a catcher. Stretches triples into doubles, that sort of thing. I wouldn’t want him in the outfield, though I wouldn’t be opposed to a Salty/McCann C/1B split of some sort.
Is there any sort of nonmechanical procedure for official scorers to determine the winning pitcher in games like this, or does that only kick in when the starter gets chased early with a lead and a bunch of guys do mop-up work to hold it?
They totally pulled that game out of their collective ass. Nice for that to happen for us instead of to us for a change. No need to worry about the Salty – McCann decision this year. Salty will be back in Richmond next week and rightly so. He needs to be playing every day right now.
Paronto getting the win today was strictly mechanical. Paronto was the pitcher of record when the lead changed, so… he gets the win.
Funny to see Chipper get his money’s worth, knowing his day was done regardless.
I understood not pinch-hitting for Woodward — he’d hit two scorchers already in the game. On the other hand, I would definitely have chosen McCann over Orr with two on and two out in the eighth.
Davies could have allowed more runs, but also less if the ump didn’t blow the call in the 5th
And yeah Salty impressed me by getting the fast Pierre and Furcal, I really enjoy seeing him playing.
They were both on pitchouts, right?
“They were both on pitchouts, right?”
One was, one wasn’t.
I guess the Braves are using Oscar Villarreal on Tuesday. Bobby Cox yet again chooses the cruddy retread over the Braves’ good prospects. The pitching match-ups for the upcoming Padres’ series, via Yahoo:
Mon, May 7 7:05 pm EDT C. James vs. C. Young
Tue, May 8 7:35 pm EDT O. Villarreal vs. J. Germano
Wed, May 9 7:35 pm EDT J. Smoltz vs. G. Maddux
Thu, May 10 1:05 pm EDT T. Hudson vs. D. Wells
Villareal has been excellent this year. I have no problem giving him a start to see if he can keep it up. The only other real option at this point is Kevin Barry. Anthony Lerew’s periferrals have looked awful so far (15K, 8BB in 26.1IP? That’s like 5.5K/9 in AAA. Bleh.)
Besides, Cormeir is going to get a shot before Lerew, so no reason to start screwing with the roster before it’s necessary.
And speaking of the rotation, Kyle Davies was very, very good today, pitching far better than his 4ER would indicate. It looks to me like he just tired out (which is unfortunate, because he didn’t break 100 pitches until the last batter he faced). But he only had one hickup inning before then, looking just a filthy as Randy Wolf (seriously, when did he become dominant??) for the firs thalf of the game.
Another start or two like that and I think we’ll be down to just 1 gaping hole in the starting rotation.
“Clemens will sign a one-year, $28 million contract that, prorated on an expected June 1 start date, will actually pay him about $19 million, SI.com’s Jon Heyman reported.”
Sick, just sick. $19 million for pitching for half of a season? He’ll make A-Rod look poor at that rate…
unreal, how do you pay someone that much, i mean think about it, arod, giambi, jeter clemens are almost our entire payroll, especially if you cut out hamptons and sturtzes
Nice win. Didn’t see it, but it appears Chipper’s gonna get some kind of a fine for criticizing the umps. Those are pretty strong comments about Balkin’ Bob. (And, I’m curious, how bad was that call?)
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6782056
Had an interesting weekend. My cousin from Pa. came up to visit & I took him to Yankee Stadium yesterday & we saw the near-perfect game from Wang. I gotta tell you, it was pretty exciting to be there. I was there for the Gooden no-hitter 11 years ago, but for some reason this was more electric to be in the stadium. Of course, there were about 25,000 more people there yesterday.
Strange baseball-related story: My cousin brings up his new girlfriend. We make small talk, in the course of the conversation, she tells me her last name—Rothermel.
I tell her, “The only other person I’ve heard of with that last name was a minor-league pitcher on my hometown Double-A Columbus Astros. I used to see this guy named Russ Rothermel pitch when I was about 10 years old.”
Her response: “That’s my father.”
Ooooo-eeeee. Weird.
Mets down 3-1 in the 7th. C’mon ‘Zona. Help us out here.
Salty from the right side had a Sheff-like bat wiggle. that was weird
I’ll be at the game on Tuesday. I was hoping I’d luck into Smoltzie for my first game of the year, but oh well. It’ll be a blast either way.
Is there any difference at this point between ESPN’s baseball coverage and the YES network but production values?
Yes, ESPN talks about the Mets more than YES does. But that’s about it.
What is the news on Lance Cormier? Are we going to see him back anytime soon?
In case anyone missed the big fight last night and would like to watch it, I have all 12 rounds on my blog. You might want to watch it now, because I don’t know how long they’ll be up.
http://my-sport-talk.blogspot.com/2007/05/mayweather-vs-de-la-hoya.html
Jay10:
On a side note? I noticed you had Virginia Tech listed on your site. You a Hokie? I’m a 2005 graduate . . . stuck up here in Boston, can’t wait till I’m back in the Southland.
JDmaker1,
No, not a grad just a fan for the last 8 years or so.
Ah, well a good man none the less.
Hahah, thanks.
I definitly see a fine in Chipper’s future…
“The second Bobby stepped out of the dugout, [Davidson] was gunning to throw him out,” Jones said. “Bob Davidson feels like the thousands of people in the park come to see him. He’s always been like that. It’s a joke among the players.”
Replays showed his checked-swing call was close and could’ve gone either way.
“That wasn’t what I was upset about,” Jones said. “When Bobby came out of the dugout, [Davidson] was just waiting to throw him out before he even heard what he said. It’s a shame the cameras have to put [Davidson] on TV for 30 seconds.”
LaRoche was called safe on the slide to tie the score at 1-all.
“How do you miss that?” Jones said. “How does a professional umpire miss that?”
http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/braves/stories/2007/05/06/0506brvnotes.html
“definitly” should be definitely.
per espn.com
“Bob Davidson feels like all these thousands of people who come to the park come to see him. That’s the way he always has been. It’s a joke among us players.” — Chipper Jones on the third base umpire Davidson, who called him out on a check-swing third strike. Jones and manager Bobby Cox were ejected for arguing.
Oops, should have scrolled up.
Chipper is right about all of that. Truth should be a defense in these situations.
JDMaker1
What was your major? I graduated in 2006 in Stats and Math, and I’m still here (in grad school).
A great win for the Braves. It became pretty unexpected because the Dodgers were 15-0 when leading after 6. Even more impressive, Chin Hui Tsao had given up only 1 hit in more than 10 innings of relief work and by the time the Braves faced him he had retired 24 in a row. A damned good comeback which we should savour for awhile….
You can look, but can’t touch…
Freddy Garcia and Cole Hamels checking out the girls in Atlanta.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0705/gallery.caught.inthe.act2/content.2.html
but after the game….
The article on the MLB site says that it’s unclear who will start – Villareal, Barry, or a new callup. I could be wrong, but I’ve had a hunch all along that Barry was just a temporary insurance policy since the bullpen was being overused when he was called up (thanks mostly to Redman). Smoltz and Hudson reversed that trend so Barry hasn’t been needed.
I have a feeling they wanted to get someone another start in the minors and pitch him on normal rest in Atlanta on Tuesday. If this is the case, my guess would be Lerew getting the call.
I’m torn about Salty. I have been wanting to trade him for a good pitcher. From what he’s looked like so far, if we trade him, it better be for the best CF prospect in baseball or for a very, very good SP – hopefully one that is already MLB ready.
I see no reason to trade Salty right now. We have holes, but we’re not a desperate team. Call me crazy, but I’d love to see him on an ’07 Atlanta post-season roster.
As I was telling Alex earlier, I refuse to write up Barry until he pitches. Right now, he’s impossible to tell from a batboy.
Actually, the batboys I’ve seen have been a lot busier than Barry – and one appears to have a better fastball. I also wouldn’t be shocked if Bobby sent Colyer down and gave Barry a chance to pitch a few games, with Lerew getting the call-up.
Actually, it does seem rather odd that Barry has seen the light of day. Bobby’s usual mode is to get people in games right away.
PS–Wrestling was in Roanoke tonight and VT students got in for free. Totally worth the 15 bucks in gas and the 150 bucks to get my car from the towers to go. /sweet/
I love seeing Chipper call out the umpires. He even publicized a private, running joke among players about Bob Davidson. Amazing. Hopefully we’ll get a few more quotes from him after the fine gets sent down, or sooner.
Josh –
Graduated as a History Major . . . started as a Chem major. I’m in law school in Boston right now. I plan on moving back to my hometown, Richmond “home of the the RBraves” Virginia, after school. Getting tired of hearing about the BoSox-Yankees American League “baseball.”
On that note, Clemens salary is looking to be something close to 1 million per start . . . wow, i just vomited on myself.
Trade Salty?! I may or may not have a man crush on the guy, but I don’t think we should trade him.
Throw him or McCan at first base. Throw Thor out in left (with Wee Willie Harris if he continues to perform). Or just keep Thor as the utility-pinch hitter type guy.
Of course, that is assuming we can pay all of them . . . McCann and Salts are going to be a costly duo once McCann realizes he should get paid more than league minimum.
I don’t see any upside in Chipper calling out an ump, actually. Even if his position happens to be true, I tend to doubt that anything good for the Braves (or Chipper) will come from it.
Incidentally, I heard a radio host mention that if Clemens begins pitching on or around June 1 & if he averages 100 pitches per start, he’ll earn about $7,500 per pitch.
I’m torn about our catcher situations. I’ve been totally impressed with Salty’s cannon of an arm and his upside as a hitter. I think it would be ideal to see McCann take a shot at 1B but I think the Braves have invested in him as their catcher.
We’ll see what happens. This is obviously not a bad problem to have but it is hard to know what will ultimately help the team more.
That article describes the Chipper call as one that “could’ve gone either way,” which I think is bullshit. That was a horrible call, plain and simple. The bat really wasn’t even close. Thank God Thorman came through so that don’t have to complain about the umpires costing us the game.
I honestly think Davies pitched a decent game today. He got ahead of hitters, located his fastball and had a good breaking ball going. The one he hung to Betemit was a shame though. He didn’t even totally lose it in the fifth and came back really nicely in the 6th and 7th until the HR that is.
Another question re. the Betemit HRs: Is Marcus gonna hit us as well this week and… what about playin the Nats, I don’t even wanna think about Langy getting half of his hits against the Braves next series they play…
I’m in the keep ’em both camp. McCann has a proven record as an excellent game caller with the top of the rotation. So, he has the advantage as the main catcher in my mind, at the moment. If we aren’t getting something monster in return there’s no reason to trade Salty.
And as far as Bobby and Chipper getting thrown out, it was a close call and it sure was fun to watch Chipper drop a bunch of F-bombs on tha teevee. Also, Bobby has known for a long time that if the manager gets tossed in a close game situation his team gets a boost in momentum. And that can carry a team to a win. Which is a managers job.
To. Get. A. Win.
That is why Bobby is loved as a manager. He will go to the carpet for his players. And they (Thor, in this case) will deliver the goods a lot of the time. I love it when he gets fired up.
As an aside, does anyone know what inning Bobby is usually ejected? I’m betting on the 7th.
You said it, urlhix
I didn’t watched the game, but saw highlights for Sunday’s Game at the other site. I love it when Bobby is ejected. It is fun to watch to me. I mean it. I think that means a lot to his guys. Hahahaha
In the cold light of morning I’ve got to admit:
Edgar Renteria is smokin’ the baseball. He seems to be in on every rally.
Where is this comeback attitude coming from?
Can we bottle it for September?
I love it! You can’t just turn off the set in disgust and go mow the grass anymore!
Go Braves!
Let’s just trade McCann and keep Salty. The guy who has played 2 GAMES! Yeah thats right let’s trade the 23 year old all-star who hits for average, power, and is clutch. Calls a great game and is pretty good behind the plate for the kid who has two career hits. Oh but Salty is alot younger, wait he’s only a year younger.
I wonder if anyteam would even want McCann. With the way you guys are talking it’s unbelievelable. The man crush that has developed for Salty is someone scary. It wasn’t that long ago you guys were worshipping McCann. Now it’s funny how the tide turns, what has McCann done lately, well on Friday he drove in the game winning runs with a leadoff double, playing with one hand.
Who has advocated getting rid of McCann? I don’t know what you’re referring to.
Nobody has, just reading many posts with people referring to moving him to 1B and the obvious man crush on Salty. I’m just wondering what Salty has done to deserve all the praise, he has only played in two games.
Unknown, if you’re gonna set up a straw man, you might want to make a little bit more sense.
Any team in the NL would want McCann, because he is the best catcher in the NL. (The Dodgers might say that Russ Martin gives him a run for his money, but I pick McCann.)
The Braves have said repeatedly that McCann isn’t going anywhere, which is good, because he’s insanely good. The only question is whether McCann and Salty can fit in the same lineup, or whether Salty will be trade bait. Either will help the Braves: he’s the best prospect in the game at a very thin position, so he’ll either be a good player for us or he’ll get us back a good player or two in a trade.
Besides, when a guy drives in the winning run on his second major-league hit in his second major league start, two days after his 22nd birthday, I think a little man-crushing is in order. I’m still in love full-time with B-Mac.
McCann already signed a contract extension.
Anyway, moving him to first base makes sense, if Saltalamacchia is for real, because you don’t want to see his bat decay. On the other hand, the pitchers like throwing to McCann. It’s a nice problem to have.
I think unknown was just trying to pick an argument or he/she hasn’t been around long enough to see what people are talking about. Many of us are just debating how it may be possible to get them both in future line-ups in ATL. Will he be eventually traded or will we have to find a position for him? McCann is not going anywhere as we all know (thank God). Oh yeah, and earlier someone said something about McCann realizing he is worth more than the minimum. He signed a deal in the offseason that keeps him in ATL until 2011 or 2012, so I don’t think we’ll worry about that anytime soon.
Great game by Kyle yesterday, but I had that feeling watching the game that the bottom was going to drop out at any moment. It was alot like watching a Hudson start last yeart. I hope it helps with his confidence.
Mcann is the catcher, no if’s and’s or butt’s about it. If Salty is going to learn 1B, send him to Richmond and let him work it out. Thor and Wilson will be fine untill something else gets worked out….
Free Lerew!!!
I just have been reading alot of posts and many people mention moving McCann to 1B. I think many people don’t realize how lucky we have it with a player of his caliber back behind home plate. I don’t think there is any question Salty is going to be good. But if anyone should be moved it should be him. Besides he just looks like the perfect 1B.
JoshQ, believe me, i know more about this situation then you do. 🙂 The braves will not move McCann to 1B and Salty really doesn’t want to move regardless what he says in papers. Trade makes the most sense IF we can get a good pitcher.
I really don’t see the Braves moving either one to 1B. While both have top bats for Cs, they would be merely above average at 1B. Salty will get traded, most likely during the off-season, most likely for pitching or OF help (LF if Andruw stays, CF otherwise).
None of us are Salty or McCann so we are just hypothesizing (if that is a word). I don’t have any inside info (like you seem to hint about). I do agree that McCann should not be moved under any circumstances. Why mess with a catcher who is the best in the NL? That would be stupid.
Who is “unknown”? Are you Bobby Cox? Come on, don’t hide Bobby. Were you on here blogging yesterday after you got kicked out. Don’t lie!!!
mraver, .330, 24 hr, and 90+ rbi is much more then above average at any position.
JoshQ, I just know alot about the braves thru some inside sources. I was the first to mention McCann was going to play on friday and also the first to mentioned Pena was DLed. I believe someone told me to quit listening to the voices in my head before I was proved right. Either way this is an exciting team to watch.
Man, it really stinks to have to trade Salty because you have a Brian McCann.
😉 (For the sarcasm impaired)
Unknown, that cool…But is it O.K. if I just pretend you are Bobby Cox? That would be a lot more fun than thinking of you as Unknown.
sure Josh. Seat painter, I agree it’s a good situation to be in.
hey mac can we get a countdown meter for bobby’s ejection record?
I’m not sure how many he lacks. Wikipedia says he’s three behind McGraw but Fox had a different count. If everyone’s sure Bobby is at 128 and McGraw at 131 (the Wiki count) then I can whip something up.
UPDATE: How’s this?
Yeah, I made the comment about having a “man crush” on Salty as a joke. But obviously the kid has some serious talent. I by no means want to trade McCann just for the sake of keeping Salty behind the plate. That would be insane. (Thanks for the contract update, I didn’t realize that). I also didn’t really think about the game calling ability of McCann . . . but how much of that comes from the dugout?
But at the same time, I don’t want to trade a 22 year old prospect, whom by all accounts is going to be insanely good, just for a pitcher . . . even if he is Hudson-like. Obviously, I’m no GM and would probably run the braves into the ground faster than a Mets fan will turn against their team in an off season, but those are just my thoughts.
On second thought, Salty has a cannon anyone else want him to start in the 5th spot of the rotation?
I dunno, the Mets had a pitcher a couple nights ago who looked like he had a great arm. Anyone know if they’d be willing to trade Jorge Sosa?
How sweet would it be to see McCann homer off of Clemens in the World Series?
Well Mr. unknown inside man, the papers and David O’Brien are saying Tuesday’s start will go to either Kevin Barry or Anthony Lerew. Who’s it going to be?
I hope the Yankees don’t make the playoffs. Or at least, not win the division. Their streak must end so the Braves’ one can be the one people remember.
“UPDATE: How’s this?”
Perfect.
I love the eject-o-meter!
Bobby should have been thrown out. If you come out to argue balls and strike or check swings, it is an automatic ejection. That is why Bobby got tossed.
Jdmaker, when Salty catches 100% is from the dugout. When Bmac catches about 1 percent is from the dugout and that is strickly Cox wanting a throw to first. It’s all about ability and experience.
Bobby must be using some cuss words that most of us don’t even know in that picture..
That’s old school right there…
the eject-o-meter rules..i wonder if bobby knows or even cares about the ejection record?
Just a little theory. How many people in here would trade Francoeur and put Salty in RF right now, knowing that there is a slight difference in range. But for fun’s sake let’s imagine that while there is a dropoff, Salty would be a servicable right fielder. Who gives up Frenchy?
James, considering the crush prob. a ton but any common sense tells you no way. Salty has played in two games and looked impressive but thats hardly a track record.
Nobody would move Smurph to make room for Salty, either.
Unknown’s “I have inside sources” shtick is incredibly annoying. Gee, thanks for that top-secret scoop that Brayan Pena was going on the DL! You must be really important!
For the record, if we could get a Hudson-like pitcher for Salty, we’d be stupid not to do it.
Is “Unknown” Bill Shanks?
I doubt it, since Bill Shanks apparently hates me even though I have never communicated with him and hardly ever even mentioned his existence.
I would not move Frenchy for Salty. Especially not now when he’s showing some more sense at the plate.
He’s taking his pitches, getting walks..going the other way. I’ll say it again, this guy will be a MVP before all is said and done.
I may get mocked and heckled for saying that..but I’m Frenchy’s biggest fan..so yeah.
If Unknown were Bill Shanks, the information would have been wrong, Dan.
Potential fair and good trade with Salty. Salty and a MI (Lillibridge, Escobar) and a relief pitcher prospect (Devine) to the Tigers for Cameron Maybin and one of their starting pitching prospects. Both teams deal from strength and get good value.
BOTH McCann and Salty need to work at first if we keep Salty. No catcher can get over about 500 PA’s and by catching 2 days then first 2 days they can up that to 600 or more (155 games or so).
That said, I do like the God of Thunder. He is already hitting righthanders well. He should not be traded for something unless it is valuable.
Davey I agree with you. I say lets try Salty at 1st in AAA the rest of the year. if it works have Thor/Diaz in LF next year with Salty at 1st. After all we’ll need some more power because Renty and Druw, both, will probably be traded. With that $$ we can get another CF and another SP or two. If it doesnt work trade Salty for a SP. Man, I’m ready to get Hampton off our hands
Adruw Jones won’t be traded unless we fall apart in June
I don’t know anything about Cameron Maybin, so maybe he’s like the greatest player the world has ever seen or something, but why would we trade three prospects in order to get two? That doesn’t make a great deal of sense, especially since the only of the three guys the Tigers would be likely to give up is Nate Robertson.
I say forget the whole prospect thing. If we’re gonna trade Salty this season, it has to be for an established starting pitcher. There can be prospects involved, but there has to be an established player involved, otherwise it’s not worth it in the least.
Finally, I have a feeling that by the end of the month, all this Roger Clemens/Yankees crap is gonna make me wanna jump off a bridge. ESPN spent 30 minutes of Baseball Tonight last night on the story, for God’s sake. And that’s just the beginning.
I can’t say I really blame the Yankees. Their pathetic rotation situation may actually constitute the only grounds on which signing Clemens at this point in the season would actually be worth it.
But as far as Clemens goes, if he does this again next year, I don’t think I’ll be able to stomach it any longer. How is it that no one has the gonads to call him out for his practice of holding teams hostage for two months and then not actually being a member of the team once they actually sign him? How is this seemingly OK with everyone? Has the baseball media lost its collective mind??? I wouldn’t expect ESPN to do anything but what they’re doing, but surely somebody else has some journalistic integrity left.
Oh, and does anybody even remember that this guy was implicated in a major steroid bust last year? That just disappeared in about three seconds. I wonder why that is.
Can Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds please suffer the same catastrophic, career-ending injury and just go away?
I’ve been hoping for the very same thing Nick….
Nobody is saying let’s trade proven stars to make room for Salty. We’re just trying to figure out how to get Salty into the same lineup with those stars and it’s proving to be a difficult task.
And I’m not sure the Tigers deal makes sense because teams rarely just switch top prospects. The Tigers aren’t moving Maybin and the Braves are getting major league talent if they move Salty.
What keeps getting me is Salty’s cannon. He’s got a great arm but McCann calls a great game. I don’t know what kind of game Salty calls but it’s probably not as good as McCann. I’ve never been in favor of a 1B/C platoon between 2 players but that may be our only option expect for the more obvious option of trading Salty.
Nick, you woke up on the sensible side of the bed today.
I agree that we shouldn’t trade Salty for anything less than an established #3 starter, at least. As for C/ 1B, Salty has the stronger arm (which supports keeping him behind the plate), but he seems more likely to develop knee problems if we keep him catching- big catchers are more likely to suffer from all that squatting. McCann should probably keep the lion’s share of the C job.
And yes, Barry and Roger are going to make us all sick. I hope for repeated crunchy beatings for the Yankees this and every season, but now I hope so even more.
@62
Hey, Bobby ‘Unknown’ Cox agrees with me!
😉
Anyway, I also think that the only way we get both Salt and McCann in the same lineup is to move one of them to first. And, unless Diaz/Harris goes completely in the tank, then Salty is headed back to the minors.
The only question is what does Atlanta do with him? Frankly, if the Tigers want him (which I’m sure they do if the price is right), I would love to see the Braves get Andrew Miller in a trade. But, since I’m sure the Tigers aren’t willing to part with Miller, we may have to wait until next winter to see where Mr. 14 Letter lastname ends up.
Oh, and if the Tigers ARE dumb enough to offer Miller, then I’d say trade him last week.
Stu,
Last friday everyone was saying McCann to the DL b/c O’Brien posted that on a blog. I told people it wasn’t him and that Pena was going on DL BEFORE it was released. Some people made their comments and then what happened, Pena on DL and McCann started the next night. Anyways, sorry to be annoying and I will no longer post here. Kinda a shame since I know alot about what is going on. Good Luck and Go Braves!
Oh and im not Bill Shanks, good luck to all!
If ‘unkown’ is who I think it is, I’d listen to what he has to say, he has much better sources than we do….
Leave McCann at catcher, no questions asked. Try Salty at 1B in Richmond, see how he does….I’d only trade him for a proven starter or some top notch pitching prospect and outfield prospect. Catchers that can hit, play defense and switch hit to boot dont grow on trees….other teams know that too…
Nick,
They’re actually raking Clemens over the coals up here. He was asked if the Yanks had relented on his travel demands, etc. (they did) and his response was, “I don’t know—I haven’t looked at the contract.”
Many hardcore Yankee fans find the whole Clemens circus frankly embarrassing. A radio host said, “No facial hair for anyone, but, Roger, you don’t have to fly to Minneapolis.”
Unknown,
Got a tip on the Preakness for me?
Here’s a tip on the Preakness: don’t drink as many mint juleps as I had on Saturday.
Phew.
I got it. Unknown is the co-author of Schuerholz’s book “Built To Win”, here spying and looking for new quotes for the next book.
“Last friday everyone was saying McCann to the DL b/c O’Brien posted that on a blog.”
You’re lying. O’Brien never wrote anything about McCann going on the DL.
Unknown has never cut my hair.
Apparently, the MLB draft will be televised on ESPN2 on June 7th.
This is sort of cool.
Who will be the Mel Kiper Jr. of baseball?
“With the fourtenth pick of the 2007 MLB draft, the Atlanta Braves select….pitcher, some unknown highschool kid, Georgia.”
I don’t think DOB specifically said McCann was goin on the DL, but I do recall that seemed to be the general tone of the article. He started by saying he expected Salty to be called up and then he said if it was McCann going on the DL, he thought Salty would be called up and if it was Pena, he expected it to be Corky Miller. So by extrapolation, it seemed like he was saying that he thought McCann would go on the DL.
I think we’re being a little hard on Unknown. While the whole “I have inside information, therefore my posts are more important than everyone else’s” thing is a mite annoying at times, shouldn’t we have at least waited until he was wrong on something before running him off?
AAR,
I’m giddy.
Mac,
Jim Callis?
Unknown,
I didn’t mean to chase you away. I’m sorry. I only meant for you to stop being like, “I’m really knowledgeable and you’re stupid if you don’t listen to me, but I won’t be telling you who I am.” I like scoops — I just don’t like scoopers talking about how scoopy they are.
Lance,
Who do you suspect the mystery man/woman behind Unknown is?
Oh, and it’s good to hear that people are calling him to task up there somewhat, ububba. I’m guessing if, by some miracle, he leads them to the playoffs, they’ll kind of forget all about it, but at least it’s somewhat heart-warming to hear that not everyone is kissing his ass.
Why post as unknown, why not just make up a name? You know like, Fool O’Shitte?
My barber just said he heard that “Unknown” is Steve Phillips
My sources tell me that “Unknown” is John Schuerholz.
I thought people with “sources” only existed on college football recruiting message boards.
Stu, you said exactly what I was wanting to say about “unknown.”
“I like scoops — I just don’t like scoopers talking about how scoopy they are.”
That is classic!!!
Unknown Man behind the Mask,
If you have something to add to the conversation, then I don’t think anyone wishes that you leave. I only bugged you this morning because I sensed a condescending tone in your responses and I wanted you to know the perception. At least that is how I took them. That said I do find it interesting the veil of secrecy that you feel you must keep. I could have fun all day trying to figure out who you are. If you are Brian McCann I think you should just come out and say that is so. Don’t be afraid, there are many here who have said (although a little creepy) that they have a man crush on you.
1. Salty played 2 games. He’s going back to AA and will not get traded, and shouldn’t at this point.
2. I would like to have “unknown” back.
3. I don’t like Roger Clemens one bit
4. And I am still smiling about the Skip comment from last night about Jeff Kent having the “range of a rosebush out there”.
Yes all the Roger Clemens worship gets on my last nerve. How big must your ego be in order for you to justify the I’ll wait till June crap every season? To be honest, I root for Barry Bonds before I root for Roger. At least Barry is out there from day one and is part of his team.
I don’t think Clemens is particularly worshipped. Even the most unreasonable Yankee fans will admit that he’s a mercenary.
As far as coverage goes, he’s news & the sporting press has to report these stories. It’s not like national stories are going to lead with Kelly Johnson’s OBP.
To me, bottom line: Nobody has a gun to the Yankees’ head & says they have to indulge Roger Clemens. He made ridiculous demands & they dropped their pants.
I’m not a fan of Clemens either, but if you don’t ask, you don’t get.