Today’s Game Thread Video is dedicated to the last two games! That was weird.
I don’t know why there are Spanish subtitles.
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Today’s Game Thread Video is dedicated to the last two games! That was weird.
I don’t know why there are Spanish subtitles.
Use code “Journal” for a 5% discount.
Continuing the last thread, someone posted Redman’s line.
I posted yesterday that if you removed Redman from our pitching staff, our team ERA goes from 4.05 to 3.55. Amazing. Truly amazing.
And I hope he is now removed for good. Lerew will be better than him for sure and at least give us the chance of at least winning some games.
A gimpy goldfish would be better than Redman…
Like I said, I’d trade him for a stomach virus and it still would be a great move.
From previous thread…
I secretly like interleague play, although I could do without it & it wouldn’t matter to me.
Getting to see Barry Bonds face Mariano Rivera in a meaningful game is a fun moment, but I don’t think a Florida-Minnesota series gets people too fired up.
Hate, hate, hate, hate, hate the wild card & the 3-division format. I’ll never understand why mediocrity is rewarded, especially after playing 162 games. I may be in the minority, but I still believe the best team should be allowed to win. You don’t hit re-set after 162 games & find a way to allow vastly inferior teams to compete with the very best.
And, if you’re going to have a WC, how can you have an unbalanced or(or interleague) sked? All things are not equal.
Still, if we are to live with that format, then let’s find a way to reward the best team (record-wise) in each league. It’s silly to treat an 85-win team the same as one that wins 100.
I’ve seen lots of new WC scenarios & I kinda like the idea of 2 WCs in each league. Let the 2 teams play a one-game playoff on Monday & send the winner to the top team’s park the very next day to start the Division Series. Mess up their pitching & see if they can still win. Give the top team a genuine competitive advantage. To the WC team I say, “Tough noogies—you shoulda won more games.”
But I’m open to anything that’s different from what we’ve got. The current format doesn’t make sense to me.
The DH & all-star game are so ridiculous I can’t bear to discuss them further, actually.
And Mac, Monty Python always trumps Rush.
I’m against interleague play largely for the reasons JoeyT (where’s that guy been?) articulated in the previous thread.
And I generally feel the same way as ububba does about the wildcard/3-division format. And AAR, I think, mentioned this on the previous thread—it’s so annoying to watch mediocre teams like the Marlins and Cardinals get hot late and roll through the playoffs.
The regular season doesn’t really matter, and that’s annoying. Enough non-fans complain about the 162-game schedule as it is—it seems to me that making all those games matter less isn’t a brilliant idea.
The wild-card format isn’t necessarily the worst thing ever. After all, the Giants had a better record over the regular season in ’93 than did the Phillies, for example. They had the second-best record in all of baseball, I believe. They won over 100 games. So something about them not getting in devalues the regular season just as much as allowing people who didn’t win their divisions in (and the Cardinals did win their division last year BTW).
The real problem here is the playoff format. It doesn’t even necessarily pit the best team against the worst team. Not only does it not seed the four based on record (and I can see the argument for making the wild card the automatic four seed, I guess), but the fact that teams from the same division aren’t allowed to face each other in the first round completely turns the whole thing into just a random pairing of games that have no bearing on record whatsoever.
The other thing is that the first round really needs to be a seven-game series. This would also give the better team a greater chance to win.
I also kind of like the idea of a play-in round between the two wild card teams, but they should at least try the seven-game series and actually seeding it first.
But having said all this, Selig doesn’t give a damn what any of us think. He’s trying to cater to the people who aren’t fans with his retarded playoff format and he thinks it gives him better ratings. And I guess his good ratings in the first two rounds outweigh the abysmal ratings in the World Series when two teams who have no business being there go up against one another.
I would just get rid of divisions altogether and have the best 4 teams in each league play in their respective playoffs.
Every team should play every other team in the same league the same amount. Nothing bores me more than having to play the same 4 division teams a million games a year. Plus it allows mediocrities like last year’s Cardinals to win a playoff berth by going .500 in a horrible division.
Same deal with interleague play. Either don’t have it or let every team play every other team in the other league. The NL teams that play the AL west this year have a distinct advantage over those that play the east or central. That’s dumb.
It would be nice to see the team break out the bats today. Late inning comebacks are exciting, but I’d rather win the old fashioned way: by a beatdown. 🙂
8 teams out of 30 make the playoffs. The regular season in baseball matters more than the ones in basketball and football.
Today’s Line-ups
San Diego
1. Marcus Giles 2B
2. Juan Cruz Jr LF
3. Brian Giles RF
4. Adrian Gonzalez 1B
5. Khalil Greene SS
6. Josh Bard C
7. Mike Cameron CF
8. Kevin Kouzmanoff 3B
9. David Wells P
Atlanta
1. Kelly Johnson 2B
2. Matt Diaz LF
3. Chipper Jones 3B
4. Andruw Jones CF
5. Jeff Francoeur RF
6. Brian McCann C
7. Chris Woodward SS
8. Craig Wilson 1B
9. Tim Hudson P
For the record, i’m not a fan of this line-up. I know he’s been hitting lately, but still, I wouldn’t put Woodward 7th.
But, in MLB, it’s not even the best 8 teams that always make it.
(2nd attempt)
Today’s Line-ups
San Diego
1. Marcus Giles 2B
2. Juan Cruz Jr LF
3. Brian Giles RF
4. Adrian Gonzalez 1B
5. Khalil Greene SS
6. Josh Bard C
7. Mike Cameron CF
8. Kevin Kouzmanoff 3B
9. David Wells P
Atlanta
1. Kelly Johnson 2B
2. Matt Diaz LF
3. Chipper Jones 3B
4. Andruw Jones CF
5. Jeff Francoeur RF
6. Brian McCann C
7. Chris Woodward SS
8. Craig Wilson 1B
9. Tim Hudson P
We have got to have freaking Edgar Renteria in the lineup! This Woodward[sucks] thing is driving me insane!
wilson and woody…the power outage continues
Not to look past today’s game but I was just looking ahead at our next series since we’ll have the back of our rotation pitching and decided to see who the Mets will face. They have the Brew Crew and have to face Suppan, Sheets and Capuano against the back of their rotation as well. Hopefully we can put a little run together here and Milwaukee continues its great play.
If any of you don’t fully appreciate the intelligence of Pete Van Wieren, take this from his “Diamond Notes” today. Pete’s topic is Bobby Cox’ assault on the ejection record. Point 1: He already has the most ejections “as a manager”. McGraw had 15 or so as a player. Point 2: There are 2 other active managers in the top 10: Torre and LaRussa.
Point Three is the kicker. After comparing leaders for ejections as umpires he talked about active umpires. One was in the top 10. (loosely) “Is it Bruce Froemming with 37 years? No. Is it whoever with 35 years? No. (after several) it is Bob Davidson with ___ ejections, 10th on the all time list after 21 years in the Majors”.
What a smooth and deadly slam of s jerk of an umpire and what a brilliant defense of Chipper and Bobby without a chance of MLB criticizing him for it. Smart man. What an announcer!
Pete has always been my favorite. Thanks for the post, Cliff. I am in favor of the DH. I like how the lineups change in the world series and I like the fact each league is different.
There we go Matt
The idea of Woodward leading off gives me a sudden case of diphtheria. Cox couldn’t give KJ the day off today, but if/when he does when Renteria is back to health, he ought to try Harris at the top of the order and place Woodward eighth (or seventh if Wilson is at first).
Well, Astros are already down 4 in the 1st, maybe I’ll listen to the Braves instead. 🙂
The DH sucks and really needs to go. Regardless, as long as the DH rule doesn’t infest the NL, I don’t care too much what the AL does with it.
Druw!
Joe Simpson: Andruw’s RBI was nice, but was it to the opposite field?
Solid start…
So far, so good. Let’s pour it on the fat man.
What’s Renty’s physical problem?
David Wells is getting owned.
McCann! We’re jumping on Wells early.
“What’s Renty’s physical problem?”
Renteria has the flu.
“McCann! We’re jumping on Wells early.”
You mean Francoeur, I think.
my mistake, that was Frenchy. I wasn’t paying attention, just figured McCann was hitting fifth, eventhough I posted the lineups.
A McCann home run here and you can change the “o” on “owned” to a “p.”
I guess Wells owned McCann there.
B-Mac’s in a slump.
renty has the flu
Huddy’s dealin
Wilson is one big disappointment.
71 mph… even Jamie Moyer laughed at that one
cheap padres hits… all of the three so far
good, keep wells running the bases.
That’s it, keep Wells out on the bases for a little bit longer. Devilishly clever, Mr. Hudson!
Jinx!
The Padres need some more pine tar.
Andruw fielded that like a gecko
C’mon, Timmy, now is not the time to revert to your ’05-’06 form.
Is it my imagination, or is Andruw not playing that great of a center field these days!
One of the few bad innings which Hudson has had this season. Given the way the Braves have hit in this series, keeping the Padres to two runs has become more important than it should be….
Don’t worry… Woodward will lead off the next inning.
Yeah–Woodward, Wilson and Hudson–a great way to get some runs back…actually sounds like a law firm
maybe druw is playing this way so boras will fire him.
Lets get some runs–what has happened to our bats in this series?
Another 3-2 win?
This ain’t going well.
Is someone hurt? My gamecast says “Injury Delay”.
Huddy’s been hit on the left hand on a comebacker but is okay.
That was convenient…
Thankfully that runner was going or that would have been a hit up the middle.
This is the tenth game of a ten-game homestand, and I believe that the Braves are yet to hit a home run during the homestand.
Sheesh, NOTHING goes out for the Braves anymore. The Padres can just bunt a homerun it feels like.
Last homerun apparently was Tuesday last week by Chipper (2). Can that be right?
Almost got one.
so close…
LAWL N00B!!
You be Bud Black… Do you walk Wilson?
Chip on Chris Woodward: “He really resembles Billy Bob Thornton.”
Thanks, Marcus.
We take all the help we can get…
Erm, Brian.
You know what’s weird? If a Martian landed on Earth in the last couple weeks, he would say, “Hey, Chris Woodward and Willie Harris appear to be acceptable Major Leaguers.”
FIRE CRAIG WILSON.
Wilson is beginning to remind me of Langerhans…
Darn it.
Wilson sucks!
That was a strike? Really?
You know what would be a good experiment with the strike zone trackers? Is the same pitch a strike 2-0 and 0-2? I think umpires are a lot less likely to call a third strike or third or fourth ball on a borderline pitch.
And Willie Harris’ amazing OBP skills never cease to amaze.
Kelly Johnson for president!
Willie Harris is the man…
Willie!!
Throwing home was stupid. There was no chance of getting Harris.
he can fly! KJ is awesome!
KJ!
Man, I love KJ.
Bada bing!
I’ve asked this before: What is this oh-oh-oh-oh-oh song they play now? I hear it at every sporting event.
KJ officially ended his slump.
KJ! NOthing better than watching the braves win from your desk at work.
Mac, play now? That song’s been around for a long time.
I don’t recall it being played constantly before. What is it?
Mac, at 80, I think it is Zombie Nation, but I’m not watching so I can’t be sure.
Couldn’t agree more, Landogarner. It sure makes the daily grind a lot more fun.
All I need is a beer and a hotdog and I could almost stand coming to work.
zombie nation are german
………..
Zombie Nation are awesome.
Spoke too soon…… argh
Hoo boy. Don’t let this be 2006 all over again.
If only there were SOMEONE other than Gonzalez and Soriano who could actually play this game a little.
“Kernkraft 400” is the song, Zombie Nation is the act.
It was a big club song several years ago.
Let’s not start this again. Come on Paronto.
At least he got out of it
Well there you go.
Hee hee! Way to go, big guy!
Wow, got out of that better than I thought we would. WOuldn’t have been any runs scored if not for that wild pitch.
It wasn’t pretty, but Paronto was not a disaster either–looking forward to Gonzo and Soriano…Nice to get some more runs first…
Let’s get those tack-on runs, boys.
Wow, Jeff stole a base, impressive!
Bobby starting to run more.
Frenchy–finally!
Bard has thrown out zero basestealers in 2007, out of 20 or so.
Uh-oh, Tyler Yates.
Coming into this series, I saw a stat where San Diego had only thrown out 3 of 36.
Why is Kali in the game?
I wonder if Yates will be on a short leash today.
Gonzo and Soriano have gone back-to-back nights. Had to see the potential for that move.
I hope so…
Yeah, it’s great we’re not hitting home runs, guys.
Idiots.
One out. Hopefully it’s the good Yates.
Fair enough, but Moylan was warming up…
since when is yates throwing that hard?
98 mph??! really?
It would be nice to save at least one big arm today.
Who comes in for the ninth?
Wow…Yates looking sharp
I’m starting to think Yates may be good….
wow.
Against the 7-8-9…
Still, I don’t see Bobby getting fancy.
I’d say Soriano.
I am guessing Soriano will pitch the ninth, unless we get a couple of runs, in which case Moylan would.
Why is Wilson in for Thor? He’s useless.
He reminds me of Huckleberry. Doesn’t show any emotions.
“Why is Wilson in for Thor? He’s useless.”
Because Bobby Cox still has his lefty-righty obsession. And probably because the Braves have two million invested in Craig Wilson.
Wee Willie….. Who is this guy and how long can he keep this up.
Cox could drop a bombshell and throw kevin barry out there. If rivera had pitched a couple of days in a row torre would bring in pettite to close it down, hahaha.
Hopefully we see soriano, the beast that hates all batters.
i’m with ya landogarner….Willie can’t keep this up, but I’m enjoying it while it lasts.
It’s kind of interesting how Langerhans gets traded and Diaz’s playing time goes down (although not seeing as many lefties lately has something to do with it i’m sure)
Willie Mays Hays from Major League…….. That’s exactly who he is…. base stealing and all. Coincidence? I think not!
Not to be alarmist, because C. Wilson has always struck out a lot, but in 66 PAs this year he’s struck out 23 times already (with 9 BB).
Wilson is probably a more accomplished first baseman, for what it’s worth, so you’d want him in the game late with a lead anyway. Neither is exactly Keith Hernandez.
COme on Soriano!
Henceforth Willie Harris shall be known as Willie Mays Hays.
*Hayes
Or Willie Mays Harris
One down….
That’s right, Cameron, don’t take any pitches. Try to hit a 2-run HR with nobody on base. Thanks.
Willie Mays Harris, good call.
Awwwww, I liked “Single Guy”
How about this:
Let’s just enjoy Willie now. Can’t we take any solace in that he is much better than Ryan Langerhans?
Frenchy fielding, fun to watch.
And Willie’s another Georgia guy on the team, too. Gotta like that.
One more, Senor Soriano…
Oh we are Sam, we are. We’re just wondering for how long he will be much better than Langerhans.
Game!
I love this team!
Hello first place…
It’ll take a hell of a slump for him to do that. All Willie has to do is slap balls for singles and play left field. I think he can do that.
The NY Metrosexuals are back where they belong: looking up at the Braves in the standings.
Heh heh heh, Metrosexuals.
Is that all? hehe /sarcasm off
I love the camaraderie on our team.
First place! How nice it is to have a bullpen this year….
Good Night from this part of the world…
Willie Mays Harris was born the same year as me and he went to Kennesaw State. I used to live in Kennesaw…. Coincidence? I think not!
Victory!
Metrosexuals?
C’mon, that’s not even an insult. It only means that they’re groomed & they dress well.
The thing is that Harris doesn’t seem to be slapping singles. He’s pulling the ball a lot.
So… if they pull a Ted Williams on him he’ll go into a huge slump?
I like New York Metaphors, though I don’t know what that means.