Today’s game thread video is dedicated to Chip Caray.
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Today’s game thread video is dedicated to Chip Caray.
Use code “Journal” for a 5% discount.
Oh you just went Sufjan on me.
Afternoon baseball followed by my birthday party tonight. Alright Braves, you CANNOT let me down on my birthday (you rarely do in recent years)..
My favorite Braves birthday game was in 2004. Expos @ Braves. Expos lead 6-3 in the ninth. Following an error and Eli Marrero one-out single, Furcal popped out. Two out. Nick Green homered with the Braves down to their final strike to tie the game, and one pitch later, JD Drew won it walk-off style with a shot of his own.
Do it again, kids.
Kyle Davies against Carlos Zambrano. Not good. Though the Cubs suck right now.
Wow….. I just listened to Earl Weaver’s manager corner recording where he just goes off on some fans. First time I have heard anything like that from a manager…
That was spectacular. I wish he’d come out of retirement and take over for bobby when he retires.
Zambrano sucked the last time we saw him, and Davies took the 8-6 win.
Nick,
McGuirk’s comments are very frustrating.
is it asking too much for Davies to go 2-0 vs Zambrano this year. Hopefully Soriano, Ramirez, and Lee’s bat will stay quiet
well the Might Thor has had 142 Ab’s this year and he’s posting this line .232 avg .262 obp.
When do we say that’s enough and try Salty there
I agree. Salty needs to be in our lineup everyday. Thor might need more seasoning in AAA.
And it would be nice if we could figure out a way to get Willie and Diaz in fulltime.
Happy birthday Wry’n (short for Wry One)!
Go Braves!
To recap the month, Braves ended at .500 which feels odd given that we took 5 series and lost 3 including being swept by Phi and going 1-3 vs the Notionals. Still, more than good enough to keep us in the race, after all, you can’t win the division in May, but you can lose it.
Looking ahead to June, starting of with the Cubs and Marlins, I’d like to see 7 wins in 10 games, cool off vs the Twins and Indians in their ballpark and the Sox back at home. Then hopefully finish strong against the Tigers, Nots and Marlins again. I would be happy to see 15-17 wins out of 27 tries this month. That should firmly put us in the WC drivers seat and set up the 2nd half run against the Mets.
Here is a nice video for your enjoyment:
If Chipper is still hurt, I would love to see Harris at 3rd and Diaz in left everyday. I mean they are both on FIRE!! Plus Harris adds that speed dimension to the line-up. In regards to Thor, when I see so many stars struggling out the gate, I say give him a little more wiggle room. Although I would also love to see Salty in there everyday, I also would like to see Thor get hot.
Speaking of offense…can someone tell me how the Giants expect to win with that offensive line-up they throw out? I agree with Armando Benitez…it sucks. Same with the Padres and the Diamondbacks; they don’t scare me either. Thank goodness Webb is going against the Mets tonite…maybe 3 runs will do it. Man the offenses in the National League are horrid. If you exclude the Mets, Braves, Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers, and sometimes the Marlins…you have garbage. Well Soriano gets on track and Lee stays healthy, I guess u could add the cubbies.
At the very least I think we should try a few games with Diaz at 1B and Harris in LF.
Why would you never let two of your hottest hitters play at the same time?
So is Chipper Jones playing today?
Ya know, this whole time we’ve been complaining about Bobby not using Salty to pinch hit because then we’d have no back-up catcher… couldn’t Chipper have been on the DL so we could call Pena up?
Would we rather send Pete Orr and Woodward as our late-inning, close-game pinch hitters while Chipper aches on the bench, than Pena and Salty in that situation?
Thorman’s just got to cut down on the Ks, and unfortunately, I don’t see this ever truly happening. But if he gets his rate down to 20% and starts walking a bit more, we could be talking about a decent ML player given his very real power.
Mac, that video is hilarious! Where did you find that anyway?
Happy Birthday Wryn! It is nice to have a Braves’ memory to go with it. Lets hope that you get another today….
Hey guys. I live in Houston and yesterday while listening to sports talk radio they began to discuss the dis-Astros need for offense. The first and only name mentioned was Salty. Their idea was to offer AA pitcher Troy Patton for him. From my understanding, he’s about all they have on the farm.
What would you guys think about this proposal? My first inclination is to say no way in hell, only proven Major League talent should be accepted but can the Braves really get that much for him? Personally, I don’t want to see Salty traded but it looks like the word is out and I’m sure that clubs have and will be looking to pry him away.
Maybe the day off will do Thorman some good…this is still the same guy that hit two bombs in Pittsburgh.
I agree with this Pena deal…now he is a solid hitter and in all reality he did nothing to justify been sent down, except he got hurt. I mean damn he’s a switch hitter too. Prado, Orr, or Woodward. One of them must go.
I just did a search for “Chicago” and it was that or “You’re the Inspiration”.
The Braves are not going to do that deal.
Rich Harden for Salty…is about all I see right now, anything else is unacceptable.
Note to Jayson Stark–for a truly overrated player take a look at Soriano of the Cubs. Jones will have a higher OPS at the end of the year than Soriano (he’s slightly behind now).
I still think that Thorman will be a pretty productive player. Thorman during the first half of 2007 is abit like LaRoche (with whom he was often compared) in 2004. Eventually, he became a very productive hitter–at least he was last year.
There is a very real chance that Thorman will become a productive hitter; there is no hard evidence that Salty will.
Now, I think Salty may have a great future, but he has much less of a track record that Thorman. A number of people screamed when Marte was traded for Renteria, but he has yet to prove he can hit big league pitching.
I would not want to trade Salty (unless the return was great), but it has to be said the he looks a lot now like Marte did two years ago….
Thorman’s never going to be great. What he can be is a servicable and cheap. I’m guessing that if he continues to play nearly everyday, as he is now, he’ll end up with numbers like .240 (ba) / .290 (obp), about 20-25 homers, and about 70-85 rbi’s, along with and ops of .740-.760. Not great numbers to be sure. But going into the season, that’s about what the forecasts called for. Next, year he’ll improve over this year. But he’s never going to be great.
Might Salty do better–sure. But if he struggles at first base or offensively, his trade value decreases significantly (especially after last year). His real trade value isn’t as a slugging first baseman; instead it is as a slugging catcher. So unless I’m sure that I want to hang on to him, I probably don’t start him everyday.
I love how we all get our prespectives all crazy on this board sometimes. Last post someone was talking about how we needed to trade for a REAL #3, so I went to check the stats assuming that James was up in the 4.50+ area… but he’s got a 3.86 ERA. I know his WHIP and etc etc kind of sucks, but 3.86? That’s pretty damn good for a #3. But the argument that you know, we have no #5 and Davies sucks… yeah that’s a good one too.
And who would have thought that Renteria and Kelly are outslugging and out-OBPing McCann, Francoer, and Andruw. I watch/listen/pay attention to every game, and I don’t know that I’d have guessed that. I must miss all of McCann’s bad games.
How likely you guys this it is that we trade Pena for a decent arm? I’m still very, very hesitant to trade Salty. I don’t think anyone has said it, but McCann, while very good by appearances, only has one almost-full season of excellent play. I think we’d be better suited keeping them both and giving them enough days off and pinch hits and 1B play and so on so they both wind up with around 450 AB’s or so.
I concur that it’s not yet time to give up on Thorman. Keeping Orr and Prado is a waste (Woodward would be too but he can play SS), especially since Harris can also play 2B and 3B. Since Orr can pinch run and it’s still possible that Prado will improve if he plays everyday at Richmond, I’d keep Orr over Prado for now but not beyond this season.
Stephen, I understand what you’re saying, but I think there’s a difference. Every time Marte has faced major league pitching, he’s looked overmatched. Salty has looked relatively comfortable at the plate, showing impressive plate discipline and an equally adept stroke. He’s already our best hitter off the bench, and he has almost as many walks as strikeouts.
Why not give the kid a chance to play a little bit?
Another Alex R.–I think that Salty should play some (or go to Richmond where he might play everyday) and I believe that he will be better than Marte; I guess that I am resisting the idea that he will automatically be an improvement over Thorman. Basically, I like both players–but they are young and need time to develop.
I believe Soriano was on Stark’s Top 10 Most Overrated Players list.
And we wouldn’t trade Salty for a minor leaguer. It would have to be somebody (most likely a third starter) that could help us right now.
I personally wouldn’t be against trading him, but given McGuirk’s ridiculous philosophy, which I highlighted in the previous thread, I would be shocked if it happens. I wouldn’t be surprised if we package off some less sought-after players for a starting pitcher, but it won’t be Salty, because obviously the fans don’t want us to win, they want to watch the “young talent” while we finish around .500.
I guess it was pretty late in the last thread, so for those of you wondering what I’m talking about, here is the link and my comments:
Oh, and I don’t know how many people have seen this:
http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/sportscolumns/entries/2007/05/31/braves_must_fix.html
I’m not really interested in Mark Bradley’s opinion, but what I am interested in in that column is McGuirk’ s bullshit.
Perhaps someone should remind him that we had a team entirely filled with young players that sucked uncontrollably until we signed some free agents and traded for some veterans in ‘91.
Perhaps someone should also point out to him that no team ever wins a championship without dabbling in the free agent and/or trade market at least a little.
I seriously hope that’s the bullshit excuse he’s required to spin for our payroll restraints, because if that’s his actual philosophy, I’m starting to wish Liberty Media had axed him and thrown in a lackey of their own.
“Free agency is so inefficient’? What the hell does that even mean? Perhaps you’ve noticed that we haven’t been anywhere near as good since we stopped signing free agents? Because I have.
If there is a correlation between attendance and all the local kids, it’s because sports fans in Atlanta are idiots (speaking as someone who was born here and who’s lived here almost all my life) and think that a professional sports team should be comprised entirely of players from their college or from the immediate area. (Georgia fans who think the Falcons should sign all Georgia players are the most annoying and overzealous in this regard.) So if he’s trying to build a championship team on what the fans think they want, we are utterly, utterly screwed.
At least McGuirk’s apparent fixation on “young talent” hasn’t kept us from trading for veterans here and there over the last several years, and I’m sure that eventually Schuerholz will hold a gun to his head and tell him that we are trading for a third starter, because Scheurholz isn’t a kiss-ass and will do what he thinks needs to be done. But God help us if McGuirk’s still around when Schuerholz and Cox leave.
joshtothemaxx, while your idea sounds good to most people top notch mlb players have one position and thats what they want. I have talked to BMac many times about moving positions and it’s something he won’t do, nor should he. At least not at this point in his career. He wants to be one of the best catchers to play the game and moving to 1B, even only for a couple games is something he isn’t wanting to do. So basically toss that idea out the window.
If the braves keep Salty he should be given a perminant position b/c he’s too good to be a backup catcher. If they aren’t willing to do that then move him for a piece of the puzzle.
James isn’t a good #3 because he’s an inefficient pitcher who struggles to throw more than about five innings a start. The Braves need to get innings from someone other than Smoltz and Hudson, especially when they’re pitching back-to-back as they are now. By the time Smoltz’s turn comes up again the bullpen is a shambles.
Trading Salty at all right now is insane unless you get some crazy deal like Dontrelle Willis AND Miguel Cabrera for Salty, Davies, and some random minor leaguer or two.
Thorman will be better than he has shown so far this year eventually. But Salty has looked great at the plate and if he’s at all capable of handling first defensively, the team would be better off with Thorman learning plate discipline in Richmond while Salty plays full time in the majors with Pena backing up McCann and Woodward looking for new employment.
Hey Ron, D-Train for Salty straight up would be a deal for Atlanta.
Smoltz, Hudson, D-Train, James, and Davies/Cormier. Now thats a rotation that can win it all!
I don’t think McGuirk’s comments are BS. For a team with a $85m or so payroll, tying up big money is a few players is highly risky. I’d much rather see the Braves take the McCann strategy–overpay him a bit (relative to baseball’s collective bargaining rules not relative to his productivity) during his early years in exchange for buying out his arbitration years and a free agent year–than the Cubs strategy of this past winter. Of course, it’s a false dichotomy to say all free agents or all homegrown talent, but I think a smart strategy is to rely primarily on cheap, young players supplemented by some free agents.
Re local talent–it probably does give a small boost to attendance, but the word talent is more important than the word local. Fortunately for the Braves, GA is talent rich.
A final thought about free agents: Players peak at age 29 or so. This is roughly when many players are first eligible for free agency so signing players at this point gets players who are beginning to decline (and probably becoming more injury prone). They may have some good seasons left, but a 5 year contract for 29 yr old player is a big risk.
It’s true that James burdens the pen, but I think quibbling over whether James is or isn’t a #3 misses the point. Other than the fifth starter who can be skipped on some off days, all starters pitch the same number of games. (The playoffs are different obviously.) Whether one thinks of James as #3 or #4 or even #5, it remains true that the Braves could use another starter. It’s also true that the person bumped from the rotation would not be James–it would be Davies or Carlyle (who may be headed out if reports on Cormier are correct).
James is still young and he was solid last year. I still believe that potential is still there. That being said, he is still right now a solid #4. But it’s still early. Last year he was right behind Smoltz as our most reliable pitcher. Honestly if we can’t get a Harden or a Capuano or even Robertson from Detroit for Salty…then I say wait.
On McCann, let’s not forget he was on fire until he got hit on the hand. I think he will always be a really good hitter. He maybe a little chubby, but Mike Scocia was chubby his whole career and he was really good.
Thor I have a feeling will be ok. I mean he is not Prince Fielder, but I think he will be ok.
I don’t think McGuirk’s comments are BS
Me neither. There are a few teams that have money to burn and we are not one of them. Finding quality young players and buying out their arbitration years is the only way we can hang with free spenders like the Mets.
Sure it would be great if we could splurge on an occasional big ticket free agent, but those deals are highly risky and seem just as likely to cripple your budget as they do to push you over the top.
Lineup
Johnson
Harris
Renty
McCann
Jones
Francouer
Thorman
Orr
Davies
Sorry guys, I’ll play eventually.
Giants just traded Armando Benitez:
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-marlins-giantstrade&prov=ap&type=lgns
I wish that they had gotten rid of him before he handed that game to the Mets….
Is he on the DL yet?
Is he on the DL yet?
Why would we do that? You think using 4 of our 25 roster spots on infielders who can’t hit is hurting us?
And if you read between the lines, I think he’s saying (or what I hear anyway is), “We don’t need to go trade for another starter…we have people in the minors. We don’t need to sign or trade for a quality CF next year after Andruw leaves, we can just shuttle Francoeur over there and have both Harris and Diaz in our starting outfield or some such shit.”
I’m not saying that we should adopt a Yankees policy or anything, but we do not have a chance this year of winning a championship as currently constituted. We’re better than last year, but we still need some more pieces, and to see him talking about revenues instead of doing whatever it takes to win just really pissed me off.
The thought had crossed my mind, Robert.
Diaz, Frenchy and Willie in our outfield?
SIGN ME UP!
I’ve read McGuirk’s comments 3 times now. I don’t like them. He panned the free agent system, but the Braves are perfectly willing to try a “cheap” free agent for a million or two. They’ll even pay for relief pitcher free agents, but didn’t get it right with DANNY and R**stma.
No, the whole notion that they decided to “go with youth and hustle” for the last four or five years is a smirky way of saying we think we’re smart enough to develope our own. Good for you, Terry! By the way, that 4 or 5 years equals 4 quick outs in the playoffs followed by a didn’t even make .500.
It may not be BS, but I sure smell something!
Unknown,
1. Salty has proven he can handle MLB pitching for a catcher. His minor league stats say this is for real.
2. Unknown and some other people with the Braves are apparently concerned way too much about McCann’s feelings. They and McCann need to be concerned more with his career. He needs the alternative day first base / catch with Salty to extend his own career. No catcher can stand consistently getting 600 PA’s. He will collapse. His offense will drop like a rock by the time his current contract with the Braves runs out if he catches 130 games a year, but if he catches 81 and plays first for 75, he will still be a prime offensive force.
3. Salty’s arm is WAY better than McCann’s.
4. The pitching trade that could help this year (don’t know about McGuirk’s money limits) would be to get Buehrle from the White Sox. ESPN rumors reports Buehrle (and Jermaine Dye)is being shopped and they want back young talent.
Danny and Reitsma were both acquired in trades. Admittedly, the Braves didn’t give up anyone who looks likely to have a significant career (Capellan still has a chance but is suffering from Milledge’s Disease and needs to get over himself).
Guess anybody who isn’t feeling good today should play the Chip Caray drinking game…
Kolbbbbb and Sh!tsma did come via trades but I’d rather have them (and washouts like Redman and Wilson) than to have flops like Pavano, Jaret Wright, and Hampton (oops we have him 🙂 ). An unsuccessful gamble on these types doesn’t handcuff the team for 5 years as does the Hampton contract.
His offense will drop like a rock by the time his current contract with the Braves runs out if he catches 130 games a year, but if he catches 81 and plays first for 75, he will still be a prime offensive force.
The Dodgers did something like this when they first discovered Paul LoDuca. They would stick him at first or the outfield to save his knees and keep his bat in the lineup. Worked pretty well (except that Chad Krueter was the backup catcher and he didn’t hit at all). It’s true LoDuca was more athletic than McCann. For a team with no firstbaseman and a strong second catcher it would seem like a good experiment, but we don’t really try stuff like this.
Bobby loves Keith Lockhart doesn’t he…what is with with below average players who “hustle”? Do they have a choice but to hustle? Lockhart?…oops I mean Orr.
Chipper to the DL, Escobar up.
Sheesh–another infielder. It should have been Pena so Cox would be free to use Salty as a pinch hitter. No pop at all on the bench.
With the possibility that Chipper was going on the DL and with the off day, why wouldn’t they bring in Escobar today, just in case? At least he could have started at 3B today instead of Orr.
Not concerned about anyone’s feelings, just telling you why it won’t happen. McCann doesn’t want to play any other position than catcher now. He’s 23 not 30, if he was 30 I could see your point but thats way down the road.
KJ! Nice start.
At least this infielder doesn’t suck, unlike the others, and maybe when Chipper comes back Prado or Orr will get the shaft. Woodward is too much to ask for, I’m afraid.
However, I agree with Frank. We could have just gotten rid of Orr and brought up Escobar and Pena. Then, Salty could play some games and 1B and Escobar could fill in for Chipper until he comes off the DL.
McCann gets it started….
So basically when Chipper is injured Andruw is amazing. Maybe we should resign Andruw and trade Chipper to the Tigers at the deadline 😉
Four infielders? That’s ridiculous…either Orr or Prado have to go and Salty up….no pop at all off the bench or speed.
I am surprised that the Braves did not do this earlier. In any case, Escobar can rake the ball and by all accounts brings an attitude to the game. I am looking forward to seeing him play….
Four infielders?
…and they all have an OPS less than Lil Tony.
Hopefully Escobar can bust through the Lil Tony line, current set at .265/.295/.354
No beef about Escobar if he replaced Orr or Prado, but don’t see any point in having another infielder.
Robert–I agree: what makes me mad is that we kept Orr signed Woodward and then had to move Pena Jr. While Pena Jr. is not exactly ripping the seams off the ball, he is showing that he is on his way to becoming a productive player–which is what I think he will become.
Of course, he can do much more with the glove than either Orr or Woodward….
Whew.
Hey why not a 5th–l’il Johnny is next in line. Sorry, just couldn’t help myself.
Our bench: Lotsa versatility, very little talent.
Nice effort, Sori. Thor!
KLB–I agree that it’s poor planning not to have Escobar in Chicago today. Maybe there’s more to the story.
Bring up Pena, send down Orr… bring up Pena, send down Orr… bring up Pena, send down Orr…
Or, better yet, just trade him for Jorge Sosa.
The Willie Harris juggernaut continues.
Dunno if anyone mentioned it, but Smoltz’s start has been moved back to Tuesday’s DH vs. Florida.
http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/braves/stories/2007/06/01/0601chipper.html
At this point I think it’s safe to assume the Harris’ contract for this season was signed in blood.
The local radio station just interrupted the game in the middle of an AB to go to a call-in show.
I hope it was about Bama football.
Interesting or useless stat of the day–the top 4 NL teams for OPS are in the Eastern Div (Mets, Phillies, Marlins, Braves–ranked 1-4). The Nats are dead last, over 100 OPS pts behind the other 4 teams.
It’s a good sign for the Braves that even with Chipper missing games and Thorman and AJ struggling that they are only 8 OPS points behind the league leaders. Of course, the Mets would point out that Delgado has struggled etc.
No Chip–it’s not so much that Davies is making good pitches (he’s pitching ok)–he’s just been lucky that the two hardest hit balls were right at Renteria and Johnson.
Also, Frank, the Cubs suck so it’s easy to make good pitches to them.
UBubba, of course it’s about Alabama football. It’s also June 1. And there’s an actual sporting event that they could cover. I’m just glad college baseball is over, I was tired of PING!
So Chipper now thinks he has ligament damage in his wrist? I hope he doesn’t need surgery.
Really knocked the shit outta that one, Orr.
Jeremy, I’m watching on Gamecast… what happened on Orr’s single?
Now let’s see some of that blazing Orr speed. That’s his whole purpose of being on the team isn’t it?
Yeah that AP story sounds pretty grim. We might not see Chipper for a good long while.
8 hits and 1 run, need more than this
Now everyone except Frenchy has a hit.
I remember being in Atlanta during the 1996 WS. It was the day after the Leyritz HR & call after call into the crappy local sports station was about SEC football.
You’d think the WS game hadn’t happened. It was the most bizarre thing I’d ever heard.
ADVENTURES IN FIELDING–AROD MUST HAVE BEEN CALLING HIM OFF!
AAR,
It was about a 78 hopper through the hole between 2nd and 1st. It might be the weakest single I’ve ever seen.
Wow, the Cubs suck.
Thank you, o’ lovable Cubbies.
Another misplay & Zambrano’s head is going to pop right off.
what happened?
You know, the Cubs, give ’em one thing: year-in year-out, they are consistent.
Another good pitch, eh Chip?
We are on a pace to score 3 runs on 18 hits. That would be a funny looking line score.
I have a feeling all these runners we’ve stranded are gonna come back and bite us in the ass.
Keep your head, Kyle.
Odd question–Stockman has only pitched in 5 games at Richmond. Is he hurt?
yeah I’ll take 4 innings of 1 run ball from Davies. He’s still under 70 pitches, hopefully he can get us into or through the 7th
I sure do like double plays. Unless we hit into them.
Six innings is all we should ask of Davies today.
More baserunners. Maybe, just maybe, we can turn them into a run?
need to break it open here
Nice try butter-mittens. No ifs, ands, or buts about it – this kid has it all!
FRENCHY!!
That’s my boy. Really needed that.
Wow, it must suck to be a Cub’s fan…
Frenchy!!
Up comes the mighty Orr …
That was just a stupid call to try to bring Frenchy home.
Damn, Frenchy looked slooooow…
we need more
Snitker isn’t very good at his job is he?
Being a Cubs fan is like a nightmare you can’t wake up from.
I love the Bad News Cubs.
Wait… Orr single?
Ogg not understand!
TheCubs….there is an order to the universe….
The Cubs are like Michael Jackson–they wear a glove on one hand for no reason.
Resolved: Davies should be a pinch-hitter before Orr or Woodward.
Kyle “Babe” Davies.
This is really fun!
Stick a fork in Zambrano–he’s done, though he deserves better.
More 2-out RBIs.
Wow. I’m not sorry at all that this is happening, but wow.
Who looks worse in their contract year, Andruw or Zambrano. The Cubs somehow look good by not giving him his big payday so far
Can we get 2 more decent innings out of Davies here?
I’d say Zambrano looks a lot worse now. Punching your catcher is the sort of thing that gets remembered.
Did anyone see the scrap in the Cubbies dugout?
Snitiker really got let off the hook there. Agressive base running is all well and good, esp against a minor league arm outfield, but Soriano had the ball before Frenchy had gotten to 3rd. Just not a smart gamble in what was then still a closeish game.
And the cubs turn on each other, life is good.
Wow, sucks for the cubs but I can’t say we don’t need some easy series.
Has there ever been a fight in the braves dugout? I can’t remember one.
Sheesh–more good pitches from Davies–a 4 pitch walk with a 6 run lead. The Braves are 4th in NL in walks so this is same ol, same ol.
scored 5 and had someone thrown out at the plate, good job boys keep it up
Why wasn’t Zambrano or the catcher wearing microphones? That was awesome.
Seems that Barrett and Zambrano should wear gloves on both hands.
I am glad that Moylan is warming up….
Glad to see Ward retired–I am still irked that we traded for him last year when the Braves had no real chance to make the playoffs….
Oh wow, I missed the fisticuffs…nice catch by Frenchy btw.
The improbable development of Peter Moylan from Aussie schlub into dependable fireman is one of the most baffling things about 2007. But I’m happy it’s happening.
what happened between Barrett and Zambrano
I can’t blame Zambrano. If Barrett had just held onto the ball the inning might not have gotten out of hand, and Lord knows the team isn’t giving him a whole lot of support today.
aar,
enjoy it while you can
And apparently Zambrano got in a good blow or two, Hill is now catching.
Now Barrett has fought the White Sox catcher & his own pitcher.
Sorry, but Barrett isnt throwing the meatballs up there for everyone to hit either
Take a swig–there goes Joe on going the other way.
RBI #41 for Frenchy. Not bad for 2 months.
Does the Barrett-Zambrano scuffle mean we’ll see a Piniella tirade soon? Seems long overdue.
I like this Francouer guy. Good for you, Smurph.
Well, that’s what Barrett was saying…
Frecnhy’s got things figured out again. Good for him!
Beltran out of the Mets lineup. He bruised his knee in a collision at 1B last night. Day to day, no DL.
By the way, I know a lot of people were saying we should trade for Murton, but… I don’t see it.
I hadn’t realized this was Zambrano’s 26th birthday. He’ll probably get a suspension as a present.
Memo to everyone on this board who thinks it’s a good idea for us to sign Zambrano…
I have to disagree with you a bit, Mac. Zambrano is the one who is physically incapable of doing anything but throw batting-practice fastballs whenever the tiniest thing goes wrong. We were just shelling him all day. As Barrett seemed to be saying, we got 13 hits. Surely those are all on Zambrano (save for the one in the first that was ridiculously ruled a hit, so I’ll put 12 on Zambrano).
If he’s gonna pitch for the Cubs, he has to learn to pitch through the ridiculous inadequacies of his defense. Otherwise, perhaps he should pitch somewhere where the team has a basic Little League understanding of how to play defense.
I do see why he was upset, but the way to handle it is how Hudson did the other day with McCann. I think Hudson knew that wild pitch was largely McCann’s fault, and you could tell he was pissed about it, but when asked about it, he put the blame on himself, and in the dugout when McCann was apologizing, you could see Hudson saying, “My fault.” Compare that with starting a freaking intrasquad brawl.
Turns out Barrett wasn’t even supposed to catch Zambrano. Henry Blanco was, but Ol’ Hank is hurting so Barrett took his place. Maybe it’s a good thing Maddux and Javy didn’t have to work together…
nick, great observation about the Hudson/McCann pb. That was spot on.
Babe Orr gets 2 hits then gets yanked for Woodward who promptly fouls out. Where’s the justice?
Someone get Davies a first baseman’s glove…
LOL…perhaps we should bat Davies cleanup.
Wow… memo to Bobby Cox: Kyle Davies is a better pinch hitter than Pete Orr, Chris Woodward, or Martin Prado.
AAR beat me to it, so…ditto.
Kyle Davies is doing his Mike Hampton immitation today.
Re: Hudson/Zambrano
I look at it like Mr. White from “Reservoir Dogs”: “You’re supposed to act like a f-ing professional.”
Davies 3-4, 6IP 6H 1ER, we have ourselves today’s MVP
Wow, 17 hits today.
make it 18
Make that 18.
Edgar Renteria is doing his Derek Jeter imitation this season.
Big D, I beat both of you (#118). But that’s alright.
seriously, lets save some hits for tomorrow
Edgar was 4/5 Wednesday and he’s 3/4 today. He’s blazing.
Brian, it’s true, I stole from you. But the point was certainly worth making again.
True. Given the amount of playing time Pradorrwood have gotten, it can’t be said enough.
Glad Escobar’s been called up. Not glad to see the Tulowitzki UTP again.
Yeah, how impressive has Edgar been recently. I’m sure freaking Jose Reyes will start ahead of him in the All-Star Game, and when that happens, I’ll be somewhat pissed.
Davies at 97 pitches before this inning, lets dont leave him out there too long. If he gets in any trouble, pull him
To add to the discussion, maybe the Braves should play Escobar at short and Renteria at 3rd.
If we can get Davies through this inning while keeping a fat lead, that’ll be a terrific effort from him.
He’s inconsisent as hell, but 2 of the last 3 have been very good—not to mention the batwork.
Awesome game, Kyle. Your place in this rotation is secure.
Whoo! If Kyle could pitch like this 2 out of every 3 starts, honestly, I’d be happy.
Chip and Joe were just talking about playing Escobar at third. They didn’t know if he’s played any third in the minors, though. Perhaps somebody who follows what goes on in Richmond could help us out here.
And yes…great game from Kyle. After he got through the fifth, he’s been completely unhittable.
This Davies and James makes our rotation better than average. Its a promising sign! We just need Cormier or Carlyle to give us good outings out of the #5 spot. Just keep Davies away from the Phillies
If Escobar does play 3rd and with Harris in the OF that gives us good speed
When was the last time we went through an entire game without striking out once? (Of course now we’re gonna get the side struck out in the ninth because I said that.)
I laugh everytime I see Moylan’s mug on Gameday. Looks like he’s asleep.
Nick,
From what I can find he’s a shortstop but he can play both third and second. Rotoworld says he’s going to get most of the starts at third while Chipper is out. And I could’ve sworn seeing him playing some at third in Spring Training.
http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_main.aspx?sport=MLB&id=4268
From http://www.minorleaguesplits.com, it appears that Escobar played 35 games at 3B last year at MS, 2 games at 3B in the AFL, but no games at 3B at Richmond.
On Gameday, Moylan looks like Mr. Magoo.
Moylan’s pitching like Mr. Magoo, too.
Looks like a fan jumped on the field…the camera guy didn’t know who to focus on, hahaha
Can’t make it easy, can we?
oh, it’s still over. Yes it is.
Can we get 4 outs before we give up 4 runs?
looks like an infield single and an error on KJ, what happened there?
you’re not going to hear this often, but Moylan deserved better. Not much, but a little.
At least we can keep picking on Matt Murton.
That was our impression of the Cubs defense.
who is warming up?
Yates & Wickman.
Wickman was up, but I couldn’t make out the other guy.
I think this may have been discussed before in another situation, but why is Moylan not charged at least one ER for the run that Ramirez scored?
David Wright out of the Mets lineup tonight also—back spasms.
Hey, 19 hits today—a season high.
is it because the inning should have been over by the time he hit it out?
Also, KJ is mashing the ball this aft, mashing it I tell you.
Yep, inning was extended by the error.
Looks like Zambrano did not throw pitch Barret expected. Runner was on second so signs were changed. Catching an unexpected pitch is tough and Barret had time to get Thorman but it is tough to throw to third while sliding to left
What’s going on….I’m on lousy yahoo sports, but it still has Moylan facing Murton
Twenty hits, nice.
Woodward struck out, Diaz (pinch-hitting for Moylan) grounded out. KJ singled, then Willie Harris singled.
It’s 8-4, top 9, runners on corners, Edgar hitting, 2 outs.
Drat. I always like padding a lead.
Leave it to Pradorrward to ruin the no strikeouts thing.
KJ and Harris both 3-6, Edgar still tearing it up. Maybe this June will be better, Kyle got his ERA under 5. Do we need to ask for anything else today, lets dont get greedy I guess
It’s a stupid rule — the guy hit a home run, what’s unearned about that? — but that’s the rule. I will try to keep my complaints about it to a minimum in the future.
I wonder what the would be the all-time lowest run total for a 20-hit game. It strikes me that 8 runs is a pretty small number for having 20 hits.
Anyone know how to check that?
Oh, and Angel Pagan (the guy who’s batting for the Cubs right now) is a really, really funny name.
A bit more interesting than necessary, but great win. Now will TBS actually broadcast Piniella’s news conference?
Thank you, Cubs, thank you.
I get the distinct feeling Wickman wasn’t too happy with that performance.
According to ESPN…the Braves have left 24 runners on base. I guess that would explain 20 hits and only 8 runs. Plus there were no homers. Thor and Druw one hit each…was hoping for better. But the the three amigos, KJ, Willie and Edgar…I mean damn what more can you say?
big lead, throw strikes. Nothing to be too worried about.
Braves had 13 LOB today.
Ok 24 did sound like a lot…Great win though!!
Well, we beat ’em, and that’s what counts.
I agree Kruger, but he was standing on the mound for several minutes yelling obscenities at himself. McCann was standing there next to him waiting for him to stop so that he could shake his hand.
If anyone has MLB.com, you can listen to Piniela’s comments on the Cubs station, WGN.
It should be on soon.
Nick, you’re right and I don’t mind at all Wick being upset with himself. Any good pitcher would be, but I’ll bet Bobby is pleased.
Even though it’s tough to shake the feeling from last year, i.e. I just want this game over already, this still had a better feel to it all round.
If you can’t get the feed. Lou is saying they got into it again inside the clubhouse.
I luv Zambrano’s fire…he could play for me everyday. He still has the stuff, he just needs to get out of that hellhole in Chicago.
Um…if you say so, Tony. I say he’s a complete asshole who will never escape his penchant for exploding if the tiniest thing goes wrong. There’s a difference between fiery and batshit insane.
When everything goes right, he’s one of the top five pitchers in the league, without question, but how often is that gonna happen, and how many pitchers could we say that about. (Although I will call Zambrano the best “if everything goes right” pitcher in baseball, if that means anything…which it doesn’t.)
Ok Nick…u have some valid points, but I still like the guy.
On a more positive note, if Kyle can continue like this and Chuck James(Bitch!!!) can remember what he did last year…I think the Braves are onto something.
The one area where we will really miss Chipper…is that consistent long ball threat. Until Andruw gets it turned around, we don’t have that. With his new approach, which is a good, Francouer HR power seems to have decrease. The McCann injury has diminished his power. And Thor has to make contact on a consistent basis. But hey, it’s a long season.
Derrick Lee is an absolute beast at the plate. When he is healthy, a consistent .350 hitter.