ESPN – Braves vs. Twins Box Score, June 13 2007 – MLB
So in the first inning, KJ reached and got to second on a grounder, only to get himself thrown out at third trying to steal. In the bottom of the inning, the Twins got two runs, the second, unbelieveably, on a two-out bunt single.
In the second inning, Chipper (back in the lineup at last) and Andruw singled to start it off. However, the next three Braves made outs — on a total of five pitches. In the bottom of the inning, the Twins got another run on a solo homer.
In the third inning, Escobar and KJ singled to start it off, only to have Harris hit into a double play to kill the rally opportunity. In the bottom of the inning, the Twins got a two-run homer and a solo shot to basically end the game.
Chuck James had a terrible game, as you can see, and didn’t make it out of the fifth. The bullpen was near-perfect, but it didn’t do a whole lot of good… Chipper was 3-4, but the two hitters in front of him (Harris and Renteria) were each 0-4, which kept him from having any RBI chances.
The Braves are officially pathetic. Considering that the Nationals (whom everyone on this site mocks)took 2 of 3, including beating Santana, last week in Minnesota, and are 19-12 compared to the Braves 11-19, it seems that we are, for the time being, one of the worst teams in the NL, if not baseball. The Mets may be even worse but who cares? The fact that the Braves are still in contention shows how pitiful the NL is.
I wish I knew what the problem is. I still think that, as bad as the starting pitching has been, it would be better if the Braves could actually put some runs up. These guys are having to pitch under enormous pressure knowing that giving up anything will likely be the ballgame. And we aren’t talking about Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz of the 90s who could pitch that way. I’m sure Chuckie James, like Davies yesterday, is trying to overthrow to make every ptich perfect because he knows the Braves can’t score runs.
And the problem is not Chris Woodward and Pete Orr. The problem is guys that get paid a lot and aren’t doing anything–not just Andruw, but, let’s face it, he is a large part of the problem. I think Andruw has already cost himself a lot of money even if he recovers and has a good second half. Teams are going to be very skeptical about laying out Vernon Wells-type money for a guy who is struggling so much at the plate.
I’m still playing the optimism card. No idea why though. It just seems like this team has been extremely unlucky as of late when it comes to 1) stringing anything together, and 2) getting both decent hitting AND pitching on any night. I didn’t get to watch the game last night, but anytime you get 8 hits and 0 runs, that’s gotta be bad luck.
It’s really tough to watch this team knowing that if we win a game pitched bt our 4th or 5th starter, then I’ll feel like we really pulled something off.
All it’ll take is a hot streak by Andruw, a healthy-ish Chipper, and non-negative contribution by Thor and I think they’ll turn it around soon enough.
The most frustrating thing about this latest run of games is that the Mets are 2-10 in June and we can’t capitalize. They are not going to continue to play like this. They will get better with Pedro coming back and you know that they will pull off a big trade. We have got to take advantage of their stumbling right now.
The way I see it, rur fortunes hinge almost completely on the Jones boys being healthy and productive, and the starting rotation not digging an early hole more than once every five days (trying to be realistic). The rest of our lineup, as well as the bullpen, is good enough to get to postseason.
“our fortunes” – sorry
yep, my guess is the Mets also get Zambrano, he and Pedro will be hard for us to match. Alou, who is 94, will also come back at some point. We have no one coming back, this is what we got
I would feel a lot less pessimistic if we didn’t have 10 more games with the Twins, Indians, Tigers, and Red Sox (and facing both Santana and Sabbathia and, probably Becket, Schilling, and Dice K). If the Braves can go, say 4-6 in that stretch, they will probably be ok, but I’m afraid it might be 2-8. On the other hand, to be an optimist, the Braves were 24-12 through the first 36 games and are 11-19 through the last 30.
This is part of our problem…
“You’ve got to hit a few long balls in this ballpark,” Cox said. “It’s too easy to hit them and we didn’t come close tonight.”
We dont need to hit long balls. We just need to quit strinking out and we need to start making good contact and start hitting some balls in the gap
The twins have learned to manufacture runs in their park. They have one of the weakest lineups, but they have figured out how to win. It may be time for a players meeting and get this thing going again
Well that was rough. Seems Chucky just couldn’t keep the ball in the park. Hopefully Huddy will have better luck tonight.
Also, while it’s depressing how few runs we’re scoring, the fact that we’re getting the opportunities is important. I mean, how many bad days have Renteria and Harris had? Like 10? Combined?
Oh well. Figured we’d have the best shot against Silva. Let’s try to take Santana down to avoid the sweep.
Also, I don’t know why people complain about the ‘pen. Moylan has been awsome all year, and McBride is doing okay lately. Even Villareal has been rather solid.
I think its time to put Davies in AAA and give Villareal a shot. Moylan has been great in the long relief role and I dont think anyone here can complain about him at this point. McBride has only walked 2 since his return. He’s been good, its sad our pen is this good, but we cant get to them with a lead
Maybe we will have some success tonight–in a given game anything can happen.
That said, Hudson worries me as much as James. The ‘good Hudson’ (early 2005 +2007)has not been see lately. Hard to know that the problem is, but I am afraid that he is headed to being a league average pitcher. If he were our #5 starter instead of #2 it probably wouldn’t matter.
And, of course, I agree with most of what has been said here: the Braves are vastly underpowered.
With inconsistent starting pitching and weak hitting, it is hard to win 3 in a row or 4 out 5.
Nonetheless, the fact that despite about 5 weeks of terrible baseball, the Braves remain competitive is grounds for optimism….
I disagree. We’ve got a lineup full of guys that can hit it out and in a small park you have to take advantage of that. Shoot, we had runners on base all night. If one guy steps up and hits the ball hard, its a whole different ball game. And if Chipper is going to bat 4th we are going to need more than seeing eye singles from him. Glad to have him on base but you see what 8 singles gets you… absolutely nothing. There are guys whose job it is to put the ball in play and guys whose job it is to hit the ball into another area code. Singles guys get on base for RBI guys. Thats how the game works (ESPECIALLY WHILE WE’RE USING A DH!!)Guys just need to do their job so we don’t have to rely on davies, james, and carlyle to pitch like John Smoltz.
The bullpen has pitched well. One of the things which is at once impressive and quite telling is that the Braves have not missed Mike Gonzalez. Wickman and Soriano are getting plenty of rest….
Guys, chill out. The Braves have 2/3 of a season left to start turning things around. No this isn’t looking like last year, because they havent been getting swept for 3 straight series. The Braves always go through a stretch like this and eventually come out of it ok.
They got about 100 games left to make up TWO GAMES in the standings.
Kind of hard to make up 2 games when you are playing .300 ball. The Braves are very lucky the Mets are stinking even worse or Atlanta would already be buried with no chance of winning the division.
The Braves had their chances last night but didn’t take advantage. I have no idea what Kelly was thinking trying to steal third. With Chipper back, the lineup should come around in a few days. I’d like to see Francoeur get a full day off or at least be limited to pinch hitting. He seems to have gone back to his bad style of swinging at every first pitch and popping or grounding out weakly. Salty and McCann should split catching almost equally with Salty always catching vs lefties. I wonder if Escobar can play first vs lefties.
The biggest problem of course is the rotation. Davies is garbage at this point. He needs to be sent down and Villareal or whoever is pitching best at Richmond given a shot. I’m also intrigued by the Braves’ plan to try Boyer starting at Richmond. I’m not sure Blaine has enough pitches to be a successful starter, but he could be the next Smoltz if he is able to handle the role.
#14
What say we give Chipper more than one game to get his power stroke back before complaining about him? The guy was only leading the league in slugging when he was DL’ed.
That said, the recent inability to put the ball over the fence is a huge part of the problem. Andruw, Frenchy, and McCann have combined for 22 HR this year — I’d have guessed closer to 40 by now.
Having singles hitters is fine. It’s nice to have some power, and we have some guys who can do it. Those guys (Andruw, McCann, and Frenchy) are not hitting home runs though.
What is killing the Braves right now, besides the starting pitching, is the lack of clutch hitting. Last night was a perfect example. The Braves had several opportunities to score, but kept hitting into double plays. It is very frustrating…but shouldn’t last. Teams go through funks, and the Braves are in a hitting funk at the moment. We have a good lineup.
The pitching, however, is scary. We don’t have a solid starter right now. Smoltz is gimpy; Hudson’s breaking ball is staying up; Chuckie is still inconsistent (not unexpected because he is young…just give him some time); the back of the rotation is not good.
I hope Buddy can keep it going, but you can’t expect that to happen. We can really only expect 6IP, 3-4ER per game…and hope for better. Davies is just so inconsistent right now. It’s frustrating, because we know his potential.
Here’s hoping for three consecutive quality starts to give the bullpen some rest. They have been doing yeoman’s work lately. It’s gone unnoticed, because the Braves have been losing. They need some rest. Wickman and Soriano need some innings.
By the way, here is the upcoming pitching matchups: Sabathia v. Carlyle; Byrd v. Smoltz; Carmona(he’s 7-2) v. Davies; Schilling v. James; Beckett v. Hudson; Tavarez v. Carlyle.
well they’ve already made up 2.5 games since their slump, and they’re too good to play .300 ball the rest of the way, unless you think they’re as bad as the royals.. and i dont
It’s always one step forward and two steps back with this team. As soon as they win two in a row and get six games over .500, they throw it away by losing two straight games to a struggling team that the Nationals beat two times out of three.
Bad teams always seem to get good against the Braves. It’s at the point where it ain’t no coincedence.
Or is “coincidence”?
Can we stand another June with the Braves winning less than ten games? Please don’t tell me I shouldn’t worry. That’s Chuck Tanner baseball; “Hey, if everybody picks it up, we’ll have a great year.”
Check out post#19. When was the last time you saw a 6 game stretch when the Braves had the better starter in one of them?
A morning’s examination will show that most teams are in the same boat when it comes to trading. We could get some pitching: Buehrle is available. We could get Trachsel for a song if we could stomach it. But 5 innings of relief pitching each night is getting old.
A bold move might be getting Carlos Lee from Houston. But it’s more likely the Braves will pass as we walk into the buzzsaw this week, hoping to recover against division rivals.
But that’s not working this year, either. We’re in a dead heat with the flawed, hated Phillies.
I’m praying something happens soon, because with the announced emphasis on “youth and hustle”, the Braves could be worth more “dead” (trading Salty, Escobar, Soriano, and possibly Huddy) than “alive” by July 1st.
Sorry for invoking Chuck Tanner.
i thought that was the bon jovi
I don’t blame Kelly for trying to get to third with one out. The way the team is hitting, you can’t count on even the middle of the order getting a hit. And one out is the time to take more chances getting to third (ie, don’t make the first or third out at third base). But you have to be sure you are going to make it.
You can survive mediocre starting pitching, at least during the regular season, if you hit–the Yankees have done it for years. And the pitching isn’t THAT bad, but expecting these guys to shut down teams for five innings and win games 2-1 is unrealistic. The problem is too many of the Braves hitters are having no impact–Francoeur for example, has nice overall numbers, but he isn’t really driving the ball much. In today’s game, you really need to hit the long ball. If you recall, early in the season, the Braves weren’t hitting well for average, but were getting a lot of walks and hitting home runs and were scoring a lot of runs. Singles aren’t going to win in today’s game because you just can’t count on getting enough “clutch” hits, especially if you also don’t steal bases.
We dont need to hit long balls.
Uh, yes we do. We are not the ’85 Cardinals. Guys like Francoeur, Thorman, even Andruw and little value if they are not hitting the ball over the fence on a regular basis. This is not a team blessed with great speed, plate discipline or situational hitting. Any game where we get zero extra base hits (like last night) is quite likely a loser.
WE. ARE. IN. SECOND. PLACE.
Holy crap this board is so negative. I’d bet money that say, we squeak out 2 in a row, and the Mets and Phillies lose 2 in a row, most of the people here would do a complete 180.
Yes, we are in 2nd place, but there are clearly issues that need to be addressed if this team is going to make the playoffs. We can’t expect the Mets to keep sucking as bad as they have and/or the Phillies (and maybe Marlins) not catch fire.
I believe that the offense will come around, especially with Chipper back in the lineup, and based on their past performance.
However, we really need another starting pitcher. I have a lot more faith in James, and wouldn’t mind to keep sending him out there, but Davies needs some work. It may kill his confidence, but he needs to work some things out at AAA.
It’s amazing to me how Atlanta Braves fans are suddenly content with being in 2nd place and “close” to catching the Mets. How far we have fallen from the days where we owned the division and people chased *us*…
The board is not negative, just brutally honest. Even Cox said last night, that the Braves should be hitting more homers, especially in the Homerdome…and to quote Bobby…”we didn’t even come close.” I wonder if TP emphasis on going the other way, has messed with the power hitter’s head. Hell something is going on…
IF MCCANN IS HURT, PLEASE DISABLE HIM…B/C HE ALONE WITH ANDRUW ARE CONSISTENTLY KILLING US.
For those TP critics out there, please read the following article:
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AgNaaAtKCyt2nypXvggeGZOpu7YF?slug=txbravesharris&prov=st&type=lgns
I do have major problem with McDowell.
Nice article on Willie, thanks kc. The upcoming pitching matchups don’t bode well for the Braves to break this little slump. I’d love to see the Braves rip up Santana tonight, because it seems dominant pitchers always make the lineup look foolish.
– 29 – “Braves fans are suddenly content with being in 2nd place and “close” to catching the Mets…”
@29, you are an idiot. It is also safe to assume you are on some sort of breathing apparatus because you are too dumb to know when to inhale. Also, I’ll bet you own a substantial amount of rent-to-own furniture.
Fellas,
I don’t post here very often, but read the blog every chance I get, and can see the frustration with the team in everyone’s comments. I just got back from Minneapolis and watching the first two games of the series, and the most glaring thing my dad, brother, and I noticed about the Bravos is that they are playing very poor fundamental baseball right now.
On Tuesday night it was the fact that Davies let Cuddyer and Morneau walk after getting ahead of them 1-2 and 0-2 with two outs in the fourth inning, compounded by McCann’s poor throw. Add Willie Harris’ poor decision to attempt to stretch a single into a double on the major league leader in outfield assists during the eighth inning, and you’ve drastically reduced your chances of being competitive in a game.
Last night was no different — I don’t know how the official scorer could rule that bunt by Torii Hunter a single — Chuckie clearly had plenty of time to throw him out and simply screwed it up. Francouer compounded the issue that inning by trying to throw the ball to third base instead of second. And the fact that we had guys on first and second with none out during the 2nd and 3rd innings and failed to score a run should tell you that the all-or-nothing approach of the coaching staff is not working.
I’m not arguing against the fact that we’re a home-run hitting club — the White Sox had a lineup of home-run hitters (plus a great pitching staff) that won it all in 2005. But they could also play small ball and execute fundamentals WHEN THE SITUATION CALLED FOR IT, and that was a direct result of Ozzie Guillen’s commitment to making sure everyone on his team knew how to do that stuff. I don’t see that from our coaching staff, which frustrates the hell out of me, because I get a chance to see the Braves live once every 2 or 3 years, and I didn’t pay good money to see Atlanta lose to a Minnesota team that had almost half of their lineup hitting less than .240 on the season.
Anyhow, I hope Hudson can get back on track tonight and the Braves can salvage one win from this series, because the division is ripe for the taking, and the Phillies sure look like they want it more badly than we or the Mets do right now.
Stapler, personal attacks are not allowed. Please refrain.
It’s ok, Mac. I don’t think anyone (myself included) even knew what he was talking about.
Not to try and rebut his incoherant rant, but I’m not an idiot–look at all the posts above with people saying that it’s somehow become ok to be in 2nd place. That may make some fans feel better, but I don’t play games to lose and staying ‘close’ to the Mets (or any team) isn’t good enough for me.
Anybody see that in DOB’s blog today that the Braves sent Boyer out to have him work as a starter, similar to when they sent Chuck James down last year to “stretch him out.” That was interesting, I think that if he pitches well he could be in the mix for the 4-5 spots in the rotation. It certainly can’t hurt things. I don’t think they have any confidence right now that Cormier can stay healthy and that Davies can stay consistant so they view Carlyle as the #4 and the #5 is wide open for Boyer to take at this point.
Also, I took it as the Braves having no luck on the tradefront to acquire a decent starter.
Hawkeyefan, I don’t think anyone would disagree that playing small ball is a good way to add a run or two in a tight game. But when you are down 6-0, playing in a launch pad, youve got 8 singles and your leadoff hitter is getting caught stealing… its painfully obvious that your ball is TOO SMALL. I’m just sayin’ lets have our 4,5,6 guys at least getting some extra base hits like they are supposed to.
I like that, Keith.
The 2007 Atlanta Braves: our ball was just too small.
Well played, gentlemen.
solo shots wont win games when your down 6-0 either, I dont understand the swing for the fences approach when your down and with no one on base. What ever happened to taking pitches and trying to manufacture baserunners when your down. We play our best baseball when we get two or three hits and then follow it up with the long ball, but to watch them liet Silva throw a complete game makes me puke! He cant even throw strikes we were just swinging at everything
I don’t think you guys are actually in disagreement; this is essentially an argument over nomenclature. “Small-ball”, “manufacturing runs”, usually refers to trying to score one run at a time by giving up outs to advance baserunners. The opposite strategy usually is described as trying to hit a three-run homer. Obviously you need baserunners to hit a three-run homer. The thing is that the Braves have gotten some baserunners in this series but haven’t been hitting homers with men on or moving them over/in.
As long as we dont adopt the Earl Weaver style of scoring runs (which we arent equipped for) our luck will HAVE to change. McCann will start hitting, or go on the DL, which I dont think would be a bad thing, its early in the year, we have a more than capable back up, so rest him up, and hits will begin to fall for the rest of the guys.
I’m not real optomistic about us getting a frontline starter, so maybe we should be looking for inning eaters, or give the young guys at AA a shot, they would have to be as good as Davies and Cormier, and Redman. If not, that doesnt bode well for our future….
Mac, exactly. I just hate seeing Francouer and Thorman swinging for the fences when we are down 6-0 and they have no one on base. Just put something in play or take a pitch or two
But we did have people on base. Problem is, when youre playing on FASTroturf, you cant score from 2nd on a single. And that, my friend, is why the heavy hitters need to try and hit for extra bases. You can string together 3 singles in a row and not score but two singles and a double, triple, or homer…now thats runs on the board. Once youve got your little guys on base its time for the big boys to do their job and clobber the ball.
It shouldn’t be that hard to get Trachsel. He ate up innings for the Mets last year and actually was their best starter most of the year. He’d be a capable #3 until Chuck figures out what the hell he’s doing, then Davies/Cormier/Boyer/Carlyle can duke it out for #5.
I’m trying to pawn off BJ Upton (at a keeper’s salary) for big guns in my fantasy league. I’ve already been offered Jason Schmidt and Manny Ramirez for him. I think I could also get Jeremy Bonderman and Todd Helton. I’m indifferent between DH and OF, so based purely on talent, which bargain is better?
1) Well, Kyle, Bonderman’s arm isn’t about to fall off…
2) Boyer-as-a-starter strikes me as a bad plan. His stats in the minors when they were stretching him out before converting him to a relief role were quite atrocious.
3) Yeah, I’d go after Trachsel, too, assuming we’d have to give up even less than Max Ramirez. He’s clearly not good, but he’s also clearly better than Davies or Cormier. Though the idea of having to sit through his 4-hour starts every 5 days does nauseate me.
4) I wasn’t worried about this team until the last week or so—now, I’m fairly concerned. A team as good as I thought we were shouldn’t be struggling like this.
5) Trade ideas!:
(a) Andruw to the Angels for Lackey and McPherson. (Yes, I know this will never happen, but I think it’d be very good for both clubs.)
(b) Thorman to the Orioles for Trachsel and Corey Patterson.
McPherson might never play another major league game. Plus, Lackey is easily more valuable than Andruw – he’s signed to a good contract for several more years. Obviously, I’d love the deal, but the Angels would never go for it even if Andruw was willing to accept a trade.
Steve Trachsel: 3.94 ERA
Tim Hudson 3.51
Chuck James: 4.16
Buddy Carlyle: 4.91
Kyle Davies: 5.70
First, making any trade with the O’s is unlikely/impossible because Peter Angeldope can’t make up his mind to trade anyone. He would probably hold out for Salty for Trachsel. So I think the Trachsel plan is not promising.
Second, the Braves are clearly in a transitional period, albeit still competitive. I don’t really want to mortgage the future to be a marginal playoff team this year. Marginal playoff teams like the Cards can win the World Series, but look at what has happened to them this year. I really think the team has a solid core but it’s young. What I think the Braves need to worry about more than finding a number three this year is finding an ace to replace Smoltz. He isn’t getting any younger.
If I were the Angels, I wouldn’t make this trade, at least not at this point with Andruw struggling.
I think Zambrano or Mark Buerhle could be had, albeit for Salty and some guys. Wasn’t Hudson supposed to be the next ace?
I read in the last SI about Jake Peavy building a house in Alabama that implied he’d like to pitch closer to home…we can dream, right?
A couple splits courtesy of baseball reference…
Last 28 days:
Andruw .200/267/411
McCann .261/311/368, 0 HR, 9 RBI
Frenchy .262/306/388
Chipper only 7 games played
That kind of production (or lack-thereof) from what is considered your 3-6 spots in the order…COMBINED with below average, incosistent play from the rotation…its obvious. However, the good thing is we are barely a 1/3 of the way through the season, so a lot of time to go. However, I hate interleague play and Bud Selig is a bum. As noted before I can’t help but be pissed at our opponents (MIN, BOS, CLE, DET) verses Philadelphia’s (KC, CWS, DET, CLE)
You guys just don’t get it! This is for you guys begging for more playing time for certain players and then DLing players like McCann b/c of a lingering injury.
First off, theres a couple reasons why you haven’t seen Salty more at first base. One, Cox is loyal to our players and won’t bench Thorman b/c he is slumping at plate. Second, Salty isn’t that good defensively at first, in fact he’s bad.
Now for all the people saying put McCann on DL, he’s dinged up but not injured to the point where he needs to go on the DL. His ankle is sore but thats it. His finger is completely fine now. Yes, the ankle is effecting his play but 99.9 percent of players would rather play and fight thru it then to be placed on DL.
(Side note: McCann hit 18 hr’s after the allstar break last year WITH A BAD ANKLE. His ankle was so bad during the second half of last year that it was black and blue after the season was done. His ankle was twice as bad during the second half last year then it is now, so relax he will be fine)
So quit asking for Salty to play 1B and quit asking for players who are dinged up to be put on DL b/c you just don’t know what your talking about and it’s never going to happen!
Unknown – I don’t think you can say that Thorman won’t be benched because of Cox’s loyalty. Don’t forget, Langerhans and Redman were both given chances and they were released. I think Thorman is getting a longer look because a)he’s young and b)there’s not a true 1B that can replace him. If he keeps slumping, I’m sure the Braves will either make a trade to fill that spot or be creative, e.g., Diaz, Salty, etc..
Yeah, KLB your right but he’s going to stick with him until he has no other choice. Plus Thorman has alot more potential then the other two players you said. I’m just saying that the people crying for Salty to play 1B every game to quit b/c it’s a) annoying and b) not going to happen anytime soon.
I didn’t understand giving up on Craig Wilson after a month. He was struggling, but not worse than Thorman, and he at least has proven that he can hit major-league pitching. Thorman has never proven anything other than an innate ability to hit popups and throw equipment in frustration.
Well, as for people wanting Salty to play 1B, it’s not like it’s just a made-up idea from fans. Cox actually said Salty would get some chances at 1B after Wilson was released.
http://tinyurl.com/2omyje
KLB, no your right but shouldn’t it be obvious that he is not ready since Cox will not play Salty over there??? The one inning he played made one error and almost another. When he’s ready, i’m sure Cox will put him in agianst lefties as he is obsessed with the righty lefty matchup…
Well he could have batted Salty for Thorman last night in the 8th inning down 6-0, but stuck with Thor, so I don’t see it happening anytime soon either. Unfortunately.
More numbered responses (too many different subjects):
1) I agree about the Craig Wilson thing, unless the Braves saw some irreparable physical problem with him that we don’t know about. Still, I have to think the next team that signed him (was it the ChiSox?) would have known about that, too. I thought he was worth keeping for a while longer.
2) Kyle, I dunno. Lackey may be more valuable in absolute terms, but to the Angels? They need a bat and have starting pitching out the wazoo. Seems like something they’d at least consider. And McPherson—yeah, he’s been a bust, but I figured we could take a shot and hope he pans out. He’s clearly a better option than Pradorrward, right?
3) Marc, you think trading Scott Thorman would be mortgaging our future? Your prospects for our future are much bleaker than mine.
4) I’m convinced that Unknown is McCann’s mom.
Unknown…what’s wrong with people wanting to see Salty play everyday? I mean from what I can see, he looks like a pretty damn good player.
Damn the Dodgers just fired 2nd year hitting coach EDDIE MURRAY. After they just swept the Mets in which they scored 18 runs. TP better be lucky Bobby is loyal…
I just don’t want to give up on Thor so quickly. To me, he has shown some ability to hit lefties. LaRoche went through the same learning process; agreed, it is frustrating, but teams with tight payrolls can’t afford to be impatient like the Yankees. People seem to think playing first is a piece of cake, but having a bad first baseman (ie, Salty) can really hurt your defense. I’m not averse to playing him there some and considering him for the future, but it’s not that easy to switch positions in the middle of the season. It could easily affect his hitting.
As for not hitting Salty for Thorman in the 8th inning, what would have been the point other than to wreck Thorman’s confidence? If the game were on the line, that would be one thing, but Bobby isn’t going to embarrass a young player for no reason.
I haven’t given up on Thorman, either, but I think the likelihood that he would help the team more than Patterson over the next 5 years is small.
Stu, no not his mom but he is family which would explain my “pro-McCann” attitude.
Maybe Thorman can get some hitting instructions from Justin Mornea…hell they are both 1st basemen, both from Canada and only 1 year apart.
And then maybe Joe Mauer can help McCann remember why those two were the best hitting catchers in the league last year…hell Mauer lowest batting average since he has been in the league is .294. Now that’s a hitter.
Justin Morneau : Scott Thorman :: United States : Canada
Justin Morneau: New Westminster, BC
Scott Thorman: Cambridge, ON
It’s an analogy, Tony. Jeez, I’ve been using that formulation for years.
lol…sorrry
Hahaha
You had to link to a definition of analogy for him. I bet the SATs were hell.
No Kyle he didn’t have to link the word analogy for me…I didn’t got to high school in Georgia.
I didn’t got to high school in Georgia.
This sentence is just too funny. Perhaps Mississippi or Louisiana?
Well Stu…I am talking on an Atlanta Braves fansite, so got seemed correct….
@62 #4
stu, i’ve thought the same thing for the past week or so.
Maybe Unknown is Frenchy–aren’t they roommates?