Seriously, what the hell is going on?
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Seriously, what the hell is going on?
Use code “Journal” for a 5% discount.
Hard to know where to start…lets begin by hoping for the ‘good Kyle’…
Or by hoping for the good Andruw.
maybe we just need some sexual healing.
The ‘good’ Kyle is still facing Justin Verlander. If we win today, it will be our most shocking win of the year.
Baseball’s a funny game, maybe today is the day the good Davies shows up and the day the offense breaks out of it’s funk. Of course, writing the preceeding sentence makes me wonder if my wife slipped something in my coffee this morning. 🙂
BTW, I’m visiting some friends/family in Michigan. The perception of a reasonably knowledgeable baseball person (successful coach now retired, former official scorer for a minor league team) here is that the Braves got the better end of the McBride trade IF the Braves use Ledezma as a starter. The thinking is that Ledezma has good stuff but so-so control which makes him better suited for starting than for coming into tight situations out of the pen.
Injuries and a bunch of players having bad years is what is going on. If Hampton, Chipper, Cormier, and Gonzalez were healthy and Andruw, McCann, and Thorman were having productive years, the Braves would be in great shape.
if a frog had wings it wouldn’t bump it’s ass hoppin
let’s pull out of the funk..go braves.
In 1 inning last night, Ledezma inspired more confidence in me over McBride.
Thinking of going to a Braves game in August. Anyone have a recommendation on a hotel close by?
I’m not ready to judge him after one appearance, but it was promising.
Agreed. I remember Kevin Barry having a huge first outing against the Yankees where he went three innings and struck out 4 if memory serves me. Consistency is the name of the game.
FOX is showing the Yanks and Giants this afternoon at my house. I think I should be thankful, because if they were showing the Braves I might feel compelled to watch them and I don’t think that would make me very happy right now…
What’s the record for the most disappointing week ever?
had to be last june when we dropped 20 some odd games and watched the season die before our very eyes.
I’m thankful my Fox station isn’t showing any baseball game. I’m tired of this Arod vs. Bonds.
if you take 7 game at a time i’ll go with the june 13th thru the 20th
which included 7 straight losses several meltdowns by the defense and bullpen, and being swept in 3 series with florida, boston and the first game of the toronto sweep. this was on the heals of losing 3 of 4 from houston.
heals…hills…oh! heels that’s what i meant.
The holiday inn across from Turner is nice. I like the Highland Inn for a nice place near Little 5/Va-Highland/East Atlanta.
by the way, looking over the game threads and recaps from that stretch provide some great laughs.
I’m not going to be popular here, but I’m going to say it anyway. It’s time to start playing for next year and become sellers this year. Sure, we aren’t out of it. And maybe a pitcher could help us. But let’s be honest, this team just isn’t a great team. And for mediocre to good teams, a bunch of luck is involved, and by luck I mean career years. And right now, outside of maybe Soriano, who on the Braves is having a career year? And we aren’t talking about a small sample size anymore. This team just doesn’t have the spark caused by having a few players having career years. We have all commented at one point or another about where this team would be if Andruw were hitting, or Frenchy, or Thor, or McCann. With Chipper, we don’t ask about hitting, instead we ask about health. And the starters are at the same point, aside from Smoltz and Hampton. Unfortunately, it seems like those two are going to have much more in common.
So, as some have talked about, it might be best to identify our organization strengths and weaknesses. In doing so, we should identify players that we can use to get stronger. I’d probably begin my list with individuals who are trade-able, as opposed to players like Andruw, Chipper, and Hampton who for varying reasons cannot be traded. My list would start with Hudson. A contending team that needs a starter, particularly one that plays in cooler weather, might see him as a possibility and might help us by providing us with outfield help (a CF or a LF with power–nothing against either Diaz or Willie, both hit well, but not for power) or a 1B of the future. Perhaps our bullpen might have parts for a contending team as well (Moylan, Yates, Wickman, to name a few). And while I like Renteria, he might make for a serviceable SS for a contending team that needs a #2 hitter. That’s were I would start. Perhaps I’m getting too gloomy and starting this process too soon. But, somehow, I don’t think so yet.
Sellers?? The Braves can’t become sellers. They are 2GB the Mets.
we can, but i hope we’re not.
If the Braves trade Hudson, who will be the #2 starter?
How is trading Hudson playing for next year?
Jeff, you’re just experencing temporary insanity brought on by some bad baseball. Three, four or fives wins in a row would cure…..if the Braves can do that anymore.
If the Braves are still 2.5 out at the trading deadline, they’re buyers.
It’s too soon to be sellers, but it’s something that should be revisited in 2-3 weeks.
Assuming the team muddles along around .500, the playoffs won’t happen.
Re the specific players mentioned:
I’d be reluctant to deal Hudson unless there’s a suspicion that he’s likely to revert to 2006 form or a desire to rid a long-term contract. Dealing him away, however, weakens what is (notwithstanding the anemic offense of the past 3 days) the team’s weakest component–the starting rotation. Smoltz may be hurt, James is ok but nothing special, and Davies and Carlyle are poor.
Wickman plans to retire after this year–the Indians or some other team would like him for August and September.
Re Renteria–he’s playing better than usual and a campable replacement (Escobar) is available. Renty is an obvious bargaining piece.
My biggest fear is a rash trade of Salty or Escobar in a futile effort to win this year. Think Betemit (though he’s been erratic this year) for Baez and Aybar.
The way I see it, Cox is to blame for the current slide. Don’t get me wrong – I love Cox and so do the players, but I think these young guys need a mindset change fast. Cox just doesn’t seem to get after players, and I think that’s what this team needs. If you see Francour go up there and hack at the first pitch when I new pitcher gets put in the game – sit his a$$ on the bench. If you see a runner on second with nobody out and someone trying to pull the ball – sit his a$$ on the bench. The biggest problem with this team isn’t lack of talent – it is lack of execution and poor decision making. We have a good team, and we need somebody that will get these players on track. And again, I like Cox (one of the greatest managers of all time), but he needs to get after these guys. Time for some ABC baseball.
ugh–Escobar would be a capable replacement not a campable replacement
Here’s a controversial question for discussion: Should JS offer Chipper to AL teams where he could DH and presumably stay healthier? Never say never, but I think it’d take a very rich offer.
Escobar isn’t anything special. If the Braves can get anything useful for him, do it.
I highly doubt Chipper would accept any trade at this point.
Fox’s pre-game says Kyle Davies has the highest career ERA among active pitchers. Darn. I didn’t think very highly of Kyle, but I wouldn’t have guessed he was that bad. When he ends up giving up 6+ runs today, can we finally send him down to Richmond and call up whoever is next in line?
Chipper, along with Smoltz, is a “face of the franchise” sort of player; Andrum might join them if he regains form and re-ups this winter. Trading such players is extraordinary. That said, sometimes it is in the interest of both the team and the player for such trades to occur. I’m not sure we’re quite to that point with Chipper, especially b/c an AL team might not pony up good talent out of concern for his health.
do i see chipper in the lineup, or am i going crazy?
off to a good start – verlander strikes out the side…
a run… thats the ballgame
WTF!?!
Is this McCarver? I don’t get it, how can you pronounce the call to be great before the first replay is even finished. Fuck Fox.
What happened?
The Braves’ clubhouse is not The Happiest Place On Earth right now:
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AmVy2ASvTL3oGqCr23mdPH.FCLcF?slug=ap-braves-chipperjones&prov=ap&type=lgns
When asked if he is rushing his return, Jones said: “Probably. But I feel a little backed into a corner.”
Asked to elaborate, Jones indicated some doubted he was injured enough to miss games.
“Let’s just say there are people who don’t believe me,” Jones said. “Let’s just say that and leave it at that.”
I’m sure plenty of you guys are hoping the Braves trade Andruw if we fall out of the playoff race, but after reading this article I’m not so sure we should. I suppose what it really comes down to is, can we get anything worthwhile for him, or should we bank on the draft picks.
Let the lady in the audience keep the bat! It is perhaps symbolic of poor batting habits being cast aside!
Mendozaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!
David, the man was obviously out but the stupid umpire called him safe and McCarver agreed before he’d even looked at the replay.
Let’s re-assess things after IL games are over. If you have a chance to win, then you should try to win because you never know when that chance’ll come again.
BTW, Phils already lost today.
Yea, thank god the rest of the East is playing terrible too or we’d really be screwed.
Will we EVER score again?
I just noticed that Cox did something I wondered about a couple of weeks back–he switched Harris to leadoff and KJ to 2nd. I think it makes sense b/c KJ has more pop and will have a better chance of driving in Harris than vice versa.
Alas KJ driving in Harris didn’t happen this time. Instead we get a Thormanesque pop.
Does anyone know the record for most consecutive innings being shut out? I’d have to believe we are fast approaching the mark…
Game over!
Dan,
I’m not. This isn’t a poor stretch of 3-5 games. We haven’t been a good club since April. In April, the pitching wasn’t all that good, but the hitting was fine. Since then, everyone except Renteria has been in a funk at one point or another. Chipper could be seen as an exception, except that he’s been hurt a good bit of the time. We have a mediocre offense that is capable of scoring some runs, but also capable of going 3 games without scoring. Defensively, we are so-so. The starting pitching is not good. All we have is a decent to good bullpen. The reality is that unless we start playing well soon, we just aren’t going to be a good team this year. Certainly, this is poor timing as the NL sucks by and large. But there’s no use denying the reality. The Braves just don’t have enough parts to win right now.
True, you don’t have to blow things up now. You could wait a couple of weeks to see if anything changes, as some on the board have advocated today. And normally, I’m in favor of that. But didn’t we do that last year?
There are other things that the Braves could do in the meanwhile. They could fire Pendleton not because I’m sure that he’s the problem but rather because it is easier to fire one coach than a few starting players. They could also approach Druw and lay down an ultimatum: sign with us so that you can relax, accept a trade, or ride the pine quite a bit until the end of the year (and then let him sit for a week to see how it feels), all the while Boras would have to be watching his commission go down.
holy crap, a run.
Chippah!
Thank god.
In play, run(s)…
I almost forgot what that looked like
WOW, only offense we get is from a gimp. That’s sad. Please stay healthy Chipper!
It is almost time for Davies’ typical 5th inning limit/explosion. Perhaps Bobby can do a preemptive bullpen call.
hold your tongue er…
I certainly hope I am wrong.
I’m not able to see the game, what happened to Davies?
Mcarvers too busy talkin about bonds to worry about the game he is calling, radio may have more info
Skip’s got nothing right now.
Hey, Andruw popped up to second instead of short or third. That’s a good sign, right? Right?
Scott Thorman vs. Justin Verlander…that’s not even fair.
Tim McCarver just said ‘beluga whale’.
Davies injured his back according to Gameday.
Wow, extra bases, what a treat!
Bobby Cox and the strategy of bunting with guys who don’t know how to bunt—good to see nothing’s changed.
Waiting for the 3-run homer, Stu. You know the drill.
Nice AB, KJ!
I’m under the belief that unless you’re an established power hitting 3-4-5 hitter, you have to be able to get the bunt down. It shouldn’t be that hard for someone who has played baseball their whole life.
First pitch, Chipper? Why?
Boy this team sucks!
This is inexplicable. ‘Incontheivable’ even.
Seems like a good time to fire Pendleton.
Now lets see if the Tigers get the leadoff double home…
And now our closer is in. Makes perfect sense to me.
He hasn’t pitched in a few days, it makes sense.
Who else would you want to come in? We’re only down one.
I guess. Wickman’s been used so weirdly this season, I don’t even care anymore.
Nothing’s normal this season. How many different lineups have we had?
Too many. At least Bobby’s sort of trying. He can only work with what he has.
True, but there’s something to say about consistency in a line-up. I’m all for demoting Andruw in the line up if he’s struggling, but NO ONE has batted in the same spot all year.
Andruw’s only career hit off Jones was a homer…
he did it!
Finally some passion from this team. Now how about some runs.
Nice.
Cmon Bobby, throw the grenade!
I wonder if the FOX network all went to this game for Bobby’s ejection.
Good to see someone showing some fire. Now turn that into a hit or two.
Yeah but consistency with the current roster only equals consistently bad. Francoeur/Andruw/Thorman are going to do what they do no matter where they bat.
Umm…wait, who’s gonna catch if we tie the game?
I will.
C’mon, Andruw. I wanna see Orr or Diaz play catcher.
Not that it will matter, but who catches in the 10th?
Tie the game? McCann knew Frenchy and Andruw were up next.
That would be amazing.
Fuck Fox, fuck Tim McFuckingCarver, fuck Andruw Jones, and fuck Tug McGraw.
This is crap. Has McCarver EVER disagreed with a call going against the Braves? Christ.
good eye
does it hurt more to waste a good effort from Kyle and/or Chuck or Hudson-Smoltz? Have we decided definitively yet?
Maybe he should just not swing.
Easy Spence. You sound like a Mets fan.
Let’s say Thor buries a ball infront of homeplate, can Andrew come home if Pudge can’t dig it out in time?
sad…
Sorry guys.
McCarver makes me more angry than anyone that’s ever lived. And that includes Al Queda.
Can we have a team meeting or something? 1 run in 4 days? Pretty pathetic.
Pathetic!
Who was the last capable 1st baseman we’ve had? McGriff?
We don’t do team meetings, Rob. That might shake things up. We do things the same way every single day, hoping that one day it’ll all become good again. Remember what the definition of insanity is?
Can we afford Teixeira?
MLBTraderumors says we’re suitors, not that that means much coming from them.
We have bigger issues than first base, boys.
Don’t jump all over Thorman now just because he got the last out.
No no. I realize. I’d just like to improve the team everywhere. The main priority is a #3 pitcher.
i’d settle for a win…maybe we won’t get swept by the nats