The nightmare continues. New poll.
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The nightmare continues. New poll.
Use code “Journal” for a 5% discount.
Neyer on Pujols:
http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=2932448&name=Neyer_Rob&univLogin02=stateChanged
I’m not quite sure why he’s such a fan of such an unlikeable guy, but Neyer’s right on the money about the foolishness of the “strategy” last night.
I’d add arrogant to the the poll. He is so convinced of his own genius that he lets common sense go flying out the window. He flat out ruined the end of that game.
if we traded escobar and a prospect to texas for teixeira, then that would really negate the point of having salty on the team at all. btw, teixeira is not on the depth chart for texas. also, he is not on the injured reserve. typo? or does someone know more than we do?
http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/team/depth_chart/index.jsp?c_id=tex
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/allstar07/news/story?id=2932400
LaRussa said he was saving Pujols in case the game went long. I don’t think it would have been a problem to stick him in center field if he had only tied the game up, which would have been highly unlikely in that circumstance. If Pujols had made an out and ended the game, people would have said “Well, at least he actually tried to win”. If Pujols had delievered a game-winning hit, people would have called LaRussa a genius. But today, he’s just an idiot.
@3
Plus, he would obviously be a rental.
I REALLY like Teixeira, but I don’t think the Braves can get him and keep him in these circumstances.
Well, a 1.5-year rental. I have to say, the thought of snagging Teix does get me excited. I’d be all for it as long as it didn’t mean we did that instead of upgrading the rotation. And I think if the Rangers want Salty, they’d better be willing to part with Otsuka, too.
Maybe we can get Teixeira to fire Scott Boras and give the Braves a Georgia Tech discount?
Okay, maybe not.
@3: Teixeira is on the 15 day DL.
http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=407893
I don’t think we will get Teixeria, but I am happy to see JS involved in trade rumors with the Texas GM. This guy is an idiot and can be taken advantage of easily. Remember this one: Chris Young and Adrian Gonzalez for Adam Eaton and Otsuka?
@3 More on Teix’s Injury: Strained Quad, he’s coming back after the break.
http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070708&content_id=2075372&vkey=news_tex&fext=.jsp&c_id=tex
Well, Otsuka hasn’t been that bad for Texas. Adam Eaton is another story, however.
I remember that there was a snit that Boras wanted a HUGE signing bonus for Tex even after his horrendous injury record at Georgia Tech. I guess those injuries haven’t caught up with him here in the bigs.
The only thing Adam Eaton has going for him at this point in his career is that he still has one of the best value pitcher cards in MLB Showdown 2003. 😛
How is Boras still alive? With all this anti-Boras chatter I’ve seen in the last couple months, I’d think someone would have a contract out for him.
Re: DOB
Who are these high salaried guys we’d go after? Do you think we’d take a shot at Dontrelle if the situation arose? Personally I’d be a bit leary toward getting him, but I thought I’d ask.
I’d go after D-train if the price were right. I just hate to trade within the division. I’d say our chances of Morris/Vazquez than Dontrelle. I’d still rather have pitching than Tex….but if we could have both, different story…
JoshQ, I’m no stat guy, but I agree on being “a bit leary” of Dontrelle. Granted he hasn’t been getting much, if any, help this year.
I think if I had my pick I’d go after Vasquez. If it is true that we could afford hit 3years and 34mil, then I’d like to see him as our #3. I do have to wonder if his 11.5 per year in 08,09, & 10 would cause us salary problems. If Liberty raised the payroll 10mil then all is well, but I’ll believe that when I see it.
You do realize that Vazquez is probably the best of the Morris/Dontrell/Vazquez trio, right? There’s no way he’d come as cheap as Morris, though. If it took the same deal to get either Dontrelle or Vazquez, I think I’d rather have Vazquez.
i’d welcome the d-train to town…i just wouldn’t want to face salty 16 or however many times a season for the next umpteen years…but i’d do it.
vasquez would be great right now, but i think willis would be better long term he’s about 10 years younger than vasquez. who knows? i’ll take any help we can get.
Morris and Vasquez are pitchers you just scratch your head about. I undersatnd Morris has had injuries, Vasquez…who knows. However, neither one actually thrill me in an Atlanta uniform. I don’t like righties going up against the Mets and Phils. If we could get a top notch lefty I would go for it….
The LaRussa is a drunk comment was a joke…like his new hair.
From the NY Post this morning:
“The Mets also are looking for pitching. Sources say Dontrelle Willis will be traded by the Marlins, but the Marlins will not trade Willis to their chief competition in the NL East. Look for Willis to be dealt to a team from the West.”
You do realize that Vazquez is probably the best of the Morris/Dontrell/Vazquez trio, right?
Vazquez has been better this year, but this is coming off three very pedestrian years. Willis’ control has become a problem over the past few years leading to a decrease in his effectiveness. He still gets his Ks which should mean the stuff is still there but he needs help locating his command. I doubt that the Braves are the organization to help him find his command but considering age and salary, Willis is still the prize.
Of course we wouldn’t get either one. We’ll get some guy who isn’t on anyone’s radar right now. That’s just JS’ style.
Yuck, keep me away from the D-Train.
Sure the guy has a fun loving personality and a cool high leg kick, GREAT. But he’s still extremely unreliable and inconsistent.
Of those 3 starters, he’s the one I trust the least. I suppose between Vazquez and Morris, I would lean Javy Vazquez…and for years, many of us had hoped he would have come to the Braves, though it never happened.
Oh, amen to my bud, AAR…for comparing LaRussa to Fat Fulmer on the last thread. Two people I hate for different reasons in different sports. Why not compare them.
But back to the LaRussa thing, his excuse is inexcusable. First, as someone else said, you save a guy like Freddy Sanchez (who can play multiple positions) for late, not ALBERT FREAKING PUJOLS YOU MORON.
Second, if you just sit and look at LaRussa’s hateable face in High Definition (like I did last night), you can just see the smugness and the sneer…like he was basically saaying “f— you” to the rest of the NL, why shouyld he care who wins since his beloved Cardinals aren’t in it.
The Cardinals are a good organization and they have great Baseball fans…they really deserve better then a classless snake like Larussa for a Manager. What a schmuck.
Honestly, I hope and pray the Mets get Dontrelle. We have shown over and over we can hit this guy and I think our offense is due for a good 2nd half, Teixeira or no Teixeira.
I would be more worried had the Mets gotten Buehrle. Hell, John Maine is a far superior pitcher (at this point) and more reliable as opposed to Willis.
Ok, one more thing unrelated to Baseball.
You know your a terrible General Manager (Billy Knight of the Hawks) when even Terrence Moore is slamming the guy. Wow.
But to be fair, Knight could talk about what a horrible non Journalist that Moore is.
Terrence Moore slamming Billy Knight? Now I’ve heard everything.
I think Robert just said it all. Every year we see all these names on the radar and then JS pulls out a trade for someone who was never mentioned.
So with that said, I do not want to see any trade rumors involving Haren or Peavy.
alex r,
i see the great pumpkin more as dumb and ugly where as larussa is a jerk.
as for the allstar loss lastnight…what do you expect when we have a guy like jr out there? what’s his 40 time? 24.1? who is so slow in the majors as to allow an inside the park homer these days? yet another reason not to watch this crap. bring on the second half please.
Terrance Moore, Joe Morgan, Dontrelle Willis…sometimes I wonder.
LaRussa’s hateable face
Congratulations, Alex, you just named one of my fantasy baseball teams next season.
Robert,
With all due respect, I couldn’t disagree more. Vazquez has been pitching in the AL Central, while Dontrelle’s been pitching in the NL East. Dontrelle was geat a couple years ago, but he seems to have lost the magic. I trust Vazquez’s career—remember, he’s a strikeout pitcher, too—a lot more than I trust Dontrelle’s great season and a half over two years ago.
Over the last month Matt Morris’ ERA has increased from 2.56 to 3.55. I’m not interested.
Chi-Sox resign Buerhle, Mariners resign Ichiro…
Has it been officially announced if the Braves will get any insurance money for Hampton?
Okay, seriously, everybody, go to The Hardball Times website and read through Carlos Gomez’s articles. You will not be disappointed. You will in fact be fascinated. Read his articles on the draft picks (included are analyses of the Braves’ Josh Fields and Jason Heyward–teaser: he likes both), and read his article on Mark Prior. Then read everything else.
SO INTERESTING. READ THEM.
I posted a link to the Fields piece yesterday, but nobody said anything about it. Seriously, if you like baseball, you’ll like Gomez’s work.
I say we trade Salty, McCann, Francoeur, Thorman, and Kelly for Dontrelle, Howie Kendrick, Prince Fielder, Mike Camerson, and the zombie of Roy Campanella. We then give Chipper his outright release. Thusly, our Jesse Jackson friendly starting lineup would totally win the world series because such an awesome force.
PS–Did I note that Joe Morgan and Terrance Moore were going to be the manager and bench coach?
Stu,
The Gomez articles are great. My first was the Prior piece, which is great. I was hoping he would detail the Braves’ sandwhich pick, John Gilmore (I pretty sure that is his name). After reading his breakdown of Fields I am hoping the Braves can get a deal done with Boras.
With all due respect, I couldn’t disagree more.
That’s fine with me. This is the first year in the last four that Vasquez has prevented runs at better than the league average. Willis has prevented runs at better than league average every year of his five year career except for this one.
I like Willis’ stronger history of recent success, you like that Vasquez is trending up while Willis is trending down. People disagree.
Tony LaRussa is stupid, but his stupidity is made even more annoying by his arrogance and firm belief in the fact that he’s the biggest genius baseball has ever seen.
Now we’re going back to various people saying, “Eww, I don’t want that established major-league pitcher. He’s overrated. I’d rather have my completely unproven and heretofore crappy farm system guy.” I’ve never understood this. Do I need to list all the players we would never have gotten if we followed this path? Let’s start with Tim Hudson and Edgar Renteria on the current team.
Once again, Willis would be somewhat separate from this discussion, but the point is to get an established No. 3 starter, not the greatest pitcher of all-time. And Salty is one thing, but I cannot believe that there are people actually complaining that they would rather have Kyle Davies, Jo-Jo Reyes or Lance freaking Cormier than an established No. 3 starter. Some of you really need to go see a neurologist.
JS is to baseball what the Devils’ Lou Lamoriello is to hockey—both guys pull rabbits out of hats at the trade deadline, leaving all the beat reporters wondering how the hell it happened.
Anybody watching “The Bronx Is Burning”? What a trainwreck of a show, but I can’t stop watching. Everyone is a cartoon character, especially Steinbrenner. And that wig that “Reggie Jackson” is wearing…whew.
I think Turturro as Billy Martin is pretty good, but those ear prosthetics are beginning to freak me out. He looks like Mr. Spock.
Oh shit, a 3.55 ERA! However will we live with that? That’s so much worse than Davies’ 5.55, Carlyle’s 4.50 and James’ 3.96.
Seriously though, based on precedent, here’s what will happen. JS will make a trade for a starting pitcher that no one saw coming. Everybody will wail about the can’t-miss prospect we gave up and how they hate the clearly overrated piece of crap we got and how we’re doomed. Then the can’t-miss prospect will never be heard from again and the guy we get will be our best player down the stretch. Sound about right?
@38…JoshtotheMax, I know you are being funny, but no black Americans on the Braves at all at the beginning of the year? That was a little ridiculous…especially for a city like Atlanta. However, I must admit I was born in CT, live here in DC and only visited Atlanta once and hated it, so I don’t know what it is really like down there. I just noticed certain people on this board tend to pick on people of color quite frequently.
In regards to Terrence Moore, I wonder if there is ANY black columnist some of you like. Anyway, enough of my bleeding heart minute. Just find it very interesting.
Can we not have accusations of racism on this site? Please?
For the record, I hate all the AJC’s sports columnists. I feel about Mark Bradley the way I do about Phil Fulmer. Furman Bisher should die already. I could go on.
Two good African-American sports columnists: Mike Wilbon and Jason Whitlock.
Mac,
What do you not like about Mark Bradley?
I’m from Birmingham and got sick of all Bradley’s attacks about fifteen years ago. In general, I hate people who hate me.
Sekou Smith is a good columnist for the AJC, Mac. I agree about Wilbon but am not really a fan of Whitlock. I loved Ralph Wiley.
Sound about right?
Pretty much. That’s the way it went down with Baez and Farnsworth.
They shouldn’t have to go out of their way to pick up black players just because it’s nice. They’re trying to win with the best players available.
tony seems to try to piss off people on this site pretty frequently. tony, you mess with the head hauncho when you make those accusations. i’ll add another black commentator/columnist whom i respect his baseball perspective: harold reynolds. i am against any hypersensitivity in this country, because there’s a lot of it, but you dont know people personally enough to make those accusations. dont assume that because most of the bloggers here are from the south that we are discriminatory.
btw, saw the new harry potter last night: not as good as the previous 4. transformers was REALLLY good and i would suggest all people between the ages of 13-40 go and see it. it is visually stunning and the screenplay is not too shabby either.
good rental: black snake moan. samuel l. plays the role of his life. christina ricci plays one whore of a role, and justin timberlake plays the “i’m a puss” role pretty well. the music is fabulous and reminds me of frenchmen street in new orleans, which is where everyone should visit when they come to the big easy (not bourbon street).
“I just noticed certain people on this board tend to pick on people of color quite frequently.”
Who the hell says anything on this board about race besides Tony? This guy is a joke and comments like this prove it.
3.55 is nothing to sneeze at, but it takes a lot of bad pitching to trend up 1 earned run in the course of five starts.
I’d certainly take a reliable 3.55 over Davies and Carlyle, but I wouldn’t give up too much to get an aging pitcher showing no signs of improvement or consistency.
What happened 15 years ago in Birmingham? I don’t even remember.
Ryan…
If I pissed people off, maybe some people are a little too sensitive. I never used the r word, I just said I find it very interesting in reading people’s post about Joe Morgan, Terrence Moore…oh and Dusty Baker. Also I didn’t single anyone out either. And about people from the South being discriminatory…I would never make that assumption. I just observe….
Trace…
“They shouldn’t have to go out of their way to pick up black players because it is nice”. Now that’s a naive comment.
EVERYONE on this board seems to be annoyed with the race comments. I guess the whole board is too sensitive, right…
Lou Lamoriello has nothing on JS. The Devils previously operated with no salary cap, and had a player that would make any team win in Martin Brodeur. All Lou did was keep the team stocked with star talent in a league where the talent flocked to the already stacked teams for about 10 years in a row. Once the salary cap hit his team has been in shambles because he never had to manage salary, DESPITE getting a hometown discount from Brodeur. Look at all the players the Devils have lost over the past few seasons, and how little cap space they have anyway.
The only clever thing he did was say that one of his high priced players was too injured to play so he wouldnt have his salary. I think he also managed to trade a high dollar contract to the Sharks along with a valuable prospect one.
I’ll take JS any day, he succeeded with no purse strings and he succeded with a limited payroll, and continues to be able to manage the budget and the roster at the same time. JS is probably the best GM any team has ever had.
When he says you seem to anger people frequently on here (a feat in and of itself, given that you’ve not been commenting for very long), ryanc isn’t just talking about your seemingly unfounded and definitely passive-aggressive accusations of racism, Tony.
JS is probably the best GM any team has ever had.
It would, I think, be quite tough to make the case against this statement.
I hate days off. At least we are getting some rain.
Artist…
We are all grown men here, you cannot sit here and say that some of comments made about Joe Morgan, Terrence Moore, Dusty Baker, etc. have NOTHING to do with their race. Let’s not be that dishonest with ourselves. Again, I have never lived in the South, so don’t know how things really are…but some of the posts just make me wonder. No offense to anyone.
And why must you always call me names. You don’t know me personally…calling me a joke shows your ignorance.
Tony, you seem to be the one who is sensitive. I called you a joke because of the comments you made regarding race.
Perhaps you miss the comments regarding Francoeur, McCann(when slumping), Wickman, Cox, etc. It’s not a race thing, it’s a negative thing. I do get frustrated at the negativitiy on this board but I can guarantee that it has nothing to do with race.
Don’t assume the south is a certain way when you have never lived here. Also, Atlanta is not the same as the “south” your thinking of. It’s a melting pot and i’d say white people are the minority.
I’d say your starting to wear out your welcome on this board!
We are all grown men here, you cannot sit here and say that some of comments made about Joe Morgan, Terrence Moore, Dusty Baker, etc. have NOTHING to do with their race.
Sure you can. Have you read what’s been typed here about LaRussa or Fullmer or Francoeur or Woodward or Orr?
Stu I think I beat you to it. 🙂
Lol thanks Unknown and Stu for pointing out dat its negativity
Smith isn’t a columnist but a beat writer, for the most part, and he’s great, better than the Hawks deserve. I like DOB. It’s the columnists I can’t stand.
Bradley was bitching about the SEC putting the football championship in Birmingham, then gleeful about Atlanta swiping it. The real problem was that he took this as an opportunity to attack Birmingham and everyone in it.
Mac, the SEC championship does belong in Atlanta though, for many reasons. I do think the columnists suck also.
Is there really no game tomorrow? What ridiculous scheduling this year. First, a day off immediately after opening day, and now a day off after the all-star break.
AMH, yeah i think every player on the team is enjoying having Thursday off, especially McCann.
Sucks for us, but these three-four days are about all they get during the summer to enjoy being away from park. They deserve it.
I’m not complaining about the day off following the break. A lot of teams have it, and the Braves have played two more games than the Mets. I think the Bullpen, Smoltz, Chipper, and the rest of the boys could use the extra day.
The Oklahoma football program must forfeit its wins from the 2005 season and will lose two scholarships for the 2008-09 and 2009-10 school years.
It belongs in Birmingham, because Birmingham is centrally located in the SEC (Atlanta isn’t even a pure SEC city, infected by Tech people and Yankees as it is) but Birmingham doesn’t have the facilities for it and never will because the local government is made up of clowns.
Hey, I’ve been saying that Andruw will bounce back and end up close to his usual numbers, minus a little batting average, so I’ve put my money where my mouth is and traded for Andruw on both my fantasy baseball teams. Giddyup!
He’s going to finally show up for the 2nd half. Believe.
And the criticisms on this board have most often been related to poorly conceived commentary or poor performance–and are even cited directly to those comments or statistics. Any insinuation that this board has racist tendencies is completely laughable.
Mac,
See I think it belongs in Atlanta because it’s not a pure SEC city. You said it too, birmingham doesn’t have the facilities. I will agree that their local government is made up of clowns but I don’t think thats the only reason. Atlanta has alot more to offer the SEC, especially money.
Artist, Stu, Maverick…
I will take you “gentlemen” at your word that race has absolutely nothing to do with the negative comments towards some of the people of color. And I will leave it at that. However, I must admit some perceptions are hard to shake…such as reading comments about black men from white men in the South calling them “dumb”, “inarticulate”, etc. It’s a little shocking…
Artist,
As far as my welcoming being worned out…I didn’t know you screened all bloggers. You indeed, are a very interesting “fella” with a huge ego.
Gordon Gee leaving Vandy to re-take the Ohio State President job…a curious move, to say the least.
I just hope the Board of Trusts finds in its next Chancellor somone as committed to the athletic programs as Gee was.
At least Nashville doesn’t have to put up with his wife anymore, though.
I heard about Oklahoma; seems kind of harsh. I always felt the NCAA tries to make a point about how omnipotent they are in these type of rulings. Forfeiting the victories in ’05 is excessive. I also think it is unreasonable for the school to have to monitor where and how often a player works. It’s a school, not a parole office.
OSU is far larger and I’m guessing that means can pay a lot more. Or maybe he’s just trying to go somewhere where he can make the athletic department committed to the university.
It’s gotta be the latter, Mac. I’m hearing that OSU will be paying him $1 million per year, which is $200K less than he was making at Vanderbilt. Vandy has more total funding than OSU, anyway.
He was already the head honcho at OSU from ’90-’97 before moving to Brown and then Vandy—guess he missed beautiful Columbus, OH.
Tony,
You had to get that last “However” in there didn’t you? I thought you said you were done with it.
Do you realize that you are the only person on this board that feels this way?
Dude, Unknown, let it go. Tony’s remarks on here already take up too much space without giving him more reason to keep slinging nonsense.
Stu, your right. I’ll just ignore that guy, maybe if we all do it he will go away.
Stu,
It’s a blog…everything anyone says takes up space. Believe me the Braves management is not reading any of your brilliant comments.
Artist,
You can’t ignore me, I’m your mortal enemy. Notice how you always address me when I try to ignore you.
What’s a blog without ONE person to hate. BORING!!
Tony,
You might want to rein in the use of the “R” word.
I don’t like Joe Morgan as a commentator. So, you assume I am a white racist from the South. Well, guess who I like less – Chip Caray! Then, I must be black, right?
Tony Larussa has been blasted on this board more than anyone. So what does that make all of us?
You have made some ridiculous coments and assumptions which I think define the accusations you are throwing around at others.
I’m not against the players getting a day off, but it seems like it would be more useful sometime in August rather than tacked on to what is already a 3 day break.
Dix,
If you think Lou Lamoreillo benefitted from a lack of an NHL salary cap, you weren’t paying attention to the John McMullen Era that defined most of Lou’s run in New Jersey. The Devils never signed high-ticket free agents and never re-signed any their top players not named Brodeur, Stevens or Neidermayer—and Lou almost traded Neidermayer twice over salary disputes.
Lou is cheap and petty, but he also understands that hockey is the one professional sport where hungry players tend to do better. He believed that the 3 guys I mentioned above would never get soft and, as a master evaluator, he was right again.
I’ll grant you that Lou hasn’t been great managing the salary cap, but you can’t call a team that finished in first place last year “in a shambles.” For the record, they’ve won 7 of the last 10 division titles, including 3 of the last 4. Lots of teams would trade places with the Devils, including the team across the river here.
In my book, Lou is one of the great GMs in professional sports. His record speaks for itself.
BTW, he has 3 Cups to JS’s 2 rings. Just saying…
AMH,
These guys love that extra day at the beach with their families. When it’s during the middle of the week they don’t really get to enjoy it like they do in this situation.
It’s hockey; who cares
Mac & Artist: I think you guys both make valid points about the SEC championship game.
Being an ACC guy, you can make an argument that the ACC championship game should be there instead of Jacksonville. Or for that matter in DC, considering neither Atlanta or Jacksonville are that centrally located.
89 and 90, both right on. I enjoy playing hockey, but the professional sport has fallen off. I used to spend time on roto hockey and watching games, but now I spend that time on boxing and mma.
I do love catching NHL playoff games, however. I will always make time for those, but following the regular season is too much for me.
Parish,
Thanks for your comments. However, I have never used the “r” word towards anyone. If you can find where I did then I will shut the hell up. However I did say a little insensitive though, but that convo is over.
Now if you want I can continue, but I thought the concensus that I shut up, b/c no one is making negative comments b/c of race…Am I wrong?
Tony,
Since I’m the person that called Morgan inarticulate, I guess I should respond. I don’t live in Atlanta, I live in Washington, DC although I grew up in the South. I suspect that I’m a lot older than you and I would bet that I have seen a lot more raw racism than you can ever imagine. And if you want to see racism, go to some of the AJC blogs.
I understand understand the implications of making criticisms about black people that appear to go to their intelligence so forth. But I resent and reject the notion that you cannot criticize SPECIFIC black people when warranted. Can you honestly sit there and tell me after listening to Joe Morgan that he is not inarticulate? That he has trouble communicating his ideas? That he uses “you know” after every sentence. I AM NOT talking about his intelligence. What I am simply saying is that, for a guy that has been doing these games for almost 20 years, he has made no effort to improve his delivery. As far as I’m concerned,he had an obligation to work on his delivery and he has not.
And, please stop trying to play the martyr. Initially, I thought you were justified in responding as you did to some of the insults but you have gone way beyond and seemingly have become deliberately provacative.
That being said, it was much easier to follow hockey when NHL 2 Nite was still around. Sorry for the hockey posts.
Hate King,
I agree with you about your NHL posts. I played for close to a decade in junior leagues and even I don’t watch the NHL regular season.
I attempt to keep up with the Penguins as much as possible, partly because I’ve always liked them and because Crosby is a phenom.
Speaking of which, I wonder if he can pitch. . .
Hate King,
Hockey’s a cult sport for a reason. It’s regional, it’s expensive to attend & it doesn’t translate well on TV.
I hate the all-star break. Look at us: We’re bitchy & irritable.
I doubt LaRussa has been blasted as much (and certainly not with as much vitriol) as Kolbb.
Hockey can be brutal on tv, but the intensity of the playoffs makes it watchable. I like to catch meaningful, must win games, from a series or two.
Sorry, Tony.
I am running way behind on these messages as I am operating remotely from a PDA and it takes about ten minutes to type a simple message.
I don’t mind at all talking about race and I think the discussion of racial equality is an important one.
I am frustrated, however, because I believe that most of the efforts in the name of racial equality are actually detrimental to the cause. It becomes the story of “The Boy Who Cried David Duke.”. When David Duke really shows up people are tired of hearing about it.
I would love to get into hockey. I’ve been to a couple of games in person and it’s exciting, but it’s too damn expensive. I actually went to a Flames game when they were in Atlanta. I find it unwatchable on TV; of course, I didn’t grow up with it, so I don’t know much about strategy. If I knew more, I’m sure I would appreciate it more. It always strikes me as wrong when a team from California or Florida wins the Stanley Cup.
Marc,
No not deliberately provactive, but if I have an opinion or a thought of something I perceive going on the board…can I not question it? No I don’t have the same opinions you have about Joe Morgan. How do you know he hasn’t tried to improve his delivery? And no, he doesn’t use “you know” every other sentence. You have the right to criticize whomever you want…but don’t I also have the right to question HOW you criticize? We just have a difference of opinion about Mr. Morgan.
As far as seeing raw racism, that’s not something I want to compare. Seeing how you are older than me, you using the word inarticulate could seem deliberate to me…but again I have not use the “r” word once. If I thought this was a racist blog, I wouldn’t be on it.
As far as me playing the martyr…nope not at all.
I just saw Transformers last night, and it was a LOT like Independence Day (and Live Free or Die Hard), dumb and fun. It’s Michael Bay’s best movie since Armageddon, and if you’re a guy between the ages of 12 and 35 you’re sort of obliged by your gender to go see it.
So don’t worry. It’s fun.
Marc,
I tried to follow the Flames when I was a kid watching WTCG in Georgia. But when they moved to Calgary, I remained unmoved.
When I moved to the NYC area in 1990, all it took was to see a Devils-Penguins playoff game in person—I was fortunate, I got to see Mario Lemieux at his peak—and I was sold.
Given my long history of playing, watching or writing about the 3 major sports, I actually enjoyed the challenge of learning the nuances of hockey—I was ready for something new. But I agree, it’s not for everyone.
Hockey fans are kind of like punk-rock fans in the late ’70s—they know they’re a minority, but the pleasures they find in their passion transcends all.
Dammit, Ububba, you just played the ’70s punk-rock card. That makes me feel guilty for not being into hockey.
Argh.
I could spend all day writing about why Joe Morgan is a joke. (and he does use the phrase “you know” enough that it is easily noticible)
Fortunately, someone else already did.
As has been previously pointed out, http://www.firejoemorgan.com does a stupendous job of analyzing his ability (or lack thereof). I highly recommend it.
Unfair, I know.
But hockey fans always give each other the “what’s up?” when one of ’em is wearing some kind of NHL garb, kinda like the old days when someone had a Ramones or Stiff Little Fingers shirt.
Of course, back in the ’70s in my hometown, wearing a Ramones t-shirt might get you beat up by the Zep heads.
Transformers was great. Over the top doesn’t begin to describe the movie.
Transformers was pretty damn good…I didn’t fall asleep on it like I did with Spider-Man 3.
Transformers = amazing. I already can’t wait for it to come out on Blu-Ray.
Sweet action, it was really funny (The dad reminds me of mine), plus Megan Fox and the Aussie girl are smokin hot.
And of course we all know Megatron is not dead.
I liked Transformers a lot as well…
@45
(i realize i’m late to the dance on this one mac, but i need to say my peace)
tony,
t. moore’s piece on the lack of african american players on atlanta’s squad has been addressed here and on most other braves’ blogs. i and many of my friends found his comments insulting to the other players of color on the squad.
as far as moore, baker and jordan go, they are on par with readin/listening to jason stark, terry bowden or joe thiesman- pianful, disinteresting and frustrating, which is why i avoid them like the plague.
Wow, I miss a few hours of the site and suddenly our daily discussion about the announcers we get annoyed with the most turns into a Rainbow Coalition meeting.
I don’t care if Morgan is purple, he still gets on my nerves and sounds better with the tv on mute. I could say the same for McCarver, Bill Walton, and many others. So, I guess he is not all that special.
Completely Random:
Went driving around town yesterday and saw a home Tim Hudson is building. It’s a great looking place, on a hill, has this stone gate around the perimeter of the lot. Looks amazing! There’s a large large home less than 500 yards away down the hill in a field. Yep, that’s Tommy Tuberville’s home.
Pictures to follow in the next week or so if you people are good.
Beedee and JoshQ,
I thought you two were sort of quiet during the convo…good to see you back and thanks for your thoughts.
Hey Unknown, earlier I think you said that McCann was enjoying his extra day off. Tell him to go see Transformers. Like all who have mentioned it on the thread, it is good clean fun. Sometimes the best movies are those where you can just be along for the ride.
This is what I’m thinking:
Pete Orr & a PTBNL to Milwaukee for P. Fielder.
Chris Woodward & Tanyon Sturzte to NYY for AROD.
And then we can go ahead and trade all of our other organizational filler for top tier prospects. We’ll probably need to go ahead and get Johan Santana too. Then we just go right out and score 20 runs per game and win every game.
Lineup would be :
2B KJ
SS RENTY
3B CHIPPY
1B FIELDER
C MCCANNY
LF AROD
CF DRUW
RF FREEDOMY
P SANTANA
WHAT YOU GUY THINK?
No one has been insulted or criticized more on this blog than Chris Reitsma and Dan Kolb (both white guys). I’ve been reading for around two years now and it seems I’ve spent half of that time reading derogatory comments on those two. The stuff about Morgan et al is downright tame compared to some of that.
Also, if you want stuff that attacks someone’s intellegence, read all of the DANNY stuff. It was one way everyone vented frustration at that bad experiment we had with Kolb closing, and it got more and more brutal as the season wore on. I’m too lazy to dig up a link, but I think DANNY proves all by himself that awful performance is what drives people to complaining and bashing them on this board, and not race.
Tony,
I hate Joe Morgan because he always hates the Braves, end of story.
Second, let me echo all of Braves Journal, no one has been bashed more than Reitsma or Kolbb.
Third, I posted initially about Moore this morning because he is bad columnist; in the same way that Lebetard or Woody Paige are bad columnists. Terrence Moore has spent his career making everything about race. Sometimes things are and those should be brought to the table; but he’s wrong about the Braves. He’s wrong on on LOT.
This organization wants the best possible roster, which is why we dumped a nothing like Langerhans and replaced him w/ the superior, Willie Harris.
Also, most everyone on this site would agree that Mike Wilbon is one of the best sports writers in America. You don’t see him ever get bashed because he’s at the top of his profession. Plus, as on on DC resident, I’ve had the good fortune of meeting him. He’s a class act as well.
So please don’t make assumptions about Braves bloggers. We all may argue, but we’re passionate Braves fans and I have never seen one racist remark ever here. Mac wouldn’t allow it if someone even tried.
On a lighter note, I have yet to see “Transformers” or “Harry Potter” but both are on the docket. I was on on GI Joe and Star wars kid in the 80’s and even I am stoked to check out “Transformers”.
Alex,
I have seen racist remarks here, but from someone who doesn’t post here anymore. Luckily, everyone ignored him, which is what I tend to do with that subject.
In forumland, it rarely goes anywhere good.
Bring on the Bucs!
And how ’bout those Oklahoma Sooners!
Just a hint, using “articulate/inarticulate” to refer to a black person’s speech is probably going to land you in trouble. Saying that a black man is articulate is equivalent to saying he sounds white.
Just my opinion, I have not seen any overt racism on this forum but I do see coded racism and unfair criticisms levelled at non white players.
By the way, let me apologize for the
“on on” stuff a few times in my posting. There’s some weird thing with a Blackberry that it does that…tried to correct prior to posting, but to no avail.
First, I agree with the sentiment that if you talk about someone being inarticulate/articulate, even if you mean nothing by it (Joe Biden), it’s going to land you in hot water. I am not saying it should land someone in hot water (I don’t believe Biden is a racist for example) but I can agree and see why that might upset someone.
As for the poster who used to post racist stuff, ububba, yes, I had blocked that idiot out of my mind 🙂
I completely disagree about the coded racism.
I find it interesting that I had one of my classic “Alex R. rants” this morning, aimed 99% at Tony LaRussa, a white guy (and a jerk!) yes, I make one comment related to Terrence Moore that has nothing to do with race (I will say again that you don’t see people talking about Mike Wilbon because he’s an excellent journalist, end of story) and yet we have a day long dissemination of race relations, Braves Journal style?
If LaRussa was African American, would he have been brough into the discussion? That’s ultimately the point…the majority of my venom was aimed at a white guy, and the one time I even mention Moore’s name generates an entore breakdown of race relations.
It’s kind of ridiculous.
See, this is mean. “You suck, Reitsma!” in front of his kid (not done by anyone here so far as I know, but some of us cheered) was mean. Some of the things Alex and I wrote about Lockhart were vicious and borderline slander.
As for announcers, no announcer has come in for more grief here than Tim McCarver, unless it was Jeff Torborg. We just hate sixties catchers, I guess.
And Mac, don’t forget the vitriol given regularly to Chip Caray. Something I gladly participate in!
The Dan Kolb Bolg
http://www.dankolb.blogspot.com
Just seeing the name, Jeff Torborg, makes me a little angry and sad at the same time. I hear a unicorn dies every time you say his name three times in a row.
so i just got back from grabbing some sushi down the street and caught some of the HR Derby replay. my only thought is man i wish we could have found a way to sign/trade for Vlad when he was still an expo, he is such a joy to watch. i ‘d give my right nut if it would help the braves to get him in their uniform. anywho…just wanted to share that, oh and the yellowtail was freak’n awsome tonight.
GO BRAVES!
I love sushi too. Also, I don’t know what it is, but if a piece of crawfish just brushes up against my sushi it makes it 10 times better. I love those little guys.
My hometown was home to the “World’s Largest Crawfish Boil” so maybe it’s in my blood.
luv me some mud bugs
Vlad looks like he needs a cane and a nurse at all times except when he’s playing baseball
Maybe he could loan both to beedee if his Vlad-to-the-Braves scenario comes about.
Andrew Miller
stu,
i’d get one of those prosthetic nuts people give their dogs, but i’d the nurse if she was covered by hampton’s insurance money.
(man, rain days and allstar breaks always bring me down)
que carpenter’s music and K-tel logo
@137
i’d “take” the nurse…stu i challenge you to determine which is the real nut! muhahaahaha!
Jeffy wants to be Vlad so bad he can’t stand it.
Oh, and, as far as sushi goes, unagi is the food of the gods
Nuts and sushi… what has the world come to when these are among the subjects of discussion on a baseball blog?
Maybe someone will get traded tomorrow just to spice things up.
It would certainly season things up if Salty got traded…yes, that was a horrible attempt at a pun.
I’d cry if Salty was traded for anyone, because I know we can’t keep whoever he’s traded for.
Jeff M.,
This is what happens during baseball withdrawals. We all get mad and then start the crazy talk. I’m really surprised no one has brought up Baltimore yet.
Oops.
Baltimore? What about Baltimore?
Lol.
Seriously, what about Baltimore.
Baltimore sucks.
/Baltimore rulezzz!
(rinse, repeat)
Also, I just heard from a tradesman working for a neighbor of Smitty’s barber that we are trading Roger for Leo and a 2nd rounder.
/Anyone going to the game on Sunday?
Nope, gonna be in LA tomorrow. If I get a break with my schedule, gonna try to catch the Rangers in Anaheim. It’s 50/50 right now.
BTW, I highly recommend the HBO documentary on the Brooklyn Dodgers. It’s 2 hours and, like most of the HBO sports docs (Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, etc.), it’s loaded with revealing interviews & anecdotes.
Great stuff on Ebbets Field & the Brooklyn community, Jackie Robinson, The Shot Heard Round the World & other October failures, the joy of the ’55 title & the tragedy of their eventual move.
I didn’t realize the extent to which the Dodgers’ LA move was impacted by Robert Moses, NYC’s omnipotent parks commissioner, transportation czar, etc. It’s a shame that they couldn’t move to the Atlantic Avenue area, as was Walter O’Malley’s plan, where LI suburbanites could access via LIRR trains. (And, of course, if that had happened there probably would be no Mets.)
Though thoroughly villified to this day by old Brooklynites, O’Malley comes off almost sympathetically. Almost.
If we want Mazonne why don’t we just hire Perlozzo…pretty sure he’s available now >.
ububba,
robert moses was a beast. that 12 part series on the history of manhattan is amazing as well.
urlhix,
may make it to the game if my girl’s plane is on time, otherwise i’ll be headed to surin for lunch then off to pub for the rest of the game.
ububba,
I tivoed the Dodgers show and am watching. It’s great. A couple of years ago, I read a book called The Last Good Season-Brooklyn, the Dodgers and
Their Final Pennant Race Together by Michael Shapiro. It made basically the same point–that it was really Moses that drove the Dodgers out of Brooklyn rather than O’Malley. (Ironically, for us at least, the book was built around the 1956 season in which the Dodgers beat out the Milwaukee Braves for the pennant.) Moses had a lot to do with the decline of NY in the 50s and 60s.
I will just make a couple of final comments about race. I understand the sensitivity around comments relating to intelligence, articulateness, etc. involving African-Americans, just as I, being Jewish, am sensitive to comments about Jews and money (although Dan Snyder is far from my favorite, I get uncomfortable with some of the comments about him). On the other hand, ignoring things like that with respect to individual black people seems to me a bigotry of low expectations. Joe Morgan is obviously not the only inarticulate analyst on TV, but to me he is the most glaring because of his penchant for saying “you know.” It drives me crazy and it would drive me crazy whoever did it. Morgan has certainly suffered for being black–he was stopped at an airport and apparently subjected to a search because he fit the “profile” of a drug dealer. But there is no reason that he can’t be more of a professional and stop hiding behind the “I’m not a journalist, I’m a fan” mantra.
As for the lack of African-Americans on the Braves and other teams, it’s sort of an odd issue because there is no lack of black players in baseball–they just aren’t Americans. The last I saw, Andruw Jones and Edgar Renteria weren’t white. If this was the South, circa 1960, I don’t think anyone would make the distinction between being African-American and African-Latin or Curacaoan. The issue was always race, not ethnicity or nationality. The teams clearly aren’t avoiding black players and it bothers me that Terrence Moore seems to take the position that Latin or Caribbean players that are black don’t “count.” The fact is, MLB today is far more diverse and open than it ever has been. It is truly a worldwide collection of talent. Ben Chapman would (hopefully)shoot himself if he saw the major leagues today.