It just goes on. Please everyone be nice to one another.
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It just goes on. Please everyone be nice to one another.
Use code “Journal” for a 5% discount.
To sum up my feelings about the Braves team, the organization, their competition, and their chances:
I Believe!
Ditto Kevin…..I got high hopes….
Without any Braves games, I’m forced to pay attention to the Orlando Magic and the contract they gave to Rashard Lewis….bigger than what they gave Grant Hill. Lewis says that he, along with Dwight Howard, make the Magic instant favorites in the East Confrence…any thoughts?
Lewis should be tested for banned substances?
the braves will heal the world!
Morning…All is well today except for that tiny little fact that I have no baseball again today. Has anyone here seen Harry Potter? Sorry, I couldn’t think of anything Braves related.
The new Harry Potter was good, but I haven’t read the book in a year so I wasn’t mad about any inconsistencies because I can’t remember any.
I have a feeling JS is going to do something very very soon. I’m just not sure what.
Josh, I saw H. Potter last night. I had heard before hand that it wasn’t very good. However, I disagree with that. I thought it was pretty entertaining.
My assumption is that crazy Potter-ites didn’t like someone of the differences between the book and the movie. Personally, I didn’t notice them until a Potter-ite told me what they were. If you liked the other movies/books you should see it.
Boomer, you beat me to it.
In response to the last thread about BMore: Perlozzo is the anti-christ, or at least the anti-manager. He was a good /bench coach/ but terrible manager.
By the way, some people were wondering about the off day. Braves have to go to stadium at 4 to workout and hit today. So it’s not a total offday.
The Mets hired Ricky Henderson to be their hitting coach. That should be fun.
Wait a minute — so now almost the entire NL gets a 4-day AS break? What the hell is that?!
The Mets hired Ricky Henderson to be their hitting coach. That should be fun.
I am beside myself with glee over this development. Does Rickey have any experience as a hitting coach? Is experience required?
I think Rickey has ulterior motives — he’s angling to be added to the active roster come September, thus becoming the first ever pinch runner/hitting coach. He and Julio can show up on Sept. 1 every year and become the Mets’ version of Vic Davalillo and Manny Mota.
I thought Harry Potter was great, but I don’t read the books. My daughter, who is 11, liked the movie but was bothered by some of the stuff they left out from the book.
If Rickey can actually teach people to approach ABs the way he did it, he could be the greatest hitting coach of all time.
A Couple Rickey Stories: When he was playing for the Mets, I went to a game at Shea & sat very close to the LF line. During a pitching change, Rickey came over to the stands & got into a very animated, curse-filled argument with a fan who was riding him. They cussed each other out face-to-face for 2 minutes, F-bombs all over the place and when it was time to play, Rickey just said, “Allgood, it’s cool,” and he went back to his position. Weird.
The first time I saw Rickey play in person, he was with Oakland playing the Yanks in the Bronx. He hit 2 HRs, including one off the facing of the upper deck that won the game for the A’s.
Of course, it took him a half-hour to round the bases. But that was Rickey.
Off topic: How do you put things into italics on this site?
Salty for Teixiera not likely….
from DOB
http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/braves/stories/2007/07/11/0711traderumor.html
I really get tired of Boras and his clients
Ok…so the Mets and the Diamondbacks fire their hitting coaches. I just wonder through that embarassing string of shutouts and AJ struggles did the Braves come close to firing TP.
If Ricky can teach the kind of patience he had at the plate, then the Mets lineup just got a lot better. He was an on base machine in his prime.
Rickey is my all-time favorite ballplayer, and has been almost from the day he was brought up in ’79. And yet he played for over 20 years before I ever got to see him in person. I was in Seattle in 2000, and went to see them play the Yankees. Rickey led off the bottom of the first, reached on an error, pulled his hamstring trying to steal second, immediately left the game and I never saw him play again.
To begin italics, type “”. To end italics, type “”
Oh well, that didn’t work. Google HTML italics and you’ll find it.
I just heard a sample interview with Rickey Henderson:
“This is Rickey Henderson, the new hitting coach extraorindaire esq. of the New York mets. Rickey believes that Rickey can help the Mets get better. Rickey is going to help Rickey, I mean Carlos Beltran and David Wright, hit less home runs and steal more bases. Rickey stole a lot of bases and you know how the kids loved to watch Rickey run.”
“Rickey was just saying the other day that Rickey is a first ballot hall of famer who knows a lot about hitting. So, Omar Minaya called up Rickey and Rickey told Omar he’d be happy to help a bunch of losers like the Mets out. Rickey is all about teaching. It’s all about the kids. Rickey loves kids and kids, well, they love Rickey!”
OK, so in case people are cofused by my post 😉 Rickey is infamous for speaking in the 3rd person.
Seriously, all that’s missing now is to bring back Bobby Valentine as the Mets Manager. And he should always have himself and Rickey wearing those fake Albert Einstein glasses–that would be fun.
Re: Stu’s comment above
That’s the 2nd time in 2 days you’ve made me laugh out loud, Stu. I appareciate your fantasy team next year being called, “Larussa’s hateable face”. That would be an awesome team name.
And YES…Rashard Lewis needs to be checked for subtances if he suddenly thinks the Magic are the best team in the East.
From the where are they now department. I found this article on A.J. Zapp. I am not sure if anyone remembers him, but he was the Braves 1st round draft pick I believe in 1995.
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070712/SPORTS0204/707120362/1057/SPORTS02
On the firing the hitting coach thing. I think that is about the lamest and laziest thing a franchise can do. I am not trying to take away from their jobs, but how much do you think they really do. I am sure it helps to have an extra set of eyes, but what do you tell professional hitters. “Keep that elbow up, eye on the ball.”
I do not like trading Salty for a 1B, what do we really gain? If we trade Salty at all it has to be for starting pitching, and there is no one out there to get, so keep him, show Thorman the door and let the catchers rotate at 1B so they play everyday.
Transformers was really good, I could not believe I liked it, first movie I did not take a nap during in a long time, over the top but real damned entertaining.
see the Digital Projection Version, insane.
I love it when people talk in third person, actually I despise it!! One of the many things that get under my skin
Alex R…I thought u were funny with your Rickey post, then you ruined it by explaining it….lol
Kenny…AJ Zapp, I indeed remember him.
Oldtimer…I to stayed awake for the entire Transformers movie. I can’t say the same thing for Spider-Man 3 or Fantastic 4 2
Thank you for that interview AlexR. JoshQ thinks it is so funny how you made JoshQ laugh out loud.
I have a feeling that the braves never considered getting rid of TP. He seems like someone that Bobby is grooming as a replacement. I also don’t think a hitting coach has a whole lot of effect on batters. Take the Braves for instance, I know that McCann, Chipper, and Andruw don’t get any of their tips from him. Andruw does, but he just refuses to listen.
The Mets get Pedro back eventually. The Braves get… Lance Cormier? I hope JS has a trade for starting pitching in the works.
If Andruw continues to regain his stroke, there’s no urgent need to get a bat. What about trading Thorman and platooning Diaz and Salty at first (if Bobby isn’t ready to just give first to Salty full time)?
I wont miss Thorman at all, trade him do whatever
Josh,
I agree Bobby is too loyal of a person to try and blame one of his own coaches for the failure of the team. Bobby always takes the blame himself, and is one of the few managers that still do this. He reminds me of the Bear, who used to always take the blame when the team loss, and always give credit when the team won.
Transformers was one of the few movies I have seen in a while that did not disappoint. If you have not seen it you should definitely check it out.
Well, Tony, not everyone is as smart as you so I decided one or two folks on here might not have gotten what I was doing 😉
Still, my first thought with the Mets hiring Rickey was Rickey in front of the mirror telling Rickey how great of a hitting coach Rickey is gonna be.
On a slightly more serious note, I am really not sure why the Mets felt the need to make a change at hitting coach? I didn’t see their offense as the real problem and several of their players are having their usual great offensive years…Wright, Beltran, Reyes, etc.
The playoff calibre teams that have the best excuse to replace their hitting coaches are the Padres and our Braves. But the Padres don’t have a lot of offensive talent so I am not sure any hitting coach could make that lineup great, and as for the Braves, I would really like to see TP SCREAMING at the likes of Francouer and Andruw but I suspect it would fall on deaf ears.
As for JoshQ’s comments, yes, I have not only felt that the Braves are likely grooming Pendleton to be the Manager, but I do think Pendleton would be a better manager as opposed to hitting coach. Pendleton’s temperament is so much like Bobby’s…very encouraging, great repoire with players, easy going personality. Sometimes, guys are better suited for some roles as opposed to others.
I think Pendleton would be the right successor for Bobby in terms of continuity of style and personality. If you suddenly go say the Larry Bowa (type) route, the Braves would go backwards as an organization.
Ron,
I am really not concerned about Pedro. I have a strong feeling that if he even tries to pitch again this year, he will quickly have pain and go away again. If the Mets are relying on Pedro, the Braves should feel some confidence. Just look at Hampton. Sometimes, some pitchers just don’t come back and Pedro’s rapidly advancing age is not going to help.
Plus, even if Pedro is able to pitch, he won’t be close to the old Pedro. If anything, he will have lot a lot on his fastball and his curve and breaking ball won’t have the same snap. He will be a very pedestrian and very hittable pitcher.
Again, it’s speculation on my part, sure, but considering his age, his history of arm troubles and his time away from the game, I just don’t see Pedro waltzing back to the mound and blowing hitters away.
As I stated yesterday, I don’t see Dontrelle being any different in Mets uniform. He’s still wildly inconsistent and if the Mets him, they are getting a pitcher who can be wild and hit hard. The Braves have shown over & over they can hit Willis.
Willis with the Mets doesnt bother me, this guy might be the most overrated pitcher in baseball. However, this rumor of Oswalt to the Mets does
http://msn.foxsports.com/rumors/mlb#4
I would trade Salty and Escobar for Oswalt
CSG:
And Davies and Reyes.
I doubt Oswalt will go anywhere, but I would being willing to trade about 1/2 the team to get Oswalt. He is one of the 5 best pitchers in the league. I could not see the Astros trading away someone that good and that young, 29 I believe.
Agreed…Oswalt to the Mets bothers me greatly and if the Astros idiotic management does a deal w/ Omar that is mostly about Lastings Freaking Milledge (the now very overrated prospect) I am going to hurl.
I have to admit…I would also trade Salty & Escobar to get Oswalt. He’s a proven #1. He’s also signifigantly better as opposed to Matt Morris, Javy Vazquez and Dontrelle Willis.
Alex R.,
I think you are completely wrong about Pedro. Obviously, he won’t be Pedro vintage 1999, but this guy knows how to pitch. I think it would be very dangerous to underestimate the effect Pedro could have. I doubt any of the Braves are looking forward to facing him even now. I’m not saying he will be dominant but don’t assume he cannot still be effective.
As for hitting coaches, I think their effect is very subtle. There really seem to be two kinds of hitting coaches: those that adopt a particular “style” such as Walt Hriniak or (the guy that taught George Brett-can’t remember his name) and those that try to work with each hitter’s individual approach. I don’t know which way is better but a lot depends on who you have to work with. TP has a lot of young (and not so young), aggressive hitters that are still trying to learn at the big league level. I doubt TP is a great hitting coach, but I think a lot is simply the style of hitter the Braves have. Look at all the hitting instructors the Braves have had over the years and yet their hitting has been pretty much the same–except when they had guys like Sheffield. I think the problem is much more with the type of hitter that the Braves tend to draft than with the hitting coach.
I agree Kenny, if the Astros trade Oswalt, then they should fold their franchise.
I don’t think Willis is overrated, just overhyped. A career 65-46 3.59 era…damn in 2005, he went 22-10 with a 2.63 era with 5 shutouts. I would take Willis, not for Salty though. He is still only 25.
Here’s a question that I’ve seen pop up here and there: Would you trade Salty for Erik Bedard? Or is he simply a recipient of Leo’s magic?
Marc,
I agree with you about the style of hitting coaches, depending on the player; this also holds true with pitching coaches.
It brings me back to a point I made a year ago: Baseball teams should consider hiring 2-3 hitting coaches and 2-3 pitching coaches.
If you look at the NFL as a model, the NFL has a lot of assistant coaches with various specialities. Different styles. The defensive backs coach may have somewhat a different philosophy even from the defensive coordinator, which maybe better suited for the personnel on the team.
I have been a proponent for some time now that MLB teams should consider hiring up to 3 hitting coaches and 3 pitching coaches. The players who’s “styles” match up with a certain coach, will generally focus on that approach. To me, it makes a heckuva lot more sense. Instead, you have teams trying to fit round pegs (Andruw Jones) into square holes (Terry Pendleton).
We’ve all heard how some Braves pitchers loved Mazzone but some of the other pitchers prefer McDowell’s approach. Why not have both guys and divide the responsibilities?
Bill K.,
I would absolutely trade Salty AND Escobar for Bedard.
Bedard was already showing to be one of the games’ best young lefties before Mazzone arrived.
Erik Bedard is a beast of a talent. it’s akin to asking if we would trade salty for say, Justin Verlander. HELL YES.
Agreed on the trade for Bedard. He is a stud. He would be absolutely the only reason to watch the Oriels. He is still very young.
Since we are throwing out hypotheticals, how about that pitcher from the Nationals, Jason Bergman. I have not seen him pitch against anybody else, and I know he was on the DL earlier this season, but he has absolutely owned us. If nothing else we would not have to face him which would probably account for 3-5 wins right there. Anybody know anything else about him?
Hmmm…Bedard is the ace of the staff, he’s not going anywhere. Although there was talk up in this area that a Bedard for Tex trade was in the works b/c the Orioles office is so bad. Bedard is 28 y/o, he’s solid…but not giving up Salty and Escobar.
Alex,
That’s way too many coaches for a 25 man team. A good hitting coach or pitching coach should be able to alter his approach to whomever he is coaching.
I would take Bergman, but he’s not an ace. He probably a bad #2 or good #3. Of course our team makes him look better than he really is. I wouldnt give up Salty for him by any means.
The best hitting coach of the “pennant winning” era for the Braves (based on results as I saw them): Don Baylor.
The Braves need either a different (or a specific) organizaiton-wide hitting philosophy that empasizes not swinging at balls out of the strike zone. It would be amazing to see how many of these guys would have a clue if they couldn’t get promoted without showing that skill.
Recently, I sense that the organization wide Sain Mazzone pitching philosophy is being ditched. I believe that is a big mistake. That system (low and away fastball, don’t give in to the hitter, more days of throwing, etc.) consistently produces improvements in pitchers (as proven eloquently by JC) and was a big part of “the streak”.
On the multiple coaches front, you would have to have one designated as the top coach and the others as assistants to that coach. Otherwise it could turn into chaos.
Kenny, I’m with you on Jason Bergmann. I’ve probably talked quite a few ears off with my utter fear and awe of that man.
It’s absolutely insane how much he’s owned us, but he’s also been quite good against the rest of the league this year when healthy. Problem is, the one thing the Nats can’t afford to sell is young pitching, so I doubt they’d bite.
I think Mac mentioned that Rickey Henderson is credited with teaching Jose Reyes how to walk. If that’s true, then he could be one hell of a hitting coach.
Tony,
Again, look at an NFL roster…yes, lots more players, but when you just have 1 pitching coach or 1 hitting coach, the odds are about 99% that their style simply couldn’t cover every pitcher or hitter on the team.
I agree we have no shot at getting Bedard, and the O’s are normally unreasonable in their demands anyway…with Bedard, the price would be half the Braves roster.
I think the Oswalt thing is far more realistic given his age. Still, my gut is that the ‘Stros won’t deal him. Ultimately, it’s so hard to find a starting pitcher who is a legit #1.
The Jason Bergmann thing is a lot more interesting, except he’s actually a young pitcher and though Jim Bowden is a moron, he’s not even dumb enough to trade one of his only solid young starters.
Knowing Bowden, I am sure he will try and give us Jason Simontacci for Escobar and Salty with some sort of stupid reason like, “see, Simontacci for Saltamacchia…same names practically…we should do it!”
It’s funny, living here in DC, I know one of the organizational people for the Nats as we used to work together about 8 years ago at another job, and he basically confirmed that YES, Jim Bowden is a moron and people inside the Nats front office actually make fun of him.
Yikes.
AAR,
I think Mr. and Mrs. Reyes should be credited with teaching Jose how to walk at an early age, but I am sure Rickey would tell Rickey to take credit for that too.
Justin,
Yes, my suggestion last year talked structurally of having say a leo Mazzone as the Senior pitching coach with say a McDowell and another younger pitching coach as the assistants.
My bad for leaving that part out of it….but yes, too many cooks in the kitchen means spaghetti sauce everywhere.
Alex, very funny.
I’m thinking Jose Reyes might have been one of those babies who learned to run before he learned to walk.
The one thing that I have never really liked is that the Braves don’t emphasize strike zone judgement enough. The only recent player that I can think of that has come through the system with a good idea of the strike zone is Kelly Johnson. If you look at teams like the A’s they do a tremendous job of this. I think the Braves do a wonderful job of developing both hitters and pitching in general, but it is a little nit pick I have.
Kenny,
I do think Brian McCann is another recent through the system guy that shows good overall judgement.
But yes, there are also too many Francouer and Thorman types.
AAR,
Yes, Jose Reyes as a baby…I am guessing he had very athletic parents to keep up with all the running around he did. As someone who’s about to be a first time dad in a few months, I would be scared if my child turns out to be as fast as a Jose Reyes baby.
As a father of two, all children are as fast as Jose Reyes, especially if they have a dirty diaper or got in to the chochlate…little speed demons…
I dont think its an org. philosophy to swing at everything, however you have guys like Andruw, Francouer, and Thor who at times are just free swingers. Its more on the scouts/not hitting coaches to find players who have good plate discipline. Its the coaches job to make sure the players are doing the things necessary to succeed. I will give Francouer credit for this year, he’s been more patient and he’s getting better pitches to hit. Pendleton may need some credit for this, I dont know
more from MLB rumors…
State Of The Astros
Astros GM Tim Purpura has finally admitted that the Astros should not be making player acquisitions with this year in mind. A huge veteran firesale makes perfect sense right now.
As far as the huge blockbuster names – Carlos Lee, Lance Berkman, and Roy Oswalt – Purpura specifically says they will not be traded. I have avoided wasting ink on the Oswalt rumors that have bounced around over the past few weeks, because I just didn’t believe them. Oswalt’s 2008-11 total salary – $58MM – is about the same as Mark Buehrle’s and an equal-sized bargain.
Oswalt mentioned his willingness to waive his no-trade clause if a deal would help the Astros, which I imagine would require the $16MM option for 2012 to be exercised. Regardless, trading Oswalt would be silly. A pitcher of his stature at a reasonable contract is a rarity.
While it would have been great to have Oswalt in Atlanta, the fact that the Mets hopefully won’t get him is at least a relief.
Second Spitter-
Yes, dirty diapers…one of the many “joys” I have to look forward to soon 😉
Rickey is a great hitter, and a smart hitter. I think that he might be a great hitting coach, too.
I’ve been a proponent of personalized hitting instruction, and see no reason why it can’t work. As for the number of coaches, there are several coaches on every team whose day-to-day duties are obscure at best. There’s a reason why I only listed three names on my “worst coach” poll: the duties of everyone but the hitting, pitching, and third base coach are what, exactly?
It’s a little different for pitching coaches, because the pitching coach has executive duties. If there were other pitching coaches on staff that could be a problem. Still, pitchers have always looked to veteran and retired pitchers for help and always will. Smoltz probably has as much to do with teaching the other pitchers as McDowell.
Great point CSG. I knew that Oswalt was still on the reasonable side as far as price, but I did not realize how long he was locked up for.
I don’t think anyone really thought he was going to be moved anyway. In general the only players that really get moved this time of year are older veterans who have expiring contracts.
Hey lay off Francouer. He has really improved.
Here is someone we should consider getting for a mid level prospect.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?playerId=6096
I would include Salty and anyone else in a trade for Bedard, but there is no chance the Orioles trade him. They can’t pull the trigger on trades in their favor; I don’t expect them to start making lopsided deals. The Orioles are a mess.
I think Ricky will be a good coach too, but firing the hitting coach is always a desperation move. This just puts more pressure on the Mets, and gives the NY media more to talk about. I like the Braves chances the further we get into the season as long as we keep the lead close.
TSN MLB Expert Stan McNeal:
“”The Braves look like pretenders, but they’re staying close.””
Shut up, dude.
Isn’t Bedard leading MLB in strike outs? I know BMore is in need of something, but I doubt trading their top pitcher for anyone short of GOD is going to help them.
Bedard is something they can build their pitching staff around.
Coop @ 65: Stan McNeal is an idiot.
The fact is, no one in the National League is a pretender anyway. Or very few–everyone has a shot.
Besides, someone should ask Stan about the wonderful Mets starting pitching or the fact that they pulled a desperation move and replaced their hitting coach.
#66, I’ll take your Stan McNeal and raise you Tim Purpura. Boy, that guy hasn’t done too swell of a job in Houston, has he? He practically screamed “unfair” when Roger Clemens announced he wouldn’t unretire again to bail them out of yet another crappy season.
Hey, genius, how about letting good hitters replace the guys with a .300 OBP?
The Astros had a pretty solid GM in Gerry Hunsicker, not great, but decent, and ran him out of town for this stiff, AAR.
The idea of multiple hitting coaches makes sense but won’t happen b/c baseball is conservative and wouldn’t want to do anything that makes it look like football.
No way the O’s trade Bedard; they wouldn’t even trade Brian Roberts. And Stan Kasten isn’t going to be trading any pitching from the Nats unless he gets overwhelmed.
I don’t think Salty gets traded, at least during the season. I don’t see the match and JS isn’t going to give him away for some mediocre No. 3. Teixera makes no sense; he is a free agent-to be and is obviously older than Salty to boot. Why would you make that trade?
Alex R.,diapers aren’t as bad as you think. You get used to it and it only lasts for two or three years (depending on how many kids you have of course). Just make sure you have a Diaper Genie, the greatest thing ever invented. And, believe me, changing diapers isn’t as bad as watching the Braves bullpen last year(:
Marc,
Believe me, I have a feeling that everytime I change this child’s diapers, it will remind me of watching Kolbb or Reitsma pitch the last 2 years. Except the smell maybe better in this case.
Yes, our friends have already informed my wife & I of the wonderment that is the diaper genie.
Teixeira is under contract for next year and is making a reasonable salary, so it’s not a bad deal at all for the Braves. it comes down to which player helps more this year and next and down the road.
Obviously, that’s 2 different answers unless we feel that Salty will have a breakout season in 2008–he just might and is worth keeping, unless we can have a #1 starter (like Oswalt or Bedard) for him.
Whew!!! I can finally get back here. Anyways, Julio Franco was designated for assignment today. I would rather have him over Thorman in a game winning situation.
Hey CSG, who’d you rather have in a game winning situation: Franco or Thorman?
good question? leaning towards Franco!
Hey lay off Francouer. He has really improved.
This my problem with that statement:
2007 OBP by month:
April .367
May .319
June .313
July .294 (in 34 PAs)
So maybe he did make an adjustment this year. Even so, the league adjusted and now he’s back to being the same old out machine. He’s trending strongly negative with zero unintentional walks in July.
My buddy, huge Mets fan, wanted Franco to become the hitting coach and ricky to get activated. it is ashame they designated Franco for assignment. The Mets are feeling the heat.
I think its just so Milledge can come up again. They want him to perform right now so his value can get higher. Here’s to hoping he goes 0-30 and everyone realizes he’s not that good
by the way Mets 2-2 bottom of 5
I’d give beedee’s other nut for Oswalt or Bedard.
With Jose Reyes’ homerun today, he has a grand homerun total of five this year. He had seven in 2005.
I write this because I remember either the New York Post or the New York Observer declaring Jose Reyes would hit 25-30 homeruns this year after his 19 homerun performance in 2006. Opps.