Chipper Jones Statistics – Baseball-Reference.com
What with Chipper leading the league in hitting, and having never led the league in any official offensive category, I thought I’d check on how close he’d come before. He’s actually never finished second in any of the Black Ink categories. In his 1999 MVP season, he finished second in intentional walks, which really should bring shame upon Brian Jordan if his announcing hasn’t already. He was also second in times on base and extra base hits, but I don’t know if those are official categories. He’s finished third a couple of times, homers and walks in 1999. From what I can tell, he’s never really come close to winning any title, though he’s often won the unofficial non-steroid, non-Coors Field titles.
If I haven’t sufficiently bored you, here is a video.
People had better not hold this lack of leading the league in anything against him when he gets up to the Baseball Hall of Fame elections.
He was the best offensive player on some very good/borderline great teams, with an MVP, a WS, and excellent postsseason stats. Barring total collapse, he’s in.
Darn right he is.
http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070721&content_id=2101228&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl
Article sures makes it sound like Saltalamacchia is a goner, and that Teixeria and some starting pitching are coming this way.
I know there’s been rumors to contrary, but I really can’t imagine the Braves landing Teixeria without giving up Salty.
I find it hard to believe anybody but Bobby has a set of Yunel colored glasses, but hope springs eternal. Having said that, I would have to move Salty for Tex, if there were a commitment for a long term deal. Did you notice Tex’s #1 comp by age is Fred McGriff?
Chipper truly is one of the great baseball talents that there’s ever been, IMO. One of those guys who won’t be fully appreciated until after he’s gone.
He’s not quite on Griffey’s level when it comes to I-wonder-what-he-woulda-done-if-he’d-stayed-healthy speculation, but I’ll always wonder how even more eye-popping his career stats would look if his body hadn’t started giving out until later.
I’d also like to note that I wish Smoltz had called him out (or not) about 4 years ago, because the dude can certainly hit while he’s hurting.
Langerhans just bunted a no out, two-strike pitch straight up for an out and, since the runner from 1B was going for the Nats, a double play.
Not missing him one bit.
#6
The thing is, I don’t believe a long-term contract for Teixeira is very likely, because he will be a free agent after 2008, and Scott Boras is his agent. No way he gets taken off the open market before then, and that’s why I wouldn’t do it. Especially since Salty would almost have to be included in the trade.
Sansho1,
You’re right. There probably won’t be. The question would have to be whether Tex brings a better chance at winning this year and next than not having him. And by winning, I mean more than just a .500 record. It means at least entry into the playoffs and some degree of success there. Moreover, another question might be: what might we be able to get for Salty over the winter.
I have long been under the impression that we only need starting pitching. However, when I think about it, we are not going to replace Andruw’s power with another center fielder next year. The better option would be to go for a 1B with power and look for a CF who can hit for avg for next year. I think Tex fits the bill at 1B.
If we can get Tex and somehow pull off a trade for a decent SP, we are set for this year and have a good start for next year.
That said, if Texas was willing to send a bullpen arm like CJ Wilson or Benoit, in a package for Salty (and likely some other minor leaguer(s)), then that deal would likely improve the team for at least the next year and a half. Then it would be up to Liberty what would happen next.
Another nice thing about the trade is that we would not have to see Salty but every third year. Personally, I’m rather frightened of seeing him go to Florida (and I’m not directing my comments at anyone in particular) and having to face Salty a ton of times each year.
I would think Saltalamacchia’s value would be higher at the trade deadline, but I’m not 100% sure of that.
The Devil Rays could have made this all irrelevant if they hadn’t turned down Saltalamacchia, Escobar and Davies for Rocco Baldelli back in December. And some people here liked that trade at the time.
Saltalamacchia and maybe a fringe prospect for Teixeira and Otsuka works for me.
Why CJ Wilson exactly?
Otsuka’s hurt and CJ Wilson is a LOOGY.
Also, I’m glad we didn’t trade for Baldelli, as big a man-crush as I had on him at the time. That said, I don’t remember anyone saying we should trade all 3 for Baldelli—I was thinking it was 2 of the 3—but I could be wrong.
And I don’t think there’s any way you get that done for Salty and a “fringe” prospect. Maybe Salty and a couple of good-but-low-level prospects (I’m thinking someone like Schafer), though.
I never got the LOOGY thing. There are plenty of right-handed relief pitchers who can get left-hander sluggers out. If you’re a good pitcher, you should be able to get out both right and left handed hitters.
From what I remember, maybe someone can pull out the archives, most people here like Saltalamacchia, Escobar and Davies for Baldelli, they just opposed it being Saltalamacchia, Escobar and Chuck James for Baldelli, which is what the Devil Rays wanted.
Well, yes, you should, but the fact remains that lefties generally have a tougher time hitting lefties, unless those latter lefties are named Chuck James or Wil Ledezma. And surely you can agree that a pitcher who’s good at getting out lefties is more valuable than an injured pitcher, no?
No duh. 😛
I just feel uneasy about the whole thing because if we do trade for Teixeira, we’re mortgaging our future for a 1 1/2 year fix.
And then we’ll be without a first baseman again.
Well, I found this from me on December 9th:
Lance,
I realize that Salty is blocked. However, even if we’re set on trading him — and that’s fine with me — we should still attempt to maximize his value. Sending him along with two other valuable commodoties for Rocco Baldelli does not do that.
I think some people are underestimating Escobar’s value to the Braves. As I see it, he provides us with Renteria flexibility both at the trading deadline and next offseason. We’re paying Renteria only 6 million a year — in this market, if he continues to play the way he played last season, that’s a steal. Still, as we’re seeing with Marcus, for a team with an 80-million dollar budget, 6 million dollars is significant. Renteria could become very valuable as a trade asset in the near future, and having Escobar allows us to consider trading him if the right deal comes along.
And people on here are definitely undervaluing Kyle Davies. I do not want to include him with two other solid prospects for Rocco Baldelli.
All in all, I could handle Salty + Escobar, but as bmac says, if our focus is on pitching, it makes absolutely no sense to trade Davies.
Can’t find anyone specifically saying they’d do all 3 of those, although Rob Cope did say he’d “do anything short of a James trade to get him”, so maybe he would’ve done it.
Either way, we can all agree that it’s a good thing JS wasn’t listening to us Baldelli-ites.
We keep hearing Salty and Escobar in trade rumors, but at this point, Thorman, Diaz, Harris, and KJ aren’t playing everyday. As much as I love Diaz’s bat, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in a trade package.
Maybe Kala Ka’aihue will be ready by 2009?
I was under the impression Otsuka’s injury is minor and he should be back in a few days as his DL stint was retroactive to some date. I don’t know.
Sam,
Who knows what the budget and roster will look like after 2008? We might have room to spend a few million on a 1B, or the big Hawaiian might be ready to play, or there might be another trade between now and then.
I can understand the reluctance to trade for an expensive player who’ll only be on your roster for a couple of months, but that extra year really does make a big difference, at least as far as my perception goes.
Baldellimites.
Braves.com mentions that the Braves may listen to offers for Thorman in the Julio Franco article, but I have no idea what we could get for him (unless Chris Woodward ends up playing for another team before the deadline. Then we could trade back for him.)
Dan,
Yeah, I guess you’re right. I just don’t want to have a situation where there’s a chance we could be Adam Wainwrighted again.
korobienski and LanceinFL were also on board with those 3 for Baldelli, so you’re right that there was some support, Dan. At least I wasn’t that wrong. 🙂
I will go to my grave believing the JD Drew trade was not a bad one.
What do others think? I know several still complain about the deal (Mac included), but it seems like there were at least few who were of my opinion the last time this was discussed.
The reason it hasn’t looked so bad yet is because Drew and Marrero had super seasons and Marquis and King were crud. But the fact is that Wainwright could swing the balance of the trade back into St. Louis’s favor soon, if he hasn’t already.
He hasn’t already.
And that’s hardly a fact.
Okay, then it’s not bad yet.
I still contend that Drew had the best season of his career in Atlanta. Of course, I also think he had to sit out a game or two one time after hitting his head on the dugout roof. Make of that what you will. *laughs*
Well, there’s not much of an argument about that, Sam. It was clearly his best season. That great season is a lot of why the trade was a good one, IMO.
Kaaihue might well be ready in 2009. He’s still tearing it up at Myrtle Beach, with a 1000+ OPS despite the home ballpark.
His road stats this year:
.310/.436/.659, with 12 HR and 27 BB in 154 PA.
I had no idea he was doing this well. Maybe the Tex trade isn’t such a bad idea.
Re: #24
For a moment there I thought you were referring to Mike Lum.
Wow. Hey, if he keeps that up, we really could trade for Teixiera. If by some freak miracle we’re able to keep him, we could trade Ka’aihue instead if Tex is still good.
When Ka’aihue was playing in Rome, I saw him hit two homers in Greenville. Those were absolute moon shots too. That guy’s got some pop in his bat.
“I never got the LOOGY thing. There are plenty of right-handed relief pitchers who can get left-hander sluggers out. If you’re a good pitcher, you should be able to get out both right and left handed hitters.”
True as this is, “good pitchers” are expensive and hard to come by. With a LOOGY, however, you can get similar results with an inferior talent. I mean, you don’t bring in your LOOGY for your closer or your Rafael Soriano-type. You bring him in to get the lefty slugger when there’s two outs, 2nd and 3rd in the 6th.
You just try do more with less basically.
At the time I would have made that deal for Badelli, glad we didnt. We have bigger fish to fry and Salty and Escobar can get us what we need…..
Here is what I found on the black ink test:
Batting Statistics
1. Four Points for home runs, runs batted in or batting average
2. Three Points for runs scored, hits or slugging percentage
3. Two Points for doubles, walks or stolen bases
4. One Point for games, at bats or triples
Dodgers are up 4-3 in the 9th….
Mets have a runner on second, no outs, LoDuca batting
1 out, runner on 3rd for Mets
Dodgers 4 Mets 3 Top 9th
Why the heck isn’t Saito pitching?
Dodgers drop a pop fly & let the Mets tie it.
Dodgers are just having a meltdown inning.
A single off Loney’s glove at 1B, a wild pitch, a groundout (great play in the hole by Furcal), a dropped pop fly scoring the run (Green to second), another wild pitch and we have the winning run on third with one out.
Why don’t they just forfeit?
Two straight K’s & they’re out of it. Amazing.
C’mon, LA, just scratch out a run & send the Mets back to NYC with a bummer plane ride.
Saito’s hurt, Dan. They’ve held him out for several games in a row now.
I just looked it up. Takashi Saito isn’t on the DL, but he has a “tight shoulder”.
Franco at first again. I really want Mark Teixiera now, otherwise we’ll get Franco out there every other day. Right-hander pitcher, you figure it’d be McCann catching and Saltalamacchia at first, but the line-up says Saltalamacchia catching and Franco at first. Boo!
Maybe a trade’s about to be announced…otherwise, yes, this is beginning to look problematic. I like Julio and am glad he’s on the team, but I didn’t think he’d be playing 75% of the time.
if a trade was about to be announced, wouldnt mccann be catching, not salty?
I don’t think Franco will get 75% of the time. But, they clearly want to know what they have with him and, if they have something, they want to get Franco up to speed after a period of not being used. I would guess after they get him 10 or so starts, probably in the next 2 1/2 weeks, they’ll know what they have and also have given him a chance to show there’s something in the tank left. A trade for Teixiera, however, changes that. And I for one, wouldn’t mind, especially if some bullpen help came with it.
Regarding a trade of Salty: you’ll know it happens if Pena suddenly appears in SF. You might also know it if Salty suddenly exists the game without an injury. Likewise, if he is penciled in to start, but suddenly is removed. Otherwise, he’s playing and staying (for the time being anyway).
Oh, oops. I didn’t actually look at the lineup, ryan c. An even worse one than I thought, though.
Mets up 5-4 going to the bottom of the 10th.
Facking Dodgers.
Juan Pierre vs. Billy Wagner…..
Pierre got on! Via a WALK!
Pierre steals second.
Wagner won that battle against Martin. Jeff Kent next.
They’re IBBing Kent to get to Matt Kemp.
Based solely on his facial expression in his Gameday picture, I like Kemp’s chances here.
Kemp struck out. All up to Nomar now.
Based solely on Nomar’s, I have no confidence in him—maybe that’s a good thing.
C’mon Nomar.
Wild pitch…
Wild Pitch, runners move up to second and third.
Full count.
Boo
Oop, not anymore. Mets win.
After six straight 97MPH+ fastballs, Wagner snaps off a slider and freezes Nomar to end the game. Darn.
Oh well. The Braves aren’t the only team to give games away.
LA gag-o-rama.
Concerning the idea that we would be mortgaging our future for 1 and 1/2 years of Teixeira by trading Salty, realize that we don’t have much more than about 1 and 1/2 years of Smoltz and Chipper around–and this will be Andruw’s last dance with the Braves.
If we aren’t going to try to win with them, they should have been traded.
We need to take our shots now. Salty is good for a catcher, but is he going to be great at 1B? I don’t think you can bet on that with any assurance. We’ve got a good catcher. Get Teixeira!
Also, the trade for J.D. Drew was great for the Braves. He was excellent for us. Wainwright is average at best. He’s nobody to worry about losing for what was a tremendous offensive upgrade.
A win tonight gets us to within one of the Wild Card. Meh.
But, on the other hand, it was just one year. Plus, we sure could have used Wainwright last year and we could use him now.
As it stands right now, with Wainwright basically pitching like Chuck James, it’s all right. But if he starts pitching like John Smoltz, yeesh.
Jeremy,
And what’s wrong with that? The Braves can fight this on two fronts, can’t they?
Sam,
You bet.
And there’s nothing wrong with it. I’d just prefer to finish ahead of the Mets if at all possible. The Dodgers gag job just stings a bit.
Yeah, true.
ESPN switched on. I’m sitting here in the other room on here for now.
Teixeira isn’t that much better than Salty. Consider that Teixeira plays in the Bandbox in Arlington.
Even if Salty is “only” a .850 OPS player, Teixeira is probably “only” a .900 OPS player, if that, in a neutral park.
And obviously Salty’s way cheaper, and we can keep him longer. I might still be in favor of Salty for Tex, but I’d like to have some idea of what else we could do with Andruw’s money this offseason.
Tanto,
You’re joking, right?
The fact is that even his neutral stats are much better than Salty’s. Will Salty be better? Who knows? I’d take Tex.
Tex actually hits better on the road right now.
Adam,
Andruw’s salary is going to be used for Smoltz’s and Hudson’s raises. That’s $13 million right there alone.
Good job, Jo-Jo.
People are acting like the Salty-to-Tex move is like going from a scrub to an MVP. It’s actually going from a good player to a little better player. I do not place Teixeira as one of the best players in the game. I just don’t see it. It’s not like this is as good as Salty’s ever going to be — given consistent playing time, he hits like he did in the minors.
The Braves can’t afford to trade cheap production that they control for many years for players who aren’t better by leaps and bounds, and Teixeira isn’t.
He was safe.
Today’s special guest second base umpire: Tim Donaghy!
What’s the percentage needed in steals to be considered advantageous (as compared to the outs given up)? Isn’t high 70 or 80? Willie was kinda borderline before that one (16/21)… but he sure looked safe to me.
Yep he was safe. I think the ump had a bad angle to see Harris’s foot get in there and only saw the tag.
It’s not Rickey Henderson’s career total. I think that the percentage is something like 85.
yeah… sabermetrics guys don’t like the sb because it gives up outs. i couldn’t remember how high it needed to be. 85 sounds about right.
nice catch frenchy.
Tanto,
But, clearly, Saltalamacchia isn’t going to be the full time first baseman, otherwise they never would have signed Julio Franco, and they started Scott Thorman last night.
Murphy,
Exactly. I do believe that the stolen base has a place, but it has to be at the right time. Obviously, against Yadier Molina, it’s not very possible to get one, so the best thing to do would be to not do it at all.
it might be worth it to give saltalamacchia a winter and spring to learn the position. he’s probably not ready to play it full time right now.
That’s not my fault. Just because Bobby/JS/whoever is misusing Salty doesn’t make trading him for a rental any better of an idea.
i agree sam.
maybe jonathon shuerholz could run on him though. (jokes)
Tanto,
All right, if you were the GM, how would you maximize Salty’s trade value?
I think it’s 75% of the stolen bases.
“If you can’t steal at a 75% success rate, you’re better off not going.”
Traditionally, the break-even point is 2 steals for every caught stealing. However, that was determined in a lower offense environment where the value of a one-base advance was somewhat higher. In the current environment, it’s probably about 3:1.
I’d trade Saltalamacchia.
Some people are thinking too much with their emotions. Like Saltalamacchia is too good to give up for anyone.
“Saltalamacchia for Jake Peavy?! What a rip-off!”
does this ump have a giant strike zone or is gamecast exaggerating? the 1st pitch to salty was 1/2 way in the batters box according to MLB
Young, switch-hitting catchers with power & a good throwing arm don’t grow on trees.
Hah, Julio had the best hit ball in the inning.
Salty to Julio: “Twenty years ago, that’d have been out.”
Julio to Salty: “Twenty years ago, you were in T-Ball.”
Salty: “True…”
Okay, so obviously, since Teixiera is only as good as Saltalamacchia is right now according to Tanto, we need to trade him for Ian Snell. 😛
But Saltalamacchia is never going to be the catcher. The Braves have McCann locked up and they’re not moving him to first base.
I don’t want to trade Saltalamacchia, but if you can get Mark Teixiera, Ian Snell, Tom Gorzelanny or someone like that, why wouldn’t you?
I’m all in favor of the Teixeira trade if we can get him for Salty + a minor prospect. Bats like his don’t grow on trees, and consider that the AL has been a slightly tougher league than the NL- he may actually be a bit better in Atlanta than his current stats.
All right, if you were the GM, how would you maximize Salty’s trade value?
That’s a hard question to answer because I don’t know what GMs are asking for who; who’s untouchable and who’s just bluffing. I think you have to get a player who’s solidly in the upper-tier and signed for a couple of years, but the problem is that these guys are never available. I’d rather keep him than trade him for a rental or mediocre player, though. They don’t have to trade him.
I think you extract more value if you package him with some other players for a real difference-maker than if you move him for someone who may or may not take the team to the next level, if that makes any sense. I’m a big believer in the “buy as many superstars as you can afford; fill in the rest of the team with bargain signings and farm system products” team-building philosophy.
Tanto, the problem with your argument is Salty isn’t an .800 OPS player right now, much less an .850. Tex’s career road OPS is a hundred points higher than what Salty is hitting right now, and his road OPS this year is almost 200 points higher. Plus, he’s a two time defending Gold Glove winner who would be replacing fairly horrible defense at his position. Right now, the two players aren’t close.
I’m wondering what player you think the Braves could get for Salty. It seems to me Teixeira is the best they could get.
Ian Snell, obviously.
Twenty years ago, Salty was walking.
He’s only 22.
How do you walk So-So Taguchi?
A pitch at a time.
Nice recovery, Jo-Jo!
Peter Gammons with Tim Hudson after the break.
No word on if Hudson will attack Cormier with a giant thumb.
“get back jo jo”
i’ve been waiting to use that one for a while
meaning… back in the dugout after strike 3, not back in richmond
Salty mashed at the minor league level; absolutely destroyed it. If he’s not a .800 player now, he will be very soon. He is 21 years old. People were talking about Kala Ka’aihue as a possible first base solution earlier in the thread; Ka’aihue is 22 and in Single-A. Of course Salty’s not going to look as good against established major league players. That’s taking him out of context.
Who cares about first base defense?
If the Braves trade Salty for Teixeira, mark my words: 2009, Salty’s a star, Teixeira’s making $18 million a year in New York, LA, or Baltimore and the Braves are fishing around for bargain-bin first basemen again. If you think maybe — maybe — winning something this year or next is worth that, you go right ahead and make the deal…
sweet… that almost hit off of murphy’s bat on the wall.
Chipper Jones is so great.
Tanto, always take proven over potential, unless the potential is great and the proven average. No one knows for sure what Saltalamacchia will do over the course of the next six years while he’s under the Braves’ control.
I think Andruw hits better when he’s not wearing a beard like an Amish farmer.
i think there was only one season when saltalamacchia really teed off… but that’s still pretty promising for his age.
did he have an injury or something last year? his numbers were pretty down after he absolutely raked in myrtle beach the year before.
He was injured last season.
Hah. Jon Miller corrected Joe Morgan on the air about his anecdote last week.
Tanto,
Case in point:
Andy Marte for Edgar Renteria
Edgar is one of the best bats at shortstop the Braves have ever had while Andy Marte is toiling away with injuries in Cleveland.
And doing just okay in Buffalo.
So?
Jason Bay for Brian Giles.
Grady Sizemore for Bartolo Colon.
Hanley Ramirez and Anibal Sanchez for Josh Beckett.
I can play this game too.
But Josh Beckett is doing really good.
And Anibal ain’t playing this season. But I mostly agree with Tanto.
*shrugs*
I can give you more if you want.
Jason Varitek and Derek Lowe for Heathcliff Slocumb.
Carlos Guillen and Freddy Garcia for Randy Johnson.
Scott Kazmir for Victor Zambrano.
I think it’s hardly an established fact that you go for experience over youth every time.
Well, I’m glad you can play too. I still think it’s foolish to say that Saltalamacchia’s as good as Teixiera is right now. Salty could flame out like Marte, or he could become a star. Who knows.
My apologies if this has already been discussed …
I heard a rumor today, courtesy of ESPN Radio, that the Braves were discussing a Edgar Renteria for Jon Garland deal.
What do you guys think? We could definitely use a new 4th starter, and Garland strikes me as a Derek Lowe-type innings eater, which is valuable. Also consider that last season’s Edgar is probably closer to reality than this season’s.
Would you do it?
I guess Yunel Escobar would replace Edgar at short.
Now they’re too busy talking about Hank Aaron instead of the game. 😛
Willie with another big catch. 😀
“I think it’s hardly an established fact that you go for experience over youth every time.”
No, but you take proven. You know what you’re going to get, barring an injury, from Teixeria. You don’t from Saltalamacchia. You don’t from Escobar, or Matt Harrison or any other prospect.
That may have been the best catch I’ve seen an Atlanta OF make since Otis Nixon’s “The Catch”
Jo-Jo’s pitching really well.
Tanto,
That Sizemore for Colon trade was even more lopsided than that.
It was actually Grady Sizemore, Brandon Phillips, Cliff Lee, and Lee Stevens for Bartolo Colon and Tim Crews.
Yikes.
Tanto,
I’d say Cox, Schuerholz & company have a pretty good track record when it comes to trading away alleged great young talent. I trust them.
I wouldn’t trade Renteria for pretty much anything. I want him to finish his contract, which ends after the 2008 season, with the Braves. He’s been the Braves’ most consistently good hitter all year since Chipper Jones was on the DL.
I love how Harris goes full blast down to first. Puts lots of pressure on the defense.
I would guess the Astros would do the Johnson trade if they had it to do over again. Seattle didn’t get a lot out of Guillen and Johnson had one of the best two month stints in the history of the game for Houston. I mean, he threw four shutouts in eleven starts.
Again, I think you’re just overrating Salty right now. He didn’t mash the minor leagues except for a season and 20 games. His career minor league OPS is just .810, and while he was always young and has a good chance to be a great player, he’s also a catcher, and there’s a pretty substantial failure rate for catchers. He’s also 22, not 21.
But that isn’t even really the point. You said Teixeira isn’t that much better than Salty right now, and that is absolutely not true. The Braves don’t have a big window of opportunity with this core group anymore. Win now, figure something else out later. At the very least, Teixeira will fetch a couple good draft picks in 2009.
See Dan Meyer.
Someone needs to lightly tap Willie’s ankles with a hammer to get him to stop fucking doing that.
As it turned out, he’d probably be on second with two out at best with that hit and Andruw striking out. 😛 So no real damage.
Well, he was certainly out that time.
Eeeeeeeyep
Bring in Moylan, please.
Thank you Bobby.
Go Moylan!
Perfect.
Ta, Peter.
Rules question: If Ludwick stops and KJ can’t make the tag and throws to first, and Ludwick is then in a rundown because the force isn’t in effect, does the run count?
Gotta like that. I’ll crack a Fosters for ya, Pete.
Run counts.
So Ludwick screwed up, didn’t he? He should have run back to first.
The only way a run doesn’t count is if the out is a force out. So, even if a guy gets picked off after a ball is caught in the air, the run counts, provided the runner crosses home before the out is made. e.g., runners second/third, 2 out, fly to right. Third base runner tags and scores, throw home is late. Team appeals that runner on second never tagged, the appeal is granted and the inning over. The run counts because it wasn’t a force.
Peter, I know you had your problems last year, but the Braves have been sold.
Terrible, Andruw. Just terrible.
I blame Andruw Jones’ fleet of sports cars….
Three outs on the basepaths tonight.
@ 158
Glad someone else heard that….seriously, ESPN sunday night…such consistently terrible coverage.
Is it safe to say that the stolen base is not an option tonight?
Douglass,
I heard that too. As I went downstairs to feed my cat, I just said out loud “No, Peter, the Braves have been sold! Liberty Media owns them now!”
http://theauburner.com/mark_littlebrother.html
Here, read a cartoon.
I’d let Moylan stay in and pitch the 7th.
I don’t get it.
That’s what’s happening, Jeremy. 🙂
Fine Sam.
http://theauburner.com/mark_psa.html
Have another cartoon.
Heh, that one was funnier.
I was just saying that I don’t get it. I’m not as in tune into the Alabama-Auburn rivalry or SEC football in general. The only programs that I know something about are South Carolina and Georgia.
Wryn,
Have you ever heard of Pat Dye?
Oh, and
HOORAY MOYLAN!
re: theauburner “comics”
No offense, but the one you posted…as well as every other “comic” on that page (just skimmed through em after following your link)…
…it’s embarassing how not funny those things are. I mean, seriously, who made those things? 3rd graders? With no sense of humor?
I mean, seriously, I’m in shock over how bad those things are…
…guess it is to be expected coming from a shoddy institution like Aubarn though.
The second one was kind of funny, I think. Plays on the insipid “athlete as role model” idea.
Could use a little insurance, fellas.
@ 175
trite? hackneyed? maybe.
funny? no.
I don’t care what school you support, that is not comedy.
Just read the “about” section though…makes sense, it was written by a couple 20 year rednecks from Auburn.
anyone else watching MLB Gamecast? The 1st pitch (called strike) to salty looked like it was about 3 feet outside.
the strike zone huge tonite? or mlb just exaggerating?
New poll.
surprise! thorman down on strikes
judging by strike 3 on julio… i’d say the strike zone is quite large at the moment.
they gonna bring in Soriano here vs the top of the order in the 8th?
eeeeeyep.
Looks like he had plenty of time to warm up, though. An article on braves.com said that Soriano wasn’t locating his pitches and that was causing him to get pounded.
Once again, Eckstein is described as “pesky”.
Here we go, P-Man’s up.
I’m sure Chris Reitsma would agree, Sam.
Heh heh heh, Morgan flubbed Saltalamacchia’s name.
Shit.
Well that’s a bit of bad luck right there.
crap… did Willie help him out on that one??
Truly awful pitch, but Willie should have caught it.
Hey good job “AGAIN” by Soriano
Oh well. I think we can scrape across another run. It IS possible.
nope.. Willie came close but didn’t touch it
I think the Braves need a relief pitcher at this trading deadline. Soriano seems to be melting down.
how did i just know that was going to happen?
Willie jumped as high as he could, you cant blame that on him
… so is anyone wishing that we take back the Ramirez/Soriano trade?
i guess this should have told me:
one of best hitters in the game + fastball down the middle = gone
soriano’s in a funk. but i guess you gotta keep running him out there.
I think that’s a legitimate question. Is anyone regretting the trade?
That was a tough catch, I don’t think it should be classified as “should have caught”. Why can’t Bobby just give Soriano a couple days off, let him regroup a little?
thats 4 of the last 7 games for Soriano blowing the lead or losing it. I dont think he’s pitched in more than that either. Better get 1 here in the 8th
no… still rather have soriano instead of horacio
Dude, the ball hit just to the side of his glove. I’m sure even he would tell you he should have had that one.
nope they can keep Ramirez
There, see? Soriano’s no Chris Reitsma, though he is becoming the Reitsma figure.
I don’t know how you can throw a ball that Pujols can hit there.
Let’s get Soriano “the Vulture Win” here.
just tuning in…have i missed anything too exciting?
C’mon, Chipper, bail us out here.
so apparently Pujols hit that ball out with a strained rib from the previous pitch…
got DVR and looked at the play again. the ball just barely hit the tip of his glove, no way to catch it
any updates on sturtze?
good job getting Renty to 2nd, cmon Druw
soriana has been absolutely pants for the past month, maybe he has an in grown toenail or something
You know, there’s nothing better than interrupting a key situation in a baseball game to show golf highlights.
thats the “on field delay?” that MLB says?
errrr *soriano
ESPN never lets the game get in the way of a good promo opportunity.
Good eye.
The Cards have a lefty ready and KJ at the plate, and they stick with the righty? When did LaRussa die?
csg, I also have DVR and it looks to me like Willie’s jump wasn’t as well timed as it could have been. It’s a tough play, yes, but I expect big leaguers to make those.
Did it look to anyone else like Andruw held up on the way into second base there? He stopped and started again about 10 feet from the bag. Weird.
I dont expect our setup man to throw Pujols a fastball in the middle of the plate either
I’m not arguing with that.
Well, shucks.
I wish I could expect McCann to pinch-hit for Julio next inning.
salty hit that hard?
c’mon wick
Bob Wickman this season at Turner Field:
15 2/3 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 12 SO, 0.00 ERA.
He’ll be fine. 😛
Swung hard, but broke his bat. If the bat had stayed together it probably would have been a single.
avery,
he has jammed and it went strait to the SS
Let’s see. On one hand, one of the better set-up men/closers in waiting in MLB. On the other, garbage.
I think I’ll keep Soriano and accept a rough stretch without bailing on him. But yeah, too bad he’s not Jonathan Papelbon.
Moral: Use thicker baseball bats.
use julio’s 375lb bat… heh heh
He looked out.
He was out.
Am I crazy, or did Rolen look out at second?
looked out to me too
You’re right, Joe, not even close. You just had the outcome wrong, idiot.
Good grief.
That’s 2, blue.
who was it earlier that said we had a guest nba official at 2nd tonight?
So was that “not even close” an out or some trick my lyin’ eyes saw?
I say out.
Yep.
either way, how could you say that play was “not even close”?
They’re morons. 😛
It was me, comment 88.
Murphy,
Mac said that earlier. That’s two calls he has blown. He needs a better angle.
pinch hitter w/ almost .100 lower average?
OK, let’s win this annoying game.
He needs to not anticipate the calls is what he needs to do. He looked in position to me, and it isn’t like that’s a tough call.
I vote for “Mention it at the end in some sarcastic way.”
I’ve come to expect no less.
A genius move, avery. I’m sure he wouldn’t expect you to understand.
Do the umpires have money on the Cards?
well if Joe Simpson was announcing he’d tell us that we cant use McCann because he’d be our backup in extras
Watch Brian McCann not pinch hit here because Bobby Cox is afraid to lose his back-up catcher.
Meanwhile Brayan Pena rots in AAA.
cmon Julio dont be useless
how bout Julio, then McCann, then Diaz – thats what Bobby’s thinkin
Come on guys, we need to pull this one out.
Come on Franco!
I think I see why the Mets let Franco go….
Julio looks terrible.
Franco is toast.
Is it just me, or do we seem to struggle in the Red unis? They remind me of the effect the Black uniforms had on Jordan’s Bulls in the late 1990s.
we’re not struggling, we’re gonna win!
I hope so…..we really can’t afford to blow games away like this.
we just struggle period, we cant win the low scoring games for some reason
5-5 after the break with this schedule isnt good at all, 6-4 really isnt great, but we need to win this one
^Very true. Come on Harris!
Okay, this is going to be a morning recap again. Of course you’re going to have to get used to that in the next several days anyway. Stupid Pujols.
ok – need to get them 1,2,3 here – i dont want to see Pujols in the 10th. Then the heart of the order for the Braves – i like it
All Yates has to do is throw a scoreless inning and Renteria, Chipper and Andruw Jones will come up with a chance to score a run and win.
I don’t want to see the Braves lose another game because of a two out homerun in the eight inning off of Soriano.
C’mon Yates. Mow em down.
Dane Cook delenda est.
I’m so thrilled that Bobby Cox used Yates in a 14-6 game last night.
Jeremy, you didnt know that Yates has to pitch in every game no matter what? That’s Bobby’s #1 rule
Game….
our best two relievers doing a great job, ball game
And every game he has to suck lately.
Well, that’s not good.
I haven’t been around long enough on this board to know if profanity is permissable, but I guess I’m about to find out…
FUUUUUUCK!!!
(sorry if it’s not…don’t ban me. 😉 )
I don’t think I had heard of that guy before this series. Yates is pathetic.
3.5 games back again.
check the rulebook, but im not sure a guy named Skip is allowed to hit home runs
Who is Skip Schumaker?
A guy named Skip just beat us for hells sakes.
^Yeah, pretty much. If we lose this, our pennant chances take quite a blow.
The Reds and the Cards embarrass us? Geez.
who is warming up for the Cards in the bottom of the 10th? we still have all our big bats coming up
It’s looking like we actually need to trade for some relief help.
this is what happens, when Bobby requires for these two guys to pitch every night. Looks like we’ll be playing .500 ball the rest of the way. prepare yourselves
this is what happens when Bobby requires for these two guys to pitch every night. Looks like we’ll be playing .500 ball the rest of the way. prepare yourselves
I just checked the rule book and anyone named Skip is only allowed to homer when Boof, Archie or Jughead is on the mound. Definitely broke the rules.
We’re 3.5 GB on July 21. Despite this loss we’re alive and well. I think we’re 2 GB in the Wild Card.
its not over!
well 4 batters and 3 hits against Yates.
Soriano and Yates in the doghouse together. So our pen has cost us 4 of our 5 losses since the break
This homestand:
Soriano
4.1 IP
2.31 WHIP
12.46 ERA
Yates
4.0 IP
2.25 WHIP
13.50 ERA
These are among the biggest reasons why we’re about to go 5-5 against sub-.500 teams.
Yates sucks.
Insect, but they have to pitch in every game….its a rule
sorry Jo Jo, but you, Smoltz, and James need to sit together and talk about our bullpen
I’ve been posting this all week and I will say it again — Yates is poison right now.
Also, the Braves’ mediocrity is incredibly predictable…big win followed by flat loss.
Gotta disconnect from this squad as this is what it will be like the rest of the way.
might as well walk Duncan
Villarreal could be pitching himself into a set-up role.
I’ve got Soriano in the “Who gives up Bonds’ 756th” pool, but I might have to change to Yates.
Was just about to say that, ONIO.
good night
Forget trading for a starter…we need help in the bullpen…
Oh crap….
Disregard my 296 commment.
oops
ok – now im not even gonna predict the comeback win
not a fun finish
This sucks.
for some reason I’m glad 4 of those runs are getting charged to Yates, dont ask me why
Yates’ ERA is now a sparkling 5.31.
Can we please stop using him in high leverage situations?
And that takes Yates to a crowd-pleasing 18.00 ERA on the homestand … good grief, good night, good God.
A 2-5 homestand against 2 crap teams does not inspire confidence.
JS, help…
Vintage Oscar…gets the critical out but gives it all up anyway. Done that quite a bit this week.
Bring back Ascaino, call up Stockman and take your chances. What we have now is unreliable and brutal.
Here comes the tomahawk chop. We’re definitely coming back.
The chop strikes fear into opposing players, and gives fans arthritic shoulders.
Free Buddy Hernandez.
Wow, Buddy Hernandez. Haven’t thought of him. How’s Will Startup looking?
I’ve heard great things about this Wainwright kid … oh, wait …
Oh well, let’s hope our West Coast trip goes well. Because, at this rate, we could see the division slip from our sights if we keep playing this inconsitently.
let’s hope we’re better out west
With the Mets facing Pittsburgh this week, 2-2 or even 3-1 in San Fran may not be enough to keep pace. I find myself rooting for the Brewers and Padres to wear down. That may be our best chance.
Unless JS can work some magic, don’t expect a playoff appearance this year. Too thin, too inconsistent and too many holes.
Lets not let Andruw, Harris and the rest of the offense off the hook with tonight’s loss. Bullpen blew it, sure, but the offense should have pasted the Cardinals pitcher tonight.
total team effort tonight, all aspects expect for Jo Jo deserve this loss. However our bullpen has now cost us 4 games in the last 10. With the way the starters pitched we should have gone 9-1 or at worst 8-2
good point, csg…hate to leave these starting pitching performances with losses like these. It’s really a shame.
Talk about a long flight to San Fran….
Really, Joey Devine could’ve done that tonight. So now we’ll say Salty fetches us…Greinke?
latest rumor, from MLB rumors
Of course I have to make the obligatory Jarrod Saltalamacchia reference. Olsen would be a fine addition to Atlanta’s staff, and the Marlins would replace Miguel Olivo as his salary starts to rise.
Scott Olsen for Salty, Im thinking no
Right now, the only thing I’m worried about with Salty is that he starts hitting again, not so much the potential trade(s).
Also, anyone else have an issue with Julio Franco starting tonight?
Scott Olsen for bail money, maybe.
5-5 against 3 lousy NL central teams at home…yeh, this sure as heck looks like a playoff team.
And Soriano…the 1 guy you can’t let beat you, and you groove a freaking fastball. Unbeliveable.
ububba,
Nee-how!
So, it’s 12 noon here. Thanks for the updates on the Braves. I had my brother just send me one huge text message, but it wasn’t too helpful.
I was surprised at how poorly McCann has done thus far. His .268/.324/.460 line is actually pretty surprising. It’s also really sad that the person with the fourth-highest innings pitched has an ERA of 5.76. Can we please make a trade for someone already? Shoot, just stick Villarreal in the rotation already. I would go for a Smoltz, Hudson, James, Carlyle, Villarreal rotation at this point.
Just reading through the posts, it seems like people are pretty high on Teixera. Umm, why? Teixera is Saltalamacchia in 3 years. Plus, we’d have him for a year and a half and then he bolts. At that time, we would still have Saltalamacchia for however long, and he would probably be close to matching his production for a fraction of the price. If we HAVE to trade Salty, let’s get a pitcher. I know the market makes it difficult, but come on, Teixera? Not high enough on our list of problems to deal Salty. If it can be done without dealing Salty, go for it, but I doubt that’s going to happen.
Go Braves.
Oh, that all wasn’t necessarily to ububba. Pretty much just the Chinese “hello” was.
Mandarin: Wuh-duh Braves shur boo-how shin-zai.
English: My Braves are not good right now.
Granted Andruw might not be the most popular player right now, but can LaRussa be anymore of a dick?
http://www.ajc.com/braves/content/sports/braves/stories/2007/07/22/0723andruw.html