Today, a special, two videos!
How do you cut the hair on a head that big?
I am not saying that Barry Bonds has taken so many testosterone drugs that he now has female sexual characteristics. But I’m not saying he hasn’t. And then there’s this:
274 Comments
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Mac, I think it would be a good idea to post a message in the ongoing thread when a new thread is up.
or whoever sees it 1dt could post it to let others know
1dt=1st
Continuing from the previous thread, Torre had better teams in a better league. I don’t think that proves anything. I like Torre, I thought he did a great job in Atlanta, but it’s like saying that Brett Favre is better than Dan Marino just because Favre won a Super Bowl. (Having lived in Miami, I disagree strongly.) Winning the WS involves a lot of luck; what if Lonnie Smith hadn’t stopped (or the Metrodome guy hadn’t turned the AC on and off); what if Jeff Reardon had been able to save Game 2 against Toronto; what if Wohlers doesn’t hang the slider to Leyritz? You can’t blame Cox for that. By the same token, what if the idiot ump actually sees that Jeffrey Meier interfered with the ball in the ALCS? I know a lot of people argue that Cox has been outmanaged in a lot of playoffs and maybe he has, but I bet he would have been a better manager if he had actually had guys on the bench that could hit and a shut down bullpen.
Well the Mets have already lost, so recent ace Buddy Carlyle needs to get the boys to within 3 games again.
Also the Nats are about to give Young a two year extension between 10-11 mil. What are they going to do when Nick Johnson comes back next year? No way one of these guys can handle an OF position. I dont understand Bowden sometimes
csg,
Because he’s a Class A moron. Once Young’s old-player skills diminish, that extension will look stupid.
“or whoever sees it 1dt could post it to let others know”
Yeah, i guess I could have done it myself.
That Giants are really upset. They were looking forward to signing Young to a five-year deal over the offseason.
The Giants
Marc, although we could have a friendly debate on Cox’s abilities versus his players’ abilities and what can be the turning point, it’s hard for me to have watched what I’ve watched of Cox’s crap over the years and not get pissed. One thing that isn’t talked about very much is how Bobby went with Steve Avery in the top of the 10th inning of Game 4 of the 1996 World Series after Avery did some badmouthing about his situation and not liking being with the team, something to that effect. I knew the guy was going to blow it because he was whining about his situation and, unfortunately, he proved me right. Giving up a run, three walks (one of those walked in the go-ahead run), and a hit in 2/3 of an inning made we want to strangle him and Bobby Cox. More importantly, it was Cox’s dumb*** that decided to pitch the guy after he had said that crap to the press. His often obstinate way of sticking with the ones he likes has gotten the Braves into trouble more times than not.
Starting Danny Bautista over Michael Tucker in the ’98 NLCS Game 6 anyone?
Torre, LaRussa and Cox are slightly above managers at best…with Cox slightly better. In my honest opinion, they all are overrated.
Tony, which managers do you feel are better than Torre, La Russa, and Cox?
Ben,
I’m not arguing that the guy has not made mistakes or even that he is a great game manager. He has done a lot of things that drive me crazy. But I would bet that if you went back over the Torre years you would find a lot of mistakes on his part as well that were covered up because the players did the job. I mean, Yankee fans are complaining about Torre now; I doubt that he is managing much differently than he did in 1996-2000. My point is not necessarily that Cox is better than Torre; Torre may well be although I don’t know how you can measure that. I was just pointing out that it doesn’t make sense to say Torre is better only because he won more World Series.
The best mangers in the game are Cox, Pinnella, Yost, Leyland. Not in that order
There’s no one better than Cox at getting the most out of players over a 162 game season. LaRussa is good – he’s won over 2000 games – but I don’t know why he’s considered an in-game ‘genuis.’ Is it the George Will book? My recollection is that he should have won 3 WS in a row from ’88-’90 but lost to two inferior teams.
I think overall Jim Leyland and Mike Sciosia are better than Cox. I would put Pinella as Cox’s equal. Recent retired Tom Kelly was better than Cox. Davey Johnson was better than Cox..
I think baseball strategy is overrated; it’s how you handle the clubhouse and the pitching staff that counts. Both Cox and Torre seem to be excellent; for gods sake, even Gary Sheffield has nothing bad to say about Cox. I think they should send Bobby to negotiate with the North Koreans. The thing is, I think most managers manage games the same way; because they have very little insight into statistical analysis, they typically go by instinct and baseball tradition. Maybe it’s different for the younger managers now, but I would bet if you looked at Torre, Cox, LaRussa, LaSorda, men from that generation, you wouldn’t find much difference in their game strategy. (Making due allowance, of course, for the difference between the AL and the NL.) So it’s really a question of creating the proper environment and putting players in the right situation. For the most part, Bobby does that.
Damn breaking news….Skip Prosser dead at 56. Coach for Wake Forest basketball…
Tony,
With all respect, I don’t see how you can make those rankings without seeing the other managers on a daily basis. It’s easy to bash Cox because the games are on so much and, as Braves fans, we pay more attention to what he does. Personally, I’ve never been so impressed with Pinella’s antics–I don’t think his tantrum has any thing to do with the Cubs winning and I think his public criticism of his players often takes the tone of “it’s their fault, not mine.” Tom Kelly was obviously a good manager, but the only time I saw the Twins was in the World Series. I bet if you saw him day-to-day you would have the same kind of criticisms that you do of Cox.
Every fan base thinks their manager could do better. Bobby has done and continues to do a marvelous job. Any best manager ever discussion has to mention him in the first paragraph.
The best mangers in the game are Cox, Pinnella, Yost, Leyland. Not in that order
Obviously Scioscia needs to be there but yeah that’s a good list minus Yost. Tom Kelly was good except when he ran Papi Ortiz out of town.
And of course don’t forget Bobby’s greatest magic trick coaxing a healthy, ultra-productive season out of JD Drew.
From what I have seen from every Baseball Manager, they all seem to be mistake prone. Each Manager that’s been successful seems to have glaring strengths and weaknesses.
The truth is, I can’t look at one current or former Major League Manager and say he’s 100% or 0%.
We all pay more attention to Bobby than anyone else so we have more reason to care and comment.
As we have all pretty much agreed, Bobby is a tremendous clubhouse guy, tends to get a lot from his young, inexperienced players, has a very relaxed, upbeat demeanor that inspires all current and past players to love playing for him, and Bobby, better then any Manager in Baseball, is able to treat a season as a marathon, not a sprint.
That being said, the negative side is pretty distinctive. Because Bobby is so ra-ra, he doesn’t like to offend anyone and tries to hard to make crappy players feel important by playing them over and over, no matter how bad (i.e. Reitsma, Lockhart, Kolbb, Woodward, to name a prominent few).
Bobby also doesn’t always look at stats and sometimes sends a lefty out there to face a lefty, situationally, even if that lefty is actually better at getting righties out (i.e. Remlinger). And speaking of the ‘pen, Bobby’s overall abuse of some of our better relievers has led to the situation we currently find ourselves…exhausted and ineffective relievers in late July (i.e. Yates, Soriano, Wickman).
The bottomline is, you just have to accept the good with the bad. For example, if you are a Cardinals fan, you have to accept that your manager is an arrogant version of the prince of darkness.
Oh an Casey Stengle was good too until he retired. HA HA HA
When are we getting Tex?!?!?!?!
I think Boras and a contract year were more inspiring to Drew then Cox.
BREAKING NEWS: SKIP PROSSER DEAD AT 56 FROM APPARENT HEART ATTACK. WAKE FOREST COACH HAD THE #1 RECRUITING CLASS FOR 2008…
“I think Boras and a contract year were more inspiring to Drew then Cox.”
But not for Druw, apparently.
Andy,
That is certainly true….
When the Drew brothers get together, they probably go looking for nickels that people have dropped on the sidewalk. And refusing to pay for girl scout cookies that they order because they have an opt out clause.
Totally agree Andy…didn’t anyone hear he and Chipper didn’t quite get along?
I was at the Nats game last Saturday (against the rockies). Dmitri Young was easily the fan favorite, he received a huge round of applause as a pinch hitter.
As for the game, Matt Bacsik and rodrig lopez balled out. 3-1. It says a lot when the game’s MVP was Tony Batista, with a 2-run single.
Well, you couldn’t find two more opposite guys then Chipper and Andruw if you look at their careers.
One guy is patient at the plate, has played through massive injuries, puts his team first, has moved positions (despite being an all star at the previous one) and got the home run that helped the Braves win their only WS in the last 15 years, since the run started. Not to mention how times he has re-structured his contract for the good of the organization and DOESN’T have Boars as his snake oil agent.
The other guy is Andruw Jones. So that I don’t get attacked in here, I will just ask everyone to remember my previous complaints or refer back to Braves Journals from the past.
Oh, and Andruw is also hitting .214.
I meant Boras but I do think he’s a pig so “Boars” isn’t far off.
Andruw has played through injuries…don’t be naive. He also gave a home discount on his last contract signing. And why would he need to change positions? He’s the best. Chipper went to the outfield b/c he was a lousy 3rd baseman….confusing post Alex.
I agree with you on Andruw, Alex, except on one point. He has played almost every day for 10 years. I’m sure that he’s had some sort of injury in that time. I don’t think we can question Andruw’s willingness to play through injury.
No Tony, Chipper moved because we needed another bat and we got Vinny Castilla here, and he was a better defensive third baseman. Chipper moved for the good of the team.
Get your facts straight.
Especially considering how many times Chipper has been out because of injuries. Not to mention the little falling out he and Smoltz had not too long ago.
Chipper wasn’t, nor has he ever been, a lousy third baseman. I’ve never understood this. He was worse than Castilla, yes. But at worst, he’s been an average third baseman and for most years of his career, he’s been better than that. Quite frankly, it wasn’t anywhere near worth it to sign Castilla and move Chipper.
Keith Law had a couple of comments that I thought were interesting on ESPN Insider.
First, re the trade, he thinks if the Braves give up Harrison, it will be too much. He calls it a “win now” deal for the Braves.
Second, he thinks Salty has more upside than Loney.
Third, this was in response to a stupid trade suggestion from stupid Yankee fans re trading Francouer. Law thinks the Braves will never trade Frenchy but he thinks they overvalue him.
I certainly agree with the last statement.
If you want to find things to criticize Chipper about, criticize him for his affair with a hooters waitress.
But he’s been Mr. Brave on every level and has carried this team, time after time after time.
No true Braves fan should be negative towards Chipper–the guy is still our best hitter.
Good point Nick. As many times as Andruw has thrown his body to the ground to make a catch I am sure there have been lots of days in the past 10 years that he could have taken off that he didn’t.
Nick-
Once againm we agree. And Mac agrees as well, has posted on this many times.
Chipper never has been a lousy third baseman. League average, yes, never lousy.
Tony…you love Joe Morgan, a guy who’s a terrible announcer and hates the Braves, but you dislike Chipper? Strange.
Kelly vs. Escobar is one thing, but I can’t take a Jones vs. Jones debate.
we need a trade so we can complain about it.
Nick, for what it’s worth, most people–and all defensive metrics that I’m aware of, though they’re all pretty flawed, as Mac points out–disagree with your assessment that Chipper has never been below average defensively.
“No true fan should be negative towards Chipper” …Now that’s ridiculous. So those years when Chipper’s bat vanished in the postseason should be ignored? Chipper was an average 3rd baseman, maybe not lousy, but sandwiched in between Pendleton and Castilla it seemed like he was lousy. I like Chipper, but no one is above reproach, thus Smoltz calling him out on his apparent groin injury.
Even if that’s true, AAR, that still doesn’t mean he was lousy. Ken Caminiti was a lousy first baseman. Chris Woodward is a lousy fielder. Ryan Klesko was a lousy outfielder. Even if Chipper was below average (which I still don’t agree with…and by the way, he isn’t now if he was), he was never awful.
I’m not gonna criticize Andruw for his overall career in ATL. He drives me crazy, but I do give him credit for playing virtually every game for 10 years. He did also give us the discount the last time around which is way more than most these days. I also don’t think you can make a comparison and talk about the willingness to switch positions. Moving Andruw out of CF would never have been asked of him. He sucks this year, but overall we can’t really complain. Also, didn’t David Justice hit the home run that won the WS?
Braves just made a trade.
Source: http://icanhascheezburger.com/2007/01/25/im-a-chikin-lol/
I think Alex meant the HR Chipper hit in the Divison Series that year against the Rockies…b/c DJ indeed hit the World Series homer.
Game 6 of the 1995 WS… 1-0 Braves, Justice with the home run off Jim Poole to lead off the 6th.
Yeah. Saying that helped win the World Series is a little bit of a stretch. In fact, I seem to recall him not having that great of a Series.
By that, I of course mean the Chipper home run.
Tony,
Yes, my apologies on that one…DJ hit the WS homer and I was wrong on that account.
But I think its safe to say, and most Braves fans would agree that Chipper’s been extremely clutch.
I have lost count at how many big games Chipper has won for us (against the Mets, over and over, among others) with his bat.
So, if I am going to get criticized by a few for attacking some things about Andruw, then I have every right to criticize a Braves fan who would attack Chipper.
And for the record, John Smoltz is my favorite Brave and I made sure not to attack either during their fight…they made up quickly, for the record, Tony.
update from MLB rumors…
The Braves seemed fairly close to a Mark Teixeira trade yesterday, but the Angels are definitely knee deep in it. They’ll make a solid offer including Casey Kotchman, Ervin Santana, and Major League player. Adam Dunn remains Plan B.
I think Chipper has been an average defensive 3B with a propensity to make huge errors (assigned or not by the official scorer) in the post-season. He’s even make self-deprecating comments about that.
Two huge upsides for Cox & Torre:
Although his players certainly respect him, Cox’s players also tend to love him—that cannot be understated. He pulls for them, perhaps to a fault. He never calls them out in the press. How can you not want to play for a guy like that?
Unlike any manager in the Steinbrenner Era, Torre has handled the press & his clubhouse with unusual aplomb. Again, that can’t be undervalued, especially in NYC where (unlike ATL & other places) you have several local media outlets looking for dirt.
If I were the Rangers, I’d jump on that, though Kotchman doesn’t look like much more than Wally Joyner Lite at this stage.
Smoltz is my personal favorite as well. He just goes out there and busts his arse every year.
The Jones vs. Jones debate really can’t go anywhere. I’m not sure why it was started in the first place. They both have pros and cons and I am glad that they were and are a part of the team for the last decade plus.
Funny, after last year I might’ve done a package including Salty-for-Ervin Santana.
But not this year…
Who plays 1st tonight, bobby said that Franco sits. Thorman or Salty
Yep, I think Anaheim held on to him a little too long.
The Angels will probably end of up with Teixeira unless the Rangers refuse to trade within the division because they’re not holding their breath for a relief pitcher like Schuerholz reportedly is.
I wonder what, if anything, Schuerholz has in mind outside of Teixeira.
I hope Thorman doesn’t play…he might caused a typhoon that close to the ocean b/c you know he will strike out 4 times.
Again if we don’t get Tex, get Frenchy and Salty some Gary Sheffield cream and let’s see what happens.
Ummm…
Well Salty will play 1st tonite, right?
If Salty plays again then we might be out of this Trade
“First, re the trade, he thinks if the Braves give up Harrison, it will be too much. He calls it a “win now” deal for the Braves.”
Isn’t trading for a Teixeria a “win now” deal for any team?
Maverick,
Who says? Just because we haven’t traded by now doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen.
uh-oh.
DOB is saying that Chipper and Edgar are both out of the lineup tonight. Both will be back in the lineup tomorrow.
Woodward at 3rd. Thor at 1st.
yeah if Salty is playing I would assume that all of our major talks have cooled off. I doubt we would risk an injury with him for this next 7 days or so. Plus Bobby might need him in the 10th if we’re losing going into the 9th, we cant afford to let him hit there either
YEah prolly the major trade talks
so our infield is going to be. Woodward, Escobar, KJ, and Thorman. Another brilliant idea
Split series here we come and staying 4 back
Who hits leadoff –
I guess Buddy has to pitch a Perfect Game 2nite
Matt B,
They have to be tired…extra innings on Sunday, flight to the West Coast, extra innings Tuesday…they are not in their 20’s anymore. THANKS BULLPEN.
Escobar, probably.
Why are Chipper and Renty getting the day off?
Umm is Lincecum starting against us tonight??
Oh. Well, I guess we’re going to split.
Maverick,
Yep, get ready for a split.
Apparently Chipper has a minor groin strain, nothing serious.
If he has to be out of the lineup, couldn’t Edgar get his off day tomorrow?
Aren’t we in a pennant race?
Maverick, yes he is
By David O’Brien
July 26, 2007 5:11 PM | Link to this
CHIPPER OUT OF LINEUP with what he said is a minor groin strain. “Not serious,” he said, while taking a moment to look up from a deck of cards. “I just want to make sure it doesn’t get any worse.”
He think he’ll play tomorrow in Arizona.
Edgar’s also out of the lineup, just to get a rest. Bobby said he planned all along to rest him today because he’s played so much lately.
And, as planned, Thorman’s at first.
Woodward’s at third, Thor’s at first.
Good luck, Buddy.
http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/braves/entries/2007/07/25/tex_and_hoss_on.html#comment-1422849
Ouch!
Wow that is such a craptastic lineup with Escobar, Woodward and Thorman, its a good thing I wasn’t planning on watching tonight.
Well, we’ll have two people hitting below .220. Nothing we haven’t faced before earlier in the year. Didn’t we actually win with a sucky-ass lineup against a good pitcher once before? I seem to recall that we did.
whats our lineup going to be
Harris
Escobar
Frenchy
McCann
Jones
KJ
Thorman
Woodward
does that look as bad as it sounds? that gives Cox the right-left-right thing. However, you can probably flip McCann and Jones
we might see this
Harris
Escobar
KJ
Jones
McCann
Frenchy
Thorman
Woodward
thats a little better I think
csg,
Yep, I bet that’s the lineup we’ll see.
i’ll expect great things from lincecum for my fantasy team tonight going against that lineup
lol yeah i also have lincecum on my team im expecting 10+ K’s
I dont mind sitting Chipper tonight and letting Escobar play. Chipper looks a little slow out there and probably because what happened to him in this park last year. however against Lincecum we need 1 of the 2 of Chip and Renteria
Woodward and Thorman in the lineup … 8 outs down and 19 more to go for the Giants.
I bet Thorman and Woodward go for a combined 6-6 with 3hr’s, no wait, that 0-8 with 8 k’s
Its an early game 2nite just as i thoughtwas going to escape it…i guess not im going to stick it out
could Cox get crazy and put Diaz in LF and Harris at 3rd. Wont happen, but I would like our chances better.
Does Bobby have money on the Giants?
I bet that NBA ref called Bobby and they have some $$ riding on this thing
csg. Kinda harsh. Give them a little credit. I bet Woodward will get a groundout to short, maybe even two. Also I think Thorman will give the people of San Francisco one of his patented pop-ups to the infield.
Then after that, he will create a hurricane that will collapse the stadium on a strike three miss.
Bobby Cox:
“Hey Buddy, could you go out & pitch a no hitter tonight? No Chipper or Edgar…instead, Thorman and Woodward. Great, here’s the ball and good luck!”
Question: Would a forefit be better?
I think I would rather see Paris Hilton in a Braves uniform then Chris Woodward.
I wish they had onfield mikes for Thormans ab’s, because you know he grunts with every swing, he would put those tennis players to shame
Well giants is going to put out a similar lineup soo maybe were trying to play fair
Don’t mean to get way off the subject…but why isn’t Sammy Sosa ridiculed as much as Bonds and McGwire? After we know he took something illegal and he got caught with a corked bat…can someone exlain?
“Little Boy” Tim has a career high in strikeouts with 21…who will bet against that?
Costas with some strong words/insults towards Bonds…
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/7063342
Alex, I think we all would
98 — I’d prefer Anna Kournikova myself.
Because Bonds is the better Player and hes going for prolly the best record is all of sports.
in*
I predict a combined 0-8 with five strikeouts from the dynamic duo of Woodward and Thorman. Thorman strikesout three times and pops out on one of his four at-bats. Woodward strikes out twice and groundsout, probably into double plays, twice.
Tony,
Eh. I know we’re going to lose, but I don’t think he’ll get THAT many strikeouts. You’re assuming Brian McCann, Yunel Escobar and even Buddy Carlyle will strike out every time.
Must be close to happy hour…my typing is becoming slurred…
sam 97 — they’d all get a day off on the road if that were the case.
lol Same here Tony my typing is off track
Well, we might as well forefit, it’s “clear” that we’re going to lose.
sam… or maybe we’ll get creamed
Puns
hey if we can let guys named Skip and Rich beat us, then maybe Lincecum can let Woodward beat him. it happens to the best of them, maybe Bobby is just thinking that we cant lose ground on the Mets so he might as well rest everyone. Seriously he should think about doing the team a real favor and benching Andruw tonight also
Well the Mets lost, so I guess Bobby is saying he has to rest these guys sometime.
Bottomline…Frenchy and McCann need to step it up.
look at it this way. if they dont score, we should win
Dammit I said Skip Prosser died of a heart attack…and I’m going home. Adios Ladies….
Tony,
You know, we read the news too.
Sam,
You missed the best part of that post: I’m going home.
Focus on the good, my man.
I’ve got one.
What do I say when I tell others that this game is basically lost and they call me a bad fan?
Man, I hope he has gone home.
You say, “There’s no definition of a ‘bad’ fan.”
Well, those weren’t his exact words, he said “That a way to have confidence in your team”, which of course was sarcasm. I posted who I thought would be starting and basically said it was bad and that Buddy would have to pitch a “two-hit shutout”.
I told him I couldn’t possibly have any confidence in Thorman, Woodward or Jones.
I see. Yeah, a pet peeve of mine is when people accuse others of not being a fan because of their opinions.
I also said at the end that I’d love for them to prove me wrong, but I believe it’s not likely they will since we’ve got a very streaky lineup up top and two black holes at the bottom and then Carlyle.
LF Harris
SS Escobar
2B Johnson
CF Jones
C McCann
RF Francoeur
1B Out
3B Out
P Carlyle
For what it’s worth, Jayson Stark was just on SportsCenter and said that the Teixeira deal would include Salty and two other prospects (didn’t say who those were) and that the hold-up is us trying to get a reliever back from them in return. So pretty much what we would’ve guessed, I suppose.
He said that his hunch is this deal is going to get done at some point.
I just saw that. 🙂
braves14,
They should be Black Holes 🙂
Oh, and about the reliever, he said it would be “C.J. Wilson or someone like him,” whatever that means.
6-9 spots: sure outs.
Ron Mahay?
“Oh, and about the reliever, he said it would be “C.J. Wilson or someone like him,” whatever that means.”
“Someone like him” probably means left-handed.
Dan,
Carlyle’s more likely to get a hit than Thorman or Woodward combined. 😛
I love that your opinion of them is so low, you list Buddy Carlyle’s name and not theirs, braves14. Entirely appropriate.
Sc*tt Th*rm*n
Chr*s W**dw*rd
It better be Wilson. Mahay is 36.
Stu,
… I’m the same way. I called them “Black Holes”. At this point, Carlyle is so much more likely to get a hit than Thorman or Woodward, he should be hitting seventh.
Has anyone pointed out how good our pitching staff is at hitting? Everyone (even 6th starter Kyle Davies) is capable with the bat. When Smoltz is your worst, that’s pretty good.
Serious question:
If Mike Hampton was pitching with Woodward in the line-up, who do you bat ninth?
I wonder if Reyes can play first.
Chase Utley broke his hand.
http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/the-d-trains-mechanics-a-video-analysis/
Carlos Gomez continues to rock the hizzy. So interesting.
Dan, that’s easy… Woodhead is would hit ninth, but really the best answer is to never play Woodhead.
Woodhead *should* hit ninth.
143 — that’s a big blow to the phillies, he’s one of the best hitters in the NL
Lincecum is nasty.
He thinks he won’t even be out a month.
Remember when Chipper had hand injuries earlier this year? Even if he comes back in a month, his power will be sapped. Objectively, it’s a shame, because I thought he was the MVP. Subjectively, this makes me very happy. Someone break Bonds’ hands now.
mac — completely agree
stu — thanks for the gomez link
“As anyone can plainly see, I’m 5-6 1/2 and a strapping 150, and unlike some people, I came by all of it naturally,” Costas said Thursday in a telephone interview.
Classic.
let’s all try to get a question answered on air on the tbs mailbag
A brutal day for the Phightin’ Phils.
My cousins in Shenandoah, Pa., are surely drowning in their Yuengling.
it’s a “how to” question… maybe we can ask about how to still get the game audio without chip’s voice
i thought those cars on the fence were part of the ads for the all-star game. if that dumb car sticking up robs a brave of a hr i’ll be ticked
nice non-K for thorman
I always make this joke, but here it comes again:
I think it’s safe to assume that Bobby has Lincecum in his Roto League.
Murphy,
No, the Chevron cars have been there for a long time.
please tell me someone witnessed Frenchy’s ab. One pitch hit short of the plate, of course he swung at it
nobody said anything because it really wasn’t out of the ordinary i guess
Woodward almost missed that Pop Up
It’s to be expected, so why point it out?
out of my head sam
it makes me feel better for some reason
*steps out of Murphy’s head* Whoops, sorry.
no worries… i just need the room to cram for my latin exam (somehow that doesn’t work so well with the game on)
All righty, OUT, Carlyle and Harris up next
Earlier in the game, Joe said repeated something he said from last night: that the Braves are a good fastball-hitting team. If he meant that they are good at hitting fastballs, as opposed to good at hitting good fastballs, is there a major league team that is bad at hitting fastballs? Isn’t hitting a fastball one of those basic things that hitters are supposed to do?
All righty, OUT, Carlyle and Harris up next
By which you mean, Out, Out, Out.
No, I mean OUT, Carlyle and Harris. I trust the last two guys more than Woodward.
Saying someone is a good fastball hitter is code for ‘can’t hit anything with a bend in it’. Lowry completely baffled the squad last night with his assortment of offspeed crap.
Well, lets just dump on Chipper and Renteria with the rest of them.
See, that’s why I trust Carlyle more, he can actually hit the ball better than Woodward.
Thanks, Robert. I really was baffled by Joe, which is relatively common. The Braves do have trouble with off-speed stuff.
Oooo, GRD for Harris.
Trade winds: While Rangers first baseman Mark Teixeira has created most of this week’s excitement, he’s far from being the only player on the Braves radar. Braves general manager John Schuerholz has said pitching is a priority and his scouts are attempting to find some on a thin market.
The Pirates have let teams know right-handed relievers Shawn Chacon and Salomon Torres along with left-handed reliever Damaso Marte are available. In addition, they’ve made it known the price for any of them would be a player immediately ready to contribute at the Major League level. Unless the asking price for Marte decreases, count the Braves as one of the many teams who won’t be dealing with Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield over the course of the next few days.
With the Phillies (Chase Utley and Ryan Howard) and Mets (Shawn Green and Carlos Delgado) both possessing a pair of dangerous left-handed sluggers, Jones believes winning the National League East might hinge on the Braves ability to find a left-handed reliever.
“It’s going to be imperative for us to get those guys out,” Jones said.
If Marte’s asking price decreases, he might prove to be the best option. In 41 appearances, he’s posted a 1.41 ERA and limited opponents to a .170 batting average. Left-handed hitters are batting .085 against him.
http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070726&content_id=2111366&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl
Hey a hit! I stand corrected.
169 — i was always a bad hitter in little league. but when i started seein curves in senior league — that was all she wrote (i didn’t make the A league after that, heh heh). but maybe i’ve got a shot with a team that only hits fastballs anyway. they could keep me for my fielding prowess (i’m confident i could have gotten to that ball that willie didn’t in the extra inning game the other night) or for my strapping, costas-like frame (ok, i’ve got a couple of inches and a number of pounds on costas)
Ooooooooo, two on for Kelly.
i’ve always liked marte
dare we take another lefty reliever from pittsburgh? heh heh
Eh.
With all due respect to Chipper-the-GM I don’t think the East is going to be won because of a LOOGY.
Kelly Johnson’s last AB – carved up.
Man this Lincecum is dealing.
what about 2 loogys?
meat!
Nice.
When will people learn not to run in those situations?
Ray Durham was due up next, Sam. I would’ve sent him too.
Wow, Ray Durham was very Chris Woodward-ish on that play.
So that’s how Andruw Jones gets on base.
Klesko might actually be one of their better defensive players.
boom!
WHEEEE, FINALLY A FRENCHY HOMER
No doubt.
thorman missed that pitch by a foot
way to go frenchy… hopefully we can get a few more
Lincecum’s in trouble. People he should be getting out are hammering him.
Lincecum’s in trouble. People he should be getting out are hammering him.
If Thor had ANY discipline at all…
oh the possibilities.
Blah blah blah. 😛
I bet Bonds doesn’t remember Atlanta too fondly.
sweet shot of craig mcmurtry (despite the result)
That was a fun clip of Bond’s first homer. I have to say I actually enjoyed those few seconds.
Notice that he wore #29. Not the best person to wear that. Hehehehe.
speaking of numbers… doesn’t teixeira wear number 3? wonder what he’d switch to
Boy, I am liking Buddy Carlyle.
think the R-Braves had the day off to go watch Vick’s plea?
That stinks.
Game lost?
I dodn’t think it was that bad of a pitch….change up down, could have been away more, but not bad.
Okay, how about this: is the game lost if the Giants get a run here?
Well Buddy sure collapsed in a hurry.
At least he got Bonds I guess.
At this rate, it’s gonna take a very long time for Bonds to hit three more home runs. He’s trying way too hard and is missing perfect pitches to hit like that one.
“Vizquel was a dominant defender in the 80s.” The guy’s rookie year was 1989. Shut up, Chip.
Yeah, Chip Caray doesn’t know what he’s talking about, as usual. I don’t see any way Vizquel winds up in the Hall of Fame.
What’s with TBS and coming back after the other team alrady got a hit? Feels like that’s happened a lot this year. It’s never the Braves either.
We need the old TBS announcing rotation back. Talk about repetitive topics!
Oh, and don’t expect anything but a split after these next few innings.
Chip needs to stop giving his insane commentary and just give play by play.
Yesterday, he named Bob Gibson as the best RHP of the last 30 years. Gibson’s last year was 1975.
I could see Vizquel in the Hall…
He has 11 gold gloves and was the best SS for a decade. He will also have close to 300 hits and 400 steals when he retires, and a respectable BA.
I think Carlyle’s done.
yep…he was one out away from a respectable start….but now it is a mediocre start. Can’t undestand pitching to Vizquel there either.
Okay offense let’s score some runs.
At least Lincecum’s out of the game. Maybe … okay, that just sucked.
Thats just ur luck Woodword
That’s about as far as you’ll see Woodward hit a ball all your lives, Braves Journal posters. Remember it. 😉
This .500 ball against joke teams is really getting irritating.
Get used to it. If we can’t improve in a trade, this is the Braves.
I know Bobby planned on giving Edgar the night off, but with Chipper out couldn’t it have waited 1 more night? We get swept by the Reds, split with the Cards, & now we’re gonna split with the suck-ass Giants. Jeez…..
Little too late to complain about that now, isn’t it?
Kelly’s on his patented bad streak, isn’t he?
nice andruw, nice…
Guess everyone’s sick of this game.
Speaking of missing some hittable pitches….Andruw fouled off some fastballs before predictably KO’ing on offspeed junk. Hopefully Frenchy can pick him up.
I still can’t let go that I’ve been looked down upon once before because I want Jones off the team, despite ignoring his RBIs.
despite his RBIs*
I can’t believe McCann didn’t get a double on that.
That’s big too because it’s the tying run.
I pray to God the next batter doesn’t hit a soft single. How did McCann not get to second on that?
And I call a whiffer next pitch.
I rule.
that was too easy sam
Jeff “Encarnacion” Francoeur.
Pretty anemic offense this series. Par for teh course against good pitching I guess.
How many of runners are we goig to leave on? Geesh!
If we don’t make that deal for Teixeira, there had better be a damn good reason…and it had better not involve not wanting to give up Reyes or Andrus.
That looked like another hanger.
Hey, it’s two outs, Frenchy wants to be the hero, he’ll swing. You’re right, Murph, it IS too easy.
At least the Padres are losing.
wonder how much they have to pay for the rights to cut over and show us a-rod’s fly out
… why exactly do they cut to ARod trying to get #500? Is it really that important? He doesn’t watch it, people will soon accuse him of taking steriods.
It’s impossible to get 500 homers these days unless you’re juicing up, you know.
i wasn’t paying attention… why is salty in?
mccann gassed after that long single?
man, I don’t really care. Nothing can stop the loss except a complete and utter meltdown by Hennessey.
wow… the giants are 38-0 when leading after 8?!?!? i wonder how many blown saves were mixed in there that they still came back to win… because it’s not like their bullpen is lights out
amazing
Two rookies give up a free base. Imagine that.
“wow… the giants are 38-0 when leading after 8”
How can that be the guess? They led that one game after 8 where Armando Benitez balked in that run and then gave up a walk-off homerun to Delgado.
Saltalamacchia in. No Teixeria trade today.
Okay, three outs until splitsville for our last… 14 games.
dan… dunno, but that was the graphic that they put up. maybe they meant for 4pm thursday games
No Teixeira trade until after the game, anyway. He still could be traded later.
thorman, woodward, _____
ugh
It would be really disappointing if we went from almost having a sweep of this series to getting a split…..really good teams should take at least 3 out of 4 from teams like the Giants.
Man, I’m really worried going into Arizona. We should be in the Wild Card lead, if not leading the division by now.
Thorman starts the rally….
“We should be in the Wild Card lead, if not leading the division by now.”
Other than by playing better, how can you use “should”? We have played .500 ball after the AS break. We are lucky to be in the the wild card hunt the way this team is playing against other bad teams.
Renty got screwed there.
By the way, amen to Phillip’s point earlier…don’t rest Renty the same night Chipper’s off.
and ballgame. this sucked.
wow. split with the san francisco geriatric society.
Gotta love today’s Woodward/Thorman combo package in tonight’s lineup.
Also, the worst thing Willie Harris could have done is gotten those 6 hits against the Cards. Who knows when he’ll vacate the leadoff spot now.
This umpire has called several pitches off the plate a strike against us. I’m surprised Bobby’s still in the dugout.
@266: I only say that because of the blown leads we’ve had, and the sometimes anemic offense. The Cincy series was pathetic, and we really should’ve taken 3 out of 4 from the Giants.
But yeah, what I mean is exactly what you said: by playing better, we’d be in the Wild Card lead. The Mets haven’t pulled away yet, and the other teams in the WC chase aren’t lighting it up either.
Well, I know what I think and you guys probably express it, so I’ll leave you guys to fume about it. I’ll see you tomorrow for sure.
This umpire has called several pitches off the plate a strike against us. I’m surprised Bobby’s still in the dugout.
Seems like Bobby conceded this one before it even started.
Good point.