ESPN – Rockies vs. Braves Box Score, August 5 2007 – MLB
Amazing. The Braves won an extra inning game. I wasn’t sure they knew how.
It was a real back-and-forth affair. Chuck James looked pretty good for five innings — again — but allowed two solo homers to Ryan Spilborghs. Each gave the Rockies a one-run lead, 1-0 in the second, then 2-1 in the fifth after Escobar had singled home Chipper to tie it.
Chipper hit a two-run homer in the fifth, but James then collapsed, walking the first man and then giving up two straight singles to tie it. Yates came in and gave up a double to make it 4-3, then intentionally walked Babe Spilborghs to load the bases… and then came back with two strikeouts and a flyout by the pitcher to keep it close.
The Braves retook the lead in the bottom of the inning, Corky Miller (in his first start for the Braves) doubling home Diaz, then getting doubled home himself on a bloop by Harris. But Dotel allowed a triple to the second man, and then a two-out, 0-2 single from Helton to tie it.
Things settled down after that. Soriano, Wickman, and Villarreal pitched shutout innings. Francoeur hit a one-out double in the tenth. After Diaz was intentionally walked, Escobar singled, ending the game at last.
Well, no matter what happens in the Mets-Cubs game, the Braves benefit.
Hot damn, don’t look now, but the Gnats have won six in a row.
Nice to see The Vulture in that situation. Good call by Bobby.
4-2 homestand. Very nice!
I see that Oliver Perez is pitching game 1 against us on Tuesday. Might as well start Woodward, Miller, & Thorman because that game is a loss no matter what.
Do we lead the league in extra innings? I’d bet we do in extra inning losses at the very least.
Well, I’ll save additional moaning for another day. Good work from Escobar today to end it on a good note.
Perhaps it should be Perez delenda est for one night to inspire the Braves.
I know we have to worry about what we do and not what others do. But there are sure a lot of hot teams in the National League.
A day off, just what the doctor ordered!
See you Tuesday in NEW YORK!!
Oliver Perez against Carlyle doesn’t sound too promising.
San Francisco has a 5-11 record in extras. The Braves are 5-8.
4-7, sorry.
It’s about time for Oliver Perez to struggle against us — unfortunately all we can count on is the law of averages. But hey…it worked out today as we finally won an extra inning game again.
It’s a funny game, and on the surface a matchup of Carlyle vs. Perez would seem to favor the Mets easily. But let’s play teh game and see what happens. If we could somehow get that first game in teh series it would be huge considering we have Smoltz and Hudson following (if I am not mistaken).
BTW…marquis is melting down for the Cubs in the 5th. Looks like Glavine has a good shot at #300.
Hanan,
3-0 isn’t much of a meltdown.
It’s 5-0 and he was starting to get hit hard when I posted the comment. Either way the Mets and Glavine look totally in control of the game.
Mac –
That first homer by Spilborghs was an inside the parker. When was the last time we had one of those at the Ted?
Mets 5-0, now.
It wasn’t an inside-the-park homer, but for some reason the live game trackers said it was.
said that on Baseball Tonight too, for some reason.
Cubs fans gave Glavine a nice ovation when he came out of the game in the 7th.
anyone impressed by the Dotel deal? Im not, whats the rule on trading for someone before the deadline and then putting them on waivers? Im not saying I miss Davies by any means, but Dotel looks like a short Soriano right now
bout to have a Jorge Sosa sighting, good inning for the cubs
Miller just said that Cy Young had 749 complete games in his career and that Warren Spahn had 382 complete games in his career. Anyway that this is true?
That’s what B-Ref says.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/spahnwa01.shtml
http://www.baseball-reference.com/y/youngcy01.shtml
guess so, check out these ridiculous stats
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/all_time_stats/players/y/49534/index.html
year 1892…
49 game starts, 48 complete games
1.93 ERA, 453IP, 36-12 record
Looks like Glavine’s got #300. Congrats, Tommy.
He sure does have it. Congratulations on stamping your ticket to the Hall, Tom. 🙂
I’d feel better if the Mets lost….
Congratulations, Tom Glavine. May you never win another game so long as you pitch for the Mets…
Dan,
The Braves will handle that themselves going up to Shea.
Braves are now only 2 games back in the wild card
also SD is the only team ahead of us, keep winning series and forget about what the Mets are doing and we’ll be fine
Congratulations to Tommy.
Hopefully with Tex in the lineup, the luck of the Braves against Perez will change. We traded away our Mets killer in Kyle Davies!!!
Time for a big week in Flushing, and looking for a bounceback from Smoltz
Wedesday.
I’ll be right above the Braves bullpen that night, Mezz Sec 32, Row A, and there are few things in the world as satisfying as leaving that dump with a win—Met fans grumbling, Braves fans giving each other the “what’s-up?”
Then you get to turn on the Mets post-game call-in radio show & you get another round of Met misery, this one broadcast far & wide.
I think the Mets are afraid of Tex.
I would be too.
Grats, Tom. Using the Braves as a foil to get more money from the Mets paid off for you.
I being absent, what happened this team? I’m so confused.
I feel exactly as Rob Cope does.
But I will say it again–it doesn’t matter what uniform he’s wearing, he’s always be a Brave at heart (and in the Hall) & everyone on here, (despite the fact that we couldn’t gain a game) should be happy for him.
Again, Tommy started the game that won us our only World Series since the run started in 1991. That should mean something to Braves fans.
Congrats, Tommy.
So who’s coming up for the week, Prado or Orr?
hopefully Prado.
If Orr gets called up he will probably start, play second, and lead off
Brule: The Braves traded Saltalamacchia and four other prospects for Mark Teixeira and Ron Mahay, and dumped Kyle Davies for Octavio Dotel. Renteria is out for a couple of weeks with knee and back problems. Andruw had a cortisone shot in his elbow and is day-to-day. Corky Miller is now the backup catcher and I need to do a writeup of him but he somehow doesn’t seem like a real player.
Meanwhile, the team has continued its slightly better than average play and can’t make up any real ground on the Mets or in the wildcard.
I just want to say it is a good thing we didn’t deal Escobar from the standpoint that he’s filled in really well for Renty.
The Braves are fortunate to still be getting nice all around production at SS considering we lost an all star calibre player.
Agreed, Alex. I just hope he can keep it up.
Playing devil’s advocate, though, if we’d traded Escobar with Reyes for Arroyo or Vazquez (I have no idea whether the rumors to this effect were credible or not), the boost to the rotation might have offset the damage to the lineup.
As much as I hate off days, the team needs this one badly.
Stu,
That’s a great point, and something I was thinking about when I just posted my last comment. It’s a tough call.
It’s a bit of the “sliding Doors” theory anyway–had we say traded Escobar and Reyes for Arroyo, and then Arroyo had started that game (and not Reyes) against Houston, it’s entirely possible Rentaria never gets hurt because the assumption is he makes different (assumed better) pitches than Reyes and the game plays out differently–and maybe Edgar never gets hurt.
Honestly, it’s probably a 50-50 call, but considering how awful Reyes was in his last start, (and same with James), in hindsight having another starter might be the difference in this division.
I am still hopeful the Braves can win at least 4 of 6 this week and make up some ground.
I agree with the sentiment that we just need to get back to winning series and let the standings take care of themselves.
I also think that Perez is due a bad game against us. One of those 2 homer games from Chipper will do for me.
Congrats to Glavine as well. The hardest part about watching that press conference last night was that I couldn’t help but wish it was a Braves backdrop behind him.
I agree totally with Alex. I’m glad Tommy won 300; it was a very nice moment with his family and all. (His wife is pretty hot isn’t she?) It seemed much sweeter than anything going on with Bonds. I hope once Glavine retires, the Braves try to get him back into the organization in some capacity, although that might have to wait until JS leaves. Whenever they give Cy Young’s stats or something, it’s ridiculous. It was a completely different game in the 19th century. It’s really unfair to compare Glavine’s complete games to Cy Young who pitched when they finished the game no matter what. Warren Spahn is a little more fair but, still, it was a different game fifty years ago.
The Braves bullpen is funny; it generally pitches pretty well but there is always a breakdown by one person. Yesterday and Saturday it was Dotel; Thursday it was Soriano; other times it’s been Wickman, etc. But it’s not like it’s everyone. Of course it would help if the starters could pitch a few innings. Five innings from the number three starter is just unacceptable and he left the bullpen in an impossible situation. Bobby should not have let Chuck go out for the sixth after giving up a homer and being bailed out by Francoeur’s arm in the fifth. It was utterly predictable what happened. Yates should get kudos for really saving the game.
Also, I thought Chip and Joe’s comment on Helton’s hit against Dotel to drive in the tying run was pretty bizaare (surprise). The guy hit a really tough pitch. They kept harping on how Dotel was throwing too many strikes but the pitch he hit was right on the hands; give Helton some credit. It really was a flare that could just as easily have been an out.They should have been bashing Dotel for the triple by Jamie Carroll.
Alex, I don’t know if I should admit this, but Sliding Doors is actually one of my favorite movies.
Alex,
Why do you think Arroyo would have been such a great pickup? He’s been getting hammered most of the year.
By a show of hands how many people on this board knew that Kelly Johnson is a top ten second baseman offensively. He has a few defensive holes to work on, but his production at second for his salary is a huge plus right now. Hope he gets more ABs soon against lefties, and continues to rake.
KJ – only top ten?
I don’t think there were many here that proposed keeping Giles in the offseason. The general consensus seemed to be giving Kelly a shot. I would say that he has outperformed what I had thought he might do.
Also, I’m not sour on the Dotel deal at all. Deep Breaths!!! I think he’ll be fine.
here’s an interesting article about the teixeira trade from baltimore’s perspective. the writer seems to think that atlanta has a good shot at re-signing him despite his agent.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/baseball/bal-connolly0804,0,2888306.column
I knew Kelly had talent, but he was very streaky in 2005 and I thought he needed some time in Richmond after missing a year before becoming a major league regular. I’m happy to say I was wrong. I also thought Langerhans was going to have a great year and be the everyday CF next year. It’s good JS is GM and I’m just a fan. 😉
@53,
It’s rather disturbing that the Braves’ system is rated just above the O’s and they just traded a bunch of prospects. Of course, a lot of the “prospects” are in the major leagues.
KJ is having a great year.
BA OBP SLG
.301 .397 .497
Giles
.229 .300 .315
Brian Roberts just for kicks and giggles
.314 .400 .464
Kelly’s still streaky and he is hot now which is good since we will be without Edgar for a couple of weeks. I know that the platoon thing with Escobar has been discussed ad nauseum here. Even though I am in the camp that because of his power I think KJ should be the fulltime 2b, you have to give Cox credit for keeping Escobar’s timing up to speed by using the platoon. Escobar has been a big contributer this season both with his versatilty afield and his bat.
What is Andruw’s status for Tues night?
Well….
I drafted KJ in the 2nd round (after 15 keepers) in my fantasy league going into this year. Even though maybe two other people in the league had probably heard of him, I just didn’t want him to slip by. ‘Course, that was when I thought he’d be leading off full-time, but he’s still been producing once he was moved down a ways.
So if that’s any indication of how excited about him I was, I’ll go ahead and raise my hand. 😀
Seriously, though, despite the much higher BA last month, KJ’s walks have been down significantly since the ASB. Dunno if that’s just a change in approach on his part because he’s hitting lower and therefore needs to drive in more as opposed to get on base to be drivin in more. If it is, then I guess that’s fine, although I’d rather see him maintain his early-season walk rate regardless.
If the Braves were 16th before they made the trade for Teixera, then there is some pretty good farm systems ahead of them. I personally feel like we (before the Teixera trade) have/had a ton of prospects. With the glut of middle infield prospects, Eric Campbell, Brandon Jones, and the few pitchers we have, that’s pretty good. Is Salty considered a prospect still?
I think everyone in Braves Journal would agree that non tendering Marcus Giles was one of the best moves Schuerholz has made in his tenure. (behind the Maddux signing, the Mcgriff and now Teixeira trades, but up there).
That’s a perfect case of SAVING money and improving the lineup. Talk about a win-win.
Arroyo:
He was hammered earlier in the year and his numbers IN Cincy are badly skewed because the ballpark (as Mac and others have pointed out) is awful for pitchers.
His numbers have been a lot better on the road and I think the pickup would have been, considering how short James starts have been and the fact that Reyes is now a bust.
If Cormier gets hammered by the Phils as I suspect he might this week (let’s pray the bats wake back up for that game), the Braves are going to be forced to seriously consider Oscar or Moylan in the rotation.
I think you have to consider that option. Villareal and Moylan have both been very good and both seem to be innings eaters. Plus, Cormier sucks, Reyes sucks, yet we seem to still have a few extra quality relief arms lying around to fill in Moylan or Oscar’s spot: Royce Ring, Ascancio, Paronto, Devine.
I am not saying any of these 4 pitchers are world beaters, but you have to COMPARE these 4 guys with Cormier and Reyes–the answer is simple at this point.
I think Peter Moylan, especialy, if made a starting pitcher, would immediately be our third best starter, ahead of both James and Carlyle.
Just my 2 cents. I also wouldn’t even “waste” 1 Lance Cormier start, especially against a close divison rival like Philly.
At this point, every single game, especially rival games, are crucial. I would make the move now–Moylan or Oscar and send Lance back down. His initial Friday night relief appearance should be a strong indicator as to what the Philly lineup will be doing against Cormier this weekend.
AAR,
You probably shouldn’t admit to your love of a Gwyneth Paltrow film on a sports blog, but hey, it’s a pretty good little movie.
AAR,
I liked it too. I don’t care what people think.
Personally, “Sliding Doors” can’t top “Notting Hill”. I am actually serious. 🙂
He’s been getting hammered most of the year.
He’s been pitching in Cincinnati most of the year.
Alex,
I completely agree. Notting Hill is my all-time favorite chick-flick, and I’m not sure what my second-favorite would be, but I know it’s not close.
Whoopsie Daisies.
alex r,
i think moving moylan &/or the vulture to the the starting rotation would collapse our bullpen faster than wickman on a camp stool.
yes cormier sucks, ans reyes has not been stellar in his first call up, but if you rob peter to pay paul the damage will be two fold in the bullpen. let’s also not forget moylan has had a history of should and elbow problems…and i’ll take “notting hill” over “sliding doors” any day.
I will concede the point on Arroyo but he did get hit hard the last couple of starts.
Agree with Beedee on the rotation; if you start moving guys into the rotation from the bullpen, you probably aren’t going to improve the starting pitching and you will weaken the bullpen. Most of these guys like Moylan are successful in relief because they have one or two pitches that are effective when the hitter doesn’t see them very often. If they had to go through the lineup a second or third time, the hitters would be able to adjust.
Yes, I think “Notting Hill” tops my chick flick list as well.
Which is impressive beating out any chick flick with John Cusack (which includes “Say Anything”, “Serendipity”, and especially, “High Fidelity”). Though “Fidelity” is such genius, does that count even as a ‘chick flick’?
beedee,
We seem to be disagreeing more of late, but I don’t fully agree with your assessment that we are “robbing Peter to pay Paul”.
I mean, I see where you would say that, but ultimately my suggestion is an overall upgrade because you have to look at it like this:
While the Braves continue to twiddle their thumbs about the 5th starter spot, which has been manned so poorly this year—first by Mark Redman, then Kyle Davies, then Lance Cormier, then Kyle Davies again, then Jo Jo Reyes and now back to Lance Cormier…that’s a problem.
The bottomline…Davies, Redman and Cormier suck, and Reyes may not suck, but way too green to be relied on for 2007. (and yes, Stu, I know you’d give davies more time, but I am pretty much sold this kid’s never going to cut it).
However, we have at least 4 guys currently in Richmond (unless Devine is in the majors still? Not sure…) that are clearly better than Reyes or Cormier in 2007. Paronto aint great, but if he came back up, all we’d be asking is to be a 7th reliever.
Ascancio wasn’t horrible, decent, Devine could be good if we give him a chance, and hell, Royce Ring was lights out in the Pods’ farm system plus a 2nd lefty so to me, it seems the most logical to give Ring a shot!?!?
Plus, from my logic, everytime a Cormier goes out there and gets his ass kicked by the 2nd inning, isn’t that ultimately MORE taxing on a bullpen that has to pitch 7 or 8 innings? If we got 7 quality on a night where Peter Moylan started, the bullpen gets a bigger breather.
To me, it’s not even close…Lance Cormier does not belong on a major league roster.
Oscar and Moylan aren’t really viable options for the rotation because the Braves need their ability to pitch multiple innings every time the 3-5 spots in the rotation roll around. Cormier deserves at least 2 or 3 chances to start before we totally give up on him. Basing your opinion of him on how he pitched in relief in the ninth inning of a blowout game after he has been used mainly as a starter all year is silly.
Our old friend Wilson Betemit seems to be a guy that can thrive in New York. So far (yes, small sample size of 11 PA’s) He is .500 BA / .545 OBP / .800 SLG. OPS 1.345. Also, if you eliminate his lost April, he is clobbering righthanders and holding his own against lefthanders.
Moylan and Villarreal have always seemed to be the most effective in long relief, Moylan especially.
and Phil Stockman continues to rock in Mississippi. Since coming back from an injury visit to GGL, he has only had one bad outing. Injuries have continued to haunt him, but IF ( and I know about bullfrogs and If’s) he could stay healthy, he is, IMO, our best remaining prospect. A Mark Wohlers /Rob Dibble kind of big, hard throwing, righthander. And Stockman does not have problems with walks.
Ron,
Whether we agree about the 5th spot or not, Lance Cormier has had far more opportunity to show his lack of stuff than just the 2 innings pitched last Friday night.
And you talk about giving him 2-3 chances. We sit 4 1/2 behind the Mets and a half game up on philly. Not to continue to beat a dead horse about how “every game counts”, but it really does.
Because when you factor in not only Cormier going out and getting shelled, that not only is another game in the loss column for this team, but you are once again guaranteeing 3-4 relievers (at minimum) in that game.
Starting Lance Cormier is pretty much a guaranteed night that the bullpen will be warming up all night. What evidence have any of us seen in the last 2 seasons that Cormier is a viable option at this point?
Sam-
The fact that Oscar and Moylan have been so viable in long relief, only further illustrates my argument that these guys, if given the chance, can eat innings for the Braves.
Maybe it will fail and I will be wrong, but I would feel safe in saying it couldn’t be worse than what we are likely to see this weekend from Lance Cormier.
And again, if you move Moylan or Oscar to the rotation, we have now 5 relief options (thanks for the Stockman update) that are better than Cormier or Reyes.
If chick flick = romantic comedy (aka the dreaded rom-com), then I’ll go with the rom-com grandaddy of them all, “Annie Hall.”
Just saw it again recently and, despite it’s numerous very-’70s culture references, it’s still hysterical.
Good day for an off day in NYC—it’s dreary & rainy here.
Well Good Morning…
I agree with Alex that Cormier sucks and against Philly in Philly we might be witnessing a major felony, even w/o Utley.
However, I don’t think Oscar and Moylan should be mover into the rotation. They are too valuable in the bullpen, at least when Oscar is not giving up a 3-Run HR.
Yunel Escobar = FEARLESS
KJ= Wants to play everyday again…
So this will be what it feels like to not have Andruw and possibly not Edgar next year…hmmm
Ububba,
I also just watched Annie Hall and it’s just as hilarious as ever. And, being a 70s guy, I don’t mind the dated references. (The references to Commentary magazine are especially ironic since it is now a conservative magazine.) My favorite part is the Christopher Walken episode where he is driving them back after discussing his thoughts of suicide with Woody. The look on Woody’s face reminds me of the look on Braves’ fans faces when Kyle Davies started.
I know you guys probably discussed this already, but did anyone else feel sort of bad for Kyle on Sat?
hey at least Davies cant face the Phillies anymore
#77 – no, he still makes $350,000 a year. I dont feel sorry for anyone that plays baseball for a living. Now that he’s not in Atl I want him to get rocked in every outing, dont want to have to look back at that trade
Top 5 chick flick that is ok for a guy to watch, definitely Steel Magnolias.
CSG…
In baseball terms Kyle is below the poverty line. But I meant by hime being a former Brave and all…
Moylan has allowed runs in just 13 of his 63 appearances this season.
Olney also adds that Mike Piazza passed through waivers without being claimed. Any team in baseball could’ve had Piazza if willing to pay the remaining $2.6MM on his contract. Instead, the A’s will try to work out a trade and would most likely have to assume some of Piazza’s salary. The Twins, Angels, and Mariners seem to be the main possibilities.
Question: Edmonds makes $8 mil next year, would you want him and his injury prone body? I dont think I would
Which chick flick gets you the most…um, action.
For me it’s “Under the Tuscan Sun.”
Unfortunately, anything asssociated with Shakespeare earns me a lonely night.
Thank God the wife likes baseball!
The really scary thing is that he has allowed just one run total in his tweleve 2 and 3 inning stints this year.
Jim Edmonds do the right thing and retire.
Remember when everyone was up in arms about A-Rod making $25mil a year..well what will they say when he makes $30 mil a year? It’s going to happen…
Well, here’s the former Brave watch anyway:
Salty: 3-21, 2 RBI
Davies: 3 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, ND
Not only do I rate chick flicks by the quality and likeability of the male lead (Cusack is da man) but you gotta like the girl too…Diane Lane is hot, but she’s no Kate Beckinsale, possibly one of the sexiest women ever…which is why I give a movie like “serendipity” such love.
Beckinsale + Cusack + Piven + Tom Brady’s previous girlfriend (Bridget Moynihan) = great chick flick 🙂
Tony,
They won’t say anything. Their heads will have exploded. 😉
im against removing moylan from the bullpen just for the sake of how good he has been relieving Chuck and the 5th starters over 2 and 3 inning stints. I think his arm problems happened before he switched to his sidearm delivery. Generally sidearmers can pitch a lot, which would explain how he has 63 appearances already this year and didnt start the year with the team.
I think Villarreal gets a shot after 1 or 2 bad Cormier starts, unless Dan Smith starts to light up richmond. Also, using Villarreal as a starter and calling up royce ring would potentially improve both parts of the staff, as Mahay was used like Villarreal in texas, and he could fill that role with Ring as the LOOGY.
mraver: my theory on KJ’s declining walks is that pitchers around the league know that he’s a very picky hitter and are throwing him more strikes (he takes a lot more strikes than an average hitter, i think). seeing more hittable pitches, kj has adjusted by swinging a lot more.
that’s my theory, anyway. who knows how true it is.
The theory on KJ’s declining walks is simple: Since he’s batting lower in the order he can be more aggressive. That’s why I don’t like him in the leadoff spot, IF we have someone better suited.
how can you not like a hitter with a .400 OBP in the leadoff spot? sure, I agree that I would like to have his agressiveness as well (he is a helluva hitter), but you can’t get much better than that.
and yes, i know chipper and tex also have OBP over .400 – and no I am not suggesting we move them to leadoff. Just a reply to what I know is already coming…
Johnson is clearly the most appropriate guy to hit leadoff that is currently on the roster. Takes is walks, works the count, OBP of nearly .400, there is nothing not to like. A #1 hitter is just going to bat more than a #7 or #8 hitter, and I would sure like Kelly Johnson to bat more than Willie Harris.
I think Villarreal gets a shot after 1 or 2 bad Cormier starts, unless Dan Smith starts to light up richmond.
Oscar should have gotten a shot back in May. If we don’t make the playoffs the mistake that will stand out the most to me is not using Oscar to fix the fifth starter hole and just throwing those games away all year.
Sorry the middle paragraph should have been italized since it is a quote from Blake’s post.
I personally think KJ is a perfect #2 hitter. Decent power, excellent OBP skills, not great speed, high (~.300) average. If the Braves had a real lead off man (like Furcal was), that would be nice.
And yes I know about all that lineup slot theory (where the batting order doesn’t matter). I still like debating it.
If we had our full lineup in, I think KJ should be our leadoff hitter. In this current lineup, with Escobar instead of Renteria, I would probably do Escobar first, KJ second because he has more power, like Josh just mentioned. Willie Harris should be hitting eighth IMO.
The fraidy Braves talk has begun here.
Marc,
I definitely love the ’70s references in “Annie Hall,” but I think a lot of people younger than us (I’m 43) wouldn’t get them.
The last time I saw it, I kept asking myself things like, “Does anyone know what Est is these days?” And thinking, “Nobody says ‘mellow’ anymore.”
Yes, the Walken scene is classic. (“Thanks Duane, but I’m due back on the planet earth.”) My favorite scene is when Woody Allen is about to get intimate with his first wife played by Carol Kane & he starts flipping out about JFK assassination conspiracy theories.
KJ is the best option as a leadoff man that we currently have and while he isn’t ideal and he future probaly lies 2nd, or even 5thish…what he had done this year is nothing short of remarkable given what most expected. Among NL Second basemen…
Kelly is #3 in BA (behind Utley & Kent)
#2 in OBP behind Utley
#3 in OPS (behing Utley & Kent)
#5 in HRs
#1 in 3Bs
#1 in BBs
For that matter…
He is #9 in the NL in OBP behind a bunch of corner fielders aside from Utley, and .22 points ahead of Jose Reyes, the “most exciting player in the game.” He is tied for third with 9 triples, also.
You’d be hard pressed to find anyone who expected that kind of performance through the first week of August from Kelly. Yes, he still has some room to improve on his defense and could cut down on strikeouts, but for the money, I doubt there is a better value in the league. Despite his streakiness, I hope he is a figure at 2B for years to come.
Since Edgar is out for while he won’t be hitting there much, but I really don’t like him hitting 8th and I think Bobby is making a huge mistake when he hits KJ there…he is too selective and draws too many walks for that situation (the pitcher on deck).
I absolutely love Annie Hall. (My favorite dated reference is seeing Alvy Singer take all his girlfriends on a movie date to see The Sorrow and the Pity.) And Cusack’s probably the greatest romantic comedy lead ever, with High Fidelity, Say Anything, Better Off Dead, and The Sure Thing.
Sliding Doors tops ’em all for me, for no reason other than I love it. But there aren’t any Hugh Grant movies on my list, and I plan on keeping it that way.
Oh, and Kelly Johnson has been great too. I know he has a girl’s name, but he’s awesome.
It’s funny to me that last week on the off day there were like 800 posts on the thread and we all were going absolutely nuts over the trade deadline, while this week, we’re talking about romantic comedies.
I almost hate to ask this, but what ever happened to Tanyon Sturtze? I thought we were supposed to see him around the halfway point this year. Aren’t we paying him something like 750K – 1.5MIL?
Being hurt/occasionally sucking it up in the minors
AAR, considering how young you are, the fact that you are such a big “Annie Hall” fan is impressive.
You are definitely a true intellectual among some of us regular guys 🙂
I think he disappeared into the abyss.
I really don’t think any of us actually care to see him at this point – I never really liked the move myself. But I have a feeling we will see him around September call-ups. shrug
Sliding Doors is a terrific film. I don’t even think it should be in the “chick flick” category since it’s theme wanders very close to Twilight Zone or Outer Limits material.
Best part of Annie Hall for me Alvy’s memories in total silence and the bit at the beginning with the little girl explaining what she does as an adult (“I’m into leather”).
At the beginning of the year, I think I would’ve agreed with you, but with as big a disaster as our fifth starter has been, it couldn’t hurt at this point. I think I’d rather see him than Cormier, quite frankly.
Sorry to say, I never read the book “High Fidelity”—everyone I know who read it seemed to be disappointed with the film for some reason.
Having worked in a snobby record store for awhile back in Athens, however, I loved the flick. Along with “School of Rock,” it’s also Jack Black’s finest moment.
Dunno if ATL would be interested, but the Yankees just DFA’d Mike Myers. His overall numbers are pretty good, but they got him to be a LOOGY & lefties hit .301 against him (73 AB, .807 OPS), righties .184 (76 AB, .561 OPS).
Overall: 55 G, 40.2 IP, 38 H, 2.66 ERA, 21 K, 1.33 WHIP.
I will miss his entrances at Yankee games. As he came out of the bullpen, the stadium would play the creepy theme from film, “Halloween.”
How in the hell are lefties hitting .301 and righties .184 against Mike Myers with that lefty side-armed delivery of his? That’s the most non-sensical thing I’ve heard in awhile. I don’t even know how that’s possible, quite frankly.
ububba,
I agree…by the way, which ‘snobby’ Athens store?
Nothing quite tops Jack Black singing & dancing to “Walkin’ on Sunshine’, the infamous 80’s classic by Katrina & the Waves, in “Fidelity”.
ububba and AAR,
annie hall is great, but i’d go with Manhattan any day. Beautiful shots in a day when manhattan was less than beautiful, and allen’s opening voice over is pricelesss, perhaps one of my alltime favorite american films.
Ububba, you didn’t work at Wuxtry, by any chance, did you? I used to go to their Atlanta location all the time, and it’s a fantastic place. (The book “High Fidelity” is great, but I don’t think that the movie is any worse. They’re both fantastic.)
Mike Myers would definitely be a low-risk investment, and I’d support the pickup.
Beedee, he was dating a friggin’ 17-year old!
Beautiful, yes, but a little bit creepy.
life immitating art baby! that movie rocks
I’m going to go out on a limb and bet ububba worked at Wuxtry…
Wuxtry was a regular hangout of mine.
Eeeee-nnnh!
All wrong. It was a store called Ruthless Records, back in 1984-85. It was on College Square, right next to the old Yudy’s.
The guy who owned it is still a friend. He got out of the record retail business just in time (he also owned Downtown Records by The Downstairs club) & now he owns half the bars in downtown Athens. A wise move by a wise man.
I was, however, a regular customer of the Wuxtry and Wax Jr. Facts record shops. (Trivia: DangerMouse, the producer behind Gnarls Barkley & Gorillaz, worked at the Athens Wuxtry.)
BTW, I love “Manhattan” as well. It always gets compared to “Annie Hall,” but I think “Annie Hall” is a much sweeter, much broader story with more iconic moments.
“Manhattan”/”Annie Hall” is sort of like the “Godfather”/”Godfather 2” conversation. I once thought that GF2 was better, but now I’m back on the original.
Also, I wouldn’t cry if we picked up Mike Myers.
All of Nick Hornby’s fiction is worth checking out. “About A Boy”, “High Fidelity”, “A Long Way Down” and “How To Be Good” are outstanding.
I see we got off track of the Braves talk! That’s ok, it’s your day off. I was glad to see Justice make the Brave’s Hall of Fame. He really has come 180, when he came up as a cocky youngster in 1990. I hope the fans of Atlanta appriciate what he did for this franchise.
I can’t even name a romantic comedy off the top of my head, unless There’s Something About Mary counts.
A short story about my friend who owned Ruthless/Downtown Recs:
Remember in “High Fidelity” how Jack Black would terrorize anyone who came into the store with his ultra-snobbish tastes?
That’s what Ruthless was like. I remember back when the jam-band thing was really beginning to take off (a development many in the store found rather odious), this kid came in with all his one- & five-dollar bills saved up and proudly bought this $45 Allman Brothers box set.
The owner’s response: “Why would you ever buy that piece of garbage?”
I’ll never forget the look of confusion on that kid’s face.
David Justice in the Braves HOF? I guess….
http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070806&content_id=2133147&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl
I don’t see why not, Tony. He was a major part of our teams in the early 90s. He won a World Series with one home run and essentially started our playoff run with another. I mean, he’s not in the discussion for the baseball HOF or anything, but I don’t see why he wouldn’t be in the Braves HOF. Without him, this organization isn’t where it is right now.
Dang, I missed the “Annie Hall” conversation.
I think a lot of people dismiss Woody as too highbrow for their tastes, but they’re missing out. Yes, he surrounds himself with air-sniffing lofty talkers, but it’s usually so he can mock them relentlessly.
Like Jeff Goldblum on the phone at the Hollywood party: “Hello? I forgot my mantra.”
what was the little shop next to the 40 watt?
In honor of Glavine here’s the greatest commercial ever involving baseball:
It never gets old.
I guess you are right Nick…
I was looking at his overall career, which isn’t all that impressive, but with Atlanta he did have some important hits.
They have to get Justice in now! Because once the retiring starts for the rest of those teams, we will have to many spots to fill.,
Sansho, I think the problem with Woody Allen is that he’s an intellectually pretentious guy who happens to be hilarious. So he sometimes gets into a rut by thinking that people love him for his neuroses, when actually they just love that he writes funny jokes.
(At least, he used to. He’s been spinning the wheels for a long, long time, and other than Manhattan Murder Mystery and Sweet and Lowdown, I haven’t loved a Woody Allen movie that he’s made in the last 20 years. Other trivia that won’t matter to anyone other than scions of New York Jewry like me: I’m distantly related to Louise Lasser.)
Mary Hartman! Mary Hartman!
AAR,
i’ll have to agree with you on allen, as soon as he started to try emulating bergman i quickly lost interest in his films, too mutch BS. take me back to the days of “sleeper”. “match point” was a nice revisting of “shadows & fog”, but i do prefer the 70’s vintage woody
AAR — but that’s the thing. He’s intellectual, but back when he was on a roll he was anything but pretentious. He’d put himself in pretentious surroundings and want to talk about the Knicks, or try to pick up girls, usually by gently mocking their recently adopted pretensions. Which was easy for him, because the women were always so much younger than him (God love him).
I never cared for Manhattan, never really thought it was funny, and now I consider it creepy in light of Woody’s later antics. The amazing thing about Annie Hall is that there are almost no misses. Every scene is a classic in some way. That’s really not true in Woody’s other (early) movies although I love a lot of them.
Justice deserves to be in the Braves HOF. (And maybe Jim Poole should be in as well.) Without Justice, the Braves might never have scored in Game 6. That was a horrifying game in many ways, reminiscent of a lot of playoff games that the Braves lost–left lots of guys on base, left it up to the closer with a one run lead, facing a dynamic offensive team. In retrospect, it’s amazing the Braves won that game. And I shudder to think what would have happened if they had gone to a Game 7.
or try to pick up girls, usually by gently mocking their recently adopted pretensions.
Or by displaying his 3rd place high school track medal.
Plus, you have to remember that pretty much everything impressive he did, he did with the Braves. After he left, he didn’t really do very much except bleed another ring or two out of the Yankees, but for the seven years he was here, he was a pretty impressive player. So I guess what I’m saying is that his overall career numbers aren’t all the great, but his Braves career numbers are pretty impressive.
Allen’s films are very hit or miss. Occassionally, there are Allen ‘style’ movies I really like…”Manhattan Murder Mystery” with Alan Alda and Diane Keaton or “Deconstructing Harry” with Tobey Maguire.
But generally, not a fan until the more recent, very NON Allen-like, “Match Point” with Scarlett Johanssen and Jonathan Rhys-Myers. I had a low expectation going in and the film was surprisingly great.
Regarding the Nick Hornby stuff, yes, his novels are great and “About a Boy” is a fantastic movie. Rachel Wiesz was very hot in that movie and it was one of Hugh Grant’s best performances.
However, everyone in here should keep in mind that the horrible Jimmy Fallon/Drew Barrymore Red Sox movie, “Fever Pitch” was indeed an Americanized (and basterdized) version of a Hornby novel about a crazed Soccer fan.
Yes, I am a Baseball fan over a Soccer fan, but if they planned to trash that novel by having a no talent hack like Fallon go crazy over the Red Sox, then they should have kept it about Soccer.
After he left, he didn’t really do very much except bleed another ring or two out of the Yankees, but for the seven years he was here, he was a pretty impressive player
whaaaa????? He was arguably the best hitter on the ’97 Indians the year he was traded – led the (massively loaded) team in OPS, SLG, BA, and XBH.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CLE/1997.shtml
Not that I liked the movie “Fever Pitch.” Quite the contrary in fact, it was godawful. But seeing as how they were trying to make money, I see why they changed it to baseball.
If they had left it about soccer, I’m pretty sure that the general response would have been, “Who or what is Arsenal and why is Jimmy Fallon so obsessed with it?”
If they were gonna keep it about soccer, the only way it would’ve worked is if they’d made it a quirky British film (a la “Bend It Like Beckham”). Then it might have made some money as one of those indie movies that becomes popular for whatever reason and might have been decent.
But since it was produced by an American studio, had Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore in it, and was positioned to make gobs of money, there’s no way it was gonna be about soccer and there was no way it was gonna be decent.
But frankly, while we were all ramming are heads through the theater armrests, I’m guessing they’re happy with their decision, as they made tons of money.
If anyone has seen the first Fever Pitch movie that is more true to the book, then you wouldn’t even give a second thought to the Americanized, and bastardized movie with Fallon. It’s not the first time we Americans have taken something British and “enhanced it” so to speak. I wonder how many Americans realize that Deal or No Deal is originally a British game show without the models.
OK…so he had one good year. My mistake.
MD…
Let’s see here is who I think will get in the Braves HOF:
Obvious: Smoltz, Maddux, Glavine, Chipper, Andruw Jones(long ways out)
Who else? Pendleton?
The problem is, Deal or No Deal is still horrible with or without models.
Nick there is a quirky British film that was made from that book, you should check it out sometime.
Schuerholz and Cox are also guarantees.
Pendleton probably will, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s next year since we’re apparently starting to induct people from those teams now.
McGriff has also gotta be pretty much a lock, and I’m guessing Grissom will get in, too.
Javy Lopez, probably.
Really, the posibilities are pretty much endless.
Ah, didn’t know that, Justin. I will check it out.
Nick,
What’s interesting is you think these we be locks and then you look at their numbers with the Braves…and you’re like that’s all he did? I agree with Javy…
Justin,
Who Wants to be a Millionaire is British too. So is The Weakest Link. So was Dog Eat Dog. The fact is that Americans and British borrow from each other when it comes to game shows. The Price is Right, Play Your Cards Right (Card Sharks) and Family Fortunes (Family Feud) went to Britain too.
I think the British version of Deal or No Deal is better because there is 24 other people playing, and it seems to have more of an emotional feel to it.
OK…so he had one good year. My mistake.
well….actually he was fair in ’98 and really good in 99 and 2000 (41 HR and some MVP votes). He only really sucked in 01 and 02.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/j/justida01.shtml
If McGriff doesn’t get in, I’ll shine your shoes, Tony. Pendleton and Grissom you may be right on, although Pendleton did win an MVP with us and it is just a team HOF, so I would be kind of surprised if he didn’t get in.
Mark Lemke’s probably in, as I think of more while typing this. Jeff Blauser maybe. Ron Gant probably…
Next time, perhaps I should look at the stats before opening my mouth. Oh well, the central point that Justice isn’t getting to the baseball HOF but should be in the Braves HOF stands.
Sam,
The Office is British, and what is most disturbing about the difference between the two countries, is how much these shows are dumbed down and sexed up for the American audience. We have become a dumb nation.
Agreed
Nick,
Would you have thought McGriff only had 1 year with over a 100 RBI’s with the Braves?
Javy Lopez had 43HR and 103RBIs and batted .328 in 2003 with the Braves? Wow…why don’t I remember that?
Justin,
I think the majority of the world is dumb. It’s not just most of the American people. The Brits may like to think tney’re smart, but I think there were surveys that said they weren’t good at geography, just like most Americans, and close to a majority of Brits believe Robin Hood was a real person.
that was his year of steroids…lol
This is a world of dummies.
…and you definately should remember that – we had probably the best lineup in the majors that year…
I like the British game shows because when someone acts like a complete idiot, I don’t see it as a reflection on me.
It’s ridiculous, but all it takes is one idiot American and suddenly, I feel responsible…as though I should have been tutoring the guy in the afternoons.
The single-worst contestant in the history of the American Deal or No Deal is…naturally…southern. Big, fat-ass, bearded, red man chawing, pants-hitchin’, retard who lives in his sister’s basement.
He’s been on TWICE. I’ve seen the show maybe 10 times and he’s been on TWICE. And, I think, he’s won a grand total of about $40.
Why can’t it be a guy from Jersey??
2003 Braves line-up
Furcal
Giles
Chipper
Sheffield
Lopez
AJ
Castilla
Fick
Is that about right Joshua? And yes that was Javy steroid year and free agent year…interesting.
Its amazing that he lost all that weight while he was on steroids.
Maybe our nation is not as dumb, or dumber than other countries, but you couldn’t tell by the programming on tv. They way they present the shows to us, and the way we watch reality shows, and think that the shots are live, and not planned out, is amazing to me.
Actually, the year that Javy had that year was statistically one of the best offensive years ever had by a catcher.
Didn’t he attribute his weight loss to his having eaten Subway sandwiches?
noah,
When it’s a Brit trivia show, we don’t know half the questions on there anyway. I watched a whole episode of Weakest Link on BBC America and half the questions I had no prayer of answering because they were pure Brit questions.
I don’t particularly care for Deal or No Deal myself. I like 1 vs. 100 better when I remember to watch that. At least it has decent trivia. What I like right now is Grand Slam on GSN.
No its because he finally committed to offseason workouts.
Justin,
I will agree with that.
I only watch one reality show regularly: Hell’s Kitchen, with Gordon Ramsay. Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares on BBC America is also fun to watch, and I hope that when it comes on on FOX, that version is good too.
Justin,
In the summer before my sophomore year in college, I wanted to go back to school ripped. So I took a steroid for about 3 weeks. It worked so well that it scared the shit out of me. From that point on, it was just the weights and creatine.
@127
beedee,
The name of the shop next to the 40 watt was LOW YO YO STUFF. I heard it changed to a vintage guitar shop recently.
Sam – that’s sort of the way I felt watching Monty Python re-runs.
There’s a skit where they have Karl Marx, Che Guevera and Mao Tse Tung on a panel. And the moderator proceeds to turn into a quiz show where they only ask question about football.
The biggest laugh comes when they ask Karl Marx something about one team and he tries to talk about communist theory and the host laughs and says, “Actually it was a trick question. SoAndSo have NEVER won the whatever Cup!”
Huge laugh.
Football, horse racing, tennis, cricket… what? *laughs*
Tony,
Wouldn’t the steroids help you put on weight? Javy lost about 30lbs between the end of the 2002 season, and the beginning of the ’03 season. Jus curious as all I have ever heard of steroids was it was used to help build mass.
Noah, that’s a great sketch. It’s called “World Forum” and you can see it here.
(Starting around 1:00 into the video; before is a Terry Gilliam animation.)
I was 15 when I first heard a Monty Python skit (the argument clinic). I said, “I don’t know what this is or who these people are, but this what I want to do for a living.”
Didn’t quite make it. But I still feel that way.
I love Monty Python sketches. Very good humour.
dirt,
thanx, i was about to dive into by old tape box and record crates to see if i had any stuff that would jog my addled memory.
that’s a bummer, back in the day we use to roll over there grab a bunch of new and used music, grab some slices and beer and then head back to the 40 watt for the show.
Justin,
They have steroids for whatever you want to achieve. If you want to get ripped, pack on muscle, increase stamina, etc….they have it. The particular steriod I was taking helped to build muscle mass while burning fat. Any person who lifts weights will tell you one of the hardest thing to do is put on muscle while burning fat…especially naturally.
There are different steroids designed to give different benefits… Some are for fast twitch muscles, some for slow twitch muscles. That’s the difference between explosive power and pure strength.
To say Javy couldn’t have used steroids because he lost weight is pretty naive. Steroids aren’t just for football players, weight lifters and homerun hitters. Bicyclists, milers, sprinters, and pitchers all have a use for them aswell.
Generally speaking, a person’s pure size isn’t a good indicator of steroid use. But a significant drop in BODY-FAT PERCENTAGE can be. In fact, I’m under the impression that fast-twitch muscle fiber (lean muscle) actually uses more fat for fuel than slow-twitch muscle (pure strength) does.
Thanks Tony good to know, and in other Braves news Willie Aybar is out of Rehab and ready to rejoin the minor league system. Wonder how long he stays in a Braves Uni.
i was just joking about the steriod thing, but it is a definate possibility. And yes, they do help to build mass.
Wow, Justin, that’s interesting news… source?
(I feel like I’ve said that before!)
AAR,
it was in the AJC a couple of days ago
Found it on the Braves home page under official releases.
Winstrol is one example of a steroid that is used to get you cut instead of big. Google it, there are many more.
I still love Woody Allen, and I’ll always give him a chance, even though a lot of his movies are just a’ight anymore. (His last great run was the “Zelig,” “Broadway Danny Rose,” “Purple Rose of Cairo” era, IMO.)
But I did love “Match Point,” partially due to the lowered-expectation factor, partially due to the way his camera was so in love with London (a city I happen to dig) and with Scarlet Johansen (what’s not to like?).
Allen’s currently filming in Barcelona, with Penélope Cruz starring.
Scarlett Johansson also stars.
I can’t exactly blame Woody Allen for being attracted to Scarlett Johansson. It’s just, um, he’s old and creepy, and she’s young and hot.
It’s an image I don’t enjoy dwelling on too much.
i remember watching zelig on hbo as a kid and thinking it was a real documentary…hilarious.
i caught “sunshine” yesterday…awesome, highly recommend.
Still love the chicks dig the long ball commercial. Every time I watch it, though, I am struck with what an incredibly awkward actor Grag Maddux is. Glavine is a natural.
This is a pretty good movie of our season so far. Sorry if it’s already been posted:
@190
yeah dude, but that creep can roll.
I’m fully able to separate Woody Allen the artist from Woody Allen the baggage-loaded celebrity. Dunno why, but my mind doesn’t go there. (I thought his direction in “Match Point” was amazing.)
All the Met fans I’ve talked with today seem fairly cautious about the upcoming series. The one guy who tried to be a little bold with me said, “You ready to get swept?”
My response: “You don’t even believe that.”
Him: “Just wishing & hoping.”
i hope we kill the mets…hate, hate, hate
tony, you took steroids? that explains it.
I take steroids. Oh, we’re being serious.
Call me naive, but I don’t know if Javy took steroids. He was fat, slow, and terribly out of shape the two years before that. Now, he was also in great shape in the mid-90’s, and he never matched 40 HRs. So, I don’t know what to think. I’d like to think that he got his butt on a treadmill, got healthier and more flexible, and started pounding the baseball more. Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m right.
Baseball forum, I know, but can anyone tell me how the “plus-one” format would work? I understand that it’s an extra game, but who plays in it and how is it determined? Also, why does the Pac-10 commissioner hate it so much? Is he mad that his conference is grossly overrated and has only one good team (just kidding Robert!)?
Oh, I was talking about college football, but I’m sure whoever can answer that question probably already knows that…
“plus one” is where you play out the BCS and then after that #1 and #2 play each other for the title.
I just noticed Sciambi’s doing the game on ESPN. Cool.
Cubs’ Soriano on the DL with a torn quad.
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/7097494?MSNHPHMA
Having lived in the US, in London and some places in continental Europe, from what I’ve seen, every country has it’s good share of dumb people. Quite some Americans seem dumb to Europeans because they are really loud…, the English because they are drunk most of the time and the Germans because they don’t laugh or are simply not funny… 😉
Oh, and I have a serious crush on Scarlett Johansson!