This should be easy if you’ve been on the site for a couple of years…
Hank Aaron only became the Braves’ career home run leader in 1968, passing his longtime teammate Eddie Mathews. The question: Whose team record did Mathews break?
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Hmmm…I want to say Joe Adcock. I don’t think it’s right, but I’ll throw it out there.
Just looked it up — Mathews got a head start on Adcock, and never was behind him.
I’m going with Tony Cloninger.
Berger?
Berger is who I would guess. Adcock played at the same time, but started with Cincinnati I think, so Mathews had a jump on Joe.
I should say Adcock played at the same time as Mathews.
Berger would have been my guess.
not sure how long he played for the Braves, but let’s try Ernie Lombardi.
It’s Berger.
Just wanted to say Merry Christmas to everyone. I will be out and not checking in for a few days.
Let me echo Smitty’s sentiments and wish a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone at Bravesjournal.
I will still be around for the holidays enjoying my now 5 week old “Jake R.” (who finally got his first Braves gift from friends of my parents who live in Atlanta – a tiny Braves cap, a Braves onezie with bib and Braves booties – awesome stuff).
Thankfully, with my parents in town next week to come back to see their grandson, my wife & I will actually be able to leave the house together for 2 hours without him so we can catch “National Treasure”.
I think it’s pretty obvious that a picture of Jake in his new Braves gear needs to be posted here in the near future.
Stu,
Ok, will do. Jake’s still pretty tiny and the Braves gear is a little big on him, but I will see what I can do – my wife has generally controlled his wardrobe (so far) 😉 though I was able to get him into his red “littlest Bulldogs fan” t-shirt and jeans (which was exactly what his dad was wearing) a few weeks ago when my wife was out.
I don’t think I need to see a picture of the scene you just described.
Merry Christmas everyone.
Everyone thanks again for a great year of Braves Blogging by far the most knowledgeable and funniest Braves fans on the internet. I’ve learned a lot.
Mac, for everything you do many many thanks.
Anyway, Wally Berger… Berger hit 199 homers as a Boston Brave, won the home run and RBI titles in 1935 for a team that went 38-115. If Berger had had any luck at all, he would be in the Hall of Fame.
No other Boston Brave hit even 100 home runs; second on the list were Tommy Holmes and Herman Long with 88. Holmes hit nearly half his homers in two years, 1944-45, when talent was at its lowest ebb due to the war. Long hit most of his in the nineteenth century.
Braves Field was a very tough park to hit in, plus the B-Braves were for most of the twentieth century a down and out organization, winning only two NL pennants.
Today is the slowest day ever
Thankfully, it’s also the shortest.
Joke’s on you Remy, time is moving backwards so the end of the day is actually moving away from you.
Can’t believe I forgot about Wally. Mac’s written him up a couple times, especially here. Sort of an offensive Steve Carlton.
Wow, that’s pretty offensive, considering how big a jerk Steve Carlton was
It appears I walked right into that one.
Just to clarify, I have a different red t-shirt of UGA that I wear than my son since I apparently gave Mac and Stu the impression that I am also the “littlest Bulldog fan”. This is not the case. 😉
(who finally got his first Braves gift from friends of my parents who live in Atlanta – a tiny Braves cap, a Braves onezie with bib and Braves booties – awesome stuff).
It’s pretty ridiculous to buy stuff for babies like this. They out grow it in like five minutes, big waste of money…with that said I’ve spent hundreds of dollars keeping my 2 1/2 year old daughter in Braves and USC gear. My wife – as always – is not amused.
Robert,
Totally agree that the munchkins eventually outgrow these clothes, but as a brand new dad + a die hard Dawgs and Braves fan, it’s fun for me to dress Jake up in this stuff and take pictures. It’s a part of who I am and fun for me to share this with my little guy.
Besides, both his Georgia stuff and his Braves stuff were gifts, so I didn’t spend anything 🙂
I bought a Michigan Jersey for my dog. I win. Or lose, depending on your perspective.
I just hope Rich Rodriguez doesn’t get too over zealous too quickly and fire your dog.
You mean DickRod? A gimmickie spread offense and gimmickie stack defense sounds pretty overzealous to me.
Hmmm…you sound like a Michigan fan not thrilled with the Rodriguez hire – is this accurate?
I am not too high on Rodriguez the person, but as a coach, I think it’s an upgrade over Lloyd Carr; you may actually start winning the Ohio State game once in a while again.
I’m excited about the change in energy level I expect DickRod to bring. Too many years of Carr though has created a strong streak of pessimism that Rodriguez is going to have to eliminate. I am therefore skeptical of the effectiveness his defense will have, the offense should be top notch with the talent Michigan can bring in. I also thought he’d keep a couple assistants on staff for recruiting continuity. Not so much.
Either way, I think hiring Rodriguez was the best possible result at the outset of the search. An A- coach but an A hire given that the A’s and A+ coaches weren’t going anywhere (Stoops, Meyer, Tressel, Carrol)
Even for a slow day, the BravesJournal group keeps me laughing. Thanks to all, but especially Mac, for your comments & perspectives this year. Merry Christmas to all (or whatever holiday of your choice)!
Any word on where Ryan Mallett is going to transfer Dix? I can’t imagine he’ll fit with the spread offense. He seemed like a good one.
Fair assessment.
I also think Rodriguez is actually a better coach than the vastly overrated Les Miles but I realize there was some controversy that Rodriguez wasn’t a ‘Michigan’ man.
Still, I don’t love the way Rodriguez treated Bama a year ago, and then used the Bama offer to leverage a better offer at WVA and promise to stay – only to leave a year later.
Just my 2 cents – but I think he can win.
to be real honest, coming from a Bama fan, Mal Moore could’ve made Rich a lot better offer. I dont remember the numbers but I think it was like 2.3 mil and it was something that West VA could certainly afford. If Mal had offered $3 or 3.2 then he would be at Bama, most likely
Happy, happy & a merry, merry to all in B-Journal Land. Thanks for keeping it entertaining & interesting.
And thanks again to Mac for making it happen.
csg,
I disagree. I don’t know the exact numbers (I’m sure it can be found online), but I remember moore making a pretty hefty financial offer to Rodriguez.
One thing you can say about Bama is they are willing to shell out whatever it takes financially to get the coach they want. They showed that with Saban.
This just in: using their incredible powers of not being smart, the Seattle Mariners have signed Carlos Silva to a 4-year, $48 million deal.
Like everything related to Seattle Mariners pitchers, I predict that somehow this will not end well.
Mac,
So what are you trying to say…that we won’t be facing Carlos Silva and Horacio Ramirez in the World Series next October?
AAR – sorry – I said Mac and meant to direct that to you 😉
Back from lunch.
Rodriguez will make less than Alabama offered him. By all accounts he ended up staying at WVU last year because he made some demands on the WVU administration, things such as more bonus money available to his staff, more grad. assistant positions, allowing the players to keep their text books after the semesters (so they could sell them and keep the $). This year when Coach Rod asked WVU to make good on their promise the AD inexplicably said no and Rod understandably said “screw you I’m going to a way better job”.
I’m not worried about his previous appearances as being fickle. Michigan is a destination coaching job. You can’t go any higher up the college coaching ladder, you can only move laterally or to the NFL. Rodriguez’s spread offense is not something that will translate to the NFL so he is not a viable candidate for any pro team. I think he will be at Michigan as long as his results warrant him being in the job.
The Mallet issue is tricky. The kid shows really great skills but not a lot of work ethic or intelligence. He is mobile for a 6’7″ white guy. The thing people don’t realize, but which I do because I have researched it, is that Rodriguez doesn’t have to have a dual threat QB to thrive. At Tulane he had a very pass heavy spread offense with Shawn King. So if Mallet stays, I expect he will be successful because I expect Rodriguez will tailor the offense to his personnel (exactly what LLoyd Carr would never do). If Rodriguez succeeds in landing the Rival’s #1 recruit and dual threat ala Vince YOung style QB Terrelle Pryor, then I think Mallet might take off.
I would hope that the Pryor kid would redshirt and get two years of separation from Mallet. With his first year being part of a two headed QB package like Florida ran with Leak and Tebow. I doubt seriously though that a rivals #1 recruit is going to be willing to take a redshirt.
You can’t move any higher up the ladder than Michigan? REALLY?
As an SEC fan (and you and I have already gone around the bend on this plenty), I will RESERVE further comment.
Needless to say, I appreciate the good afternoon chuckle before the holidays.
Alex,
I’m willing to discuss, rather than argue, just to understand your thoughts on the coaching ladder.
In my opinion there are various jobs around the country that when you factor in all inherent advantages of a school, such as recruiting base, prestige, facilities, pressure to succeed there is a top of the ladder you can’t improve upon.
Michigan is one of the jobs where as I see it, there would be no incentive for a coach to ever leave the job other than for a pay increase at an equivalent school.
Other schools that I’d put on the same level include but are not limited to:
Southern Cal, Texas, Florida, LSU, Notre Dame, Ohio State,
One of the biggest reasons I wouldn’t put the SEC jobs ahead of the Michigan job is because of the strength of the rest of the conference. Michigan’s road to a championship game is paved more smoothly than any SEC team’s. At Michigan, only 2 teams on the schedule can match your talent level, Notre Dame and OSU. You only have to beat those guys and you SHOULD be in the title game if you take care of regular business elsewhere. In the SEC there are 4 or 5 teams that are all essentially equal in talent level at any given year. There are fluctuations of course, but it’s harder to get through the SEC unscathed than the Big Ten these days, and that, to me, prevents the job from being superior. Your pressure to win is higher, and your likelihood of meeting expectations is lowered.
Your thoughts?
I think Michigan is top tier. I’d say that it’s actually Notre Dame first, then a group that also includes USC, Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas, Ohio State — the traditional powers — and Florida, which should be dominant.
Second tier includes Georgia, Auburn, Tennessee, LSU, Nebraska, Penn State, maybe FSU.
Well, even if Notre Dame is a step up from the Michigan job, no Michigan coach will ever make that jump. So really once you’re in the job at Michigan you’re not going to climb the ladder even if a higher rung exists.
If Rodriguez succeeds in landing the Rival’s #1 recruit and dual threat ala Vince YOung style QB Terrelle Pryor, then I think Mallet might take off.
Sounds about right. I believe Pryor is going to end up a Michigan and Mallett will be gone.
I also agree with your description of Michigan as a final destination type job. I’ll be interested to see how he changes his offense to fit the talent, and if he can do anything about the lack of speed on defense.
I don’t think anything can be done about our current defense. The talent level at Michigan is simply down from where it should/could be and that’s that.
All recruiting at Michigan was down the past few years except at QB and WR and the talent just isn’t there, especially at linebacker. The defensive backfield is probably the strength, it is better than usual. The linebacker position is pathetically weak and has no depth, and no new recruits coming in to change that. O-line recruiting has also been very poor by Michigan standards.
Rich is probably looking at another 2 or 3 years like this season just passed before he gets players with more talent than the current crop. Not to say that there are bad players on the team, but I don’t see any reason to expect improvement
Of course, it may just be that the Big 10 is doomed. Getting back to the discussion before about more athletes coming from the South… The South and California put out more than their share of athletes in the thirties, forties, and fifties, when the population was still centered in the northeastern quarter of the country. With the population shifts that have happened since then (an eighth of the country’s population living in California, Texas and Florida among the five largest states) combining with these states’ climate advantages… they’ll have an overwhelming percentage of the country’s good players. And the SEC, Pac 10, and Big 12-South will continue to dominate.
@40,
Rodriguez may have asked for his players to be able to keep their textbooks to sell, but I believe that would constitute an NCAA violation as an extra benefit. $$$
Alabama had to suspend five players for several games at the end of the season just because they received extra textbooks. They didn’t even sell them.
..so I can see why the WVU administration didn’t want to roll like that.
I dunno if it’s a violation or not, I think most teams do it.
Mac, you could be right. If I was 18 and not caring about the quality of my education I’d stay down south where the weather is warm, the girls are pretty (and scantily clothed). Even if the girls up north are pretty you cant tell because they have puffy Northface coats on all the time. Michigan OSU and ND are definitely at a climate disadvantage. Michigan and ND at least offer a more valuable degree to anyone who’s not going pro than any other football powers.
Well, Cal, if they can stay at this level.
The Alabama situation was different because the players were getting textbooks to which they weren’t entitled, and then giving them to friends. Keeping your own textbooks to sell is apparently within the rules.
just wanted to add my best wishes to all the crew here at braves journal. mac, you’ve created an amazing forum for the rest of us hopeless braves fans. posting here, or even just stopping by and reading comments, is like walking into my favorite pub and seeing all my friends…the game threads are priceless. so merry christmas and all that other holiday jazz to everyone out there. maybe liberty media will bring us something good for christmas.