34 thoughts on “Interview with the auteur”

  1. I can see Hampton essentially making fewer than zero starts. What I envision is a warm-up related injury when Hampton makes his final pre-game warmup pitch and McCann throws down to second. Hampton, having not warmed up for an actual game in many years, will not realize the throw is going to second, instead he will think McCann just fired one back to him real fast. He will jerk his right arm out to try to catch the ball, obviously tearing his left rotator cuff. The ball will deflect off of his glove slightly but enough to throw Kelly Johnson off. The ball will hit Kelly Johnson in the eye shattering his orbital bones. Thus we will lose Hampton for the remainder of the season, and KJ for a couple months. The result is Hampton actually costs us starts thus netting fewer than zero for the team.

  2. coup de grace:
    “It’s hard to see him making fewer than zero starts, but if anyone can, it’s Mike Hampton.”

  7. I suggest a straight-up challenge trade with the Yankees for Carl Pavano. They’d have to eat some of Pavano’s salary, of course.

  8. That’d be awesome if you could get Hampton make an appearance as Kerry Wood. Or to put a BravesJournal twist to it — he could be Rocco Baldelli.

  10. Hmmm… Hampton playing Pavano — that might work. If only because he’d get to utter the line, “I think I sprained my butt, dude.”

    Mac, you’ve got to make this work.

  11. Are the Braves on TBS at all this year? I checked TBS’ website and it looks like they are only showing postseason games. I live in Virginia, and I may seriously have to start following the Nationals this year.

    I’ve been watching Braves games since 1980, and it just doesn’t seem like baseball when its not Skip and Pete on TBS. I knew this was coming, but it has just now hit home.

  12. TBS isn’t showing Braves baseball anymore. I think they’ve got a general baseball package, and the Braves may have some games on that way.

    Yes, it’s wrong.

  13. Andy — as a fellow Virginian (even though currently in the miserably cold midwest) I feel your pain. It’s sad and wrong. Here’s to watching Braves games on a tiny screen on my little laptop this summer.

  14. Well, we can be assured that there’s virtually no way Mike Hampton doesn’t know about these videos now.

  16. It’s fashionable on this blog to condemn Hampton. And certainly on any blog, there’s a tendency to drift into groupthink. That’s what’s happened here. How much of that has to do with the player’s actual injuries, as opposed to a group or people needing someone to pick on to compensate for what happened in their own childhoods, is questionable. From what I’ve seen from these videos, it’s definitely more of the latter.

    I don’t mind ragging on people, but this is turning into a fetish. The guy tries hard. He’s been effective pitcher. I wouldn’t want him to see this stuff any more than I would want to see a fat kid with a lisp getting his ass kicked.

  19. Well Mr. Chris Hampton, your son has been getting injured a lot. But anyways the Braves have paid Hampton very well for his 431 innings these past five years, so I think he’ll be just fine.

  20. Funny, I was just wondering what this blog would be like if there was a reader with no ability whatsoever to perceive humor. I’m not just talking your run of the mill idiot who can’t be faulted for not being able to get jokes, I’m talking about someone so obtuse that despite encountering a virtual jackhammer of humor to the frontal lobe on a regular basis he still manages to misinterpret it and take it too seriously…..do you think he’d be able to swim faster than a shark?

  21. In the grand scene of things, I’m always going to root for the college librarian/baseball blogger who shows up to work every day over the gazillionaire MLB guy who doesn’t.

    I don’t care whose fault it is or isn’t. When you make that much money for NOT PLAYING you should be able to take a little humor, no matter how mean-spirited it seems. Sorry, but that’s just the way it is. Tough titty.

  22. #16……….i think hampton would laugh at this. all the way to the bank. at least i would….. now i’m off to find a lisping fat kid and kick the hell out of him.

  23. so…

    my wife just gave birth to our first child, a girl, Dylan…

    she’ll be a baseball fan, of course, and naturally, a braves fan.

    drinks around…

  25. haha

    a bit of that…a bit of highway 66 revisited…a bit of blonde on blonde and blood on the tracks and, well, she just screams like a dylan.

    :-)

  26. As another Virginia boy I also really freakin’ hate Bud and the whole TBS money grubbing SOB’s….

    I know this has probably been hashed over and over, but is the MLB.tv package worth it? Would ExtraInnings by DirectTV be a better deal?

  27. yeah, that video blog with Jayson Stark did have Hampton warming up next to Glavine, Boyer, and Smoltz. He was seen jogging in that blog as well. How has he not imploded yet??

  31. Congratulations, Chris! All the best to you and your family.

    I remember how skeptical fans were when Bonilla signed with the Braves, but things turned out pretty well. I’m hoping the same happens for Kotsay, though I realize he’s expected to be an everyday player. Just trying to stay optimistic.

  32. Wellllllll… Bonilla did what he had been doing the past couple of seasons…

    Kotsay is apparently destined to suck just as much.

  33. Anyone else care about the Florida/Vandy game? Talk about a choak job by Calathas. That was an AMAZING blunder. Right up until then, I was worried that that BS technical on Hodge and the two lucky-ass free throws (rim, backboard and through TWICE with under 30s to go? Common!) were going to sink us. But nope. Calathas’ over-and-back trumps ’em all.

  34. Obviously, I care about the Vandy game. But, I could not find it to watch anywhere in the ATL. I am curious as to how the ‘Dores squandered a 12-point lead in such a short time to make the game so close.

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