ESPN – Marlins vs. Braves – Box Score – April 23, 2008
What can I say?
Jeff Bennett looked like he was going to get killed. He pretty much did in the first, giving up a solo and a two-run homer. The Braves got a run in the bottom of the inning, and a solo homer from Diaz in the second, then started apparently trying to find out how many baserunners they could leave on base; they left at least one in every inning, and thirteen in all, while the Marlins basically just sat there. Bennett did a great job after the first, and wound up with a quality start to go with his loss, striking out four and walking only one.
Blaine Boyer actually did a pretty good job in the eighth, but wound up allowing two runs, largely due to some really awful defense, including Teixeira diving for what looked like a routine grounder to first and turning it into a double, and Escobar having a chance to nail a runner at the plate and instead hitting him in the butt with the baseball. In case the game was still in doubt, Bobby decided to bring in Resop to pitch the ninth and give up two runs. i have no idea what he was thinking, unless this recap is a hint. Just replace “Resop” with “Kolb” and “Schuerholz” with “the new guy who may not know what he’s doing.”
Everybody had a hit, and everyone did something to share in the loss. Congrats, guys. Try not to get us four games down tomorrow, okay?
Ain’t no may about it. I’m pretty convinced that Wren doesn’t know what he’s doing.
This offense is getting very annoying.
Btw, the Braves somehow will avoid facing Santana AND Perez during this weekend. How can that happen? Willie, great job in setting up the rotation.
Wren’s big move was signing Glavine, and he butchered that by not waiting to see if the Mets were even going to offer arb. The Renteria for Jurrjens and Gorkys deal was, by all accounts, Schuerholz’ doing. He doesn’t extend Tex; the Kotsay trade. He has been an utterly incompetent GM thus far.
As I said, they are trying very hard to make sure Resop will clear waiver when they finally decide to send him to Richmond.
But, why? Why would we ever want him back?
Jeremy, the Mets wanted to keep Glavine…regardless of how he pitched in that final game.
By the way Brian Jordan is a horrible anchor.
Because “the guy throws hard”…don’t they love to say that?…just to clarify myself, I don’t want the Braves to keep Resop.
Awesome, another game I am glad I missed!
Hmm this could be a trend. I better start watching every single game.
kc,
I have serious doubts about that. Anyway, what would it have hurt to wait? We gift wrapped a first round pick to a division rival for the right to sign a 42 year old below league average starting pitcher. . . for one year.
Same Braves trend from recent years…win some, lose some…linger around .500
I hope this trend buckles in one direction or another, I can’t take this running in place stuff for another campaign.
By the way, the Hawks looked even worse than advertised tonight (if that’s possible)
Bleggggggggh. Braves lost, we lost our intramural school softball championship. What a lame night.
Re: Glavine – If we had waited, the Mets just would’ve offered him arb. Whether they wanted him back or not, they knew he wasn’t coming back. They would’ve gotten the draft pick either way.
My understanding is that, in fact, the Mets and Glavine had an understanding that the Mets would offer and Glavine would reject arbitration, and that this understanding was shared with the Braves.
They would’ve gotten the draft pick either way.
Maybe. A smart GM would have found out for sure.
Resop still on the roster, no platoon mates for Diaz or Kotsay, a bench full of catchers and no pop utility infielders who can’t play short. The roster construction of this team sucks.
We could’ve done a lot of things this offseason. Haren was available; Bedard was available. A creative GM might’ve realized that hey, we’re an aging team with new ownership and a dwindling payroll. This might be our last be our last best shot. Lets swing for the fence. But no. We play everything by the book. The most creative move of Wren’s tenure was signing Spiezio.
I apologize for the hideous grammar in #16. I’m doing about six different things at once.
Anyway, Wren sucks.
Go Braves!
Who said Glavine is only playing one more year?
I meant that 2008 is his final year.
If we have to lose, it sure is nice to make Resop look as bad as he is in the process.
Ehh, I’m not jumping off the boat just yet. It’s not like the division includes the ’86 Mets or ’80 Phils.
Let’s wait until at least halfway through the season to blame Wren if we don’t do well. Right now it’s a lot of fun to blame Resop for everything and he’s living down to expectations. The value of the other new players (even Kotsay) is still tbd in my opinion.
when does Resop get dumped and Stockman get the call?? seriously though, how long
Resop’s line after tonight
0-1 9.72ERA 8.1IP 13H 9ER 6BB 7K, just getting worse and worse
I like how Bobby uses someone like Acosta in a blowout and then brings people like Campillo and Resop in close games and letting them turn into blowouts
good news on the farm
Jo Jo – 14IP 6H 0ER 5BB 18K
Stockman – 11.2IP 4H 2ER 4BB 14K
Morton – 16IP 12H 3ER 6BB 11K
Redman (AA) – 23.2IP 23H 7ER 2BB 17K
Hanson (A) – 22IP 5H 0ER 6BB 32K (ridiculous)
With regard to the post from 3 years ago Mac linked: It’s still Andruw’s fault.
Resop’s bad, he’s taking up a roster spot & he should be replaced by anybody.
But he’s not the reason this team is under .500 now—they scored exactly 2 runs in the previous 2 games. Our mashers gotta mash, especially when guys are on base.
Tonight: Tex 5 LOB, B-Mac & Yunel 4 each, Chipper, Frenchy & Kotsay (OK, he’s not a masher) 3 each.
Some folks like to say there’s no such thing as clutch hitting—tonight they would’ve been proven correct.
If Campillo makes a decent throw to second yesterday, he’s out of the inning with a double play. He let the error get to him. I’m willing to give him the benefit of a doubt. He’s not in Resop’s class, that’s for sure.
Yes, it’s still Andruw’s fault. Torres batted Andruw second tonight behind Furcal…that’s creative!!!
Re: Mac’s writeup from 3 years ago. Replace KolBB with Resop and you get “you traded Yates for this pile of crap because he was out of options. I’m going to use him. Get rid of him or I’ll keep using him.”
Some encouraging news from DOB: Gonzo may be back in Early May, looks great on his side sessions…
On the Gonzo thing.
Please don’t look at him as a savior now. He might be our second best Loogywhen he comes back. Don’t expect more.
I do believe within 60 days, he will be #1 lefty or setup or closer. Just not right away.
FREE PHIL STOCKMAN.
I am anxoiusly awaiting the article, “Chris Resop, proving his Critics Wrong.”
The last two have been painful to watch.
31–sage advice for folks to temper their Gonzalez expectations–I think the conventional wisdom (for what it’s worth) is that it usually takes a pitcher a season or so after resuming playing to fully get over TJ surgery
still, TJ surgery or no, Gonzo can’t be worse than Resop 🙂
We all know Bobby and this is just his way of feeling Resop out. I bet he gives him another chance and when he blows it, he will be gone.
What is the limit with Booby? He trotted Raul Mondesi out for half a season before JS pulled the plug, and kept running Reitsma out for 3 years. It seems like as long as these guys are good guys and don’t make trouble in the press or the clubhouse then Booby will keep throwing into the lions den every night.
Well, I don’t know WHAT this club needs to be competitive. One night our offense scores 10, the next two nights they score two – combined. One series our ‘pen gives up nothing, the next it gets lit up.
The only thing that seems to be working correctly is the rotation, which was our biggest question mark coming into the season.
So, how do you fix a team that can’t even show you what the problem is?
At this point, I think I’m partial to calling our favorite pitcher “Reslop”. On the bright side, the rest of the bullpen has been adequate lately. Bennett has definitely surprised me in a positive way as a spot starter and long reliever so far.
My 5 year old was sick last night, so I watched a lot of the game with no sound. I’ll have to say that I thought the camera work – especially the slow-mo shots of the Braves hitters – was really good.
Bennett’s been very good. Really, the whole pitching staff has been solid with the exception of Resop and maybe Ohman.
The reason we’ve lost the last two is the offense. If we could get a freaking lead before the 8th inning, Resop (and even Campillo, who has been generally good, but isn’t one of our best relievers) wouldn’t even get in the game.
I think its ridiculous that the GM has to stop Bobby from using the worst players over and over again. If the guy sucks, bench him and tell Wren you’re never going to play him again so he may as well get rid of him.
This team has underachieved for a while now. (One could argue for a decade …)
I find myself starting to agree with Beau Bock (yikes) re: Bobby Cox. Someone has got to get the message through to the team that this “just ain’t good enough”.
Im not too upset with the way this team is playing right now, its frustrating though. If you sit back and analyze whats happened with the injuries and some call it bad luck we are lucky to be at 10-12. We’ve lost two starters and our top two relievers, we continue to let Resop pitch, KJ and Chipper are both battling leg problems, Smoltz’s shoulder is about to fall off, our whole team has been sick, and our clean up hitter looks bad right now. We could be further behind than where we are, but if we can play .500 ball and then get everyone healthy I still think this team can make a real good run.
Question – how pissed would you be if the Braves signed Bonds for $1 mil and let him be a lefty masher out there with Diaz?
First, I wholeheartedly agree on the sentiments about Bobby and his over and over usage of crap players. I hate it. It’s always been the #1 thing for me as to why I have a hard time with Bobby as a Manager.
The Dodgers may stink and say what you will about Joe Torre, but he didn’t wait till June to start trying to adjust Andruw’s spot in the order.
Seriously, who does Phil Stockman have to hold hostage at gunpoint, to get him and Reslop switched? Would any other organization wait THIS long when the disparity between the 2 pitchers is so obvious?
You’d think Reslop was Mike Remlinger from a few years back, who at least had a good Braves history and resume and some positive cache with Bobby, the fans, the team and the organization. Reslop has been a Brave since March. Cut the fool.
Also this annoying story from the AJC:
http://www.ajc.com/services/content/sports/braves/stories/2008/04/23/bravesfight_0424.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=21
For Goodness sake, the guy was wearing a PIRATES hat. geez. And even if it was a Mets hat, I hate idiots on any team – mine or otherwise – who do stupid crap like this.
if thats what happened then there is a problem here, however, usually there is two sides to every story.
I’m totally with you, Alex R. Bobby’s done this for years. I guess he became spoiled when we were winning the division by 10+ games every year and keeping a guy like Lockhart or Reitsma didn’t really hurt; but this isn’t 1998 anymore. The rest of the East has gotten better and winning it is no longer our birthright. Yet he still plods along with guys who clearly have no business being on ANY roster, yet alone one that’s supposed to contend for championships. We’re now in what, 4th place in teh division? Sure, it’s early, blah blah, but come on…
I can’t imagine the side of the story that would justify breaking the guy’s jaw and knocking out teeth.
Maybe I just have a poor imagination, though.
At any rate, I hope they catch the scoundrels responsible.
*the
One thing the Braves ought to do is find a new source for bats. Every night we break 5 or more.
Last night Chipper squared a shot ON THE RIGHT PART OF THE BAT , and it shattered. It was a fly to medium left center that easily goes out if the bat doesn’t break.
However, as bad as Reslop has been, Bobby has still got to stop working the other guys to death. He needs to go ahead and use Ohman or Ring for an inning when we are down UNLESS Acosta and Boyer are overrested. Boyer and Ohman hae been in way too many games and we know where the other guy who was on the same pace is, the DL (as in everybody’s #1 Aussie, with Phil Stockman #2 with a bullet).
csg. I would be pissed if they signed Bonds. I want to win (and I think he could help us win), but I want them to win with some integrity.
If you read the article, there really isn’t a side for the Braves fans here. One guy, wearing a Pirates hat who’s a Pirates fan, lives in Georgia, and tries to go once a year to see his team. Sounded like he was minding his own business.
The 6 Braves fans were drinking heavily, rowdy and picking on the guy. I am a Braves fan but there’s no defense of these fans. Sorry.
If the Braves sign Bonds, I would be done with this franchise. He’s classless, cheating sycophant. I don’t want MY team having anything to do with a scumbag like Bonds. No thank you.
#49 – and like I said, if thats true than there is a big problem here. I have a problem with what happened also. There’s no justification in that
#48 and #50 – I have the same feeling, but you know that there is a team out there that would take on his crap for that amount of money. Hopefully it wont be us
To me the best fit for Bonds seems to be the D-Rays or maybe the Orioles. Teams that could use a DH and somebody to put butts in seats (for whatever reason). I think the Rays are a more likely option as they don’t have any real “history” to sully by hiring him.
Did I miss somebody mentioning that Maddux pitched 7 shutout innings and was still foiled in his bit for #350?
Anybody know the contract info on Roger McD? I’d love to see Tommy come right back next year as a pitching coach (I’d love to see Maddux come back mind you, but I think Tommy’s more likely). My dream scenario involves a gradual migration of Tommy/Smoltz/Chipper/Maddux into coaching and managing roles as they retire. I think all of them are smart enough players that they could continue on with the franchise in that capacity for many years to come.
You know, I’d kind of like to see Bonds with the Rays. I think he complements their new sunny image rather well.
Yeah, Hoffman coughed up #350 for Maddux last night. Ol’ Trev hasn’t been fooling ’em too much this year.
Easy folks. This team is not terrible and it is not time to replace the GM.
We just completed a 5-game winning streak.
We just followed it with two offensive no-shows and blowups by relievers that we know are not good. Even in losing the last two our starting pitchers looked good. And we are going to start getting players back.
you guys seem to forget the #1 reason players want to play for the braves is the loyalty of bobby cox. we get good players to play for us for below market value because of one man. he makes bad decisions, he says the f-word a TON, he’s overly loyal to players who don’t deserve loyalty, but he’s probably the best manager of our time.
in response to mondesi: he played 41 games and only 142 at bats, so no, it wasnt half a season. also, reitsma wasnt “terrible” until the ’06 season and he only pitched 28 innings that year. also, you can look at it the other way: js could have also been the guy sitting on his hands and bobby had to use him because he had no one else.
i like td’ s approach in post 22. this is a long season and everyone, except resop, is still tbd. it gets old to hear the merry go round of bitching from a few posters after every game. so far, bobby, wren, kotsay, diaz, kj, resop, ring, tex, francoeur, hampton, glavine, hudson, james, bennett, carlyle, and the entire bench have taken blame for the losses. instead of actual thoughts, the census of about half the board is to get on the negative bandwagon and ride it. it gets old.
There’s nothing wrong with criticizing a coach/GM when they repeatedly make boneheaded decisions. Yes, players love playing for Cox, and I wonder why that is. Maybe it’s because they know they’ll get half a season to suck before he makes a change. Who wouldn’t want to play for a guy like that?
The verdict is still out on this team, and that’s what’s frustrating. We’ve been treading water at .500 or less since 2006 and people are tired of it. Especially this year, when it seems like every team in the East has a flaw. So we want to win now, send a message to the rest of the division, and get back to the playoffs–what’s so wrong with that?
Um, negative thoughts are thoughts. And this is the forum for that. I don’t see how pointing out the flaws of this team is “riding the negative bandwagon” anyway. I guess we should all jump on the Homer Train, talk about what a live arm Chris Resop has and sing Kumbaya.
Hoo boy, Ryan. You just said that Reitsma wasn’t terrible. Now there’s a can of worms.
Reitsma’s month-by-month splits look a little like Linda Blair in The Exorcist: one minute they look sweet and normal, and the next they’re covered in green vomit.
2005, for example:
Mar/April: 0.73 ERA
May: 7.71 ERA
June: 3.75 ERA
July: 1.17 ERA
August: 8.44 ERA
Sept/Oct: 3.18 ERA
He ended up with a 3.93 ERA overall, and a 108 ERA+, but that doesn’t exactly tell the whole story.
And you know, you can at least see why Bobby kept thinking he’d turn it around–Mar/April and July were excellent months. Resop, on the other hand, has always sucked.
Also, I think it’s fair to say that Chris Resop has silenced his critics’ critics.
Amen in a big way to #59. People should be free to criticize just as others should be free to argue.
At this point, we need Wren to save Bobby from himself. If Reslop is going to stay on the Major League Roster, than it’s a bizarre invitation for Bobby to keep tossing him back out there.
If effing Frank Wren, the General Manager (supposedly) would go ahead and kick this fool off the MLB roster already, then Bobby can’t keep using him.
Again, who does Stockman have to hold hostage at gun point to get a shot?
FREE PHIL STOCKMAN.
People should be free to criticize just as others should be free to argue.
I don’t think ryan’s questioning anyone’s freedom to criticize. He seems to just be voicing his displeasure with and questioning the productivity of all the criticism. He’s basically criticizing the critics, which he’s also free to do.
AAR – The Exorcist – Nothing’s funnier than that.
jeremy and brad, you’re the first responders. coincidence? i’m not saying we should all be “happy go lucky”, but it just gets old when someone new, every game “sucks”. also, it gets old when EVERY post people make are complaints about the team. if you complain about every thing that goes wrong, will go wrong, or could go wrong in a baseball season, it makes for a dull read. i love the site, but i love it for it’s intellectual posts (which i rarely make) and for peoples’ in site on the team, not to hear who sucks today.
and aar, i never said he was good, and he most definitely shouldnt have been given the closer’s role, but overall, he wasnt terrible. he was as good or better than yates (for 2 years), and i’ve heard you say that yates had value. reitsma stunk in the closers role and lost a lot of games late and that’s why we hated him. i didnt like him as a brave, but he wasnt the worst brave i’ve seen. those are some bizarre numbers. can of worms officially dumped out for target practice. 🙂
sign dan johnson, trade pena for bullpen help. dan johnson could even be a starting candidate for first if we cant re-sign tex. he tore it up in the minors. surely he could give us the production we once got from laroche. how is his fielding?
thanks stu. there are times i dont agree with some of your thoughts, but they always make for a good read.
Alex – Stockman has not pitched since Saturday, so something is not right there. He did not even get into the 14 inning game last night.
Stockman is like a Jaguar or something — he’s a high performance pitcher who spends most of the time in the shop. Occasionally, they have to send him to the factory in Birmingham.
Yates and Reitsma were very similar for us — exceptional stuff, occasionally lights-out results, but just as frequently disastrous. If they had been used with Joba rules, they might have been sensational.
But that never happened.
Well, I just looked at the game recap and was reminded that Richmond was rained out three games in a row. But, it is odd that Stockman was not in last night’s game, especially considering that DeSalvo issued 5 free passes to lose the game.
thanks stu. there are times i dont agree with some of your thoughts, but they always make for a good read.
There are times when I don’t agree with some of my thoughts.
#73
Stu, I always wondered that about you. Of course, I feel the same way about myself.
#70
So, Mac, maybe Cameron Frye’s dad from “Ferris Bueller” is privately keeping Phil Stockman in an enclosed surface somewhere?
To clarify, I don’t recall having said anything that I didn’t believe to be true at the time I said it. But I frequently say things which I’ll later disagree with or even feel silly about having said.
I want to criticize the person who criticized Ryan. It is important to criticize the person who criticized the person who criticized the critics. Now I’m confused.
jeremy and brad, you’re the first responders. coincidence?
I had one typed up but decided against it. This is a internet message board, negativity is usually going to carry the day. It’s not productive but since nothing we do here will have any real effect on the team the whole exercise is unproductive.
Doesn’t mean it’s not fun though.
I think it’s ironic that Tex usually gets off to slow starts, yet we’ve been moaning about him and worrying about him and calling him another Andruw in his contract year. When he takes off in May or June, people will forget about his April and start calling for Wren to resign him NOW. If that actually happens (which is won’t) and Tex gets off to another typically slow start next year, everyone would be calling for his head and for him to start living up to his salary and saying we should have gone after so and so instead. Ah, fans. Gotta love ’em.
Alex, ultimately everything here eventually winds up being about Ferris Bueller. At least this week.
Save Blaine!
But I frequently say things which I’ll later disagree with or even feel silly about having said.
Early last season I wrote that losing Hampton (look for this comment on my upcoming Losing Hampton Greatest Hits (Comments) Double Album) wasn’t a big deal because Redman could be expected to give us a reasonable approximation of what we could have expected from Hampton. Top that one.
See, I don’t just remember other people’s ridiculous comments.
Maybe Stockman didn’t pitch because they want to save his arm so he’ll be fresh for a call up to Atlanta. Wishful thinking I know, but there’s always hope – unless you’re hoping for Hampton to pitch more than 2 or 3 starts this year.
I have to say that I’m not against criticizing Cox and I enjoy some of the banter back and forth. The fact is that you can make an argument either way for his managerial skills (or lack therof).
I will have to say that I strongly believe that we haven’t underachieved over the last few years. Given our starting pitching after Huddy and Smoltz last year and our bullpen and SP to some extent (remember Jorge Sosa?) for most of the previous year, it’s a little surprising that we did as well as we did. As long as we can keep Smoltz and Hudson healthy and Jurrgens keeps on pitching well, I think we have more potential than w’eve had in a while.
td – That’s quite possible. When I saw that Stockman did not get into that long game, that was the first thing I thought. When I looked at his player page and saw he had not played since Saturday, I got worried. But, I did not hear about any injury, so I am hopeful they were preserving him for a call up.
Robert,
I’m scared to even look back on the first few months of my comments here. My recent remarks are bad enough. It’s amazing what this community has done for my understanding of the game and in such a (relatively) short time.
one of my first posts, i said that jordan and mondesi were good signings. mondesi because of his strong offseason work, and jordan because the “home is where the heart is” argument. boy……talk about stupid.
ryan,
That’s OK, I predicted the Tigers would win the AL central back in March.
I also didn’t think Aaron Harang could pitch because he’s grossly out of shape and looks like Alfred Molina.
So, yes, everyone on here has been wrong, more than once!
I’ve thrown out more non sequiturs and eaten more shoe leather than I care to admit, so thanks for bearing with me, guys.
Is there any chance they’d bring Leo back? Even if it was just in a Mel Stottlemyre “consultant” role. I agree with the statement that our young guys aren’t exactly improving.
Look at the cardinals fortunes this year. Duncan has taken a few clunkers and found one solid pitcher and one innings eater. I’d be happy if Mcdowel could retreat some middle relief.
And not to defend myself on an internet message board, but I don’t set out to be negative every day. I just am used to winning. I was 11 in 1991, so I grew up watching us win, beating bad teams, going to the World Series. It bothers me that the Florida Marlins have won 2 since we last won ours. It bothers me that the Mets have been to a World Series since we have. I just am tired of the mediocrity, especially because for guys like Chipper and Smoltz, their window is closing on another championship.
I like the new crop of young guys and feel that with only minor tweaking, this could be a great team. I just don’t want our GM/coach to wait until June when we’re 11 games out to see the problems.
Minor tweaking equals:
1. Get rid of Resop.
2. Free Phil Stockman.
3. Acquire Jake Peavy.
Let’s see if I can turn the torch-toting mob in another direction:
LET’S HANG McDOWELL!!
Seriously, what’s the consensus on our pitching coach?
We don’t need a new pitching coach. As soon as they retire, we will hire Smoltz, Glavine and Maddux as our three man pitching coach rotation. This will allow each to play golf two out of three days during the season.
I think I heard last night that we’re 2nd in the NL in team ERA, so I don’t have a problem with McDowell. He’s not making guys groove fastballs late in games, nor is there anything he can do to make Resop suck less.
do we sit Diaz against the RH’r tonight or ride his hot streak for the last few games?
It’s not like the division includes the ‘86 Mets or ‘80 Phils.
It apparently dosn’t contain the ’91-’05 Braves either.
I have to say I understand Brad’s point (although I am much older and remember the bad old days). I’m pretty tired of the mediocrity that’s been going on for two years now but, on the other hand, it is early and lots of teams struggle early. As for Tex, don’t even think about comparing him to Andruw last year; at this point, Tex already has four home runs. He has struggled somewhat but nothing like Andruw. Andruw is a trainwreck now.
As for Bonds, permit me to be the Devil’s Advocate to some degree. God knows I don’t like Bonds but the Braves just signed a guy who was charged with assault. He had a substance abuse problem and could easily have killed somebody. And they signed him before he had even had a chance to work out his problems. Why was that ok? I don’t see where the Braves are any classier or have any more integrity any other organization. I certainly respect Alex’s feelings about dropping the Braves if they signed Bonds but I can’t see that signing Spiezio was much better except that he isn’t considered an asshole personally.
We need a new pitching coach until Smoltz, Glavine and Maddux retire, and we can hire them as our three man pitching coach rotation.
Fixed.
could we make this happen?
trade pena and gotay for relief help
Demote Ring
DFA Resop
Call up Stockman
Sign Dan Johnson
Activate Gonzalez
25 man would shape out like this:
regular 8
smoltz, glavine, hudson, jurrjens, james
soriano, gonzo, bennett, oh!man, boyer, acosta, stockman, the new relief help
prado, dan johnson, corky, blanco.
good power, good speed, good contact off the bench.
our team ERA has progressively gotten better every year under McDowell, you can either credit that to him or you can say we got rid of some crappy players.
2006 – team era 4.60 17th overall
2007 – 4.11 6th overall
2008 – 3.47 4th overall
its not really his fault that Bobby calls on Resop either. I think he’s done a very solid job so far and I know there is more to pitching than just ERA.
Look at the pitchers from the 2006 season
Horacio, Thomson, Cormier, Ray, Baez, Davies, McBride, Paronto, Villareal, Yates, Wickman, Barry, Remlinger, Shiell, Franklin, Devine, Smith, Lerew.
thats a pretty bad group of players to call on. Give me Devine, McBride, and maybe Paronto back. The rest is garbage.
Stockman, the ghost, did make a few appearances that year. 4IP 4H 1R 4BB 4K
#95 – that Spezio experiment only lasted for a few days and then he was cut also
I would like to see us sign Dan Johnson, but I’m sure his agent is going to try and get him something better than a PH role
the Stockman/Resop swith should have already been made, unless Stockman is hurt again. Is Ring out of options?
Brad,
You can’t look at the Braves only in the post-’91 vacuum. That might be your experience, but it’s not real. It’s not something that’s going to happen again.
I live in NYC & I have the same types of conversations with younger Yankee fans whose baseball consciousness began in 1996. In their minds, the Yankess should just spend their way to the title every year.
After I defeat the internal urge to hit them with a brick & stuff their body under the Metro North Stop, I try to gently explain the Stump Merrill Era, the Horace Clarke Era, etc.
Many of us endured The Years of No Hope—from Marty Perez to Dave “Chopper” Campbell, from Buddy J. Soloman to Ozzie Virgil. And many of us can tell you that the victory isn’t as sweet if you don’t suffer somewhere along the way.
Enjoy it while it lasts, but don’t expect it every year. If you do, the only thing you’re guaranteeing yourself is disappointment.
Ring is out of options which is why trading Startup for him made no sense.
amen ububba…………….the youngsters need to know that for every chipper , theres been a dozen ken oberkfels. not to mention the jim pressleys.
I suppose, but I’m not going to lower my expectations just because it’s not 91-05 anymore. This franchise is built to succeed, now, and I don’t know why we’ve been passed by the Mets, Phillies, and, lately, Marlins. We have future Hall of Famers, All-Star players, Gold Glove winners, and what many consider the best manager in modern times…what’s the problem? Why can’t we expect this team to be better than .500?
Hey folks the glass is half full–no Woodward or Orr! How’s that for being positive? (I’m also positive that Reslop needs to go.)
Marc,
I think you’ve become fixated on arguing with me 🙂
Scott Spiezio did a terrible thing in heis personal life, but unless something comes out, it was a one time incident.
Bonds cheating the game of Baseball, cheating on his spouse, cheating the Government, and generally become a complete a–hole to just about everyone in Baseball has been pretty consistent for the last, I dunno, 15 years?
Big difference.
I have already stated my case many times before about one time offenders vs. habitual cretins like Bonds.
Brad,
That’s my point. You should lower your expectations, if for no other reason than: This Team Isn’t Nearly As Good As Those Teams.
Marc, I think you make a completely fair point. The difference is that I doubt anyone could sign Bonds to a minor league contract and wait for him to iron out his personality issues or see if there was a gigantic clash.
Spezio’s signing and almost immediately subsequent release caused virtually no splash. With Bonds, you can’t take a flyer; you gotta take the guy.
If I’m putting together an APBA or Strat draft, I’d take Bonds; if I’m putting together a team of real human beings—like the ones who might go to jail—I avoid him.
If you didn’t already know, new thread.