Thought of the day: Casey Kotchman is basically a dead-ball era first baseman. He might as well be Frank Chance.
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Thought of the day: Casey Kotchman is basically a dead-ball era first baseman. He might as well be Frank Chance.
Use code “Journal” for a 5% discount.
But we’ll never refer to Kotchman as our “Peerless Leader.”
“These are the saddest of all possible words,
Yesco to KJ to Kotch…”
Better Frank Chance than Hal Chase….
our gonfalon bubble is being ruthlessly pricked
talk about doing it all yourself
Gallardo’s line
7IP 1H 0ER 1BB 9K, 1-3 1RBI on solo hr
Mil up 1-0 on Snell in the bottom of the 7th
Ross 2 run single marlins up 4-3 in 8th
#5
Wow, that’s right up there with the Rick Wise game.
I can’t do it. I can’t root for the Mets even when they’re playing teams ahead of us.
Does anyone know what’s really wrong with McCann’s eye?
I think we are taking a real “Chance” by having Kotchman play first base.
I think his Lasix surgery got “reversed” however that happens, and now he either needs new surgery or time to adjust to his new contacts….
#7
I can’t either, I just don’t have it in me. Once they’re out of the race and playing spoiler (if that happens), I can root for them. But only then.
On Lasik,
I havehad one of the best eye refractin specialists in the world look at one of mine. Between the lines on what he would say.
Typically the eye adjusts after surgery. The WORST problem is if the cornea thins or msshapes at one area (kerataconus). At some point, the thinning rules out any further Lasik type procedures. Therefore, althought it is unlikley, a problem like McCann’s CAN be big.
IF the problem is like a keratconus, the corrective action is to use a gas permeable semi soft lens (it holds its correct shape rather than the eye’s incorrect shape). Those irritate the front of the eye much more than the “soft lens” out there.
My guess is he is wearing a “gas perm” to stabilize and adjust for slight keratconus. The “worse at night” is consistent with that. The back of a car looks like a Christmas tree.
there’s no way I could pull for the Mets either.
Gallardo had 11 k’s and hit a HR for the only run in a 1-0 duel against Snell today.
Gotta love it when the pitcher helps his own cause (well, unless you’re rooting for the other team… that just sucks).
You wouldn’t believe what’s being said on Metsblog right now. I’m not prude, but it’s really vile. I fear that one of these people will go on a shooting rampage at CitiField one of these days.
This Canizares looks like a hitting machine. I cannot believe some combination of platooning him and replacing him in the inning after he has an AB with Kotchman, if defense is that big a deal. If you have one hitter in your OF (Schafer), you need a bat at 1B. Casey just isn’t they guy, in the context of MLB 1B; he is doing everything he can and playing to his ceoling, and has an OPS+ of 98 (still below average for all MLB hitters).
I missed the game thread being up… so I’ll repeat.
Well… I hope whoever is closing for the Fish can get his 3 outs today… Fish up on Mets 4-3 going into the bottom of the 9th and I’m headed home from work. If this were a Braves game (even though I have faith in Gonzo), I would be expecting to somehow lose it after I left work and come home to a heartbreaker.
“The key to whole 9th inning is David F***ing Wright,no way around it.Now someone come on here and try to defend him!!!”
I’d take him off their hands…
we should publish a book of uplifting comments by metsblog commenters.
Like this gem: “excuse while i go vomit…what a bunch of pathetic losers..carlos delgado i have no respect for you..you better not be able to walk you fucking panzy. This team is shit.”
That cheered me up when I saw that.
Marlins win 4-3. Mets had first two guys on in the 9th with walks; Wright struck out with runners on 2nd and third and pinch hitter popped up with the bases loaded. Not a happy time for Mets fans!
Bobby woulda won that game by having Wright bunt.
I can’t even cheer for the Mets when they play the Yankees.
The Mets should have scored 8 runs with their offensivve production in that game. They had a HR, 2 triples, 11 hits 5 walks and a HBP and only scored 3 runs. You really have to try to limit yourself that few runs with that amount of offense.
David Wright had 11 men LOB or something, that’s Francoeuresque to double up on french suffixes.
Kotchman is currently slugging higher than Teixeira. At least we have that.
Always nice when the Mets lose a game Santana starts.
The Met moaning about Wright has been going on since last September. He actually got booed the other night. It’s way early, of course, but right now he’s on pace for 200+ Ks.
And the only time I root for the Mets is if they’re out of the race & they can do our bidding. Of course, watch ’em go down to Philly now & beat ’em up.
Nor is Kotchman still a douche
Let’s reserve judgment on that until Huddy weighs on the issue
Well played, Frank!
Wright is killing the fantasy team…
This is why I semi-hate fantasy sports. My brain fights itself.
Wright’s not killing my team, but he’s not living up to his price tag, that’s for sure.
Ethan, know your roots man. A met on a fantasy team is nothing more than trade bait.
Im fine with having a below avg slugger at 1st. He’s giving us good defense, good obp, and a solid average. Kotchman doesnt look near as bad if KJ, Mac, and Frenchy are producing. We are expecting something out of Kotchman that just isnt there
@29
Compared to what his backup, Mike Lowell, has been doing…the opportunity cost of playing him has been pretty high so far.
EDIT: csg, I know, I know… I was stuck with the third pick and felt forced to do it. Once the trade value is up a little though…he’s gone
Digging the White Stripes excerpts Mac – another reason to root for a win streak!
Also really enjoy his work with the Raconteurs.
Jack White is a BAMF.
Ethan,
My league’s got room for two 3Bs—there’s a CI roster spot—and I’ve got a shallow bench, so Wright’s not stealing a better performer’s spot.
Wright and Jimmy Rollins are (by far) my most expensive players, and they’re both awful—but I’m in first place after 3 weeks.
Awesome, another segue into a music discussion.
On an unrelated note, religion is bull.
Guess we won’t be hearing any “This is Brian McCann for Woodhams Eye Clinic” ads anytime soon …
This has a chance of becoming really not funny.
Stu should have traded David Wright for Kosuke Fukudome.
In other news, Chone Figgins loves Mark Lemke and Jeff Blauser.
In a related development, I now like Chone Figgins.
Stu,
Yeah, I looked the other day. Kinda shocking how bad Rollins’s line is. My team has pretty much been carried so far by Manny and Adrian Gonzalez.
Kelly was hot…but now, well, we know how that story goes
EDIT: Just checked. Two more jacks today. Adrian Gonzalez is a bad, bad dude
Hilarity.
By the way, I know how we feel about MetsBlog and Mets fans in general, but I think we’ve all felt the way Matt Cerrone feels:
@38
Brilliant.
re: Jack White
Jack White and Alycia Keys on the Quantum of Solace theme was really good. Jack White is a baller.
I kind of can relate to what Whatamets says:
Can we please find a true cleanup bat?
Or can Kotchman at least just swing for the gaps…not the fence?
I’m not a guitarist, but I know some of the “theory” of guitar work. And Jack White is on the list of “how the heck does he do that?” guitarists.
infante leading off. kelly sits. how long will it take the braves to realize schafer’s speed is being wasted? this lineup needs a jump start. schafer has shown patience and is getting on base. kj is just too streaky to bat leadoff, or maybe he’s just not meant to lead off. i would like to see a lineup where chipper hits 4th until mccann gets back.
In honor of the Braves pitcher tonight:
Tyler Flowers 2009 Stats:
.431/.610/1.041 with 4 HR in 59 AB
woot
Great Odin’s Beard! It’s “the Lemmer”! Is Don Sutton ok? Nothing makes me appreciate mediocre announcing like the voice of Mark Lemke.
I’m online tonight, so can anyone fill me in on any Yunels or Prados that take place or other things that don’t come across in descriptions?
Suggested new nicknames: Diaz & Francoeur = “Crash & Burn”.
Bobby is taking the small ball thing to heart. That’s two hit-and-run plays in two innings. Diaz almost Yunelled at 2B.
our 8th hitter has a .484OBP
you’d think Brandon Jones would be useful for our club, esp in RF right now
The inability of this team to execute the little things is infuriating!
Yunel hates Chipper hitting with people on base
It would be nice if we could keep a lead for more than few minutes.
So, I guess Kelly better find soft spot on the bench. I don’t think he’s played since he was pulled mid-game on Monday.
Vasquez has got to handle his emotions better. The run was cheap, but no excuse to lose focus and throw meat balls to Rasmus like that.
That sort of stuff has hurt him in the past.
Yunel is a moron. Omar gets up there and has a great at bat and drives in a run, then Yunel goes up and swings at the first freaking pitch. He needs to be benched for a day or two.
Ha! A gift! That’s the only way Kotchman can score from second on a single.
I still think we should have drafted Rasmus instead of Joey Devine.
The Braves must have bought the idea that the Angels have been good because they are “agressive” on the base paths. WTF
@ 59 Well, it’s working tonight.
Scratch that. Way to go Jeffy! *spits tobacco*
Frenchy showed a quick burst on that scamper home. The team looks focused and sharp tonight.
they play really good defense.
Hawks knocked Wade out of the game
Single to center… single to center…
nice collapse Javier.
Vazquez is falling in love with the breaking ball. When he nibbles with that he gets hit. It has been his MO his whole career.
He aint locating the fastball either. He has had some dumb luck go against him and he has pouted about it out there tonight.
Not good signs
I’m not actually watching the game, but when you see five singles in an inning, it’s usually at least half defense.
Fudge! 4 run inning, were doomed!!!
67—It’s the fastball they’re hitting.
Kotchman just Pradoed. They had Pujols at the plate; no idea why he cut it off.
The last run was probably on the defense — Kotchman cutting off an on-target throw from Francoeur to Ross, allowing Pujols to score.
Somebody rape Kotchman if we lose this one by one run.
Someone should rape people that think casual use of the term “rape” is acceptable.
Barden’s range at short is Burrell-like. Both hits this inning would have been outs with even an average defensive SS out there.
Dear Braves: If the guy with five walks and one strikeout beats the guy with one walk and five strikeouts, there’s something wrong. If you lose, you’re going against any rational analysis of baseball.
The Braves have had, what, 12 baserunners so far in 5 innings?
That pitch was filthy.
at least go down swinging
Gotta foul that off
*update* Hawks up 13 halfway through 2nd qtr
Unbelievable.
Umm…why wasn’t Vasquez hit for there?
Um, why did Vazquez hit for himself there?
I probably would have hit for him, but he’s pitching well. He gave up a whole bunch of singles, but that’s just one of those things.
jinx
If I were a Cards fan I’d be wondering why LaRussa hasn’t pulled Wainwright.
Another thing… Vazquez has only thrown 74 pitches.
Escobar is in the Braves Journal Doghouse right now.
Well, at some point, the Braves are going to have to score some runs.
Cox has to get Escobar out of that 2 hole. He is killing them in that spot. Chipper is not getting to hit with anyone on base.
What is the record for most double plays hit into by one person in a single season? Escobar has to be on pace to beat it.
I would pay $1,000 to get Chip Caray fired.
Josh Smith has never fouled anyone, ever.
And I think Al Horford just blew out his right knee, and he’s gonna shoot the free throws anyway before he goes out of the game.
Jim Rice holds the record — 36 — and second place — 35. Yunel has now grounded into four, the same number as Francoeur. That’s a 31 GIDP pace, which would be a Braves record and tie for a spot in the top ten all time. Andruw was ahead of Rice’s pace for a long while one season, but wound up with 24…
http://www.firechipcaray.blogspot.com/
It says “updated often” but hasn’t been so since June 2007.
@93: thanks for the information.
Yunel has now grounded into four,
Only four? I thought it was like, eight.
Vazquez, despite the one six-single inning, looks to be pitching pretty well by the box score, and he only has 85 pitches through 7, despite 7 strikeouts. I probably want a guy pitching like that to stay in.
Hawks up 22
ATLANTA BRAVES
SEASON
GIDP YEAR GIDP
1 Sid Gordon 1951 28
2 Joe Torre 1964 26
3 Frank Bolling 1961 25
T4 Yunel Escobar 2008 24
T4 Dale Murphy 1988 24
T4 Del Crandall 1959 24
T4 Andruw Jones 2004 24
8 Hal Lee 1936 23
T9 Vinny Castilla 2002 22
T9 Joe Adcock 1961 22
T9 Hank Aaron 1964 22
T9 Vinny Castilla 2003 22
T9 Joe Adcock 1953 22
T9 Joe Torre 1967 22
T9 Joe Torre 1965 22
T9 Fred McGriff 1997 22
T9 Javier Lopez 1998 22
After Skip died, I figured the Braves would let Chip go frolic with TBS and Ron Darling for good. Guess I was wrong.
Shucks.
Man Joe Torre sucks at everything
Tonight’s Home Depot “Know How” Question of the Game: “What does OPS mean?”
“In baseball parlance, a lot of times, most people—and Moneyball came up earlier from Chip—slugging percentage was always a very important measuring stick for a guy and how much power he had; on-base percentage, usually something that was applied to guys who led off—how often were they on base?—OPS is a combination of those two statistics: on-base plus slugging. O-P-S. Those two together.”
-Joe Simpson
Amen.
It’s too bad Vasquez had that dink and dunk inning because otherwise he’s been great. Our offense still sucks though, they’ve got to get something going.
I’m tempted to start writing emails to them with the dumbest questions possible. “What is batting average?” “Do you have to run the bases counterclockwise every time?” “How many outs are there in an inning?”
But wait, I thought it was essential to have a guy that puts the ball in play in the 2nd spot in the order. What gives? Surely putting the ball in play can’t be a bad thing. Does not compute.
“HEY, SKEEE-IP! AM I ON THE REDDIO? HELLO? HELLO? CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE INFIELD FLY RULE!?”
God, I miss those days.
What would you guys think about referring to Simpson as “Clueless Joe”?
Anyway, if Yunel and/or Francoeur have 15 or more GIDP at the halfway point, I’ll start a Sid Gordon Watch.
We should send emails like What does Chip mean when he says “Fists one through the hole?”
Damn, it’s looking like no Blaine Boyer at all.
“Chip, we loved your dad, but you suck. Would your mother be the worst announcer who ever lived?”
@ 102
In honor of Skip: “My boy plays little league, could you explain the infield fly rule?”
@107: +1
Vasquez was pretty decent tonight. Lot of dink and dunk in the 4 run inning. My problem was the fastball he threw to Ankiel after a steady diet of slop. I can see showing the fastball but he basically grooved it with a 2-strike count. No idea why Kotchman then cut the throw on Ankiel’s single, and he almost compounded it by throwing it down the left field line. I had a brief vision of Chipper pulling his hamstring trying to chase down Dave Duncan Jr. That would have capped off a really sucky inning.
This one is once again on the offense. Anemic once again.
I’m tempted to start writing emails to them with the dumbest questions possible. “What is batting average?” “Do you have to run the bases counterclockwise every time?” “How many outs are there in an inning?”
This.
If you’re serious, I suggest the next Peachtree game making the request at the beginning of the game thread, above the video, with the e-mail. Maybe they’d get 20 dumb questions and answer one.
(Oh good, Greg Norton.)
Schafer’s OBP is now over .400. Good thing he’s batting seventh.
This message board is getting too internetified.
Here is a short list of things this blog doesn’t need (in no order):
1) First!s
2) +1s
3) THIS’s
4) Gadfly
This message board is getting too internetified….Here is a short list of things this blog doesn’t need (in no order):
+1995
OMG
LOL
ROFL
Things this blog needs more of:
Padma
This blog needs more home runs to cheer about.
If this team had ANYONE who could hit, we would be up 10-5 right now. This is the worst offense I have ever seen.
braves win it in the 9th 7-5…. mark it down
Vazquez will be waiting in the clubhouse with a taser, backed by Jurrjens.
Diaz 0-3 with a walk against a RHP. Brandon Jones must have been called up just to keep KJ company sitting in that comfy spot on the bench.
“Most players play as a mirror of their personality. I assume that Jordan Schafer’s personality is…an aggressive player.”
-Chip Caray
$1,500.
I bet KJ was rooting hard for Infante to make an out last inning. If Infante had come up big, KJ would would have been disappeared.
Vazquez will be waiting in the clubhouse with a taser, backed by Jurrjens.
Vasquez gave up five earned runs tonight.
How high do you think this will get Stu?
I AM REFUSING TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE EXISTENCE OF MODERN BASEBALL ANALYSIS.
What is more annoying Escobar’s hair or Franklin’s beard?
Can Infante start at short tomorrow, please?
escobar ur a joke at the plate
I figured Escobar would reach, then on a two-out homer to win the game he’d forget to touch third base.
I have a motion…I move that Mac bring back the Doghouse for Yunel…do I have a second?
I’m actually wishing they traded escobar to the padres for peavy
Last night was so much fun…………tonight was the exact opposite.
Message board was funny tonight.
Oh braves14…………I second your motion
What did yunel do wrong tonight?
He went 0-5 and hit into at least one double play.
then we’d have Lillibridge and not Vasquez. Ill take my chances with the two we have
Hawks up 17
Escobar is a horrible 2-hole hitter.
someone explain this. We have 5 off days in April and now only 4 till the all star break???
I just have to ask
What is Bobby’s fasination with Kotchman in the cleanup spot?
When is a veteran going to punch out Escobar for that sh*t eating grin he wears on his face even after he pulls a ‘Yunel’.
Infante can play a little in LF, right?
Kawakami has shoulder fatigue, can we get some of that 9 mil a year back to buy a bat?
Recap time.
#142 .. Amen on KK .. I think Wren panicked and jumped the gun a bit with Kawakami .. would have been nice to use that 8 mil on a good right handed bat in LF … or made the trade with St Louis .. slumping KJ for Ludwick .. these Braves have NO NO NO NO pop .. they are weak !!!!!!!!!