Toronto Blue Jays vs. Atlanta Braves – Box Score – May 22, 2009 – ESPN
Unexpected. Kenshin Kawakami looked like a completely different pitcher tonight, with probably the best start a Brave’s had since Lowe on opening day, and certainly the best of his American career. He went eight innings, striking out seven, and allowing just three hits; the only extra-base hit was a leadoff double in the eighth, which he pitched around. He threw 106 pitches, 71 of which were strikes, and didn’t walk a batter. All of this came against a team that came into the game averaging 5.43 runs a game and leading the majors in batting average.
Of course, the Braves were facing Roy Halladay, so any crack in Kawakami’s armor could have lost the game. The Braves couldn’t score against Halladay, but had a couple of chances. KJ, hitting in the fifth spot, struck out in a first-and-third, two-out situation in the first, and couldn’t get ACHE and McCann over after they got on base leading off the fourth, and nobody picked him up.
The Jays hit for Halladay with two out and a runner at second in the eighth, and Diaz led off against the reliever with a pinch double. Escobar got him to third with a groundout that almost turned into a hit, and Kotchman brought him home with a flyout. Gonzalez got the first man in the ninth, then allowed a double. The next batter hit a little swinging bunt that Gonzalez had to make a close play on. Finally, the last batter hit a little chopper to third, which Prado bobbled but recovered to make the throw on, winding up a victory.
… and Francoeur still sucks.
Bowman’s treating him like a jilted lover–a love affair that suddenly went sour.
Kudos to Kawakami for a magnificent outing.
The day that Francoeur is released, someone should post a picture of the celebration at the end of WWII
I feel a Francoeur for chewed piece of gum trade coming on….I think the gum may have a real upside
love the Bizzaro Prado at the end there.
Bizzaro Prado. Well put, David.
Kenshi was a stud tonight. His last pitch of the game was downright filthy. Frenchy can’t buy a break, mainly because he sucks.
The day that Francoeur is released, someone should post a picture of the celebration at the end of WWII
Maybe someone will kiss gadfly in the middle of Times Square (perhaps Centennial Olympic Park in this case) like the famous photo of a sailor kissing a nurse on VJ day:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%E2%80%93J_day_in_Times_Square
Nice win for the Braves and for Kawakami, who continues to show that he is making successful adjustments to Major League Baseball….
KK looked great tonight. Was proud of him.
Offense still sucks though. So many chances pissed away. There has to be some league average OF’s available somewhere.
Win’s a win though. Can’t be too upset
If anyone here has a medical background, I was diagnosed with an Arachnoid Cyst of the brain today. Not alot of information available on the web, and my neurologist sounds like Ghandi on a bad day, so it was hard to get much info from her either….please excuse the buzzkill, just in need of some info
LeBron’s kinda good.
Yikes, good luck with that, FBF. Keep digging on the web. You may be surprised what you find.
Helluva win tonight. Wish I coulda seen it. And too bad we got no help in Boston or The Bronx.
Caught a decent Tigers/Rockies game & enjoyed the Joel Zumaya show.
He came into the 9th with a 4-1 lead, but almost after every pitch, he looked over his shoulder to see his MPH. (Each pitch was between 95-100.) It got even more ridiculous as his entire inning began to unravel & he kept checking his speed.
He stuck out the side, but he hit a batter & gave up a single, a homer, a walk. Tigers hung on 4-3 and, yes, he “earned” a 31-pitch save.
Yeah, crazy Cavs finish tonight. I mean, is there any chance we’ll get an Orlando-Denver final?
@11 – plain rediculous
The last inning and a half of that game was ridiculously exciting. Great pitching, Matt Diaz being awesome and Yesco and Kotchman getting him in….
Prado nearly gave me a heart attack but when Kotchman dug it out, it was brilliant. Now that Halladay’s out of the way, let’s see if we can build on this.
Only complaint is Cox bringing in a lefty to face 4 consecutive RH hitters. I just don’t get that when you’ve got Soriano out there, and he’s been every bit as good as Gonzo. Why can Cox be such a sticklar to platoon roles for position players but semi-fail at it for pitchers? Why does he bring in Gonzo to face the lefties in the 8th inning for the game with Philly but fail to do the comparable thing here?
Haha, McCann was one of the call-ins to the MLB network wrap-up show, he still sounds like a 15-year-old.
On the glasses: “Everyone keeps telling me I’m ugly, but at least I look smart.”
@14 – Cox is a BIGGGGG believer in rightly-lefty match ups. He’ll throw a lefty out there against a lefty even if that he hits lefthanders 4 times better than righties. Only thing I can think of is that he might just want to keep Gonzo comfortable in that role, but I don’t know. But I do know that Cox loves the matchups.
FBF,
Good luck man.
FBF,
Not sure what depth wise you were referring to but here’s a decent article with a few links/resource centers at the end.
Good Luck
http://www.healthline.com/galecontent/arachnoid-cysts
FBF, serious or not, you got my prayers
FBF, I was a clinical biology major for several years. I also have research experience in genetically modified biosynthetic metabolic pathways in plants, particularly maize, and also plant physiology.
What are your symptoms? Most arachnoid cysts require no immediate treatment and can be characterized as “benign” (as hard as that sounds for something strange located in your brain) but they need to be monitored because they can potentially grow, which can present much more serious problems, especially if the underlying cause of the cyst’s formation is not addressed. Many times, the cyst and symptoms will clear up over time. Obviously, a neurosurgeon isn’t going to operate on your brain unless there is a dire emergency.
Did your neurologist postulate the cause of the cyst? Keep an eye on your symptoms. Be aggressive if you notice a shift or worsening.
It may also be a good idea to seek a second opinion, just to have another doctor’s opinions and perhaps his confirmation of the other’s diagnosis. That may be difficult depending on your HMO due to the cost of MRI procedures.
Good luck.
The stars–which I hope figure promiently in the Braves’ future–were out at the Beach last night. Rohrbough pitched pretty well while Heyward and Cody Johnson homered. Heyward has 8 HRs which is a great number for a player his age–but it is easy to overlook because Johnson already has 16! Freemen had a couple of hits as well….
@20, well we discovered it on Monday when I fell taking a whiz and busted the toilet and cut myself up. ER doc thought it might be a good Idea to take an MRI, and thats when it showed up. 6.5 cm X 2.5 cm. My symptoms have been loss of balance, odd sleep patterns and behavior that doesnt fit me (blowing a grand on poker, etc) I’m 34, healthy, except Im about 15 pounds overweight. Thanks for all the imput and well wishes, just an awesome group of people on this board.
Ouch. Good luck; from what I can tell, the treatment won’t be fun, but you should come out the other side okay. Enjoy American medicare care; I know I am!
Thanks Mac, I know you’ve got your own stuff going on. Medicare is great, had a PS3 in my hospital room, and an ocean view…
Disgusting. You guys are worse than a broken record. We get an amazing performance from a key piece of this team, and what are the first three comments about? Our right fielder, who by the way was 1 for 3 with a stolen base while facing one of the game’s best pitchers for the first time in his career.
Kawakami’s looking great, 8 innings is fantastic! It’s a good thing no one on this site was calling him a bust a few weeks ago… cause they would be feeling awfully silly about now.
@24: Well at least if we’re going to waste taxpayer money, we can waste it on Braves fans. Good luck with everything FBF!
Jeffy’s “hit” was a bleeder that the pitcher couldn’t handle and which wound up about fifteen feet short of second base. And after his stolen base, he wandered off second and got doubled up.
FBF, #18 gives you a good source of references. Use it. What ever you do, do not leave it to a single physician. Do your own research and fine the best resource available and seek a treatment from them. DO NOT LEAVE IT UP TO YOUR GHANDI Dr.
Always find the best doc in a specific field for treatment. Too many physicians treat a malady with out having expertise in that area.
Jeffy’s “hit” was a bleeder that the pitcher couldn’t handle and which wound up about fifteen feet short of second base. And after his stolen base, he wandered off second and got doubled up.
Awesome. It just keeps getting better.
So, Escobar and Kotchman both came through with some situational hitting and the Braves won a one run game? That doesn’t sound anything like this team.
Disgusting. You guys are worse than a broken record. We get an amazing performance from a key piece of this team, and what are the first three comments about? Our right fielder, who by the way was 1 for 3 with a stolen base while facing one of the game’s best pitchers for the first time in his career.
I keep going back and forth on whether you are for real or not. I’m pretty sure you are just messing with us. Jeffy’s been the worst everyday player in the majors three years running. No one could actually be daft enough to seriously take up the other side of the argument.
FBF–Good Luck…and yes be aggressive at getting the best information for lies ahead….
@29: I was just about to come up with a list of everyday players that were undeniably worse than Francoeur in 2007 (there were 84 players with >450 PA and a lower OPS, including Andruw Jones,) and I could probably come up with a sizeable one for 2006 too, but then I realized I’d just be feeding this crap.
Today’s game was about a beautiful performance from Kenshin “The Dragon” Kawakami, and the end result was in no way jeopardized by our right fielder.
Wow…what a game by KK. I’ve been a constant critic. But that was an absolute gem.
I was surprised by all the animation KK gave on certain pitches.
Great, unexpected win. Could we see some momentum with a win like this?
Frank, get this team another bat.
Thanks guys, much appreciated. Lets change the subjecr a little. Realisticaly, what could we get for Frenchy, alone, or packaged with someone?
FBF,
Best wishes, man.
As to your question: possibly some magic beans?
My brain tells me I should be pulling for the Yankees and Red Sox this weekend, but I just can’t do it. I’d rather the NL East stomp all over the AL East and then have the Braves take care of business afterward.
What a fun game to watch. KK is settling in nicely. Guy’s a gamer, for sure. It’ll be interesting to see if he can keep it up in his next start.
There’s no way anyone gives us anything for Frenchy. At best, he gets moved as a way to clear some salary or something.
What I’d like to do is start dreaming about what corner OFs might be available for trade. At this point, I think the Braves are a corner OF and a Tommy Hanson away from being legitimate contenders. The Hanson thing will take care of itself some time this summer, but the corner OF thing needs to be dealt with at some point, and since there aren’t really any internal options, you have to start looking outside the organization.
Dye is an obvious one if the ChiSox fall out of it (and the Peavy thing muddles the situation), but who are some other guys? I think Mac mentioned Randy Winn in the other thread. He wouldn’t be a game-breaker, but he gives you some versatility (can maybe back up Schafer in a pinch) and should provide a huge upgrade over either ACHE or Frenchy. Carlos Lee is another name that came to my mind, although I’m not sure the Braves can take on a contract that size. (He signed a 6-year $100 million deal before the 2007 season.) The Nationals have a few guys who could be interesting, but none really scream “consistent, useful OF” to me. That’s all I’ve got for the moment. There must be some guys in the AL that I’m not thinking of. Anyone else have a thought?
Carlos Quentin
the sucky thing is, by the time we get our OF settled and Hanson in the starting rotation we’ll have to find a replacement for Chipper. It kinda pisses me off that the organization is just willing to put the success of the franchise, at least in terms of scoring runs, on the shoulders of a 37-year-old third baseman without giving him any help.
Gadfly, what you don’t seem to understand is that 2005-2007 stats (even ones that were mediocre at best) aren’t nearly as important as Francoeur hitting like a pitcher for more than a year now.
His last thousand or so PAs of unbelievable horribleness far outweigh the way he played 2+ years ago.
Medlen and who else for Jason Bay?
Schafer?
If we could negotiate a contract beforehand I would do it.
Yeah–we should get a corner outfielder (two by my count), but then most people who come to Braves Journal have been saying that for at least a year….The bottom line is that Wren did not get the job done in the offseason and now it will be far more difficult and will undoubtedly cost more….
For those wanting to revisit the Teixeria trade–a note on Elvis Andrus:
http://www.minorleagueball.com/2009/5/22/884147/elvis-andrus
Please, lets not relive that trade, we got fleeced.
44–Yeah, but we did it to ourselves….
yes we did, and it left a bitter taste about the JS legacy to me.
Think about Wrens position, stuck with an excellent player who you cant resign and your old boss sent your best prospect/trade chips for a guy you are going to lose.
If Frank had those other guys, he could have made two trades and had a whole new OF instead of just Kotchman.
Whats happened to Marek? yikes, 9.00 ERA
Oldtimer?–Looking back I think that JS made the deal out of both desperation and frustration. With the 2006 nightmare in mind, I believe that he was pretty desperate to win in 2007.
I agree that it was a tough legacy for Wren. However, my criticism of Wren remains what happened (or failed to happen) during the 2007-2008 offseason.
When they found out that they could not re-sign Tex, they should have either traded him during the offseason (when his value would have been higher) OR they should have done everything (including trading prospects) to at least in in 2008–figuring that it would be their best shot for the forseeable future.
To be fair to Wren, I am still impressed that he was able to get as much at the trading deadline as he did. Lets hope Marek gets it together….
Yeah, I like Kotchman and he could be a very good player with the right team. He is a 40 double, 12 homer guy, Mark Grace like.
We just do not have a single power hitter in our lineup, its amazing.
This team is at an odd crossroad, we are just good enough to be a player away from the playoff race, we have a quality starting staff that is old, but our core players are young.
Do we take our lumps and keep the prospects or ship some out and get the players for the now?
I don’t want to trade any more key prospects–largely because I believe that we are more than a player away.
In addition, we have some excellent prospects, but just like Andy Marte they won’t all make it. Therefore, our surplus may look bigger than it is in reality.
That said, 201o forward should begin a good era of Braves’ baseball….
The Hitless Wonders of the South strike again! Great job by Kawikami, now let’s build on this win.
Good luck FBF, and I hope you can keep a positive attitude, which seems to help in recovery.
FBF, all the best. You’re in my prayers.
Kawakami was great. Hopefully he can keep this going.
kawakami had the control tonight that he showed in Japan. He got ahead of almost every hitter and seemed to throw that nasty curve and slider to almost all RH hitters. He was just outstanding
Gadfly, are we really suppose to say Frenchy had a good game? His single really couldve been an error. I will say this about Frenchy, I dont think he’s any worse than Ganderson. Neither one should be out there
I keep thinking KJ is about to break out and then I see some of his AB’s, he’s looking very bad at the plate still. He should sit a hair closer to Chippper in the dugout and pick his brain some.
I love the fact that Diaz is by far our best hitting OF’r and he’s basically showing Bobby in almost every AB right now. His destroying the ball to RC right now, but yet he’s our 4th OF’r
I agree somewhat Stephen although we have some great young hitters in Freeman and Heyward, the only real RH power threat in the entire organization is Johnson and he is still probably the least likely of the three to be a productive major leaguer. im not a huge proponent of balancing but we do need at least one legit RH bat other than escobar and it looks like it must come from outside the org. thinking back to the deadline that jason bay almost trade would look pretty good about now but oh well.
we could address this RH power issue in the offseason but i doubt both Bay and Holliday both reach FA and this still hurts us for this year.
i agree we are more than one piece away but at the same time we MIGHT only be one piece from outside the org away. like Mac mentioned in the previous thread Barton is down there to give us an alternative to Schafer and a Diaz/B. Jones platoon wouldnt kill us hitting 7th or 8th. My preference would be to make a long term trade for a young RH power outfielder so that its not just a win now move; so rather than Dye or Bay target Laporta or Quentin.
Everyone is available at the right price and a package built around KJ and Medlin would have teams listening. KJ, although i love him, is about to start costing a lot and if the team isnt planning on keeping him long term than trading him now makes at least some sense, i know infante got hurt but prado is more of a long term solution there anyway and infante has value in his ability to back up more positions.
a lineup of:
Escobar
Kotchman
Jones
RF
McCann
Prado
Diaz/Jones
Barton
wouldnt kill us, although to completely counter my last point if we could hold on to KJ and hit him 6th that lineup looks more dangerous.
i dont know if this has happened this year or not, but we won at every level last night. good games from heyward and freeman. cody johnson hit his 16th homer of the year. that’s absurd!
http://tinyurl.com/pm3e3l
Cody’s line is absurd
.283/.358/.676/1.034 16Hr 9 doubles in 145AB, just cut down on the K’s and he’d be something special
I like how getting doubled off while in scoring position against the game’s best pitcher doesn’t hurt the team according to Gadfly.
Cody Johnson is a long way from the majors and there is every chance that he will find AA very challenging.
That said, he is only 20 and currently on pace for a 60 HR season. More important, however, he is doing much better this year than last and in a more advanced league. Johnson has struggled twice before and gotten better each time.
At a minimum, his development will be interesting to watch….
Ryan C. at 55,
Actually, all 4 minor league teams won the previous night (Thursday). I think it is possible that they did it earlier once, but I am not sure.
About 10 days ago, I noticed that the pitching at all 4 levels was seeming to really hum. However, our hitting prospects are very limited and not deep.
Why can’t Bobby go ahead and do this (effective immediately, no acquisitions nor even roster changes except to and from Gwinett)?
Play Diaz almost everyday. Leftfield against lefties. Rightfield against righties. Frenchy has been ML average or a little better against lefties for his career and the stench of his performance against righthanders is pervasive and consistent.
Then, unless something different is seen from ACHE in his starts in 2 weeks, bring up Brandon Jones for that platoon role and D/L or release Anderson.
Meanwhile, if you CAN find an outfielder and if nobody thinks of Francoeur enough as an asset to take his salary or more than ML minimum against tht salary or give up something useful for him, move him to AAA. Tell him to shut his trap and act nice, and see if he MIGHT salvage some value. Then, if he doesn’t, non tender him.
I saw something strange at the game last night. I am not sure what it means (if anything). Maybe GAnderson is not going to be here much longer; I don’t know… After the game was over and everyone on the team was out of the dug out high-fiving each other on the field it seemed that GAnderson was just loitering around the edges of the celebration. Then as the rest of the team filed into the dug out down the stairs closest to home plate he wandered alone up to the other end of the dugout. It seemed to me like he just didn’t care to be at all part of the celebration or part of the team. Everyone else was laughing and high-fiving and he just went in the dugout by himself and not smiling, laughing or outwardly celebrating at all. Like I said, I’m not sure what it means but it was strange…
I watch the game live last night, just want to share my thoughts with you all:
– Needless to say, KK was awesome. It was especially enjoyable for guys who kept believing he will eventually be fine (that includes ma, ha!). Last night, his pitches have good movement and good velocity. He was attacking the strikezone instead of nibbling. It was great to watch.
– Yunel’s groundout to the right side of the infield to move Diaz to third was fantastic. Kotchman did a fine job on the SF. Awesome situational hitting.
– Gonzo made a fine play to get that second out in the ninth inning. Prado was being Prado for that third out. I know it was a tough play, but we all know how “good” Prado is on defense! He did make a fine throw though, didn’t know he has that in him.
– Diaz is being Diaz again, which is great.
– As much as I think Frenchy sucks, KJ’s inability to drop down the sac bunt in the fourth really pissed me off. KJ is starting to piss me off as much as Frenchy has been.
– We have beaten Santana and Halladay this season, can you believe that!? Or course, we have also been beaten by Jason Marquis.
– LeBron will eventually belong to the NBA Hall of Freaks which Michael Jordan is the only member of that right now.
Finally, blake, Cody is also a lefty, and that was why I really didn’t want the Braves to trade away Flowers because Flowers WAS the only true power threat within the Braves minor league system.
#61 – Hap, dont think it means anything. he just looks bored
FBF, I wish you all the best.
One more thing, I am very glad that Burnett didn’t pick us.
@61,
The refusal to rehab at Gwinett, the loafing in getting to fly balls (ACHE was about an average left fielder the last few years per + / – and he has not been CLOSE to it for us), the half hearted at bats. All of these things mean he just is not willing to get up and put out the effort to be a Major League player. he ought to do the honorable thing and either retire, or hustle (real hustle, not fake hustle like Pete Rose running to first on a walk).
Also from the farm. Two 2 inning relief appearances featuring 6 strike outs.
One was Kimbrel at Rome. he started rough at the Beach, got moved down, and is seeming to really get it back together. Still a lot of promise there.
The other from somebody I had not heard of yet. At the Beach, Gary Lee Hyde. Apparently, former Georgia Tech pitcher / Atlanta area boy. Had Tommy John late 07 and missed most of 08. Also missed the first part of this season (he has two recent appearances).
Anybody have any low down on Hyde?
Great…Lincecum is waiting for us in SF…
And while “trying to find outfielders” yesterday, I saw some interesting things.
From ESPH’s sortable stats I asked for batting on all batters that they showed as outfielders (which I think means at least 1 appearance as an outfielder, but all batting at any position) and sorted by OPS.
There were about 161. We had Schaffer around 120, Francoeur around 130 and ACHE around 135 ( ormaybe those last two were reversed). Diaz was around 45 (just out of the first quarter).
B. Jones and Infante were both above 80.
One of the biggest surprises was sitting aorund 13th with a little over 1000 OPS. None other than Andruw Jones. He still hasn’t hit the wall. It is heartwarming how the Braves have contributed to the Rangers renaissance (well, maybe the Dodgers get credit for contributing Andruw).
Dye and El Caballo were essentially indistinguishable from Diaz (around 840 OPS). GARY MATTHEWS, JR. was around 790 (near Brandon and Infante and FAR ahead of Francoeur, ACHE, and Schaffer.
The Rangers may need to be our trade partner. They have bunches of hitters and particularly first base / DH types and outfielders. They may be where one more pitcher could put them on top. How about a Morton for Nelson Cruz?
However, that re-starts my question from earlier this week. Why bring up Medlen in front of Morton. If somebody needed to “catch fire” to be trade bait, Morton would have been a better choice because he has better “stuff” and a little longer track record. If somebody needed to be effective at ML level, to me there was more saying bring Morton rather than Medlen. I don’t get it.
Bobby is big on Medlen I think, he raved about him all Spring. If thats why he’s here, and Id think its about a 90% chance that it is, Bobby has too much say in this org. Thats 100% why Ganderson is here, why Devine was shipped off, and why Davies is gone. Bobby is always lobbying to buy even when everyone knows its a long shot to make the playoffs. When you’re a HOF manager I guess you’ve earned the right to have your voice heard, its still the GM that makes the final decision
How many more performances like this until we can start calling Kawakami ‘Shredder’?
csg,
I remember Bobby’s raves to a point, and that sounds like a likely cause.
I believe Wren is in a hard spot with Bobby (just like with Smoltz) but to preserve his career, Wren has to step up on this.
I think Ganderson CAN play better than he has (I am not sure). I am not talking about batting, but fielding. He just doesn’t seem to give a rip. If Bobby won’t light a fire under Ganderson, Wren needs to put tire tracks on his forehead and make Bobby want to quit. And they need to stop letting Bobby call the shots on who comes up.
Bringing up Medlen means Medlen makes $400,000 prorated for his ML roster days this year and $150,000 prorated for his minor league days this year and next. So, if he doesn’t stick for now, that just cost a minimum of $300,000. Bringing up Morton cost $250,000 prorated over ML days. So, if Morton was up for 3 weeks, then it only cost $30,000. (he already had the guaranteed minor league minimum from being up last year). Plus, it started Medlen’s clock earlier.
“Well at least if we’re going to waste taxpayer money, we can waste it on Braves fans.”
You want disgusting? That’s disgusting. Not only is it unnecessarily political, but it actually implies that the medical care a few people on this board have received is a “waste [of] taxpayer money.” You can have your opinions, but try to be human. And yeah, Francoeur sucks.
FWIW I don’t think Medlen’s arb clock is a big issue. I think you only worry about that with the best of the best prospects — those you can reasonably project to be worth the millions you’re hoping to save down the road. In our case, Hanson and Heyward. Otherwise, if a guy in AAA looks like he can help, just call him up.
@74:
That’s just as political. I recommend dropping the subject.
I do hope Andruw keeps up his good work. I’d like to see him go into the Hall as a Brave.
Cliff–Hyde has battled injuries now for two years. At one point he had a pretty bright future….I hope he goes the way of Venters and not Vines….
@40: I agree his recent production is more important than his past success, but that wasn’t what we were talking about earlier. @29 Robert made the comment that Jeff has “been the worst everyday player in the majors three years running.” As much as I tried to resist I couldn’t let that comment go uncorrected. Obviously there are problems with his recent performance, but that’s a conversation for another time.
@52: Actually, I don’t see any reason at all to talk about Francoeur after this last game… certainly no reason that he should dominate the thread. He didn’t cost us the game, he didn’t prolong the game, he didn’t win us the game, and he didn’t do anything that would suggest he’s “breaking out,” so why are we even talking about him?
@57: When did I say that? I never said anything at all about being doubled off, mainly because I didn’t see the play. That said, the vast majority of line drive double plays aren’t anyone’s fault, they’re instinctual breaks… if that ball gets through Jeff wanted to score rather than get stuck at third with Kawakami due up, it didn’t, so he got doubled off… que sera sera.
@60: I’m sure something like similar to that is the eventual backup plan… Bobby and Frank, as well as myself, think its a little too early to put it into place… it’s May, be patient.
@70: I highly doubt Nelson Cruz is available. Nor, as have been mentioned, are LaPorta or Bay.
@71: Garrett is here because everyone else turned us down, and we didn’t have any real money left to go after the bigger names. Plus, for some reason or another, the Braves never seemed to really want to give Josh Anderson a chance. Devine was shipped off to fill a hole, and to get him a change in scenery, and Davies was sent packing because he never lived up to expectations… I’m sure Bobby played a part in all three, but it’s not like he’s just playing favorites with these guys.
@73: Are you really talking about tens of thousands of dollars? We’re not a big market team anymore, but its not like we’re poor.
@74: Wow, did you bother to notice the quote I was responding to? The “waste” of taxpayer money I was referring to was how Florida Braves Fan mentioned having a PS3 and an oceanview room. I’ll try to avoid getting into any actual political controversy, so I won’t say anything further. Except to reiterate that I wish our fellow Florida Braves Fan a quick and full recovery.
@29 Robert made the comment that Jeff has “been the worst everyday player in the majors three years running.” As much as I tried to resist I couldn’t let that comment go uncorrected. Obviously there are problems with his recent performance, but that’s a conversation for another time.
But see you didn’t correct it, you just proved you have no idea how much OPS overvalues slugging and undervalues OBP. OPS is maybe the most chertible metric you can use to evaluate Jeffy and he’s still scraping bottom. You just demonstrated – again – you don’t know what you are talking about.
But enough of this. As Jay-Z rhymes:
Momma told me don’t argue with fools, people from a distance can’t tell who is who.
Okay. Now I concur with others that have requested more stringent action. Personal attacks are over the line.
Game thread is up. I’m not optimistic about getting this one in; it’s supposed to start raining about 8 pm.
It must be something about Derek Lowe.
@82: Wait, so you’re telling me that all 84 of those players with a lower OPS than Jeff were simply the victims of the failings of OPS? 41 of these players were 50 points below Jeff’s OPS, and 18 of them were 100 points below! There were also 71 players with >450 PA and a lower OBP than Jeff in 2007.
I understand OPS isn’t a perfect statistic, it also isn’t the most favorable to Jeff either, but as I said I wasn’t going to waste words on Jeff early in this thread when they should’ve been going to Kawakami for his amazing performance last night.
As a real rapper, and Braves fan, once said: “Don’t pull that thang, unless you plan to bang.”
I don’t think it’s political. The man just doesn’t like windows.
Yeah, why is it when somebody decries spending tax dollars, that person is shouted down as “political” when the other side of the argument is at least as “political”?
This ain’t the place for it, but the battle between capitalism and socialism is on right now and there is no middle ground.
And that comment was incredibly political and way over the line.