That is not what I meant to imply. Frenchy was not promoted to make that point. He was promoted out of desperation and he played himself into a job. The expectation was that he would be coming to the majors soon, and that he would be the 5-tool great-make-up guy with the Good Face. When he succeeded, everyone forgot that he had some more developing to do. My point was that he was never considered a “can’t miss” prospect. A good prospect yes, but nothing to get too excited over.
18th Jakob Dalfonso L/R 3B Middle Georgia College
19th Tyrelle Harris RHP U of Tennessee
20th Jeffrey Lorick LHP UVA
UVA is in the CWS against LSU I think. Maybe we’ll get to see him pitch.
Johnny
on June 10, 2009 at 2:24 pm
My apologies just re read my post and it did come off like I was calling you on something. Not intended that way.
To your point. Outside of the Braves themselves nobody in the business or hobby of player analysis had Benchy as much more than a toolsy athlete with potential.
Poor kid. Yeah, I do feel for him a little despite the entitled attitude he has developed. Talk about paying a price for early success.
Now for a plea to Bobby.
Dear Bobby,
Sir have you kind of like noticed that when Frenchy does not start that we like, score runs? Cause and effect? I dunno. But I do implore you to continue this experiment. Leave him on the bench just in case we need that defensive replacement in right field. You never know when that crucial catch or throw is going to be needed out there.
Yours Truly
Johnny – Braves fan even in the 80’s
doubledawg
on June 10, 2009 at 2:32 pm
Why is DOB so painfully lame? The d-bag photo was bad enough, but his bitchy comments to people and pathetic attempts at showing his “hip” personal life are unbearable.
Jorgbacca
on June 10, 2009 at 2:39 pm
I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t see Lorick. I just checked the box scores and he didn’t pitch once in last weekends Super Regional against Ole Miss. Virginia used 7 pitchers.
5,
I tend to agree. He’s one of the better beat writers but not the most mature or pleasant individual.
c. shorter
on June 10, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Tiger… congrats and best of luck.
Seat Painter
on June 10, 2009 at 3:08 pm
@8
Does he hate Mac as well for no particuliar reason?
doubledawg
on June 10, 2009 at 3:18 pm
I’m a music fan too, but his “taste” is too contrived. Its completely generated by reading label PR rages like Rolling Stone and Paste. Reverence for old, but quite crappy acts like Lucinda Williams, while jumping on the latest well packaged indie band like some pre-teen in skinny jeans and Chuck Taylors. If he’d just stick to talking about the Braves, maybe talk a bit more about Frenchy sucking, and not try to be so cool, it’d work a lot better.
dd,
I think DOB genuinely likes the music he discusses & I get a kick out it. You don’t—c’est la vie.
And IMO, Lucinda remains one of our great singers.
spike (back in the ATL)
on June 10, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Regrettably, although he has praised many friends of mine, and appears to have a genuine affection for some music I hold dear, I have to agree with #11. He IS still better than most beat writers, but the music/hipster commentary just doesn’t go well with the baseball most of the time. He also tends to be pretty thin skinned (actually all of the AJC guys are – well maybe not Bradley) and has definitely become a company man with respect to the team and what he writes about them. It’s funny that he seems to have a good grasp of sabremetrics, but refuses to follow the evidence where it leads. Still, beats most guys, but has some clear flaws.
We have an ongoing pattern of posting lame tidbits from his columns or over reactions in the comment section on our fantasy board for discussion, so I may be more sensitive to this stuff. But, his opening line about Glavine last week was a direct rip off from Bill Simmons Big Papi column, which, Simmons at least attributed to a line from the movie “Coctail”. Questionable as it may be for Simmons to reference a line in a terrible movie, its even worse that DOB rips off Simmons opener and calls it an “axiom”.
Last comment or DOB for now. Besides, I come here for most Braves analysis anyway.
I tend to agree. He’s one of the better beat writers but not the most mature or pleasant individual.
I’ve heard he’s a good guy, from a guy who used to work with him.
Yeah, he can be thin skinned with commenters. Honestly, though, considering the kind of people who haunt most blogs — present company excepted, of course — that’s somewhat understandable.
Hell, WE all know that most of the AJC commenters are stupid. It’s small wonder that DOB has scant patience for them, considering he has to live over there. Unfortunately, that means that he also has short patience with some ideas that are good. It’s awfully hard to do a 25-hour a day job and keep an open mind at the same time.
They can’t all be Joe Posnanski, sadly.
(That said, I would love his job, at least for a year or two, until I utterly burned out on the road schedule.)
After you’ve written a few hundred blog titles, it gets hard to come up with anything original or clever.
spike (back in the ATL)
on June 10, 2009 at 4:19 pm
Oh I agree that the blog is populated with idiots – christ the screen names will tell you that – I just don’t get why he’d bother to reply in such a peevish manner. Ignore the idjits and just say go braves. It works in his columns, apparently
td
on June 10, 2009 at 4:19 pm
As I think about it, an OF of McLouth, DeRosa, and someone else (hopefully Diaz) wouldn’t be bad. If no one will take Frenchy, we can let him and Anderson compete for who gets demoted or released when Infante comes back. The first guy to go, if we get DeRosa could be Norton. A better idea may be to demote / release both Frenchy and Anderson and give B. Jones a shot. Anderson could have some use as a pinch hitter, but his regular playing days should be over.
The problem now is that our starting pitching depth is sinking quickly given the trade of Morton, release of Glavine, Reyes typical horrible play/ injuries and Campillo’s injury problems. I don’t see too much that we can afford to give up for DeRosa – Canizares? Obviously $ are also a concern.
I very rarely read any entries on the AJC forums, so I’m not so attuned to what DOB fires back at the posters. I learned a long time ago that reading AJC foums can make me lose faith in humanity.
As an editor of a publication that has its own particular and sometimes peculiar audience, I can tell you that it’s not easy to deal with every goofball with access to the internet, a telephone or a postage stamp.
I understand why newspapers have these online forums, but if I’m the columnist/writer, I’d hate to have to deal with some of these loonies, too.
IF the Red Sox interest in an “unnamed Braves shortstop” was Infante, then it makes lots of sense to get DeRo to back up Chipper, and, meanwhile, play rihgt field against righthanded pitching.
Our problem is not so much what ot add, as committing on what to subtract and when. Right now with the guys we have it should work almost like last night. Anderson starts against righthanders. When he is unlikely to bat again, replaced dfensively by Diaz. Diaz plays left against lefthanders and right against righthanders. Francoeur plays right against left handersand comes in late to let Diaz cross over to take out Anderson.
And didn’t Cox come back as GM in 1987? Somebody decided to let Andres go. Was it Cox?
I don’t think quetionable pictures are enough to explain Frenchy’s hold on seemingly this entire organization.
Adam M
on June 10, 2009 at 4:41 pm
Not a fan of DOB either, but I too like Lucinda Williams… so torn…
ryan c
on June 10, 2009 at 4:45 pm
there is a stupid, stoopid man who makes the braves lineup:
1. McLouth
2. Escobar
3. Chipper
4. McCann
5. Anderson
6. Norton
7. Francoeur
8. Johnson
9. Jurrjens
td
on June 10, 2009 at 4:48 pm
DOB kind of annoys me with the music stuff, but it’s no big deal. I like reading his posts and his perspective on the Braves. However, as has been mentioned, I do my best to avoid reading most of the other posters. I made the mistake of reading some of the posts a few weeks ago and have to agree with ubbubba about almost losing faith in humanity.
Dan
on June 10, 2009 at 4:49 pm
What does Matt Diaz gotta do?
td
on June 10, 2009 at 4:52 pm
What a lineup! Given the way KJ has been hitting lately, the biggest threat from the 5 to 9 hitters has to be Jurrjens. Anderson, Norton and Francoeur hitting back to back to back is insane.
hankonly
on June 10, 2009 at 4:52 pm
Diaz should march on Washington.
hankonly
on June 10, 2009 at 4:54 pm
If Garrett is indeed to remain on this team, don’t you think his best role is that of left-handed pinch-hitter?
Prado, when healthy, can handle the backup 1B role or – better idea – start acclimating McCann to the task.
We in Washington are very sympathetic to Matt Diaz’s quest for PAs.
Stu
on June 10, 2009 at 5:01 pm
If Diaz does march on Washington, do you think he’d bring Josh Willingham back with him?
cliff
on June 10, 2009 at 5:28 pm
What about David Ross at first as back up (maybe as Kotchman’s right handed partner)? I know he is small sample size this year, but he has really hit the ball.
Ethan
on June 10, 2009 at 5:29 pm
Hankonly,
I’ve kind of thought that about ACHE for awhile now. We know he’s horrible defensively, but as a primary pinch hitter, I think that there is some value.
Still definitely not worth 2.5 MM, but that’s a sunk cost now.
Dan
on June 10, 2009 at 6:03 pm
My guess is a House Resolution expressing the sense of congress that Matt Diaz deserves more PAs would pass by a 434-1 vote.
The one is a Mets’ fan.
Johnny
on June 10, 2009 at 6:10 pm
Sigh. Bobby doesn’t read Braves Journal.
@29 Ok next put Omar Moreno’s numbers up against Benchy’s. LOL I’m sure that Mac has done it at some point in time and I’ve just forgotten. All Worst Braves Team. Andres is sure to be the short stop. Benchy is making a strong case for right field.
ryan c
on June 10, 2009 at 6:23 pm
time to shake a little salt in those pirates wounds. preferably, in that patched eye.
ryan c
on June 10, 2009 at 6:30 pm
so, we basically have no chance to score again for at least the next 5 batters. what a fun lineup!
Rob B
on June 10, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Did anyone hear what happened to Morton? I wasn’t listening before when they were talking about why he was coming out of the game.
Edit – nevermind….stomach issues
oldtimer?
on June 10, 2009 at 6:36 pm
Morton is a wuss.
pedroc
on June 10, 2009 at 6:37 pm
JJ is having to throw a lot of pitches already. Looks like the bullpen will play a big role tonight…
Frank
on June 10, 2009 at 6:38 pm
that was a Francoeurian swing by McCutchen
edit–make that two of them
ryan c
on June 10, 2009 at 6:40 pm
jurrjens is getting squeezed left to right. it looks like the strike zone is more up and down tonight.
I was hoping for the good KJ today, but apparently not.
braves14
on June 10, 2009 at 7:03 pm
This Karstens guy has almost as many walks as Ks, and an ERA above 5. So, we’ll probably make him look like Christy Matthewson.
td
on June 10, 2009 at 7:10 pm
Our first two batters in the next inning have to make it to 3rd if we’re going to score. If that doesn’t happen we’ll have to wait until the 5th or 6th. Cox should be fired on the spot for voluntarily fielding a lineup like this.
SkipLives
on June 10, 2009 at 7:18 pm
Hmm. Maybe we shouldn’t have ACHE and Perm-a-stache behind Chipper and Brian.
td
on June 10, 2009 at 7:19 pm
I hate it when I’m right about the Braves’ ineptitude.
ryan c
on June 10, 2009 at 7:26 pm
as of 7:25 tonight: the bottom 5 guys in tonight’s lineup have a .300 obp. or less. that is depressing.
edit: francoeur sucks.
Ethan
on June 10, 2009 at 7:28 pm
If JJ can end up going six, I’ll be impressed.
braves14
on June 10, 2009 at 7:28 pm
WTF is wrong with KJ
csg
on June 10, 2009 at 7:30 pm
jj hitting .25 pts higher than Norton
oldtimer?
on June 10, 2009 at 7:34 pm
@ 64
He sucks.
td
on June 10, 2009 at 7:37 pm
Jurrjens has looked great after his 2 run 3rd. Unfortunately two runs looks like a dozen with this idiotic lineup. Maybe Cox is giving up after his 2000th win.
ryan c
on June 10, 2009 at 7:37 pm
prediction: we win this game and all runs are produced and scored by the top 4 in the lineup.
braves14
on June 10, 2009 at 7:40 pm
111 pitches tonight for Jurrjens.
Top of the order coming up this inning, now is the time to start scoring some runs
Nathan
on June 10, 2009 at 7:42 pm
He actually had a long 6th or JJ would have been through 6 comfortably.
ryan c
on June 10, 2009 at 7:42 pm
in my softball league, we played with 8 last night. it was a huge defensive disadvantage, but all of our best hitters were there, leaving more ab’s for the sluggers.
can we play 6 players? here’s the setup: chipper at 3rd/short, yunel at rover or short field/2nd base, diaz in left center, mclouth at right center, pitcher covering first, and mccann catching. i’m pretty sure it would be better than the team that runs out there right now.
td
on June 10, 2009 at 7:43 pm
Wow Ryan, you are really going out on a limb with your prediction.
whats sad is Karstens only threw 44 pitches through his 1st 4 innings
braves14
on June 10, 2009 at 7:47 pm
That looked like a homer. Wow, so close.
drew
on June 10, 2009 at 7:49 pm
Why on earth would they give McCann a pitch anywhere near the plate there?
Ethan
on June 10, 2009 at 7:50 pm
Close, but its a double.
td
on June 10, 2009 at 7:50 pm
You can’t get much closer than that, but it looks like a double. I guess Anderson has a chance to single in a run, but that’s about it. Most likely we can forget about scoring again until the 8th.
braves14
on June 10, 2009 at 7:52 pm
Diaz may pinch-hit against the LOOGY if Bobby still has a brain.
braves14
on June 10, 2009 at 7:54 pm
Which he apparently doesn’t.
Hanan
on June 10, 2009 at 7:55 pm
Good managing there Bob.
Ethan
on June 10, 2009 at 7:59 pm
So, after the 1-2-3 in the seventh, we can either get Prado/Diaz as a pinch hitter then once last chance for the lineup in the eigth.
If Russell has a brain, he’d bring in Capps in the eigth
Our New Insect Overlords
on June 10, 2009 at 7:59 pm
Shaky managing was putting Anderson out there to begin the game.
Jeremy
on June 10, 2009 at 8:02 pm
If Bobby had a brain, Garret wouldn’t even be on the roster.
braves14
on June 10, 2009 at 8:07 pm
Yunel with his head up his ass again.
Ethan
on June 10, 2009 at 8:07 pm
Damnit Escobar.
Our New Insect Overlords
on June 10, 2009 at 8:07 pm
Speaking of brainless …
Parish
on June 10, 2009 at 8:07 pm
I haven’t really followed what’s been said on here the last two days, but count me as one incredibly disappointed in the Braves’s draft. There seems to be poor value at each pick (relative to draft slot, of course).
Last year, I was excited. I saw a draft where we did better than expected in nearly every slot early and had a half dozen potential gems late. This is very sad.
Eh? Watching on gameday: “Adam LaRoche singles on a ground ball to 2nd?”
What did Yunel do to botch the play?
braves14
on June 10, 2009 at 8:10 pm
It’s not like Bobby has great options to pitch, here.
Our New Insect Overlords
on June 10, 2009 at 8:11 pm
He’s got Medlen, who would have had enough to get one guy, I’d think.
Ethan
on June 10, 2009 at 8:12 pm
Not good.
braves14
on June 10, 2009 at 8:12 pm
It was a slow groundball up the middle that KJ fielded and flipped to Escobar to attempt to get the force at 2nd. He was safe, Escobar put the ball in his pocket while the lead runner kept running and scored before Yunel realized it.
Parish
on June 10, 2009 at 8:12 pm
Medlen has been tabbed our 13th inning guy.
braves14
on June 10, 2009 at 8:12 pm
95 — Who pitched 3 innings on Tuesday.
Tony
on June 10, 2009 at 8:13 pm
I get home just in time to see a runner score from 2nd on an infield hit? Yunel is on that good stuff…
Jeremy
on June 10, 2009 at 8:14 pm
Remember how everyone was perplexed that the Braves were shopping Escobar last offseason?
Yeah. Good times.
RJ in KS
on June 10, 2009 at 8:14 pm
Parish,
The ball was weakly hit up the middle deep behind the bag. KJ got to it and flipped to Escobar. Unfortunately, Escobar was about three feet away from the bag and he kind of turned to look at first as if he was surprised KJ got to the ball.
The runner on second never stopped and scored because Escobar had his thumb up his butt.
93,
KJ made a diving stop on a ball up the middle with runners at 1st and 2nd and flipped it to Yunel covering 2nd who put it in his pocket as there wasn’t a chance for a play. Meanwhile, a runner who started the play at 2nd rounded 3rd and headed for home and Yunel wasn’t paying attention. He finally realized and threw the ball about 8 feet up the first base line that got there about a second after the runner scored. It was a classic Yunel. I’m going to start calling him “paint chips” because I’m 100% convinced he eats paint chips between innings to stay dumb.
Ethan
on June 10, 2009 at 8:15 pm
Norton needs to be DFA’ed
EDIT: So does Frenchy
EDIT: KJ doesn’t but he is really sucking right now
Called this @82, but it was the equivalent of predicting Greg Maddux will be a first ballot HOF’er
csg
on June 10, 2009 at 8:16 pm
norton now at a cool .100 avg
RJ in KS
on June 10, 2009 at 8:16 pm
“Bout time someone hangs a loss on him.” -Joe.
No one from the truck handed Joe any copy of the bottom half of the order’s averages tonight, I guess.
I see KJ and Francouer are racing towards the .230s.
Geez, this is why we need Yunel in the lineup.
Parish
on June 10, 2009 at 8:17 pm
How did Francoeur get out so quickly?
By the way, it looks like Greg Norton is this year’s Corky Miller.
braves14
on June 10, 2009 at 8:18 pm
Is KJ hurt? I don’t understand what the problem is with him.
Parish
on June 10, 2009 at 8:18 pm
Thanks to everyone who described the Yunel play to me…I guess.
Jon K
on June 10, 2009 at 8:18 pm
How is Norton a major leaguer? Any one of us could do what he’s doing right now… which is diddly poo
RJ in KS
on June 10, 2009 at 8:18 pm
Will mlb.tv refund my money because I’m a Braves fan?
Tony
on June 10, 2009 at 8:19 pm
Parish,
Francouer hit a weak ground ball to the 3rd baseman on the 1st pitch. I mean a weak one.
The Great Bob Walk:
“Craig Monroe made the Braves(Yunel) look silly”
csg
on June 10, 2009 at 8:19 pm
Is Barbaro’s defense that bad? really?
ryan c
on June 10, 2009 at 8:20 pm
yunel is in the lineup….
no offense tony, but your posts sometimes dont make much sense. maybe that’s purposeful. bottom 5 in the lineup 0-14. that’s pathetic. lets throw this trade at the cardinals: francoeur, kj, jo-jo, ganderson, and buddy carlyle for ryan ludwick. thats a steal for us.
braves14
on June 10, 2009 at 8:21 pm
Norton will be here the rest of the year, anyway, just like his evil minions Stenchy and ACHE.
Parish
on June 10, 2009 at 8:21 pm
I really think KJ and Francoeur are an incrimination of TP.
How can both of those guys continue to get progressively worse as hitters at the ML level? I would not say Schafer improved much in his time up with the big club.
It seems that heads should roll for this long time (3 years?) offensive slump and we should start with the hitting coach.
Also – The Mets are about to blow their lead, big time!
Jon K
on June 10, 2009 at 8:22 pm
Where are all the KJ lovers now? I seem to remember a month ago me saying how god awful he is. He isn’t a major league starter, plain and simple. You can analyze his stats all you want, but the fact of the matter is that for every great game he has… he’ll have 10-15 more where he looks completely lost. It’s about time the braves move on from KJ because performance is not improving
td
on June 10, 2009 at 8:22 pm
Can’t we just take 4 automatic outs and not have Anderson, Norton, Francoeur and KJ bat? It wouldn’t do anything to change the game, except it would decrease the pitch count for the pitcher by 2 pitches per skipped at bat. It would also save about 10 total minutes, so it would be useful.
Ethan
on June 10, 2009 at 8:23 pm
They just did a year by year feature of when the Pirates last day at or above .500 for the season was for the past decade.
June 11th was the latest for the whole decade. Unbelievable.
braves14
on June 10, 2009 at 8:23 pm
Maybe Bobby’s trying to prove a point to Wren with the 3 stooges in the lineup consecutively tonight.
Randy
on June 10, 2009 at 8:23 pm
Things I thought I’d never type on a blog.
1. Francouer is actually a bigger offensive threat than the two guys (Norton, KJ) surrounding him in the line-up.
2. We really need Casey Kotchman back!
3. A guy named Barbaro is our only chance to improve our offense, and the organization won’t let him play.
Parish
on June 10, 2009 at 8:24 pm
Tony – Naturally, I was joking. I have seen Frenchy do it a thousand times.
I am holding judgement though until he has a meaningful sample size.
Our New Insect Overlords
on June 10, 2009 at 8:25 pm
Norton’s almost traipsing into Chris Woodward territory regarding his inexplicable place on the roster. But not quite. And Frenchy has them both beat.
ryan c
on June 10, 2009 at 8:26 pm
here’s my shot at getting in the braves journal dictionary:
neutered: when braves get a few games above .500, they have no choice but lose.
Tony
on June 10, 2009 at 8:26 pm
Ryan C.
Before you comment on my comment ask questions before making an ass of yourself. If you read the comment, which you obviously didn’t. It’s states KJ and Francouer are headed towards the .230, that why we need Yunel in the lineup. Of course I know he is the lineup tonite, idiot.
Randy
on June 10, 2009 at 8:27 pm
I actually think Norton’s worse than Crapward.
Parish
on June 10, 2009 at 8:27 pm
119 – Jon K – Not that I disagree with you, but that KJ line could be used for a half dozen guys that have come up over the last several years. Guys who come up with talent and do worse than stagnate.
If it’s one guy, you replace him.
If it’s a bunch of guys, replace the hitting coach!
ryan c
on June 10, 2009 at 8:29 pm
whoa….tony…sorry. just dont really dont understand your point, but i guess i’m supposed to. thanks for the personal insults though.
Our New Insect Overlords
on June 10, 2009 at 8:31 pm
@128: At least Norton only goes into the lineup when two guys at one position go down. Woodward was actually playing regularly for a time, much to everyone’s frustration, as I recall.
Spectacularly meek display in the eighth. It’s as though they want to get home and to bed with the early start tomorrow.
braves14
on June 10, 2009 at 8:32 pm
I’m sure Bobby will find a way to trot out an even weaker lineup for getaway day. Probably will sit both Chipper and McCann.
Jon K
on June 10, 2009 at 8:34 pm
ohh I do think TP needs to go. If donny baseball was the braves hitting coach I think frenchy would be batting .380 haha maybe not but I’m sure he would look better than he does
Tony
on June 10, 2009 at 8:37 pm
Ryan,
Wow. Here it is. Yunel just made a bonehead play, like he has done quite often this year….however KJ and Francouer aren’t hitting, so this is why we need Yunel in the lineup. Otherwise Yunel maybe should be benched for a game. So now read my comment again:
Tony Says:
I see KJ and Francouer are racing towards the .230s.
Geez, this is why we need Yunel in the lineup.
Got it?
Ethan
on June 10, 2009 at 8:41 pm
@132
I am expecting historically bad:
CF- Blanco
2B- KJ
3B- Prado
LF- ACHE
RF- Out Machine
C- Ross
1B- Norton
SS- Diory Hernandez
I feel for Vasquez. He won’t have a chance.
Our New Insect Overlords
on June 10, 2009 at 8:41 pm
@132: Day game after night, so definitely McCann sits. I do wonder when it’s time to start seeing if there’s a spot in the field he can play serviceably.
braves14
on June 10, 2009 at 8:41 pm
Jeff Bennett doing what he does.
Our New Insect Overlords
on June 10, 2009 at 8:42 pm
Bases loaded for Bennett. Oy gevalt.
oldtimer?
on June 10, 2009 at 8:42 pm
Take it easy guys
Nice play Frenchie
Our team defense is a horror show.
Dan
on June 10, 2009 at 8:43 pm
1. Francouer is actually a bigger offensive threat than the two guys (Norton, KJ) surrounding him in the line-up.
Johnson has sucked, but I fail to see how a second baseman with an OPS around 100 points higher than the everyday right fielder is worse.
Our New Insect Overlords
on June 10, 2009 at 8:47 pm
I could have sworn Chip actually referred to ACHE as one-third of the Braves’ “toughest offensive trio.”
braves14
on June 10, 2009 at 8:48 pm
Chip is awful.
Ethan
on June 10, 2009 at 8:48 pm
Damn. Chipper’s been flashing warning track power his last 4-5 at bats.
Our New Insect Overlords
on June 10, 2009 at 8:49 pm
I’m used to hearing idiocy from Chip. So much so that I pretty much ignore everything he says. But I spit out my bacon at that — which sucks, because it was expensive, gourmet bacon.
Parish
on June 10, 2009 at 8:49 pm
Has anyone else noticed that the arrival of Chip Caray coincides with the worst Braves’ baseball of the last two decades?
Just sayin’.
Frank
on June 10, 2009 at 8:49 pm
ACHE is part of the most offensive trio–Stenchy and Norton are the other two thirds.
edit–naturally I type that comments seconds before the blind squirrel finds a nut
Jeremy @101 – You’re an idiot. This team desperately needs Yunel. Yeah, he’s gonna make some “r-tardish” mistakes sometimes, but come on. He’s legit.
His mistake tonight was a screw up, but wasn’t as egregious as reported. He was looking to make a play at first, and it just happened that for whatever bizarre reason Monroe never stopped running. If yunel’s throw was online, he would have been gunned down. It was a stupid move on Monroe’s part that just happened to work out.
Use code “Journal” for a 5% discount.
Man, I am good at ending threads.
From the last thread.
That is not what I meant to imply. Frenchy was not promoted to make that point. He was promoted out of desperation and he played himself into a job. The expectation was that he would be coming to the majors soon, and that he would be the 5-tool great-make-up guy with the Good Face. When he succeeded, everyone forgot that he had some more developing to do. My point was that he was never considered a “can’t miss” prospect. A good prospect yes, but nothing to get too excited over.
So it’s the skeptics, not the critics we’re after.
18th Jakob Dalfonso L/R 3B Middle Georgia College
19th Tyrelle Harris RHP U of Tennessee
20th Jeffrey Lorick LHP UVA
UVA is in the CWS against LSU I think. Maybe we’ll get to see him pitch.
My apologies just re read my post and it did come off like I was calling you on something. Not intended that way.
To your point. Outside of the Braves themselves nobody in the business or hobby of player analysis had Benchy as much more than a toolsy athlete with potential.
Poor kid. Yeah, I do feel for him a little despite the entitled attitude he has developed. Talk about paying a price for early success.
Now for a plea to Bobby.
Dear Bobby,
Sir have you kind of like noticed that when Frenchy does not start that we like, score runs? Cause and effect? I dunno. But I do implore you to continue this experiment. Leave him on the bench just in case we need that defensive replacement in right field. You never know when that crucial catch or throw is going to be needed out there.
Yours Truly
Johnny – Braves fan even in the 80’s
Why is DOB so painfully lame? The d-bag photo was bad enough, but his bitchy comments to people and pathetic attempts at showing his “hip” personal life are unbearable.
I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t see Lorick. I just checked the box scores and he didn’t pitch once in last weekends Super Regional against Ole Miss. Virginia used 7 pitchers.
I was thinking the name didn’t sound familiar.
Still a DOB fan. He’s eons better than most folks doing a similar job.
Also, I’m pretty sure he didn’t write that headline, which has very little to do with the text that follows.
And, being a huge music fan myself, I love his bit with the lyrics.
5,
I tend to agree. He’s one of the better beat writers but not the most mature or pleasant individual.
Tiger… congrats and best of luck.
@8
Does he hate Mac as well for no particuliar reason?
I’m a music fan too, but his “taste” is too contrived. Its completely generated by reading label PR rages like Rolling Stone and Paste. Reverence for old, but quite crappy acts like Lucinda Williams, while jumping on the latest well packaged indie band like some pre-teen in skinny jeans and Chuck Taylors. If he’d just stick to talking about the Braves, maybe talk a bit more about Frenchy sucking, and not try to be so cool, it’d work a lot better.
dd,
I think DOB genuinely likes the music he discusses & I get a kick out it. You don’t—c’est la vie.
And IMO, Lucinda remains one of our great singers.
Regrettably, although he has praised many friends of mine, and appears to have a genuine affection for some music I hold dear, I have to agree with #11. He IS still better than most beat writers, but the music/hipster commentary just doesn’t go well with the baseball most of the time. He also tends to be pretty thin skinned (actually all of the AJC guys are – well maybe not Bradley) and has definitely become a company man with respect to the team and what he writes about them. It’s funny that he seems to have a good grasp of sabremetrics, but refuses to follow the evidence where it leads. Still, beats most guys, but has some clear flaws.
Agree with you 100% @13, spike.
Didn’t know she could sing.
Oh for the days of Dick Young…
#10,
I don’t know. Mac might be able to answer that question. I can’t.
I’ve gotten along well enough with him.
We have an ongoing pattern of posting lame tidbits from his columns or over reactions in the comment section on our fantasy board for discussion, so I may be more sensitive to this stuff. But, his opening line about Glavine last week was a direct rip off from Bill Simmons Big Papi column, which, Simmons at least attributed to a line from the movie “Coctail”. Questionable as it may be for Simmons to reference a line in a terrible movie, its even worse that DOB rips off Simmons opener and calls it an “axiom”.
Last comment or DOB for now. Besides, I come here for most Braves analysis anyway.
I tend to agree. He’s one of the better beat writers but not the most mature or pleasant individual.
I’ve heard he’s a good guy, from a guy who used to work with him.
Yeah, he can be thin skinned with commenters. Honestly, though, considering the kind of people who haunt most blogs — present company excepted, of course — that’s somewhat understandable.
Hell, WE all know that most of the AJC commenters are stupid. It’s small wonder that DOB has scant patience for them, considering he has to live over there. Unfortunately, that means that he also has short patience with some ideas that are good. It’s awfully hard to do a 25-hour a day job and keep an open mind at the same time.
They can’t all be Joe Posnanski, sadly.
(That said, I would love his job, at least for a year or two, until I utterly burned out on the road schedule.)
Pirates bury ghost of ex-Brave Cabrera
What to make of this and the candle light vigil mourning the trading of McLouth?
#7,
I’m pretty sure he writes the titles for the blog. I could be off-base, though.
After you’ve written a few hundred blog titles, it gets hard to come up with anything original or clever.
Oh I agree that the blog is populated with idiots – christ the screen names will tell you that – I just don’t get why he’d bother to reply in such a peevish manner. Ignore the idjits and just say go braves. It works in his columns, apparently
As I think about it, an OF of McLouth, DeRosa, and someone else (hopefully Diaz) wouldn’t be bad. If no one will take Frenchy, we can let him and Anderson compete for who gets demoted or released when Infante comes back. The first guy to go, if we get DeRosa could be Norton. A better idea may be to demote / release both Frenchy and Anderson and give B. Jones a shot. Anderson could have some use as a pinch hitter, but his regular playing days should be over.
The problem now is that our starting pitching depth is sinking quickly given the trade of Morton, release of Glavine, Reyes typical horrible play/ injuries and Campillo’s injury problems. I don’t see too much that we can afford to give up for DeRosa – Canizares? Obviously $ are also a concern.
I very rarely read any entries on the AJC forums, so I’m not so attuned to what DOB fires back at the posters. I learned a long time ago that reading AJC foums can make me lose faith in humanity.
As an editor of a publication that has its own particular and sometimes peculiar audience, I can tell you that it’s not easy to deal with every goofball with access to the internet, a telephone or a postage stamp.
I understand why newspapers have these online forums, but if I’m the columnist/writer, I’d hate to have to deal with some of these loonies, too.
Raul Mondesi, 2005
OBP: .270
Slugging: .359
OPS: .630
Homeruns: 4
Extra-base hits: 12
Plate appearances: 155
Result: Released on May 31, 2005
Jeff Francoeur, 2009
OBP: .275
Slugging: .341
OPS: .616
Homeruns: 4
Extra-base hits: 11
Plate appearances: 230
I just don’t see DeRosa as a primary solution.
IF the Red Sox interest in an “unnamed Braves shortstop” was Infante, then it makes lots of sense to get DeRo to back up Chipper, and, meanwhile, play rihgt field against righthanded pitching.
Our problem is not so much what ot add, as committing on what to subtract and when. Right now with the guys we have it should work almost like last night. Anderson starts against righthanders. When he is unlikely to bat again, replaced dfensively by Diaz. Diaz plays left against lefthanders and right against righthanders. Francoeur plays right against left handersand comes in late to let Diaz cross over to take out Anderson.
Andres Thomas, 1988
OBP: .268
OPS: .628
Homeruns: 13
Extra-base hits: 37
Plate appearances: 627
Jeff Francoeur, 2008
OBP: .294
OPS: .653
Homeruns: 11
Extra-base hits: 47
Plate appearances: 652
And didn’t Cox come back as GM in 1987? Somebody decided to let Andres go. Was it Cox?
I don’t think quetionable pictures are enough to explain Frenchy’s hold on seemingly this entire organization.
Not a fan of DOB either, but I too like Lucinda Williams… so torn…
there is a stupid, stoopid man who makes the braves lineup:
1. McLouth
2. Escobar
3. Chipper
4. McCann
5. Anderson
6. Norton
7. Francoeur
8. Johnson
9. Jurrjens
DOB kind of annoys me with the music stuff, but it’s no big deal. I like reading his posts and his perspective on the Braves. However, as has been mentioned, I do my best to avoid reading most of the other posters. I made the mistake of reading some of the posts a few weeks ago and have to agree with ubbubba about almost losing faith in humanity.
What does Matt Diaz gotta do?
What a lineup! Given the way KJ has been hitting lately, the biggest threat from the 5 to 9 hitters has to be Jurrjens. Anderson, Norton and Francoeur hitting back to back to back is insane.
Diaz should march on Washington.
If Garrett is indeed to remain on this team, don’t you think his best role is that of left-handed pinch-hitter?
Prado, when healthy, can handle the backup 1B role or – better idea – start acclimating McCann to the task.
We in Washington are very sympathetic to Matt Diaz’s quest for PAs.
If Diaz does march on Washington, do you think he’d bring Josh Willingham back with him?
What about David Ross at first as back up (maybe as Kotchman’s right handed partner)? I know he is small sample size this year, but he has really hit the ball.
Hankonly,
I’ve kind of thought that about ACHE for awhile now. We know he’s horrible defensively, but as a primary pinch hitter, I think that there is some value.
Still definitely not worth 2.5 MM, but that’s a sunk cost now.
My guess is a House Resolution expressing the sense of congress that Matt Diaz deserves more PAs would pass by a 434-1 vote.
The one is a Mets’ fan.
Sigh. Bobby doesn’t read Braves Journal.
@29 Ok next put Omar Moreno’s numbers up against Benchy’s. LOL I’m sure that Mac has done it at some point in time and I’ve just forgotten. All Worst Braves Team. Andres is sure to be the short stop. Benchy is making a strong case for right field.
time to shake a little salt in those pirates wounds. preferably, in that patched eye.
so, we basically have no chance to score again for at least the next 5 batters. what a fun lineup!
Did anyone hear what happened to Morton? I wasn’t listening before when they were talking about why he was coming out of the game.
Edit – nevermind….stomach issues
Morton is a wuss.
JJ is having to throw a lot of pitches already. Looks like the bullpen will play a big role tonight…
that was a Francoeurian swing by McCutchen
edit–make that two of them
jurrjens is getting squeezed left to right. it looks like the strike zone is more up and down tonight.
Guess Morton got whatever bug the Mets had.
Looks like it’ll be a battle of the bullpens, with the Bucs getting a head-start.
Morton out of the game with a bad case of diarrhea.
wake me up when there’s 2 outs in the bottom of the 3rd.
That’s a tough pill for the Bucs. The bullpens have been abused over the past two days…
Good.
Tightness in his right hamstring…
JJ already at 60 pitches
Interesting article on the Braves from CBS Sports.
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/story/11837463
I was hoping for the good KJ today, but apparently not.
This Karstens guy has almost as many walks as Ks, and an ERA above 5. So, we’ll probably make him look like Christy Matthewson.
Our first two batters in the next inning have to make it to 3rd if we’re going to score. If that doesn’t happen we’ll have to wait until the 5th or 6th. Cox should be fired on the spot for voluntarily fielding a lineup like this.
Hmm. Maybe we shouldn’t have ACHE and Perm-a-stache behind Chipper and Brian.
I hate it when I’m right about the Braves’ ineptitude.
as of 7:25 tonight: the bottom 5 guys in tonight’s lineup have a .300 obp. or less. that is depressing.
edit: francoeur sucks.
If JJ can end up going six, I’ll be impressed.
WTF is wrong with KJ
jj hitting .25 pts higher than Norton
@ 64
He sucks.
Jurrjens has looked great after his 2 run 3rd. Unfortunately two runs looks like a dozen with this idiotic lineup. Maybe Cox is giving up after his 2000th win.
prediction: we win this game and all runs are produced and scored by the top 4 in the lineup.
111 pitches tonight for Jurrjens.
Top of the order coming up this inning, now is the time to start scoring some runs
He actually had a long 6th or JJ would have been through 6 comfortably.
in my softball league, we played with 8 last night. it was a huge defensive disadvantage, but all of our best hitters were there, leaving more ab’s for the sluggers.
can we play 6 players? here’s the setup: chipper at 3rd/short, yunel at rover or short field/2nd base, diaz in left center, mclouth at right center, pitcher covering first, and mccann catching. i’m pretty sure it would be better than the team that runs out there right now.
Wow Ryan, you are really going out on a limb with your prediction.
Jeff Karstens?
whats sad is Karstens only threw 44 pitches through his 1st 4 innings
That looked like a homer. Wow, so close.
Why on earth would they give McCann a pitch anywhere near the plate there?
Close, but its a double.
You can’t get much closer than that, but it looks like a double. I guess Anderson has a chance to single in a run, but that’s about it. Most likely we can forget about scoring again until the 8th.
Diaz may pinch-hit against the LOOGY if Bobby still has a brain.
Which he apparently doesn’t.
Good managing there Bob.
So, after the 1-2-3 in the seventh, we can either get Prado/Diaz as a pinch hitter then once last chance for the lineup in the eigth.
If Russell has a brain, he’d bring in Capps in the eigth
Shaky managing was putting Anderson out there to begin the game.
If Bobby had a brain, Garret wouldn’t even be on the roster.
Yunel with his head up his ass again.
Damnit Escobar.
Speaking of brainless …
I haven’t really followed what’s been said on here the last two days, but count me as one incredibly disappointed in the Braves’s draft. There seems to be poor value at each pick (relative to draft slot, of course).
Last year, I was excited. I saw a draft where we did better than expected in nearly every slot early and had a half dozen potential gems late. This is very sad.
My god I hate Yunel.
Did I really just see that happen?
Esco needs to sit a game for that.
seriously, Moylan with runners on?
Moylan in with 2 on? This could end badly…
Eh? Watching on gameday: “Adam LaRoche singles on a ground ball to 2nd?”
What did Yunel do to botch the play?
It’s not like Bobby has great options to pitch, here.
He’s got Medlen, who would have had enough to get one guy, I’d think.
Not good.
It was a slow groundball up the middle that KJ fielded and flipped to Escobar to attempt to get the force at 2nd. He was safe, Escobar put the ball in his pocket while the lead runner kept running and scored before Yunel realized it.
Medlen has been tabbed our 13th inning guy.
95 — Who pitched 3 innings on Tuesday.
I get home just in time to see a runner score from 2nd on an infield hit? Yunel is on that good stuff…
Remember how everyone was perplexed that the Braves were shopping Escobar last offseason?
Yeah. Good times.
Parish,
The ball was weakly hit up the middle deep behind the bag. KJ got to it and flipped to Escobar. Unfortunately, Escobar was about three feet away from the bag and he kind of turned to look at first as if he was surprised KJ got to the ball.
The runner on second never stopped and scored because Escobar had his thumb up his butt.
93,
KJ made a diving stop on a ball up the middle with runners at 1st and 2nd and flipped it to Yunel covering 2nd who put it in his pocket as there wasn’t a chance for a play. Meanwhile, a runner who started the play at 2nd rounded 3rd and headed for home and Yunel wasn’t paying attention. He finally realized and threw the ball about 8 feet up the first base line that got there about a second after the runner scored. It was a classic Yunel. I’m going to start calling him “paint chips” because I’m 100% convinced he eats paint chips between innings to stay dumb.
Norton needs to be DFA’ed
EDIT: So does Frenchy
EDIT: KJ doesn’t but he is really sucking right now
Called this @82, but it was the equivalent of predicting Greg Maddux will be a first ballot HOF’er
norton now at a cool .100 avg
“Bout time someone hangs a loss on him.” -Joe.
No one from the truck handed Joe any copy of the bottom half of the order’s averages tonight, I guess.
Francoeur sucks.
I see KJ and Francouer are racing towards the .230s.
Geez, this is why we need Yunel in the lineup.
How did Francoeur get out so quickly?
By the way, it looks like Greg Norton is this year’s Corky Miller.
Is KJ hurt? I don’t understand what the problem is with him.
Thanks to everyone who described the Yunel play to me…I guess.
How is Norton a major leaguer? Any one of us could do what he’s doing right now… which is diddly poo
Will mlb.tv refund my money because I’m a Braves fan?
Parish,
Francouer hit a weak ground ball to the 3rd baseman on the 1st pitch. I mean a weak one.
The Great Bob Walk:
“Craig Monroe made the Braves(Yunel) look silly”
Is Barbaro’s defense that bad? really?
yunel is in the lineup….
no offense tony, but your posts sometimes dont make much sense. maybe that’s purposeful. bottom 5 in the lineup 0-14. that’s pathetic. lets throw this trade at the cardinals: francoeur, kj, jo-jo, ganderson, and buddy carlyle for ryan ludwick. thats a steal for us.
Norton will be here the rest of the year, anyway, just like his evil minions Stenchy and ACHE.
I really think KJ and Francoeur are an incrimination of TP.
How can both of those guys continue to get progressively worse as hitters at the ML level? I would not say Schafer improved much in his time up with the big club.
It seems that heads should roll for this long time (3 years?) offensive slump and we should start with the hitting coach.
Also – The Mets are about to blow their lead, big time!
Where are all the KJ lovers now? I seem to remember a month ago me saying how god awful he is. He isn’t a major league starter, plain and simple. You can analyze his stats all you want, but the fact of the matter is that for every great game he has… he’ll have 10-15 more where he looks completely lost. It’s about time the braves move on from KJ because performance is not improving
Can’t we just take 4 automatic outs and not have Anderson, Norton, Francoeur and KJ bat? It wouldn’t do anything to change the game, except it would decrease the pitch count for the pitcher by 2 pitches per skipped at bat. It would also save about 10 total minutes, so it would be useful.
They just did a year by year feature of when the Pirates last day at or above .500 for the season was for the past decade.
June 11th was the latest for the whole decade. Unbelievable.
Maybe Bobby’s trying to prove a point to Wren with the 3 stooges in the lineup consecutively tonight.
Things I thought I’d never type on a blog.
1. Francouer is actually a bigger offensive threat than the two guys (Norton, KJ) surrounding him in the line-up.
2. We really need Casey Kotchman back!
3. A guy named Barbaro is our only chance to improve our offense, and the organization won’t let him play.
Tony – Naturally, I was joking. I have seen Frenchy do it a thousand times.
I am holding judgement though until he has a meaningful sample size.
Norton’s almost traipsing into Chris Woodward territory regarding his inexplicable place on the roster. But not quite. And Frenchy has them both beat.
here’s my shot at getting in the braves journal dictionary:
neutered: when braves get a few games above .500, they have no choice but lose.
Ryan C.
Before you comment on my comment ask questions before making an ass of yourself. If you read the comment, which you obviously didn’t. It’s states KJ and Francouer are headed towards the .230, that why we need Yunel in the lineup. Of course I know he is the lineup tonite, idiot.
I actually think Norton’s worse than Crapward.
119 – Jon K – Not that I disagree with you, but that KJ line could be used for a half dozen guys that have come up over the last several years. Guys who come up with talent and do worse than stagnate.
If it’s one guy, you replace him.
If it’s a bunch of guys, replace the hitting coach!
whoa….tony…sorry. just dont really dont understand your point, but i guess i’m supposed to. thanks for the personal insults though.
@128: At least Norton only goes into the lineup when two guys at one position go down. Woodward was actually playing regularly for a time, much to everyone’s frustration, as I recall.
Spectacularly meek display in the eighth. It’s as though they want to get home and to bed with the early start tomorrow.
I’m sure Bobby will find a way to trot out an even weaker lineup for getaway day. Probably will sit both Chipper and McCann.
ohh I do think TP needs to go. If donny baseball was the braves hitting coach I think frenchy would be batting .380 haha maybe not but I’m sure he would look better than he does
Ryan,
Wow. Here it is. Yunel just made a bonehead play, like he has done quite often this year….however KJ and Francouer aren’t hitting, so this is why we need Yunel in the lineup. Otherwise Yunel maybe should be benched for a game. So now read my comment again:
Tony Says:
I see KJ and Francouer are racing towards the .230s.
Geez, this is why we need Yunel in the lineup.
Got it?
@132
I am expecting historically bad:
CF- Blanco
2B- KJ
3B- Prado
LF- ACHE
RF- Out Machine
C- Ross
1B- Norton
SS- Diory Hernandez
I feel for Vasquez. He won’t have a chance.
@132: Day game after night, so definitely McCann sits. I do wonder when it’s time to start seeing if there’s a spot in the field he can play serviceably.
Jeff Bennett doing what he does.
Bases loaded for Bennett. Oy gevalt.
Take it easy guys
Nice play Frenchie
Our team defense is a horror show.
1. Francouer is actually a bigger offensive threat than the two guys (Norton, KJ) surrounding him in the line-up.
Johnson has sucked, but I fail to see how a second baseman with an OPS around 100 points higher than the everyday right fielder is worse.
I could have sworn Chip actually referred to ACHE as one-third of the Braves’ “toughest offensive trio.”
Chip is awful.
Damn. Chipper’s been flashing warning track power his last 4-5 at bats.
I’m used to hearing idiocy from Chip. So much so that I pretty much ignore everything he says. But I spit out my bacon at that — which sucks, because it was expensive, gourmet bacon.
Has anyone else noticed that the arrival of Chip Caray coincides with the worst Braves’ baseball of the last two decades?
Just sayin’.
ACHE is part of the most offensive trio–Stenchy and Norton are the other two thirds.
edit–naturally I type that comments seconds before the blind squirrel finds a nut
Garret?
You couldn’t have done that in the sixth, Garret?
Chip is still an idiot.
Well, that makes it a one run loss.
Way to go Garret…
@140 – I second that.
Of course, as we’re saying all this, ACHE hits one out. Don’t I look like the horse’s ass.
just bought him another month
now hitting .098
.098 – ouch. Is there a “mendoza line” equivalent for .100? If not – suggestions?
Back to .500.
Go get them tomorrow guys…probably with no McCann in the lineup. That will suck.
149 – But somewhere Chip is laughing at us.
tomorrows lineup with Mac out, just wait
KJ
Esco
McLouth
Chip
Anderson
Frenchy
Norton
Ross
Recapped.
Jeremy @101 – You’re an idiot. This team desperately needs Yunel. Yeah, he’s gonna make some “r-tardish” mistakes sometimes, but come on. He’s legit.
His mistake tonight was a screw up, but wasn’t as egregious as reported. He was looking to make a play at first, and it just happened that for whatever bizarre reason Monroe never stopped running. If yunel’s throw was online, he would have been gunned down. It was a stupid move on Monroe’s part that just happened to work out.