Over/under for rain delays in this series: 2 1/2.
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Over/under for rain delays in this series: 2 1/2.
Use code “Journal” for a 5% discount.
Their stats are identical this year, but Blanco has always been more of a pesky OBP type than Clevlen, and our bench needs one guy like that. Someone who can pinch hit to lead off an inning, or pinch run for one of our beer leaguers. He’s who I would have brought up in the first place.
He’ll have to earn back the name “Gregor Blanco”. After 2009, he’s firmly in the “Greg White” camp.
The lineup makes me feel like its time for another good, bad, and ugly.
At what point do we start getting serious concern for Yunel and see him drop to 8th in the order or platooning with Omar?
THE GOOD
Eric Hinske 1.127 OPS (.421 OB, .706slg)
Jason Heyward .989 OPS (.409 OB (6th in NL), .580 slg(5th in NL) 9th HRs)
Brian McCann .813 OPS (.386 OB, .427 slg)
Martin Prado .806 OPS (.363 OB, .408 slg (NL hit leader, 8th in 2Bs))
Troy Glaus .760 OPS (.353 OB, .408 slg)
Chipper Jones .756 OPS (.395 OB, .361 slg (2nd in NL in walks))
Omar Infante .755 OPS (.344 OB, .411 slg)
THE BAD
Nate McLouth .644 OPS (.316 OB, .328 slg)
David Ross .601 OPS (.366 OB, .235 slg)
THE UGLY
Melky Cabrera .570 OPS (.299 OB, .270 slg)
Yunel Escobar .497 OPS (.272 OB, .225 slg)
How are you going to platoon two righthanded hitters?
Play Yunel against fellow space cadets; play Omar against everyone else.
Or maybe play Yunel for our ground-ball pitchers and Omar for the others.
I’m thinking you start one guy and let him play 4.5 innings and let the other guy play 4.5.
I’m going to see the Braves and Rays at Turner next month. I hope Lowe doesn’t land on the game I go to.
We could wait to see how Yunel does, and then say whether or not he should have played. Is that a platoon?
I didn’t think that far. Honestly I wasn’t thinking left righty at all. Just giving Omar some of Yunel’s starts until he started hitting again.
Unless Yunel has completely checked out mentally, I gotta believe he’ll start hitting.
9—I think so, too, ububba. I just would’ve already expected it to happen, and Omar’s played so well (offensively) that it’s hard to be patient.
Trivia time –
what pitcher holds the highest single season ERA in major league baseball with a minimum of 60IP?
hint: he’s still in the majors and he’s a starter in our division
I mean I like Infante, and I’m glad he’s on the team, but that line is slightly above average (102 OPS+, 106 wRC+) and fueled by a rediculous .370 BABIP.
@11 – nice one. It’s especially crazy if you look at the years before and after that one.
Unless Yunel has completely checked out mentally, I gotta believe he’ll start hitting.
The moneyline in Vegas for Yunel completely checking out mentally is currently at -1000.
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/phillies_zone/Five_Phillies_lead_early_All-Star_voting.html#axzz0oyNhAUrN
Heyward currently 6th among OFs
Time for the regularly scheduled wet blanketing by the Fish. I look for Cody Ross (who becomes Albert Pujols of the East Coast vs the Braves) to hit 4 homers and have 12 RBI through the series. And we’ll probably make Ricky Nolasco look like Greg Maddux with a fastball. He’ll 3 hit the Braves in his start.
And if the Braves manage to win one of the first two games, let’s look for the Bobby Cox Special: a rubber game started by AA players at the 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 holes.
(just getting it all out pre-emptively)
I mean I like Infante, and I’m glad he’s on the team, but that line is slightly above average (102 OPS+, 106 wRC+) and fueled by a rediculous .370 BABIP.
Yeah, I know. Still, it beats .180/.272/.225, doesn’t it?
At least Braves-killer Miguel Olivo is no longer with the Fish. Damn he’d become Johnny Bench each series vs the Braves.
MLB Trade Rumors on Chris Resop.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2010/05/chris-resops-future.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MlbTradeRumors+%28MLB+Trade+Rumors%29
It would be awesome if we could trade him and get someone of value in return. I don’t see him as more than a 2 or 3 game starter for the Braves.
answer: Roy Halladay 10.40ERA in 2000
Give Lowe time.
Jason Heyward is a better baseball player than Matt Holliday, right now. Let’s get on this, Braves fans.
Fangraphs: “We’re in the midst of watching one of the great rookie seasons of all time.”
@14
I was at the three game series in Pittsburgh and I am convinced that Mr. Escobar is just not with the program at all. He’s gone. This is sad in that he possesses so much talent.
I will never understand why McCann doesn’t get All-Star votes. If I’m building a roster for one game, and I can take any NL players I want, I can’t imagine choosing any catcher in the National League over McCann. I don’t think it’s really close, either.
Heck, in all of baseball, would you pick anyone after Mauer besides McCann?
I just don’t get it. What’s the record for number of All-Star games played without starting?
Reading the Steinbrenner bio, and we dodged a bullet… At least twice (once in 1974, and again in 1977) Big Stein considered hiring Bobby (the Yankees’ AAA manager) as the big league skipper, but Gabe Paul convinced him Bobby “wasn’t ready”. He surely would have been fired by 1978 (when the Braves hired him the first time) if he’d gotten the job in 1974, but if it had been 1977, he wouldn’t have been available for the Braves to hire.
Maybe Resop can be a homeless man’s Braden Looper: a crappy reliever with a big fastball turned into a mediocre-to-crappy starter who can survive as a #5 for a year or two.
at this point I think its easily Mauer then McCann, but Wieters is a close #3 IMO.
He said “National League”.
I added the “in all of baseball” line in there, which is what csg was addressing.
But, yeah, even the number of people with a hard on for Weiters doesn’t explain McCann’s consistently low vote totals.
Funny note:
Pat Burrell, who was fired for poor performance, is 4th in All-Star voting.
Brian McCann is also 4th in All-Star voting.
where does Melky stand in the voting?
I feel like the Braves have the anti-vibe going against them like the Yankees do, only they don’t have the massive support that the Yankees do. So, you see All-Star-vote ridiculousness with respect to their players.
You’re right: There’s no good reason why McCann should struggle to get votes every year.
Melky is not on the ballot.
By the way, I refuse to participate in the “Who had the best two first months of the season” voting philosophy. I vote for who I want to see play in the All-Star Game. I think I wrote in Ozzie Smith’s name for the first two seasons after he retired.
30,
He’s with the wrong team, simple as that.
It would be awesome if a retired player came back for the All-Star game. My new ballot:
NL Outfield –
Heyward, Jason
Braun, Ryan
Bonds, Barry
They laughed when I said “trade Escobar – play Infante”. They’re not laughing now. Ha ha! (Well, they’re not laughing quite as loud, anyway.)
Escobar for Roy Oswalt?
Escobar, Melky and Gregor Blanco for Roy Oswalt?
Escobar, Melky, and Gregor Blanco for Roy Oswalt and $15 million. It’s an offer Ed Wade can’t refuse.
If we’re spending Oswalt-money, we ought to be able to find a lefty-mashing LF, which is a much bigger need.
Sheesh, Chipper, just strike out.
Amen, Mac.
But strike outs are bad! Put the ball in play and good things will happen.
Hey! A Prado!
Nice “crisp” start to this game. Wake up guys, there’s a game tonight.
that was the utter definition of a prado. only on a prado could a run score from 2nd on an infield single.
That is the first thing Yunel has accomplished in a week.
I cannot WAIT until Yunel Escobar starts hitting.
Runners first and second, nobody out, the #2 hitter up. Bunt situation! Oh, wait…
Time to get some All-Star votes.
Ha! Eat it, All-Star voters.
Thank the almighty.
Nice hitting, BMac!
There you go, B-Mac.
Chipper scored from first on a 2-out double. The end is nigh.
Peter, that’s a triple if the batter has any speed. The outfielders were hardly even in the picture when the ball got to the wall.
Watching a Braves broadcast done by Chip Caray should be a drinking game. Some rules to get us started:
Drink every time something gets “fisted”.
Drink every time Chip says something that’s factually untrue. (eg, “And the Braves retake the lead!” even though the Braves have never lead until that point)
Drink every time Chip fools into thinking there’s a HR by getting really really excited over a fly ball.
Any others?
CB Bucknor historically has a strikezone not unlike a Salvador Dali.
Well, that lead didn’t last long.
I can’t believe people still mock Joe Morgan with Chip Caray now broadcasting most days of the baseball season.
At least Morgan’s very voice doesn’t annoy.
56 — Barreled.
The Marlins announcers just, literally, went through both teams starting lineups, and declared that Heyward and McCann are the only guys who would start on their club.
Maybin really got a hold of that one. I think he put his soul into it.
Well, Hinske’s obviously outhit Coghlan, as have most people. If you had Prado on the Marlins, he’d play somewhere.
@56 Any hard hit ball.
With all of those, I’m convinced one would have major alcohol poisoning by the fourth inning.
@56- I know that game is about Chip, but can we throw in when Joe calls a bloop a “little Ric Flair”?
55,
Ah. Thanks, didn’t see it. Good to know, now I don’t have to build a bomb shelter.
My liver just resigned from my body thinking about this drinking game.
56,
Every time Chip imitates his dad finish your drink.
What does it say about me if I like the “Ric Flair”‘s?
Just be glad you aren’t in Florida and subject to their guys due to black out restrictions.
After spending a half-inning explaining that the Marlins are better at 6 out of 8 positions, they spent the next half boo-hoo’ing the White Sox hitting Carrol this weekend. They even got their Roving-Reporter guy in on it, so they could get a REALLY good round of ‘And another thing,’ and ‘You know what else.’
Buckner’s all over that high off-speed ball strike tonight.
Yeah, that one that starts high and ends high?
He also loves that running fast ball that starts inside and ends inside.
And that sinker that starts low and ends even lower.
How does Maybin always look so good against us, and so lousy against everyone else?
@70 A roving-reporter in Miami has to work pretty hard. He’s got to cover a lot of ground to actually find some fans to talk to.
KK has the full “hands over head” windup going.
I thought he had shortened it
He’s also taking the ball out of his glove earlier on some pitches than others.
Not sure if he’s doing this on a particular pitch, which might lead to a tip, or if he’s not repeating his delivery well.
But I saw two specific times that he pulled the ball out earlier, and the pitch was yanked in to the left hand batters box.
KK technically gets a quality start out of this, illustarting the uselessness of that stat.
I don’t think you can blame this one on KK. He’s had two hard hit balls, and both turned in to runs. That single, single, bunt, ground out, strikeout inning can happen.
And can you argue that he hasn’t given his team a chance to win?
KK pitched pretty decent again tonight. If he gives this kind of effort most of the time he’ll give us a good chance to win, which is really all we need from him. I actually feel better with KK than Lowe, and it’s not even close.
Well, 3 ER in 6 innings isn’t very good, you have to admit.
And thanks, Bobby. I was worried that we might take KK off the hook.
Keep proving me wrong, guys. Please?
It’s just fine for a #4 starter. I’ll take that from the back of my rotation.
By the way, it’s decided: Smelky is officially a PH. He should never start again.
3 ER in 6 IP for KK is fine for a 4th starter. He had 0 ER in 6 IP in his last start, so it’s encouraging. He started slow last year too. I’m not expecting KK to be lights out, just to keep us in the game. That is his measuring stick.
If we’re going to trade with Ed Wade, it should be Jesse Chavez, Jo-Jo Reyes, and Craig Kimbrel. The man’s hard-on for middle relievers is unparalleled.
Bucknor’d again. Gameday didn’t like strike three any more than I did.
Gonna have to be Heyward.
Heyward has struggled tonight. I think it’s because a large portion of his game is based on a strategy of ‘swinging at strikes.’ This makes at bat’s against an umpire like Bucknor very difficult, as those are guys who are likely to come with anything.
Kinda like what Medlen said about facing Francoeur.
It wasn’t even close.
Seriously? people are still turning Chipper around right-handed?
Two sips when Chip reads the graphic to us.
I miss Chipper Jones.
Ah, damn it. He hit that one hard. I can’t blame Chipper… though I do blame Bucknor for ringing up Prado.
Then again, he gave McLouth a walk after Sanchez had clearly struck him out.
89 — Agreed.
Chipper has fallen completely off a cliff.
But he fell last year. He just hasn’t hit bottom yet, but he’s close.
Close pitch on Prado? ok sure, but it was a poor AB for him. He was overly aggressive early in the count, and then he didn’t protect the plate on a close pitch.
Tough luck Chipper.
Oh, Yunel… I had such high hopes for you this year.
He is so tough to like.
I’ll state it again this team cannot and will not make the playoffs with chipper jones batting 3rd everyday
If Chipper hits bottom, Yunel’s body will be there to break his fall.
Chipper hit that ball hard. That’s a ball you hit .900 on, it just happened to be right at the third baseman.
Bucknor has no idea what he’s doing out there.
Abd Chipper did not hit that ball hard. It was a soft liner he got out in front of. That swing doesn’t produce anything close to a .900 average.
Where is the big kid shortstop we signed now? Is he still in Florida? I would like to see him play in a real game or two.
6IP 3ER 0BB from your starter isnt awful…2 runs from your offense is however
and no Chipper didnt hit it hard, he was way out in front on a pitch that probably wasnt a strike
Mac has a heterosexual crush on old man has been chipper.
PSU is dominate.
Looked to me like Chipper got a good swing on a tough slider. I was excited when I saw it come off the bat.
thats because Chip crapped on himself
Yunel is so awful right now.
2-2 slider bearing inside…I though Chipper handled it pretty well and hit it reasonably hard. Seems like we’re all splitting hairs though. The bottom line is no one is delivering with RISP the last few games.
we need Bryan Pena back, for Yunel’s sake
How is it that the entire offense for this team is either hot at one time or cold at one time? With the exceptions of Yunel (who’s sucked all season), Heyward (the Baseball Jesus) and Hinske (who’s generally been really good), it’s like everybody heats up at once and the team dominates for a week or so. Then they all get cold and all of a sudden we stop scoring runs. Very tough to watch a lot of the time.
guess we are trying to see Chavez some more before we have to make the Resop decision….that just sounds wrong
Yunel is a basketcase moron. I’m really starting to question if this guy has it upstairs to be a great long term answer at SS
If he could throw a pitch like that last pitch to Ramirez consistently, he could be a closer.
Enough Chavez already, jesus.
good night, hope hanson shows up tomorrow
Jesse Chavez in a one-run game…great, Bobby.
CODY F’IN ROSS.
Resop could do that.
Does this mean we get Resop?
That’ll do it.
Who didn’t see that one coming?
Jesus, Cox is an absolute moron. What the hell was he waiting for? Jesus, I can’t wait for him to just freaking retire already.
Reason #900 why you don’t give away the Sunday game in Pittsburgh. Now they are on the brink of a losing streak. Nice work Bobby.
Tiger 224 called it earlier @16…our man Cody Ross at it again.
Why leave him in there? Mystical Bobby strikes again.
Whatever happened to 4Seam?
Send Chavez back to St. Petersburg while we’re down here.
Wow, Prado with the brain fart.
CB Bucknor is still terrible. Gameday has all three pitches to Helms as strikes. And the count is 2-1.
I hate Cody effin Ross…and I hate the Fish more than the Mets.
And Chipper is killing us in the 3 hole (yeah, I know he hit the last one hard)…but damn!
Don Sutton is terrible at play-by-play…he should stick to color.
I listened on the radio on my way home from work for at least 20 minutes, and he never once told me the score, and never told me how Gregor Blanco was suddenly on the 25 man roster.
Then again, maybe he thought it was best if I didn’t know considering the circumstances.
Marlins have always owned us in Miami, even when we had good teams.
Also, building a new stadium won’t get people in Miami to care about baseball.
This is why you don’t give away three runs in the bottom of the 8th, Bobby.
My God. Is there a human being you’d rather see up in the 9th inning?
J Hey!
Never thought I’d dread watching Chipper bat. Yuck.
Jesse Chavez can get work, but there is not enough work for Kimbrel.
I don’t get that.
I also miss the real Chipper Jones. The corpse that we have playing 3rd is kind of sad.
Yeah… Chavez should have been yanked after the Ramirez K, or the Cantu single after that. Oh well.
Enjoy it, Marlins. We’re only in town for 3 games.
at least the top of the lineup is good
I hate Jesse Chavez…..
I feel bad for Kenshin. I know he hasnt been great, but dude knows if he gives up 1 run there is a great chance he’ll get the loss
Bobby needs to lose the nostalgia and move Chipper out of the three hole. A sub .350 slugging ain’t gonna get it done from that spot.
No way…this is the same Bobby Cox that ran Frenchy out to RF day in and day out.
Goodness, Bobby would be starting Chipper in the 3 hole with two broke legs.
There’s no reason Chipper should have been standing on first base there. Conrad was already in the game in case we tied it. Especially with a shift on, where infielders are all out of position, what if Brian had gone the other way with one, and they could go the easy way and get Chipper at second?
Obviously, that didn’t happen, but that’s just laziness. How can you not do everything you can to give yourself the best shot? We always do that kind of stuff when we’re losing late.
It honestly looked like Bobby tried to lose the game tonight. I don’t usually like to bash the manager, players win and lose games, but it is hard to understand what Cox was doing with the bullpen.
Yeah leaving Chavez in for a second inning was pretty foolish.
Rant/recap is up.