Washington Nationals vs. Atlanta Braves – Box Score – June 30, 2010 – ESPN.
Jair Jurrjens returned, and got the win. He also showed some very good signs for the remainder of the season, and was in the middle of the key offensive inning of the game.
The Braves got a run in the first, no thanks to Melky, who popped up immediately after Prado’s leadoff double. Chipper’s long flyout instead of scoring a run did nothing, but McCann picked the team up with a double over Willingham’s head to make it 1-0. Unfortunately, the Braves couldn’t capitalize after loading the bases on walks, as Yunel popped up on an inside pitch that would have run the count to 2-0.
They didn’t really challenge in the next two innings, but in the fourth Hinske singled, followed after Yunel’s second popup by Blanco singling. Instead of bunting, Bobby let Jurrjens swing away, and it worked beautifully, driving in Hinske and moving Blanco to third with a single to left. Prado drove Gregor in with a sac fly, 3-0.
Jurrjens had been more or less cruising, but got in trouble in the fifth with two singles and a walk to load the bases with two out, but got a groundout to get out of that. In the sixth, he loaded the bases again, this time with nobody out, and Bobby went to Moylan, who got a GIDP to score one run but neutralize most of the threat, then after a walk a strikeout to end the inning, and for all intents and purposes the game.
Venters allowed a one-out bunt single, but got a double play to end the seventh. The Braves got a run in the bottom of the inning through a bases-loaded walk by Hinske, only to see Yunel leave the bases loaded again, this time on a strikeout. (The pitch was inside, but what the hell.) Saito had two strikeouts and a popup, and after allowing a leadoff single, Wagner struck out the side in the ninth for #401.
Speaking of strikeouts, Jurrjens had six, all in the first four innings; like I said, he was cruising. It’s good to see. After that, he was not sharp, but it’s hardly surprising, as he’s basically in spring training condition right now.
Good signs for the future: Jair Jurrjens, Takashi Saito, and Billy Wagner all pitched very well tonight, after all returning from injuries in the past two weeks. We need them all for the long haul.
One of my friends wants to bring his vuvuzela to Braves games. I swear to God if he takes it I am never going to another game with him ever.
@2, I hope you stand by that promise.
Just bought a vuvuzela as a gag gift to a friend, who has been on a two week long rant about them. So that’s one vuvuzela out of commission. Just doing my part….
Just wondering, but why did Bobby put Infante in LF instead of Diaz late in the game?
Good googly moogly…I’m not sure of the last Brave on a torrid hit pace like Prado has been this year.
Anyone else?
First place…and we are through the damned month of June. Holy bobby cox rocks!
Probably the only Atlanta Brave to sustain a hit pace like this is Ralph Garr in 1974. Only six Atlanta Braves have ever had a 200-hit season:
1 Ralph Garr 1971 219
2 Felipe Alou 1966 218
3 Ralph Garr 1974 214 (143 G)
4 Felipe Alou 1968 210
5 Marquis Grissom 1996 207
6 Ralph Garr 1973 200
Prado is on pace for 229, which would also be a “modern” franchise record. That’s currently held by Tommy Holmes with 224 in 1945; Hugh Duffy had 234 in 1894, when the entire league hit .309, and Martin has a shot at that if he keeps this up.
@5 Maybe Infante needs some inning, ha.
Does anyone remember the last time the Braves had consecutive winning months? It’s been a while I bet.
Welcome back JJ. Let’s fix Hanson’s whatever problem and we are all set.
I really like the way JJ attacked inside part of the plate. I think most Braves pitchers are too away happy (except Wag).
I didn’t realize this is JJ’s first win. Geez, he sucks and he is worse than KK. Why can’t they learn from THE WINNER?
@9 Not so. The Braves had consecutive winnings months in July (16-11), August (17-11), and September (17-10) of 2009.
Got to hear ESPN announcers talk Braves in the bottom of the 8th of this Mets – Fish game.
The Prado is the “silent leader.”
Maybe, this game can go on another hour.
@12
Wow, that really pinpoints how bad we were the early part of last year. Good riddance, Frenchy!
Here come Josh Johnson, Anibal and Nolasco.
Let’s go Braves.
Those Annoying Marlins.
@14 Yes, I do blame the last four seasons on Frenchy.
has anyone really taken a gander at san diego’s roster? how are they so good? tonight, they scored 13 runs on 2 doubles, 12 singles and 8 walks, and adrian gonzalez wasnt playing. on paper, this is not a 46-32 team. seriously, they have on guy ops’ing over .800 (a-gon at .931) and everyone else is .756 or below. it doesnt make sense.
http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/stats/sortable_player_stats.jsp?c_id=sd
They pitch like crazy.
bottom of the 9th in marlins/mets game, runners on 1st and 2nd with one out and mike stanton is up. stanton grounds into a force out. 2 outs, runners on 1st and 3rd.
how’s their team defense? sounds like a team that just plays well together. that and they have some ridiculous pitching
we should make an “all-douchebag team” list. where would they play and who’d be on it?
1b- mark teixeira
ss- yunel escobar
3b- a-rod
closer- k-rod
starting pitcher- zambrano
by the way, the mets won.
well it may just be me hating the Mets but Reyes is higher than Yunel, IMO
c – pierzynski
1B – teixeira
2B – Barmes
SS – Jose Reyes
3B – Arod
LF – Alfonso Soriano
CF – BJ Upton
RF – Jeff Francoeur
SP – Ted Lilly/Carlos Zambrano
RP – Krod/Valverde
BP’s Bill Pecota adjusted playoff odds put the Braves at 69% now and after JJ’s performance tonight, I’m more confident about the playoff odds, and I’m certainly more confident about this team making noise if it gets in. He certainly pitched a lot better than I expected coming out of the gate. Hopefully Tommy can get back on track against the Fish.
I can’t believe all this excitement about free agency starting tomorrow. I mean we all know Kovalchuk is overrated and the goaltending market isn’t very deep. What’s that, something about this LeBron guy ? Oh, everybody isn’t talking about NHL free agency starting tomorrow ?
Yes, the reason that the Padres are good is pitching, pitching, pitching. Jon Garland has been flukish, but Mat Latos is the real deal and then some, and they have probably the best bullpen in baseball — Mike Adams, Luke Gregerson, and Heath Bell are basically automatic, so if they get a lead it’s a 6-inning ballgame.
Of course, they can’t hit worth a damn, so if you put up a crooked number on the board they aren’t impossible to beat.
funny, jake peavy wanted out because they couldnt win
#25 – true, but if they score and get the lead they are hard to catch
I was just thinking earlier today how the Braves would look if the Peavy trade would have went through and Furcal would have signed. Thank goodness neither of those things happened, but I was thinking, if Furcal would have signed, what would have happened to the previously named Slugging Martin Prado ?
How is Hanley Ramirez not All-World Douchebag?
Can’t have an all-DBag team without Brett Myers.
Blob Thickman should come out of retirement to join the D-Bag All Stars. Manny has certainly earned a spot as well.
@7
Andruw did have that 199 hit season which I tend to round up to 200.
Andruw had 729 plate appearances that season. He gets no rounding from me.
Yeah, I grabbed Latos in the final round of my fantasy draft and he’s been amazing for me.
@33 Latos is a real deal. How on earth he lasted until the final round?
Smelky is now sporting an OPS of .652 and weighs at least 225 while being under 6′.
I know this makes Alex R. happy
@34 What he doesn’t tell you is that it’s a two team league.
this is a quote from a talkingchop blogger concerning michael dunn. apparently wren, dunn, and dunn’s agent had an altercation but the validity of the story is in question (a friend of a friend kinda thing). here it is:
“The story went something like…..Dunn and his agent were brought in to talk about a trade to KC that apparently fell through. The conversation got heated. Wren told the pair that Dunn would “rot in AAA” as long as he was with the Braves organization.”
anyone know if this actually happened?
medlen keeps moving up on my list of favorite braves. he’s such a unique individual.
http://tinyurl.com/2dg42kj
Mark Teixeira is one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. How in the hell is he on the douchebag list?
maybe because i’m judging him by his mannerisms on tv, OK?!!!! just kidding…i dont know him personally, but he seems very douchy. i could be way off…
just found a stat that’s pretty funny for all of us that are fully aware of kj’s streakines. this is from yahoo: “Johnson is hitting just .194 with three RBI over his last 15 games. His home run pace has also trailed off dramatically, with just one long ball since May 19.”
Playing for the Yankees adds douchebag points.
@39,
Because apparently Tim Hudson made some comment to that effect.
@12,
Thanks. I had forgotten how well the Braves played last year post-Frenchy.
The Braves are in the midst of facing some very good pitching but they need to get the offense going again–scored 30 runs in the last nine games. I wish the Braves never had to play the Marlins.
He had the audacity to search for the highest paying contract available in his field rather than accept below market wage to play for our favorites.
@43
sam, once again your judgments on someone’s comments are wrong. what’s your address so i can buy you a “jump to conclusions” doormat?
just watching him from the big screen, he always looks whiny and it drives me nuts. playing for the yankees does add to his overall douchiness.
Yeah, I got Latos in the last round of my fantasy draft too. He’s been stellar. The big thing with him is injury risk — he’s been a bit fragile over the course of his professional career, and he didn’t pitch a lot of innings last year so they’ll probably need to shut him down eventually. But he has an amazing arm. I remember one game he pitched against us where he totally shut us down, and I guess I had a Steinbrenner sense ever since then that I wanted him on my team.
Also, like Marc said, that Tim Hudson story. The funniest story ever told on this blog. (I wanna say it was Hiawatha Terrell Wade who told it — is that right?)
@37: I don’t buy that a bit. Dunn has no clause in his contract that would require his consent for a trade.
The Dunn thing originated here at MLBTR.
Medlen has attention-deficit disorder? Seems like everybody has it this day. Is it just an excuse for not paying attention?
The Dunn thing sounds a little bizarre. Why would a GM piss of a player like that? Why would he even entertain a meeting with a minor league player and his agent?
Sounds like a load of C***.
Oh. I guess in that case I’ll just withdraw my point. Because no one could possibly question your mystical “just watching him from the big screen” psychological evaluation skills, I’m sure.
Did you think he was annoying when he was in Atlanta?
This is funny:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703426004575339013108198050.html
Teixeira shaves immediately prior to every game. I therefore deem him insufferable.
Does he really? Why would you maximize your daily discomfort like that?
Another off-day in first place.
As mentioned, we do see some tough arms over the Independence Day weekend, including 2 of this week’s 3 SI cover boys—Josh Johnson and Roy Halladay. (We’ve had enough of Ubaldo, thanks.)
SI Jinx, anyone?
@52 Wow, I wish I have that!!! And it’s Steve Phillips again!!! Man, I love Philips and Ed Wade to death.
Francoeur is the Mets’ Player’s Rep?
@52, Only the Mets…. Very funny article.
@51
absolutely, just like i think yunel is annoying right now. here’s your link just in case you’ve been looking.
http://tinyurl.com/ydc7y6r
i have ADD. i’m 31 and was diagnosed with it when i was 8 (when it was not diagnosed to every other kid). i’ve debated meds for years because it really can get frustrating, but i’ve never taken them. however, it has helped my professional career because every year i get the inclusion class (i’m a 4th grade school teacher) with about 7-8 kids diagnosed with ADD, ADHD, or Asberger’s. teaching them how to cope without meds is pretty cool.
Yeah good grief, why would you shave right before playing in 100 degree weather. Maybe the Yanks require that, I know they have the no facial hair rule or whatever. He’s a douche for what he looks/sounds like on TV. He may be a nice guy though
Did you think he was annoying when he was in Atlanta?
I was pretty annoyed when he steadfastly refused to hit for all of April.
Just looked at the Braves’ schedule in July: pretty damn tough. Hope July is not the new June.
Replacing Kenshin Kawakami with Jair Jurrens is like the best trade Frank Wren could ever make. The Mets just lost Reyes, the Phillies just lost Polanco and Utley, and we just gained JJ. Let’s put a little daylight between us and them.
It’s amazing how tone deaf the players are to things like Bonilla’s contract, especially in the midst of a recession. I understand this is business and so forth–and it’s certainly no worse than the golden parachutes these CEOs get after running their companies into the ground–but getting money for nothing doesn’t seem to bother them. In Francouer’s case, he’s getting money for nothing even while playing.
Re Teixera–the only reason I have to think he’s a douche is the comment Hudson apparently made. I mean, he doesn’t have a fat face like Melky.
ryan c,
We know someone whose son has Asberger’s. He has had a lot of problems. You are doing good work.
What’s this comment about Teixeira that Hudson made?
It’s just the sports fan part of my brain that’s calling him insufferable. I find it cathartic to indulge in petty judgments in meaningless situations.
oh, that’s quick. Seems like Hawks will offer Joe the max contract and Joe will accept it. I don’t like it, but I can understand the Hawks simply have no choice.
Origin.
67—The Hawks have a choice! They can not do the very thing they’re doing!
65—As I recall, somebody here was at a bar with one of Hudson’s college buddies. Teixeira hit a homer or two, and the guy texted Hudson something like: “Teixeira!” Hudson responded with: “Still a douche.”
64—Getting money for nothing? The contract was negotiated and signed by both parties. No fraud. I don’t really get why Bonilla should be ashamed.
“67—The Hawks have a choice! They can not do the very thing they’re doing!”
Yes yes yes. Read hoopopinion for the disastrous financial impact this will have on the Hawks. http://www.hoopinionblog.com/2010/06/unsolicited-advice-to-go-unheeded.html
In basketball terms, they’ll lose in the 1st or 2nd round of the playoffs for two, maybe three years, and then become this past season’s 76ers for the duration of this awful contract. There is absolutely no way, financially speaking, the Hawks can field a championship roster now, even with Horford and Smith on the team for the foreseeable future and (eventually) a new ownership group in place. Thank goodness I have the Braves.
Guys, good news. According to ESPN’s Trade Machine, the Hawks can trade Williams, Bibby, and Joe Smith for Carmelo Anthony!
Bobby Bo was asked to defer his salary in exchange for future considerations. In effect, he made the Mets a multimillion dollar loan with no payments or interest due for years. I can’t for the life of me figure out how anyone could see this as money for nothing. As every consumer knows, no upfront payment/interest arrangements get seriously expensive when payments are made over extended periods of time – and in this case it’s been nearly 15 years of credit that is getting repaid.
I hope that what the Hawks are doing is manuevering to get the Knicks #1 pick (or David Lee).
The Knicks are going to need to add someone (ANYONE!) after they strike out on LeBrick, Bosh, Wade, Amare, me, Stu, etc.
And the Hawks traded for someone whose game looks a whole lot like Joe’s. And we have Jamal.
Of all people, Mike Gearon should remember what the big Koncak contract did to the Hawks. Surely, he won’t make that mistake again.
You write well, Mac. It’s always a pleasure to read your recaps.
@69 I understand Stu, but that’s not how the Hawks think. Seems like they are thinking very short term, and who can blame them? The team is working on a very fragile fan base, and every season is very important. Maybe they have a grand plan in place, but who know?
Max contract for Iso-Joe…my goodness…
I can and do blame them. It’s a stupid move.
A) the ADD thing is more common in MLB right now than would be expected and there is always some speculation that it relates to how the meds for ADD have a similar chemical basis to coke (and can have similar effects to taking speed)… interesting to see Medlen specifically opting to not take the Meds.
B) anybody else watch this cool video on Mariano Rivera? http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/06/29/magazine/rivera-pitches.html?ref=magazine
C)That Bobby Bo contract is brilliant. I’d think more agents would work toward contracts of that nature that ensure a better financial situation for their guys long-run. I have a suspicion that a fair number of guys end up with their last big pay day and then a couple years later have to totally re-think how they live their lives. That contract is like a built-in retirement plan for the guy.
I think Bonilla should at least have been slightly embarrassed for having been absolutely terrible with the Mets — but, hell, they’re the ones who decided to pay him all that money, and then pay it forward into the great blue yonder. They owe him the money, so they have to pay it. Still, my goodness, what a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad contract.
@78, sure – but in many cases it’s payback for value already received. Nobody is going to give Jurrjens the extra 10m or so he would have gotten as an FA for posting last years season. Bobby, for good or ill, hit like a terror from 88 – 95. He was a damn good player for a good period of timeand was paid pretty inexpensively even for the time for a good part of it. Heck he LOST arb hearings to the Pirates twice. He earned that contract, IMO, as he’d posted full season OPS+s of 151, 114 and 125 in the three prior years.
So how concerned should we be about Vizcaino’s elbow injury?
well I dont like hearing partial tear but no surgery required.
Kevin Goldstein lists Julio Teheran as the third-best prospect in the minors right now.
I’m just scared it might be one of those situations where they try rest- rehab- oops, rehabbed to early- rest again- rehab- surgery 6 months late.
What can you do? They are pitching prospects – fragile as a faberge egg and just as precious
its like a spraigned ankle but worse. Some say its better to break it and get it fixed correctly
What I find interesting about the Hawks’ win-enough-now-at-least strategy is that, as far as I can tell, the fanbase isn’t really all that love with Joe anyway. The reception for Joe in the last game of the Orlando series was…unfortunate, to put it mildly.
So yeah. I will enjoy my two-and-dones for the next couple of years, and watch as Old Joe torpedoes the Hawks’ offense into endless 24-second series of useless headfakes and general walking around. Couple with that and Josh Smith’s ever-present calmness and you’ve got Good Eats!
85- I almost agree. There’s very little doubt in my mind that he’ll need Tommy John at some point now.
82,
Nice. I’m still not buying all this Mike Trout hype. .416 BABIP, ISO < .175, BB% < 12. I know he's an 18 year old in the Midwest league. Still not buying that he's a better than Jennings. Their ceiling is about the same and Jennings is a finished product.
John Sickels writes that he’d probably prefer to just shut Vizcaino down for the rest of the year, and I’d be fine with that. He’s years away from the big leagues, and I don’t mind babying his arm. It’s an arm worth babying.
the ADD thing is more common in MLB right now than would be expected
Isn’t that just so they can get PEDs prescribed for themselves?
http://www.slate.com/id/2208429
We’ve got three relievers putting up pretty solid numbers down at Gwinnett this year.
Stephen Marek 21 games 1-0, 1.29 ERA, 4 saves 9BB, 21 SO.
Micheal Dunn 28 games 2-0, .7 era, 6 saves, 16BB, 52 SO.
Craig Kimbrel 20 games 1-0, 1.04 era, 9 saves, 11BB, 40 SO.
Plus Vladimir Nunez is doing okay. Don’t expect him to do much at the major league level but could probably do what the lisp does. (18 games, 2.08 era, 12BB, 24 SO).
Could gives us some depth for a minor trade involving one of our bullpen arms.
LOLDAMONEVANS
So CBSsports.com just put out a list of the most overrated players in baseball right now:
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/playerrankings?tag=coverlist_active;coverlist_footer
The highlights:
Jeff Francoeur is listed as the seventh-most overrated field player, and the explanation says: “Is he the Bruce Springsteen of making outs? The Muhammad Ali? The Marie Curie? His effect on a batting order’s middle regions is not dissimilar to that of a piranha on a pool party.”
Derek Lowe is listed as the ninth-most overrated pitcher, and his write-up says: “He’s a reliably reliable provider of reliability, you say? Forgive me for distinguishing between ‘reliably good’ and ‘reliably average.'”
Also, while I’m at it, I really don’t understand the defeatist attitude when it comes to the Hawks and Joe Johnson. I think pretty much everyone agrees that he’s not worth max money. So why is re-signing him our only choice? Why can’t Rick Sund (the GM) come up with…you know…an idea of some sort? This whole “he’s not worth it, but what can we do…woe is us” thing is ridiculous. If he’s not worth it and it will hamstring the club for years to come (or at best get us to Eastern Conference semifinal elimination every year for the foreseeable future), don’t freaking do it! I really don’t see the moral dilemma here.
The Hawks can’t sign anyone but Johnson to max money because they’ll be over the cap. The max contract problem is basically that the very best players — the LeBron/Kobe/Wade group — are making less than market value, even market value in the salary cap system. The ironic problem is that this means that they wind up making the same as the next group down, the Bosh/Johnson group. It even drives up the wages for the second tier, because of psychological reasons (being a “max player”) and because they wind up getting the money that the LeBrons can’t. The NBA — it’s Fan-tastic!
Stupid Hawks. This is why they suck
Craig Calcaterra: “C.B. Bucknor couldn’t call a strike on the strikingest day of his life with an electrified strike machine.”
@93
fun to read, but that article is pretty silly. Who’s overrating Dontrelle Willis? Who thinks Joel Pineiro is anything other than average?
Honestly, who even overrates Frenchy that much any more?
The Mets. LOL.
Surgery for Ace Chutley, out 5-6 weeks. It’s not just down to us and the Stem just yet, but it’s getting there.
That means Prado has to start the ASG, right?
I’m not a big exhibition-game fan—usually, I just hope nobody gets hurt & my pitchers don’t get used at all.
But Prado certainly deserves it.
Speaking of which, out of hatred of LaRussa, I voted McCann today more times than I care to admit.
Ububba,
Might as well try to get that homefield advantage.
I hate off-days. I bet the players don’t.
KJ is still a legitimate candidate to start at 2B.
@106
no freakin’ way…prado is leading the league in hits, doubles, total bases, and average. kelly johnson leads in nothing and has been horrible for a month and a half. he’s actually not even first in home runs for 2nd baseman.
I was hoping that the KJ love would die after he left.
FYI, Top 6 NL 2Bs:
OBP SLG
374 483
383 466
364 482
368 474
373 459
353 474
So can Adam Dunn please be an All-Star this year? You have no idea how bad I want to see him in the Home Run Derby, and he could be the DH for the NL!
I think Adam Dunn should change his name to “The NL DH”
@106: Who?
BTW, rush hour on Tokyo’s Chuo Line really sucks. Especially if you have luggage.
Yeah, it will probably be Prado, who has passed KJ in most categories now, but you never know. Look at it without the KJ streaks, and their numbers (aside from batting average) are pretty close, and KJ has 6 more homers.
It’s not that I disagree with y’all, but I’m just pointing it out.
good stuff coming from gwinnett tonight. freeman 2 for 4 with a double and 2 rbis. minor into the 8th inning now with 3bb 9k 1r and 2 hits.
Billy-Jay: Or, from what I hear, are female.
That is true, but at least they have a car of their own now.
Sweet. Phillies and Mets both lose.
I would watch Dunn in the Derby, but him only. Its the most overrated aspect of baseball. I cant think of anything much worse than listening to Berman screaming “back, back, back” for 3 hrs straight.
Give these guys 10 outs and metal bats….1 round only
Chip Caray talking for three hours straight. Oh, wait.
Or, as Chris Berman would likely refer to him, Chip “Cash and” Caray.
Sure, Berman grates and a HR derby isn’t Baseball. It can be fun, though. Josh Hamilton’s round in Yankee Stadium a lot of fun to watch.
For once, Livan did something good for the Braves. I love how the Mets keep wasting good Santana outings.
So this is how rich guys feel – do nothing and everything still gets better.
Nats? Pirates? BWAHAHAHAHA!!!
There’s got to be something I’m not seeing. The Hawks (or, rather, their pretty astute GM) simply cannot think that welding themselves to Iso-Joe for six COPULATING years is a good idea.
Part of me thinks that this is the Spirit Group’s going-away middle finger.
well the Josh Byrnes/AJ Hinch thing didnt last long. Both have been fired by the Dbacks
Prado has 61 more AB’s than anyone on the team, 40 more hits, and 9 more doubles
On top of everything else, The Prado has been one of only two constants (with Glaus) in the lineup.
But Troy has cool down since his walkoff homerun. We need him to get hot again.
Is there a bar around the “Ted” that is that is good while waiting for the exiting crowds to die down…
None that you don’t have to get into your car to get to, in my experience. The Ted sort of sucks for that. But there are a few places on Memorial Drive that I like. Six Feet Under, Agave, Young Augustine’s.
from Olney’s blog…
Omar Minaya, Mets (1) “He’ll give you a ridiculous proposal that might just kill the conversation. He’ll offer you a $5 bill and ask for two 10s in return.”
@125 It sounds like a massive overreaction–not to fire Hinch, mind you, but to fire Byrnes. His assembling of such a cost-controlled nucleus (Montero, Reynolds, Drew, KJ, Young, and Upton) is a mean feat. The bullpen did them in. That, in my opinion, is a pretty foolish reason to blow up the front office, especially when the deeper problem is a limited payroll imposed by the very ownership group now showing its exasperation.
I know Utley is the enemy but I hate to hear he has to have surgery. Flame on!
The KJ love is extinguished by some great Prado, and looking at Kelly’s home/road splits.
Mac are you considering removing the somewhat derogatory ‘Prado’ from the Braves Journal dictionary?
Yeah and Prado, unlike Troy, hit in April too.
Of course, sometimes, he’ll offer you a Ryan Church for a Jeff Francoeur!
Ryan Church. Hah. That shows you how fed up with Jeff Francoeur the Braves were.
132—Ed Price (I think) said that Byrnes was fired for refusing to fire Hinch. FWIW.
Either way, some team just lucked into a really big front-office asset.
But Francouer is a clubhouse leader. That’s more important than being good.
I like the original 1959 made-for-TV Home Run Derby. Very minimalist, playing in a minor league park (I believe it’s Wrigley Field in Los Angeles) for, what now would be pocket change. They only get three outs,it’s black and white,no Chris Berman, and you get to see guys like Aaron, Mays, Mantle and lesser knowns like Rocky Colavito. I can’t even watch the current derby, since Berman acts as if it’s the most amazing thing in the world that big league players can hitting batting practice pitches a long way.
LOL DAMON EVANS
Id love to see Frenchy in the HR derby and Id pay the pitcher to mix in a few sliders
Frenchy vs. Strasburg this Saturday. That should be on pay TV. Francouer has already swung at the first pitch.
@129, 130 – I met ububba for postgame drinks at Young Augustine’s the other day. He had walked there from the stadium, and was none the worse for wear. A gentleman of my carriage would not attempt the feat, but apparently it can be done. Good food and beer list too. I like the pork rillettes.
There’s a Tin Lizzy’s in that area too, but I haven’t been. Seems popular though. There used to be a place called B-Champs that was a bar owned by Jim Beauchamp, former braves coach you may recall. He died in 08 though, and I am not sure what is in that spot now.
http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/Bobby_Bonillas_Retirement_Plan_Is_Better_Than_Yours/2827501
I am sure that this has been discussed on here before, but it is still funny as hell.
Watching the Mets is like going to a small town Wal-Mart, I don’t care how bad you feel, you will see some loser(s) that make you feel better about yourself.
Dont know if its been brought up, but Chad Tracy is a FA, anyone interested in taking a flyer on him?
@141
Hope ya’ll tried the pub grub. Some of the best in town. Especially anything with the pimento cheese or the daikon kimchi.
It is technically walkable, but if you’ve driven to the ballpark (which sounds like Wiley’s plan) it would be a pain to walk there and then back to your car. Particularly once it gets a little later in the evening.
(I’m a cheapskate — I park for free around the Capitol and walk the mile to the ballpark.)
Mmm, pimento cheese.
@136 I read that too. And yet it really seems to make the D’Backs ownership look worse. In any event, yes, what this all means is that Byrnes will end up helping some other team, and since I can’t stand Arizona I’m good with that so long as that other team is not in our division.
What Peter said.
Dutch beat brazil 2-1. Wow
@147,
I don’t see the point of getting bent out of shape about McCann not making the All-Star team. The All-Star Game, at least for the starters, is all about which players have been hyped and which ones play in large markets for popular teams. Geovany Soto played for the Cubs; that’s all you need to know. There is no use pretending it’s a rational process. Analyzing the vote as if voters decide based on facts and actual performance is pointless; it’s no different than political elections where the taller candidate usually wins. And, let’s face it, the hype helped Jason Heyward this year, although he certainly had legitimate credentials until he got hurt.
I had lamb, cheese, and green tea for lunch.
ESPN just showed a clip of the Brazilians stomping one of the dutch players at the end of the match. Happens in every sport, but the rampant pu**y fouling from behind and the diving (which in fairness cost Brazil earlier) gives the lie the “beautiful game” crap that gets thrown around every four years.
The deal with Kemp’s benching.
@152 Funny. For a guy who’s shed 30 points of BA and 50 points of OPS from last year, and plummeted in base running and defense, you’d think he’d be a bit more humble. Guess that’s what hangin’ with Rihanna will do for you.
I’m headed to the Ted tonight. Anyone else gonna be there? Email me at alexander dot remington at gmail dot com.
I am playing at the Star Bar tonight, if you are looking for something to do afterwards…
@154: I was planning on being there last Saturday, but that fell through and I missed ububba. I’ll be heading to the Ted tomorrow. Anyone else? Email me at speele [at] clemson [dot] edu.
Game thread.