- Brooks Conrad probably doesn’t have a place on the team. This isn’t due to what happened in the playoffs, but due to him being a guy who can’t play short or center. He’s basically competing for one spot with Joe Mather, and the Braves have been after Mather for years. Neither is really very good.
- Brandon Beachy could walk across Lake Okeechobee and he wouldn’t have a place in the rotation unless someone got hurt or Minor completely blew. There’s no competition here.
- None of the various candidates for backup centerfield duties can really play the position with the possible exception of Schafer. Therefore, not being able to play center may not actually keep Wilkin Ramirez from being the backup there. He can’t be worse than Melky, anyway.
I do remain hopeful that the inexplicable Scott Proctor has pitched his way off the roster.
If chosen today it should be Young, Ross, Lucas, Ramirez, Mather
I disagree about Conrad, Mac. I think he makes the team out of the gate due in large part to the psyche of the ballclub. I’m sticking to my guns: Lucas, Conrad, Hinske, Ross, Mather.
And I also hope for the worst for Proctor.
Forgot about Hinske so forget post #1
(From the last thread)
Marc, I’ve gotten a pretty good heads up about Miami drivers. One of my buddies from school is half-Cuban and told me point blank “be very afraid of Cuban drivers.” 🙂 Apparently I’ll have to pay for “uninsured motorist coverage” because approximately 23% of drivers have no insurance. (!!)
I grew up driving in San Francisco and drove a little bit around New York, so I’m hoping that was good practice. My friend and his wife (who currently live in Jupiter, FL) use a co-pilot system when they drive and I imagine my girl and I will do the same.
We’re looking for apartments around UM, so we’re looking for apts/condos/townhouses/houses for rent in South Miami, Coral Gables, and Kendall. Any tips?
DOB tweeting that doctors were unable to save Salazar’s eye. Hope McCann doesn’t (understandably) flip out over this accident for too long.
@5
geez, that’s horrible news.
@6, and actually looking back at the tweet, DOB calls him “Luis Valdez” – what the hell is it with that guy?
Netting, everywhere. And higher concrete barriers in the upper decks, while we’re at it.
There is really no good explanation of why the players/coaches arent protected better in dugouts. While its unfortunate that Salazar will lose an eye, he’s very fortunate not to have major brain damage and even more fortunate to still be alive.
Heyward’s back and groin issues are disconcerting. I guess that just comes with the territory when you’re that big.
God, that’s a shame about Salazar. What a fluky, horrible injury. I’m sure the Braves will have a good support network for him, but yeah. That’s going to weigh on Brian’s mind.
@9
And not to sound insensitive, but it could have hit someone on the roster.
Apparently, he will still manage Lynchburg this season, and is expected back at camp in 1-4 weeks
@12
yeah, but don’t go there.
@10,
Yeah, I think that is his downside. He seems to get hurt quite a bit.
From Olney, a few minutes ago:
Heyward && less cartilage: great, just what you want to hear about your 6′ 6″ superstar in the making.
Salazar: Vacillating between the real-life horror of it and the kind of awesomeness of having a scowling eye-patched manager around. If he can come out of this with good humor over the coming years, I’ll feel okay.
Beachy: Completely agree
Proctor:
@4
Rob,
It’s been 25 years since I lived there and I was single and just out of school. I lived in a condo in Kendall and it’s a very nice area. All of those areas are nice but I’m sure very expensive. The last time I was there, it was even more congested up US 1 (Dixie Highway) than it was when I lived there but you can typically avoid it in any of those areas, I think.
Thanks, Marc.
Any other tips about moving to FL? FLBravesfan perhaps?
Rob,
Like a lotta congested urban areas that aren’t perfectly outfitted with public transportation—hello, Atlanta!—it’s often best to live near work or school. Don’t know that much about living in Coral Gables/Kendall, though. I usually stay in downtown Miami or South Beach.
Generally, though, if you’re headed to Miami Beach for whatever reason, traffic’s usually fine 5 days/nights a week.
I’ve been going down there annually for 20+ years and, yes, the one rental-car accident I endured was with someone who was uninsured.
Re: Beachy
Yeah, but ain’t it a good problem to have.
Everytime you think you have more than enough money or pitching, something happens to change your mind.
2,
So who between Mather, Heyward, and Prado is backing up CF? Because McLouth wasn’t any good last year and he’s a bad defender and as bad as he is all three of those guys would probably be worse in CF.
Having a back-up center fielder seems ever so slightly more important than some vague notion of psyche.
@22
McLouth is the everyday CF out of the gate. If something goes south, then I’d expect either Conrad going down being replaced by Schafer or Young.
Mather’s in CF today.
I understand, my question was: who is the back-up center fielder?
Prado and Heyward both have steady jobs, so I don’t think either of them will be considered the backup CF. I think it’s basically Mather/Young at this point, with one of them on the roster and the other 30 minutes away in Gwinnett.
BTW – today’s game is streaming free right now on ESPN
Emergency CFs: Mather, Heyward, Lucas. No real backups at first.
Hinske has 208 MLB games as a 1B.
Mather is also supposed to be able to play first, as well as Lucas.
Hanson looks sharp. Looks like his changeup has improved.
Even though Mather can play a lot of positions, he’s really not good defensively at any of them.
Hanson looks great.
Young should be the backup CF’r
clearing up my #27 post. Instead of “first” I should have said “to start. I meant there’s no real backup CF at “first” (meant at start of regular season) with my prediction. Only emergencies.
@32
Young could take Conrad’s spot, but isn’t going to take Mather’s.
Espn’s ticker:
top 3 OFs on the rise: Andrew McCutchen, Mike Stanton, Colby Rasmus
Do they really hate the Braves that much?
I don’t have a Comcast login. How can I stream the Braves game online?
If anything, Heyward has a larger profile than any of those guys. ESPN may be trying to pump three OFs who are less well-known than he is. (Or that’s my positive spin. They could just be jerks.)
More likely it is ignorance and whoever did the list simply forgot. It’s just a subjective list that’s irrelevant to anything that actually happens.
Go to the ESPN website. They are streaming ESPN3, which is carrying the game –
http://espn.go.com/espnnetworks/index
Projected saves leaders: #2 Neftali Feliz
It’s pretty difficult to collect saves starting games.
Sherrill might be whipping boy fairly quick. He’s just too fat not to be…
Its going to be hard for anyone to beat out AAG as the whipping boy. I just love his reactions to his K’s.
@36
theory shot down.
“top 3 catchers on the rise: 1. Buster Posey”
Sherrill can’t get right-handers out at all…
Thank you, Spike.
Then you’re right, Ryan. ESPN does seem to minimize us.
I’m beginning to suspect that this Sherrill fellow isn’t very good.
you are welcome, AAR – Auburn-Alabama baseball at 4pm…looks like a good one. (hint – I know who wins)
44 — agreed. Salty ripped one off of him. Not that I caught a peak of it while at work. Not at all.
David Ross taking a little inspiration from Jake Taylor!
That was a ridiculous play by Iglesias. Lowrie will be on the market sooner rather than later at this rate.
He’s Tony Pena Jr. at the plate right now. They don’t need to rush him.
@49, I think that’s a bit on the strong side – .295/.339/.379 in his first pro season as a 20yo in AA is just fine, and better by 50+ OPS points than anything season li’l Tony had in his entire career.
Oh, I know, it’s on the strong side. I wanted to be mean. But still, he can’t hit.
Uh, might be that they’re just assuming that Heyward has already arrived.
Maybe they just meant among young outfielders who are either white or right-handed.
Well now that Stanton is hurt maybe Heyward has a shot.
@52
and McCutchen hasnt? No. They left out Heyward.
Lowe named Opening Day starter and it looks like the 5th starter will be skipped on 2 out of the first 3 rotations.
Who cares if they left out Heyward? The less he’s recognized the more I like and appreciate him. He’s ahead of the 3 guys mentioned and we all know that already.
I agree with justhank. Perhaps they consider Heyward to have already arrived so they don’t need to talk about him. I don’t think you can say fairly that ESPN has ignored Jason Heyward. Why would they want to? I don’t buy this crap that ESPN has biases against certain teams. And, even if they did, so what? What ESPN says makes not one iota of difference to the season.
Marty Marion died.
Where do you hear that about the 5th starter ryanc?
The fifth starter has to go the first two times through the rotation as the only off day is after game 1 so everyone but Lowe would go on 3 days rest. And actually the next off day falls after game 10 and that off day is before 16 games in a row. Can’t skip him there either.
Why do we care about an ESPN fantasy ticker?
Let’s keep in mind that these are the same people giving “TIGER” and “FARVE” their own ticker categories.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=6225206
I think Pearl is gone at the end of the year, and with what Hamilton said, I hope Hamilton is gone too.
@60
Dusty, I apologize. I read it wrong. The Braves will skip the 5th starter to allow Lowe to pitch the 5th game on normal rest. Then, the 5th starter will pitch the 6th game. However, the 5th starter will be skipped the 3rd go-around.
And for the masses: I don’t really care about the Heyward thing. However, for years it has been discussed on this blog there’s some kind of conspiracy concerning EPSN’s hatred toward the Braves. Fuel to the fire, I guess.
yeah, I hate ESPN and I get tired of their Yanks/RedSox lovefest, but the more McCann and Heyward go about their business the more I respect them and their accomplishments. I think I hate ESPN more for showing reruns on the 1980 Poker tournament when they could be showing baseball games.
Well, they can’t just show baseball games unless they buy them from MLB.
MLB does more to hide the sport from fans than another sport not called hockey.
Yes, that’s why nearly every game is on TV and they provide subscription packages via cable, satellite, and the Internet.
67 – but still, the blackout system is beyond idiotic. I actually am happy I live far away from Atlanta so I can watch the Braves.
Worse than the NFL?
@67-
Games are on in market, not nationally, which is basically the same as other sports. I’m not certain if other sports insist on having blackouts for their season-long passes (NFL Sunday Ticket, etc.), but MLB actively prevents people from putting highlights and clips up on YouTube while other sports (like, for example, the NBA) actively encourage it.
MLB puts up obstacles for fans to interact with and enjoy the game, and the only reason is money.
@68, It’s the Fox Saturday Game that’s blacked out everywhere that bugs me.
Ill give you the NFL blackout thing, Mac.
There are places that can’t get a team on tv–too far–yet MLB inexplicably regards them in that team’s viewing area. I don’t think this is nearly as big a problem for Braves fans as for some other fanbases. It’s insane though.
I will say that it is unfortunate that baseball does not air on “over the air” tv in Atlanta any more (and I suspect most places), save for the Game Of The Week.
I realize that money is at the heart of the decisions MLB makes about such deeply unpopular things as taking clips down from YouTube and regional blackouts, but I find it awfully hard to believe that they would actually lose money if they allowed people to post YouTube clips or to watch their favorite team on television when they are geographically unable to watch that team on Fox.
The YouTube thing drives me crazy. I could understand taking down clips that you provide on your own site. But they take down everything, even things they won’t provide you with.
I defy you to find me video evidence on the internet that Andruw Jones was a Brave. MLB has taken it all down, but doesn’t provide a sanctioned (sponsored) alternative. It’s preposterous.
Supply and Demand 101:
Supply of running backs who fumble when coughed upon – plenty
Supply of individuals willing and able to own the team and pay said fumbling running back a king’s ransom – scarce
Enslave me, please.
Happy birthday, Mac!
Thank you so much for the blog!
Happy Birthday Mac
Happy 84th birthday, Mac.
@63,
You do realize that every single fan of every team in baseball thinks that ESPN has it in for their team. Yankee fans think ESPN favors the Red Sox and Red Sox fans think the opposite. Apparently, there is a conspiracy at ESPN to hate all 30 teams.
Ditto re happy birthday, Mac
Thanks, guys. Feeling 40 today. May Jamie Moyer pitch forever so there will always be a major leaguer older than me.
You don’t look a day over 39, Mac. Hope your day is a great one.
Hoping it’s a good one, Mac.
Party like it’s 1999, Mac! (Damn, that’s a sad sentence.)
——————-
Marc @ 81 – yes, that’s the sensible view. But it’s a proven dang fact that ESPN hates Kentucky Basketball and Tennessee Football.
Let’s just all agree that ESPN has been Duke’s beyotch for the last twenty years and move on.
Duke and, of course, UConn.
I’m trying to encourage my 16-year-old’s burgeoning interest in Western Lit. His eyes glaze over a little when reading Shakespeare.
Is there a good movie version of Hamlet out there?
@81
All that hatred for those Red Sox. Yeah, it must suck only being televised once a week by ESPN. That’s some serious hatred.
Red Sox fans aren’t exactly rational.
My favorite ESPN self-promo commercial of all time was the two old guys at the bar discussing baseball when the woebegone RedSox fan appears out of nowhere.
“Laughing and laughing at us …”
About ten years ago, I think.
May Jamie Moyer pitch forever so there will always be a major leaguer older than me.
The mantra for all men in their 40s. If Moyer watches “Louie”, he was probably shocked to hear his name come up when it did. Anybody else see that?
@88 Hamlet
The recent RSC version with David Tennent and Patrick Stewart is awesome.
And yes that’s Dr. Who and Captain Picard, but it may be the most accessable version to casual fans I’ve ever seen.
Go Braves!
No film version can compare to a live production, though. It might be best to start off with a shorter play like Macbeth.
Happy Birthday, Mac!
You’re a blessing to all of us. Here’s hoping the Braves (or Alabama or the Hawks or Falcons) have another title before your next one,
But especially the Braves!
@88, why not William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet? It’s got Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes (oh. my. god. was she hot) in it, among others. Quite an accessible vehicle, time shifted to today, but the dialogue is by the book. Paul Sorvino and Andrew Fishburne as well.
I’m a fan of Kenneth Branagh’s bloated, unwieldy four-hour version of Hamlet. It’s not perfect, but it’s still stunning. His version of Henry V is his best movie, though, and one of the best Shakespeare adaptations out there; I’m also a big fan of Ian McKellen’s Richard III and Branagh and Laurence Fishburne’s Othello.
Marc, I realize that you’re trying to do a reductio ad absurdem, but I imagine that if you polled sports fans, most of them would agree with the premise that there’s “a conspiracy at ESPN to hate all 30 teams.”
Happy birthday, Mac. I’m sure you’re feeling Minnesota at 40, but the 2011 Braves are looking California.
Not to get all maudlin, but my Age 40 season, as it were, was awesome. I won’t go into details but it was definitely a late career peak. I’d replay that one in a heartbeat.
Happy Birthday Mac – make it a good season.
Happy birthday Mac! Hope you are doing well.
Thanks, Shakespeare guys!
#97- Branagh’s Henry V is awesome. I can’t remember the actor who played the prince of Northumberland, but what a stud that dude is!
Happy birthday Mac.
@97,
Good point Alex.
Branagh’s Eve of St. Crispin’s Day speech. Good despite the soundtrack.
Olivier’s is probably the standard, though he tends to race through it.
I remember Mel Gibson’s Hamlet being tolerable in high school.
Gibson’s Hamlet is decent, though I like Branagh’s version better despite its faults. I don’t love Gibson as Hamlet, but he’s alright, and Helena Bonham Carter is a wonderful Ophelia, and Paul Scofield is a magnificent old Hamlet.
YouTube – MST3K 1009 Hamlet 1/10.
I remember watching Romeo + Juliet in my British Literature class in High School and thought it was entertaining enough. It was a little weird watching them refer to their Glocks and Berettas as Sword and Dagger, though.
Happy birthday, Mac.
And happy St. Paddy’s to all. Still recovering from The Pogues show last night.
Feels like Clemson has played fairly close to their best so far, things have gone their way, and WVU really didn’t execute their offense well at all- and yet they are tied at the half after pissing away a 10pt lead in the last two minutes. Really hoping they can pull this one out but I have my doubts.
Regardless, Brownell is a keeper and I am excited about the future of the ACC now that there’s been some coaching turnover. If NCSU and GT can make some inspired hires to replace Lowe and Hewitt, then with K and Williams (x2), Brownell and Donahue, Bennett and (maybe a stretch) Bzdelik, hopefully the conference can regain its national prominence.
Anyway back to Shakespeare.
Mac’s point is best. If you want to make him a Shakespeare fan, go live.
The only Shakespeare my ex liked was in “Renaissance Man” with Danny DeVito and Mark Wahlberg.
She got the damn DVD in the settlement.
EDITED: Cuts:
-Shawn Bowman
-Wilkin Castillo
-Brent Clevlen
-Jose Constanza
-Yohan Flande
-Cory Gearrin
-Stephen Marek
-Anthony Varvaro
@111
That’s Wilkin Castillo, not Wilkin Ramirez. Mac, are you already drunk celebrated St. Patty’s and a birthday?
Oh. Nevermind.
I don’t drink, actually.
Why so many Wilkins?
Meanwhile, in Clearwater:
Utley continues to take batting practice without pain, but has been unable to run or take fielding practice, although he has sat on a bucket and fielded ground balls.
I would love to see that in a game!
Poor Stephen Marek. Poor Stu.
I too am upset about Marek being cut.
The last bullpen spot is Proctor’s to lose, but I’m glad to see that the Braves are keeping around a good group of RH arms to challenge him: Asencio, Abreu, Oberholtzer, and the Lisp.
“Proctor” and “Lose” do go together.
2 weeks ’til Opening Day!
Proving Spring Training stats are useless:
Melky Cabrera 18/35 4 doubles, 1 triple, 1hr .514/.525/.771
Proving Spring Training stats are not useless:
Jeff Francoeur 4/34 1 double 1hr .118/.211/.235
I’m supposed to be rooting for Kentucky, right?
Calipari losing to an Ivy League school is pretty amusing, though.
Ryan C – You did a good job of proving that spring stats are useless, but not so much for “not useless”. There is no way that Francoeur’s OBP will ever be close to 100 points higher than his BA in the regular season.
Maybe if he gets hit by a pitch on the first day of the season or something.
We should thank Frenchy every day for turning down that contract here in Atl.
Thank goodness for no more Yohan Flande.
South Park produced my favorite Hamlet: “Venom, to thy work, buddy.”
Goodbye Vandy.
Grrrr…
Will GT go after UR coach Mooney? Princeton offense?
@122
If the batter is swinging while being hit by the ball, is he still awarded a free base?
Florida’s looking great. I mean, it’s UCSB, but still. They’re hitting shots. Patrick Young is going to be a force next year. Or possibly this weekend.
@127- I read somewhere maybe Mark Price. He’d be a risk since I don’t think he’s ever coached anywhere, but he was a heady player and (understatement of the year) he does have a strong connection to GT…
He’s coached, but only a low level except for one year as an assistant to Cremins. His other work is stuff like high schools or working as a shooting coach. According to Wikipedia:
“Price was the shooting consultant for the Memphis Grizzlies for the 2007-08 season and named the shooting coach for the Atlanta Hawks for the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 seasons.”
So he’s the guy who couldn’t get Josh Smith to stop shooting threes.
Happy Birthday Mac. Go Braves!
Braves hitting well tonight. Chipper, Freddie, and Heyward all with home runs. Schafer still looking lost at the plate.
Well, that was an incredibly fitting end to this disappointment of a season. Sorry about your bracket, ububba.
Yeah. I think it may end up being Wilkin as the 5th OF.
Mac, that was an awesome job of taking the bloom off the Mark-Price-as-coach rose. Well played.
Happy birthday, Mac.
Proctor is doing his best to play his way off the team as a present.
#134
They sure missed a buncha big FTs down the stretch. And quite a disappearing act from Taylor today.
Morehead St. vs. Richmond—who knew?
Missed a bunch of big defensive rebounds, too. Oh, and dunks.
Swing at a pitch it is strike even if it hits you.
Today’s outing was exactly what we needed from Proctor. He totally delivered.
BYU’s getting the good side of some calls today.
They didn’t look very good tonight. I wouldn’t pick them to make it through the next round if I could do my bracket again…
141 – could not agree more. And yes, I’m pissed they cut Marek too. Looks like we could go until June until we get the right guys into the bullpen.
so, the orioles could be pretty good this year. they added some serious power this year in reynolds, lee, vlad, and hardy. however, it wouldnt shock me to see roberts, lee, vlad, and hardy all on the dl together at some point during the season.
You cant get far in this tourney relying on one player to carry your team and thats exactly why BYU isnt going to survive much longer.
I had my fantasy baseball draft ( $100 limit money draft) tonight, and once again I’m fairly heavy on Braves. (Last year, someone blasted me for taking Prado—-Mac stood up for me, Thanks) This year, I got Chipper for a buck, Heyward for $14, Hanson for $5, Freddie for $1, Jurjens for $1, and Venters for $2. I spent $17 on Votto, and thought I got a steal on Mauer for $8.
Pujols was the top-salary at $32 (makes Votto look like a steal).
Lord, Proctor is awful.
@148, It is good to find that out now.
Let him pitch his way off roster
I hope that the Braves can overcome their fantasies and denial about Proctor and see that he sucks!
Kentucky seems to be taking this “survive and advance” stuff a little too seriously. Whew.
(Oh, and the best student on the floor hit the game winner. Dude’s got a 4.3 outta high school and nearly a year of college credits. If he stays, he’ll likely graduate after his sophomore year.)
———
Didn’t get to see Vandy. What in the world happened? I had them going to the Elite Eight.
———-
Pitino lasted about as long in the Tournament as he did in … uh, well, probably shouldn’t go there.
———-
Go Dawgs. And Vols.
Hopefully Christhshian Marthinez wins a spot.
The Braves don’t demonstrate much value for Marek. To me he appears ready for a shot in the majors.
Schafer – ‘Feels like effing Gwinnett.’
Jordan Schafer…
8/47 .170/.204/.255
1 double
1 home run
1 big ego.
154 – Classic.
Stu – There are no seniors playing for Vandy. Any chance they all come back? I’m not sure who else will be available to the NBA, but are any of these guys first rounders?
We talked about Taylor as a sure goner, but I don’t think so any more. He’s probably 3rd behind Festus and Jenkins.
It looks like we need better guard play and better in-game adjustments (Mr. Stallings).
Remember, Schafer is an elf, and they mature later than humans.
Elves also aren’t to be trusted. After all, Fëanor and his sons burned the swan-ships of Olwë and slaughtered many of his people in the Kinslaying at Alqualondë. Even Galadriel was complicit.
That’s an incredibly obscure Tolkien reference.
When’s Peter Jackson’s version of The Silmarillion coming out?
Untrue! Galadriel fought on Olwë’s side at Alqualondë! (Unfinished Tales p. 232.) /highnerditude
But wasn’t Galadriel one of the last allowed to return to the Undying Lands? Presumably, this was due to her actions at Alqualonde.
Sorry, we’re not really having this debate, are we?
Only Mandos knows for sure.
@158, She fought on the side of the Teleri, as Mac states, and therefore not subject to Mandos… The Hands of Fate.
Never read much Tolkien, but Duane Allman apparently did. He named his only daughter Galadriel.
BTW, Mets release Flushing whipping boy Luis Castillo with $6M left on his contract.
Lord, I thought I was a Tolkien nerd. I can’t hold you guys’ jockstraps.
Didn’t get to see Vandy. What in the world happened?
Missed free throws and matador defense. Plus, Richmond’s a pretty good team. Efficiency-wise, it was actually our third-best offensive performance of the year — and our third-worst defensive performance. Which is really saying something.
Stu – There are no seniors playing for Vandy. Any chance they all come back? I’m not sure who else will be available to the NBA, but are any of these guys first rounders?
Much to my chagrin, it sounds like Andre Walker is done with basketball. It sounds like it could go either way with Taylor, but Ezeli and Jenkins will almost certainly be back. We should be deep (and healthy) enough to actually get something out of our bench, next season.
We talked about Taylor as a sure goner, but I don’t think so any more. He’s probably 3rd behind Festus and Jenkins.
Third in what? Certainly not NBA draft status — he’s still clearly ahead of Jenkins and probably just ahead of Festus, at least in 2011. I think Taylor would definitely be drafted, although he’s no first-round lock. Sounds like we may have another Ogilvy situation, though, where he’s just ready to leave Stallings/school and is willing to take his chances overseas if the NBA doesn’t work out right away.
It looks like we need better guard play and better in-game adjustments (Mr. Stallings).
We should have the better guard play next year, particularly on defense, with Johnson and Parker added to the mix. As for Stallings changing, well…
Can I just say how much happier I am to see a Tolkien debate than I am to see ANYTHING related to college hoops/college football/nfl? Nerditude FTW!
Didn’t like the casting of Cate Blanchette as the Lady.
Admit it’d be hard to find a better actor, but didn’t strike me as being both beautiful and formidible as Galadriel.
She’ll be back in Jackson’s “The Hobbit.”
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not calling for Stallings ouster. The good far outweighs the bad, IMO. It just seems we miss on some obvious in-game adjustments. That could be failure to execute by the players, or failure to recognize / get the message across by the coach.
I thought you would feel differently about Taylor. This might be dependent on who else is available to the NBA, but he definitely seems to project a similar draft position to Ogilvy. Maybe his athleticism gets him drafted, but he could use another year getting ready.
154 is a perfect post.
It’s not just his athleticism, which is freakish; it’s the fact that he’s one of the best on-ball defenders in the country. His offensive game needs a lot of work, but he’s NBA-ready on the defensive end. Think Thabo Sefolosha.
I don’t think the comparison to Ogilvy is a great one. Ogilvy was a big man without great rebounding numbers or a consistent face-up game — a center needs to have one or the other to play in the NBA. Like I said, Taylor’s a lot more NBA-ready.
I honestly don’t think there’s a lot more for him to learn in college — he needs to work on his jumper and ball-handling (and confidence), but those are things he could just as (if not more) easily work on as a pro. If he sticks around, it’ll be because he wants to finish what he started with his best friends. This team is extremely close. We’ll see.
As for Stallings, I agree that he’s been far more good than bad. I’m frustrated with some things, but I don’t think looking elsewhere is the answer. (Besides, if VU fired Stallings, the man who’s gotten them to this point, who in the world is going to want this job? Probably nobody better than Stallings.)
Vandy fans, trust me, it could be worse…
Gosh, who could’ve predicted that the Pearl Era would end so poorly? 🙂
John Sickels did a nice career retro of Luis Salazar over at minorleagueball.com.
Watch – Pearl will have them in Final Four with the implied “Try to fire my ass now”.
Stu, just make sure and take care of those folks from Starkville for me on the diamond this weekend. A sweep would be excellent.
@168 – really? I thought she was one of the closest to what I saw in my head when I read the book. Christopher Lee of course, was perfect.
@167, I threw in an MST3K reference to keep it real.
If Pearl is fired at halftime, which assistant takes over?
175—I am sincerely hoping for that.
176—A sweep would indeed be excellent. I’ll only be in attendance for Sunday’s game, though, so my powers are limited.
Discussing his latest book & a few other things, MLB historian John Thorn with a nice spot on NPR the other day:
http://tinyurl.com/4mpfsqk
Speaking of live Shakespeare, I got to see the Paul Winfield / Richard Dreyfus presentation of Othello. Superb, as you might imagine.
————
Was talking with a MLB scout today. The subject of Vandy baseball came up – said that their private school status actually helped them in baseball whereas it has the opposite effect in the full-scholarship sports and that he expects them to be a powerhouse for a long time.
It’s true. Wealthy families, including several former MLBers, actually seek out Corbin and ask him to recruit their kids. That was true of Jack Armstrong, Jr., Mike Yastrzemski, and Shawon Dunston, Jr.
Having top-notch facilities and some of the best developmental coaches in the country doesn’t hurt, either.
The ol’ Conrad shank.
Guess we won’t have Bruce Pearl to kick around anymore.
Spike, I’m pretty sure that’s the first time that a Mystery Science Theater 3000 reference has been justified by saying, “I’m just keeping it real!”
Manos was an all-timer though.
Movie starts at 6:12 – there are 9 parts, but soooo worth it.
I fully recognize Manos, and I own the MST3K version on DVD. It is dreadful, and watching it all the way through is one of the measures of a man. But I’m a Pod People person, myself. (I linked to it a couple days ago.)
Yeah, that’s gotta be it for Pearl, whom I’ve always liked. His team quit today.
Getting soft in my old age. I’ll actually miss Bruce Pearl.
Favorite MST3K moment:
The robots mimic the Grateful Dead with Crow as Jerry Garcia.
Shows Mike folding laundry and other household chores as Garcia (Crow) plays a neverending solo.
If Proctor is somehow on the OD roster, can we officially edit the Braves Journal Glossary to note “The Pictures” have been passed onto Scott Proctor?
He’s a snake oil salesman and his team regularly beat mine — I will not miss Bruce Pearl other than to the extent that he brought shame to UT.
Earth vs The Spider for me.
Movie around 5:00
Conrad might be playing his way off the roster, and looks to be bringing last year’s miscues with him to camp. He had 2 errors today and now has 4 total.
“Magic Voyage of Sinbad’.
Bring back Wade Houston!
Or Kevin O’Neil!
Does Wade have any more kids they could use?
@197,
Let’s not go down that road again. Word is that they actually are going to give Pearl a chance to come in and talk for his job.
I give him a 2% chance of staying.
Tennessee Basketball, fun while it lasted.
Bruce Pearl was fun. He brought a lot of energy and made Tennessee basketball relevant.
What is sad that this all ends over minor things that he lied about.
“I’d like to introduce the new men’s head basketball coach of the Tennessee Volunteers, Schmane Schmiffin.”
Someone was asking about the Wonderlic test the other day. Here’s a sample test:
http://walterfootball.com/draftwonderlic.php
Guess who’s been receiving playing time at 2B for the Phils this spring? You guessed it:
The thought of Peterson Thomas Gord Orr filling in for Ace Chutley in that lineup just fills me with warm fuzzies.
MST3000… Master Ninja theme song!
1:29:45 is the theme song
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5330966742490588430#
@200, I like the way Schmiffin thinks!
Word is out that AJ Green scored a 10 on the Wonderlic. My question — is the NFL legally obligated to release this information? If not, what is their compelling interest in doing so?
People think it’s funny.
Are the results actually released to the public (like on a website or something)?
Or is it information that scouts get & then discuss publicly?
Good question — I don’t know.
A 10 is higher than I thought he would get
That is crazy. AJ Green is no Bo Derek
Or Vince Young, apparently.
Gah. Not everyone is brilliant. It bugs me that football players are essentially required to go to college for no (above board) pay to develop their skills, then be subjected to publicly available intelligence tests. McCann, Heyward, Chipper, and thousands of ballplayers who didn’t become stars got to make a legit money playing minor league ball, and didn’t have their IQ tests pored over by the snickering masses. It’s this, far more than the 40-speeds, vertical leaps, and bench press reps, that reminds me what chattel football players are considered to be, even compared to other athletes.
And, with that, go Dawgs!
Yeah! Go Dawgs!
Charles Barkley must be working on becoming the Joe Morgan of college basketball, as in, “I don’t have to pay any attention to these teams, but yet I’ll get paid for offering up any opinion.”
He just said that a fast pace will suit Georgia vs. Washington. He obviously hasn’t watched one Georgia game all year.
Nice work if you can get it, I guess.
And yeah, go-o-o Dawgs, sic ’em!
Earlier, he picked Georgia and had a half-decent rationale. Which I attribute solely to SEC homerism. He and Kenny are a little out of place, but Kenny seems (shock!) a little more prepared.
Go Dawgs!!! You can do this.
Charles just needs to say something off color and everyone will laugh.
214 – In fact, he probably hasn’t watched one; nor has Kenny Smith. That said, I’ve enjoyed the Marv Albert crew, the all-day access to Gus Johnson, and the occasional non-sequitor from Barkley. No real complaints about the coverage or telecasts this year.
“Gah. Not everyone is brilliant. It bugs me that football players are essentially required to go to college for no (above board) pay to develop their skills, then be subjected to publicly available intelligence tests. McCann, Heyward, Chipper, and thousands of ballplayers who didn’t become stars got to make a legit money playing minor league ball, and didn’t have their IQ tests pored over by the snickering masses. It’s this, far more than the 40-speeds, vertical leaps, and bench press reps, that reminds me what chattel football players are considered to be, even compared to other athletes.”
I totally agree that the commodification of football players’ bodies is disconcerting and worth more than our casual dismissal. But I’d say you’re selling baseball a bit short, so to speak. There are probably going to be more than a few good dissertations/books written about the late twentieth century growth of the sport’s latin american complexes. Maybe Michael Lewis has read some post-colonial theory…
To clarify, it’s not the fact that they do the IQ testing that bothers me. It’s that we know the results. It’s an insult to the people taking the test in a way that the physical stuff isn’t.
There are 32 teams, and probably on average 15 or so people per team — at least — who have access to the tests. They are going to leak out, and unless the league was really serious about cracking down — which is a laugh — there’s no punishment for it.
Typical Georgia half there. Both teams nervous, UGA uses its size advantage, but then fritters away a nice lead.
Then, given the lack of correlation found between the test results and on-field performance, they should get rid of it.
@201
Thanks, ububba!
I found the test to be a challenge.
There are always issues about any form of testing, especially those involving a cup.
Braves have split squad game today so all bench candidates will probably get to show what they’re capable of for a full game. Both games start at 1:05 eastern time and will be available for audio on MLBTV, but the only televised game is at home vs the Mets. Rodrigo Lopez will be starting that game and Beachy will be starting the away game against the Tigers. I know most don’t care, but here are the lineups for both games:
•Braves vs Tigers: 1 Schafer CF, 2 Gonzalez SS, 3 Mac C, 4 Uggla, 5 Freeman 1B, 6. Ramirez DH, 7 Mather RF, 8 Young LF, 9 Lucas 3B, Beachy P
•Braves v Mets: 1 Prado LF, 2 McLouth CF, 3 Jones 3B, 4 Heyward RF, 5 Ross C, 6. Hinske 1B, 7 Conrad 2B, 8 Hicks SS, 9 Lopez
@225 No DHs?
You’d think there would be one against the Tigers.
Bah. My bracket couldn’t have been worse if I was actively trying. Vandy/Mizzou/Louisville/Georgetown all failures. jj3bagger, your boys should have had our spot.
Stu, thanks again for the Nashville advice. Ended up going to a Predators game. It’s funny, I wouldn’t have though Nashville would be a great hockey town, but the crowd was really into it. Tootsies was good too.
Interesting that Beachy gets the big boys game today while Minor is on the minors field. I’m assuming Beachy’s just being thrown a bone…
Beachy 5 IP, no runs, 1 hit. Dude’s sure making this thing interesting.
228—The Preds were the first pro sports team in town, and they’ve maintained a very loyal following. And they’re pretty good this year, which also helps.
If you’re in town again, let me know — maybe I can meet you somewhere for a beer.
Minor gave up 4 runs in 6 innings in his minor league game.
Yep, the Big East is an awesome conference and eleven teams really wasn’t enough.
Wow – now Pitt.
That’s at least two years in a row that the Big Least has been over-hyped, over-seeded and over-represented in the NCAAs. Is there any chance anyone will remember this next year?
Big East teams went 7-4 in their tournament openers. That’s good, not bad.
And if Notre Dame wins tomorrow, they’ll have 3 teams in the Final 16.
Most leagues would sign for that.
So the best case scenario for the Big East (11 bids) is to have 3 teams in the Final 16? The putrid (just ask ESPN) SEC (5 bids) already has 2.
And if ND loses, and UNC and Duke take care of business, then the ACC will have three in the Sweet 16.
(I’m not terribly confident of the Heels – they didn’t look that good versus a LIU team they should run out of the gym by 30.)
McCann arrested. Scared me for just a second
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/42178455/ns/sports-player_news/
Half of the teams upset so far (higher seeds beaten by lower seeds) have been Big East teams.
238 – And then you scared me!
236 – Well, a couple games this round involved their teams playing each other. And had the SEC gotten eleven teams into the tournament, they still would have probably only gotten the two they have now into the sweet 16. A conference’s showing by this point speaks more to the quality of the teams at its top than its depth. I say this as someone who (1) thinks Alabama should have been in the tournament and roots against the Big East generally.
So far, to me anyway, the most interesting conference performance has been the Big Ten’s.
So, part of the reason Minor’s line was so ugly yesterday was because he was working on his curveball
http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-braves-blog/2011/03/20/minor-uses-minor-league-action-to-refine-curveball/?cxntfid=blogs_atlanta_braves_blog
Chipper’s looked great this spring. I hope it carries over to the regular season.
You get 11 teams into the tournament & at least 10 are gonna lose at some point. As it stands, the league is 9-8.
And it was impossible for 2 teams to get past the “third round.” The best it could do in those brackets was for the 4 teams to win their openers, and they all did.
Pitt & Louisville are the 2 really surprising losses. But the league’s not doing that bad.
Pitt has lost to a lower seed four years in a row now. Who do they think they are, Kansas?
Seat
this UNC team scares the #$%# out of me, but they just find a way to win. seems to me that, quite honestly, they remind me of the ‘Cuse 2002-03 team that won with Carmello. They had tough times putting teams away, were young and LONG, had an impact super freshman and seemed to win EVERY close game they played.
UNC’s been getting pretty lucky and I still think they beat ‘Cuse/Marquette but OSU…well…they’re gonna be shellacing us. Elite 8 for this team is an accomplishment.
ububba…
the whole talk that “the ACC is down and the Big East is amazing and what’s the Big 12?” is a bit premmature. Seems like the ACC was slightly better than given credit. The Big East slightly worse and the Big 12 better.
I have UNC getting to the Final Four and losing to… well, you know. Evil triumphs.
The Big East was certainly better than the ACC this year.
The ACC has 2 really good teams & two decent teams (one injury-slowed). Top to bottom, there’s really no contest.
Did you see the Duke/St.John’s game?
the game without Kryie Irving? Hope he is one and done.
Is there any chance Wilkin Ramirez makes the club as the 4th outfielder?
It’s vaguely possible. The beat writers have been talking Ramirez up, and pretending he can actually play center.
Duke didn’t have Irving for any regular-season games after December. They managed to win big in the ACC without him, but they got run out of the building at MSG.
Duke is so hateable that it’s almost fascinating.
Who are we rooting for in center, Wilkin or Matt Young?
chris,
I agree that this UNC team is one of the more resilient teams I’ve seen play, even as they are causing my hair to fall out with stupid passes, quick threes, or sloppy ball-handling.
I’m concerned that we’ll run into Syracuse’s 2-3 zone which will shut us down. But, I’m willing to be wrong about that. 😉
I’m rooting for Young, just because I like to see the AAAA type guys get their shot at the bigs, like Folk Hero did last year. But, if it turns out to be Ramirez, I’m not going to lose any sleep over that.
254 – Is Schafer out of the running?
256 — Well, he’s hitting .176/.208/.294, which looks pretty similar to what he did last season.
I was just wondering if it was official. I prefer Young, but who knows?
Ramirez is an interesting guy. He hit .275/.321/.450 in 216 PA in rookie ball when he was just 17. But now, over 7 years later, he really hasn’t gotten any better. His career minor league stats are .258/.316/.434, showing the exact same mixture of real power and suspect plate discipline that he had in rookie ball, except slightly worse results.
I don’t know how rare that is, but my impression is that most players who are that successful as a 17-year old tend to break out offensively as they grow into their bodies, but it just hasn’t happened yet for Wilkin. Maybe he’ll be a late bloomer. Hopefully, now that he’s 25, he’s about ready to contribute.
Ramirez has training camp wonder written all over him. I’d love to be wrong, but I seriously doubt it. He just looks like the prototypical tools guy that will get a shot for a while because people can’t believe that someone who has so many obvious talents can’t merge them into the ability to play at the MLB level at some point. He would be very useful if he pans out though, and I like the thought of Lucas/Ramirez/Young/Ross/Hinske bench, but I am not sanguine about his long term prospects.
Wilkin Ramirez reminds me of the Joe Borchard experience in Spring Training a couple years back. Although I do think he may have a little bit of potential if he could figure out the breaking ball (down in the minors), more than I can say for Borchard.
254—I’m still rooting for Schafer. Yeah, I know.
@262 Your optimism is impressive.
I think Schafer, Young, Lacy & Ramirez need more seasoning, but someone needs to play.
Schafer has had more seasoning than a Frank Costanza steak
@265, Schafer is still young and has been hurt last 2 years. Why the hate?
@266, I don’t care for him because he hid his injury in 2008 until the Braves had no choice but to demote him. And because he says things like “I feel like f***ing success” like he’s Charlie Sheen or something (who by the way just sold out Radio City Music Hall).
I for one dont mind Schafer, but its really easy to see how some dislike the kid. He’s only had 1.5 good seasons since 2005 and its questionable on whether or not it was due to HGH. He comes across as an arrogant prick to the media also.
Oliver Perez will be released soon. Add his remaining contract to Castillo’s and the Mets are on the hook for $18 million.
267,
Every baseball player does that. (the former)
@266,
I don’t hate him. I wish he would succeed. But csg, once again, nailed the argument.
Number of teams reaching the Sweet Sixteen by Conference:
Alltimebestever Big East – 2
SEC – 2
And the team that lost to Auburn just beat the second best team in the Big East.
Not saying the Big East is weak, but the non-stop Lewinsky should, well, stop.
My, but the Braves third-baseman is certainly looking good.
Olney and Kurtjian both predict the Braves to win the East.
Not sure when I took the halucinogen, but I hope it hangs around awhile.
I was about to ask if the opinions about the success of the Big East in the tournament had changed at all since this morning.
They screwed up my bracket something awful.
Does anyone have even a semi-logical explanation about what’s happening with VCU? I’m dumbfounded as to how they’re doing it.
@268, Is HGH really a PED and did Schafer even take it. Hiding injury was not smart, bt something someone does if he thinks team needs him. Of those 5 years he sat out a half year and was hrt two years. Braves can not rely on him but if he can regain form it is bonus. Team needs at least one more outfielder. There are question marks and Prado can play LF, 3b, 2b & 1st.
Ethan, went to both VCU games this weekend, quite frankly they are playing out of their minds. Tonight they had 26 assists and 4 turnovers, and forced 15 Purdue turnovers. Basically, playing good defense and not turning the ball over, not to mention playing Jay Bilas’ comments on a loop to raise the motivation level.
FSU and VCU were the two that made it out of the Chicago region that I went to, did not see that coming. VCU had one of the best college basketball bands that I’ve seen live, they received several standing ovations from the United Center, perhaps that’s the key.
Not a FSU fan, but always good to hear the tomahawk chop drowning out whiny Notre Dame fans.
@277,
Have you heard Bilas back peddle on this?
@273 A lot of people are shying away from the Phillies now because of the injuries, my twitter feed was filled with sports writers wringing their hands over their lineup.
This is probably the only fan sports blog where you get a reference to post-colonial theory. 🙂
@279,
True, but with that rotation and that park, they probably aren’t too worried about scoring runs.
@281 I’m certainly still terrified of them, just passing along what I’ve read recently.
@280 – After a spirited discussion of Tolkein arcana and health privacy laws, what else is left?
@279, I never saw a bandwagon fill up and fall apart so fast, and the season hasn’t even started. Anyone who thinks the Phils are not still the odds on fave to win the division is crazy. I like our chances, sure, but there is still a ton of talent up there, and the Braves will have injuries too.
@272, you could almost make the argument that the Big East was fortunate to get a couple of head to head games, or they might not have even gotten two in.
Ignore the PEDs for a second, and Schafer is still basically just the position player version of Charlie Morton, a guy who has million-dollar tools and a ten-cent head, who just hasn’t really succeeded all that often in professional baseball. He killed single-A in 2007 and was pretty good in AA in 2008, but he was terrible in 2005, 2006, 2009, and 2010. I don’t care nearly as much about the PED thing as I care about the fact that he just doesn’t have much of a track record of success.
I don’t hate him; I hope he succeeds. I’m just not holding my breath any more. I don’t trust his attitude or self-awareness enough to turn his tools into production.
@285
I completely agree. While I admit that I fell for his Spring ’09 success and declared him the next coming of Grady Sizemore, I haven’t been impressed by anything he’s really done since Opening Day ’09. And the thing that bugs me the most is he’s just so dadblammed cocky. Matt Young and Ed Lucas seem to understand baseball and are the kind of guys that I like to root for: hard-working and quiet with a touch of humility. I’d love to see those 2 make the OD roster along with either Mather or Conrad.
He just can’t hit and it looks more and more like he’s never going to. Unfortunate, and perhaps explainable, but that is the bottom line here.
//And there probably are some parallels to Sizemore – just not the one’s you’d like.
Cut to Stu holding a Schafer picture yelling, “I can’t quit you!”
It apperas that Bruce Pearl is meeting now with top brass to discuss his future. I would be shocked if UT siad anything publically today (though I am sure word will leak). Spring practice starts today and the Lady Vols are on campus for a tourney game tonight. I bet UT has a presser tomorrow to announce Pearl is out as coach.
The Notre Dame loss was easily the most surprising of the group. They couldn’t make a jumper to save their lives and, like a lotta modern college teams, they live on their threes.
I’d seen FSU play several times this year and, even with Singleton, they always bled for points. They were out of their minds last night.
Three BE teams in the Sweet 16 with an overall winning record would’ve been an OK, not-that-bad, result, especially with 2 of its top 3 teams alive. But having 2 (with Marquette and not Syracuse) will stand as disappointing.
Nonetheless, it doesn’t change my view that the league was the deepest in the nation this season.
Let’s be clear: the only reason there are still two Big East teams left is because they beat other Big East teams in the second round. And nobody should have more than eight teams in the tournament.
@290,
I think ND was exposed in the Big Least tourney.
The Big East was the deepest conference in the nation this year. No denying that – but once you get to the Sweet 16 and beyond, the issue becomes more about the quality of the teams at the top of the conference rather than how many merely good teams you have – see, for example: Acc – UNC/Duke, SEC – Florida/UK, Big 1(0,1,2) – tOSU/Wisconsin, The City of Richmond – Richmond/VCU(oops, Richmond’s not a conference).
The Big East had one real threat to make the Final 4, imo, and that was Pitt, who first benefitted, then suffered from brain farts in losing to Butler, and upsets will happen in a one and done tourney like the NCAA. Frankly, the two most impressive teams from this weekend were tOSU, who absolutely killed George Mason, and VCU, who did the same thing to Purdue. Of course, VCU is less likely to continue to play at that level than Ohio St.
If I had to predict, I think we’ll see Ohio St over the Tar Heels, Duke over UConn, Kansas over FSU, and Florida over Wisconsin to round out the Final Four, with Ohio St and KU battling it out for the title, with OSU winning.
288—I can’t. I really just can’t. I mean, he’s f—ing success, you know?
Maybe we’ll trade him for 7 2/3 innings of Octavio Dotel, or something.
According to rWAR, Kyle Davies has been worth -1.5 WAR in his six-year career, and Jordan Schafer was worth -1.3 WAR in his 50-game cup of coffee in the bigs.
Stu, if we traded Schafer for Davies, would that make you happy or sad?
Extremely sad. Obviously.
Today’s lineup tells me that Schafer will be cut sooner rather than later:
1. Prado LF, 2. Gonzalez SS, 3. Heyward RF, 4. Uggla 2B, 5. Freeman 1B, 6. Ross C, 7. Mather CF, 8. Lucas 3B, 9.Kawakami
Stu, I also can’t quit Schafer. If he has a decent year in Triple A this year, he still might be the best option for CF next year, especially if Derek Lowe is still on the payroll.
298—Yeah, I think of next year as Schafer’s Last Stand, too. Obviously, he needs to be playing every day, and with McLouth’s successful Spring, he’s not going to be able to do that in Atlanta. I have never believed that he’d make the major-league roster.
I honestly expect a pretty big year from him in Gwinnett, though.
JJ, it’s just mind-boggling to me. USC sucks, but Georgetown and Purdue are legit teams and VCU just blew them out. I haven’t really seen them play this year so I can’t decide if they’ve just been underrated, or they’ve turned on a switch that no one knew they had.
I know it’s just spring, but I hate seeing Alex Gonzalez batting second.
Nate Silver had a “don’t trust teams that far overperform who you think they are” line about Notre Dame going into the NCAAs. Wish I would’ve listened.
And I really should’ve, seeing how Georgia took them to 2OT and would’ve won had it been for a truckload of missed FTs.
How Florida State lost to Auburn- Auburn!- I’ll never know.
Pearl is out at UT.
We’re raking against Pelfrey in the 4th, Five straight hits!
#291
Let’s also be clear that the only way you get 2 Big East teams playing each other in the “third round” is for all 4 of them to win in the “second round.”
If they were in different brackets you could get zero Big East teams in the next round, or you could get up to 4.
#293
Yup. Deep, not top-heavy.
The 11 Big East teams that made the tournament went 20-9 against all the other (non-BE) tournament teams in the regular season. That’s a big reason why they put so many into the Big Dance.
FWIW, my bracket (which was admittedly crazy) didn’t have any Big East teams in the Final 4 & only 2 in the Final 8.
Make that six!
Then an error by Wright.
Fun ralley the Braves have going at the moment. I’m still completely undecided about who I’d prefer between Mather and Wilkin Ramirez to be the backup CF.
According to KenPom, UK has a 24% chance of beating OSU. I’ll take it…. a puncher’s chance.
I stand by my statement that the NCAA had an injury-exception-esque argument for keeping Tennessee out of the tournament. The Vols had quit on Pearl and the season and…surprise surprise, played like they had quit on Pearl and the season.
VCU plays in competitive conference, beat UCLA earlier in year and can play different offensive styles. Shot threes against slow Georgetown team and when Purdue tried to cover threes VCU attacked open middle. They beat Duke couple years ago same way. CAA rivals GMU & ODU have some good tournament wins over years. Underdogs prepared by good coaches can do well.
Mets in mid-season form, The Braves just put up a SEVEN SPOT in the fourth inning. BRING ON OPENING DAY!
Looks like the Braves had a fun 4th today.
LOLMets.
Why are we always playing the Mets? I’m afraid we’ll get overconfident going into the season.
—————
VCU lost to Georgia STATE by 10 – an accomplishment so impressive that the Panthers fired their coach (Rod Barnes).
There simply IS no explanation for the Rams tourney run.
—————
Listened to an interview with Chandler Parsons. Against every fiber of my being and every ounce of my will, I came away liking the young man.
Just tuned in to see Jordan Schafer swinging on the first pitch and rolling out to first base. Same ol’ Jordan.
Mather and Schafer have both looked useless in ST.
Why do we play any spring training games against a team we’ll play 18 times in the regular season?
my mlb at-bat app says proctor has walked 2 straight and is now facing jose reyes. for the first time in my life, i’m cheering for the mets.
The problem with Proctor is that we all knew he was this bad. I expected him to be awful and I still cant explain why the Braves are even giving him this shot. There is no way Marek is worse than this guy.
Regrettably, he got out of the inning.
Oh, and Lucas is apparently at short just now. let’s hope he does really well.
what was Kenshins line?
Maybe Proctor’s job is to give Fredi practice in Bobbyspeak. “He’s throwing real good out there. He’s just a little bit away. He almost got out of that, he just couldn’t quite get his pitch in.”
I am still holding out hope for Schafer, too.
He was primarily a pitcher coming in to his professional career. It was a testament to his athleticism that he adjusted so well to centerfield and came on with the bat.
Maybe, that was “beginner’s luck,” but I hold out hope that the athlete will still adjust and has just been hampered by all the missed playing time.
I saw Schafer spending a lot of time in the batting tunnels in Florida. He seems to have a good work ethic, but I doubt he has ever read Dale Carnegie.
Hey, at least Proctor’s a better pitcher than Tanyon Sturtze.
313—I like him, too, much to my chagrin.
Until that double play, I actually had somehow managed not to realize that Freeman’s a right-handed first baseman who bats lefty.
You’d almost think he was Canadian.
Poor Mets…
Even the Archbishop of New York is taking shots at them.
On “60 Minutes” last night, Archbishop Timothy Dolan told Morley Safer that people who think he could be the first American Pope are as deluded as Mets fans.
“The people that say that, Morley, also think the Mets are going to win the World Series. So … I wouldn’t put too much credibility in that one.”
Ouch.
KK- 3IP 3H 3R 1ER 1BB 3K
@320, typical snake bit outing. Couldn’t overcome an error by Gonzalez and gave up 3, I think, after loading the bases on a walk, error and HBP.
New post, new poll.