Whatever he does, we can be sure that it will be stupid.
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Whatever he does, we can be sure that it will be stupid.
Use code “Journal” for a 5% discount.
Odds of Fredi’s Stupid Move of the Day:
Unecessary sacrifice bunt: 1-5
Unecessary Intenional Walk: 1-3
Pitching Cheryl to a rh hitter: 1-2
Pitching Linebrink to any hitter: 1-1
‘Resting’ both Chipper and McCann: 3-1
‘Resting’ those 2 plus Heyward: 5-1
Starting Conrad at 2b: 12-1
Giving Hicks a pinch hitting appearance: 15-1
Not using Ross against a LOOGY: No odds, since that’s guaranteed to happen.
I’m sure in 20 years, once Fredi Gonzalez’s Braves have won 15 straight division titles of their own, we’ll be sorry we ever doubted him. No one as dumb as Bobby Cox could possibly fail to be as good a manager as Bobby Cox.
I feel ill every time I think about Fredi Gonzalez. I can’t believe what’s happening right now. Even with the terrible hitting, the Braves are underperforming their run differential by the biggest margin in baseball. For like the 5th year in a row, this sucks.
Lineup:
1. Prado 2. Heyward 3. Chipper 4. Dunggla 5. Freeman 6.Alex Glovezalez 7. McLouth of the South 8. Hot-sauce Ross 9. JJ
I still think Fredo Bozo has money on these games.
What’s worse?
That Fredi only uses Cheryl to pitch to the left-handed pitcher?
Or
That Fredi doesn’t trust Linebrink to face the pitcher?
@6 – That is such a profound question. I prefer Cheryl’s plight because it’s such an essentially NL-only strategy. Bringing in a pitcher who can’t pitch with the sole purpose of getting a good(?) matchup against a pitcher who can’t hit (in a game vs. Larusa of all people!) is just beautifully(?) symmetric.
The more serious indictment is against Linebrink – Fredi had the confidence to allow him to pitch against non-pitcher hitters, and Fredi is an idiot, so it follows that it was idiotic to have confidence in Linebrink to successfully pitch to non-pitcher hitters.
It’s going to be a morning recap, probably, I’m afraid. I think Fredi put something in my food.
Oh, and Alex texts me that the operation in Abbottabad was almost compromised because Fredi wanted to pull the SEALS and bring in George Sherrill to close.
WWFD?
I think he pinch runs Brian McCann for Mather after the latter fails but reaches on a pinch-hit bunt attempt.
Hey guys, real quick advice needed:
I’m about to purchase MLB.TV with the intention of splitting it with my Red Sox-fan brother in law. Anyone know if I’m going to encounter any hang-ups with trying to share the account, ie, has MLB got any method of crushing my fun?
Also, should I pay the $5 extra per month for DVR control, home-away broadcast, and multi-game view?
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks
#11
I have mlb.tv & I love it.
However, you definitely can’t access the account at the same time from different computers, no.
Also, if games are going on at different times (say, the Sawx in the afternoon, Braves in evening) you’ll have to make sure that you logout every time you’re done. Otherwise, the other guy can’t log in when his game comes on.
I like the home/away choice personally, but that’s the main thing for me. I don’t really use the other options.
I think we’ll be able to work the times out because I’ll be watching archived games a lot because I work at night. Good to know about the logging out problem. Thanks a lot!
@11&12
I split mine with 2 local guys (one a Sox fan and one a Cards fan) and have never had trouble. In fact, I’ve actually used it on my Roku and Iphone while the others use their computer. 4 streams at once and never trouble.
@11 and 12 I don’t think that is completely accurate. Me and my friend split the account and we watch the same games constantly. So there are multiple logins, just don’t overdo it I’d say.
Just back from the dentist for some major work and still flyin’. My posts will either be pithy, offensive or non existent. So just like normal. oh and SCOTS was awesome Saturday, and yours truly had’em on their feet as well.
Scott Linebrink knocked out David Freese until mid-July by breaking his hand yesterday. So he is helping a team win the division, it’s just that the team is the Reds.
“Tonight’s forecast: a freeze is coming!”
Spike, I didn’t know you opened for Southern Culture on the Skids — that’s awesome!
#14/15
That was definitely not my experience.
I need some more sophisticated stat heads to explain this to me. Beyond the run differential we are also leading the league in BA with runners in scoring position.
Is it really as simple as we have trouble getting runners in scoring position?
We’re second-to-last in the league in baserunners with a batter at the plate — exactly 7 ahead of the last-place Giants, and 37 behind the 14th-place Washington Nationals. We’re dead last in the league in plate appearances with runners in scoring position, 17 PA behind the Giants.
We’re also, famously, last in the league in stolen base success rate, by a very substantial margin, as we are five for fourteen in stolen base attempts.
And, for what it’s worth, our team offensive winning percentage is .418. So, even though our Pythagorean is 17-12, if it were up to our offense, we’d be 12-17.
Thanks AAR. I wonder how historically odd it is to be really good at driving runs in and terrible about getting them in scoring position.
Hitting with runners in scoring position is pretty much entirely luck. Teams don’t really manage to repeat it with any consistency. It’s much more salient that the Braves are incredibly bad at getting runners on. That’s far more indicative of their true talent. The fact that they’re hitting .326 with RISP is basically a fluke; the fact that they’re hardly getting anyone on base is something that we’ve all seen with our own eyes.
I’m going to use @1 as a drinking game template.
@24 A good point.
The problem’s the same as it’s always been this year. There aren’t any singles for whatever reason. Call it luck, call it poor hitting.
I’m waiting for the column that explains they have a killer instinct when they see runners in scoring position.
Wow, great play by Uggla and Freddie.
If AAG doesnt win the gold glove this year, they should quit handing it out…
Holy cow. Ross’ SLG has to be through the roof.
Ross shows that the Braves can’t really screw up the catching position, no matter how hard Fredi tries. (It’s .789, Kyle.)
The Boss!
Good Lord, he was out by five miles. The Braves have now been caught stealing twice as many times as they have successfully stolen a base. Why in hell was Martin trying to steal?
How many free outs is this team going to give up this year?
Through bunts and caught stealings, like Prado there, it feels like a lot.
Repeat after me, Martin. “I won’t try to steal bases when our best regular hitter’s at the plate.”
Thanks Brian.
Martin would have scored on that.
WHY?!
Dear God, I think sansho was right. I hate this team.
Why can’t Fredi realize it’s not his fucking job to win games, it’s the team’s. What a damn dunce. Let the offense do it’s damn job you sack of ignorant shit. We’d have, minimum, bases loaded 1 out here, if not another run.
Prado’s out looked weird, I thought it might have been a hit and run (or missed sign) since he had something like a 3 inch lead from first when he took off.
I don’t think Martin would have gone of his own accord, but it seems exactly like something Fredi would do. Martin has never seemed like a bad runner to me, and he didn’t try to steal that many bases last year either.
We’d have scored two more runs there if Martin had just sat on first.
Why is Cristhian Martinez warming up in the pen? Is Jair feeling gimpy?
You know who sucks? Fredi Gonzalez. Fredi Gonzalez sucks.
AGony doesn’t suck.
Both of those things are true.
@42 – Fredi was probably planning on bringing in Mather to bunt if they’d batted around to the pitcher’s spot last inning.
Oh God, now Fredi is going to get a big head now that 1/50 of his moves worked and start talking shit about how smart he is.
Oh, damn it. Nate should have corralled that one.
A truly pathetic effort by McLouth.
Play McCann in center.
Oh, goddamit.
Not every Braves catcher should be moved to center field, Stu.
Odds on Fredi ordering Freeman to steal home, from first?
It’d probably be a tie game right now if not for that inexplicable caught stealing.
Literally any Braves catcher could be moved to center and replace McLouth with no drop-off.
AGon’s awesomeness is being eroded by continued exposure to FGon.
“AGony doesn’t suck.”
“AGon’s awesomeness…”
Thought he was voted the official ‘whipping boy’ here?
Not once did I cast a vote for him. I’ve always liked him and been vocal about it.
Yes, the voting results were obviously laughable, even at the time. It was always going to be Cheryl.
Just tuned in… what happened this time that has everyone worked up?
Fredi being Fredi; Nate being Nate.
Ross’s SLG is now .800.
AGon does not have the full complement of awesomeness that, say, Heyward has, but it’s still too much to stand close contact with FGon’s mediocrity.
I have only watched for 10 minutes and I’m already irritated.
Heyward doing his best Ankiel impression right now.
Downeaster, do your thing however you want to do it. I have no business calling people out, and it’s bad for my angina besides.
Listening to the radio on the way home tonight – the Prado caught-stealing was clearly a missed sign by Heyward according to Don/Jim. Not that it matters…we now have a rather large sample size that says that we can’t hit this guy.
I didn’t read the answers to the poll closely enough. My eyes saw and fixated on Sherrill, and I just assumed that was the answer. But I’d like to change my answer to “Somehow, Fredi.”
Because he sucks.
That poll is depressing. Why do we have so much utter crap on this roster?
Baserunners!
Ok, Fredi… just calm down. Calm down…
I’d pinch-hit Mather for Freeman and sacrifice the runners over.
Do not swing on 3-0 please.
Squeeze! Pinch hit with Hicks! Manage the runs all the way home!
God bless Alex Gonzalez.
AGON!!!
@64 – note to self…save prodigious reverse-jinx powers for later on in the season when it really matters.
Fredi has to be pissed that he can’t order a squeeze now. He’ll probably bench AAG.
AAG is the anti-whipping boy
My mockery of the manager seems to be working. But I can’t take all the credit. The players deserve some too.
Not the first pitch, Alex!! Oh, ok, good hit!
Awesome. Way to go, AAG!
Betancourt is 6 for 13 against us this season with three extra basehits.
I am thoroughly enjoying this game.
It’s a lot of fun when Jurrjens is mowing down Brewers like Derek mowing down Milwaukee’s Best. It also provides FGon fewer chances to screw everything up.
So, Jair’s been brilliant, so far this season.
He hasn’t been walking anybody, which is the main difference, but he’s also benefiting from an otherworldly strand rate.
By the way, Fielder kills lefties.
Edit: not today, though. heh.
Also, Eric O’Failurety was one heck of a pick-up by Frank Wren, wasn’t he?
EOF!
Please don’t fail, Craig.
Why not let EOF finish it when he’s up with 2 outs and nobody on anyway.
Yes!
That’s good to see.
The Braves Save Returns!
Actually, I think it was good to get Kimbrel back in there for a confidence boost.
Craig had had a couple rough outings there. I’m glad to see him succeed in a lower-pressure situation.
Taste the sweet .500!
Wow. 11 of my 25 (NL-Only) fantasy starters are on the Brewers or Braves. (D-Ross; Fielder; Weeks; Hinske; Nyjer Morgan; J-Hey; Corey Hart; Jurrjens; Beachy; Venters; EOF) Heh. . . I also have Moylan and Teheran on my bench.
(Yay 25 starter NL-Only Keeper Leagues!)
Hmm, only 4 out of my 23 NL-only starters are Braves/Brewers. McCann, Chipper, McGehee (whom I acquired just this week for Russell Branyan and Charlie “Roy Halladay” Morton), and Axford. We don’t have benches, but Saito’s on my injured reserve. None of my 13 minor leaguers are in either organization.
Yes, I realize that nobody cares.
I have Kimbrel and Gallardo. Gallardo is pissing me off so much this year.
We beat Gallardo, that’s NOT supposed to happen.
I’m interested in the fact that you have 13 minor leaguers and yet no bench players.
@95 Stu?
Who is your provider? I am trying to urge my league to move to 40 man rosters with lots of minor leaguers . . .
We use CBSSports.
Yeah, there’s no bench — you have to play all of your guys. But we have “taxi squads,” which can hold up to 13 minor leaguers. It’s an auction league, but the taxi players are taken in a 3-round draft, each offseason.
It’s a really, really fun league.
So, the Hawks … !
Wow, Drew is indeed better than Woodson.
And Derek Rose just tweaked his ankle at the end of the game.
Joe Johnson showed up, and Teague played the entire game. Those are not supposed to happen to the Hawks.
Teague is evidence that Drew, while perhaps better than Woodson, is still not very good.
Also, I can’t believe the Marlins are 18-9.
And I can’t believe the Indians are 19-8. Shit’s weird sometimes.
Though Manny Acta’s probably a sharper knife than Fredi Gonzalez.
So I guess Ross is JJ’s personal catcher now? Maybe he’ll move up the lineup too.
@107 Yeah, that’s what Fredi said. I like that, and that’s what Bobby used to do until he had McCann.
Watching tonight’s game on my new mlb.tv account. Glad I went through with it, thanks for the advice guys.
mlb.tv is simultaneously fantastic and extremely frustrating. It’s so great to be able to watch baseball on demand, but the blackouts are super-frustrating, and there are some things about the interface that really bug me (like no “window mode” button when you’re in “full screen” mode). But this is my third year with it and I’m enjoying it thoroughly.
Nice tagline, I laughed.
Recapped.