The Diamondbacks acquired second baseman Aaron Hill and shortstop John McDonald from the Blue Jays for Kelly Johnson, tweets John Gambadoro Sports 620 KTAR. Notably, the Jays have called a press conference for 3:30pm central time.
Sam Hutcheson
on August 23, 2011 at 2:27 pm
And so the parade of former Braves middle infielders to Canada continues…
Smitty
on August 23, 2011 at 2:27 pm
@1
I have met Pat a few times. She is a great person.
I feel sorry for the dementia. She will probably dominate it.
jjschiller
on August 23, 2011 at 2:40 pm
@3 – Peter Orr has, strangely, been left behind.
MikeM
on August 23, 2011 at 2:46 pm
Is it too early for me to be thinking about Game 1 and Gallardo/Greinke?
The Braves have not won Game 1 of a postseason series since NLDS in 2001.
They have had the lead in exactly 2 of their last 54 Game 1 innings.
I think those two stats have contributed more than any other to my damaged psyche as a baseball fan over the past decade. Finding your team in the 0-1 hole in the first series is just so dreadful. Let this be the year we bring that dread to our enemies!
ryan c
on August 23, 2011 at 2:48 pm
Seems like a really weird move for the D’backs during the playoff race especially considering Kelly has it in him to carry a team with one of his patented hot streaks. Neither Hill or McDonald really offer anything. Am I missing something?
Smitty
on August 23, 2011 at 2:56 pm
@7
Who knows. I want the Giants to make the playoffs and beat the Phillies
NickH
on August 23, 2011 at 2:57 pm
@7 no, I think this is just a dumb trade for the DBacks. Kelly Johnson is clearly a superior player to Hill. Toronto will offer KJ arbitration in the off season, hoping he’ll decline it and they will get a Type A compensation draft pick. Even if he accepts, KJ would probably only make $8M or so, no more than the cost of Aaron Hill’s team options going forward.
braves14
on August 23, 2011 at 3:06 pm
Mac did you get my South Carolina preview in your Braves Journal at gmail dot com inbox?
Johnny
on August 23, 2011 at 3:08 pm
The Earth quake was just weird. Cube walls shaking and stuff. Give me a hurricane anytime. At least you can run from those.
Dang KJ to the Jays? Who knows maybe the magic Rogers Field dust will get his average up to .330 next year.
Michael
on August 23, 2011 at 3:08 pm
@9 Will KJ be a Type A free agent?
————–
Sad news about Pat Summitt. Mental deterioration, dementia, Alzheimer’s, etc seem like a very sad thing for all involved. Hopefully they will find a cure for this. I heard once that the medical world knows as much about the brain now as they did about the heart 25 years ago, relatively.
Yes, I got the preview. I’ll have the Ole Miss preview up tomorrow, probably, and yours Friday.
Grst
on August 23, 2011 at 3:39 pm
@11 Those were my thoughts exactly, having moved from FL to the North East. I was on Capitol Hill, so of course the first thought everyone had was “terrorist attack”.
1. Bourn CF
2. Prado LF
3. McCann C
4. Uggla 2B
5. Jones 3B
6. Hinske 1B
7. Gonzalez SS
8. Heyward RF
9. Minor LH
When my eyes first set on the lineup, I saw Hinske’s name and thought for sure my wisecrack in a previous post about him starting over Heyward now that Georgie’s out had come true. But apparently it’s just a night off for Freddie.
FWIW, Wandy Rodriguez apparently claimed off waivers by Colorado.
Seems like the Astros are cleaning house.
csg
on August 23, 2011 at 4:51 pm
Astros are going to want something of value for him though and his contract isnt team friendly. Colorado may make a deal, but they shouldnt have to give up anything good to get himm unless Houston eats salary.
A friend had just come over and I said I would turn AC on. Just as I did house shook for 35 seconds and I thought I caused it.
Kelly may hit 50 HRs in Canada.
Askia
on August 23, 2011 at 5:17 pm
Had to abandon my car in DC due to the earthquake.
PeteOrr
on August 23, 2011 at 6:17 pm
Really not looking good for Hanson. Scratched his bullpen session today because his shoulder was sore after his nine pitches yesterday. Frigging shoulders suck.
You all know how I feel. We can do it without him.
PeteOrr
on August 23, 2011 at 6:33 pm
Hanson’s really, really good when he’s healthy, but of course it’s kind of ridiculous to say that he’s the key to winning the series. There’s too much good pitching otherwise for that to be the case. I think he could have been extra good in cold weather with that thick, disgusting beard to insulate his chin though.
Johnny
on August 23, 2011 at 6:37 pm
The 8 man pitching staff looking pretty good right now.
blazon
on August 23, 2011 at 6:45 pm
scary really how we all see Heyward at 8 in the order and nobody comments how strange it looks…behind Sea Bass even…
3 months ago the blogs were up in arms wanting him moved from 6 up to 2 – to get him more bats…Fredi was taking major heat…
with hindsight he should have been in AAA three weeks ago and who knows then…
but now he’s in a real limbo trap, neither one thing or another…
i honestly saw this coming – wrote a piece after the Giants series last October comparing the body language of Posey and Jason…one looked as though he belonged, the other looked lost…and 0/16 kinda confirmed it…
i’m sure Chipper is right about needing more than one swing but there’s something else there going on, in his head, that’s not related to injuries…
and it was there last October.
I like the idea of pairing up starters that several people here have brought up.
blazon
on August 23, 2011 at 6:52 pm
while i’m at it…BMac needs to go back to 5 behind Freddy and Uggla…it worked well that way, bring it back…
as fantastic as they both are JV and CK have swapped roles over the last few weeks regarding who’s the more likely to wobble…clearly JV is now, Kimbrel has effected a real change in his control without it hurting his nastiness…
28: That sounds like a really great war strategy that would completely fall apart when boots hit the ground. All it takes is a wacky 15-inning game or a double-header and it seems like you’d be screwed.
csg
on August 23, 2011 at 6:55 pm
So does Hanson pitch in 2012?
Adam M
on August 23, 2011 at 7:04 pm
I tend to agree that Hanson is necessary to the Braves’ WS hopes, but of course anything can happen. Maybe Minor gets on a roll, Jurrjens rediscovers his mojo, or Lowe starts getting luckier on balls in play. My guess is that at least two of those things have to happen for the Braves to have a shot–provided Tommy is done.
Looking ahead to the weekend, if Irene continues its track up the Atlantic coast, there’s going to be a lot of mayhem on baseball scheduling, including the Braves weekend series in Flushing.
Brian J.
on August 23, 2011 at 7:21 pm
Two more LOB Cubs. (LOLBCubs?)
csg
on August 23, 2011 at 7:22 pm
Who was our last 30HR player before Uggla? Andruw?
Okay, we should be embarrassing this chump and we’re not and it troubles me. Maybe the mythical second time through the lineup will do the trick.
krugerindustrialsmoothing
on August 23, 2011 at 7:56 pm
why is coleman allowed to wear a white glove?
Dan
on August 23, 2011 at 7:58 pm
You know what never gets old? The Peachtree TV commercials for ‘The Big Bang Theory’. Sure glad I will get to see it another dozen times or so over the course of this game.
Chipper just got his 2586th hit, tying him with Julio Franco for 80th all time! Chipper and Julio are two of my favorite players of all time, so this is a very jubilant occasion for me.
At 30 scoreless innings in a row, the Braves have gone a long way to sanitize the Proctor stink off their pitching stats. Still a ways to go before the job is done, though…
James
on August 23, 2011 at 8:21 pm
@43
Gloves can be any color they just have to be one solid color.
Brian J.
on August 23, 2011 at 8:30 pm
Thus endeth the streak.
Trace
on August 23, 2011 at 8:32 pm
I think I just saw Uggla’s lack of range that everyone’s been talking about.
spike
on August 23, 2011 at 8:34 pm
An out would be quite handy here
krugerindustrialsmoothing
on August 23, 2011 at 8:35 pm
@81
ok, thanks. odd though that you can’t wear white sleeves, but a white glove is OK.
end of the night for minor?
Kyle B.
on August 23, 2011 at 8:35 pm
Someone referenced this a few posts ago, and the Cubs announcers just mentioned it too, but what’s the story with Javy not catching Maddux?
Thank you for being the Cuuuuubs,
Bases loaded, thats where you flub
Your team is crap, you’re a goat and a confidante…
csg
on August 23, 2011 at 9:31 pm
Useless
NickH
on August 23, 2011 at 9:31 pm
If Chipper wasn’t, well, Chipper, he would get a lot of shit for his failure to run hard to second base there.
Also, nice play by Castro following that up.
Brian J.
on August 23, 2011 at 9:32 pm
And if you threw a party,
And invited everyone you knew…
You would see
The biggest gifts your team gave me
And the card attached would say,
“Thank You For Being the Cuuuuuuubs!”
Stu
on August 23, 2011 at 9:32 pm
Cannot say I expected to find a nod to the Golden Girls when I checked in, tonight.
Kimbrel is doing to be a dead-armed man soon. It is beautiful, though.
PeteOrr
on August 23, 2011 at 10:01 pm
Kimbrell is just ridiculous. That was an extremely satisfying win.
csg
on August 23, 2011 at 10:05 pm
Postgame…
Glavine: Jason is it just as simple as keeping everything up the middle or is it more complicated than that?
Heyward: Much more complicated. Im not starting everyday, no complaints there, we need the best team on the field. But I need in game reps to get this thing going and I cant do that from the bench.
Use code “Journal” for a 5% discount.
http://www.ajc.com/sports/tennessees-summitt-has-early-1134035.html
Pat Summitt has early onset dementia… How awful.
MLBTR…
The Diamondbacks acquired second baseman Aaron Hill and shortstop John McDonald from the Blue Jays for Kelly Johnson, tweets John Gambadoro Sports 620 KTAR. Notably, the Jays have called a press conference for 3:30pm central time.
And so the parade of former Braves middle infielders to Canada continues…
@1
I have met Pat a few times. She is a great person.
I feel sorry for the dementia. She will probably dominate it.
@3 – Peter Orr has, strangely, been left behind.
Is it too early for me to be thinking about Game 1 and Gallardo/Greinke?
The Braves have not won Game 1 of a postseason series since NLDS in 2001.
They have had the lead in exactly 2 of their last 54 Game 1 innings.
I think those two stats have contributed more than any other to my damaged psyche as a baseball fan over the past decade. Finding your team in the 0-1 hole in the first series is just so dreadful. Let this be the year we bring that dread to our enemies!
Seems like a really weird move for the D’backs during the playoff race especially considering Kelly has it in him to carry a team with one of his patented hot streaks. Neither Hill or McDonald really offer anything. Am I missing something?
@7
Who knows. I want the Giants to make the playoffs and beat the Phillies
@7 no, I think this is just a dumb trade for the DBacks. Kelly Johnson is clearly a superior player to Hill. Toronto will offer KJ arbitration in the off season, hoping he’ll decline it and they will get a Type A compensation draft pick. Even if he accepts, KJ would probably only make $8M or so, no more than the cost of Aaron Hill’s team options going forward.
Mac did you get my South Carolina preview in your Braves Journal at gmail dot com inbox?
The Earth quake was just weird. Cube walls shaking and stuff. Give me a hurricane anytime. At least you can run from those.
Dang KJ to the Jays? Who knows maybe the magic Rogers Field dust will get his average up to .330 next year.
@9 Will KJ be a Type A free agent?
————–
Sad news about Pat Summitt. Mental deterioration, dementia, Alzheimer’s, etc seem like a very sad thing for all involved. Hopefully they will find a cure for this. I heard once that the medical world knows as much about the brain now as they did about the heart 25 years ago, relatively.
Yes, I got the preview. I’ll have the Ole Miss preview up tomorrow, probably, and yours Friday.
@11 Those were my thoughts exactly, having moved from FL to the North East. I was on Capitol Hill, so of course the first thought everyone had was “terrorist attack”.
Lineup
1. Bourn CF
2. Prado LF
3. McCann C
4. Uggla 2B
5. Jones 3B
6. Hinske 1B
7. Gonzalez SS
8. Heyward RF
9. Minor LH
When my eyes first set on the lineup, I saw Hinske’s name and thought for sure my wisecrack in a previous post about him starting over Heyward now that Georgie’s out had come true. But apparently it’s just a night off for Freddie.
Another fave Nick Ashford composition, though the filter of the one & only Steve Marriott of Humble Pie:
http://tinyurl.com/yaay7b
“Hound Dog” always rules, but that’s not the Elvis tune I’ve had in mind today. It’s Otis Blackwell’s “All Shook Up.”
It’s the right thing to do, but I’d have a hard time not pencilling in “Freeman” in every lineup I submit.
——————
Lost my mother-in-law to Alzheimer’s. It’s the devil’s own disease. Really terrible news.
Kelly Johnson will have to work hard to be a Type B free agent. No way he’s Type A.
FWIW, Wandy Rodriguez apparently claimed off waivers by Colorado.
Seems like the Astros are cleaning house.
Astros are going to want something of value for him though and his contract isnt team friendly. Colorado may make a deal, but they shouldnt have to give up anything good to get himm unless Houston eats salary.
A friend had just come over and I said I would turn AC on. Just as I did house shook for 35 seconds and I thought I caused it.
Kelly may hit 50 HRs in Canada.
Had to abandon my car in DC due to the earthquake.
Really not looking good for Hanson. Scratched his bullpen session today because his shoulder was sore after his nine pitches yesterday. Frigging shoulders suck.
Leo says in the pregame, “We can make the playoffs without Hanson, but we won’t win the World Series.” Discuss.
You all know how I feel. We can do it without him.
Hanson’s really, really good when he’s healthy, but of course it’s kind of ridiculous to say that he’s the key to winning the series. There’s too much good pitching otherwise for that to be the case. I think he could have been extra good in cold weather with that thick, disgusting beard to insulate his chin though.
The 8 man pitching staff looking pretty good right now.
scary really how we all see Heyward at 8 in the order and nobody comments how strange it looks…behind Sea Bass even…
3 months ago the blogs were up in arms wanting him moved from 6 up to 2 – to get him more bats…Fredi was taking major heat…
with hindsight he should have been in AAA three weeks ago and who knows then…
but now he’s in a real limbo trap, neither one thing or another…
i honestly saw this coming – wrote a piece after the Giants series last October comparing the body language of Posey and Jason…one looked as though he belonged, the other looked lost…and 0/16 kinda confirmed it…
i’m sure Chipper is right about needing more than one swing but there’s something else there going on, in his head, that’s not related to injuries…
and it was there last October.
I like the idea of pairing up starters that several people here have brought up.
while i’m at it…BMac needs to go back to 5 behind Freddy and Uggla…it worked well that way, bring it back…
as fantastic as they both are JV and CK have swapped roles over the last few weeks regarding who’s the more likely to wobble…clearly JV is now, Kimbrel has effected a real change in his control without it hurting his nastiness…
28: That sounds like a really great war strategy that would completely fall apart when boots hit the ground. All it takes is a wacky 15-inning game or a double-header and it seems like you’d be screwed.
So does Hanson pitch in 2012?
I tend to agree that Hanson is necessary to the Braves’ WS hopes, but of course anything can happen. Maybe Minor gets on a roll, Jurrjens rediscovers his mojo, or Lowe starts getting luckier on balls in play. My guess is that at least two of those things have to happen for the Braves to have a shot–provided Tommy is done.
Predictions on Coleman’s line tonight?
So far it’s one perfect inning with a strikeout.
Looking ahead to the weekend, if Irene continues its track up the Atlantic coast, there’s going to be a lot of mayhem on baseball scheduling, including the Braves weekend series in Flushing.
Two more LOB Cubs. (LOLBCubs?)
Who was our last 30HR player before Uggla? Andruw?
Noooooo, I thought that was gone.
Man I wish AAG was willing to walk every once in a while.
36 — Andruw in ’06, yes. LaRoach hit 32 that year also.
Okay, we should be embarrassing this chump and we’re not and it troubles me. Maybe the mythical second time through the lineup will do the trick.
why is coleman allowed to wear a white glove?
You know what never gets old? The Peachtree TV commercials for ‘The Big Bang Theory’. Sure glad I will get to see it another dozen times or so over the course of this game.
Come on Alex….. Don’t swing…
Way to go, Alex!!!!!
It would be best not to lose Hanson, obviously. That said, Randall Delgado and Julio Teheran are at Gwinnett.
Chipper just got his 2586th hit, tying him with Julio Franco for 80th all time! Chipper and Julio are two of my favorite players of all time, so this is a very jubilant occasion for me.
Hey, a walk for aag!
AAG with the 5 ball walk!!
I am…speechless…
A-GON!!!! BALL FOUR!
Oh my, AAG took a walk.
GO GO GO GO GO!
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YES!!! HEYWARD IS BACK!
YES!!!
That was the most unlikely sequence I’ve ever seen.
HEYWARD!!!
Ehh. Constanza would have hit a five-run homer.
Where is your Constanza now, Fredi?
HEYWARD!!!
I want you all to know I visualized that ahead of time.
Wally Pipp!
I miss Constanza.
@55- No kidding. Earthquakes, hurricanes, AAG walk, and Heyward grand slam. What else will happen today?
God I hope that gets Heyward going …
Small sample size.
In the words of the immortal Paul Stanley, WHOOOO-OOOOO-OOOOOO-OOOOOO-OOH!!!
45 — It’s even Julio’s birthday today.
In bizarro world Heyward gets a hold of one!
Okay, all this happening with 2 outs is definitely chump-worthy. I’m glad I started bitching when I did because now I can take credit for all this.
A wind-aided wall scraper?
65- Dogs and cats living together, followed by mass hysteria.
42- I think we’ve got the embarrassment covered now.
Jason will be benched tomorrow for missing the squeeze sign.
@71 – Haha, well, yeah.
at band box Wrigley????
@73 LMAO
He sure did not want to pitch to Hinski
He had no business pitching to Hinske with AGon on deck. The walk was stunning.
Uggla had an ugly defensive inning there.
At 30 scoreless innings in a row, the Braves have gone a long way to sanitize the Proctor stink off their pitching stats. Still a ways to go before the job is done, though…
@43
Gloves can be any color they just have to be one solid color.
Thus endeth the streak.
I think I just saw Uggla’s lack of range that everyone’s been talking about.
An out would be quite handy here
@81
ok, thanks. odd though that you can’t wear white sleeves, but a white glove is OK.
end of the night for minor?
Someone referenced this a few posts ago, and the Cubs announcers just mentioned it too, but what’s the story with Javy not catching Maddux?
@86 – The bowling ball incident.
Jeez Minor, settle down.
Ok. What?
Minor is like Lowe.. If Lowe was left handed and actually effective for the 5 innings he spends on the mound.
Edit: Maybe I spoke to soon…
Get Jo-Jo Minor out of there.
I can’t believe this.
AAG, you have one job on this team and you didn’t do it.
That’s not an E6. That’s and E3.
This is getting ugly.
I blame John R. for his post @80
He had more time than he thought he did.
Thank god for Bourn.
Don’s call on that had me freakin’ out. Whew!
96: My apologies! I shouldn’t have uttered the name of you know who…
After that inning: the first television ad is one for Braves postseason tickets.
Awesome job, Jason.
Hot hand alert.
Chip: Lots of firsts against the Cubs for Heyward.
Chip then goes on to list all of the two firsts for Heyward against the Cubs.
Chipper’s work with Jason paying off?
Decent chance Freeman would have saved both errors
smart not to pitch to Lugo.
@101, Well, that’s just a bit gauche, eh?
@71
A little bitter?
Martinez is overqualified for his role, but it’s not like O’Ventbrel is going anywhere.
Arizona wins 2-0 over Washington. On a home run by Sean Burroughs. His first in the majors in six years.
87 — Bowling ball incident? Never heard of a such a thing.
Looks like 5 ain’t gonna get it done.
Oh no.
We are about to out-Cubs the Cubs.
Attaboy, George.
SHEROL CLAP
YES! Whew.
114- No one out Cubs the Cubs!
Thank you for being the Cuuuuubs,
Bases loaded, thats where you flub
Your team is crap, you’re a goat and a confidante…
Useless
If Chipper wasn’t, well, Chipper, he would get a lot of shit for his failure to run hard to second base there.
Also, nice play by Castro following that up.
And if you threw a party,
And invited everyone you knew…
You would see
The biggest gifts your team gave me
And the card attached would say,
“Thank You For Being the Cuuuuuuubs!”
Cannot say I expected to find a nod to the Golden Girls when I checked in, tonight.
You’re welcome.
Arodys…what a nice asset to have in the bullpen.
Sooo much better than Proctor
Again Jason!
It’s very easy to forget that Constanza is 5 years older than Heyward
Former Braves Alert: Success is 1 for 3 so far tonight with a SB for the Astros.
Heyward sucks.
Dammit.
Alright Byrd, I’m sold: you’re good. Now let’s go 1-2-3 and end this thing.
There’s one!
Isn’t Heyward supposed to be a good defensive player? Seems kinda bumbling the times I’ve seen him play.
Heyward giveth and then taketh away
Great job by the pen tonight, incredible.
Another day at the office for Craig.
Just keep winning boys, nice job Kimbrel
1-2-3 strikes and yer out!
Kimbrel is the man.
Kimbrel is doing to be a dead-armed man soon. It is beautiful, though.
Kimbrell is just ridiculous. That was an extremely satisfying win.
Postgame…
Glavine: Jason is it just as simple as keeping everything up the middle or is it more complicated than that?
Heyward: Much more complicated. Im not starting everyday, no complaints there, we need the best team on the field. But I need in game reps to get this thing going and I cant do that from the bench.
Maybe tonight gets him going.
Kimbrel has pitched 11 games in the 23 days of August.
SF and STL both are losing. Phils and Ariz both won.
JH seems to have changed his approach. He deserves credit. So do his advisors.
Recapped.
do either SF or AZ have a chance in ist round?
To Kyle B @86: See here: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/columnist/bodley/2003-09-19-bodley_x.htm