Brought back in a dumpster-diving trade at the eligibility deadline, Matt hit .286 in 37 PA in September. That’s nice, but it’s a small sample size and also he had just one walk and just one extra-base hit, a double. I love the guy, but he turns 34 in March and his overall line last year was .263/.302/.323. He didn’t hit a single home run in 268 PA. Maybe he will bounce back, and I certainly hope so, but I never did expect him to age well, and he has to add a lot — like 40 points of batting average and 100 points or so of isolated power — to be a useful player. The Braves could eat his contract, but I don’t expect them to.
A better defensive player than he’s usually given credit for. He was actually one of the better and faster baserunners on the team in his first stint in Atlanta, but that probably isn’t so anymore.
Bring it, Fat Crybaby.
Hey guys/ladies, please send out some prayers to all the families affected here in the south from last nights storms. There were a lot of tornadoes that touched down and have been several casualties here in the BHAM area.
Rough weather last night in BHAM. Is weather-radio fatigue an illness?
Between Fielder and Morse, some balls will be hit out of that park wicked hard this season.
Everything is fine where I am, by the way. I seem to be pretty good at being in the quiet areas during storms.
Hey, guys, you wanted to talk Matt Diaz in the old thread, why not here? Come on!
It shows the level of excitement we have for the guy. Great guy, pretty useless baseball player at this point.
Also, I’m getting political ads on the sidebar. Not a reason to discuss politics at all. Just heading that off right now.
I’m getting ads for Hispanic cable service. Let’s talk about that.
I like Matt Diaz. If he can get his power numbers up, he will be a great role player.
He hasnt HR’d in his last 310 AB’s. I dont think we will see a power surge next year.
I credit Diaz and Willie Harris for my current level of fandom. Summer of ’07 was a particularly bleak period of life, and their dueling .350 batting averages in LF kept me company for the better part of it. My other enduring memory of that season is Hudson repeatedly taking shutouts into the 9th just to see Bobby leave him in for one batter too long and Bob Wickman waddle in from the ‘pen to blow it. It’s unclear whether this actually happened more than once or just one very devestating time.
This guy just got released from the Orioles. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a guy so powerless. He might fit in perfect with our current backup OF candidates: Constanza, Diaz, Durango, KYLE HUDSON UDSON UDSON.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=hudson001kyl
So the guy that muffed the punt for the 49ers yesterday is the White Sox’s Kenny Williams son. Maybe that’s common knowledge but I had no idea.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs/2011/story/_/id/7493708/2012-nfl-playoffs-san-francisco-49ers-kyle-williams-had-shoulder-injury
@12 – Poor bastard. Him and that kicker from the Ravens.
In 2012, we’ll likely see:
Hamels, Lee, Buehrle, Santana, Capuano, Kershaw, Lilly, and Sabathia.
Maybe we’ll miss one or two, but just in case, let’s keep Matt Diaz.
@12 What worse in that Kyle Williams blew the game not once, but twice.
I don’t know if I’d say it was “worse” but then again I’m biased. I was giddy after Williams’ second muffed punt.
I haven’t read all that much about it today but it doesn’t seem like there’s much talk about Harbaugh not taking a timeout at the end of the Ravens game. The FG unit was clearly rushed trying to get the kick off in time and the Ravens had a timeout they could’ve used but didn’t. No reason they shouldn’t have taken that timeout.
@14 – You could have listed every LHP in the whole league and been just as right.
Depressing.
@17
What I wonder is why the kicker was in such a rush to begin with. It was clear he was about to be needed, so why was he running onto the field with 10 seconds left on the play clock?
@16 Oh, I was too. Sucks to be him, though.
Assuming Chipper’s good health (please, Lord), I’m just not sure where Diaz is going to get consistent at-bats.
His history has been that of a lefty-killer (especially a Marlin lefty), but Prado will definitely get the start against lefties.
Sooo …
I guess what he is this year is pretty good Chipper-tragedy insurance. Or Prado MRSA insurance.
Love the guy. Just think he’s better playing every day. Who isn’t?
Maybe if Fredi defines his role early and he can mentally prepare – just think the nebulous nature of his role on the Pirates didn’t help.
@21 That assumes that Heyward will hit lefthanders this year.
An obvious question is, has Matty stuck with his off-season P90X workout program? What about Prado?
@22 you’ve pinned the real problem with the Diaz situation. He’ll get regular ABs in RF as Heyward’s caddy against LHP.
Sure, Diaz of 2009 would be worth platooning Heyward. But Diaz today won’t be an upgrade, but will likely get those ABs anyway.
The same source that reported that Prince signed with the Nats just said the deal is for 165-170 million. He also reported the Cody Ross signing…4 hours ago. Maybe this guy is legit.
Sickels has us as the eighth best farm system, with a logic that I find believable –
http://www.minorleagueball.com/2012/1/23/2728027/2012-baseball-farm-system-rankings-prospects
Jerry Sandusky.
@23
Knowing Prado, I’m sure he has already moved on to the more extreme P90X 2.
Matt Diaz bought a shake weight.
Can anyone recommend a scoring app for the iPad?
@29 The “I made love” app is popular with women
After it was obvious that we werent after a big addition I really wanted us to sign Betemit and Ross. It wouldve made this team very deep. Oh well, at least season ticket holders are getting a discount on food and beverages.
@31
Me too
@29, I had a good experience with ESPN iScore Baseball Scorekeeper. Of course, having said that, I end up using paper more, anyway, as I get kind of sick of being on devices all day. As far as apps go, though, it’s solid.
“Academy Award Nominee Jonah Hill”
Nothing for “Take Shelter”. Too bad — it snuck in and out of theaters quickly, and then I started hearing great things about it. Thought maybe a nomination or two might result in a return engagement so I could check it out.
“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” hasn’t gotten very good reviews at all, yet it’s nominated for Best Picture. It’s all because of the subject matter.
2011- Jesse Eisenberg
2012- Jonah Hill
2013- Michael Cera???
#33
Thanks, JoeyT.
I still keep score for every game I attend & the notion of ever doing it on an iPad seems impossible. Maybe it’s just me, but part of the idea of scoring games is putting your own spin on each one. I’m not sure I can do that with an iDevice.
Then, there’s the idea of taking an iPad to Yankee Stadium.
BTW, I vote for “Midnight in Paris.”
I was deep in plans to make and Eephus League scorekeeping app that was going to be spectacular, until the dev got too busy with stuff that would actually make him money. I’ve never found a scorekeeping app that I like.
My favorite movies this year were Moneyball and Warrior.
“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” was a horrible movie. Tom Hanks was good. That’s about it. It’s hard to find a good child actor. After watching this movie, the search continues.
One man’s top ten:
1) Hanna
2) Source Code
3) Poetry
4) The Tree of Life
5) Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
6) Rise of the Planet of the Apes
7) Meek’s Cutoff
8 ) Win Win
9) Drive
10)The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Another man’s top 5:
1. Moneyball
2. The Ides of March
3. Source Code
4. Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
5. X-Men First Class
Moneyball is the only Best Picture Nominee I’ve seen this year.
38—Seriously???
I liked the movie fine; it made for a fun date-night film we could both enjoy. But, Best Picture? No way. It’s not even one of Woody Allen’s best pictures. Waaaaaaaaaay too cheesy for any sort of grand award.
I’m honestly a little offended that it’s even nominated.
It’s not as good as “Annie Hall” or “Manhattan” or “Hannah & Her Sisters” or “Zelig” or a lotta his early/mid-era flicks, but it was better than “Moneyball” (which I did like) & it was the only other nominated flick I saw.
Cheesy? Hemingway & Picasso? To each his own, but I thought it was wonderfully endearing, and I’ll just assume you’ve never been to Paris because he really captured that town, much in the same way he did London (“Match Point”) & NYC (“Manhattan”).
I’ve been to Paris, but I didn’t encounter Gertrude Stein when I was there.
And, yes, cheesy. They weren’t Hemingway and Picasso; they were intense uber-parodies of Hemingway and Picasso. (Especially Hemingway. Lordy.)
Anyway, obviously, to each his own. I was just surprised by our extremely-different opinions on this one, since I usually find no better source for art I’m going to like than you.
Certainly not all art.
The uber-parodies are what I found most endearing, and if anyone deserves that treatment, it’s Hemingway. And what modern filmmaker would even bother? What modern filmmaker would even be allowed to go back & skewer these historical icons? That would’ve been taken out in the focus-group part of “development.”
Also, I loved the undercurrent of “this writer guy has really picked the wrong woman with her horrible family & friends.”
But most endearing, as mentioned: When Woody Allen falls in love with a city, he makes sure you love it, too.
The Swedish language versions of the Girl with the Dragon Tatoo series are better. I enjoyed all 3. The next one based on Elin Nordegren, “The Girl With the Half Billion Dollar Niblick” should be the best,
Great list sansho. Hit some of my favorites this year – Hanna, Source Code, Drive…I just watched Hanna last week. Was it really your favorite of the year? I told me wife that it had some of the best individual scenes (e.g., the amusement park, the subway, the opening set), but it wasn’t cohesive. Good acting in it too – the main character and Cate Blanchette were really good.
And have you seen the Scandanavian version of the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo? It was good….Fincher is great and should look elsewhere if a movie was done well in the last five years.
@47 – Beat me to it. Agree.
I thought Betemit might be a natural fit for the Braves. He can play 3rd, better bat than most on the bench. Too bad. He’ll be an Oriole.
I’m a little surprised The Ides of March didn’t get anything other than one for best writing. It’s certainly gotten much better reviews than Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (granted, I haven’t seen that) and I thought Gosling and Clooney gave great performances.
Oh, I forgot about Rango. I love Rango.
It looks like our division is about to get a little tougher. The Nats are suppose to sign Fielder to a 7 year deal.
Once I heard Fincher was directing the remake, I chose not to see the original or read the books. I wanted to go in knowing as little as possible. It was extraordinarily well-made, even if it did get sort of ridiculously lurid. The trailer with “The Immigrant Song” was amazing.
I was just completely taken in by Hanna. As you said, DJ, the set pieces were great, the score during the action sequences was awesome in a theater, and I’m a sucker for a movie that uses sci-fi elements to explore emotional themes. And who doesn’t love a good fight scene or three? Even the bad parts had a goofy charm, I thought. This was one of those years when the popcorn flicks executed better than the serious stuff IMO.
There’s an app called “Gamechanger” that’s pretty well done.
Apparently the Tigers might be offering a 9th year to Fielder. I dont see him aging well and that would be a ridiculous thing to do.
Fielder signed with Detroit – 9yr/$214
OK, you guys are in my wheelhouse now. The wife and I have an Oscar party every year and try to see everything possible (even come down to Midtown when they Screen the Nominated Short Films).
Here’s my top 13 so far:
1 Tree of Life
2 Ides of March
3 Melancholia
4 Warrior
5 Another Earth
6 Martha Marcy May Marlene
7 Hanna
8 Super 8
9 Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
10 The Descendants
11 The Debt
12 Attack the Block
13 Source Code
Still need to see:
The Artist
Shame
Drive
Take Shelter
Beginnings
Like Crazy
Margin Call
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
And I thought 50/50 and Moneyball were overrated.
Enjoyed “Hanna.” Oddly, it was the Chemical Brothers’ soundtrack that got me to the theater.
Though I thought the ending was kinda clunky & its frenetic vibe did seem to borrow from “Run Lola Run,” it’s a blast to see in the theater. I actually look forward to a sequel.
Poor Nationals. As with Teixeira, they probably just got used to drive up the price.
They will be relieved that they didnt spend $200 mil on Fielder. Maybe not now, but in 4-5 years they will be.
I met a Swedish guy when traveling a few years back before Fincher signed on to remake “Girl With The Dragon Tattoo”. He was so proud of Stieg Larrson and his books; to hear him tell it, the world knows Sweden because of IKEA, NOKIA, meatballs and blondes. To have something inherently Swedish catch fire internationally was very rewarding.
I can only imagine what he thought when he found out David Fincher was going to make “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” bigger and better. Made me feel sorry for him.
I knew that was going to happen. There was a lot of chatter about Fielder signing with Washington in the last few days, but none of it came from legitimate sources, and a lot of the stuff about three-year opt-out clauses and the like that was coming out made absolutely no sense for Washington.
This is unrelated and old news, but it seems Dyer failed multiple drug tests while at Auburn, which was the cause of his suspension and transfer. What a fool.
Shouldnt he have been suspended after the 1st failed drug test? I dont remember him missing any games during the season.
Detroit? Perfect.
#62
Don’t forget Swedish House Mafia or Propellerhead studio software (like Reason). Swedes get mad props in my world.
Man, how frickin’ strong do the Rays look this upcoming season? Along with their stellar rotation and rebuilt bullpen, they’ll have a lineup featuring Longoria, Jennings, Upton, Pena, Zobrist, Joyce, and Luke Scott.
Swedish chef in the Muppets was top notch.
@65 I’m not sure, he wasn’t suspended during the season but there were multiple instances of “disciplining”, such as not naming him the #1 back preseason. Auburn might have been covering it up, or knew about it but he didn’t fail a test until before the bowl game.
I have no idea who Jennings or Joyce are in that list, and I refuse to live in a world where Ben Zobrist and Luke Scott are fearsome hitters.
@70
Zobrist: averaged 5 WAR over the last 3 years playing the utility role (that’s amazing!)
Luke Scott: will not play the field and, if healthy, can frickin’ rake.
Jennings: 15HR/50 sb potential with dynamic fielding (Carl Crawford replica)
Joyce: 20 HR guy that plays above average defense.
The Rays team is built as a defense/pitching first team, but everyone in their starting lineup can hit. They can hit above average, field above average, and pitch above average. A few of their pitching prospects are going to end up in the bullpen for a few years because of their starting pitching depth, much like ours. They’re going to be a really strong club and I hope they DESTROY the Yankees.
If I were a betting man, I’d bet my life savings we pick this guy up soon.
http://tinyurl.com/6lmrshr
If you had a choice of any of the following players to fill the last bench spot for 1-1.5 million, who would you choose?
Pat Burrell
Johnny Damon
Carlos Guillen
Bill Hall
Raul Ibanez
Conor Jackson
Austin Kearns
Juan Pierre
Marcus Thames
J.D. Drew
Kosuke Fukudome
I’d pick Drew.
Thought I read where Drew was going to retire today. I’ll go Damon or Fukudome (though I thought he signed somewhere too).
Johnny Damon.
Sandusky should be charged with murdering Joe Paterno.
Jackson.
Ryan C, after Fielder signed with Detroit, I hope you won’t trust that guy you follow on Twitter quite as much.
I really enjoyed Hanna. Great little action flick about a girl kicking ass. So was Haywire.
Others I loved:
13 Assassins
X-Men: First Class
The Trip
Contagion
The Muppets
Enjoyed a lot:
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
The Adventures of Tintin
War Horse
Harry Potter
Super 8
Arthur Christmas
Captain America
Bridesmaids
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Margin Call
The Guard
Moneyball
50/50
Source Code
Shame
Enjoyed somewhat:
Cedar Rapids
The Adjustment Bureau
Paul
Sucker Punch
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
@78
Ive been following him for a while. He’s nailed a few before other people. The signings/trades he gets right, they’re right on the money as well. I do think he has an inside source that gives him information. However, because he’s trying so hard to win the approval of his followers, he tries to break things well before others even if the situation hasnt solidified. What’s the funny/sad thing is that he’s quit twitter after this last prediction went kaput.
Apparently I didn’t see any of last year’s movies. I did read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Liked it enough to want to read the other two.
@76 cancer killed paterno. Sandusky has enough against him to send him away for 20 lifetimes, one more won’t help those kids.
Id go Drew, but he’s retiring. No one on the list seems to help this team, but if I had to choose then Id pick Ankiel who isnt on that list. He can at least cover CF and provide a good OF arm.
or this…
MLBTR – •”Never say never,” said Pirates GM Neal Huntington to Jeff Nelson and Jim Memolo of MLB Network Radio when asked about a potential Andrew McCutchen trade. “If someone wants to back up the truck and give us one of those organization-altering deals, it’s something that we’d have to listen to…It would have to be a dramatic overpay on the part of the other club.”
So what would be the Braves realistic overpay? Teheran, Vizcaino, Simmons, Bethancourt? Wren wouldnt do that though.
Boras getting this deal for Fielder, 9/$214, really has me doubting the Braves ability to resign Bourn. The Braves will have the funds, but Wren wont overpay. Boras may get Bourn a huge deal.
Some questions to consider while enduring this interminable off-season:
1) Did San Fransisco water the field before the game Sunday?
2) Should every touchdown be reviewed in the booth?
3) Will Jorge Posada be missed much?
4) If you met Fred Biletnikoff at a card show, would you shake hands?
Go Braves!
7 Reasons I would like the Braves to sign J.D. Drew:
1. J.D. Drew has a career .772 OPS against LHP.
2. J.D. Drew’s named is actually David Jonathan Drew, so he should be D.J. Drew
3. He’s from GA so it’s likely he’d take less $
4. He had his best year in Atlanta
5. He can still play above average defense.
6. He makes our lineup a whole lot prettier when Chipper has to sit.
7. If Pastornicky flops, J.D. goes to Braves’ brass and convinces them to trade for his brother. He and his brother rip the 2nd half a new arsehole!
Warrior is surprisingly underrated. I really enjoyed that film.
Tintin brought back quite a few memories (I used to read Herge’s comic books all the time when I was younger). It wasn’t a good movie, but it was sentimental.
@87 re. Tintin. That’s how I felt about Super 8. It made me nostalgic.
I don’t like to be the one to marvel at Kentucky basketball players, but I gotta give it up here: That Anthony Davis is a beast.
I know his recruiting process smelled a bit (what’s new?) & he dominated a lousy Georgia offense last night (ditto), but that guy is something else, such a natural shotblocker. In the handful of Kentucky games I’ve seen this year (UNC, St. John’s, Louisville, UGA), Davis was out of his mind. Like John Wall was, he’s a guilty pleasure.
Just don’t win that last game, Cats, and we’ll be alright.
#85
1) That’s what the Niners always do. I saw Spoles slide & go sprawling on 2 or 3 instances, so it seemed to work pretty well in the Saints game. It was pissing rain this past weekend, so I’m not sure it was needed—but that Giants game was just a fun, old-fashioned, defensive smackdown.
2) I believe they already are.
3) Overall in YankeeLand, sure; but his recent output won’t be missed. The Posada/HoF conversation could get interesting.
4) I’d make Lester Hayes do it for me.
Cespedes is now officially a FA. I wonder how bad his winter ball, 35PA 10K, performance will hurt his new contract. Someone will overpay.
CAC w/ a Q&A w/ Boog:
7) Do you feel the Braves need to do anything to remain competitive for the NL East this year?
I think the pitching keeps them competitive but they need to score and I don’t love the defense. It’s hard to imagine them being an above average offensive team because I think you know what you’re getting from 3 spots—CF, 2B and C. To say you know what you’re gonna get from Freddie after 650 PA is a stretch to me (please see Jason Heyward). There are obviously payroll constraints, so adding a bat seems unlikely and I worry about Chipper’s durability/ production and to a lesser extent, Prado’s too.
10) Lastly, what was your favorite call for a Braves game, or your most memorable moment during a broadcast?
Not to take the air out of the balloon but in my 3 years we didn’t make the playoffs and I swear, on FSN or SS games I think I called like 5 walk-off wins over that whole period. There just weren’t many really dramatic, crazy games that I did—I can remember feeling multiple times that the few big comebacks or wild games were always on Peachtree or TBS. As far as a call…Yunel Escobar hit an absolute bomb in Arizona that landed on the Fridays porch near the tables and I randomly shouted, “Mind your nachos!” I believe that was my proudest moment.
http://capitolavenueclub.com/?p=5216
I see the Phils traded Wilson Valdez to the Reds. This is surprising as he really helped them backing up injured starters off the bench for the last two years.
Boy, most everything in this article sucks! However, the Braves do have 4 million dollars to spend.
http://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-braves/terry-mcguirk-discusses-braves-1317388.html
@93 $4M? That’s not even enough to buy food for Prince to eat.
Seems like we are out of luck with the hope of a new local tv deal for the Braves. Who on earth approve 25-year deals nowadays?
New post.
“But most endearing, as mentioned: When Woody Allen falls in love with a city, he makes sure you love it, too.”
Totally agree. He made me fall in love with NY long before I had ever been there. When I hear “Rhapsody in Blue” I think of the NY skyline shot in “Manhattan” and get chills. That and the picture of the sailor kissing the nurse in Times Square on VJ Day.