“All was as it should be.” Â –Bethany
p.s. The Phillies suck.
114 Comments
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“All was as it should be.” Â –Bethany
p.s. The Phillies suck.
Use code “Journal” for a 5% discount.
@85, in two weeks or so you are going to have Gattis, Laird, Schafer, Pastornicky, Reed, Janish, and JoeyT with only 5 spots on the bench. Unless you are going with Pastornicky as your sole MI backup, which of Gattis, Reed or Schafer gets cut?
We will have the same bench as before, just swapping Janish for Pena. None of the three you have mentioned will get cut. Gattis, Schafer, Reed, Laird, and Janish will be your bench. Janish will stay until Wren finds a better MI bat around the deadline.
Am I the only one worried about a quick comeback for Beachy? Will he need more time to stretch out to be a starter. If right he is top notch.
I knew that “recap” was coming. LOL.
Here’s to Bethany submitting this recap many times in the future.
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Uggla’s diss of the Phillie fans has me wanting to sign him to an extension. Like now.
Nice recap, Adam. And Bethany. 🙂
@3 What did Uggla do? I was on a plane and was following via MLB At Bat.
Uggla has homered the last two nights. Both times as he crossed the plate and was heading to the dugout, kissed his palm and showed it to the fans.
In true Phillie fashion, they showed their appreciation.
Can we do this to Angel Hernandez?
http://www.webpronews.com/decapitated-referee-soccer-ref-beheaded-in-brazil-2013-07
@6 No offense – I know you were just making a joke – but that story is so revolting and messed up, it makes me sick to my stomach. Hard to believe that’s the world we live in.
Sadly, it’s always the world we’ve lived in.
What an ass kicking. Let’s play two…
Damn, it feels good to do that to the Phillies. I hope they all went home and cried.
Uggla always does that when he hits a home run.
Also, the Giants batted out of order.
http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=330706126
There are always lots of guys who get selected for the All-Star team who are not on the original roster. Some guys get owies or just would rather take the break. Would not be surprised at all to see 1 or 2 more Braves get picked. Bet Freeman is an injury replacement.
A golden sombrero for Piug
I know 87 games in is a total arbitrary point to be checking this and all…but my cold water for the day.
Braves’ record 87 games into season:
2013: 50-37
2012: 48-39
2011: 51-36
2010: 52-35
Obviously, the Pythagorean record should be a bit higher and the schedule is supposed to be lighter in the second half, but Fredi’s teams haven’t exactly shown themselves to be strong finishers. Right now, over anything, this team (and perceptions of it) is benefitting from a disappointing season by Washington, and a putrid division overall.
Reiterating what csg said, the Braves aren’t going to keep Joey around when Gattis and Schafer are back because he’ll then be the 4th PH option off of the bench.
The 2010 and 2011 teams were bad finishers, true, but last season the Braves played pretty well to the end (excluding the play in game, of course). I’m not sure you can draw anything from those records other than the fact that the Braves have been pretty good the past four seasons – and that this has been, so far, not that special a season after all.
I’m quite astonished by the fact that the scorer decided that neither of the two plays that Michael Young olé’d at third were errors on him.
Do they really think they can hide how bad he is defensively for a possible trade?
Josh to the Pistons, and now Zaza to the Bucks.
I like the Millsaps signing, but right now we have:
PG – Teague (maybe)
2G – Korver
SF – Millsaps
PF – Al
C – Brazilian kid?
Unless I’m missing something, that’s a lot of ground to make up.
I really wanted the sign and trade deal for Asik, but Josh Smith decided to screw the Hawks and, probably, any chance he ever had to win a championship. Of course, Ferry may well see Horford as a center, as the previous administration did. I don’t like it. I also hate the idea of Monta Ellis, and pray that’s not a valid rumor.
If there were ever a time to sell high on Laird and bring up Pagnozzi as 3rd catcher, it’d be when Yadier Molina goes down for the year with a knee injury.
Dan Uggla is up to a .743 OPS
Jason is back to a .700 OPS
Jupton has now slumped all the way to a sub-.800 OPS
Freeman is sitting cool at .850
McCann’s recent hot streak as put him back over .900
Seriously…the Marlins shouldn’t be allowed to call themselves a Major League franchise. They received a “good” prospect package offer from the Rockies but chose the Dodgers deal because the Dodgers could eat Nolasco’s entire contract. On paper, it looks like they received a marginal prospect and 2 shit pitchers in the deal.
Looks like the Hawks are gonna tank the upcoming season. Good luck, there’s about 10 other teams trying to do the same thing.
19—Yeah, the Ellis rumor just makes no sense. Even as a short-term asset-grab, a la Millsap, he just doesn’t fit with the roster.
18—I think it’s more like:
1 – Teague/Shroeder/Mack
2 – Williams/Jenkins/Korver
3 – Korver/Carroll/Scott
4 – Millsap/Carroll/Scott
5 – Horford/Muscala/Bebe
Gotta get another center.
We’ll be getting lottery picks for the next two seasons at least with that roster. Maybe we can find our Lebron somehow. Might as well ride out the Heat dynasty collecting picks and young talent. We have zero chance to assemble a team that can beat them via free-agency, so I intellectually kinda like the tanking strat, but it’s going to be tough to get through as a fan.
That roster, plus another credible center — don’t understand letting Zaza go, but we’ll see — is a playoff team.
Considering that they’re only two days out from Howard finally getting off the primadonna pot and signing with Houston, thus releasing the rest of the players to sign and teams to start moving on trades, we clearly don’t know what the Hawks are going to have going into the season. They’re clearly not “tanking.” They are rebuilding, but one should be smart enough to not confuse those two things.
Ultimately I think the Hawks are coming from too good of a place to be able to completely tank (unless everyone gets hurt a la mid-90s Spurs) and win the Andrew Wiggins Sweepstakes, so rebuilding it is. Which, fine, but that doesn’t really explain resigning Kyle Korver for what they did to me.
Also: If the Hawks make the playoffs next season and the Celtics don’t (I don’t think they will), then Atlanta will have the East’s current longest playoff streak.
John Sickels did a good rundown on the Nolasco trade: http://www.minorleagueball.com/2013/7/6/4499844/prospects-ricky-nolasco-trade-dodgers-marlins-angel-sanchez-josh-wall-steven-ames
Basically, the Marlins got back a couple of guys who, if everything breaks right, could wind up in the bullpen.
But, seriously, if anyone’s surprised that the Marlins were mainly looking for salary relief… well… they haven’t been watching the Marlins over the last 20 years.
This Puig situation over the past few weeks have really made me think about what is best for baseball, and even defining the important question, “Should baseball aspire to be as popular as it used to be and as popular as the NFL?” After all, the NFL has solidified a place of popularity partly because it is fast-paced and violent, two things America enjoys. Baseball will never be fast-paced nor violent, so is it a fruitless effort to try to reach that popularity, and will doing so rob the sport of its core values?
The Puig situation boils down to whether or not you view economics as an important decision-making criteria for how the sport conducts its business. I think one of the greatest things Goodell has done is run the NFL the way a CEO of a company endeavoring to grow his company would: grow the organization and not its parts, create a unified front, and aggressively market the business.
Unfortunately, it seems like baseball is doing none of those things, and therefore, the All-Star Game is not growing the sport the way it should and used to. Puig should be an All-Star, Harper should be an All-Star, and Mike Trout should have been an All-Star last year. Papelbon clearly articulated the wrong thinking that is plaguing baseball right now. Who cares if it’s not fair to the guys who have been in the league 7, 8, 9 years? The purpose of the All-Star game, at its heart, is to grow the sport. It’s an exhibition, the players are chosen by the fans, and there are rules in place to bring enjoyment to every market in major league baseball. Los Angeles, also, is a huge market, and it’s unwise to alienate one of the strongest markets in baseball (the only one where an NFL team is currently not present, mind you).
I suppose this is a loaded question, but should baseball make decisions from a marketing perspective? Should decisions be strictly baseball decisions (only the best 25 players in baseball over the last 2, 3 seasons be allowed on the All-Star team) or should they make decisions based on what will bring more interest and revenue to the sport, which is really what the NFL is doing so well?
Go stuff the ballots for Freddie Freeman, y’all. http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/all_star/y2013/fv/ballot.jsp
Rob… I think it’s always going to be a little of both, but mostly marketing. It’s best if things like the All-Star Game and the MVP award seem to have something to do with rewarding the best players, but the popularity contest thing will never go away. And it’s not like it wasn’t about a popularity contest in the 1940’s, either. The nation was at war, and baseball was a beautiful distraction — and if they could hype the hell out of some farmboy Tim Tebow type, the sportswriters would have done it, and probably invented his entire backstory while they were at it.
Mammon has always been pretty close to the heart of professional sports, and it always will be.
30: I agree with you. Some decisions really do need to be made “for the good of the game,” taking into account the values of the sport, whatever those may be. The roster for a silly exhibition game isn’t such a decision. The All-Star game should be designed to maximize fan interest and TV ratings. Of course Puig should go.
On a slight tangent, I don’t think the Braves have a single player “deserving”* of All Star status this year. Kimbrel is pitching fine, but there are least three or four NL relievers having better years, and in general relievers should be shunted behind starting pitchers whenever possible. You could have made an argument for Mike Minor a few weeks ago; now, I think not. Freddie is having a fine season, but several first basemen with better gloves are hitting better than him, so I wouldn’t say he deserves to go. It’s actually a testament to Frank Wren’s approach that the team is doing quite well with a no-stars, no-scrubs roster.
*Acknowledging again that this shouldn’t be the overriding consideration for how rosters are selected.
@33, completely agree.
Although, before the season, you wouldn’t have thought that an Upton/Upton/Heyward outfield would qualify as “no-stars, no-scrubs,” since Justin and Jason have both been All-Stars before.
They can do whatever they want with the All-Star Game as long as they don’t make it matter. Take away its significance to the World Series and they could field the starting lineups of the Yankees and Dodgers for all I care.
Well for heaven’s sake, if baseball itself doesn’t take the game seriously, what with the immediate substitutions so everyone can play, why on earth should the fans? Secondly, a business model where you don’t follow what the customer clearly wants – i.e., Puig in the all-star game, isn’t going to do well, regardless of how much “fairer” it is to the participants. Interleague play and ‘everybody plays” killed the integrity of the all-star game a while back – changing the selection process isn’t going to alter that. Nobody really cares about it, because baseball, and the players don’t really care about it – there hasn’t been an intense interleague rivalry in decades. And to be honest, I am not sure it should matter that much. It proves nothing, and therefore shouldn’t be used to decide anything that has to do with the real season.
@33, also completely agree.
We should have some players who should be All-Stars (players who play like All-Stars and have star status), but there’s no one really deserving to be an All-Star besides Kimbrel.
As for the game “mattering”, I think it adds a wrinkle to the game that drives interest that the other sports don’t have. After all, the Pro Bowl was in danger of being eliminated because the players weren’t taking it seriously. Because it “matters”, it don’t see that ever happening. I think they’re striking a good balance with the importance of the game: every team is represented, a lot of players play, and the game contributes to something that makes the game more exciting for fans.
I would hope that baseball would start making more and more marketing decisions that are for “the good of the game”, the way the NFL has been doing. If MLB had a player as marketable as Tim Tebow is, I would hope the ESPN machine would market the heck out of that player. After all, Tim Tebow was the operational equivalent to a setup man in baseball, and he was third in jersey sales. Some may have a problem with that, but all it does is grow the popularity of the NFL while MLB dies on a hill over “the sanctity of the game”. It’s not a church; it’s a business.
Evan Gattis still has nearly twice as many homers as Puig.
@38
Great point, and Gattis should really be getting more attention than he is: he is a VERY marketable product because of his back-story and performance.
– The All-Star Game “matters”
– Every team gets a representative/managers feel like they have to play everyone
These two are mutually exclusive. I recall 2008, the game going to extras deep in the night, home field advantage for the World Freaking Series in doubt, and it was all decided by whose scrubs sucked less- Orioles or Pirates.
The ASG “matters” in only a marketing slogan sense. If an ASG manager actually managed the game as if it mattered, rather than ‘everyone gets to swing or pitch,’ then we could take that slogan seriously.
When an ASG manager goes 6 innings with his starter, lets his top 9 bat for the entire game barring a situational PH here or there, or a true defensive replacement in late innings with a lead, then the game will “matter.”
Gattis should be in for the Derby if nothing else.
Not a promising start. Get ’em, Meds.
@41: I agree. Having the winning league get the home field advantage is almost entirely equivalent to a coin flip, given the constraints the managers operate under and given the huge variance in the outcome of a single game even when both sides are trying flat-out to win.
Edit: and that includes Chip’s hobbyhorse about every team getting someone. That’s a constraint both leagues operate under, so what’s the problem, now that both leagues have the same number of teams.
I have no problem with a coin flip, either, nor did I have a problem with the previous regime of alternation. I don’t think people complaining about the “meaningfulness” of the ASG have a leg to stand on. And, Kimbrel excepted, I still don’t want any Braves to go. (Kimbrel should go because he seems to do really badly (for him) after too much rest.)
Anyone else watching the Braves feed on MLB.tv? I don’t see the score/bases/count/outs graphic in the corner.
Guys, might not want to pitch to Brown.
Ugh.
Not what I had in mind, Meds. Tighten up.
Medlen looks awful.
Anon, yes. Same here.
Might not be able to watch this one, folks. Meds when he’s off isn’t pretty.
Two out, nobody on, 0-2 count on Brown and now THIS. Oh, and the Nationals have already taken the lead in the first inning.
McCann is on fire.
It’s 2-0 in this ballpark. Calm down folks.
I would argue that if both teams play by the same rules, then the game can still matter. For instance, if both teams pretty much agree to pitch their starter 3 or 4 innings, then cycle out starters and relievers, and play their best 9 for the first 3 or 4 innings then cycle out reserves, then it’s a fair game, and it still “matters”. The idea is to determine which league has the best team, and you can’t do that if only 12 of the 35 players play.
Believe me, I loathe the “every kid gets a trophy” mentality (it certainly ain’t true), but I think if the same rules apply to both managers, then it is fair and it should “matter”.
As for the “representation from all teams” rule, then just don’t play the guys that don’t deserve to be there. If I’m not mistaken, not all 35 players play. I’m assuming that the players that don’t play are the worst players on the team (the ones that don’t deserve to be there).
As for 2008, when extra innings meant the back-ends of the rosters dictated home-field advantage, I would remind you that this will be the 10th year since the new rule, and that’s only happened once. Also, please remember that the winner in 2008 was the American League, and what did the Tampa Bay Rays do with home-field advantage? They split their two games at home, and lost three on the road to the Phillies. Is that really something to get that bent out of shape about?
Great job, Kris.
Better, Kris. Thank you. Go get ’em, bats.
Oh, and the losing pitcher in the 2008 All-Star Game? Brad Lidge, who finished 4th in the Cy Young that year. I would venture to say he deserved to be there.
Meds is keeping the ball down now and is seeing much better results.
just got done voting 25+ times for Freddie.
now let’s beat these toolbags.
Way to go Meds!
Pitching’s back. Need some runs.
This contest proceeds not well at all.
I find the offensive performance aptly named.
Nationals are doing to the Padres what the Braves couldn’t.
Leadoff walk to Delmon Young is just putrid.
After an 0-2 count, no less.
*sigh*
The options to go to the pen when Beachy returns are way to plentiful at this point. Suddenly that nice division lead isn’t so comfortable anymore
Uggla!
BJ and CJ have to get these two runs in here.
BJ…. why must you be so unlikable?
Just put the freakin ball in play. Someone just got tossed. It was a strike anyways.
As you can see, crappy hitters don’t know the difference in balls and strikes.
BJ still with great pitch awareness… uh oh, looks like we get Reed Johnson the rest of the day
Here we go again.
Reed is an improvement. Man I miss Schafer.
Screw it. Two guys can’t get the bats off their shoulders. Then Medlen picks them up.
Gag me with a freaking spoon.
That one’s for BJ!
Edit: Bahaha. I meant that for the 3rd strike call on Johnson, not the awesome single by Meds. 🙂
Good lord, hit the ball! It’s not that damn hard!
YES!
Might want to start thinking outside corner with two strikes…Way to pick them up Meds
BJ….just sit down.
Kris! From now on, our pitchers bat seventh until BJ gets his useless overcompensated ass glued to the bench.
Well.
Bit of an awkward moment between BJ and Meds.
BJ shows his incompetence with every AB. He visibly complains with every strike call. Plus he’s usually wrong. In 3 months he’s become my least favorite Brave ever.
CSG, I sm feeling the same way.
New rule: you can’t argue balls and strikes until your OPS is over .700.
Guys, maybe, just maybe, we shouldn’t be giving that guy anything to hit.
Nice play there by Johnson.
(Trying to accentuate the positive.)
Nice play CJ
BJ is getting much closer to Oberkfell as all-time least fave Brave. .175 hitter complaining about the strike zone makes me sick.
I’m pretty sure the lead will be down to 4 after today. Glad to see the Braves taking care of business against crappy teams.
Why is Justin trying to bunt? Just swing the bat and hit it hard somewhere.
Woo Freddie!
@93 Justin is strictly an infield hitter now.
Assuming Beachy ever makes it back, Medlen-to-the-‘pen seems inevitable.
93- That’s the problem. Justin’s gotten to be like Francoeur in his last days here, where he swings hard and gets a lazy fly ball. He never gets good contact. It’s as if his bat were made of pine or some other softwood.
And here’s another scoring opportunity to fritter away.
Today is one of those days that I wished I drank.
That “freaking awful” team is about to sweep a team that swept the Braves last month. Oh, and the lead will be cut to four games. It may not take five weeks to lose the lead if this keeps up.
Oh jesus christ.
Pour one, Bethany. Now’s a good time to start.
Hey, nice catch Justin.
Tuned in just in time for some Barves baseball. Yeah. Giving up on this one.
A two-run wild pitch? I guess no one wanted to play today.
Edit: OK, Chris did.
Come on Bravos.
Justin, you suck.
Justin, that was just … sad.
Upton and Freeman carved up..how much longer before CJ gets moved to the 3 spot and J Up dropped down? At least CJ squares up a pitch every now and then
How many years of Upton do we have to watch?
Another long single for BMac.
I swear, BMac hits the longest singles…
And how much more Uggla must we endure?
Thanks CJ…so much for that bright idea
0-7, 4 K, 7 LOB… those Upton brothers are doing serious damage. To us.
Recapped.