Andrelton Simmons standing on a baseball field with a glove on his hand is a web gem waiting to happen, and this winter Braves Journal is going to determine which of his gems is the best of his best—his Jadeite. For the full rules, check out the introduction.
Round 1: You Shall Not Pass vs. The Ballerina
You Shall Not Pass
Editor’s Pitch: I’m really not sure how Simmons got to this ball. He had to dive, obviously, but then he had to reach up to actually catch it. I wouldn’t have guessed his arms were long enough to make this play, but the one lesson I have learned from watching Andrelton for three years is to always expect the impossible. And this certainly looks impossible.
The Ballerina
Editor’s Pitch: Spinning around while bending and running seems like the perfect recipe for falling flat on your face. Simmons, however, not only manages to look graceful while doing this, he actually uses the move to record an out in major league baseball. And it’s not even a close play. Phenomenal.
“You shall not pass” is one of my Andrelton favorites. I know, they’re all favorites, but this one is pretty high on the list.
Hey, we are in the news!
http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2015/1/9/7520413/braves-mets-trade-rumors-free-agency-offseason
Thou Shalt Not Pass.
Thanks, ‘Rissa.
Someone thinks that Jim Keltner should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. If only there were some kind of list that we could make to evaluate such a thing…
http://www.glidemagazine.com/128994/overlooked-artists-rock-roll-hall-fame-induction-list/
Anyone want to do a Keltner list for one of the foremost session drummers of the ’70s?
42 days – seven long weeks before spring training begins. Y’all think Braves are done, or are there deals left to be made?
Done unless more swapping of prospects takes place. Id still love to see CJ traded off somewhere. Small chance a suitor and package could pop up for Gattis.
Chris Johnson would be a “Great trade. Who’d we get?” kind of deal.
Oh hey everyone, how are things looking for our favorite baseball team?
http://www.fangraphs.com/depthcharts.aspx?position=Standings
Pretty good read here about how the Hawks are trying to re-engage Atlanta as they build the on-court product up. The contrast to the cynicism that the Braves’ organization has radiated since they announced the move to the ‘burbs is pretty stark.
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/12080830/reselling-hawks-atlanta
@9
That gives us the second pick in the draft. Wonder which TJ surgery soft tossing lefty from Georgia we will pick?
Hey now – don’t give up yet. There’s still time to trade Gattis for a former top pitching prospect recovering from TJ so we can pass the Phils for the top spot.
Oh, and I guess we like Chris Johnson’s chance for a bounceback year.
http://m.angels.mlb.com/news/article/105960142/angels-acquire-two-prospects-from-braves
I think we could just as easily see Callaspo at 3rd and Peterson or Peraza at 2nd
I’d just go ahead and blind myself.
@15, I don’t think that trade was as much about CJ as it was about acquiring a fireballing 17-year old who is looking like he could be a top prospect. I’d trade Kyle Kubitza for that kind of lottery ticket any time.
I’m detecting a theme this offseason – suffice it to say again, there is a reason why lotto tix are two bucks, and not two hundred even though they are potentially worth hundreds of millions, not that I have any particular love for Kubiza.
Oh, sure, there’s a theme. But Kyle Kubitza and Tommy La Stella are not worth two dollars, and if our overlords want to flip utility infielders in their mid-20s for hard-throwing pitchers, I’m not going to stand in their way.
They also happened to be some of the very few prospects who were potential hitters anywhere close to the bigs. I have no problem trading him, but there’s not much left and we have no money to buy hitting apparently. Seems like we aren’t even building for 2017 anymore.
@19. TLS and Kubitza are not good enough to help, that’s essentially what the message is.
@10
Please tell me that in 2017 we’ll be calling our baseball team the Alpharetta Unicorns.
Has anyone in this esteemed community done a Keltner on Curt Schilling? Because I sure would like to have a small army bombard him with a reasoned analysis concluding that he just simply wasn’t good enough for the Hall of Fame.
It’s funny because, in an interview with MLB TV a half hour before the HOF announcement, Schilling himself, perhaps in a display of false modesty, said that he didn’t deserve the honor. He was always the #2 guy, especially when he played with Johnson and Pedro. I thought, ‘He’s not the jerk he once was,’ believing that his bankruptcy and his bout with cancer had indeed humbled him. Don’t know what to think, really. That’s why you rely on numbers, though the eyeball test tells me he was pretty good. He certainly mowed down the Braves in ’92 and ’93.
Uh, kinda hate to say it, but Schilling is plainly more deserving than Smoltz. That doesn’t make the circumstances any less enjoyable, though.
I didn’t realize until I looked at them side by side, but Smoltz made a lot more starts. I thought Schilling was healthier than he was (he only made 121 starts before age 30).
Schilling had a weird aging curve when a lot of guys had a weird aging curve.
I think the Braves are going to take the route of trading their SPs before their 2nd year of arbitration to fill Major League holes starting with Mike Minor next year.
If the Braves want to continue this trend of trading for other teams’ former top prospects turned injury concerns, Jurickson Profar would be the next stop. He’s athletic enough to play anywhere on the diamond, but would be a hell of a 3rd baseman. The Rangers already have Sardinas and Rosales listed as their MI utility guys. Profar, former #1 prospect in the Majors, is squeezed out.
Scoop up another buy-low candidate in Michael Choice? Gattis for Profer and Choice?
@25 – Schilling has admitted publicly to a little medical training supplement on the side.
Bleacher Report Braves farm system ranking
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2316793-bleacher-reports-updated-farm-system-rankings-entering-2015/page/13