I have had a dread summer in this 57th year.
Braves gone back to twenty five years before.
Looking at yesterday and more, never seemed to find a win.
But this one night was a win once more.
When I first followed the A Braves, Hank had no gray hair.
In ninety one we changed the chart to wins.
But that string of crowns is broken, and went to who knows where.
We got a glimpse of Hart’s plan and we hope it comes along.
It’s a Colorado Rocky whoop ass high.
Johnny Gomes raining a homer from the sky
(with Adonis Garcia). We saw those balls fly.
Rocky whoop ass high, in Atlanta.
Home Julio Teheran was back o.k. to help us.
Michael Bourne took one out at home.
Arodys Vizcaino slammed the door in inning 9.
Christian Bethancourt is not just a memory.
Nick Markakis had 3 hits and always gets on base.
10 hits 5 walks and you ought to score at least 5.
But twenty fifteen Braves are subject to Episodes.
But serenity, at the park known as the Ted.
It’s a Colorado Rocky whoop ass high.
Rockies also had homers raining from the sky
But when you get more runs, you’re the team that wins.
Rocky whoop ass high, in Atlanta.
Now Fredi Gonzalez’ life is full of wonder, but his heart still has some fear.
There are simple things he cannot comprehend.
He switches bad players erratically,
But tonight, it worked with Gomes and Bourne.
It’s a Colorado Rocky whoop ass high.
Sometimes you can win if you try.
Tonight we got more runs, so Braves were the team that won.
Rocky whoop ass high, in Atlanta.
Another great recap from my favorite faux-country crooner, Cliff Atlanta.
What fun is this! I’d forgotten what a win felt like!
Bravo, Cliff.
Well Edward, if you were named John Henry Deutchendorf, you might have tried to shorten that up a little. (besides, I think he hated his military domineering father).
Actually, I am not just faux country. I can do faux astro funk, faux southern rock, faux psychedelic rock, and a few other faux genres. Maybe “Rollercoaster” next time?
My wife and I went to Motown the Musical at the Fox on Friday night. So, I have a few of those rolling around in my head as well.
Dustin Peterson is starting to hit again.
Kolby the Nightingale
Thou was not born for pain immortal arm
no Alabama surgeons spread thee down
the gun we read this passing night , such charm
was early prized by pundits of renown.
“Kolby Allard, SP, Atlanta Braves (ESPN: NA; CBS: Unowned): At this time of season, it’s not uncommon for many owners to have given up on the current campaign, but be squarely focused on the future if they’re playing in a dynasty league. With that in mind, take a look at the Braves’ first rounder from this season, Allard. The southpaw just turned 18 a couple of weeks ago, so he’s way down in the GCL, but man, is he having his way there. Through three starts comprising six innings, Allard has surrendered one hit and nary a run, fanning 12 against zero walks. Um, clearly he’s ready for the Appalachian League. You may not have heard much about Allard yet, but that will soon change.”
JohnWDB,
Also in such fantasy baseball article was a slight positive on Mike Minor.
I really don’t see the Braves “tendering”, but since he has 1 more arb year and then a potential “qualifying offer and get a pick”, I would roll dice on him.
@6 Let’s finish that stanza.
Perhaps that self-same fastball found a path
To the black of that plate that we call home
That stood in dirt beneath the umpire’s gaze;
The same that oft-times hath
Struck mitts of leather, echoing through the dome
of helpless hitters swinging in a daze.
Tender is the blog, you know.
Edward, bravo.
There are four new Clerihews at the tail end of the previous thread. These came from the simple expedient of picking a year at random, looking up the Braves squad for that year on BR, flitting through the names, trying to find at least some of the time an ‘interesting’ last name which has fun rhyme potential. Not a bad way to get started.
I was asking Alex how often he wanted a Clerihew thread a la July 4th, which was such a success -off days etc?? Don’t want to kill the golden goose but do want to try and keep as many involved as possible, keep it warm.
Suggestions/comments on frequency, and anything else, please. Thanks.
(This, the Clerihew thread, being in addition to and separate from the ad hoc placement of individual poems on any thread.)
Breakouts next season from Ruiz and Peterson would really improve the organizational outlook, wouldn’t they?
Austin Riley is still raking. Ruiz may get passed by next year. Peterson looks like he can hit, and that whole team’s season was screwed up by the bus crash so I’d throw out a lot of the bad Carolina numbers.
I just wish we had some help closer to the bigs. Olivera continues to suck at Gwinnett.
Rome is going to be fun to watch in 2016. You’ll have most of our top prospects on the same team, maybe not at the very start of the season, but certainly by the summer. I’m going to try to get to my fair share of games there next year.
Rio Ruiz has a 9 game hitting streak going. He went 3-4 yesterday and homered on Sunday.
August line is .295/.356/.452 with 8 XBH in 78 AB, which is basically what he was doing last year that made us excited to acquire him. Maybe it’s just a small sample anomaly, but maybe it’s a 21-year-old with a plus hit tool finally making the transition in the most difficult jump there is, A-to-AA
The Mets sure had an impressive perormance last night. They look to be a formidable oponent for the next few years.
Ruiz will have to start in Mississippi again next year. I would imagine he would have a shot at AAA by mid year.
Nice work, Cliff.
I bought the “Rocky Mountain High” 45-RPM record when I was about 9. I think it cost 33-cents at the local department store.
It’s kinda weird to remember that time when John Denver & Elton John were the biggest pop stars. It was a time you’d flip on the AM radio & you’d hear: “And every-bodyyy’s high-igh-igh/Rocky Mountain High” and “And I’m gonna be high as a kite by then.” And “HR Pufnstuf” was on TV every Saturday morning with its super-psychedelic imagery.
That post-Woodstock Era sure was a weird time for pop culture.
Where does Isranel Wilson play next year? Is there an outside shot we could see him in Rome?
I think extended spring training sorts out who goes to Rome vs who plays an additional short season in Danville. Some guys spend 3 years in short-season leagues
Isranel has already had himself a pretty decent day. He went 3-7 with a double, a homer, and two walks while playing cf during today’s early morning double header.
And Riley had three hits today, which raises his average up to .330. Here’s to lottery tickets…
Austin Riley is really suffering from switching to wooden bats
Keith Law lists Shelby Miller as one of his “nine most sustainable 2015 breakout players”:
Shelby Miller, SP
Atlanta Braves
2015 stats: 2.50 ERA, 158 1/3 IP, 56 BB, 136 K’s, 4.1 WAR
One of my breakout candidates for this season, Miller could stop pitching now and it would already be a career year for him, as he’s doing all three of the things essential for an ace: missing bats, avoiding walks, and — for the first time since he reached the majors — keeping the ball in the park by making hitters put it on the ground. Miller’s ground-ball rate jumped from about 39 percent over the past two years to 50 percent this year, thanks to the switch to a two-seamer along with a cutter, while his curveball has become more effective as he has had to use it less frequently. If he’s not quite an ace, he’s quite close to it, and Atlanta has him under team control for the next four seasons.
Allard and Riley are the best pitcher / position player Braves prospect combo since?
Maybe Millwood and Andruw (or link Millwood back to Klesko). Javy and Chipper were on the same minor league teams as Klesko early, but I remember them reaching MLB earlier. When Gant and Smoltz came up that was pretty close together. Glavine and Justice.
Heyward/Andrelton/Freddie and Teheran?
Was at the Royals game last night and saw Kris Medlen, who overall looked really good. Was hitting 93 on Kauffman’s gun, which is a few MPH hot, but regardless, seems back to his pre-surgery velocity. Got unlucky on his hit sequencing a bit, and Adam Jones golfed a pretty good pitch over the fence, but overall 6IP, 5H, 0BB, and 6K on 69 pitches did not seem a fluke.
Haven’t looked up his pitch selection, but seemed to be using his curveball a lot more and his change up less than when he was with the Braves.
All in all, a stupendous job by the organization picking Minor over him.
Avery and Justice both got called up in 1990, as I remember. Glavine was earlier.
We had a tremendous run of position prospects in the early 90’s that saw Javy, Klesko, Chipper, Tony Tarasco, and Melvin Nieves all play at Richmond within the same year or two.
Here’s the guy I miss…he rhymes well though.(Robert Service)
There are strange things done
‘neath the summer sun
when we’re talking young for old
the Chavez mob had the easy job
their hands all greased with gold
those trading fights had reached new heights
but the strangest you might well agree
when we paid so large and they just took charge
and we gave up Joey P.
@25, 26
You could sub in Kimbrel for Teheran in that one.
@29, what kind of poem is this?
A bunch of the boys were missing the ball in their regular summer swoon
The best of the bunch was the man on the keys, playing his organ tune
Back of the clubhouse, again and again, tipping the cap on his head
Staring impassively was the leader himself, the manager known as Fred.
@31, he’s referring to this one: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174348
And I’m going for this one: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174349
But you may know it better as a Droopy Dog cartoon: http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/83894809/
25—You are pretty high on Riley, huh? Ahead of Albies now and in the conversation with guys like Andruw and Chipper, all-time?
Yes Stu, possibly irrational exuberance. But this is all we have to lean on.
I do think Riley may be the best position player through the system since Andruw. That doesn’t mean I am guaranteeing or assuring that he is that good, but for a supplemental round pick to already be touted for dynasty fantasy teams when he is in Rookie League after his senior year of high school? That is pretty good.
Yeah, I’m definitely hopeful, but power is at such a premium these days (in real and fantasy baseball), I think the dynasty leagues are onto him not because he has a good chance of making it, but because if he does, he’d be super-valuable.
John 31…
any time you spend reading Service is time well spent…lovely stuff
Alex 32
great first line, i couldn’t work it out, how to get started!
Isranel Wilson might be more Andruw-like. He’s very young for even the GCL and so far is tearing it up. If anyone is going to make his debut around age 20 then it’s going to be one of the international guys that have grown up in baseball academies.
I dunno if Wilson can play CF remotely like Andruw, but his bat is looking good so far.
I’m sure all of these guys will fit in perfectly at the back end of the 5-year rebuild plan that we’re on right now.
Ha, you think the now 17 year-olds are gonna take us to the promised land in 2017? Would be pretty awesome if that came to pass…
Guys/gals, need a quick take. Went to contract on a house, financing fell through. Seller is interested in the inspection report, which cost me $525. Would it be reasonable to ask the seller to pay half my cost to have the report?
I think it would be reasonable of you to ask, and I think it would be reasonable of the seller to say no. I think there’s a lot of moral/reputational wiggle room here, and you can’t really make a wrong move.
sdp, very reasonable to ask the seller to pay for it. That’s valuable info to the seller, and it will help him/her sell the house to the next buyer. If you already made repair requests, then they may already have the info they truly need, so don’t be surprised if the seller says no.
If you have any other RE questions, I’m happy to help. I’m a Realtor down in St. Pete, FL.
@41 Yes, more than
@1 Cliff, amazin’, WAY over my head.
@31 one more Service
http://www.famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/robert_william_service/poems/13594
There’s an ancient wizened hurler and he’s sitting in our bullpen
and we signed him for a pittance just today
we had claimed him from the Mets which i’m sure he best forgets
and we told the Boston Red Sox go away
now the seventh inning’s looming and the hitter’s bats are booming
with Gonzalez going sixty shades of grey
yet his number’s just been called and we’re really quite appalled
they’re all rightys, he’s a lefty, so they say.
Thanks all. I passed the request along. Financing fell through right before we were going to enter the repairs negotiations, so seller did not obtain those requests.
Thanks, Rob. I’ll keep you in mind.
@43
Rob, snap but east coast and a generation ago.
Edward: I must say you’ve grown on me. You are one of the many posters I enjoy reading on here.
Should have been out of the inning with no runs allowed.
Two at-bats in a row where a mediocre bunt would be a hit.
These aren’t forty-homer guys. Take a shot.
Solid defending tonight by Adonis Garcia. Can we just get a batting practice L-net set up over there instead so that we can be assured that it’ll at least stay on the infield?
Garcia wants the Braves to call up Olivera.
Folty can’t get a break tonight.
Is it still an unearned run when you walk the pitcher?
And then he walked toward first on a pop-up. I know it gets in the way of your sulking, but find the ball.
This is pathetic.
At least the 2008 team had Chipper and McCann.
Olivera has an RBI single tonight. Not sure why he can’t brush off the rust with the major league team. It’s not going to hurt our playoff run. Give us a reason to watch…
I am so sick of Ciriaco. He might be my least favorite of the 2015 Braves (that’s saying a lot), but I keep having to tell myself that he was essentially 5th on the organization depth chart at third just a month ago. The only reason he’s here is because we’re re-building, and he’ll be gone soon. Thank goodness.
4 walks and a wild pitch in that inning, and we didn’t score. That might be a new low.
At the Rangers game tonight. Did Folty really give up 0 ER? Was he any good?
@59
It’s difficult to tell, given that Adonis Garcia committed three errors off which all four runs were scored, basically single-handedly losing the game (assuming). He gave up a hit and a walk to the pitcher and didn’t exactly work around the errors, but he was OK. Certainly better.
Michael Bourn is what, 4 for 45?
@60 I thought Pierzynski losing a pop fly and getting no help was pretty low.
This third base tandem is aging me. We went from one of the best third base platoons to the worst. Our starting rotation kinda sucks now, but shore up the bullpen and third base and you’ve got a .500 team tomorrow.
It really can’t be overstated how ghastly Garcia’s performance at third was tonight. Couple that with his awful decision late in last night’s game to pick up a ball that was going foul and I agree with Rob, I’m ready for the Olivera era to start over there. He may not be any better defensively, but at least then it’ll be the heir apparent making mistakes so it’ll feel like there’s some sort of point to it.
Isn’t Ciriaco better than Janish? He is statistically a valuable utility infielder. But generally speaking I can’t stand players who never walk. I aged 10 years when we traded for alex Gonzalez.
Ciriaco is a good utility infielder, definitely. He can play 2B, 3B, and SS really well. But he should not be starting major league baseball games with a .267 OBP. We traded three third basemen who would perform better to get to him. I’m really hoping that the Chris Johnson trade was the last long-term view trade we’ll be making for a decade.
Please check your e-mail, Captain Hook.
I’m not saying Ciriaco is a good player. But.
Ciriaco career: .270/.293/.374 (.667)
Simmons career: .254/.303/.364 (.667)
Second bus crash of the year. Atlanta curse.
Recap is up.
Harry Houdini in the first two innings when he got himself into and then promptly out of some sticky jams. In the first the Rockies got runners on the corners with one out, and then loaded the bases in the second with no outs.