Happy Mother’s Day. My mum’s the greatest. How about yours?
Mike Foltynewicz sparkled. He wasn’t perfect, but he was very good. Folty struck out eight, walked nary a Snake and gave up five hits. The only blemishes were a solo home run off the right field foul pole by Chris Herrmann and the
unearnedest earned run I’ve maybe ever seen. Erick Aybar is a wasted roster spot. I know you can’t assume the double play, but really. Just catch the ball, Erick.
The Braves offensively are offensive. Give the enemy a couple of runs, and we’re cooked. Not today. Today the Braves took Folty off the hook in the eighth. Tyler Flowers singled in a run; and Frenchy ripped a double to left to knot the score. Go figure.
The Braves loaded the bases in the ninth but failed to touch home plate, so Jason Grilli toed the rubber in the tenth and struck out the side. The Braves can’t score, and the game goes to the eleventh. Herrmann homered again to give the Diamondbacks a 5-3 lead and the game.
Braves lose. Folty doesn’t. That’s a good thing.
If you haven’t already, call Mom. She loves you despite everything.
Looked to be a crowd of about 10K-15K or so there today. I’m certain the boring new vanilla looking ballpark that looks a lot like the park they already have will turn em out next year…
Speaking of SunTrust park, anyone know the parking situation? I heard they have 6000 parking spots, plus 20k more within *2 miles* of the stadium. The mass transit consists of busses.
Sounds like a disaster (if people actually try to attend).
Albies had himself a game in Gwinnett today. He’s needed a 3-for-4 with 2 doubles. He got one. But he also (unfortunately) committed his third error.
Withrow pitched a solid 1.1 innings of relief. Only one hit and 3 Ks. Why was he sent down again? His MLB linescore looks solid. I’ve not watched much of the games, so I wouldn’t know.
Brandon Barker pitched like Foltynewicz today: 6 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 6 Ks. Lost 2-0. He’d fit in with the AAAA team.
Much has been said about Dansby and Ozzie playing for Atlanta all right quick. Well, maybe, but shouldn’t we be seeing one of them getting reps at 2B or 3B before something like that goes down?
Is it better to have Swanson and Albies fielding on the neglected infield at Turner, or should they hone their defensive skills on the superior infields of the minor leagues?
#3- Withrow gave up a grand slam @ Chicago, and was sent out the next day, I don’t know if that was the only reason, but it smells of “hot hand theory”.
Fredi is toast tomorrow, right?
Withrow was sent down because he had options. I wouldn’t take any move too seriously right now. We are trying to get any of the current refuse to a tradeable level right now. Personally, I agree with the strategy, and that includes playing Aybar. He should play until he is cut–no middle ground. There is absolutely zero to be gained from scratching out the odd win. When Albies or Swanson demonstrate a solid month of mastery at AAA, I agree with calling them up. Until then, try to salvage the guy who costs us 6 mil.
No, Fredi will not be canned. Not for another two months.
If then……
60-102 over the last 62.
A 48-114 pace since being 42-42 last July.
The pictures Fredi possesses must be so salacious that they would make even Jack Horner blush.
Fredi sure got dumb since August.
On pace to go 38-124.
Remember when things always went our way?
Why would Fredi need pictures? Management has no interest in winning right now. Losing 120 games is just fine with them when the mission is #1 pick
Oh, good. Here come the Julio Teheran trade rumors.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/05/cafardos-latest-reddick-lovullo-teheran-swihart-ellsbury.html
http://www.talkingchop.com/2016/5/8/11637338/braves-trade-rumors-julio-teheran
And here’s John Schuerholz manfully lying to Bob Nightengale about how the team isn’t intentionally tanking.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/columnist/bob-nightengale/2016/05/08/atlanta-braves-mlb-loss-record-freddie-freeman-fredi-gonzalez/84126202/
Teheran for a power-hitting corner outfielder and able-bodied catcher wouldn’t kill anyone.
We are still lacking power bats in our system. Can’t start winning until we get that!
“And here’s John Schuerholz manfully lying to Bob Nightengale about how the team isn’t intentionally tanking.”
Maybe he’s not lying, maybe the 2016 Atlanta Braves are just that bad.
“We are still lacking power bats in our system. Can’t start winning until we get that!”
Power hitters tend to strike out a lot, and that’s not the Braves’ Way™ since Wren was let go.
Turinabol
apparently that explains all
excessive power and speed
and let’s not bother any more with weed.
the Arizona Snakes
have clearly got what it takes
their dugout doctor
on long term loan from Gamble and Proctor.
@18 “Power hitters tend to strike out a lot, and that’s not the Braves’ Way™ since Wren was let go.”
While I am not trying to imply that you are endorsing the Braves’ Way™, i feel compelled to point out that the Braves have the 11th highest K rate in baseball (22.1%). It’s not the whiffs that are killing us – it’s the pervasive lack of hitting talent. Our hitting is just terrible across the board – team BB/K rate is 22nd in baseball, and the team batting line is .226/.294/.288, which I didn’t think was even possible in this day and age.
On the optimistic side, I have to think that things will improve – Inciarte and Aybar will start hitting, and at some point *someone* will start putting the ball over the fence. We’re a bad team, but IMO we’re not *this* bad.
the whole team is basically slashing Jace Peterson.
@21, It’s even worse than that. Jace’s slash line is actually below the team average (which is .226/.294/.288/.582), but Jace is a likable guy.
Pretty much right in line with the team slash is Jeff Franceour (.255/.300/.291/.591).
The 2016 Atlanta Braves are Jeff Franceour.
There’s not a chance anyone following the Braves at all would have predicted that of the 11 or so players that have gotten the lion’s share of at bats, 3 have hit a ball over the fence. Even less would have said that the current 9 that are playing (catcher platoon included) that 2 people would have a home run.
This is where WAR breaks down. WAR calculations would say a power hitter would only add 2 or 3 wins to the team. But look with your eyes. We are not that bad at getting on base. We are 12th in the NL in OBP. Not exactly “historically awful”. We consistently out-hit the other team. A Dave Kingman-type who can run into a fastball by accident every 3 days would clear the bases every now and again. Someone with a .720 OPS+ but could slug .450 would be a tremendous help to this team. Of course, having a shortstop who doesn’t kick the ball around would also change the outcome of some of these games too. Someone mentioned that their eyes say that if we had Andrelton we’d have won 5-6 more games, and I think I’d believe it.
It’s incredibly frustrating to watch this team knowing that while we are terrible, we simply don’t have to be this historically bad. It’s just unnecessary. How did the FO not know that AJP, Grilli, and Aybar were toast? How did they not know? I don’t think this is some kind of conspiracy theory. I think Coppy was so worried about building the prospect base that he didn’t pay attention to the 2016 roster as if we were contending. I fear he was asleep at the wheel for these veteran players while he was shopping Teheran, Miller, Inciarte, etc. in the offseason. But at the end of the day, he did assemble a roster of veterans who still have a lot to play for. At some point, KJ, JJ, Aybar, and Stubbs have a career to salvage, and they just haven’t stepped up. I think AJP and Grilli know this is their last season, so whatever. But it doesn’t have to be this bad, and even the most pessimistic person can’t say they told you so.
There’s no reason for in-depth analysis here. We’re trying to lose, and we’re succeeding. We have one proven starting pitcher and maybe two hitters. The rest of the team is extras in a bad movie — baseball player #3 — the names shouldn’t even be on the jerseys.
Almost everyone except the die-hard optimists here predicted we’d be terrible. This is the worst roster I’ve ever seen and I’ve been watching for almost 40 years. What can you even say at this point? Either we do nothing and chase futility records, or we let the kids play. I’d rather watch the kids play, but the argument against calling them up isn’t unreasonable either.
@23
I think Rob Cope hit the nail on the head – that the Front Office was so fixated on restocking the farm system they forgot to pay attention to the 2016 MLB roster.
That’s why we saw those ‘panic’ signings at the end of ST – the Stubbses and the Francoeurs and the Ogandos of the world.
The only part you couldn’t have predicted was that Olivera would wind up in jail. Most of us predicted that he couldn’t play baseball after watching him last year…
Olivera had a .715 OPS last year, which would be a couple hundred OPS points above his current replacements between 3B and LF, and his presence, in some ways, would be helpful. With Mallex playing well and Adonis struggling, I’d imagine they’d be trying to plug him back into 3B to let him kick it around for a few weeks. And don’t be bashful; there are many things even you wouldn’t have predicted.
I did love watching Folty’s start yesterday. If he can keep this up, we have as close to 5 projectable starters as we’ve had in the last several years. Unless you think Chacin won’t last, we have no one-year deals, no flash in the pans, no Aaron Harangs, Ben Sheets, etc.
They signed Francouer and Beckham for crying out loud. They are telling you in bold font that they have no intention of competing at all. They wanted a lot of good clubhouse guys that could sit around and tell stories to the kids … except the team doesn’t really have many kids. So they just sit around and tell stories to each other.
Good point but I was going off Jace’s career slash of .224/.297/.307
Braves purchased a catcher from the Indians, Recker for cash and organizational depth. Career MLB BA is .185. Which means he’ll fit right in.
@Rob, you can’t say that the Front Office was asleep at they wheel and then say no one couldve predicted how bad this implosion would be. I think the latter is mostly true. While we overachieved last season, nobody would’ve thought every single one of these vets would Peter out at once. That appears to be what happened to JJ, AJP, Grilli (in his case due to serious injury), Aybar, KJ, Norris.
@28, but that’s exactly what they did last year and it “worked”. It isn’t that hard:
Management isn’t trying to win, but they’re not actively trying to lose. They acquired a bunch of vets and brought some back on short deals because that turned out really well last year. The problem is that last year was an incredible fluke of good fortune with how many of those vets outperformed their prior year of production. This year is the flip-side of that. Those are the breaks. Management probably truly believed we’d be more like the team from the first half of last season than the last half due to improvement in the bullpen alone.
This is a combination of stupidity, foolish optimism, and bad luck from the front office’s perspective.
Speaking of optimism, this thread is hilarious now:
http://bravesjournal.us/?p=14336#comment-1896328
Our current winning percentage is .233
We had Juan Uribe last year. He was an actual good player. Quite good in fact. Always has been quite good.
@32
I would like to take this opportunity to unceremoniously excuse myself from the room. Haha, I was thinking about the post the other day when I saw the win pace. “Yep, that’s what I said…”
@31
I think the FO could have hedged themselves a lot better. They clearly earmarked some funds that could have gone towards more established vets to put towards the international draft. We could have spend $8M on a pillow deal like we did for Ervin Santana instead of throwing just $2M to Bud Norris. I think you’re right that the latter is mostly true, but I think some finger pointing at the process is fair.
If you accept the total-rebuild argument (not like I ever had a choice, lol) then you pretty much have to trade Freeman and Teheran. They will not be helping the next good Braves team, so they need to be sold off at the deadline.
@35 I would trade them, but enough prospects. At least get a couple functioning MLB players that can contribute a positive WAR. An OF that can hit .270 14 and 60, etc. A 1.9 WAR player or two. Two 2.0 players, etc.
@35 Teheran is under contract through 2019 (with a 2020 option) and Freeman through 2021, and neither will be particularly old by the time their contracts expire. I’m at a loss to follow your conclusion that neither player could be a part of the “next good Braves team”.
@37, how long do you think it takes last year’s and this summer’s draft picks and international signings to make the majors? I think it’s after those dates.
It could be worse: we could be the Twins who are 8-23. Sure it would be nice to pick up that 8th win, but at least we did not have the luxury of believing we were going to be any good (unless the official propaganda is given credibility) whereas Minnesota fans thought they might have a ‘competitive’ team.
We are indeed on track to win 38 games and since we are not competitive (and certainly not tanking) the question is just how bad will we be. Given the way the Braves have played in the second half of the season (Freddy’s unique achievement) the prospect is too difficult to contemplate….
I’d trade Teheran now. Sims and Jenkins will be barking for a spot soon, and the pitching side of the rebuild is largely moving as scheduled. Shoot, get Brandon Drury back for him, but we may have enough 3B who can’t play 3B.
@36
.270/14/60 is basically Hector Olivera. His absence is working pretty well for a non-contending team. It’s opened a spot for Mallex, who is either building trade value for himself or Inciarte. I’m doing my best to parse my personal opinions of Olivera and his on-field performance, but he’s still an Atlanta Braves employee and he could play some role in the process.
@38 The Braves can’t/won’t be good again until the 2015 draft picks (and later) make it to the majors? That’s crazy talk.
Here is a (not exhaustive) list of talented players the Braves have in the high minors right now: Swanson, Albies, Newcomb, Blair, Jenkins, Sims, Ellis, Ruiz (plus Mallex Smith if you want to count him).
The glaring weakness of the system is power bats – Ruiz holds some promise in that regard, but hasn’t shown an ability to hit HRs in bunches yet.
In any event, it’s absolutely within the realm of possibility that the Braves have a good and deep pitching staff by 2017-2018, to go along with Ruiz-Swanson-Albies-Freeman on the infield, and Smith (or Inciarte if he’s somehow not traded) in CF. That could easily be a competitive team.
That’s still the worst offense in the league. Better pitching and defense will help for sure.
So Bartolo Colon has 1 HR. We only have Freeman with more than Bartolo.
This is a bad team. But they shouldn’t be this bad.
Fredi must have the pictures and they must be from a Liberty Media Christmas party.
We’re tied for 7th in wins at Turner Field. So there’s that.
So if adding Swanson, Albies and Ruiz, shedding Aybar, Brignac, and Castro, and keeping Freeman, Markakis, Mallex and Inciarte, leads to the worst offense in the league, then why the hell should we call up Swanson, Albies and Ruiz?
Because they are better than what we have? They take us from “worst offense in 100 years” to merely bad. I don’t know about Ruiz, but the other two also are surely better on defense. Ruiz is not really a lock to even play in the majors. Not sure why he’s penciled in like the other two.
Saw Ruiz at AA last year. He’s terrible on defense. Lazy feet.
New thread.
Simmons out for thumb surgery. Can we give them Aybar back?