To an Athlete Dying Young
By A. E. Housman
The time you won your town the race
We chaired you through the market-place;
Man and boy stood cheering by,
And home we brought you shoulder-high.
Today, the road all runners come,
Shoulder-high we bring you home,
And set you at your threshold down,
Townsman of a stiller town.
Smart lad, to slip betimes away
From fields where glory does not stay,
And early though the laurel grows
It withers quicker than the rose.
Eyes the shady night has shut
Cannot see the record cut,
And silence sounds no worse than cheers
After earth has stopped the ears.
Now you will not swell the rout
Of lads that wore their honours out,
Runners whom renown outran
And the name died before the man.
So set, before its echoes fade,
The fleet foot on the sill of shade,
And hold to the low lintel up
The still-defended challenge-cup.
And round that early-laurelled head
Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead,
And find unwithered on its curls
The garland briefer than a girl’s.
We’re all day to day. Enjoy now.
My Spanish is rusty, so I only picked up a few words and phrases of Prado’s comments in the press conference, but…of course Martin spoke for the players. He’s just the best guy there is.
He really is.
Sad sad day. Now Arnold Palmer. RIP
Thanks Coop. Man, what sad news.
and RIP Arnold Palmer
First sticks I owned was an Arnold Palmer set I bought in 1969. Now when I get the urge, I just pound my big toe with a ballpeen hammer. It’s less painful.
I was a member of Arnie’s Army. He and Winnie did good things for a lot of needy people. God bless them both. What a day.
Too young…way too young. A sad day…
Sad day, indeed.
The ‘Who Should Manage the Braves?’ talk has cropped up on and off here for the past few months. TP, Bo, Snitker, Perez, Bud Black. I don’t think there’s a bad answer in that group right now.
But I believe David Ross is retiring as soon as the post-season is over. Let’s do everything we can to get him on staff.
@8
The best idea any of us will hear this week.
Yes. David Ross, please.
Many think Snitker’s earned it…
I don’t like Bud Black. Never did, as a player or a manager. That probably is a poor barometer of whether he’s actually any good. It’s hard to tell what makes someone a good baseball manager. I do like Snitker, though, and everybody likes Rossie.
Snitker will get the job. Bud Black = no thanks
Padres fans snarkily discussing the Black firing.
http://www.gaslampball.com/2015/5/18/8621235/why-bud-black-is-going-to-be-fired
Second commenter says:
“A big problem with Black is that his teams haven’t performed under pressure.
The Pads in 2007 & 2010 completely blew it down the stretch. And this is a very high pressure season. with the results so far being average. Speaking of pressure, I think Black’s future will be determined over the next week or two. Our pitching especially needs to turn things around.”
Eh, not too exciting. I don’t see much inspiring about this guy.
It wouldn’t surprise me if they go with Snitker. It’s hard to argue with the replacement doubling the winning percentage of his predecessor. I was reminded of how frustrated I was with Fredi when he went on MLB Network last week for an interview. He’s magoo, a poor communicator, and he’s much better suited to be a bench coach. Snitker clearly has a much better leadership style and personality for managing in MLB. He’s firm but respectful, he’s done well tactically, and it’s obvious the players play hard for him.
My only concern is that you don’t want to fall in love with the rebound. Fredi had such a low bar that it’s been fairly easy for Snitker to hurdle it. Since expectations aren’t particularly high for next year, I’m concerned about getting someone that we aren’t confident can exceed those expectations.
It’s sad to see that Freeman has 32 HRs and 87 RBIs. If the Braves could put someone in the #2 with an OBP higher than Adonis’ .312, he’ll be an even bigger run producer. How many more pitches would he get to hit if he had more people on base ahead of him? I think Swanson in the 8-hole has had a positive impact on that, though. And yes, I am aware that protection is not a real thing. Pitchers don’t care about who’s on base or who’s up after a hitter. They operate within a vacuum of no short-term memory. /sarcasm
But think about this. If the #2 hitter had a .350 OBP, which over the full season was probably a full 50 points higher than Adonis and others. That means they’re getting on base with 1/20 more frequency. Over 600 PAs, that’s 30 more runners on base. If Freeman could drive 6 of them in, or 20%, that could be the deciding run in 1-2 games. And if Swanson and Inciarte continue to get on base with the frequency that they’ve shown in their YTD stats, the #2 hole could be extending 5-6 more innings over the course of the season, which gives Freeman even more opportunities to drive in runs. That alone could be a 1-2 win improvement over the course of a long season. And back to “protection”, if that #2 hitter otherwise would have had a .350 OBP, how much better will that OBP become if there’s Freeman and Kemp, a L/R match-up, behind him?
This is the big reason why I feel like the floors of lineups are more important than ceilings. If the pitcher can’t take hitters off, and there’s no BJ Upton or Andrelton Simmons or Dan Uggla, then it significantly improves the likelihood that 1) more big innings occur or 2) you can play for the run you need. That clearly was lacking from the 2011-2014 Braves.
It is also frigging intolerable to watch a team with any, much less all, of BJ Upton, Andrelton Simmons, and Dan Uggla in the lineup.
2017, as of now, will be the first year since 2012 where we will not have a millstone contract on the books. At this point, with how well Kemp has performed and with the prospect that he might drop a couple-few pounds, you could make the argument that he’s only a slight overpay even without the Olivera contract marketing speak. And if they decide the second half is not a fluke, they might decide to simply buy players at market value vs. taking on a bad contract. This could potentially continue.
Hasn’t Adonis primarily hit in the #2 spot during the second half? Either way he’s produced a .293/.336/.468 line after the break.
Getting Aybar, D’Arnaud, Frenchy, and Beckham out of the everyday lineup has helped everyone.
With current players in the org, I’d like a lineup that has 2 leadoff through cleanup hitting sectors:
1. Mallex
2. Dansby
3. FF5
4. Kemp
5. Ender (2nd leadoff)
6. Albies
7. Adonis
8. Flowers/Recker
@15, I agree with every word in your post.
As long as the guy in the 2-whole isn’t another righty with middling speed who “puts the ball in play,” I’m a happy camper. How often would you have to hit-and-run to make up for erasing the lead-off guy every fifth time?
Is there a statistical analysis on whether the hit and run is even a positive play? I’m sure it depends on how it’s deployed. I remember Frediot doing it a few times with Freddie Freeman (slow) and Dan Uggla (poor contact rate). Shudder…
@23
I have no idea, sometimes you have to do it to force the issue though.
Smitty, the Vols looked like a very good team against Florida. Rob, your Gators are going to kill my Dogs. When do pitchers and catchers report?
Also Smitty, you new uniforms are much better than the ugly orange crap your guys usually wear.
I know football transitivity is a dangerous game, but so far it looks like the bottom half of the SEC would really struggle in the Sun Belt conference as well.
I won’t issue any more UGA hyperbole, the on field results speak for themselves. CKS has a rebuild task ahead of him that’s even worse than the one that Coppy is facing.
The Instructional League is underway, apparently. I will be in Florida the first week of October. Are the games open to the public? Has anyone seen a schedule you could link? I’ve seen the roster, (wow) but no sign of the schedule, admission policies, etc.
#26
Offensive line & kicking game are at newfound lows. It’s a talent issue & that’s not good, but ultimately correctable (if not this year).
So far, pass rush & secondary are below average as well. Pass rush could be corrected by scheme, but time will tell on that. Certainly, UT’s mobile QB isn’t the best opportunity for correction, but they’ll have to find a way to have Lorenzo Carter try to contain him. Didn’t work so well last wknd.
The freshman QB (Eason) is going to have his moments — good & otherwise. Gotta let him find his way. If he’s good enough, he will. But again, not having a thrust from the O-line isn’t helping.
This could be like last year’s team — beat the schools you “should beat,” lose to the others.
@27, As far as I know the workouts are open to the public. They do play games but not many…maybe 6 or so? No idea how to find a schedule or if there even is one yet.
I think I’d probably pay a few bucks to see Newcomb pitch to Tebow.
@28, I’m not so sure who’s on the “should beat” list this year besides ULM and Vandy (who looks like they’ve regressed back to the Vandy of old and then some). The game against USCe might set football back a hundred years.
#30
I mean, “should beat” as in favored.
We should be favored in those 3, plus Kentucky. At this point, hard to say about Auburn & Tech. Both games are in Athens, but like UGA at the moment, neither is particularly scary (although I’ve been impressed some by Auburn’s defense so far).
The homerun Dee Gordon just hit is one of the most emotional moments I’ve ever seen in sports. I encourage anyone and everyone to watch the full replay.
Dee Gordon’s homerun.
http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/marlins-dee-gordon-breaks-down-into-tears-after-hitting-lead-off-home-run-092616
@33, Tears… brings to mind my favorite line from one of my favorite movies, Down By Law: “It is a sad and beautiful world.”
@25
I think Georgia will be able to take shots down the field on Tennessee.
The next three games for Tennessee are very difficult. I think Georgia and Florida both have easier slates going forward (UGA having it the easiest.)
It better be easy, Smitty. We were lucky to beat(?) Nichols. We might have a chance against the Poor Discalced Sisters of Saint Mary, otherwise it could be a very long season.
All joking aside, Tennessee looked good in their new uniforms. I hope those become your usual game day attire.
Frankly, I think the UGA offense would be better off starting Sony Michel than Chubb, who almost never goes out for a pass, and so can be game-planned defensively. Michel poses a more diverse threat.
@36
It’s just a once a year deal with the unis.
@37
I don’t get this Georgia team at all. I am worried Tennessee will come out flat and Chubb will keep the offense off the field. It feels like a wounded animal trap game.
Tennessee hasn’t been on the road. Their pass defense is suspect. Are they going to skip this game coming off a big win and facing a undefeated A&M next week? They have yet to play tree consecutive good quarters of football.
Georgia is not a good football team. I guess I understand why it was best to let Richt go, but they definitely didn’t upgrade the position, at least in the short-term. Georgia is going to have a tough season. I wouldn’t be surprised if, based on their schedule, they won 8 games. I think they lose to UT, UF, and Ga Tech, and they might even lose to South Carolina.
Florida’s not much better. Even with LDR healthy, we’re unsettled at quarterback, and I just wonder if we have the athletes to keep up with LSU, Arkansas, and Florida State. Even with Miles’ firing, they still have Orgeron, who did quite well as interm at USC.
Tennesse sucks. They’ve always sucked, and they always will. Prominent fans getting arrested for assault after they finally sneak one past us? Yeah, stay classy, folks.
Prado getting a 3-year, $40M extension with the Marlins. I’m sure that right now he means a lot to that franchise. I’d have gladly signed him to such a FA deal if I were Coppy.
Man, still really bothered by the Jose Fernandez news. What a damn shame.
“Prominent” is a loose term. That guy has become the local jackass and was long before this game.
Of course, I only saw around 10 classy Gators being escorted around by the Knoxville Police.
UGA is paying for the complete disaster that was the 2013 recruiting class. They haven’t recruited the lines of scrimmage well for years and it’s why CMR is in Miami now. The cupboard isn’t completely bare, but it’s telling when your best option at left tackle is a transfer from Rhode Island, and you are having to move other players away from their natural line positions due to lack of depth and talent. I guess the only way to fix it is for Kirby to recruit like crazy. He sure as heck doesn’t look like he’s going to win the X’s and O’s battle with anyone.
UGA’s lacking offensive line is the root of many problems right now.
That Prado extension is a great move by Miami. For a change.
I’m not sure I’ve been affected by a “celebrity” death the way I have been with Fernandez. I really enjoyed watching him, and his death illuminated his personality even more. This is my generation’s Roberto Clemente, it seems.
What a great signing by Florida. Prado is a good guy. I wish we hadn’t traded him.
Beckham to the Giants
Great trade, who’d we get?
I don’t really understand the point of the Giants picking up Beckham. He isn’t elgible for post-season and my guess is he’ll be lucky to play 5 total innings in the next 6 games. I guess theoretically he could have one hit that propels the Giants over the Cardinals in the wildcard race, but what could they possibly get with him that is better than their current in-house options? Anyone have more insight on this than me?
The Giants might give WS rings to two former Braves second basemen.
@49
He has hit lefties okay and they need someone to fill in at third over the next few days.
49—Nunez is banged up, and they just want infield insurance for a few games. I would be the trade is just for some nominal amount of cash and goodwill in case the Braves need something similar in the future.
Ramos has a torn ACL. His price tag just went down.
Your 2017 Braves starting catcher – Matt Wieters!
Why would someone bet on Matt Wieters to be good AND stay healthy, having not been both for years, and now being on the wrong side of 30?
But, does this make Ramos doable?
ACL is minimum of 8 months recovery. Probably 10. Could be 12. So, the odds are no use for him next year.
If you are the Nats, doesn’t this kill the QO?
Braves get Castro AND Ramos. Offer Ramos a 5 year base deal with incentives. If he really comes back, he gets say 60% of what he would have gotten. If he doesn’t, maybe he gets a 5 signing bonus and 2 a year for 5 years. Is it risky or is it crazy?
With pitchers we targeted those recovering from Tommy John surgery. Maybe we can target position players recovering from ACL surgery.
With current ACL repair techniques I would be surprised if recovery was as much as 8 months. I’m thinking it’s more like 6 months at most… unless he did something more horrible than just an ACL tear.
Ramos picked the best possible time to have a career year and the worst possible time to have a serious injury. If I’m his agent, I advise a pillow deal.
Yeah, I would take a one year deal, and kick the can a little bit.
Well, I have been lucky enough to have multiple ACL tears and I was in excellent shape at the time.
Its basically a year.
Tough one for a catcher.
@48 The head coach of the Arizona Wildcats.
Wow, the Braves really got a haul for Beckham. Rich Rodriguez – 23 year old, 6 year minor leaguer with a career .264 BA, 2 at bats above A ball, and a .629 career OPS with 0 homeruns. If this guy ever plays in a major league game, the scout who recommended him needs to have his salary tripled.
New thread.