I am really glad that I have a win to talk about. Wednesdays have been on a bad streak. But hey, the bats showed up and Wright was right and except for a little Dylan Lee crap, all is at peace and rest.
The obvious big news is VAUGHN GRISSOM. WE all knew when Arcia got hurt bad enough to go on the IL, that there was a big void. A void kind of like the one near Orlando where a timeshare resort started sinking about 10 years ago. I actually rode by that site about 5 years ago searching for a place where my crew was staying. It was eerie. A fairly nice stuccoed stacked block fence around the perimeter of the property, showing a little wear. A few pieces of concrete sticking above ground level. Otherwise, nothingness. Such was the void the Braves faced.
And, I know, it is only 1 game. But still, don’t we all feel more confident in this move than in Ehire Adrianza? And, don’t we feel glad we didn’t send Grissom out at the trade deadline? So, as the title says, “All hail.” In “For the Love of the Game” (and yes, I know it is a chick flick disguised as a baseball movie, but if you watch it you can, once again, experience Vin Scully, So if you have a problem with the reference “stifle yourself”), Billy Chapel says, “Believe it!” And, from henceforth all ye who do not believe that if Alex moves it is good, if Alex doesn’t move it is good, if Dana selects a player people are saying is a “reach,” BELIEVE.
First, Wright was right. Thank you, Kyle, for your support. A big part of pitching is throwing strikes. That is particularly relevant when you do that and they don’t clobber the ball. After those 2 things (which “modern baseball science” deem to be controlled by the pitcher and not random), usually good things happen. A little shaky in the 5th giving up 1 run and getting helped out by a double play, so maybe that is why Snit and Kranny pulled him at 77 pitches after 6. I would have tried to get another inning with the previous night’s extra innings, but what do I know. 6 IP, 5K, 6 H, 1 BB, 1R (earned). Two runs better than a “minimal quality start.” A. J. Minter was 3K’s in his inning. Raisel got 1 K in the 9th (again, BELIEVE).
The offense had lots of good stories. The headliner is Grissom. Everybody speculates on who is his Daddy. Well, he is the Red Sox Daddy, and that is what is important here. His OPS sits at 1.250. If he can maintain 80% of that, we can live with that. Marcel Ozuna proved two axioms. A blind hog can find an acorn (actually, they have better senses of smell than most animals, which is why they are used in France to find truffles), and if you swing hard enough eventually you will connect and send it a long way. Before last night, his OPS+ for the month was 1. As in, if average is 100, then where did he scale? That isn’t just the 1 percentile. No, because half are over 100 and some are 100. That is like the .4 percentile (I am sure JonathanF can tell us exactly what percentile that is). Eddie Rosario’s August improvement / surge continues. Dansby Swanson continue to seem like a “very good hitter for a shortstop.”
Off for a day off in the sun at golf courses and beaches around Miami before facing the gang which assaults with a deadly weapon. The time looked much less tired the last 2 nights. And, maybe that is just another thing for which to thank the young Mr. Grissom.
I think Arcia has been Pipp’d. Looking up and down the roster, I’m not sure who goes out in favor of Albies, Anderson, or Soroka. I guess Tromp eventually goes out. I presume O’Day will be released when his rehab is over. After Grissom, Lee is about the only guy with realistic options. Maybe Stephens goes out and Strider replaces him in the bullpen? Would they release Adrianza if they had both Albies and Arcia?
Thanks, Cliff. I especially appreciate the reminder that using the “Blind pig/acorn” adage with respect to Ozuna is not fair to sightless hogs. Marcell has indeed been terrible. The only good news there is that any regression to his mean in the next few weeks will be a dramatic improvement.
@1
No one should have to go out as the roster expands to 28. I don’t think Soroka’s coming back. I don’t think he’s even throwing yet.
I would expect that AA will try to keep his depth as much as possible, which would mean that Lee would go down for a few weeks when O’Day comes back, then rejoins the team when rosters go to 28. Arcia, if he returns, definitely won’t be back until September. I’d wager a guess Ian is back with the club in September, which likely means Tromp goes back to the minors.
@1–From all I hear, any return by Albies, Soroka, or Arcia would be after September 1 when rosters expand, which gives the team more flexibility with roster spots. The 28 limit doesn’t give the flexibility of the old 40 man roster, but there should be plenty of room for the players you need to keep. Having said that, once Ozzie is back, and assuming Grissom sticks around, they certainly don’t need both Arcia and Adrianza.
As to Grissom’s role at that point, I really like Ryan’s suggestion of him as supersub, filling in defensively for Riley, Swanson, Albies, and Olson so that they can DH on occasion. In addition to resting those guys, that has the added benefit of not needing Ozuna to DH. Still, that doesn’t seem like something the Braves would do; our guys play every day (remember the failed Camargo supersub experiment?).
Edit–or what Ryan just said about September.
And the Braves debut of Kali II! Man, the bullpen feels so much deeper now with him and Enrique Iglesias.
Side note, does anyone else remember when Bobby Cox had Kirby’s brother, Kali I himself, pitch to a righty, then play LF for 1 batter while we brought in a lefty to face a lefty, then return to the mound to face the following batter (another righty)? I’m reasonably sure that happened. No idea how that situation, or the game, turned out.
Edit – never mind, it was Chris Resop. Tyler did pitch in that game, but against the Braves as a Pirate. Well I was close.
@5 – LOL, it was this game:
https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap/_/gameId/280403115
Mike Hampton got hurt during warm-ups (because of course) so the pen was shorthanded, leading to the above creativity in the 10th inning. And Resop gave up the game winning hit anyway.
Someone needs to share those Mike Hampton videos that Mac made, for those that haven’t seen them. They were gold.
The rest of y’all probably knew this, but I only just now realized that Kirby’s middle name is also Kali. I assume there must be some significance; anyone know the story?
@6:
https://bravesjournal.mystagingwebsite.com/2008/02/11/un-film-de-mac-thomason/
https://bravesjournal.mystagingwebsite.com/2008/02/12/un-other-film-de-mac-thomason/
https://bravesjournal.mystagingwebsite.com/2008/02/13/un-poorly-edited-film-de-mac-thomason/
https://bravesjournal.mystagingwebsite.com/2008/02/14/un-more-film-de-mac-thomason/
https://bravesjournal.mystagingwebsite.com/2008/02/18/un-action-film-de-mac-thomason/
https://bravesjournal.mystagingwebsite.com/2008/02/21/i-blame-hampton/
@3 remember that there is a 13 pitcher limit until September, at least, so Anderson cannot be swapped for Tromp. FG implies that Anderson is coming back on the 13th. I don’t know if that is just when he’s eligible or if they know something. I thought Yates would be added in September but maybe it’s now Ozzie and Arcia that get added assuming Anderson comes back before then.
So does this mean that we’re in another Kali yug?
What’s the name of the song that opens 755 Is Real, DOB’s podcast?
Ozuna, AFTER that homer, ranks 326th in August OPS+. His actual sOPS+ for August is now 37. But take heart! Javier Baez is paid a lot more than Marcel, and his rank is 329. There’s some more ugliness at the bottom of this list, which shows just how variable batting results can be over a two week period, but there are 50 guys below Marcel for the month. https://stathead.com/tiny/wZO8I
@ 9,
The “extra man for the doubleheader rule” will be used to let Anderson pitch without affecting minimum option days or anything like that. Also, Anderson is still traveling with the big league club in the “covid taxi squad” to avoid any issues (well, maybe reduce the number of or severity of issues) on testing and potentially not being able to add.
And Mac’s film titles blew me away. The destruction of effete French sensibility on “film.”
I read somewhere that after Jethro starts for the big league club this Saturday, he will then go to Gwinnett to make at least a couple of starts. It’s probably a safe bet he won’t be called back up before September 1.
Rob, one of them is 24 frames by Jason Isbell
Oh, I just started today’s 755,. It sure, sounds like George Michaels voice though.
I don’t know the song that opens the current podcast, but I do know it doesn’t hold a candle to 24 Frames or anything else Jason Isbell has ever recorded.
Fried is in the concussion protocols.
@11 according to Shazam, it’s “The Underside of Power” by Algiers
Dammit. Get well soon. Good for you and for the Braves for taking this seriously.
Fried’s IL stint is just seven days, and if I read it right he will be eligible to pitch on august 15. That’s the first day of the Mets series, so this might work out for the best. Assuming he is healthy, of course.
Edit—I just realized what I wrote above sounds pretty callous. Most important thing is that Max is healthy. Concussions can have long lasting impact. Let’s hope this is just precautionary.
@8 – Thanks. Figured an off-day would be a good time to share those again. Also fun to read comments from 14 years ago.
New thread!
https://bravesjournal.mystagingwebsite.com/2022/08/11/looking-ahead-at-the-braves-2023-payroll/
Tricky situation. Who do we root for. A term you would never use in Australia.
Mets or Phillies. You pull for the Phillies if you feel the Braves can catch the Mets.
Doubtful unless DeGrom goes down.
Mets if you want the Phillies to get off the Braves butt. Which is funny if you are an Aussie. I go Mets.
Womens 2022 USGA Amateur Championship is a pleasure to watch.
What a gruelling event, on a tough course with much walking due to elevation changes. Was there for the U S Open won by Speith.
Go Braves and Mets.