This bar is closed. You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.
The purpose of the bar is to gather the masses in perfect unison to discuss all things Braves Journal. During the operating hours of the bar, which is Sunday through Saturday, 12:00 AM to 11:59 PM, there will be posts made and linked into the bar. As always with Braves Journal, talk about what you want but let’s make sure our writers know they’re kind of a big deal by talking about their work as well.
Oh… and tip your bartenders. What do you think is? Free labor?
Seriously though, we’re trying something new, and what I feel is innovative. We have removed the ability to comment under all posts, with the exception being “The Bar”. At the end of each post, there will be the graphic shown above where comments live. It’s my opinion that people revisit blogs for 2 reasons:
1. Because the writing and information is good.
2. To create online bonds with people through a common interest.
Our last 2 posts redirect to the Bar at the bottom. Come to the bar, check it out and let me know what you think about the system. Keeping our conversations housed in one place where articles that are posted are linked in the bar, gives the people the 2 things they crave when visiting sites. So… will you pull up a stool and have a pint or 6 with us? Seriously though…give it a try.
Do I have to show ID?
Your name carved into your seat is plenty enough identification for me!
Today, I hope we see Hilliard in LF, Rosario at DH, and Ozuna in his rightful place.
Hey Ryan!
I’ll give this a try. Hope it works as well as you planned!
The Pieces being discussed in this bar:
Looking forward to this!
Cade, are you Spencer Strider’s older brother?
He’s my nephew.
I’m cautiously optimistic about Rosario this season, and unrealistically optimistic about Albies. I think he’s one of the players who will surprise us with vastly increased stolen bases.
I’ll pull up a seat and have a pint, or six…
I love it, Cade. I hope these two approach these numbers. If they do, I think you may be right…the Braves will never lose again (not even to the A’s, who beat that trash franchise the Angels on Thursday night with old friend Kyle Muller).
I’ll admit that I did not have Kyle Muller defeating Ohtani on my 2023 bingo card. I have no doubt Ozzie will be great this year and I’m very bullish on Eddie. I really want him to succeed. He’s such a fun player when he’s clicking.
In which I talk about the bar.
The first rule of The Bar is that you don’t talk about The Bar.
What happens at the bar stays at the bar…
I don’t see how we win less than 100 games. This team is loaded.
Strider hitting 99. What a team.
Testing. Having problems with my comments appearing.
I can see them, Rob.
These special Nats jerseys are a big nope for me. Like the cherry blossom idea, but the letters and color scream softball league to me.
I wonder if he’ll stay in the leadoff spot his entire career, especially if he were to change teams. Another team could easily decide he ought to be a middle-of-the-order bat.
I can both be cheering for Ozuna and think it’s hilarious when someone says “Ozuna from the Braves”.
Can Abrams field anything? (Asking for a friend.)
Oof, new guy just had his first Chip moment. Thought Ronnie has put that one in the 2nd deck by his reaction.
Dear lord, this team just annihilates baseballs.
Great game. That said, I rather miss the game thread discussions.
Spitballing some nicknames for Spencer Strider:
Dispencer Slider
SS Victory
99 Problem
The Amazing Striderman
Lord of the Thighs
Super Stache Brother
Subscribe to Super Stache Brother. For reasons.
Not to toot my own horn, but my discription of Kyle Muller in my minor league write up (removed after the trade) started with, “The AAA pitcher most likely to go all Kyle Wright on the league in 2023”. I expect he will be oakland’s all star this year if he can stay healthy.
Possibly the worst bad beat I’ve ever seen… 2 run Duvall walk off after a routine fly ball for out 3 is dropped.
Do the Red Sox look like last year’s Braves? Martin and Jansen finishing and Duvall with a walk-off. I might be upset if the Braves were not 2-0. Only 160 more to go to 162-0. Although it is amusing that other teams are profiting on ex-Braves (like Muller).
New post for the bar!
Hey, Ryan – can you fix the link to the bar in the new thread?
Alex, I tried but I can’t fix it from phone. Will do when I get home.
This…isn’t good and I’m not sure he’s going to avoid surgery.
Shuster’s not doing too much better. No outs in the first. Three walks so far. 4 runs, too.
The only way the gNats can score is if someone gives it to them.
The scouting report on Shuster is that he throws strikes. This is the first time I’ve seen him. My amateur assessment is that throwing strikes would be a good idea.
So maybe Shuster isn’t quite the answer yet
Rough start, but he’s going to be fine. I’m looking forward to his next start.
so are we posting here or the game thread?
Nice recovery by Shuster through four. Not really close to dominating but really happy for him.
He certainly righted the ship
Bad swing after bad swing today
How many weeks does yesterdays homerun buy Ozuna and his .091 average?
Down three runs in the 9th, 2-0 count leading off the inning and Ozzie swings and grounds out. Way to make Finnegan work. Sometimes I don’t understand our approach
Agreed. Get on base and set the table. 🤦🏻♂️
Too many, I’m afraid. Hope Hilliard get a chance soon.
OK, just a sidebar here. Just saw a Ronald Acuna commercial and I didn’t think he knew enough English to make a commercial. Of course, they didn’t give him any complex lines ……. mainly “That’s it?” “Woo” and “Let’s go”. Kinda cute.
After Tonkin’s good work, I’m wondering who gets the boot for Dodd. I think Chavez is the most likely to make it through waivers.
It’d be nice if the bats showed up.
162-0, if you don’t count the first inning.
I’d hate to know I made that trade for a catcher who’s calling card is framing that can’t hit.
Nice throw to catch a thief, though.
As far as DFA candidates on the 40 man roster, what do you guys think about Roddery Munoz? He is 23 (or will be soon) and his track record is unimpressive. He does strike out a little over 9 per inning, but nothing to write home about after that. He may have great potential, but I don’t see him being ready this year.
Roddery — like 50 other guys in the high minors — is a half grade improvement in control from being a devastating reliever (he has 40-grade command/control). Is he more likely to take that step than those other guys? No, but he is the only one currently in our organization. I honestly believe our next 40 man cut is going to be Ozuna
Recap up: https://bravesjournal.com/2023/04/03/braves-have-to-settle-for-two-in-washington-as-nats-score-four-in-first-to-salvage-sunday-matinee/
I didn’t watch. The recapper said that Gore wasn’t much of anything special. He used to be a really high-profile prospect (even more so than Josiah Gray) – do you think he’ll figure things out and become a star? Or not too likely?
New thread for the bar.
He looks like he has potential. He was easily the best of their three starters in the series (why they’re still engaging in the charade that Corbin is still their purported No. 1, I don’t know).
He was effectively wild. Good fastball, located breaking stuff well, and kept our hitters off stride. I’m with Nick, he was the best of the three they rolled out there…and I wonder if his effectiveness had anything to do with it being that dreaded Sunday getaway game?
Yeah, the getaway game is a frequent yeechh. Back in the old days, Bobby Cox often used to roll out Sunday lineups where he’d let a lot of the backups play the field; Mac used to call those “white flag” games because it was so obviously the second string. Yesterday, the first-stringers still managed to honor the ancient tradition and did their best impression of a second-division roster.
Leaves a bitter taste in the mouth to lose any games at all to as punchless a lineup as we just faced. Hopefully Jared Shuster learned his lesson and those will be the last bases-loaded walks we see him issue this year.
But overall, it was a pretty good series, and something sneakily positive is in Michael Harris’s performance: in 12 plate appearances so far, he has already drawn two walks (against just one strikeout), and the early numbers suggest he’s swinging at far fewer pitches outside the strike zone than he did last year. Obviously the sample size is minuscule but that’s going to be one of the most important things to watch this month, and it’s nice to see so far.
Noticed that, too. He did mention that this was one of the main things he worked on. Would be great if it holds up.
Let’s beat the Cards. Go Braves!
Happy to read that the Braves are finally having Andruw’s number retired.
So, uh, so much for rebuilding Luplow’s swing or whatever. Also, nice job on sticking to that “keep your options open as long as possible” plan, geniuses.
I think they’re ok with their RHH OF options with Eli White, Forrest Wall, and Pillar.
Also, my guess is that Luplow stays. He’s guaranteed $1MM no matter if he plays in the bigs or the littles.
He’s on a guaranteed 1M dollar deal. I’m sure they’re hoping that the attached money keeps other teams away so they can sneak him through waivers and stash him in Triple-A.
Can we link to the bar from the main page at http://www.bravesjournal.com?
I’ll talk with Matt, but that should be easy!
Here are some pieces that can be discussed in the bar:
So Shuster’s spot in the rotation would have come up on Friday. What’s the plan to replace him?
He can be recalled if he’s replacing a player going on the IL (Max Fried).
So if you know you are going to put Fried on the IL retroactive to date of injury, then why not do that when you call up Dodd?
Dodd was not on the 40 man roster. They had to make a spot and I guess they valued the bullpen depth that Tonkin brings.
They needed to create a spot on the 40 man regardless (which they did by DFAing Ludlow), so why bother to send Shuster down if you are just going to recall him a couple days later.
I guess my question is why wait to put Fried on the IL until Wednesday instead of today?
yeah, we need a bold, fixed place for the link to the Bar.
Working on that. But aside from that, what do you think of the concept?
Takes some getting used to. I’m sure there will be some refinements as we go.
What do the numbers look like, small sample size aside?
its pretty good, I have a hard time keeping up with all the new content, but like may of us, spring gets busier and usier, especially as my kids creep into the teenage years.
Ronnie beating out that infield hit against Arenado of all people is pretty impressive. I was typing this when he got thrown out so I’m not sure why that happened besides the C made a good throw.
AUSTIN RILEY! 4th longest HR in the history of the ballpark in St. Louis.
Have to say I’m not a big fan of all the comments going into one thread and not being able to comment on others.
I think offense will be somewhat up this year. No shifts, more base hits.
I suspect Woodford would have been better left in Reserve.
I see what you did there!
If you look at the home page it looks like there’s zero activity on this site since April 1st. These changes needed their own spring training.
Charlie isn’t missing a lot of bats tonight.
The two dead spots at 7 and 8 aren’t helping the lineup. Ozuna is such a waste
Ok Nick Anderson… that was impressive
Acuna just hit a line drive double on a 97 mph fastball that was both high and inside.
Kirk I can’t reply to your comment for some reason but you’ve got me stumped there. We will just have to see how they choose to play this chess match. The Miller lites are beginning to get in the way of all of these dates, timelines and potential moves. We’ll find out together!
I had the same issue, must be a nesting level limit. I pressed REPLY on my second post in the chain, and it stacked it right underneath your reply to my second post at that same indention level.
Nice article, Jonathan!
Thanks for the great recap JonathanF. Did anyone check into the Cards broadcast to listen to Chip?
It is indeed disorienting to see the Braves in St. Louis in April. But it is very comforting to read a JonathanF recap, who is already in midseason form.
At least Ozzie Nelson is the father of a Hall of Famer. Marcell has no such redeeming feature.
(I posted this same comment under the game recap, where comments are not disabled. I believe this new site format will work, but like Jared Shuster, it may take some time to settle in)
I get that I’m the board curmudgeon, but this site is a mess. Can we just go back to the old way? This isn’t better in any way. Not one.
If we plan to only comment in the Bar, then I think it would be wise to remove the comment count number that shows under each post on the homepage. It makes it look dead in here and I know it isn’t.
It would also help a great deal if the convention of linking to new articles from the bar (always at the topmost level, not nested in a reply to another post) and having a link to the bar from the article were consistently followed (also having a link to the bar from the top of the main page which others have already mentioned). While I’m nitpicking, having a navigation button that gets to the last post in the bar would help at lot, particularly when reading from a phone.
Oh, BTW great recap as always JonathanF!
It’s a little confusing, to be honest. But being in first place with a +12 run differential has unfortunately given my complaint-generation muscle a sore hammy. So I’m afraid I’m just gonna have to sit here with a silly grin replaying the seven taters the boys have bopped so far.
The Bar links say “April 1st”. Clicking on a comment from the homepage takes you to the top of the bar thread rather than the comment. There’s no comments on articles. The game threads have barely any activity. Anyone that’s not familiar with the history of this site would just assume it’s dead. Shouldn’t the lack of comment traffic be concerning? I realize this is a volunteer effort, but nobody made you change things in the first place. Please revert back to Braves Journal Classic. New Coke sucks.
Krussell, not cool. I’m trying my best to sort this out. I’ve got a full time job, 3 kids (including a newborn), and a wife that travels for work. There’s only so much one person can do and o assure you I’m working hard to work out all the kinks.
We’ve always wanted a 1 room bar. However, a site can’t grow by posting 120-150 post/year, and it’s important to get new readers.
The Bar idea has not worked because I haven’t been able to rectifying a few problems but I’m getting there.
So…please, be patient.
I have to agree with the above few comments. I get the idea of the Bar as I catch all for comments given that once the new site was launched, the amount of posts/articles increased greatly (and great to see some new writers) but it is messy. As someone familiar with the idea of an internet bar from another site I’ve been a part of for over 20 years (and help run/moderated), it just doesn’t work that well for engagement. People want to discuss the particular thread and info within and so a catch all just is not as active.
I’d suggest keeping the game threads and recap threads with comments and showing the other posts as “news” or “announcements” or some such. Something akin to the old twitter feed that was on the sidebar. I would come here to check that from time to time because I’m not on twitter (and have no desire to be) but news items were of interest. I appreciate the new writers wanting to add content but it is becoming confusing and a bit too busy for what is (or was) really just an internet blog (and the most popular of all the Braves related ones, AFAIK.) I can see wanting to perhaps grow beyond those limits (time does not stand still) but for many of us that have been around since the days of Mac, we really just enjoyed the simple engagement day to day with the games.
All that said, I do appreciate what you (and others) are attempting, Ryan and kudos for not wishing to stay stale (if, in fact, it/we were.) I’ll continue to follow either way.
Elder will likely start tomorrow and Strider on Thursday. I’d guess that the Braves go with a bullpen game on Friday.
I’ll preface this by saying I do like the look the revamped site, and I very much appreciate the new content. I just echo what AL said above, and it would be nice to have game-day and recap threads still active, and leave “The Bar” for discussion on general Braves / MLB news outside of game-day action. Cut that last comment, as I now read there will be weekly Bar threads, that has my thumbs up!
If you’d like to be heard about your preference, go here and file your complaint (in a kind manner or else you’ll have to deal with my wife and NO ONE wants to deal with my wife).
I love what I saw from Dylan Dodd tonight. 72 pitches, 52 strikes, and no walks. And they weren’t squaring him up much.
What a throw by Ronald!!
Little brother Bryce Elder has been really annoying today – and I AM HERE FOR IT! Dude didn’t just poke and prod today, he SHOVED HARD! Through six innings allowing just two hits and leading 5-0…