Cash in the Chips? Never!
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The stock market’s down.
Gas prices are up.
The Braves are down. Even though we won yesterday… and there was much rejoicing….
yay
Seems like a good time to throw in the towel huh? I’ve read a lot of
posts lately about the Braves becoming sellers. Bloggers are out there
saying we should start trading away, start from scratch and basically
rebuild.
Well excuse me for sounding like Mr. Rosy Goggles but I just don’t
see it that way yet. Not that we haven’t taken our share of lumps this
year and this team has been a bit of an underachiever. I just think we
still have a decent shot at pulling it together.
The biggest thing it comes down to is performance. I know our
starting rotation looks 3/5 different than it should but look at what
our “fill-in’s” have done.
Jorge Campillo- 3-2, 2.54 ERA, 53 K’s/12 BB’s, in 8 GS, allowing 16 ER’s in 49 innings.
Charlie Morton’s first 3 big league starts- 1-1 (with one game he
should’ve had the “W” and another that easily could have made him 3-0)
is 4.24 ERA, 11K/6 BB’s.
Jo Jo Reyes- Not really a star 5th starter but he’s had 4 starts
where he went +5 IP and gave up 2 ER’s or less and hasn’t allowed more
than 4 ER since May 23rd.
Gonzo is back.
Glavine will be back.
Diaz is slotted to return and if Kotsay gets healthy and Chipper
stays that way, we can give those bench guys their bench jobs back.
And really it’s Frenchy and Tex who have been the large holes in the
lineup. The latter is starting to catch fire a little bit hitting .330
with 4 HR’s 7 RBI’s since Seattle came to town. And Frenchy…. he’s
disappointing us all right now but I just have this feeling that he
will snap out of it at some point.
I know it’s been easy to hate this Braves team lately but when you
have to resort to filling your entire lineup with the bench on a daily
basis, you have to expect them to perform like bench players. After all
that’s why they’re riding the pine to begin with.
All this Braves blogger is saying is we’ve still got talent and
we’re only 4.5 games out. And although the trade deadlines and free
agency are causing the winds to blow and the hot stoves to heat up… I
don’t think it’s time to count this team out just yet.
You never know. Stranger things have happened. What are the odds
that the lowest seeded, unranked team, with 31 regular season losses
would go on to win a National Championship?
By the way Fresno State, thank you for beating UGA.
This is probably the only time I’ll ever say this but….
“Go Bulldogs!”
Next up: Braves vs Blue Jays- Jurrjens vs. McGowan Friday, 7:00pm EDT
Time for some retribuition for 1992.
Going for 4 and 5
Visit my new site at BravesBlog.net As I mentioned before, we have a chance of going 4-5 on the road if we can get a win tonight. Two series wins on the road? How the sweet the sound. Then we can forget all about Chicago and even that miserable series at home with the Philistines and move on to kicking the Mariners (25-47) while they’re down. What I Like About You Gonzo the prize fighter rocking back and forth on the mound as he saves it with a 1-2-3 ninth inning. Reyes went 7 and gave up one earned run. Still didn’t get the win but another impressive start makes me say that if Hampton is ever healthy enough to pitch again, trade him to Japan, we’ve got a lefty, thanks. Chipper maintains .400 for another day but more importantly, he hits #402. I can’t wait to see the MVP come back to Atlanta after a nine year absence. And maybe we got the win after Frenchy reached on an error but we let the game get tied on an error and I’ll take a win any way I can. Why Oh Why? Mark Teixeira 8 for his last 39 after another hitless night. Look, I don’t want to turn into a pessimistic hater or anything but come on. The “slow start” is getting a little old. Tonight A win tonight=series win Series win= 2 series wins on the road 2 series wins on the road= 4-5 record for the trip Win tonight also =’s .500 record again and a trip back home for Mariners, Brewers and Phillies again. Time to gain some ground.
Don’t Stop Believin’
Talk about a rough June. At least the Braves made their first visit to Angels Stadium a good one. The Braves of Atlanta – 5 runs The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in Southern California of the Greater Los Angeles Area Including But Not Limited To Orange County, Los Angeles County, San Bernardino County of California, Northern Mexico, and Anyone Who Doesn’t Like The Dodgers…Angels-2 runs. Mighty Braves of Atlanta win the opener. Just before that though… Glavine goes down. Jurrjens goes down. Kotsay…still down. I was afraid this liability would get us in the (ahem)… back. Chipper… I’m sure it’s not that serious but that little blast in the face is enough to make us all collectively roll our eyes, shrug our shoulders, throw up our hands and say “What’s next?” Soriano is still not back. Diaz will be back someday. But even though Matt and Rafael weren’t the guys carrying the team right now, it just goes to show how battered we’ve been. Brandon Jones’ night was a good one that saw him go 2-3 with an RBI. He could be competing for an everyday spot if he can really give us a lift. I seem to recall another rookie call up filling in for an injured Renteria that got an everyday spot the next year. Jo-Jo. Don’t let the 3-4 record fool you. Granted he’s had some bad starts (Philadelphia, Arizona loom large). But His start last night and the start in Milwaukee (1 ER, 2 hitter which got wasted) stand out as not too bad for a fifth starter. He’s been giving us Quality Starts which is enough to keep our heads above water. I’m not a Reyes believer necessarily right now but he’s also not the kind of fifth starter we’ve had lately. And let’s face it, the options are thin right now and the starting five has been hit like Normandy. So we get to see Charlie Morton make his debut. It may not be met with the same media frenzy as Joba Chamberlain taking a dump after the game but it’s a healthy pitcher and it’s a chance for us to turn this road trip around.
Sweep, Sweep, Sweep, Sweep
That’s one “Sweep” for each game won this week.
I’m sorry if I sound a little bit like a gloater but I’m not gonna lie…. it feels so good.
A double header sweep is nice.
A three game sweep is really great.
A four game sweep… I think I’m gonna cry.
Apologies to Eddie because he’s my one and only Mets fan friend…
But I have to confess, tonight’s win makes me as a giddy as a younger version of myself sitting in front of a bowl of Lucky Charms on a Saturday morning.
But Braves fans, we have got to make Turner Field a much more hostile environment than it has been. This kind of series win gives us the right to swagger, trash talk, and make the Ted a place where you do not want to be a visiting fan sporting your “Wright” jersey. I’m not saying it needs to get ugly and be full of drunken fist fights but when we say stuff like “We must protect this house”…. we’d better mean it.
Well that’s good for now. I’m not one to make as many enemies as I can but we’re entitled to a little bragging and nose rubbing tonight.
What Went Right Last Night; You Can Shave The Beard Now, Matt
Turner Field Playing at home and that helps. In fact we’ve just won our 8th home game in a row and we look like a good team on Turner Field turf. Perhaps the visiting Celtics passed their road curse onto us when they were visiting the Hawks during the first round. Because 4-14 just ain’t right. RBI’s vs LOB’s With runners in scoring position the Braves got three crucial RBI’s thanks to McCann, Frenchy, and a very timely late inning knock by Kotsay. Seeing the guys in the heart of the lineup get simple, pertinent hits when needed, instead of swinging for the fences is the way to win ball games. Chipper scored one of those runs because… well he’s always on base! (Make that .423 mid way through May, Mr. MVP). Bullpen Despite it being one of Jurrjens less impressive starts, he only gave up 2 ER’s and went 5 mostly strong innings. Even his off night is amazing by comparison to Chuck James’ best appearance in 2008. He wasn’t in line to get the win but the bullpen came through in a big way. These guys act like they don’t care if our three best relievers are absent and if they never come back. Ohman, Bennett, and Acosta combined for 4 scoreless innnings, 4 K’s, 2 BB’s, and only 1 hit. Manny is pitching like a completely different reliever since that embarrassment at Nationals Park. He’s only allowed 2 ER’s since that loss and he got his second win with a 1-2-3 ninth last night. Matt Diaz You can shave the beard now, Matt. He broke his 0-11 slump with a hit in his only at bat. I don’t know if that was a rally beard or not but it’s nice to see him make a step in the right direction. Now if only Teixeira can get on track. Now, Let’s make it 9 in a row at home and get the series win and go for the sweep on Sunday. Keep Choppin’, JB in ATL
Going for Three in a Row, Four Against the Mets
A lot of things went right last night. Tex had a pair and has only one hitless night in his last 10 games going 14/44 .318, 2 HRs, 9 RBI’s. Maybe the slumping start is coming to an end. Chipper got a hit to increase his chances of finishing April above .400. I’d like to see 3 more HR’s before the month is over to bring his total to 10…. But I don’t mean to be greedy. In fact everyone in the regular lineup with the exception of Diaz (and Yunel who left early with a really bad boo boo…but we’ll check on him later) got hits. The Starter After an exasperated non-verbal reaction from Jair, Tim McClelland came out barking and Bobby came a-runnin’. After Cox’s first ejection of the year, Jurrjens didn’t even seem phased. This is actually the kind of start that makes you feel great about his potential and his place in a rotation that needs to stay strong and healthy. Rather than having a meltdown after an infuriating 3rd inning he pitched a fine game. The Bullpen Today So I like the matchup for today’s game. Maine is a good pitcher but Hudson has better control, can last longer, and uh…. excuse me this is starting to sound like a Viagra commercial or something. I’m going to quit now. Enjoy the game. JB in ATL
The Lineup
Kelly had a big 2-4 night w/ 4 RBI’s.
Was actually a lot better than the 3rd inning would indicate. After that Dutch Merry-Go-Round Jurrjens hosted Jair slammed the door, retiring 10 Mets in a row and recording 4 K’s for the night. If you watch Jurrjens pitch location and the calls he was getting it looks like the strike zone was shrunken to just about the size of Barry Bonds’ testicles.
Ohman, Boyer, Ring, Acosta, worked to keep the door Jurrjens slammed from coming (ahem) “A-Jair”. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist). The bullpen that we’ve been biting our nails about since Moylan, Soriano, Gonzalez have been missing allowed no runs, no hits, no walks, and got 2 K’s…against the Mets…at Shea. I love it. Delgado even got booed after whiffing to strike out to Boyer in the ninth. Looks like trouble in paradise.
We’ve got Hudson on the mound going up against John Maine.
How They Compare
Hudson 3-1, 2.93, 5/16(BB/K), 1 HR, 30.2 IP’s, bald head, cool tattoo.
Maine 1-2, 3.57, 14/16 (BB/K), 3 HR, 22.2 IP’s, played “The Joker” in the Batman movie.
Braves vs Nats: Part Duex
The Braves make their second appearance in
the new Nationals Park tonight after a seemingly pointless one game
show down for the opener on March 31st.
Let’s hope they fare a little better tonight.
We’ve got;
Dominant Hudson. On the mound tonight, who despite two great
starts, is only 1-0 to show for it. We’ve got 13 IP’s 5 R’s, 7 K’s and
0 BB’s from Huddy in April. Very nice.
Slumping Teixeira. It’s not RFK any more. This is the kind
of park where you can get some hits. Although hitter friendly Coors
Field wasn’t a good setting to ignite Tex’s bat maybe getting out of
the CO Chill and into some warmer weather may help get things started.
The low is 68 in DC tonight although there are scattered showers to
come.
Smokin’ Chipper. Hitting .385 after 9 games. What more can I say?
Amazing Moylan. 1.93 ERA in 6 appearances. The only guy I really get excited about seeing out of the pen. 1 ER, 1 BB and 3 K’s.
They’ve got;
A team coming off 7 straight losses. Let’s kick ‘em while they’re down.
Matt Chico on the mound to start the series. 0-1 5.56 ERA,
after two starts. Good control. 9 K’s and 3 BB’s and only 1 HR so far.
However 7 ER’s and 14 H’s in two starts means our lineup could get hot
on this guy.
The ever talented franchise player Ryan Zimmerman. However,
since single handedly defeating the Braves with his walk off dinger on
March 31st, Ryan is hitting just over the Mendoza line at .209. He’s
had one other homer and mustered only 3 RBI’s during the Nats 7 losses
in a row.
Honorable Mention- Lastings Milledge the former attention stealing Met is hitting .305 w/ 5 RBI’s. Christian Guzman is off to a good start at .298 and 6 RBI’s.
Other than that the talent in Nats’ lineup is sparse. Poor Ol’ Willie is managing a .077 BA in 8 starts and 13 AB’s.
So if you’ve been feeling a little down about the Braves and their
awful showing in Colorado this week, this is a good team to get back on
track against. Then we go to the warmer climate of Miami to take on the
first place Marlins. (Did I actually just type “First place Marlins”?).
And even though the Fish have been good lately the lack the
intimidation they once had with Miggy and D-Train in the mix.
Braves and Natspos. 7:35 EDT. Let’s get it back in gear tonight.
Keep Choppin’,
JB in ATL
This is Why I Blog
The Braves took a much needed day of rest on Tuesday after a pair of disappointing one run losses. It was a day to
pause and reflect and now it is time to kick Bucco Butt and then
hopefully finish Thursday with a series win.
There’s a number of things I could discuss
today; stats, predictions, rants, or any number of the items us sports
bloggers like to throw around.
I, of course, like to do things a little differently.
The question I have today as we come off our short hiatus is of the rhetorical kind.
Why is it that we blog? More importantly why do people like myself find it so effortless to blog about baseball?
It’s the same diamond. Same spheroid. Same
162 games a year. But there’s so much to talk about between the foul
poles. This game we love has spawned multiple blog sites hosting a
myriad of prognosticators and baseball “experts” opining about anything
from Alex Rodriguez’s paycheck to who has the best hotdog in their
respective stadium.
So is there room in the world for one more blog? Room for more amateurs cramming their commentary into this cyber superhighway?
Sure. Why not?
The Information Age has brought about this
lovely medium that allows data to be accessible to each of us at the
touch of button and manipulate it to tell our particular story or
defend our particular and sometimes controversial points of view.
But we have been telling the story of
baseball as a people for years. We’ve been celebrating its nuances,
beauty, both victories and heartbreaks, through song, legend, story and
countless replays. Yet, we’ve been “blogging” about baseball ever since
baseball began.
Whether we be “Royal Rooters” who gather
at our favorite watering hole. Or whether we sit in the stands, meeting
with strangers and forecast how our team will fare this year if one or
two key players stay healthy.
We’ve been journaling and editorializing
about baseball for years. As laymen who need a platform for our
critique, baseball is better than any sport, in this humble blogger’s
opinion, for providing the fodder for discussion.
There’s no game or pastime more eloquent.
There’s no sport that provides the same type of poetry and elegance.
There’s no team like my Braves; win or lose.
There’s nothing like a place where
community happens with words, trash talk, and sound off’s are exchanged
at a somewhat constant basis about a love we all share whether it be
for the our team or a hatred for the other guys’.
Blogging may seem like a new advent. And
in a way, the form itself is fresh and exciting for many fans. But the
essence of what makes blogging so wonderful is the same thing that
inspired the lyrics to “Take Me Out to the Old Ball Game” and inspires
us today to create fantasy teams and argue about Terrance Moore’s last
column.
It’s having that platform. Whether it be
used as a soapbox, a venue to post our insights, or a place to artfully
construct our baseball inspired sonnets and prose… blogging has become
just as much a part of baseball as the scorecard in its’ efficacy to
provide us a way to journal and capture the history of each season.
With that said, we have 160 games to play so there’s plenty of blogging for us to endeavor upon together.
As for tonight, we get to see Jair
Jurrjens’ first start as a Brave in the regular season, Tex break his
0-6 slump, and witness the Braves snag their first win of the year.
Keep Choppin’
JB in ATL
Ruben Gotay Snagged Up from Mets
The Braves claimed IF Ruben Gotay from the Metropolitans. He’ll start the season as our utility infielder guy along with Martin Prado. When Infante comes back, there will be a battle of mediocre backup infielders. Gotay’s D isn’t very good, but he hit a little for the Mets off the bench last year and had a .351 OBP in 190 ABs, so he gets on base now and then. He’s not particularly fast and was beaten out by Marlon Anderson and Damon Easley, so take from it what you will. Over at MetsBlog there is a general malaise about Gotay, though some are a little peeved that he’s coming to Atlanta. There is talk that Omar and Willie Randolph hated Gotay. In other news, Scott Thorman cleared waivers after managing to pass by 29 MLB teams like a stone in a cloud and land in Richmond to start the season. Good luck during another season in the minors, Thor. May you fill that massive hole in your swing.
What Will Happen in 2008?
I was driving through town and saw a palm reader/psychic off the side of the road.
It caught my eye just as I was zooming by. I usually don’t visit seers of any sort but I felt an urging, perhaps even a premonition, to go inside. So I quickly made a U-turn and swung in and admitted I wasn’t even sure what had brought me there.
The fragile, old, yet wise looking, Madame Sartusi assured me there were other forces at work and I had arrived exactly as expected. I sat down, laid a crisp $10 bill on the table and said “First, tell me why I’m here”.
Sartusi replied “You are here to tell me what you already know and to have me confirm the truth of the visions you’ve been having. Please… speak. “
I confessed that, yes, I had been having visions. And I couldn’t explain them. At her prompting I finally let out what I had been holding inside. She assured me it would be cathartic and she could confirm whether these prognostications would come to pass or not.
“The first vision I have is of Chipper Jones. He’ll be batting third and playing third as usual but this time for the better part of the season. And I have this feeling somehow he will be the starting All-Star at third baseman for the first time in many years. And we will finally forget 2002 where he somehow attempted to play left field. I know this seems far fetched because of the admiration David Wright has acquired, but I know that if only he can stay healthy, he’ll hit for better average, have more home runs, and commit fewer errors. As long as Chipper’s feet are safe in his Japanese engineered cleats and he doesn’t hit any Pirates on the base paths in this Opening Series at home, I know he can do great things.”
“Go on…” she said. “There’s more”
“A lot more.” I gasped.
“Mark Teixeira will win the MVP this year and just when I learn to spell his name without Google, he’ll be a much richer man with another baseball team with much deeper pockets. But at least he’ll be wearing a World Series ring at that time.”
“These are bold predictions you make.”
“I know, Sartusi, but I can’t help what I see.”
“I also see Mike Hampton pitching the entire year without injury. Somehow, the curse has been lifted and he’ll win 15 games for us.”
“What about Glavine and Smoltz, and this Tim Hudson you have?”
Not realizing she was a Braves fan, I shockingly replied,
“They too will be impressive. Smoltz will make his debut on April 6th against the Mets…and win. Glavine will win 10 games at least if not more and Hudson will be our ace.”
“There is still more, my friend. Continue.”
“Thanks. Soriano will be good as closer perhaps 30+ saves, Gonzalez will come back before the end of the year, Moylan will be our top situational relief pitcher, we won’t miss Yates all that much, Ohman and Ring will both be lefties out of the pen and Resop will be included there as well. Escobar will come close to if not topping Giles’ Braves’ doubles record while hitting .375. Kelly Johnson will a sensational table setter. We will see Jordan Schaffer in CF before the end of the year after Kotsay is released. Diaz will hit .335. Julio Franco will not play for the Braves, even if he wants to. Thorman will be traded along with Bryan Pena leaving room for Corky Miller to play backup catcher and Omar Infante as the backup infielder at any position once he’s healed.”
I took a breath. She looked at me with her steel blue grey eyes probing me as though studying my face for truth. Her grey whispy hair just barely veiled her eyes as she listened intently.
“The Braves, the sleeper in the NL East, will surprise everyone with a 2008 NL East pennant win sparking yet another string of division titles. The Mets will win the Wild Card and Braves will prevail as not only NL Champions but World Series Champions once more.”
“Don’t you say that every year?”
“I didn’t say it last year, Sartusi, we had Mark Redman as a starting pitcher.”
“True, but you still thought they’d be in the playoffs”
“Touché”
“That will be 50 dollars, please.”
JB in ATL
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