Comments on: Braves 8, Phillies 2

By: Marc Schneider

Marc Schneider — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 16:56:19 +0000

This isn’t exactly a “win” for Wren since it was obviously going to happen, but having Andruw Jones leave was a big win for the Braves. I was watching the Nats game in LA last night and the fans are booing Andruw not only when he hits but whenever a fly ball is hit to centerfield. He is at .166 with 2 home runs. I feel bad for him but given what he is making it’s easy to understand. His hitting has completely collapsed; he nearly falls down when he swings. Can you imagine an outfield with Frenchy AND Andruw?

By: Mac Thomason

Mac Thomason — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 15:51:52 +0000

I don’t recall seeing the G&G thing, but it’s not impossible that I did.

By: JC

JC — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 15:06:07 +0000

Heyward’s performance in Rome doesn’t excite me. The fact that his performance is decent and scouts love him gives makes me like him more the Freeman. However, he is still a long way from the majors, and I want to see him up his walks and power like McCann did. If Freeman makes to the majors and Heyward doesn’t, I won’t be shocked.

I should say that my main point is that it’s just really too early for me to get excited about any of these guys. At the same point in his career, McCann did not look so hot: .290/.328 /.462. Right now, he’s on a HOF career path…speaking of premature forecasts.

By: Stu

Stu — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 14:56:36 +0000

ryan c,
From a cursory glance, Owings is old for his level (but I know he’s someone the organization keeps an eye on—very toolsy), while Cabrera’s numbers are solid, but nothing eye-popping.

By: JC

JC — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 14:55:34 +0000

He’s hitting .312. If he is a true .312 hitter then I like that he’s got a .900 OPS. If he is a .280 hitter, then he’s got an OPS in the mid-.800s, which doesn’t excite me much. It’s good, but not Uber-prospect good. He walks OK and his power is good, but not fantastic. Batting average fluctuates quite a bit, so I don’t know if I can trust it until I’ve seen him hit .300 consistently. Jeffy batting .327 in Rookie ball, but he’s no .300 hitter.

By: bfan

bfan — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 14:53:50 +0000

Freeman has 49 XB hits this year; Heyward has 31. That is an enormous difference. Yes, Freeman could flame out at MB or Mississippi, but on the basis of the numbers in front of us only, you would have to like his chances to succeed more than you would like Heyward’s (and I think/hope Heyward will make it to MLB).

By: ryan c

ryan c — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 14:45:35 +0000

“Freeman has got a lot tied up in his batting average. I’d like to seem him maintain that and hold onto his power.”

jc, call me ignorant, but i’ve never understood this statement. his obp is .380 which puts an extra 60 points onto his average, which is not a walk machine, but it’s still pretty decent. i dont understand.

also, i would be interested to know what you think about willie cabrera and jon owings who are both putting up good numbers at myrtle beach yet havent received much recognition.

By: Stu

Stu — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 14:39:19 +0000

ugh, Stu I like reading your posts but please stop with the Conor Jackson stuff.

I didn’t say anything about Conor Jackson. Not since I linked to that article yesterday (or was it the day before?), anyway.

By: Another Alex R.

Another Alex R. — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 14:33:38 +0000

Tempered expectations are appropriate with Freeman, especially since he’s extremely low on the defensive spectrum, but he’s got two things going for him right now: terrific performance, and terrific age-relative-to-league.

Each of these is good, and fantastic players can come out of either of them — Uggla didn’t ever really have the age relative to league, but he hit the hell out of the ball in the minors and keeps doing it in the majors, and Hanley Ramirez never hit nearly as well in the minors as he has in the majors, but he was always extremely young for the competition.

And either of them can bust — Brett Tomko tore up the minors and yet was a well-below-average pitcher almost his entire career, and for some reason Andy Marte has an allergy to the major leagues.

The combination of both is powerful, and having two guys like that at the same age on the same team is a wonderful hedge against the possibility (however unthinkable) that one of them starts treading water. It’s a long way to the majors, but these boys have been doing about as well as they can so far.

By: Marc Schneider

Marc Schneider — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 14:30:51 +0000

The Braves win a couple of games, Frenchy (who sucks) gets a couple of hits, and suddenly he is predicting that the Braves will at least win the series and maybe sweep. It doesn’t take much to get him excited. I’m glad to see the Braves win but I would much rather see the Phillies win the division than the Mets–if for no other reason, I hate to see Rob Neyer be right. And the Braves still left 12 guys on base. But I think the Phillies are going into collapse mode so I wouldn’t be shocked if the Braves at least win one more game.

I would lay money that if they win the series, Teixera will not be traded even if they are still 6 games back. Maybe even if they don’t. If Bobby’s against selling, I don’t think it will happen.