23 Apr
Running out of letters game thread: Marlins at Braves, April 23
Great, these guys. I really think they have our number somehow, whether they’re good or bad. Maybe it’s the teal.
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Great, these guys. I really think they have our number somehow, whether they’re good or bad. Maybe it’s the teal.
That story about the feud between Edgar Renteria and Orlando Cabrera from the last thread was interesting, but maddening. It’s basically a he said/she said, in which the writer made it sound like Cabrera’s pretty much a laid back, easy going guy who’s been domesticated by his wife, while Edgar is a guy who decided one day for no good reason simply never to speak to his countryman again.
I wish I knew a little bit more of the story, beyond Orlando Cabrera protesting that he doesn’t know why Edgar’s angry, and Edgar saying that Cabrera is intentionally trying to sabotage his Colombian baseball league. With the money these guys make, it doesn’t seem possible that this all stems from a dispute over $35,000.
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:06 pmWhat’s the latest on Glavine? When do we expect him back?
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:10 pmfrom todays article on Braves website
“Glavine, on the DL with a hamstring strain, hopes to return Tuesday in Washington if all goes well with his side sessions, while Hampton could go out on a Minor League rehab assignment this weekend. “
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:28 pmWe’re going back to Washington?!
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:34 pmyep and just for two games. April 29th and 30th
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:50 pmI think we’re all wasting our time if we hope to understand or make sense of a falling out between two columbian businessmen. Men have died for less. Lets just assume Edgar’s right, since we like Edgar, and he apparently gave Yunel the number for Dr. Fritz J. Mutzenberg, Team Physician for the 1973 World Champion East German Women’s Swim Team.
April 23rd, 2008 at 2:09 pmEither something has gone horribly wrong in my life, or something has gone horribly right. Today, for a legitimate paper, I checked out The Numbers Game: Baseball’s Lifelong Fascination with Statistics
. Meanwhile, for pleasure reading, I’m checking out books on ancient English history. I am a strange person.
April 23rd, 2008 at 2:50 pmcarl crawford referring to his presence while on base:
“Plus, I notice when I’m on base, pitchers are terrified. So I figure it does have a big impact on the game. It definitely makes everyone a little more nervous when you’re on base. At least that’s what I’ve noticed.”
Terrified? c’mon!
April 23rd, 2008 at 2:57 pmTerrified of your “modesty.”
April 23rd, 2008 at 3:00 pmI’m sure it’s been noted here, but how delightful is it to watch Kim Il Sung turn sliders into taters out of the Mets’ pen?
April 23rd, 2008 at 3:08 pmThere may be some truth to that. He’s only walked twice this season. Then again, when has anyone been terrified of anything to do with the Tampa Bay Rays (who don’t actually have anyone named “Ray” on their teams)?
Speaking of the Rays, Couldn’t we pick up Troy Percival on the cheap from them? Yeah he’s old, but it looks as if he is pitching well so far.
April 23rd, 2008 at 3:19 pmDOB continues, but slightly alters the Smoltz-for-HoF debate.
http://tinyurl.com/48k952
April 23rd, 2008 at 3:29 pmI didn’t even think there was a debate. I think there was when he was still closing, but after he transitioned back to a starter and was still dominant, I thought that killed all the debate. He’s a lock to me 200 wins 150 saves and now 3000 k’s plus one of the BIGGEST big game pitchers of the last twenty years. I fail to see the debate.
April 23rd, 2008 at 3:46 pmThe “debate” is whether or not he’s a first-ballot guy.
April 23rd, 2008 at 3:52 pmWhich is, frankly, kind of an odd debate. It makes sense if you’re talking about predictions, but not if you’re talking about a voter’s mentality. If you think a guy’s a Hall of Famer, then vote for him. If you don’t think a guy’s a Hall of Famer, don’t vote for him. The idea that everyone should have to wait a year is crap.
If you didn’t think a guy was a good pitcher and then you change your mind — maybe you finally realize that Rich Lederer was right about Bert Blyleven — that’s fine. But the idea of not voting for someone that you think is a Hall of Famer, just because you think no one deserves to get 100% of the vote, is offensive on its face.
April 23rd, 2008 at 3:59 pmInteresting read for college football fans. Its about Alabama specifically. One more thing the SEC is better at I guess. Not trying to stir the pot this time though. If it’s already been discussed, ignore me more than usual.
http://sundaymorningqb.com/story/2008/4/17/161139/924
April 23rd, 2008 at 4:03 pmGreat start.
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:10 pmI wonder if Smoltz could learn to pitch left handed as well.
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:11 pmWe suck.
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:16 pmThis ain’t starting right at all.
AAR,
I agree that a guy’s either a HoFer or he’s not. But voters are weird, inconsistent, whatever, and we’ve been left with the term “first-ballot Hall of Famer.”
Of course, this era is going to be the strangest of all for voters. I’m not even sure what I think anymore.
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:19 pmTwo 400′ gopher balls in the first inning–is this what Frank Wren means by”pitching depth”?
Offensively, expect lots of futility against mediocre lefty …
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:21 pmThis Miller kid is struggling pretty bad. I see a long & painful night for the Braves.
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:21 pmPaging another starter, Frank Wren…
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:22 pmMiller has done precisely crap with the Marlins so far. This means he’ll be dominant tonight.
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:23 pmSlugfest tonight?
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:28 pmsome pop from baseball’s Hannah Montana
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:30 pmWe’ll take it!
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:42 pm“is this what Frank Wren means by ‘pitching depth’?”
I wish I knew what Frank Wren meant by anything. But yes, I believe Bennett was part of his alleged ‘pitching depth.’
Meanwhile… this game could get up there in scoring.
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:42 pmMaybe some guys are just meant to platoon. Nicely done, Matt.
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:43 pmnow a Kotsay hit off a lefty … sigh
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:43 pmHint your lefthander is not very good: Kotsay gets a hit off of him.
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:43 pmMac would you really rather have Andruw over Kotsay at this point? Only a $16 million payroll difference.
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:45 pmThis is killing me. I can’t even get the audio up and running for the game.
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:46 pm33–consider yourself lucky if Chip or Joe would be on the audio
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:48 pmI got the game up finally on video
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:49 pmC’mon, Tex—make ‘em pay.
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:51 pmMiller can’t throw strikes.
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:51 pmcan someone please tell me what beach on the sleeve of their jerseys means? im clueless
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:56 pm#38
It’s to commemorate the passing of Jim Beauchamp, a former Braves player and coach. “Beach” was his nickname.
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:58 pmso, anyone ready to jump back on the matt diaz bandwagon?
April 23rd, 2008 at 6:04 pmI am
April 23rd, 2008 at 6:04 pmAndruw definitely could have done that.
April 23rd, 2008 at 6:05 pmOkay, Kotsay sucks. Ugggg.
April 23rd, 2008 at 6:06 pmToo many runs left on the basepaths. We needed five or six by now.
April 23rd, 2008 at 6:06 pmIt’s just like they say. You have to get the good pitchers early.
April 23rd, 2008 at 6:12 pmDamn, Bennet’s picture is ugly. Couldn’t they at least get him a hat that fit?
April 23rd, 2008 at 6:16 pmWhat are they making bats out of now? Balsa wood?
April 23rd, 2008 at 6:22 pmSo, we should be up to about 15 runners left on base by the 7th. yeesh.
April 23rd, 2008 at 6:22 pmEight hits, two walks and an error in four innings got us two runs. Sigh.
April 23rd, 2008 at 6:23 pm8 left on so far, Ive got a feeling we’re not done
April 23rd, 2008 at 6:25 pmYesco threw that ball right through Bennett’s glove.
April 23rd, 2008 at 6:29 pmgotta be impressed with the way Bennett has bounced back, esp being sick and not feeling well
April 23rd, 2008 at 6:31 pmBennett can be shaky sometimes, but I admire his effort and persistence. He never gives less than his best … I just wish his best was better.
April 23rd, 2008 at 6:38 pmSo, we’ve had 12 guys reach base through 4.1 innings and only two runs to show for it?
April 23rd, 2008 at 6:40 pmMr. Cox goes to Washington
Next year I’d like to play all 18 of our games with Washington in a row. 9 in Washington and then 9 at the Ted. How bout it?
April 23rd, 2008 at 6:40 pm2 runs on 11 hits and 2 walks is sickening.
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:02 pmYou know, Bennett has a quality start now.
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:02 pmjoe just said the Gonzalez is 5-8 against Oh-man.
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:14 pm5-9
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:16 pmyayyy another one run game
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:20 pmFrancoeur… nice!
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:22 pmwhat the hell was that matty? he tryed to tackle him
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:29 pmJeff Francoeur: thanks for (not) showing up tonight. Glad we could count on you.
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:31 pmWho was it that was so over Blaine Boyer?
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:33 pmBobby is single-handedly ruining Blaine’s career. He won’t even make it to arbitration before he can’t ever pitch again.
This offense is very frustrating, by the way.
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:34 pmDisgusting. He didn’t even need to dive for that ball.
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:35 pmOh, great, Resop is warming up!
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:36 pmResop warming up, for some reason. Is Bobby losing it? Seriously?
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:36 pmOk Blaine, I need you to strike these guys out since the defense isn’t going to play this inning.
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:36 pmBobby always likes to employ the pitching against your old team platoon.
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:37 pmThis is ridiculous. 4 months until football.
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:38 pm3 consecutive terrible defensive plays and no errors. Prado’s been sharing.
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:38 pmThat is an “earned” run. Those runs last night, four of them were “unearned”. This concludes my “errors are stupid and the earned/unearned runs dichotomy meaningless” rant for the day.
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:39 pmI would say now our offense will roll over and die, but I think they did that about 7 innings ago.
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:40 pmOops, an error advancing the runner.
You know, I’m beginning to worry about this team’s prospects this year.
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:40 pmYeah, we know that RA is certainly a better predictor of future success but there
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:42 pmare certainly some runs that are entirely unearned. Who was that RF for the Cardinals a few years back that tossed a ball over the wall with his glove that resulted in a Braves homerun? Or there is the infamous Jose Canseco bounce off the skull homer. There are real, true unearned runs.
well you give em 5 outs per inning . . . dat’s wachagit
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:43 pmI’m with you, Stu. No fire, no heart…they seem pretty content losing at home to the Nats and Marlins, treading water, staying at .500, and, I guess, hoping for a miracle. At this rate, if the Phillies or Mets ever figure things out, we’ll lose the division by 8 or 10 games.
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:43 pmYeah, it’s not so much the losses or even the way we’re losing, but the crappy team we keep losing to that makes me pessimistic.
And “strike 1″ to Kotsay was ridiculous.
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:47 pmThe Marlins are in first place.
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:48 pm#75
I interpret Stu’s comment to mean that the Braves won’t be contenders unless they play better, fundamental baseball.
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:48 pmEh, I’d say it’s more like pretty good hitting, pretty good pitching but when one shows up the other takes the night off.
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:49 pm…a bunt?
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:50 pmThat’s not what I meant, Remy. Those comments were unrelated. I was first correcting the mistake I made above about there being no errors on the 3 sucky plays in a row. Then I was just voicing a general, all-encompassing, growing lack of optimism about the Braves this year.
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:52 pmGot it. Thanks!
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:55 pmSign Barry Bonds, please.
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:55 pmBobby’s throwing in ‘the towel.’
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:58 pmWell, this is now on Bobby. Resop has sucked all year, has a 9.00 ERA, and he has no business being on the team, and yet Cox keeps bringing him in close games.
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:59 pmSTOP IT!
I remember when John Smoltz’s entry onto the field as closer practically screamed, “Game over.” The same can be said for Resop.
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:00 pmwell, nice to see Resop brought his game.
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:00 pmSo did Kelly Johnson actually lay down a sacrifice bunt, or was it more of an “accidental” sacrifice?
Because if it was an actual sacrifice I’m really going to wonder what Bobby’s thinking taking the bat out of his hands.
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:01 pmHe was bunting for a hit and almost made it.
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:04 pm$%^&**&!!!
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:06 pmResop might be worse than Kolb.
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:07 pmResop might be worse than cancer.
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:08 pmLet’s release him, so he can go to the Nats or Marlins and shut us down next time we play them.
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:08 pmSeriously, Bobby, stop it.
How many times, Bobby?
How many times does Resop have to get bombed before you get the hint that practically anyone in Richmond has to be better, simply because they can’t possibly be worse?
I don’t care if Resop has a “live” arm, because when he enters, the Braves are dead.
Sweet merciful crap. I need to learn to turn off the TV when I see Resop’s face.
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:09 pmHopefully he’ll be gone after this game.
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:10 pmOh come on, Brick. “He’s close. Just missed on a few. Good arm though. Made Ramirez look bad; could be a closer.”
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:11 pmBobby’s in love with him, the same way he was with Kolb then Reitsma then Wickman. It takes us being 11 games out until he wakes up and stops using these guys in close games.
It’s kind of hard to trust Bobby’s and the front office’s judgment when they continue to employ Chris Resop.
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:14 pmLet me get this straight:
The Braves outhit Florida.
Committed two less errors.
And lost by five.
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:14 pmMets won, Phillies winning.
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:17 pmGood job, guys.
That’s about it except you left out going 1 for 15 with RISP.
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:17 pmIt is only April 23rd relax you guys.
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:18 pmOf all the struggles last year, I remember at one point the Braves were 24-12. Those were the good times. Unless I just made that up.
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:18 pmMac, can one of Resop’s middle names be “BP,” due to his tendency to throw batting practice.
Chris “BP” Resop.
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:20 pmI prefer Pitching Machine, although that’s an insult to pitching machines.
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:22 pm