Braves 1, Natinals 0
Atlanta Braves vs. Washington Nationals – Box Score – April 22, 2009 – ESPN
So, what does it take to get a win around here? A shutout, and the other team doing stupid things, it appears.
Jair Jurrjens was just great, going 7 2/3 innings, striking out four, and giving up just six hits. Two of the hits were leadoff doubles, but no worries; he pitched around them. Unfortunately, the Braves weren’t getting anything out of their hits either, and Jurrjens left (Bobby brought Gonzalez in to face Dunn with two out and a runner on first) with the game scoreless. Gonzalez struck out Dunn, which is the sort of thing that is going to happen. (Gonzalez has now struck out Dunn six times in 13 career PA, allowing just two hits and no homers.)
Diaz singled with one out in the ninth. Kotchman grounded into a fielder’s choice, Diaz out at second. Schafer walked, and Infante ran for Kotchman (we have got to get someone with actual speed on the bench) and Norton came out to hit for Gonzalez. At this point, Manny Acta apparently lost all higher reasoning function and sent out a lefty to turn Norton around. This made no sense because:
1. Norton is 0-11 on the season, as noted in the prior recap, and;
2. Martin Prado would hit for Norton, and Prado is hitting .368.
Prado walked to load the bases. KJ followed, and walked on five pitches to drive in the game’s only run. Soriano relieved, and was brilliant, as he has been all season, striking out two and getting a flyout. Game over. Tomorrow is an off-day, then it’s at the Reds, so you know there will be home runs hit.
At least Schafer is starting to take some walks…but this offense is in a collective slump AGAIN.
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:51 pmThe golden boy has transformed himself to be a righthanded version of Kotchman without the walks.
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:55 pmEscobar is starting to worry me. He is swinging at absolutely everything, everyday.
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:59 pmSeems like our starting pitchers have been pitching into tough luck. Of course, when you score like we have been doing, it’s to be expected.
Bright spot: Our bullpen didn’t implode tonight.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:06 pm#4 It’s not tough luck. Our offense simply sucks. We all know it as a fact heading into this season.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:11 pmCan we please fire Pendleton before genius Wren promotes him to manager?
Mr. Blanc – I beg you to buy this team!
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:17 pmWhat’s up with Soriano? His results have been great so far, but he looks so wild…
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:22 pmI liked the way Cox used the pen tonight. It made sense. I hope I can type that many more times this season…
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:40 pm@6: See, I’d rather see Pendleton as manager than continue as hitting coach. That’s what I’ve been expecting to happen for a while now… we’ll see at the end of the year.
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:06 pmSo I go on to one of my fantasy leagues to see how my players are doing today only to find out that I forgot to start Jurrjens tonight. Awesome.
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:09 pm#7 – only looked wild on one pitch tonight. Seems like our only pitcher who will brush someone off the plate. I like that, we need someone with a little fire under them
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:31 pmfollowing the footsteps of their parent club:
gwinnett- 5-9
mississippi-6-7
myrtle beach-5-9
rome-7-6
as an organization, we are bringing out the suck. lets hope May has good things in store for the braves, wherever they are.
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:36 pmNice to see a win for a change…
Another ugly night on the farm! The Braves have got to shut down Craig Kimbrel–who is beginning to look like this year’s Eric Barrett–even if the latter was a starter….
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:48 pmWatching the replay. JJ is so much fun to watch pitch. That’s my favorite thing about this year so far, how enjoying it is to watch our main 4.
TP needs to be 100% recycled.
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:58 pmI think our best hope to contend is for our rotation to carry us and that our bats somehow warm up as the weather does.
We need breakout years from KJ, Escobar, Kotchman and Francoeur.
April 23rd, 2009 at 12:18 amAnd THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is our SECOND pinch-hit for a pinch-hitter game of the year.
April 23rd, 2009 at 12:20 amWhat’s wrong with Kimbrel, Stephen?
April 23rd, 2009 at 12:30 amNice work by Soriano. He should be the closer until someone knocks him off the hill.
April 23rd, 2009 at 12:39 ambraves14, we basically need breakout years from everybody outside of Chipper and McCann.
AAR, maybe Kimbrel will head to Birmingham soon.
April 23rd, 2009 at 12:55 amHa. Is does Kimbrel have an appt. with Dr. James soon?
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:01 am#17–I don’t know–but I am guessing that there is an arm problem behind the terrible numbers. He has now walked 15 in a 7.2 innings; he has also given up 14 runs. Last year he was nasty–filthy as people now like to say–at Danville and Rome….If its not an injury, then its about the worst adjustment to the Carolina League on record….
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:39 amSome times minor leaguers just put up horrible numbers. Maybe they have him working on a new pitch or something. No way to know.
April 23rd, 2009 at 6:49 amI didn’t read the game thread since I was at the game last night. There was a stiff wind blowing in from left field across toward the right field foul pole that knocked down about three certain home runs off of Lannan in the second and third (or maybe it was the second and fourth) innings. It also helped JJ on one AB, though I can’t recall who the Nats hitter was.
Point is, our guys were teeing off on Lannan early on and then he settled down. JJ was just dominant — amazing how much more his pitches seem to break and pop when you’re seeing them in person.
Also, Diaz won the game offensively with a great hard slide to break up the double play in the ninth. He went all-out to get on top of the second baseman.
April 23rd, 2009 at 7:40 amOther than a couple of issues with the lights, Diaz has really contributed.
If we just had power from 1B or RF, I’d feel better about him out there all the time.
April 23rd, 2009 at 8:24 amChipper and BMAC aren’t doing much heavy lifting at the moment themselves.
April 23rd, 2009 at 8:30 amBraves win 1-nil on a Nationals own goal.
April 23rd, 2009 at 8:33 am@7,
Soriano was wild? He was unhittable. The hitters had no chance. I thought he was really dealing tonight. If he pitches like that all the time, he is awesome.
Not to jump on Jeffy again (well, maybe yes) and I know he had a couple of hits, but his at-bat in the 9th was awful; new pitcher, swings at the first pitch and hits weak fly ball. Diaz at least took a pitch and then raked the next one.
No one else in the division is playing worth a damn either; the Marlins would have a six game losing streak if the Nats had had a bullpen.
April 23rd, 2009 at 8:37 amWe’re in second place in the division, and the Marlins, in 15 games, have a +20 run differential. Anyone think they can keep that up for the season?
I expect the Marlins to fall back a bit, and the 3 other quasi-crappy teams to hover right around the .500 mark. And to quote Joaquin Andujar – “You can sum it up in one word. You never know.”
April 23rd, 2009 at 8:44 am“It’s not tough luck. Our offense simply sucks. We all know it as a fact heading into this season.”
Then somebody explain to me why the poll still listed on this site shows 37% of posters picking the Braves to finish 1st. Tough to win with an offense that sucks, and if everyone knew it…
I’d actually like to see that poll posted again. I wonder what the discrepancy in tallies would be after 15 games.
April 23rd, 2009 at 8:44 am@28 Places in the division right now tell us nothing. While the Marlins may not keep that up, the Phillies and Mets will pick it up. What we do know is that the Braves are showing very familiar tendencies: they have the same inconsistent offense, the same shitty middle relief, and the same tactical deficiencies they have had for the past three years.
April 23rd, 2009 at 8:47 amYeah, I know, I’m just in the midst of an Irrationally Optimistic phase now.
April 23rd, 2009 at 9:43 am@30 Adam M.,
Moylan, Soriano, and Gonzo are all settling in nicely. The late inning crew is good to great. I LOVE the way Bobby used Gonzo and Soriano last night. He REALLY needed to get Dunn in the 8th and if you didn’t get to the pinch hitter, Gonzo pitches the 9th. And, we still theoretically had Moylan for an inning if we went to extras (thanks, JJ, for putting in so many innings).
I think middle relief is rounding from a black hole to a passable situation. If Campillo isn’t down for a long time, Bennett, Carlyle, and Campillo handle the long relief / early innings / blowouts well.
We need another lefty to slot higher than O’Flaherty (and the only internal option is Jo Jo Reyes, maybe after Hanson can come up in June and I would LOVE to see them work Jo Jo into one of the next couple of games as a LOOGY just to see how he looks and keep him sharp for next week’s projected start).
If Hamels doesn’t show improvement fast, the Phillies don’t have the horses to pick it up. The Mets also are on a high wire act with starting pitching, they just have a higher probability of getting across Tallullah Gorge successfully than the Phllies.
The offense is not quite as crappy as it has looked. We need to organize a movement to take posters and banners to the stadium “Bobby, don’t bunt.”
April 23rd, 2009 at 10:43 amI don’t see why we couldn’t bring up Boone Logan. I know he’s another LOOGY, but he’s been pitching pretty well at Gwinnett recently. Can’t be any worse than O’Flaherty. And I’d much rather try that first than Reyes in the position.
April 23rd, 2009 at 12:09 pmHere’s something that sucks: the Braves’ value as a franchise went down 10%.
April 23rd, 2009 at 12:09 pmSuck it, Vandy.
April 23rd, 2009 at 12:22 pmInteresting.
April 23rd, 2009 at 12:33 pmAs much as I criticize Cox as a manager, he did a good job last night. He took out Jurrjens at the right time and I will give him credit for pinch hitting Norton for Prado – even though Norton’s a switch hitter. Maybe we’ll begin to see a trend, but I’m not too hopeful.
April 23rd, 2009 at 12:37 pmAlso, the Pirates just swept the Marlins.
April 23rd, 2009 at 12:39 pmIrrational Optimism Thought of the Hour (TM)
McCann’s eye hasn’t fallen out! Yet!
April 23rd, 2009 at 12:48 pmMac,
Show me a ranking that deals in percentages, not raw numbers, and I’ll be impressed. VU doesn’t field nearly as many teams as most of the other conference schools.
Also, not all 3.0s are created equal, as any graduate admissions officer will tell you.
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:00 pmI realize Soriano’s results have been solid, but it doesn’t look like he has any idea where his fastball is going. Maybe that’s just how he pitches (I think it is to a certain extent) but he’s still got to get his location down. Especially that slider, looked like he hung one.
I don’t want to nitpick, he just hasn’t looked as good to me as his results have shown.
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:04 pm#41- Soriano has always left his slider up, Id rather him just throw that fastball till someone can hit it
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:10 pmwell Hamels got pulled after 3.1IP today. His line wasnt terrible so there may be an injury here
3.1IP 4H 2ER 0BB 6K
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:16 pmYeah, Bobby did really good late in the game last night. I really like how he used Gonzo and Soriano. Hopefully, he continues to use them in tandem like this, letting the situation determine how they are used. I much prefer this to rigid Setup Guy and Closer usage patterns.
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:25 pmIs Liriano the next Dontrelle Willis? Ive got him on my fantasy team and he’s horrible
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:36 pmHamels got socked in the shoulder by a line drive of Prince Fielder’s bat. Contusion and swelling is all it was classified as by Phillies training staff.
Darn.
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:40 pmYeah, that Peabody School of Particle Physics in Nashville is really tough.
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:41 pmHamels got hit by a line-drive, I heard.
Mets getting waxed in St. Louis.
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:48 pmIt is the top education school in the country, hank.
As someone who married a Peabody girl, I can attest to the fact that they’re required to do (a lot) more actual work than anyone else on campus. The intellectual rigor required by that work is certainly debatable, but if you get a degree from Peabody College, you’ve had your act together in the classroom.
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:49 pm#47–Some of us started our careers at the Peabody Demonstration School in Nashville…and it was certainly ‘really tough’ for me…..
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:49 pmBut can they block & tackle?
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:51 pmFound this funny over at espn.com since we often wonder how much (if any) control Wren has:
Tommy Hanson (Gwinnett, Georgia): When the hell can I come to Atlanta?
SportsNation Keith Law: (2:10 PM ET ) As soon as Frank Wren gets the OK from his boss, Mr. Glavine.
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:56 pm36 — JC, that’s interesting and disappointing. Who is most seriously indicted on such a statement? Roger? Bobby? Someone else?
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:57 pmLooks like Philly is being no-hit through 6, actually.
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:59 pmububba,
April 23rd, 2009 at 2:02 pmOnly very recently!
Hey, the Falcons got Tony Gonzalez for a 2nd-rounder next year. I like the move; they can now address the defense with the 24th pick.
April 23rd, 2009 at 2:05 pmI hadn’t seen Soriano pitch until last night and I grant that he did hang one breaking ball to Dukes that luckily wasn’t hit, but I was impressed. It looked like the Nats had no chance.
April 23rd, 2009 at 2:13 pmA question for the Nashvillians on this thread–how are schools–esp privates–in Nashville/Clarkville area?
April 23rd, 2009 at 2:24 pmI like the Gonzalez pickup, though a 2 is a little steep for a player his age, because now the Falcons aren’t going to spend a first round pick on a tight end. I can’t prove this, but I think that tight ends taken in the first round are almost always busts — with Gonzalez a notable exception.
April 23rd, 2009 at 2:26 pm@33: Couldn’t be worse than O’Flaherty? You do realize he hasn’t given up a baserunner in his last 3 appearances, and he’s pitched quite well in 5 of the 7 games he’s been in. I agree that I’d go with Logan over Reyes, if not only to keep Reyes’ value up, but O’Flaherty still deserves the job.
@38: Is it just me, or is that Pirates team looking pretty good?
@53: I find it hard to take that statement too seriously… If anything it’s a slap at McDowell, and the rest of the organization’s pitching coaches. I’ve always been suspicious of what McDowell’s actual effect on the team is, but this quote is also coming from a guy who failed after being given multiple chances and is now trying to ingratiate himself with his new team.
@56: Let’s see here, so you’re offering me a future Hall of Famer who is hungry for a chance to win, and you want nothing in return this year? If the Falcons make the playoffs that pick will be somewhere around the mid-50s overall at the earliest. Sounds like a steal to me!
April 23rd, 2009 at 2:28 pmFrank,
Several good—but expensive—private schools in the Nashville area. Montgomery Bell Academy (all boys) and Harpeth Hall (all girls) are the two most reputable and most expensive. (Roughly $20K per year.) Ensworth is the big up-and-comer. Can’t go wrong with Nashville University School (formerly the Peabody Demonstration School), Fraklin Road Academy, Father Ryan (Catholic, and by far the least expensive of the good ones) or Brentwood Academy.
There are some good public magnet schools in Nashville, and the public schools in Williamson County, just south of Nashville, are outstanding.
Clarksville is over an hour away; there are one or two OK private schools there.
April 23rd, 2009 at 2:28 pmFirst round tight ends since Gonzalez.
Heap’s good. Miller’s pretty good. Clark is good, but he’s not really a tight end, he’s an oversized slot receiver. Shockey is overrated and overvalued, Winslow is always hurt. The rest are pretty terrible.
April 23rd, 2009 at 2:31 pmI’m going to miss Gonzalez.
We moved up here to KC when I was 14, and one of the things that helped me transition from living in Atlanta was going to Chiefs games. (Probably the closest equivalent in the NFL to SEC football)
Tony has been the one constant that whole time. Sucks he couldn’t have finished his career here. Just have to keep telling myself Pioli has three rings from his time as the Pats GM and knows what he is doing…
April 23rd, 2009 at 2:32 pmFranks used to be good. Olsen is good and will be *really* good with his new QB…
April 23rd, 2009 at 2:33 pmIn Franks’ biggest year, he had 442 yards receiving. I would want more than that from a first-round pick. He’s like a quiet Shockey — overrated, largely because the team took him in the first round.
April 23rd, 2009 at 2:35 pmOff topic, but one of my secret shames is never having really listened to Pylon before now.
You know what? They’re terrific.
April 23rd, 2009 at 2:37 pmThanks Stu. I’d heard good stuff about U School but figured there should be some other good options.
April 23rd, 2009 at 2:42 pmU School is very good, probably 4th (after the top 3 I mentioned) in reputation. The only folks I know who consider it the best are the ones who went there or teach there or send their kids there.
You moving to these parts soon, Frank?
April 23rd, 2009 at 2:49 pmNothing definite as this point …
Braves shown on tv there? The second most important criterion to me behind a good school for my kid–pretty sad eh?
April 23rd, 2009 at 2:58 pmI have DirecTV and see all the games. Most of them are on the “local” channels that come with the most basic package, but the Peachtree TV games may only come in because I have the extra sports package.
April 23rd, 2009 at 3:02 pmShockey’s at least had two 890 yard seasons and three seasons with 6 or more touchdowns. When healthy he’s pretty good. The problem is that its pretty rare when he’s healthy.
April 23rd, 2009 at 3:13 pmI just signed up for Direct TV so, FWIW, I will be able to see lots more Braves games. I’m not sure if that’s good or not.
April 23rd, 2009 at 3:17 pmAAR, Gyrate was one of the records I learned to play along with on my very crappy first bass guitar. Still love that record.
Along the same line of shame, I recently finally picked up Wire’s Pink Flag. Man, how did I miss that one?
What else have you heard lately that’s good?
April 23rd, 2009 at 3:58 pmWe’re talking some art-punk here.
Pink Flag is one of my favorite records of all time. “Ex-Lion Tamer,” “3 Girl Rhumba,” “Strange,” “Mannequin,” the list goes on.
Gyrate still gets me misty. And don’t sleep on the single that before that LP (“Cool”) or the one that came after (“Crazy”).
“Volume” is a good bass lick to start with–even I can play that one. But live, the thing that really knocked me out was always the drummer Curtis Crowe—what a powerhouse.
April 23rd, 2009 at 4:25 pmProbably the best article I’ve read all year…
I’d post it completely, but it’s behind the ESPN insider wall.
Does that break rules Mac?
http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/insider/news/story?id=4088273
April 23rd, 2009 at 4:36 pmFine by me, just don’t extensively quote it.
April 23rd, 2009 at 4:36 pmJoey Devine had TJ surgery today and will be out 18 months.
April 23rd, 2009 at 4:43 pmYeah, actually, I haven’t listened to Wire yet either… don’t tell anyone. I feel rather embarrassed about that.
Last night I listened again to “Traced in Air,” the second album by Cynic, only 15 years after they released their fantastic debut. It’s one of the best albums I’ve heard in a long, long time.
Also, I don’t know about 18 months — Moylan tried to come back in 11, and we’re witnessing that experiment. We’ll see how long it takes Joey.
April 23rd, 2009 at 5:13 pmWe really needed a pass-catching tight end last year for some over-the-middle offense. Rumor has it Gonzalez is pretty good at that…
I hope he has something left in 2010, when the NFL schedule pendulum should swing back our way….
April 23rd, 2009 at 5:40 pmGonzalez will be good. Keeps himself in better shape than any player I’ve ever seen
April 23rd, 2009 at 7:46 pmSpeaking of shameful omissions, I am just now finding out about Unknown Hinson. A country-western troubadour who also:
1) sort of claims to be a vampire
2) wears the most egregiously fake sideburns ever conceived
3) is the voice of Early on the Squidbillies
4) can rip off Hendrix licks like you would not believe
5) purports to hate rock music which he pronounces “roke”
I could go on but most of y’all probably know more than I- but if you don’t, I urge you to search for Unknown Hinson on youtube- you will not regret this!
April 23rd, 2009 at 9:25 pmjust watched “the wrestler”. great movie.
April 23rd, 2009 at 9:40 pmUnderappreciated Musical Artists – that list begins with James McMurtrey.
He was in Birmingham recently. Fifty people showed up.
I swear he does his best to hide from success as it is commonly defined.
“Choctaw Bingo” is the score to my unfinished screen adaptation of The Screwtape Letters.
April 23rd, 2009 at 9:43 pmWhat’s that italics thing, again?
April 23rd, 2009 at 9:44 pmMets really do suck, don’t they?
April 23rd, 2009 at 9:45 pmUnknown Hinson is beyond awesome. I saw him live here in Columbia last summer and he was great – and yes, he played Little Wing as part of his encore. Anyway, the guy is just superbly talented on the axe and even funnier with those lyrics.
If you want to talk about under appreciated artists, look down under. There are tons of Australian bands that don’t get the attention they deserve. Weddings Parties Anything kind of sound like a less-insane Pogues, the Whitlams are a perfect pop group, and the Lucksmiths are great, too. But anyway…
April 23rd, 2009 at 9:51 pmhankonly, James McMurtrey is criminally underrated, for sure. An amazing songwriter and storyteller. Not to mention that voice…
April 23rd, 2009 at 10:06 pmBTW, love the music/misc thread on the off day. Personally, I’ve been listening to a LOT of Dylan bootlegs lately. My current favorite being a show at the Globe in ‘96 (were you there ububba?). A perfect mix of freshly-roasted classics and late period gems.
As far as new music, I’ve been catching a lot of newish power pop tracks lately. Some of my current faves are: Captain Wilberforce (Confetti, Champagne and Roses), Sally Crewe and the Sudden Moves (Your Nearest Exit May Be Behind You, Sleepyhead), The Higher Elevations (Saturday Night Out Again), The Madd (Going All The Way), The Lullabies , the Pillbugs, The Pop Project, Telepathic Butterflies (worst name ever), etc.
Lots of good music out these days.
April 23rd, 2009 at 11:02 pmHow many wins takes the division this year?
April 23rd, 2009 at 11:29 pmcheck out Blanco’s line so far at AAA
11-58 .190/.277/.224 15K
April 23rd, 2009 at 11:31 pmor Medlen’s
13.2IP 6H 1BB 16K 1.32ERA 0.51WHIP
April 23rd, 2009 at 11:32 pm@89, 89 wins just might take it this year. Ask me again in a month.
Medlen, sick (the good kind). Blanco, sick of it all.
April 23rd, 2009 at 11:37 pmurl,
Nope, wasn’t there.
I’m a bit of a Dylan psycho myself, but I basically went 20 years between the first time I saw him (1981, Fox Theater, Atlanta, during his “Jesus Phase,” lotsa gospel backup singers) and the second (2002, MSG, NYC, finished with “Something” for the recently departed George Harrison).
Saw him 3 more times after that & every time I say, “OK, that’s the last time.” But I keep going back.
I go on crazy Dylan junkouts every couple years. Just listened to Blonde on Blonde the other night, so another may be on its way. (I do it with Jimi Hendrix, too, but there’s a lot less material, of course.)
BTW, if you haven’t seen Scorsese’s Dylan doc, No Direction Home, I highly recommend it.
Most of my recent listening is a lotta crazy electronica: Kevin Saunderson, Joris Voorn, Fake Blood, Steve Bug & Josh Wink.
April 24th, 2009 at 12:05 amI’ve been on a CSNY, etc. kick lately.
April 24th, 2009 at 12:34 am@65: Franks was a 3-time Pro Bowler, so I find it hard to say he was terrible… Probably could’ve gotten more statistical value from another pick, but he gave the Packers a piece that they needed at the time. I’d say the same about both New England picks, Watson and Graham aren’t going to light up any scoreboards, but they played their roles well, and ultimately didn’t cost the team regular 1st round money.
I’d say it’s too early to judge the top few of your list, but overall TEs don’t look any more subject to Bosworth-syndrome than any other position.
April 24th, 2009 at 12:45 amYikes, Medlin needs to be in the bullpen NOW. THats a pretty solid line….he may be the best part of the Tex trade.
April 24th, 2009 at 7:59 am@96
I thought we got Marek from the Angels in the Teix trade?
April 24th, 2009 at 8:18 amGood Tony Gonzalez article by Posnanski from today’s paper.
http://www.kansascity.com/180/story/1159479.html
Dude really is a BAMF.
April 24th, 2009 at 8:53 amYes, Medlen was drafted by the Braves. Marek came over from Los Angeles. I guess it’s easy to confuse the two.
–
Rob, how are you and your family doing?
April 24th, 2009 at 9:04 amSutton reminded me the other night what a good deal the Renteria trade was.
Jurrjens and Gorkys for Renteria? Was that it?
If so, someone deserves a pat on the back for that one.
April 24th, 2009 at 9:22 am#100 – thats exactly what the deal was, some here will say it was JS. I think it was Wren. Doesnt matter though.
Gorkys is raking right now
April 24th, 2009 at 9:35 am@101,
However, following our minor leagues from a distance, the dearth of position prospects is depressing.
Apparently Heyward has missed 2 games in a row. Must be (hopefully) a minor injury. He and Freeman and Cody Johnson are raking (I know cody is hitting 250 and strikng out a lot and may fade, but his BAPIP is low and with the doubles and homers and the high 7000’s SLG he must be killing the ball ALMOST EVERYTIME HE HTIS IT).
Otherwise, (besides Gorkys) Eric Campbell is low on SLG but BA and OBP are great. Rafael Sime (3b, at Rome?) is hitting well. Most of the rest are the upper level dreck we have come to love and loathe or are pathetic.
Plus, the minor league pitching overall does not look as dominant as I would have supposed.
April 24th, 2009 at 10:05 amcsg @101,
Actually, who made the Renteria for Gorkys and Jurrjens trade is VERY important. I don’t think we will ever know an exact proportion, but if it was heavily Wren, then his overall track record is quite good. If you take it out, then looking forward, we may not have a good GM.
April 24th, 2009 at 10:07 am2009 Atlanta Braves Franchise Batting Stats and Depth – Baseball-Reference.com
April 24th, 2009 at 10:07 amI’ve seen Gorkys twice this week in Pearl and he’s looked great. Solid contact and he is super fast.
April 24th, 2009 at 10:19 amGadfly@95: Nah. He made the Pro Bowl because he was a first round pick and thus a big name, and didn’t completely fall on his face. Again, a first round pick should produce more than that. As for the two Patriots, you don’t have to spend a first round pick to get a decent blocker who can occasionally catch a pass. What if the Pats had taken Ed Reed (who went a few picks later) or Lito Sheppard (a few picks after that) instead of Graham, or Karlos Dansby (the next pick) instead of Watson? Obviously, you can do this all the time, but there really aren’t many tight ends — Gonzalez and Gates are the only ones who come to mind, maybe Witten — who are worth a first rounder. Witten was a third-rounder, and Gates was undrafted…
April 24th, 2009 at 10:35 amPanic! At the Fed
April 24th, 2009 at 12:21 pmThere are a lot of reasons I envy Ububba’s job — he spends his life listening to music and writing about music, for starters — but today the biggest reason I envy Ububba’s job is that he gets to hear every Mets fan in a two-block radius screaming into their New York Post.
Considering the way we’ve played the last two weeks, the Mets are easily the best thing about being a Braves fan right now.
April 24th, 2009 at 12:38 pmThe division seems pretty winnable. If the Braves could just put it together…
April 24th, 2009 at 12:41 pm@108,
Alex,
Reading Mets Blog at times like this is always good entertainment. These guys should do a sitcom.
April 24th, 2009 at 1:01 pmThat’s such a fun story, Mac. They really ought to give Livan’s rotation spot to Mackenzie Brown.
April 24th, 2009 at 1:01 pmWhat’s the over/under on when Minaya gets desperate and brings back Pedro for lack of other better options?
April 24th, 2009 at 1:05 pmEarly returns suggest the Wild Card will come from the Central. Better strap it on every night against the Division.
April 24th, 2009 at 1:06 pmCharlesP, I’ll say the All-Star break and take the under.
April 24th, 2009 at 1:18 pmI’m surprised it hasn’t happened already. Heck, I’m surprised the Phillies haven’t tried to pre-empt them, their rotation isn’t in much better shape.
April 24th, 2009 at 1:31 pmGame thread is up.
April 24th, 2009 at 2:04 pm