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brad lidge, after 2 great seasons, is melting down once again. he blew another one last night. what a wierd, yet delightful, turn of events. his era is now over 9.
May 24th, 2009 at 8:37 amI’m fine for sticking with Schafer. The kid doesn’t look lost up there. Seems more of a physical struggle to catch up with major league pitching. I have faith he’ll figure it out, and really, there is no one else. Blanco isn’t really good enough defensively to be more than a spot starter in center. Gorkys is too far away. It’s really too bad we didn’t get Cameron a few years ago. It would have allowed Schafer to spend this entire season in AAA. Perfect stopgap guy who is a legitimate glove/bat.
Offense needs to get better. The players themselves aren’t going to do it. Ball’s in your court Wren…
Oh, and I was trying to think of offensive players I would trade Tommy Hanson for. (Taking service time/salary/need into account) Ryan Braun is it so far…
May 24th, 2009 at 9:51 amI don’t see the Braves trading Hanson, but it might be fun to speculate on what they could get for him at this point….I hope that they don’t trade Rohrbough as well….
May 24th, 2009 at 10:18 amBlanco isn’t really good enough defensively to be more than a spot starter in center
I’m more concerned with the way pitchers are currently knocking the bat out of his hand in Triple A than I am with his defense.
May 24th, 2009 at 10:21 amBlanco, Infante, Prado, B. Jones, Diaz et al, even being mentioned is a main reason why this team is in my opinion in the worst position. Middle of the pack.
I’d rather be horrific and rebuild through some high drafts with FRANCHISE type players or GREAT, obviously.
As is picking 16th isn’t going to help.
May 24th, 2009 at 11:08 amYou do know that the Blue Jays are 1-5 against NYY/BOS, right? And that the 1 was a Halladay start?
May 24th, 2009 at 11:08 amYou’ve got about as much chance finding a franchise player picking 16th as you do picking 5th. The MLB draft is more of a crapshoot than the NFL or NBA draft.
In other words, tearing down the team wouldn’t accomplish much other than taking us even farther away from being good. Also, prospects you’d get in a trade might let us get as good in 4 years as we are right now.
May 24th, 2009 at 11:30 amNL K/BB Leaders minimum 40 innings pitched
1. Dan Haren – 7.00
2. Johan Santana – 5.36
3. Javier Vazquez – 5.21
4. Tim Lincecum – 4.47
5. Josh Johnson – 4.00
Nobody else above 4.00
NL K/9 Leaders minimum 40 innings pitched
1. Tim Lincecum – 11.93
2. Javier Vazquez – 11.26
3. Johan Santana – 11.25
4. Rich Harden – 10.92
5. Jake Peavy 10.56
Nobody else above 10.00
NL Strikeout Leaders
1. Jake Peavy – 79
2. Tim Lincecum – 76
3. Johan Santana – 75
4. Javier Vazquez – 73
Nobody else above 70
May 24th, 2009 at 11:35 amIts a bit more predictable than a crapshoot…
I believe that we are picking #7 and not #16. I might add that the Braves were able to pick Heyward with the #14 pick in 2007.
May 24th, 2009 at 12:06 pmNot much.
May 24th, 2009 at 12:12 pmI would DEFINITELY trade Hanson for the Hebrew Hammer.
May 24th, 2009 at 12:13 pmThe higher you draft, the better chance you have of finding a superstar, a star, a good player, a regular… Whatever your definition of success. However, the chances are not that much greater. I am of the opinion that the better your team is the easier it is to turn it into a champion, so by definition the team picking 15th is more likely to become a winner than the team picking 1st. How many high picks have the Pirates had the last fifteen years?
May 24th, 2009 at 12:19 pmSame lineup as yesterday
Johnson, 2B
May 24th, 2009 at 12:22 pmKotchman, 1B
Anderson, G, LF
McCann, C
Prado, 3B
Francoeur, RF
Hernandez, D, SS
Schafer, CF
Jurrjens, P
“I get really excited whenever Jair gets ready to toe the rubber!”
-Joe Simpson
Probably could have used a better choice of words, there.
May 24th, 2009 at 12:32 pmChipper…geez.
“Jones ran in the outfield before batting practice Sunday and said he was not able to start for the third straight game. He hurt his right big toe while running to first base Thursday night.
“Hitting is not the problem, it’s running,” Jones said, adding he has no side-to-side mobility.
And how much and how long did they sign this great singles hitter for again?
May 24th, 2009 at 12:42 pmKJ! There’s your team leader in homers.
May 24th, 2009 at 12:44 pmMac–The problem is that the Pirates can have high picks–but then choose not to pick the best players because they do not believe that they can afford to sign them.
For example, in 2002 the Pirates drafted Brian Bullington–even though he was nowhere close to the being the best player in the draft.
I might add that even a brief assessment of draft history reveals that it is not a bad predictor of success. Over the last 10 years, the first 10 players are much more likely to be successful than the next 10, who are more likely to be successful than the next 10. In addition, the same holds true of rounds–2nd round players are more likely to make an impact on their organization than 3rd rounders. By the time you reach the 5th or 6th rounds it really does become a crapshoot.
For all the abuse that gets hurled at the Braves’ front office on this site (and others, it has to be said that the organization has been brilliant with its lower round picks….
May 24th, 2009 at 12:44 pmMcCann!
May 24th, 2009 at 12:47 pmBut Chief is just wrong. Were the Cardinals the best team in 2006? That team wasn’t much better than the one we have this year. And weren’t the Braves the best team for a good chunk of the streak? If you can make it to the trade deadline over .500 and the rest of your division is struggling, you have to give it a try and hope you get hot at the right time.
edit: As long as giving it your best try doesn’t involve a Tex-type trade.
May 24th, 2009 at 12:51 pmI have never seen anyone so uninterested in making plays as Garret Anderson.
May 24th, 2009 at 12:54 pmwtf is anderson jogging around for in the outfield. he’s a joke!!
May 24th, 2009 at 12:54 pmMac (and Group),
I think the top picks in the draft, epecially who wait and demand all this money, are almost set up for failure. They get all this money and kind of start with a strike against them, (expectations, wrath of the fans, possible jealousy of future teammates, etc.). It takes a special type of guy (Chipper, Mauer) to handle it. Also team economics have alot to do with success and failure as mentioned above. If the team a pick goes to does not invest much in the farm system and rush guys are obviously not going to have as good a chance.
I think the draft and how guys fare is facinating.
May 24th, 2009 at 12:57 pmYou mean to tell me Brandon Jones cannot do better than Garrett Anderson?
Jurrens needs to get the ball down….thanks
May 24th, 2009 at 12:58 pmGreat start–lets get a sweep…We have gone from 30 HRs to 32 HRs in one inning….
May 24th, 2009 at 12:58 pmTo be fair, he’s disinterested at the plate, too. In his first PA, the only time he showed any life at all was when he got out of the way of a pitch, and of course he took a called strike three.
May 24th, 2009 at 12:59 pmYes, Joe, it’s much better to face Tim Lincecum than Barry Zito.
May 24th, 2009 at 1:02 pmAnderson is clearly on the field just to collect his paycheck.
If you’ve lost interest in the game, admit it and be a man. Nobody will fault you but we would like you to GTFO our field if that’s the case.
May 24th, 2009 at 1:03 pmI found a silver lining about Franceour……he is not making Vernon Wells type money. Wells’ stat line is not that much more impressive than Franceour’s.
I’m sure everyone is going to have fun with that one.
May 24th, 2009 at 1:08 pmI called him Uninterested Man at the ballpark last week. It’s the crappiest of all superpowers.
Gotta love how Boog and Joe discuss the general baseball issues of the day during Francoeur and Schafer ABs….
May 24th, 2009 at 1:10 pmHe’s not making that much less than Wells. Wells is making $4,687,500 this season. Jeffy makes $3,375,000.
May 24th, 2009 at 1:10 pmSchaffer…
May 24th, 2009 at 1:12 pmAnderson is someone who is still batting third and fourth in the lineup. He is not going anywhere anytime soon.
May 24th, 2009 at 1:12 pmNo. Schafer.
May 24th, 2009 at 1:13 pmActually, Garret Anderson doesn’t really care what he listens to, he just goes with the flow of whatever’s on. Last month, he wound up listening to the same Mandy Moore song for three days in a row, because it was too much effort to turn off the “replay” button.
May 24th, 2009 at 1:21 pmWow…Question of the day: Which Atlanta Braves player likes to listen to R & B? Hmmm that’s was hard one. Let’s try the only African-American only the team. Too funny.
May 24th, 2009 at 1:21 pmIncidentally, the Verizon music question today was what player enjoys listening to “rhythm and blues”. I got the answer correct by rephrasing the question thusly:
What Braves player is so uninterested in participating in the Verizon music question that he could not be bothered to provide the name of any particular artist?
May 24th, 2009 at 1:23 pmOK we’re all on it.
May 24th, 2009 at 1:24 pmWas that trivia question phrased right? I can’t think of any Braves infielder who won five gold gloves, consecutively or not. Dale Murphy won five in a row.
May 24th, 2009 at 1:25 pmEl Gato Grande? I thought it was just “consecutive Gold Gloves”, as in two, but I wasn’t paying close attention.
Edit: Whoops, forgot Galarraga didn’t play consecutive seasons for us.
May 24th, 2009 at 1:27 pmIt was just 2 consecutive, I think. Not 5.
May 24th, 2009 at 1:28 pmOh wait. Gotta be TP, doesn’t it?
May 24th, 2009 at 1:29 pmI think the trivia question was just for consecutive gold gloves, not necessarily five. The Rolen thing was just an excuse to use the question.
edit: Took too long to type that. Well, how about McCann bunting against that shift yesterday? Gotta love that guy.
May 24th, 2009 at 1:30 pmFrom what I can tell, even two consecutive hasn’t happened.
May 24th, 2009 at 1:31 pmIt was Atlanta Braves, right? Del Crandall won three GGs at catcher (if you consider catchers “infielders”) but they were in Milwaukee.
May 24th, 2009 at 1:35 pmYou suck, Jeff.
May 24th, 2009 at 1:36 pmFrancoeur makes me hate my life.
May 24th, 2009 at 1:36 pmUGH Jeff….
May 24th, 2009 at 1:36 pmBoog is asking why teams don’t overshift on right-handed pull hitters. I think the answer is you can’t leave your 1B on that much of an island, because he has to cover the base.
May 24th, 2009 at 1:36 pmGreat at bat, Jeff.
May 24th, 2009 at 1:37 pmoh man. oh man. oh man!
May 24th, 2009 at 1:38 pmI think Chipper’s face just said it all while Jeff was getting his glove and hat ready for the field.
May 24th, 2009 at 1:38 pmMaybe it’s just me, but this Francoeur fella is not doing well…
May 24th, 2009 at 1:39 pmMac,
I was going off the total Dollar value of the Wells’ deal. That number surprises me. It kind of ruins the joke come to think of it.
May 24th, 2009 at 1:39 pmGod this offense is hopeless.
May 24th, 2009 at 1:41 pmGetting a little nervous with Jurrens ball being up in the zone…
May 24th, 2009 at 1:42 pmThat’s the beauty with JJ. Even when he doesn’t have his best stuff like tonight, he is usually able to control the damage.
May 24th, 2009 at 1:44 pmThere is ONE legitimate major league ball player in today’s lineup. ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
God we are sad.
May 24th, 2009 at 1:44 pm95??? Wow…didn’t JJ threw that hard.
May 24th, 2009 at 1:48 pm@57
Would it make you feel better if I told you that wasn’t true?
May 24th, 2009 at 1:50 pm95 again. Wow.
May 24th, 2009 at 1:50 pmCome on, JJ!!
May 24th, 2009 at 1:51 pmYou saying we do doesn’t make it true.. McCann and Jurrjens is IT. Period. KJ is just a guy and Kotchman is Cap Anson without period costume.
And what I mean is a player that the division leaders would use as a regular. Sure, they’re all with the exception of Schaefer, probably at least legit AAAA players, but DAMN. We just don’t have many guys that the Yankees, Red Sox, even Mets or Phillies of the world would use.
May 24th, 2009 at 1:53 pmUh oh….
May 24th, 2009 at 1:56 pmDid they even answer their trivia question about the gold gloves?
May 24th, 2009 at 2:07 pm“jeff bennett is beginning to warm up” game over.
May 24th, 2009 at 2:10 pm“jeff bennett is beginning to warm up”
May 24th, 2009 at 2:11 pmanderson beat out a throw?
May 24th, 2009 at 2:19 pmAnderson is slow.
May 24th, 2009 at 2:19 pmBring Soriano in. Now!
May 24th, 2009 at 2:31 pmWOW, Bobby is actually going to pull O’Flarety for Bennett. That is stupid, and if you saw the look on O’Flarety’s face, he knows it too.
May 24th, 2009 at 2:42 pmJeff Bennett will be biting his glove in agony in a few seconds.
May 24th, 2009 at 2:43 pmI am shocked.
May 24th, 2009 at 2:44 pmI’m shocked as well.
May 24th, 2009 at 2:45 pmIf Chipper is available to PH, now would be good.
May 24th, 2009 at 2:56 pmSpike, you called it.
May 24th, 2009 at 2:59 pmHey, how about that?
May 24th, 2009 at 2:59 pmnice.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:00 pmI believe Chipper made fairly solid contact on that.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:00 pmChipper for player-manager. If you have to run for him, Bobby, use Medlen. Also, how did Hernandez not score?
May 24th, 2009 at 3:01 pmI think it’s safe to say that Kelly is heating up.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:02 pmGood KJ is officially back in residence.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:02 pmKelly is hot again, which is nice.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:02 pmOk…KJ prayerfully is on a hot streak.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:02 pmKJ!!!!
May 24th, 2009 at 3:03 pmJohnson Hot Streak sighting??
May 24th, 2009 at 3:03 pmWhat does it say when you are a number 3 lefthanded hitter and they walk the number 2 lefthanded hitter intentionally (even with a “base open”)?
May 24th, 2009 at 3:04 pmHells yeah.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:04 pmExcellent work by ACHE there. They’ll give him congratulations and he doesn’t have to do any of that tiring running.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:05 pmMac, Hernandez didn’t score because it was an infield hit.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:05 pmIt was not an infield hit. It wound up in right field and Rios botched fielding it.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:06 pmSeems Kelly Johnson needed Omar Infante taken out.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:07 pmCatching up to the high fastball and smoking it is such a kick a$$ feeling.
Awesome, KJ
May 24th, 2009 at 3:07 pmPimpbot…
May 24th, 2009 at 3:09 pmPffffft, who said this team has no power?
May 24th, 2009 at 3:09 pmPlayer of the game: Kelly Johnson or Brian McCann?
May 24th, 2009 at 3:09 pmMcCANN…
May 24th, 2009 at 3:09 pmMcCann the Man!!
May 24th, 2009 at 3:09 pmThis is more like it.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:10 pmB MAC!!!!!!!
May 24th, 2009 at 3:10 pmI’m actually feeling good about this team now. Which is a sure sign they’ll lose the next 3 or 4 games in a row
May 24th, 2009 at 3:11 pmBobby,
PLEASE let somebody mop up. No Soriano, No Gonzalez.
Teacher, leave those kids alone.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:11 pmRemind me again what ACHE stands for? Couldn’t find it in the glossary. Thanks.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:11 pm“Seems Kelly Johnson needed Omar Infante taken out.”
I was thinking the same thing….
May 24th, 2009 at 3:11 pmWow…3 bombs today…seems like about 10!
Mac is the man.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:11 pmAnderson, Cleanup Hitter Extraordinaire.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:11 pmWell, it was an infield hit in the sense that it was mostly stopped by the first baseman and Hernandez didn’t want to get doubled up off second…unlike a certain number 7.
Speaking of which, Frenchy did put a good swing on the ball to start the inning. He’s still worthless, though. His performance in the 4th was unforgivable.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:11 pmFrasor’s ERA just went up 2.2 runs.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:12 pmGotta love McCann.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:13 pmThis offense is really a lot better with McCann. Not like a little better. Like REALLY a lot better.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:13 pm…And Soriano pitches. Isn’t this an ideal Acosta situation?
May 24th, 2009 at 3:14 pmBRAD LIDGE just blew another save.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:15 pmI would say send in he reserves but there already in there
May 24th, 2009 at 3:15 pmNYY tying the Phillies in the 9th… again!
May 24th, 2009 at 3:15 pmBy the way, following up on eye stuff, I ran into my doctor the other day. He had heard gossip in the circles of doctors that Mark Lemke had been affected by a bad result from Lasik.
He ran into Lemke and Lemke told him the story. Said as he was nearing the end of his career he decided to try lasik to see if he could improve vision and make it work. However, he had worse vision after (at least worse “corrected visions”) and that was it.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:15 pmSoriano was already warmed up.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:15 pmWho do you think replaces Lidge as the closer? Condrey? Madson?
May 24th, 2009 at 3:16 pmMac,
I was forgetting we just brought up Acosta. however, it certainly should have been Acosta UNLESS Soriano had already warmed up during the inning with them thinking it might be tied or certainly wouldn’t likely turn into a blow out.
Maybe Bobby will give Acosta the 9th.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:17 pmI love watching Soriano pitch. What a great pitching motion he has.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:18 pmIs Acosta up with the team?
May 24th, 2009 at 3:19 pmWeldon, the ball was more or less sitting there in right field, and with the force in play (unlike Francoeur last night) Hernandez had to be running. Fortunately, it didn’t matter, but this team has a whole lot of situations where runners don’t score from second on singles and first on doubles, and that concerns me a lot more than the stolen base totals, or lack thereof.
Acosta was called up to replace Parr after Klinger couldn’t bail out Medlen.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:19 pmOk. Who did they send down to bring up Acosta?
May 24th, 2009 at 3:19 pmJeffy looked like a pitcher there. Seriously, like a pitcher who has a seven-run lead and doesn’t want to risk hurting himself running the bases.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:21 pmParr went down for Acosta since he threw 90 pitches in that game.
Jeff just struck out on a 4×4, 4 feet outside and bounced 4 feet in front of the plate.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:22 pmDiory Hernandez just made Francoeur look silly by comparison.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:23 pmSome fan just won $11,000+ because the Braves scored 7 in the 7th.
I’m agreeing with Catz @100 right now. I also agree that this is a very bad thing considering June is coming up
May 24th, 2009 at 3:23 pmOr there. Hernandez should have been at second base when the ball dropped, and should have scored. Instead, he ran about halfway to second. There is no way you get doubled up on that play unless you fall down or forget to touch second running back.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:23 pmAmazing at bat, Jeff.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:23 pmDouble digits, baby!
May 24th, 2009 at 3:24 pmEveryone had to hold up with the line drive off Overbay’s glove. Maybe he was shocked he dropped it, because he’s caught damn near everything else this weekend. Even so, it is best they were conservative there, and no sense running out of an inning with hot KJ due up.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:24 pmWhy this is an Acosta situation. I think there’s certain value in a guy who’s really good as long as the game’s not on the line. We’ve certainly had situations this year where the game wasn’t on the line until it was.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:28 pmAnd there we see why Hernandez isn’t a real prospect…
May 24th, 2009 at 3:30 pmInteresting stats. Good find, Mac.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:32 pmSomeone on the team should get Hernandez’s firt error ball to go with his first hit ball.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:35 pmDoes anyone else hate this 10 sprinkles commercial, and every other Verizon commercial for that matter?
May 24th, 2009 at 3:38 pmGameday says Acosta really let it rip. He hit 97 a couple of times with Wells. Nobody else in the last few innings got over about 92.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:38 pmUnfortunately, those two 97s were a foot outside, and Acosta was peeking at the posted MPH after both. I guess they “set up” the breaking ball for strike three, though.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:42 pmYeah Acosta Did hit 97 he kept looking up at the scoreboard
May 24th, 2009 at 3:43 pmYep. I don’t want to be held accountable for whatever happens if I have a chance encounter with black-frame glasses dude. Basically a blood feud.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:43 pmNot as much as the imprisoning fireflies commercial, or the bank that doesn’t know the difference between an adjective and an adverb.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:44 pm@134: Would you like whipped cream?
May 24th, 2009 at 3:47 pmRecap is up.
May 24th, 2009 at 3:51 pmWho doesn’t want whipped cream?
May 24th, 2009 at 3:53 pm