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Hopefully, the Groundhog has three or four hits today (I know… chances of a snowball in Hell) as the Braves site says the Royals have been/are scouting him this weekend. Maybe Wakefield will accidentally hit his bat with a few knuckleballs.
Hope all you fathers out there enjoy your day!
June 21st, 2009 at 8:47 amOn KJ:
June 21st, 2009 at 9:48 amYa, he’s sucking right now. But his K% is down and his LD% and GB/FB are the same. Now, his BB% is down (I blame Pendleton), but his BABIP is waaaaay down. Like…. 100 points down. To put this in a Bobby Cox quote context: he’s hitting the ball well, it’s just right at somebody. He won’t continue to get so unlucky. Francoeur, on the other hand, just sucks.
Why blame Pendleton?
June 21st, 2009 at 9:49 amBecause he tried to change Kelly’s approach so that, and I quote, “he doesn’t look at so many called 3rd strikes”. What I took that to mean is he wanted Kelly to be more agressive with 2 strikes and in general which is probably contributing to the decline in his walk rate. And the other reason is blaming Pendleton is the trendy thing to do. And I’m all about the trends!
June 21st, 2009 at 10:07 amMy opinions of/for the day:
1. The Braves will look even more ridiculous than usual flailing at Wakefield’s knuckleball.
2. Kelly Johnson is a talented flake.
3. Francoeur sucks.
Wait–sorry. #3 is not an opinion. It’s a fact.
June 21st, 2009 at 10:34 amlineup: NO GROUNDHOG OR KELLY!!!!
McLouth
June 21st, 2009 at 11:16 amEscobar
Jones, C
McCann, DH
Anderson, G
Kotchman
Prado
Ross, D
Blanco, G
well at least the Braves won’t be giving 3-4 outs away wth Failcour sitting
June 21st, 2009 at 11:23 amBlanco instead of Diaz? WTF, Bobby?
June 21st, 2009 at 11:39 amIf we’re on a Johnny Cash ride, might as well go straight to “Pain”.
June 21st, 2009 at 11:42 amRyan Howard’s in the hospital with flu symptoms.
June 21st, 2009 at 11:48 amFacing Wakefield will probably ruin our offense for the next ten days…which is good enough to ruin the whole season…damn, I hate Wakefield back to the Pirates days.
Blanco instead of KJ and Frenchy. So we are giving up four outs instead of eight. I guess that’s an improvement!
Bobby should put Nate in right and Blanco in center.
June 21st, 2009 at 11:58 amI think that our offense has proably already been ruined….in fact, this is probably the best time to face Wakefield–at least we go in with marginal expectations…..
June 21st, 2009 at 12:10 pmim kind of disappointed francoeur isnt starting today. seeing him flail helplessly at a knuckleball would be rather poetic.
June 21st, 2009 at 12:17 pmYESSSSSSSSSSSSSS KJ is out…. this one is a guaranteed win baby!
June 21st, 2009 at 12:37 pmWow, put Diaz instead of Blanco and you almost got yourself a big league lineup. I like it!
June 21st, 2009 at 12:40 pmNice start.
June 21st, 2009 at 12:44 pmHere we go.
June 21st, 2009 at 12:59 pmNice job JJ… way to blow the lead
June 21st, 2009 at 12:59 pmJJ’s error cost himself 3 runs.
June 21st, 2009 at 1:00 pm@#4
Good answer!
Nothing like screwing yourself JJ.
June 21st, 2009 at 1:02 pm31 pitches from Jair already. Two more innings and we are going to see Medlen. Trailing 9-2, of course.
June 21st, 2009 at 1:03 pmAt least Wakefield isn’t fooling anybody.
June 21st, 2009 at 1:08 pmJD drew is a bum… the fact we are hitting hard liners right to him so he doesn’t have to move his crippled self around makes me sick.
June 21st, 2009 at 1:09 pmNESN HD
June 21st, 2009 at 1:24 pmHeidi Whatnety
Hot.
this has probably been discussed several times but ….
OBP SLG AVG
Groundhog
281 .333 .245
Nick BLEEPING Green
341 .442 .292
a career utility man learned more from Chipper and McCann in the offseason than dumbass Jeffy .. unbelievable
June 21st, 2009 at 1:25 pmHey, did you guys know that our backup catcher is 4th on the team in home runs?
June 21st, 2009 at 1:29 pmAnother inspiring inning….
June 21st, 2009 at 1:35 pmHe should play RF.
June 21st, 2009 at 1:35 pmThis team hates winning.
June 21st, 2009 at 1:41 pmAnd Chip’s fellow announcer calls escobar ‘jurrjens’. Seriously, this is crap.
June 21st, 2009 at 1:42 pm2 fielding misplays = 3 Sawx runs
June 21st, 2009 at 1:46 pmBlanco, just because you’re playing in Frenchy’s place doesn’t mean you have to hit like him.
June 21st, 2009 at 1:48 pmActually, he hit that ball well, it’s just that the shortstop was in the right place.
June 21st, 2009 at 1:58 pmBlanco’s hit two balls harder in this game than Jeff’s hit in the last month
btw, Joe was going off on Yunel, but the popup was Chippers to catch. He lunged in and then yunel backed off. Either way neither one of them called for it.
Joe also seems to think that Jeffy may be sitting because of all the reports, says something may be brewing. Please!!!!
June 21st, 2009 at 2:05 pmJoe also thinks Jeffy is having a good series. Jeffy is 0-6.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:05 pmI’m glad Groundhog isn’t embarassing himself and our team today in front of a national audience.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:06 pm#35 – yeah heard that too. “Jeff is swinging the bat really well and having a good series, even though he’s 0-6. Id hate to see him go.”
June 21st, 2009 at 2:07 pmHey, some production from RF…
June 21st, 2009 at 2:16 pmI’m headed out. Recap will be slightly delayed, or not delayed at all if the game goes long.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:18 pmMcLouth! Nice…
And quite a bellyflop from Prado. Tough luck for Esco.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:20 pmMcLouth may not be a good center fielder, but he sure is a good hitter.
It’s amazing what this offense can do when Francoeur’s on the bench. They can even put together late-inning rallies.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:22 pmi get the eerie(sp?) feeling KJ might be thrown into the deal that sends Our Worst Player to KC based on the fact that no one is dumb enough to take that waste of $4M we call “everyday RF” straight up for another player
June 21st, 2009 at 2:23 pmOh, for God’s sake, Garret — that was a single that you bobbled into a double.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:25 pmYou’ve got to have the bats of the Yankees to overcome all these defensive shortcomings.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:26 pmDoes Joe have any spankies to go with those Francoeur pom-poms?
June 21st, 2009 at 2:27 pmThat comment from Joe is irresponsible. Unless he knows we’re stuck with him and he’s trying to make the best of it.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:28 pmIf our defense had shown up today, this would have been a 4-0 game with a runner on first.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:30 pmHey, umpire, it makes it harder when you don’t call a strike a strike. O’Failurety had him struck out — it wasn’t even a close call, as we saw when the NESN people showed the StrikeTracker replay — but the ump screwed him, then tossed O’Flaherty, Bobby Cox, and Chipper Jones.
That ump should frigging get fined.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:31 pmThanks a lot, Blue. That one is on you.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:32 pmthat was a pathetic call. that was down the pipe. that’s a difference in the game.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:32 pmWell, so much for this game. The call was horrendous, but Chipper’s got to know better than that.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:32 pmThe upside is that Chipper won’t be able to get injured.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:33 pmThat was utter horseshit. Love to see Chipper step up for O’Flaherty, hate to see him gone.
He should be fired for that mustache, much less the shoddy umpiring.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:34 pmComplete hosejob.
I appreciate the passion, but Chipper can’t get tossed there.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:35 pmThe Sox announcers say, “I think the umpire knows it was a strike, and he doesn’t want to hear about it.”
June 21st, 2009 at 2:35 pmDid y’all see the dugout? Looked like a bunch of zombies.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:36 pmThe pitch to chipper in the 1st looked like a strike–if only the a$$wipe ump would be consistent with Drew at the plate.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:36 pmInstead of Chipper leading off the eighth, we have KJ. Like substituting spam for filet mignon. Good night.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:36 pmMaybe both chipper and cox had seen all of the putrid play from this team that could stand and decided to grab beers and cigars …
Probably not, but you couldn’t blame them.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:39 pmAs bad as that call was, this team has no right to complain about mistakes.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:40 pmWell, if ever there was a time for a satisfying comeback…
June 21st, 2009 at 2:40 pmany recollection of chipper being thrown out of a game before?
June 21st, 2009 at 2:41 pmThis would be a great time for KJ to break out of his slump…
June 21st, 2009 at 2:42 pmThat’ll work.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:45 pmummm, who was that?
June 21st, 2009 at 2:45 pmNice, KJ. Get it back.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:45 pmKJ, the lefty killer.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:45 pmI swear, every time I say something bad about KJ and Frenchy, they get on base.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:45 pm“it’s easy to hit the green monster when you have a big johnson”.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:46 pmI swear, every time I say something bad about KJ and Frenchy, they get on base.
I don’t think you say bad things about Frenchy as often as I do.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:47 pmYou are both right, Joe and Chip. Why in the world should Brian McCann, the best Braves hitter left in that dugout, try to drive him home? He should definitely just try to advance that runner. Like maybe bunt…
And yeah. It’s also great that the Braves have Garrett Anderson for these situations.
JUST MISSED THE CORNER!!?!!
Get these two the hell out of here…
June 21st, 2009 at 2:49 pmACHE!
June 21st, 2009 at 2:50 pmYeah, Tanderson!
June 21st, 2009 at 2:50 pmGood job, ACHE. Let’s go, Braves!
June 21st, 2009 at 2:50 pmWay to go, Glide!
June 21st, 2009 at 2:50 pmACHE-y breaky single.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:50 pmim so sick of garret anderson being referred to as a “professional hitter” (non-chip TBS announcer). i guess thats a euphemism for an old, slow, slap-hitting, powerless left fielder.
(im trying the whole say bad things to make good things happen trick)
June 21st, 2009 at 2:50 pmTie game…again. Dare I ask for a lead?
June 21st, 2009 at 2:51 pmand it works!
June 21st, 2009 at 2:51 pmI Love ACHE.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:51 pmso if all goes according to plan, Kotchmann (the 4th consecutive lefty-lefty matchup) is going to hit a HR……. and Bobby will still be senile and dumb
edit: spoke too soon
June 21st, 2009 at 2:52 pmInteresting…Bobby’s no longer in the game, and Gonzo is warming up to pitch the 8th. Maybe McDowell will manage the bullpen better than Bobby usually does.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:53 pmNow pinch running… Matt Diaz, the well-known speedster.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:53 pmI don’t get being willing to pr Diaz for Anderson if you’re not willing to ph Diaz for Anderson.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:54 pmGotta believe Bobby’s still managing
June 21st, 2009 at 2:54 pmNote that Anderson doesn’t even bother to give Diaz some skin when he, Diaz, comes in to pinch run.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:54 pmAnd Ross flies out on a line drive.
Way to go, Chip
June 21st, 2009 at 2:54 pmRemy,
Its actually a good thing. We don’t want Anderson to infect Diaz.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:56 pmAnderson is a professional hitter. Now up to .280.
June 21st, 2009 at 3:02 pmKJ versus Papelbon is going to be U-L-G-Y.
EDIT: At least he stayed out of the DP.
June 21st, 2009 at 3:13 pmthe FAILURE known as KJ shows his ugly face…. lets go BMAC!
June 21st, 2009 at 3:15 pmchip is delusional if he thinks nate wouldve scored from second on that yuni single
June 21st, 2009 at 3:16 pmWell, KJ did come through pretty big last time.
June 21st, 2009 at 3:17 pmPhew… apparently that was the first time McCann swung at a 3-0 pitch this season, and he popped it up around the plate. Fortunately the wind blew it foul.
June 21st, 2009 at 3:17 pmPapelbon doesn’t seem to have much control today.
Take a few, Matt, okay?
June 21st, 2009 at 3:18 pmCome on, Diaz!
June 21st, 2009 at 3:19 pmDammn wish Anderson was still in the game….
June 21st, 2009 at 3:19 pmDiaz has zero patience at the plate. He’s the eptiome of a hacker
June 21st, 2009 at 3:19 pmwhat an a#$hole… typical Diaz
June 21st, 2009 at 3:21 pmNO!!!
That was an absurdly bad pitch! Good lord.
June 21st, 2009 at 3:21 pmGAH!
gameday had that pitch at eye level ..
June 21st, 2009 at 3:22 pmDiaz is a piece of shit.
June 21st, 2009 at 3:23 pmOf course, we have to remember, Frenchy’s so bad that Diaz is one of the outfielders we like.
June 21st, 2009 at 3:23 pmThat pitch was over his head….forget eye level.
June 21st, 2009 at 3:24 pmUnbelievable……
June 21st, 2009 at 3:24 pmI think Diaz swings as hard as he can with his eyes closed. Cause half the time he is swinging at balls at his face or in the dirt and ending up across the plate in the left handers batting box
June 21st, 2009 at 3:25 pmBennett sucks
June 21st, 2009 at 3:25 pmNick Green hits a wind-blown Texas league walkoff homer curving around Pesky’s Pole.
I hate the Red Sox.
June 21st, 2009 at 3:25 pmI seriously just turned over to this game right as the USA soccer game ended. Just in time for the final pitch of the game. Awesome.
June 21st, 2009 at 3:25 pmShit.
June 21st, 2009 at 3:25 pmJust tuned in… and now I’m tuning back out.
June 21st, 2009 at 3:26 pmWell, except for the blowout, Mac’s prediction for the series was spot on.
On second thought, with the way the Braves have been hitting, 3-0 is a blowout.
June 21st, 2009 at 3:26 pm!@#$%^&*
June 21st, 2009 at 3:27 pmYou can’t really blame Bennett this time. That ball is foul in every other park in the league.
June 21st, 2009 at 3:28 pmBennett needs to be used the way Medlen is, the way James Parr was — only in case of an eight-run lead or deficit.
June 21st, 2009 at 3:28 pmWell, that sucked.
June 21st, 2009 at 3:29 pmNice… hopefully that will be Bennett’s last pitch as a Brave. Once Campillo comes back Bennett is gone
June 21st, 2009 at 3:30 pmWell, Bennett sucks. That much is obvious. To everyone except our idiot manager.
June 21st, 2009 at 3:30 pmThat’s us. We are losers. With or without Jeffy. Period.
June 21st, 2009 at 3:30 pmI despise the Red Sox.
June 21st, 2009 at 3:30 pmOh, by the way, Francoeur sucks.
June 21st, 2009 at 3:30 pmLet’s not make excuses for Bennett. He sucks… end of story
June 21st, 2009 at 3:31 pmI’m sure Francoeur said something to someone during the course of the game that had a negative effect in their AB
June 21st, 2009 at 3:32 pmAt least your Mom didn’t cancel your WoW account:
http://www.iheartchaos.com/content/kid-has-ultimate-tantrum-after-his-mom-cancels-his-wow-subscription-stupid
Though I’m a few losses away from becoming this kid.
June 21st, 2009 at 3:39 pmThe game was lost with the 2 defensive miscues. Can’t drop the ball all over the field & give a good team 3 runs.
Reminds me of a passage from Ball Four:
“We won tonight because their shortsop made an error in the 10th & opened the door & we stepped in, just like the old Yankees used to.”
That’s what it was like when the Braves would play a lesser team back in the day, too.
June 21st, 2009 at 3:39 pm#124
June 21st, 2009 at 3:46 pmSomeone buy that kid a glove & a ball.
True Story. My Wife wanted me to go to the store, as the bottom of the 9th rolled around. When I saw Bennett, I said, I will the game will be over soon. One pitch later, I was on my way to pick up some milk.
June 21st, 2009 at 3:47 pmRecap’s up. Bennett sucks.
June 21st, 2009 at 3:53 pm