28 Sep
Andres Thomas vs. Henry Blanco. Also, game thread: Marlins at Braves
Andres Thomas Statistics and History – Baseball-Reference.com
Seasons with Braves: 1985-1990
Notable Stats: .234 BA, .255 OBP, .958 FP
Notable Achievements: Disproved the concept that young players always improve.
Versus
Henry Blanco Statistics and History – Baseball-Reference.com
Seasons with Braves: 2002-03
Notable Stats: .202 BA, .262 OBP
Notable Achievements: Is still in the majors six years later at the age of 37 even though he can’t hit at all. Still better than Corky Miller.
Thomas is off to a Kolbbian start
September 28th, 2009 at 2:06 pmHe should be. I actually juggled the seeds here; I thought Fick was too strong for a 15.
September 28th, 2009 at 2:08 pmReally, it’s the disparity between expectation and performance that sets Thomas in the same league as Kolb. You can sort of tolerate suckiness from a guy you know is supposed to be suck. A Proven Closer and Can’t Miss Prospect, by definition, get held to a different standard.
September 28th, 2009 at 2:08 pmSomeone actually voted for Blanco.
September 28th, 2009 at 2:13 pmI’ve never been sure why Thomas was such a hot prospect to begin with. He never really did anything in the minors. I guess he just looked like he was going to be good.
September 28th, 2009 at 2:14 pmFrom previous thread – “Nobody wants to play Colorado either”.
I would venture to say that nobody is really scared of that rotation.
September 28th, 2009 at 2:15 pmThomas is my favorite bad Brave of all-time. That is, he’s the player I most associate with awfulness. He will always epitomize the terrible, terrible teams of the late 80s to me. (Surprisingly, those were the days when I was really becoming a Braves fan. I will always look back in fondness on the time in my life when I loved baseball so much that I was happy to watch the Braves lose.) Anyway, Andres Thomas all the way!
September 28th, 2009 at 2:18 pmYeah, but their lineup is a lot scarier.
September 28th, 2009 at 2:19 pmCan’t say how surprised and happy I will be if the Braves are playing a meaningful game on the last day of the regular season… AND I’ll be there (crossing fingers nothing goes wrong with this plan). Free tickets for and my oldest son to go with a friend and his oldest son (while our wives hang out and do something neither of us want to participate in).
September 28th, 2009 at 2:20 pmthe Brewers fans are pumped that they might finish over .500
September 28th, 2009 at 2:32 pmI hope their players have that same intensity the next 3 games
Yeah, their lineup is scary.
September 28th, 2009 at 2:41 pmLet’s see Milwaukee’s best.
September 28th, 2009 at 2:43 pmBut Andres Thomas was a Topps All Star Rookie!
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/pics/andres_thomas_autograph.jpg
September 28th, 2009 at 2:48 pmMilwaukee can score some runs. I don’t think there will be any pitching duels in that series…
September 28th, 2009 at 2:48 pmWait, are you guys saying the Milwakee lineup is scary or the Colorado one is?
September 28th, 2009 at 2:49 pmBack in the day I thought Thomas was a top prospect just because everyone on TV said he was.
#5 Mac you’re probably right. That was the state of the science of evaluating talent back then. He looked good doing some things therefore he was going to be good.
Is constantly telling yourself not to have hope, hoping sort of?
September 28th, 2009 at 2:50 pm@15 – I was saying nobody is going to be scared of the Colorado pitching come the post-season. Then Mac mentioned that their lineup was better than ours – to which I agreed.
September 28th, 2009 at 2:59 pmI don’t see that much difference between Colorado and Atlanta offensively.
Team A OPS+ starters
121
118
120
109
116
132
130
88
Overall 98
4.9 RC/G
Team B OPS+ starters
September 28th, 2009 at 3:01 pm100
129
87
131
100
128
98
128
Overall – 99
5.3 RC/G
Per C-Rog:
1. McLouth CF
September 28th, 2009 at 3:08 pm2. Prado 2B
3. Jones 3B
4. McCann C
5. Anderson LF
6. Escobar SS
7. LaRoche 1B
8. Diaz RF
9. Jurrjens P
Just read this on Yahoo: “Florida may be without right fielder Cody Ross for the rest of the season after being hit by a pitch in a 9-6 win over the Mets on Saturday night. Ross, who has a career-high 24 home runs and 90 RBIs, said there was a lot of swelling the day after.” That’s good for us, isn’t it? Isn’t Ross a Braves killer?
Not that I’m allowing Hope up from this choke-hold I have him in at the moment . . .
September 28th, 2009 at 3:11 pmRoss is annoying & he looks like Don Rickles.
September 28th, 2009 at 3:17 pmAnnoying because he just seems to slaughter Braves’ pitching…
September 28th, 2009 at 3:19 pmThat just means more chances for Dan Uggla and even Ross Gload…
How’s that for pessimism?
September 28th, 2009 at 3:20 pmLet’s not forget home run champion Wes Helms.
September 28th, 2009 at 3:28 pmI knew there was another.
September 28th, 2009 at 3:29 pmPete Orr “plays” every position…can anyone arrange for the Nats to send him over to the fish for this series?
September 28th, 2009 at 3:35 pmI love Andres Thomas’ B-R page. He was among the league leaders in … outs made! Also, double plays hit into! I’m so proud.
September 28th, 2009 at 3:38 pmWhile I would say the Rox lineup is probably marginally scarier than ours, it’s not like they’re sending out Pujols/Holiday or Howard/Werth/Ibanez/Utley… they’ve got a couple of 30HR guys, but the OPS isn’t way different than ours on first glance.
September 28th, 2009 at 3:56 pmbraves14′s SEC rankings:
1. Alabama
September 28th, 2009 at 4:08 pm2. Florida
3. Auburn
4. Georgia
5. LSU
6. South Carolina
7. Ole Miss
8. Kentucky
9. Arkansas
10. Tennessee
11. Mississippi State
12. Vanderbilt
Regardless of whose lineup or pitching staff is better, my original point was that nobody is throwing games or even trying less just so that the Rockies get in and the Braves don’t.
The Rockies are 70-40 since firing Hurdle. The Cardinals weren’t thinking “hey, if we lose these games at least the Braves don’t get in!” That’s neither logical nor how baseball minds work.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:16 pmBraves14, as a War Eagle ’84, I really hope your rankings hold up. Sadly, I don’t see it.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:18 pm@30 – But that is how your mind works when you hate Tony LaRussa.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:22 pmKentucky 8th? LOL.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:24 pmMaybe he’s giving Kentucky a few grace points for knocking Tebow the hell out.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:27 pmI think they’re better than Arkansas or Tennessee.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:28 pmThey’re better than no team in the conference.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:28 pmlol, you’re mad I put Vandy 12th. Why don’t you make a list?
September 28th, 2009 at 4:30 pmI think the difference between second and third is bigger than the difference between third and twelfth — that is, I’d be more surprised if anyone beat one of the top two than if the twelfth-place team beat the third-place one.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:31 pmMy rankings would be:
1. Florida
2. Bama
——————–
3. Georgia
4. LSU
5. Arkansas
——————–
6. Auburn
7. South Carolina
8. Ole Miss
——————–
9. Tennessee
10. Mississippi State
11. Vanderbilt
——————–
12. Kentucky
I wouldn’t go quite that far, Mac—I would be more stunned if UK beat UGA than if LSU beat Bama—but there is a big gap, for sure.
braves14,
September 28th, 2009 at 4:31 pmI don’t care where you put VU. Based on performance, we don’t deserve much praise. Yet. But UK is a bad, bad football team this year.
Arkansas 5th? I’ll be surprised if they become bowl eligible. Also, I was joking about making you mad about Vandy 12th.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:35 pm@30 – I don’t think anyone was insinuating teams would be throwing games – at least I wasn’t. It’s just that the human mind is a complicated thing and can take control in many scenarios. Just like someone who comes up in a pressure situation is likely to get nervous, some players could just say I could care less. Not that they are throwing the game, just that they don’t really care – hard to perform well when you have that mindset.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:39 pmMy preseason rankings would have looked like this:
1. Florida
September 28th, 2009 at 4:45 pm——————–
2. Bama
3. LSU
4. Georgia
——————–
5. Arkansas
6. Vanderbilt
7. Ole Miss
8. Auburn
9. Tennessee
10. South Carolina
——————–
11. Kentucky
12. Mississippi State
O what could have been…….
http://rowlandsoffice.wordpress.com/2007/02/09/a-man-of-distinction/
September 28th, 2009 at 5:16 pmAs much as I hate to admit this, I think Tennessee is somewhere in the top 6 to 8 (we’ll see after this weekend). UT’s defense is good enough to beat at least 6 of the teams in the conference, and I’m not sure what would happen with Ga. My rankings would be
1. Florida
2. Bama
3. LSU
4. Ole Miss
5. Georgia
6. Auburn
7. Tennessee
8. South Carolina
(the difference b/t 3 and 8 is very small)
9. Arkansas
September 28th, 2009 at 5:17 pm10. Miss. State
11. Vanderbilt
12. Kentucky
The Cards and Dodgers are also fighting to have the best record in the league which would give them home field advantage until the World Series. So I think they have plenty of motivation when playing the Rockies this last week. I guess the Brewers would like to finish above .500 all else being equal, but I doubt that’s quite as motivating as for the other teams.
September 28th, 2009 at 5:20 pmI’m glad Andres Thomas came along before I can remember. I’m sure Braves Journal would make hating Francoeur look tame in comparison to that.
September 28th, 2009 at 5:24 pmAt least in those days everybody had a crappy hitting SS. A crappy hitting RF crosses eras of suckitude.
September 28th, 2009 at 5:25 pmTrue. Also, Thomas was among the worst fielders in the league.
September 28th, 2009 at 5:28 pmYeah, but most of those crappy hitting shortstops could at least field the ball if it was hit right at them.
September 28th, 2009 at 5:29 pmThere is no way in the world that Arkansas is better than Auburn right now.
September 28th, 2009 at 5:32 pmIn 2006, we got enough motivation out of just screwing up Houston’s playoff chances so I’m sure the Brewers will be okay. It didn’t stop them taking 2 out of 3 from the Phillies either.
Nice keep hope dead stat from Jayson Stark. Only one other team has come from 8½ back in September, the 1964 Cardinals, and they did it with 27 games to go, not 21 as we are trying.
September 28th, 2009 at 5:32 pm49 — jinx
September 28th, 2009 at 5:32 pmseriously, how can auburn not be ranked right now?
September 28th, 2009 at 5:34 pmMainly because they hired a coach nobody outside of Alabama (or Iowa) had ever heard of.
September 28th, 2009 at 5:39 pmIn case no one noticed the final yards of the Texas v UTEP game
Texas: 639
UTEP: 53
Muschamp has the Horns D playing out of their minds…
September 28th, 2009 at 5:49 pmI see that Anibal hasn’t pitched well against the Braves in 2 of his last 3 starts against us, but it feels otherwise like he always has our number. (I don’t feel like actually looking it up to verify that.)
September 28th, 2009 at 5:50 pm@54
Fairly true. Chizik’s Iowa St. was the Kentucky of the Big 12 last year. Mizzou played like s*** and still smoked them like a Havana.
September 28th, 2009 at 5:55 pmHow chivalrous of Florida to throw in an unnecessary sacrifice bunt in the first inning.
September 28th, 2009 at 6:13 pmam i the only person who has no idea who jesse james is?
September 28th, 2009 at 6:17 pmNo, but then I don’t know who a lot of these musical stars these days are. I’m kind of enjoying musical fogeydom.
September 28th, 2009 at 6:18 pmTime to bunt!
September 28th, 2009 at 6:19 pmI thought Jesse James was a custom biker.
September 28th, 2009 at 6:22 pmMy SEC East rankings:
1. UK
2. UT
3. Vandy
4. Florida
5. South Carolina
6. UGA
Oh, wait – I thought (hoped) the subject had changed to basketball.
September 28th, 2009 at 6:24 pmTonight, the part of Anibal Sanchez will be played by Rick Ankiel!
September 28th, 2009 at 6:25 pmWe spoke of Dan KolBB and he appeared. Fortunately, he’s wearing the other team’s uniform.
September 28th, 2009 at 6:27 pmKolb would make an excellent urban legend.
September 28th, 2009 at 6:28 pmI’m disappointed we only got 2 runs out of that.
Was Fredi trying to make us laugh by warming up Kolb while Sanchez couldn’t throw a strike?
September 28th, 2009 at 6:29 pm2 runs, no hits. Come on now.
September 28th, 2009 at 6:30 pm2 0 1… now there’s an odd line score.
September 28th, 2009 at 6:33 pmJJ missing his spots this inning….
September 28th, 2009 at 6:35 pmI wish FSN would show K/BB ratios instead of BA against on their pitching matchup graphic.
September 28th, 2009 at 6:39 pm#60—Old Fogy Music—-You know what gets me about today’s music (besides the rip-off known as sampling) is how main-stream media guys (I’m thinking Dan Patrick here) fawn over rappers. Somehow at Dan’s age I can’t see him going home, and putting on a 50 cent cd.
September 28th, 2009 at 6:40 pmI also voted for Thomas, because he was disappointing. But at least, for a while I held out hope he might be decent. (I actually bought a 200 count 86 Topps Traded Rookie Card lot of him for $10. lost money) And anything that could have given you hope from ’86 to ’89 was a feather in Braves’ fans caps.
September 28th, 2009 at 6:42 pmIt was before OBP was paid attention to by most people.
September 28th, 2009 at 6:44 pmThey didn’t notice the .250 batting average?
September 28th, 2009 at 6:48 pmThe whole NL hit 248/ 310/ 363 in 1988, Mac. ‘Twas the olden days.
September 28th, 2009 at 6:53 pmCHIPPER
September 28th, 2009 at 6:55 pmVery nice, Chip!!
September 28th, 2009 at 6:55 pmCHIPPER!
Breaks up the no-hitter, and now we’re up by three.
September 28th, 2009 at 6:55 pmChipper breaking up the no-hitter
September 28th, 2009 at 6:55 pmThat counts as a hit.
September 28th, 2009 at 6:55 pmACHE sucks. His full season numbers are very similar to Stenchy’s full season numbers.
If it mattered a lot, I’d be pissed that Bobby hasn’t flipped him and LaRoche.
September 28th, 2009 at 6:58 pmMac, it’s not fogeydom. Jessie James isn’t a star. Stars don’t play spur of the moment concerts after baseball games.
September 28th, 2009 at 7:02 pmLove them six-pitch innings.
September 28th, 2009 at 7:03 pmIn case you guys didn’t know yet, Barmes dropped the catch yesterday. That would have given the Cards runners at the corners, 1 out in a tie game.
It also means the Rockies didn’t make a single valid out in the 9th.
September 28th, 2009 at 7:05 pmLeaving the bases loaded sucks.
September 28th, 2009 at 7:15 pmThat’s 11 in a row for JJ- I do believe he’s found his groove.
September 28th, 2009 at 7:20 pmAnibal is in a bad kind of groove. 8 walks? Damn.
September 28th, 2009 at 7:25 pmDon Sutton just compared Fredi Gonzalez with Job. I thought that was worth a mention.
September 28th, 2009 at 7:25 pmIf EVER there was a time to ask someone to bunt…but no – ACHE is a “professional hitter”tm.
September 28th, 2009 at 7:25 pmACHE up to pull a Norton. Don’t swing!
September 28th, 2009 at 7:26 pmThis would be a good time to blow the game open.
September 28th, 2009 at 7:27 pmIt would be a good time for ACHE not to blow.
September 28th, 2009 at 7:27 pmI don’t know if I’ve ever seen a pitcher allowed to give up eight walks in four-plus innings and stay in the game.
September 28th, 2009 at 7:28 pmIt would, but how likely was that?
September 28th, 2009 at 7:28 pmThe way he hit that 3-6 force-out was indeed “professional.”
September 28th, 2009 at 7:28 pmClose enough.
September 28th, 2009 at 7:28 pmNo hits with runners in scoring position- and only two hits total- explain Anibal’s continued presence.
September 28th, 2009 at 7:33 pmBad inning. Thank God for JJ.
September 28th, 2009 at 7:33 pmWell Jair, I guess this is all you get. Be good!
September 28th, 2009 at 7:33 pmah, here we go.
September 28th, 2009 at 7:38 pmHouston up over the Phillies, 3-1.
September 28th, 2009 at 7:38 pmNot how I had pictured this inning in my head.
September 28th, 2009 at 7:39 pmAwesome. Way to recover Jair.
September 28th, 2009 at 7:42 pmJair’s looking less than sharp.
September 28th, 2009 at 7:44 pmGameday shows him getting squeezed – true?
September 28th, 2009 at 7:45 pmWhy is the bullpen getting active? And why, to be more specific, is one of the relievers Acosta?
September 28th, 2009 at 7:45 pmAnd he’s out of it. Nice.
September 28th, 2009 at 7:47 pmMessy inning, but I’ll take it.
September 28th, 2009 at 7:47 pmWell done to get out of that.
September 28th, 2009 at 7:48 pmRough night for Matty D.
September 28th, 2009 at 7:54 pmOk, I’m starting to get nervous.
September 28th, 2009 at 7:59 pmOh boy. Just keep it to one run please, I won’t be greedy.
September 28th, 2009 at 8:00 pmI think Uggla would have scored. May have been a break.
September 28th, 2009 at 8:02 pmyessssss
September 28th, 2009 at 8:06 pmAnd JJ escapes again! JJ, these innings are doing nasty things to our blood pressure.
September 28th, 2009 at 8:07 pmWow – big punchout of Hermidia. Great recovery again.
September 28th, 2009 at 8:07 pmPhillies losing 4-2 in the 7th. Would be quite fun if we can make them sweat a bit.
September 28th, 2009 at 8:08 pm6-2 Astros now.
And here’s our old friend Dan Meyer, reminding us that Schuerholz could hoodwink anyone when he put his mind to it.
September 28th, 2009 at 8:10 pmWeren’t we like 9.5 back of them at one point?
September 28th, 2009 at 8:10 pmNine back as of September 9th (Soriano’s blown save in Houston).
September 28th, 2009 at 8:16 pmMeyer’s been pretty good this year, and he’s only 27. Just sayin’
September 28th, 2009 at 8:16 pmJust got home and turned on the game. Wow, the Braves with 2 hits and 3 runs, What’s going on?!!
September 28th, 2009 at 8:18 pmNow that’s the statistical “quality” start that I go by, way to go JJ!
September 28th, 2009 at 8:19 pmAnibal Sanchez walked 8.
September 28th, 2009 at 8:19 pmImpressive.
As long as he’s healthy, Moylan is back
EDIT: Only a professional can make that hit
September 28th, 2009 at 8:25 pmThings are really going our way lately.
September 28th, 2009 at 8:26 pmSo Jared, are you getting any sleep these days since your little Sofia came along?
September 28th, 2009 at 8:26 pmBy the way, Braves Journal folks, we owe my nephew Jared congrats on the birth of his first child!
September 28th, 2009 at 8:30 pmYeah, Addie lets me sleep at night since I have to go to work. However, she was pretty fussy last night when the Cards blew it… A true Braves fan she is.
September 28th, 2009 at 8:31 pmCongrats, Jared!
Make ‘em pay, Matty.
September 28th, 2009 at 8:32 pmFun Fact – Calero was in the Mulder deal the same year Meyer was in the Hudson deal
September 28th, 2009 at 8:32 pmNo Norton, no Norton, no Norton….
Yes!
September 28th, 2009 at 8:34 pmThank God it’s not Norton!!!
September 28th, 2009 at 8:34 pmInteresting how Dan Meyer and Kiko Calero, both traded for one of Oakland’s big three ending up with the same team…
September 28th, 2009 at 8:34 pmIf Omar Infante doesn’t look like an Egpytian Pharaoh, I don’t know who does.
September 28th, 2009 at 8:37 pmThanks Kiko.
September 28th, 2009 at 8:39 pmThe Marlins, much like the Nats, have no interest in winning. What happens when we face a team that does?
September 28th, 2009 at 8:40 pmIf I had hope, I would say that hopefully we would find out next week, but I don’t.
September 28th, 2009 at 8:40 pmMan, I know there are a lot of reasons as to why, but our attendance is embarrassing.
September 28th, 2009 at 8:46 pm[deleted]
September 28th, 2009 at 8:47 pmBraves win!
September 28th, 2009 at 8:48 pmTwo back of the Rockies, about to be four back of the Phillies.
Are you sure you won’t change your mind about this “hope” stuff?
September 28th, 2009 at 8:48 pm@136, Eddie Murphy? haha
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDxsM5jLNxM
Jair Jurrjens is an Ace.
September 28th, 2009 at 8:48 pmLet’s keep it going!
September 28th, 2009 at 8:48 pmOn to 90!
September 28th, 2009 at 8:49 pmF*CK YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111
September 28th, 2009 at 8:51 pmRecap.
September 28th, 2009 at 8:54 pm