Michael Dunn
Michael Dunn Minor League Statistics & History – Baseball-Reference.com.
Acquired from the Yankees in the Vazquez deal, Michael Dunn was drafted in the 33rd round in 2004 out of a junior college. He was originally used as an outfielder, but after hitting .178 and .086 was moved to the mound. I think that this is fair rare for lefthanders; if they throw hard and there’s any question about their bat, they’re usually going to be pitchers. Anyway, he dominated the rookie league in brief relief work in 2006, then pitched pretty well in the Sally League in 2007 before hitting the wall in 2008 in High-A. The Yankees made him a full-time reliever in 2009, and he pitched well in AA and even better in AAA, earning a promotion to the big leagues, where he got to hang out with multimillionaires for awhile, though he only got into four games and put up a 6.75 ERA.
Dunn throws hard and gets lots of strikeouts, but often doesn’t know where it’s going. He throws a mid-nineties fastball, more than four-fifths of the time, and mixes in a slider — a usual LOOGY assortment. He probably needs to refine the breaking ball to become a top member of that group or move beyond it.
Perhaps Steely Dunn for a nickname?
July 19th, 2010 at 3:03 pmPretty good, but I think we should make him earn it first.
July 19th, 2010 at 3:05 pmThe jackasses at the commissioner’s office have suspended Venters for four games for throwing at Crying Fatboy.
July 19th, 2010 at 3:09 pmJUST saw it as well Mac (posted by Bowman). UNREAL. Bud Selig is a moron and Ken Macha is a ridiculous human being. I never cared about the Brewers before this weekend and I now I think they’re just filled with whiny, jealous, idiots.
July 19th, 2010 at 3:12 pmThat sucks, maybe it can be appealed downward. Anyway, to be fair, he did throw at him.
July 19th, 2010 at 3:14 pmYeah, he threw at him. And good for Venters even if he serves all four games.
July 19th, 2010 at 3:15 pmI saw before the game yesterday Bobby and Macha attempting to make nice. They seemed to be going at it pretty good, even though they ended up shaking hands. Bobby was shaking his head a lot. I don’t think Bobby and Macha are going to be going out to dinner together any time soon.
July 19th, 2010 at 3:15 pmOh, give me a break. There’s no way he was throwing at him at that point in the game.
July 19th, 2010 at 3:16 pmHe wasn’t throwing at Fielder. He missed the first time, and nobody could miss a target that big.
July 19th, 2010 at 3:16 pmSelig doesn’t hand down suspensions on this level. BS anyways.
July 19th, 2010 at 3:17 pmThe plus side: there is no way that Bobby will be able to pitch him four days in a row.
July 19th, 2010 at 3:18 pmGood thing we have his understudy. Among O’Flaherty, Dunn, and Venters, we can retaliate with the best of ‘em. The hidden benefit of our glut of lefty relievers….
July 19th, 2010 at 3:19 pmI think he was, but I admit the 84 mph floater that went over his head was a bit strange – you generally don’t throw off-speed stuff when your trying to hit someone. But the pitch that hit him was 94 or so in back. I think he was trying to hit him, and it made sense in context.
July 19th, 2010 at 3:20 pmNo one out in the top of the 8th down 3? No, it makes no sense at all to throw at him there.
July 19th, 2010 at 3:21 pmYou guys are depriving yourselves the satisfaction of vengeance in favor of the lesser pleasure of highmindedness. Venters nailed him in the back, on purpose, and it was awesome.
July 19th, 2010 at 3:21 pmGood grief. If Bobby had brought in Venters to face the lefty like he should have in the first place, none of this would have happened.
And … we probably win the game.
July 19th, 2010 at 3:22 pmI’m serious. I really want to know.
Is it better to burn out or to rust?
July 19th, 2010 at 3:22 pm#11
Exactly what I was thinking.
Sucks, but he gets a 4-day vacation. Let’s just not whiff on the Padres.
July 19th, 2010 at 3:26 pmI vote that Cox has Chavez throw at someone tonight. Why couldn’t he have done this in the first place!
July 19th, 2010 at 3:27 pm@14 – Not that it really matters, but FC had hit another HR his prior AB and displayed himself at the plate as if saying “See what hitting me last night got you?” So Venters nailed him, period.
July 19th, 2010 at 3:28 pmThe only way that Venters was throwing at him is this: A ball gets away and Big Fat Crybaby whines and the umpire issues a warning. Venters thinks, “I wasn’t trying to hit you. If I was trying to hit you, it would go like this.”
July 19th, 2010 at 3:29 pm@21 – Plausible. I also like to imagine Venters thinking: Show him a lollipop so he thinks he’s off the hook, then plunk him.
July 19th, 2010 at 3:31 pmSeriously, this could be a good thing. Let Mike Dunn prove he’s major league material. Let Venters catch his breath. When Bobby trusts a reliever, he has a tendency to run his arm into the ground. (See Boyer, Blaine and Moylan, Peter.) I’d love to see the kid survive to pitch at a high level for a few more years.
July 19th, 2010 at 3:36 pmYou really want to have a situation where the tying run is on second and the go-ahead run is on first in the eighth inning, Adrian Gonzalez is at the plate, and Bobby turns to… Mike Dunn? If O’Flaherty weren’t diseased, it wouldn’t be so bad.
July 19th, 2010 at 3:37 pmI’d rather we just score 10 runs a game on ‘em.
July 19th, 2010 at 3:41 pm#24 – no Wagner faces Adrian…even Saito should be able to close out the 9th against their offense. Adrian is the only one who scares me
July 19th, 2010 at 3:41 pmProbably better than Venters – the guy would probably just nail Gonzalez to prove his point. Love me some Jonny Venters.
FYI, Cox also suspended one game.
July 19th, 2010 at 3:42 pmjusthank – for what it’s worth, I have never heard of anyone saying that anything is better than burning out.
I will admit though, that for some reason, when the subject does come up, the other choice is usually not too good either.
July 19th, 2010 at 3:46 pmI posted three videos in the last thread and only casually referred to Coldplay, and the only people to comment jumped on the Coldplay thing.
“Warning Sign” is a great song — there, I said it. Suck on that.
July 19th, 2010 at 3:52 pmJohnny Venters would like a word, Stu….
July 19th, 2010 at 3:57 pmAh, but sansho – are you forgetting the last line from Pacino’s “Devil’s Advocate”?
“Vanity! My favorite sin.”
Self-righteous high-mindedness being nothing more than vanity, of course.
July 19th, 2010 at 3:58 pmWho let Derek Lowe out of the house looking like this?
July 19th, 2010 at 3:59 pmFor the ecord, I’d rather lose Cox for 4 games than Venters.
But this suspension is ridiculous. I enver thought it was possible to get “mad” at anything ‘Brewer-related’ – the franchise seemed completely inocuous and hasn’t been a factor in years.
I should have remembered that the Manager and fat a– baby player doing the whining are probably beloved by our spineless, gutless, loser commissioner.
July 19th, 2010 at 4:00 pmI am seriously disgusted right now. I want to personally to drive to Pittsburgh (where the Brewers are tonight), take a baseball, and fling into Fielder’s giant gut. LOSER.
July 19th, 2010 at 4:01 pmjusthank, that IS pretty badass. Hey, instead of music, Venters should enter the game to Pacino saying “It’s my time now!!”
July 19th, 2010 at 4:01 pmOr Coldplay’s “Warning Sign”.
July 19th, 2010 at 4:03 pmStu, the meltdown isn’t happening. Nowhere near critical mass.
July 19th, 2010 at 4:06 pmMaybe Alex R. should replace all the music on Prince Fielder’s iPod with Coldplay.
Also, good news: “Perez to join Mets Monday, assumes bullpen role”
July 19th, 2010 at 4:09 pmReally, the notion of this punishment as cumulative is revolting. Venters only hit him once – give the other guys who have been plunking him all year a piece of that.
July 19th, 2010 at 4:13 pmOkay, Stu, I’ll play. Is it true that listening to Coldplay actually causes a drop in testosterone levels?
July 19th, 2010 at 4:14 pmMac,
Stu will get back to you on that after he finishes watching “You’ve Got Mail” for the 100th time.
July 19th, 2010 at 4:23 pmDon’t look now, but Mark Fox is building a powerhouse.
Just got a commitment from Kentavious Caldwell – top 15 recruit.
July 19th, 2010 at 4:24 pmLook, I fear and loathe Florida football as much as the next guy, but how is it their fault that one of the OL twins took money from an agent?
July 19th, 2010 at 4:26 pmWell, how do they know for sure that it was the one who graduated who took the money?
July 19th, 2010 at 4:27 pmYa know, you’re right.
Shoot both of them and let God sort it out.
July 19th, 2010 at 4:34 pmMac, I wanted to compliment your use of twitter for Bravesjournal. It has been informative and entertaining!
July 19th, 2010 at 4:40 pmThanks, I do my best.
July 19th, 2010 at 4:41 pmI’m calling BS on the Coldplay stuff.
Those first two records are fantastic. The instrument sounds are perfect, the melodies are beautiful, the production is atmospheric. That stuff is fantastic dream pop, it’s Nick Drake meets Jesus And Mary Chain with some U2 thrown in.
Coldplay definitely doesn’t come CLOSE to the Beatles in terms of enduring brilliance. But what they have in common with the Beatles, and with U2, is that they are the rare band that was definitive the most popular band on the planet, and for a damn good reason.
July 19th, 2010 at 4:55 pmMelky Cabrera definitely doesn’t come CLOSE to Hank Aaron in terms of enduring brilliance. But what he has in common with Hank Aaron, and with Nate McLouth, is that they are baseball players that make millions of dollars, and for no damn good reason.
July 19th, 2010 at 5:01 pmGotta say, not a huge Beatles fan.
July 19th, 2010 at 5:02 pmYou make an excellent point, as usual AAR.
Most popular band at any given time compared to Beatles, Melky Cabrera, never popular or good, compared to Hank Aaron. I get it.
I know for a fact that you aren’t a blumbering idiot, you just sometimes play one on this blog, but I’ll point out anyway that a more apt comparison would be, perhaps, Joe Mauer to Johnny Bench. Maybe peak Andruw Jones to Willie Mays… But, you already know that what you said is preposterously stupid.
July 19th, 2010 at 5:03 pmAs I always say, if you don’t like The Beatles, you have a character flaw.
Not irredeemable, but something a weekend with “Revolver” can quickly solve.
July 19th, 2010 at 5:16 pmThis suspension is outrageous.
We plunked no one this series. Hanson leads the league in hit batsmen because he pitches inside. He does so because Roger likes that.Weeks and FCB get HBP more than anyone because they crowd the plate. Utley does too and gets hit quite a lot. You never hear him cry about it. Bobby has never been a big retaliate kind of guy; you think he’d start with the Brewers? We have no history with them; who does? Who cares about the F&!@ing Brewers…..until now. When next we meet, I hope we plunk every man in the line up, Macha, Selig, the ridiculous mustachioed sliding mascot, the sausage quartet, the ball boy and his girlfriend.
The Brewers suck.
July 19th, 2010 at 5:17 pmMy wife is in her early thirties and loves Coldplay. And I make fun of her for it. So I’d say that fits Mac’s stereotype.
July 19th, 2010 at 5:26 pm40—My smokin’-hot wife is very satisfied with my testosterone level, ifyouknowwhatImean.
48—Thank you, jjschiller! (The fourth one is pretty darn good, too, for what it is — mainstream — in my opinion.)
July 19th, 2010 at 5:31 pm#21, to be honest, Venters didn’t exactly look sorry that he hit him.
Can’t we just point to Barry Zito and say we thought it was okay to plunk Fielder?
July 19th, 2010 at 5:38 pmah revolver. one two three four…let me tell you how it will be…great album.
venters should use a revolver on that fat turd next time.
gotta say, Bobby is going out in style. Seems he really wants to win it all this year. Making the Michael Corleone call on Esco, and calling up the bean…he’s a regular Billy Martin!
July 19th, 2010 at 5:57 pmI wonder if the suspension can be appealed then possibly reduced.
July 19th, 2010 at 6:03 pmCount me in on Coldplay… the first two records are full of great melodies.
Of the Top of my head… Top 10 songs 2000′s
Beautiful Day – U2
July 19th, 2010 at 6:03 pmSecret Meeting / Slow Show – The National
All these things i’ve done – The Killers
Hard to explain – The Strokes
Reckoner – Radiohead
Maps – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
There goes the fear – Doves
Seven Nation Army – White Stripes
Boulevard of broken dreams – Green Day
Yellow / Shiver – Coldplay
My favorite Beatles tune is “Come Together.” As performed by Aerosmith. I don’t mind admitting that as a character flaw.
Also, I like Coldplay and Cannibal Corpse. I don’t know what that says.
July 19th, 2010 at 6:04 pm“You know how I know you’re gay? You listen to Coldplay!”
(note: quote meant as humor and not an attack against homosexuals or implying that anyone is one)
July 19th, 2010 at 6:05 pmPeanut headline fail:
“Atlanta’s Cox, Venters levied suspensions:
July 19th, 2010 at 6:09 pmSkipper to miss one game, reliver four for throwing at Fielder”
#61 braves14
shiiiiiiiiiiiiiver!!!! jajajaj
July 19th, 2010 at 6:20 pmIsn’t it possible that the baseball just got caught in Fielder’s gravity?
July 19th, 2010 at 6:28 pmI like the Brewers.
July 19th, 2010 at 6:34 pmI sincerely hope that Venters was throwing at Fielder. If not then he should, as JC said, be demoted to the minors.
July 19th, 2010 at 6:37 pm@57
“venters should use a revolver on that fat turd next time.”
Quote of the day.
Four days is bullcrap. I bet they appeal, and it gets reduced to 2 days.
July 19th, 2010 at 6:39 pm@64 – I’ll buy that!
July 19th, 2010 at 7:12 pmPhil Cuzzi, Coldplay fans and gentlemen.
July 19th, 2010 at 7:15 pmPujols just hit one into orbit. 5-4 STL
July 19th, 2010 at 7:43 pm#69
Oh, Cuzzi also blew the call down the line in Game 1 of the Yanks/Twins ALDS? Crazy.
I was at that game, sitting on the other side of the field, near the RF foul pole. Some in my area thought Melky might’ve touched it in fair territory. Others thought it might’ve landed fair. But we were far away & there was an ump patrolling the LF line, so it probably was a foul ball…
A few seconds later on the TVs above us, we could see from the replays that Melky did touch it—and it landed fair.
In an instant, we were welcomed back to The World of Jeffrey Maier.
July 19th, 2010 at 7:47 pmlol, Phillies.
July 19th, 2010 at 7:48 pmColdplay brings nothing to the table. They’re not even worth hating.
July 19th, 2010 at 7:48 pmtwo more HRs in the inning…. 7-4 STL over PHI. niiice
July 19th, 2010 at 7:50 pmAnd… Yunel. Sigh. Maybe he’s like the Vince Carter of baseball.
July 19th, 2010 at 7:59 pmNo, they like Yunel in Toronto.
July 19th, 2010 at 8:00 pmUntil they don’t.
July 19th, 2010 at 8:01 pmAnother dinger for Yunel. I guess he hated it in that clubhouse as much as they hated him.
July 19th, 2010 at 8:04 pmDude, I think I could homer off of Phillies pitching tonight…8-4 (courtesy of the terrifying Randy Winn)
July 19th, 2010 at 8:09 pmI don’t mind the suspension, even if it was another example of the commissions stupidity. Venters will get some rest, come back pissed.
July 19th, 2010 at 8:13 pmIf there s an appeal O’F should be back, but is the hearing in NY? Don’t want to JV to miss a Met game.
July 19th, 2010 at 8:15 pmFreeman with a homer and a single, 4 RBI so far tonight for Gwinnett. It’s really nice to see him holding his own after the slow start.
July 19th, 2010 at 8:16 pmTough summer in Philly. <3
July 19th, 2010 at 8:18 pmwillie cabrera is making a case for a promotion to AAA. he’s 2 for 2 tonight with a homer and a double and is now batting .330 with an .868 ops.
minor and delgado both with solid starts today…
July 19th, 2010 at 8:45 pmminor: 6Ip 5h 2er 1bb 5k
delgado: 7IP 4h 1er 9k i bb
I’m really excited about Freeman. It’ll be interesting to see how that plays out next spring.
July 19th, 2010 at 8:47 pm@73, Agreed. The only time I could muster any feeling for Coldplay whatsoever was when the band’s popularity so far outstripped the quality of its output.
Some favorites from the aughts:
July 19th, 2010 at 8:50 pmNew Pornographers, “Mystery Hours”
Clinic, “Goodnight Georgie”
Sigur Ros, “Staralfur”
Daft Punk, “Aerodynamic”
Of Montreal, “A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger”
Ryan Adams, “AMY”
Belle & Sebastian, “Another Sunny Day”
Bob Dylan, “Nettie Moore”
Animal Collective, “Bluish”
M.I.A., “Bamboo Banga”
The Strokes, “Someday”
Arcade Fire, “Neighborhood #4″
Radiohead, “Pyramid Song”
Good for Yunel. Keep hitting meaningless homeruns.
I say Venters applies for the appeal for now, wait until O’Flaherty comes back from DL, then withdraw the appeal and serve the suspension immediately.
July 19th, 2010 at 8:54 pmGuess what, Yunel homered off Davies.
July 19th, 2010 at 8:55 pmThat explains a lot. The Royals are one Brian Bannister away from the desired Greinke + Four Failed Braves Prospects rotation, BTW.
July 19th, 2010 at 8:57 pmAnd the Phillies phall six games out after losing 8-4. Thirteen hits for four runs, so they at least lost in a way that’s familiar to us.
July 19th, 2010 at 8:58 pmRandy Winn with the Cards?! I didn’t know that…not that it matters much…
July 19th, 2010 at 9:09 pmSmellfrey is crapping the bed. 3-0 DBacks in the first, and they’re still going.
July 19th, 2010 at 9:11 pmPelfrey has hit a slump.
July 19th, 2010 at 9:16 pmGood start, 4-0 Arizona, Pelfrey at 51 pitches.
July 19th, 2010 at 9:17 pmPelfrey has regressed to his mean.
July 19th, 2010 at 9:18 pmjust a 51 pitch 1st inning for Pelfrey
July 19th, 2010 at 9:18 pmniiiiiice
when was the last time we had a 6 game lead in the NL East? 2002?
July 19th, 2010 at 9:21 pmKimbrel with the standard 2IP, 0H, 3BB, 4K, 2WP outing.
July 19th, 2010 at 9:27 pmToo bad we didn’t trade Reyes to the Royals.
July 19th, 2010 at 9:29 pmMarlins walk-off homerun off Huston Street.
July 19th, 2010 at 9:29 pmBoy, the Dodgers sure picked a bad time to get swept – from 1.5 out and second place to 5.5 out and 4th in one series.
July 19th, 2010 at 9:30 pmWell, let’s do the Dodgers a favor.
Ick.
July 19th, 2010 at 9:30 pmI think the best way of looking at the suspension is the rest for Venters. He’s a rookie who is pitching very well, which terrifies the heck out of me. He could be at 70 appearances by the end of the year, which is the last thing we need. Theoretically, Venters is the last reliever Bobby could run into the ground, and at least he won’t pitch for 4 games.
I don’t know if Baseball Tonight is making a habit out of this and I’m missing it, but they just declared the Braves to be one of the four best teams in baseball. They said with the Braves, Yankees, and Padres off, that means the Rays are probably the best team playing tonight. If they are going by won-loss then duh, but it’s just nice for them to speak well of the Braves, when for so long they have not, deserved or not.
July 19th, 2010 at 9:34 pm@99 That’s exactly what I have been thinking. The Pirates should also think about unloading Morton to the Royals.
July 19th, 2010 at 9:36 pmYunel is just auditioning for the Red Sox and Yankees …wait what is Hanley’s contract status?
July 19th, 2010 at 9:37 pmAs I said, I never take the Mets seriously. Especially not with their current group. As long as Frenchy is with them, I will never take them seriously!!!
July 19th, 2010 at 9:46 pmPelfrey is gone before the end of two. 8ip for the Met bullpen tonight. This road trip could be the end of the line for their playoff hopes.
/edit – a trip that should be even worse but for “lifetime NJ resident” Phil Cuzzi’s gift.
July 19th, 2010 at 9:49 pmThe guys on MLB Tonight, or whatever the MLB Network’s show is called, have been calling the Braves the NL team to beat for months.
July 19th, 2010 at 9:49 pmTony, Ramirez is signed through 2014.
July 19th, 2010 at 9:51 pmCan’t wait to see if McClouth plays decently and if Wren makes a move. If he does make a trade, it’ll probably be out of left field, like every other trade he’s made.
I love seeing the Mets lose.
July 19th, 2010 at 9:52 pmstill shouldve let McLouth get some swings in at Gwinnett tonight. I wouldnt be surprised to see Bobby start Melky in two of the next three vs the LH’rs
July 19th, 2010 at 9:54 pmI hadn’t realized that Andruw had hit his 400th homer.
July 19th, 2010 at 9:55 pm@110, Today’s Peanut Piece sets the stage ever so delicately (for Peanut) for a Diaz/Hinske trade: http://tinyurl.com/25hb9wm
July 19th, 2010 at 9:57 pm@112 And that was off Lerew!!! Would that makes him a HOFer?
July 19th, 2010 at 9:58 pm@113 It’s more about getting a new leftfielder who would take away at-bats from Matty and Hinske. However, I hardly see that being an issue.
July 19th, 2010 at 10:00 pmRe: Beatles
I’d much, much rather sit in a room full of Rolling Stones albums over The Beatles.
July 19th, 2010 at 10:03 pmHear my squeaky voice attempt to talk about the Braves.
July 19th, 2010 at 10:06 pm“Clubhouse chemistry” doesn’t strike me as the proper way to run a team. I hope that is not the actual reason Wren traded Escobar.
July 19th, 2010 at 10:07 pmim sure his .238/.334/.284/attitude was the reason he was traded
July 19th, 2010 at 10:10 pmI’ve been watching Baseball Tonight on ESPN (as mentioned above by a few others), but it’s really difficult for me to take Kruk seriously. He was talking about how to beat Jimenez as a strikeout pitcher and said you basically go up there and swing away (like the Marlins did tonight). His theory was that if you swing away Jimenez will then try to start nibbling and lose his confidence. This makes absolutely no sense to me and is probably the exact opposite of how you should handle a strikeout pitcher in general.
Doesn’t it make sense that if you’re a strikeout pitcher the whole point is if batters swing at everything they’ll miss it and strikeout a lot (see Jeff Francoeur)? IMO the real point is that Jiminez is losing his edge (either hitters have found a weakness or he’s not pitching as well), the Marlins approach did more to hurt them than help them.
July 19th, 2010 at 10:13 pmI’m not sure the Braves should make a trade if they can’t get a real impact bat. Hinske/Diaz should be a fine LF platoon. McLouth could return to being useful, as well. I don’t really want to give up any prospects when we have in-house solutions that might be as good as what we get back in a trade.
July 19th, 2010 at 10:28 pmthis is nice, 6-8 hitters in Gwinnett
Schafer .189
July 19th, 2010 at 10:29 pmHicks .189
Sammons .159
Re: The Rolling Stones
IMO, they have 4 great records (“Let It Bleed,” “Sticky Fingers,” “Exile on Main Street” & “Some Girls”) and a handful of good ones (“Beggar’s Banquet,” “Get Yer Ya-Yas Out,” “Tattoo You”).
Many of the rest have a couple of really good tunes (like the mid-’70s records & the really early ones that are loaded with blues covers) or they’re complete misses (like “Satanic Majesties” or anything after 1981).
Growing up in the ’70s, I’m a big fan of complete artist albums, but to me, most folks can get by with one of 2 double-length Stones comps—”Hot Rocks” or “Forty Licks.” You won’t get the great one-offs like “Salt of the Earth,” “Connection” or “Star Star,” but it’s hard to go wrong with most of their hits, even if you’ve heard them a gazilion times.
Gotta say, that recently rediscovering “Get Yer Ya-Yas Out” was a buncha fun.
Fave Stones Tune: “Street Fighting Man,” “All Down the Line” or “Gimme Shelter” (or “Before They Make Me Run,” actually)
Least Fave Stones Tune: Probably “Angie”
Re: Coldplay
July 19th, 2010 at 10:39 pmAn inoffensive, tuneful diversion. Decent radio songs with minimal emotional heft. More craft than genuine artistry, IMO, but not bad either. Expect to hear “Clocks” on Jack Format radio forever.
I’d probably go with “Paint It, Black”, then “Gimme Shelter” or “Sympathy For The Devil”. I tend to like the Stones best at their most ominous.
July 19th, 2010 at 10:42 pmThe live version of “Midnight Rambler” (from “Ya-Yas”) is pretty awesome, too.
July 19th, 2010 at 10:46 pmLet’s see Price got hit hard ,Ubaldo struggled, Hudson got tired…damn must been a lot All-Star parties. It looks more and more like Ross in Fla will be the Braves new target, I don’t trust McClouth and it seems that the Braves aren’t too sold on Diaz/Hinske.
July 19th, 2010 at 10:58 pmGood interview, Mac. I wish the host hadn’t kept interrupting you. She wouldn’t let you finish a sentence about the Escobar/Gonzalez trade.
July 19th, 2010 at 10:58 pmMark Reynolds just totally crushed one.
11-1 D-Backs.
July 19th, 2010 at 11:02 pmThe Mets suck.
July 19th, 2010 at 11:06 pm122 — It’s not looking good for Schafer at this point.
July 19th, 2010 at 11:10 pmNever would I deign to argue music knowledge with Mac or Ububba, but I am still going to state that unequivocally the greatest Rolling Stones song is “Rocks Off” from Exile on Main St. This is empirical fact.
July 19th, 2010 at 11:16 pmUh, guys – Sticky Fingers?
Don’t believe me? One night when the kids (and wife unless you’re really lucky) are out of the house just turn it up and see if you’re not kickin’ in the stall all night.
July 19th, 2010 at 11:23 pmYunel is the Kim Kardashian of baseball.
Revenge homers? Please.
July 19th, 2010 at 11:25 pmIlya Kovalchuk signs 17-year, $102 million deal to stay with New Jersey Devils
http://www.mercurynews.com/sports/ci_15553478
July 19th, 2010 at 11:36 pmMac, this guy is really hard to listen to.
July 20th, 2010 at 12:08 amAh, bliss.
July 20th, 2010 at 12:25 amMac, I have searched Jonny Venters’ analysis but you didn’t mention about him. Even haven’t found any special thing at the other trusted webs. In fact, in my humble opinion, his stuff was impressive when was on the mound. Have no idea about him. Could I get some information?
July 20th, 2010 at 12:50 amAs a former teacher of mine once wrote for Rolling Stone, “Not liking the Beatles is as perverse as not liking the sun.”
I’d nominate Aftermath as one of the Stones’ truly great records, because I agree with Mac that “Paint it, Black” is their best song ever — and it’d be on a very short list for my favorite songs of the ’60s with “Tomorrow Never Knows,” Hendrix’s “All Along the Watchtower,” “I Can See for Miles,” and so on.
One thing about Satanic Majesties Request: yes, it’s absurd, and kind of terrible. But “She’s a Rainbow” is pretty damn perfect, even if it is kind of inspired by/ripped off from Love’s “She Comes in Colors.” It’d be hard to pick better source material to rip off.
BTW, for people interested in Mac’s podcast, Mac comes in around 38:00.
July 20th, 2010 at 1:08 amMac, I just listened to your interview. I wish the guy hadn’t cut you off so much and had let you speak a little more, but I thought it was really interesting that you felt that Omar Infante was capable of being the starting shortstop on this team. Do you really feel he could hold down the position, despite his defense?
July 20th, 2010 at 1:50 am@139 I thought the conventional wisdom on this site is that Infante isn’t a good enough everyday player, which is something I believe as well.
July 20th, 2010 at 2:47 amIf we are making any trade at all, I am adding Mike Minor onto my no-trade list. He is turning out to be much more than a conservative pick.
July 20th, 2010 at 2:50 amWe should have moved Jordan “Melivn Neivez” Schafer when he had value.
July 20th, 2010 at 7:05 amAlso, we should’ve traded that Andy Marte guy when he had some value, too.
July 20th, 2010 at 7:56 amJeff Francouer is officially now a 4th outfielder as the Mets announced that Pagan will play everyday. The Mets announcers noted that it was unclear whether Jeff could be productive coming off the bench as he had been first string on every baseball and football team he had been on in his life. But then they made the odd statement that Jeff had shown he could be a productive everyday player. If he had shown he could be productive every day, wouldn’t he be playing every day? The whole point is, he sucks playing everyday; playing part-time, he will suck less. Does anyone think Jeffy will begin to get the point that he is not a good baseball player?
July 20th, 2010 at 8:04 amI think Jeff has had that sneaking suspicion in the back of his head for some time now, and that’s the source of a small part of his inanity. I’m sure it’s the worst fear for someone like him to realize he’s not good at his chosen profession.
July 20th, 2010 at 8:10 ameveryday he is one step closer to becoming the Royals RF
even there he should be a 4th OF
July 20th, 2010 at 8:14 am“A lot quieter.”
— Chipper Jones, on what it’s like playing next to AAG compared to Yoko.
July 20th, 2010 at 8:23 amI love reading Mets Blog when the Mets are losing. If you listen to the fans, Jerry Manuel is responsible for everything from bad strategy to Al Quaeda.
July 20th, 2010 at 8:26 amOmar’s not a bad shortstop, he’s just not a good one. He’s better than, say, Braves-era Renteria. He’s not as good as Yunel, or Gonzalez, and I don’t know that the defensive hit (compared with trading for Gonzalez) is enough to offset the advantage you could have gotten by trading Yunel for an outfielder.
July 20th, 2010 at 8:36 am@148 – Kinda like reading many on this blog commenting on Bobby during a Braves loss.
July 20th, 2010 at 8:36 am@120 – That’s about the kind of approach you’d expect from someone who’s philosophy of hitting was, “See the ball, and commence to hacking.”
P.S. Gimme Shelter, Honky Tonk Women, Brown Sugar.
July 20th, 2010 at 8:43 amMan, the ball jumps in Toronto. What’s up with that? It’s like the Jays issue their players corked bats.
July 20th, 2010 at 8:45 am@150,
True. But no one on here calls Bobby the “dumbest man in baseball.” Not to get overly sensitive, but there are some disturbing overtones to the Mets fans’ discussions of Manuel.
July 20th, 2010 at 9:00 amwe’re going to miss Josh Johnson in the FLA series barring a rainout in their COL series. niice. he has been ridiculous his past 10+ starts.
July 20th, 2010 at 9:28 amwhether it be during this year or this offseason, i have the sneaky suspicion that alex gonzalez will be flipped. a 25-30 homerun hitting above average defensive shorstop that only makes 2.5 million could be a huge trading chip. with the best free agent ss on the market in 2011 being derek jeter (who’ll obviously be re-signed by the yankees), the next best ss free agent might be cristian guzman. i could live with infante at short if alex gonzalez and a prospect brings us a stud outfielder.
July 20th, 2010 at 9:36 ampretty sure the Mets get Carpenter, Garcia, and Wainright in the next few days. Check out Wainrights home game splits
Wainright – 10-0 1.31ERA .086WHIP .193BAA
Carpenter – 7-2 3.24ERA 1.15WHIP .234BAA
Garcia – 3-1 1.49ERA 1.18WHIP .229BAA
this could be a brutal trip for them
July 20th, 2010 at 9:40 amsorry meant the Phils
July 20th, 2010 at 9:45 amActual name of an author whose book I just deleted from the catalog: “Hiram M. Rasely”.
July 20th, 2010 at 9:50 amIt all depends on the makeup of your team, of course, but generally speaking, if there’s one position where I could sacrifice some offense for defense, it’s SS.
Not crazy with trotting Infante out there on a regular basis, but it’s nice to have the depth.
#153
July 20th, 2010 at 9:59 amMarc,
Overtones or undertones, there were some similar expressions about Willie Randolph. It didn’t reach an alarming level, but like many other endeavors, it was there.
Another Big Star goes nova.
July 20th, 2010 at 10:07 amAll I have to say about the Beatles is that Elliott Smith’s “Figure 8″ does the Beatles better than they did. All while he was subsisting on a diet of ice cream and hard drugs and a couple years away from stabbing himself to death in the chest.
We don’t drive Model Ts anymore, people.
July 20th, 2010 at 10:08 amI may be the only person who thinks so, but I think that “Figure 8″ by the PM Dawn side project Emosia is a great song.
July 20th, 2010 at 10:15 amIt has been written that the Braves neeed an MLB ready SS for Escobar. Obviously had they thought that Infante was the answer they would have gotten a different position player for Escobar.
I’ll sacrifice offense for defense at SS unless we are getting Hanley Ramirez.
July 20th, 2010 at 10:16 ama 25-30 homerun hitting above average defensive shorstop that only makes 2.5 million could be a huge trading chip.
Too bad that — at least, the homers part — is not what AGony is. He’s not likely to be worth much more than what he’ll be paid, IMO. Also, why would the Braves insist on getting a shortstop in return for the legitimately-valuable trade piece that is Cruel Soybean, and then trade that shortstop for something they could have just gotten for Escobar? I don’t see it.
July 20th, 2010 at 10:23 amSo, I am addicted to YouTube. Here’s a pretty interesting cover of Depeche Mode’s “Enjoy the Silence” by Nada Surf. I like it.
July 20th, 2010 at 10:30 amI’m willing to trade Mike Minor for an outfielder. I love the guy, but other than things like “maturity” and “poise,” I don’t have any reason to believe that he’s much more of a sure thing than guys like Jo-Jo Reyes, Bruce Chen, or Odalis Perez. (Obviously, though, I’d love it if we could just rob some team blind. Remember when all it took to get Josh Willingham was Emilio Bonifacio?)
I was looking at some defensive stats — Plus/Minus, TotalZone, UZR — and I was shocked to discover that they all agree: Infante basically provides league-average defense at shortstop. He’s not a bad defender.
But the sample sizes aren’t big — he really hasn’t ever been a full-time shorstop in his entire career. He held down the job from September 2002 to June 2003, but he was so inept with the stick that he was sent back down to the minors, and basically ever since then he’s been a utility infielder, playing about as much 2B/3B/OF as shortstop.
I don’t know what the scouts say about his defense, but I assume they’re seeing something that’s more worrisome than the surface numbers.
July 20th, 2010 at 10:34 amMike Minor is a lefthanded starter and a strikeout pitcher. Considering that we don’t have any lefty starter in the majors, I would keep him unless he can net us a very good, cost-controlled outfielder. I’d more willingly part with some of our LH relieving surplus, however.
July 20th, 2010 at 10:41 amOne man’s list:
1. Sympathy For The Devil
July 20th, 2010 at 10:45 am2. Ventilator Blues
3. Loving Cup
4. Monkey Man
5. Slave
6. Beast of Burden
7. Can’t You Hear Me Knocking
Bruce Chen and Jo-Jo Reyes were lefthanded starters and strikeout pitchers too.
July 20th, 2010 at 10:45 am113 I read the article to read that we’re looking for someone to play the other half of the Diaz platoon and move Hinkse back to what we signed him for. (Pinch hitter, spell at first, third maybe left.)
My guess there is a guy like Luke Scott. (.862 OPS makes 4 mil)
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/scottlu01.shtml
July 20th, 2010 at 10:52 amso whats the plan with Medlen? just going to skip several of his starts and use him in the pen in between. I saw the Nats were shutting down Strasburg at 140IP or so. Wonder what the max IP that they’ll try to extend Medlen to. I dont think he’s been much higher than about 100 or so.
The Braves could add a starter and move him to the pen to replace Chavez, but its unlikely
July 20th, 2010 at 11:06 ammac at 169,
And Chuck James.
I noticed that he is in AA with the Nationals and had been pretty impressive at that level (with his experience, unless his arm is irrevocably and terribly shot) he should be.
I will keep pulling for Chuck.
July 20th, 2010 at 11:10 amMedlen IP:
2006 — 22
2007 — 47
2008 — 120.1
2009 — 115.1
2010 — 91.1
They probably should spot him here and there, but 160 innings seems reasonable to me. Maybe 10 more starts, with a few relief appearances mixed in?
July 20th, 2010 at 11:16 amknowing tinstaapp, is Minor too much to give up for DeJesus or Ross? I believe so
just saw this at ajc, since May 25th
Hinske 126AB’s .221/.657OPS
Melky 171AB’s .294/.742OPS
July 20th, 2010 at 11:20 amArea of concern?
The training corps / medical corps (better than the Mets, but what is that saying?).
We have had so many players with nagging injuries and problems that weren’t treated and ended up worse (or possibly ended up worse) because of non treatment / non recognition.
Rafael Soriano and his ligament replacemt nobody saw. Same with the “flexor tendon” problems of Hampton and Glavine. Heyward’s thumb? Nobody had a clue that such a polished hitter might have been hurting? Schafer? If he had been diagnosed earlier might he have a chance of making it back? Matt Diaz and the thumb infection. It really had to get bad enough to be operated on? In season (not spring training)? The damn splinter had been in there for 2 or 3 years. McLouth and the concussion. Worst possible thing to do was to fly him to Minnesota from Arizona. That came out in the “Ryan Church” case. They should have hired a car and driven McLouth back to ATL from Arizona. The chance that he could be ready to go in any of those Minnesota games wasn’t that big anyway.
I will propose what I am sure at least some of the “I know baseball” crowd on here will say can’t be done. Have the trainer or assistant trainer interview EVERY player in private before every game. Require the players to fully and truthfully answer about their medical conditions (my shoulder hurts worse than yesterday, my knee feels better than yesterday). They aren’t going to volunteer it (particularly in public) if they are young or second tier and trying to hold on to a roster spot or to playing time. The player will be afraid to be put down as a whiner who can’t play through pain.
Keep a computerized data base of ailments and then the trainer and assistant check with each other every day. Whenever they see “red flags”, they consult team physician.
Maybe something like this will fix some of these things a little.
July 20th, 2010 at 11:20 amI didn’t know that Chuck was with the Nats. I hope to see him soon in DC. I always liked him – seemed down-to-earth and had a good sense of humor. Kind of like Will Ohman, only a SP.
July 20th, 2010 at 11:21 amWhat is up with the outfielder names being thrown around?
Cody Ross is barely better than Melky and not any better than a “mediocre McLouth” / “mediocre Melky” platoon. He is righthanded. He can play center, but not greatly. As to “what is he worth?”, a little more than Melky. He can’t hit as well as Diaz against lefties, so how is he an answer in left?
If O’Flaherty comes back on schedule (and no reason so far to think he will not) we could put Melky and Minor and Dunn in the Dodgers’ face for Kemp. If Kemp’s change of scenery worked for him like Yunel’s did for him, then we would have it rolling.
July 20th, 2010 at 11:31 amYou’re right, Commando Cody is a lot like Melky… except that his career slugging percentage is ninety points higher.
July 20th, 2010 at 11:36 amdid you miss the report than Wren is looking to fix the outfield?
Melky/Minor/Dunn wouldnt come close to Kemp’s asking price, IMO. Pretty sure it would have to start with Jurrjens/Medlen
July 20th, 2010 at 11:37 amWell getting Cody Ross would keep him from beating us by himself…well, maybe.
July 20th, 2010 at 11:50 amI know there’s not much time, but I’d like to see McLouth get at least a week’s worth of starts before we pull the trigger on anything else. CF is a bigger concern than the left-handed half of the LF platoon, but if Nate can be just 90% of the player he was in Pittsburgh, we should stand pat IMO.
July 20th, 2010 at 11:50 amNo way a Minor Melkydunn gets Kemp.
July 20th, 2010 at 11:51 amJJ and KK for Kemp
July 20th, 2010 at 11:51 am#179 – Agreed. Dodgers would be looking for MLB ready pitching. I wouldn’t make the trade.
July 20th, 2010 at 11:52 am@181
I think that the Braves are going to give McClouth a weeks or so and see how things look. If he is sucking, I would bet we make a move and up grade in center. Other wise, I think we might stand where we are.
Not sure if the Phillies are gong to make a “panic move” and you know the Mets will over pay for a bum.
July 20th, 2010 at 11:59 amDo phils or mets have any prospects to trade? They are hurting for pitching.
July 20th, 2010 at 12:07 pm#161
July 20th, 2010 at 12:10 pmLove Elliott Smith—”Either/Or” being the fave—but, c’mon…
I love Elliott Smith, and Figure 8 is my favorite of his records, but even I think 161 is ridiculous.
July 20th, 2010 at 12:13 pmInfante may be needed at 3B, unless Conrad can do job. We would need another infielder from somewhere
July 20th, 2010 at 12:23 pmI’m pretty sure Smitty thinks we should trade for Puljos.
July 20th, 2010 at 12:31 pmFrom BJOL:
The hottest hitters in baseball at this moment are:
Gordon Beckham 104°
Matt Diaz 104°
Yunel Escobar 101°
Ronny Cedeno 99°
Rafael Furcal 98°
What’s Cedeno doing on there?
July 20th, 2010 at 12:31 pm#187, #188:
I am deathly serious. If we’re taking the love-Beatles-or-die logic to extremes, why aren’t we all listening daily to John Cage, his silence being the biggest original musical development since Beethoven? Or, heck, Beethoven?
Because everything grows old for a reason. Nothing the Beatles ever did was as good as Figure 8 or half as good as Deerhoof on their best days. Which is not to say that the music was and is vitally important…just that we’ve managed to do better- a lot better- since.
July 20th, 2010 at 12:32 pm@191 – Make the sample size small enough and I could be one of the hottest hitters in baseball.
July 20th, 2010 at 12:33 pmEverything new is better than everything old. Got it.
July 20th, 2010 at 12:34 pm@Mac-
The strawman version of me said that, but I didn’t.
July 20th, 2010 at 12:38 pmFWIW, I was joking with my character flaw/Beatles comment. It’s a longstanding bar-conversation starter that actually seems to incite people. Looks like it worked again.
July 20th, 2010 at 12:55 pmWait, we’re still in first place? Rad!
July 20th, 2010 at 12:58 pmDammit, I want Matt Kemp.
July 20th, 2010 at 1:15 pmJust my $0.02, but I think that upgrading CF is the no. 1 priority. Unless Nate comes out guns-a-blazin’ (unlikely given the pitching he’s going to see in the next series), I’d take either DeJesus or Ross as long as the asking price is reasonable.
July 20th, 2010 at 1:17 pmOnly if we can get Puljos and not have to give up an A ball pitcher that night be a number 2 starter in six years.
We now have our biggest lead of the season!
July 20th, 2010 at 1:19 pm@196- A bar-conversation starter that incites people? One of many many many.
July 20th, 2010 at 1:24 pmI think Albert is great and all, but he’d be terrible in CF. Bat might make up for that very negative UZR though.
July 20th, 2010 at 1:29 pmMy other bar fave: Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” is the greatest radio hit of all time.
July 20th, 2010 at 1:29 pmThem’s fightin’ words!
July 20th, 2010 at 1:32 pmAnd after 4 pints: If David Bowie got hit by a bus, would people really be upset?
July 20th, 2010 at 1:33 pmDepends on who he was following that day. (zing!)
July 20th, 2010 at 1:34 pmFrank Zappa once said that The Shaggs were better than the Beatles. I assume he was either joking or trying to incite people.
For greatest radio hit of all time, I might go with Stevie Wonder’s Superstition.
I’ve never been a massive Bowie fan. He’s just alright to me. He was into that whole Warhol thing of the image overshadowing the art, and, like Warhol, I tend to like the artists that Bowie liked or produced (Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, etc.) better than Bowie himself.
July 20th, 2010 at 1:37 pmGimme Shelter. I saw the Stones in the Superdome in ’78 just after Some Girls came out. Liked the album, but the show was a huge disappointment. I thought they were burned out even back then, just going through the motions. Doobie Bros. and Van Halen were also on the bill, and I enjoyed their sets much more.
July 20th, 2010 at 1:41 pmSmitty’s barber just called. Wren is about to pull the trigger on a deal for DeJesus in exchange for Minor and an old jock that Jeff Francoeur left behind in his locker.
July 20th, 2010 at 1:43 pmStadium shows usually suck. Even The Beatles.
FWIW, Lou Piniella retiring after the season. Even crazy ol’ Lou couldn’t win a title there.
July 20th, 2010 at 1:47 pmI think Frank pretty much always was joking or trying to incite people.
July 20th, 2010 at 1:49 pmwho would do such a thing?!
July 20th, 2010 at 1:51 pmGame thread.
July 20th, 2010 at 2:02 pm196 – Who says we’re not still listening to Beethoven? Pretty confident more folks buy his records than Deerfoot. And whether or not we’ve managed to do better – you are welcome to your opinion, but stating it as a fact that must be acknowledged by all…well you would have done better and been more suasive had you stuck with that Cage silence thing.
July 20th, 2010 at 3:15 pm