New York Mets vs. Atlanta Braves – Box Score – August 30, 2010 – ESPN.
It would appear that Jason Heyward is fully recovered from his injuries. Beware.
Despite the final score, this one was in doubt most of the way. The Braves took the lead in the first on singles by Infante and Heyward, a groundout by Prado, and a single by Lee. But some poor defense by Gonzalez in the second (opinions differ on whether it was really his fault or just bad hops) helped lead to two Mets runs off of Jair Jurrjens to tie the game.
The Braves got back ahead in the second. After two quick outs, Jurrjes and Infante singled, and Heyward then crushed a pitch for a three-run homer. The Braves blew a good chance to score in the third (a single by Lee and a bunt single by McCann, only for Diaz to hit into a double play). Meanwhile, Jurrjens was struggling with his control, walking six Mets (but striking out eight) in 5 2/3. Because it was the Mets, he got through a lot of danger, but in the fifth they got a run and had the tying runs on base with nobody out. A fielder’s choice got a runner at the plate, and then a strikeout got him almost out of danger, but then he walked Luis Castillo on four pitches and Bobby finally got him. O’Flaherty got a groundout to put out the fire.
Then the Braves put the game away in the bottom of the inning. Manny Acosta was on the mound, predictably. (Actually, Acosta has given the Braves fits this year — but not this time.) After two more quick outs, Ankiel singled and Omar walked. Jason singled again, scoring Ankiel, and then he came around to score from first on a Prado single to make it 8-3. McCann capped the scoring with a solo homer in the seventh.
Heyward wound up 4-5 with four RBI and three runs scored. Pretty solid day. He’s officially on a tear.
The Mets suck.
Twelve days ago:
The point is that, 20 or not, Heyward is a regular on a pennant contending team. He isn’t hitting much and has become a drag on the offense. I’m quite willing to concede he is likely to be a great player, but he isn’t right now. I’m not saying he sucks or let’s get rid of him, but I think people are counting on him to get hot and hit home runs and it just doesn’t look like that’s going to happen.
Love ya, Marc, but I’m not about to mess with a good thing. I’m gonna post this every time he gets 4 hits!
2-0 Dodgers.
who can hit a baseball further? Mark Reynolds or Adam Dunn
This year, Reynolds’s homers are averaging much further, according to hittrackeronline.com.
@2 – Marc posted it but who among us was thinking it? I thought drag on the offense to be too harsh but I wasn’t counting on him doing more than getting on base consistently.
#5 – thanks, figured there was a website for it. Can we trade for Reynolds this offseason?
Wow… Anyone see that Brent Lillibridge go ahead homer for the White sox in the top of the 11th. That’s as improbable as Scott Thorman hitting for the cycle with the Omaha Royals.
Hard to imagine Arizona letting him go, csg.
Brent Lillibridge homered to give the White Sox the lead in the last game of their pre-Manny era.
I thought Heyward would be fine, not great, but fine, if and when he became healthier. With that said, he’s had some great days lately, and when he’s on base, the Braves offense seems more than adequate.
Lorenzo Cain made one hell of a catch for Mil tonight
I know that players watch video to adjust their mechanics. Do you think that broadcasters ever do that? Like, why can’t Chip Caray just spend a week listening to Vin Scully calls and take some notes about how Scully actually educates viewers about the players on the field, and doesn’t waste their time with cutesy sayings?
From the last thread. Yeah, Tony Conigliaro was a helluva ballplayer. He didn’t walk much, but he had great power. He led the league in ’65 with 32 dingers, which doesn’t sound like much, but it was a huge pitching era. His 1970 season where he hit 36 homers and drove in 116 three years after his beaning was really remarkable. Obviously, the Red Sox must have known that he still had sight problems during the season as they let him go to the Angels (as I recall Anaheim was a terrible place to hit back then) and he failed miserably. Could have been a great, great, player.
Keep mowing them down Hiroki, keep mowing them down.
Is Roger Clemens a douche bag? Or am I in the minority here?
5—Wonder how much of that has to do with Arizona’s thin air. Or Colorado’s.
15—Unquestionably, yes. The problem I have is that I really, really like Andy Pettitte…but he really, really likes Clemens. I’ve never been sure how to handle it.
Tiger, Clemens has actually always been a douchebag, but I’d hate to see him go to jail for lying to Congress, since most Congressmen got there lying to the public in the first place.
As we head into the last month of the season, Heyward is 6th among qualifying players in the NL in the most important offensive statistic, OBP, with an impressive .389 clip. (Remember our debate during spring training about whether it was reasonable to expect anything close to a .400 OBP from him?) And he leads the Braves in OPS at .865, good for 16th in the NL – right behind Andre Ethier and right ahead of David Wright, undeniably great players in the peaks of their careers. Even with all of the struggles and injuries he’s endured – I’ll admit I doubted whether he would get it back this season at times – the kid has had nothing short of an epic rookie season. If he keeps this up through September, the Braves will make the playoffs and Heyward will win the rookie of the year in a landslide. And in his 20 year old season and a year with as much competition as any I can remember at that.
Gotta keep the momentum going. I can taste the playoffs at this point. I want us to make it so bad it hurts. LET’S GO BRAVES!!!!
Nice column on Heap from Mark Bradley.
Stu, I wouldn’t worry about it. Pettitte basically grew up idolizing Clemens. When Clemens came to the Yankees, it was basically like hero worship. I don’t think you should regard Pettitte’s admiration of Clemens as being a reflection on Clemens’s character, so much as getting to live the dream of actually hanging out with your childhood hero.
After all, the fact that Pettitte really, really likes Clemens didn’t stop him from testifying against him.
Is “lying to Congress” the secular equivalent of “preaching to the choir”?
I believe it’s the equivalent of “bringing coals to Newcastle”.
Rod Barajas with a solo homer. 3-0 Dodgers.
I’m loving this Phillies/Dodgers game. You’ve got a great pitchers dual narrated by Vin Scully.
What’s the religious equivalent of “lying under oath”?
Denying your Lord thrice before the cock crows?
Along with many, I thought the original hearings were a farce and a waste of time. But once it was done…there have to be consequences for lying to Congress under oath. It matters because it HAS to matter.
That was a nice Bradley article. “Blessed” is definitely his go-to adjective.
@25 Breaking a covenant?
Still 3-0 LA, bottom 6.
And through 6 IP, Kuroda still hasn’t given up a Philly hit. He’s only thrown 76 pitches.
If this was McCann hitting now, would it be wrong of him to bunt for a hit? I’m in the camp that says, “not while the game is in doubt”.
Edit: through 7 😮
Three up, 3 down in the 7th. Kuroda will take the no-no to the 8th.
Koroda has a no-no through 7…
I’m with you, mraver. It’s just a three-run lead, and any kind of rally could turn the game around. That said, I hope Charlie Manuel disagrees.
7 no-hit innings for Kuroda so far. It’s awfully nice of him to pick tonight to pitch the game of his life.
Shoot, I’d settle for just the shutout. 😉
Uh-oh, Kuroda just singled. I hope he doesn’t have to run the bases much.
That’s actually his first hit of the year, he was 0-45 beforehand.
Remember when Kenshin Kawakami threw the game of his life in Toronto against Roy Halladay?
You knew it would be Victorino.
Well, there it goes. Shane Victorino with the first hit off Kuroda, after 7 1/3 innings of no-hit ball.
There is goes…
Bummer.
What if Victorino was a Marlin? Could there be anything more evil in baseball?
Yeah. Francoeur being a Brave.
I said “evil”, not “sad”.
Hun-hao, Kuo.
All that matters is that the Dodgers win. Last time they took a lead over the Phillies to the 9th, all hell broke loose.
What if Victorino was a Marlin? Could there be anything more evil in baseball?
Jim Leyritz doing color commentary for Chip Caray.
@44, cute.
Shyeh-shyeh.
That fastball (Herndon’s) has some nifty motion on it, almost like a screwball.
And THAT is why I’m glad Ryan Howard is back in action.
Infield single my foot.
How can that possibly be 44,000 people?
That’s how many tickets they sold in March when this was billed as a ‘NLCS rematch.’
Right now the Braves have the National League’s best run differential, and are tied with Cincinnati at one half game behind the league best Padres. I think the Braves are better than the Reds and Padres, not to mention that the Padres have 26 of their remaining 33 games against teams over .500.
Dodger Stadium is absurdly large, one of the largest baseball stadia in the country. (It might be the largest?) Full capacity is 56,000. So there’ll be a lot of empty seats even when attendance is in the mid-40s.
Kuo still on in the 9th. One out.
Ballgame. Lead’s back to 3.0.
Good job, Brooklyn.
Gain a game on a day where the Phils started Halladay. Gotta feel good about that.
Ha ha! The Giants just probably cost themselves the game against the Rockies with a truly awful defensive play.
Cody Ross has absolutely no idea what he is doing in right field at AT&T Park
I’d just as soon keep Colorado out of the post-season.
Until and unless they pass the Giants, I’d say the Giants are more of a concern.
Braves as a franchise are now only 8 games under 500. If you had told someone in 1990 that in just two short decades the braves would have an all time 500 record they would crunch the numbers and declare it a statistical near impossibility.
I just don’t wanna go back to that Rocky Mountain House of Horrors. Call me crazy, but I’ll take Lincecum & Cain.
Yeah, I know it sounds crazy, but there’s just something … wrong about the Braves v. Colorado right now.
The only thing we have to fear is a former UT quarterback.
Did someone say that college football starts this week and the Braves have a 3-game lead?
Oh, hellyea!!
I just got back from a trip to California visiting family. I sure will miss having games at 10:00 AM and 4:30 PM.
Im pulling for the Cards to get the wild card. i want the Reds in our house come October.
heyward’s ops now up to .865
@66, if you want us to host the Reds, wouldn’t you want the Phillies winning the Wild Card? I think that doubles our chances of hosting the Reds over the Cardinals winning the WC.
OK, so I guess he’s NOT a drag on the offense and I retract my recommendation that we trade him to get Francouer back. 🙂
AAR, you can post it every day if that’s the case.
That’s the problem with the internet; anything you say stays around forever. I’m sure someone once said there was no future in these horseless carriages.
@13, @67, Heyward’s climbed up to tie Tony C for 13th in the daily Best Age Twenty Season Ever watch (using the simple metric of OPS+). Yesterday’s action boosts his OPS+ four points.
Rk Player OPS+ Year Age
1 Ty Cobb 167 1907 20
2 Mel Ott 165 1929 20
3 Al Kaline 162 1955 20
4 Mickey Mantle 162 1952 20
5 Alex Rodriguez 160 1996 20
6 Ted Williams 160 1939 20
7 Rogers Hornsby 150 1916 20
8 Jimmie Foxx 148 1928 20
9 Dick Hoblitzell 143 1909 20
10 Frank Robinson 142 1956 20
11 Ken Griffey 135 1990 20
12 Sherry Magee 134 1905 20
13 Jason Heyward 133 2010 20
14 Tony Conigliaro 133 1965 20
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool UsedGenerated 8/31/2010.
I’m actually with Ububba: I’d like to keep the Rockies the hell out of the postseason. The Braves have a winning record against most of the playoff bubble teams:
Padres: 4-2
Reds: 3-2
Phillies: 7-5
Giants: 4-3
But their worst records come from the teams furthest from October:
Rockies: 2-4
Cardinals: 0-4
I think Tony C. also died in his forties IIRC. Tough, unfortunate life.
I do not want Colorado in the playoffs under any circumstances. As for the Giants, Lincecum is struggling, Zito sucks; they aren’t that formidable at this point.
As for Scully, one of the things that’s nice about his broadcasts is that he does it himself without a color analyst. Most of these guys don’t add much except additional noise. Anyone that watched the replay of Larsen’s perfect game in the World Series will remember that it was Mel Allen and Scully and neither one interrupted the other. Of course, today, that’s impossible because guys like McCarver apparently get paid by the word. And mentioning Vin Scully and Chip Carey in the same sentence is the same as mentioning Hank Aaron and Jeff Francouer.
Question: Hypothetically, in the last three games of the season with the Phillies, assuming both teams are in and the only issue is the division, how hard do the Braves go for it considering their home/road differential?
Zito won’t suck against us.
Anybody else read DOB’s Freddie Primer and cringe when he talked about Freddie rooming with Jason? I just had visions of all those “McCann & Frenchy BFFs & Superstars in the making” articles and how that turned out.
I’m surprised more wasn’t made of J-Hey scoring from first on a single. I know the game seemed in hand at the time, but that was one of the more exciting plays of the year for me. It’s great to have a guy that can make a difference on the basepaths.
@74
no, the last thing on my mind when thinking about freddie freeman is francoeur.
does freddie freeman break the top 10 in prospects this upcoming season?
I got some dumb questions.
If the braves call up Freeman Sept. 1, he is not eligible for the postseason, correct?
Also, if the braves were to call up Freeman today, he would be eligible for the postseason, correct?
Does a callup in Sept. start the service clock?
If the Braves called him up today, would that start his service clock?
I have a point to these, I swear. Would it make sense to bring up Freeman today considering Lee and Glaus have injury issues, unless it really screws with his service time stuff? It would give Cox more options for the postseason roster.
I’m not positive but I think you can replace an injured player with anyone off the 40 man roster for post-season purposes. Perhaps with the proviso that they play the same position?
I think Chipper’s injury allows Freeman to be put on the playoff roster.
#78 – Freeman isnt on the 40 man, is he?
80—No, but he’ll have to be added to be called up in September.
@78, That wasn’t true in 2002. Francisco Rodriguez wasn’t on the 40 until he was called up on September 15, and he was in the playoffs.
I think you just have to be somewhere in the organization.
What I’m not sure about is the meaning of “position.” If it’s just an infielder/outfielder/catcher thing, then they can move Chipper to the 60-day DL before the lineup submission for the first game of the series, and Freeman should be able to play.
My guess (and this is just a guess) is that Chipper and Medlen are on the 15-day DL right now so they can be moved to the 60 next month to make Kawakami and Freeman eligible. They’ll probably move one of them to the 60 pretty soon after the end of the day today to make room for Freeman on the 40.
That’s just a guess, though.
This team isn’t the Mets. They know what they’re doing with roster management.
Sunday, another big comeback after Cox ejection, FWIW
cant Chipper, Medlen, and Schafer all be moved to the 60 day DL?
what time is Lowe testing his arm today? Im expecting good news
Oh, they already swapped Kawakami for Cristhian Martinez. I had missed that.
so, will we tender saito a contract in 2011?
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/saito-producing-at-40/
@87
that could be interpreted many different ways. are you expecting tommy john surgery so we can collect tons on $ in insurance in 2011, or a season ending injury so we see another pitcher for the rest of the year in the rotation, or are you actually wanting to hear that derek’s ok?
So basically Freeman would be eligible for the playoffs from what I read on here. That is a good thing.
Kimbrel and Minor are eligible I assume. (?????)
I think Kimbrel could be our version of K-Rod circa 2002.
I wish KK was taking Lowe’s spot on the roster, I kind of like Martinez. He doesn’t walk people.
I could be wrong, but I don’t think Chipper’s injury would allow Freeman to be added. I thought it had to be an injury to someone healthy at the start of September, but injured and unable to participate in the post-season.
@91, again, going back to the Angels’ 2002 gold standard of roster hacking, no one was put on the DL after August 31st by the Angels that year.
Right, but Chipper’s been on the DL for quite a while, now. I don’t think a move from the 15-day to the 60-day counts.
EDIT: Wait, I’m misreading you. Really? Well, then.
Here is an article explaining the “k-rod loophole”
http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2010/08/30/aroldis-chapman-and-the-k-rod-loophole/?synd=1
I think Freeman and Kimbrel fit into the loophole, at least by my Auburn education understanding.
The Angels’ case is great because it displays nearly the maximum rule bending allowed. The guy he replaced had been on the DL since March. He wasn’t on the 40 at the Aug 31st cutoff. The guy he replaced was a starter in his only MLB appearance.
Really, the only thing it doesn’t answer is that “position” definition as it pertains to non-pitchers. We’d have to look to other examples to get a sense of that.
94—Thanks! Yes, unsurprisingly, I was totally wrong. Wonder what happens if Freeman tears it up in September. (I think that’s unlikely, because (a) he’s so young, and (b) I don’t expect him to get a lot of playing time. But still…)
I hate the Rockies. Keep them away please.
I have never like the nick name of J-Hey. Joe Simpson came up with a good one last night: Hey-train. Simpson used that when he was talking about Jason’s scoring from first on a single.
To make things even better, the slot on the 40 for Francisco Rodriguez wasn’t even due to an injury. They outrighted a player. The whole thing is kind of brilliant. There was no injury anywhere near this guy, but they used an injury exception to get him in the playoffs.
So, I guess they brought KK up for Martinez because they only have one pitcher, Medlen, out for the season. They wanted to have the opportunity to use either KK or Kimbrel, though. One of them had to come up prior to September.
And either Freeman or Glaus (because he, himself, is injured) could be made post-season eligible, too.
Cool.
There’s room on the 40-man roster, and Chipper can always be put on the 60-day DL to open up more space.
And no, they don’t have to be “up” by September. I’m pretty sure they just have to be on the 40-man roster (or at least in the organization?) before September 1.
ryan, the good news would be for us to uncover some sort of injury to explain why he’s pitching so poorly. If TJ is needed and we get the insurance $$ then lets allocate those funds to something useful. However, Im fully expecting to hear that nothing is wrong and we continue on the same path we’ve been on for two more years
To be postseason eligible you have to be on the team’s roster (not sure if it’s the active or 40-man) before September 1st or be in the organization before September 1st and replace an injured player. I assume they’ll call up Brandon Hicks at 11:59 PM today then place him on the DL at 12:01 AM on September 1st so they can use any infielder on their postseason roster. They’d be wise to do the same w/ a pitcher and OF’er.
103—See the article @94. Doesn’t look to me like they have to do much of anything, considering Chipper’s and Medlen’s injuries.
@94
i think freeman will be given a decent chance to show he has some pop against rhp.
89,
I’m not certain the Braves automatically control him if they want to in 2011. By the standard CBA rules they can, but NPB FA’s sometimes negotiate clauses in their contract that allow them to circumvent the arb process and automatically become FA’s at the end of their contracts. Kawakami did it, for example.
I emailed Jeff Euston of Cot’s and Tim Dierkes of MLBTR about this a few months ago but never got a response from either of them.
105—Depends on what you mean by “decent”. I really don’t think he’ll play more than once a week, unless we somehow clinch early.
Ah, beautiful. I always assumed the player had to be DL’d between September 1 and playoffs to be replaced by anyone. Guess they have no procedural moves to make, then.
I always assumed the same thing. Honestly, the rule makes no sense to me, as it is — but I’ll take it!
@109 My impression is that the Braves can do whatever they want as long as the guy is within the organization on August 31.
@108, I think that’s where the position restriction and 40-man restriction comes into play.
From what I gather, there are two ways a player can be put on the postseason roster who is not on the 25-man (meaning active roster, disabled list, etc.) at the end of August.
The K-Rod way is to replace any player who was on the DL at the end of August (either 15 or 60) and is still on the DL at the end of the season. There is no position constraint, and there is no 40-man constraint. (I say there is no position constraint because of Ellsbury in 2007. He had to be subbing for either Donnelly or Clement, both pitchers. I say there is no 40-man constraint because of K-Rod.)
The other way is if a player is injured during the playoffs, even in the middle of a series. Then the sub has to come from the 40-man, and there’s a position constraint I have a hard time nailing down.
I’m pretty sure the above is accurate. It’s not primary sourced, though.
I can add a guess that the second way also applies for September injuries, but I haven’t found an example.
Wow, Huddy is leading the league in ERA….
stu, i should rephrase myself:
in his first full game, if freeman goes 2-4 with a double, a single, a walk, a run scored, and an rbi, then bobby will have a hard time pulling him out. if he goes 0-4, he might not see any real action the rest of the year. i cant wait to see what the kid can do.
anyone else notice how chief hasnt been around in a while? i guess the success is running too late into the season for him to be reactionary to bad losses. it really is amazing how many people disappear when there’s nothing to complain about.
113—Well, maybe. I think Bobby will have a harder time pulling the Proven Veteran out, pretty much regardless of performance.
114—Yeah, I noticed. The weird thing is that everyone calls him out on only showing up when things aren’t going well, but I’ve never seen him acknowledge that or explain himself.
Plus you know how devoted Bobby can be to certain players. If he “likes” Lee, is he really going to sit him for a rookie?
I dont see Freeman starting at all unless Lee and Glaus are both injured.
I can see Freeman starting a game early. Bobby loves to call guys up and give them a start.
He’ll do at least one Sunday lineup with Glaus at third and Freeman at first.
Two guys with recent injuries. Freeman starts a handful of games unless we fall behind in the standings.
It’s highly unlikely Freeman will be on the postseason roster, barring an injury. The Braves seem to think–perhaps rightly–that his approach needs work, and they seem to have committed, for better or worse, to Lee. I imagine that Glaus will get another crack at the starting job long before Freeman does.
Between series can’t you change the 25 rosters with anyone on 40 man? Add position player for pitcher.
Prediction for Freddie Freeman in September:
.260/.340/.430
123—He doesn’t walk enough for that line.
Also, I so want to face the Reds in the playoffs.
AAR,
.280/.345/.450
Higher average, more power, but less plate discipline.
Is a Jim Bowden tweet more reliable than a Ken Rosenthal tweet?
It’s a radio show. The Reds’ pitching coach said that on the air.
Are we sure Freeman even gets a call up? There are three guys ahead of him on the depth chart. Four if you count Prado. Bobby isn’t going to give him a lot of playing time, not with the Phillies with in three.
#128 – DOB said he’d get called up
128—Once the AAA season is over — Gwinnett’s last game is September 6th — there’s no reason not to. He either plays a little or not at all.
Freddy’s getting called up the day before I get to see the G. Braves play in Durham on Thursday. Kinda disappointing. :-/
@131, They’ll probably wait until the AAA season’s over. I imagine you’ll get to see him.
Total Guess: I say FF gets 45 PA, with 11 hits, 3 walks and 2 doubles (no HR/3B).
That gives us a line of:
262/311/357
So you guys think Bobby is gonna start Infante every day to get him enough PAs?
Also, perhaps its time for a preferred #5 starter poll (Lowe/KK/Lisp). . .
I think Freeman may get more PT than we think if he is up, simply due to D. Lee’s back and side issues.
The only reason I ask about Freeman being eligible is the ‘what if’ factor. What if he tears the cover off the ball? (I mean Buster Posey in July type stuff.) Don’t you have to go with your best weapons in the postseason?
BTW, when are the Jason Heyward F*ck the World 2010 demolition tour T-shirts being printed? I just have a gut feeling he is about to go off.
About to?
I mean like we have not seen yet. I think he smells it and is going to carry this team down the stretch.
So, KK was sent to Danville…
DOB says that Freeman, Dunn, Boscan, and Proctor are coming up tomorrow.
134 — I would think that he would play everyday somewhere and bat leadoff, barring injury. If Glaus is able to come back and play 3B, they could move Prado back to 2nd and Infante to LF.
1999 Chipper:Mets::2010 Heyward:Phillies?
Yeah, don’t understand KK but glad to get confirmation on Freeman. Boscan frees up Bobby to use Ross as a PH. Dunn deserves to be here and I imagine the Lisp will come back when there season ends.
Could the KK thing be just procedural since Danville’s season ends tonight he can be brought right back?
138 — Pretty cool that Boscan is getting a shot in the major leagues as the 3rd catcher after being nothing but organizational fodder all of his career.
141 — KK is being sent down to set the playoff roster at 11 pitchers and 14 position players.
Oh and McLouth active tonight, Glaus on Thursday.
Boscan was really recalled to get a little more Venezuela on the roster.
143—Nice. That makes sense.
EDIT: Of course, 10 and 15 would be even better.
Glaus has looked decent enough at the plate in Gwinnett. If Lee has injury problems, I have to think that Glaus would be the replacement, not Freeman. I’m sure Freeman will get some at-bats and whatnot, perhaps even a start or two, but barring injuries to both Glaus and Lee, he’s not gonna become the starting 1B, and barring that or him absolutely tearing the cover off the ball (which we should not expect), he’s not gonna make the playoff roster. There’s no reason to carry three 1Bs, and Lee and Glaus will be ahead of him.
Heyward certainly seems to be killing the ball. Even his out last night was hit about as hard as I’ve seen anyone hit the ball, a screaming line drive that keep rising long enough for Pagan to catch it.
Dunn + Venters + B-Wags + O’Flaherty = Lots of sharp lefty relievers for those six games against Philly.
im getting all confused….screw it, Ill just see which 25 are on the post season roster once it happens
Can you just imagine the gnashing of teeth in Philly in the 6th when Utley strides to the plate and Howard in the on-deck circle only to see Venters or O’Flaherty come in?
Then to see Utley andHoward stride up in the 9th only to be facing Wagner? It makes me giddy just thinking about it.
The return of McOut–yeah. I’d rather give Canizares a chance as a sort of designated pinch hitter. The way he’s been hitting, he sure seems to have earned a shot.
Happy for Proctor–who’s been decent over the past month–b/c he signed a ball for my kid at a ST game.
I’m not sure it would be wise to leave Freeman off the playoff roster. Yeah he’s blocked by two guys and you can’t expect much from a rookie, but those two guys blocking him have been less then impressive lately and for the majority of the season, and baseball is littered this year alone with rookies who have made an immediate impact on their teams.
Ike Davis started off hot for the Mets, Posey has already been talked about as the new best catcher in the NL (behind Yadier, ofc), Stanton was good for the Marlins, Garcia has been the most impressive pitcher in an already impressive Cardinals rotation, and of course there’s Heyward who everyone thought might just have the most impressive rookie year since A-Rod or even Ty Cobb.
Now I’m not saying that that’s something you can or should expect from Freeman and there’s certainly no guarantee that he will be good enough soon enough to make a difference.. but why would you shoot yourself in the foot when you’re this close to winning it all? Freeman has an impressive line for the entire AAA season, and that’s after having an awful first month.
Gaby Sanchez has had a pretty impressive year also
Yeah but Gaby Sanchez is ugly.
I propose that Freeman’s first name be pronounced “Froderick.”
Brandon Webb hasn’t pitched more than four innings since 2008 (with a 13.50 ERA in those 4 innings), and his agent says $7.5mil is a “conversation starter.”
He should go to the Yankees. His sense of entitlement will fit right in there.
Also worth nothing: The year Webb won the Cy Young, both Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito received votes. Best bullpen of all time.
It seems that Cox’s post-season MO has been to be loyal to the guys who brought him there. That being said, I don’t expect to see Canizares or Freeman in the playoffs – although Freeman is a possibility since we’ll probably carry one less pitcher. It’s a shame since I could see Canizares filling the Francisco Cabrera role quite nicely. Of course all this is moot unless we take care of business this month.
Canizares will never, EVER be more than an emergency call-up. This has been demonstrated repeatedly over the past few years. For whatever reason, the Braves just don’t think Canizares can play at the highest level.
Freeman likely won’t make the team unless he goes all Francoeur in September.
I’d probably rather have Freeman on the post season roster than Hinske.
I would rather have Hinske. I don’t think it’s that close.
I just think everybody’s assuming too much with Freeman. If he pulls a Jason Heyward April in September, he’ll be on the roster…I don’t think there’s any need to worry about that. In the very likely event that he does not, I don’t know why everyone’s rushing to put him on the postseason roster a month before it’s even finalized. There are a variety of reasons I would rather have Glaus and Lee in a postseason environment. I’m not saying I absolutely would not want Freeman, but if you’re asking me to make that decision before I ever see him play in the Major Leagues, then my answer is no…I don’t want him on the postseason roster as of right now.
@126, 127, the tweet is gone. What did it say?
It said that, according to the Reds’ pitching coach, Brandon Arroyo, Johnny Cueto, and Travis Wood would or should be the Reds’ playoff starting three.