AJC > Sports > Braves > Blog > Archives > 2006 > April > 06 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USWell, there’s Reitsma…
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Braves thought Blaine Boyer was ready, but he wasn’t. At least not ready for this. The Braves need relievers who can pitch back-to-back days, and they don’t want Boyer doing that yet after missing most of the spring with a sore shoulder.
Boyer was optioned to Triple-A Richmond on Thursday, after making two relief appearances in the three-game Dodgers Series, neither of them impressive.
Also, Horacio Ramirez, as expected, was placed on the 15-day DL with a pulled hamstring after he was hurt in Wednesday’s win.
To fill their spots, the Braves recalled Joey Devine from Richmond and purchased the contract of 31-year-old Ken Ray from Richmond. Ray is the journeyman from Atlanta and Roswell High who hasn’t pitched in the majors since 1999 when he had a cup of joe with the Royals. The Braves will be the 16th team he’s pitched for during a well-traveled career through minor leagues and independent leagues.
The Braves used 13 relievers in three games at L.A., and closer Chris Reitsma was the only one who was exceptional. Oscar Villarreal also did some quality work, but for the most part, the rest of the bullpen struggled just like starters Tim Hudson, John Smoltz and Ramirez (the starters had a National League-worst 11.25 ERA after allowing 23 hits and 15 earned runs in 12 innings at Dodger Stadium).
Some were surprised when Devine was left off the opening day roster, but the Braves thought Boyer was ready and liked what he could do in a setup role. Remember, while Devine had 20 strikeouts and a 2.25 ERA in 12 innings this spring, he also allowed 13 hits and four walks, and not against the greatest hitters most of the time when he was in games.
As for Boyer, the Braves obviously thought he’d do better than this: He was charged with three runs and four hits while recording just one out in Monday’s opener, and faced two batters with one walk Wednesday.
The bullpen is worn thin already, and manager Bobby Cox said the Braves needed to get some arms here that could be used in consecutive games without fear of injury.
Meanwhile, John Thomson moves into the rotation spot vacated by Horacio, who pulled his left hamstring pretty badly running out a bunt in the fourth inning Wednesday. He’s going to be out longer than 15 days, most who saw him this morning believe. He heard the muscle pop, never a good thing. That means it’s more than just a mere strain.
Thomson didn’t sound at all confident about his ability to crank out innings, which I was kind of surprised by. Asked this morning if he’d be ready to go 5 innings Monday in the home opener, he hemmed and hawed and said after two weeks out of the rotation he’s out of sorts, etc. Not what you expect to hear from a pitcher, most of whom will always put up a positive front even if they have doubts.
Oh well, and so it goes. Braves won two of three at L.A., and the lineup looks potentially better than last year. If they get Chipper and Francoeur going, it could be formidable top to bottom, especially with Renteria, McCann, Andruw and Langerhans looking as good as they have.
But that pitching staff … well, it must get better, let’s put it that way. The bullpen has a lot of holes, hence the decision to turn to a 31-year-old like “Sting” Ray, who looked good enough this spring in his five appearances with the Braves (one earned run in six innings) to open their eyes. They don’t have many other options, frankly, and they want to keep Lerew starting instead of relieving in the minors, at least for now.
So here’s to the Death Ray, No. 38 on your program. May he provide some needed relief, so the Braves don’t have to turn to Reitsma every time they run into trouble in the eighth inning.
Seriously, Reitsma looks so good right now, and you just hope Bobby doesn’t feel like he can’t turn to anyone else and ends up overusing Reitsma before the All-Star break. They can’t afford another second-half fade, not unless they go out and get another horse between now and then.
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By Carroll
April 6, 2006 04:56 PM | Link to this
Hopefully he will provide a much needed “Ray” of sunshine in an otherwise mostly cloudy bullpen.
By TennesseePaul
April 6, 2006 05:04 PM | Link to this
I’m interested to see what Ray can do. Hope he handles it well and fills in nicely. If Devine could be anything like spring it might be a good thing. All those K’s! Hopefully no Slams the next time he goes out.
By TennesseePaul
April 6, 2006 05:06 PM | Link to this
Pitching change in the 2nd! This is good news. I’m glad to see the Giants pen. Lowry was actually looking good before this. What happened DOB? Is he hurt? Or was it just too much for him to face Brian Jordan?
By Nicholas Irwin
April 6, 2006 05:07 PM | Link to this
My goodness…did anyone actually work out during spring training? I’m not sure I’ve ever seen such a large amount of pulled muscles in such a short period of time.
By Aaron
April 6, 2006 05:15 PM | Link to this
Five words you’re going to hear a lot of this year, especially in clutch situations -
“Brian Jordan, down on strikes.”
By Jman
April 6, 2006 05:18 PM | Link to this
What happened to Lowery? My Braves affiliate here in Chattanooga is prone to momentary blackouts which happened in the top of the second.
By Aaron
April 6, 2006 05:19 PM | Link to this
It’s not a matter of working out in spring training, it’s a matter of pre-game stretching and conditioning. The next time you attend a game, get there early enough to watch players warming up. There’s little to no serious stretching.
I saw a Mariners-Red Sox game last year and was amazed - rather than stretching, these guys were signing autographs and mugging for photos. Six innings in, three guys were gimped, all “muscle strains”.
Whoever is in charge of pre-game conditioning needs to get these guys under control.
By Aaron
April 6, 2006 05:20 PM | Link to this
No idea what happened to Lowery but McCann just went deep!
By Aaron
April 6, 2006 05:22 PM | Link to this
And now Sosa just went deep! Whatever happened to Lowery, I hope it happens to every Giants starter this weekend….
By BirdDawg
April 6, 2006 05:23 PM | Link to this
The bullpen is worse than advertised. Schuerholtz is smoking some major stuff if he thinks this team as put together is going to win the division. You cannot win divisions in playing 11-10 games.
Edgar looks like the best acquisition of the winter so far, and I’m talking all of the MLB. Giles is a better leadoff hitter than Furcal because he won’t be swinging for the fences every time out. Giles loves doubles, and I love him in the leadoff spot.
Chipper, Chipper, Chipper. Me thinks thou is starting to show thou’s age. Bat looks slow. Francoeur, well, I predicted this will happen. He’s just way too undisciplined, and unless Terry pulls him aside, or Bobby sets him in favor of Johnson as punishment for a week or two, I don’t think he’ll ever change. He’s going to be more frustrating than Andruw ever was if they don’t fix him. That was the problem with Andruw, they didn’t force him to change when they should have. They let him keep on with his bad habits, and I see the same thing happening with Jeff. In this, Cox is the wrong manager for Francoeur. He nor his coaches are going to force him to better himself, to get any discipline. He’s going to have to make this decision himself.
My biggest surprise has been Roachy. I still hate that swing, and he’s made to look foolish a lot of times, but man, when he makes contact, he looks great. His glove is a smooth as Bream’s ever was. He was made to play first. And this year is his shot. It looks like Salty may be getting some time at first in the minors, and if he can make the transfer, I don’t know what Schuerholtz will do.
This team though, needs to fix the pitching. It is terrible right now, and the only guy who looks good is the one guy who played in the WBC; Reitsma. Why does Schuerholtz believe this team can go anywhere (the World Series) with a rent-a-bullpen? He’s supposed to be a smart man. Smart men learn from their mistakes. It’s been 14 years, and Schuerholtz still hasn’t learning his lesson.
By Jman
April 6, 2006 05:34 PM | Link to this
………..And how did he (Jordan) make the team?
By eric the elder
April 6, 2006 05:48 PM | Link to this
The concerns about the pen are understandable, but it’s not the pen right now - - it’s the starters. They can’t keep pitching 3-5 innings and expect the pen to bail them out. Right now Sosa has 70 pitches in the 3rd inning, so we know what’s coming. I worry about the pen, but I also feel sorry for them.
By TennesseePaul
April 6, 2006 05:52 PM | Link to this
Sosa, I guess, was feeling left out. He made it through 2 innings fine, but then figured he needed to give up his share of runs. This is the beginning of the year, I know, but this is no way to start a season. So far not a single starter has lasted worth a d@mn and we are giving out runs like candy. But I tell you, I’m shocked — Shocked — to see that Sosa let too many people on base and it didn’t work out. Didn’t see that coming.
By SR
April 6, 2006 05:57 PM | Link to this
Well as a lot of us have been saying, the bullpen stinks. Is bad, has been bad and will be bad with this crew.
As for the starters, I agree with the poster who did not have much faith in Hudson, neither do I. Never have had much faith in Ramirez and frankly, Sosa had one good year so how much faith can you really place in him? Yeah its early but still, not real encouraging so far.
Lastly, how many more game do ya think it will take till some scribe says to one of the pitchers, “Say, do you guys miss Leo Mazzone”??
By Marc
April 6, 2006 06:00 PM | Link to this
This is the worst pitching display I have ever seen. We faced Dodger lineup missing Garciaparra and Lofton. The Giants besided Bonds and Alou are weak, and the Braves starters have given up 21 runs in 14 2/3 innings, you have got to be kidding me. When is JS going to realize that Laroach can’t hit, 7 strikeouts in three games. Who cares about homeruns, this guy is like Rob Deer. Brian Jordan can’t field his position or hit. I hate for anyone to get hurt, but Ramirez hurting himself helped the Braves, he is awful. I know it is early but JS better figure soem way to shore up the pitching and first base or we are in for a long season. By the way, I don;t want to hear how it is to early in the season to complain. It’s not about what point in the season you are in, these are problems everyone identified early. Laroach can’t hit consistently, Jordan is over the hill, the bullpen lacks depth, and beyond Smoltz and Hudson the rotation is shaky. It is time to address these problems and stop making excuses, and waiting.
By Chief
April 6, 2006 06:02 PM | Link to this
Well, here we go — another 6 innings for our bullpen, which just lost its long-man (Thomson). I think our starters will come around (at least three of them), but it’s time to stop saying that we have the best rotation in the NL East. It’s a push with the Mets, at best — and on certain weeks, even the Nats don’t look so bad.
My main concern is that we have yesterday’s bullpen with today’s starters. We used to be able to muddle through with a middling bullpen when we knew our starters would go 7+ every game. We could afford to burn relievers on 1 or 2 batters a piece, because we had confidence that they wouldn’t be pitching again the next day. Now, even on our good days, we have to expect that a short outing isn’t too far off. For that, you need to know that when you throw a reliever out there, you’re likely to get 1-2 quality innings. Good bullpens — CHW, MIN, STL, NYY, LAA, SD — can do that. We can’t.
Unless we get another reliable starter, or several more reliable relievers, we’re never going to be able to catch up with ourselves from a rest perspective, and we’ll be facing tired, overworked, mediocre relievers for far too much of the season. Forget the playoffs, in that scenario.
By Chop Chop
April 6, 2006 06:02 PM | Link to this
Jorge Sosa is God.
Despite the wins against the Dodgers, this is the worst possible start to the season for the Braves’ pitching staff. If the starters’ woes continue, guys in the pen are going to start showing wear earlier in the season. That doesn’t bode well for a 162-game regular season, let alone the postseason. In other words, the Braves need to string together three or four good starts (beginning tomorrow, obviously) in a row to help minimize the damage.
By jimmy smith, journalist without a country
April 6, 2006 06:10 PM | Link to this
commentaryjournalist jimmy smith stresses the need for patience. bobby cox has some players seasoning and getting ready for the major league team. first baseman james jurries is marinating in richmond and should be ready in a week or so when brian jordan hurts himself trying to play first base. roy rogers had trigger stuffed. a stuffed trigger created a presence in the cowboy museum. a younger stronger horse carried roy around the ranch. take that idea and go with it.
By gregos
April 6, 2006 06:12 PM | Link to this
We have some really bad pitchers.
By LeTwan Anthony
April 6, 2006 06:21 PM | Link to this
Help on the farm?
Bill McCarthy’s two-run single in the eighth inning Thursday lifted Richmond over Buffalo 5-4 in International League baseball.
Tony Pena reached on an error by third baseman Andy Marte to lead the eighth. Cesar Cresto’s sacrifice bunt was thrown into right field by pitcher Jake Dittler. One out later, James Jurries was intentionally walked. Andrew Brown came into pitch and McCarthy knocked in the tying and winning runs.
Kevin Barry (1-0) pitched the final three innings. After facing the minimum eight batters over two and two thirds innings, Barry allowed a single to Ryan Garko. Marte walked, then Jason Cooper reached first on an error by first baseman Jurries. Marte rounded second and was caught in a rundown. When pinch runner Jose Flores, who ran for Garko, tried to score from third, the Braves threw him out at the plate to win the game.
The Braves picked up an unearned run in the second on a sacrifice fly by Wes Timmons. Jurries led off the fourth with a solo homer and Timmons had a solo homer in the seventh.
By Carroll
April 6, 2006 06:24 PM | Link to this
And now we can’t do anything against freaking jeff fassero offensively??!! WTF???!!!
By BirdDawg
April 6, 2006 06:30 PM | Link to this
This is why I loathe Bobby Cox…
BRIAN FREAKING JORDAN!!!
How is he on this team? Bobby Cox has completely lost it.
By TennesseePaul
April 6, 2006 06:43 PM | Link to this
I was prepared for a slow starting Renteria. If this is his typical slow start, I can not wait until he warms up! He’s unbelievable!
I said it all off season, this pen will be good IF, and only if, the starters can go more than 5 innings. So far we haven’t had one starter go 5 innings. This is embarrasing. Our team is built on a pitching tradition and we are destroying it with every game to this season. I don’t think this is the fault of Roger, though I’m sure this is a nightmare for him.
By eric the elder
April 6, 2006 07:08 PM | Link to this
Two bright sides: Chuck James and Ken Ray.
By TennesseePaul
April 6, 2006 07:13 PM | Link to this
The pen has looked good today. Lance was on it. Ray was on it. James was on it. If this keeps up, the Pen will have a lower ERA than the starters.
By Carroll
April 6, 2006 07:15 PM | Link to this
Great….Jordan’s homer is not nearly enough to help us win the game, but is surely enough to guarantee him a spot on the team for at least another couple months….or until his inevitable leg injury.
By TennesseePaul
April 6, 2006 07:17 PM | Link to this
Jordan homered! We may lose and look bad doing it, but we’ll lead the majors in home runs. We’re on pace to have 365 homers this year.
By LeTwan Anthony
April 6, 2006 07:18 PM | Link to this
Mama coulda hit that one out. Last inning, three run lead, nobody on, pitch down the middle. Of course Jordan did have two hits which ties him with LaRoche for the season.
By Russell
April 6, 2006 07:20 PM | Link to this
Hate on Jordan some more seems to be working!
By Justin
April 6, 2006 07:24 PM | Link to this
This is the worst 4 games of picthing I have ever seen. Our pen has thrown 23 of the 36 innings this year. Frenchy looks really bad. Only good thing out of today was the pen, no runs in 7 innings. Jordan’s homer is the second worst thing besides the starters.
By Justin
April 6, 2006 07:33 PM | Link to this
mabey davies can give us 5 or 6 solid innings, dont care if we win we just need to rest the pen and let huddy and smoltze do there thing in saturday and sunday
By T-bone
April 6, 2006 07:40 PM | Link to this
DOB, what’s the liklihood of that Aussie kid being brought up to fill a bullpen slot? He showed some great potential in his few outings this spring.
Maybe the starters need some of LeTwan’s mama’s pie—just might do the trick.
By LeTwan Anthony
April 6, 2006 07:49 PM | Link to this
Mama was baking a pie last night for that nice Horacio in hopes it would help him settle down. Suddenly and without warning, Horacio pulled a hammy and Mama knew he’d be on the DL. Mama decided the pie could be put to better use. Today, she mailed that pie to Sosa. That boy needs some pie! Mama thought Ray pitched well today. Imagine facing Bonds first time up and striking him out! Good job, Ken Ray!
By jimmy smith, journalist without a country
April 6, 2006 08:22 PM | Link to this
commentary- most famous toe injury this season belongs to pedro martinez. big toe, right foot. much concern in mets organization how big toe will react tonight to april evening chill. trainer invent toe cap for pedro, little wool sock that fit over big toe. warm toe, happy toe. journalist jimmy smith learn today that pedro not expected to do much at plate, mets fear catastrophic toe injury. toe twisted, toe cap come off, toe chilled, get pneumonia, die. toe plays big part in healthy individual. bad toes, bad ballplayer. journalist can now report that mound in port st. lucie was softened to suit martinez toe. not so in shea stadium. big boy mound, nothing sissy. jimmy smith watching game now. rumor about big, red, clown shoe not true. pedro wearing nice nike shoe with swoosh. name on jersey neat, crisp, (important to some bloggers this blog) spelled right. flash broadcast journalist joe morgan report toe affecting “pop” on pitch. pop gone. toe pop? stay tuned for more later. back to braves …journalist will return with story on player with toe that help him catch fish.
By glennbo
April 6, 2006 08:36 PM | Link to this
jimmy smith, since you renounced your ugandan roots, you are lacking a certain something. go back to uganda for a while, if you can get into the country without getting shot, and drink a couple dozen banana beers at a ugandan micro brewery pub. get in touch with your roots and report on braves’ toes. pedro can rot in hadees.
By Miles
April 6, 2006 08:40 PM | Link to this
people on here seem to have very short memories with regards to the starting pitching.
2003 Braves start off 1-4 and give up 43 runs in those first 5 games.
How many games did we win that year???? Relax guys, its only been 4 games. Smoltz and Hudson will get their act together and the rest of the rotation only has to be mediocre to get us to 90+ wins. I like our lineup and the bullpen is developing nicely. Ken Ray and Chuck James were brilliant today and Cormier was fairly solid as well. This team may win 95+ games as long as the bullpen stays healthy and the roles of the relievers become more defined.
By Jason
April 6, 2006 08:42 PM | Link to this
Initially, I was upset at the first four games of the season, but now it’s just getting down right hilarious. Don’t you have to TRY to be this bad???
Leo Mazzone is in Baltimore laughing his a#$ off!!!!
By glennbo
April 6, 2006 08:44 PM | Link to this
man, i didn’t think we would miss leo, but, man wtf. this pitching staff has a staff infection in every starting arm and half the rlievers. i hope that aarp has some kind of mojo shot that will revive bc or js or put us out of their misery.
And bobby, veteran leadership is not provided by a washed up bottom of the barrel nearly minimum wage 39 year old outfielder with a bum knee.
JS, you were so cute signing thomson and thinking you cud trade him and get something. like with willwood. (you got so lucky there.) and with maddog. he actually looks good now. and glavine would be much more reliable. and don’t get me started on hampton. do us all a favor and get a catscan and see if alzheimers is an issue. (bobby too).
By glennbo
April 6, 2006 08:45 PM | Link to this
jason you are so right.
By Young Jeezy
April 6, 2006 09:00 PM | Link to this
Our pitching is no worse this year than last year. But just like the Falcons let go of Brett Favre and Deion Sanders, and the Hawks traded Dominique, the Braves made a similarly retarded move in the offseason.
Yeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh.
BRING BACK LEO MAZZONE! The man deserved a lifetime contract after everything he’s done. Roger McDowell, welcome to the Jim Mora Memorial Doghouse.
By billy
April 6, 2006 09:14 PM | Link to this
You guys are XXXXXXX (insert insult here)…..four games and your already complaining……I did not think our fans were so fair weather…….we are 2-2 and the seasons already over…..mabey next year…..sheesh
By Jon
April 6, 2006 09:23 PM | Link to this
DOB, isn’t it odd how all offseason and during spring training, that the main concern was the ‘pen?? I mean, I know Huddy and Smoltz will step it up soon, but would have thunk that the starting rotation would be as awful as it has been, while the bullpen has been almost lights out. Lets hope Davies breaks that trend tomorrow. Also, how bout that Ken Ray? He looked good today striking out Barry on 4 pitches, didnt he
By TheSouthernJackAss
April 6, 2006 09:46 PM | Link to this
LEO MAZZONE!!!…
By ernesto
April 6, 2006 10:05 PM | Link to this
Good reminder by Miles. The season’s young and we’ve gotten off to plenty of bad starts before, but man…I don’t ever remember just shaking my head at the pitching like this. I mean the Bravos used to be known for using the fastball to set everything up…working that outside corner and then busting a guy inside. Now it seems like everyone’s relying on (and missing with) the breaking stuff leading to 3-0 and 3-1 counts, then grooving a fastball with predictable results.
By Fox
April 6, 2006 10:21 PM | Link to this
It is hard not to panic when the starters ERA so far is in double digits. My cat can pitch better at this point. Matter of fact I can drink 12 beers (which I am part of the way through now) and pitch with an ERA around 6, ehich is better than the starters are doing. Matter of fact I shoot up heroin and throw better. Or maybe I’ll start using steriods.
By Jamie in Richmond
April 6, 2006 10:28 PM | Link to this
Anyone else bothered by the fact that our first baseman wont take medicine that potentially will improve himself as a baseball player and potentially help the team in the process? Great to read that everyone gets a kick out of Adam LaMemory forgetting how many outs there are in an inning now…but how comical will it be if it costs the Braves a key game in September? The guy says he likes to forget things…what???? Like what pitchers throw him? Think Ted Williams had a similar approach? Hell no. Look, he might be a nice enough guy, but he says and does some of the goofiest things. I’d never rag on a guy for having ADD and forgetting outs, etc. But I will call him selfish for not even attempting to take medicine to help prevent that because he doesnt feel like it or cant conjure up the energy to remind himself to take a damn pill. Being 2-15 with 7 k’s doesnt help either, LaGoof.
By Jamie in Richmond
April 6, 2006 10:31 PM | Link to this
“But I don’t mind it,” he said. “I like to forget what happened sometimes, like to forget what a pitcher threw you in the past, things like that. It can work for or against you… . I really don’t think its a big deal.”
Um Adam..its working against you, LaSwing.
By David
April 6, 2006 10:42 PM | Link to this
Every story about a baseball game involving the Giants, and Barry Bonds is the whole show. When will they stop giving this obvious cheater so much attention? I don’t care if he walked, or grounded out, or whatever. If he did something important, then that’s noteworthy. Otherwise, stop giving him so much coverage! He’s not worth it! (ESPN in particular is guilty of this, every sportscenter clip of a giant’s game is nothing but barry moments)
By Nicholas Irwin
April 6, 2006 11:20 PM | Link to this
Don’t get me started on ESPN and Barry Bonds. Ever since word came out that Game of Shadows was coming out, ESPN’s coverage of the situation has been nothing but a complete joke.
I don’t see how anyone can come away from reading that book (which I did, by the way) and not see it as absolute proof that Barry Bonds did steroids. But what doesn ESPN do? They treat it as another issue where it’s Barry’s word vs. the “haters” and who know’s who’s telling the truth. It’s not freaking about that anymore when you have proof that he freaking did steroids! So needless to say I was baffled by the angle taken on this by ESPN, especially given the angle they have taken on the past on stories with far less clout than this one. So I’m wondering just what the hell is going on here.
Then, I hear that ESPN is going to start airing a reality show on Barry Bonds, and of which Bonds has complete control over all content. I think to myself, “No, surely they can’t be doing that after this book has come out. They’ll cancel that show.” But apparently I gave ESPN too much credit. And all the way up until the airing of this show they continue to not cover the story of the book at all. And now the show is airing, and it’s nothing but Bonds feeding the camera a load of complete BS about how he’s the victim and blah blah blah…and not only does ESPN air the damn show, but they USE CLIPS FROM IT ON SPORTSCENTER THAT NIGHT.
Then the next day, apparently word comes that (surprise, surprise) virtually nobody watched the show. So now ESPN has a problem. They need people to watch the show, so what do they do? Well I’ll tell you what they do (and this is the coup d’grace here). That night, the host of the ESPN Radio show All Night (who has not said a word about Barry Bonds since the book story broke) comes on with a segment where he encourages people to call in with their opinions on why it is OK that Barry Bonds did steroids. Only calls in favor of Barry Bonds are put on the air.
So, to recap, essentially what we have here is the only viable sports network in the country, a place where the vast majority of the sports fans in this country get at least some of the sports news, doing the following: 1)refusing to report on one of the biggest pure news stories ever to hit sports on their signature sports NEWS program; 2)choosing to air a program that is entirely dictated by Barry Bonds himself; 3)showing clips from this reality show, which is entirely controlled by Bonds himself, as news on the same signature news show that refused to air the actual news story; 4)when ratings for the reality show suck, attempting to drum up support for it by getting a host on their radio network to have segment on his show praising Bonds and only allowing pro-Bonds callers on the show, and finally; 5)basically kissing Bonds’ a* in general by airing segments on the above signature news show highlighting Bonds’ career, counting down the top 10 moments in it, etc.
Essentially, ESPN is now being controlled by Barry Bonds!!! They have lost all credibility in my book.
By Dave Knockahomer
April 6, 2006 11:22 PM | Link to this
starting pitchers with ERA of 13.19
I ain’t rememberin’ such a bad start for the starters! Not even before 1991!!!
Our starters are worse than the bullpen, or so it seems! HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and now Ramirez out—again. The guy is a walking ‘DL’. ah h#$%, it’s only April the dam_ 6th. things better be #$^@#%^^ by May 15th or we can kiss another divison bye bye. and what is it with Francouer……he looks awful at the plate.
Not so Langerhans who has done some great hitting but tha t stupid BC thinks platooning Langerhans is the thing! Is he totally nuts???? YES!!!!!!!!!!!!
By Big Teddy
April 6, 2006 11:23 PM | Link to this
Sosa will come around and be the 2nd best starter on the team, just you wait.
By MEB
April 6, 2006 11:30 PM | Link to this
Ken “Death” Ray… You have got to love that nickname. Well at least his ball shows some movement which is totally unlike anyone else in our bullpen.
By mathias
April 6, 2006 11:31 PM | Link to this
i hate to beat this horse, but i really don’t understand why the f* bobby gives away a spot to Brian jordan when we have so many other major leagu caliber players in the minors that could use major league at-bats. he was a solid contributor in the past, but his bat takes days to get through the zone. we have leaders in chipper and smoltz already. we need players!
By Hawaii Brave
April 7, 2006 12:10 AM | Link to this
4 games, too early to worry. Great thing about baseball, 162 game season gives you time to coach em up. Leo coached up average pitchers. The track record is clear, most by far, did much better as a Brave under Leo. Pitching is so much mental, difference in being a “pitcher” or just a “thrower”. Bobby and Leo, did the good cop, bad cop thing and it worked pretty well. These “Kids” need a hardnosed coach (the knock on Leo). Hope this is a fluk, and Roger will coach em up. I am a Braves fan and will enjoy the season, win or lose. But Leo maybe the part of the team the Braves can’t replace. Go Braves!!!
By teoa
April 7, 2006 12:31 AM | Link to this
Nice call on saving the extra 200K it would have taken to keep Leo! I think this year we’re going to see that Leo single-handedly subracted 1.5 to 2 runs from our staff ERA…And that’s not worth 200K???? I don’t care if he hurt HoRam’s feelings or not. (I don’t get the impression HoRam is going to pitch much better without hurt feelings by the way.)
Maybe since Jordan hit a meaningless HR today, we can find someone in Baltimore that agrees with Bobby that Jordan wasn’t done five years ago, and we can trade him and LaDouche for Leo. That way all the pitchers get better, and the Braves best hitting 1B finally gets to leave Richmond!
Bobby is a good manager in a lot of ways, but you can’t let him have has-beens like Jordan (and Remlinger - 6.66 ERA last year) on the roster or he’ll keep trotting them out there out of blind loyalty (kind of like a dog) no matter how many games they lose for you.
By mark
April 7, 2006 02:33 AM | Link to this
4 games and the bandwagon is burning red hot. Abandon ship , the sky is falling , the fix is in , its the end of the world….. You people are freaking hilarious.
By Tomahawkin
April 7, 2006 02:46 AM | Link to this
I’m glad that after 3 games we’re near the top of the league in scoring (hope that continues)…
Because with those pitching performances by Black Jack McDowell’s Crew we could easily be 0-4 aand I couldn’t imagine what everyone in the “A” would be wahting Bobby and Roger’s head axed…
Mark, You think were hilarious? Try philly.com discussion boards, We ain’t got nuthin on them…
By ADDam LaRoche
April 7, 2006 03:09 AM | Link to this
Tomahawkin, the Braves have played four games. Tomahawkin, Roger McDowell is not “Black Jack” McDowell. Dude, I know it’s late (3:07 AM as I’m typing this), but come on. I’m wasted and I knew that stuff was wrong. Sheesh.
What was I talking about?
Yeah. I like sunny days and forgettin’ about the past.
By Tomahawkin
April 7, 2006 03:19 AM | Link to this
I know That, Lol, It just sounds good, and I’ll continue to call him that…
By teoa
April 7, 2006 05:04 AM | Link to this
Mark, I think most people’s opinions here about Bobby, Leo, Jordan, Remlinger, LaDouche, Boyer, etc were informed by watching the Braves for the past 15 years, not the first 4 games. I know I held the same opinions before the year started about the curious roster decisions and offseason priorities (as did many others including DOB), so I don’t think it is irrational to discuss them now. Unfortunately, I don’t think those opinions are going to change as the year progresses. That’s not to say there aren’t a lot of positives and the Braves can’t win another division title. And the bullpen immediately got better today with the two call-ups in my opinion. But, then again, let’s all try not to have opinions until the internet blog Nazis say we’re far enough into the season to express them here.
By butch
April 7, 2006 07:24 AM | Link to this
Great job Ken..We new you could do it…keep up the hard work and it will pay off….cya wensday……
By JOHN M
April 7, 2006 08:59 AM | Link to this
I never expect Much during April.. guys are jus begining to warm up.. for the last 14 years what is the braves record for April? May? Does anyone have the stats available..How many times have we been out of first place in June?
By ssiscribe
April 7, 2006 09:37 AM | Link to this
Four games down, 158 to go. Of course, that means there’s a whole lot of baseball to be played, so everybody who’s really panicked just chill.
With that caveat out of the way … the starting pitching has been, in a word, putrid. But take a closer look. Hudson had one bad inning, the fifth. Smoltz and Ramirez had one bad inning, the first. Sosa had one bad inning, the third. Make a few plays in those innings, keep the ball down in those innings, and the conversation is totally different.
Ken Ray is the biggest positive of the young season to this point. That was classic, him setting down Bonds. It’s moments like that which make baseball great.
Kyle Davies, come on, son, give the ballclub six solid innings tonight out by the Bay. And, for the sake of all of us chained to a desk tonight, slam this thing out in 2 hours, 15 minutes. One thing I like about the unbalanced schedule is there aren’t many late Friday night Braves games anymore.
Bobby, play LaRoche every day for a while and see if he can do it. If not, then call up Jurries and platoon. I know Jordan went yard yesterday. He also let a catchable ball get by that set the table for the Sosa disaster in the third. Enough is enough.
OK, that’s it. Jimmy, I hope my replies were pithy enough. It’s been a very long week in the world of the scribe, and as much as I wanted to jump on here, it’s been a whirlwind in all corners. I’m glad the weekend is nearly here, that I’m off for two days, and that the games next week are in the ATL, which means a semblance of a regular routine in the evenings, and more than three hours of sleep.
Later.
By David O'Brien
April 7, 2006 09:53 AM | Link to this
Death Ray’s no fluke. Can’t strike out Bonds on four pitches and be a fluke, not when you do it making him look like Ray made him look whiffing at those changeup.
Obviously he has honed that change and built arm strength to increase his velocity since returning from his second shoulder surgery, because there’s no way he could’ve been stuck in the bushes for so many years with this kind of stuff.
Oh, and it was four pitches that he got Bonds with, not five. I reported it wrong in my story in today’s paper.
Lineup is performing for most part, with glaring exception of Francoeur, who really looks bad. Braves should win scoring runs like they have. Just have to get better pitching, particularly starting pitching. But everyone knows that, no revelation there.
Davies tonight. Just because I can’t believe the entire rotation would fall on its face the first time through, and because I remember how Davies stepped up in his first start last season when he came from Richmond to pitch in an emergency at Fenway Park (five scoreless), I’m going to predict a strong five or six innings and a win for him tonight.
By David O'Brien
April 7, 2006 10:01 AM | Link to this
Oh, and the record stores are outstanding in S.F. Spent an hour or more in couple last night and got a few (which Bryan and some others might appreciate):
Broken Social Scene’s latest (it’s been out a couple months, I think), Flaming Lips’ new one, a great new hard-rockin’ band Nine Black Alps’ “Everything Is,” old soul singer Candi Staton’s comeback album “His Hands” (produced by the dude from band Lambchop), and singer-songwriter Richard Julian’s “Slow New York” that’s been raved about by Bonnie Raitt and Randy Newman, among others.
By CK
April 7, 2006 10:06 AM | Link to this
Reitsma has two saves… But i still cringe at the thought of his being our stopper. But for what its worth I guess he is the best we have.
Of course as time goes on this season and the warm weather hits then Smotltz, Huddie and the boys will look much better.
Devine will be the closer by July and Reitsma will be nursing his injuries again. Hopefully Thompson wil be his old self again and put ramirez on the bench.
By JOHN B.
April 7, 2006 10:17 AM | Link to this
Ray looked great yesterday. I hope he has a great season. It’s always good to have a surprise dominate relief pitcher.
The starters will be fine. The bullpen is much better than last year. Let’s hope Reitsma is not done by the AS break. COx needs to stop over using him. He has a lot of good relief pitchers this year, hopefully he does not rely on just Reitsma.
By Lew
April 7, 2006 10:21 AM | Link to this
So far Chuck James has looked good. What about putting him in the starting rotation and leaving Thomson to relieve? Thomson looked good for two innings and James is a starter of the future anyway. I’ve got to think Hudson and Smoltz will come back to form, but Sosa was SoSo last year anyway. His number of runners on base was bound to catch up with him sooner or later. After four games, how does everyone feel about Renteria? He’s looking good. It may be a good thing that the lineup is as potent as it seems to be. How long before the pitching woes get laid at Roger McDowell’s doorstep? Does any one else want to blame the WBC for the lousy pitching we’ve seen in baseball this spring?
By Dan
April 7, 2006 10:33 AM | Link to this
Let us not forget this is the first series of the season. If I recall correctly, Smoltz started last season poorly and went on to have a respectable ERA. Its far too early to evaluate player’s perfomances, especially pitchers. Lets evaluate the pitching after a few starting rotations. After 14 division titles, you all still believe the pitching will remain at a 13 ERA? C’mon…..
By P'Cola Michael
April 7, 2006 10:43 AM | Link to this
Let’s get realistic here…Every year we always rely on some “Has Been” to come in and save us…well, this year, we’re resorting to a “never was”…so, it could be a LOOOOOONNNNNNNG year if we don’t do something. I agree with putting LaRoche in everyday, if we’re gonna soft toss everybody, we are going to need to take one step back in the infield and “D-UP”! BJ isn’t going to help much on the defense side.
By Bryan
April 7, 2006 10:56 AM | Link to this
I can’t wait to go to turner field and cheer for Ken “Cathode” Ray (I heard for a few years back Ken was into black nationalism and his friends called him “X”- Ray. ) I listened to him strike out Bonds one the radio and almost fell out!
Dave - I am about to ride my bike downtown Athens (home of some decent record stores) and check out Richard Juliann - i love Randy Newman so it must be good.
Are you getting back in time for the Dogwood Festival on Sunday? Little County Giants are playing during the day and they are worth it the listen.
REM did play a surprise show last weekend - yes Braves Blog i told you about it - but no i was out of town so I missed it. Shame on me and my generations to follow - REM at the GA theater … damn.
Hopefully getting Frenchy out of LA will be good for him and the positive SF vibes will help him rise out of his slump.
Song two of the Flaming lips … crank it for me on your way to the park.
By EWare
April 7, 2006 11:39 AM | Link to this
DOB, I have the same feeling about Davies tonight. He’s the man. What’s this talk from Thomson? I thought he would act a little more confident about returning to the rotation.
Have you heard Ryan Adams and the Cardinal’s “Jacksonville City Nights”? It was my personal 2005 Album of the year.
By Paul
April 7, 2006 12:05 PM | Link to this
Hey DOB do you think the crappy pitching could be because of Roger Mcdowell?
By David O'Brien
April 7, 2006 12:26 PM | Link to this
Paul _ yes, it’s definitely because of McDowell. The poor pitchers are just confused by the change in leadership.
… yeah, that’s it.
By Choppin Bob
April 7, 2006 12:32 PM | Link to this
I told yall Jordan sucks. I don’t care if he did hit a homer. Bullpen is lookin better though. It nice to see some offense too.
By DrBert
April 7, 2006 12:33 PM | Link to this
Before we shoot Roger McDowell and fire all the starting pitchers, I’d just like to point out that the pattern of poor starting pitching in the first four games could simply be a statistical anomaly and totally unrelated to the change from Leo to Roger as the pitching coach. Over a 162 game season there are bound to be stretches when several starters have consecutive poor outings. If you look at all the games over the past 15 seasons of success by the Braves starters, it really is not surprising that there is a stretch when they look soooooo bad at the start of a season. It’s like flipping a coin; when you look at an individual stretch there is a good chance of getting a number of heads or tails in a row which seems to indicate a pattern, but over a longer series we get the expected 50:50 ratio of heads and tails. Because they have all given up a lot of runs at the start of the season, we want to attribute it to the change in pitching coach, or by saying all the starters are terrible. Well, they have been terrible for one game, but I for one need to see a much longer pattern before I give up my hope of another pennant. Simply applying the concept of regression to the mean, we would expect that the next performance by all the starters would be better than the previous four, and would expect Davies to do better tonight. I really don’t see Smoltz, Hudson, and Sosa repeating their poor performance of their first starts, but then we can’t expect Sosa to continually repeat his Houdini act from last season. Again, the concept of regression to the mean would indicate he is bound to give up some runs this year when men get on base. I don’t seem him having two exceptional years in a row in this manner. Put men on base, and some will eventually score.
As an aside to Jimmy Smith…should we amputate some of the Braves pitcher’s toes? Red Ruffing had a Hall-of-Fame career even though he lost 4 toes on his left foot in a mine accident in his youth. Any truth to the concept that the toe bone is connected to the head bone? Tell me the Ugandan Journalists’s opinion…
By David O'Brien
April 7, 2006 12:38 PM | Link to this
Bryan, I can’t believe REM played the Georgia Theater … I assume they played all the old stuff, right? Must’ve been amazing. Bill Berry didn’t play, did he?
By David O'Brien
April 7, 2006 12:40 PM | Link to this
Speaking of venerable lefties, the new Kris Kristofferson CD is pretty amazing. Best he’s done in a long, long time.
By Bryan
April 7, 2006 12:43 PM | Link to this
Well, they opened for Minus 5 - so if you thought about it, it was pretty easy to guess REM was going to show up (or at least Mike and Michael. I am not sure if bill played - i doubt it. Though all four played at a bowling alley in Athens for a their sound tech’s wedding last fall.
We were supposed to go bowling that night but we called ahead and found out there was a wedding … I wish we had walked up and heard the blowing though radio free europe (playing a lot of old stuff around town).
Got the Jullian - bout to jam it out on a car ride across town.
By eric the elder
April 7, 2006 12:50 PM | Link to this
I’ll probably be accused of settling for mediocrity, but the fact is the Braves always have a tough time on these western trips. Last year was a nightmare. If we can win just one of the next three, we will come home with a 3-4 record - - nothing to write home about, but not bad all things considered. With Smoltz and Hudson due up after Davies, I like our chances of even going 4-3, which is about as much as any of us could hope for in the west. We are getting this horrid part of the schedule behind us early, and things will start to look up soon.
By jimmy smith. ugandan journalist
April 7, 2006 01:03 PM | Link to this
journalist has laugh at dob response to paul. dob must remember newspapers written for elementary school comprehension. know reason why? now, journalist turns attention to other baseball related matters.
journalist sends out, “hello” to scribe who enlivens blogs with comments and whose comments merit desription, “pithy”. good journalist, much substance, like jimmy smith. scribe ramble less than jimmy smith. jimmy smith confess did not make good grades in pithy comment class in journalism school.
braves find best pitchers in minors. make journalist wonder to ask mcdowell and bobby cox why take wrong pitchers to start season? spring performance not count? why keep tired, sore arms, not throw strikes and send stronger pitchers for seasoning?
speaking of seasoning, jurries ready to go on grill yet? marinating him for five games now and him hitting homeruns for richmond, not atlanta. involved in strange play yesterday, forgot to pick up ball. last out 3-4-6-2-5-1 game winner.
davies now stopper. if fifth starter stopper, team in trouble. sosa not pitch good with current haircut, now have zane smith look. sosa best cut mulllet off and let wind blow through hair - not baseballs blow by off bats. sosa not even soso now. much to improve on. best check toes this player.
last thing before jimmy smith go … rumors that jimmy smith giving up baby seal, too much trouble, true. journalist begins lottery to award seal to lucky blogger. winner need cover sofa in plastic, lesson learned hard way. if want seal, let jimmy smith know.
By tigger101023
April 7, 2006 01:08 PM | Link to this
Death Ray’s no fluke. Can’t strike out Bonds on four pitches and be a fluke, not when you do it making him look like Ray made him look whiffing at those changeup.
coughTom Martincough
By David O'Brien
April 7, 2006 01:08 PM | Link to this
Jimmy, agreed on the Jorge ‘Do. Even Pedro Martinez cut his similar mullet from a year ago….
By David O'Brien
April 7, 2006 01:10 PM | Link to this
EWare, love that Ryan Adams CD. Didn’t much like the one after that (the man needs to slow down, put out one or two great CDs a year, instead of one great and two middling ones.
By DrBert
April 7, 2006 01:10 PM | Link to this
Hey Jimmy Smith, Did you read my comments? Just interested in your thoughts on toe amputation…did anyone notice that jimmy has the same initials as our GM? Coincidence? Maybe jimmy should give the baby seal to the pitching staff…given the starters performance thus far, I hope they already have a plastic cover on their sofas…Roger and Bobby could award the “Seal of Approval” to whichever starter goes past the 4th inning of a game…
By EWare
April 7, 2006 01:16 PM | Link to this
DOB, I agree on Ryan Adams. As a fan, I love hearing new music from him, but “29” kinda sucked. Have you heard his old Whiskeytown stuff? “Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart” blew me away and still does with every listen.
By jimmy smith, journalist without a country
April 7, 2006 01:18 PM | Link to this
journalist jimmy smith responds to drbert. journalist believes strongly that toe is material to baseball success. much research done, research ongoing. look at dizzy dean, career ended by toe. toe put chipper out for weeks in june,july last year. toe possibly brain for chipper, not sure. uh, chipper toe give betemit chance to show he a player. toe works in mysterious ways.
all in all, jimmy smith agree with drbert about regression to mean, will even out with more games … unless pitching stinks worse than we know. possibility.
By jimmy smith, journalist without a country
April 7, 2006 01:26 PM | Link to this
drbert and jimmy smith get along fine. jimmy smith agrees that seal of approval very good idea. not sure when drbert join blog, but many here know that all nice furniture in braves offices covered by plastic. not seal problem either. manager problem. if drbert not know about this jimmy smith will reveal later. delicate subject and at least one lady blogger now on this blog. cut off toe as last resort, that jimmy smith opinion. at least one player on team have no toes to lose.
By old timer
April 7, 2006 01:36 PM | Link to this
Enough with Leo. Maddux arrived with a Cy Young. Glavine showed what kind of pitcher he was going to be in ‘89. Smoltz at first took a step back under Leo, and it wasn’t Leo who fixed him. It was the sports psychologist. Avery was can’t-miss and didn’t, and when he hurt his arm and lost velocity, Leo didn’t help much with a Frank Tanana-type adjustment. Avery never was able to win without the superior stuff.
By David O'Brien
April 7, 2006 01:45 PM | Link to this
Whiskeytown stuff still his best, in my opinion.
Hey, folks, don’t know why anybody would care, but it was 19 years ago that Atlanta’s Rick Mahler threw his third Opening Day shutout to tie the NL record.
Just thought it was appropriate, given that no starter this season has held an opponent to fewer than five runs or pitched more than five innings.
By Jason C
April 7, 2006 01:57 PM | Link to this
Rick Mahler sounds good right about now. There had to have been a lack of preperation for the season or something to be this bad opening up.
Good news is we know they can’t possibly be this bad forever. Smoltz and Hudson simply have to much talent for this. I think there has to be a logical explaination of why they started out so badly, I just don’t know what in the world that is.
By Jason C
April 7, 2006 02:00 PM | Link to this
Hey, 1986 was a good year! The year I was born of course!
By Jason T
April 7, 2006 02:12 PM | Link to this
Way to throw that filthy change Ken, can’t wait to see ya at the Ted Mon! Keep it up, it’s all paying off for you know!!Let me know if you want to sell your truck :) JT
By Jman
April 7, 2006 02:20 PM | Link to this
I dont use big phrases like “Statistical Anomaly.” The first 4 games of the season are hardly enough to go on. I will say, however, that it is a little disconcerting that all 4 of our top starters got their lunches had to them. But look at Barry Zito, Pedro Martinez, Jon Lieber, & Andy Pettite. These guys combined for 63 Wins and averaged 3.32 ERA. Their first starts, however, they went 1-3 with an average ERA of 22.09. So the Braves arent the only one’s with starter problems.
By Gary
April 7, 2006 02:21 PM | Link to this
Sheesh. I wish everyone would calm down. This is only the first week. Hudson and Smoltz will pick it up. This is what happens when all of your pitchers only get so many innings in the spring. Also the Braves, with all the great pitchers we have had, had season’s start like this and were able to end the season leading the NL in ERA or a close second. Davies will probably give us 7 innings tonight, then Huddy and Smoltz will go 6-7 this weekend and everyone will forget about this come Monday. Offense looks great even with Chipper and Francouer struggling. Braves will be fine. Look at the Mets, their bullpen is not so good either, even Wagner blows saves.
By DrBert
April 7, 2006 02:28 PM | Link to this
Jman, Sorry about the big phrases. My point is that over the course of 15 succesful 162 game seasons (2,430 games), it is not that surprising or unusual that at some time there would be 4 consecutive horrendous games by the top starters…since this occured at the start of the season, we want to explain it by saying our pitchers stink, rather than saying what are the odds of 4 consecutive poor games by our starters. While the odds may be small, we all know that every once in a while lightning strikes twice, or 1,000:1 longshots win a race…As they say in the stock market, past performance is no guarantee of future performance (thankfully!), but based on the past performances of our starters, I think the future is bright…
By jimmy smith, journalist without a country
April 7, 2006 02:30 PM | Link to this
teachers need teach math skills. ‘nough said. teachers also need teach toes. healthy toes, good disposition. what makes toe gnarly? jounnalist jimmy smith talks gout in next post. dob reminds jimmy smith of rick mahler, jimmy smith once sell rick van. nice van, television, carpet, captain’s chairs. jimmy smith have picture of famed braves pitcher in van. best memory of rick mahler in van, not on mound. mahler led league in hits allowed, earned runs allowed, and losses in 1986. gave up 25 homeruns and 95 walks. glad he not opening day starter anymore. dob brings blog back to reality.
By Jman
April 7, 2006 02:35 PM | Link to this
I think Davies will come out tonight and blow the Giants away.
By David O'Brien
April 7, 2006 02:53 PM | Link to this
19 years ago was 1987, the opening day I referred to.
Let’s see 2006-19 = 1986? Dude, you go to a Georgia public school?
By Leon
April 7, 2006 02:53 PM | Link to this
Tim Hudson has been a bust ! 11 million a year for what? Look at the money wasted on Hudson & Hampton. No return on the investment for sure !
By Patrick
April 7, 2006 02:53 PM | Link to this
OB,
Given the fact that LaRoche has 2 HR’s and the rest of his AB’s he’s struck out (mostly)..and with Betemit proving even further that he needs to be in the lineup everyday, is there any thought on the Braves part to let Betemit play first or move Chipper there and have Betemit play 3B if LaRoche continues to struggle?
Thanks
By Mark
April 7, 2006 02:57 PM | Link to this
can we get a starter go 6?….Leo help!!
By Jman
April 7, 2006 02:58 PM | Link to this
Wow, DOB. You are in midseason form already! Go get ‘em man!
By Dave
April 7, 2006 03:01 PM | Link to this
I have watched every game so far and I believe Hudson and smoltz will show a lot better this weekend. Now get rid of sosa and put James in the rotation
By j3
April 7, 2006 03:08 PM | Link to this
Ken Ray for closer!!! Anybody who can make Barry Bonds look that bad in at at bat deserves some recognition and more time on the mound. I would not worry about the bullpen just yet. The Dan Kolb Virus has not run it’s course yet but once the Braves get that out of their system, they can go ahead and make room for #15.
By Clive Reed
April 7, 2006 05:14 PM | Link to this
It is interesting to sit here and read all the the comments by Braves “fans” carving up the team’s players and managers. I know it must be unbearable to sit through 4 games where the Braves have only managed a .500 record. Excuse me if I am naive, but i thought a “fan” was someone who supported a team. Someone who was proud of that team’s accomplishments and stayed with them through a few laess than stellar performances. I have been a Braves fan since 1963, and believe me I have been through my share of losing skids and losing seasons. Let’s examine these first four games from a baseball perspective and see if they have really been that bad.
Bobby Cox as usual is leaving no stone unturned in his quest for another division title. He realizes that we have a 162 game schedule and falling behind in the first week is not really a major concern. He is only allowing some of the fringe players on the club a window of opportunity, and who knows, he may uncover a diamond in the rough. This only demonstrates his skill and patience as a manager, which is why he is so effective over a 162 game schedule. We all know that he will make the correct decisions over the months. Let us not be consumed with the illusions of the first week.
Andrew Jones has had a strong start!!!
Langerhans looks good, and over the course of the year, if he plays well enough I’m sure he’ll earn the everyday job.
I’m sorry if my expectations are too low, but I remeber when if a pitcher won 14 or 15 games it was considered a good year. Go Smoltz and Hudson.
What about Betemit? Excellent start don’t you think?
Sure the Braves haven’t performed gracefully over the first four games, but let’s be fans here and knowledgeable ones at that!!! If I was at .500 ball with a team that has under performed in almost every area,(on the road at that!!, I’d be feeling pretty confident for the remainder of the season. Let’s face it, we know when the time comes to evaluate the talent on the field, Mr. Cox and company will know who belongs and who doesn’t. I am confident that at the end of 162 games we will be once again perched at the top of the standings, peering down at the competition. I’ll stake my 43 years as a Braves fan on it! Go Braves!! See you in October!!
By Clive Reed
April 7, 2006 05:17 PM | Link to this
Andruw Jones Not Andrew Sorry Andruw!!
Go Braves!!!
By ElSenoir
April 7, 2006 06:06 PM | Link to this
Here’s the prob. Leo wasn’t great, but he was good. The problem is… we replaced him with a friggin comedian. What the heck were John and Bobby thinkin. Pitchin in the Big Leagues is serious business. It’s like they were trying to prove a point instead of makin the team better. Fire SNL now and get somebody in here that knows how to light a fire. Come on guys!!!
By glennbo
April 7, 2006 07:31 PM | Link to this
clive, fans get to botch and moan because they are fans. you don’t have to suck the snot out of bobby’s nose to be a fan. i love the braves, but if things look wierd, say with a team era of 7.41 thru 4 games, i think its ok to vent. forgive me if i don’t fall into line with you clive. we have a new rookie pitching coach. the staff results combined with the newbie give rise to concern, in my opinion. also, the fact that you seem so complacent about the current situation seems mean that you take the braves success for granted in a casual way. so don’t lecture real fans who care about their team.
By Clive Reed
April 7, 2006 10:02 PM | Link to this
I guess I’ve been told and I probably deserve it for criticizing fan reaction. Don’t for one minute think I’m not emotional about the team, I am. I’m also a realist and think that true talent needs a little time to blossom. Go Glenbo. Go Braves
By john
April 9, 2006 10:31 PM | Link to this
Chippie’s hurt, Braves lose, I love it. I have a life Brian, I’m rich and good looking.
By Mark
April 10, 2006 08:36 AM | Link to this
hang reistma!! (i been saying this since day one)
By Adam
April 10, 2006 10:25 AM | Link to this
Reeksma should join Kolb up North.
By ronald
April 10, 2006 12:56 PM | Link to this
Thank goodness we have Reeksma! What a joke. It is way too early to push the panic button. However, management needs to realize that Reeksma reeks. Maybe he’ll slip in the shower this morning and injure himself badly enough to go on the 365 day disabled list.