AJC > Sports > Braves > Blog > Archives > 2007 > February > 28
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Tuning up vs. the Techsters
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ladies and gents, the fog has lifted _ literally and figuratively, I think _ and we’re about to play some ball. And you know what they don’t say, throw out the records when the Braves and Georgia Tech (or Georgia) meet in the spring.
Actually, the college lads would just as soon throw out the record, since the Braves are 19-0 vs. the baseball players who still are matriculating. (Wait, I’ve just been handed a note…. There’s a discrepancy. The Tech game notes point out that there was a rain-shortened, four-inning tie in 2003, so I guess it’s actually 19-0-1).
Oh, and there was fog this morning, a heavy layer that reduced visibility to zero in and around the The Happiest Place On Earth (no sarcasm intended, so don’t grill me). Actually, I have no complaints, they treat us well here (man, it’s hard to write with a gun in my ribs). But seriously, they do treat us well.
The place is clean, the weather’s beautiful and the ballpark is great, that’s all that matters. We’ve got some ball, a lot of ball, starting today and ramping up to the real stuff tomorrow with the Dodgers in town.
Then it’s Pittsburgh and presumably Adam LaRoche, since ‘ol Rochy (as Bobby Cox often called him) used to have a home in nearby Celebration, Fla., and I’m assuming he still does.
I hear that Francoeur hit a couple of homers off today’s Ga Tech starter, John Goodman, in a big high school game years ago, maybe even the state championship game, though that information hasn’t been confirmed. Frenchy said he wasn’t sure if it was the title game or not. Goodman played at Lassiter, Francoeur at Parkview.
(I attended a high school in a dinky town in Kansas that had no air conditioning [the school, not the town], where you sweated profusely after running from gym class across the street to your next class in the _ again, not making this up _ un-airconditioned main building, which was about 1,000 years old, or thereabouts.)
Talk about a tough first assignment _ Goodman is starting today in his first appearance of the season for the 6-5 Jackets. He’s missed most of two seasons recovering from elbow surgery. Now he’ll face the Joneses, etc., even if it’s probably just one inning he’s throwing.
Anyway, it’ll be interesting, always is, to see the Bravos regulars get an at-bat or two, then see some of the prospects try to make an impression. I’ll let you know as we go along if there’s anything noteworthy.
Greetings from Sunny Florida (like the old postcards, that’s us on the water skis at Cypress Gardens, waving). Wish you were here.
Wick really wants to win: Don’t know how serious he was, but the big man, Bob Wickman, was heard this morning promising the team he’d buy everyone big-screen TVs if the Braves won the Grapefruit League title.
Aybar situation nears end: I’m starting to feel like Ted Koppel reporting on a hostage situation _ the Willy Aybar crisis (relatively speaking) has reached Day Whatever It Is, but there’s an end in sight. The Dominican infielder is expected to report Thursday, his visa problems having finally been resolved, allegedly.
I’m just getting my work in, not in regular-season form, so I forgot to notice the lineup posted on the clubhouse door. That’s why the blog is late. Had to wait to see it posted in pressbox. And here it is:
Kelly Johnson 2B, 2. Edgar Renteria SS, 3. Chipper Jones 3B, 4. Andruw Jones CF, 5. Brian McCann C, 6. Jeff Francoeur RF, 7. Scott Thorman 1B, 8. Matt Diaz DH, 9. Ryan Langerhans LF.
Whaddya think? Not really anything too surprising. I didn’t think he’d bat Francoeur fifth behind Andruw, as some here had hoped _ too many strikeouts to protect Andruw. I like McCann there, given the options.
Music is essential: Love the Willie Nelson album “You Don’t Know Me: Songs of Cindy Walker” that came out last year and that I finally bought. Great old country tunes and western swing music…. They’ve got one of the worst band names since Afghanistan Banana Stand (actual band, look it up) (wait, that’s actually a brilliant name; can you have back-to-back parentheses?) (only in spring training) but the Swedish band Peter Bjorn and John has a strong, rockin’ album out, “Writer’s Block” (which is what I’d have if we had another day of workouts before the games started). I don’t know how long they’ve been around, but this is first I’ve heard of ‘ol Rochy … er, ‘ol Peter Bjorn and John (and no, they don’t sound one iota like Peter, Paul and Mary. It’s not folky at all). Listened to it on headphones at Virgin Records and had to have it. Love their single “Young Folks.” If you haven’t heard it, you should find it.
We’ll keep things Johnny Cash-themed in the week of The Man In Black’s 75th birthday, so here’s one of the many songs he covered not long before he died.
“JERUSALEM TOMORROW” by David Olney
Man you should have seen me way back then/I could tell a tale, I could make a spin
I could tell you black was white/ I could tell you day was night
Not only that I could tell you why/ Back then I could really tell a lie
Well I’d hire a kid to say he was lame/ Then I’d touch him and make him walk again
Then I’d pull some magic trick I’d pretend to heal the sick/I was takin’ everything they had to give
It wasn’t all that bad a way to live
Well I’m in this desert town and it’s hot as hell/But no one’s buyin’ what I got to sell
I make my lame kid walk I make a dumb guy talk/I’m preachin’ up a storm both night and day
But everyone just turns and walks away
Well I can see that I’m only wasting time/So I head across the road to drink some wine
This old man comes up to me He says I seen you on the street/You’re pretty good if I do say myself
But the guy that come thru here last month he was somethin’ else
Instead of callin’ out for fire from above/He just gets real quiet and talks about love
And I’ll tell you somethin’ funny He didn’t want nobody’s money/Now I’m not exactly sure what this all means
But it’s the damndest thing I swear I’ve ever seen
Well since that time every town is the same/I can’t make a dime, I don’t know why I came
I decide I’ll go and find him And find out who’s behind him/He has everyone convinced that he’s for real
Well I figure we can work some kind of deal
So he offers me a job and I say fine/He says I’ll get paid off on down the line
Well I guess I’ll string along Don’t see how too much can go wrong/As long as he pays my way I guess I’ll follow
We’re headed for Jerusalem tomorrow
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