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Friday, March 16, 2007
Braves rotation is firming up
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Just sitting here enjoying a cigar and some watermelon on a warm, humid Florida day by the pool on the rental-house patio with the new Albert Hammond Jr. CD playing on the rental-house CD player.
Hey, I hate night games in spring, but might as well enjoy the afternoon if a night game’s on the Braves’ schedule, right?
We get our second look at Braves newcomer Mark Redman tonight when he faces Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter in the first of a two-game set with the World Series champions at the ballpark of Entertainment Sports Sector. The game’s on TV (FSN South) _ for those who want to flip back and forth from KU-Niagara.
After Lance Cormier’s lights-out work against the Yankees last night (five scoreless, and it was a particularly impressive five scoreless), it’ll be interesting to see of Redman can pitch as well as he did in his Braves debut last week, when he pitched so well against the Pirates after not having even sim-game work since last fall.
If Redman pitches well the rest of the spring, as I said this morning on the previous blog, I really think the Braves would actually have fewer questions about their rotation today than they did before Mike Hampton got hurt taking batting practice a week ago.
As odd as that might sound initially, consider that the Braves would have a guy (Redman) penciled in who’ll give you 10-12 wins, maybe slightly more, since he’s done that even with bad teams in recent years. And you have a guy (Cormier) who has been consistently solid in his three starts this season and was also good in most of his starts last year, despite the 2-4 record in nine games as a starter.
He had a 4.31 ERA in nine starts in 2006, and the Braves scored one or no runs while he was in five of those games, and three or fewer in three others. Four of his last six starts were quality starts (six innings of more, three or fewer earned runs) and he gave up two runs or fewer in four of five September starts.
I’m not completely writing off Kyle Davies yet for the opening day rotation, but all signs point to Cormier and Redman in the last two spots. They didn’t sign Redman to not have him in the rotation.
Davies can only benefit from going to Richmond and getting a good month or half-season under his belt to regain confidence and get that groin injury out of his mind without worrying about it while facing major league hitters.
And once Hampton’s healthy, the Braves won’t have to count on him as heavily as they were before. But if he’s healthy, what a boost he could be this summer. Either way, the Braves are going to have depth they sorely lacked last season, with Davies and Hampton in the wings (assuming Cormier wins the final spot).
OK, back to hoops: No major damage done to my first-day bracket. Three losses, but all three teams that let me down (Texas Tech, Gonzaga, Duke) I had going out in next round anyway.
I couldn’t watch anymore NCAA coverage on ESPN News this morning because I can’t watch that twerpy host ESPN must feel obligated to keep around since he won their awful game-show host contest/reality show a couple years ago, the show hosted by insufferable Stuart “Cooler than the other side of the pillow” Scott.
And please, ESPN, a nation implores you (or at least I do): More Stacey Dales and less Stacey King on hoops coverage. Nothing against King. Good player, had some great games against my Jayhawks back in the day. Not a terrible analyst.
But both Staceys played at Oklahoma, and I’m guessing one of them is absolutely fine with most KU fans, or most college hoops fans in general. And it’s the one formerly known as Stacey Dales-Schuman. She’s tough, knowledgeable, keeps Digger in line, and, oh yeah, flat-out gorgeous.
Success sans Strokes: I really like this Albert Hammond Jr. album, “Yours to Keep.” It’s the solo debut by the Strokes guitarist, and I really like it better than either of the last two Strokes albums, which I never got into. Totally different sound.
He draws on influences of ‘50s and ‘60s rockers and incorporates a mellow, earthy vibe into the mix. You can tell he was influenced by bands his dad was around or listened to (Albert Hammond wrote and sang the great song “It Never Rains in Southern California,” among others in the ‘60s and ‘70s).
Speaking of great songs, I hadn’t heard the Flaming Lips’ cover of “Space Age Love Song” (yes, the Flock of Seagulls song) until I got this “20 Years of Weird: 1986-2006” compilation by the Lips. Nice homage to the Seagulls song, with tons of psychedelic guitars instead of synths. It somehow works.
Open House at Turner Field: I keep forgetting to mention this, but at least I remembered today. The Braves are having a free “open house” thing tomorrow (Saturday) at Turner Field for fans, who can watch the Braves-Cardinals game on the high-def ginormous video board in center field (it’s televised by SportsSouth tomorrow). Gates at Turner Field open at noon, game starts at 1:05.
Here’s some other stuff from the press release, which I don’t have time to go over because I’ve gotta shower and get to the ballpark:
Fans can register to win autographed Braves items in between every inning, visit the Braves Museum and Hall of Fame, and tour the Braves Dugout and Clubhouse, play games in Scout’s Alley and Tooner Field (hey, I’m just repeating the release here, folks), see the Braves Heavy Hitters Drumline perform and meet the Braves Tomahawk Team (that might be worth the price right there, especially since it’s free).
There’s also a “Select A Seat” going on at same time for the 2007 season (you didn’t think they were going to pass up an opportunity to sell tix, did you?)
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